My Analysis of the Best Paired Endings in 3H (Part 8: Manuela/Hanneman)
Hanneman: My sister is far from the only victim. Many noblemen have done the same to their own wives, and I despise them for it. So, my quest began. I would unlock the secrets of Crests, make them available to any who desired… If I achieved my goal, the nobility would be rendered obsolete, and my sister could finally rest peacefully.
Hanneman wanted to get married, but he always drove women away due to his life being consumed by his research and never being able to shut up about Crests. Unless you marry him yourself, the only other romantic option for Hanneman is Dorothea.
Manuela: My voice is a gift from the goddess. However, as all things do, it will decline with age. One day, I will lose that gift. And so I decided I needed to learn to survive without it, long before that day came. I needed to prove to myself that I can live on… even after my voice returns to the goddess.
Manuela is a more believable romantic partner. And she was in the same boat as he was because she felt like she'd spend her life alone, too. She felt like damaged goods due to her age and all of the unsavory things she had to do in the past to achieve her dream of performing in the opera. But she was a lot stronger than she seemed.
Hanneman: I see you act so irrationally, and I lose my wits. I care about you a great deal, and wish to see you safe. Will you believe me?
Manuela: Yes, of course. I'm the same way, after all. I let my emotions get the best of me.
The writers sort of pushed these two together. Even their paralogue "Oil and Water" is shared with each other. The two always got into arguments and made up again, but it was precisely because of all their funny banter that I liked them together. They acted like they were already a married couple.
Hanneman: If we combine our abilities, housework would be conquered and dinner rendered delicious. There are other ways we could find to support one another, I would imagine. We might make a better pair than you think. You and I, together.
Manuela: Huh. You might be on to something.
Hanneman bears the Crest of Indech, represented by Temperance. This arcana symbolizes the blending of opposites and the achieving of synthesis. It's about harmony, peace, and patience. Temperance brings a message of balance and moderation in all things. It is a card of collaboration, of trying to find common ground instead of forcing the will of one onto another.
Hanneman was right. There are even more ways they can support one another than just cooking and cleaning. They'd be able to support each other emotionally because they have a lot in common due to their pasts. Manuela is childfree. She cannot understand people like Alois who have kids, and when she has a baby with Ferdinand, she lives as a career woman and he is the child's primary caretaker. Hanneman is the last man who would ever value her for baby-making potential.
Manuela: Heh, it seems my longtime rival has taken his final bow before me. There is a gaping hole in my heart. Try as I might, I cannot rouse myself. I can almost hear him now: "Why are you so despondent? This is completely out of character for you." How I wish I could say back, "That's none of your business, you doddering old geezer!"
Their relationship is given even more prominence in Hopes where they both get their time to shine playing the hero for each other. When Hanneman comes to her rescue, Manuela even admits that she's into it. And Manuela worries for Hanneman before coming to his rescue. She is particularly grief-stricken if he doesn't survive. It shows how she cared about him much more than she let on.
Hanneman & Manuela
After the war, Hanneman and Manuela held a grand wedding ceremony, to which all of their many students were invited. Later, as Garreg Mach came to be restored, the Officers Academy finally reopened, with a renewed focus on accepting students regardless of status. Manuela and Hanneman returned to work as teachers, almost as if nothing had changed, and filled the halls with their banter in the way only married couples can. Their relationship spawned a trend of romances among colleagues at the Officers Academy, but that is an entirely different story.
The two always argued like an old married couple. Might as well just become one. Nothing about their lives even changes when they get together. They maintain their positions at Garreg Mach and it's just business as usual. Hanneman can still continue his vital research to accomplish his dream and Manuela can continue being a surrogate mother to all her students.
