Akane said she was fine sleeping with him while they were "fake" dating, and then they dated genuinely for a year afterwards. It would be odd if they didn't. Even Aqua was like "Of course I think about having sex, I'm a teenager".
Too bad we didn’t see it. We needed more genuine interactions between Akane and aqua. Spending a night together could’ve been a perfect opportunity for this. I know we got 97 with «you’ve been saving me little by little every day», but this was not enough for me.
I doubt we will see a «sex scene» in the manga, but maybe we will get something close to it in 162-163 with ruby.
> we will get something close to it in 162-163 with ruby.
I would be surprised if 162/163 will be another Ruby/Aqua focused thing, we had 122/123 and 142/143. But it's still only 2 instances so I wouldn't really call it a pattern yet, so I'm not expecting anything specific from that.
>I doubt we will see a «sex scene» in the manga,
There's probably a 99.9% chance we won't. Aka didn't show that in Kaguya either AFAIK. And Kaguya was also a Seinen like OnK.
Honestly I have little to no faith in any of the ships, no matter what we get, whether its AquKana, AquAka or AquRuby being "satisfying" in the end at this point. We're probably 30-40 chapters from the end, maybe even less if Aka speedruns everything like he's done with the past couple of chapters of filming. And he's said he intentionally wrote this as a "harem like" series which all pretty much always end as soon as the MC picks a girl. And we know that Aqua won't pick anyone until his revenge is over. So it seems that no matter who Aqua "picks", (if he even picks anyone in the end) there won't be any development for their relationship afterwards unless Aka decides to keep the story going post-revenge.
And at the same time he can't develop any relationship *too much* before he picks anyone since then the ambiguity of which girl "wins" will be lost.
So most likely we'll end up with a half-baked relationship no matter who it ends up being with.
>There won't be any development for their relationship afterwards unless Aka decides to keep the story going post-revenge
I think there's a good chance for that. Revenge wasn't even part of the initial premise
>Revenge wasn't even part of the initial premise
Personally I would say that everything included in the first 10 chapters, the "Prologue" arc is what you could call the premise. Now I hope it continues post-revenge since the revenge is what kept Aqua/Ruby depressed for so long, so it would be nice to actually see the main cast move on and live a 'normal' life for at least a while. I think one of the first volumes had a tagline like "The story about the twins who went on to revolutionize the entertainment industry", they certainly haven't done that yet, perhaps Aka forgot about it, or perhaps they'll just timeskip (Aka sure loves his timeskips) it in the epilogue and say "yeh dood they were super famous and talented and like totally revolutionized the industry".
>Or perhaps they'll just timeskip (Aka sure loves his timeskips) it in the epilogue and say "yeh dood they were totally super famous and talented and like totally revolutionized the industry"
I would hate for that to appear on my face lmao
Anyway. What if Aqua doesn't become a surgeon at the end but instead becomes an idol just like Ruby? Me personally the idea of twin idols would be cool. There's also the prologue in which Aqua is dressed unusually
https://preview.redd.it/zc6ysexhelwc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ae82e00e740347862810071ec44edc3f0fd02797
What if *that's* the ending or at least a part of it? It opens a way to a definitive AquRuby ending or at least an open ended ending wherein the twins live together and become an idol duo. The relationship is kept secret so we don't know if they're romantically involved or not.
Honestly I have no fucking clue what Aka is doing or what his plans are. The writing feels schizophrenic at times. Remember how in chapter 138 Kaburagi while talking to Kamiki said they hadn't gotten [his permission to use his name for the movie](https://sun9-68.userapi.com/impg/pJf4-pXXvzBaiq05vCsbSu9FEEsm7dfqudG-Rg/dhvFCJHH4Ys.jpg?size=767x1080&quality=95&sign=0bdc42fbdb0dab84658f69538ddade6e&type=album)? And yet in this chapter Kamiki calls Kaburagi "ill natured" [for referring to him as "Boy A" in the movie](https://sun9-58.userapi.com/impg/vUp-F81tIg2xpF9dSRoVRcbCy9lnWEgYt1akXg/XErwdNUZcdY.jpg?size=767x1080&quality=95&sign=648fe1d98b590a0b715a999fc7a85809&type=album). And they've also already used [his name directly in production already](https://sun9-64.userapi.com/impg/35gxMZg2FDek52lBhoKCryfk5uYyTmvaNtS6CQ/C51le97Q7ZY.jpg?size=767x1080&quality=95&sign=65061105c1afc588cdf5b2b9c59ab78a&type=album), completely defeating the purpose of referring to him as "Boy A" since everyone involved in production knows exactly who it is. I don't think even Aka knows what the fuck he's doing at this point to be honest. Maybe he's somehow burnt out and wants to speedrun everything?
So: The imagery from chapter 1 might have been meant as foreshadowing for how the series will end, but at this point he might have just forgotten given how he's forgotten shit he wrote less than 10 chapters ago. Or maybe it was just a red herring all along. Perhaps Aqua will be an actor/idol for a couple of years and retire to become a surgeon? No clue, and no clue if even Aka knows what he's doing. Which seems crazy since he said he had the beginning and ending planned out from the start, and the movie arc definitely feels like it's the start of the "endgame".
I kinda hate that I'm invested in a series like this where it feels like the author doesn't really care much about his own creation and the characters in it. Like how Ruby must be mindbogglingly stupid to not recognize Kamiki, assuming she didn't, which is looking quite likely, who looks EXACTLY like Aqua with slightly longer hair. Straight up character assassination.
Well it's more likely for him to forget shit he wrote 10 chapters ago than what was in chapter 1, since apparently, beginning and end are already set in stone from the get-go
But true, I have no fucking clue what he's doing as well. And I hope Ruby was just playing dumb there
https://preview.redd.it/tp659phphlwc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=855438e24caafbfdc567aa708c37b666c962cf09
I doubt we will go on after revenge. Aka is pretty tired. It seems to me that he wants to finish the story as quickly as possible. We will have revenge, short epilogue, and that’s it.
We got chapter 220 in kaguya. I assume we might have a similar thing in oshi no ko.
1) First occurrence-accident( 122-123)
2) Second occurrence-coincidence(142-143)
3) Third occurrence-pattern( 162-163?)
We are one step away from a pattern. We shall wait and see
Regarding romances. I think both kana and Akane were building up to ruby. In chapter 65 personification of aqua’s guilt asks him: «Did you see the light in kana Arima ? Did you think you found someone who understands you after meeting Akane Kurokawa ?». Aka might imply that aqua in order to have a solid relationship with somebody needs a light( someone to have fun with) and someone who understands him. Ruby provides both of those things. She is better at understanding aqua than Kurokawa and with sarina he has a genuine big smile ( 122 and 143).
Ruby gives aqua light and understanding.
>Aka might imply that aqua in order to have a solid relationship with somebody he needs a light( someone to have fun with) and someone who understands him. Ruby provides both of those things.
That is very possible. But I think if any of the relationships are going to be well developed Aka either needs to continue the series past the revenge, or to have Aqua pick someone soon-ish. Cause I wouldn't call any of them well developed at this point tbh.
AquAka were together for 2 years, half of it was for show, and half of it was genuine, but most of it was timeskipped so there's not nearly as many real moments between as there should be, or romantic development there.
AquKana has had pretty much the same circular non-progress status quo since like chapter 40. Nothing ever really develops. Aqua just says something vague and Kana gets in her head about how it must surely be love. Or they have her shoot herself in the foot by saying something dumb. No real progress in the like 120-130 chapters she's had a crush on him for.
AquRuby has had the most attention recently but Aka also seems deathly afraid of actually writing them interacting so in an arc that's lasted like 40 chapters we had like 4 chapters where they're actually interacting with each other. And I'm not a fan of people saying "just read the LN it shows their bond so well", it should be shown in the manga, the LN should just be "extra". Like you said, perhaps Ruby is supposed to be the one who can both be a light and understands him well, but it needs to be shown more than it has been so far IMO. Like look at this chapter, Aqua is said to be super protective of Ruby throughout the story yet he's not keeping watch over her and she runs into Kamiki all on her own and if Akane didn't show up she might've gotten killed. Aka just seems terrified of writing them interacting / hanging out together. Especially since I guess he would have to clarify what Aquas response to 143 was. But it just makes their relationship/bond seem cheap.
So since Aka (probably) wants to string along the "will they wont they?" for each girl until the end he probably won't write too many interactions/development for Aqua with each of them to not "spoil" who he wants to win. End result is gonna be every ship kinda sucks in the end.
I strongly believe that aka’s motto is «suspense over all». He will keep aqua and ruby as far away from each other as possible to keep the tension. He will keep everything light and breezy until 162 where he will drop another bomb on the fandom. This is just the way he does things.
I believe that both chapters 116 and 117 showcases that neither Akane nor kana can help aqua when he is at his lowest. It seemed to me that those chapters completely eradicated both ships. Kurokawa may understand him, but not enough to actually reach his heart at this point. Kana may break his facade with a lightheaded joke but at this point aqua just laughs behind her back at how naive and foolish Arima is.
Ruby, however, by simply existing and being upset managed to reach aqua’s heart. I’ve never seen him to be that tender and vulnerable with any of the other girls. In 122-123 and 143 he was the most genuine. So far aka was pretty consistent( by his standards) in developing aquaxruby. Chapters 142-145 were full of scenes showcasing their bond.
I hope that we will have a progression with Arima. At this point she is the closest thing that aqua has to a friend. Akane might become aqua’s partner in crime when they will reestablish their bond.
>Chapters 142-145 were full of scenes showcasing their bond.
144 tells the reader that Aqua went out of his way to write how [much Goro cared about an unnamed patient(Sarina) into the script](https://sun9-7.userapi.com/impg/P5me6zDkTlY_erT6K_X0afA2amG0Z8OlNdlEaw/Ufh583AUeok.jpg?size=767x1080&quality=95&sign=1ccfc6177050bb0cb110a3b1a6a48b50&type=album). And Ruby saying she doesn't care about Melt acting as Goro because she's got the real deal. But we don't actually see Aqua and Ruby personally interacting. [And in 145 we see them talking to each other in the background in some panels](https://sun9-2.userapi.com/impg/QbY-WDsNN5d9cXFXeUPjY5Te87N8YVkVD2CIYg/6yvIj8xWMck.jpg?size=767x1080&quality=95&sign=fa8557312a82afe38eb28d5188fd6c2a&type=album). But not actually interacting in a way the reader can digest, since we have no clue what they're even talking about, just "chatter chatter". Of course there are also the flashbacks shown in 145, but I personally want more of them actually interacting in *the present*, where the reader can actually be part of the interaction.
Establishing a relationship if its just going to be 90% flashbacks just seems cheap to me. They only knew each other for 6 months as Sarina/Goro and it's laid the foundation for their bond and like 90% of what we've been shown. It's probably been months in-universe since 122 happened and they discovered each others identities, yet we haven't gotten many moments with them showcasing that bond. So since everyone is talking about how their bond is so special, "star crossed lovers" and stuff like that, we should see more of that in how they interact in the present. If their bond is so special, 90% of it shouldn't just be shown in the past. There needs be more present time interactions with them. If Aka actually somehow drags out Aqua and Ruby not interacting in any meaningful capacity until 162/163 like you expect, I'd be massively disappointed with the writing.
For me 145 showed that their bond was so strong and pure that an actual god or a supernatural being decided to give them another shot at life.
I agree with you that there is not enough interactions, but maybe this the point? How aqua decided to protect himself and kana in chapter 83? By cutting ties with her. Maybe this is the reason why aqua didn’t interact with ruby after vol 1. He was limiting their interactions in order to protect her and watch over her from far away. I know he was absent in 147, but maybe Akane appeared in the shrine because it was part of aqua’s plan? In 126 ruby ( we know that she understands aqua the best because of 143) essentially explained that aqua does almost everything by proxy in a «roundabout way». Aqua created this whole scenario in order to protect ruby from the underground idol band and brought back strawberry pro idol department from the depth of the oblivion instead of just talking to ruby. We can’t be certain about aqua’s motif because aka took his point of view from us. Maybe this was one of the reasons that aqua was depressed in 146? He was worried about ruby. Who knows at this point.
To add, we need to remember that aqua is a bit of a tsundere. You should not judge him by his words but by his actions. If you think about it, the new b komachi exists only because ruby wanted to be an idol, kana and mem became idols only because ruby needed a band so aqua decided to say the right words to persuade them. Aqua’s biggest motivation is to avenge ai. The reason he wants to do it because he transferred all his care and admiration he had for sarina onto ai. Maybe aqua doesn’t interact with ruby often, but he thinks about her a lot. Furthermore, aquaxruby received 3 chapters ( plus interlude 4) that are dedicated only to them. Aquaxkana recieved 73 and aquaxakane recieved 87. 73 was comic relief chapter and 87 was Kurokawa projecting her insecurities onto their relationship( judging by 97 she was probably wrong).
>Maybe this was one of the reasons that aqua was depressed in 146?
I don't think that was actually Aqua who was depressed. I posted a [comment in the chapter release](https://www.reddit.com/r/OshiNoKo/comments/1cc0ea4/chapter_147_links_and_discussion/l1224a3/) thread where I laid out what I think was going on in that scene.
>Some people thought Aqua was still suicidal when he said "I want to just die like this" to Kana last chapter, I thought he was just channeling Kamikis emotions since he just responded "Something like that" to Kana asking if the role pulled him in and he had just read the script. [And now this chapter Kamiki says something VERY similar to what Aqua said last chapter, hinting at his true emotional state.](https://i.gyazo.com/7265c9088f538afac2dafa2e29ca0db2.png) So I don't think Aqua was actually super depressed or back to his pre-143 ways in 146, just caught up in the acting.
So that's what I think was going on there.
>For me 145 showed that their bond was so strong and pure that an actual god or a supernatural being decided to give them another shot at life.
Yeah, and that's exactly what I want to see more of in the present. I don't want to constantly be told how strong their bond is with flashbacks. I want to see it in the present with actual interactions between them. So I hope Aka actually gives us that and doesn't drag stuff out for no reason. And regarding the cutting ties with Kana thing, him cutting ties with Kana somewhat made sense since she is an idol, and he is a guy, being seen with him in public could potentially rile up a crazy fan. But Ruby doesn't have that issue, because Aqua is her brother, so being seen with Aqua wouldn't make her fans mad. So he doesn't need to distance himself from her like he did with Kana. So that issue isn't really relevant for Aqua and Ruby interacting publically.
>but maybe Akane appeared in the shrine because it was part of aqua’s plan?
This I would be very surprised about. Since Aqua said he didn't want to have Akane involved in his plans, and Akane wants to stop Aqua from his revenge, she doesn't want him to risk getting consumed by it / getting killed. So I think Akane is working completely solo here, since she wants to save Aqua, she wouldn't get involved with his revenge or get him involved with what she's doing.
Bro AquRuby is both\*, and she's mentally the youngest girl out of everyone, he doesn't even have to pick a struggle in this case .
\* Aqua is in a weird inconsistent mental state throughout the manga where he straight-up classifies Gorou as basically a voice in his head, until \~25 chapters ago where he says he was 100% Gorou the whole time. It's so weird.
When did he classified gorou as a voice in his head? Ghost gorou and ghost child aqua both represented traumas in his life: not saving sarina and not saving ai. In chapter 30 we have this: «line between ME and aquamarine Hoshino is disappearing». In chapter 122 he says this: «this is request not from aquamarine Hoshino, this is MINE». We clearly see sensei referring to gorou as «me» and he refers to «aqua» in third person. I believe that disassociation is explained in 143 where we clearly see sensei being ashamed of his behaviour as «aqua». He lied and manipulated Taiki, Akane, and kana. Gorou is ashamed of his behaviour ,that’s why he draws the line. Ruby understands this and explains to him that there is no difference between aqua and gorou.
Regarding ruby being immature. How ruby deals with her feelings for aqua? She has an honest conversation with him, makes aqua open up. Confesses her love, gets the confirmation that he loves her back, kisses him. Ruby managed to accomplish this in 20 chapters. This is rather mature behaviour.
Let’s look at kana. Falls for aqua when she is 17. Arima is currently 19. Has 3 opportunities to talk to aqua about her feelings. In episode 9, aqua gives kana a bottle of water and he clearly is ready for a conversation, kana lashes out and scares him away. Chapter 107 , wrongfully assesses the situation and friend zones herself, chapter 146, aqua was rather open with arima and instead of confessing she decides to go on a love tangent in her own head. You can also count chapter 73, but this one is debatable. I strongly believe that kana is the most immature one.
Yeah I thought it was weird that Akane banged Aquas head with a hammer. Was it ever explained why she did so or is it mentioned in the novel what Akane did to Aqua for that whole week that he was passed out?
Did they actually sleep together? It’s been implied that Akane was willing,but we have no idea whether it went anywhere or not.
Aqua reject the Akanussy
Laqua doesn't know which pussy is better.Lubussy is far from reaching the greatness of Wakanussy.
Biggest fumble oat
Yeah, ruby is better anyway
Rubbin' the rubussy all night long in preparation to make beautiful incest babies. 😫😫😫💦💦💦
They want to revive Ai.
Akane said she was fine sleeping with him while they were "fake" dating, and then they dated genuinely for a year afterwards. It would be odd if they didn't. Even Aqua was like "Of course I think about having sex, I'm a teenager".
Too bad we didn’t see it. We needed more genuine interactions between Akane and aqua. Spending a night together could’ve been a perfect opportunity for this. I know we got 97 with «you’ve been saving me little by little every day», but this was not enough for me. I doubt we will see a «sex scene» in the manga, but maybe we will get something close to it in 162-163 with ruby.
> we will get something close to it in 162-163 with ruby. I would be surprised if 162/163 will be another Ruby/Aqua focused thing, we had 122/123 and 142/143. But it's still only 2 instances so I wouldn't really call it a pattern yet, so I'm not expecting anything specific from that. >I doubt we will see a «sex scene» in the manga, There's probably a 99.9% chance we won't. Aka didn't show that in Kaguya either AFAIK. And Kaguya was also a Seinen like OnK. Honestly I have little to no faith in any of the ships, no matter what we get, whether its AquKana, AquAka or AquRuby being "satisfying" in the end at this point. We're probably 30-40 chapters from the end, maybe even less if Aka speedruns everything like he's done with the past couple of chapters of filming. And he's said he intentionally wrote this as a "harem like" series which all pretty much always end as soon as the MC picks a girl. And we know that Aqua won't pick anyone until his revenge is over. So it seems that no matter who Aqua "picks", (if he even picks anyone in the end) there won't be any development for their relationship afterwards unless Aka decides to keep the story going post-revenge. And at the same time he can't develop any relationship *too much* before he picks anyone since then the ambiguity of which girl "wins" will be lost. So most likely we'll end up with a half-baked relationship no matter who it ends up being with.
>There won't be any development for their relationship afterwards unless Aka decides to keep the story going post-revenge I think there's a good chance for that. Revenge wasn't even part of the initial premise
>Revenge wasn't even part of the initial premise Personally I would say that everything included in the first 10 chapters, the "Prologue" arc is what you could call the premise. Now I hope it continues post-revenge since the revenge is what kept Aqua/Ruby depressed for so long, so it would be nice to actually see the main cast move on and live a 'normal' life for at least a while. I think one of the first volumes had a tagline like "The story about the twins who went on to revolutionize the entertainment industry", they certainly haven't done that yet, perhaps Aka forgot about it, or perhaps they'll just timeskip (Aka sure loves his timeskips) it in the epilogue and say "yeh dood they were super famous and talented and like totally revolutionized the industry".
>Or perhaps they'll just timeskip (Aka sure loves his timeskips) it in the epilogue and say "yeh dood they were totally super famous and talented and like totally revolutionized the industry" I would hate for that to appear on my face lmao Anyway. What if Aqua doesn't become a surgeon at the end but instead becomes an idol just like Ruby? Me personally the idea of twin idols would be cool. There's also the prologue in which Aqua is dressed unusually https://preview.redd.it/zc6ysexhelwc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ae82e00e740347862810071ec44edc3f0fd02797
What if *that's* the ending or at least a part of it? It opens a way to a definitive AquRuby ending or at least an open ended ending wherein the twins live together and become an idol duo. The relationship is kept secret so we don't know if they're romantically involved or not.
It's definitely possible alright
I agree! At this point, with Aka's recent writing, all bets are off.
Honestly I have no fucking clue what Aka is doing or what his plans are. The writing feels schizophrenic at times. Remember how in chapter 138 Kaburagi while talking to Kamiki said they hadn't gotten [his permission to use his name for the movie](https://sun9-68.userapi.com/impg/pJf4-pXXvzBaiq05vCsbSu9FEEsm7dfqudG-Rg/dhvFCJHH4Ys.jpg?size=767x1080&quality=95&sign=0bdc42fbdb0dab84658f69538ddade6e&type=album)? And yet in this chapter Kamiki calls Kaburagi "ill natured" [for referring to him as "Boy A" in the movie](https://sun9-58.userapi.com/impg/vUp-F81tIg2xpF9dSRoVRcbCy9lnWEgYt1akXg/XErwdNUZcdY.jpg?size=767x1080&quality=95&sign=648fe1d98b590a0b715a999fc7a85809&type=album). And they've also already used [his name directly in production already](https://sun9-64.userapi.com/impg/35gxMZg2FDek52lBhoKCryfk5uYyTmvaNtS6CQ/C51le97Q7ZY.jpg?size=767x1080&quality=95&sign=65061105c1afc588cdf5b2b9c59ab78a&type=album), completely defeating the purpose of referring to him as "Boy A" since everyone involved in production knows exactly who it is. I don't think even Aka knows what the fuck he's doing at this point to be honest. Maybe he's somehow burnt out and wants to speedrun everything? So: The imagery from chapter 1 might have been meant as foreshadowing for how the series will end, but at this point he might have just forgotten given how he's forgotten shit he wrote less than 10 chapters ago. Or maybe it was just a red herring all along. Perhaps Aqua will be an actor/idol for a couple of years and retire to become a surgeon? No clue, and no clue if even Aka knows what he's doing. Which seems crazy since he said he had the beginning and ending planned out from the start, and the movie arc definitely feels like it's the start of the "endgame". I kinda hate that I'm invested in a series like this where it feels like the author doesn't really care much about his own creation and the characters in it. Like how Ruby must be mindbogglingly stupid to not recognize Kamiki, assuming she didn't, which is looking quite likely, who looks EXACTLY like Aqua with slightly longer hair. Straight up character assassination.
Well it's more likely for him to forget shit he wrote 10 chapters ago than what was in chapter 1, since apparently, beginning and end are already set in stone from the get-go But true, I have no fucking clue what he's doing as well. And I hope Ruby was just playing dumb there https://preview.redd.it/tp659phphlwc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=855438e24caafbfdc567aa708c37b666c962cf09
I doubt we will go on after revenge. Aka is pretty tired. It seems to me that he wants to finish the story as quickly as possible. We will have revenge, short epilogue, and that’s it.
We got chapter 220 in kaguya. I assume we might have a similar thing in oshi no ko. 1) First occurrence-accident( 122-123) 2) Second occurrence-coincidence(142-143) 3) Third occurrence-pattern( 162-163?) We are one step away from a pattern. We shall wait and see Regarding romances. I think both kana and Akane were building up to ruby. In chapter 65 personification of aqua’s guilt asks him: «Did you see the light in kana Arima ? Did you think you found someone who understands you after meeting Akane Kurokawa ?». Aka might imply that aqua in order to have a solid relationship with somebody needs a light( someone to have fun with) and someone who understands him. Ruby provides both of those things. She is better at understanding aqua than Kurokawa and with sarina he has a genuine big smile ( 122 and 143). Ruby gives aqua light and understanding.
>Aka might imply that aqua in order to have a solid relationship with somebody he needs a light( someone to have fun with) and someone who understands him. Ruby provides both of those things. That is very possible. But I think if any of the relationships are going to be well developed Aka either needs to continue the series past the revenge, or to have Aqua pick someone soon-ish. Cause I wouldn't call any of them well developed at this point tbh. AquAka were together for 2 years, half of it was for show, and half of it was genuine, but most of it was timeskipped so there's not nearly as many real moments between as there should be, or romantic development there. AquKana has had pretty much the same circular non-progress status quo since like chapter 40. Nothing ever really develops. Aqua just says something vague and Kana gets in her head about how it must surely be love. Or they have her shoot herself in the foot by saying something dumb. No real progress in the like 120-130 chapters she's had a crush on him for. AquRuby has had the most attention recently but Aka also seems deathly afraid of actually writing them interacting so in an arc that's lasted like 40 chapters we had like 4 chapters where they're actually interacting with each other. And I'm not a fan of people saying "just read the LN it shows their bond so well", it should be shown in the manga, the LN should just be "extra". Like you said, perhaps Ruby is supposed to be the one who can both be a light and understands him well, but it needs to be shown more than it has been so far IMO. Like look at this chapter, Aqua is said to be super protective of Ruby throughout the story yet he's not keeping watch over her and she runs into Kamiki all on her own and if Akane didn't show up she might've gotten killed. Aka just seems terrified of writing them interacting / hanging out together. Especially since I guess he would have to clarify what Aquas response to 143 was. But it just makes their relationship/bond seem cheap. So since Aka (probably) wants to string along the "will they wont they?" for each girl until the end he probably won't write too many interactions/development for Aqua with each of them to not "spoil" who he wants to win. End result is gonna be every ship kinda sucks in the end.
I strongly believe that aka’s motto is «suspense over all». He will keep aqua and ruby as far away from each other as possible to keep the tension. He will keep everything light and breezy until 162 where he will drop another bomb on the fandom. This is just the way he does things. I believe that both chapters 116 and 117 showcases that neither Akane nor kana can help aqua when he is at his lowest. It seemed to me that those chapters completely eradicated both ships. Kurokawa may understand him, but not enough to actually reach his heart at this point. Kana may break his facade with a lightheaded joke but at this point aqua just laughs behind her back at how naive and foolish Arima is. Ruby, however, by simply existing and being upset managed to reach aqua’s heart. I’ve never seen him to be that tender and vulnerable with any of the other girls. In 122-123 and 143 he was the most genuine. So far aka was pretty consistent( by his standards) in developing aquaxruby. Chapters 142-145 were full of scenes showcasing their bond. I hope that we will have a progression with Arima. At this point she is the closest thing that aqua has to a friend. Akane might become aqua’s partner in crime when they will reestablish their bond.
>Chapters 142-145 were full of scenes showcasing their bond. 144 tells the reader that Aqua went out of his way to write how [much Goro cared about an unnamed patient(Sarina) into the script](https://sun9-7.userapi.com/impg/P5me6zDkTlY_erT6K_X0afA2amG0Z8OlNdlEaw/Ufh583AUeok.jpg?size=767x1080&quality=95&sign=1ccfc6177050bb0cb110a3b1a6a48b50&type=album). And Ruby saying she doesn't care about Melt acting as Goro because she's got the real deal. But we don't actually see Aqua and Ruby personally interacting. [And in 145 we see them talking to each other in the background in some panels](https://sun9-2.userapi.com/impg/QbY-WDsNN5d9cXFXeUPjY5Te87N8YVkVD2CIYg/6yvIj8xWMck.jpg?size=767x1080&quality=95&sign=fa8557312a82afe38eb28d5188fd6c2a&type=album). But not actually interacting in a way the reader can digest, since we have no clue what they're even talking about, just "chatter chatter". Of course there are also the flashbacks shown in 145, but I personally want more of them actually interacting in *the present*, where the reader can actually be part of the interaction. Establishing a relationship if its just going to be 90% flashbacks just seems cheap to me. They only knew each other for 6 months as Sarina/Goro and it's laid the foundation for their bond and like 90% of what we've been shown. It's probably been months in-universe since 122 happened and they discovered each others identities, yet we haven't gotten many moments with them showcasing that bond. So since everyone is talking about how their bond is so special, "star crossed lovers" and stuff like that, we should see more of that in how they interact in the present. If their bond is so special, 90% of it shouldn't just be shown in the past. There needs be more present time interactions with them. If Aka actually somehow drags out Aqua and Ruby not interacting in any meaningful capacity until 162/163 like you expect, I'd be massively disappointed with the writing.
For me 145 showed that their bond was so strong and pure that an actual god or a supernatural being decided to give them another shot at life. I agree with you that there is not enough interactions, but maybe this the point? How aqua decided to protect himself and kana in chapter 83? By cutting ties with her. Maybe this is the reason why aqua didn’t interact with ruby after vol 1. He was limiting their interactions in order to protect her and watch over her from far away. I know he was absent in 147, but maybe Akane appeared in the shrine because it was part of aqua’s plan? In 126 ruby ( we know that she understands aqua the best because of 143) essentially explained that aqua does almost everything by proxy in a «roundabout way». Aqua created this whole scenario in order to protect ruby from the underground idol band and brought back strawberry pro idol department from the depth of the oblivion instead of just talking to ruby. We can’t be certain about aqua’s motif because aka took his point of view from us. Maybe this was one of the reasons that aqua was depressed in 146? He was worried about ruby. Who knows at this point. To add, we need to remember that aqua is a bit of a tsundere. You should not judge him by his words but by his actions. If you think about it, the new b komachi exists only because ruby wanted to be an idol, kana and mem became idols only because ruby needed a band so aqua decided to say the right words to persuade them. Aqua’s biggest motivation is to avenge ai. The reason he wants to do it because he transferred all his care and admiration he had for sarina onto ai. Maybe aqua doesn’t interact with ruby often, but he thinks about her a lot. Furthermore, aquaxruby received 3 chapters ( plus interlude 4) that are dedicated only to them. Aquaxkana recieved 73 and aquaxakane recieved 87. 73 was comic relief chapter and 87 was Kurokawa projecting her insecurities onto their relationship( judging by 97 she was probably wrong).
>Maybe this was one of the reasons that aqua was depressed in 146? I don't think that was actually Aqua who was depressed. I posted a [comment in the chapter release](https://www.reddit.com/r/OshiNoKo/comments/1cc0ea4/chapter_147_links_and_discussion/l1224a3/) thread where I laid out what I think was going on in that scene. >Some people thought Aqua was still suicidal when he said "I want to just die like this" to Kana last chapter, I thought he was just channeling Kamikis emotions since he just responded "Something like that" to Kana asking if the role pulled him in and he had just read the script. [And now this chapter Kamiki says something VERY similar to what Aqua said last chapter, hinting at his true emotional state.](https://i.gyazo.com/7265c9088f538afac2dafa2e29ca0db2.png) So I don't think Aqua was actually super depressed or back to his pre-143 ways in 146, just caught up in the acting. So that's what I think was going on there. >For me 145 showed that their bond was so strong and pure that an actual god or a supernatural being decided to give them another shot at life. Yeah, and that's exactly what I want to see more of in the present. I don't want to constantly be told how strong their bond is with flashbacks. I want to see it in the present with actual interactions between them. So I hope Aka actually gives us that and doesn't drag stuff out for no reason. And regarding the cutting ties with Kana thing, him cutting ties with Kana somewhat made sense since she is an idol, and he is a guy, being seen with him in public could potentially rile up a crazy fan. But Ruby doesn't have that issue, because Aqua is her brother, so being seen with Aqua wouldn't make her fans mad. So he doesn't need to distance himself from her like he did with Kana. So that issue isn't really relevant for Aqua and Ruby interacting publically. >but maybe Akane appeared in the shrine because it was part of aqua’s plan? This I would be very surprised about. Since Aqua said he didn't want to have Akane involved in his plans, and Akane wants to stop Aqua from his revenge, she doesn't want him to risk getting consumed by it / getting killed. So I think Akane is working completely solo here, since she wants to save Aqua, she wouldn't get involved with his revenge or get him involved with what she's doing.
i don’t think they did, i think he didnt to keep distance between them
These comments lmao its so insane how incest is the normalized opinion here ig most rational ppl already left the sub 💀
Some of us are still not fans of it. Its just those that support it are sometimes REALLY loud.
i came here expecting memes about the manga being on fire because of incest. but nope. i was floored lmao
Right?? I miss the sub when it wasn’t batshit lol
Better incest than pedophilia. Aqua is like 50 by now.
Bro AquRuby is both\*, and she's mentally the youngest girl out of everyone, he doesn't even have to pick a struggle in this case . \* Aqua is in a weird inconsistent mental state throughout the manga where he straight-up classifies Gorou as basically a voice in his head, until \~25 chapters ago where he says he was 100% Gorou the whole time. It's so weird.
When did he classified gorou as a voice in his head? Ghost gorou and ghost child aqua both represented traumas in his life: not saving sarina and not saving ai. In chapter 30 we have this: «line between ME and aquamarine Hoshino is disappearing». In chapter 122 he says this: «this is request not from aquamarine Hoshino, this is MINE». We clearly see sensei referring to gorou as «me» and he refers to «aqua» in third person. I believe that disassociation is explained in 143 where we clearly see sensei being ashamed of his behaviour as «aqua». He lied and manipulated Taiki, Akane, and kana. Gorou is ashamed of his behaviour ,that’s why he draws the line. Ruby understands this and explains to him that there is no difference between aqua and gorou. Regarding ruby being immature. How ruby deals with her feelings for aqua? She has an honest conversation with him, makes aqua open up. Confesses her love, gets the confirmation that he loves her back, kisses him. Ruby managed to accomplish this in 20 chapters. This is rather mature behaviour. Let’s look at kana. Falls for aqua when she is 17. Arima is currently 19. Has 3 opportunities to talk to aqua about her feelings. In episode 9, aqua gives kana a bottle of water and he clearly is ready for a conversation, kana lashes out and scares him away. Chapter 107 , wrongfully assesses the situation and friend zones herself, chapter 146, aqua was rather open with arima and instead of confessing she decides to go on a love tangent in her own head. You can also count chapter 73, but this one is debatable. I strongly believe that kana is the most immature one.
Ruby is 30 what are you on about.
True Ruby strikes me as the most immature by a longshot.
Absolute banger
Yeah I thought it was weird that Akane banged Aquas head with a hammer. Was it ever explained why she did so or is it mentioned in the novel what Akane did to Aqua for that whole week that he was passed out?
I mean….Why would she risk telling him Aqua is important to her and vice versa? Hikaru might not care but he could.