#aquakane

But existing alongside it is another prominent fantasy that is rarely subjected to an unfair level of scrutiny simply because it is more socially acceptable: the fantasy of an unproblematic and good guy - the eternally green flag - who won't give you any drama or trouble and who is non threatening, who offers stability and, most importantly, represents security and safety. And honestly, this is understandable because many women are conditioned since an early age that they are to avoid danger and risks at all costs. Protecting them, at times unintentionally, becomes an excuse to keep them confined within the walls of their household. The promise of safety becomes the cage and comfort its furnishings. Yet, even that cage doesn't make women less vulnerable to harm.

This is why fiction matters because it is one realm where there is room for every kind of fantasy. Here, women can be safe and protected till the end of their days. Simultaneously, they can also partake in dangerous relationships and situations and end up victorious. Yet, it is the latter that gets subjected to derision, judgment and policing while the former is not only left unchecked but is arbitrarily imposed on every story.

There is an expectation placed on fictional female characters across genres, and irrespective of background and personality, to stick to safe and 'vetted' relationships, if they are to have a romance at all. In a dark and messed up dynamic with a male character, their only identity can be that of a victim and everything else must cease to exist. It is also expected from creators and audience to not 'romanticize' the said dynamic. It shackles these characters and strips them off their individuality. It turns them into one homogenous symbol and restricts their potential for complexity. Worse is when real women who write and enjoy such stories are punished in a bid to 'protect' the fictional woman who doesn't need their protection in the first place. It is tiresome.

How language reveals what Aqua really feels in Oshi no Ko

In Oshi no Ko, words are never neutral. Every verb, every subtle word choice functions as emotional evidence.

The relationships between Aka Akasaka's characters are built not only through scenes but through linguistic precision. What words are chosen, and which are avoided, tell us everything about how genuine — or distorted — these emotions are.

I. Irekomu (入れ込む): Obsession, not love

Let’s start with Chapter 83 — the quiet prologue to a bigger misunderstanding.

Here, Mem comments that Aqua is “obsessed” with Kana.

In the original Japanese, she uses the verb 入れ込む (irekomu), a term that carries connotations of fixation or fan-like obsession, not romance. It’s the word you’d use for someone who throws themselves too deeply into a hobby, a cause, a role, or — tellingly — an idol. That choice is intentional.

Mem doesn’t say suki (to like) or koi suru (to love). She says irekomu, and by doing so, Aka tells us exactly what Aqua’s fixation really is: a projection of his guilt.

And it’s not just a coincidence. This scene directly mirrors Aqua’s trauma surrounding Ai’s death.

Even though Mem is talking about Kana, Aqua’s internal thoughts immediately drift to Ai — the person he couldn’t protect.

Even the anime adaptation intensifies the connection, showing a symbolic image of Kana dying just like Ai.

Through this, Aka subtly tells us what the dialogue never states outright: Aqua’s “intensity” toward Kana isn’t born of love — it’s born of fear. He’s not in love with her, he’s terrified of her meeting the same fate as Ai.

That’s why the scene with Mem matters so much. It sets the stage — showing us that whatever “interest” others might perceive between Aqua and Kana is, in truth, the echo of his trauma, not a romantic spark.

Mem´s misinterpretation sets the stage for Akane’s later misunderstanding—and for us to see how language becomes the mechanism of that confusion.

II. Hikareru (惹かれる): The understandable mistake

Chapter 87 continues this theme of misunderstanding, this time through Akane’s words.

While reflecting on Aqua’s behavior, she says he was “attracted” to Kana.

In Japanese, the word she uses is: 惹かれる (hikareru).

Again, Akasaka chooses his words with surgical precision. Hikareru doesn’t mean love. It’s often used to express admiration, curiosity, or unconscious fascination. It’s the language of interest, not intimacy.

The author’s decision to have Akane use this word is critical.

Akane — usually the most perceptive character — is reading Aqua’s behavior, but without all the information. Because she doesn’t know what we know: that Aqua’s fixation stems from his guilt, from the fact that he was the one who encouraged Kana to enter the idol world.

Therefore, her conclusion, while logical, is incomplete. She correctly senses Aqua’s emotional intensity — but she mistakes its cause.

Some fans forget that even Akane — the one who understands Aqua most — isn’t omniscient. She’s not a narrator with divine knowledge; and she is not immune to being wrong when she doesn’t have the full picture. The story has shown us repeatedly that Akane needs to investigate and analyze before reaching the truth — it’s her method, her defining trait.

Without the full context, what she perceives as romantic interest towards Kana is really Aqua’s buried trauma manifesting through guilt and a distorted sense of responsibility .

This is a deliberate narrative move. Akasaka wants us to witness how even Akane, who “sees through” people, can misread Aqua when her information is partial.

And here is the thing: he (Aka) intentionally makes the misinterpretation visible through language.

Just like with Mem, Aka doesn’t have Akane say “好き” (suki) or “恋している” (koishiteiru, to be in love). He makes her say hikareru — a term that perfectly captures the illusion of love, not the thing itself.

And because we’ve already seen irekomu earlier (Mem’s “obsession”), the manga gently tells us:

What Akane misreads as attraction, the audience already knows as trauma.

It’s one of many examples of narrative foreshadowing through linguistic nuance.

III. Tanoshii (楽しい): Momentary joy

By Chapter 146, Aqua himself gives us another piece of the puzzle of his heart. When speaking of Kana, he says that being with her is tanoshii — “fun.”

It’s a charming line, and many readers (and Kana) took it as a hint of romance.

But semantically, tanoshii carries lightness. It implies enjoyment, amusement, or temporary relief. It is never used for profound emotional content — only for immediate, surface-level joy.

Compare this to 幸せ (shiawase), which is what Kana herself uses in Chapter 148 when she says that Aqua is “happiest” with Akane.

That’s the emotional contrast made literal: Kana gives Aqua tanoshii — momentary relief. Akane gives him shiawase — genuine happiness.

And we can't forget that Aqua himself once used that same concept when speaking of his time with Akane (Chapter 98).

When he recalls his days with Akane, he refers to those as “happy days” — shiawase na hibi.

This word choice is also deliberate. Shiawase (幸せ) represents genuine happiness, a state of fulfillment and stability rather than passing joy.

So when he tells Kana that being with her is tanoshii, the difference is striking: what he feels with Akane are happy days; what he feels with Kana are fun moments.

The gap between those two sensations — tanoshii and shiawase — is the entire emotional distance between escapism and acceptance.

The difference isn’t subtle. It’s intentional. And proof that Aka Akasaka constructs emotional hierarchies through word choice.

IV. Tebanashitakunai (手放したくない): The language of conscious love

In contrast, Aqua’s language toward Akane belongs to a different emotional register.

In Chapter 97, he uses 手放したくない (tebanashitakunai) — literally “I don’t want to let go.”

This phrase expresses not fleeting enjoyment (tanoshii), not obsession (irekomu), but intentional emotional attachment. It conveys a conscious choice to hold on to something meaningful.

Unlike his reactive, guilt-driven responses around Kana, here Aqua articulates agency and recognition: Akane represents a relationship he wanted to preserve (even though he didn't in the end, choosing revenge over everything, and ended up regretting it).

Aqua’s bond with Akane is thus distinguished by intent. With her, he experiences the possibility of stability and the chance to be happy — not because she mirrors his trauma or can forget about it while being with her, but because she sees it and accepts it.

And that’s why Akane’s presence in Aqua’s life holds such a distinct tone — linguistically and narratively. She represents the first relationship in which Aqua is not trying to rewrite his past, but to exist within his present.

V. The hierarchy of emotion through words

By examining the japanese words that frame Aqua’s relationships, a clear emotional hierarchy emerges:

It’s not just vocabulary — it’s emotional architecture.

Each word represents a layer of how the author wants us to feel the difference.

VI. What remains unspoken

What makes all of this fascinating is that none of these distinctions are accidental. Akasaka uses language as emotional architecture — each verb and adjective carrying the weight of narrative truth.

By denying Aqua and Kana the language of suki (love), he refuses to give that relationship the foundation of romance, just its illusion.

By granting Aqua and Akane the vocabulary of attachment and happiness, he defines their bond as something deeper, lived, and mutual.

Even Akane’s misunderstanding serves a structural role: it reinforces how language itself becomes a test of perception.

Mem and Akane both interpret Aqua’s feelings through imperfect words. While Aqua himself has established a hierarchy of what he feels, thinks, and says about Kana and Akane. And through those words, the author communicates directly with the reader.

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

"Aqua only dated Akane to use her."

"Aqua wasn't even romantically attracted to Akane. She meant a lot to him, but he just didn't see her with romantic interest."

"The one Aqua truly and only loved was Kana."

"Kana represents Aqua's chance for a normal life. Akane only enables him."

"Aqua and Akane is a toxic ship."

...sure

Funny, why does he look so happy? He should be in revenge mode!

Funny how Akane, and the moment he chose to date Akane for real, just magically appears when literal god is telling Aqua he is "interested in romance like everyone else.

Also funny how, while Akane is assigned to "obligation", Aqua repeats her exact words which she used to describe their relationship and says he wants to build an equal relation with her.

But damn, the Aquakana vs Aquakane situation is way worse than I had imagined.

Can we all please take a deep breath, accept the fact that love has many forms, that Kana and Akane are two polar opposites and so the relationship Aqua has with either of them is just a way to show the reader different kinds of love?