Foxtail Grass
I don't actually know much about the anime "Rainbow Sky Angel"Larkspur.
All the impressions in her mind came from a couple of scenes that Lin Xiaolu had occasionally caught glimpses of on the TV screen when she was watching TV, and from the animated characters that appeared on some promotional posters when Asō Madoka came to Fangting City for her concert.
Therefore, after pointing out the origin of the other person's clothes, Larkspur began to have some concerns: although she could recognize the clothes, she couldn't continue the discussion. If the other person still intended to discuss this kind of "advanced knowledge" with her, she definitely wouldn't be able to handle it.
Fortunately, the girl in front of him only spoke a few words about <Rainbow Sky Angel>, and with Larkspur's deliberate guidance, the topic quickly turned to herself.
"So, the reason you don't like transforming in front of others is because you're worried about being looked at strangely after you transform?"
After roughly understanding what the other party wanted to express, Larkspur summarized it as follows. "Over time, she didn't even want to show her face in public during battles, feeling ashamed to be seen for even a second. One of the purposes of coming to the Kingdom this time was to inquire about how to change into magical clothing?"
"Yes."
The girl opposite me had already deactivated her transformation and put her sportswear back on. Her face beamed with a "found my people" expression as she rattled off her lines: "Before, after defeating the Aberrant Beast in the city center, I'd encounter kids who also loved * Rainbow Sky Angel *. They'd often mistake me for the real 'Dusk Angel,' surrounding me and making a ruckus. It was kind of fun... but it also gave me a despicable feeling of using a name that wasn't mine. Then there were those who didn't like * Rainbow Sky Angel * who said online that as a city magical girl, I acted like an anime character, which was very unserious; some people who hadn't even seen the anime said I dressed too indecently, corrupting children, and then they'd hurl incredibly vulgar insults..."
The so-called "Dusk Angel" seems to be a virtual character imitated by the magical costume of this girl after her transformation. The magical girl names in the anime "Rainbow Sky Angel" seem to come from a certain sky color or celestial phenomenon, and the protagonist's code name is "Rainbow Angel," which is very fitting for the title.
Incidentally, the "magical girl Gentian" that Larkspur is currently disguised as is the image of two works from the same large series of anime, <Sweet Angel> and <Rainbow Sky Angel>. The stories and backgrounds of the anime are different, and the two stories are completely unrelated, but from a commercial point of view, they belong to the same production company.
The titles of this anime series all begin with the format "<XX Angel>". There are three most popular works: "Magic Angel", which is the pioneer of the entire series; "Sweet Angel", which brought the magical girl anime genre to its peak, completely establishing the main theme of the series; and "Rainbow Sky Angel", which underwent a major reform in recent years, boldly adding many elements that were not present in the series before, thus breaking through and reaching new heights.
However, as a reformed work, the target audience for <Rainbow Sky Angel> is clearly different from the past. It is not just a magical girl anime for children, but seems to want to conquer more teenagers and even adult audiences. As a result, the costumes of the magical girls in this anime are much more "revealing" than in previous works, which has been criticized by parents for many years.
The magical girl standing before Larkspur was clearly facing the side effects of this problem.
"And then, actually, that's not the saddest thing for me."
The girl probably rarely had the chance to confide in others about her inner thoughts, so it was as if she wanted to pour out all her bitterness. "What hurts the most is that there are fans of Rainbow Sky Angel online who think that I 'abuse my status as a magical girl to monopolize the interpretation of the character 'Dusk Angel,' trying to make the character exclusive and deconstructive.' But I clearly didn't mean to do that. I just really think Dusk Angel is very cool and stylish, so when I was chosen as a magical girl, I subconsciously thought of this outfit..."
"You clearly like it and long for it, but now you want to change into a magical outfit?"
After listening to the other person talk for a while, Larkspur finally had a chance to interject. "Being able to conjure up clothes like this while becoming a magical girl is quite rare, isn't it?"
"That's what they say... but the trouble this outfit has caused me has exceeded my expectations."
The girl looked dejected. "I didn't actually plan to come to the Kingdom to take the assessment. It was a senior from the same city who told me that there might be a way to help people change into magical clothing here."
"So, did you find it?" Larkspur pressed.
"No, that's not true at all. Senior is a fraud."
The girl sighed, "I should have known. She's about to retire and is worried about having no one to carry on her legacy, so she tried every trick in the book to get me here to get the Certification Card."
"Aren't there any other magical girls in your city?" Larkspur asked again.
"Yes, after all, our Lishui City is just a small city, and usually only two magical girls are needed for permanent residence."
The girl nodded. "So if you retire, I'll have to mentor a new junior next year. If they ask me about this outfit then... ugh, I just want to crawl into a hole in the ground."
To be honest, her attitude does evoke some sympathy.
In fact, when it comes to changing magical clothing, Larkspur isn't completely unaware of the methods. At least the magical clothing she's wearing is a fake, so she actually knows how to "disguise" it.
However, this method cannot be revealed. The disguise of "Gentian"'s identity is one of the core elements of this operation, and the exclusive technology provided by Emerald is the key to maintaining secrecy. She cannot reveal such important information out of mere sympathy.
Therefore, faced with the girl's frustration, Larkspur could only appear powerless.
However, the other party clearly didn't expect the Larkspur to possess the corresponding technology, and instead asked the Larkspur:
"That's why I was really surprised when I saw you."
"So many children recognized your clothes as 'Gentian,' yet you didn't seem shaken at all. It was as if you didn't care what others thought of your clothes. I really want to know, what's your perspective on this? How can you maintain such composure?"
In the anime "Sweet Angel," all the magical girl characters' names are based on some kind of dessert. For example, the protagonist's codename is "Cocoa Angel." However, "Gentian," a magical girl whose codename has nothing to do with desserts and whose style is quite out of place, was a central topic of discussion among viewers and fans throughout the anime's run.
Although the characters in the show didn't seem to find it strange that a magical girl's name wasn't a dessert, viewers always felt that this eccentric character had a secret. Later in the story, "Gentian's" true identity was revealed, and the codename was indeed fake. The storyline that followed became a classic part of Sweet Angel, and is still talked about by fans today.
Before being bombarded with this information by his fans, Larkspur actually knew none of it.
To be more precise, after learning all this, she actually felt a little less inclined to wear the outfit.
But she couldn't bring herself to say these words. Was she really going to bluntly tell the girl in front of her, "Because I have no idea who 'Gentian' is, I can parade around in public with a clear conscience"?
After much deliberation, the Larkspur reluctantly came up with an explanation:
"Because I think this is actually a good thing."
"Good news?" The girl's eyes widened in surprise.
"Well, even if you're accused of 'monopolizing and misinterpreting' the character, or of riding on someone else's coattails and enjoying a reputation that doesn't belong to you, I don't think these things will diminish your contributions as a magical girl."
Larkspur remained expressionless, trying to justify himself. "When you're fighting Aberrant Beast in your own city, and enthusiastic citizens surround you, is it simply because you're imitating a character from an anime?"
"It seems... not?" the girl replied hesitantly.
Of course not.
Larkspur said with absolute certainty, "They express their gratitude and affection for you because you are their magical girl, the one who protects the city. Your imitations of anime are just an 'extra surprise' for the fans and viewers of that anime; they will still prioritize the fact that you are a real magical girl, a codename..."
"Foxtail Grass".
The girl filled in the part that Larkspur didn't know. "This is my code name."
"Yes, that's Foxtail Grass." Larkspur nodded. "They'll know you're Magical Girl Foxtail Grass first, and then they'll connect it to that anime."
"But wouldn't that damage the reputation of the original work...?" The girl was still not very confident.
"You're a real magical girl, and your willingness to imitate characters from anime is the best form of publicity and enhances the anime's reputation."
Larkspur said seriously, "Unless you do something that harms the public or damages your reputation, as long as you are active as a magical girl, you are the best publicity for this anime. You are clearly a hero among the fans."