iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Right like 😭😭😭 we were so close bro As I keep reinforcing in the thread we can see what they were going for and find beauty and relatability in that, but still be frustrated on the handling of it

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LOL nah it's me coping about the anime I watched bc one of the main characters is a boxer

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Love I said I wouldn't spam my page with my thoughts and yet here I am 18 post thread later bc I had so much love, care and hope for this series and still do, but they really soured some of it for me with that ending

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like I'm looking at a different character and I don't mean a character who grew I mean an unrecognizable Lara And okay maybe that was them trying to depict a Lara who's trying to find herself again after all that and again SHOW THAT BETTER god my frustrations grow for this ending

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she'll see her soon like you cannot tell me the trauma ran so deep that she doesn't still have that bit of energy goofiness, the Lara that would feed Mari when she was happy etc, and that just breaks my heart? Especially with Mari crying over her leaving and hinting she doesn't want her to go?

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the light anymore, but when these kind of Life Things happen to us what's important is that you still keep some core of yourself and what that means to you and they could've done a better job at showing that in Lara bc the Lara we had the journey with would've been hugging and crying telling Mari

ONE MORE THING FR I get trauma Does Things to a girly, but the fact she acted, what felt like, a bit cold to all these people who only ever showed her love and warmth as she was saying goodbye ESPECIALLY MARI makes it feel like a who is this?? moment like ok yeah she's human now, and can't see

C...Cinna... 🥹🥹🥹 You're too kind...

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GIRLFRIEND WHO ONLY BOXING NOW RAHHHHHH 🔥🥊🥊🔥

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14 POST THREAD bc that's how strongly I felt about this anime and how much I wanted it to succeed and why things like feeling out your feelings through analysis of a piece of media you love a lot is important thanks

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But yeah beautiful anime in many ways and glad even now it exists, but also cowardly moves were made and I cannot fully accept such an ending because of these conflicting feelings

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And with all that in mind, and I will admit maybe this is a bit of stretch, how Lara's physical changes can in a way feel like conformity instead of freedom like she truly can't have both? Look the way she did, but still have whatever life she wants for herself?

Again whether more time was needed idk, but I KNOW there were better ways to handle + build up towards this ending in a way where I could've still been happy with even just the subtext and the fact I didn't even get that much is heartbreaking as someone who understands the love put into this anime

"I don't want to live in a world without you," "Who is the one you TRULY love," with just as emotional and dramatic interactions to go with these THROUGHOUT the anime That's why the build up only for that ending to happen feels weird and not earned for what they're trying to say here

thought out to someone with my experiences and how it can be read this way and I want people to have empathy for that...like yes there was the promise of a cake, promise to eventually live together, and that's ALL we get in the end after emotional declarations like

And do not get me wrong I love symbolism, subtle text things, etc to be read in multiple ways, but it's the fact we got so close and confirmation that Mari is Lara's true love, but wasn't depicted equally...do you know how bad that feels and why the writing didn't feel as carefully

Especially throughout the anime we got BLATANT depictions of het love with Kota/Lisa, Grace/Prince, Rowan/Rigamor, and Lara even almost kissing Luca/The Prince Like not everyone will understand the gut punch feeling of not seeing YOUR love getting on screen time and I get that

it also feels like...not getting a bit more hurt And I'm not talking about a kiss like I actually would have even been fine without it if it meant other things like idk Lara and Mari even just holding hands one more time before they separate I actually would feel more satisfied if I got that much

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feel like this could've been built up towards better if that was the intention all along and not what it FELT LIKE was being built up bc money, time etc constraints or not you need to be careful of how you tell certain parts of a story bc the fact that, and this is speaking of the queer experience,

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And all of that is beautiful and commentary on not only Lara with her self-love that she worked towards, but Mari and what is true and real, unconditional love for others BUT! THIS IS WHERE MY BUT COMES IN I can understand all this, but still be disappointed in how this was handled and ultimately

FURTHER reinforced by the fact Mari is continuing to do what she always did which was not ever stop Lara from having a choice.. even when they fought with each other, she always let Lara feel things out, do as she pleases knowing that her messiness + processing is something Mari herself went through

It's reinforced by the fact her hair is drawn + colored less exaggerated now, human ears, and her eyes look like all the other humans in the anime with deep emotions in her eyes Is clearly commentary on her just BEING now and not that crazy, tragic, fairytale heroine and she herself is a subversion

Like I love that idea! Yes, she went through highly emotional, highly traumatic things, with people pushing her to be a certain way when that was clearly what she didn't want for herself and she needs the space to just BE That is realistic and a healthy way to approach things and relatable honestly

(SPOILERS) But fr I still stand by what I said I can understand and I'm actually for things like her taking time away from Shiga to find herself, live peacefully and free of what was thrust upon her until she feels ready to come back and make a new and healthier relationship with Shiga, Mari, etc

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Yeah I see what you mean and like you can show what her and Luca have without so much screen time it's true I would've loved to see Mari's perspective on a lot more things especially with her being such an important figure in Lara's life + clearly having a lot of feelings on different things

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Like I don't mind Luca being here for the sake of helping her heal, forming new relationships, and symbolism for her moving on in a healthy way, but still maybe a little too much time with Luca lol

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Yeah she goes to Kobe which is like Still Kansai, but not Shiga which is wild lol

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(SPOILERS) Again I would've been happy with if it was a story about found family can be true love, and I'm not against her needing time away from Shiga and everyone to really find herself, but I just wish it felt more satisfying to build up to that point

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see that's the conclusion I came to as well! like refreshing! thanks kaguya! you understand the vibe and what we're tired of and thought we were growing away from

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(SPOILERS) bc Mari is the embodiment of everything she loves not only Mari as a person, but the light of humanity and what inspired her to be with them so the fact this show said nah both can't exist is part of what makes it so disappointing

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(SPOILERS) built up towards is what gets me IN FACT they were building towards the opposite it doesn't make sense for her to leave now after what she fought to keep and to be with and she should be allowed to have that, make new memories and associations with Shiga

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Okay nvm I'm gonna say one thing so (SPOILERS AHEAD) If they wanted to write a story that would lead up to Lara taking some time away, exploring the world, finding herself, etc I actually would have been fine and happy with that, bc real and relatable feeling, but it's the fact that wasn't properly

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Especially when we got Kaguya earlier this year that made fun of endings like this and they should anyway I'm not about to spam my page with all my thoughts and such

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I was so upset I had to watch kaguya again for the cathartic feeling of it all thanks for all my friends who have been talking to me about it too to feel less insane bc I had so much hope for this anime, and it still has some of my love, but I cannot accept this ending at all

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