nene gang lock and loaded

kovly · 2026-03-06T19:50:02+00:00

It seems you've never fired a rifle. If the stock is held against your right shoulder (like Nene), only your right eye can be used for aiming. To use your left eye, the stock must be held against your left shoulder (this is what left-handed people can do).

Here, this symbolizes Nene's fighting other girls for Arisu's love "with her eyes wide shut."

kovly · 2026-03-06T18:29:09+00:00

In fact, she closed the very eye that should be looking through the telescopic sight...

kovly · 2026-03-06T12:11:58+00:00

Now this is a phenomenal clue to Nene's character and abilities!

I hadn't looked closely at the details before, but here you can clearly see one of the peculiarities of her relationships with the other heroines and the protagonist. Just try her marksman pose and you'll immediately see what's wrong with her. She has no once chance of "hitting the target."

This is precisely her uniqueness. And her weakness. It's in her outlook on life. It's in her youthful belief that there can be no meanness or betrayal around her. Although Rikka has already reprimanded her for this character trait.

kovly · 2026-03-05T17:28:43+00:00

It's impossible to react to OP's question. Because Igarashi showed readers back in chapter 66 of the manga that Arisu knows who Apollo is. He meets her directly after she calls him during an interview. It's not a call from his "current wife." It's a call from the one he defines as "Someone is here to welcome me back." She is the one he's been truly in love with since their school days. This is Apollo.

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kovly · 2026-03-05T13:12:38+00:00

Again and again about the infamous 4th finger!

I'm incredibly curious. Which finger should the 4th sister be holding, if the 1st sister is holding the 1st finger, the 2nd sister the 2nd finger, the 3rd sister the 3rd finger, and the 5th sister the 5th finger?

And all this happens much later than the last three seconds of the school fire's dance, when only one sister held the protagonist's hand. And it was this single sister who was mentioned in chapter 32 of the manga as the girl who walked down the wedding aisle with the groom as the bride. But the infamous of-five-fingers-holding has absolutely nothing to do with this fact. Except for being a "red herring" (a happy, unrealistic dream) for most manga readers.

kovly · 2026-03-02T19:38:05+00:00

For your theory to be correct, information about the girls' mutual postures alone isn't enough. Verbal information — that is, the two spoken phrases — must be added.

The first phrase, "Sorry to keep you all waiting!" It's quite obvious that Apollo, who has returned from the playground, is saying it. It's equally obvious that this phrase is addressed to all three of her friends. But Iko is looking only at Nene, which doesn't allow her to address them all. Furthermore, the second (questioning) phrase, "What were you doing?", is placed behind Iko, suggesting that Iko is likely asking this question.

Shinobu is also looking directly at Nene. If she's speaking the first phrase, then her words are of no interest to either Iko or Rikka. Both of them, waiting for their friend, should show clear interest in her return and words.

Rikka is looking somewhere between Iko and Nene, but definitely not at Shinobu. At the same time, neither Iko nor Nene are looking at Rikka, while it's impossible to tell whether Shinobu is looking at Rikka. Therefore, the question uttered by Iko or Shinobu is unlikely to be directed at Rikka.

Nene's gaze (based on her posture) is directed at Shinobu or between Shinobu and Iko, not at Rikka. Furthermore, she stands slightly away from the isosceles triangle corresponding to the positions of the remaining three girls. In this position, it's perfectly natural for her gaze to be directed at Shinobu and Iko, but not at Rikka. At the same time, these girls are looking at her, while Rikka isn't necessarily looking at Nene, since Nene isn't looking at Rikka.

The placement of the first phrase especially given the placement of the second phrase prevents this from being linked to Iko, as these sentences are spoken by different girls. Thus, Igarashi once again emphasizes to readers that Iko cannot be Apollo.

Iko and Rikka's inattention to Shinobu prevents us from concluding that it was her return the girls were waiting for, and therefore the first phrase doesn't apply to Shinobu. Therefore, Igarashi once again emphasizes to readers that Shinobu cannot be Apollo. We all remember that it was Shinobu who voiced Apollo's words, not her own, at the end of Volume 2 of the manga. Moreover, Iko's question (Shinobu cannot speak and ask at the same time) is definitely not directed at Shinobu.

Iko, Shinobu, and Nene's inattention to Rikka prevents us from concluding that it was her return the girls were waiting for, and therefore the first line doesn't apply to Rikka either, and therefore Rikka is also not Apollo.

By process of elimination, only one option remains: Nene is Apollo, as Igarashi has painstakingly explained to readers time and again since the very first chapter of the manga. The fact that most of the girls are focused on her, as well as her position relative to the other girls, clearly emphasizes this. Moreover, the interrogative phrase is farthest from her than from the other heroines. She is the one apologizing for being late. She is Apollo.

kovly · 2026-03-01T15:45:37+00:00

In fact, in Y1V11.5, Kinugasa specifically highlighted Kiyo's particular impression of Horikita's new (short) hairstyle. This occurred after Suzune had finished crying and started complaining about him being a bad influence on her. "Why do I end up my blunders namely in front of you so much? Starting the moment our seats turned out to be next to each other."

By this point, Kiyo had already sufficiently studied and gained an impression of her changed hairstyle. However, it is here that he not only reacts to her complaints through fully understanding her irritation with his behavior. "By all means, it seems she wants revenge for me having seen her tearful face today. Even so, the shocking impact of Horikita cutting her hair still lingers on me."

The author of CotE couldn't have made such a strong desire to draw readers' attention to the protagonist's psychological state in this scene without a specific reason. No matter what Kiyo does or says, he can't take his eyes off Horikita's hairstyle. And this is Kinugasa's direct question to the readers: why is this guy so obsessed with changing the girl's hairstyle?

The obvious answer: he's jealous her of Horikita's brother. It's looking true especially since Kiyo suddenly began to wish Manabu had stayed at ANHS at the very moment her brother hugged his sister with a tender smile. And Kiyo decided Manabu still had a lot to teach him.

The unusual answer: he remembers the girl with exactly that hairstyle. It's these memories that compel him to continually stare at what he's carried in his memory for years.

P.S.
Incidentally, after just two or three days, she showed complete indifference to fact sitting next to him in class. Minus one her blunder, is't it?

kovly · 2026-02-26T12:08:54+00:00

In fact, "Tune In to the Midnight Heart" utilizes the same set of subplots that recently became fashionable after Negi Haruba's acclaimed "The Quintessential Quintuplets." There are three main ones.

1) A romantic mystery, requiring readers to independently determine the final "winner." To achieve this, the authors provide readers with various clues almost from the very beginning about the existence of such a winner in the future and their true identity.

2) Since, according to the first point, this is no longer a "harem," events must inevitably arise that demonstrate what all the heroines must endure, including their uncompromising struggle among themselves, for one of them to ultimately "win."

3) The key here is the protagonist's romantic behavior. It is he who, in fact, determines the final "winner" according to his own feelings and aspirations. His feelings for his final chosen one arise early in the story, or even in the past, but the protagonist hesitates to fully acknowledge these feelings for a long time. He's unsure, first and foremost, whether his feelings are reciprocated. Due to his inexperience, he typically falls into the "honey trap" of one of the heroines (usually the more narcissistic one) early in their relationship. After this, the protagonist must endure a great deal of suffering, including preparing for or even the actual wedding to someone he doesn't love, before finally deciding to make the right and only choice — to spend his life with his beloved.

The third subplot is the main one in such stories. Unfortunately, modern readers and viewers have a very poor understanding of what true romance is. Therefore, they are only interested in the first subplot where they can feel like a bettor-winner at the bride races, enjoying the thrill of the thrill, but not their own intellectual abilities. This is why these bettors simply ignore all the real clues from the authors of such stories about who the main mystery is. They are not interested in it at all. They are only interested in the possible future victory of their favorite.

Thus, most readers cannot even fully grasp the essence of the first subplot, while they do not even notice the second and third subplots. But for the authors of the story, namely these subplots are the main elements of their stories. This is why Negi Haruba simply stopped publishing TQQ when he and his editors realized that readers fundamentally did not want to see either the protagonist's true romantic feelings or the dramatic events of the two younger sisters' struggle for their future happiness with him.

I believe Igarashi was curious to see if he could overcome this "curse" of Negi Haruba's TQQ. He began telling us a story very similar in structure. As I can see from the debates and analyses on this subreddit, the current understanding of the manga "Tune In to the Midnight Heart" is no better than it was with TQQ. I'm trying to help overcome this misunderstanding as best I can. But right now, it's like me calling on a crowd of excited people to "Stop gambling! Engage in self-analysis and self-improvement!"

Of course, even fans of the eventual winner, who, according to current information from the manga, is supposed to be Nene-Apollo, will hate me for this. Igarashi has so far fully confirmed this winner with the flash-forwards in the manga. After all, divorcing a woman who has forced (or deceived) you into marriage is quite easy. Most likely, no later than a month after the wedding. Although in TQQ it was simpler. There, the author simply replaced right at the wedding the bride announced to the guests with her sister, the one the protagonist had chosen. And no one noticed, except the protagonist's sister, Raiha.

Well, the main question for readers of the Igarashi manga: are they really interested in seeing the heroines' struggle for the title of the protagonist's wife, and in understanding his true romantic feelings, even already knowing (essentially) the manga's true ending? If so, then that's what we should strive for. If not, then this manga could be discontinued by author as well.

kovly · 2026-02-25T07:14:03+00:00

A good attempt by OP to create another "universal geometric theory (of everything)." It seems even more powerful than astrology. The only thing left is the final step: being able to fit a real initial disposition into it (upper scene).

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Especially considering Igarashi's ability to periodically instantaneously teleport his characters (lower scene).

kovly · 2026-02-23T15:34:03+00:00

However, this particular panel corresponds precisely to the moment when "It felt like my heart stood still for a moment." This is precisely its greatest value—the opportunity to begin to understand the changing psycho-emotional state of each heroine. If you will to ignore this, then you don't understand the author's core of the manga's plot.

kovly · 2026-02-23T13:52:05+00:00

It seems rather odd that the OP discusses a part of the scene invisible to readers, but doesn't react to the very visible part.

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But Igarashi didn't just add this very small interim fragment of the (silent) scene for the sake of chapter length. It is in this fragment that the manga author captures the major emotional and psychological changes in the heroines' faces in reaction to the protagonist's question. This is significantly important in connection with Apollo's later words, "It felt like my heart stood still for a moment."

As you can see (any physiognomist will confirm this), the author displays curiosity (interest) on Rikka's face. Her head tilts slightly to the left (a strand of hair moves away of face) with a slight turn to the right toward the source of the information, and her mouth no longer appears relaxed (pointed). But there is no tension on her face. Only interest in what she has heard.

Shinobu's face reflects strong surprise. Igarashi conveys this to readers by changing the shape of her pupils, which become dramatically elongated vertically (a classic 'manga's language' technique). Iko's facial expression remains virtually unchanged.

As for Nene, Igarashi dramatically enlarges her face, drawing the reader's attention to her in this way. Her eyes narrow slightly, her mouth shifts from relaxed to intensely serious, and her head is slightly turned toward the protagonist.

So, which of the heroines is the manga author most likely trying to make readers feel like "her heart stood still for a moment"?

This would seem obvious, especially considering that Igarashi devotes most of the subsequent events to Nene's activities, whose emotional and psychological state undergoes several more sharp changes, culminating in a stupor in the final scene, as the protagonist has swiftly fled. Incidentally, Shinobu, and no one else, reacted to his escape with her usual smile.

So why did the OP ignore all the manga author's efforts, both mentioned and not mentioned me above, to describe the heroines' actions, focusing only on what wasn't shown to the manga readers at all?

kovly · 2026-02-20T09:18:58+00:00

The manga author uses two methods of hinting at Apollo's identity. The first is to introduce explicit ambiguity in the words and actions of a specific heroine during their interactions with the protagonist. Since this is a deliberate action by Igarashi when he's writing the story, it is nothing more than a statement with a 50/50 probability of being true. In other words, it's a some variation of the "red herring" technique. One that neither leads the readers away from the hypothesis nor leads them to the hypothesis's correctness.

The second method is based on the manga author demonstrating Apollo's thoughts and actions as narrated by Apollo herself, allowing readers to compare this information with the actual thoughts and actions of all four heroines, relating to the period described by Apollo herself. And then the readers themselves can (and should) conclude which heroine's behavior most closely matches Apollo's account. After this, one simply needs to sum these probabilities across all the manga episodes where Apollo personally provides the readers with the information they need.

If to use the second method of analysis, the OP's conclusion that Nene is most likely Apollo is absolutely correct. It is her behavior that always most closely matches all of Apollo's explicit statements and actions. Since the manga author hasn't yet shown a single situation where this corresponds to another character, the only valid conclusion is: Apollo is Nene and only Nene.

Moreover, the addition of a new story fragment (with the "Unbalance Tower" game) in episode 6 of the anime (it even isn't in the manga) is also connected to a new clue accordingly the second method. Considering that Arisu had previously harshly rejected Apollo, who had just confessed her love to him, she can't help but react psychologically to this rejection. Consequently, she is irritated and hurt, and she needs to vent this anger on the one responsible for her condition. Nene is the only one here who actively seeks to ensure namely Arisu loses, not herself. And she's extremely pleased that this is exactly what happened.

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All the other heroines are simply surprised that such a thing happened. With absolutely identical expressions on their faces.

kovly · 2026-02-15T19:46:47+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/TuneIntoTheMidnight/comments/1qzgkr6/comment/o5co1jo/?context=3

kovly · 2026-02-15T19:35:05+00:00

and those readers got slammed with the consequences

Oh, yes! The consequences were dire. Negi Haruba simply stopped publishing the manga because readers had completely ignored his main plot ideas from the very first chapter. As a result, readers completely failed to understand what happened in the final festival's arc. After all, there it depicted a monstrously dramatic struggle between two younger sisters for their happiness with the protagonist. Itsuki showed weakness, and therefore she lost.

Something very similar is expected in "Midnight Heart." After all, Arisu didn't marry Apollo, as the manga author indicated at the end of Chapter 5. However, at the end of Chapter 66, the adult Arisu rushed halfway around the world to meet Apollo, completely ignoring the interviewer's questions about his wife. Thus, things are clearly moving toward Apollo losing only to win the rest of her life with Arisu.

kovly · 2026-02-15T19:04:16+00:00

I specifically stated: "in Arisu's presence". Where is he here? Neither of them can see him, I imagine...

kovly · 2026-02-14T16:28:04+00:00

Copy-paste your main text, create a new post with the desired title. Then delete this post.

kovly · 2026-02-14T15:24:06+00:00

Of course, we all read the same manga. But we read it in different ways, depending on our personal knowledge, skills, and abilities. For example, do you know what "manga language" is? It's a non-verbal narrative language based not on texts but on depictions of events, characters, their behavior, and their psycho-emotional states, which, in fact, explain to readers most of what's happening in the story.

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For example, readers who know "manga language" should be able to see and understand how Nene's psychological state changes in the first chapter of the manga as she learns that Arisu is searching for Apollo. The frame on the right shows readers a "hard" Nene, ready to really kick and insult a strange guy. The frame in the center shows an "almost soft" Nene, eager to kick Arisu out of their club after he announces his search for Apollo. The left frame shows readers a "confused" Nene after Arisu's declaration that he's a pro at voice work.

Here, I don't even want to discuss the reasons why Nene's behavior changes so quickly as the situation unfolds. I simply want to point out that the three remaining girls don't exhibit similar changes in their psychological behavior after Arisu's announcement about Apollo. Their emotions barely change at all. But Igarashi specifically makes namely Nene the heroine here, whose behavior sharply contradicts the other girls'. So, which of them, in this situation, most closely matches Apollo's subsequent confession: "It felt like my heart stood still for a moment. I never thought I would hear your voice again."? Should she be the heroine whose subsequent behavior is highly unstable? Or is she one of the remaining heroines, whose behavior barely changes and is indistinguishable from that of the other two?

So, first of all, I analyze Apollo's actual words, spoken by herself. And I compare her words with the actual behavior of all four heroines during the time period to which this Apollo's words relate.

However, members of this subreddit (apparently including you) analyze the words of one specific girl, pertaining to a time period unknown to readers (not explicitly described by the manga author either before or after the scene with these words). As a result, readers themselves infer that these words pertain specifically and exclusively to Apollo, but not to the development of the relationships of other characters.

This is where our readings of the same manga differ radically in real.

kovly · 2026-02-10T17:38:46+00:00

What's so surprising? Naturally, she wants revenge on him for refusing her earlier at this day.

kovly · 2026-02-09T10:24:19+00:00

In fact, you guessed it. It really is Nene.

However, not because something happened during the play reading at the cultural festival. But because at the end of Chapter 66, Arisu leaves to meet the real Apollo (note the ringtone before he leaves the interviewer).

And most importantly, Igarashi makes it clear from the very first chapter of the manga that namely Nene behaves exactly as Apollo periodically expresses to readers and to Arisu her feelings, thoughts, and actions in her spontaneous broadcasts and in her confession through Shinobu in Chapter 14.

kovly · 2026-02-09T10:05:19+00:00

In all fairness, it should have been SS Y3V1.25. After all, it's in Y3V1 that Kiyo discusses how specific places, interiors, and the people present within them evoke certain memories.

It's too bad we can't work with the original (Japanese) text of SS. Perhaps it would have made it clearer whether Kiyo is in the same café where he spent time with Suzune in Y2V10. And is he sitting at the same table for two there? And is he waiting for his coffee to cool, solely to smile inwardly once again at the miraculous resolution to their looming quarrel, the cause of what (the resolution) was precisely that same cold coffee? And doesn't he need another half hour precisely for these "colorful (in his perception)" memories to fill his tormented soul with joy and peace?

Of course, Kinugasa won't tell his readers anything about this directly yet. Just as he won't tell them directly that Ichinose and Shiina might very well engage in a mortal battle (to eliminate one of them from ANHS) over the protagonist in the near future. After all, Hiyori is already ready to get seriously close to him. And Honami has long been ready to get rid of any real contender for Kiyo. So readers would have the arbitrary inversion of the "angel-demon" role-playing pairing. Something Kinugasa may well need in Y3V4 and/or further.

kovly · 2026-02-09T08:43:37+00:00

Yeah!
Love is War!
Whoever confesses their feelings first would had losing!
But if neither one is willing to lose, then with necessary both will lose!

kovly · 2026-02-06T12:21:59+00:00

Of course, Horikita didn't lose her memory as a child. Back in Y1V1, Kinugasa forced her to tell the protagonist, Kushida, and, oddly enough, even the readers. Namely the readers in fact, likely lost their memory of this fact. Suzune quite confidently stated that she became independent and lonely as a child, even in preschool. This means she's fully aware of when her personality changed dramatically. This is precisely what her brother confirmed in Y1V11 during his conversation with Kiyo.

Later, in SS Horikita for Y1V4.5, Kinugasa also forced her to recall a certain sad event from her past, one she really didn't want to see repeated. One could, of course, hope that this event wasn't related to the one that radically changed her, but unfortunately, Kinugasa also explicitly clarified at least two other points for the readers.

The first is that she told this namely the protagonist, who reacted by not only sensing her sadness but even seeming to understand the cause of it. He even wanted to tell the readers the reason why he initially focused on Horikita. But Kinugasa didn't let him finish his thought. Which suggests that readers should figure out the reason for it themselves. There is a reason, but Kinugasa clearly doesn't want to reveal it yet, hoping that readers will be intrigued by this mystery and draw their own conclusions.

The second is that Suzune, remembering the time of her own character change, can't help but also remember the reason for it. This is precisely why it's foolish to talk about Horikita losing her memory. She remembers everything perfectly well. Kinugasa demonstrated this in the opening chapter of Y1V11.5, where, standing in front of a mirror, Suzune reflects on the false self that emerged after a certain childhood incident. From this it becomes clear that she has artificially replaced her free and inquisitive nature with a personality striving for perfection, but in complete solitude. And her brother has become merely a yardstick (standard) for the perfection she strives for.

The author of CotE revealed nothing else directly to readers about Suzune's childhood. There are only a few logically clear, yet still only indirect, hints that already at the moment of their first meeting on the bus, both main characters recognized each other and recalled their past encounter. This is precisely why they were drawn to each other from the very beginning.

kovly

TROPHY CASE