Really curious - why are Asuka and Kumiko romantically interested in each other, in your eyes? I feel that tramples over their entire relationship and the strong friendship they've built. Why do you think it's love and not camaraderie? Further, why do you think Eupho is gay? Thanks, appreciate you!
I don't think they necessarily are, but I don't have a problem with people reading it either way, and don't think either perspective cheapens their relationship.
Anime tends to code relationships for ambiguity and viewer inference in general. Not only is there more of a cultural inclination to leave things like that unsaid, but there's also a fan-focused tendency to construct works that allow audiences to impress their own feelings into the existing text. I've been frustrated by that ambiguity in the past, but it's something I've come to generally accept and see as somewhat emblematic of our current age of "media ownership."
Asuka and Kumiko have a beautifully articulated relationship based in strongly defined personalities and clear emotional needs - how you parse that relationship in terms of friendship/romance isn't something I feel the text needs to clearly delineate, and is something I'm happy to see viewers finding their own meaning in. I'd personally side towards the text itself framing Asuka as a kind of emotional guide for Kumiko and not a romantic partner, but I also think they'd make an incredibly adorable couple, so I'm fine with where the show leaves it.
Anime tends to code relationships for ambiguity and viewer inference in general. Not only is there more of a cultural inclination to leave things like that unsaid, but there's also a fan-focused tendency to construct works that allow audiences to impress their own feelings into the existing text. I've been frustrated by that ambiguity in the past, but it's something I've come to generally accept and see as somewhat emblematic of our current age of "media ownership."
Asuka and Kumiko have a beautifully articulated relationship based in strongly defined personalities and clear emotional needs - how you parse that relationship in terms of friendship/romance isn't something I feel the text needs to clearly delineate, and is something I'm happy to see viewers finding their own meaning in. I'd personally side towards the text itself framing Asuka as a kind of emotional guide for Kumiko and not a romantic partner, but I also think they'd make an incredibly adorable couple, so I'm fine with where the show leaves it.