#mahigure

[kamisamabest]

[princeedwivedi]

GureMahi Analysis Part 1

Vol 1 of Catastrophe at 16

Prologue: About the Spring of this World

Guren’s POV:

“She was so close, that I could hear the sounds of her breathing. I liked that sound. I liked the sound of her voice. And the sound of her breath. I liked everything about her.”

“To me, who was lowly born, she was the sun……”

When Guren compares Mahiru with the sun, it not only shows how important she is to him, but also shows how impossible it is for him to reach her, because of the social divide.

“I looked at her and extended my hand.

Towards empty space.

Towards the sun.

Towards Mahiru.”

Guren who once believed that all his dreams could come true, and he could be with the person he liked, is forced to realise that dreams meant nothing without power in a cruel, hierarchical world.

Ch 2: Shinya’s Classroom

10 years has passed since the day Guren and Mahiru were forced apart.

Guren’s goal is to overthrow the Hiiragi House.

Since he’s attending First Shibuya High School, which is administered by Mikado no Oni, he has to pretend to be weak, unambitious and insignificant, because otherwise, he would be seen as a threat to the Hiiragis and it would not only put him, but the entire Ichinose clan in danger.

Guren & Shinya’s meeting:

Shinya subtly tests and provokes Guren into revealing his true intentions but Guren keeps his mask on.

The only thing that shakes Guren’s composure is when he hears about Mahiru’s engagement to Shinya.

[The difference between his expression before and after Mahiru is mentioned]

Shinya: “By the way, my partner is Mahiru. Hiiragi Mahiru.”

Narrator: “Guren reacted without meaning to, glancing sharply at Shinya”.

Narrator: “Shinya noticed immediately.”

Shinya: “Oh, I think I just got a peak at the real Guren.”

Shinya already knew about Guren’s past with Mahiru. This is why he casually mentioned the engagement, as a verbal bait and Guren fell for it.

However, Guren pulls himself together and continues his act. But Shinya doesn’t stop here.

Shinya: “By the way, did you know that Mahiru also came to this school? She’s really excellent and has thus been selected to give a speech as the freshman representative, it seems. Isn’t that amazing? Your ex-girlfriend is……”

Narrator: “On hearing those words, Guren, careful not to show any emotion, responded.”

Guren: “Mahiru-sama and I did not have that kind of relation……”

Shinya: “Not anymore I suppose.”

Narrator: “In a flash Guren’s words stopped. He clenched his jaw involuntarily and glared at Shinya.”

Shinya: “Are you vexed?”

Guren: “Of course not.”

Shinya: “Haha. Your ambition’s clearly written on your face. Just saying this, but Mahiru and I aren’t really on close terms so don’t worry.”

First, Shinya brings up the engagement. Then, he calls Mahiru, Guren’s “ex-girlfriend”, twisting the knife further.

Guren is being careful not to show any emotion this time as he had already messed up once. While explaining that he never had romantic relationship with Mahiru, he even uses the honorific “sama”.

But after hearing Shinya’s sharp reply, “not anymore I suppose”, Guren’s mask slips again.

Guren clenches his jaw involuntarily and glares at Shinya. He’s definitely bothered by their engagement because it means that Mahiru has finally become fully unreachable.

Guren says another lie, easily disproven by his body language. And Shinya who has already seen through it says, “your ambition’s clearly written on your face.”

Shinya recognises Guren’s feelings for Mahiru which is why he says, “Mahiru and I aren’t really on close terms so don’t worry.”

Shinya tells Guren that Mahiru would be giving the speech as the freshman representative.

Ch 3: Freshman Representative

Mito started a conversation with Guren because she wanted to know what he was talking with Shinya.

In that conversation, Mito casually mentions Shinya’s engagement with Mahiru, which makes Guren realise that it was a well-known thing and makes him wonder why he didn’t know about it.

“If so, why did I not know of this? The question surfaced in Guren’s head.”

“It’s my Dad huh……”

“Guren murmured with a slightly troubled face. His father probably withheld the information to prevent him from hearing about matters regarding Mahiru.”

Then Guren thinks that his retainers, Shigure and Sayuri, must have known about the engagement, and who would be giving the speech as the freshman representative (Mahiru), but they chose to hide it from him, their master.

Guren smiles wryly and thinks: “Hah, what the hell? It’s just a 5 year old brat’s meaningless crush you know? Did it seem like I still have any kind of lingering affection for her?”

Guren realises that his father and his retainers were keeping information about Mahiru from him, because they thought that he still had feelings for her.

But he dismisses his childhood bond with Mahiru as “a 5 year old brat’s meaningless crush”. Here, Guren is downplaying his own emotions and is in denial.

Mito continues her talk but Guren is barely invested. But this changes when he gets to know that Mito is acquainted with Mahiru.

Mito: “And also, I really love and respect Mahiru-sama, so can you also tell Shinya-sama that we should pretend that this conversation never took place……”

Guren: “Ah? You are acquainted with Mahiru?”

Just a moment ago, Guren mentioned that what he felt for Mahiru was nothing more than a meaningless crush, and that he no longer had any affection for her.

Yet, he couldn’t help but show interest when Mahiru’s name came up. His reaction was purely emotional and instinctive which is why he even forgot to mention the honorific “sama”.

This was yet another slip in Guren’s otherwise composed and calculating demeanour, all because of “a meaningless childhood crush”.

Also, in Japan, using someone’s first name is deeply personal, and Guren’s instinct was to call Mahiru by her first name, without any honorific, even after ten years of separation, despite her high status as a Hiiragi.

Of course, Mito scolded him for taking Mahiru’s name so casually.

So he asks again, “Ah ~, erm, are you acquainted with Mahiru-sama?”

Mito tells him how beautiful and kind Mahiru is, like a “goddess”. Then, she mentions how talented Mahiru is.

Mito: “On top of that, she excels in both the ‘sword and the pen’, and even in the entrance exam for this school, she was the top in all the subjects. To us who owe our allegiance to the 『Mikado no Oni』, to be able to serve under Mahiru-sama would be the ultimate blessed thing.”

“In other words, among the freshmen, the most capable person is Mahiru? — Glen pondered.”

“And those words surfaced in his head again.”

“If so, will I be able to defeat Mahiru? Do I possess the power to overwhelm the Hiiragi House?”

Guren’s goal is to overthrow the Hiiragi House, and in order to accomplish his goal, he seeks power and continues to grow stronger. Upon learning that Mahiru is the top student, who excels in sword and pen both, Guren thinks if has the ability to defeat her.

Here, Guren is comparing his ability with the top student among freshmen, Mahiru, to understand where he stands. It is to check how strong he has become and if he has gained enough power to overwhelm the Hiiragi House. So, Guren uses Mahiru as a benchmark of power.

Before this, Guren was assessing his power against Mito. He knew that she too possessed a considerable amount of ability since she belonged from the famous Jyuujou House. So, he wondered if he had the capability to kill her.

“now, do I have the capability to kill her?”

But, instead of using the word “kill” like he had done in Mito’s case, Guren chose the word “defeat” for Mahiru.

“But at the same time, another image surfaced in his head. No, it might be better to say that it inadvertently surfaced in his head perhaps.”

“The scenery of the time when he was still playing with Mahiru. Green lawn, under the cloudless, clear sky, always beside him, the Mahiru who was always smiling happily, joyfully, innocently.”

“It has been 10 years since then huh, thought Guren.”

Initially, Guren, as usual, was being calculative & strategic. Then, the memory of Mahiru “inadvertently” surfaces his mind. He didn’t choose to think about it, his heart did that on its own.

The fact that he hasn’t seen her in a decade, yet that memory comes to his mind unbidden. His subconscious reaches for the image of “Mahiru, always beside him, smiling happily, joyfully, innocently.”

Guren thinks, “It has been 10 years since then huh.” The line subtly conveys how far away that innocent, joyful time now feels.

[kuregure]

bro, the moment mahiru killed guren's friends she was a vampire, vampires can't have demonstrated because they are poison to them just like how krul dead because of it and she also passed Shikamadouji to shinoa she wasn't possessed lol

And mahiru herself admitted SHE was the one who planned for sakae's death and she was the one who put the pieces together the way they would eventually execute him so yeah SHE was the one behind actually his death

Why are you trying to justify ALL Mahiru's actions? F×ck her man, she is a literal b!tch how would someone even THINK about marrying someone who killed his beloved?🤪🤥

My patience has limits. Seriously bro, what do you have to do with your life to show up in people's asks to spew your hatred and look stupid? Tumblr is not the place for that. You don't even have the courage to do it openly but anonymously, it's childish. I'm going to respond one last time and then I won't respond to your asks (which aren't even any in fact).

It's been a long time since I read cat16 and it's true, you're right, that I forgot the fact that Mahiru was transformed by Krul. Still, she was still in SOMEONE ELSE's plans. I said I remained objective, and the fact that Mahiru was manipulated from the beginning is true. Do you think she would have wanted to kill Guren's friends by being herself? Human and not manipulated? It would be honestly stupid to think that, she loves Guren so normally she probably wouldn't have killed the people Guren loves. This is simply unthinkable. Still being the fact that we don't have any answers from Kagami on any of this. He'd better explain everything at the end, which would prevent people like you from slipping into my asks.

The Hiiragi (manipulated by Shikama Doji) were the ones who sealed Mahiru's fate. She couldn't go against her own destiny, and she wasn't happy about it. Guren wasn't even supposed to be there, trying to save her, Mahiru said that because it would get in the way of what the Hiiragi wanted to do. The Seraph of the End experience.

Second, I don't remember anything mentioning her admitting to planning Sakae's death. So I can't say, but what I do know is that Kureto was tasked with giving the mission to kill Mahiru to Guren otherwise his father would die. The Hiiragi despise the Ichinose so executing Sakae for this mission was a humiliation tactic. And which also adds something extra for the development of Guren's character implicitly. It seems incredible to me that the normal Mahiru, as a normal girl, without anyone manipulating her and sealing her destiny, the Mahiru who spoke for hours about Guren to her little sister Shinoa, could one day plan of her own will the death of the father and friends of the one Guren loves.

Everyone knows that Mahiru's destiny was sealed since she was little.

Then, I'm not trying to justify her actions. I'm just being logical, following what the novels, what Kagami wrote. It's just you not even trying to really read what Kagami writes. I'm no one to justify or not justify a character's actions. I wouldn't say Mahiru's actions are right, nor Guren's, nor Yuichiro's, Shinoa's or Mikaela's. The only thing we can all know is that we know the reasons, the why and how they were led to do these actions. Defining what is fair or not is still impossible to do today, because it is in fact a matter of individual subjectivity. One person may think something is right, while someone else would think that same action is wrong.

Insulting a character is something truly ridiculous and childish, since they are fictional. Mahiru does not exist. Guren does not exist. All the characters in ONS doesn't exist, you're wasting your energy on someone who doesn't exist. Go touch some grass and reconnect with nature.

Finally, I suppose you were referring to Shinya as "beloved". He is not. It is not mentioned anywhere that he is. Until proven otherwise, they are best friends. And even though on Shinya's side we had more material, I don't think it's love but simply admiration and idolatry. Concerning Guren, nothing is mentioned. They're not beloved in the manga, and it seems like you can't stand it. On the other hand, Mahiru and Guren were the closest ship to being a reality, whether you like it or not. I'm not Kagami, there's nothing I can do about it.

I'm not anti ShinGure and pro MahiGure. I state the facts about these ships in the manga.

ShinGure is my favorite ship from Seraph of the End. But unfortunately, they are nothing more than best friends. Of course I wish there was more to it than that, but there isn't. Moreover, we already have many passages and words that can satisfy us. But we know, being realistic, that there will probably never be anything more than strong friendship. Love is different.

Unless Kagami one day decides to veer into LGBTQIA+ themes regarding Guren and Shinya, so far there's nothing. It's like that. ❤

So come now with your face uncovered so I can block you 🤺

There you go, I will no longer respond to your anonymous asks.

[x-atan]

shinya and i

Shinya and I

SHINYA AND I

[childoftheimpossiblerevolution]

When everyone's going through ship wars but you're a multi shipper so nothing happens to you

[thesoundofanicefall]

We can see parallels easily we can see...

[kohakhearts]

wc: 674

She always comes in near the end of Guren’s shift.

Honestly, in a lot of cases, she winds up being the final customer he serves in the day. She’s here after the big rush has died down. The odd time, someone will come in right before or right after her, but for the most part, it is only her and a couple people who are focussed on work, who’ve been sitting in the shop for quite a stretch of time already.

She’s beautiful. Her ashen hair is always elegantly pinned up into a bun, and she wears a pair of square-framed glasses. She wears very professional clothes, the kind that make Guren’s wallet ache just to look at. Guren suspects she’s an office worker of some kind, but he doesn’t know. They exchange words a few times, but it’s never anything more than an inquiry about the shop’s business or a short discussion on the weather.

Guren wants to talk to her, though. She’s like a damn angel, though; he figures she’s someone he can look at, someone he can admire because she had deigned to grace him with her presence, but he doubts he’s worthy of actually speaking to her.

Goshi finds something about the situation hilarious.

“You’re pining,” he says one day. “For some girl whose name you only know because you write it on a coffee cup every day.”

Guren denies it, but when the girl—Mahiru, midday, who shines as brightly as the sun, surely—comes into the coffee shop that afternoon, he curses his entire existence, because now that Goshi has called him out for it, Guren knows his friend is right.

She always orders black coffee. She doesn’t even need to say it for him to know.

But she orders every day, anyway, and he lets her, because he likes the soft lilts of her voice.

She pays. He pours out her drink. He goes to pass it to her over the counter, then hesitates.

“Is something wrong?” she asks, tilting her head slightly. Guren can’t fathom how someone so stunningly beautiful can also make such adorable expressions.

“N-no,” he manages. “Here.”

He hands the cup to her, but she doesn’t move once she’s taken it.

She looks down at it, then up at him again. “You’re almost finished working, aren’t you?”

“Huh?” He blinks. “Yeah, I am. How did you know that?”

Her cheeks look a little pink. She drops her gaze down to the cup again. “I just pay attention,” she says quietly. “That’s probably a little creepy, isn’t it?”

He quickly shakes his head. “Not at all,” he says. She exhales slowly. “Good,” she says. “When you’re finished, would you want to sit down with me for a bit?”

He stares at her. She still hasn’t lifted her eyes to look at him again.

“Seriously?” he finally gets out.

“Yeah.” She meets his eyes, now, and offers him a smile. “Only if you want, of course.”

Guren glances back to where Goshi is wiping down the back counter. He catches Guren’s eye and smirks, then gives him a thumbs up.

Guren turns back to Mahiru. “I’m already finished,” he says. “I’d be happy to sit down with you for a moment.”

She beams. He wonders at how one person can hold so much positive energy in just one expression.

“I’m glad,” she says, and he makes his way around the counter, allowing her to lead him to a table.

They sit there for hours, surely; far longer than it takes her to drink a cup of coffee, at least, but they both seem to lose track of the time, completely enamoured with each other’s words as they are.

Finally, she says, “This was really nice.”

“Yeah,” he agrees. “It was.”

Her smile is so gentle, so purely happy, as she stands up.

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” she chirps.

Before he can respond, she is exiting the shop. He can only stare after her, heart somewhere in his throat.

“Whipped!” Goshi calls from the counter.

Guren can’t even bring himself to respond.

He’s already counting down the hours until tomorrow.

[hellokohai]

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