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As always, thank you for your analysis @marumafan !
YuuRam is so much more than just a possessive other world handsome guy and an ordinary japanese high school student (Yuuri would be so glad to hear it) who crossed over and got engaged. It's about time people saw their bond. It is beyond the boundaries of freindship or lovers... It is so much more.
Hi! I’ve been reading your KKM analyses, and I absolutely love them, most especially the YUURAM ones! Can you do some detailed ones on Love Letters and Crossheart too? Please, please?!
Of course! I'm having a day and may not be drawing, so why not?
Also to everyone who likes analyses/discussions, you can always leave some questions/requests in my mailbox if there's anything you're interested in. I'll try my best.
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"Love Letter" was Takabayashi-sensei's first new short story in about 6 years. The first part features Yuuri and Wolfram writing sweet stuff about one another.
The excuse of being 'from Greta's point of view for her homework' gave them both the excuse to express their true feelings.
(Now a cultural point here: The more I live in Japan the more I notice people never tell you the truth about anything. They either don't say anything and let you know 'in some way' or you never find out. A fan of maruma I once met, who could speak English, thanked me for continuing to talk about a topic even after we had disagreed at some point about something. She said people who disagree in Japan simply drop the topic XDD . True story. XD They avoid talking about 'truths' in general. So I feel like this whole keeping your true feelings hidden is a very Japanese thing (which is the target audience for maruma, don't forget). So in this story, both Yuuri and Wolf can express their feelings for one another.)
As for the things they like about each other:
The first thing Yuuri sees that Wolf has written in the cards was some compliment about his awesome black hair. But when Yuuri asks if he should write about Wolf's appearance "How good looking he is" " How his green eyes are like gemstones", "How even his eyelashes are blonde", Wolf's like "Of course not, that's not something Greta cares about". (Wolfie, never change. XD)
Wolf also writes: "How well he gets along with his spouse" which really shows along with his entire demeanor during this story, that even though there's no official title, he really thinks of himself as already married to Yuuri.
Yuuri then writes: "He never abandons his PARTNER" Again, this is a word you use for people you're romantically involved with, but in a more 'earthly' slang. This reminded me of the Seisa arc when, during the bed scene, Yuuri mentions how happy he is to have Wolf there.
He writes another 12 good things about Wolfram, and he mentions that "his left cheek was hot due to the flames of the fire" , implying his right cheek was blushed due to what he was writing. So he's putting in there things that make him blush.
Yuuri asks then if they will get these cards back, and Wolfram assures him that yes they will. Yuuri:"So that we can read them many times and remember how much Greta likes us."
Wolfram: "Of course"
Meaning: Yuuri: "So that I can read many times all the wonderful things you really think about me?" Wolf: "Of course"
However, Yuuri tells Wolf about the futility of having the cards, when you have the other person right there living with you. Yuuri says" Even without something like this, I'm sure that the feelings would be conveyed, " (XDD see this is what I'm talking about! This Japanese mentality of ‘expressing in some way without words’ what you feel)
BUT! this is when Wolf says that in that case, the cards would be more useful to remember people who live apart from you.
So Yuuri's 20th thing he likes about Wolfram is " He tells me things straight to the point".
This means, it's Wolfram who pretty much tells Yuuri to go visit Conrad and have him write stuff about him, cuz he's not living in the castle and so that Yuuri won't miss him.
Wolfram asks if Yuuri's going out. Yuuri says yes. Wolfram's last card says: How honest he is. Yuuri's last card says: How kind he is.
And I mean, damn! If this isn't yuuram af, I don't know what is.
Second part is what was introduced in the first part, Yuuri goes to visit Conrad, he's living above Jozak's bar in a cold, dirty room. And Conrad writes and gives him the card about Yuuri, and it 'warms Yuuri's heart'.
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Comments on Love Letter: I used to think this was a lot more conyuu than it is, but re-reading it and seeing that it was all Wolfram's idea to begin with (and Yuuri knows it was Wolfram's idea), it really shows that strong relationship between Wolfram and Yuuri and includes Conrad's current situation (not living in the castle) as a trigger for getting in a little conyuu in the story and making those fans happy.
You see this 'conyuu afterthought to please the fans' in the first two stories she wrote after the break "Love Letter" and "Lame star Wars". After that, they're all yuuram centric stories. And before the break, they were very much so as well.
It's very clear in everything Takabayashi sensei writes, that she really likes her main couple, and had always planned for them to end up together.
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This is an older story (2010ish), even if it was only published as an extra for the omnibus release in July 2013, and it was also used as part of drama cd 70 released in January 2013. But the contents of this story are the origin of another story published in 2011, so it must have been written before that. (EDIT: I found the original information at Ray Clover: CROSSHEART IS FROM APRIL 2006! (file: asuka1302). It was published as a mobile story, and republished as an extra in the omnibus re-release! )
The title: Although it could be a combination of crossword and heart, like hearts crossing/intertwining; or crossword and the last word of the puzzle" kokoro->heart", I like to think that sensei, knowing a bit of English based it on the phrase: "Cross my heart and hope to die"; as in 'a promise' -> which is the topic of this story.
Then the intro line starts with "That day, there was a strong wind blowing since morning, so I couldn't really go outside." This line, much like the title of novel 4, has the concept of 'wind blowing' that makes reference to the proverb 「明日は明日の風が吹く」`Ashita ha ashita no kaze ga fuku'. Tomorrow, tomorrow's wind will blow. Which means something like "there's no point in thinking ahead" or "What comes next is up to life". Whenever sensei writes that enigmatic first line, it usually carries a lot of meaning and foreshadows what is to come.
The story starts with Yuuri and Wolfram alone at the office. Some event is taking place and everyone but them is busy. Yuuri is doing a crossword and struggling. Wolfram finally gets closer to see what's bothering him.
The first hint for the crossword, is 'a pet name for children'. Wolfram then remembers his mother used to call him Honey-chan (Hachimitsu chan). Yuuri immediately likes the name and says "Maybe I too will start calling you that from now on, honey-chan."
(Additional info: In MisePan2, 2011, Wolfram gets angry at being called honey-chan, because "Yuuri is younger than him" so he has no right to call him something that older people call younger people. Clearly, "Crossheart" where Yuuri discovers Wolfram's pet name comes chronologically before Misepan2. So we can pinpoint that Crossheart was written before 2011, maybe it was even a failed attempt at Misepan2. Misepan 2 came out with the last DVD box, which was delayed a year due to circumstances with Takabayashi sensei. We know this because in the afterword of Misepan2 , the author says: "I really can't apologize enough for this.... I honestly apologize to all of you for keeping you waiting. I'm really sorry for the inconveniences I caused to all the parties I kept waiting for this." So sensei apologizes and blames herself for the delay of the last DVD box. This might have been due to her health issues, which she only mentioned once, in 2010. EDIT: I found the original information at Ray Clover: CROSSHEART IS FROM APRIL 2006! (file: asuka1302). It was published as a mobile story, and republished as an extra in the omnibus re-release!)
The second hint for his crossword was the name of a famous mouse, so of course Yuuri is thinking Micky, since the last letters are cky. But it turns out to be "Rocky" a famous mouse character. So there's a legend that small animals, like mice, squirls, rabbits and even birds can see spirits. And this particular mouse is said to deliver messages from the dead to their families.
This triggers Yuuri to ask a question to Wolf: "What would you do, if I never returned?". Wolfram asks him to clarify what he meant. And Yuuri asks: Would you cry? To which Wolf says: I wouldn't. At first Yuuri is a little hurt by the cold answer, like you wouldn't miss me? But Wolfram explains, of course he'd miss Yuuri but he wouldn't cry. Because if he did, Yuuri wouldn't be able to live a happy life back on earth. Wolfram's promise of not crying so Yuuri could be happy, left Yuuri speechless and then he noticed the word that was formed vertically in the crossword.
The hint for that word: "What you use to share your feelings with your partner."
The word is never specifically said, but in the drama cd it's "ko-ko-ro" -> heart. Which would also circle back to the "heart" in crossheart.
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Comment on Crossheart: This story as well as its natural continuation, Misepan2, are very yuuram oriented. Do you want an exorcism, another contemporary story of these two, is also largely yuuram. And the same goes for all of sensei’s work including the very last doujinshi.
I also want to point out the pet name she chose: Hachimitsuchan. Again, I may be over reaching, but she has enough English knowledge to know “Honey” is something you call children AND your significant other. The fact that Wolfram eventually gets angry at it, adds to the comedy of errors, which is one of the underlying tropes in maruma. Yuuri’s sweet words are generally misinterpreted by Wolfram.
I've been saying this for years. Takabayashi-sensei has liked this couple from the very beginning and has been building their relationship for novels on end. Every story she's written, shows them happy and together. The very last one even has them married with Wolfram wondering if Yuuri would want more 'wives' (as in, what about the other ships?) and Yuuri assuring Wolf he only wants him (no other ships are sailing from this port).
People who ship Yuuri with other characters aren't basing themselves on novel canon, which is fine, of course! But the novel canon is yuuram. Note: I use yuuram as a word to denote the relationship between Yuuri and Wolfram, also because it’s shorter than royal couple. I’m NOT talking about ‘who’s top’ in the relationship. I feel like this whole ‘top’ bottom’ talk is so 90s, we should get over it, much like Takabayashi-sensei herself has expressed she doesn’t care about that whole ‘top’ ‘bottom’ thing.
Like always. I get it that Conrart is best boi (no, it's Wolf obviously, but anyway) for most but that doesn't mean you get to do this.
I started off with the anime (through Youtube way back a few years) and never associated with comments or anything. Even then, with all the ConYu going on and Wolf being shown as a possessive fiance, I still preferred YuuRam over all (And why did we have Sara×Yuuri again? It is clear that Yuuri in the novels was very clear on who was the most beautifully handsome angel in existence. The anime was so frustrating later that most of the time I just wanted Wolf to be loved- Wolfram is so much more that what the anime makes him to be). Then I discovered about the manga when I was surfing through YuuRam images (after stuffing myself with a lot of ffs- mostly anime based). The manga had so many more YuuRam scenes and the plot felt better (till it stopped following the novel- but it was still acceptable). Then ofc I discovered a queer picture that looked like a manga but wasn't like it- Thus I discovered this masterpiece of a novel! (Though most of the illustrations feel so baised towards ConYu... I can baredly get YuuRam scenes). My love for YuuRam and our angel Honey-chan has been growing all this while (from anime to novel and beyond).
I am actually glad I discovered MaruMa now, as we have all the novels properly translated and all. I feel so bad for the whole franchise, as not only YuuRam but even the characters were compromised to keep up to the wishes. The best thing about this novel is how it breaks so many stereotypes! Japan has an obsessiveness with constancy. One of the reasons for ConYu gaining more favour was because of that. At that point the only known trope in Yaoi was strong tall seme×meek small uke. While at that point, when the cover was enough for you to know the positions, Takabayashi-sensei introduced a couple who were, in every way, equal.
Since we are talking about ffs, I read a lot of them before reading the manga (and still read sometimes) and most of them were YuuRam! We are talking around 2009s. At that point, most of the KKM international fans were that of the anime. Still there were so many of them who wanted so much more of YuuRam that they wrote down their fantasies and wishes in the form of fanfics. There would've been so many more MaruMa fans if only they did it justice.
Yeah, so basically, I agree with the statement that don't try to change the canon. Nothing will come of it. Not even dying patients can escape from our angel's presence (so much so that they come to life) so how can mere mortals like us compete? And, the amount of fluff in the novels is pure bliss. Yuuri is more head-over-heels for Wolf than Wolfram and he is even starting to accept it already.
P.S: Sorry I went off on this long rant. I love this work too much! A must read work!!
Because watching the Yuuram’s video in BILIBILI website (Like a YouTube of China) in this year, I retrieved the love of Wolfyu. (Yuuram is ok for me now. I think both of them are the same.) I read these novels(KKM) 14 years ago, but I didn’t want to find any other resource of KKM’s on the net then. I started to search them and met some Yuuram’s fans of China a few months ago. They told me some terrible things about the rumors of KKM. It really shocked me.
They knew Yuuram and loved them because of animate. They weren’t willing to read the original of KKM, because someone spread the rumors that Conyuu is canon in novels without any Yuuram. In this era of network development, those rumormongers spread not only this rumors but also other rumors of all of Maruma authority are Conyuu’s fans including author, painter and official staffs. It made an amount of Yuuram’s fans in China sad and broke their hearts. They didn’t know why Takabayashi sensei let Wolf got engaged to Yuuri. They thought It was unfair for Wolf after being told the canon is Conyuu. Those rumors made many of them so sad that they left this ship. Until now, many Yuuram’s fans of China believe those rumors. They also tell me the animate of KKM was ever popular in China until playing KKM 3rd season. But Wolfram’s fans were still many in that time. I know KKM 3rd season is not good. That’s one of the main reasons they left quickly. The others are those rumors.
I tell them the truth. They start to read the novels and manga. After reading those, they never believe rumors that Conyuu is canon. They say it’s incredible that they have been tricked for 12 years. It’s “two wrongs make a right”. Recently, we found the original of “Love Letter” and translated it. They were as mad as hell because seeing incomplete version in Chinese before. That lost some parts of Yuuram and misinterpreted of the original. It made like a Conyuu novel more. That someone translating it is a Conyuu’s fan. They told me that Conyuu’s fans not only spread the rumors but also attacked Yuuram’s fans.
The one: They even grabbed the Baidu (the search engine of China) personal webmaster of Wolf’s and destroyed it a few years ago. Yuuram’s fans found that and complained to Baidu Official Website. This matter was resolved.
The other: They impersonated Yuuram’s fans to attack themselves and took a screenshot. They spread that Yuuram’s fans were too extreme to get along with them with a false evidence.
I don’t know what to say that because it’s so preposterous and unbelievable. How crazy they were!
My friends and I know that it’s not all of Conyuu’s fans like them. But the crazy people are more than rational ones’ very much. We think they are so jealous of “Royal Couple” that they do those terrible things.
Anyway, we decide to translate the shorten-novels in Chinese by ourselves. In Chain, they can’t search the resources of KKM on foreign website due to some restriction. I provide those resources and my friends translate those. We want to let the Maruma’s fandom see the full translation. It’s a huge project. We hope that rumors will be disappeared after promoting correct information in China. I believe we can do it.