#ichisaya analysis

[xion92]

TMMN: Masaya/Ichigo relationship analysis, episode 13

And after 6 and half months, I’m ready to continue TMM couple relationship analysis! This episode is full of things, so it will be a looong post.

Let's start with the opening. Masaya and Ichigo have a single scene, but what a scene! Cat Ichigo is running away from the fat cat and finds safeness in Masaya's arms, with a kiss she returns to normal, with a nice elegant dress on, and while he holds her in his arms like a bride they exchange a happy expression (I suppose it’s a metaphor for Masaya who saves her and protects her from danger). It is the first time in New that I see Masaya so happy. I'm sure S2 will give us a lot of stuff!

The very first scene depicts Ichigo crying. But be careful, not that she just cries, it seems to be a very specific scene, only that being blurred you don't understand what it represents. It’s obviously one of the nightmares that Masaya is beginning to have. In the manga they started much later and didn’t herald a specific scene, instead they heralded that he would be the cause of her suffering. Obviously at this point Masaya can't know it, and I think this is one of the various reasons that trigger his transformation into the Blue Knight.

This is the face I had the morning after episode 13, after not sleeping a wink from brooding all night. 🤣

Masaya dear... never ever wonder what Ichigo is doing, trust me, lol

Yes, we understand that they insert foreshadowing all the time, I’m sure this recalls the fact that Masaya from lover will become the enemy and he and Ichigo will have to fight each other.

So, the first part of the episode focuses about ichisaya relationship, one week after their confession. This is only the point of start, it’ll surely evolve from here throught the series. Here is a nice change that we already see in Masaya: contrary to what happened in S1, he is no longer ashamed to confirm his bond with Ichigo, and goes straight to her friends to make them understand the news (indiscretions say that in the next episode he will even with the other girls). Sure he's still shy, they've been together for a very short time. But I'm sure he'll unlock as the series progresses. Masaya is a character who has no leaps in characterization, but proceeds slowly and steadily. This, of course, unlike the old series, where this poor man was treated only as a plot twist, and not as a real character. In that series, he and Ichigo remained quite distant, sometimes they didn't even seem engaged, while I have the impression that with New things will be very different.

Girls... even in ep 7 he called her by name in front of you. Have you forgotten?

And here is a scene that overturns, in a certain sense, the first episode of the series, although I will be cautious in this part of the analysis, because a report from a Japanese fan seems to confirm that this part will be explained better in the next episode. So what does Masaya say here? As with S1, watch out for subtitles! When there is any doubt about the actual characterization of a character, the first thing is not to trust the subtitles. And in fact… even here they are wrong! Masaya here doesn't say at all that he fell in love with her on that occasion. First he says she's been on his mind since he first saw her, because he'd seen her "smiling so happy." Then he says "mitore chattanda", which means "I was fascinated". Fascinated, but he absolutely didn't fall in love, in the truest sense of the word, that time. And even the fact that he is impressed by Ichigo's character does not lead to an infatuation like Ichigo's when he saw him. Masaya is only slightly blushed, certainly not like Ichigo. So we understand that he was just captured by a detail of Ichigo, the first that he noticed, and this has remained impressed in his mind. So from this flashback we understand a few things.

First, ep1 was NOT Ichigo's first day of school, but she had started high school for at least a few days. Second, he noticed her even before she noticed him. Third, both have a parallel and a contrast. Both are captured by something about each other the first time they see each other. Except that Ichigo, who is a normal person, is fascinated by his appearance and by his "winning genes", to put it in reproductive terms. Masaya is not captured by her appearance, but by a trait of her personality that strikes him, as it is something that he lacks at that point in the story, her cheerfulness and her happiness. This is a very different flashback from a similar scene in episode 39 of the old series, where he said, superficially, the same thing. There he said that he simply noticed her, and that's not good for Masaya's character. He is captured for the first time by something emotional, which must be specified. Without specification one might think that the first thing he noticed was that she was pretty, and this would go against his character. He first notices and is impressed by personality and character, then, if these "pass the test", by the appearance, which comes later. Obviously he couldn't know then that he was captured by her, he only understands it later, when he realizes he loves her and is able to reconstruct in retrospect how he started to like her.

It must be said that, when in episode 1 the two of them collide and talk, it doesn't actually seem that Masaya has ever seen her before. But let's remember that it is Masaya we are talking about. When he first saw her, he probably didn't even mentally realize that he was fascinated by her. So, partly because of this, partly because he is used to behaving in a kind and detached way with everyone, he went back to behaving as usual even with her, until he… saw the ticket. This is a scene that can be re-interpreted. Without episode 13, one might think he was just happy with the subject matter of the show. But by episode 13, his thought, obviously unconscious, may have been this: "The girl that fascinated me has the same interests as me!" And in fact it is only at this point that he, in the first episode, lets himself go a little more with her, and he seems really interested in her, as well as in the exhibition itself. I'd say it all adds up. And also, maybe in the next episode we will know something more about it…

Just excuse me...

...they’re gourgeous! Notice how in this episode, now they stay together (yeah, I say that because in my language we say “stay together” to mean two people are boyfriend and girlfriend 😁) they have often the same expressions. It’s another hint or their deep bond.

How cute in this scene, walking side by side to get home, clearly happy but still embarrassed and still not bold enough to holding hands. They are still awkward, like two real fifteen year olds in their first (and only, in their case) love experience.

Here we can see that when Masaya talks to her about volunteering at the aquarium, she is fascinated by it. I've already said it: in my opinion these two will end up working together on these issues.

He’s adorable, period. Like her, he’s ashamed to say she's his girlfriend. However, unlike episode 9, he easily manages to invite her this time. It's even little things like this that show his progression. And besides of that, I don’t think the employees asked him first to bring his girlfriend. I mean, how could they know he has a girlfriend only a week after their “getting together”? To me, it’s clear that Masaya asked them first if he could bring his girlfriend, and they answered yes. He’s only too embarassed to admit it 💙

And here THE SCENE starts: poor Masaya, his faces clearly show he’s thinking to be ended in a house full of crazy people!

Here he’s thinking “that time, when Ichigo invited me to the museum, I should have invented another commitment”. 🤣

However I really like that after his initial shock, he quickly recovered and introduced to her father, holding his gaze, and Shintarou accepts him almost immediately. Basically they represented in a few minutes scene a concept that in the old series took a whole episode!

Here Masaya has just realized that Sunday lunches, from here until his death, he will have to spend with them. Amazing how he has to hold back not to laugh. How can you not laugh in such a situation? 🤣

More mirroring expressions 💙💖

Later, it’s so good to see them doing normal teenage couple things: the little goodnight chat! Of course, for Masaya it must be unusual to see such an spontaneous family, when his is practically absent.

Oh, and Ichigo was fast to buy a new cellphone, huh?

Another mirroring expression. They’re adorable.

So, here we have a scene where he gets through his 2 different sides: his happiness, because he’s with his girl, in a place he loves, doing with her a thing they both love and they’re passionate about, but then he becomes sad, like in ep1, and says this.

I must admit that this scene is not very clear to me. Is it Deep Blue speaking through him? Or rather, does Masaya's personality come into contact with his and says between the lines that the planet belongs to aliens and not to man? On the other hand, it is a sentence in accordance with what Quiche will say later. I'd love to read the opinions of other fans!

And here something happens that I really wanted to see again: the concept of the first episode is resumed, in which Ichigo wonders why Masaya sometimes seems so sad. It is actually a theme that had not been touched upon since the first episode, it had to be resumed. Probably, clumsy as she is still with him, she is ashamed to ask him. She doesn't even have the courage to hold his hand, she certainly can't go and ask him something so intimate and personal. But over time she will understand for herself the reason for these occasional moods.

At this point, the plot arrives to bother, Masaya and Ichigo get separated, and Masaya begins to go into severe stress over losing her.

Ehm, she WAS having a fun time, before you arrived 😂

And here Ichigo does something he should never have done. Something for which I had written a post praising her, precisely because she had kept silent so far. But now… she clearly tells Quiche her boyfriend's name. Girl, have you lost your mind?? You are dealing with a dangerous madman, psychopath, armed and obsessed with you. And you, instead of keeping quiet, are you going to tell him that you're in love with someone else, a normal guy who can't defend himself? Now you think Quiche won't go looking for him? Congratulations for being so clever… And in fact…

...dear Ichigo, what did you hope to obtain by telling him so? (btw, wrong subtitles again. Quiche just says he gets in the way).

However, I really appreciated that Ichigo decides to transform when Quiche threatens Masaya, and, despite her being the first to be in danger, always thinks of him, and when the Mew Mews arrive, the first thing she does is ask them about him.

I adored this scene, it’s another introspection that wasn’t in the manga. Masaya really gets frustrated because he wants to find Ichigo, but he can't because he is blocked by the crowd. The Mew Mews arrive and, having superpowers, jump over the crowd and reach her, while he is forced to stand there, powerless. It is precisely the last straw, which triggers the transformation.

We arrive to the Blue Knight scene, which has been changed a bit from the manga, as usual for the better.

1. Ichigo manages to defeat the monster by herself, it is the recoil that makes her fall from the building; however I don't understand why falling from a height would be a problem for her… can't she just turn around and land on her feet?

2. The BK has long pants, and a pink ribbon clearly placed there to call Ichigo; as a hint to his true identity there is also the structure of his hair; the tufts on his head and forehead are exactly those of Masaya, no other character has those particular tufts;

3. The BK doesn't kiss Ichigo on her chest, so Ichigo doesn't feel that he is cold, and he doesn't tell her that stupid sentence that Ryo had told her, which had nothing to do with BK and Masaya’s personality;

4. And there's a reason for that: viewers immediately learn that the BK isn't Ryo, or even Kei, although tant doesn’t mean Ichigo won't suspect it. Actually the series, by showing us the previous scene of Masaya (which Ichigo didn't see) and not showing him during the BK scene, immediately makes it clear to the viewers that he is the BK. Whether or not the characters will have this dilemma remains to be seen;

5. The BK doesn't put Ichigo down before attacking Quiche, but hits him with her in his arms, thus with a weight that slows him down and having to do without a hand. What a great warrior! And speaking of that, is the BK so skilled with a sword because Masaya is skilled at kendo, or is Masaya so skilled at kendo precisely because he was created by a god who uses a sword as a weapon? Hmmm…

6. While Quiche loses his mind, the BK, very imperturbable, doesn't even turn his head, but casts his eye backwards just as if to say "you're really nothing". He really took his revenge from episode 9!

7. Thank God (actually, to the authors) there is no scene where Ichigo looks at the point where Quiche disappears saying his name, and the BK hugs her from behind to get her attention. In New Ichigo absolutely doesn't care about Quiche, her attentions are instead all for the BK, as it should be.

8. Did you notice this? In ep 3, he says to her, basically, “you’re mine”. 10 episodes later, “I’m yours”. 💙

9. The kiss he gives her on her forehead is so sweet! It's really a transformation dragged by his feelings. Even in his unconscious, Masaya can't help but show his love for her, always in a delicate and respectful way. It's a very different forehead kiss than the one Quiche gave her last episode.

Masaya, sweetheart, who never stops looking for her. Of course, because contrary to episode 9 in which he only waited for her calmly, having seen that the monsters had been killed and therefore she was safe, here he has no confirmation even if he saw the other Mew Mews arriving, therefore he continues his research until he has confirmation that Ichigo is okay.

What a beautiful hug they give each other, him keeping his chin on her head as a sign of protection and care. I love how they are so spontaneous in their interactions, even though they are still shy. In the manga, when they found each other it was only him who embraced her, here instead they literally rush into each other's arms.

But isn't something missing? Well, the whole manga scene where Masaya interacts with Mew Ichigo. But I noticed that in the anime they redistributing the various events to not rush everything, so I'm sure this scene will be reinserted later, in a different context.

And that was ONLY ep 13. Ichisaya fans, be prepared, because we’ll get fat, very fat, with this season!

[xion92]

TMMN: Masaya/Ichigo relationship analysis, episode 18

And with this episode we are at ¾ of the series! This is a particular episode about Masaya, because although he doesn't appear much, it gives clear indications about the change in his character. This was the first episode where Masaya gave me some feelings of discomfort and anxiety, let's see why.

Masaya appears in five short scenes. This is the first. His nightmare is becoming clearer, it's not as blurry as in episode 13, and when he wakes up, for the first time he's alone. Alone in his room (his dog isn't with him either), a gloomy and gray room and the light that shines on him from behind is quite sinister. We also begin to see his fear and anxiety, unlike episodes 13 and 14 where he took this nightmare apparently calmly. From how his irises pulsing and how sweaty he is, you can see that he is starting to feel more and more worse from these nightmares, and this isn’t the only problem. As can be seen from episode 13 and the previous ones, even the fact of having to continue to pretend with Ichigo that he doesn't know who she is, his concern that she might get hurt and his frustration of not being able to help her (as far as he knows ) are starting to affect him, and this is starting to reflect on his mood as well.

Second scene: he sees a bad situation on TV in which Ichigo will surely find himself, and once again he is full of anxiety for her.

My godness, here the Blue Knight doesn’t say “you stay back”, he says “don’t fight anymore”! Why, why change the line in that way? It gives a completely different meaning!

However, third scene: Masaya's anguish and concern for her are also starting to manifest in his alter ego. His line is actually what he would like: that she no longer takes risks, given that every battle is potentially deadly. Ryo speaking to the BK… never seen such a thing in the whole franchise, great! He obviously silently replies “kiss my shoes” and walks away.

Fourth scene: Masaya's face is saying: "... how am I here?". Another element that is starting to affect his mood is the fact that he randomly loses consciousness and then finds himself in places where in theory he shouldn't be. It's okay if it happens once, but this is already the fifth time. This, added to everything this boy is going through, can only affect him in a negative way.

And in the last scene, the authors made a brilliant choice: they took a situation that in the old series happened very frequently without a reason, i.e. Masaya who randomly started talking about environmental problems to Ichigo ruining the mood, and they inserted it here to make us understand his state of mind, increasingly down due to recent events. Before now, Masaya had never behaved like this with Ichigo (only in the first episode, in which he still wasn't in love with her, and in the 13th, where however he wasn't down like here and he did it because the speaker of the event was talking about the same thing and he just made a comment). In the previous episodes he was happy with Ichigo, to be with her and to enjoy every moment with her, but now there is this contrast whereby, despite the atmosphere being definetely romantic, despite Ichigo telling him something that he could have pick up, he doesn't pick it up and lets himself go to a moment of discouragement and sadness, despite being with her in such a moment. Even the shadow on his face and his downcast expression make it clear that he feels bad for all the reasons explained, and these reasons are being reflected in his daily life, even with his girlfriend. Among other things, it is understood that if he is so depressed it is not really for the reason he is saying. The environmentalism topic is only the one used by him to externalize the problems that he cannot, does not want and is unable to say. He expresses frustration and pain for man who ruins the environment, but in reality, as we have seen, these problems are quite different, he would like to express them, but not being able to do so, he externalises them by masking them with an acceptable topic.

In the meantime, Ichigo is having an existential crisis, thinking that, despite being happy with Masaya, she still hasn't found his way in her life, unlike her friends (and here I would say... girl, not even at 30 sometimes people haven't found their way, what do you want to find at 15?). So he has his onset of depression, she has her existential crisis. Unlike all the previous episodes, in which they gave a feeling of great harmony every time they were together, this was the first time I felt them separated despite being physically together. Even when they walk away, with him trying his best to ignore his bad feelings and act cheerful again, they walk apart, he in front and she behind. And Ichigo feels a strange wind, and sense something strange coming from him. I don't want to be wrong, but in my opinion it's because she perceives a similarity between that wind and the one that accompanied the BK in episode 13 when he disappeared. So here she "feels" that the BK could be Masaya. But I'd like to read your opinion.

And I noticed something else... do you remember when, in ep 8, he hoped to go to Tokyo Bay with her? Well, finally it happened, but non in the way he hoped...

The care and attention that the authors are putting into Masaya’s character always lets me speechless. They spill details, hints, undertones, which give his character great depth, and you're starting to feel that he's falling into a nightmare that will surely get worse in the next few episodes. Now let's get ready, because next will be a great, great episode!

[xion92]

TMMN: Masaya/Ichigo relationship analysis, episodes 14-15

Hi everyone, I’m doing an analysis of two episodes together, because the space for ichisaya relationship is very limited in these eps.

In episode 14 there are few things to say, but as happened in the episodes of S1 in which Masaya appeared little, every appearance, even small, serves to tell us something more about him and his relationship with Ichigo.

So, the first thing to note is this: In S1, Masaya had Ichigo's name saved on his phone with her last name (Momomiya Ichigo). But now, after they “got together” (yeah, I prefer this term over “dating”, sorry. It’s warmer), he left only her name, a sign of his growing intimacy with her.

It’s also a very welcome addition that his brief appearance makes us understand that Ichigo doesn’t do things without his knowledge, but always keeps him updated, even if by sending him information without context Masaya doesn’t understand exactly what’s happening. But it's very sweet that, no matter what, he's happy that she's having fun.

And Masaya, poor thing, keeps randomly falling asleep (not fainting. Wrong subtitles again!) while sitting and having those weird dreams. He still is either underestimating them, or trying to ignore them. In the last episode he seemed more worried, now instead he tries to act as if nothing had happened, probably because his kendo mate asked him if everything is fine, and as always he tries to act as if nothing really is wrong.

As for the BK: I noticed Ichigo is wondering who he is, yes, but… that's all. I mean, at this point in the story she should already be wondering if it's Ryo or not. Now, it's true that we viewers know it's not him, but she doesn't. So the question is, in New, does the dilemma whether Ryo is the BK exist at all?

As for the BK himself… his battle with Pie and his soundtrack are epic! And I love that when it's shot with Ichigo on the ground behind him, they’re in the same position and shot as in episode 9, roles reversed this time.

As for Ryo and Kei here... they’re literally predicting the final boss. Nice touch!

Now, episode 15! In this episode, the scene with Masaya lasts less than a minute, but it’s very, very important.

First of all, we can see Masaya and Ichigo sharing their passion, which is volunteering for the environment. So, in this episode they have re-inserted the same scene from chapter 1 of the manga, only here the two of them are truly in harmony and bound by the passion for what they are doing. I also love that she continues to keep him informed about her friends, a clear sign that she wants him to be a full part of her life and relationships.

Masaya continues to seem to be very interested in Ichigo’s parents, and that’s no wonder, considering how his own parents are. And here, for the first time, Ichigo asks about his parents.

Notice he stays like this for at least 3 seconds before saying, obviously lying and with closed eyes to avoid to look at her,, that they are always nice. I'm really happy that they've already hinted at his family at this point in the story, instead of waiting for his later monologue. Masaya is really surrounded by a thick aura of mystery in New, and this short scene really makes us wonder why he's not happy to talk about his parents.

The scene with the BK… I love how this time, yes, he gets in the way and takes the acid instead of Ichigo and with a few sword hits he kills some monsters, but then she's the one to save him, also telling him not to exaggerate, because he’s injured. We see the BK touched by how much she cares for him, this is one of the many characteristics that made Masaya fall in love with her after all. And for the first time, we see them really fight together, team up and we see them in harmony even during a fight.

Special metion for this: in the manga, the scene where BK got burned existed to give Ichigo a chance to suspect Kei, as they both get hurt in the same spot. But in the anime, later Kei plays the guitar without problems, so he didn't hurt his arm. So the BK burning scene isn't meant to confuse Ichigo's ideas like in the manga, but to show how willing he is to sacrifice himself for her.

And another thing I noticed: if you read the same scenes of BK in the manga, you can see Ichigo is a bit... into him? I mean, she seems infatuated with him. In the anime, on the other hand, yes, she is grateful to him, thanks him and worries about him, but she doesn't seem to feel any infatuation for him. After three episodes, it’s clear. The fidelity that this girl is showing in New is truly remarkable, she never lets herself be distracted or “captured” by other guys. Neither from the BK, nor from Quiche, nor from Ryo, and that one time that with the latter she was at risk of letting something happen, she stopped and immediately walked away as soon as she realized it. I don't think there’s a woman more monogamous and fidel to her partner than her, Masaya can be really proud of her!

[xion92]

TMMN: Masaya/Ichigo relationship analysis, episode 1

Saw the first episode! Now I’ll make an analysis, with all the scenes I liked the most. Surely there will be other blogs who’ll speak about the full episode, but I’ll write about Ichigo and Masaya’s relationship, which is the part of the series I care the most.

Here Ichigo is 15 and apparently she has just begun the high school. Does that mean she’ll go... more ahead with her boyfriend than in the old series, where they were younger? We’ll have to wait and see. xD

This version of the story shows us something that neither the manga nor the first anime had shown us: how Ichigo falls in love with Masaya. And it also gives her a different reason to fall in love with him. In the first two versions, she falls in love with him for the same reasons as all the other girls in school, that is, he's handsome, smart, charming, athletic, good at school, etc. Here, on the other hand, Ichigo didn't know anything about him (because she just started school), when she sees him doing kendo it's the very first time and she falls in love with him even though she doesn't even know his name. A real love at first sight. I really like this change: she sees him and she likes him, she doesn't even need a real motivation. It’s a real “soul mates” style. She falls in love with him because it has to be like this. This is in the beginning, obviously. More ahead, when she’ll know him better, she’ll have strong and rational motivations to be in love with him as well.

And here we have a great change from the old anime: Masaya shows so many emotions! Starting from the opening, where he blushes, how cute he is!

Here, on his first appearance, he immediately shows that he is uncomfortable and embarrassed to have so many girls behind him, while in the old anime he was mostly indifferent to them.

In this scene Ichigo immediately notices that, when he is alone, he behaves in a different way than when he is among other people, as she will later say: she sees him sad. And there is already a hint of the true nature of the character and she begins to understand his true personality under the facade. This is different from the first series: there, she only notices later that he always seems sad, but here she pays attention and she notices it immediately. And we notice it too: in the first series, he never really seemed sad. But look at him here, poor thing!

Here Masaya is very excited, I've never seen him like this in the old anime! He is really happy to go to that museum, it’s a real passion for him.

In the museum scene, we see another change, on Ichigo's part: in the old anime she didn't care about endangered species at first, and when Masaya spoke to her it was clear that she answered by saying what she thought he wanted to hear. Here, however, she’s honest with him, admitting that she doesn't know anything about the subject, but however she shows a genuine interest. Masaya here does not talk to Ichigo about the subject of the exhibition by making a kind of monologue, as sometimes happened in the old series, but he answers a question she asked him and in which she is interested.

And already from the first episode we begin to see his dark side (the shadow on his eyes). We can see that he is really angry with man in this adaptation.

And then they have this discussion that I talked about in another analysis. Great to see them argue and disagree about something! And Masaya then changes his mind and recognizes the validity of Ichigo’s point. Great interaction between them!

And then, THE scene of the episode: their first kiss, albeit accidental. Just like in the manga, although in the manga it happened because she tripped, here instead she is bumped by the people who are running away. Guys, what a chemistry they have!

And look at how embarrassed he is!

When the monster appears, Masaya and Ichigo are together as in the manga, notice how scared he is too and how protective he immediately is with her. For plot reasons, he is unfortunately knocked out.

I also really liked that here, Ichigo falls from the tree not because she is struggling to get away from Ryou, but because she wants to go to Masaya to defend him.

I’ve already read about some fans that, even if in the past they didn’t like Masaya’s character, now in this series they like him so much, because he feels so much more genuine than before! I loved him even in the first series, for different reasons, but I love him even more now that I can see a different side of his character. This is definitely a great new beginning for this couple whom I love so much! I can’t wait to see the other episodes to follow their relationship’s development.

[xion92]

TMMN: Masaya/Ichigo relationship analysis, episode 5

To my great pleasure, I must take back my suspicion from the last analysis. Since in the corresponding chapter of the manga Masaya didn't appear, I had assumed that we would not have seen him in episode 5. Instead, this episode shows us once again how much care the authors have for his character and for his relationship with Ichigo. In fact, this scene is exclusive to the anime, it wasn't in the manga and they didn't have to put it in, but they did it anyway, instead of simply putting Masaya aside and then bring him back once Zakuro is recruited. This scene is only a minute long, but every little moment with Masaya is important in this anime, so let's see what it's all about.

This scene is crucial because the part of the story in which all Mew Mews have to be recruited is coming to an end, and so we begin to get introduced to Ichigo's biggest personal problem that will last from here until volume 5: the fact that she keeps hidden to Masaya that she's a Mew Mew. In fact, while she's talking to him about the problem she has with Minto, it’s evident that up until that moment she had been very careful not to tell him anything about her double life. But at that moment she’s lost in her thoughts, and so she says without thinking that she works in a Café, which Masaya had no idea about. Although this part is revealed, Ichigo manages to get away with it and pass it off as a normal part-time job, but later she'll start to feel guilty because she is not telling him the truth.

A very important thing that happens in this exchange between the two is this: Masaya doesn't give advices to Ichigo regarding her problem. He realizes that Minto must be an important person to her and wishes her to be better soon, but fortunately he doesn't give Ichigo any advice on the subject, not even a trivial thing like "stay close to her". Why am I saying this? Because this is one of the big problems that Masaya had in the 2002 anime: when Ichigo had some interpersonal relationship problems, he always was readily able to advise her. This is an excellent example among many of how Studio Pierrot didn't understand Masaya's character at all. Masaya simply, at least in the initial part of the story, can't give advices on friendship to Ichigo, because it's not in his character, in his nature. Masaya has no idea what friendship is, what an authentic bond with another person is, and he could never, ever do something like that, in fact even in the manga he never gives Ichigo such advice. It's Ichigo who has to teach him how to behave with a friend in difficult, not the other way around, and in fact this is what happens. She, who knows how to behave in relationships, tells him that she’ll visit Minto to make her feel better, and he just listens and learns. The fact that Masaya doesn’t give advice to Ichigo in this anime makes us understand once more how the authors have fully understood his character. Kudos to them!

Oh, and Masaya, as we saw at the end of Episode 3, has stopped to call Ichigo “Momomiya-san”, and has started to call her by name. A very important step for him, which already shows that she is a precious person to him.

At this point, I suppose the only episode in which Masaya may not appear is the ship one, since it’s the only remaining chapter of the manga in which he doesn’t appear at all, but hey, the authors may still surprise me!

[xion92]

TMMN: Masaya/Ichigo relationship analysis, episode 10

I’ve already said it but I repeat it: how I’m loving this series for how it’s writing Masaya’s character. Whenever they change something from the manga they replace it with something better. Above all I love how in this episode his passion for Ichigo is starting to manifest, but let's go in order.

First of all, I really appreciated that now things between them have gone so far that the fact of having a date is now something usual and obvious for them, in fact in this episode they are together out of school. This unlike the manga, in which the two of them were together on this occasion only because the Mew Mew had dragged Ichigo in front of his house, but she tried to avoid it because she didn't want to get excited in his presence. Here, however, as we have seen in previous episodes, their relationship is very spontaneus and natural, and they try to be together whenever they can. Did he ask her out or did she ask him? It doesn't matter, what matters is that the only thing this couple needs to become an official pairing is an explicit statement. We learn from the first scene that their date is the following evening, and the fact that Ichigo remarks that she mustn’t be late makes us understand that she indeed will be late. 😂 Well, that's the scene we're all waiting for, after all. And unfortunately we don't know if there will be in this season, but let's hope for the best.

On the analysis of this episode, I think it’s necessary to dedicate some time to the first scene. This is the long-awaited scene in which Masaya and Ryo meet for the first time. If you compare it with the analogous scene of the manga, you can see that it’s a bit different, especially in Masaya's reaction. I needed to watch this scene a few times to fully understand it, because I admit, at first I didn't understand it and it seemed to me that it was just the same scene from the manga but watered down for who knows what reason. Well, if you look at this scene from the anime trying to force the one from the manga into it, it’s clear that there are things that do not add up. But if you look at it with a clear mind without thinking about the manga, its meaning becomes clear, and I finally understand how it was transformed in its writing and what the anime version means.

First, we must keep in mind that Masaya from the manga and the anime are two quite distinct characters, as far as characterization is concerned. In the manga, Masaya is a very closed, serious character, with a rather expressionless look, just as his attitudes are inexpressive. At this point in the story, he is a character who hasn't appeared a lot and his behaviors are quite detached, only to come out with exaggerated and very troubled attitudes, as happens in this scene.

Masaya of the anime instead is a very different character, he is closed and serious only at the beginning, but then he evolves: expressive, who manifests his problems, and who has many flaws, but with him a characteristic remains constant, that is the sweetness and intense love for Ichigo, while in the manga, at least at this point in the story, it was barely visible.

Already once, in episode 3, it was therefore necessary to rewrite a similar scene. In the manga, the scene where Masaya and Ichigo find themselves at the zoo is… creepy? He gets angry with her, stays angry with her for a long time, and soon after, without apologizing, he gives her the bell. In the anime, however, he immediately apologizes for his behaviour and tries to make her understand that he doesn't know why he’s experiencing those feelings. He then gives her the bell, but the sensations that reach the viewer are different, the scene has an air of sweetness and tenderness that the manga doesn’t have. So Masaya's character and his relationship with Ichigo take a completely different path.

Here the same happens: in the manga, in this scene Masaya has a very strong reaction that has nothing sweet, but instead he shows a strong jealousy and possession. It is a characterization that fits in the context of the manga, but in the anime, with all the development and additional scenes that the character has had up to now, it would have sent him completely OOC, terribly clashing with what he had been up to now. In the manga he is gloomy, and when he holds Ichigo so tightly from behind and says that phrase to her, his gesture is not loving, but only possessive. After episode 7, and especially after episode 9, it would absolutely not be possible for him to behave like this. Try watching again the endings of episode 7, where he looks at Ichigo blushing and with sparkling eyes (when he hadn't had the slightest reaction in the manga), and episode 9, in which he has a look so sweet and in love, and then try to imagine the manga scene right after. Do you understand that it does not fit? That the manga Masaya and anime Masaya are not the same character?

A partial rewriting of the scene was therefore necessary without letting it losing its essence, and indeed the rewriting gives it an even stronger meaning. First, notice how Ryo here basically insults Ichigo, which she didn't do in the manga. This causes Masaya's reaction not to be pure jealousy, but irritation at first, bringing out his protective side towards Ichigo. And he clearly shows this state of mind: he puts his hand on Ichigo's shoulder with impetuousness (an added gesture, in the manga he doesn't), he looks at her with a forced and tight smile (we know at this point what his spontaneous smiles are like, and that one definitely isn't), and when he looks at Ryo he gives him a cold look. He shows how much he’s trying to restrain himself. Curiously, Ryo in that scene doesn’t seem jealous at all, on the contrary at the beginning he gives him a smile and doesn't seem to have anything against him, but when Masaya looks at him and greets him in that unfriendly way, clearly Ryo gets annoyed and, probably to provoke him, he acts a bit flirty with Ichigo. Shot of Masaya who sees with bewilderment that Ryo has taken Ichigo's arm (which is not seen in the manga) and, shortly after, he’s seen darkened in the face, grabbing Ichigo's hand trying to drag her in the opposite direction (now this is jealousy). When Ichigo asks him why, again, he apologizes for his behaviour, but he remains thoughtful. So in the anime his reaction is irritation first, and jealousy after. We can clearly see his feelings, but he doesn't understand them, as many at other times. However, when he realizes he’s acting wrong, he admits it and always apologizes, trying to correct himself. Healthy relationship.

At this point there is the different path that the anime takes from the manga, to accord with Masaya's characterization. In the anime, his jealousy of Ichigo is maintained, but from this point on it is channeled into Masaya's obvious desire to become more intimate with her. From his jealousy and desire to protect her it passes to his desire to have her for himself and, consequently, to have more intimate type of contact. Remember that, even if he doesn't know how to give a name to his feelings, at this point in the series, contrary to the manga, he has spent so much time with her and to have with her so many significant moments, that now he feels a very strong love for her (his declaration will take place the next day), and clearly love includes desire, also because the two of them here are fifteen. However, even if he does not know how to identify his feelings about her, he does not reject them, on the contrary, he has now accepted them, and indeed, welcomes them and indulges them. By getting to that point in the relationship, he's starting to want to touch her, hug her and caress her, even though he'd probably been wanting it for a long time, but he'd always held back because he saw that she was uncomfortable when he tried to get close, as she'll say later in the episode (he knows that she is a mew mew, but not that her ears pop out when she gets too excited), and therefore respects her. I can imagine how difficult this is for him. But this meeting with Ryo ignites his desire again and gets to the point where he can't hold himself anymore, and tries to make her understand it in his own way, but in a very sweet way. As in the manga, therefore, he covers her with her jacket, but he doesn't collapse on top of her with that serious expression and does not tighten his arms around her in that exaggeratedly possessive way. He puts his jacket on her in a symbolic embrace (if he had simply wanted to cover her from the rain, he just had to pass the jacket to her), but still smiles at her, a sign that the point of this gesture is not strong jealousy and the fear that Ryo may take her away from him, but the more the desire to get more intimate with her, to touch and caress her, and the gesture of putting the jacket on her is an excuse to be able to get close to her. In fact, he then approaches his body to hers and holds his hands around her in a softer way, without squeezing her tightly, since he knows that if he really hugged her she would probably get away from him, and then he gets even closer to her, whispering her into her ear the same line he says in the manga, but said in that way takes on a different meaning. First of all, in the anime, there is the whole metaphor of the cats behind, that wasn't in the manga: not knowing how to name his feelings about her, Masaya knows that he has a soft spot for cats, so he compares Ichigo to a kitten.

Manga meaning: I wish you were all mine and I don't want to share you with anyone, said in a possessive and exclusive sense. Anime meaning: I would like you to be mine in an intimate sense, I wish you could be always with me. From the way he whispers it, with that expression, that smile now spontaneous and sweet and with closed eyes, you can clearly perceive what he feels, how much he’s in love, and it’s clear that the meaning of the sentence is that. In this scene he emanates a very strong desire. It’s a passionate scene, but also very romantic and sweet, especially in the rain like this. Even the music they chose for this scene is the same romantic music that was at the end of the third episode, a sign, once more, that the intent of the scene is romantic and what he wants to express is love, not possession and nothing more. If they've rendered this so beautifully, I don't dare imagine what they're going to do with their declaration.

Unfortunately, here is the usual problem: these two poor lovers can hardly do anything without an obstacle getting between them. So Ichigo runs away scared because of her ears, which have popped up for her strong emotion, and he remains alone, poor thing. It makes me very sad: he just wants to touch and caress the girl he loves, but her reaction, running away, really makes him feel bad. It can be seen from the long shot, where he’s alone and with his head down. He clearly wonders why she escaped, but I doubt that at this moment, or even after, he has been asking himself questions like “maybe I have exaggerated? So she doesn't love me?" After all, he has yet to understand his feelings, he couldn't ask himself questions like that. By now he has got used to Ichigo disappearing when he doesn’t expect it, and he takes it as a fact, he doesn't ask too many questions. He may have been confusing for a while, but that's it.

I have a strong presentiment that, apart from when Ichigo is a cat and he finds her, they will never meet again until their declaration of love. Maybe I'm wrong, but I really think the manga scene where he picks her up won't be there, at least not in this season. They moved the scene where he protects her from a monster further, so maybe they'll move this too. After the entire episode dedicated to tickets, such a scene no longer makes sense, it would be only a cute scene without anything else. A whole episode dedicated to him, his psychology, his problems and their relationship is much more significant than a scene where he simply picks her up. So even if it’s eliminated, it has been replaced by something better.

Ok, move on!

Second scene in which Masaya appears. Three things to note in this scene: the first is that Masaya is okay, even though in the first scene Ichigo ran away like that. I've talked about this before. I really don't think he's worried, because the authors so far have been very explicit about his feelings, and if we see him calm it means he's really calm. She hasn't contacted him to tell him, for example, that she doesn’t wanto to come to concert date anymore, so he thinks it's nothing and in any case he’ll see her again tomorrow. Yes, because, even if we have to wait weeks, for them the date is the following evening. The second thing to note is that Masaya is completely alone in the house. No comments are made on this, but this is one of the things that will become clear only later. That is, he has a completely absent family and is practically left to himself. Third, even though Tokyo is in danger right now and all the news are reporting it, he doesn't seem to be aware of it. This is also understandable, if people and news started talking about the cocoon when he was returning home and found cat Ichigo, afterwards to stay with her he neither watched TV nor checked the phone, so it’s possible that he didn’t know anything about it.

Afterward, I wouldn’t talk about analysis of their relationship, as their interactions have cat Ichigo and he doesn't know she is (he knows she's a Mew Mew, but not that her ears pop when she's excited she can become a cat). However, Ichigo's rivalry with Masaya's dog is very funny. Well, she may not be a schoolmate... but in the end she has a rival in love! 😂

And in the end, Masaya my boy, you and your wet dreams about Ichigo! 😁 Wonderful that he thinks and dreams of her even while he’s sleeping. Poor thing, just think that in the last interaction with her he was trying to have a more intimate contact and she ran away, how frustrating it must be. At least in his dreams he can be with her and do with her what he wants. She is touched and she realizes once again how much he loves her, in fact she too feels desire for him, it's only that when she is a girl she holds back to not make her ears pop out. But now she’s a cat she can let herself go a little. I’m always very impressed with how tender and sweet their relationship is but at the same time it has passion.

So this episode makes us understand that the love of these two has gone even further and they begin to feel desire for each other, which they can’t satisfy for various reasons. Ichigo wants him, but she keeps away from him because she doesn't want the excitement to make her transform, and he tries to stay away from her because he feels that she wants to be away from him, and therefore he doesn’t force her, even if this is becoming more and more difficult for him, in fact, in this episode he can’t hold himself. However, Ichigo also finds harder and harder to restrain himself, as we can be seen from the fact that she peeks at Masaya when he undresses and tries to kiss him when she hasn’t longer the risk of transforming in front of him.

And finally, I'm posting a drawing I made and posted in the previous post. The fanservice scene with him was not drawn well, mainly due to his neck being too thin for his build, and his expression seemed weird to me. So I redrawed it by fixing these two things, the rest is the same. Handsome boy!

[xion92]

TMMN: Masaya/Ichigo relationship analysis, episode 17

In this episode the ichisaya scene is only at the end and lasts less than 30 seconds, but there is a lot to say about it. That's why I'm still going to treat this post as an analysis.

First of all, a terminological clarification that made me a little perplexed. In English, I always see fans refer to Masaya and Ichigo's "status" as "dating." Not being an English native, I thought “well, that's their way of describing a stable couple”, even if it always gave me a strange, superficial and not serious feeling. Dating gave me a bit of the impression of two people who start to go out together but aren't a couple yet, in the sense that they are not officially a couple, but maybe I was wrong. But then, by chance, on Wikipedia, I read this: “Dating is a term coined in America to signify that stage of romantic relationships in which two individuals engage in an activity together, most often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship.”

Then no. Absolutely not. Dating was the right term for the two of them in season 1, and it perfectly reflected their status: a boy and a girl who like each other and go out together to consider starting a stable relationship. But from season 2 they are in a stable relationship, they are not dating, they are no longer considering whether to choose each other as a partner, they have already officially chosen each other in episode 12. So, what can be a more suitable term, in English, to define their status? I also found this on Wikipedia: “In Britain, if two people are 'going out together,' it may mean they're dating but that their relationship has advanced to a relatively long-standing and sexual boyfriend-girlfriend relationship although they're not cohabiting.”

Oh, that's a much more fitting term for Masaya and Ichigo. So if we want to use an English term to define what they do, they go out together in the British sense, they don't date in the American sense. However, in Italian “going out together” is still a weak term for a stable relationship with a strong bond like theirs, we understand it as “they like each other, they go out together, but it's not serious, and she or he can for example going out with other people, they don't have a duty of fidelity and devotion like in a real couple, etc.”. In short, it’s their situation in the S1. For the state of Masaya and Ichigo in S2 we say, in the moment they declare their love "they get together", and from there on "they stay together". This is the same British concept as above, but more seriously defined. They don't just date, but in life in general they are united by an intimate bond as a couple, even if they are not yet living together.

Now, as for the episode itself, here's a handy bullet list:

- First of all, I really appreciated that Masaya was included in a "friendly" moment among all the other characters and could enjoy a moment of common leisure with them, instead of being relegated outside and being framed only with Ichigo; I also really appreciate that it was a moment between him and Ichigo that triggered her transformation instead of her bumping into Kei, like in the manga;

- Furthermore, even in a short scene like this, it is shown how the relationship of these two gradually evolves and grows. Although short, this scene has a crazy passion, similar to the episode 10 scene, but with a substantial difference. There, Masaya had acted on impulse, driven first by jealousy of her and then by the resulting desire to be closer to her. It's evident that here he has not acted on impulse at all, but everything he does he has thought and decided, among other things despite the fact that they are together with other people. This means that Masaya is gradually losing the shyness towards Ichigo, which he still displayed in episode 13, becoming more and more loose with her, showing her the passionate side of her without the need for a trigger. In fact, then we see him completely satisfied, with himself and with the effect he has had on her; and by the way I love her expression while he compliments her, simple but very much in love. You can see that he is really into her;

- Speaking of the scene itself, I think this is the first time ever in the entire franchise where Masaya compliments Ichigo on her appearance. I don't think she's ever told her before that she's cute or adorable. I'm really soooo happy that in New he does it, like a real boy complimenting his girlfriend telling her she's beautiful and pretty;

- And speaking of what he does… is it just me or does it seem that his whole attitude hides a marked passion/desire/sexual charge? That is, let's talk about it: she whispers to Ichigo with a persuasive voice, takes the popcorn from her cheek, eats it and before eating it she looks at her in a way that… I couldn't better define. Then assuming a satisfied expression. Now... I can't define well the symbology behind taking a piece of food from the body of your girlfriend and eating it, but it gives me the impression that it hides something strongly physical (a bit like the girl who licks and sucks her boyfriend's fingers. I'm not going to tell you what that means, I think you know very well too). In fact, I think that if Ichigo gets so excited that she turns into a cat, she has definitely caught this allusion;

- But in the anime, does Masaya know that Ichigo can transform into a cat or not? In the manga he doesn't know, but here I’m not sure. Does he keep his eyes closed because he wants to pretend he didn't see her, or does he spontaneously stay like that because he's, um… aroused and caught up in the moment?

- And finally: I know this won't happen in the next episode, but it makes me laugh to think what could happen if Masaya went out to look for Ichigo and saw her lying down with Ryo on top of her. 🤣

There's still one last thing to say: with this episode, it seems completely clear to me that the final scene that took place in the manga at the aquarium won't be in the anime. And this, unlike other scenes, cannot be moved later, because its stong point is precisely the fact that Ichigo doesn't know that Masaya knows, and if the picnic episode will take place between two episodes as I assume, it won't be possible to insert it again. Am I disappointed? Well yes and no. Let's say that that scene has been partially replaced with the scene of Masaya looking for Ichigo and being frustrated because he can't protect her (which wasn't in the manga). In the manga the next scene was necessary because we, until that moment, never see Masaya worried about her or that he wants to protect her but he can't. So there's that scene where he talks to Mew Ichigo where he says all those things, "retrieving" what he's never shown before. In New this scene is not there, but there are many other scenes where he shows his concern for her and how much she means to him, even if he doesn't say it. And in the manga, up to that point, it wasn't clear whether Masaya knew whether or not Mew Ichigo was her, so that scene served to further confuse. In the anime, however, it is very clear that he knows. For all these reasons the authors have surely considered that scene no longer necessary, replaced by many other previous scenes and therefore eliminated. Unlike the manga, in the anime Masaya is a character who speaks little but does and shows a lot.

[xion92]

TMMN: Masaya/Ichigo relationship analysis, episode 7

Hi everyone! Before starting the analysis of this episode, I have a question for you all: do you have any contacts with the producers of the old anime? I’d kindly like to write to them, and say to sit down, watch this anime and learn from this series how to characterize a character.

Folks, this show is treating Masaya very, very well. It’s giving him a great depth, which even the manga didn't have. Yes, the scenes are mostly from the manga, but it adds a lot of little things that dig his character even deeper and give even more meaning to this couple's bond. I don't know if Ikumi is behind all this, but if this is the case I can only be immensely grateful to her. Let's start, then.

Let's start by saying that this episode actually combines the last chapter of volume 2 and the first of volume 3. Condensing two chapters into a single episode, you'd think: they cut things, surely there will be less depth, the dynamics will not be understood. But it’s not like this.

So it begins with the scene that alone gives 10/10 to the episode. Ichigo falling asleep in class and having a dream about Masaya. Note that here, unlike in the manga, he dreams of kissing him. As in episode 4, he goes much further than the manga. Among other things, we finish seeing her dream before she actually wakes up (”Aoyama-kun, you’re so bad”...lol 🤣 what are you doing with him in your dream?), at this point I wonder how much further she goes with him in her fantasies 😁

An aspect of Masaya's character that I’ve always appreciated: he also likes Ichigo's carelessness and jokes about it with irony, but in any case he always helps her to solve the problems she caused. Oh, another nice foreshadowing: the blue handkerchief!

Ichigo, what did you want to do here, crash into him and throw him to the ground to kiss him again by mistake? 🤣

And it’s wonderful that Ichigo has fantasies of him kissing her and leaning her against the wall and in real life holding his shoulders from behind is enough to get her excited up to this point.😆

This part is very important: in those days, between her who was chasing Zakuro and him who had training, they talked a little. Clearly they are not a couple yet, at least officially, since in my opinion the ending of episode 3 was quite eloquent in this regard. But that's okay, relationships need to be developed slowly and they'll probably get together at the end of the season. Masaya is busy with kendo these days, so for the moment she is content to give him her support in words and starts to walk away from him.

Masaya shows, again, his impetuousness which he has already shown before, but which over time he’ll show more and more. He doesn't ask her to wait, he actually stops her by taking her by her arm, again showing how he can't handle his actions when he gets excited. He too wants to go out with Ichigo again and spend time with her because he wants to get to know her better, admitting between his lines he likes her. And then something happens that I wanted so much to see but didn't really believe they actually would do: as far as possible, the authors let us hear his thoughts. I say "as far as possible” because with him they have to be careful. Just one word in excess, and you might understand that he’s no ordinary guy. But they give us as much as they can.

Oh, a tip to the animators: when you draw a new eyebrow to replace the wrong one, you should erase the wrong one. I hope this error is eliminated in the DVD. 😆 Anyway, here he thinks "if I know more about you ..." and I conclude it: "...I will be able to understand why I feel so weird with you." 

And in fact when she goes away he asks to himself "what is this feeling?" Poor darling. Again, he's in love with her but he doesn't realize it and he doesn't know how he feels about her. This scene is similar but also different from the manga: in fact, there we didn’t hear his thoughts and there was no torment of not understanding what the feeling he felt was. Of course, you could have arrived at it through reasoning, but seeing it on screen in such a blatant way is another matter entirely.

We then see a scene that we never saw in the manga: Masaya interacting with his training mates. Here they mostly talk about the Mew Mew, but from their lines, such as the fact that his mates know that he always talks to a girl but not her name, we understand that Masaya is very reserved, he doesn’t talk to them about his personal things (they know that he always talks to Ichigo only because they saw them together, certainly he didn't tell him about her) and he has no real connection with any of them. Masaya is a guy who until now has always been alone despite being always surrounded by people on a superficial level, Ichigo is the only one who has managed to get close to him on a personal level and to involve him with actual feelings.

Adorable that Ichigo, as in the manga, made for him a cat-shaped lucky charm, which here acquires a deeper meaning, since she learned in episode 3 that he has a soft spot for cats. Besides, she made it with the same color of her fur, and she put a red bell like hers, as if to say: with this lucky charm, you’ll always keep me with you.

And here comes out what had already been glimpsed in the previous episodes: Ichigo's paranoia, which here compared to the manga has a different reason. In the manga, she is basically scared because she fears she is being discovered by him. In the anime, however, she feels terribly guilty because she lied to him, and she is sure that if he finds out the truth he’ll never forget her and he won’t speak to her anymore. She walks away like that because she feels like a bad person, she almost regrets letting their relationship go on like this, because it's hard to go back now, she knows that, if she continues to stay with him, she will have to keep lying to him and it doesn't make her feel good. Moreover, she knows that he, of all people, is the one who came closest to discovering her identity, and indeed it’s like this, even if Masaya at this point in the episode still has some doubts.

I loved this line, which wasn't in the manga: I didn't see you, but I felt you were there. He already has such a high connection with her that he feels her presence even if he can’t see her.

And he tries asking her: are you that Mew Mew? Because Masaya has no idea what Ichigo thinks about it, and surely there wouldn’t be any problem for him if she answered yes, so she asks her such a direct question. He loves her for who she is, she was the first person to make him feel real feelings, what does he care if she's a Mew Mew? But of course Ichigo doesn't know it, and such a question would be a big deal for her. I always wondered what she would answer him if he could finish the question.

The detail of this scene is beautiful: as soon as they perceive the danger, they instinctively go close to protect each other in case of need. And in fact the danger arrives. And here we have something great, which surpasses even the manga, in my opinion.

Remember this scene? Before watching the episode, I was a little worried about the lack of Quiche, because in this manga scene we have Masaya who openly stands up to him, and Quiche also compares him to Ichigo, because Masaya has a strong personality like her. And I thought, without Quiche there won't be this scene and something of Masaya's character will be lost. Instead, the anime also gives us something better. 

He doesn't just scream, he not only dodges Ichigo from the attack, he takes a stick and fights alone, when he's still just a normal boy, against monsters! Moreover, to protect Ichigo, which was not there in the manga because he was alone. What a man! It’s therefore not important Quiche’s missing, because the point of that scene in the manga wasn’t to show their interaction, but to show how strong Masaya was. And this is shown to us perfectly in the anime, in a different and better way, so once again, I totally approve of the change that has been made. Furthermore, Masaya manages to resist enough against monsters, taking advantage of the skills he has developed in kendo (in which he is skilled because he was created by a god who uses the sword as a weapon).

Ichigo then, even if at that moment she can’t transform because she’s with him, she doesn’t stay still, leaving him all the work, but she too takes a stick and tries to help him. Even from these signals, despite the misunderstandings that will constitute an obstacle for them up to volume 5, we can see how they are building a healthy relationship, made up of mutual help and support.

Only when Masaya is hit and the wasp is about to kill him, Ichigo decides to transform to save him, even if she’s there in front of him. And here we have something that wasn't in the manga. In the manga, Masaya at the end of the chapter is not sure Ichigo is a Mew Mew, and he says so in the last panel of the chapter: he is suspicious, but it can't be. Here, however, even if the lines the characters exchange are almost the same, from the shots and the tones of the voices we understand well that Masaya understands perfectly in this moment that Ichigo is a Mew Mew. Also because as she transforms, he sees her clearly and his suspicions are definitively confirmed.

The subs are inaccurate. He actually tells her “kimi wa Mew Mew”, "you are a Mew Mew", as in the manga, but in the manga the interpretation is deliberately ambiguous. He could mean "ou in a generic sense are a Mew Mew", or "then you Ichigo are really a Mew Mew". In the anime, on the other hand, you understand what he means by the tone of his voice, and it is very clear that it’s the second. He's clearly saying "Ichigo, you're a Mew Mew."

Poor Ichigo, crying ... it makes me really sad to see her like this. She understood what it actually happened, he know who she is. She’s desperate as she fights because she knows that this is the end of their relationship, as she’s sure he will be angry with her because she has been lying to him all that time. However, notice that it's all a film that she only made in her own head, because she has no idea how he thinks about it. He would accept her anyway and forgive her for lying to him, but she is instead convinced that he won't want to have anything to do with her anymore.

When the fight is over, we have another proof that Masaya has understood who she is. As she begins to walk away, he calls her by name, and not insecure, as a question, as if he was looking for confirmation. In the manga he calls her by name in the previous chapter, here instead, since they condensed the two chapters, they moved it here. In that scene of the manga, however, he calls her uncertainly, a sign that he is not sure. Here, on the other hand, he is sure and calls her without doubts in his voice.

And at this point, as the title of the episode also says, it is clear what she wants to do. Out of guilt and fear of how he might react, she is ready to say goodbye first, perhaps because it would be less painful than hearing him say goodbye. This is the first of two times in which she will say goodbye, moreover with the same phrase: “ima made, arigatou”, “thank you for everything”. This is the first time, absent in the manga, in which she only thinks it. The second time will be in the rain after the Tokyo Tower battle, probably in the end of the season, where she’ll really tell him, and it’ll be the exact moment when he’ll realize he’s in love with her.

And then she simply says "ja nee", which could also just mean "bye, see you later". But said with that expression and with that tone, it’s clearly a farewell, it’s clear that if she had left at that moment, she would never have approached him again. But then, the turning point: in the manga Masaya stops Ichigo because he actually wasn't sure of his suspicions, but here the things are different.

Masaya knows that she’s Ichigo, but realizing that he is losing her, he panics and first yells at her to stop, as to tell her “don't go away from me”. He then thinks about it for a couple of seconds and immediately makes up for having mistaken her for that girl he knows. He has no idea why she is keeping her identity hidden from him, but he knows that if he proves that he knows her, she will go away from him. So, if the condition for her to stay with him is to pretend he doesn't know anything, then he’ll play that part. She is too important to him, and he’s willing to do anything to keep her with him. From the tone of his voice while he’s saying it and the fact that he looks down, it’s clear he’s not sincere with what he says and that he is making it up. To reinforce what he said, he also asks her who she is and if she can at least tell him this. In the manga, his is a sincere question, because he’s not sure if Ichigo is really her. Here, however, he already knows, but he asks it to her to convince her even more that he knows nothing about her. In fact, before those further questions she’s still doubtful whether he knows or not, but after he asks her who she really is, she is convinced that he doesn’t know, and she’s relieved, because she has understood he hasn’t recognized her.

And at this point I wonder why the authors didn't give the warriors a completely different name to make them protect their identity, as they did in Sailor Moon. "I'm not Usagi, I'm Sailor Moon." It’s okay. Here instead ... "I'm not Ichigo, I'm Mew Ichigo." And she tells him even with a convinced tone! 😆 It’s like calling their secret base “Café Mew Mew”. Great coverage, guys, you really want the paparazzi around you.

However, Masaya already knows who she is, even if Ichigo had had a different superhero name it would have been the same. And at that point Ichigo says "ja nee" again, but in a completely different tone than before. She’s cheerful and happy, a sign that she no longer means it as a farewell. Masaya instinctively tries to stop her anyway, but he’s no longer in panic as before. He knows Ichigo will stay with him, but still that is a pretty shocking discovery. But in that moment it doesn't matter, his only thought is to find her again as soon as possible.

Another proof he has understood who she is, he immediately goes to look for her in the very place where Mew Ichigo has gone away. Can we dare a dubbing award to Yuuma Uchida? He already has a lot of them, I'm sure, but here he’s truly a monster. Even though he calls her passionately all three times, you notice the change in his tone when he sees her sitting against the wall. He first calls her loudly, but only to find her. As soon as he sees her there exhausted his voice becomes worried and agitated, and it’s agitated even when he asks her if she’s okay. Yuma Uchida… they couldn't find a better voice for Masaya!

In the manga at this point he lifted her torso off the ground, but here Ichigo is already leaning against the wall, so it wasn’t needed. And all the additions in the anime make up for that! Especially the scene now.

She manages to give him the lucky charm she had prepared, an indirect way of telling him she loves him and she supports him, and Masaya, unlike the manga, where in this scene he didn’t say a word, clearly shows his emotions, those emotions that only she is able to make him feel and that still he can’t explain. In the anime it’s him, and not Ichigo, who realizes that she has given him a gift. Surely it’s not the first gift that he receives in his life, but it’s the first gift he has received with feeling and from a person he loves in turn. In the manga, he didn’t even thank her, here instead, after gazing the lucky charm and realizing what it means, he blushes so much and thanks her warmly. A lot of feelings are shining through every action of him, in a way that he has never shown in any of his previous incarnations.

Awww, how adorable he is! Masaya is generally represented in two ways in this anime. Like a cool guy or like an adorable puppy. Here is the second. This is the same character who said at the beginning of the series that mankind is full of sins. And now he's all in love with a member of the species he hates so much.

And then we have a final exchange, also a nice anime addition. In the manga the two separate because he has to go back to training, but not here. She wants to be close to him while he trains, not just hope he wins like she said earlier in the episode. He’s obviously more than happy that she’ll stay with him during his training (he’s still blushed), and therefore from here on an issue that worried me a bit is resolved: in the manga, Masaya and Ichigo are together only a few more times before he declares himself to her (when they go out together, they meet Ryou and she turns into a cat, and when she feels sick and he takes her to the infirmary). They’re actually a very few meetings for such a declaration. Instead, here, with this little additional interaction, we have the confirmation that only some of their interactions, the most important ones, are shown to us, but they stay together and bond even off-screen. That's just great! They have every opportunity to stay together both before and after training and thus to bond even more.

And all ends with a vision of the sky with cherry petals, and Ichigo is very happy because she’ll be able to continue to be with Masaya. Keeping lying to him and feeling guilty about it, but right now she doesn't care. She just wants to be with him, the other problems are not important.

And with this episode 7 ends. Guys, during the first episodes I kept my expectations low because I didn't want to be disappointed, but after all things they gave us, and especially after this episode, my expectations are rising more and more . You can feel the difference with the old series, in which the authors seemed to have put this couple only because they had to do it. Here, on the other hand, you can feel how much love and care they are putting into characterizing both him and his couple with Ichigo. They are giving us so much, if you are a fan who loves Masaya and the canon couple, they are giving us a wonderful gift. It had always been my dream to see Masaya and this couple shine like a bright star in a new adaptation, and that's exactly what they're doing. I will never be grateful enough to Mia Ikumi, Reiko Yoshida and the creators of this anime for these characters, this couple and this huge gift!

Now, as the next one is the ship episode, I'm sure Masaya won't be there, so I'll gladly take break. See you again in episode 9!