Out of everything it could’ve been, I definitely wasn’t expecting time travel! I’m curious to see where things go next.
That said, I don’t think Ena has always been in this time loop. The equipment she has, her relationship with Chiyo, her knowledge of the pigeons and other external cupid stuff, it implies she’s been to other places before. Plus, the loop is definitely modern. People have already mentioned the modern phones, but there’s a clearer example: in
Chapter 13, Page 6, we see Kitano’s profile. It says she was born in 2007 and is 17 years old, which would place the current time as 2024. If anything, this is later than expected, since
last we knew Koharu was born in 2003, died at 15, and revived 5 years later, which would put us in 2023. As of
the start of volume two, it’s been about a week since she became a cupid, so it should probably still be 2023? Maybe that’ll be a plot point, maybe not. Either way, it’s weird if the loop’s been going on for a while despite chronologically barely being in the present.
The mysterious fifth cupid is also super interesting. It’s clear she has some relation to Ena, but there aren’t many details yet. She was probably the one to
hypnotize Azuma, but even that’s speculation. A few sightings of her stand out to me:
- Ena's birthday art. She looks like she was horribly burned — even her wings are lobster-red. However, something else that I think is important is the background. They look like they’re on a train. It’s hard to get any more information than that, but it adds credence to the idea that Ena wasn’t always at this school or in this time loop.
- The Chapter 12 cover art. Ena’s holding someone with her hands covering her head, and the uniform and hair look similar to other pictures of the fifth. Every inch of her skin is covered in bandages. Moreso, a bulky mass of bandages are on her back, which most likely cover her wings. That implies that this was after they both became cupids. I don’t know how metaphorical the cover art is, but I think that’s important.
- The final page of this chapter. Under the window, you can see a figure with her hands on her head, blackened skin, and winglike appendages. It’s a good chance she’s the fifth. What does that mean? Nooooo clue. If I had to bet, I’d say she’s what’s causing the time loop.
I also want to share my personal crackpot theory: I think Ena died twice. She’s got too much knowledge, and chronologically the time loop either started recently or there are even wackier shenanigans going on. I believe the first time she died was several decades ago — probably during wartime, although it’s anyone’s guess. That was when she met the fifth. Maybe they died at the same time, or maybe one of them acted as a senpai to the other. I don’t know how angel injuries work, but something clearly happened to the fifth to get her messed up (although she could probably still look human if she tried). During this time, Ena learns the ropes, meets Chiyo, and all that stuff. Eventually, though, Ena gathers enough karma and decides to become human again. This is where she sees herself as a “bad person”, because in the process she had to abandon her partner. At the time, she didn’t realize how hurtful that was. Ena is reborn as Hasumi, but intentionally or unintentionally, her old partner can’t handle that. Her old partner pulls the strings to make Hasumi’s life difficult and — crucially — make sure she can never fall in love. That way, when Hasumi Ena dies in the rockslide (or is killed, maybe), she is reborn once more as a cupid. From there, the time loop starts, either due to the fifth’s meddling or because of the weirdness of being reborn twice.
I wasn’t expecting to theorycraft so much just based off of this chapter, but here we are. There’s a lot of holes in this theory, and I’m sure I’m missing some stuff, but if it ends up having even a crumb of truth to it, I’ll be happy. I’m really looking forward to the next chapter!
