(Runami Yachiyo)
Best Friend:Sakayori Ayaha
The other me：Kaguya
| 「 | Yachiyos, gods, are you having fun tonight? | 」 |
Tsukimi Yachiyo(Japanese:
Introduction
Her image upon debut was "the administrator and top-tier streamer of the virtual space 'Tsukuyomi'."
Claiming to be a mysterious 8,000-year-old AI who can sing and dance, she appeared alongside the virtual space 'Tsukuyomi'. Using her cloning ability, she serves as the administrator, beginner's guide, and navigator, while also regularly streaming as a virtual artist.
Although the setting sounds quite absurd, her true identity is unknown, and there are various rumors surrounding her origins.
She deeply loves 'Tsukuyomi', where anyone can freely engage in creative activities, and she herself enjoys this carefree, happy life of sharing joy. However...
History
Several years before the story officially begins, the virtual space "Tsukuyomi" (hereafter referred to as "Tsukuyomi Space") and related smart devices achieved breakthrough development. The mysterious AI diva, Tsukimi Yachiyo, also made her official debut alongside the implementation of Tsukuyomi Space. As the administrator of Tsukuyomi Space, Yachiyo is dedicated to creating a place where users can relax and indulge in various forms of entertainment, while she herself remains active as a streamer in Tsukuyomi Space. Through her efforts, Tsukuyomi Space developed rapidly, becoming the most popular product of the era, gradually integrating into all aspects of real life and ascending to asuspected to have, in this country alone,super complex with hundreds of millions of users, whose virtual currency "Fuku-coin" can also circulate in reality.
At this time, our protagonistSakayori AyahaIroha is living alone in Tokyo. The absence of family, the lack of maternal love, and the pressures of life have left her under immense stress, making Tsukuyomi Space and Yachiyo her rare pastime and solace. As a die-hard fan of Yachiyo, Iroha highly depends on the spiritual value Yachiyo provides in her life, including but not limited to refreshing, calming, and aiding digestion, etc., even later regarding her as her sole pillar of support; the high degree of freedom in Tsukuyomi Space also allows her to earn some pocket money while enjoying entertainment to cover her expenses.
At the start of the story, Iroha is a second-year student at a high school in Tokyo, with two close friends, Ayatsumugi Roka and Isayama Mami. She maintains a busy life moving between her home, school, and the cafe where she works part-time. Although she appears to lead a "hardcore" life that anyone would admire, the internal wear and tear from long-term fatigue has brought Iroha's mental state to the brink of collapse.
One night before summer vacation, after finishing a day's work, Iroha found it difficult to lift her spirits even by relying on Yachiyo's singing, and even began to shed tears uncontrollably. On her way home, Iroha saw a falling meteor. After making a wish for "give me money," she encountered a utility pole bursting with rainbow light at her doorstep, and from within the utility pole, she unexpectedlynot unexpectedlypicked up a cute little baby. The danger of the surrounding environment made Iroha decide to take the baby back to her residence. After trying everything she could and still being unable to stop the baby from crying, she finally had an epiphany and hummed Yachiyo's debut song "Remember" as a lullaby for the baby, finally calming the baby down.
Changing almost every day, the mysterious baby grew up rapidly. Since she claimed to be from the moon, Iroha took inspiration from "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter" in her textbook and named her "Kaguya." Little Kaguya brought big trouble to Iroha's life; that said, Iroha couldn't bring herself to be harsh to the beautiful and cute Kaguya. Instead, she allowed her to stay temporarily and introduced Kaguya to Tsukuyomi Space for the first time, anyway, the money's already spent, and there's no way to get a refund。
After guiding Kaguya through the beginner tutorial, Yachiyo happily watched Kaguya enter Tsukuyomi Space. Iroha, waiting at the entrance, gave Kaguya an introduction to the basic concepts of this virtual world. The two then headed to Yachiyo's mini-concert, preparing to enjoy tonight's performance—hard work pays off, as Iroha had a handshake ticket this time, and she held immense expectations for the show.
Amidst the audience's eager countdown, the highly anticipated Yachiyo appeared on time on the high torii stage. She happily greeted the visiting "Gods" and performed a blissfully overflowing song, "Hoshi Furu Umi". Next, Yachiyo announced her upcoming event, the "Yachiyo Cup"—a competition where streamers vie for the most new followers. The final champion would win the chance to hold a collaboration concert with Yachiyo. Since Yachiyo had never held a duet concert before, this news was nothing short of a bombshell for a top fan like Iroha.
Before she could finish, the top-tier group "Black Onyx," who held the number one follower count in Tsukuyomi Space, made a wild entrance. Faced with the imposing invitation from Black Onyx's leader, Teimei, Yachiyo tactfully defused the awkwardness. However, the innocent and straightforward Kaguya couldn't contain her emotions and loudly declared to Yachiyo that she would also compete for the trophy.
Kaguya's antics left Iroha deeply embarrassed, but just before the two logged off, Yachiyo suddenlyin her little loli formappeared before Iroha. She took Iroha's hand and expressed her gratitude for the support she had received all this time. A flustered Iroha replied mechanically and then logged out, while Yachiyo watched Iroha's departing back with a hint of loneliness, wearing a meaningful smile.
Torn between the temptation of performing on stage with Yachiyo and Kaguya's clumsy yet earnest pleas, Iroha finally accepted Kaguya's invitation. They officially debuted as the duo "Kaguya x Iro-P" and, as Kaguya's partner, began their royal road journey.
Kaguya seemed to be a natural-born streamer. Her incredible drive, combined with Iroha's top-tier management skills, caused their follower count to soar. However, despite their best efforts, the follower growth of "Kaguya x Iro-P" still lagged far behind the top-ranked "Black Onyx." Just as Kaguya was feeling troubled by this, Teimei, the leader of Black Onyx, proactively sent them a 3v3 challenge for "Kassen"—in reality, Teimei's true identity was Iroha's older brother, Asahi. He had noticed his sister and Kaguya's activities early on. Although he blustered about making Kaguya marry him after she lost, he actually wanted to use his status as a superstar to give them a boost.
On the day of the match, Makoto, who was brought in by the duo to fill the numbers, became too overwhelmed with emotion after seeing her idol up close to continue the match; just as the two were at their wits' end, Yachiyo suddenly descended from the sky and joined Iroha and Kaguya's team as a substitute, however, with Ruka in the stands, Yachiyo's ulterior motives are plain for all to see. After all, "Black Onyx" are serious professional players. To make up for the gap in strength, Yachiyo's stats were adjusted upwards, but Iroha still didn't have much hope; even so, this makeshift trio each showed their prowess and played with their own unique style.
Due to the massive gap in game understanding, "Black Onyx" won the "Kassen" 3V3 challenge brilliantly, but Iroha and Kaguya managed to win the "Yachiyo Cup" by a narrow margin thanks to various bonuses. After the match,still in her little loli form,Yachiyo descended from the sky to congratulate the two; when faced with Kaguya's question of "how can I be like you," Yachiyo was evasive but stated that Kaguya is "strong because you are who you are."
On the eve of the collaborative performance with Yachiyo, Iroha was too nervous to sleep, while Kaguya crawled into her bed as usual. Smelling Kaguya's scent, Iroha managed to get a rare good night's sleep. The next day, the two met the gracefully descending Yachiyo in the preparation room. Seizing the moment before going on stage, Iroha asked Yachiyo if she would ever sing her debut song "Remember" again, but Yachiyo vaguely replied that "the song has already been delivered," leaving Iroha no chance to follow up.
The trio's collaborative concert was an unprecedented success. Kaguya even took advantage of the perfect atmosphere to give Iroha a direct confession and proposal, making Iroha's heart race and face flush. However, the stage they were on was suddenly besieged by strange humanoid figures. Kaguya lost consciousness the moment she touched one. Although Yachiyo quickly drove the figures away and said she would investigate, the peculiar behavior of both Yachiyo and Kaguya before and after the incident raised Iroha's suspicions.
Compared to Yachiyo's vagueness, Kaguya's feigned calmness made Iroha even more uneasy. With the help of her friends, Iroha took the unprecedented step of inviting Kaguya to a fireworks festival, where she learned Kaguya's true identity—Kaguya was indeed a Lunarian princess who had fled the moon out of boredom. The previous incident was an extradition signal sent by the Lunarians, and she was set to leave on the next full moon—September 12, 2030, the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, the Mid-Autumn Festival. Facing a Kaguya who seemed to have matured in an instant, and a Kaguya who was forcing herself to stay upbeat and say encouraging words, Iroha felt a lump in her throat, as if her heart were bleeding.
After returning home, Kaguya immediately released a retirement statement and a graduation concert preview, while Iroha found an old work she hadn't been able to finish with her father, intending to create a new farewell song for Kaguya. While Kaguya was resting, Iroha found Yachiyo and her close friends, informed them of Kaguya's true identity, and planned to intercept the Lunarians at Kaguya's graduation concert in an attempt to make Kaguya stay. Although the friends were somewhat surprised by this fact, they agreed without hesitation.
The day of the graduation concert soon arrived. Before the performance began, Kaguya entrusted Iroha with the strange bracelet she; However, a moment later, Iroha also privately asks Yachiyo, "If I were you, Yachiyo, would Kaguya tell me she doesn't want to go back?" only to be met with surprise and the strange reply, "So it turns out your feelings are mutual."。
The concert begins immediately. Accompanied by Kaguya's singing, the Moon People send a team of unfathomable strength, leading to a fierce battle with Iroha and the others. The less-skilled Ruka and Makoto are eliminated instantly, while "Black Onyx" risks being banned by using hacks to support Iroha. With the support of her brother and others, Iroha reaches the front of Kaguya's stage but still cannot stop the Moon People from taking Kaguya away. Finally, in front of everyone in Tsukuyomi Space, Kaguya steps onto the moon's surface like a jade plate, dons a feather robe like the true Princess Kaguya, and gradually flies away into the distance, while the real-life Kaguya tightly embraces Iroha, gives her a final confession, and then quietly disappears.
Iroha pulls herself together, calmly expresses her gratitude to everyone, and then logs out of Tsukuyomi Space; she immediately receives a money transfer notification from Kaguya, which fulfills the wish she initially made to the shooting star. However, the money is no longer important; Iroha walks through every corner of the room in a daze, trying to find the time she once spent with Kaguya.
In this way, Iroha spent several days without eating or sleeping, finally coming to a realization and stepping out of the shadows, deciding to restart her life. The experiences spent with Kaguya would become a beautiful dream, inspiring her to open a new chapter. Truly a happy ending, congratulations!
| ...There's not even a trace of Yachiyo in these last few paragraphs, how is this "congratulations"!? | ||||||||
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If the story ended here, it would probably just be a clumsy modern version of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. But you, Iroha-nee, are a superhuman who brings a Happy End to everyone; how could you allow such a Bad End to happen! Along with the roar of "How could it possibly end like this!", Iroha overturned her efforts for a fake "congratulations." She declined all social and study plans and then answered a phone call from her mother. After an unprecedented argument with her mother, her mother eventually expressed her concern and understanding for Iroha in a roundabout way. Having finally cast everything aside, Iroha was finally able to devote all her time and energy to completing a new song over the next few days. Carrying suffering, expectation, remembrance of her father, and longing for Kaguya, Iroha held the bracelet Kaguya left her and sang this newly completed song a cappella toward the moon. The power of her feelings allowed the song to transcend time and space, successfully reaching Kaguya on the other side of the moon. At that moment, however, Iroha was surprised to find that another person's voice had joined the chorus. Like a revelation from a shooting star, Iroha suddenly realized—the song she had previously written for Kaguya, titled "Reply," had a melody identical to Yachiyo's debut song, "Remember." And the person who had just joined the chorus was none other than Yachiyo, whom she had always admired. After Kaguya's concert ended, Yachiyo also disappeared; not only that, but even before the concert began, Yachiyo seemed to have vanished into thin air, not interfering with the Moon People at all. Facing numerous mysteries, Iroha searched everywhere in the Tsukuyomi Space, then encountered Yachiyo's strange pet—the sea slug FUSHI. Guided by FUSHI, Iroha tracked down Yachiyo's physical coordinates in reality—a server room hidden in an apartment building. In the center of the server room was a water tank, inside which floated a strange bamboo-shoot-like existence; Iroha logged into the Tsukuyomi Space from here and found herself at the top of a nameless high tower, and the long-haired girl with her back to her, hair reaching the ground, was the Yachiyo she had been searching for so hard. Facing Iroha's question "Is Kaguya actually Yachiyo?", Yachiyo rose gracefully and told Iroha about her origins: After returning to the moon, Kaguya worked herself to the bone to finish her tasks after hearing Iroha's song; although by this time, Iroha was already very old, so Kaguya created a bamboo-shoot spaceship capable of traveling through time, intending to return to the era when Iroha was young; however, the ship accidentally hit a meteorite during the flight and mistakenly returned to Earth eight thousand years ago. The remaining energy could only form the body of the sea slug FUSHI, so Kaguya communicated with the outside world through FUSHI; as time passed and humanity entered the Internet era, Kaguya finally waited for an opportunity to create the "Tsukuyomi Space" based on the Internet and Moon People technology, thereby becoming Yachiyo. That being said, facing Yachiyo's self-deprecating remark "This can't be wrapped up simply with a 'happily ever after,' can it?", Iroha couldn't understand it no matter what; she couldn't help but ask Yachiyo why she could keep smiling, only to find that the other's trembling gradually spread from her fingertips to her whole body—Yachiyo hadn't been smiling all the time, it was just that her long life had left her too exhausted to shed tears; she hadn't been able to fulfill her original promise, she had "messed up," yet she still forced a smile in front of her beloved Iroha with an expression of profound sadness.
For Yachiyo, who is Kaguya having lived through eight thousand years, she believed she could no longer interact with Iroha as "Kaguya," and preferred to silently protect Iroha as "Yachiyo," even willing to erase this sad memory for Iroha, which triggered Iroha's strong indignation. Iroha stubbornly demanded that Yachiyo share her past experiences with her, and achieved the excellent result of first place in the "out-aging the old lady" competition, and Yachiyo felt relieved by this; she shared with Iroha various pleasant anecdotes from the Jomon period to the Edo period, until she reached the system's maximum operating time limit and was forced to rest.
Yachiyo has gone to rest, but her story is not over; Iroha turned to Yachiyo's companion, FUSHI, and demanded that it share Yachiyo's memories with her in their entirety. FUSHI's predecessor was the digital pet "Doggy DOGE" that Kaguya had once created; it had also witnessed the eight thousand years Kaguya had lived through and was moved by Iroha's resolve. At Iroha's plea, FUSHI uploaded all the memories of those long years into Iroha's consciousness in an extremely short time. This time, Iroha encountered a data bombardment akin to hundreds of times the "Unlimited Void"; from the first-person perspective of Kaguya/Yachiyo, she witnessed everything her beloved had experienced over the long years—laughter, sadness, meetings, partings, the fear of never seeing each other again, the sense of powerlessness against war and conflict, and the final realization of her mission to create a virtual world where everyone could find happiness—it was from this moment that "Kaguya" became "Yachiyo." After witnessing all this, Iroha slowly woke up to Yachiyo's call. At this moment, she finally understood everything Kaguya had gone through and finally caught up with Kaguya. The story was over; even without Kaguya, Iroha could have a "good ending"... but, at this moment, she realized her true feelings; Iroha gazed at Kaguya's face and told her the wish from the bottom of her heart:
Yachiyo cried, tears accumulated over eight thousand years sliding down Kaguya's face, as the two of them hummed the overlapping melodies of two songs, her "Remember" finally received her "Reply》。 That being said, the sensory system of the Tsukuyomi Space was still very imperfect; as Yachiyo stroked Iroha's hand, she could neither feel Iroha's body temperature nor savor the sweetness of the pancakes in her memories. Faced with the wish from her beloved, Iroha realized her mission—she vowed to move toward that true Happy End together with the person she loved before her. Driven by this wish, Iroha resolutely embarked on the path of switching from liberal arts to science, arranging a study plan for herself that was as difficult as climbing to the heavens—she intended to become a top expert in several related technological fields in less than 10 years, complete the upgrade of the Tsukuyomi Space's sensory system during her studies, and based on these technologies, create a synthetic body comparable to mechanical ascension, finally downloading Kaguya/Yachiyo's consciousness into the body to give her a new life. Ten years later, the now-successful Dr. Iroha Sakayori had her own research institute and had secured astronomical amounts of sponsorship from her brother and other close friends; under the earnest expectations of her friends and the protection of Yachiyo's singing, that synthetic body with the familiar face and long golden hair finally opened its eyes; —And this time, it was the trueA happy ending for all, truly worth celebrating. |
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Character Trivia
- Cloning Ability: As the "Diva drifting in the electronic sea," Yachiyo can make full use of the properties of the Tsukuyomi Space to construct several co-existing clones of herself, creating a romantic and dreamlike visual effect
, at which point it seems the original can be identified by which body FUSHI is accompanying.; In fact, this ability evolved based on her attributes as a Lunarian and is not limited to visual effects. For example, at the end of the story, when Kaguya/Yachiyo is reborn through a synthetic body, the consciousness of this body is a part split from the original Yachiyo/Kaguya—Yachiyo has always been that lively and active Kaguya, while the Kaguya who has lived through eight thousand years has gained a touch of Yachiyo's unique charm and composure.
That being said, playing two roles is indeed fun, and Iroha and she certainly enjoyed it.
Yachiyo's Masterstroke: After learning about Yachiyo's true experiences and looking back at the story, one can find many small details inserted by the production team that are either chilling upon closer inspection or tantalizingly subtle. These details all reflect Yachiyo's favoritism toward Iroha or her eagerness to create opportunities for the two of them.
- Don't go the wrong way: At the beginning of the film, the bamboo shoot spaceship Kaguya arrives in on Earth turns into rainbow light and crashes along the utility poles; in the next scene, another golden electric light appears on the screen, even sweating with anxiety, actively leading the rainbow light to the utility pole in front of Iroha's residence. Since Yachiyo has already fully integrated with the human internet at this point, there is every reason to believe she is guiding Kaguya
to find her mother。
- Don't go the wrong way: At the beginning of the film, the bamboo shoot spaceship Kaguya arrives in on Earth turns into rainbow light and crashes along the utility poles; in the next scene, another golden electric light appears on the screen, even sweating with anxiety, actively leading the rainbow light to the utility pole in front of Iroha's residence. Since Yachiyo has already fully integrated with the human internet at this point, there is every reason to believe she is guiding Kaguya
- Sound Library Free for a Limited Time: Following the previous point, at the critical moment when Iroha is hesitating whether to take the baby away, sounds including but not limited to drunks shouting, stray dogs barking, cars braking, and glass shattering suddenly come from the surroundings. Although the environment of the apartment Iroha is living in is indeed not great, the clustering of these sound effects at this specific moment is quite intentional.
- What's wrong with a large age gap?: During the first interaction between little Kaguya and Iroha, to relieve her nervousness, Iroha subconsciously looks at Yachiyo on the screen. At this moment, Yachiyo happens to be doing a chat stream aboutMay-December romanceas its theme.
- A quiet day of lingering affection, jade exhales fragrance: Besides "wanting Iroha and Kaguya to have a pleasant experience together," the production team also tucked in some other small details for Yachiyo, which are like those described by J.D. Salinger as“
Love is a touch and yet not a touch（ ）”, vividly portraying Yachiyo's inner conflict and humility.
- Tears that don't want to be noticed: During the collaboration concert, both Kaguya and Yachiyo needed to perform intense singing and dancing, so after finishing the second track, "Ex-Otogibanashi", both of their faces were already covered in droplets; however, it's worth noting that on Kaguya's face, it was normal sweat from exercise, while the virtual singer Yachiyo, who cannot sweat, was quietly shedding tears from the corners of her eyes.
- Lyrics that make no attempt to hide: Due to length constraints, the songs in the anime are mostly only performed halfway. Taking "Ex-Otogibanashi," which is like Yachiyo's inner monologue, as an example, the lyrics in the first half already contain heartbreaking fragments("This scenery I'm seeing with you right now / Just how many hundreds of millions of times has it replayed in my mind"), while the second verse, which wasn't included in the show, plainly lays out Yachiyo's loneliness, suffering, and despair over the long years("Day after day, month after month, year after year / Every day filled with nothing but boredom, loneliness, and sadness / No matter how I wail, scream, or vent my anger / Eventually, I even grew tired of those, leaving only the thought of ending it all")。
- The old residence in memory: When Kaguya fell in love with Iroha at first sight, her body was roughly in a ten-year-old state. At that time, everything she saw in the room appeared larger, and there was only one toothbrush in Iroha's mouthwash cup. After Kaguya started streaming, her personal items gradually mixed with Iroha's, and her own toothbrush appeared in the cup. In the old residence restored by Yachiyo in the Tsukuyomi space, perhaps because she still harbored concerns about Iroha, worrying that the other wouldn't dare to accept her; or perhaps she simply wanted to restore the original scene, the dimensions of the room in this memory were scaled up proportionally, and there was only one toothbrush in the cup. Of course, the details of this room don't stop there—for example, the cola and potato chips piled on the small round table are the foods the two enjoyed together when their stream gained followers.
, but Yachiyo's power fell short and she couldn't implement the sense of taste. These foods in memory, like the pancakes, were ultimately eaten in vain.。
- The same T-shirt: Iroha's old black T-shirt is also an important motif throughout the series—the same piece of clothing looks like children's wear on the ten-year-old Kaguya, looks dorky on the fourteen-year-old Kaguya, but on Yachiyo, it shows an inexplicable... uh...
- Seeking a mother, or seeking...?: Unlike the anime, which has a third-person perspective and more subtle emotional expression, the official novel uses Iroha's first-person perspective, adding a significant amount of inner monologue in her voice. In these monologues, Iroha not only emphasizes her love for Kaguya at all ages (infant, toddler, ten-year-old, fourteen-year-old, etc.) multiple times, but even feels certain emotions from Yachiyo's singing at the end that she once longed for from her biological mother
, it's almost as ifYachiyo is a woman who could have been my motherwas written right there.. Combined with Iroha's experience of raising Kaguya, this also aligns with the scene in the official "ray" MV where young Iroha cries and lunges from a cupboard toward a Kaguya who shares Yachiyo's facial features, clearly expressing the mutual treasure and attachment of this conjugate mother-daughter(?) pair.
My daughter is the mother who watched me grow up, my mother is the daughter I raised with my own hands, and they are also my wives—wow, this is great.
- I really want to eat pancakes with you again: Generally speaking, standard pancakes use flour and eggs as main ingredients, achieving a fluffy texture through baking powder and seasoning with sugar and other flavors; however, the "poor man's version" of a "pancake" that Iroha prepared for Kaguya consisted only of flour and water. This bland result usually has a more fitting name—jianbing.
However, it was this very piece of crude food, which Kaguya declared tasted terrible the moment it entered her mouth, that she dreamed of countless times over eight thousand years.
- [292] If it's about you, I'll remember it: Kaguya remembers almost every word Iroha said to her, such as "If you mess up, I'm ignoring you," a lighthearted tease Iroha said during the "Black Onyx" 3V3 match, which later became one of the deepest nightmares in Kaguya/Yachiyo's heart.
"Can't you just look it up yourself?"
| [308] Messed up |
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- Cyber-Thug Yachiyo: Back in the era when the internet wasn't yet widespread, Yachiyo was already surfing the web. At that time, she was much more blunt than the gentle and cute girl seen in the anime and manga, starting online arguments at the slightest provocation.What normal person is still shitposting at 3 AM?。
Due to "Violent Yachiyo's" early history, viewers can reasonably infer that today's Yachiyo would still strike out hard against any online nonsense she finds offensive or that hurts Erika.