Kaguya MOVIE (patreon exclusive)
Added 2024-05-12 15:03:50 +0000 UTCobsessed. such a good addition to watch. everything came together
S4 EP 1-4 - pw: kaguyamelon
Comments
Shirogane's "wakatta" being translated into "fine" as a response to Kaguya's confession… is so wrong. While the word is often used as a general "yes" response, the literal meaning is "I understand" or, even more precisely, "I've understood" (and even more more precisely it carries no subject, so it could mean "we've understood" too, for example). After this entire arc about the two exposing their weakest sides to each other, surely you can see why that response is much more meaningful than a "fine". Obviously there is no way to translate it and keep all that context, but "fine" might've been the single worst option. It almost sounds dismissive when the meaning is pretty much the exact opposite. Hot damn, who fumbled that one? It's always funny in retrospect to see people reacting to the end of season 3 with a complaint about the kiss not being properly shown, instead being hidden by a balloon. Then this little "movie" arc takes place and it's a real "ooooh" moment. I really love that Aka Akasaka took the #1 place in the "Most Romantic Fictional Moments Of All Time" category and then proceeded to write an arc specifically to explain why it was NOT romantic, why it was actually a HORRIBLE way to start a relationship between these characters and why we're all throwing the baby with the bathwater, putting too much weight on the grandiose gestures and fancy circumstances instead of focusing on the characters and their deepest feelings. Mind you, it would've been enough of a subversion to simply have the two confess in a simple way, in a simple conversation. It would've been a surprise to be sure and it still would make the point of "genuine over grandiose" just fine. But no, we as the audience needed to make that mistake alongside the characters before the story could explain why we're wrong. And all that effort, all that glory, all that planning, all that foreshadowing, all that lead-up, all those balloons, all those schemes, all of that stuff that was "obviously" leading to the two finally becoming a couple… was in service of a "fraudulent" confession that wasn't enough for either of them to be confident about the other's feelings. The genuine confession, the meaningful one, the one that properly started their relationship - was a conversation on a park bench. Followed by a little kiss, shown properly this time because its meaning is real this time. F*ckin' beautiful. I'm not quite sure why, but when Shirogane talks about his past and how he developed the need to prove himself academically because of his mother, the anime skips the worst part of it. We already knew that his mother left when her husband's company went under, but the f*cked up part is that she took Kei, Shirogane's sister, with her. The implication - or at least the understandable impression of a little schoolboy - was that Kei was the kid with good grades, while Shirogane and his father were "failures" that his mother had no interest in as a result. His father all but confirms it later, even saying: "Miyuki wasn't chosen. And I think that pain will stick with him for the rest of his life". That's a heartwrenching line made all the more powerful by how much of what we've already seen it puts into perspective. If that was a backstory for Shirogane explained up-top at the beginning of the manga, it wouldn't have had nearly as much of an impact, but as-is, it breaks my heart every time. Before the story starts properly, Kei is back with her dad and brother and I truly find Shirogane incredibly admirable for not holding their mother's actions against his sister. It wouldn't be fair, of course, but it would've been more than understandable. The fact he's a genuinely caring, albeit somewhat annoying older brother, and can still be proud of his sister despite his inferiority complex starting partially due to her being seen as "better" by their mother… Kudos, my man. You're a real one. Kei left her mother of her own volition as she felt pressured by her expectations, further driving the point home that this woman cares about precious little than "success". Despite never appearing in the story until the very very end of the manga, all the pieces we learn about her create a really fascinating character. Kei seems to believe her mother genuinely cares about her, yet is unable to express it in any way other than the toxic push towards success. It's like she's genuinely broken somehow, a very particular kind of a sociopath or something… …and I have to wonder if the resemblance to the Ice Princess Kaguya at her worst is not the entire point. Similar to how Ice Princess Kaguya recalls being surprised at people being hurt when she reprimanded them with the best of intentions, Shirogane's mother seems like she truly doesn't understand how other people could be hurt over her toxic "help" and "encouragement". I believe the reason she appears at the very end of the manga for the first time is to truly drive the point home that this is how Kaguya would have ended up had she not had the opportunity to grow as a person throughout the story and retained the Ice Princess persona for the rest of her life. Not necessarily evil - but broken and inherently toxic as a result. There's also the fact that Shirogane's father describes his wife as the extremely popular girl he put his all into pursuing… And well, it worked. But unlike Shirogane and Kaguya, they got married having never seen each other's "hidden sides", and their marriage fell apart. Shirogane was this close to repeating his father's mistake of refusing to show the vulnerability and even if it got him the girl, the result would most likely have been awful long-term. And finally, yes, the doctor having had a son at 17 and then that son having had a son at 17 and that son being Tsubasa, Kashiwagi's boyfriend, is one of the greatest and most hilarious reveals of all time, made even better by how casually it's dropped - and by heaping even more misery onto poor Maki. The manga does end up revealing whether the "17yo father curse" gets broken or not, but I'm not telling. Kaguya-sama is a masterpiece.
eworm
2024-08-18 11:23:13 +0000 UTCSuch a good ending
Glockinasock
2024-05-12 19:25:05 +0000 UTC
