Fridge / A3!

As a Fridge subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

Fridge Brilliance

• Sakuya's signature has a bloomed flower as part of it. Sakuya's name contains the kanji for "bloom."
• The C in Citron's signature looks a lot like a slice of citrus fruit. Citron and his family use citrus Family Theme Naming.
• Misumi's signature consists of three triangles. His name can be read as "sankaku," which means triangles (his name is part of ongoing Family Theme Naming, as every named character in his family is named after a shape).
• Tsumugi's signature has a moon as part of it. Moon is part of his name (Tsukioka).
• The leaders' hair color. Sakuya is red-pink, Tenma is orange, Banri is brown, and Tsumugi is dark blue. They match the representative color of the troupe they lead.
• Sakuya and Sakyo are 'the first two', as indicated by the name of their dual chat in the 'earn money' interface, because they are the first two characters you meet who end up joining Mankai. Think about it. Their motif flowers are the sakura and the chrysanthemum, both of which are national symbols of Japan.
• Chikage. The lily of the valley has positive symbolism: sweetness, humility, returning home and trust. That is what it is to anyone on the outside. On the inside, the entire flower has so much poison in it that it can cause heart failure.
• After the first few anime episodes were released, there were harsh critiques that said that it was so bad, that they were even rooting for the villain (Sakyo). This may just seem hurtful to say, but it becomes genius when you think of it. Sakyo never wanted to demolish Mankai, but the bad money management just made it so that he had to. He was Good All Along and the anime is subtly making it impossible not to at least kind of root for him.
• The Summer troupe being the The Baby of the Bunch among the four troupes actually makes sense and follow along the seasonal motifs. Summer is the season that many children look forward to the most as it's the season of holidays for them. In Japan, many schools give the students a one month long summer break in contrast to the spring and winter term breaks which usually lasts for two weeks.
• The title of Sakyo's and Homare's crossbackstage is "Genius Copywriter," and it has Homare make catchphrases for Mankai members. Homare is able to think them up quickly not only because he is a poet, but also because he used to work as a copywriter, as revealed in Homare's [A Fine Day for a Wedding] backstage.
• The use of urban legends on Act 4 may come across as an Ass Pull and out of place due to the series having been mostly realistic and down-to-earth setting-wise, until you realize that many theater superstitions exist in real life.
• The Fridge Horror of Hisoka's birthday may be why he was able to remember his birthday when he was still amnesiac, and thus he had the data for his birthday from the very start.
• Four of Hotel Compass casts are named Kitami, Minami, Nishi, and Higashikawa, which are a play on "North," "South," "West," and "East" respectively.
  • In addition, the lead of the play is Azuma, whose name shares the same kanji as "East."
  • A recurring theme in the play is, Hotel Compass is where those who have lost their way end up at, and recover. Like a compass, the hotel guides the lost travelers and puts them back on track.
  • The lead name, Owari, is a play on "End," whereas the co-lead name, Tsuzuki, is a play on "Continue." At some point in the story, Owari believes that the hotel will go out of business in his hands, while Tsuzuki believes that it will go on.
• Tsumugi's surname has the kanji for "moon" as part of it, and his initial SSRs, both the first initial and Last Planet, has "sun" as part of the names (Dappled Sunlight Garden and Dappled Sunlight Smile). Guess who is the main character featured in Ride on a Galaxy Train event?
  • The stage songs for the Winter Troupe are Constellation and Planetarium of Stars and Snow.
  • The play characters in Ride on a Galaxy Train, barring Tsumugi, are named after a star, and they match the zodiac of each character: Pollux (Star of Gemini, Misumi), Aldebaran (Star of Taurus, Itaru), Nashira (Star of Capricorn, Guy), Hamal (Star of Aries, Masumi), and Zaniah (Star of Virgo, Banri).
• In Homare's [Mankai Playback] backstage, Homare told the story of his past as part of St Flora choir. He was invited to the choir because of his angelic voice, being able to sing soprano, during middle school. However, towards high school, he started to find it harder and harder to let out such voice, and his voice eventually changed completely and he mourned the loss of the soprano voice. Considering Homare's age at that time, the voice change may be caused by him hitting puberty.
• In Kumon's blog about Shogi day, Mankai had a Yama-Kuzushi Shogi tournament: you make a mound of shogi pieces, and then you slide and drag a piece without making a sound, and thus require carefulness and precision to do so. Tasuku being able to make it to the final and giving Itaru, a member of the Shogi Club, a run for his money is not as far-fetched as it sounds, as Tasuku has been repairing Homare's pocket watch for a long time, a delicate work that requires precision. In Tasuku's [The Mission of the Strong] backstage, Tsumugi also says that Tasuku is very careful and detailed with his craft.
• The title of Hisoka's and Azuma's stage duet, Tamakura, means "Pillow," which can be associated to the fact that Hisoka and Azuma are related to sleep: a Sleepyhead and a sleeping partner. But the kanji is an archaic form of it (魂蔵), which also means "storage of souls." Both Hisoka and Azuma have lost their loved ones.
• While the title of Tasuku's and Homare's stage duet is hilarious, each word in the title represents Tasuku and Homare: Muscle for the sport junkie Tasuku, Rhapsody for the poet Homare.
  • In the same vein, Dance with Butterfly, as a play that focuses on dancing, represents both Tasuku's and Homare's characters. Tasuku gets to do rigorous movements, whereas Homare gets to show off his elegance. Moreover, dancing is both a sport and an art; Tasuku and Homare are best known for sports and arts, respectively.
• Hisoka's second solo Nachtmusik to Hakugetsu has a segment that sounds very much like his first solo Träumerei to Kuhaku, which can be symbolic of Hisoka's Character Development in his story: Hisoka decides to move on without throwing away his past.
• Guy's [A Heartfelt Hymn] backstage had him learn to play a tambourine to perform with a band because the tambourine player of the band was sick. Guy picked up the skill quickly and Citron called him a tambourine prodigy. A good sense of rhythm is essential for playing tambourine, and musical rhythm is strongly tied to math. What is Guy great at? Mental math, to the point he is compared to a computer. At one point, he acts as a timer to Omi, complete with the countdown tick.
• In Actor's Circuit, Azuma said that he could still feel the desire to drive again in his heart, despite the accident that befell his family. And he indeed was able to drive when he was forced to. Azuma's childhood dream was becoming a driver because he liked cars.
• Despite not looking like someone who exercises much, Homare often appears in the card set that involves athletic and muscular characters, such as in Soak to Your Shoulders ♪ Velu~do Baths, Blooming Squadron Mankai Rangers, and Midnight Chinatown. However, Homare likes dancing and is very experienced in ballroom dancing, which plays a major role when he becomes a co-lead in Dance with Butterfly. Ballroom dancing itself is a full body workout and has numerous health benefits, and one needs a strong core to maintain the posture during the dance.
  • His body is thin but quite toned as shown in the bloomed version of his [Elegant Bath Time], while the bloomed version of his Elegant Vacation card shows that he is fairly built and toned, which makes sense considering all that.
    • His toned arms may come from that he plays cymbals, well enough to teach Hisoka how to play them in Hisoka's [A Hymn to Deliver to You] backstage. According to the Marching Parade set backstage, he participates in a marching band as a cymbals player, alongside Tasuku as the drum major and Kumon as the snare drum player. Not only marching band is physically demanding, but playing cymbals also requires good upper body strength.
  • Homare being able to strike the swan pose while skating in Kiss&Cry in the Holy Night, moving very quickly with the Tarzan rope in Re:Tag Match Halloween, and not getting exhausted fast when learning kung fu in Midnight Chinatown may also be attributed to his strong core from the ballroom dancing. He is also able to reel in a red snapper in Run! Lucky God Seven despite having no experience at fishing; he only forgets to set his bait at the start.
    • In SK∞ the Infinity × A3!, Izumi says that Homare's strong core allows him to skateboard well.
  • As Elegant Vacation minichat reveals, Homare is capable of doing artistic swimming, which is likely helped by his dancing background.
  • While it may be Out of Focus cases due to not being the focus of the event stories, Homare is never shown to struggle in action scenes (save for the tiredness after the play in Blooming Squadron Mankai Rangers) despite not looking like it. He actually manages to pull off fight scenes on a skateboard in SK∞ the Infinity × A3!. Truth in Television, dancing, martial arts, and fighting have overlaps when it comes to the trained and required skills, such as footwork, rhythm, and spatial awareness, to name a few. Dance with Butterfly reveals that Homare is very well-versed in ballroom dancing and has learned waltz since he is a kid, so it can be said that Homare is applying his extensive dance knowledge and experience to perform action scenes.
    • In the stage version, despite having a scene in which Sagishima disarms a knife-wielding Keiichi and slams his face against a chair, Homare is not shown to practice for the action scenes unlike the Izumi vs Franz fight scene in Nocturnality. Granted, the action scene in My Master's Mesmerized by Mystery is far shorter and simpler, but still takes excellent physical skills and agility to pull off considering how effortless and graceful it looks. This means that doing action scenes, technically, is hardly a problem to Homare, which can be an allusion to the natural physical skills coming from his dancing skills and experience.
  • That said, Tasuku giving Homare weight training equipment for his birthday and often dragging him into muscle training is not as silly as it sounds, as Homare needs good muscle strength for dancing.
    • Made heartwarming with Tasuku's words in Attack☆Veludo Star Challenge. When Itaru is unable to up his game in physical fitness no matter how hard he tries, Tasuku tells Itaru to not force himself to do what he cannot do, rather, hone what he is already good at. In a way, Tasuku putting Homare through numerous Training from Hell is less about Tasuku doing it out of spite and more about him thinking that Homare has the potential because Homare has his fair share of physical feats. Though considering the vitriol between the two and how often Homare complains about Tasuku's regime being spartan, Homare probably misses Tasuku's true intention, leading to a Fridge Sadness.
• During the chorus of Shoutai, Reo and Kota have a part about their fear of loneliness. This actually reflects the true nature of their actors, Azuma and Tasuku, who both long for companionship, although the portrayal is subtler in Tasuku's case and only more pronounced in Die by the Sword.
  • Shoutai itself means True Form.
• The names of the characters for Dance with Butterfly play resemble the name of the actors, which is actually a brilliant move by Tsuzuru as the major conflict of the lead and co-lead duo revolves around them not being themselves. All the characters for the play have been written to resemble the Winter Troupe to some degree.
• Depending on how the practice lines timeline is viewed, Homare may be the first person to see through Azuma's Stepford Smiler nature. While Homare has keen observations, it may also be that he and Azuma are more similar than they seem: both wear a facade to mask their personal struggles.
• Throughout Dance with Butterfly N backstage, Homare takes charge when coaching Winter Troupe in the gym. Which means Homare guides Tasuku, the resident fitness nut, along the gym and through the necessary equipment for the exercise. It may sound hilarious but the goal is to prepare for the dance in the performance, and Homare is the most well-versed in dancing in the troupe.

Fridge Horror

• In Tsumugi's [About to Bloom] backstage, Izumi and Tsumugi went to watch a play. In the play there was a skit. It was the skit that Tsumugi performed for God Troupe audition, and he failed. Then Reni mocked him for it, and Tsumugi quitted acting, and his Childhood Friend Tasuku was deeply upset at him for it. And Tsumugi was watching that skit.
• In Tasuku's [About to Bloom] backstage, Izumi and Tasuku came across a crying boy. Said boy failed the God Troupe audition, and Tasuku explained that the God Troupe says really awful stuff to those who fail their audition. They'll say something like "you have no talent," "you're wasting your time," and "I don't know what you were thinking, trying to be an actor with a face like that." Tasuku said he knew who went through the similar experience, though he refused to talk more about it. From the main story, we knew Tsumugi, Tasuku's Childhood Friend, failed the God Troupe audition in the past. What did Tsumugi go through?
  • Even worse is that Tasuku is aware of this and stated his regret when the boy's friend came to comfort the boy. Tasuku knew that Tsumugi got such a treatment from God Troupe. But what did he do? Nothing, even though he felt immense guilt at it. This led to Tsumugi quitting theater, and Tasuku felt betrayed and was unable to contain his emotion whenever he saw Tsumugi again.
• In Juza's [The Stranger], it's raining when Juza and Tsumugi are watching a sci-fi movie together. The movie is about how plants on Earth have withered because of acid rain. Tsumugi is a Caring Gardener. Imagine what's in his head when the movie is playing.
• In My Master's Mesmerized by Mystery, when Homare accuses Misumi, Matsukawa, and Kamekichi for stealing his pocket watch, Matsukawa tells Homare, "Who would want something that's broken?" Homare has always been saddened by the fact that he was likened to the pocket watch by his grandma, who also said that it was unneeded and caused him to think that he was unneeded like the watch.
• The implication of Azuma wanting to cut his hair in Nocturnality. Here it is revealed that Azuma's family were caught in a car crash when he was in elementary; his parents' bodies were found, but not his older brother's. Azuma grows his hair out as a prayer, hoping that his brother will someday return to him, and then he wants to cut it off.
  • In relation to this, in My Master's Mesmerized by Mystery, which happened before Nocturnality, Azuma got the role of Shizuma Kusanagi, an older brother. He also had to have short hair as part of the costume; while there was a discussion about him having his hair cut, they settled with a wig. And he murdered his little sister in the play.
    • This crosses over to Fridge Brilliance. Azuma actually chose to play Shizuma from the very start, and in the play, Shizuma is a calm and gentle grieving man. Even when caught for murdering his sister, Shizuma calmly and sadly confessed to it, as if accepting his status as a murderer; even Izumi comments on the sad smile he makes during the confession. All things considered, Azuma being able to pull off such a role without a hitch may seem strange, and the event story being Homare-focused may have caused Azuma to be Out of Focus. Then in Nocturnality, Azuma said he wished he had stopped his family from going on the disastrous trip. It is as if Azuma is projecting the guilt to Shizuma when he plays the role.
• Act 5 delves deeper into Hisoka's back story, which involves the death of his friend August. The night before the mission that killed August was December 2nd, making August's death happen on December 3rd, right on Hisoka's birthday.
  • Playback Hisoka backstage only makes this worse. On Hisoka's birthday, Hisoka, August, and Chikage (April) were on a mission, but because Hisoka wanted to return quickly and celebrate, he tried to get everything done fast and things went wrong. He was saved, and August told him to be more careful because he couldn't stand losing a family member on his birthday. Guess what happened? This is also the last time Hisoka ever celebrates his birthday with August and April.
• According to Anan magazine, Azuma's childhood dream is becoming a driver because he likes cars. Azuma's family were caught in a car crash when he was in elementary. However, there is the brighter side of this in Actor's Circuit.
• Back in the past, Tasuku's awkwardness destroyed his friendship with Tsumugi because he couldn't speak up when Tsumugi failed the God Troupe audition, while Tasuku passed. Then it was revealed that inside God Troupe, they forbade small chatters and limited socialization. There was no sense of camaraderie; there was only rivalry. And then Tasuku, who was already prone to Poor Communication Kills from the very start, was in there.
• Hisoka's "what if there's no Mankai" chapter in Act 12 has Hisoka waking up in a hospital, and then found by Chikage. Chikage told him to remember his crime, but Hisoka couldn't, and Hisoka felt pain and only apologized and then the scene faded. Chikage's initial mission, before truly joining Mankai, was to find and get rid of the traitor who killed August; back then, he thought Hisoka was the traitor. Hisoka may have died on-screen in this chapter.
• In the epilogue of The Luminous Circus, Homare was feeling drunk but managed to quietly wander off to his grandparents' study. Here he saw his broken pocket watch move, followed by his younger self with his grandfather. He only snapped out of it when Ariel barked at him. Everyone, including him, later brushed it off as magic, but seeing the state Homare was in when it happened, it could be him hallucinating. He did lampshade the possibility of it being a hallucination however, but kept it from everyone else.
• Ryuga, Homare's character from SK∞ the Infinity × A3!, is a violent skateboarder with the philosophy of "be proud of your scars if you are beaten by a strong opponent." With Hazuki, Masumi's character, saying that Ryuga is obsessed with victory and defeat, Ryuga may be a Combat Sadomasochist, relishing in injuring others and gathering battle scars.
• The character dismissal lines that can be heard when one of them is dismissed. It is unsettling to think about what will happen if they really are dismissed or have to leave. Several of them have nothing to go back to (Yuki's classmates continuously bully him, Masumi's parents are absent, Misumi would not only lose his friends but also the roof above his head, Tasuku has apparently been blacklisted from most acting companies in the town due to leaving the God Troupe), or have to go back to being alone again (Masumi, Citron, Banri and Juza), or feel like having their dreams shattered (Omi being unable to be the great actor he wished to be when Nachi died, Tsumugi failing in acting once again).
  • Guy says that he'll return to be an android again. Yes, him believing himself to be an android is the defense mechanism he develops after going through the verbal abuse by his stepfather.
  • The implication of Citron truly getting dismissed or having to leave Mankai, at least before Act 8. In Act 8, he was caught in a Cain and Abel situation and would've been killed if not for Mankai's interference.
• Considering the Butt-Monkey status on Homare and how Tasuku and Hisoka often insult him not only for his antics but also his failures, for all the Played for Laughs nature, do the insults and the failures actually affect Homare on a deeper level even if he manages to brush them off and act as if he were unaffected? Not only Homare has low self-worth and sometimes still engages in Heroic Self-Deprecation, but also My Master's Mesmerized by Mystery rerun banner chat reveals that Homare dislikes showing weakness to others.
• Homare carrying Muku on his back in Snowfall Street is awesome...until you think about the Realism-Induced Horror. It is already hard enough to walk on the snowy terrain, as shown by Muku tripping and twisting his ankle, and then Homare goes through it with Muku on his back. You do not want to think of Homare tripping. This moment is as awesome as it is chilling.

Fridge Logic

• In Act 4, how did Homare get the wall on the side of his room replaced with a brick wall without anyone knowing?

Fridge Sadness

• Moment of Winter magazine reveals that Homare never aspired to be a poet; instead, he just became one after winning a poetry contest. But the most important thing in poetry to him? Inspiration, or life. He also says that he actively searches for inspiration and tries to be as observant as possible wherever he goes, because he never knows when inspiration will strike. Act 11 also subtly alludes to this, that Homare loves art because there is that touching moment when the feelings that lie dormant within a person burst forth like an explosion. With him being likened to machines and often calling himself broken and mechanical, there is a possibility that a side of him denies that he is broken and mechanical; Homare may be using art to convince himself that he is alive.
• Die by the Sword has such a moment when the Winter Troupe visited Tasuku's house. Fuyuki, Tasuku's brother, was an Amazingly Embarrassing Brother and Tasuku was very annoyed at him, but it was clear that Fuyuki loved his little brother very much. Azuma pointed it out to Tasuku and told him to cherish his family; this coming from Azuma, who lost his entire family at a very young age, just stings.
• A blog post after The Luminous Circus by Homare has him express his utmost gratitude to his grandparents, whom he metaphorically describes to be eternally in love. This coming from Homare, who has experienced a break-up, stings; Homare has always viewed his grandparents' relationship as an ideal.
  • It stings even more when combined with Homare's answers regarding marriage and ideal partners in the B's Log 2017 interview. Homare brings up divorce to his answers just like that. Notably, when Tasuku says that his ideal partner is someone who understands acting, Homare simply says that if Tasuku's partner does not understand him, divorce.
  • This leads to a Fridge Horror: so far, Homare never once mentioned his father, nor has he ever said anything about his parents' relationship. In his [Mankai Memory] backstage, he is thankful to his grandmother, his mother, and the servants for raising him with care. Then in his [Illuminate the Darkness], his mother makes a debut but there is still no mention of his father. Yeah...
    • The Luminous Circus has Miyako, Homare's grandmother, say that her daughter is always lonely (or in the CN localization, Homare's mother is always lonely). Disappeared Dad much?
• Tasuku [Escort Card Invitation] showcases Fuyuki's Chronic Hero Syndrome that results in him sacrificing himself, and in the same backstage, Tasuku tells Izumi that he sometimes wants to point out that there are other ways to help people, but cannot bring himself to say that to Fuyuki because his Chronic Hero Syndrome acts often help him too. Fuyuki's deeds are not far different from Homare's during Dance with Butterfly. Homare kills his own unique acting to help Tasuku on top of hurting himself with muscle training in order to understand Tasuku better, as well as suggesting performing Latin dance instead of waltz because the strong moves will suit Tasuku more despite having learned waltz since childhood. What could Tasuku be thinking as he witnesses Homare sacrifice so much for him?