u/Brilliant-Pool4158

I think the point is that Kinosaki is still a man, but after spending his whole life changing the way he presents his gender for work, his sense of self has become so fucked up that he doesn't even know who the real him is anymore.

And even in that state, Gero still saw him clearly as “Big Brother,” as a man.

I’ve been wondering about the sudden ambiguity between brother and sister for a while now.

I also think Anything’s fine might be meant to reflect how broken Kinosaki’s sense of self has become.

Which is why I think the emphasis on Gero calling him Big Brother was important.

I’m Japanese, so I’m still not really used to the intensity of gender discussions on overseas forums.

Sorry if any of this came out weird.

He has arguably the most brutal backstory in the entire series, he’s lived an incredibly harsh life, and more than anything, he’s still suffering to this day.

• He’s had to make his own money since he was a child, and was already being treated as a commodity from a very young age by working as a “rental child.”
• (Whatever happened between him and Gero at the Human Zoo, we still don’t know.) After leaving the Human Zoo somehow, he even sold his body to pay for Okuto’s medical treatment.
• On top of that, either through the marriage scam he was doing to pay for Okuto’s treatment or as an extension of Nasu’s orders, he met Gero, was tortured by him, and nearly killed.
• He’s still in his twenties, yet he already doesn’t have much time left. And he knows it, too.

On top of all that, it’s obvious that Kinosaki has feelings for Gero.

(And considering their past, it’s a love that runs far deeper than most.)

But he buries those feelings and, as Gero’s “marriage advisor,” helps him end up with other women instead.

From Chapter 1 all the way to the latest chapter, he’s been burying his own feelings this whole time.

No matter how much it hurts him.

And even with his own death as a given, he still devotes himself to Gero, basically thinking, Even if I die, I just want the person I love most to have a happy life.

He’s even been nearly killed by Tonako’s wolf while working behind the scenes to get Gero back on the right path.

And even though we know that Kinosaki and Nasu became partners, what that actually means still hasn’t been revealed. There’s no doubt, though, that Kinosaki is being used by Nasu in some way.

There are also scenes that seem to suggest Kinosaki feels guilty about continuing to deceive Gero.

He’s spent his whole life being exploited.

With all of that in mind, go back and reread Chapter 129.

The one small thing he wanted more than anything, after spending his whole life performing for other people and being exploited over and over again: I want to marry the person I love most. Even if it was something that could never actually happen. Even if it was only something pretend.

For Gero, it was practice. For Kinosaki, it had always been the real thing.

I absolutely, absolutely want him to be happy.

He should be.

https://preview.redd.it/parbcqanyhmh1.jpg?width=1710&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31aa99035c71a921208c2aad84419bd1a339a50d

please no
tell me that’s not what this means
why did you make kinosaki say this

https://preview.redd.it/yelg1k95z1mh1.jpg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=654c6e587dffb30ad691bba402f388742c0d3d4e

When Chapter 177 dropped, it felt like the whole world was losing its mind over it.

We got so many things to speculate about, like:

• Kinosaki’s first love
• The man who looks eerily similar to Gero
• The inheritance of the name “Hikaru”

There have to be some theories people came up with after reading 177. I want to hear them all.

The longer, the better.

https://preview.redd.it/eit7r1p7qwjh1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=8b6bd927b86487caa79fbd900efd49adb60837b8

https://preview.redd.it/aipvv1p7qwjh1.jpg?width=616&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=393bc5a1bd73e8181bca4fc718c5bfe96fe866ed

Man, this is it, isn’t it?

Kinosaki’s about to pull the whole
Yeah, I’ve been lying to you from the very beginning.
What do you think, Gero-kun?
I was your enemy all along.
type of betrayal.

Except he’s actually lying to himself like crazy, and he’ll be standing in Gero’s way, saying things he doesn’t even mean, after going through an absolutely brutal amount of inner conflict and ripping his own heart apart over it.

I’m gonna eat my phone on Tuesday night when that chapter drops.

And if the next update ends up being two weeks after that, I genuinely don’t know if I’ll still be recognizable as a human being.

Gero injured his right eye,
while Nasu injured his left eye.

Kirara’s right leg―――a part of her human body that has become a doll.
Kinosaki―――

Nasu has been called Kirara’s poison.
Gero is a poison user.

Kirara has been called Nasu’s doll.
Kinosaki―――

https://preview.redd.it/p2jsbm4r4cjh1.jpg?width=1199&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a18389de778cff466e30b6c0f0688f2715fa3683

(Ch.174 spoilers!)

"While rescuing the girls, we jump into Kinosaki’s backstory. Nasu holds Kinosaki’s life in the balance, putting them in a pinch, but Gero pulls off a decisive rescue. Nasu and the grandmother get punished, and Gero and Kinosaki redo the proposal from Chapter 1 for a happy ending~!"

I feel like this structure was pretty much what we all expected—almost common knowledge at this point.
But lately, I've started feeling like something's off.
Back in Chapter 128, Gero showed genuine killer intent with his line, "Dare lay a hand on Kinosaki, even as a joke, and I swear you'll see me bare my fangs."
I fully thought this scene was a metaphor/foreshadowing for a future where Kinosaki gets targeted by the Gero family, sparking a full-blown war.
Yet here we are, already heading into a full-blown war just to rescue the captive girls.

I mean, don't get me wrong.
Given the current situation, this is a completely natural direction, and maybe it's just my poor brain overthinking a line from Ch. 128 that wasn't actually a metaphor.

It's just... after reading the latest chapter, I started worrying: all those hints pointing toward Gerosaki and the foreshadowing around Kinosaki's past won't just get left vague or glossed over, right...?

So I want to hear everyone’s theories on Kinosaki’s survival and backstory, based on the latest chapter.
Whether it's a super detailed, long-winded theory or just a random thought, anything works—I'd love to get a fresh perspective!

Knowing the manga, this is honestly creepy/terrifying to watch.

• Kinosaki lying down, clutching a box filled with cool (or memorable) scenes of Gero
• The focus on Kinosaki’s left chest
• An electrocardiogram (EKG)
• Gears

Is jmyk really messing with my emotions here too?!

https://preview.redd.it/eik07r1x9kfh1.jpg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=698ae579352f28903d2638c316e9346d21bbf58e

https://preview.redd.it/qdycawvpq5fh1.jpg?width=901&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d1edfc39e43646d80a1ec150e78d76557b4f49ce

What do you guys think Nasu has done to Mei?
This definitely connects to things like the artificial heart theory or the doll/puppet theory...
Honestly, I almost flipped my desk when I saw this scene.

Latest Chapter Spoilers Below

Since I’ve read up to the latest chapter of the manga, I’ve seen more than enough depictions hinting at a Gerosaki endgame.

But I'm just... worried that the author will suddenly turn around and stab me in the gut.