the world of rgu with its princes and princesses is in dialogue with ideas of chivalry and courtly love that generally originate from medieval romance. i've been reading De amore by Andreas Capellanus. one of its most central points is that husband and wife can't "love" each other (only show affection of the same type as a father would to a son!), and that love should be done in secret.
makes me think of akio and mrs. ohtori, and akio and tokiko. and yes of course we can read those scenes as akio being, like, an embodiment of temptation (i believe that's a common reading anyway). and of course, his position at the academy depends on his connection to the ohtori family, so that is a huge part of that. but i think it gives more context for his character to keep in mind this ideal of courtly love and the role that he is trying to play.

















