Andy

I have many things I want to say. And we're only getting started with Kaisei's Shinigami 😭 Takamasa-sensei's writing is so detailed and well-done.

First of all, Kaisei's choice to change the main character from a middle-aged man in debt to his son who gets criticized for the same things is very fitting. I don't recall seeing Kaisei being compared to his father, but he probably does that to himself. He doesn't want to become someone like his dad, but part of it might feel inevitable. Even when he's distanced himself from his dad, he's still carrying Issho's baggage.

That also got me thinking, how much of Kaisei's rakugo career were achievements he wanted to accomplish himself versus expectations Issho put on him. Kaisei used rakugo to escape from his dad's shadow, but that just put him in another layer of generational trauma. Now I think he's trying to use this iteration of shinigami to find himself and get away from Issho's business. Is he trying to get away though? Maybe not... I really want to see how different this shinigami is from his promotion test... Sensei please 🙏 show me to meeee

ALSO, his NAME!!! What a pleasure it is to see beautiful precious child Kaisei, or should I say HARU!!! I had to see the kanji and I was absolutely blown away. His surname 青梅 (Oume) means "young (green) plum blossom", I'm not making this up. I was going crazy when I saw that plum blossom was in his given name. And Haru is such a cute name, the kanji means "spring". The intention of him having resilience is so important because mom knew he was going to have a rough life, but she's doing her best, they're all doing their best 😭

The anime just had an episode about how Akane got her name, and now we're learning how Kaisei got his name 🥹 The timing is so perfect, they know exactly what they're doing I swear.

Akane's father inspired her to become a rakugoka and introduced her to rakugo, but his influence was so strong that, at one point, she wanted to become just like him, even at the cost of her own individuality.

On the other hand, Hikaru's mother never truly believed in her daughter. She didn't support Hikaru's dream of becoming a voice actress, just as she hadn't supported her acting career before that. As a result, Hikaru was driven more by anger and the desire to prove herself than by a genuine love for performing.

Karashi's dad taught him from a young age to always think strategically and make sure whatever he did would pay off. Because of that, Karashi tends to play it safe and avoid taking risks. The problem is that by always staying in his comfort zone, he struggles to grow and evolve, even when taking a chance and failing might help him improve .

And now we can see Issho's influence as a father figure. By placing him at the top of the new generation of rakugo performers and constantly pushing him toward that role, he ends up taking away some of his individuality. In a way, it's similar to Akane, who spent so long chasing her father's shadow that she started losing sight of herself.

But then there's his mother. She's the one who's always been by his side, looking after him. Her poem has a completely different kind of influence on him. Instead of telling him who he should be, she encourages him to follow his own path and reminds him that, no matter how difficult or winding that path may be, he'll eventually reach his destination.

Marinette when she saw that Chloe was back in town should have just been like

and immediately went back to bed because it's too early for this shit and Adrien was the one who confronts Chloe with Zoe and Sabrina,

I rewatched some season 2 and 3 episodes and Chloe is genuinely so broken I just wanna hug her 🥺😭 (and I forgot she managed to resist an akuma🤯!?!?)

The meaning of the flowers blew my MIND!!! I would not have connected the "Kai" from Kaisei's name to the plum blossoms on his kimono. Issho really thought things out when he gave Kaisei his name. "Kai" to make sure he and everyone knows he is number one, and "Sei" not only meaning "life", but the same kanji that was passed down from his master Kiroku. Kaisei has had a lot of expectations on him since the very beginning, and even though he is a genius, the pressure must still be immense.

On the other hand, before Akane was Arakawa Akane, she was Osaki Akane. The "O" which has the same kanji as the cherry blossom!!! I love how much meaning their namrs have, Suenaga-sensei really planned things out to a tee.

I feel like this line of lyrics represents the audience and rakugo world's expectations. They've already seen and recognized Kaisei's talents, "The plum has already bloomed." They are ready for something new and exciting, something that moves them through the seasons. "But when is it the sakura's turn?" This part phrased as a question still leaves some doubt. I have a feeling that Kaisei will be reminding them that the plum blossoms have not wilted yet, and it's still too soon to move on to the sakuras 👀

On another hand, I thought Kaichi was pretty cute and fun this chapter. He's going back and forth supporting both of his ani- and ane-deshi. He's great at keeping the atmosphere lighthearted.

The clear-eyed look on their faces when they KNOW they boutta give a generational performance 😼

It’s so different from this empty, somewhat exhausted gaze. They’ve grown so much as a result of challenging and pushing themselves to the limit.