Coffee is a scam
I'm just tired as ever.
Hello, this is andromeda and I'll be writing about the relationships I depicted in "Brain Carnival"!
[Dear my sister?!]
First, Koibumi.
Oh, Koibumi, the bastard you are.
If you're familiar with the song, you probably know it ends with the lyrics "Dear my sister...", implying that the previous lyrics about a love letter were directed to the narrator's sister.
So for a while, I didn't know if I wanted to include the song as a character or not.
I wanted to be as accurate to each song as possible, but I didn't wanna include any questionable (at best) relationships in the series.
So I really only had 2 Options
1: Get rid of Koibumi
2: Change her relationship dynamic, making it inaccurate to the original song.
I didn't wanna exclude such an iconic song from the series, and I was afraid that people might misinterpret their relationship even if I changed their dynamic
In Japan, younger women sometimes address their older peers as "sister", even if they're not blood-related, to signify respect and such.
It isn't really known if the song is about actual sisters or just classmates; it's mostly up to interpretation. From what I have seen, most people agree with the "sister theory", but the lyrics kinda lean to the "just classmates" side.
So I just decided to include Koibumi anyway, and if someone misinterprets it, I'll just explain it to them.
Easy as that
[Ra-ri-rure eiyo!]
This one wasn't as complicated.
In "Brain Carnival", Yokuderu and Tenjiku are a married couple. It may seem random at first, but it's kinda cute if you think about it!
In "Tenjiku 2000", there are both a male and a female singer present. I decided to interpret the male singer as the character of Tenjiku, so I made Yokuderu fill the role of the female singer (chosen because she was the only female character in the Labour Series). Though the song doesn't explicitly state what their relationship is at all. Whatever.
Other than that, the two songs have very similar themes.
Yokuderu 2000 is about someone desperately wanting to take a break from work and travel somewhere, and Tenjiku 2000 is about some workers travelling to India to escape their jobs.
Yeah, sure, I didn't have to do that, I could've just made the two have nothing to do with each other, and it wouldn't be an issue. But let me have this, dammit! It's cute, and it kinda makes sense!
[Let's try to fly.]
This is incredibly self-indulgent.
Mada and Waraeru are supposed to be in a relationship, maybe, and I really have no excuse for it besides "I like their dynamic."
I want to get rid of it, but I simply became way too attached to the two. It all started with Mada. I thought it would be cool to base an OC on the narrator from "Mada Saitama 2000", but then I thought "ok but what if I made him date a guy??!!" At first, that role landed on EKiBEN, because the two songs have the shared theme of "trains", but that eventually faded as I realised the relationship couldn't really work, given that EKiBEN is just a tourist and his stay wouldn't be long enough to develop something
meaningful with Mada, so instead I changed the role to be Waraeru's.
You know, I must confess that I'm really a sucker for angsty/toxic/codependent relationships and mentally ill characters. And given that "Waraeru 2000" is (likely) about a guy who was completely driven insane due to overwork, to the point of trying to end his life[1], I thought a character based on that song would make a perfect partner for Mada.
Eventually, this made me think, "I should make characters based on the other 2000's too!" and that's how the whole Brain Carnival series started.
I know the songs have really nothing to do with each other, I could say something like "Oh, the creator said that Waraeru 2000 is about LOVE and warriors, so it makes sense to give him a lover!", but that's just a shitty excuse to force in some weird dramatic yaoi thing in the series.
Also, the story I planned for them would be way too serious for a series like Brain Carnival....
I really don't know what to do. I need to get rid of it, but I can't bring myself to do that. SIGH.
[Ra ri ru re ran~!]
I really have a weakness for BL...
Hataraku and Norudon. I mean, it's not as bad as Wara/Mada?
The only thing these two share is that they're both part of the Labour Series, but besides that, nothing.
I guess their dynamic is cute? "Irritable one x irritating one" can work, especially for a more comedic series like Brain Carnival, but again, I absolutely don't have to make it romantic, but I can't help but do just that...
Including them dating would also just be too much, I mean, the entire Labour Series would be dating each other then, that'd be strange, no? (except for Kechadon. Poor guy...)
Ah, I don't know what to do. I mean, I could just make them friends and only include some jokes that imply something more between them. I hope that's fine.
Oh, I'm overthinking.
I guess that's all. Go love eachother, everyone. Goodbye! Farewell!
NOTES:
[1] While not confirmed, it's still strongly suggested and is also a common interpretation. The constant manic laughter, and the weird obsessive repetition of certain lines over and over again is a clear enough implication, and I don't know how the lines "Well then, let's end everything right here. / Let's try to fly." in the song could possibly be interpreted besides *that*.
(If you don't get what I'm talking about, just listen to the song.)
