Imagine your long-time friend gets a 180-degree makeover. Not just a makeover in their appearances, but a makeover in their attitudes as well! Wouldn’t that be a surprise, especially if that person were only motivated to do so because of romance?
Well, that’s what happened to Student Council Auditor and Public Morals Committee Member — Miko Iino! This small but terrifying girl has held back her romantic feelings from her crush for a long time. But thanks to the influence of her idol, Chika Fujiwara, Miko finally made the first move towards Yu Ishigami — the boy she fell for!
And what’s this first move, you ask? Well, Miko boldly asked Ishigami to walk with him to the Student Council despite bickering with him for 200+ chapters (or after over a year of arguing in manga canon time)! Even if this is not that big of a deal, this is a big step for a small and meek girl like her to gather courage!
Now that’s out of the way, let’s dive into Miko’s mind. What is she planning to do with Ishigami? What kinds of tricks does she have up her sleeves? And will Ishigami take Miko’s bait even if he’s still hungover and is “good friends” with Koyasu Tsubame — the girl who rejected him?
Miko has decided to undergo a “Love Dramatic” change by shedding her good girl persona and putting on her naughty face for romantic reasons. Her goal? Get emotionally close to Ishigami as much as possible so she will stand a chance to get into his heart!
If Miko and Ishigami go on a romantic date now, it’d still be awkward between them. That’s because manga author Aka Akasaka first needs to flesh out the relationship between “naughty girl Miko Iino” with a heartbroken Ishigami. Besides, portraying Miko in a “Good Girl Gone Bad” light just to chase her romantic pursuits is something many manga readers didn’t see coming!
On one hand, “naughty girl Miko” is comparable to the devious Kaguya Shinomiya. What Kaguya was back then, that’s where Miko is heading now! Kaguya was always scheming and brewing plans so Miyuki will confess to her. Now, we see almost the same devious traits applied on Miko, except that she’s out in the open with her cunning weapons and tactics on a frail and weak-willed Ishigami!
Chika only influenced the “bad girl” idea to Miko by demonstrating the pitiful Maki Shijo’s forfeited romance towards Tsubasa Tanuma, the boy Maki’s crushing on. Maki was passed off by Tsubasa because he already made a slick “wall slam Kabedon” move on Nagisa Kashiwagi (a friend/classmate of Maki). But what hurts most of all is how Maki knows of Nagisa’s sexual activities with her boyfriend!
Ouch!!! With these examples in mind, Miko feared that girls inside and outside of Shuchi’in Academy would chase the hopeless romantic Ishigami while he’s still available. To add salt to injury, Miko knows that Ishigami still hangs around with college beauty Koyasu Tsubame — the girl who rejected him — on karaoke nights! This important detail was easy to miss because it was mentioned briefly in a conversation before Kaguya visited Miyuki’s house to sleep with him.
1. Does Ishigami like Miko?
We all know how Ishigami disliked Miko since middle school because of her irritating and bossy attitude. That is why, he can never perceive Miko in a good light, much less a girlfriend.
Although, there was that time when they had a good conversation about their favorite YouTubers/VTubers. It’s a topic they didn’t expect from each other while Ishigami’s playing a video game.
Even if it’s not about school, it’s a decent conversation starter that doesn’t give room for bickers or yells. And at times like this, Ishigami views Miko as a kind midget. She even managed to show off a nice smile after neatly rewriting her algebra notes for her!
Still, even after seeing one of Miko’s “kinder sides”, this doesn’t mean he will be attracted to her. Miko is often angry and shouting at Ishigami. And whenever she orders him around, he feels he’s always undermined (i.e., hence, he can’t see her eye-to-eye).
But Miko is acknowledging her growing feelings for Ishigami. She cares for him, and she only tapped into these emotions when Chika inquired about them. Had Chika not interfered, Miko wouldn’t even boldly asked Ishigami to walk to the Student Council together.
Miko and Ishigami might not become fast friends. But if their strained relationship can slowly be mended towards a lovable and caring one, then their conflicting emotions would be cleared!
Besides, dropping the good girl act might be a bold sudden move for Miko. But if it’s the only way for Ishigami to notice her, let alone perceive her as a romantic potential, then she’ll go all out!
2. How will Miko transform from good to bad?
One mind-blowing act that Miko Iino will likely do in the future to become a naughty girl is to break school rules. It doesn’t matter which of Shuchi’in Academy’s golden rules; how many of them she breaks; or whether she allows others to break them for her. The point is, she has to compete against an unknown number of female enemies who potentially see Ishigami as a boyfriend.
In Miko’s worldview, breaking school rules might range from any of the following:
a) Cutting her school uniform skirt shorter
Miko can successfully shorten her uniform skirt to seduce Ishigami. After all, she witnessed Ishigami’s obsession with gymnast Koyasu Tsubame (the former high school “Madonna”), as well as his adoration for porn magazines and Shōjo manga!
b) Painting her nails
Shuchi’in Academy students must always keep a tidy and neat appearance; hence, painting your nails with vibrant colors that give off a mature female vibe (i.e., red, purple, or black) is just the thing to catch a lot of attention from Ishigami (as well as the Disciplinary Committee, unfortunately).
c) Wearing jewels and flashy hairstyles
Miko’s appearance has always been plain. Spicing up her twin tails with pretty hair accessories and herself with silver bracelets, necklaces, and anklet jewels are going to be eye-catching to the boy she’s making an impression on!
d) Kissing within school halls/school grounds
If Ishigami and Miko try to kiss within school halls/school grounds, she’d be breaking the rule she’s been enforcing on many Shuchi’in students for over a year! After all, she perceives it as a lewd activity (much like how she thought Kaguya and Miyuki were having sex in the Student Council and inside the sports equipment storage)!
It’s ironic for Miko to break Shuchi’in’srules after over a year of enforcing them on the following students:
- Ai Hayasaka (who wears short skirts and painted her nails light blue).
- Nagisa Kashiwagi (who is often found kissing and making out with her boyfriend within school grounds).
That’s why it’s hard to see a good girl like Miko going wild (or wilder?) like Ai and Nagisa. But now that it’s happening, we can finally see Miko’s true nature after bottling up those pent-up romantic feelings towards Ishigami for a long time!
3. About Kaguya-sama
Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai is a Japanese seinen manga series written and illustrated by Aka Akasaka.
It began serialization in Shueisha’s Miracle Jump in May 2015 and was transferred to Weekly Young Jump in March 2016.
It follows Student Council president, Miyuki Shirogane, and vice-president, Kaguya Shinomiya who appear to be the perfect couple.
Kaguya is the daughter of a wealthy conglomerate family, and Miyuki is the top student at the school and well-known across the prefecture.
Although they like each other, they are too proud to confess their love as they believe whoever does so first would lose.
The story follows their many schemes to make the other person declare their passion first! As of April 2021, the manga had over 14 million copies in print.
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