im bored so 1 like = 1 unpopular opinion about enstars except it's not unnecessarily rude and the opinion is actually good

1. kuro and kanata have a really interesting relationship (supernova, comic world, repayfes) and it seems they're very comfortable with each other, and imo it feels like the writers are heavily trying to make them parallels of the red oni/blue oni folktale...

...and i really hope they get more content in !! because im very curious to see how they could develop...kanata seems to like him a LOT and kuro seems very sympathetic towards kanata so i feel like they should seriously have SOME sort of history together and ill be sad if not

2. keito is the most well-written and consistent character in the franchise. i dont say this to bash other characters but in a franchise with so many inconsistencies and bait stories, it's actually SUPER impressive that keito had such a wonderfully consistent character arc

i love eichi to bits but i honestly feel like keito stole his spotlight as the redeemed/sympathetic villain LOL...keito has more than redeemed himself and still expresses deep regret for the war stuff and yet the reader completely understands his reasoning...it's very enjoyable

to me as a reader and im just very fascinated by his writing because he's genuinely so fleshed out and complex. anyway stan keito hasumi

3. the main story wasn't bad and was actually very consistent save for the fact that several characters in it (izumi, arashi) got complete character redesigns later in the timeline imo. it laid the foundation for trickstar's relationship with everyone very nicely...

...and trickstar was written very well in it? it was interesting because they all had very specific individual conflicts that they overcame with help from other characters outside of trickstar and i think it's a shame that people ignore the main story bc they assume it's lame

4. if izumi's character didn't get the redesign/revamp that it desperately needed he would be the most boring and obnoxious character in the franchise, no exceptions lol. 2015 izumi was so...Bad and im very very grateful for how much depth he has gotten since...

...because as much as i tease him i think he's a really interesting character with very deep struggles that touch on sensitive subjects that a lot of people can relate to and find comfort in (trust issues, mental health, being very blatantly gay-coded, etc)

if akira didn't constantly reset his development/shove in inconsistencies for the sake of izmk/izlo bait, izumi would be a really well-written character...but the inconsistencies make the timeline very confusion and give off the impression that he doesn't chance when he Does

5. yoshino-sensei's portrayal of rei and akira's portrayal of rei are radically different and while i think each writer should have their own little flair on characters, they should Not be that intensely different and i think as a result rei's character has greatly suffered...

...in terms of consistency and appeal...i think it's got better but like there was a point in 2018/2019 where rei was just a fucking disaster in stories and a lot of reiP on my TL had a falling out with him because his personality had become so inconsistent

6. i don't understand why nagisa/mao is still such a sensitive topic for some people tbh, i assume it's because people didnt read SS where the two make up and come to understand each other a lot more? i think it's disappointing that so many people...

...disliked nagisa for a very long time because of how he acted in the first event he was ever featured in without giving him a chance at all for character development...plus the fact that mao honestly needed to be told what nagisa said to him

7. adding off of the last one, mao isn't the amazing perfect friend some people characterize him as imo. he has hurt trickstar on several occasions with his reckless selflessness (sunflower) and his entire character revolves around "he acts like your servant and...

...that eventually drives you away because you feel guilty but he won't listen to you/change." i like how stories emphasize that mao is a mediator in trickstar a lot but i think some people misinterpret it as mao being the ideal friend when in reality he has been kinda shitty...

...to people (even if it was unintentional) and refuses to accept any criticism or advice until someone literally yells at him (makoto, ritsu, nagisa) because he's so blindly convinced that self-sacrifice is the way to make people love him

(p.s. mao is an amazing character and i love this about him because it makes him SO interesting...please translate sunflower this is the most interesting part about mao imo)

8. this is a heaaaaavily personal opinion but i think the voice actor changes in the series (arashi, hokuto) were even better than the previous voices, kitamura and maeno deeply love their characters and i think their voices gave them a lot more depth + interesting tone in songs

i think it was especially needed in trickstar songs because the seiyuu beforehand were all very similar in tone and maeno's voice has a much different range than the other three and it honestly makes the songs more interesting to me...it gives them more character

9. even if akira publicly announced an outdated DID diagnosis for shu and has handled its portrayal very poorly and inaccurately, i think shu has been a comfort character for a lot of people who suffer from serious identity issues (not limited to that one diagnosis)...

...and that makes me happy, because even if akira handled it poorly i think shu's identity issues are still a very important part of who he is as a character and im very glad that the fans dont ignore that and do a much better job at portraying that side of shu than akira does

10. even if akira is probably never going to declare it officially (aside from arashi) i think it's important to acknowledge that izumi, arashi, tomoya, wataei, and kaoru in particular are DEFINITELY LGBTQ+ coded and that has brought a lot of comfort to LGBTQ+ fans

11. adding to the last point, engirls had MANY canon instances of them acknowledging wlw characters and promoting the idea that many of the girls at kimisaki were in relationships and i think if that could fly with engirls it should absolutely be in enstars...

...especially given how fucking Obvious it is in cases like the characters above...i know it's kind of cheesy but i think a story that even VAGUELY touches on any of those characters struggling specifically with their sexuality or getting accepted/validated would be really nice

12. even if rtmo, izlo, and wtei get a lot more attention than other pairings and sometimes have repetitive stories (izlo in particular) it doesn't make them bad pairings and im glad i havent seen people hating them randomly solely for their popularity in recent months

+ im also glad because a few bad fans doesnt mean all the people who are just having fun and minding their own business should have to get bothered/harassed for no reason other than "haha popular ship boring im funny"

13. i think ritsu is honestly the most mischaracterized character in the franchise. i dont mean to insult writers in any way because i know reading stories can be overwhelming but it feels like so many people just take how ritsu acts towards mao and...

...extend that to every other character when their relationship is Very Specific and Special...ritsu has been shown to be very emotional/often out of touch with his self-control when around mao and rei but otherwise, ESPECIALLY with his fellow knights members, he's...

...incredibly perceptive to other people's behavior and feelings and also insanely intelligent when it comes to dealing with people...he was definitely a brat in his previous year but i think people characterize him as way too childish sometimes when he's definitely not

see: butterfly story, ritsu literally orchestrates an exercise where three characters can safely share their feelings with each other without getting hurt and intervenes when necessary...yes ritsu can be childish/emotional when with mao and rei because...

...they are both VERY sentimental/emotional relationships, but he's in no way incapable of taking care of himself when we have seen on several occasions that he capable of taking care of others, sometimes even more-so than they are of themselves (izumi)

(small break to say if people wanna QRT and add a comment whether it's agreeing or adding your own opinion go for it <3 i love hearing other people's takes cause these are all relatively harmless and meant to just be interesting opinions and not Mean or Rude)

14. as someone who has been in the fandom for nearly 4 years now, i think enstars writers are really talented despite the absolute gross mess the ao3 tag has become over the years. there's a lot of awful shit in there now but if you look at the right fics...

...you'll find a lot of incredible writers who stepped up and had very interesting portrayals/interpretations of characters that akira may have shirked on or done dirty with inconsistencies. especially in the case of shu, izumi, kaoru, and literally Every first year

personally i think there's a TON of shu/shumk fics that touch very realistically and intimately on shu's mental health and identity struggles and honestly they have passively made me feel so much more passionate and loving towards shu as a character bc it feels so much more Real

15. reading the beasts of fistfighting story should be mandatory honestly because kuro's character is so incredible and heartfelt and that story really made me bawl...the fact every single student in the school decided to look the other way/plan an event in secret...

...SPECIFICALLY so that kuro could finally overcome his own guilt and self-punishment...i think kuro would be much much higher on everyone's list if they just read that one gacha story it was seriously so emotional, + kurokoga's relationship is SO adorable and...

...that story in particular shows how much koga admires and loves kuro despite how little we see them interact in canon...he literally tells kuro that "everyone loves you"!!! why isnt kurokoga a more popular pairing grr

16. rei and ritsu actually have a really sad story between them and their relationship is pretty fleshed out + interesting, it's just that nobody can talk about it anymore bc inc/sties have overshadowed it completely and make all the non-freaks feel guilty for liking their...

...sibling relationship :| but fr the hawk rei 5* story and the jade tea ritsu story made me feel a lot for them and their miscommunication and it's clear that they both really do care for each other it's just that the writing is buried beneath mountains of inc/st bait

17. on the subject of lrt i have mentioned this before but people need to remember that there are real human writers behind the stories and there's a point where, if the dialogue is inconsistent and obviously just plopped there for bait/pandering purposes, we...

...should hold the writer accountable rather than the character (rei, izumi, half the cast in 2015). i think there's a different between those characters' development arcs and moments of inconsistency where the writer is clearly at fault and not contributing to the actual chara

if people can recognize that a lot of ri/mu's questionable dialogue from id/lmas is the fault of the writers rather than an inherent part of her character, it doesn't make sense to me why people can't use the same educated judgement for these characters

18. kaoru's character arc, much like keito's, is very consistent and impressively interesting...his transition was gradual but still very drastic and i think every single fan felt the payoff for that build-up when post-grad kaoru showed up and was very affectionate and...

...carefree with everyone. i think that was a great choice on the writers' behalf because a lot of people who related very hardcore to kaoru's identity and family issues felt incredibly comforted to finally see him be free and independent and happy with people who really love him

this also made kaoru a VERY realistic character because he started as a flawed person, but not like...Ridiculously flawed? and now he's still quirky and still very recognizably the same person but he's simply grown and matured and it's kinda crazy imo how real his growth seems

like it genuinely felt like we just grew with him LOL...it didnt feel artificial or scripted at all which makes him the most satisfying character development arc imo...he just always gets better little by little through learning from others and it makes him very human

i think if i awarded keito as "best-written character," i would award kaoru as "most human/realistic character" because of how incredible his arc turned out to be...by not even being flashy and in-your-face, but simply heartfelt, slow, and realistic

19. sorry for talking about kaoru AGAIN but i would also like to add that every single kaoru monologue is so impressive because it's so well-timed and like...idk. his monologues feel so inherently different from other characters' angst monologues? let me try to explain why

enstars monologues are literally Known for being super dramatic with lots of grandiose vocabulary and allusions, to the point where you have to read them several times because they're very convoluted and often you have to infer the character's feelings on your own

with kaoru, his monologues fit that "realistic, growing, slowly learning" arc i mentioned so much because they're very...simple? he uses very simple words and he's a lot more straightforward than other characters with his feelings/his issues

in my opinion as a writer and reader i think kaoru's monologues tend to win him more fans and tend to shed more tears because he's just...so relatable? he doesn't have this grandiose trauma like a lot of other characters so he tends to downplay his own grief/sadness...

...by comparing it to other people's ("it's nothing," "sorry for saying pointless things") and yet the reader winds up feeling more sympathetic for him than for characters who Do have long very very emotionally distraught monologues...i think that really is because...

...kaoru's feelings and concerns are very Normal? he feels lost, he doesn't know what he should care about, he's taken his family for granted and now he doesn't know how to have a relationship with them, etc. etc...i think readers just really feel for how honest + relatable he is

tl;dr: kaoru is a PERFECT example for writers of how you don't necessarily need huge convoluted traumatic backstories to make characters interesting and sympathetic, sometimes being simple and realistic/human is more than any reader could ask for...sometimes simpler IS better!

(p.s. this isnt to say other characters are cheesy/not as good or effective! i just think it's such a different mood...with other characters i feel like im watching a sad anime whereas with kaoru it really feels like just a troubled friend spilling his troubles to you yfm??)

20. izmk wouldn't be so intolerable and uncomfortable if akira would stop resetting their development every two months to pander to the BL audience, it's really upsetting and frustrating that makoto has overcome and fixed his issues with izumi like three times now only to...

...have the whole conversation be erased/ignored in the next story in favor of inconsistent and nonsensical bait...idk i know im biased but i really love makoto's growth and strength in the stories where he stands up to izumi and especially in butterfly, runway, and horaharo,

izumi gets his shit rightfully wrecked (figuratively...although i wish physically) and learns and is able to reconcile with him...it's happened so many times and yet akira wont keep it and it's so annoyinggg please let makoto move past this and grow as a character because...

...there are SO many other interesting complex aspects of Both of their characters that could get cool 30 chapter event stories instead of redoing the same fucking argument 30 times and not having it make any sense whatsoever

21. honestly not sure what the issue with band ensemble is? i think it's just bc it was such a popular event but the story is in no way bad...in fact it's very vital to mao's character and shows how inherently flawed he is and that it was never just ritsu throwing a fit over...

...nothing, but a serious issue that mao has with respecting other people and seeing them as equals...he also constantly ignores people's feelings despite how helpful he is to others and band ensemble highlighted that growth really well

also rtmo dont fight very often but the few times they have i feel like the writing was very reasonable and helpful for both of their development...i think a lot of izlo fights have become recycled/shock value but the rtmo ones really do have meaning to them imo

22. i know people meme it up a lot but i think the way keito interacts with mitsuru and other first years is literally ESSENTIAL to his character...at face-value it seems like Funney Joke or just cutesy content but if you read his interactions with mao...

...he goes very in-depth about his desire to be a good senpai to his kouhai in order to ensure that they dont make the same mistakes he and his classmates made, and also because he genuinely does want to put good into the world after all the bad things he did to people

the way keito talks to mao in particular is just very. very telling about what a kind person he really is? he Always stresses that he wants to leave mao and the rest of his kouhai with a much better yumenosaki because he genuinely wants them to be happy and enjoy their youth

in addition to it being an absolutely Adorable part of his character, keito would not be the same person if he didn't canonly express this heartfelt desire to take care of and protect his kouhai with Everything he has, to the point where he'll ignore his own needs for them

i just think it adds so much value to him as a character and really tops off his redemption arc...after everything he went through, it made me very very happy to see that keito could finally find his place as a good senpai who supports everyone else's "stories"...

23. kuro and keito's relationship is really interesting to me. it started off as a very power-dynamic/controlled relationship, and showed how even "big, strong men" can be manipulated and used by people solely through emotional means...

...but it also developed SO well, from keito's guilt and constant apologies to kuro for his past behavior towards him to kuro's genuine forgiveness of him because that's simply the kind person that he is...and of course them moving on together as a unit and graduating together

i think kurokei isn't really thought of this way, but i see it as a really nice example of someone wronging another person and then properly atoning for what they did and proving that it's very possible to reconcile with the people you've hurt and develop a beautiful relationship

i think this also shows with keito and kanata a bit in comic world, definitely not at the same level yet but beginning to develop...why does keito always get these great conversations/arcs where he is forgiven by the people who he's hurt it's so satisfying...

...especially because he never begs for their forgiveness or anything...he always acknowledges that he doesn't deserve it and he can't change what he did and it's always the other person deciding of their own volition to forgive him...it's just very nice...

24. i don't think i have met a single person who hates chiaki and that's honestly how it should be. it's incredibly rewarding to see a character who, much like kaoru, went through a lot of realistic and relatable struggles in his life that continuously knocked him down...

...only to eventually be rewarded with loving friends, a place to call home, and acceptance of himself...i always see people praising the RYUSEITAI family dynamic and that's how it should be!! i think RYUSEITAI is a very good example of the found family trope

it's also very comforting to have a character who devoutly believes that there's some good in everyone, that people deserve to smile and laugh and have fun, and that you can continue to chase your dreams/love "childish" things and embrace that part of you and be happy

25. i think madara is great because it introduces a very "chaotic good/vigilante" type view in the story? madara doesn't side with keichi nor does he side with trickstar, he simply believes that those who he deems to have hurt people should be punished for it

i think that was a REALLY cool thing for the writers to add because i think a lot of fans personally felt this way? frustration with how not everyone really "won" the war...how a lot of scars were still bleeding but trickstar couldn't realistically fix EVERYTHING...

...and thus madara comes in to take control of the issues that trickstar realistically can't tackle? it keeps trickstar realistic without making them overpowered/overbearing, while making madara incredibly interesting because it's like..."he says what we're all thinking!!!!"

this is like...super meta/dramatic of me but i think madara is also great because often in life the quiet voices get drowned out and their issues/pain forgotten about and madara is like nah fuck that...fuck the rules fuck doing things "properly" i want justice and that's great

just...god. the addition of that chaotic viewpoint was so good. especially when keichi/trkst thought the dust was settled and then surprise! madara is here to make everyone face their demons and talk about the uncomfortable problems they buried long ago <3

26. i know a lot of people can't see it happening because of how shu's image is compared to mika's, but in my honest opinion as a writer and reader, mika's entire development arc and character will be completely worthless if he doesn't eventually surpass shu as an artist

or even match him at the very least i guess, but they started as a very strict "master/puppet" relationship and human comedy gives us every reason why they cannot continue on unless mika acknowledges his own worth as a human being rather than shu's puppet (which he does)

i think !! is in fact committing to making mika surpass shu which makes me really happy...obviously it's essential for mika to accept his own worth, but i think it's also essential for shu because he has put himself on such an impossible pedestal for his whole life and we have...

...seen time and time again as readers how that self-inflicted pressure has utterly destroyed him as a person...shu needs to come to accept that he has an equal or even a superior in this world who he can also love and respect and feel valued by

not to spread shmk propaganda but they're literally perfect for each other as characters...they complete each other's arcs so well and give each other the proper development they need...every valkyrie story is incredible and it's no wonder they're such a good unit

27. forgive me because im not suuuper well-versed on switch but even though he isn't high on my list, i think tsumugi is also a very necessary and worthwhile addition to the series in terms of viewpoint/perspective in the timeline

it's very interesting to see things from the viewpoint of someone who is EXTREMELY flawed in terms of empathy and general like...perception of others? that obliviousness is a huge motivator in some of eichi's most major developments and incites a lot of guilt in him

tsumugi forces characters like shu and eichi who are seen as "untouchable emperors" to confront their most ugly memories and feelings, and he also forces characters like natsume to make heavy decisions that lead to him understanding himself and his own feelings a lot more

imo natsume seems like a very...lost and confused person at times and i think despite all the hostility/past between them, tsumugi is an anchor in his life and he has made natsume learn much more about himself than natsume ever has on his own or with anyone else

the best character development is made when two or more characters inherently force the other(s) to realize things about themselves, confront issues they don't want to, and be exposed to different perspectives...i think that's how switch has become so well-developed despite...

...being added late in the timeline. their development through each other works so well and really makes up for their absence in the game's beginning