#akezu

Mizemi cosplay by r/morpheeva on Reddit!!! LOOK AT THIS!!

Yeah, I definitively can imagine Akemi having a one-sided crush on Mizu, or even falling really deep for Mizu. Actually, I think we’ve already seen glimpses of this in season one.  (For the full context of this post, check also Part 1 and Part 2).

We are the audience of the show, so we KNOW that Mizu is not a biological man. And because of that it’s sometimes easy to forget that Akemi is NOT aware of this fact. If we analyze certain episodes from her point of view, one thing becomes clear:

Akemi feels that she absolutely cannot be herself in front of men. Whenever she lets her true feelings take over, it ends with a disaster. Like when she cries in front of her dad and she doesn’t accomplish anything – she just looks pathetic to him. He just leaves her alone to weep.

Sooo, she lives most of her life by manipulating men to get what she wants. Her father, Goro, Watari the Walrus...

Even with Taigen, the man she CHOSE herself, she has to resort to using her female tactics. Because when she tells him “you still have me”, “please, we’re about to be married”, he doesn’t listen. Even in front of Taigen, Akemi has to ACT, to feed his ego, to somehow gain control over him. Being herself is not enough.

At the beginning of the show there is only ONE man Akemi doesn’t try to control, because she knows she can be fully herself with him and they can openly talk about her emotions.

The only man who ISN'T a tyrant. And that's...

Seki. Her mentor, her "mother", her rock (Seki literally means "rock" in Japanese).

I think we can safely assume Akemi has NEVER met a man like Seki – someone who would see her as a person, not just woman, someone who would allow her to be herself and who would try to understand her point of view. She’s never met a man like that except her mentor. Until…

Try to imagine what is she thinking in this situation.

By some incredible luck she finds her fiancé’s rival and follows him to the brothel. Natural thing for her to assume is that he has to be similar to other man, because – duh! – he visits the brothels. But when she’s inside the brothel she learns something new – apparently he is not like others, because he “turned down every girl” from Madame Kaji’s lot.

Akemi has her moment with Watari the Walrus and she feels empowered by that. She assumes her usual female tactics would be enough to lower the Demon’s guard and make him drink the drugged sake. But then…

Akemi talks to the Demon and realizes he is not just another man who would fall for her usual tricks. Then the Demon talks about Taigen and Akemi loses her temper. Remember the last time she did it? It was with her dad and it ended in him throwing a tantrum, like a child.

But the Demon just expertly pacifies Akemi, while remaining calm in the process.

Akemi starts crying, but the Demon doesn’t ignore it like Daiichi, just asks Akemi to “shut up” and explains that he didn’t actually kill Taigen.

And he talks about Akemi’s situation in the same unnerving way Seki would do it. But that’s not all.

Akemi does all she can to rile up the Demon, but he just… lets her go. I think in that moment she starts to understand he might be another precious man like Seki.

But it’s STILL not all. After that, the Demon… Mizu saves Akemi’s life and defeats the whole Thousand Claw Army like a total BOSS!

Who wouldn't take THIS hottie's hand?

That’s definitively enough to develop a crush towards him. And I have a hunch that it actually happens here. That Akemi is in awe of Mizu and starts to see “him” as her knight in a shiny armor. That’s why she fully expects “him” to defend her from her father’s man.  

Not some stupid monster who defeated her fiance by some luck, but a total badass, with godlike fighting abilities and resistance to the women's charms. Not exactly what she has expected XD

That’s why she is so upset when Mizu doesn’t help her. Because it’s so personal. She discovers this extraordinary man and he refuses to defend her. She is angry at Mizu to the point of being cold to him, even after Mizu saves her and Seki in episode eight.

After that episode she has her mind set on this: her foster parent, Seki is the only decent man and she wants to live with him. Only after he dies she decides to follow her ambition.

Soo, we can definitively see there ARE legit reasons for Akemi to fall for Mizu. Or, to be more exact, there WERE legit reasons for this, because they seem ruined after season one. Cause Akemi is bratty and selfish.

That’s why this “wonderful” Love Triangle the creators are trying to hint is so difficult to image for me!

But if it really IS to happen, then I see only one way for it – one-sided crush from Akemi’s side and Taigen with Mizu as an endgame.

And it is possible. I truly believe it is. But only in certain circumstances.

1# Akemi falling for Mizu needs to LEAD SOMEWHERE

It cannot exist just for the sake of existing. It needs to be beneficial for the plot, that is to MIZU’S character development AND to Akemi’s character development (possibly also to Taimizu’s relationship development). And it CAN.   

First of all, it would be incredibly FUNNY, because Akemi doesn’t know Mizu is a woman, so all conversations the two of them could have about women’s roles, women’s rights and women in general would be REALLY interesting to watch. Not to mention, all situations involving undressing, treating wounds, hairstyles… it would be really cool!

Also, Akemi falling for Mizu could inspire some healthy jealousy from Taigen. Imagine this: you are Taigen, and you’ve just come to terms with the fact, that MAYBE, almost certainly have strong romantic feelings for your rival turned friend… only to find out, than NOW you have a love rival, who is no other than your sexy former fiancé. It would be hilarious, especially if Mizu assumed that Taigen is angry because he wants AKEMI back not her. It could lead to a lot of interesting misunderstandings.

But, the most important fact would be, that Mizu could finally gain some confidence in her looks and personality (nice change for her constant self-hate), if she realized that she somehow managed to become attractive to the walking definition of femininity. She would get even MORE of that if Taigen indeed got jealous.

As for Akemi, getting close to Mizu would have practical benefits for her, because she could learn how to fight. That’s something I REALLY want to see and I hope it will happen, regardless of the Love Triangle (or lack of it). Also, Akemi could hear Mizu’s backstory and realize that perhaps her own struggles were not really THAT bad and it’s time to consider other’s feelings too, not just the tip of her own nose (she’s already started doing that, when she hired the prostitutes).

Anyway, I have this beautiful image in my head of Mizu teaching both Ringo and Akemi and each of them giving her a huge headache. And I’d LOVE to see Akemi with the naginata!

2# For Akemi to fall for Mizu (not just become her friend), Mizu and Akemi need enough time together in right circumstances.

Now, if the creators want the Akemizu KISS to happen in season two, I see only one option:

Akemi needs to go to London, because… yeah, logically, she cannot fall for Mizu if she’s apart from her. And I can see only one option for her to end up in London.

She would have to be kidnapped (or betrayed by someone in the shogun’s castle) and shipped to England to become another one of Routley/Skeffington’s sex worker. Perhaps not immediately – perhaps it could happen in episode two or three. But it is possible with the right plot.

I have a strong suspicious that Lady Itouh and Akemi will disagree about the foreigners in Japan. We know that Lady Itouh is strongly against it, but Akemi – with whole her history with Mizu and general curiosity about the world – might have a completely different opinion on the subject. This could lead to a power struggle. Perhaps Lady Itouh would become so p*ssed with Akemi, she would want to get rid of her in more sadistic way than Takeyoshi’s first wife (“if you like white devils so much, go and fuck them” – this kind of vibe?). OR Akemi could save some nice foreigner (mysterious “poet” voiced by Freddie Fox?) and she could later be betrayed by him. Anyway, the possibility exists.

If Akemi landed in England, there would plenty of drama, because Mizu will have to become her knight in shiny armor (again). And I can’t say I’m against that. Yeah, I could totally buy this kind of plot. Imagine this conversation:

Mizu: Stop making demands after I saved you, I need to get my revenge!

Akemi: FUCK your revenge! I need to go to Edo to get back at those fuckers, so take me there NOW!!!

And IF the creators really wanted another Yentl reference, they could create a situation in which Akemi needs to pretend to be Mizu’s wife for safety reasons. Oh, that would be VERY good! It could start in London and continue in Japan, because – don’t forget, folks! – women CANNOT travel without a chaperone. Imagine tons of shit Ringo and Taigen would have to deal with.

Because yeah, Ringo also needs to go to London. When you think of it, all of them need to go to London, so the relationships in their cute group could grow and so that they could continue to be Team Avatar Blue Eye Samurai.

3# Creators were joking/lying about the Love Triangle, changed their minds, decided to move it into season three

The interview happened in 2023, when they only had a sketch of their own plot, and they probably had no idea how many episodes they will end up making. Sooo, there is a possibility, that in 2023 they still believed they will do the season that will cover Mizu’s stay in London AND her return to Japan, but then they decided to make the whole season about London. In this case Akemi won’t go to London and the Triangle will happen in season three. Or it won’t happen at all. Like I’ve said: I don’t believe we need it.       

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Found this gem on YouTube by akezu, decided to voice for fun, I do not have proper equipment. :3 sorry if audio is not audioing lol

Here's the original btw... Go watch and support em' https://youtu.be/N8xpAZJp0fU?si=B6_TqAzNKQyfEQeo

Series by Noristrun