- Harumi is the reincarnation of a the Silver Princess from Ancient Forthorthe. Both are, however, avatars of the Creative aspect of the Goddess of Dawn.
- Partially Jossed. The meeting did happen. How many of the subsequent events were set in motion by the Goddess of Dawn after the meeting, and how many of these were baked into the timeline back to the creation of the Universe after her first meeting with Koutarou, are unknown. So is the issue of whether that makes a difference on the God level.
That said, this is also tied to the question of Forthorthian origins derived from intermarriage of Maxfern's alchemists and Grevanas' wizards with humans. Canonically, all Folsarians are assumed to descend from the wizards, and the People of the Earth from the alchemists. However, there are indications that some descendants of the Forthorthians remained in the vicinity of Kisshouharakazi City on the surface. Since the shrine run by Sanae's parents worships the Goddess of Dawn under the same name as the People of the Earth, Sanae's immense spiritual energy confirms likely descent from the alchemists as well. The generally high spiritual energy of people born near Kisshouharakazi City is viewed as indication of likely widespread descent from the alchemists in that part of Japan. The dialogue suggests that Yurika might still be descended from Folsarians because of her huge magical capability, but being from Earth it's possible that any Folsarian ancestor married with a descendant of Maxifern's alchemists.
Of the Nine invaders, only Harumi and Shizuki - and Koutarou himself - are even potentially not of Forthorthian descent, and they would well have Forthorthian blood themselves. In Koutarou's case, the question is almost moot because a large fraction of modern Forthorthian's contain his genes from the genetic engineered remedy that Clan prepared for the virus that was the source of the "well poisoning incident" during the coup in ancient Forthorthe.
- Confirmed - he travels back in time (unintentionally) with Clan, and meets Alaia Kua Forthorthe in the prologue of Volume 7.5. They meet Theia's mother twenty years ago when halting their long sleep in Forthorthe to repair Clan's ship for the trip through space to Earth, as told in a side story in Volume 14. He meets the then 6 yr old Kiriha/'Kii' in volume 10, which detailed the last leg of Koutarou and Clan's long trek to the present.
- This thought is made more plausible by the possibility that she came to Earth to watch mecha anime when she first thought of constructing Blue Knight.
- While it would never show in canon, this troper now can't escape the vision of Elfaria playing Cruel Angel's Thesis as a martial song for Koutarou at some parade. Of course, that could as likely happen as a result of the ongoing cultural exchange,
It's established that Harumi is the reincarnation of Alaia. This is usually stated as being because of the Soul Jar properties of Signaltin.
Might there be other reincarnations?
This suggestion exists because the spirits of the Ancient Forthorthian soldiers in Rumstock Cemetery on Forthorthe appear to recognize Theia as Princess Charl. While this could be due to the synchronicity between the Theia and Charl as recognized by Clan, the ghost soldiers are recognizing people by their auras rather than their physical appearance.
The Goddess of Dawn has given Koutarou a vision of a universe where his mother was not killed, and three of the girls (so far) have been shown visions of a happy world where they ended up with Koutarou and the friendship of the remaining invaders (Maki's story, so far as this troper knows, has not been made available in English). One version of a story where Koutarou ends up with Alaia has also been published as a bonus story in Japan, and volume 29 notes that Koutarou has ended up with others (including Elfaria and Ceileshu)in some of the universes. (It's suggested that they were substitutes in the Invaders, but there are also possible universes where Koutarou ended up with them despite the Invaders). It's also known that in the "world without the Invaders" shown in Volume 29, Koutarou ended up with Shiori Kashiwagi. It's not presently known what divergence lead to the alternate universe of the Gray Knight and Sanae Onee-san, those possibilities should be separate WMGs. But from the perspective of this post, the case of the Gray Knight clearly demonstrates that some versions of Koutarou make evil choices.
In any event, at each point of divergence involving the main characters (and likely some that don't involve the main characters in any fashion), there are numerous alternatives, some of which are potentially very frightening or nightmarish.
To give just a few (of literally billions of possible examples, including such trivia as whether Yurika being a better cook or Kiriha a worse cook at the beginning might have made a difference in Koutarou's perceptions); this list is quite spoiler-ly:
- In Ancient Forthorthe, Koutarou, Clan, and/or Alaia (or Charl or Flair in particular, as Theia and Ruth's respective ancestors) might have died in any crisis (most likely the poisoned water supply crisis, or if Koutarou had not defeated the mind-controlled Alunaya or survived the subsequent assassination attempt; but in the chaos of war there are many possibilities, far from all of them included in the narrative). Koutarou might have stayed with Alaia; or Koutarou and Clan might have brought Alaia back with them, leaving Charl on the throne (there are ways this might have had minimal perturbation on Forthorthian history, particularly if they had waited a few years before starting back; while the details are not available in English, by Word of God some such version of events is captured in the Alaia-centric side story); the most significant modern perturbation might be that Harumi could not be Alaia's reincarnation, and in such a universe the other Invaders would likely lose to Alaia if they all three returned successfully.
- When Alaia came to the site where Koutarou and Clan were "sleeping" through endless time to place her memorial, it is easy to believe her touching the Cradle. (One can even envision her pounding the door screaming for Koutarou until she collapsed, exhausted.) If Clan had set an intrusion detector to "wake" them, it is very possible that a slightly older Alaia might have decided to join them at that point.
- What about universes where Maxifern and the alchemists had also gone to Folsaria, never birthing the People of the Earth. Or Grevanas and the magicians had also gone to Earth. Or the vials of the virus that Koutarou was trying to prevent from contaminating Forthorthe had instead contaminated Earth (though that might be the source of terrestrial immunity to the virus).
- In 20 year ago Forthorthe, Elfaria might have insisted on keeping Koutarou and revealing him as the Blue Knight, or the assassination attempt at that time might have succeeded, or caught Koutarou or Clan up in it. Not to mention the deviations if Alaia had been with them.
- Scenarios where Theia was never born after Elfaria's husband-to-be was killed might have resulted in Elfaria invading in her stead, or sending Ceileshu, accounting for some of the possible sequences of events where one or both of them became Invaders.
- Ten years ago in an unperturbed timeline, Koutarou might have died in the auto accident; or both he and his mother. or his mother might have survived, injured or not. But any universe where Koutarou's soul is not disturbed by his mother's passing would be vastly different.
- Koutarou's mother's survival need not preclude the invasion; for example, Koutarou could still have moved out on his own after his father's reassignment, while his mother went with his father. However, Koutarou would be a very different person with different passions; for example, not driven to complete the half-knitted sweater, though he might still have a curiosity about knitting, and befriend Harumi during the Club day. It also seems more likely that he would have romantic thoughts early and "pick" Harumi, or one of the Invaders, quickly.
- Ten years ago in the current timeline, Maya might have succeeded killing Kii-chan while Koutarou rescued his mother, or killing Koutarou; or Koutarou might have rescued both Kii-chan and his mother. And since it's implied that Maya was attempting to sacrifice Kii-chan to raise mana to sacrifice Sanae and obtain her much greater spiritual energy, such a scenario could drastically change both Earth and Folsaria (and also the People of the Earth as the nascent alliance between Maya and the rebels had time and resources to develop). The most horrible possibility - far from impossible out of billions of chances - is that Koutarou walked away from Kii-chan, knowingly sacrificing her to save his mother.
- Ten years ago, there may even be worlds where the time-traveling Koutarou ended up dying in place of his mother. Or where he rescued Kii-chan from Maya, only to have her die in his mother's place, or with his mother, or with six-year-old Koutarou. Or where Clan saved his mother while he was rescuing Kii-chan. Or where Clan died in the accident...
- At any point in the current timeline, any of the characters might have died or done something else that so strained relations as to break up the group (carrying it up to the end of the anime):
- Shizuka had died with her parents in the fire, placing Corona House under very different and potentially less understanding management.
- Sanae might have injured Koutarou, or he may have not had his grandmother's charms with him for protection, or they may have injured her more seriously.
- Yurika might have been even marginally more competent, or recognized as a real magical girl earlier. Or she might have succumbed early in the game play and been kicked out, leaving them helpless when Darkness Rainbow came. Or so competent that she wasn't destitute, due to her Rainbow Heart salary being garnished to fix her early mistakes, so that she never moved in with Koutarou and Sanae.
- One or both of Kiriha's bribes (the financial or the sexual) might have succeeded.
- Theia might have destroyed the earth (or at least Koutarou, Corona House, and/or the other original Invaders) at her first insult.
- Harumi might have died following her collapse during the sports festival, instead of being healed by Yurika (secretly aided by Signaltin). This appears to canonically have been a very real possibility (mentioned in Volume 19). What this would have done to Koutarou after he involved her in the competition with the Invaders, knowing her weak constitution, and given his existing insecurity over his mother's death... This may be the most likely version of events where Koutarou meets the (initial) Invaders but doesn't complete the trial to return to the shrine. Eventual suicide is not the only, and possibly not the worst, outcome in such a universe.
- If Koutarou had been less stubbornly dead set on claiming that Ruth was the dream tree he was climbing to reach dream beetles (particularly if it helped enhance her early position as the only "invader" who didn't personally want something).
- Sanae might have been assimilated by the "ghost girl"
- Kiriha's play might have been selected by the Drama Club instead of Theia's. (In the light novel, Kiriha's play was ultimately selected by the University Drama Club, as being beyond the capability of a high school's.)
- A decision might have been made to recast the Silver Princess instead of the Blue Knight when Harumi faltered in the role
- Theia might have been less insistent in training Koutarou for the role of the Blue Knight in the first play (or the second...)
- Koutarou, Theia, Kiriha, Yurika, Harumi, or one of the other girls might have died in Clan's first attack, Maki's attack, or the People of the Earth Rebel attack. (This includes the possibility that Clan or Maki might have died then.)
- The Sun Rangers might have been more competent - perhaps even competent enough to realize that Kiriha was of the People of the Earth, setting them against Koutarou and the Invaders.
- Beetle Berserker Ruth might have injured or killed Yurika or Shizuka (a prospect both amusing and frightening)
- And so on, at each such opportunity to kill, disharmonize the Invaders, or disenchant Koutarou with any of them (as opposed to the examples above, where one of the girl's charms ultimately wins without otherwise disturbing the unity of the group), through the light novels until the Final Test in Volume 29.
- Any timeline with the death of one or more Invaders (whomever they are) clearly disqualifies Koutarou from completing the trial successfully. Though he might still advance to the point of returning to the shrine.
- The focus of the alternate timelines so far has involved cases where one girl wins, but clearly any numbers of girls (2 - 8) who were equally loved by Koutarou but above all others would satisfy the conditions. On the One True Threesome paths, Ruth has shipped Koutarou/Theia/Ruth (a path that seems more likely than either of them alone, because of Ruth's relationship with the other two, and even featured in Ruth's introduction of Koutarou to her father) and Yurika has shipped Koutarou/Harumi/Yurika. Any of the other thirty-six possible OTT paths could work, with some likely not as probable (e.g. Koutarou/Theia/Clan). Paths with Harumi as one of the girls are at least more likely to succeed due to her affinity for Signaltin (this would likely favor Yurika, Clan, or Kiriha as the third person). Other paths might include (combinations of) the original Invaders and Harumi but not Clan or Maki.
- This also raises the question of Koutarou's odds if only a subset of the girls invest Nalfalaren in the final battle with Vandarion (or does the Sword of Harmony only appear in the central universe, with Signaltin and Saguratin reformed as separate swords in other universes - the Gray Knight's apparent lack of knowledge of the Sword of Harmony seems to suggest that. Clearly with nearly 6 billion Koutarou's returning to the shrine, it is possible. Or perhaps in those universes, the challenges were very different? If Theia is not one among equals of the Invaders, would the Forthorthian arc be replaced with something different? If Koutarou chooses Clan instead of Theia early, might he eventually team with Elexis (or Vandarion!) to dethrone Elfaria? The possibilities are, again, endless.
- Speculation about timelines where Koutarou never existed is meaningless in the context of the series, beyond the possible meta expectation that "our real world" where the series exists as fiction, would likely be one of those.
What other girls might become involved? If Koutarou brings forward Alaia, Harumi would not exist, not become an Invader, or replace one of the other girls, and Alaia would clearly take her current role among the Invaders. If Yurika had been killed by the monster or by Darkness Rainbow, and Nana survived, Nana would likely have taken her place in coming to the apartment when the mana pool activated (and in recent stories has evidenced some fondness for Koutarou). Others?
- Through all of this, Clan's presence in Ancient Forthorthe (and outside of time) may make her the only essential Invader who is not replaced in some timelines.
- Similarly, nobody else has appeared who could match Sanae's spiritual energy.
- If neither Yurika or Nana had survived Nana's final battle with Darkness Rainbow intact, another member of Rainbow Heart would likely have delivered the warning to the apartment. Would such a person also have joined the Invaders?
- Might Shiori Kashiwaga have replaced either Shizuka or Harumi among the Invaders? She seems more likely to replace Shizuka due to her role as Koutarou's protector in the World-Without-the-Invasion.
- Might Kotori have joined the Invaders in some universes? Would her steadfastness make her a replacement for Ruth?
- The number of named female characters other than the Invaders and their "synchronicities" in ancient Forthorthe is quite small.
- If Koutarou had stayed in Ancient Forthorthe, might Alaia's retainers have reformed into an Invasion, or would the force of Alaia's personality and Charl's relative youth made that impossible?
- While never named in story, the Cosplay Club President and the Drama Club President are the some of the best known female characters; might they have become Invaders?
- Is Nefilforan also a possible Invader?
- If Maya's Heel–Face Turn had come sooner... Or might some versions of Koutarou have had an early Face–Heel Turn and ended up "invaded" by Darkness Rainbow (and the original "evil" Clan).
- Among Darkness Rainbow, only Dark Crimson (Karen) and Dark Purple (Marin) are named. While Marin's current backstory largely precludes her seeking a relationship with Koutarou (because she had a lover before joining Darkness Rainbow), it is not impossible to envision Dark Crimson and her somewhat warped but firm sense of honor leading to a Heel–Face Turn as Theia's replacement in the Red light. The other Darkness Rainbow members seem less likely to become Invaders.
- One "nearly complete replacement" alternate Invasion might consist of (in the order of investment of the Sword of Harmony): Ceileshu, Sanae, Nana, Elfaria, Karen, Kotori, Clan, Maya, and Shiori, with only two original invaders. And noting that three of these invaders are 5-20 years older than Koutarou in present time.
- The potential for "success" of such a line-up may hinge on whether Ceileshu could become a modern contractor for Signaltin without having Alaia's reincarnated spirit in her, how thorough Maya and Karen's Heel Face Turns were, and whether Elfaria could manifest Kiriha's spirit of cooperation.
- As Koutarou and Clan moved through time, what were the consequences. Conversely, what happened as alternate versions of Koutarou and Clan moved through the timeline (or did all the timelines diverge starting when the triggering of Clan's Super Space Time Repulsion Shell)? A couple of examples tied to the speculation above:
- In a "Theia wasn't born" timeline where Elfaria invaded instead, did Koutarou and Clan leave behind Theia and return to a world where Elfaria was present as an Invader from the beginning, in everyone's memories except theirs? Were their memories adjusted in that circumstance? Or did only Koutarous where Elfaria was originally one of the invaders return to worlds with Elfaria as an Invader? Or did all three happen across the expanse of the multiverse?
- In the horrifying "Koutarou sacrificed Kii-chan to save his mother" universes, did he and Clan stay in that time? Did they come forward anyway to discover a set of invaders without Kiriha? What happened when Koutarou realized why Kiriha was missing?
- What are the dynamics of a world with Elfaria as invader? How do they change if Koutarou and Clan met Elfaria in the past, compared to worlds where for some reason they didn't meet? With Elfaria as Empress, as well as worlds where she didn't take the throne? What about the age difference, or are there worlds where the genealogy was such that Elfaria was Koutarou's age?
- In the main universe, at the end of the Final Trial, Koutarou leaves the shrine with all of the girls restored, joined by the Goddess of Dawn. What happened to the other Koutarou's who returned to the shrine with fewer than the Nine (whichever version of the Nine applies)? Did they lose all of the (surviving?) Invaders? Did the ones Koutarou loved most return with him, but not the others? Did they all return? Or again, was the response specific to each situation and/or whatever situation kept Koutarou from fully bonding with one or more of the Invaders? What about Universes where the Invaders existed but Koutarou bonded with someone else (e.g. Alaia or Elfaria)?
- The way the Invaders were pulled from the timeline during the final trial suggests the possibility that the Goddess inserted them into various parts of the timeline after Koutarou's first visit to the shrine and that they never existed beforehand; whether or not this is compatible with the multiverse hypothesis depends on her powers as a Goddess.
- Except for the existence of the Gray Knight, as presently understood, the events appear consistent with a "Groundhog Day" scenario where the time loop repeated until the intended result of a Koutarou who loved all nine Invaders was achieved.
While the task force of Men in Black Japanese government agents "working with the Sun Rangers" initially have no understanding of Corona House Room 106's relationship with the Forthorthian delegation, they have now seen Koutarou and the Invaders respond in force twice to threats against Nalfa Laren (Ralgwin's assassination task force in Volume 30 and the Gray Knight in Volume 39). Even if the Sun Rangers are not telling the government what they know and suspect about Koutarou and the Invaders, the rest of the squad is probably at least starting to figure some things out...
While Koutarou remains resistant to this solution, a telepathic conversation between two or more of the girls in Volume 39 clearly indicates that is where at least some the Invaders hope (or expect) to take the situation...
Whether this ends up as a group marriage (unlikely under either Japanese or Forthorthian law) or as one marriage of record (considering Forthorthian politics, most likely Theia, or Clan - who, incidentally, are the only two Invaders Koutarou has commented himself about possibly marrying) and 8 (or more) mistresses remains to be seen, but Kiriha at least has stated satisfaction should the latter outcome occur. "Or more" acknowledges Nalfa Laren, Sanae-nee remaining in this universe and joining the relationship (and the possibility of rescuing the other Invaders from her Universe from the Whirlpool of Chaos), Nana's apparent crush on Koutarou, and even the possibility that Elfaria might be be interested in joining such a harem. These latter options may indicate that the marriage could even incorporate some or all of the current-universe versions of the alternate invaders, such as Ceileshu.
Space for speculation about the Gray Knight and his alternate universe
What we reasonably know about the Gray Knight.
- He wears tattered and sullied blue armor that looks gray.
- His aura is close enough to Koutarou to fool Sanae, and his physical appearance is close enough to Koutarou that Kotori apparently thought he was Koutarou at a distance. And he knows Kotori. This scene from Volume 39 explicitly acknowledges that the Gray Knight is an alternate Koutarou.
- He has some level of control over the Whirlpool of Chaos.
- He has knowledge of the Goddess of Dawn. This suggests that either he returned to the shrine as the main universe Koutarou did in Volume 29, or remembers their encounters in Volume 1 and 7.5. He also recognizes Nalfa Laren as the person of the Goddess of Dawn.
- He is seeking the "sword of kingship," which was another term for Signaltin; so it's not clear if he's seeking the original Signaltin, or Nalfalaren (which, however, is named the Sword of Harmony in the main universe). Later (Volume 41), he mentions Signaltin specifically, so he may not have knowledge of the completed sword Nalfalaren. Conversely, he is looking for a sword with all 9 colors complete, so this may indicate a shortfall of his knowledge.
- He also has other knowledge that, at a minimum, he is using in ways Koutarou never would; Koutarou clearly has or should have that knowledge, but has not revealed to the audience the he possesses said knowledge.
- He apparently used the Whirlpool of Chaos to absorb eight of the Invaders from his home universe - everyone except Sanae Onee-chan - and thereby assimilated a portion of their various powers.
- In volume 41, when Ralgwin asks if he knows Elfaria, he responds "It's an old story."
- Suggestion 1: Koutarou defeats Vandarion, but is corrupted or fascinated by the Whirlpool of Chaos and eventually eschews the Invaders to seek its power instead. This bespeaks a Koutarou more insecure about his "borrowed" powers and seeking more power of his own. Since he recognizes Nalfa Laren as the Goddess, he likely returned to the Shrine (and the girls were all restored afterward, unless the trial at the Shrine took a different form), but evidence suggests that he did not have the love for them that the Koutarou of the main universe does.
Grevanas has no way of knowing it, but Nana has his staff built into her cyborg components. If he ever finds out, he could potentially take control of her through a connection to the staff. Nefilforan is vulnerable to being compromised due to her working closely with Nana. Given the odd timing at which Nefilforan was introduced to the series, combined with her being a warrior powerful enough to threaten Koutarou, she may have been created to help set up this kind of scenario where the heroes are forced to fight their allies.
And then Elexis and Maya makes their triumphant return to bail the heroes out, with Maya fighting a 1-on-1 duel with Nana in order to free her.
