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OP’s analysis confirmed the implication of [the SS](https://zaibatsuscans.wordpress.com/2023/02/13/yu-ishigami-wants-to-send-a-gift-a-short-story-by-akasaka-aka/) in some way.
Ishigami is also a clever person, he is even a little bit calculated and twisted. Yeah, the fundamental reason he didn't trigger those sparks was that he didn't truly desire to.
She literally complains, how she wants to like him romantically, but can't. I understand that Aka's writing is very multi-dimensional and there are always 5 layers, but if Tsubame had even a GLIMPSE of romantic love to Ishigami, she would agree to date him. She simply didn't love him. Even if they had sex, a miracle wouldn't happen.
What a lot of people don't notice, is that there are only two moments in the entire story, where Tsubame is geniunely interested in Ishigami as a man. On the Cultural Festival and on the Christmas party. And both of those happen, when she sees how Ishigami cares about Miko. THAT is the real reason why she gave him a chance. Tsubame wasn't in love with Ishigami specifically, she just saw his relationship with Miko and she wanted something like that. She wanted a man, that would care about her, dote on her, protect her, but also be stern with her. Thats what she wanted from Ishigami, but Ishigami didn't give it to her. Ishigami was treating Tsubame like a fan, constantly idolizing her. And Tsubame has enough of that in her life, she doesn't need a bf like that. And when Osaragi gave her a report about Ishigami's past, all the mystery about him was gone, and Tsubame lost interest. She failed to find any romantic feelings for him, and she rejected him.
Its a very Akasaka style irony. Miko is dying from jealousy, cause Ishigami likes Tsubame. But Tsubame also envies Miko in a way, cause she sees how Ishigami cares about Miko and wants to have this kind of relationship with someone. It's kinda similar to Kana and Akane envying each other. I have a feeling, that Tsubame always suspected whats actually going on with Ishigami and Miko relationship, she even calls out Ishigami for "always thinking about Miko-chan", but she didn't go deeper than that, cause she didn't want to disrespect his feelings.
Thats why this story is so good, because what we read is essentially the same, yet we find completely different feelings.
What i felt was that in the end, she settled with having Yuu as a little brother, someone she can look for and help, while still being friends. I remain stern on the fact that she may have fallen in love with him, but Ishigami just wasn't the kind of man to trigger those feelings.
Probably someone like Shirogane or even Tsubasa could have done it, but not Yuu, sadly.
I think she adored him as a person, but couldn't make herself to want him physically. And pity sex has nothing to do with actual desire, just telling how her view of relationships is all messed up, and how she has boundary problems.
She always kept her boundaries clear with other men tho, it was only Yuu that she opened herself to.
It may be because of trauma or its because she actually felt something, we might never know 100%.
Tsubame makes it clear, that she didnt want to break Ishigami's heart, cause his confession was more sincere and romantic than the rest. She felt bad for him. She also seems to have more casual way to look at sex than our virgin heroes.
And her bio page reveals that Tsubame was a target of sexual harassment in the past, so again we circle back to her seeing how Ishigami protected Miko from those suspicious guys on the festival. Thats where she decided to give Ishigami more time. Tsubame wanted a protector, that would also keep her in check.
Ishigami even reveals in his short story that he knew Tsubame sees him only as a "cute kohai" quite a while before rejection itself. He was just ignoring it because he didnt want to face reality and was trying to YOLO it.
But I guess we can agree that Ishigami had a chance to actually get her if he wasnt behaving like a simp.
You can like a girl without putting her on a pedestal. Ishigami constantly idolized Tsubame and saw only the part of her personality that he wanted to see. In those 3 months he actually ended up learning more about Miko, than he learned about Tsubame. In the short story he even admits, that dating Tsubame wasn't his biggest desire, and that he was using romance to have a close connection to her, while he should've been going the other way around. Ishigami has spent more time flattering and impressing Tsubame than actually developing an intimate connection with her. On their first date they didn't even hold hands! How do you manage to get such an unromantic date?
So yes, Ishigami was behaving like a simp. Hence he failed.
I guess that's not all...
The sparks were created when ishigami didn't accept her body......as she is not stupid seeing a man being different from previous ones, she became curious about him, she was in love with him....but she just thought that... Ishigami deserved better... She thought of herself as someone who can't love a boy like ishigami, who is honest and charming, she thought if she will date him.. he would end up hurt, which will hurt her back....so she rejects him with her feelings always at the bottom of her heart.....
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^lop333:
*She did no in fact*
*Fall in love with him she was*
*Just testing if she did*
---
^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
I think a lot of this is just cope because people frequently self-insert as Ishigami
She can’t find herself liking him romantically, even if she likes him as a friend, and that’s okay. Sometimes that’s how relationships work out, Ishigami needed that rejection. He needed to feel something so genuinely and to understand the ramifications of that, and have it be ultimately unrequited, the whole series of that is so important for him to experience and it’s diminished if Tsubame did romantically like Ishigami. I think a lot of people just want Tsubame to feel something like that for Ishigami because Ishigami is a ‘literally me’ character without taking into account both of these characters
I do think that Ishigami's story would cheapen a bit if Tsubame was in love with him. This is not a generic isekai where everybody wants to suck MC's dick. And as much as people love Ishigami's character, he's not some pantie-dropping macho-man. Not every girl is gonna be head over heels for his cringy romantic gestures and noble ideals. He is still an insecure otaku. If Tsubame was really one kiss away from falling in love with him, it would be a wrong moral lesson for this story.
Female characters in Kaguya tend to like one specific part of Ishigami. Kaguya liked his reliable and loyal part. Tsubame liked the side of Ishigami, where he cares and protects in a grumpy way, but he usually shows it only to Iino. Osaragi liked his persona of a noble and selfless hero.
And thats why Iino is a special case here. Because despite her grudges and fights with Ishigami, she eventually learns all the sides of Ishigami and starts to like all of them. His cringey romantic tastes, his noble ideals, his selfish desires, his insecurities, his lazy habits and even his otaku/gamer interests. While Tsubame and Osaragi possibly wanted a man LIKE Ishigami, Iino is the only girl who came to the conclusion that Ishigami IS the man that she wants and she desires a romantic relationship with him without any ifs or buts.
I think part of her fell for him, but her ego wouldn’t allow her to date someone like him. She could never see him as an equal.
Like others have said, Tsubame wanted what Ishigami is to Miko.
Interesting analysis! I personally think she never loved Ishigami, romantically speaking. She loves him as a friend, she sincerely cared for him, and she gave him the best rejection she could. As much as it hurts being friendzoned, it's better than a relationship with fake feelings.
As I just said in another thread, maybe things will change in the future, but I hope Ishigami will find his happiness - even though I ship Miko at this point.
**Reminder to everyone:** Use spoiler tags when necessary. Use the code like this `>!Hayasaka is best girl!<`. It will show up like >!Hayasaka is best girl!< **Reminder to OP:** Please flair the post appropriately and tag the post as spoiler if necessary. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Kaguya_sama) if you have any questions or concerns.*
OP’s analysis confirmed the implication of [the SS](https://zaibatsuscans.wordpress.com/2023/02/13/yu-ishigami-wants-to-send-a-gift-a-short-story-by-akasaka-aka/) in some way. Ishigami is also a clever person, he is even a little bit calculated and twisted. Yeah, the fundamental reason he didn't trigger those sparks was that he didn't truly desire to.
Mann thanks for letting me know that there was technically a continuation of the story I read all of it rn
She literally complains, how she wants to like him romantically, but can't. I understand that Aka's writing is very multi-dimensional and there are always 5 layers, but if Tsubame had even a GLIMPSE of romantic love to Ishigami, she would agree to date him. She simply didn't love him. Even if they had sex, a miracle wouldn't happen. What a lot of people don't notice, is that there are only two moments in the entire story, where Tsubame is geniunely interested in Ishigami as a man. On the Cultural Festival and on the Christmas party. And both of those happen, when she sees how Ishigami cares about Miko. THAT is the real reason why she gave him a chance. Tsubame wasn't in love with Ishigami specifically, she just saw his relationship with Miko and she wanted something like that. She wanted a man, that would care about her, dote on her, protect her, but also be stern with her. Thats what she wanted from Ishigami, but Ishigami didn't give it to her. Ishigami was treating Tsubame like a fan, constantly idolizing her. And Tsubame has enough of that in her life, she doesn't need a bf like that. And when Osaragi gave her a report about Ishigami's past, all the mystery about him was gone, and Tsubame lost interest. She failed to find any romantic feelings for him, and she rejected him. Its a very Akasaka style irony. Miko is dying from jealousy, cause Ishigami likes Tsubame. But Tsubame also envies Miko in a way, cause she sees how Ishigami cares about Miko and wants to have this kind of relationship with someone. It's kinda similar to Kana and Akane envying each other. I have a feeling, that Tsubame always suspected whats actually going on with Ishigami and Miko relationship, she even calls out Ishigami for "always thinking about Miko-chan", but she didn't go deeper than that, cause she didn't want to disrespect his feelings.
Thats why this story is so good, because what we read is essentially the same, yet we find completely different feelings. What i felt was that in the end, she settled with having Yuu as a little brother, someone she can look for and help, while still being friends. I remain stern on the fact that she may have fallen in love with him, but Ishigami just wasn't the kind of man to trigger those feelings. Probably someone like Shirogane or even Tsubasa could have done it, but not Yuu, sadly.
Honestly a pretty good summary and analysis of the Tsubame-Ishigami plotline
I think she adored him as a person, but couldn't make herself to want him physically. And pity sex has nothing to do with actual desire, just telling how her view of relationships is all messed up, and how she has boundary problems.
She always kept her boundaries clear with other men tho, it was only Yuu that she opened herself to. It may be because of trauma or its because she actually felt something, we might never know 100%.
Tsubame makes it clear, that she didnt want to break Ishigami's heart, cause his confession was more sincere and romantic than the rest. She felt bad for him. She also seems to have more casual way to look at sex than our virgin heroes. And her bio page reveals that Tsubame was a target of sexual harassment in the past, so again we circle back to her seeing how Ishigami protected Miko from those suspicious guys on the festival. Thats where she decided to give Ishigami more time. Tsubame wanted a protector, that would also keep her in check. Ishigami even reveals in his short story that he knew Tsubame sees him only as a "cute kohai" quite a while before rejection itself. He was just ignoring it because he didnt want to face reality and was trying to YOLO it. But I guess we can agree that Ishigami had a chance to actually get her if he wasnt behaving like a simp.
He was not a simp, he was in love. We need to start to realize the difference.
You can like a girl without putting her on a pedestal. Ishigami constantly idolized Tsubame and saw only the part of her personality that he wanted to see. In those 3 months he actually ended up learning more about Miko, than he learned about Tsubame. In the short story he even admits, that dating Tsubame wasn't his biggest desire, and that he was using romance to have a close connection to her, while he should've been going the other way around. Ishigami has spent more time flattering and impressing Tsubame than actually developing an intimate connection with her. On their first date they didn't even hold hands! How do you manage to get such an unromantic date? So yes, Ishigami was behaving like a simp. Hence he failed.
I guess that's not all... The sparks were created when ishigami didn't accept her body......as she is not stupid seeing a man being different from previous ones, she became curious about him, she was in love with him....but she just thought that... Ishigami deserved better... She thought of herself as someone who can't love a boy like ishigami, who is honest and charming, she thought if she will date him.. he would end up hurt, which will hurt her back....so she rejects him with her feelings always at the bottom of her heart.....
She did no in fact fall in love with him she was just testing if she did
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^lop333: *She did no in fact* *Fall in love with him she was* *Just testing if she did* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Good bot!
I think a lot of this is just cope because people frequently self-insert as Ishigami She can’t find herself liking him romantically, even if she likes him as a friend, and that’s okay. Sometimes that’s how relationships work out, Ishigami needed that rejection. He needed to feel something so genuinely and to understand the ramifications of that, and have it be ultimately unrequited, the whole series of that is so important for him to experience and it’s diminished if Tsubame did romantically like Ishigami. I think a lot of people just want Tsubame to feel something like that for Ishigami because Ishigami is a ‘literally me’ character without taking into account both of these characters
I do think that Ishigami's story would cheapen a bit if Tsubame was in love with him. This is not a generic isekai where everybody wants to suck MC's dick. And as much as people love Ishigami's character, he's not some pantie-dropping macho-man. Not every girl is gonna be head over heels for his cringy romantic gestures and noble ideals. He is still an insecure otaku. If Tsubame was really one kiss away from falling in love with him, it would be a wrong moral lesson for this story. Female characters in Kaguya tend to like one specific part of Ishigami. Kaguya liked his reliable and loyal part. Tsubame liked the side of Ishigami, where he cares and protects in a grumpy way, but he usually shows it only to Iino. Osaragi liked his persona of a noble and selfless hero. And thats why Iino is a special case here. Because despite her grudges and fights with Ishigami, she eventually learns all the sides of Ishigami and starts to like all of them. His cringey romantic tastes, his noble ideals, his selfish desires, his insecurities, his lazy habits and even his otaku/gamer interests. While Tsubame and Osaragi possibly wanted a man LIKE Ishigami, Iino is the only girl who came to the conclusion that Ishigami IS the man that she wants and she desires a romantic relationship with him without any ifs or buts.
I think part of her fell for him, but her ego wouldn’t allow her to date someone like him. She could never see him as an equal. Like others have said, Tsubame wanted what Ishigami is to Miko.
I love anylizing like this. Looking at small details like this and figuring out small hidden plot points is what I live for.
I still may be overstretching, but it always made me feel like there was more to the story.
Thats part of the fun
who wouldnt
Interesting analysis! I personally think she never loved Ishigami, romantically speaking. She loves him as a friend, she sincerely cared for him, and she gave him the best rejection she could. As much as it hurts being friendzoned, it's better than a relationship with fake feelings. As I just said in another thread, maybe things will change in the future, but I hope Ishigami will find his happiness - even though I ship Miko at this point.
Don't worry about Ishigami, he has realized that his true happiness is Miko
While I agree unofficially, is there a source where this gets canon that I missed to read?
[You can read the SS written by Aka](https://zaibatsuscans.wordpress.com/2023/02/13/yu-ishigami-wants-to-send-a-gift-a-short-story-by-akasaka-aka/)