AnimeSuki Forum - Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari

Well this seems like a good enough spot to keep my thoughts going about reading through the light novels after the anime aired.

No regrets on basically buying every single novel available and diving into reading. Enjoyed the heck out of the anime and that hasn't been lost while I've been reading. One good thing is the main cast (mostly) got cast in the anime so I've got some good voices to keep in mind while reading along.

Spoiler for Volume 3 and 4:

Interesting where the story went after the anime wrapped up. I was curious how they'd keep Mia honest and moving forward. I like the choice of dropping her granddaughter into it. Though I will say the granddaughter has played a smaller role in all this than I expected. Still, she's a valuable piece of the picture. With her and the...Mia Chronicles it's possible to keep track of what should happen and what chances are causing. It also potentially gives Mia more information than her original diary. But maybe not. Since Bel learned a lot of details when she was really young so her memory isn't wholly reliable. And Anne's sister is a good girl...but way too excessive in her writings.

Of course the world went to hell because Mia decided not to become the Student Council President and also because she didn't want to be Empress. I get she got embarrassed over the amount of kids that story said she was going to have. Although holy smokes...Mia and Abel get busy :heh:! I'm not really surprised with how attracted they are to each other, but that's still impressive. But anyways, Mia has to give up. She can't get out of becoming Empress. It's just the best way to ensure her safety.

I did enjoy her thoughts about the romanticized version of her death. "So I suffered for days after being poisoned, struggling to survive with blood pouring out of my orifices, and then I expired!" Yeah, that kind of sounds worse than the guillotine. Although maybe not the circumstances since I'm sure she died surrounded by people that loved her...rather than people that hated her. Mia also probably is on point that she likely didn't have a grand last line to give at her death bed. Any roars of challenge were probably screams of agony.

The best parts are where people just misunderstand in the best of ways. Rafina misunderstanding Mia's pouting and grumbling but getting a world shifting perspective over it. And good thing she did...since her zealot leadership would have killed a ton of people. I kind of feel bad for Rafina honestly. She really thinks the world of Mia, but Mia is just utterly terrified of her. And there's not even really a big reason for it. It's not like with Dion where he cut her head off! Rafina...just treated her coldly at school. She wasn't even involved in the guillotine stuff!

Esmeralda really is an ugly mirror for Mia. I'd like to say she's a bit worse, but not evil. She's just utterly stupid and naive over the harm her "pranks" cause. I kind of felt bad since Mia did distance herself from her for reasons that Esmeralda could never understand. But fair enough that Mia felt betrayed when the Greenmoons vanished when Mia expected a freaking tea party! Esmeralda didn't want to go. But she also never showed up before Mia's eventual death so...

And the messed up situation continues to unfold with that sea nation basically using the Greenmoons. I'm surprised the King sending assassins didn't have a much more conclusive ending by the end of volume 4. But I guess that and the island situation will play out in volume 5.

I'm going through this story so I'll catch up to the released light novels eventually. But it'll take a while!

One small thing I'm wondering at this point is what will happen to Bel when Mia fully clears this current challenge? If she can avoid the life that Bel had to live will Bell just vanish? Will she stick around long term? The diary disappeared, but Bel is flesh and blood. Mia didn't go anywhere when she finished her guillotine struggle.

Spoiler for Volume 5:

Spoiler for Volume 6:

Definitely Citrina is a scary one. Clearly set up and trained for years to be an effective tool and "doll" for her family. Just to a point of Mia getting a decent grasp on how scary that doll can be. Whether she was planning on taking advantage of the chance to murder Mia herself I'm not sure, but she was probably thinking it. Plus she was probably pissed that her efforts to keep Mia away from things she didn't want discovered were so close to going to waste. I did worry that her betrayal would sting even harder for Bel and it might still do that. But Bel's pure friendship is seemingly working on Citrina bit by bit. Getting human reactions of relief at seeing her ok. And they make quite the pair. Two people raised in a way that left them always smiling at all times no matter how they felt on the inside. And both have a severe need for praise and are almost innocent in the same way. Should be possible to turn even her to Mia's side with some luck.

And of course Mia constantly swooning over Abel hasn't changed at all. She's just purely consistent in going into "girl in love" mode whenever he makes a good move :).

Citrina doesn't get any less scary as this goes along. I suppose she is a victim of circumstance. Used by the serpents as a tool. To bring down enemies and killing off any "friend" she made. Or at least losing that friendship after erasing a precious member of that person's family. And she's set up to do it again with Mia. It was obvious that this would be the play too. Bel is a weak point and threatening her would force Mia to take action even if she knew the act would be suicide.

Not a bad choice to have Mia try to tackle the whole issue with Tiona. Certainly the slap is something she couldn't exactly shrug off. I'd still say that cutting off someone's head is probably overkill in terms of payback. All the more so since by the time of Mia's death in that timeline...Tiona didn't even remember it. A consistent is that Mia really isn't strong. But I suppose what counts as regret still counts as regret. And it's been proven enough that time can heal many wounds. Even if Mia would have naturally wanted to avoid Sion and Tiona she managed to build solid connections with both that have served her well.

Part of me is kind of glad that it was discovered after Mia's death that the Emperor had nothing to do with the death of Tiona's father. Just would feel unsatisfying if Tiona had been able to run away from the truth and not have to face her part in all this. Obviously the true masterminds deserve the weight of guilt. But Tiona willingly walked down the path they set out for her. In that sense it's no wonder that I've thought Tiona has been oddly in the background for much of the events. Sion has been around plenty, but Tiona has simply been...there. Mia felt her own regrets and Tiona through these dream visions probably felt some level of hesitation over getting too close. Throw in realizing she wasn't too handy with a sword...and yeah I suppose she would keep her distance.

It's a cool moment for them in the baths too. So many of these "I remember the past life in a dream" scenes mostly are just for the character themselves. But in this case in some ways it was allowed to be transmitted to Mia. She could feel forgiveness from the version of Tiona that she never could get it from. And in that sense both were saved from regrets. And I'm just guessing while reading...but definitely get the feeling that Mia has thankfully managed to stumble into saving herself once again. Has a friend that's good at archery...and is definitely worried about her. That might work. Plus now that I think about it...if Mia knows where and when she's going to be attacked I'm surprised she didn't tell Ludwig to have Dion stationed out there. Be a bit hard to explain the why, but it might boost her survival odds.

Suppose I also have to just trust the story that telling everyone would make things even worse. If the book says that would be the result then Mia just can't do it. Still, I feel for Abel who clearly wants to be there for Mia. Hopefully someday she can let him in.

Too bad this probably won't get future seasons of anime. Be fun to see Dion's fight against the wolf guy. Can anyone stand up to Dion? What an absolute monster. Thank goodness he's not still after Mia's head.

The threat was solid. Not as solid as the serpents thought since Mia knew it was a suicide mission. Even if they thought her extremely wise they couldn't know that she knew it was suicide. And yeah logically abandoning Bel would be the right play. She can't be born if Mia dies before she has any kids. But logic isn't always easy to stick to. I don't think they could seriously use killing Bel against Mia, but it's a concern sure. Plus it's not just abandoning her own future grandchild...but Abel's grandchild. Be tough to look him in the face again after that. And admittedly she doesn't know if this is a Re:Zero/Higurashi situation. Maybe she can keep looping? She has done a good job compared to those shows of keeping her amount of deaths to the minimum. Wouldn't God back her up one more time? Probably best not to bet on that.

Citrina though caved faster than I expected. I guess that friendship between people with troubled backgrounds really ran deep. Even Citrina couldn't help but want to give into the wish to save her friend. Practically begging Bel to go for it. Obviously taking Citrina hostage would be a long shot. Probably wouldn't work since serpents like that would deem her expendable if she got caught by Bel anyways. But I get her feelings. Same as Bel's desire to try and hold onto their friendship. And hey good on Mia (despite questionable rationale) for believing too. After all "She might be a chicken, but she was a chicken that had seen some shit!"

Everything coming together with the battle to save Mia really feels like the story gathering itself. It's not even halfway through the novels that are out there and it's getting this kind of cool scene. Of course everyone has their role to play. But I did particularly enjoy Abel getting to protect the girl he cares about before things really picked up. Did his absolute best in a grueling fight with a pretty garbage sword. Speed over effective weaponry was necessary there. And Sion really redeemed himself here. Timely assistance for Abel and just being there adds so much to the odds of survival. A genius swordsman in battle mode. No wonder Keithwood was sweating buckets. All these events, all these factors, and they only barely made it.

Spoiler for Volume 7:

The steady path towards Mia becoming Empress continues. And really it is for the best. She may have mixed feelings, but even she knows on some level that risking everything and letting someone else rule is just too dangerous. Better to take it on herself and then she can continue to lean on Ludwig and the steadily growing next generation that can help support her. And nice that she's trying to consider what to do with Bel. We've seen people go back in time, but not go forwards again. If Bel isn't going anywhere then Mia will need to do something with her. Maybe giving her some lands to rule will be the best move she can make.

Too bad for Sion but even having some thoughts on his feelings for Mia now really is too late. Or rather the battle was lost before it began. Mia has steadily let go of the past. But along the way she's fallen far too hard for Abel to change course at this point. Though having no chance and retaining the regrets of never saying anything are different. Maybe worth saying something.

So the merchant will be the main issue for this volume eh? I'm sure that's not a bad choice. The kind of scumbag that's worth knocking down a peg or two. Having him put together a scholarship fund in his youth does give the impression that he might turn around before it's too late, but who knows. I don't blame Mia for wanting to strike back especially when he acted the way he did in the original timeline. Insulting her was one thing. But his selfish greed caused numerous people to die. Dying alone while his associate kept making terrible business decisions in his place. Nice to see Rania getting some focus in this volume. Seems like a good girl and this is her chance to do something.

So of course things worked out really well. Will admit I didn't expect the merchant to nearly die from a heart attack! But it did allow that Tatiana girl to have a nice moment and repay some good will. Plus all this allowed Rania's father to mature a bit. Finally paying attention to his daughters and really listening to them. Just needed to get hit by a rough realization that this Princess he was so upset at trusted them more than he did. But it all was for the best. A chance to improve relations and turn things around for the better. And cleaning up another ugly mess created by the First Emperor. Naturally he made things this way so that there would be even more sour relations. That Tearmoon would have as many unhappy neighbors as possible that would help rip the nation apart when the time was right. Nice job by everyone getting through it.

But the highlight came near the end. God...that scene with Anne and Mia was unbelievably sweet :). Just an emotional rollercoaster of a chapter. Anne getting those memories in a dream and having the chance to make good on a broken promise. Honestly it was a gut punch having them make that promise and then cutting to Mia after her father had been murdered. That she had to spend so much time in prison knowing her father's head had been cut right off just must have been horrific. And I do appreciate that Mia got the chance to just be purely sweet here. That she hesitated to eat that treat because of the promise made with Anne. Mia loves...LOVES food. But even she had to draw the line at eating that when there was a promise with Anne left unfulfilled. And it must have really hit her to have Anne practically scream out that she had some memories of that time. I'm sure Mia didn't think that deeply about it or fully believe it. But it definitely landed with the way her expression froze. Because honestly the chance that Anne could remember those times and the bonds they forged would probably mean the world to her. Ludwig is the most essential to making the political side work out. But Anne is truly the person Mia feels the strongest bond with.

It had to be terrifying seeing Anne just crying like that when Mia woke up. Her happiness is what means the most to Mia. I'm happy for both of them. It's enough to make me tear up just a bit. Anne got to do right by her past self and both sides got what they needed. Anne got to make it right with Mia (both past and present) and Mia got to share that meal with Anne (both past and present). With Anne it's a bit less solid since she doesn't truly remember everything, but it's enough in terms of feeling. And I'm glad they didn't forget Mia's father either. He was part of that original promise.

Truly this volume as much as any really hits home how much things have changed. Lives are so much better than they were that it's hard to express it. Mia's father is going to be just fine, Mia will be just fine, but so many characters are more fulfilled than they ever would have been. A true win/win.

Spoiler for Volume 8:

I do like how this is veering back towards Sion. Mia getting blindsided by Sion getting thrown into the crosshairs. And in a way it works. Mia's presence has obviously done good for the world, herself, and those she cares about. But her influence can have unintended effects. Very obviously because Mia rarely understands the ripple effect of her actions. She in a sense spurred Sion on. And as a result he's going to put his life in danger to live up to what he thinks Mia woudl do.

Mia never looks more competent than when she's trying to save her own life and others :). Great job getting her elite staff on site for this. Ludwig, Dion, Anne, the guard, Citrina, etc. Honestly getting Rina on side is huge here. I like how (for obviously selfish reasons) she tells Rina that she'll never make her kill anyone. She's Bel's friend so that's a good choice to make. She may want to avoid time traveling assassins too, but it's still important.

Though damn! Sion killed Keithwood and his brother!? I kind of get the brother since he could be encouraged to do something stupid. But in that case Sion was far too extreme to let his brother off for a momentary case of stupidity. But at that point such was his habit. Why listen to others, why talk things out, when justice demands swift action. Certainly a Sion that never got challenged like he was by Mia just wouldn't stop a downward spiral.

Though Keithwood? Damn. I would have thought he'd be the last person to get the axe...

I do like that this one is touching back on that Sion and Tiona potential romance. I mean why not? Mia does feel better about him now than at the start of the series. And certainly a lot has happened. But it's simply too late. Ignoring how politically it'd be hard to do (without the two nations unifying into some super nation), it just has no chance. Mia is truly head over heels for Abel. She can swoon a bit at his looks, but her heart is elsewhere.

The brother situation made sense. There was that resentment and inferiority complex with the kid. All it took was a good serpent to twist things a bit and push him. Taking advantage of a foolish child that wouldn't even think about what he was doing or how dangerous it was to trust what a person handing you poison. Not a huge challenge. And after poisoning it'd be too late to say he didn't know. It wouldn't matter. One prince had assassinated the other prince. That was the reality. Sunkland would probably fall into political chaos. And all of that was the plan B to the original plan to draw out Sion with "bandits" and kill him with an elite squad.

Spoiler for Volume 9:

Well hey, good for Sion getting to at least make his attempt. It's an interesting position for Mia and I was a bit worried he'd successfully fool her into thinking he wasn't interested. But glad for them both this happened. I won't say that Sion being passive is what was his downfall. Though to some degree I suppose Mia is right they were both passive towards each other in different timelines. But he did actually try to invite her to that first dance. The big failing for him was something outside his control. His own actions in another timeline. By the time Mia was no longer tense around him...it was far too late. By that point she'd long since fallen for Abel. He simply had no chance anymore.

I do like the idea that he lost that duel because he was trying to be so many things at the same time and Abel was just purely focused on one thing. Even then it was close. Sion almost beat him at his own game. A reminder that Abel definitely can't rest on his laurels. The moment he stops seeing Sion as this incredible wall to overcome..he'll be unable to beat him.

It is a bit funny that despite Abel winning the duel the focus after that was almost completely off him. Story just kind of forgot about him (sorry Grandpa Abel) to highlight Sion's situation. I mean good on them for continuing to cement the Tiona and Sion ship. That's fine. I'm glad it didn't work out in the original timeline since...frankly few of them actually deserved a happy ending considering what they did. But that doesn't necessarily apply to this timeline. The characters are growing and learning.

I did like how despite things working out great, that the King actually would have resolved the situation pretty reasonably himself anyways. Man was completely prepared to abdicate the throne to protect his son. Even prepared to throw himself off the balcony to make it unclear what happened. Wouldn't have worked in that case with the type of poison, but a solid move regardless.

Best moment may have been Rina just pulling up that skirt (I know it sounds bad) and revealing the antidotes. A perfect counter to the accusations and a great moment for her. Good call to have that one get an illustration :D. But it's good to see people rallying to her like Esmeralda. Haven't seen a "here's the other timeline" bit for Rina yet, but I presume it wasn't a good life she was forced to live by the serpents. She's finally got friends, a home, and people that truly respect her. That's a good win :).