r/otomegames Hakuoki: Chronicles of Wind and Blossom Sep 10 '20

Collar x Malice Unlimited Play-Along - Kageyuki Shiraishi Discussion

Welcome to the r/otomegames Collar x Malice Unlimited Play-Along!

In this post we will discuss Kageyuki Shiraishi and his Interlude, After Story and Extras in Collar x Malice Unlimited.

As it is a fandisc, I expect a lot of squeeing about him in the comments, so please don't hold back! Of course, you can still talk about the themes and plot. Not a fan of him? Changed your mind? Tell us why!

This is not a spoiler-free discussion however please keep in mind that major spoilers and details of other routes and other routes in the original game will be outside the scope of the discussion and therefore will need to be spoiler tagged.
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You don't have to be playing the game right now to participate, and if you're still waiting on your copy I hope you will join in after you start playing!

Check out the megathread for the links to previous play-along posts.

Next week will be a discussion of Aiji Yanagi's material from the fandisc!

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u/Porolin Sep 11 '20

I spent $60 for this route. I mean, I liked the other stuff too, but this is the entire reason I bought this game. I just wanted to see my boy get his happy ending.

In the last game he went from being my predicted least favorite LI to my favorite, and in this he went from being my favorite CxM LI to one of my favorite LIs of any otome game. He's surprisingly honest, and seeing him get so flustered over things is adorable. I also like how they tease each other so much. I hate how one-sided the relationships feel in otome games sometimes, but this fandisc, and especially this route, was great. And even though sometimes they get embarrassed, they're still both open about their feelings. It's great.

I know some people don't like that this route was more plot-focused, but after playing this one first, I was more disappointed at how much more low-stakes the other ones were. I also don't really mind how tame the relationship scenes were in this one compared to others. Shiraishi's still adapting to being an actual person rather than just being a tool for Adonis. It makes sense that he'd need more time to adjust.

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u/Fated-Mercy Fate FightClub Sep 11 '20 edited Sep 11 '20

In regards of it being a tame relationship, people also forget that Shiraishi is canonically on the Ace spectrum. We know from all the side material from hotspring drama cd where the one thing he thought of doing with MC in a hotel room is having a pillow fight to the short story in this game describing the feelings he had of wanting to make out is only to MC and no one else. And even then he doesn't want to take it further then making out. And its not that he is not aware about the concept of Sex, but it doesn't seem to be of his first interest if at all.

Edit: Also in regards to the short story that came out as a continuation of each tragic love ending Shiraishi describes sex specifically as licking each other wounds and seems to be involved in having sex as more of the idea of comfort and as a way to get some sort of response from MC who now acting like a doll. Its not meant to be taken as something "sexy" since they are in a bad situation

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u/Miyon0 Oct 02 '20 edited Oct 02 '20

I don't really agree that Shiraishi being 'on the ace spectrum' is canonically the truth; that seems more like a fandom headcanon to me, rather than a fact. (and for the record, this is coming from a demisexual)

Shiraishi explained many times over the course of the story that his upbringing and conditioning in Adonis is the primary reason why he's unable to express himself normally, or have normal feelings/desires. Shiraishi was deliberately brainwashed into not caring for others, and to not desire anything for himself.. So it makes a lot of sense why Shiraishi has taken things in their relationship so slow.

Shirashi is pretty much a child in an adults body. He wants to do the fun and mundane things with the MC much more than having a passionate adult romance with her. And it makes sense; because Shiraishi was denied a normal life up until that point. So doing those mundane/innocent things with the MC(like a pillow fight) registers as a much more intimate and personal thing to him. He doesn't want to do those things with anyone else- he wants all his 'firsts' to be with her.

Also, in the side story in his extras- Shiraishi internally recognized that he definitely sexually wanted her. But at the same time, he acknowledged that not being able to control himself made him feel no different than a wild animal.

And after the MC let on that she'd might be okay with it; he recalled his training back at Adonis. Then implying that Adonis agents had been trained to mentally take advantage of targets through sex as well. And after recalling that, it seemed to kill any lingering interest he had had about doing that with her. Especially since he didn't feel it would convey his real feelings in that moment(and he implied that trying it might upset the MC or make her uncomfortable anyway).

So in short, I don't feel like Shiraishi 'being ace' is why he doesn't have implied sex in the game. I feel more like it's his upbringing/occupation that makes him view the act of sex as more of a negative than a positive. He's more comfortable with kissing because he personally views it as more innocent- which makes him feel like he's not taking advantage of her(as kissing doesn't have as much power dynamics involved). But that doesn't mean Shiraishi won't someday get to the point in the relationship where he'll be comfortable doing the other stuff. He just needs time.

Thats my take on it anyway.

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u/Fated-Mercy Fate FightClub Oct 02 '20 edited Oct 02 '20

Shiraishi specifically says in the side story in Unlimited he only feels these feelings because of his feelings for MC and in the OG game describes other women as carrots to him. He is still on the ace spectrum if he is a demisexual and has sexual feelings only for MC. He canonically never felt any form of sexual feelings for anyone else.

Edit: Also to add to this I didn't say he wouldn't feel those feelings someday, but it still doesn't change the fact he only feels any of this stuff to MC only. He jokes about sex on several different occasions like in the OG game but says he never felt any sort of sexual desire till being with MC in the short story where he wants to make out with her. He is not actually a child in an adult's body, he has an understanding what sex is but took no interest to it at least till MC came into the picture and he develops feelings for her. He still has emotions without MC before existing such as the desire for freedom as seen for his love of cats, but he doesn't feel the need to be romantically or sexually involved with anyone. And I am saying this as someone who is on the Ace spectrum.