Screw it, I’m posting it here. I haven’t used this site in years. I don’t even care. (Plus, fusetter was being weird tonight so I don’t want to use it right now.)
Fair warning, this is not a “well-thought-out theories and speculations about the storyline” post. This is just me talking about Misono and Mikuni and Tsurugi because they’re amazing and I love them. If you follow me solely for spoilers, you don’t have to read this, it’s all coming from my warm, bursting heart with only a tiny bit of canonical spoilers.
SO. Mikuni and Misono, am I right? Beautiful babies. Angels. Perfect children. A true gift. Except for the fact that we’re finally getting closer to seeing them together, and the more we explore this, the less prepared I feel.
Remember back in the olden days when Mikuni loved Misono unconditionally and Misono thought Mikuni was the root of all evils thanks to illusions, and that’s as simple as it came and as far as it went? (Okay, the whole “Mikuni being the root of everything” part still hasn’t really changed, but you know what I mean.) Then Misono grew up a little bit more, learned the truth, and he decided he wanted answers & change, and even his father agreed that it was time for things to change. And I was like, okay cool, one day they’re gonna meet up again and they’re gonna talk and Mikuni is gonna tell Misono how much he cares about him, and everything is gonna be freaking awesome.
EXCEPT THAT’S NOT WHAT’S HAPPENING AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT ANYMORE.
It’s one of the best parts about Servamp, and one of the worst as well. I can tell where the story is going half the time, and the other half of the time, it just falls apart in my hands. I’m that raccoon who loses his cotton candy in the water. That’s me with the Aliceins (and the Tsukimitsus, but we’re not talking about them right now, even though they’re always in my heart 24/7.)
We know that Misono grew up loved and accepted by his family, and even though he eventually learned the truth about where he comes from, his family was always his family and he never suspected otherwise. He’s also still quite young, and because of that, tends not to have that innate reaction to view things from outside of his norm. I like the fact that Tsurugi wants Misono to try and think about things from Mikuni’s side of the story, because nobody really knows what that side looks like yet, but if anyone could even come close to guessing -- I think it would probably be Tsurugi and Misono.
I always write out a translation for myself after I receive my copy of the magazine each month, so I’m just gonna copypasta from my transcript, pardon any formatting issues this might cause --
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Misono: ...Mikuni. Will he come back to this house? Me, and my father, and everyone here… we’re all waiting for Mikuni.
Tsurugi: But that’s just wishful thinking, isn’t it?
Misono: ?
Tsurugi: After all of this is over… what kind of ideal ending are you hoping to imagine?
Misono: … I want my father and Mikuni to make up, and for Mikuni to come home. My father wants to apologize to Mikuni. The things that happened in this house… they weren’t all bad.
Tsurugi: Yeah — that’s how you see your story.
Tsurugi: But what about his story? There is no villain in your “Love”-themed story, in which you play the leading role. All the children who are born are loved, and in that sense, it’s a happy ending for you, because there is nothing wrong with being born. But, in the story of “Envy,” in which he plays the leading role…
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It’s no surprise that Mikuni holds grudges. He openly tells his father he’s disgusted with him after his affair and the death of Misono’s mother come to light. He ended up killing his own mother years later, and although we don’t know what truly happened yet, the fact that Mikuni left and his father decided to essentially “erase” him from the family is reason enough to still hate his father. Misono no longer sees Mikuni as the cause for their family’s collapse, but that doesn’t mean that Mikuni sees things that way, and Tsurugi is trying to guide Misono into seeing things from the other side of their perspective.
I know it’s a simple enough notion, but the fact that this is all happening right NOW is what leads me to believe we will soon see Misono and Mikuni interacting -- and considering a few other things that are going on, I honestly don’t know what to expect anymore. (Especially if Tanaka pulls a “BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE” with information we haven’t been given yet. You can’t rule out the surprise of new information.)
Hugh is presumably working alongside Tsubaki at this point, and while it could have been a trap, his meeting with Tetsu seemed genuine enough. I don’t have any doubt that Mikuni orchestrated Tetsu’s shooting, and if I had to guess, I’m sure he expected that Hugh had a soft spot for Tetsu and would eventually lead them straight to him, allowing him to enact that whole setup with Nico and Ildio. Now that Hugh has fled with Tetsu, assuming he goes back to Tsubaki’s place to get Tetsu immediate medical attention, that would give Mikuni access to Tetsu.
For what purpose? I’m not really sure. But remember a long time ago, when Sakuya showed up to discuss something with Misono and Tetsu? And after he left, Misono asked Tetsu not to share the new information with anyone else? So assuming they stuck to that plan, Tetsu knows something (presumably about Mikuni) that only a few other people know, which would be incentive enough for Mikuni to need Tetsu out of the way.
Or maybe he has an actual plan in place that involves getting his hands on Tetsu.
Or maybe he doesn’t actually know that Sakuya visited with Misono and Tetsu, and this has been part of some plan of Mikuni’s in an attempt to manipulate Misono’s hand and get him to play his moves in a certain order, just like when they were children playing chess together.
Or maybe he truly wants Misono to not be a part of all of this, and choosing Tetsu as a target in his plan was just a matter of coincidence. The possibilities are endless, and it makes my head spin. Does it make your head spin…? Why does Servamp do that so well lmao?
I still stand by my theory that the Sendagaya family has some kind of meaningful connection to the world of magic. I know I tend to put the Tsukimitsus up on a pedestal, but their family is canonically important to the world of magicians, and the fact that their mother is so stong-willed and traditional (as seen through Yumikage’s flashbacks and recent chapters) makes me believe that she raised her children with firm purpose, and when Miyako married a Sendagaya, it’s POSSIBLE it was for love, but more likely, it had some kind of dutiful significance behind it. I really do hope we get a chapter where Tetsu just breaks out some kind of kickass magical power like, “Oh, yeah, this. I didn’t mention it because I just didn’t think it was relevant.” That would simply be typical Tetsu fashion.
Also, I’m stoked for Yumikage and Miyako to be searching for Tetsu together. Please let Tetsu’s sister(s) join them at some point. This is the perfect lead-in for their introduction.
BUT ONE MORE NOTE (or maybe more later, idk I’m having so many feelings about them right now) on this whole “Tsurugi is going to stay at the Alicein mansion while we search” thing -- if Misono and Tsurugi are both at the mansion, these would be nice conditions for Mikuni to show up undetected and let a shitstorm brew. Mikuni (presumably) loves Misono and (presumably) hates Tsurugi on the opposite deep ends of the spectrum. The fact that Tsurugi is growing up a little bit is also probably a thorn in his side (as we’ve seen when Tsurugi stood up to Touma for the first time while Mikuni watched from the control room, clearly having some thoughts on the situation.) Part of me feels like he still has plans for Tsurugi. (I mean, plans other than the one where he told Nico to kill Tsurugi and Sigurd. Because seriously, what kind of a Mikuni-approved plan is that? It just doesn’t feel like something he would do honestly. But who knows anymore.)
Obviously, things are in motion now, with Sigurd wanting Mikuni dead before operation “Gambit,” and Mikuni wanting Sigurd and Tsurugi dead in (if I remember correctly) less than twenty-four hours.
There are so many things happening at once. My head hurts. But I love it.
Yotaro drives through the rural countryside with everyone in the car. Gear says they won’t be followed anymore, now that the daylight has dispersed the fog. While they talk, Mahiru watches the scenery outside the window, surprised at how big the fields are (I thought this was such a cute scene lol.)
While Yotaro scolds Gear for losing his temper, Gear makes a comment about “CCC” getting involved. Seeing Mahiru’s confusion, Gear rephrases to use their current name, C3. Mahiru is surprised that C3 is also in England, and Gear explains that C3 actually started out in England. Meaning “Conjurer Control Convention,” C3 was a group of magicians that all started with the “Count” who created the Servamps.
They start talking to Mahiru in English, but then realize he won’t understand, and they start again in Japanese (LMAO this poor kid, people really need to stop with the English already.) Gear explains that C3 wasn’t always the kind of group that was committed to coexistence. He says that lately they’ve been trying to butt in to control other magical groups and species. Yotaro remarks that Gear was already handling things fine without C3.
Yotaro says that they’re heading to a safe house out in the country, and when Kuro starts to make a comment about this particular direction they’re traveling, Gear grabs him and threatens to throw him from the car while Yotaro orders Gear to focus on finding a gas station on the map instead (lmao love it)
As Yotaro reaches into the bag he packed, he pulls out the rose and shows it to Kuro and Mahiru, who immediately are like why would you bring this thing?!, confusing Yotaro who was like, I don’t know I thought this was important to you guys?!
Yotaro assures them that the safe house should be relatively clean, since he had been there at the beginning of the month. As they go inside, Gear heads upstairs and tells Yotaro he’s going to sleep. When Yotaro tells Gear it’s already noon and they should eat lunch instead, Gear tells him to bring food up when it’s done and he’ll eat by himself in his room. Yotaro sighs and apologizes to Mahiru, insisting that Gear just needed more time because he’s shy. (I love Mahiru’s reaction, he’s just like, ??? okay, if you say so)
Cooking scene! Mahiru and Yotaro are finally getting to make that breakfast together. While they prepare the food, Mahiru asks Yotaro if he and Gear made a contract. Yotaro seems confused, and Mahiru explains that back in the city, Yotaro called out to Gear, and his voice made Gear become human again. That was what made him think that Yotaro and Gear made some kind of contract, just like he and Kuro had done.
Yotaro starts laughing, and as he apologizes to Mahiru for laughing at him, he tells him that he and Gear don’t have a contract. He insists that Gear is his friend, and it’s a strange idea to think he had to make a contract in order for them to be friends.
Mahiru is shocked as he asks why Yotaro was the only one whose voice could reach Gear that morning. Yotaro casually tells him that he has no idea, but even when you can’t hear anything else, you’ll always be able to hear the voice of a friend calling to you. Yotaro says it’s the same for Mahiru and Kuro as Mahiru blushes. He says their “contract” is more like a “promise” to always back each other up.
Yotaro samples the food they’re making, and as he offers for Mahiru to try some too, Kuro is passing by the kitchen window. He thinks back to when he and Gear shared a meal together, and Gear told Kuro that only someone he’s close with can bring him back to reality when he became a werewolf. He says that the problem with humans is that their lifespan is so short, and it’s always sad to lose a friend.
As Kuro shifts to another flashback, he tells Gear that he’s going to Japan. Gear notes that Japan is very far away, and he asks Kuro if he decided to kill the “Count” after all. (This is back when all 7 Servamps got together to decide what to do about killing their creator. Apparently, this flashback takes place immediately after that meeting.) Kuro confirms that all seven of his brothers and sisters voted on the matter. Gear tells Kuro that just because CCC wanted it done, that doesn’t mean that Kuro has to do it, since he’s not really affiliated with CCC to begin with. Kuro tells Gear that this was his own idea. Gear doesn’t look convinced, and after asking Kuro how long he’ll be away, he tells him to come right back to England once he finishes his task. There’s a hole in their roof, and Gear tells Kuro that they’re going to fix it once Kuro returns.
As present-day Kuro sees the hole in the roof of the safe house, he realizes where they are. He also realizes that the whole reason Gear went to Japan was because Kuro never returned to England, and Gear went looking for him.
When Yotaro goes to bring Gear his lunch, it’s missing from the countertop. Upstairs, Gear answers the door and is irritated, demanding to know why it’s Kuro bringing the food instead of Yotaro. Before he can start arguing, Kuro tells Gear that what he did was wrong, back when he said he would return from Japan and then never did. Gear gets annoyed and insists he never said he needed an apology, but Kuro goes on and insists that back then, he didn’t understand yet. He went through with his task and killed his creator, but he was still supposed to be a friend to Gear. As Kuro starts to apologize, Gear takes the sandwich Kuro has brought and tastes it, smiling a bit as he says he can tell Yotaro made this food.
Gear and Kuro sit together on the balcony. As they eat, Gear tells Kuro the same thing he said in the past -- that human lives are short. But this time, he adds that they’re also too long to spend it alone. He says that being by yourself is definitely easier, but it’s also too boring. As he asks if Kuro thinks so too, Kuro hears Mahiru calling to him in the distance and agrees with what Gear has said.
Yotaro and Mahiru decide to eat outside when they finally find Gear and Kuro out there. As they set up their picnic, Gear tells Kuro that having friends is important, and he’s glad that Kuro finally realizes that as well. The chapter ends with Gear insisting that Kuro made a promise to him before he left England, and he should finally fulfill that promise and fix the broken roof.
Servamp takes a break next month and returns in October for the 100th chapter!
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I thought this was an interesting chapter in quite a few ways! I love the way Tanaka draws colorful scenery. It reminded me of the artwork she did for the Servamp Quest.
Now that C3 has been brought up again by Gear (and possibly brought into the picture after his werewolf rampage,) I really would be curious to see the London headquarters. The fact that C3 originated in England makes me want to see some of their heritage and the places where they first became an organization, kind of like going on a history tour lol. It’s not surprising that C3 tries to dip its hands into everyone else’s business -- and it’s also not surprising that the other species/groups don’t seem to be happy with it. I imagine there’s some kind of agreement/pact between C3 and other magical alliances, but it’s probably strained.
Every time someone starts to speak in English, you can see the light in Mahiru’s eyes die out. He’s gonna go back to Japan and never want to visit an English-speaking country ever again, after this.
And on the matter of Yotaro being a normal human, props to tiny child Yotaro who met a werewolf and was just like, I know what I wanna do with the rest of my life. He’s just living his best life with his buddy in England. No contract or obligations, just good times. A true champion.
Had a genuine laugh when Yotaro tells Mahiru that Gear is just shy and Mahiru has no idea how to respond to that.
Having Yotaro talk about being Gear’s friend made me wonder about something. Assuming there was a legitimate way to sever a Servamp’s contract without killing the Eve, would Mahiru be willing to do that so that Kuro could take back his powers? Hearing Yotaro talking, he pretty much points out the fact that Kuro and Mahiru stay together because they want to, not necessarily because they made a contract. I think they both would choose to remain partners at this point, but if Mahiru found out that this other option could save his friends, you know he would be forced to consider it. Of course, that’s just a wandering thought of mine, I don’t really see Tanaka being like “oh guess what, you can actually sever the contract safely, hooray.”
I think the fact that Kuro apologizes to Gear is another way of showing his growth, but also, it’s probably something he has wanted to do for a long time. When they were first sent to London, it was clear that Kuro was afraid of seeing Gear again, because he knew he had messed up. I feel like Kuro still wants to be Gear’s friend, and I honestly hope that Gear and Yotaro end up sticking around, maybe even moving back to Japan.
Honestly, I have no idea what to expect for the next chapter. We still haven’t figured out how they’re going to face off against Tsubaki, and now that we know Mikuni (I’m assuming) is trying to track down Mahiru and Kuro before someone else does, that’s another situation we will probably see play out. We know that it’s getting closer to the full moon, and as far as Tsubaki holding a bunch of people’s spirits hostage, I wonder if Gear will have some kind of answer for it when they finally find out about it. No matter what the next chapter focuses on, I hope it’s juicy!
Chapter 98 picks up where we left off last time. Mahiru wants to know what Kuro’s old human name was. Kuro says that since it was hundreds of years ago, he doesn’t really remember his old name. Kuro then reminds Mahiru about the bakery, since they don’t want to make Yotaro worry.
Back at the house, Yotaro is finishing breakfast (and probably taking some nice photos for Instagram lol.) At this point, Gear comes downstairs in half-werewolf mode, greeting Yotaro as he asks what’s for breakfast. Yotaro scolds Gear for looking so shabby and tells him to look more presentable since they have guests for breakfast. As Gear goes back upstairs, Yotaro hears knocking at the door and assumes Kuro and Mahiru have returned. However, when he answers the door, a girl greets him and asks about the cat that was in the house.
(I thought this part was pretty funny lmao)
As they leave the bakery, Mahiru laments the fact that he has no idea how to communicate with anyone here. Kuro tells him it’s fine to just point to what you want to buy, but Mahiru is like, “But she was talking to me! I’m not good with English!”
(In the picture, you can see the woman asking Mahiru where he’s from, while Mahiru proceeds to panic, poor guy ;;; )
As Mahiru talks about Kuro probably knowing both Japanese and English, Kuro admits that part of his power as a Servamp allows him to understand Mahiru, even if he speaks another language. Mahiru tells Kuro he’s glad that his power allows them to talk to each other -- which is when a car nearly takes Mahiru out TWICE in the span of like 10 minutes. (Seriously, Mahiru should probably just never be around cars.)
Yotaro is driving the car (LMAO) and he happily tells Mahiru and Kuro to get in so they can escape. Gear arrives next, landing on top of the car in partial-werewolf mode. As Gear scolds them for bringing trouble to his doorstep, two strange new people arrive. “Bad-B” is the witch and “Good-B” is the servant (sorry but wtf even are those names, I hope those are just codenames 😂)
They recognize Kuro and ask if he is indeed “Sleepy Ash.” Gear proceeds to pluck a streetlamp out of the ground to use as a weapon (I finally get all the DRRR jokes on Twitter lol) while insisting he would rather kill them out here so avoid damaging the house or Yotaro’s work room.
Bad-B seems to use attacks that simulate bullets/attack beams, while Good-B uses an attack with... with bread. He cuts Gear with bread. I realize this is probably ridiculous without pictures, but honestly, it’s kind of weird even when you see it. ANYWAY, Bad-B eats the bread soaked in Gear’s blood, and this gives her energy to send more powerful attacks.
As Yotaro yells out the car window for Gear to get in, Bad-B and Good-B take notice of him. This infuriates Gear, who ends up transforming fully into a werewolf so that he can deal with them. However, Gear’s rampage is putting everything in the vicinity in danger. Mahiru and Kuro try to call out to him, but nothing is working. Yotaro notes that the full moon is close, and as he climbs out of the car, he calmly tells Mahiru and Kuro to get in.
Yotaro proceeds to call out to Gear, telling him to get into the car because they need to escape.
Once Yotaro calls for him, Gear returns to his normal state and jumps onto the car as Yotaro speeds off with Mahiru and Kuro inside.
As Bad-B and Good-B regroup, Bad-B speaks to herself. “Jeje-sama, it was no good...”
Good-B picks up Bad-B and tells her they’re retreating for now. And then he rolls away on what appear to be a pair of Heely’s.
The ending line reads “These two are Jeje’s...?!”
SO, for obvious reasons, most people speculate that these two new characters are subclass of Jeje’s. I don’t recall if we ever talked about whether or not Jeje had servants under him? I mean, it kind of makes sense -- and I could definitely see Mikuni telling Jeje to create subclass in every country they travel to, for times just like this one. It gives them more leverage to make moves in other countries, even when they’re overseas. In any matter, the girl has large sleeves and shoots her weapon/power out of them, just like Jeje.
This chapter feels very short, because it’s probably leading up to more action in the following chapter. Honestly, I love Yotaro and Gear’s relationship. I hope that we get to learn more about why they ended up together, and how Yotaro fits into this world!
Chapter 99 comes out next month on August 12.
I wonder if anything special will happen for chapter 100? I can’t wait to see.
Can’t sit down to read the chapter in-depth until I get home, but I just wanted to say a few things about it.
(SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT)
This chapter had quite a few moments of comic relief, and personally, I feel like it was needed. One of the interesting parts (and it’s something I saw many fans commenting on) is the fact that Kuro seems to have picked up some of Mahiru’s traits. The fact that he tries to cheer Mahiru up and get him to snap out of his funk...
Of course, given the current situation, there are a few parts that are more serious in the chapter, but they don’t weight the whole thing down. Obviously, Mahiru is still worried about Tooru, and he doesn’t know what to do about Tsubaki, but at least he seems to open up to Kuro about what’s bothering him towards the end of the chapter (prompting Kuro to headbutt Mahiru to snap him out of it lmao.)
Anyway, it’s a cute chapter, all things considered!
This chapter is a short one. Even at 12-13 pages long, there are a lot of wide shots and very little dialogue. However, considering the situation, this chapter could open up a lot of different possibilities moving forward from here.
If you’ve been following the spoilers from people who were able to buy the magazine on its release day, you probably realized the spoilers are kind of vague, and that’s because there’s not much to do with this chapter except speculate many things.
The voice calling to Mahiru from the rose is, essentially, Kuro -- or rather, a part of Kuro/Kuro’s power. It almost seems to me as if Kuro (with the help of Gear) managed to “remove” or seal away this part of his power. This “Kuro” looks similar to the little creature that has been in Kuro’s consciousness this entire time.
You can also see that while Mahiru is inside this “other world,” random characters in their dialogue are flipped upside down throughout the entire conversation (as below, with the “do” character in “awful”)
This is the part I was most interested in -- you can see that “Kuro” has spikes running through different parts of his body. I would suspect that this occurred at the time they were trying to seal away Kuro’s power.
Of course, we’ve seen this before when Nico was first introduced. Nothing yet has been said linking Nico’s family to whatever happened to Kuro -- but of course, Mahiru wouldn’t make that connection, because he hasn’t actually met Nico in the main story yet.
This isn’t relevant to the plot, but here’s the page(s) most people were excited about -- seeing Kuro in his human form, smiling.
That’s the point when Kuro (the real Kuro lmao) pulls Mahiru back to reality. Kuro looks panicked, Mahiru is obviously in shock trying to figure out what just happened, and the chapter ends with Gear asking Kuro, isn’t this (Kuro’s power) what you came to retrieve?
If you remember, before Iori sent Kuro and Mahiru away, he told them that they were the only ones who could stop Tsubaki. It’s safe to assume that this was the reason he sent them to meet with Gear -- if Kuro wants to be able to face Tsubaki’s new beefed-up form, he’s probably going to need the full extent of his power. It’s obvious that Kuro got rid of it for a reason, but since having Mahiru as an Eve has changed him, it’s possible he might be willing to take his powers back. (Of course, we don’t even know why he got rid of them in the first place, so maybe the reason is a bit more complicated than that.)
It’s just my personal speculation, but since we saw those mysterious stakes, it makes me wonder if we’re gearing up for a scene switch to Nico after Kuro agrees to take his powers back.
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