The Kaguya-sama Tarot Card Project

by Ocana

Comments:

Un'yo is an interesting character, not quite evil but far from good, so he fits well with the symbolism of The Tower.

Originally there was a more literal ruined tower in the image, but the artist chose to go in a different way and I realized it fit what I was aiming for. The Tower more clearly than a lot of the other cards represents a specific event: a sudden catastrophe. The idea was, the ruined tower represented the catastrophe of his betrayal by his former servant, Hayasaka's mother, leaving him unable to trust others. But in this image, Un'yo himself is the ruined tower, and the portrait of Nao is the after-image of the lightning strike that felled him.

by Scrubzart

Comments:

For reasons I can't get into, I decided to commission a new version of Fujiwara as The Fool.

Fujiwara's free spirit makes her a good fit for the wandering Fool who sets off on a journey.

She also enjoys travel, but a modern wanderer would use a plane, of course.

by Ar

Comments:

I thought the Principal would make a good Hermit since he is always wandering around the school like the wandering hermit of the Rider-Waite deck.

The Hermit's lantern can be thought of as a guiding light that subtly leads others to where they need to be, in the same way the Principal tries to guide Prez on the path to being able to help Kaguya.

by Hamlock

Comments:

I wish I could have some deeper reason for having placed Shiranui on this card, but it seems she might not get the level of development I had originally been hoping for since the manga is wrapping up. So it boils down to, "She is an idol, and 'star' is a synonym for idol."

She's supposed to be a magical girl with a rifle from Apex called Hemlok according to the artist.

by Dyscomm

Comments:

I thought Onodera would be a good fit for the Temperance card given her desire to find a more open-minded approach to life after spreading rumors about Ishigami and Iino. Experience has refined her spirit to something purer like a chemical reaction.

I also wanted to invoke how her delicate approach to influencing Ishigami and Iino to understand their feelings was like the careful work of a chemist rather than the more straightforward approach of Osaragi to influencing Ishigami's love life.

by Choripan

Comments:

The Ship card is taken from the Tarocco Siciliano where it replaces The Devil at 14. It seems to derive from the Water card of the Minchiate deck, and was brought in because the Devil card was seen as too crude and evocative of lower class superstition for the deck's original commissioner, Rosalia Caccamo, the Duchess of Casteldaci.

I thought Maki-senhai's madcap attitude to life was fitting for a card symbolizing a life at sea.

The dice are from her membership with Fujiwara in the Table Top Gaming Club, and for the scissors, see chapter 125.

by Parkiranhonda

Comments:

Kei saving the little girl from falling and giving up her newly bought handkerchief in chapter 52 made me think she would be a good fit for this card.

The lion from the original card, however, is a bit over the top for the tone I was going for, so I thought playing with some cats would make a slightly more grounded substitute.

by 夕凪 (Yuunagi)

Comments:

Here we have Kashiwagi and Tsubasa as Romeo and Juliet. I suppose Maki might be taking the place of the angel from the Rider-Waite deck or the priest from the Tarot of Marseilles.

I decided to have them switch genders with their corresponding Shakespearean character mostly because I thought it would be funny.

There is also an element in the way Kashiwagi plays the masculine role in their relationship and Tsubasa the feminine, a bit of a reversal from the kabedon that brought them together.

One thing I don't want to convey is the idea that this is meant to emasculate or ridicule Tsubasa. He is a likable character, and the fact that he usually lets Kashiwagi take the lead in their day to day interactions isn't a mark against him.

I see these asked a lot on the Discord, /a/, and Reddit, so I'll answer some of them here. These will be periodically updated as more cards are added or people have new questions that I feel like answering.

Why isn't Papagane The World?

My first impulse was indeed to have him as The World, especially given the way that even the anime has made allusions to Dio with regard to Papa. But just the connection of Takehito Koyasu isn't enough for the character to fit The World. The Hierophant feels like it better fit given his tendency to act as a mentor or dispenser of advice to the main cast, not to mention his role as a (fake) mystic, seeing as the Hierophant serves as the bridge between the divine and the mortal world.

Why is Kaguya The Empress instead of The Moon?

by JacktheFridge

Comments:

In this reimagining of the Tale of Bamboo Cutter story, Otomo no Miyuki confronts the dragon rather than running away.

In my mind, in this he already has the Jewel from the Dragon's Throat and is being chased down, similar to Prez's own situation in the story.

Since I based Empress Kaguya in part on Queen Elizabeth I, I thought it was only fitting that I gave Prez a Royal Navy theme.

by lunectar

Comments:

The Moon card is associated with mystery and even deception, which makes Osaragi, whose nature it is to hide her deeper self, an excellent fit.

by Aki

Comments:

Hayasaka is based on the Envoy of the Moon People from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter who comes to take back Kaguyahime. Hence, I made her an alien invader, playing on the concept of an angel descending from heaven to deliver the last judgment.

The feathers are from the Heavenly Robe of Feathers the envoy places on Kaguyahime, which makes her forget all her emotional attachment to our world.  You can see a similar feather on the cover of volume 19.

by Ninokishu

Comments:

Mostly I wanted Erika to be next to Karen. But to me The Magician represents hidden strenghth and determination hidden behind a seemingly weak or frivolous nature, so it was a good fit.

by Narucchi

Comments:

Given her religious relevrence for KaguPrez, Karen was an obvious choice for The High Priestess.

by Bennopi

Comments:

Tsubame is the light that brightens everyone around her without discrimination, like the sun.

To Ishigami, she is “a flower that blooms in the summer”, like the sunflower.

The symbol between the words “The” and “Sun” is the Egyptian hieroglyphic for sun.

For newcomers to the series, yes, Tsubame’s hair is pink, as seen on the volume 14 cover and in the anime. Or at least pink is as close to a canon color as we are likely to get.

by Theri

Comments:

The Devil symbolizes bondage and the extremes of desire. Needless to say, Moeha fits like a glove.

The idea behind her yo-yo is taken from chapter 126 where Prez demonstrates his skill with the toy. I can imagine Moeha as the sort of her who might imitate her crush, so the idea of her learning a few tricks seemed plausible.

The Devil’s minions from the original cards are represented by the Kei face on the yo-yo and the Prez face on her bracelet