When I first started reading Red String, it seemed fairly straightforward. It was a story about a teenage girl named Miharu and the love she finds with Kazuo, whom her parents have arranged she marry. Her friends seemed secondary to the tale, primarily there to support her and build on Miharu’s story. So when we learned that Reika had suffered from some hateful gossip in middle school, it was an interesting twist that helped flesh out Miharu’s friends, and give them a life of their own.

RS is in the midst of a side-story at the moment that’s fleshing Reika’s tale out further; initially I didn’t even realize it was a flashback, and thought the boy was Aizaku Hiroshi, whom she’d been crushing on for a while now. And I have to admit I was surprised to discover that Miharu wasn’t the only one who dyed her hair; Reika also dyes her hair, if not as blonde as her friend, and continues to do so even as Miharu has returned to keeping her hair black in order to avoid standing out at her new high school. While the dyed hair helped symbolize Miharu’s rebelliousness and individuality, with Reika I sense it was more to move away from her old self… and be reborn as someone new.

I can’t help but feeling like history is repeating itself here. Indeed, Hiroshi even mildly resembles the boy responsible for the rumors that ruined Reika’s reputation once already. More than this though is the fact that RS is moving away from a story about Miharu and her destiny, and more of an ensemble cast of Miharu’s friends, giving us glimpses of their stories as well. It’s a welcome addition to an already fascinating story.