69novels Page 156
Page 156
The problem is that the world is not very tolerant of same-sex relationships.
Such advanced elements would never appear in anime series that children watch; at most, they would be presented as light yuri, selling friendships that go beyond the bounds of what is permissible.
This means that Mayumi Haga, who is the love interest of the protagonist Hitomi Tono, is even less likely to appear in this anime.
After all, the more she appears, the more flaws she reveals.
With this in mind, Mayumi Haga did not tell Yukari Hachiya about her ambiguous relationship with Hitomi Tono in this anime when she revealed the setting.
Similarly, she wasn't told that her favorite partner from "Magical Girl Red" had an adult relationship after growing up...
...At Yukari Hachiya's age, knowing these inside stories would surely be disillusioning.
After all, children view the friendships of these characters in their youth from a pure perspective, and what happens to these strong friendships after the story ends is beyond the scope of children's understanding.
Fortunately, compared to the previous generation who started as magical girls at the age of thirteen or fourteen, this generation of Hitomi Tohno and her friends were already close to adulthood when the story began, so even if there are some romance elements in the setting, it is not considered early romance.
She's definitely more well-rounded than Tina Hiiragi (Maple Syrup), who became the Grand President at the age of fourteen.
He told Hachiya Yuka what she wanted to know in a detailed and concise manner, and the child's eyes lit up. He immediately told Haga Mayumi to wait a moment, and then rushed back to his room to get his notebook to write down this rare spoiler.
With Yukari Hachiya's departure, only Mayumi Haga and Rie Nagai remained at the dining table.
Finally, she had the chance to talk to him alone, and Rie Nagai was actually a little nervous.
Although Mayumi Haga is very easy to talk to Yukari Hachiya, that doesn't mean she can talk to me the same way... Maybe she has two faces.
Unexpectedly, seeing her hesitation, Mayumi Haga spoke first: "You're testing me because you're worried about Yukari, aren't you?"
To be honest, Mayumi Haga never imagined that she would be mistaken for a magical girl.
It's one thing for children to be obsessed with magical girls in the world, but in this world, only a kid like Yukari Hachiya would believe her clumsy pretense.
To others, I do seem very suspicious.
However, since Nagai Rie's actions were also well-intentioned and did not have any substantial impact on her, Haga Mayumi was not opposed to the other party's proposal for cooperation.
“You’re not a magical girl, are you?” Rie Nagai asked with certainty, staring intently at Mayumi Haga. “Were you making things up just now? I can sense that you’re hiding something from Yukari.”
“I am indeed not a magical girl, but I am not lying,” Mayumi Haga said.
"Then what are you hiding? What exactly is your role in the new magical girl series? You're not a villain, are you?"
"...She's the girlfriend of the magical girl Crimson."
"……what?"
Text: 244. A very new kind of magical girl anime
Rie Nagai had to admit that Mayumi Haga's words had made her brain spin.
Wait... who is this person in front of me?
The homosexual lover of the protagonist in a children's work?
What exactly is going on with children's content these days?
Is this broadcast?
After showing shock, Rie Nagai suddenly realized that it was a bit one-sided to understand a character based solely on the story presented in the animation.
Leaving aside other works, the protagonists in children's works sometimes do appear too two-dimensional or too perfectly crafted to be realistic.
Rie Nagai understands that characters in film and television works only have personality traits that serve the plot, but this does not mean that these characters will stop being active after their appearances on screen end.
Because the personality of the fantasy entity will not actually develop entirely according to the summoner's ideas.
The word "summoning" itself suggests that, rather than describing the fantasy entity as a "character created according to the contestant's perception," it is more like a "projection of a character summoned from the original world."
Because it is a real existence in another world, it will differ from the summoner's imagination to a certain extent.
In other words, the world of the magical girl anime that Yukari Hachiya likes actually contains homosexual relationships, but it's just not easily adapted for the screen.
Thinking about it this way, the fantasy entity in front of me, who claims to have a complicated relationship with the magical girl Crimson, seems exceptionally real and believable.
Rie Nagai also recalled a joke she had come across that asked, "Can't friendships these days be as pure and passionate as those between magical girls?"
Two very famous magical girls were also mentioned: Homura Akemi and Madoka Kaname.
The answer below, however, was "that's love."
Another person, unwilling to give up, brought up an example: Daidouji Tomoyo and Kinomoto Sakura.
The answer was: "It's also love."
Although this is a joke, it shows that in magical girl works, the overly passionate friendship between girls can easily develop into a relationship that is almost love—even though the anime officials never admit it, the audience's eyes are discerning.
It's fair to say that magical girl anime easily spawns well-known same-sex couples, and many people watch it specifically for that reason.
An animated film that kids love to watch, yuri fans love to watch, a huge win-win situation.
...It's actually true! Romance between magical girls really exists.
Does this mean that those couples who are always suspected of being more than friends might actually be real...?
But no matter how much speculation there is, no one knows the truth now that those involved were not summoned to this world as fictional entities.
I've really learned something new.
Rie Nagai thinks that whenever she sees a children's magical girl series, she might start to think about the complex relationships between the characters.
However, with the trailer for "Magical Girl Crimson" yet to be released and the production team keeping the news a closely guarded secret, Rie Nagai had no idea that the upcoming anime series would actually not follow the original plot framework.
This magical girl series is facing a ratings crisis because of its uninteresting plot, excessive and frequent toy sales, and overall lack of originality.
Therefore, innovation is necessary to salvage viewership.
Therefore, unlike the previous generation of Crimson, the story of Magical Girl Crimson does not begin with the protagonist becoming a magical girl and proceeds in chronological order. Instead, it begins directly with the disbandment of the five magical girl teams.
Hitomi Tono, a third-year high school student, is a seasoned magical girl.
She has been active as a magical girl for several years, during which time she has defeated enemies of all sizes, possesses extraordinary strength, and has even saved the world.
However, with the arrival of her third year of high school and the departure of someone important to her, Hitomi Tohno, who has always struggled to balance her magical girl work and life, is already feeling exhausted from her magical girl activities.
Therefore, she plans to disband the magic group, clean up the mess in her life, and find her original intention of becoming a magical girl.
Meanwhile, Tenran, a magical girl who has experienced a major family tragedy but still intends to uphold her duties as a magical girl, voices strong opposition and leads the others in breaking with the irresponsible Tohno Hitomi...
In short, it's a story that focuses more on the depiction of a young girl's youth than on magic.
These include lines such as "Would you like to be a magical girl with me for the rest of your life?", "Please, don't quit, I'll do anything...", "Why did you use our friendship technique?", "I've never found being a magical girl fun", and "Can you take responsibility for my life?"
Mayumi Haga is an important character who appears in the prequel, the theatrical version, and TV flashbacks.
She always appears with the refreshing scent of citrus, and she comforts everyone who is exhausted by complicated interpersonal relationships in her own unique way.
She had already finished her prequel story before the TV series started, and returned to her hometown with everyone's longing for her. She often keeps in touch with Hitomi Tono and is a mysterious, aloof, and distant white moonlight.
—I already feel this is going to be a huge hit even before it airs! It's bound to become a major magical girl anime! Maybe it'll even spawn a ton of fan-made content and break into the mainstream!
As for the important character that the production team deliberately hid, it's even more difficult to control how viewers will imagine Mayumi Haga in fan creations.
I imagine that fake news like "Mayumi Haga might not exist, she's just a figment of Hitomi Tono's imagination" or "Hitomi has bones labeled 'Mayumi' in her house, so perhaps Hitomi killed Mayumi and she disappeared, and the conversations she had with her were just hallucinations caused by Hitomi missing her too much" will be produced like crazy.
Of course, Mayumi Haga, as the person depicted in the painting, was unaware of these things.
With "Magical Girl Crimson" yet to air and her story ending prematurely and thus not appearing in the main TV series, she can only rely on the series' consistent style to speculate about her own image.
However, she wasn't interested.
Given the time constraints of the Desire Fantasy Tournament, she couldn't possibly stay in this world until the airing of "Magical Girl Crimson," let alone see the theatrical version featuring herself.
At this moment, Mayumi Haga has no idea what role she will play in the fan creation at different stages. She only knows that she promised Yukari Hachiya that she would end the cruel struggle, so she is still thinking about how to carry it out.
Text: 245. Kita Kirihara
"Two bodies were found in XX Street, XX District of this city. One of the deceased had shown signs of spontaneous combustion before death, and the cause of death was a sharp object laceration to the throat..."
The news broadcast on television caught Mayumi Haga's attention.
The one with burns should be the young contestant whose life he had spared earlier, but... two corpses?
When a phantom is defeated, it leaves no remains; it simply vanishes with the wind.
Therefore, of the two bodies that were discovered, one was a contestant, and the other should have been a native of this world.
However, the identity of the other corpse remains unknown; it is unclear whether the person was also a contestant or a passerby who later met an unfortunate end there.
Mayumi Haga's mood slowly sank.
To avoid letting Yukari Hachiya, who was underage, see something she shouldn't, she hurriedly took Yukari Hachiya away after subduing the enemy.
Mayumi Haga was completely unaware of what happened afterward.
This was quite bad and passive for her.
She's not the type to have everything under control; after all, her abilities aren't perfect enough to handle every unexpected situation. Mayumi Haga's most outstanding ability is her capacity for trial and error.
Because they can't die, they have countless chances to fail.
But things are different now. If she were alone, she could simply deal with whatever came her way as before. But now she has summoners who need her protection.
It seems I need to be more cautious...
Mayumi Haga was a little annoyed.
Only a dozen hours have passed. According to the time of death reported on TV, he had just left with Yukari Hachiya when the young contestant was stabbed to death.
In other words, the murderer was very likely present from the very beginning. Or at least had complete knowledge of the situation at that time, possibly even including their own and Yukari's movements...
Being watched is not a pleasant feeling. Mayumi Haga would rather face overwhelming calamities than be coveted by venomous snakes lurking in the shadows.
As for the other body that was also found there...
Rie Nagai caught a glimpse of the contestant's logo in the report.
Unlike the mosaic body of the young man who was blown to pieces and severely burned by Mayumi Haga's bomb, the other victim appeared to be dressed neatly, with no other wounds except for the fatal one on his chest.
It must have been an ambush, or even a betrayal.
Rie Nagai took over the television program "The Mystery of the Haunted House," cutting out the fleeting shots of the deceased from the news reports, removing the mosaics, and making them clearer.
The final conclusion was: "This was another contestant who was killed by his own illusion."
The contestant markings that appear on the surface of a participant's body can actually change.
If a fantasy character leaves the stage, the right half of the pattern will fade, leaving only the left half representing the player.
In this state, contestants are able to form contracts with other unclaimed fantasy entities to continue competing.
If the contestant's image on the left fades, it means that the contestant was killed during the match, and the illusion will still exist for a short period of time.
The complete disappearance of the pattern means that both the contestants and the fantasy entities in this group have "died".
Now, the pattern on the second corpse is clearly only the right half remaining.
That means the player's fantasy form is still wandering in this world.
Actually, there have been instances of fantasy entities turning against them before, since many fantasy entities are unwilling to obey commands that go against their personal will.
Although contestants can expend their mental energy to issue commands, it doesn't guarantee that the illusion will obey. At most, it will slightly affect the illusion's mind, making it easier for the latter to comply.
Some fantasy entities hate being ordered around and will choose to break free from the control of the contestant.
After all, many of the summoned illusions are not to be trifled with, in order to win the game.
Judging from this, it seems that the second contestant later tried to take advantage of the situation and kill the young man, but ended up arguing with the illusion and was subsequently killed by the illusion as well.
"...This is really bad. Why does everyone seem to enjoy summoning murderers?" Rie Nagai sighed. "It would be terrible if ordinary people got involved."
In fact, we cannot use the ordinary perspective of this world to view the summoned fantasy entities.
Leaving aside the world, even within the same world, the social landscape was vastly different hundreds or even decades ago.
Fantasy beings living in peaceful environments may adhere to a no-kill policy, but this may not apply to characters born under different conditions.
What's more, even horror movie characters can be summoned.
Although she could understand the difference in moral standards between fantasy entities, and Mayumi Haga herself had blood on her hands in her original world, she still felt that it was necessary to find and deal with the lone fantasy entity as soon as possible.
It would be terrible if it caused any chaos.
"Should we go out and look for it? I just ordered takeout. Let's eat first before we go out." Rie Nagai slumped onto the sofa at Yukari Hachiya's house.
While the two of them were analyzing the TV, Yukari Hachiya was upstairs doing her homework. It just so happens that she doesn't have classes on the weekend, but she still has homework.
Rie Nagai felt a sense of security from Mayumi Haga, so she quickly moved in and, after getting permission from the young owner of the house, Yukari Hachiya, occupied a guest room.