Thread by @trashcams_dump, A3! Autumn poster(a thread no one asked for from someone who doesn't [...]

A3! Autumn poster

(a thread no one asked for from someone who doesn't know how visual analysis for)

disclaimer: this WILL have story spoilers for the game

First thoughts:
There’s more movement in this poster, seeing how everyone is in different levels/planes of the image, which feels fitting seeing as autumn is an action focused troupe, but it also makes everyone feel more far apart, they’re kinda scattered around? --

Which gives more meaning to their portraits, their big acting task given by Yuzo is to let the others get closer to them, to tell them about themselves, and to do it through acting--

everyone is going upstairs, despite being so scattered around, there’s a common goal, a place where they all aim to get to, and they’re gonna make an effort to get there (bc well it’s going upstairs, it's an uphill battle)? --

The rail of the stairs separates Banri (and Juza) from the rest of the troupe, which reminds me of how Juza [Sakyo voice] is the only one who can change Settsu:
Banri and Juza aren’t on the same staircase, their arcs are more personal ones, their growth is inwards

Now, let's talk about each character individually
starting with Banri

(please view him, he's so pretty)

Banri is at the front and centre, he’s the leader, after all, but he’s not in the middle of his troupemates (which is a trend in the posters, the leaders are in the second spot from right to left, leaving one person at their left and three at their right) --

the usage of the cosmos flowers suggest that the main focus of the story is Banri
but not being in the middle can be interpreted as how the other's arcs (minus Juza) do not have to do so much with him? As in, Banri doesn’t directly affect Sakyo, Taichi or Omi’s arcs --

They do not centre around him

Adding to that, he’s behind those three, they are all higher up than Banri is, which could be seen as how Banri is lacking, how he can fall behind the rest if he doesn’t put himself into it and doesn’t make an effort --

his position on the stairs can be associated with these lines from Izumi:

now, at first glance Banri looks chill and confident, as usual, he’s looking at the camera and while his body is mostly looking at it too, it’s slightly turned towards the next flight of stairs, as if he’s going to go up them, his expression is sure of himself, almost like --

“yeah imma do this, no biggie” but he isn’t doing it yet, he’s not in that flight of stairs yet, why? Probably because of his lack of discipline and passion, if he wanted to, he could be higher, but he doesn’t want to --

he just wants the viewer to know that he can be there even if he doesn’t do it

Two interesting details about this, tho, are his phone and his left hand’s position
He has his phone in hand, ready to look at it at any time, to get distracted from the goal, he doesn’t have his heart set on it and he’s not scared of showing that

Now, his left hand (i love that they added this detail bc it’s how his hands are in his default sprite and it gives me more material) he hooks his thumb in his pocket
He’s not shoving his hand inside the pocket, so we can’t say he’s exactly hiding something y’know? --

And well, hands like that can denote confidence
But
Well, if you look closer, his hand is clenched, not lax
He’s holding onto himself, there’s tension in the supposedly chill gesture

(This is self projection but well)
i do that same thing a lot
Mostly when i need some comfort and to reassure myself
Idk maybe it can be something similar to Banri, that there’s insecurity in the image he usually shows and this one moment isn’t different --

this “yeah i can do this, no biggie” hides him holding back and retreating into himself for some reassurance

Now, let's move onto Juza

ngl seeing him like this is a mix of "i love you so much" and crying

It saddens me so much that he’s the last of them all but it makes sense
He’s the lowest in the staircase, which could be seen as how, when they started out, Juza had the least skill out of them all?

Yes, he has all the passion in the world, but passion alone isn’t enough, sadly (which iirc, is similar to something Sakyo said about Sakuya in the first ep of the anime), he has to improve and polish his skills if he wants to make it to the top --

if he wants to be standing with everyone on stage, it’s gonna be hard, harder for him than for the rest, because he has the most distance to go through, it is said literally in the story once, Juza is at the lowest level in the troupe

Also (haha juban brainrot go brrrr) he’s right behind Banri, which is a bit ironic since, before the story, it was Banri who was always going after Juza and bothering him to fight and all
But it also makes a lot of sense

It’s with Banri’s leadership and guidance that Juza can improve as an actor, the “not losing to you” thing motivates them both to do better and to keep going

Juza follows Banri like a leader, and at the same time, he pushes him further and helps Banri keep going, which is suggested in main story too, here:

Like Banri, Juza’s pose is very similar to his normal sprite, hunched shoulders, hands shoved in pockets, looking away…
It makes me want to cry ngl

Someone already did a more eloquent analysis of what this means, you can find it here: https://twitter.com/_algarak_/status/1273046223776182272

https://twitter.com/_algarak_/status/1273046223776182272

He looks like he’s holding himself back, which makes me think that, yeah his lack of natural ability plays a big part in him not being on the same level as the rest, there’s also this part of him that… refuses to put himself out there --

he’s reluctant to follow his dream and go there, possibly because of how his past has told him that it’s not for him
But at the same time... he’s facing forward and his stance is… open? --

He’s not looking at the camera and doesn’t seem so approachable because of this, but something about how his chest is positioned, how he’s not shielding himself in any way makes me feel like he’s open to whatever’s about to come?

((i just have a lot of feelings djhsbvdkfhbv))

Now, Sakyo!

(big tsun vibes i stan)

despite being close to the centre, Sakyo feels very… apart from them imo? Yes, he’s there, but he’s idle, he’s not moving up the stairs, he’s just resting there, and unlike Banri and Juza who’re going in the same general direction --

or Omi, Taichi and Banri, who’re looking at the camera, Sakyo looks… so detached from everything?

(don't ask for how long i stared at the poster for this, i don't have an answer)
While i was zooming in the poster i noticed
Sakyo’s feet are like.. In that “rest” space between the two flights of stairs? Which makes me

because well…

(don't ask for how long i stared at the poster for this, i don't have an answer)While i was zooming in the poster i noticedSakyo’s feet are like.. In that “rest” space between the two flights of stairs? Which makes me because well…

he already made it all the way up the first flight, which Banri and Juza haven’t, he’s got more passion than Banri, a more polished technique than Juza, and more knowledge than the rest
he’s already made it this far, and yet he isn’t trying to go up the next flight? --

He’s just… there… idle… which may be because he believes he’s too old or that because of his past, he doesn’t stand a chance at theatre, not like the rest of his troupe, which he expresses in a couple occasions

Once again, his pose is similar to the default sprites, if we take into account the crossed arms
But the direction he’s looking at is more interesting to me rn
A friend in discord pointed out that he’s looking to the image’s left, which is the side of the past to some --

this ties in directly with how idle he is, he’s “an old man” and he’s holding onto the mistakes of his past, believing that those will stop him from achieving his dream, as we see in his portrait

And that belief is what’s actually holding him back, he’s not letting himself move past that and pursue his dream

Another thing, he seems disinterested in what’s going on around him and the camera (but we actually know that he cares a lot), that and the guarded stance from his crossed arms kind of hint to his tsun tsun personality, and from his focused expression, one could tell that --

yeah, he cares, and this is very important to him, even if he won’t let it show at first glance
it's just because he's scared of what may happen

Now! The boy who made me start overthinking the poster! Taichi!

(sadly, no story screenshots for him because those are longer conversations, not one liners)
Taichi’s position has a lot to unpack
First, he’s the furthest from the centre, but he’s looking at the camera, which i feel, reflects really well how Taichi has always been cast aside --

how he feels like he’s an extra and how he actually was just an extra at Godza, he’s to the side, but he has his eyes and his dreams in the centre of the stage, he craves that popularity and validation
And yet he’s farther from it than the rest

His position also can be seen as an implication of how he’s an outsider to his own troupe, yeah he was in the troupe, but because of what his task was, he kept to himself, kept to himself in his first portrait and through almost all of the story until the big reveal

which is what pushed him closer to his troupemates
Now, despite being the furthest from the centre, he’s not at the highest place, which hits really hard seeing as how Taichi… believes he’s not the best at anything, he’s not at the top, he’s never at the top --

he wants to be at the top, and in contrast to the rest, you can see how eager he is to get there, he looks like he’s almost running there, which can be easy to a degree, considering his acting experience, but still… he isn’t there yet

Taichi has his body facing backwards, we can’t see Taichi’s front, yes he’s there, he joined Mankai, he’s part of the autumn troupe
The way we can see his expression, that smile, and yet not see his front… --

well it fits with how despite his happy-go-lucky attitude that he’s had since the beginning, he’s hiding a very big thing
But he did it for something else, something different than the common goal
He’s going up the stairs, yes, but he joined Mankai to go up in his rank in Godza--

he’s doing what Reni told him to have that stage and spotlight he dreams of
We can see his face, he’s looking at the camera and he looks sooo excited and happy
And yes, he’s happy to be in Mankai, and he grows to love it
But… everything he did at the start? It was to help Godza

And lastly (and the hardest to understand to me) Omimi:

Despite being the furthest up, Omi is the one who’s in the middle of his troupemates, which reminds me of how Omi is always there for everyone, he’s always out there taking care of the rest of Mankai --

no matter if they’re older or younger, and being supportive and lending an ear to anyone who may need it

However, he’s also the farthest one from the front, even if he wants to be there for everyone, it feels like it’s hard to reach out to him and to do stuff for him, he’s selfless to a point where it can get worrying sometimes --

he doesn’t want people close to him as he tries to be for the others, he believes he doesn’t deserve it

Now, he’s on the top of this flight of stairs, which, ngl, confuses me? But well, Omi’s struggles don’t have so much to do with his acting, he doesn’t have as many steps to go through as the rest, instead he chooses to be there and wait for the rest --

because, to him, being on stage (at the start) is something that has to do with friendship, both with Nachi and with Autumn troupe, to him, it’s a matter of comradery and love, as we see in The Stranger story and something he hints at even in Summer story, this isn’t about him

Now
Omi is sitting
He’s leaning forward, and seeing him makes me feel like he’s there ready to listen to me cry my heart out and to hug me and give me some life advice idk, those are the vibes i get from this ksfjbvkf
But he is sitting

The rest is standing up, even Sakyo, who’s not moving, has a more dynamic pose, in a way
Omi is still, yes, he’s ready to help out, but he isn’t moving
Like i said, it could be because he’s there to wait for the rest of the troupe, but something about him… --

not even looking or hinting that he wants to go to the general goal in any way…
Reminds me of this line from his portrait

But if he wants to fulfill Nachi’s dream (which does become his dream at the end)
He needs to stand up and go for it, there’s no point staying how he was before Mankai, with no ambition or anything, and that’s what he’s doing by joining Mankai

THE END
hope y'all enjoyed my rambles and that they make sense somehow

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