Line #7 YMMV/A3 - TV Tropes


1	* AccidentalNightmareFuel: The 7th anniversary relay blog is a 24 panel manga, which quickly gets chaotic. Because of Kumon's drawing, Sakuya thinks the protagonist is a cat and draws that. For some time, the story is about a cat's adventure. Later, Citron draws Citron Jr picking up the cat, but Juza mistakes the cat for a cat cookie and draws someone eating the cat.
2	* {{Adorkable}}: Tasuku is tall and muscular and often comes across as cold, but believes in Santa until middle school, is very gullible and a sentai fan as a kid. If there is something (usually silly and embarrassing stuff) he refuses to do, tell him it is for acting, and he will do it. Off-stage, his fellow Winter Troupe members get a kick out of poking the fun out of him. Tsumugi and Fuyuki especially love exposing his embarrassing childhood stories.
3	** Tsumugi is NotAMorningPerson and hilariously bad with tech and sports. He also fails to catch up with slang and can't wink [[spoiler:(but by part 3, he can)]]. During ''One Day Princess'', he obtained {{Chuunibyou}} stickers from Itaru and was really fond of them and had been using them more often than not.
4	** Guy is TheStoic and very fit, but SuperGullible and tends to [[MondegreenGag mishear things]] and take the literal meaning of slang and words. He had also sprayed himself with a hose when he got a fever because he thought it was him overheating.
5	** Azami is rather aloof and often fussy when it comes to skincare, but when it comes to love, hugging, and handholding, he is a mess.
6	* AccidentalInnuendo: Dom is the name of the MadScientist character Banri is playing as in ''The Stranger'', but then title of Banri's ''The Stranger'' N backstage is ''Role Study: Dom''. It is likely short for Dominic, though.
7	** In Homare's [Mankai Birthday] backstage, Homare tells Izumi to step on him to her heart's content. He means it is okay for her to step on his feet when they dance because Izumi had stepped on his feet a lot in the practice and was used to it though.
8	* ArchivePanic: As of now, there are three parts in the main story, consisting of four acts each. Counting the prelude, there is a total of 474 episodes to go through. And that is the main story alone. With events' tendency to drop {{Foreshadowing}} on top of play events being crucial to the main story, if one is to go through all of them, there is currently a total of 160 events, with ten chapters plus one epilogue each except PR, collab, and anniversary events, which can contain more or less chapter than regular events.
9	** And that is not counting the backstage and minichat yet, which may also establish or drop {{Foreshadowing}} for the main and event stories. Currently there are over one thousand backstage stories and minichats. If you are a completionist, there are also [[AllThereInTheManual magazine contents]] to go through, which contain mainly character interviews that may have fun trivia or even key information of the character.
10	* AssPull: The use of [[spoiler:Mankai's urban legends]] to resolve the members' personal conflicts in Winter Troupe's Act 1 story can be considered this, [[spoiler:especially considering their supernatural nature in a game that had no prior supernatural elements.]]
11	* AwesomeEgo: Homare will ''not'' shut up about how awesome, beautiful, and smart he is, to the point he claims that his existence is a sin in Tsumugi [A Saint's Quest] SR backstage. He actually has shown his wisdom on many occasions and really is a gentleman and a world-famous poet, and even if [[ButtMonkey other characters usually shoot him down]], his ravings are often so ridiculous that they are awesome.
12	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Homare asking Juza to teach him how to do a backhand slap in the first birthday lines. It appears out of the blue and is not something one might expect from Homare. On top of that, it is never brought up again despite the story's tendency to make ContinuityNod and CallBack.
13	* BreatherLevel: Etude or [[DubNameChange Improv]] events in general. There is no ranking, and if you're lucky, you can even fully bloom the event SSR on the first day of the event. In addition, unlike other events, the type of show spawned in the practice depends on the practice character you choose, and it's fixed.
14	* CargoShip: [[TrademarkFavoriteFood Izumi/Curry]] is a popular one.
15	* CommonKnowledge: Homare has a few related to his physical fitness.
16	** Homare is often assumed to not be physically fit. While his [Hotel Compass] backstage shows that he passes out after carrying a few boxes and one of the 5th anniversary live has him fail at blowing up a balloon and being called weak, Homare actually has a number of impressive physical feats and is very well-versed in ballroom dancing. To name a few, his ballroom dancing skills and experience play a major role in ''Dance with Butterfly'', in which he coaches Winter Troupe for the play by bringing them to a gym to do core training. ''SK∞ the Infinity × A3!'' also reveals that Homare has a naturally strong core, which allows him to ride a skateboard well.
17	** In the same vein, his lifestyle is also often assumed to be sedentary and indoors due to his job as a poet. However, as ''Moment of Winter'' magazine reveals, Homare is mainly driven by the desire to seek inspiration, and it shows in many of his stories. He loves going for a walk for inspiration and there are many instances in which other characters bump into him out there. An example is in Misumi's [Mankai Party] backstage, in which Homare is seen wandering outside at night to create a VLOG. He also tells Yuki that it is important for artists to get out there to get inspired, in Yuki's [Sewing Chronicle] backstage. In one of the ''Elegant Vacation'' minichats, he asks Tsuzuru to swim with him because he wants to find inspiration.
18	** When ''Elegant Vacation'' teaser first came out, many outright denied the possibility of the one in the CG to be Homare for this reason, due to the person in the CG having quite a bit of pectoral muscles although the preview gave enough hint of Homare's hair. The word "elegant" is also often associated with Homare. A common assumption is that Homare is [[GeekPhysiques lanky with little muscles]] due to the aforementioned common misconceptions, but as the event art shows, he is quite built and toned, which is not as far-fetched as it seems considering his physical feats and activities. Though this overlaps with FanWank.
19	** Physical fitness aside, Homare is often assumed to be superstitious and fond of supernaturals and magic. However, from the very start, Homare has made it clear that he does not believe in any of those. Even his butler Takao notes this in ''Dazzling Rose Mansion''. After the encounter with the Loupe of Sincerity, he is not that quick to dismiss these things anymore, but still tends to make logical explanations of such happenings. His [Yugen Fox Spirit] backstage has him dismiss a kitsune running past him in the photograph as a cat, with the nine tails being an afterimage of a single tail. He ''does'' pick up fortunetelling in his [Sense Ruler] backstage, although he admits he was not a fan of it back then, but when he successfully predicts Kumon's future, he chalks it up to gut feeling.
20	** Tasuku is often assumed to be unable to cook. While Tasuku is rarely shown to cook, [Blazing Beachside Passion] minichat details on this: Tasuku can cook, but chooses not to because he believes there are better cooks than him. As ''Bridegroom Battle Royale'' shows, he cooks well enough to pass the cooking section of the showdown. ''Elegant Vacation'' also has him play the role of a chef.
21	** When it comes to the VagueAge gang, Guy's [Mankai Glitter] backstage spawns the idea that Azuma is the oldest in Mankai due to Guy thinking that Azuma is the oldest son among the Winter Troupe brothers in his dream. However, when looked closely, the dream sequence does not provide an accurate information of the age. A glaring example is Hisoka being older than Homare, when Homare is supposed to be older than Hisoka. Leader Conference 2.5 audio drama confirms that Guy is the oldest.
22	* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Due to how link skills work, some characters and team builds are used more often than others. This is especially apparent for Dr shows, where Mahjong Club and Adult Onigiri Appreciators only require ''five'' characters to receive 60% team strength bonus; even if the event is stuck with support characters that lack Dr link skills, it is still powerful enough to clear high level shows with minimum SP. Because Azuma is part of that build as well as Winter Troupe and Lone Wolves, both of which are powerful Dr link skills as well, Azuma is almost always used for Dr teams.
23	** For Co builds, Muku is part of St Flora, Sweet Tooth, Shoujo Manga Appreciators, and Summer Troupe, all of which are part of builds that result in high multiplier (after the addition of Kumon however, the [[GameBreaker gamebreaking]] Summer Troupe + Homare is no longer usable). As a result, Muku is almost always used for Co teams.
24	** With the addition of Azami, Autumn Troupe + [=Tenma/Itaru=] build is no longer usable for Ac shows as Autumn Troupe link skill now requires Azami in the build. However, Leaders + O High + Eager Beaver build becomes a necessity in almost every event as it has the highest multiplier among all Ac builds, causing Sakuya, Tenma, Banri, Tsumugi, Juza, and Taichi to be used very frequently for Ac shows.
25	* DiagnosedByTheAudience:
26	** Misumi, who is obsessed with triangles, easily distracted, and [[spoiler:shunned by his family]]. These point to him having some case of neurodivergency.
27	** Homare, who has a self-stated inability to understand the minds of others. His penchant to be InnocentlyInsensitive, his isolation from society due to said inability, and eccentric nature imply that he may be somewhere on the autism spectrum.
28	* EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame: The game's playstyle is simplistic, but the story is praised a lot for its fun plot and interesting characters.
29	* EnsembleDarkhorse: Itaru is easily the most popular troupe member. Not only is he voiced by Creator/ShintaroAsanuma, but his character arc strikes a chord with a lot of the older players. It also helps that he's a gamer, and provides plenty of LeaningOnTheFourthWall jokes.
30	** Misumi is easily the most popular member of Summer Troupe and also one of the most popular characters in general.
31	** Dewey from ''How Wonderfully Picaresque'' becomes quite popular thanks to the stage shuffle. Homare acts as him and is far more malicious than Omi's portrayal of Dewey; [[TriggerHappy he happily waves his gun around]] [[AxCrazy and is more physical with his threats, all while smiling. At one point when talking to Tenma's Capone, he points the gun at himself.]]
32	* EpilepticTrees: Not by much, but after the "Die By The Blade" event, theories that [[spoiler:Kamikizaka Reni is related to Guy, and is possibly his father]], came about. [[spoiler:Compared to his treatment of the other Mankai members, Kamizaka's treatment of Guy was much kinder]].
33	** With the teaser for Act 3 coming out, there have been speculations about Mankai Company disbanding due to it mentioning "nothing lasts forever."
34	** Theories of Hajime aka Azuma's brother [[spoiler:being a member of the Organization, since after the accident, [[NeverFoundTheBody Hajime was stated to be missing rather than dead.]] There are also theories about Hajime being August because they share the same VA.]]
35	* EvilIsCool: Homare's character Varg from ''Last Planet'' caused an uproar during the illustration drop. A neat name, on top of having a transparent CoatCape and a saber (and as revealed in his R card, it is a LaserBlade), with a PsychoticSmirk ''and'' TriggerHappy as the title. In the trivia lines in 5th Anniversary event, Varg is also said to have CombatClairvoyance ability. As a space police, Varg is like a reminiscent of Homare's Dewey from the stage shuffle...[[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope though in the actual play, Varg is on the good guy's side.]]]]
36	** Ryuga, another Homare's play character, from ''SK∞ the Infinity × A3!'' is so StrongAndSkilled that he never loses in the skateboarding races [[TheBadGuyWins even until the end of the play]]. There he [[ArrogantKungFuGuy makes condescending remarks about other skateboarders]], starts a race, and delivers a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown, though he is said to pull a HeelFaceTurn by the end of the play. He also gets two major skateboarding duel scenes (pretty much most of the biggest skateboarding scenes in the play) to showcase how strong, badass, and violent he is, which just highlight his BloodKnight nature.
37	* FandomEnragingMisconception: No, this game is not an otome game or dating sim. It's a joseimuke and the focus lies on platonic bonds.
38	* FanficFuel: The April Fools specials are rife with this, providing [[AlternateUniverse Alternate Universes]] interpretations of its own characters. Of note is the 2017 April Fool's HighSchoolAU that grew very popular in fan works.
39	** Among plays, ''Nocturnality'' gives a lot of it due to its RayOfHopeEnding: [[spoiler:Kota hasn't given up on Reo yet]].
40	** The countdown illustrations for Act 3 2/2 quickly result in a lot of headcanons and fanfics revolving the characters, even if they are only teasers.
41	* FanNickname:
42	** "Gekka" or "Gekkagumi" for Chikage, Hisoka, and August.
43	** The CN community tends to call Homare "爱丽丝" (ài lì sī, or Alice) although the CN version of the game localizes it as "有栖" (yǒu qī), the first two characters of Homare's surname. However, this may be a zigzagged case as Homare's InSeriesNickname in JP is "アリス" (Arisu), and "Alice" is also Homare's handle for his Inste and LIME.
44	* FanPreferredCouple:
45	** For Izumi, Sakyo is the most popular character to pair her up with due to the two being ChildhoodFriends. Other popular options include Banri, Itaru, and Tsumugi. After the release of Act 5, pairing Izumi with Chikage has also become common.
46	** For HoYay ships, some of the most popular are [[BirdsOfAFeather Banri/Itaru]], [[FoeYayShipping Banri/Juza]], [[OddFriendship Banri/Tsumugi]], [[VitriolicBestBuds Tenma/Yuki]], [[ForgottenFirstMeeting Taichi/Yuki]], Tasuku/Omi, [[ChildhoodFriends Tasuku/Tsumugi]], and [[SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl Hisoka/Homare]].
47	** With all the HomoeroticSubtext in ''Nocturnality'', Reo/Kota is one of the most popular ships among play characters.
48	* FanWank: While more hilarious than it is vicious, ''Elegant Vacation'' results in this, partly because of the CommonKnowledge about Homare's physical fitness. The CG preview itself already started an argument on both JP and EN community over how Homare got so muscular, to the point some outright denied the possibility of Homare's appearance in the CG because of the muscle mass, although the hair color and length in the preview was quite a strong hint. By the time it was confirmed that it was indeed Homare, and that Homare was drawn to have more muscle mass than what people expect in the bloomed card art, various theories spawn to justify the muscles, ranging from Homare being trained by Tasuku off-screen to ballroom dancing helping Homare build muscles naturally to a case of DependingOnTheArtist, to name a few. Though, considering Homare's proficiency in sports, his frequent appearance in sports-themed events, and being one of the more frequently picked Winter Troupe members to perform action scenes alongside Tasuku or Guy outside major plays, [[FridgeBrilliance it may indeed be his ballroom dancing skills and experience speaking.]]
49	* FriendlyFandoms: with ''[[VideoGame/AfterlifeTheSacredKaleidoscope AfterL!fe]]'', ''[[VideoGame/ObeyMeOneMasterToRuleThemAll Obey Me!]]'' and, to a lesser extent, ''VideoGame/AyakashiRomanceReborn''. Many fans of A3! play at least one of the others.
50	* GameBreaker: The Summer Troupe + Homare build can easily clear Co shows without the need for an optimum event support thanks to its whooping 84% multiplier, as having Homare in the build activates both St Flora and Artistes link skills. This build is especially powerful in Summer shows; with seasonal bonus, you might not need an event support to clear a max level Finale with 2 SP. This is no longer usable because Kumon was added to the roster.
51	** Before ''The Liar Night is Forever'', camp link skills are three people link skills giving the boost of regular link skills consisting of four people, making them very powerful and flexible. In camp events, with the increased show level cap and points requirement, this is very helpful. The builds revolving these links reach 84% boost at maximum, but then ''Dazzling Rose Mansion'' has the Dr link skill featuring Tsumugi, Misumi, and Azuma. Since Misumi and Azuma are already part of the SimpleYetAwesome Mahjong Club + Mature Onigiri Appreciators build, it is possible to have a camp build that hits 96%.
52	* GeniusBonus:
53	** The gacha banner for ''[[AlliterativeTitle My Master's Mesmerized by Mystery]]'' event is ''[[FairPlayWhodunnit Knox's Ten Commandments]]'', a famous set of rules or plot devices for detective fiction. The play in this event is a murder mystery.
54	** In ''Nocturnality'' epilogue, Homare says he likes listening to Schumann and Faure. One of Schumann's works is ''Kinderszenen'', which has a piece titled ''Der Dichter Spricht'' or ''The Poet Speaks''. One of Faure's works is ''Clair de lune'' or ''Moonlight'', which started out as a poem of the same name written by Paul Verlaine.
55	** Tasuku's initial [=SSR=] is named Fantasista. Fantasista is a soccer term for the playmaker of a team, who usually wears the number 10. The unbloomed version of the card has Tasuku play soccer, wearing the number 10. The localization changed it to Fantasy however, causing LostInTranslation.
56	** The constellation featured in Hisoka's first birthday [=SSR=] is Ursa Minor, which is most visible in June. In the backstage, Hisoka thought his zodiac was Gemini (May 20 to June 21).
57	*** One of the backstage backgrounds features the constellation Ursa Major and its neighboring constellations: Corona Borealis, Hercules, Leo Minor.
58	** In Tsumugi's [My Master's Mesmerized by Mystery], Matsukawa plays a violin and Tsumugi recognize the music: ''Andante Cantabile''. It is the 2nd movement of Tchaikovsky's ''String Quartet No 1'', a melancholic 2nd movement that moves the famous writer Creator/LeoTolstoy to tears and becomes famous on its own right. One of Leo Tolstoy's works is ''What Men Live By'', about a humble shoemaker named Simon who met a mysterious man named Michael in the midst of winter. [[spoiler:[[AngelUnaware Michael was later revealed to be an angel who was punished by God for defying His order: Michael was supposed to take the soul of a woman, but didn't do so.]]]]
59	** Homare's A7 incarnation is a snowy owl. Snowy owls, just like most owl species, [[https://www.wildrepublic.com/product/snowy-owl/ have asymmetrical ears]]. Homare is well-known for his FashionableAsymmetry that is his uneven bangs.
60	** ''Kiteretsu Poemer'' sounds chaotic on the surface, with the iconic gong and laughter, but when scored out, the melody is mostly a stable repetition of beamed quavers, a reflection of Homare's nature as TheWoobie beneath his chaotic facade.
61	** Homare's backstage from ''Onsen Village of Hell'' set reveals that Ariel is an Afghan Hound. This dog breed is known to be cat-like because of its aloof, independent nature, and Ariel is an IceQueen dog especially around Homare.
62	** In ''Spotlight: Tsukushi High and St Flora'', [[spoiler:Homare targets the back muscles when training Muku and Yuki to prepare for St Flora choir competition]]. Back muscles are important for diaphragmatic breathing, which is crucial for singing. [[spoiler:[[FridgeBrilliance As Homare is a former star in St Flora choir who has won numerous awards and is still famous for his singing skills and even invited to give singing lessons, Muku complimenting Homare for having a beautiful back in the St Flora group minichat is not as far-fetched as it seems.]]]]
63	* GrowingTheBeard: Act 4, Winter Troupe's arc, is considered the weakest out of all the main story arcs, worsened by that it comes right after Act 3, one of the strongest arcs in the main story, but Winter Troupe gets substantial development starting from their 2nd play ''My Master's Mesmerized by Mystery''. ''Nocturnality'', their 3rd play, is often said to be the peak of Winter Troupe's development, and their overall arc gets even better during Act 8 and beyond.
64	* HarsherInHindsight: Azuma [The Other Me in the Mirror] backstage explores about Azuma's short hair for ''My Master's Mesmerized by Mystery''. Azuma says that he used to have short hair and grew it out because people said he looked good with it. He also playfully asked if Izumi preferred him with short hair and wanted him to cut it. Comes ''Nocturnality'', [[spoiler:it is revealed that Azuma grows his hair out of prayer, hoping that his brother, whose body was never found after his family car got knocked off the cliff, would return to him someday]]. Additionally, this backstage Azuma explained why he did not know how he was supposed to treat a little sister: he only ''had'' an older brother.
65	** The anime has a DeadHandShot of [[spoiler:Nachi]] that shows a bracelet during Omi's portrait. In ''Welcome to Akebono-so!'', it's revealed that Omi had a matching bracelet with [[spoiler:Nachi]].
66	** ''A Very Mankai Christmas'' has Hisoka and Sakuya eating gingerbread together, and how Hisoka said that gingerbread was eaten together with family. Hisoka also froze up when Sakuya gave him gingerbread on stage. Act 5 reveals that [[spoiler:August [[FoodAsBribe gave Hisoka gingerbread]] [[RecruitedFromTheGutter to recruit him to the organization]], and they had, along with April, promised that they would enjoy gingerbread together after a mission. August didn't survive.]]
67	** "Nothing lasts forever" is the ArcWords of Act 9-12. With Act 11-12 recently coming out in the JP version of the game, there is also a PV with those words on the screen. Then came the [[https://a3-liber.com/message.html announcement]] that the global version will no longer be updating after around late October to early November 2021.
68	*** The fact that the global version ends at Act 8, which has Sakuya and Izumi talk about how nothing lasts forever in the final chapter, makes it even worse.
69	** Hisoka's Mankai Memory revealing that [[spoiler:he was a starving StreetUrchin]] made many parts of his story tragic. Namely, when he said that he was satisfied with his life in the Organization because he got to eat and sleep in a warm place as long as he carried out the assigned jobs. There was also such a scene in a Girl's Berry 2017 magazine short story: Winter Troupe went sledding and got caught in the snowstorm and were lost, but Hisoka managed to lead them back to the course by digging up the fallen marshmallows in the snow.
70	** In ''The Liar Night is Forever'', Tasuku says Homare makes it hard to act. Come ''Dance with Butterfly'', [[spoiler:Homare literally gives his all to make Tasuku's acting shine, to make it easy for them to act together, including matching with his fumbling to the point Homare's acting no longer feels like his.]]
71	* HeartwarmingInHindsight: After Mankai Company vs God Troupe act-off, [[spoiler:Reni hands over God Troupe's proceedings, which are then used for paying off Mankai's debt]]. The teaser for Act 3 reveals that back in the past, [[spoiler:Reni used his money to build Mankai Company. There wouldn't have been Mankai Company without Reni.]]
72	** A part of "Shoutai"'s lyrics has Kota, Tasuku's character in ''Nocturnality'', sing a line that could be translated to "How could I possibly watch you go without doing anything" to Reo, Azuma's character. In Act 8, when Azuma was about to return to his family house for one last time before it was demolished, Tasuku insisted on following him. [[spoiler:Tasuku found a hair comb, a birthday gift that Azuma's brother never got the chance to give to Azuma. It became Azuma's TragicKeepsake.]]
73	** With Mankai Memory reveal, seeing Hisoka with Pen Pen and marshmallows in Mankai is especially heartwarming because he gets to experience the joy of childhood he never had as a kid.
74	* HesJustHiding: EpilepticTrees regarding [[spoiler:Hajime]] is quite common because [[spoiler:his body was never found after the accident]].
75	* HilariousInHindsight: One of Taichi's practice lines is "Wait, I die in this play?" As the story progresses, [[ChronicallyKilledActor he dies in many plays he's in]].
76	** The first improv event to be translated came out around May 2020, in which there are multiple fixed gachas you can pull on by earning enough points from the stages you play, was the BeachEpisode. It was preceded by the ''Heart of Surging Flame'' in ''VideoGame/{{Arknights}}'', with similar mechanics (it was even the first event with multiple fixed gachas on the global version) which was ''also'' the BeachEpisode of the game.
77	** In the epilogue of ''A Clockwork Heart'', after pairing up with Homare to participate in the Manman Grand Prix, Tasuku says he is never pairing up with Homare again. Then he and Homare are the lead and co-lead for ''Dance with Butterfly'', which is literally about pairs.
78	* LauncherOfAThousandShips:
79	** Izumi, naturally, since she's the player character.
80	** Among the boys, [[EnsembleDarkhorse Itaru]] best counts, being popularly shipped with Izumi, Banri, Sakuya, Tsuzuru, and Chikage, among others.
81	** Tsumugi is also very shippable among the boys. He is commonly shipped with Izumi, Tasuku, Itaru, and Banri.
82	* MemeticMutation:
83	** #This is Chigasaki Itaru, need something/#茅ヶ崎至ですけど何か [[labelnote:Explanation]]After the Anime adapted the scene of Itaru revealing his gaming persona to Izumi, his quote had been used around the Japanese fanbase by fanartists and fans alike to post things about Itaru[[/labelnote]]
84	** [=#A3ENPlayersGoingToJailParty=][[labelnote:Explanation]]When the ''Hot Summer Gaze'' Tryout was out on the EN version, there was [[GameBreakingBug a glitch where doing a pull (solo or 10 pulls) on the banner resulted in earning 125 gems for free.]] People were exploiting the glitch for racking up gems and cards. Then the game went on maintenance. Many people were thinking that they would get penalized for exploiting the glitch, and hence the tag. The tag quickly shot up to the trending list on Twitter.[[/labelnote]]
85	** Omi's Fuck House [[labelnote:Explanation]]During the beach etude event, Omi wore a NakedApron attire as he worked on his friend's beach hut, which was named Omi's House. The meme has long circulated before the release of EN version, but with the recent release of the event in EN and the official tweet saying that Omi is "innocuously-dressed," it was brought up again.[[/labelnote]]
86	** White Bitch Forest [[labelnote:Explanation]]In the EN version, the tryout banner for ''A Springtime Snooze'' event is titled ''In the White Birch Forest'', but the r in the "birch" looks really like a t in the banner. It doesn't help that the banner has [[TheGadfly Azuma]] as the [=SSR=].[[/labelnote]]
87	** Is the water delicious? [[labelnote:Explanation]]In Tasuku's Fanservice Founder LIVE! backstage, Taichi showed everyone Tasuku's videos from his God Troupe days. There was a scene in which Tasuku drank water and saying the water was delicious, making his fans swoon with the {{Fanservice}}. The entire Winter Troupe then proceeded to tease him about "delicious water" for the rest of the backstage, much to his dismay. Asking "is the water delicious" or associating Tasuku with delicious water quickly become a joke across the community.[[/labelnote]]
88	* MisaimedFandom: Tasuku is often viewed as a stoic, unfriendly jerk despite friendship and reaching out to others being a huge part of his story arc. Even back in Act 4 and his [Premonition of Blooming] backstage, he was actually saddened by the fact that he never managed to reach out to Tsumugi when Tsumugi failed the God Troupe audition, because he was afraid to come across as bragging and hurt Tsumugi more. ''Die by the Sword'' in particular explores [[IJustWantToHaveFriends his desire to have acting buddies]] although it takes a while for him to realize it, and how lonely he was back in God Troupe. Also, the interviewer in ''Moment of Winter'' magazine introduces him as the one who holds Mankai social activities and his segment focuses on the many clubs he started in Mankai.
89	** The CommonKnowledge of Homare's physical fitness and GeekPhysiques stems from most jumping to the conclusion that Homare is ''simply'' a poet rather than an artist. While poet is his main job, even from his debut in Act 4, Homare makes it clear that he is interested in all forms of art. As the story goes on, the sheer amount of arts Homare is capable of doing is gradually revealed. Poetry aside, Homare can act, sing, dance, rap, play instruments (gong, cymbals, and hand bells), figure skate, and do artistic swimming. He learns to kung fu as well in ''Midnight Chinatown'', and what he describes as "elegant, artistic skateboarding" in ''SK∞ the Infinity × A3!'' appears to be longboard dancing based on his skateboard type, which he picks up without a fuss. A good chunk of the arts qualifies as sports. One of the less obvious instances is the cymbals; Homare learns to play them because he is excited to participate in a marching band.
90	*** More than that, for all his head-in-the-clouds tendencies, Homare is a self-sufficient man capable of showing common sense. Since the very start, Homare has always bragged about being a gentleman and talked about what makes one. An example is him worrying about not exercising because his writing work is taking up so much of his time, and he knows this is not a good thing. Contrast the common assumption of him running off at the idea of physical exercises and preferring to be sedentary.
91	*** Homare also cares very much about maintaining his image in public, which is shown in the stage version of ''Nocturnality'': Homare is angry because with Tsumugi forgetting to tell him about the play photoshoot, he is robbed of the chance to prepare and show his best self to the public. Even in general photoshoots, Homare will not stop until he strikes countless poses, and his [Illuminating a Glow Within These Hands] backstage has him bring additional stuff for a photoshoot and overloading his suitcase. Meanwhile, the whole discourse on ''Elegant Vacation'' is simply fans jumping into the conclusion that "Homare never exercises and therefore cannot have that much muscle," rather than considering Homare's self-conscious nature and the possibility of him training his body to give public a good impression of him.
92	* {{Narm}}: Due to how their crying voice clips sound, casting [[InsufferableGenius Homare]] or [[FunnyForeigner Citron]] as Luke or S in ''A Clockwork Heart'' theater can make its most tearjerking moment oddly hilarious.
93	** The entirety of ''Hotel Compass'' play, which is an odd mix of TimeTravel, a YouKilledMyFather case, and SuicideAsComedy in a hotel. Then again, it is [[DarkerAndEdgier Winter Troupe's]] attempt in comedy.
94	* NarmCharm: Homare's theme ''Kiteretsu Poemer''. The lyrics refers to Homare's struggle to understand others with the loupe, which is supposed to be tearjerking, but the song itself is so chaotic (the sound of gong at the start and breaking glass later on, Homare laughing at several parts in the song and LeaningOnTheFourthWall at the end, etc) that it is more hilarious than sad, and the fanbase mainly loves it for the chaos.
95	* NeverLiveItDown: The [Hotel Compass] Homare backstage is notorious for the moment in which Homare fails to carry boxes and gets muscle pain after training with Tasuku. When it comes to Homare's physical strength, this is what the fandom always brings up first, disregarding his numerous physical feats across the story and thus causing the CommonKnowledge of Homare being physically weak and unfit.
96	* OneTrueThreesome: Fans often ship "Fuyupoly," where Winter Troupe members are shipped together. It is an [=OT5=], consisting of Tsumugi/Tasuku/Hisoka/Homare/Azuma, and [=OT6=] if Guy is included.
97	* ParanoiaFuel: Azuma's backstory. [[spoiler:Imagine staying at home because you're sick and telling your family to have a safe trip as they went on a trip...only for them to get caught in a car crash and never return.]]
98	* RealismInducedHorror: ''Snowfall Street'' has a scene in which [[spoiler:Homare and Muku are caught in a blizzard. Not only the transportation is all jammed, but also the pavement itself becomes hard to traverse due to the thick snow. And then Muku trips and twists his ankle when trying to reach the bus stop with Homare. It is a good thing Homare accompanies Muku to the oil lamp cafe, as Homare later carries Muku on his back and continues the journey until a nearby theater troupe takes them in. The background especially nails it with the change, showing the harsh winds and heavy snow in a dark night in contrast to the sunny street earlier. What makes this particularly [[{{Pun}} chilling]] is the portrayal of the hazards caused by a blizzard. [[FridgeHorror Even worse when you remember that Muku is only sixteen, and the risk of hypothermia and frostbite.]]]]
99	* ShipsThatPassInTheNight: Franz and Nonomiya or [[PortmanteauCoupleName FuraNono]] from ''Nocturnality'' are commonly shipped together although they never interact with each other in the play. Their actors, Hisoka and Homare, do interact a lot however, and they are one of the most popular ships in the fandom.
100	* ShockingMoments: The revelation that Tsumugi's next lead role for Act 9 is a devil, in contrast to his first lead role as an angel. Before that, in the PV, nobody even recognizes him in the costume and makeup.
101	** When the game start screen switches to Tsumugi for the upcoming Act 9, he says that he will analyze every single details of his character to the point where he "kills" himself. No, no, he doesn't mean ''that''; he means to reinvent himself and [[BecomingTheMask become someone else for this character]], but still.
102	** One of the chapter titles in Act 9 is ''Tsumugi Tsukioka's Murder Case''.
103	** The moment ''Sunny Blanc'' preview is released, Homare finally playing a female role, Nobara, shocked everyone to the point Nobara was trending on twitter multiple times. To cap it all off, in the play itself, [[spoiler:Nobara is not only seen with her hair down, but also revealed to have a wife and a daughter]].
104	*** Hilariously, in Homare's minichat for the performance, he keeps saying about wanting to surprise the audience with this role. He certainly delivered.
105	* SignatureScene: Of all plays, ''Nocturnality'' is the most remembered as old as it may be. The stage version has [[AdaptationalBadass the Izumi vs Franz fight in detail]], which is extremely well-known.
106	** As far as the event story goes, ''Nocturnality'' has a scene in which he makes a speech about Winter Troupe being bound by destiny and whatnot, akin to a marriage vow. This is also one of the most well-remembered scenes in the series.
107	** To some degree, the fire scene in ''[[Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera Le Fantôme de l'Opéra]]'' when it comes to Richard. This is helped by the stage version having Richard LaughingMad while pushing down candelabras and setting the opera house ablaze, as if trying to [[TakingYouWithMe take everyone down with him]]. This scene later becomes the background in unbloomed Homare's [Mankai Feature] card, which features Richard laughing and crying at the same time amid the inferno.
108	* ThatOneAchievement: What often hinders HundredPercentCompletion in the train chat collection is the Year 3 Yosei Uni. The team composition consists of Tsuzuru, Tenma, Juza, and Taichi, all of which must be Year 3 cards. Tenma, Juza, and Taichi are also the trio for O High, so it heavily relies on your luck whether you will get O High or Year 3 Yosei Uni and will take multiple tries.
109	** The badges from PR events. The steep point requirements on higher levels makes it extremely costly and tedious to reach them.
110	* ThatOneLevel: PR events. While the event type is quite relaxing, they have very steep point requirements on higher levels, making it very hard to even bloom the SSR once. In general, these events cost more gems than fullblooming SSR and getting an extra copy of it in regular tiering events. Oddly enough, this type of event is easier for lower-level players due to fast level up and thus many free refills. It also relies more on a cards's raw stat rather than teambuilding meta.
111	** For the train MiniGame in the 7th Anniversary website, stages with rainy weather or the wind blowing along with the train are difficult because on the second part, the train continues to slide for a while even after you push the stop button. However, Chikage's stage takes the cake by starting off with the train speeding at ridiculous speeds and having a very long distance, which makes it difficult to time the arrival for the first part, on top of having the said windy weather.
112	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Many of the ''Last Planet'' casts fall to this due to the sheer amount of characters in a single play, which causes a number of OutOfFocus cases. The 5th anniversary story alleviates it with the spin-offs however.
113	** Before the 5th anniversary story, Varg, who oozes with EvilIsCool aura in his countdown illustration and cards, is only Grimm's faithful assistant in the main play. While in the second half he has a BigDamnHeroes moment, it is still an OffscreenMomentOfAwesome. The 5th anniversary story gives him more screen time, [[spoiler:that he can be rather rebellious to Grimm]], though we never really see his TriggerHappy side. He is said to have CombatClairvoyance ability, which we never get to see in action either.
114	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
115	** ''Tag Match: Halloween '17'' features a diverse choice of costumes that can easily become a standalone fantasy play. The actors also pair up, opening up a lot of fun possibilities when they act out the characters. However, a good chunk of them is only discussed in the story and does not even have a sprite, let alone a card. The worst offender is the Knight Homare and Dragon Misumi duo, who is only mentioned in ''a minichat''. At least Tsumugi and Yuki being a snow spirit duo is still discussed in the epilogue of the event story.
116	*** Because of the sword and sorcery setting, one might expect ''Nomadic Bartender'' to feature Knight Homare. It does not.
117	** Although Tsumugi is paired with [[Anime/SK8TheInfinity Shadow as Hiromi]] in the card for ''SK∞ the Infinity × A3!'', fans are still excited that there is a possibility of the gentle NiceGuy Tsumugi receiving Shadow's make-up and costume in the story, complete with Shadow's brash personality and flower-themed skateboarding moves. As it turns out, Tsumugi's character for the play is based on Hiromi rather than Shadow (or rather, a combination of Hiromi and Manager Oka). He does not even have a skateboarding scene because the character is a retired skateboarder who both manages a flower shop and does skateboard repairs.
118	** The backstage set for the 6th anniversary features the roommates swapping clothes with each other. HilarityEnsues is immediately expected because there are several BigGuyLittleGuy duos as roommates. Tenma and Yuki get a special mention because Tenma will end up wearing a skirt in the swap. However, the backstage instead has Tenma wear Yuki's summer outfit, which lacks a skirt, because it is one of the looser outfits Yuki has.
119	** Several concepts are only introduced or mentioned in passing and never brought up again, such as Kazunari's scuba diving hobby. This is the very reason Tasuku wants to invite him to the medley swimming team, and the swimming team itself is never explored much either.
120	* ToughActToFollow: Act 4 is often considered as the weakest act of the main story and not well-liked because of the supernatural involvements, but that it comes out right after Act 3, which is often considered to be one of the strongest acts of the main story, exacerbates it.
121	* UglyCute: The Torment Doll.
122	* UnexpectedCharacter: Homare is notorious for appearing in unexpected event card sets. No one expects Homare to appear in ''[[{{Sentai}} Blooming Squadron Mankai Rangers]]'', ''[[SurvivalHorror The Liar Night is Forever]]'', ''[[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Midnight Chinatown]]'', to name a few, but he is there. Notably, one of the arguments that Homare cannot be in ''Elegant Vacation'' CG aside from the GeekPhysiques reason is that dogtag necklace is not his type of fashion, but then he turns out to be in the CG. Interestingly, this is a bit of a meta concept as it goes in line with Homare's life philosophy InUniverse, that Homare always seeks to broaden his horizon and is thus eager to try various stuff.
123	* UnintentionallySympathetic: Tsumugi in Act 4. Him being a timid NiceGuy, with Tasuku treating him harshly at the start of the Winter story, it is easy to feel sorry for him. However, he is not completely innocent; after failing the God Troupe audition, Tsumugi gave up on acting and ghosted his ChildhoodFriend Tasuku for years. They only met again when Tsumugi decided to give acting another shot and joined Mankai.
124	* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: On the other hand, Tasuku being very harsh to Tsumugi causes him to come across as less sympathetic for the audience, even if he is emotionally clumsy and aware of it. His [[TrainingFromHell God Troupe days]], which forbade idle chatter and was highly competitive, also did a number on his social skills.
125	* TheWoobie: Many of the Mankai Company members come from troubled backgrounds that ultimately drive them to becoming their own, much-needed FamilyOfChoice.
126	** Sakuya was orphaned when he was very young, and was often shifted around different foster families, none of whom really felt like home to him.
127	** Masumi's obsessive attachment to Izumi is not-so-subtly rooted in the fact that he was a latchkey kid for most of his life, and barely seems to have a relationship with his parents.
128	** Misumi was harshly cast aside by his own parents in favor of his younger brother Madoka, and his grandfather, the only person who genuinely loved and supported him, died six years prior to the story, meaning Misumi's essentially been on his own ever since. And as Act 3 reveals, Madoka hasn't been much better off, [[spoiler:due to his father exploiting his son's talent for scriptwriting.]]
129	** IronWoobie: Practically a shared family trait between the Hyodo-Sakisaka cousins. Juza's faced hostility from his peers for his looks since he was a kid, Kumon has a psychogenic condition that's debilitated him from playing baseball, and Muku recently hurt his leg to the point he can't run track anymore. All of them tend to verbally beat themselves up about their perceived "weaknesses," but that also doesn't stop them from being kind, protective people and doing whatever they can to break through those hurdles.
130	*** Omi bears a heavy amount of survivor's guilt for his best friend Nachi's death and subsequently following his dream of becoming an actor. One of his main screen lines even has him wondering out loud if the company would be better off without him.
131	*** Putting aside his [[IronButtMonkey Iron]] ButtMonkey status, Homare's whole life is far from being a smooth sailing, even though he grew up in a very wealthy household. His arc is focused on his LackOfEmpathy, in which his romantic partner called him a "broken cyborg" because he often made his partner cry for a reason he did not quite understand. But more than that, he tends to keep his struggles to himself because he dislikes showing his weakness to others, and never stops trying his best to help others and be considerate of others' feelings. He also gives up on the Loupe of Sincerity despite how big of a help it is because he wants to try his best on his own. That aside, although he is well-known InUniverse for his BeautifulSingingVoice, he did not get a pass in that department. ''Resounding Chimes, Holy Night'' reveals that he once overtrained himself for the concert to the point he lost his voice, and as his [Mankai Playback] backstage shows, [[GrowingUpSucks he lost his soprano voice during high school and was gutted by it.]] [[FridgeSadness And his childhood dream is a singer-songwriter.]] Then when he tries to cook gratin for Izumi in his [Blooming Journey] backstage, [[LethalChef his cooking skills are so horrible]] that he ends up being stuck in the kitchen for hours learning to cook, all while getting lectured by his grandmother. He succeeds in the end, but his [Emotional Orange] backstage shows that his cooking skills have not really improved [[spoiler:and result in him getting dumped into the pool at night as a punishment game]]. Even then, Homare smiles through all those and often notes that life is never a smooth sailing, which is why it is fun.
132	*** Homare's second ImageSong ''Emotion'' is pretty much this. Life will never be a smooth sailing, there will be joy and sorrow, tragedy and comedy, he will stumble and shed tears, he is flawed, but he will enjoy the sour times and keep going on.
133	*** Homare's pet dog Ariel is never fond of Homare either. Despite lamenting this sometimes, Homare never stops trying to get close to Ariel, either by showering her with gifts as ''B's Log 2018'' interview reveals or, as he mentions in Muku's minichat with him in ''The Luminous Circus'', writing apology poems to her.
134	*** Homare's role in ''The Luminous Circus'', George, is also one. He is the leader of a poor, dying circus troupe. Then he ends up getting the last bit of the troupe money scammed by a special guest, to the point the whole troupe does not have money to buy food. George manages to ask the monastery to give them food, and things start looking up when he picks up a baby from the street (although he has to pawn his precious stick to feed the baby). The circus troupe is miraculously revived, but [[YankTheDogsChain it does not last]] because the baby soon gets kidnapped. Although they manage to save the baby, George thinks the baby deserves a better life than this and decides to give up the baby to the monastery. Doing so results in the miracles fading, and the circus troupe fails again. Nick and Will are so mad at George that they leave the circus troupe. As George despairs over the fact that the troupe will finally fall, he sees a vision of the past circus troupe and decides to try again on his own, with the renewed vigor.
135	** StoicWoobie: Pretty much all Winter Troupe members, and they are often unwilling to share their struggles with each other, causing PoorCommunicationKills. They are more willing to share starting from ''Nocturnality'' however.
136	*** Especially Hisoka and Guy. Hisoka was literally taken in from the streets (twice) [[spoiler:and had to watch his mission partner, August, die in his arms]], and chose to not reveal everything to avoid dragging Mankai into danger. Guy's had to emotionally repress himself for most of his life due to the trauma of being separated from his father and his mother remarrying a verbally abusive man.
137	*** Crosses over with IronWoobie. As loud as Homare is, he often keeps his struggles to himself as he refuses to show his weakness to others; an instance is in ''The Luminous Circus'', in which he, feeling drunk, chooses to leave the party table and go off alone to sober up instead of being a SentimentalDrunk in front of everyone. His LackOfEmpathy caused his romantic partner to leave him and call him a "broken cyborg," which haunted him to the point when asked about his love life, he refused to say anything about it. In the past, upon seeing his grandmother's broken pocket watch, he suggested that she discarded it because there was no point in keeping something that was broken. Then his grandmother told him that he was just like the pocket watch, and gave it to him. Homare thought his grandmother was saying that he was broken and useless, and the words haunted him up until ''My Master's Mesmerized by Mystery''.
138	*** Made worse by that he lost his grandfather when he was young, and he was shown to get along well with him. Meanwhile, he was always afraid of his grandmother because she was always so cranky with him, although as shown later in the story, [[PoorCommunicationKills that is not the case]]. There has yet to be a mention of his father, while he has noted Takao, the butler who has been with him since Homare was a kid, to be a strict person in ''Dazzling Rose Mansion'' and Hisoka's [Admired by All the Students in School] backstage.
139	*** It took a lot to push Azuma into opening up about his past, and this is the highlight of ''Nocturnality''. [[spoiler:When Azuma was in the upper grades of elementary, his parents wanted to take him and his brother to a trip as his brother was about to move out and enter college. On the day of the trip, Azuma happened to be sick and suggested that the rest of his family went without him. They set off, but never returned as the car got knocked off a cliff. His parents' bodies were found, but not his brother's.]]
140	*** Tasuku might be the top actor in God Troupe in the past, but God Troupe's system was not pleasant at all. God Troupe limited socialization and forbade idle chatters, and even worse, it was all about competing for the top spot. When Tasuku finally reached the top, he only saw rivals, not friends, glaring at him, eager to take him down sooner or later. His ChildhoodFriend Tsumugi failed the God Troupe audition; Tasuku was literally alone in his God Troupe days. Since he quitted God Troupe, he was searching for a place to call home, for a place where he could act together with those he could call comrades. ''Die by the Sword'' has him questioning this and torn between staying at Mankai or accepting Shinozaki's offer to join another troupe; it was affecting his acting quality, and Tsumugi had to push hard to get him to speak.

Context YMMV / A3