Hi Red, thoughts on the first half of the new Switch story?
Hey Mihai, thanks for the ask!
I was incredibly nervous about Wish going in. Despite Tsumugi’s eventual haircut being teased since Element, I felt blindsided by this change. A portion of that initial aversion was due to personal preference. I love what Tsumugi’s hair represents and I didn’t want to let that go.
From a narrative standpoint, while I’m generally happy with ES2 Switch stories, I have mixed feelings on the retroactive application of certain aspects of Natsume and Tsumugi’s symbolism to the entirety of Switch. I didn’t want that to happen with Tsumugi’s promise to Natsume. Nor did I want Tsumugi to have a sudden change of heart for the sake of making him a more conventionally attractive anime boy. (I’m very attached to the shag.)
However, given some time to reflect, I’ve warmed up to the idea. The fact that Natsume will be the one cutting Tsumugi’s hair really put me at ease. Plus, the first half of the story makes it clear how much value Tsumugi places on his promise with Natsume.
…Hey, Natsume-kun, once this “thread” between us is cut—will we still be able to stay together forever?
Beyond that, Wish has been a delight thus far. Some highlights from the first eight chapters include:
The NewDi president is finally real! His name is Arata Motosugi (English name order) and he sucks at his job. He stops by Japan to meet EsuPri, announces that he’s firing Tsumugi, and then leaves.
Tsumugi’s reaction to getting fired is to go “this is fine” and then proceed to dissociate in the lobby. Eichi approaches him, and Tsumugi assumes that Eichi may have been behind his termination. He explains that NewDi’s connections with Thunderbolt Entertainment could cause problems for StarPro, and thus Eichi used his investment in NewDi (shout out Wonder Game) to put pressure on Arata to fire Tsumugi and destabilise the agency. Said totally casually, of course—in true Tsumugi fashion.
Eichi denies being involved, saying he isn’t that evil, and Tsumugi doubles down on this being the exact sort of thing Eichi would do. Eichi is so amused by this he invites Tsumugi out to karaoke to celebrate “the day Tsumugi finally took his anger out on him.”
This, predictably, had me losing my mind. But the best part is that Eichi doesn’t even show up. He says that he can’t skip work, thus Tsumugi ends up going to karaoke alone meanwhile Eichi attends via Zoom call. Eichi doesn’t even sing. (Though he does say he thinks Tsumugi’s voice is pleasant and wants to record it as a companion to his work?) If you ask me, Eichi is just afraid of being in close quarters with Tsumugi. With good reason—as Tsumugi compares being fired from NewDi to being dismissed from fine. Once again, in totally casual fashion.
Another reason I call bullshit is because Eichi makes time to go find Natsume and gloat about it. Natsume and (a now asleep) Sora have been waiting in the dorms for Tsumugi to return because no one knows where he is. Even Eichi assumed he went right back after karaoke. Eichi references his speech to Natsume from Altered and says “this doesn’t look like living happily ever after.” He mentions (brags) that he and Tsumugi went to karaoke and Natsume goes “it should’ve been me!” and storms off.
We cut to Tsumugi, and it turns out he went to visit the dance school his mother used to run! It’s now a rundown building, but he sits and reflects on his short time spent there with Natsume. It turns out Tsumugi used to only sit in the corner and watch, but he found himself so enchanted by Natsume that he wanted to participate so he could support him. It’s even confirmed Tsumugi had a crush on Natsume as he says “In retrospect, it must’ve been something like love at first sight.”
And as if I wasn’t winning enough already, it’s revealed that Tsumugi stopped cutting his hair after he met Natsume as a child. He only let it get cut once his mother asked him to, because he didn’t want to cause trouble for her. Which has always been my headcanon so I’m delighted.
The first half ends with Eichi on the phone to Arata threatening him about who knows what. Whether he got Tsumugi fired or is threatening him BECAUSE Tsumugi got fired is still unknown but I am leaning toward the second.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my thoughts/highlight reel that ended up being a summary. I’m really happy with the story thus far and how it’s harking back to Element, Pleiades Night, and Wonder Game. I’m feeling very optimistic about the second half.
