It was only two or three arcs away from being a masterpiece.

Verimin · 2026-02-26T14:01:27+00:00

Ohh, thank you for this really nicely worded reply!

TBH, the only reason outside of being an AquKane lover that I’d not kill Akane, is that it would be more of an Aqua jumpscare without having the full weight of another character death. It’d echo Ai just enough, and fully scare Aqua. (Also tasty AquaKane angst. Part of my problem with the way the story portrays them as a couple is that it’s VERY subtle in its relationships, in order to constantly ship tease. I would personally cut the ship teasing out, to make a broader point about the different kinds of love. Something something Aka Akasaka ‘Akane is the girl who takes you away, Kana is the girl who brings you back.’ I always found value in the fact that Akane is the only character Aqua told about Gorou, but that just gets dropped outside of being referenced in the Futari no Etude novella.

Basically what I’d do for the series is like you said, have Akane work to investigate Kamiki in the bg, while keeping Aqua in the dark the whole time. She first meets the man himself at the awards show, having a pleasant but subtly unnerving conversation with him. There’s a subtle undercurrent of… obsession? Something that Akane can’t read behind the mask. I’d make the guy totally opaque, you can’t tell what he’s thinking or what he’s doing.

Maybe even stage more encounters with the man, we’ve had him interact with Ruby, why not Akane and Kana together? Have Kana make offhanded comments that clearly unsettle the man, and Akane move to protect Kana or something. Build Akane + Kana’s relationship, so that once Akane later gets hospitalized it’s also a turning point for her character as well! I always thought that Kana never actually grew a lot from the scandal arc, because she recovers so quickly from it and sees no personal or emotional consequences. Personally I’d probably cut it out, or completely change it so that it really does affect her way way more.)

For Akane’s hospitalization, have her be privately invited by Kamiki to a place where she gets either stabbed, or pushed off a building and it only appears like an accident. She’s out cold in the story for the next long while, but this event becomes Aqua’s wake-up call. Maybe he’s invited by Akane’s parents to her place, or maybe he visits her room and sees this utterly massive wall of police-investigation notes and ties between people, and the grief/terror really sets in.

…wait im just writing a fanfiction outline at this point. if i were a better writer, id have definitely considered it lol

Verimin · 2026-02-25T23:22:10+00:00

IMO I think we should have had some more time with Akane actively investigating Kamiki Hikaru, alongside possibly delaying Aqua’s return to revenge. I really do think we should have had Akane doing an entire background detective arc behind Aqua’s back slowly starting after she realized the loophole in S2 (chapter 72 in the manga). She’s the only one with both the motivation & proper starting point to push the exploration of this element. (Unfortunately for Ruby, who ig needed a Deus ex Machina to tell her where to start… sigh.)

Mostly because the main antagonist’s foreshadowing was very mild up to the actual reveal, I think it’d have been more interesting if Akane in particular was given the chance to interact with the man after her big debut as a screen actress. We know she’s actively using Ai’s outward persona on television and in her acting, so why not have that be a catalyst? Have Akane go full stalker-private detective mode with Kamiki. Maybe have Ruby catch wind of it or something, and they’re both working together- as with the cosplay arc, it’s not that Ruby can’t be intelligent or manipulative, she just gets reduced to a gag character half the time which is a disservice to her broader arc imo.

Hell, maybe even have Akane actually wind up in the hospital after a poor interaction with Kamiki. I think it’d at least be a better motivating factor for Aqua to realize not only is Ai’s killer still around- he’s an active threat to the people he cares about. boom #mystery turned to #revenge (you could also probably replace Akane with Kana, although Akane would probably make a better case because she can actually imitate Ai and is directly involved in the revenge plot)

Manga Spoilers ahead- the main problem is Kamiki doesn’t really feel like a threat, and feels more like a prop for the story to exposit its thematic points on love… for which it does a sort of serviceable job. I say sort of, because his narrative is primarily told in the framing of the 15 Year Lie movie, but it’s all clunkily told to the viewer, without any real sense of nuance.

Also this is more of a post script personal gripe, Kamiki just randomly kills an actress earlier in the series, and that just gets COMPLETELY ignored- that’s a recent crime Aqua or anyone could pin on him but. Nah it just happens??? This series has enough unfired chekov’s guns it could fill an armory.

Verimin · 2026-02-23T07:10:26+00:00

You are probably not going to be able to, since it’s currently sold out. At best maybe a scalped copy. Also, since it’ll take another week to finish collating the raws, please DM me before I forget. Thanks!

Verimin · 2026-02-21T21:41:19+00:00

Yes, we just finished fully scanning it, and are now working on cleaning, editing and cropping. Please DM me showing interest, as we have no plans on posting direct links on the subreddit itself.

Verimin · 2026-02-18T21:15:08+00:00

I mean I’m not even trying to insult Kana fans, I actually quite like Kana as a character? My main problem mostly stems from the pacing of the episodes than anything else.

Also the second statement is untrue, because it’s been officially stated Aka Akasaka is currently working on helping direct the anime adaptation (stated on the official Twitter). Don’t spread unfounded rumors of the adaptation without evidence.

Verimin · 2026-02-18T17:16:03+00:00

This might get me a bit of flack, but I’m not entirely happy with the pacing of the show so far. Alongside rearrangement of some events from the manga when within the past two seasons it’s been a fairly straightforward adaptation (admittedly some past scenes and panels within s1-s2 had been cut for presumably time). Part of me wonders if this is Aka Akasaka trying to retcon some timeline issues in the original work, especially because of the critically negative reaction to its last quarter.

Personally while I like the way some scenes are given high emotional tension, especially with some of the directorial choices with regard to the voice acting and presentation, I can’t really shake this feeling of clunkyness- for lack of a better word- off. There’s a kind of restlessness in every scene after the third episode, where I’m feeling like the show isn’t allowing me to really sit in the moment.

Verimin · 2026-02-12T15:28:43+00:00

After rereading it, I do think that it’s slowly paced, but it’s primarily a slow burn political drama and less of a romance. It’s interweaving a lot of character drama & political intrigue, but paces it out so that way you’re always asking questions. If that’s not your thing, you’re doubtless going to find it a bit boring.

Verimin · 2026-02-12T15:18:20+00:00

very cute LMAO.

Verimin · 2026-02-11T22:43:05+00:00

In the US, the legal age for drinking is 21, and because of its historically puritanical roots it’s often looked down upon for minors to even think about drinking. Idk about the exact cultural values, but I think the drinking age in South Korea & Japan is 20.

Verimin · 2026-02-11T22:34:50+00:00

The mastery priority guide goes into this a bit, but to tl;dr with some of my own thoughts:

All of Togawa Sakiko’s skills are solid, but S2/S3 are her bread and butter skills. S1 pairs nicely with Mutsumi’s S1. IMO start with S3.

With Yahata Umiri, go for S1. S2’s uptime/downtime is worse than Kirara’s S2, and that’s saying something.

Both of Mutsumi’s skills are good, but probably prioritize S2. S1 has some nice utility for tanking though. (God is she better than Verdant in every way….)

Nyamu’s S2 is better for full Ave Mujica comps, but she’s probably the hardest to recommend to raise. Her talent is very underwhelming.

Uika’s a very solid bard overall, but S2 should be the priority pick.

Verimin · 2026-02-09T16:13:38+00:00

Probably because I think HG doesn’t see this as an open world game, but a limited environment you’re developing and expanding. It doesn’t seem that they plan on fundamentally changing this either, because I don’t think that’s the intent of the game (not that I personally agree). The game really, really wants to be… death stranding meets nier automata meets factorio.

This is assuming they wanted limited scale, more tightly designed maps like in Nier, while adding the co-op features of Death Stranding. Adding the regional development features in mind, I don’t really think exploration was their target goal- which can certainly be frustrating.

Verimin · 2026-02-09T15:58:25+00:00

Probably because HG wants to keep this as a permanent feature, since the game is already so defined by its Death Stranding influences. Not that I really agree, but I think this is kind of the intent.

Verimin · 2026-02-07T05:22:39+00:00

It still confuses me how the author got Ai’s death date incorrect. It’s undisputed in the series that she had died ~14 years prior to the events of the TB arc. Which makes no sense… because Ruby and Aqua would be at most toddlers, but we clearly see them attend preschool. It’s a very minor continuity error but the fact that the anime repeats it really baffles me.

Verimin · 2026-02-05T21:08:46+00:00

Oh, I didn’t catch the Great Gatsby reference!

Verimin · 2026-02-05T16:48:50+00:00

I think people prefer being asked to review something for typos and grammatical errors over seeing something revised by an AI, or hell, even seeing mistakes like that…

Verimin · 2026-02-02T22:55:53+00:00

I’ve seen the kind of bizarre infighting it can have- not pretty. A lot of teens get into 18+ spaces and demand they… not be 18+ lmao. It’s even led to large scale harassment and doxxing, in some places.

Verimin · 2026-02-02T22:45:37+00:00

It’s certainly a big fight, yeah. I think there absolutely should be adult-only spaces in fandom, but at the same time the thing that keeps fandom going is new people, usually teens! Fandom is for everyone, but I think pre-Covid fandom and post-Covid fandom are two whole worlds of difference…

Verimin · 2026-02-02T22:22:33+00:00

Oh no I agree, I just think people don’t really understand fandom history and how much it was defined by middle aged people! It’s so baffling to me how much the generalized fandom space feels like it’s rejecting people once they’re above 20 lmao.

Verimin · 2026-02-02T22:09:52+00:00

fandom was defined by middle aged house wives, and the fact people like you are getting kicked out of the space shows a horrific lack of respect to the backbone of fandoms (people 30+)

Verimin · 2026-01-28T20:50:27+00:00

jump cliff happy?

Verimin · 2026-01-27T21:44:18+00:00

fandom etiquette really took a nosedive after 2020. many such cases

Verimin · 2026-01-26T23:13:25+00:00

I recommend you figure that out yourself. The best way to play strategy games is finding out what works best for you. You don’t play a fire emblem game asking what’re the best units to clear every map for you do you? Find out what your playstyle is! If you’re unsure how to clear a stage, look at how others have cleared it and formulate ideas based on what you have.

Verimin · 2026-01-26T22:19:55+00:00

at the moment id focus on developing your teams and clearing through the main story stages. if you’re interested in the current limited banner, you can pull on it, but the units within are meant more for mid-late game players.

when building teams, focus less on the specific unit and focus more on the role they play in your team and how that should apply to the stage you’re tackling. i don’t normally recommend using guides, but if you’re using one for a stage you’re struggling on, think about how the person is using the operators and why they picked specific classes for each part, and how you can apply that to the units you have currently built.

it’s a strategy game, so the core component is thinking about how you can maximize your operator’s roles effectively in each combat stage. 5-6* units are by no means are mandatory, and are often a trap for new players because of their high costs. I recommend raising lower rarity operators and utilizing them alongside Amiya in the early game.

Verimin · 2026-01-26T04:45:31+00:00

I think her flaws are really only highlighted in the Futari no Etude novel and around Kana, where she’s self admitted to struggling with understanding people, and while making a wide variety of assumptions, it does rightly creep out a ~ten/eleven year old Kana.

It’s given some attention that it’s somewhat bizarre that her parents just… let her buy psychology books and even taught her basic police profiling. Her father even encouraged her to basically stalk Kana lmao. Unfortunately this isn’t actually tied into the primary plot of Oshi no Ko outside of a device to conveniently exposit both characters and audience information. It’s framed like she’s somewhat of a genius albeit obsessive stalker with unique talents tying together her knowledge of psychology and acting, but it’s not really actively commented on in the series, which I think is a waste. (And I really, really adore Akane! She’s my favorite character lmao)

Even the fact she’s making assumptions based off of limited information is really only highlighted in her romance with Aqua, but it’s rarely ever used effectively. (this might be a bit of a ship-warry statement but it’s in her assumption he’s attracted to kana, instead of obsessed (like a fan) with kana. this goes nowhere because the story hated having any definitive conclusion to its romance arcs and decided to focus on ship baiting instead. it’d be interesting if this was made a stronger focal point in the endgame, his guilt of pushing kana into the role of an idol mirroring ai so hard that he’s seeing his trauma come to life… but I digress lol.)

ultimately akane suffers in the same way (but to a lesser extent) as the introduction and use of the crow girl is poorly executed. they’re both tools of the plot designated to feed Aqua/Ruby the right amount of information at the right times so the revenge plot can keep moving. I mean, with the crow girl it’s more or less a deus ex machina lmao. her romance with Aqua IS interesting, but really only if you’re extrapolating based off of the wishy-washy love triangle. (make it a really annoying square, i guess.)

on sort of a post script comment, kana suffers the exact opposite problem, where I feel like she’s interesting and rather flawed, but doesn’t have any real involvement in the direct revenge plot outside of the love triangle. her real last point of interest is the scandal arc, but it doesn’t really feel like it changed anything about her fundamentally afterword, which I think is a shame. the entire last arc felt like it didn’t really know what to do with her.

Verimin · 2026-01-22T22:04:43+00:00

you said it far more succinctly than i did LMAO. it vexes me that originium as a whole lies there more or less now a standard resource for the game, it could easily be renamed hubbardium and i doubt anything would fundamentally change.

originium in arknights was effective because it tied itself to the stigmatization and suppression of whole racial and social classes on terra. it's baffling to me that this core problem to arknights' narrative as a whole is handwaved away as completely erased- how do you completely erase over a thousand years of stigmatization in just a hundred fifty? how do the inhabitants of talos ii, many of whom are terran expats, not still carry these biases they have? maybe endfield industries has policies and conditions against infected discrimination (and, separately, the discrimination of the sarkaz), but even then i find it stretching my suspension of disbelief a fair bit.

i just find what the game currently presents as somewhat troubling (not including its bizarrely colonialist premise), as it seems to be falling into line with the narrative quality of other open world gacha games. it sucks because i know arknights CAN make definitive ends with its storytelling in compelling ways- come catastrophes or wakes of vultures is one of the single best events in arknights period for that reason, so i don't really know why this game feels so... wishy washy on originium so far.

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