Aira Character study - post rejection theory
‼️ This post contains spoilers for the current events in DanDaDan manga ⚠️
I have a theory/ head canon regarding Aira’s character development after Okarun rejects her (which, I think we can all agree is inevitable).
Something I actually really liked about this current arc is how determined and direct Aira is with her crush. I know some people judge her as being “forcing herself” onto Okarun, but I don’t think that’s the case.
Aira is someone who, using Okarun’s words, puts in an incredible amount of effort in everything she does: her popularity, her training (seen during Space Globalists’ arc and the Daizukan fan book), piano, and her relationships. So, in my opinion, I think it makes complete sense that she is so forward about her feelings towards Okarun and seeks every opportunity she has to hold his hand or compliment him, even if she isn’t very good at “reading the room”.
I think it will be very interesting to see where Tatsu-sensei takes her character development after her inevitable rejection, but something I actually would LOVE to see, as painful as it’d be, is to see her “regress” in this aspect: the once direct, headstrong, popular leader, now is more… doubtful, maybe even insecure in things she’s always been confident about.
For those who have been in that “side of the coin”, the side of rejection or non-reciprocated love, it is something that can actually stick with you. It changes the perspective of how you see and approach the world.
I’m not saying I want Aira to BE insecure forever, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I want Tatsu to show us the “cracks in her confidence”, especially if he is planning to give her her own romantic interest at some point in the story (which, delusions aside, I honestly believe it will be Jiji, with maybe a very very small chance of being Zuma instead but unlikely). Not to mention, it would be a great opportunity to contrast how she used to react towards her crush (direct, confident) vs how she’d be dealing with her ACTUAL love interest (reserved, cautious, shy even, which I am willing to bet one month of my insignificant salary it will be Jiji).
Of course, we can only wait and see how the plot unfolds. As of right now, there are still way too many many pieces that need to fall into place so it’s too early to predict what will happen with all of these characters. That said, I think Tatsu has proven to be a mastermind in romance plots and I truly truly believe Momo and Okarun won’t be the only pairing of the group, we just need to patient and let him cook.
thank you all for reading 🫰🏼