My home, heaven and hell

Norman talks strategy during a training session with Suzuki and Aki. What is the "Curse of Fusako Yagami", and how can they lift it? Then, their coaching team finally becomes complete when Nino arrives to join them.

Full summary and highlight images under the cut.

This is mostly a set-up chapter with a lot of dance terms (kind of like #21 back in volume 4), but I'm happy that Inoue-sensei added enough fanservice for us to pay attention, lol. The shots of Suzuki taking his shirt off... Thank you... Upon more viewings people are also noticing the armpit hair and a second piercing (!!!) on Suzuki's left ear, which feels very bisexual. During pride month????? Inoue is trying to kill us! Now that he's no longer sulking and finally in a relationship with his man, his sex appeal is even more terrifying than before.

Norman is getting back to business by not screwing Suzuki and actually teaching the pair (not that he wasn't before). He's still in the process of making Suzuki and Aki unlearn the things they were taught by Sugiki, but old habits die hard. Norman tells Aki to forget the fact that Sugiki told her to move less than she would in Latin. My guess is that he's trying to draw out their own personal style instead of copying any single dancer (and break the "Curse of Yagami Fusako"). This might be more exciting in the future when they're competing in Standard dance where their Latin flair still comes through and surprises the floor? I wonder how Sugiki will feel about this, given that he is a jealous bitch, lol.

I'm also a huge fan of Aki's three pigtails, she's adorable! I could make a post about her various hairstyles through the years just because she's gone through a lot of styles. We also get a lore drop of Aki's first/Western name that we've never seen before -- Eida! Aki is already easy to pronounce but Eida is also a pretty name. I previously assumed that Aki is full Japanese who is likely a 2nd-gen immigrant, but the fact that she has a Western name makes me think otherwise, and that maybe her family has lived in Cuba for longer (we discussed this in the comments). It's interesting to compare to Suzuki, who has a Cuban mother but does not adopt a more "Western" name and stuck with just Shinya. I know Inoue has her backstory, please give it to us!

Nino finally arrives in Japan and the running gag of Aki fangirling too hard still gets me. She missed Nino and Fabio back in Blackpool, missed Alberto and Dolores, but now she's going to be coached by the Legendary Champion all of a sudden! Becoming a frozen owl seems like the appropriate response, haha. I love how she was so shocked she couldn't speak in either Spanish or Japanese properly anymore.

I really liked the dancing in this chapter, especially this shot, they look so cool! I know we will be shifting focus to Sugiki and Fusako next update, but I'm also dying to see Nino's coaching style and what advice he's going to give this pair. I hope the next update comes soon!

Some sketches

*puts a dandelion in your hair*

LETS GO, FROG NATION!!!

+ shikimori-san parody ft. masc! kashima

AHH DW ABOUT THE RAMBLE!!! I do completely understand where you're coming from and it would be ignorant of me to ignore my own bias when it comes to this topic, cause I’m always going to want Nirei to get attention.

I think the most important thing to remember right now is we are only about 10 chapters into this arc. It makes sense for the primary focus to be Sakura at the moment, because with him being the protagonist, the story is incapable of progressing without him getting out there and leading the pack. However I do have full faith in Nii-sensei.

We had a LOT of Nirei focus for 3-4 chapters, 2 of those chapters didn't even include Sakura. That is already a pretty decent amount for the character who could be considered the deuteragonist (although some may argue that's Suo or Ume)

My personal theory is that, with Sakura being so wrapped up in his own head over Suo, any signs that Nirei isn't doing well may be missed by him, and by extension, the audience if we follow his POV from now on. It's also been established that Nirei has low self confidence and puts others before himself (esp when he threatened to fight Endo, even though that would obviously not end well.) I think that aspect of his character still has room to be explored, and with Nii-sensei stating that this will be a trio heavy arc, I could see him dipping into that.

It has been established that Suo was very attentive to Nirei, both before but especially after the KEEL incident, therefore I think Nirei will get another big, emotional moment, be it a crashout, getting sick, or however his built up stress manifests, once Suo is back home safe, or the situation is at least resolved.

That, of course, is based on absolutely nothing. However, I feel we are long due a Nirei arc that further delves into his experiences in middle school, and possibly even before then depending on how long he was suffering from bullying. Finishing the Suo arc with him being the one to confront Nirei about his bad habit of bottling things up could be a good segue into that.

I think i ended up rambling a bit too, haha.

Thank you for sending me this ask, feels really validating when people ask for my opinion on Nirei. I try really hard to not mischaracterise him, but when I can so easily project my teenage experience onto him, I'm aware I probably say things that don't align with canon. Regardless, this was a nice ask to receive, and I appreciate your wording. I don't know if you're a twitter user, but some foul things were being said about both the characters and the author this past week, so for you to articulate how you feel so clearly is refreshing.

It’s totally fine to be disappointed that Nirei’s reactions aren’t being focused on anymore.

BUT let’s not forget that Nirei has had several chapters focused on his emotions regarding this whole situation. We’ve literally seen him screaming and crying and pleading. We’ve also seen how upset he was when his classmates assumed Suo really never did care for them. Nirei saw Suo’s suffering first-hand and already decided that he wants to help Suo whether Suo likes it or not. And Nirei’s determination isn’t something to be swayed, as we’ve seen in previous chapters where he’s been more than willing to directly face fights that he’s unlikely to win. He’s not weak, and he’s not the type to crumble completely under pressure.

It also has been weeks since his confrontation with Suo and that’s plenty of time to come to terms with his emotions. Don’t underestimate him by thinking that some new piece of information is going to erase his memory of seeing his friend suffering nor change his mind about tracking Suo down for answers.

I’m sure Nirei is still hurting, but his determination is stronger than his desire to give up when things get tough.

Howdy, I'm Goo and I'll be hosting this event if there's enough interest to merit running it <3 Please take a moment to answer the interest form (https://forms.gle/KpE8TwXfxWVZhmqM8) and visit the Carrd page (under construction)!