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To You 🧵
december 24, 1998, 7:30 pm. ichitaka and iori are finally alone together. they test the waters with each other. iori says she has someone she's in unrequited love with.
the reason she's so conflicted is probably because, deep down, she's always suspected ichitaka still has feelings for itsuki. katsura deliberately draws itsuki right after this plotline as a reminder to the reader that the shadow of itsuki has never left this relationship.
izumi's ex-boyfriend kensuke shows up out of nowhere. seeing ichitaka out with another girl, he completely loses it and starts saying izumi was just happily telling him on the phone about her date with ichitaka. and then iori physically steps forward to shield ichitaka.
this isn't the first time. during the cultural festival night back in september, when kensuke was beating the shit out of ichitaka in the classroom, iori was standing outside the door and you could see the impulse in her body language, wanting to rush in and protect him.
iori is, beneath her composed exterior, a quiet berserker. in moments like these, her personality is almost identical to ichitaka's. if you're looking for the single best argument that these two belong together: they share the same reckless, throw-yourself-into-danger instinct.
iori only yells at people three times in the entire series. once to defend the drama club by yelling at ichitaka. once out of sheer frustration insisting on making a phone call, yelling at furukawa. and this time. she roars at kensuke, a guy with serious combat ability, and
physically positions her body behind ichitaka's back to block any follow-up attack. and the attitude behind her words is one of complete trust in ichitaka. katsura doesn't hand out romantic payoffs often, but when he does, they're so good and so sweet.
there's another layer to this moment though. iori has been studying itsuki's behavioral patterns: that is consciously absorbing what makes itsuki effective with men. if it were itsuki in this situation, she'd absolutely step forward to protect ichitaka; that kind of fearless
loyalty is one of itsuki's greatest charm points. iori has been thinking about how to surpass itsuki, so she's been asking herself in every situation: "what would itsuki do right now?" and then actively learning and imitating to shore up her own weaknesses.
iori has an incredibly wide emotional range, she's smart, she learns fast through direct experience (hence her future as an actress is probably bright, well, would've been). the two female leads in video girl ai also studied and mimicked each other's behavior.
the live-action version deleted the part where she steps forward to stop the fight, lowered the volume of her yelling, and deliberately softened iori's assertiveness, and with it the intensity of her feelings for ichitaka. it's still strong, but noticeably less than the manga.
this was probably an adaptation choice to make the heroine fit a more conventional tv drama mold: the traditional dream girl, rather than the fierce, confrontational woman she is in the source material.
it's a shame. iori's willingness to be physically aggressive in defense of someone she loves is one of the most compelling things about her, and toning it down to make her more "palatable" is a loss.
so here's the situation: iori has said she has someone she's in unrequited love with, and she tells ichitaka to go enjoy his time with izumi. ichitaka actually gets up and starts walking toward izumi but after a few steps he turns around and tells iori to wait for him.
over on the other side, izumi, who's been waiting for over an hour and is still there, takes the initiative to bow out for the night, releasing him to go back to iori. iori has essentially commanded ichitaka to deliver a finishing blow to izumi on her behalf.
ichitaka goes back to find iori. she's with yuka, whose own confession just failed. the night is basically ruined. the three of them take the subway home together. before iori gets off at meidaimae station, ichitaka confesses.
(iori getting off the train first can also be read as a deliberate move that she wanted ichitaka to follow her out so they could be alone together.)
then the two of them head straight to ichitaka's place, abandoning yuka to fall asleep in misery on the subway. during the confession scene, yuka is even kept visible in the background panels. you have to wonder if she'll just want to end it all when she wakes up alone.
there's another possible reading of iori getting off the train and then coming back (super cute outfit btw, she is so beautiful): she's testing ichitaka. observing him. checking if he's truly sincere.
