Line #11 Manga/AoharuXMachinegun


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_aoharustuff.jpg]]
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3	''Aoharu × Machinegun'' (''Aoharu × Kikanjū'' [[note]]It's ''not'' called "Youth × Machinegun" because "aoharu" is in katakana in the title furigana, which means "[[AlternateCharacterReading Seishun]] × Kikanjū" ("seishun" = "youth") would be incorrect[[/note]]) is a shonen manga by NAOE, with a pair of oneshots starting it off in ''Monthly G Fantasy'' in 2012; it then ran as an ongoing series from 2013 to 2019. Its official Japanese website is [[http://www.square-enix.co.jp/magazine/gfantasy/story/aoharu/ here]], but don't fret, it's also available in English courtesy of Creator/YenPress.
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5	Hotaru Tachibana is a [[{{Bifauxnen}} girl in a guy's uniform]] who's the StudentCouncilPresident and a pursuer of justice. Her friend Kanae got into trouble with a host so she chases down the guy responsible... and it turns out to be Masamune Matsuoka, her neighbor. After a gun fight (with BB guns), she ends up needing to pay compensation to the host club but Masamune says he'll reduce the huge fees if she does one thing: join him and his ChildhoodFriend, apartment sharer and hentai {{Mangaka}} Tohru Yukimura, in a survival game team which Masamune's dubbed Toy ☆ Gun Gun.
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7	What happens next?
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9	The trio strive [[ToBeAMaster to be the best survival game group in Japan]], of course!
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11	''Aoharu × Kikanjū'' got a 2015 anime by Creator/BrainsBase, its official Japanese website can be found [[http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/aoharu/ here]]. It's streaming on [[http://www.crunchyroll.com/aoharu-x-machinegun Crunchyroll]][[note]]for the USA and Canada[[/note]], [[https://www.hidive.com/tv/aoharu-x-machinegun HIDIVE]][[note]]also for the USA and Canada[[/note]], and [[https://www.animelab.com/shows/aoharu-x-kikanjuu Anime Lab]] [[note]]for Australia and New Zealand[[/note]] and covers the events of the manga up to Chapter 16.
12	----
13	!! Let's start this deathless death match, shall we tropers?
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15	* AccidentalPervert: Once Hotaru's gender comes out, [[spoiler:Haruki and Midori get this from Masamune and Tohru: Haruki for having accidentally touched her chest and Midori for ''sounding'' as if he did]]. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when Tohru declares that [[MetaGuy he's supposed to be the perverted character]] and demands that they 'let him do something too.'
16	* AintTooProudToBeg: Hotaru gets on her hands and knees after realizing that Masamune and Tohru are really badass at airsoft and how pathetic she was acting in comparison. This gets a lot of use in manga, mostly in the form of various members of Toy ☆ Gun Gun apologizing to each other for lying and/or letting each other down.
17	* AlternateCharacterReading: The title ''could'' mean "Youth x Machinegun" but doesn't due to this trope. It also doesn't mean "blue spring" (as in, the season) but if "aoharu" weren't katakana in the title furigana, it would.
18	* AmbiguouslyGay: A lot of the cast falls into this or AmbiguouslyBi
19	** Tooru is cares a lot about Masamune, and is often very affectionate with him. There are many scenes in the manga/anime as well as official art/omakes showing this. [[https://68.media.tumblr.com/65900a72cc4f0e482d7652372c08251b/tumblr_ogr1ie1OL71vkw1w1o2_1280.jpg one of many examples]]. He also often calls Masamune attractive or cute, and blushes because of him.
20	*** And at the end of volume 5, there is an omake with Tooru saying to Hotaru that even though Masamune is usually pretty pathetic in the main story, he does have some cool moments. He then recalls a day when he asked Masamune to play one of his ero games with him, saying he wanted to get the "half-eros, half-emotional" experience by playing it with him. Masamune is hungover and tells him no, but Tooru won't give up so Masamune cups his hand over Tooru's mouth in an aggressive fashion and tells him to shut up. The next panel shows Tooru, being the masochist he is, saying "...okay" complete with a blushy face and a background of shoujo-style sparkles. He then is shown recalling this experience to Hotaru saying, "Ahhhh∼! At the time, I just thought, 'Do whatever you want with me!!' Seriously." Actually, most of the time when Masamune "takes charge" with him, Tooru is shown to be interested in it. Like in chapter 51, after [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/ffr6TFhLkqyRUGF53GiAkYfkAim4gaofD3ad4SvrInNre24NZ9BbYqhSanUkv4i5SQsdUuuJsEN3x0LSfGoCac5raNHMETzCee77AvRj7sCmj2Cqm_85R2DqGvZ3A_A0G1DpSyg=s0?title=010_1497563382.jpg this]], Tooru says [[https://68.media.tumblr.com/ac44a7d8ea781db44bb260a428fe86bd/tumblr_oqsezweOzE1ql7ar8o1_1280.jpg this]]
21	** When Haruki loses the pre-match RockPaperScissors game against Team Wage Slave, one of the punishments Tohru suggests is 'kissing Haruki in public.' Then, since the match requires a member to be taken "hostage," Tohru says that he'd prefer Masamune rescue him but Haruki will do.
22	** Masamune was very close friends with Midori for a long time, until Midori suddenly left him without an explanation. Because of this, Masamune still cares about Midori and still uses the guns they bought together. He also is obsessed with the idea of beating Midori.
23	*** Also he flirted with Hotaru when he first met her, while thinking she was a guy.
24	** Midori. He is obsessed with Masamune and never misses an opportunity to sadistically torture him (emotionally or physically). [[https://youtu.be/3BtJ46Rx11g There is the scene at the TGC]] for example. There is also a good amount of official art/omakes with them, the most notable being [[https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/818Brc5ZPXL.jpg this]]. He has also always been very touchy-feely with Masamune, for example by cupping his chin or holding his hand. He also told Masamune when he first met him that “Your eyes are very beautiful. They are the color of the sky. (But) they would be nicer filled with tears,” then kabedons him. For the emotional side of things, in chapter 25, it is shown that Midori [[spoiler:is carrying an old picture of him and Masamune. He drops it and Ichi finds it and says she has never seen Midori look that happy. When she returns it to him, [[http://68.media.tumblr.com/516f415c625cc24aa44c359d71696b7a/tumblr_nxtzg45Zg21ql7ar8o3_1280.jpg he sadly puts it away remarking, “Why are there always gentle kids gathering around me...?]] [[http://68.media.tumblr.com/855958a00bbde32206aec82004a6e9d3/tumblr_nxtzg45Zg21ql7ar8o2_1280.jpg Hey... Masamune”]]]] And in chapter 33, it is shown that [[spoiler:before approaching Masamune in high school, Midori had been watching him from afar.]] Then in chapter 48, it’s pointed out that Midori [[spoiler: still uses the guns he bought with Masamune.]]
25	** Fujimoto is a Do-S who is always happy to be mistreated by Midori. He also very fond of him, and is implied to have a crush on him. He often blushes because of Midori and likes to receive affection from Midori, like by having Midori pat his head.
26	** ...Haruka. With his twin brother, Haruki. Essentially [[http://68.media.tumblr.com/4cad62db82eb099336076741a6aee5bb/tumblr_ok67q7yKlt1ql7ar8o2_1280.jpg confirmed]] in chapter 46.5.
27	** Kanae. Watch [[https://youtu.be/RtwPQQR6UTs?t=5m53s this]] and tell me she’s not gay.
28	** Making the case for AmbiguouslyBi in [=TGG=]'s second match, Hotaru and Tohru have a sparkly shoujo-style panel of Prince Hotaru vowing to rescue Princess/Hostage Tohru which continues when Hotaru actually rescues him. Tohru has also been trying to get Hotaru to let him touch her breasts since he found out she was a girl.
29	* AndTheAdventureContinues: The final chapter ends with a reunited Toy Gun Gun getting ready for the start of a new TGC tournament.
30	* ArtisticLicenseGunSafety: This is a show that can afford to get away with the license, but it's conscious of it nonetheless. Example: In Episode 1 where Masamune shoots at Hotaru's torso, a warning pops up on screen saying you should never point guns or shoot them at people.
31	* [[spoiler:TheBadGuyWins:Midori ultimately defeats Toy ☆ Gun Gun, securing yet another victory for Hoshishiro and BreakingTheFellowship. The manga continues from then on and ultimately has them make a comeback and win this time, but the anime [[DownerEnding ends there]]]].
32	* BlandNameProduct: Kanae uses [[{{Website/Google}} "Doosle"]] to search up survival game information in episode 9.
33	* BloodKnight: Some of the more aggressive players come off as this, and Hotaru seems to get a little ''too'' excited for combat. Her BattleAura is enough to creep out the store owner in their mock-battle and later Midori during the TGC match; the manga eventually reveals her BloodKnight tendencies to be [[spoiler:Hotaru's innate lust for and skill at combat, present since childhood, which might make her a danger to even her own teammates.]]
34	* BoomHeadShot:
35	** Done during the TGC tournament [[spoiler:to Hotaru while she's fighting Midori.]]
36	** Used again in the post-TGC target-range match between Hotaru and Midori. [[spoiler:Not only does Hotaru land the headshot, she hit the target dead-center.]]
37	* CampingEpisode: In Chapter 26, Toy Gun Gun go camping as part of a training trip.
38	* CastFullOfPrettyBoys: This is a survival game manga so the "boys" are a given. The "pretty" is a little more extraneous, except maybe in Masamune's case because he's a host.
39	* TheClan: The Tachibana family is implied to be this, as flashbacks show a traditionally Japanese BigFancyHouse.
40	* CreditsRunningSequence: Hotaru starts running alone in the ending, but is joined by Masamune and Tohru.
41	* CruelToBeKind:
42	** Masamune forces Hotaru to join the opposing team at the end of episode 4, but the team's leader mentions a conversation between Masamune and Tohru that reveals the temporary team-switch to be this. Hotaru also watches as Masamune helps a newbie player on his team, much like he had done for her, and realizes how foolish and headstrong she'd been.
43	** Masamune uses it again post-TGC, after he asks Hotaru if she likes survival games. [[spoiler:After she says she does, he immediately tells her to quit the team and pushes her out of the apartment. Tohru outlines Masamune's thought process as this, noting that they lost two prior teammates due to Masamune's obsession with Midori and that Masamune was trying to protect Hotaru, but that doesn't stop Tohru from reading Masamune the WhatTheHellHero act.]]
44	* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler: Midori vs Masamune and Midori vs Tohru in the first match of the TGC, which come one after the other.]]
45	* TheDayTheMusicLied: [[spoiler: In the anime version of the TGC match, an enraged Hotaru channels her inner bloodlust on Midori with her theme song playing... but ends up in his trap and is shot by Ichi.]]
46	* DeathGlare: How some players express their killing intent, such as [[spoiler: Haruki]]. This is also frequently Tohru's reaction to [[spoiler:Midori]].
47	* DistantFinale: The epilogue takes place a few years later when [[spoiler:Hotaru returns from America right on time to rejoin Toy Gun Gun for the TGC]].
48	* DoItYourselfThemeTune: The trio who voice Toy ☆ Gun Gun sing the OP ''Bravest Destiny'', and Hotaru's VA Creator/MikakoKomatsu sings the ED ''Gunjou Survival'' (''Aquamarine Survival'').
49	* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale:
50	** Hotaru has a habit of flying into Masamune and especially Tohru feet-first whenever she sees or suspects that they're doing something naughty, such as looking at adult books in public.
51	** After shooting Hotaru with a water gun, Masamune jokes that she [[PottyFailure wet herself]]. A loud hit is heard and Masamune is buried in the ground, his legs sticking up as Tohru tries to calm Hotaru down.
52	** Subverted in the manga as they don't seem to discriminate who they hit.
53	* EpicFail:
54	** Hotaru has a BloodKnight moment against Fujimoto, rushing him to deny his range advantage and completely overwhelming him at short-range. [[spoiler:When asked why she didn't shoot, Hotaru admits she [[NotWithTheSafetyOnYouWont left the safety on]]. Fortunately for her, Fujimoto is a good sport and allows her to win since he would've gotten shot with that maneuver, plus she damaged his mini-gun.]]
55	** Kanae's race against Hotaru turns out this way. She seems extremely pumped up, as if she'll give the latter a challenge. Hotaru proceeds to win every race and Kanae's performance is so horrible that the other students start feeling bad for her. [[spoiler:It's hilariously subverted after Hotaru thanks her for getting her out of her slump. Kanae, incredibly embarrassed by her friend's speech, then quickly dashes off into the distance, with one boy mentioning that she did a 50 meter dash in about 6 seconds.]]
56	* FreudianExcuse: Masamune jokingly tells a lady that he doesn't allow girls on his team, which is later repeated by Captain Sagara. Tohru then explains: [[spoiler:They used to have a girl on their team, but the opposing team stalked and brutally "killed" her while Masamune was forced to watch. She quit immediately afterwards. Tohru later clarifies that Masamune made up the "no women allowed" rule because he didn't want to seem so weak and helpless again; additionally, he was breaking tournament rules by taking part in the action after being hit.]]
57	** Masamune gets a second one, revealed later in the manga, when it's revealed that [[spoiler:a childhood filled with abandonment issues is why he's so hung up on Midori's kicking him from his team.]]
58	* FirstKiss: [[spoiler:Hotaru has hers with Midori when she's stuck in the men's bath without a towel; Midori offers to give her his if she kisses him then and there (as a joke, but that is not clear to Hotaru).]]
59	* ForcedToWatch: [[spoiler: Masamune was held down and forced to watch his teammate get "tormented" and "executed" in front of him.]]
60	* GenreShift: The series starts off as a comedy with quirky characters and airsoft-based action-scenes, eventually turning into a sports drama with increasingly dramatic elements that focuses on character dynamics and airsoft culture.
61	* GoKartingWithBowser: Midori takes Hotaru to a MaidCafe which doubles as a shooting range.
62	* GrowlingGut: Hotaru's stomach does this at the maid cafe.
63	* TheGunslinger: Almost everyone, even if the guns are fake.
64	* HeroicBSOD:
65	** Hotaru suffers a minor one, mostly played for laughs, after being forced to switch teams by Masamune during the first match against Captain Sagara. She recovers pretty quickly but immediately suffers another one after hearing that Toy ☆ Gun Gun doesn't allow girls on their team. This one sticks a little longer, as a huge competition was just days away and she had yet to tell them she was a girl. Then Tohru tells her ''why'' Masamune won't allow girls on his team and she's caught off-guard during their water gun fight.
66	** She suffers ''another'' one [[spoiler:after Toy ☆ Gun Gun loses to Hoshishiro, during which Midori rubs salt into the wound by humiliating them and gloating to Hotaru that he knew she was a girl while her own teammates didn't.]]
67	* HopeSpot: Used a few times during the TGC tournament, [[spoiler:where several moments give the impression that Toy ☆ Gun Gun could actually stand a chance. [[TheBadGuyWins They really don't.]]]]
68	* HostClub: Masamune works at one.
69	* HotSpringsEpisode: Chapter 36 is about Toy Gun Gun going to the hot springs at an inn. HilarityEnsues when Hotaru decides to go to the men's bathroom so Matsuoka and Yukimura don't find out she's a girl.
70	* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: A platonic version in Tooru, who has apparently dedicated his life to supporting Masamune, even taking up airsoft in the first place to help Masamune [[spoiler:get back at Midori]].
71	** Kanae as well, encouraging Hotaru to return to airsoft because it makes her happy despite the fact that Kanae would prefer Hotaru not be involved in such a weird/dangerous hobby.
72	* KillingIntent: Some of the TGC opponents and [[spoiler: Haru-Haru to Hotaru]] before matches. Hotaru notably has one when fighting for a particular goal, referred to as "blood-lust mode".
73	* LoopholeAbuse:
74	** In some competitions, like TGC, you are allowed to physically touch opponents to score a hit. In all games, once the person calls 'hit', their match ends and they leave the field. Since survival games generally don't have judges in the field, they're dependent on the integrity of both teams. In the first match of the TGC, [[spoiler:Midori pins Masamune away from the others and covers his mouth before shooting him directly in the stomach. Since Masamune can't yell 'hit', Midori is "technically allowed" to continue shooting him until the gun runs out of ammo.]]
75	** In episode 12, Hotaru enters a one-on-one deathmatch against Masamune. Though Hotaru loses the first match, she asks for another game. When he complains that he won, Hotaru responds that she never said there was a limit to the number of matches. Masamune obliges, if nothing else to let her get it out of her system.
76	* MaidCafe: Midori takes Hotaru to one when she was feeling down. Turns out it doubles as a shooting range!
77	* MistakenForGay: Hotaru asks Tohru if Masamune doesn't like girls for some reason. While she was talking specifically about girls not being able to join Toy ☆ Gun Gun, he immediately assumes Masamune was just deflecting when he talks about how attractive women are.
78	* MoodWhiplash: Happens several times, like [[spoiler:Hotaru being kicked off Toy ☆ Gun Gun and Tohru's powerful WhatTheHellHero moment to Masamune being followed by Tohru realizing he's just stormed out of his ''own apartment'']].
79	** The scene at the airsoft store goes from light-hearted to oppressive after Hotaru goes upstairs, then leads directly into a gag where Midori [[TheGadfly torments Tohru by opening his new game first]], then abruptly gets serious again as Midori makes some ominous predictions about the upcoming TGC games, then goes into ''another'' gag about Hotaru's inexperience and [[ATeamFiring terrible aim]].
80	* MyGreatestFailure: Hotaru finds out why Masamune says he doesn't allow girls on his team: [[spoiler:As a result of a girl getting tormented in-game while he was forced to watch, he doesn't like the idea of a girl on his team again.]]
81	* NeverBringAGunToAKnifeFight: Toy ☆ Gun Gun's match against Team Nine Tails.
82	* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
83	** Hotaru's quest for vengeance for Kanae results a lot in damaged property at the HostClub Masamune works at. He makes her pay it off by having her join his team in survival games.
84	** Early on, Hotaru's constant LeeroyJenkins "tactics" ends up getting her hit almost immediately in almost every match. Eventually Masamune gets tired of her antics and throws her on the other team.
85	* NobodyCallsMeChicken: Masamune uses this against Tohru when the latter complains about being tired after a short run, claiming that he'd be useless in combat with such low stamina. Tohru suddenly has the urge to take part in the training.
86	* NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught: The first team that Toy ☆ Gun Gun competes against are notorious cheaters with a habit of not calling out when they get hit.
87	* NotWhatItLooksLike: When Hotaru first meets Tohru, she's exiting the women's changing room and is [[{{Bifauxnen}} mistaken for a boy]]. Tohru assumes "he" was in there to 'fantasize' and approves, [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame much to Hotaru's moritifaction]].
88	* OneBulletLeft: Aversion - Masamune only puts in one pellet at the beginning of his duel against Hotaru as a handicap.
89	* PlotBasedVoiceCancellation: Occurs in a FlashBack during Episode 9, with Hotaru giving her teammates encouragement during a dodgeball match they were losing. Though it's not initially heard what she says, it seems to give her teammates some hope. [[spoiler:The end of the episode reveals her saying that it would be worse for them to give up before even trying, which Kanae uses to get Hotaru out of her HeroicBSOD.]]
90	* SeriousBusiness: The airsoft "survival games," lampshaded a few times when it's pointed out that it's not actual combat and features toy guns. This does nothing to change anyone's attitudes.
91	* SlasherSmile: Often a result of Hotaru's 'blood-lust'.
92	* SweetOnPollyOliver: A lot of the girls Hotaru goes to school with unknowingly play into this, as Kanae has to tell them that Hotaru's [[{{Bifauxnen}} actually a girl]]. Also Masamune is shown to be attracted to Hotaru before he learns she's a girl, though that may have been his "host sense" subconsciously recognizing her as female.
93	* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Oftentimes there are extended dialogue scenes during the battles. Almost no action takes place until said dialogue scene is finished.
94	* ThemeNaming: Outside of Toy ☆ Gun Gun and Hoshishiro, many of the named TGC contestants follow a particular name pattern of '[Number] [Animal/Creature]. For example, Team Nine Tails and Team Eleven Dogs.
95	** Many of the characters have the names of notable warlords and samurai, including all of Teams Toy ☆ Gun Gun and Hoshishiro and even some of the minor characters, like Captain Sagara.
96	* TitleDrop: Several episodes of the anime have the title of each episode dropped.
97	** Hotaru drops the episode title at the end of the fifth (I Don't Want to Leave This Team) and the sixth (The Storm is Coming) episode.
98	** [[spoiler: Midori]] drops the title of Episode 8 (What Controls Your Mind Now) to Hotaru [[spoiler:upon defeating her]]. Also doubles as a WhamLine.
99	** Kanae drops the title of Episode 9 (That's What Makes Me Cool) to Hotaru when challenging her to a race.
100	** Hotaru drops the title of Episode 10 to Masamune (I Want to Fight With These People) when explaining her love for survival games.
101	** At the end of Episode 11, Hotaru drops the title of the episode to Masamune again (Let's Do Something Fun) when she [[spoiler: challenges him to a one-on-one duel.]]
102	* ToBeAMaster: The desire of all teams to come out on top at the TGC national competition is a driving force behind the matches, but it's especially strong motivation in the case of Team ☆ Gun Gun [[spoiler:because their grudge against Midori means ItsPersonal.]]
103	* TournamentArc: Around half of the manga takes place in the TGC tournament where Toy Gun Gun must win against several teams before facing Hoshishiro in the finals.
104	* UnderdogsNeverLose: [[spoiler:Subverted during the TGC match. Despite several [[HopeSpot Hope Spots]], [[TheBadGuyWins Midori takes out Toy ☆ Gun Gun almost single-handedly]], finding time to inflict physical and mental torture along the way and afterward gloating about the years of hopelessness that Masamune and Tohru have endured. We're then matter-of-factly informed that Team Hoshishiro won the tournament for the fifth year in a row.]]
105	* UndyingLoyalty:
106	** Yukki to Mattsun, to the point where it's basically his defining trait, and later Hotaru to the former two.
107	** Kanae to Hotaru, who helps her friend out of a HeroicBSOD [[spoiler:after losing in the TGC tournament.]]
108	* WhamEpisode:
109	** When facing off with Masamune and Tooru in the TGC match, [[spoiler: Midori takes his sweet time destroying both them both, physically and mentally crushing Masamune and physically overwhelming Tooru . When Tachibana shows up and gets the upper hand, Midori reveals that he knows her secret - her actual gender - and freezes her long enough for Ichi to snipe her, then tells Hotaru that lying to stay on the team makes her "evil" despite her claims of justice.]]
110	* WhamLine:
111	** After the first match against Captain Sagara's team, she mentions that Toy ☆ Gun Gun doesn't allow girls on their team. And [[{{Bifauxnen}} Hotaru]] hadn't yet told the others about her true identity...
112	** Masamune delivers one to Hotaru after a light-hearted yakiniku party, asking if she likes survival games. [[spoiler:After Hotaru's enthusiastically positive reply, he immediately tells her to quit the team and pushes her out of the apartment.]]
113	* WhatTheHellHero: Tooru does this to Masamune after their yakiniku party [[spoiler:for kicking Hotaru off the team. While Tooru initially says that he understands why Masamune did it, he follows it up by punching him, chewing him out, declaring that he won't go along with Masamune's decision, and storming out.]]
114	* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: When Kanae sees how depressed Hotaru becomes, she recalls an earlier event where Kanae encouraged her teammates to continue playing a dodgeball game where they were losing every match. [[spoiler:She ends up racing her and bringing up said event, which helps Hotaru out of her HeroicBSOD.]]
115	* YouAreTooLate: [[spoiler:Midori tells Hotaru this when she shows up after he's already curbstomped Masamune and Tohru during the TGC match]].

Context Manga / AoharuXMachinegun