they did it again? . I didn’t think it was the same but looking at it now. Right ear exposed head facing same way it counts kinda maybe
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Mahiru’s T1 MV was an absolute waste of time, in terms of getting information across. Yamanaka even stated that he was surprised at her guilty since “all we saw was a girl in love”.
And it’s an MV absolutely full of text and journal entries, it would’ve been so easy to fit something in there that implies this relationship felt impossible to Mahiru or she’d have to fight for it if they didn’t want to directly name arranged marriage that early.
For the longest time, Mahiru was the “I don’t understand” prisoner to me; out of everyone I could never get a handle on what she had done. And a major part of that is having a whole MV that doesn’t tell you anything (yes, I’ve heard the police whistles, but I’m speaking visually and also that was far too vague).
Some other prisoners had vague T1 MVs but gave you enough info especially when going back to view them after T2. Mahiru’s This is How To Be In Love With You never had that added depth to me but I assumed it would gain it once we knew more, but instead it never did.
Saying it would’ve been better if she was still alive for a T3 MV is irrelevant in my opinion, as they still fumbled her T1.
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I was hoping we’d finally get to see mahiru’s wheelchair in her death video but CLOSE ENOUGH 🎉 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAHIRU SHIINA 🍰 🐁
Big fan of this illustration because it incorporates multiple motifs that we’ve already seen associated with her (both the birdcage and the carousel) but also in my own biased personal view it makes me really happy because I’m viewing it also as a metaphorical/fantastical mobility aid (& I literally have a disabled oc of my own named carousel 🎠 who uses the motif to represent the cycle of unending pain flares and pushing oneself past one’s own limits in denial of one’s own pain & disability 🦓)
It’s also funny that it resembles the Cinderella carriage since . You know. The horses that pulled that carriage were mice 😭
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MILGRAM team: “hey guys here’s a story about a woman who was betrothed but loved a different guy so so so much that she was willing to go into a survival situation and sacrifice everything for him! and even though you’d have to Think you want that pretty badly to go along with it, eventually the guy’s feelings waned (likely because he was Literally Starving), but he couldn’t bring himself to tell her. Even if he could, could he go back to the life he abandoned and admit he was wrong (let alone risk being accused of kidnapping a wealthy family’s daughter)?
The woman meanwhile is sustained enough by the feeling of true love to go on no matter what, only to wake up to her lover’s dead body one day after all their efforts to survive in the wilderness for the sake of their love. And now she’s in magic jail because she feels responsible for his death, but can’t directly admit why (possibly because it’s too shameful to admit she abandoned a materially convenient life for a fairytale).
Obviously this game is a puzzle so we’re gonna save the reveal, but here’s a slew of hints and context throughout years of content, along with two fantastic songs filled with visual clues! Isn’t that interesting?”
ppl who wanted a MoRe ReLatAbLe/predictable story: “ew wtf that’s lame why was she so vague omg it’s like context and implication is a huge part of this story and the culture it comes from or something”
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I’m seeing a lot of people say that Mahiru lied when she met her lover, saying she saw him at a university terrace when the report says they met at a mixer but the mixer could’ve easily been on a terrace? Mahiru’s case is awful and stupid but I feel like this is a non-issue
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Ok so I liked Mappi’s reveal more than the others so far, but I still have a few comments:
1) I know people are upset the rats weren’t a metaphor, but I like it. I like a girl who is so dedicated to her cause that nothing will stop her
2) The arranged marriage thing did come out of left field. I think the birdcage from T1 was supposed to symbolize that, but I think they could have foreshadowed it a liiiiittle more. It’s less of a “I knew it!” and more of a “I guess that’s what that meant”
3) My actual gripe with the reveal: it just adds another layer of complexity we didn’t need. There is still that exploration of the idea of “how much of this is Mahiru’s fault” but it just adds in too much and kinda distracts from the point. Now I’m thinking about the logistics of them running away and why the boyfriend did this or that. Does the two of them running away into the forest really add anything to the discussion of “Mahiru’s boyfriend killed himself because she was too clingy and had the wrong idea of what love is?”
I feel similarly to how I felt about Shindou’s storyline: it feels like there were a few elements from different drafts that the writers didn’t want to give up, so they mashed them together. But it just ends up overly complicating things.
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Honestly the rats being literal isn’t that much of a shock to me. After all, we already had a similar not-metaphor with Muu, where the goo inside the hourglass was her vomit instead of something vague like attention or social standing.
But I cannot get over the base writing of her case. It’s all too… silly? If her parents were so strict that she was never able to meet boys growing up, why would they let her go to university on her own? And then they run into the forest not because Mahiru’s so wrapped up in her own fantasy, but because they’re escaping the police for real.
I’m glad she wasn’t a one-note yandere but I cannot take this seriously at all.
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so after the events of mahiru t3 im sure we’re all wondering: was kazui really just in love with an apple
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One half of my tl rn: mahiru’s story didn’t make sense and wasn’t narratively satisfying.
The other half: KAZUI ATE THE FREAKING DOVE BRO THAT WHY HIS WIFE KILLED HERSELF!!
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YES. it made me so sad actually, you can see just how much yuno really cared about mappi and vice versa, PLEASE MY DOOMED BEST FRIENDS AAVABSBSNDNSNSMSKSKS SOBS
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jokes aside i think this twist suffers from marie mizuguchi syndrome. Like the running into the forest bit was veryyy vaguely foreshadowed at the beginning, and mahiru being sheltered was kind of known (she told us her parents were “a little strict” but it was hard to tell to what degree), even if the fiancee was not mentioned at all. Parts of the real story like the literal rat eating and running off into the forest were guessed one or two times. But there’s so little evidence that it seems unsatisfying. And I know we got rid of a whole trial and half the series she was just like “warden-kun. i’m dying.” but like. we had a whole different story in mind.
Although it is so so fucking funny i can’t lie and this is probably why I still stay for this.
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mahiru,,,,,,,, mahiru,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, my baby you didnt deserve any of it mahiruuuuuuuu
she truly was my kin,,,,,,,, my babyyyyyyy
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wtf do you MEANNNN mahiru was a sheltered rich baby????? that ACTUALLY fed her boyfriend rats??? she didnt have bpd she just dragged a man into the mountains and fed him rats until he couldnt take it anymore and killed himself???
muu was already there why did mahiru have to also come from a rich background??
like i get the not wanting to be in an arranged marriage thing but wym she dragged the first guy she had a crush on around the whole country running away from the cops and then made him eat rats and drink mud water????????
