Oh, you've come to the right place my friend 🌴🦦👓 (imagine an otter adjusting its glasses haughtily like Keito). I do do headcanons! And with Kanata, a lot of what I like about him and Akatsuki is the room for potential he has with them!

🦦📿 Kanata and Keito | So many. Too many. But I'll be fair to the rest of AKATSUKI and keep it brief. The number one dynamic I envision for them is what I like to call "bad guy hero" and "good guy villain". Keito puts up with a lot of antics in his day-to-day, and he'll just like... adjust his glasses and scold, and then just be like "Well... I suppose that's fine." Meanwhile, I think an underrated characteristic of Kanata is he's just kinda... really brutal, it's funny? He ushers sea creatures into a bucket like "let's have a race~ omg my beautiful babies you did it~... time to race in my tummy (: " Like he's just so funny, and Keito's capable of dealing with literally all of it in a straight-man kind of way. Many Minds, One Flower shows this best.

(My abridged TL)
Keito: Shinkai. What is that?
Kanata: it's ikebana of course, from the school of shinkai~
Keito: No matter how you look at it, all you did was stick a fish onto the needle bed
[Conversation, conversation]
Kanata: Anyways, I'm done, bye.
Keito: Tch... [Delivers a dumbass pun] It's a coral arrangement, not a floral arrangement. Guess I'll go put that in the kitchen.

LIKE, KEITO?? THROW IT AWAY. WHAT THE HELL.

That's my favorite dynamic for them, it applies in canon (Intelligence, Disclosure Ch. 4, Kanata investigating the mystery of Mendako aliens, Keito just kinda like "well, let me know how that goes."), and it has so much potential outside of it. They have unexpected contrasts that play off each other well, and I think that gets underestimated when you only think of them under the Meteor Impact lens.

I have to move onto Kuro and Souma for the sake of fairness, but if you want more headcanons, here's a fic about them teaming up in volleyball that goes into more underrated, compatible aspects of Keito and Kanata, like Keito's childish/competitive personality, and Kanata's pride and bulky stature. Also featuring Kuro and Chiaki: https://archiveofourown.org/works/57490381

🦦🐯 Kanata and Kuro | They're one of those relationships I'd like to see a lot more of. They have this vibe where they could make knowing glances at each other behind Chiaki's back ("Oh, you know how he is"), and they're tall so it's over his head, and he has to peek up (":3 what are you talking about?") and they're like "nothing~/nothin'". I bet they team up on him a lot, and if there were ever something they wanted to peer pressure him into, they could do it. They also have a lot of themes of maternal-ness around them, so it would be interesting to explore that aspect of them just having comfortable, nurturing silences together bc being together doing nothing is better than being alone-- like how Kanata's just kinda lying around on the dojo floor in Comic World because he wants to hang out, and Kuro's like "Yeah, it's cool." Does Kuro just kinda sew next to Kanata's fountain while Kanata floats around. Or like.

Kuro: Whaddya think of this. [Shows him his work.]
Kanata: i'm hungry...~
Kuro: Very cool, Shinkai. [Thinks it's fucking hilarious.]

Also, Kanata's canonically huge and strong, I have a few sketches where he completely suplexes Kuro, like...

Kuro: Heh, alright Shinkai. Don't say I didn't warn ya--
Kanata: hup~ [Completely throws him over his shoulder and pins him down with his knee]
Kanata: :3c

Give me more Kanata bodying people. Give me Kanata and Kuro wrestling like cats when Kanata says something cheeky, and Kuro knows he's capable of a good grapple. THEY HAVE LOTS OF POTENTIAL, I LIKE THINKING ABOUT THEM.

🦦🐴 Kanata and Souma | Obviously, they've got the most substantial relationship of the three. I think because they have a lot of canon together, it's harder to headcanon, but in my dreamspace, I like the vibes of a non-god-and-weapon AU childhood friends. Submarine was great because seeing them interact as like... people-people... Souma having his own assertions and ideals he can TELL Kanata because they ARE equals. They are IDOLS. Let them have plain fun like children. Let Souma scold him like "Shinkai-dono..." and Kana be like "Eto bwehhh."

I like Kanata being a bit of a tyrant with Souma, the difference between him and Keito as Souma's lords is a fun thing to play off of because Keito's like "he's my pwecious kanzaki weave him AWONE" and Kanata's like "anyways" (strings souma up and throws seaweed on him). Bully Kana is peak, and Souma is a good role for that. However, I like it more if Souma can be cheeky back with him like he gets with Keito. Less "I'M SORRY SHINKAI-DONO" and more "SHINKAI-DONO LET ME KNOW PEACE >m<!!! PLEASE, YOU ALWAYS DO THIS."

For some headcanon scenarios... Them both trying something new for the first time that they're both fish-out-of-water about it. Like maybe trying to operate some kind of technology or vehicle, and Kanata's like "... i'm bored" (doesn't like wasting time on things that aren't going anywhere) and Souma's like "NO, SHINKAI-DONO. NOTHING VENTURED, NOTHING GAINED!" (has made no progress) and Kanata makes that one Todomatsu face in frustration as the sun climbs higher and the air gets drier.

🌴 So yeah, those are my AKATSUKI x Kana headcanons. I have literally SO MANY MORE HEADCANONS BETWEEN AKARYUSEI SO SO MANY I WOULD WRITE THEM ALL DOWN BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE I ANSWER THIS QUESTION IN A PROMPT AMOUNT OF TIME, BECAUSE TRUST ME, I COULD AND HAVE SPENT HOURS ON ANSWERS. So I'll make this about Kana for now heheh. I hope you enjoy anon, and I'd love to hear yours!

WELCOME MAYOI P! alkavalk! valkyrie is one of those units I’d produce in another timeline because I loooooooove their style. Love, love, love. Their climax song was peak especially. 🎻🦦 Tatsumi too, like I feel like if I had more time, he'd be a character I could totally brainrot over.

I’m glad Shinobun could recruit you to the dark side (akaryusei, heheh). I’m sure you were blessed with the new Ninja Association ondo song, it’s so good, I've been looping it constantly... like... constantly 👁️. CHIAKI WOULD BE PROUD TO KNOW YOU LOVE THE SHIT OUT OF THEM!! And I’m so honored to hear you took notice of Akatsuki— it gives me more motivation to lovemail them as hard as I can 🌴🦦💌

Thank YOU for loving them and hanging out around here! Seeing your message brightened my day. 🌴🦦❤️ I’d love to hear what your favorite stories or characters are!

OMG thank you for the question!! 🦦🦦 WELCOME, HAPPY TO HAVE YOU!

the simple answer is "what brings me joy", but lately I'm coming to discover my sorta unofficial official hierarchy in my heart. I use two tools: https://x.com/mika_enstars https://enstarsmasterlist.github.io/featureidol and a super awesome format for planning out translations that https://x.com/azurecrystalz made. It's like a table where you can track story details, your TL progress, the stage of proofing it's in, I owe them my life. While I was divvying up stories for the rest of the year with my https://x.com/310mc1, this is sorta how things shook out. Think of them as concurrent thought processes:

CHARACTERS
Shinobu, Keito - I'd generally say these guys are my top priority. Keito is my absolute favorite, but a lot of his content and stories do have existing translations or current updated TL efforts that I can kinda put him on the backburner while I focus on Shinobun. I'm currently trying to fill out the sub stories [!] they have missing on the masterlist.
Anything with Kanata and Keito together - These typically jump up to the top of my queue as soon as they happen. What's funny is basically a lot of my content in general starts as Kanata + Keito ONLY, but if it's something that all of AKARYUSEI share together, I feel bad and just include all of them (the color palettes were originally just Kanata and Keito, for example). Anyways, current TLs in the works for this section include Ukiyo Air Ride (they don't interact but they're in the story together, and I like how they both are authoritative) and Intelligence Cross-Scout Chapter 4 (They both appear, and one line exchange is enough for me to learn Yuzuru, Kaoru and Jun)
AKARYUSEI - I don't know if I have a ratio of AKTK to RST that I consider "AKARYUSEI", but basically if the story has member(s) of one group with member(s) of the others. Onigashima, Hanafuda, etc. I've been getting better at translating Tetora and Shinobu specifically because of this (god speed Kuro and Souma, you will never be easy)
Kanata - I (mostly) enjoy translating Kanata, but he has a lot of content from other translators that I'm not in a rush to TL his stuff.

TL Availability
I have very, very, very poor memory, so a lot of why I translate is because I want to remember the things I read about my favorites. If a translation already exists, it doesn't necessarily mean I won't do it. I just don't need to put it at the front of my queue. The https://enstarsmasterlist.github.io/featureidol helps me see which stories haven't been done so I can prioritize them.

Does it exist in ENGstars already?
This absolutely does not matter to me. I read Many Minds, One Flower on ENGstars but knew it was my Life's Purpose to TL it for myself. Kinda goes with the point above, but some day, I do want to TL things like Scarlet Halloween and One Man Army.

Following wherever the story takes me
I also translate in tangents, hehe. Surprise, surprise, when you translate the first time Souma and Shinobu meet (for example), it becomes relevant and mentioned in concurrent stories, with inside jokes you wouldn't otherwise know. Whenever I run across them in TLs, it just makes my heart happy. I love capturing that continuity and knowing where it is, it makes the universe feel more alive if that makes sense.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
From Samurai and Ninjas, which takes place in ! Spring

[Shinobu enters the scene]
Souma: Huh? --A scoundrel!
Shinobu: Eyaaa?! Wh-Wh– Why did a table get cut to pieces in front of me?! I-I– I'm definitely not a suspicious person! If you could just spare me my life…?!

From Scroll of the Elements, which takes place in ! Autumn

[Shinobu enters the scene]
Souma: Hm, a scoundrel! I jest… Sengoku’s completely a ninja now~♪
Shinobu: I've been a ninja from the beginning, haven't I~?

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

From Samurai and Ninjas

Shinobu: Also, here in Garden Terrace... I was doing a little fly-catching.
Souma: Well, now that I see it closely, it’s flypaper! You— Don't show those things while we’re eating! It’s unsanitary, I'll lose my appetite! Are you going to eat it? Do you eat flies? As I thought, I can't understand ninjas...!
Shinobu: Hey, please don't draw your sword?! I’m not going to eat them~! These flies are meant to be frog food.
Souma: Fr-Frogs? Are you raising them as pets?
Shinobu: They’re more like friends than pets to raise~ Ninjas use dogs, birds, frogs, and the like.

From Shinobu Management Story 6, with Souma

Souma: Hm…? Is that you there, Sengoku? Are you playing around with a bug net?
Shinobu: Oh, Kanzaki-dono! I wouldn’t call it playing around! I’m in the midst of catching frog food!
Souma: I see, come to think of it, you look after frogs, don’t you?
Shinobu: Indeed I do! I'm glad that you remember what I said before~♪
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

I'm currently working on a Broadcasting Committee story, so I'm also sorta kinda doing a few other idol stories and scout stories related to that. My brain goes OOH, but if you do THAT ONE too it's an even MORE cohesive story, and then I end up with like, 3 more than I originally had down. The same will probably happen to Marine Bio and maybe the student council if it's Keito and Mao, or Shinobu and Souma.

But yeah, long story short, the points above are the seeds of where I start, and I see where my heart takes me after. THANK YOU FOR ASKING THIS WAS FUN TO ANSWER!! ❤️

:pleading_face::otter::heart: Thank YOU for hanging out here and enjoying them with me! It makes me beyond happy, flattered, proud that my TLs are something you can enjoy and it fires me up to do more! Let's manifest Meteor Impact Reminiscence bringing us a bountiful AKARYUSEI season.

Starting out, I loved AKATSUKI and RYUSEITAI separately, so I was definitely helpless in falling in love w AKARYUSEI after reading so many stories they share together. It was like “Oh, this unit I love talks to this other unit I love, and these stories are so good and funny— OH what do you MEAN they're crucial to the birth and life of each other's units, destined to meet again and again in some cosmic karma of forgiveness and reparations — OH! What do you MEAN Noritama is effortlessly woven into interactions with AKTK so they continue to have a relationship in present day and it didn’t just end with Chiaki & Kanata and Keito & Kuro & Souma.” A cascade of Oh. These two groups are essential to each other. And they're funny, precious, perfect, cute, sweet af.

I'm happy to hear you’re getting interested in AKTK through RST. To be the typical AkatsukiP, (taps mic), I think they're pretty underrated. Keito, Kuro and Souma love each other, Akatsuki, each other and did I mention they love each other? And it helps their characters are so "imposing" because the gap moe they have separately and together is peak. Good-hearted villains /pos /lh /sofondofthemIcan'tputitintowords. The relationship they have with each other is so sacred, and with AKARYUSEI, not only do you get to compare the two group dynamics, but you get to see how MI FORGED the blood-pact relationship AKTK has, just as much as it forged the RST Chiaki built with Kanata going forward.

In short, look forward to some of my future TL plans, you’ll definitely fall in love with AKTK and AKARYUSEI more. They’re just silly goofy lovable guys and it’s nice that RST happens to bring it out of them. To anyone reading, I recommend Tough Guy and Onigashima to see just how silly dumb moe AKTK gets in the vicinity of RST /pos.

Who are your favorite AKARYUSEI charas, anon? :microphone: Feel free to sound off in here again I would LOVE to know

Omg hi! 🍋🌊 This’ll be fun to answer hehe. In short, several reasons kinda came together to form the name citrinesea

🌴 I’m someone who’s very attached to the tropical aesthetic, mainly bc I grew up in that environment. Palm trees, clear blue skies, and insanely humid temperatures are my sense of calm. The whole reason I do what I do is to enjoy myself in my peace (yapping about Akatsuki and Ryuseitai), so because of that, I wanted my identity to be synonymous with tropical, healing paradise! Right now for my job, I don’t live where I’m originally from, and sometimes the different climate really gets to my mental health. Having my own little virtual tropical beach full of the things I love is has gotten me through some really tough times this past year. When you think of citrinesea, I want you think of a spot you can just relax in. A happy place.
🦦 Two of my favorite members of AKARYUSEI are Keito and Kanata, and they drive a lot of what I do. When I originally created this site, it was because I had long rambling essays about Kanakei that I wanted to put somewhere organized and pretty. citrinesea is supposed to be a kind of mix between the two: citrine being Keito, the tart but sweet one, and sea representing Kanata, bc… well, he’s Kanata.
🌊 I’m just attached to the noun + noun format, and so I smushed them together. Is this the childhood influence of Warrior cats ingrained in me? /lh

Sorry if that was rambly! I wanted to answer this right away because I loved the question so much! I hope that makes sense, and thank YOU for asking 💙🌴🫂

Yes! Definitely for AKATSUKI. This ask is interesting to me because as an older sibling, the only guy I can't put myself in the shoes of is Keito. I WILL DO MY BEST, ANON.

For the first part of your question, now that we know that Kanata is (allegedly) an older brother, I think it makes the Kanata/Keito dynamic moving forward funnier. Since this is a recent development, I’m not sure that it can say much about Kanata and Keito’s relationship with each other up to Stella Maris-- as for all intents and purposes, Kanata would've grown up an only child. In their interactions together, Keito tends to be the one trying (and failing) to leash Kanata's lack of inhibitions.

Keito: Shinkai, if you misbehave, you’ll only give trouble to your unit, even your juniors. Get a hold of yourself, you’re incorrigible.
Kanata: Aren’t you bossy~ When my skin gets “dry”, it gets suffocating for me (...) When it was my birthday, everyone “celebrated” with me, yes? I want to "return the favor". And so, I’m “fully motivated” for Scroll of the Elements, as well...～♪
Keito: Hmph. Good to know, then. — Wait, no, it’s not. Get out of the river at once. It may still be early in the morning, but more tourists are arriving…
Scroll of the Elements (TL by citrinesea)

Kanata: Why can't I break the rules sometimes? It's not fun if following the rules is the only way to get "recognized", don't you think? Anyways, I've had enough of this "flower arrangement". I'm gonna "douse" myself in the "pond"...~
Keito: Uninhibited as always. In that case, it's not a flower arrangement but a fish arrangement.
Keito Idol Story, Sole Flower in Various Minds (ENGstars TL)

(This next bit is more of an interpretation/headcanon, based on the content we have of them, so take it with a grain of salt)
●・○・●・○・●
Now that Kanata (allegedly) has a younger brother, him being annoying about it would be funny, especially since Shinkai and Hasumi families have history (Climax, Meteor Impact). If Kanata knows about Keito's older brother, a topic previously irrelevant to Kanata becomes something he can be smug about and pester him with. I think it'd be funny if he brought that energy back with him after Okinawa and seeing Konata. Just smiles, waiting for Keito to ask what he's standing around for.

Keito: 🤨 what’s wrong with you…
Kanata: oh… nothing~ just newfound “maturity”. you wouldn’t get it.
Keito: 😒
●・○・●・○・●

For the second part of your question, we're back to canonical grounding. My immediate thought reading the question was Shinsengumi, where Kuro thinks he can convince Keito to take on a job with MaM.

Kuro: Even if he starts pouting, I’ll see that I make him say yes. He’s a lot smarter than me; he should agree if I explain my reasons (...) Well, sit tight and expect some good news. I’ll go to convince him within today.
(Immediately in the next chapter)
Keito: I refuse. This has nothing to do with you guys. Back off, Kiryuu.
Shinsengumi (TL by kotofucious)

Comparing that to interactions with his sister like in Tough Guy, and it paints a funny picture of two defiant, haughty people doing whatever they want in spite of Kuro's efforts.

Kuro: I don’t see a problem with it… —Yo, what’s wrong? If you’re worried about me, I’m doing grea—
Kuro: Gfuh
Tetora: Ooh!? She did a flying spin kick at you! She managed to hit you right on your neck, despite the size difference! That’s amazing! ☆
Tough Guy (TL by 310mc)

But I think a lot of AKATSUKI's structure as a unit (Keito at the lead, with Kuro and Souma supporting) gets complimented by the fact Kuro and Souma are older brothers. Kuro and Souma are the ones to ground and settle Keito when he gets fussy, stressed or agitated and I feel like they’re good at that especially because they’re older siblings.

Some tangentially related thoughts, in no specific order:
- Souma and Kuro are a few months apart but younger than Keito, yet are older brothers. I just think that's neat.
- Keito says he's relatively independent from his older brother (!! Hinata Idol Story, Practice to be a Little Brother). When Kuro asks him if he likes being doted on as a younger sibling, Keito's like "... what. no." (I can't remember which one this was, I'll update with the source for this later)
- Lots of Souma's big bro-ness shows up a lot with Shinobu.
- Keito has a tendency to look after others, and is usually pretty quick to give in to people when they need or want him to something. I'm sure that ties in somewhere.

Keito: Kiryu, let me support you by the shoulder. Good grief, you’re always so reckless…♪
Kuro: Whenever I’m in bad shape, Hasumi gets unbearably gentle, and it creeps me out.
Chiaki: I think he just likes to take care of a vulnerable kid, or maybe it’s just engraved in his instincts to do so. Hasumi and Tenshouin have known each other since childhood, after all.
Keito: His existence has nothing to do with my development.
Submarine (TL by 310mc)

I would say those are my best thoughts on it, but again... (points at self) older kid. Younger siblings, sound off in the comments below how YOU would pathologize Keito’s “Little Brother Syndrome” /lh. Maybe I'll make a section in the FAQ for stories that characters mention their siblings in. THANK YOU FOR THE ASK ANON!! ❤️☄️

And I'm happy to have you here! Dear anon, anything is possible with three iced mochas and a dream, I'd love to do something with AKATSUKI in the same vein! Trading musical backgrounds, I grew up a classical string player and learned more theory when I became a mallet percussionist.

In some respects, RYUSEITAI's a little easier to pick out similarities just because they're such distinct styles otherwise, but AKATSUKI has a lot of overlap and mashup potential! With a series like Enstars, analyzing music provides layers and layers of more fun (your life will not be the same if you flip between Unlimited Power!!! and Holy Angel's Carol on the song select screen). To hear that you got inspired makes me happy 🥺🥺 I'm not as familiar with enka beyond instrumentation and chord progressions so I might have to learn right alongside you!

At any rate, I'm a man of the people, so I'll give the trip album a good listen (as if I haven't looped it endlessly for the past week) and see what inspiration comes to me. One thing I did love was Keito's solo... and how... suspiciously... RYUSEITAI-esque the drumsets and brass hits in his chorus are 👀

AND PLEASE SHARE THAT COMPILATION WHEN IT'S DONE, I WILL BE THE FIRST IN LINE TO HEAR IT.

omg, I'm going to apologize in advance for the ramble of a post you're about to receive, but I love talking to people and this really just made me smile like a dummy. thank you, thank you, thank you for your kind message. I hope YOU receive even more endless blessings.

There's just something about AKATSUKI and RYUSEITAI that has always captivated me. The thing that draws me into new series is colors and music, and god, are they just both of those things. Vibrant personalities, amazing songs... and then when you start delving into them, you're like... "oh my god, these guys have been bound by fate". RYUSEITAI is the stars and AKATSUKI is the moon, and they've been permanently entwined since the Battle of the Sea God.

So much of current-day AKATSUKI and RYUSEITAI is rooted in each other. Chiaki is the reason the student council forms and the reason why the original Eichi-in-the-Livehouse-Crossroad plan doesn't work out, which leads into the architecture for the eventual War that happens after DEADMANZ Livev. Kuro befriended Chiaki, stood on opposite sides of the War, and was responsible for (literally) tailoring Chiaki's specific image for the new RYUSEITAI he was building from the ground up. Souma and Kanata's childhood friendship, their relationship evolving from god/weapon and peers, and how that relationship ties into the power struggle between Keito (Meteor Impact) and Kanata (Submarine). And then Noritama: how Souma and Kuro have lasting relationships with Shinobu and Tetora, and how Keito looks out for all of Noritama and marvels at their growth. Hell, how the events of Submarine created a power vacuum to be filled in by RYUSEITAI, which led to their changed formation (Colors Arise) and the rejuvenation of Kanata's clan (Stella Maris)!! They are entwined!! Forever!!

AKARYUSEI is defined by the theme of growth: growing for oneself and growing for the greater good. I find that really really inspiring. The fact that for their SS round Submarine, they worked alongside each other, fought their own wars on their own terms, and came out winning together is so so so so so special to me. They're the arc in a show where the antagonists become the protagonist's allies, and they get into a bunch of shenanigans and grow together. I'm praying we get more AKARYUSEI content soon... I want to be fed those shenanigans forever...

(I had to delete two paragraphs to keep myself from rambling on about the complexities of all of their relationships bahaha)

One of my favorite things about this account is getting to see all different producers from the AKARYUSEI spectrum. When I ran the poll on AKARYUSEI-duos, I included the question "who are your favorites" because I like to see you guys are passionate about! The love you have for them is just... it's so fun and enlightening. I don't know how to describe it in words. I love each and every member of AKARYUSEI with my whole heart so your enthusiasm is infectious for me.

TL;DR, I'm the one honored to see YOUR guys' joy and passion, AKARYUSEI are meant to be, and the people have to see how amazing they are! To root them on with everyone is an absolute highlight for me! Thank you for the ask and giving me a reason to gush about them, xoxo