I saw your recent reblog about how Aki’s switch from her dress to the sweater was a downgrade (and I agree), but your tags mentioned the shape language of her original outfit
And I’m not sure what that means but it sounds like it would be really interesting to learn more about Aki’s design
Is that something you could clarify?
Just for you, I have gone on a little adventure with MS Paint again in order to visualise what I mean when I talk about the shape language of Aki's original VS her finale outfit! Here come the results.
First things first, let's look at Aki's OG outfit, shall we?
I've pulled up both her official artwork and her duel links sprite here since they give the best view of the outfit itself. As you can see, I've also lovingly hand-traced elements that will be relevant later in blue. Now, I think it's no secret that I love Aki's original outfit to death, but in terms of design choices, I think it accomplishes two things: It stands out, for one (denoting her protagonist or at least co-protagonist status), and it plays into her witchy persona (choker plus vaguely cross-shaped necklace, black fingerless gloves, swishy pseudo-skirt), for two. It's a very feminine, but nonetheless unusual outfit that draws the eye in more ways than one, notably also by showing exposed skin in places through her very short underdress, her relatively deep neckline, and the stockings, which again draw attention to her thighs. The corset adds to this both by way of its association with lingerie and because it accentuates her waist. It's an outfit that reads as traditionally sexy. (Now whether or not it's "okay" for a creator to put a canonically 16 year-old female character into this kind of outfit is a discussion I don't want to start here since that would require me to infer what Takahashi was thinking when he designed this and the truth is just that I have no fucking clue and don't want to jump to unkind conclusions.) Also notable is that Aki's OG design is, for lack of a better word, spiky in places. Her hair is relatively short and sticks out to the sides, her hairpiece has pointy ends, and the pendant of her necklace also ends in several sharp points. Between the shapes and the colour palette (which of course references her roses) used, the design brings the quintessential witch to mind: A woman who is beautiful, but dangerous.
Now let's compare the finale sweater.
I pulled these images from my screenshot collection, and immediately, we get a completely different impression. The whole outfit covers more skin (because that's some kind of weird pair of trousers she's wearing right under the sweater, don't ask me how that works with the black below, I was unable to find a screenshot that shows her whole body), has a lighter colour palette, and draws less attention to Aki. She looks more "normal". Note also the hair, which is longer and sticks up less and the hairband that replaced her hair piece, and, in comparison to it, looks perfectly harmless. As you may notice by the blue markings, though, there are attempts to reference Aki's original silhouette here, namely through the pattern on the sweater. The upper portion of it curves the same way her neckline once did, the vertical stripes harken back to her long, red vest with the white stripes, and the pattern as a whole feels like a very loose imitation of the corset shape. Additionally, the black Something (stockings? Thigh-high boots? Colour change in her trousers?) also references her stockings, which used to end at a similar height on her thighs. So I think it's fair to say some thought went into this sweater insofar as that someone tried to reference Aki's previous outfit, at least. Still, the impression it leaves in comparison to Aki's original one is... muted, I would say. The hair and the earrings (as well as the lip gloss you can only see in close-up shots) are purely visual shorthand to make her look older, I think, but the outfit distinctly gives me the impression that was mentioned in the post I reblogged: Aki is wearing less revealing, less eye-catching clothes with less "risky" accessoires because she's doing better now, because she's "grown up" and is ready to be a more traditionally feminine, softer character. She's gotten rid of her accessories, of the stockings, of the corset, and her hairpiece and it feels like visual shorthand for her being a more "well adjusted" adult now. (Which, again, as someone who's into alt fashion, kindly fuck off.) This is also strengthened by the fact that Aki's colour palette is noticeably lighter and has less harsh contrasts.
I pulled these colours from the above images. On the left is the lightest colour (besides the off-white of her blouse and the vest stripes) from her og palette, which is to be found only on her corset and choker. By contrast, the colour in the middle makes up the majority of Aki's finale sweater, and the pink on the right is taken from her hairband, which is also noticeably lighter than the colour of her previous accessoires. The tones are also softer, in general. Same goes for the creamy yellow of her trousers. It's a very soft, inoffensive palette, far removed from the black and white contrasts and the dark reds of her original fit.
Long story short, the sweater Aki wears at the end of the show feels like a nod to her original aesthetic, at best, and as someone with very particular tastes (who was frequently told I would grow out of them and didn't), it honestly just feels lame.
Bonus: While digging through my screenshots, I actually found that Aki has a second (!) boringly inoffensive sweater she wears during the final episodes, specifically when she comes over to Yusei's for the barbecue:
You will note that this one, too, is very tame, very pastel, and extremely far removed from the original outfit. Why is this even here? Who knows. Certainly not something I'd have put into Aki's wardrobe, though.
