#aquaka

Loving someone so much you would never take them to hell with you: Aqua

I'll wait until they're done covering their mini arc to post my overall thoughts about it, especially since they're switching things around for reasons unknown.

There was one thing that had me like this though

(Just in case: this post contains manga spoilers!)

Akane's observation on the top-left right here:

"Meeting Kamiki reeled in [Ai's] self-destructive urges."

Granted, what Akane doesn't know is that it worked the same way for Kamiki and that meeting Ai is what reeled his destructive urges, period. But I digress!

I felt like that inclusion is meant to serve as commentary for what we witness in regards to Aqua and Akane during this set of episodes. Aqua knows that if he goes down the path of revenge, all that awaits for him is self-destruction.

What stands between him and those self-destructive urges is his genuine desire to be happy, and Akane is the person who has come to embody that happiness for him.

So just like meeting Kamiki 'reeled in Ai's self-destructive urges', being with Akane has reeled-in Aqua's.

Another reason I really dug the inclusion of that line is that by subtly inviting anime-onlies to draw a comparison between Kamiki and Ai and Aqua and Akane, it also invites us manga readers to compare what we know about KamiAi's relationship to what Akane tells Aqua here:

The kind of relationship Akane would like to avoid having with Aqua is precisely the kind of relationship Ai had with Kamiki.

Sadly, we know that Akane's gamble doesn't pay off, but I still really liked that the anime pretty much referenced the way KamiAi/AquAka parallel each other.

Funnily enough, this is the second time they have pulled something like this. Though last time it was just an easter-egg lol

I commissioned Aquakane and the artist allowed me to repost it with credit ofc 💙

As an aroace person I really love how oshi no ko explores the concept of love in such complexity

Spoilers from the manga below

you came in the time because I have a new one today ✨

@saifuckr ‘s tags on the Akane gif set just swirling around in my brain like toilet water tbh.