Ishi's Blog!

a lot of people are seeming pretty hesitant to use the word "grooming" for what sakaki is doing to tsukasa and by proxy the rest of wxs but yes. it is very much so grooming. grooming is not always sexual. it's child manipulation and exploitation in all of it's forms. it happens every single day in every single industry.

sakaki is exploiting the early childhood trauma that tsukasa has never formally addressed in himself and manipulating tsukasa into hurting himself (and potentially others, given the intensely violent nature of the thoughts he's putting into tsukasa's head about murdering his family as revenge for them neglecting him as a child) to become what he believes is an actor that people would want to see on stage.

sakaki exploits rui's admiration for and submission to authority by manipulating his priority of tsukasa's dreams and progress. rui and tsukasa's pact to always challenge the other to do better is something that can easily be taken down a dark path when that knowledge is put into the hands of a predator like sakaki.

YES, SAKAKI IS A PREDATOR. he preys on children who are training for their careers and don't know all of the ins and outs of the field they'll be entering, children who are dedicated and passionate above all else and will very obviously do anything to achieve their dreams.

he is grooming them into being the actors HE wants them to be, no matter what harm may come their way. they aren't people to him, they're pawns for him to use to achieve his goal.

this is a very real and prevalent issue in the world of film, music, etc. especially today. i think the light that this event is shining and the story colopale is trying to tell is beautiful and extremely important. while i still stand my ground on the idea that many previous events for tsukasa did fall flat/come off as "angstbait" with the way they were released, i will say that i stand corrected about the nature of his story as a whole.

i was very convinced tsukasa would be the punching bag who never got any real growth because they had no idea what to do with him. however, looking back on his entire story thusfar with this new addition to his life, i think it was set up beautifully. i had complained about his (and kanade's) unhealthy cycles never being truly addressed, and feeling like they were never going to actually do anything about it. i wish i had been more patient with him, because this gives me hope for kanade as well.

this is exactly the progression that his character needed, and it's a very relevant and crucial story to tell. child actors are exploited. child actors are abused. child actors are groomed. we get a huge exposing moment with documentaries about the horrors when it's over, but nobody steps in as it's happening. i really hope this story can show that we CAN stop it if we teach children, especially any CHILDREN WITH JOBS OF ANY KIND, to protect themselves, their rights, their autonomy, and their peers.

thank you sega and colopale for this beautiful story and handling it perfectly for a CHILDREN'S game.