A Semi-Tradition (the crossover shipping of Manamis and Emis)
Earlier today, I was finally going to start my watch of "Tatsuki-sensei is Too Sweet!" (It's on Netflix as "Tatsuki: Too Kind for School"), but then a drawing urge hit. Since these are longer episodes, I definitely need to make time to watch...and catch up. Soon I'll be moving and I won't have reliable Internet for at least the first few days! But...I digress.
I know part of the story has the MC dealing with his ex and the family situation they had prior to splitting (what made him the teacher he is now?). His ex is played by Manami Higa, so some of us are already going "How do we turn this into yuri?" Somehow, even if they turn out to reconcile. We don't know yet, of course, but there are ways around that outcome, too~
Below the cut is me thinking about this new tendency of shipping Manami roles with Emi roles (whether based on her small credit list or we make a character up)...and it doesn't involve me at the wheel most of the time!
The practice of these crossover/crackships actually began in 2024, via a Japanese fan I was watching on Twitter. They have since gone quiet and even locked their acct, so I'm not sure if I can ever share their vision properly.
Imagine, if you will, Kyoko Nikaido from the Japanese version of Sky Castle. What if that wasn't even her real name? What if she used to go by Yuki Nomoto, had her quiet relationship with one Totoko Kasuga, but a man named Nikaido had his eyes set on Nomoto since they were younger. He has money and clout. Nomoto (supposedly) also came from a well-off family; basically, let's combine for the sake of more power. Nikaido knows about Yuki's relationship with Totoko, so he blackmails the latter and tells her to get far, far away and never make contact again. Yuki gets her name changed and starts a family but it's just not right...she yearns for Totoko. As this fanfic develops, she learns that Totoko is safe and what her husband has done to keep them apart. Part of the fic is fuzzy now, but, if I recall, Yako helps them hook up again and plot a way for Kyoko/Yuki to escape, she divorced her husband but also gains a sadistic side over the time of this plot. We eventually learn it was all just a dream, and when Nomoto relays it to Kasuga, it turned out she had that same dream as well. And that was it for a while. It was a neat fanfic done in a visual style, using screenshots from both dramas with some added effects to make the universes collide.
Manami would then do Forest, but meh. It was so...so-so that no one really wanted to figure out how to yurify it lol. I think there was once a joke that Kaede (Manami's character) would literally get lost in a forest and encounter a Kasuga-like character but it was just a quick joke lol
...Well, there was that time a Manami fan had a vision of another sequel to Keiji to Kenji where, instead of the old man prosecutors Manami's character, Minami, would have to deal with, perhaps she works with a lady prosecutor? She's strict at first but then she finds her softer side~ hehehehe...and then, oh! Looks like it was someone like her missing in her life all this time! 😂 I helped bring the vision to life, as you can see in the image above lol
Then we get to 2025. Bullet Train Explosion comes out and we get to see Emi in a new role! Manager Yamamoto! That summer, the latest entry in the Occupation/Siege of [x] series comes out. That's the series where Manami plays Dr. Yuko Musashi, wife of the cop protagonist. When the new entry was initially teased, the official account asked fans where they thought the new series would take place. A friend jokingly answered, "the Shinkansen" and put a paired up shot of Yuko from one of the previous entries and then Manager Yamamoto (Emi). Imagine another tense train situation but with terrorists aboard! They're taking hostages! With the help of the rail company, the police (and protag) handle things but Yamamoto recognizes one of the hostages as an old friend...someone who was close to her until she married a man. She offers her expertise to help with the situation, secretly for the sake of keeping her old friend safe! And, somewhere along the way, the feelings they had in their youth reignite. Yuko is tired of getting into these situations. She's tired of her husband. We never figured out what to do with their daughter, but there were possibilities. Yamamoto is there where the hostages are released and freed and Yuko makes a beeline for Yamamoto, surprising the other woman.
....now, something else happened along the way. Bokuhoshi! This summer drama had Emi in the minor role of the school nurse, Kikuchi. She was the complete opposite of Yamamoto. She was kind, chill, and really loves her chai lol. So there were teases of pairing her up with Yuko as well. A calmer life there. ...and then my bsky and twt followers broke a poll and had me craft up a polycule fanart once 🤣 Technically, though, Kikuchi isn't paired up with any, one Manami role...yet.
And that's where we sit now. Niko Tama didn't quite offer anything new for shipping, so it got skipped like Forest did. But Tatsuki-sensei seems to be making some of us curious again. Can we help Yu find a happy ending (with another woman) of her own? We shall see~
I think my favorite discourse in Supernatural is if Misha is a lead actor or not. Like, y'all do realize that characters can be side characters and still be lead actors, right? Not every character is going to be a main. However, after a while the show was about TFW and Cas is apart of that which automatically puts him in more main character than side.
Literally, every show puts their main/lead actors before listing any of the guest stars. You can be a lead without being on every episode. Do the people who argue against this not watch any other shows?
Hell, majority of the time when they have "and [actor's name]" they're either a more known actor or highest paid actor. Seriously, this is a thing with almost everything Mark Hammill is in since Star Wars. Or even disappointingly William Shatner. Having "and [actor's name]" literally doesnt denote anything for an actor.
Just, stop rewatching Supernatural and actually look at other shows to see how they list their lead actors.
-sincerely a person with film major friends and in a million fandoms.
Any open acting role that can spark a lot of controversy, massive amounts of criticism, and understandable hate if played by a person who doesn’t meet the criteria at all:
“I'm choosy to a fault. You want to hold out for a project that means something. You're the one who's there working fifteen hours a day, and if you don't believe in it, it can feel a whole lot longer.”
