Not really sure if it’s intentional or not but I love the fact that Kasumi is given the spotlight by the lighting, hinting at their story and how Sumire always looks up to her.
In 2020, Atlus announced that "Kasumi's" Birthday is March 25th.
Atlus choosing that date specifically creates one hell of a coincidence in-universe. Because Maruki's journal entries tell us that he Actualized Sumire into Kasumi that same day. (happy birthday! make a wish)
After my initial playthrough, I considered this a Symbolic Birthday. Sumire is no more. She's been "reborn." Because I realized the timeline wouldn't add up at all, were that actually her birthday.
But since I've played through the game thrice over (and I'm making timelines and scripting it like an insane person) at some point, it hit me: It wouldn't work if they were twins.
These two aren't twins. And the game never tells us they are.
While stuck in traffic on 4/10, Sojiro tells Ren that a girl who passed away in one of the recent accidents was "only 15." So, if Sumire and Kasumi were fraternal twins, Sumire would have been the same age, but... if we're to take Atlus at their word here, that 3/25 is her (and Kasumi's) actual birthday... she would have turned 16 the day she was actualized.
But Sumire isn't 16, is she? In Japan, all students must be the same starting age in a given grade, with the birthdate separation for each class being April 1st. For example, students who are six years old on April 1st will enter 1st grade, while students who are 15 years old on April 1st will enter 10th grade.
So Sumire has to be 15 in order to enter Shujin as a first year.
But... when we see Sumire's memory of the day her sister died, Kasumi boasts that she's ahead of Sumire because she's the older sister, and Sumire responds:
"We're in the same grade, though."
"『同級生きょうだい』 じゃん。"
"“Dōkyūsei kyōdai” jan."
"Siblings in the same class."
In order for both of them to be the same age, and therefore in the same grade when they start school, Kasumi would have to be born sometime between April 2nd & July 9th, 2000, and Sumire would have to be born between Dec 23, 2000 & April 1st, 2001.
With this in mind, if Sumire's birthday were actually 3/25, and she has to be at least 10 months apart from her sister... then Kasumi has to have been born anywhere from April to May of the previous year. On April 1st, Sumire would be freshly 15 and Kasumi would have been 15 for almost a year, just two months shy of turning 16.
This lines up with what Sumire says in her later Confidant Ranks, about how she was "even younger" than Kasumi when they started gymnastics, trying to follow her lead her even though she was "too little to really understand the sport or the rules".
Her actually being more than a few minutes apart from Kasumi better suits this important aspect of her story-- She's constantly playing catch up with her older sister. And never mind the filial piety, Japanese schools are highly competitive and Sumire would have felt a lot of pressure to keep up with and surpass her sister.
oh you think that isekai is boring huh? well imagine a guy getting hit by a truck. now imagine instead of a guy, it’s a girl, and instead of a truck, it’s a gyaru. suddenly it’s hot now huh? yeah. think before you speak
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