I found this in chapter 56 and I thought it was kinda interesting. While Zen is comforting Shirayuki as she's crying, Mitsuhide says,"But this is about Zen and Shirayuki. I don't think this sudden distance is a big problem. It's not like being apart would cause their existence to become smaller in each other's lives." Maybe it's foreshadowing they will separate? What are your thoughts on this? Do you think ObiYuki still has a chance or is it just the author toying with us?
Yes, Whoaboy get ready I have some THOUGHTS, YESS!! and No.
I have been sitting on this ask for a long time sorry for le wait
The vast majority of this post is below the cut. I hope it is not too much / addresses what you meant.
Here are some notes before I subject whoever reads this to my madness:
These little moments of “It’s okay to do what you want to do” always strike me, and I think about them when I’m considering Zen v Obi endgame because it opens up the possibility that things can change.
Yes it’s a shojo and shojo protagonists tend to stick with their initial love interest... blah blah blah. I don’t think this preconceived notion of how shojo manga ‘always goes’ is a valid point anymore.
So .... I think the comments we are both thinking of usually refer to Shirayuki’s Path and how she must be able to Stand By Zen’s Side as an Ally, etc. So I’ll kind of be thinking of this from the angle of a Journey.
Everything discussed is also after The Play We Believe is Foreshadowing (except for the panels pulled from ch 9 and 20) which I think should be considered for the context of the plot.
If it is actually foreshadowing for an eventual Obi & Shirayuki story arc -- which tbh we might be in the midst of (currently) at ch 117 without realizing it -- then it’s relevant to how we frame the comments made afterwards. At the end of the day, Akizuki-sensei is an author. She is telling us a story. I think it’s reasonable to seek out clues to foreshadowing in fictional stories. So I’m operating under a 90% certainty that the play is foreshadowing.
I have found that the best (fictional) stories are ones that have been planned carefully. I have no way of verifying if AnS has been so precisely crafted to weave in so much foreshadowing that we speculate over, but damn it sure feels like it was.
The manga was originally just the first chapter, so we can assume that after writing that chapter and deciding to make it into a series, there was some planning done.
ANyway............... strong speculation ahead. I think I was ~60% thorough in my search to find material relevant to Foreshadowing of a Separation.
1) So we’ll start with a panel from ch 9,
where Zen is considering his relationship with Shirayuki and his growing crush.
This panel is, as stated above, part of the story that Akizuki expanded on after the original one-shot. In the first chapter, we get a lot of cute fate-chitchat between Zen and Shirayuki, but I think -- after deciding to continue the story -- Akizuki changed the tone to allow for more character development, and to challenge the Fate tropes often seen in romance.
Thus, the statement above from Zen that they may not always be together.
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we have the crew essentially saying they are all growing stronger for the sake of each other, and lending their strength as needed.
Within the story, Akizuki-sensei has established a theme of moving forward and changing as needed as a way to get stronger.
Mitsuhide says this to Shirayuki, also in Ch 28:
Why .... does Mitsuhide look so serious as he says this to her? Is he reconciling the fact that Shirayuki and Zens paths may diverge at some point, as they do for the Lyrias arc?
He follows up the above statement with:
“I want you to follow your heart so you can stand on your own wherever Zen takes you.”
So... maybe that context takes away some of the significance for fellow lovers of AnS. But I don’t think we should just ignore the statement.
I think she’s being given permission to change her mind; that it’s okay for her to have feelings for Zen, but it’s also okay if she chooses to end things. Mitsuhide will support her either way.
Even though the the full remark still has to do with Zen, she is being encouraged to stand on her own. She is her own person. She has friends who will still be there even if she chooses something different from what people expect of her.
In this case -- pertaining to AnS as a whole, from the perspective of everyone who ‘knows’ about ZenYuki in-story and also (meta!) the manga readers -- Shirayuki is expected to someday marry Zen.
After this, in Chapter 29, Izana is a bit derisive to Shirayuki after she gets the title from Tanbarun. I think his comments are intentionally made to make her uncomfortable. He says,
“Hahahaha! What an unusual title! Amazing!”
- cue confusion from Zen and Shirayuki -
“I wasn’t poking fun at it, it’s just a bit strange. Hmm... before, I said a nobody like her at your side would sully your name, Zen, but with this you can be friends without any such worry, right?
“Shirayuki, I’ve never asked what kind of relationship you want to have with Zen. And I don’t know if it’s something that can be said.”
Alrighty. So. Izana says in front of Shirayuki that he had described her as a nobody. This seems like something said meant to disquiet her, and her initial reaction is, “taken aback,” so we can safely say it was at least temporarily disconcerting for her to hear. I imagine it’s hurtful to hear you were once thought of as someone unworthy of notice.
Don’t get me wrong, I think most of what Izana says and does is in relatively good faith. I think the fandom has come to a general conclusion that he’s testing their relationship.
Obi finds her in the early morning and he notices that she’s upset, commenting that she’s making a strange face. She is still thinking about what Izana said, and Obi asks,
“Is it about the path you want to take?”
“....No. It’s that I haven’t given it any thought.”
Zen already wishes (though I don’t think he’s explicitly stated it the way he does later in ch 33) to marry Shirayuki, and we see her here facing emotional turmoil because that part of her future isn’t something she has thought about yet. Interesting, to say the least.
I’m not really sure about this, but it seems like she either means where Zen is taking her and / or where she can stand on her own.
“Obi, will you lend me a hand?”
“Didn’t I tell you before that I’ll take you wherever you want to go?”
This part of the story is still heavy ZenYuki, but I think Obi saying this to her right now is significant. Akizuki has repeatedly weaved Shirayuki’s path into the themes of the story so far, while contrasting that Zen will meet her at her destination, while Obi will be at her side for the journey.
Zen and Shirayuki meet and talk. They basically address that Shirayuki doesn’t really know what the future holds, but that she still wants to stand by his side, and says that even though he’s a prince she wants to think it’s okay for her to feel that way.
You almost forget about the significance of Obi and Shirayuki’s relationship when it’s followed up by this ZenYuki scene. I wonder about the aforementioned nature-of-planning involved in the story and the future of the characters at this point.
gnah how did this post get so long already
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3) Zen has presumably given his blessing for Obi to be happy in love
In chapter 31, while the group is stranded outside Wistal due to rain, Zen and Obi are in the bath talking about the possibility of Kiki and Mitsuhide getting married.
“It’s fine with me as long as they can say that they’re happy. I intend to make sure of that.”
“You’ll make sure of that?”
“The same applies to you too, Obi.”
More foreshadowing? Presently it seems that the MitsuKiki ship has sunk, so contrasting this conversation to current-manga-events is titillating to me. ESPECIALLY because Zen says that he wants to make sure Obi is happy when Zen knows how Obi feels about Shirayuki. So it’s established that they will support one another as friends.
Later, Kiki and Mitsuhide are talking after dinner and discuss how the nature of Zen and Shirauki’s friendship never changes (that’s the impression I got from it). Mitsuhide recalls when he and Zen talked about the same thing:
I think what Kiki and Mitsuhide are referring to is that Zen and Shirayuki have made a conscious effort to become friends despite the barriers they’ve encountered so far, by way of them showing the strength of their mutual respect and desire to aid one another. I get a similar feel from the conversation between Zen and Mitsuhide.
“The two of us will always be friends.”
Zen saying this -- in context to everything from the past four chapters -- implies that Zen is okay if their relationship is not romantic. If it is true that the mangas plot was deliberately planned out, these chapters will become increasingly interesting to look back on as the plot progresses.
The direction of the story has changed since then if we are only looking at the big turning point of Mitsuhide rejecting Kiki.
And despite that rejection, the group is still a group despite their physical distance.
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Brief note to say that in Ch 33 Izana says to Zen,
“Let me be an ally as you and Shirayuki follow your own path.”
While this is a ZenYuki comment, I see it as Akizuki reinforcing that each character is following their own path and they will be supported as they do.
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3.5) After this point is the first Lyrias arc,
where obiyuki shippers are starting to salivate over how much is packed in just for their relationship. I mean .... remember when she pushed him to the ground because she thought he would get hit by snow? And he gives her those moony eyes just like it didn’t stop ... my heart
UGH JUST SAYING IT BECAUSE context! Shirayuki’s path is changing slowly, and Obi is still by her side.
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4) A period of transition
I think this is around the time the Bergatt arc is actually beginning, leading up even to current-manga-events.
And thus, they head towards the path that a new wind blows upon.
While Shirayuki is preparing for her and Ryuu’s move to Lyrias, Zen and co. are at Wilant meeting with Haruto, who describes fools aiming to throw the country into turmoil. This is a seed for the plot that develops, ie, the Bergatt arc that was not actually resolved when Touka gets taken down at Sereg in ch (?) 86. I bring this up because I think it shows the level of planning that Akizuki has put into the story at this point.
In chapter 55, after Shirayuki has finally been able to tell Zen she’ll be away from Wistal for 2 years, and they have this conversation (slightly paraphrased) after he’s processed for a short time:
“Sorry. The fact that you would be leaving the castle was something that I’d never considered. So my reaction was a little slow.
“I’ll hear it. I’m sure there was more you wanted to say.”
“I’m really glad that I got to meet you and come to the castle! I’m where I am now because I wanted to become Zen’s ally; and i achieved that by coming to the castle and becoming a royal pharmacist.
“I’m sure that, like how it’s always been, there’s something ahead connecting to my path now. That’s why, because there’s a place I have yet to go, I want to be there.”
This is Zen’s face after she says the above:
What is he thinking? Is he worried about their romantic relationship? I interpret it as preemptive disappointment that they may not stay together.
Shortly after we get to the point you made in your ask (sweet anon) re ch 56 with Mitsuhides comment. This adds to the reinforced theme that change is okay and they will all still be friends and allies regardless of where life takes them.
BUT IMMEDIATELY AFTER Mitsuhide says that in reference to Zen and Shirayuki, Obi responds:
Is Akizuki drawing a parallel between MitsuKiki and ZenYuki? No idea. maybe. But somehow I do not find it coincidental.
This seems like a MitsuKiki hint, meant to fuel the ultra-shippable pair that we all loved... but after the rejected proposal, it’s hard not to see the whole situation differently re: zenyuki / obiyuki and mitsukiki / hisakiki.
Then the first true ObiYuki hug, and this:
“It feels as though Obi might suddenly appear in Lyrias!”
girl you already knew. Shirayuki knows that Obi will follow her.
Obi deliberately postpones going to Lyrias, though, in order to consider his feelings for Shirayuki and how to tell Zen.
Then!! in 58-59 we get long-awaited confirmation from Obi that he has feelings for Shirayuki, and after this beautiful moment Obi goes to Lyrias to be at Shirayuki’s side, and after everything that has happened so far that is a clincher for me regarding our beloved Foreshadowing.
While discussing Obi’s crush on Shirayuki, Obi asks Zen
“Aren’t you going to propose?”
“.......................Well, I’m.. making her .. wait.”
“Master ... I don’t recommend postponing it, you know.”
I wonder about this comment. Is this a clue for us that Zen postponing engagement is going to be a negative thing in the future?
Either way ........ This transition period, in between Lyrias 1 and 2, shows us that the story is changing.
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I have definitely not covered all of the possible moments of foreshadowing and am actually going to leave off on that topic for the time being. I might do a part 2 as its own post.
But for now I will switch to previously mentioned point that...
5) Obi and Shirayuki’s paths are walked together
I think the following two panels are a great way to frame their relationship. Chapter 20 in early Tanbarun arc:
And then, much later in chapter 106 as they stand by the fire and Shirayuki tells Obi he’s handsome in the light:
“... because you come with me.” ( ╥ω╥ )
And then more delightful talk from chapter 104 that I think is ... gasp
They are having this discussion after they’ve found out about Kiki becoming engaged to Hisame.
“It’s necessary to have the courage to make a decision and take a step down that path, isn’t it?”
Shirayuki is possibly saying this due to the implications of Kiki’s letter. Kiki has made the choice to take a new path from the one she had been on by marrying Hisame.
So what about Shirayuki’s journey? Has her growth led her to a path she didn’t expect, and now it will take courage to step down it?
In recent chapters Shirayuki is shown to be seeing Obi differently and as a man:
overhearing him calling her beautiful and being surprised that he is embarrassed she heard
witnessing him going to a marriage meeting
that little moment where he is holding her wrist as a Lyrias knight tells him that the knights sister wishes him luck in love
the firelight comment oh my god
realizing she lost the pin Obi gave her and tearing up as she literally stared at him; upset that the gift she cherished is now missing and potentially realizing how very dear to her Obi actually is
fake dating and the 10 seconds of ... just... I still cant even
Obi is the one who is by Shirayuki’s side. They developed a bond through years friendship that is now being reframed by Akizuki. The nature of their relationship has been slowly changing and I think we approaching a time in the manga where Shirayuki will realize it.
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To answer your last question ... I do think ObiYuki has a chance and I do not think the author is just toying with us. I’ve talked a lot about my ObiYuki Endgame feels in previous posts/asks. I could probably talk about it forever but this post is absurdly long .... sorry
Thank you so much for the ask! and wow thank you so much if you actually read this whole thing!
