Lady Moonlight

[Caption: When the class asked Suo what is his weakness, his fear, he answer “I’m scared of manju, I guess!”]

At this point, in the middle of Suo’s arc, we have analysed him in a lot of angles. We know, since he said this, that it was a lie. It’s a white lie, yes, but one that shows us how much Suo doesn’t want to be “acknowledged”. How much he hides from the rest of the school, intentions and reasons aside.

But, what if I tell you that, in a sense, he was saying the truth?

it wouldn’t be surprising, since we know for sure that he tends to tell the truth in strange ways (the line, paragraphing, “The journey doesn’t end until you get home”… now we know he traveled four hours a day to go to school and back).

So…, let’s talk about Suo’s fear of manju and what it really means.

The scene

In the unofficial translation, Suo says: “I’m scared of manju, I guess”.

And the characters react accordingly. Suge doesn’t get it, with a question mark bubble as his answer. We don’t get it either. It’s Kiryuu who gives a little insight. He, as a little comment, says: “That’s the title of a rakugo story”. For all the readers who don’t have deep literacy culture or for us, foreign readers, this is our biggest clue.

The unofficial translator of this chapter adds a note about Kiryuu’s comment: “Rakugo is a style of japanese comedic storytelling in which a single performer sits in front of a crowd and regales the audience with a lively and gripping story, playing all the parts themself. “Manju Kowai” (“Scared of Manju”) is a popular rakugo story about a group of boys talking about their fears”.

This translator`s comment… does it rings a bell?

What Rakugo really is?

Before talking about my ideas and analysis, I want to make a section about what it really is Rakugo and why this scene is so well made.

An article (which tumblr doesn’t let me link it) says:

“Rakugo is a traditional Japanese comic storytelling artform. A single performer sits on the stage and tells interesting stories that are sentimental or humorous”.

And…

“Rakugo is performed by a solo performer who sits at the center of the stage and tells hanashi (Rakugo stories). It is a very simple style of verbal performance, the story often consisting merely of conversations among the characters. The performer thus portrays numerous different characters by her/himself, expressing a variety of emotions and situations with skillful gestures. A hanashi (story) always ends with an ochi, or punch line”.

It goes along the same line as the translator`s comment, doesn’t it?

Of course, Rakugo has a structure, as any other way of storytelling.

- Makura: the warm-up

“Performers do not jump right into the story proper. Rather, it is customary for them to first engage in small talk or share anecdotes that tie into the main story. This is called makura (literally “pillow”)”.

- Hanashi: the main part

“The hanashi span a wide variety of plots. Some have extraordinarily unique characters. Others depict the love between a husband and a wife or among family members […]. Stories feature seasonal events such as the New Year or […] cherry blossom viewing. The length of the hanashi varies, some lasting only about ten minutes or so, while others continue for over one hour”.

- Ochi or Sa-ge: the punch line

“The ochi—a punch line delivered to bring the story to an end. There are various types of ochi—some include witty puns and others bring together hints provided earlier in the story”.

“Manju Kowai”: what is it about?

We should know what Suo is reffering to, don’t you think? Maybe, it has some similitudes with the manga, who knows?

As this web (article without link) says, “Manju Kowai” (“Scared of manju”) starts with five friends talking about what they like. Then the ring leader says, "Well, then, what don't you like?" One by one, they admit their fears: slugs, snakes… Until it’s the turn of the quiet one. He, avoiding eye contact and nervous, admits he is scared of manju. The group is surprised, since they cannot believe his friend is scared of a cake. The quiet one asks them to not make fun of him, since he knows it is a foolish fear.

Later, the other four decide to tease the quiet friend. They buy manju, find the quiet one and throw the manju at him. Expecting a big scene, they are surprised when, peeking inside, they find the friend eating the manju.

The leader of the group says: “You misled us. All right, tell us, what are you really scared of?" The quiet friend answers: “Right now, I think I'm really scared of some tart tea."

Suo and Rakugo: matching points

First of all, let’s compare the Rakugo and the manga scene.

Do you find it funny that Suo is performing the exact same plot as “Manju Kowai”? Am I the only one who considers it another one of his little pranks?

Okay, let’s continue.

The position: in this scene, Suo is sitting down in front of other people, as a rakugo performer. But it’s true at the start of the scene, he is not a performer, although I can not remember whether he participes in the conversation.

The action: they are having a conversation, the whole group. That’s the whole point of the Rakugo: to feel the performer and the audience is having a conversation. Although not a task Suo is doing, the objective of the Rakugo is being fulfilled during the scene.

The structure:

Makura: the warm up. Small talk or share anecdotes, as the quote said. Small talk about others fears, anecdotes about fears… Rings a bell?

Hanashi: the main part. Although we don’t engage in a story told by Suo, he is the main part. When they ask him what is his fear, everybody shuts up and listens. They want to know, they are waiting for the performance (although it would never happen).

Ochi: the punch line. “I guess I’m scared of manju”. What better punch line than that?

Behind scene: what we can conclude with these hints?

It’s obvious, even without knowing about Rakugo, that Suo doesn’t want to talk about himself.

But knowing about Rakugo and specifically, “Manju Kowai” gives us more insight about him.

With this, we know Suo is a person of culture (remember the only person who got what he was saying was Kiryuu, someone from a rich family). Although Rakugo is more or less famous in Japan, it’s still a traditional performance, something that young people may not interested in.

Performing the same story as the Rakugo is, as I said before, the clue that lets us know he is teasing his friends. (Something something, Suo and his love language is teasing his friends, something something). Also, a little note: Japanese people love words plays, words jokes, so it’s probably Japanese readers found it funny too.

Although not stating, this scene lets us know he is afraid of sharing his fears. Not even the original performance gives us a reason. But, since it was a topic imposed by the leader, a forced topic, Suo (and the quiet friend) was not comfortable sharing it without context or preparation.

Remember Suo’s dream is “emancipation of slaves”… so you can imagine how strange his fear could sound without context.

Aka Suo Hayato and how his blood type shapes his personality

Introduction

For years, when I looked at the wiki for different mangas , I noticed the characters always had their blood type. And I always praised mangakas for giving such niche and not seemingly irrelevant information, although interesting.

And recently, I’ve discovered that in Japan, asking for your blood type is like asking for your zodiacal sign. In Japan, there’s something called “血液型” (血：blood || 液：fluid || 型：type) (pronunciation: ketsu-eki-gata) and, although not a science, it’s a fun and interesting way of determining compatibility between people.

Character traits of Suo’s blood type

His blood type is AB, a very rare type in Japan.

So I’m going to quote some traits I found about people with AB blood.

“[…] those with type AB blood include rationality and adaptability, but their weaknesses are indecision, criticalness, and forgetfulness. This blood type is primarily viewed as having the characteristics of type A and type B individuals. Because this blood type is rare, the people who have it are highly valued in Japan”.

Source 1

“People who are AB[..] are said to have a mix of Type A and B traits. They are often seen as empathetic, calm, and rational, but can also be indecisive and difficult to read. Due to the rarity of AB type blood, and having a mixture of conflicting traits from the A and B groups, they are also said to be eccentric”.

Source 2

In this other article(which I cannot put the link and I don’t know why), they called the AB people “The Peculiar Dreamer”.

“These folks are hard to read, and many even say a bit odd—but that’s what gives them such a mysterious, cool vibe. Given that AB is the rarest blood type in Japan, it’s easy to dismiss them as eccentric or offbeat. […] AB people are outgoing yet shy, confident but hesitant, spiritual but also logical. While they can be quite sensitive, this allows them to be empathetic. They’re rational but have a hunger for knowledge and new experiences, so they don’t allow their realism to get in the way of chasing their dreams”.

Suo’s personality traits, according to his blood type

We can see that these articles are not far from the truth.

He is rational and adaptable, but I don’t think he is indecisive or forgetful. maybe, we can consider him a critical person, especially towards himself.

He is empathetic (the whole point about being an adult), calm and rational, and although not indecisive, Suo is difficult to read. We can even consider him an eccentric (in oposition of the rest of the cast) if we take into account his clothes (chinese clothes), his joke (foreshadowing) and little pranks.

He gives a mysterious and cool vibe. Suo is an outgoing person (he spent a lot of time with the class) and although I wouldn’t consider him shy, he doesn’t talk about himself. “Hesitant” is not a word I would use on him, but in the current arc (Suo’s arc), we see him debating between his freedom (Furin) and duty (RC). “Spiritual” is not the correct word for him, but I can understand the vibes: journey towards adulthood, martial arts spiritualism… Suo is, indeed, very logical (hello, bridge strategy). And he is, and I will fight against anyone who says otherwise, hungry for new experiencies. I’m convinced he has as little experience as a teen as Sakura does.

How the 血液型 affects the story (or manga, in general)?

[Caption: Sakura saying Suo cannot be sick because it’s said, in Japan, idiots cannot catch colds]

… but it doesn’t change the fact Sakura considers him an idiot.

Tumblr is like a sand box in which I don’t know what I’m going to find if I don’t use the tags. I have fanarts of Project Mary and Apothecary Diaries as I have posts about asexuality and suic*de prevention (and answers in support of that), and none of it are in my tags. But that’s fine, because I enjoy art and it makes my day knowing that people are finding validation and support in social media.

If we are not in a break, the chapter is this week, why nobody it’s excited to see our gang again? Is everybody dead after 217?? Maybe too busy still crying for watching Suo all alone?? (Me too, by the way)

If we are in a break, why I didn’t see anybody dying inside because of the waiting?

So… it’s safe to assume Ume is the leader of the student council and the Four Kings are part of the student council?

Ume knows EVERYBODY. It makes sense it would be him who would tell the class 1-1 that Suo left school.

By now, all of us know what going on with Suo’s name: in Furin it was read as “Hayato”, while in RC is read as “Sun Fei”. Japanese reading vs Chinese reading of the same kanjis.

“Everybody calls me that”.

Suo Hayato could have started as a “persona”, a mask, a character. Or it could have been a minor problem for him since in Bankoukugai it was easy to misread someone’s name, since there are a lot of languages living together.

But your name is important. It’s how everybody will recognize you. And when people say it wrong again and again, it could end up affecting you.

I had my surname misspelled my whole life, and it doesn’t affect me because all my family got used to it and for me it was always “normal” to see people writing it wrong or saying it wrong. But not my name. It is fairly easy to say it, to be fair. And still, living in a country completely different to mine, I had people who were close to me (foreigners as I am), saying it wrong day by day, even after I corrected them.

People saying wrong your name is a disrespect, in my opinion. Your name is part of yourself, as your hobbies, likes or dislikes. So, when people calls you by other word, they are calling a different person.

In Suo’s case, it could be intentionally or a minor problem, since he knew he couldn’t get attached to Furin. It could have been a way to protect himself as writing a fake address was. A fake name, a fake person. After all, “they aren’t anything”… right?

But we also know, thanks Nirei and analyst-fans, that Suo cared. He fought and protected, he taught, he spent time with the class, he joked… Even if he didn’t told his secrets to the whole class, he cared. And they cared about him, even if he doesn’t know or doesn’t want to admit it.

As someone who can speak three languages and can understand four, I can tell you talking in anything that is not you mother tongue or a language in which you spend a lot (and I mean a lot) of time talking, will limit the ideas you can express.

How can not talking in a language you are really comfortable can limit you? Not knowing enough grammar or enough vocabulary. After all, can you express a possibility if you don’t know words as “if”; can you express your opinion if you don’t know grammar as “in my opinion” or “I think…”. How can you talk about food if you don’t know that vocabulary nor there is anything to point so the other person can know what food you want to talk about; how can you talk about your hobbies, your worries or your desires if you don’t know enough words.

We know Suo’s mother tongue is Japanese, but in chapter 217 we see him talking in a bunch of other languages. Even at the end of the chapter, when he is talking with his kyodai (Rakta and Bacchus), he is talking in english. So, what if english is his “business language”? The common language, the language all people talk in RC. It wouldn’t be strange since RC is formed by different kind of people, that (as the people who Suo helped) may not speak Japanese. Of course, this is mostly untrue since it’s a Japanese manga in a country that looks like Japan, so RC will probably talk in Japanese.

But, let’s go back to Suo. We have seen him talk in Japanese only for half of the chapter. Switching between languages is not easy, specially if you try to only talk in that specific language and not mix words. That affects you, you know? I can tell you as someone who has been living for a while in a country which my mother tongue is no used and in which the language I have to use I’m not fluent as I am in english (or my own language). Not being able to express yourself comfortable, not being able to say everything that cross your mind without worries about grammar or vocabulary… it affects you. It stresses you.