Jul 26, 2025
Author's Commentary #512:
Time to talk about Chapter 512: Shirako and Iori.
Another foil to Iori has entered the chat. This time it's someone who's not a murderer like her, yet ironically enough, she's got both a more messed up upbringing and not than her, assuming I decide to go through with the plan I have in mind for her. As stated in the chapter, Shirako's mother was raped, but forced to give birth to Shirako against her wishes. The ironic thing is that Shirako has no memories of her infancy, and thus, all she remembers is growing up without her mother in the Ginkawa mansion.
This is why her backstory is both more messed up and not than Iori's as while the events surrounding her birth were messed up, she still had an elite upbringing with little to no hardship. Iori meanwhile, grew up poor and had to face great hardship when she was only 3 years old.
For even greater irony, Shirako doesn't have any malintentions in her plight for women's rights, as she truly believes that if women have more rights, and equality is achieved, society will flourish as everyone will be equal. It is also easy to forget that Iori did kill many people, which justifies Shirako's disdain for her. But adding to the irony, while Shirako does believe the school dress code should not be altered, she is a supporter of the freethenipplemovent. Her mentality is that places like school and the military are places where dress codes should be enforced to maintain order, but in public life, she believes that women should be allowed to have the same perks men do when it comes to going topless and wearing what they want. That was what led to the "hentai-large" attacks being so effective against her as the Kazuya camp successfully slandered her as a holier-than-thou pervert, costing her the student council president election.
Her appointment to secretary came at Shion's request, who sought to humiliate her further, as the two hated each other. This ultimately backfired on Shion in the long-term as Kazuya and Nagi's deaths led to Shirako becoming student council president by order of succession. Her term will be ending soon, as she is a third year, but she at least got to be president.
The final thing to note is Mimoko. Since the start of the series, Mimoko has been inspiring many without realizing it. This was actually why Shirako made the effort to come to her class, as she wished to converse with Mimoko in hopes of recruiting her to her cause. Though as shown, Mimoko doesn't have the highest self-esteem for herself outside of chess, which only worsened after Kotora's death. That being said, many do respect her. The teacher being the huge suck-up he is wouldn't dare interrupt her as he could see that Mimoko had everything riding behind her. She really is more respected and beloved than she gives herself credit for.
That's all for this commentary. I hope you enjoyed it.
