|
|
|
|
|
- Even though I hate you, there's a part of me that doesn't want you to disappear. A part of me that wants to keep listening to your music! So, don't disappear... make more of it! If you have talent, then for the sake of those who don't, keep writing! I won't forgive you if you just up and disappear now!
- —Ena to Mafuyu in Niigo's Main Story Chapter 18
Mafuena is the femslash ship between Mafuyu Asahina and Ena Shinonome from the Project SEKAI fandom.
Canon[]
Mafuyu and Ena are both members of the group Nightcord at 25:00, also known as Niigo, where Mafuyu is their lyricist under the alias "Yuki", and Ena is their artist under the alias "Enanan." The two are also second-year high school students, but attend different schools and at different times (Mafuyu goes to school at regular times, while Ena attends night classes).
Mafuyu and Ena are both hurt and struggling in their own way. Ena developed a complex due to her father constantly insulting her and her art, so she seeks attention through social media and is jealous of people who have talent but refuse to use it. This causes Ena to initially harbor jealousy and anger towards Mafuyu and her talent after she announces her departure from Niigo. Mafuyu has the one thing Ena wants--to be recognized for having talent–-but Mafuyu is careless towards it.
Meanwhile, Mafuyu is and has been constantly burdened by her parents', teachers' and classmates' expectations of her, causing her to deviate from her initial dreams in order to please them. As such, she has lost sight of her real self as well as the ability to enjoy her life. Ena, on the other hand, is emotional and assertive; she knows exactly what she wants and she won’t let anyone stop her from getting it. This is completely foreign to Mafuyu, who struggles to understand her emotions and desires due to her chronic sense of emptiness. In this way, Mafuyu and Ena contrast each other in the sense that each has what the other person needs or wants.
When she is interacting with anyone other than her groupmates, Mafuyu keeps on a mask of being friendly, polite and modest. When she isn't keeping up her mask, however, she seems disinterested and emotionless. Whereas Mafuyu is stoic, Ena wears her heart on her sleeve, and is very expressive and passionate. She is also considered a “tsundere”, as per Mafuyu.
Mafuyu’s blunt nature causes her to sound unintentionally harsh at times when commenting on Ena’s art, which angers Ena. Mafuyu is apologetic for upsetting her, but doesn’t understand what she did wrong since she was just trying to be honest. Despite Ena’s annoyance for Mafuyu and her apathetic nature, she deeply worries and cares for Mafuyu, though she avoids directly expressing it.
Niigo Main Story[]
In Episode 5, Ena worries about Mafuyu's sudden disappearance, asking Kanade and Mizuki if they know anything about it. Ena scolds Mizuki when they say they hope something bad didn’t happen to Mafuyu, like an accident or illness. Kanade explains they should find another way to get in contact with Mafuyu, and Ena questions how. Mizuki says they could try doxxing Mafuyu to find her location, resulting in Ena's annoyance.
In Episode 7, Ena expresses her incredulity upon seeing Mafuyu's true personality, wondering if she's really the Yuki she knew on Nightcord. When Mizuki worriedly questions Mafuyu about her situation, Mafuyu snaps and tells the three to stay out of the SEKAI and leave her alone. Ena is visibly confused by Mafuyu’s demeanor, and when Kanade reveals that Mafuyu is OWN, Ena is even more shocked. After Mafuyu confirms that she is, in fact, OWN, Ena brings back the conversation she had with Mizuki regarding OWN's music, asking why Mafuyu didn’t say anything then. Mafuyu responds that she saw no reason to tell her since Ena has only ever spoken to her as Yuki. Ena asks what went through Mafuyu’s head during that conversation, expressing her anger that Mafuyu simply listened and laughed at an unaware Ena. Ena is further irritated when Mafuyu starts talking about needing to be saved, and rhetorically asks, "What's wrong with you?!" Afterwards, Miku transports the three out of SEKAI.
Ena thinks about her dad and Mafuyu, furious
In Episode 8, Ena is enraged after contemplating Mafuyu's disappearance, feeling foolish for praising OWN beforehand. She speaks aloud to herself, wondering why Mafuyu had ditched the group; "She gets 200,000 views on her own, then decides she doesn't need us?" Ena thinks back on when Mafuyu had praised her art, resulting in Ena fuming over her belief that Mafuyu made fun of her. Ena starts crying, unstable in though as she bursts into further anger; she tells herself she'll continue drawing until she's bigger than Mafuyu in order to pay her back for making a fool of her. Afterwards, Ena continues to cry after her art piece results horribly. Ena is interrupted when her father goes up to check on her, before the conversation ends in his cold remark regarding Ena's talent. Ena tears up again and asks herself, "Why is it that all these people with talent think it's okay to belittle me! Making me look like an idiot!", fueling her hatred towards Mafuyu.
Ena continues to draw relentlessly, ignoring her needs and snapping at Akito who tells her to sleep; she ends up posting another selfie, gaining multiple raving comments. At the end, Ena recalls Mafuyu's words, "You all want to disappear more than anyone.", leading to Ena realizing that Mafuyu is right, distraught as she wonders why Mafuyu has to be the only one who understands how she feels.
In Episode 14, Ena tells Mizuki that Mafuyu has no reason to be part of N25 since she can make such great songs by herself. The two then listen to some new songs Mafuyu releases on OWN, and Ena makes a comment on how dark they are.
In Episode 15, Kanade and Mizuki agree to go back into the SEKAI to save Mafuyu, however, Ena insists she doesn't want to go and thinks that they're making a big deal out of the situation.
In Episode 16, Ena tries to convince herself that she doesn't care about Mafuyu wanting to disappear, but she can't help but want to listen to more of her music.
Ena yelling at Mafuyu
In Episode 18, Ena ends up joining Kanade and Mizuki in the SEKAI. Ena shouts at Mafuyu, saying that it's selfish of her to say she wants to disappear despite the fact that she has so much talent. Ena can't stand it and continues adding that even though she hates her, there's a part of her that wants Mafuyu to keep making music. Mafuyu retorts that she doesn't care about how good her songs are, and that she just wanted to find what she was looking for. At the end of the episode, the group convinces Mafuyu to search a little more.
In Episode 19, Miku says that without all of N25, Mafuyu wouldn't have been able to find her true feelings. Ena, embarrassed, denies this, arguing she only went to give Mafuyu a piece of her mind. Although Ena claims she's angry at Mafuyu for causing all of the trouble, she admits she still looks forward to working with her again.
In Episode 20, the group meet up at a restaurant, and Ena asks Mafuyu whether she actually feels bad for what she happened. Mafuyu responds saying she isn't really sure, but she thinks she does.
Imprisoned Marionette[]
This section is in need of major improvement. Please help improve this article by editing it.
Unsatisfied Pale Color[]
At the beginning of the event, the group is looking over Mafuyu's newest lyrics and while Mizuki compliments them, saying they're now witnessing a new side of Mafuyu, she apathetically answers, and Ena angrily asks how she can write such good lyrics without recognizing or realizing her talent. Ena then laments the fact her art account has barely any new followers but backs down on advertising herself as Niigo's artist in order to gain more followers. As the event goes on, Ena becomes more and more desperate about her art skills, thinking how she truly is talentless and nobody recognizes her art because of that, to the point of trying to throw away all her art tools in a fit of rage and wanting to stay at the Empty SEKAI forever so she can disappear. When Ena mentions how her art is just a "nice add-on" to their music videos, Mafuyu says she doesn't understand what Ena is trying to say, causing Ena to snap at Mafuyu telling her she especially can't understand her struggles, as Mafuyu is praised for things she puts no effort into, yet Ena never gets recognition no matter how hard she tries. She logs off early and Mafuyu sits in silence wondering what she did wrong. Right after, Ena regrets lashing out at the others, realizing there's no point in doing so because nothing will change.
Entering the group's SEKAI, Ena thinks to herself finally realizing why Mafuyu enjoyed being there so much. As the group plans on going to confront Ena, Mafuyu asks if she really should tag along because she doesn't understand Ena's feelings, so it wouldn't make sense for her to join as well. However, Mafuyu ends up entering the SEKAI and searching for Ena together with the other two. When they find Ena, Mafuyu asks if the need to be recognized is truly such a horrible thing, helping Ena to snap out of her state and return to the real world.
In Ena's "I Don't Want to Give Up" card's second side story, she logs into Nightcord and finds no one else online. She starts talking to herself about scrapping her rough draft and Mafuyu starts talking to her. Ena asks why she didn't announce that she was also online and wonders if Mafuyu isn't supposed to have club activities. Mafuyu replies it's her day off and then asks if Ena is going to go to school, leading to Ena saying she's going to skip. She sheepishly inquires how much progress Mafuyu has managed to made, and is surprised to hear Mafuyu is already editing their next song's lyrics. Ena demands she show the lyrics to her, and Mafuyu says they're not done but Ena insists on seeing them. Looking through them, Ena feels self-conscious before she ends up muttering out that Mafuyu is a genius, before telling herself to just keep drawing and not care about things like talent or being a genius. Ena tells her not to worry, but Mafuyu ends up blurting out how it's so nice that Ena loves art so much. Ena thinks to herself how "even Mafuyu carries a certain kind of pain only she can understand" and thinks back on the words she told to her in the Emtpy SEKAI. Ena then suggests she shows Mafuyu her rough draft, promises she'll get it done today, and after muting herself, swears to herself to draw something that'll end up surprising Mafuyu.
Hope Will Someday Go Beyond the Morning[]
This section is in need of major improvement. Please help improve this article by editing it.
In Episode 2, Mafuyu, distressed, relays how she discovered her mom going through her computer without permission to Nightcord in Empty Sekai. Ena is shocked and angry that Mafuyu's mom is so indifferent to her boundaries. She says Mafuyu was clearly bothered by her mom's actions and tells her she should speak up about her feelings. However, to Ena's indignation, Mafuyu doesn't respond, leaving Ena to reflect on why Mafuyu never stands up to her parents. She thinks, if Mafuyu keeps going on like this, won't she suffer forever? One day later, Ena is walking through Miyamasuzaka when she spots Mafuyu on a bench nearby. Surprised, Ena asks Mafuyu why she's here. Mafuyu, looking unhappy, says she feels a little sick and needs to rest, prompting Ena's concern. Suddenly it starts to rain, but Mafuyu is too tired and seems reluctant to head home. Ena, irritated, tells Mafuyu to go home with her instead, surprising her. She angrily asks how Mafuyu thinks she will feel if the latter catches a cold from the rain while they hurry to Ena's house. In return Mafuyu seems surprised by Ena's concern for her, going so far as to invite the former to her own house.
In Episode 3, Mafuyu introduces herself to Ena's mother, who seems surprised that Ena "has friends other than Airi". Ena responds in an offended manner, which her mother seems amused at. Ena's mom then warmly invites Mafuyu to come in, with Mafuyu accepting politely. The two head up to Ena's room. Later, Ena reflects with a smile that she never would've thought she'd end up bringing Mafuyu to her room someday. She starts to think about the assignment from art class that she asked for time to work on at home, still troubled about how she might convey the idea of "incubation". Mafuyu suggests that she should leave Ena's house as not to distract her from work, but Ena insists that she should stay. She points out that Mafuyu seems reluctant to go home, again leaving Mafuyu silent. Ena is obviously exasperated, but allows her to reflect. Out of the blue, Len comes to check in on Mafuyu, surprising both girls. He says Mafuyu seems to be feeling a little better here than she was in Empty Sekai, again surprising Ena.
To Ena's offer that she should stay longer, Mafuyu says with a pained expression that she has to go home. Ena asks why, given Mafuyu clearly didn't want to, and Mafuyu says going home feels cold and painful. She recalls the last time she broke curfew and got home late, and says she doesn't want to cause more trouble by worrying her mom further. In reply, Ena asks if she's actually happy about the situation, and Mafuyu again doesn't know how to respond. While Mafuyu goes to the restroom, Len asks Ena if she's angry. She says that she just doesn't like how it feels Mafuyu is being silenced despite having something she wants to say, but Len offers a new perspective: It's hard to always say what's on your mind as is for some people, like himself. He says it hurts to be rejected by the people you care about, so it's hard to say things the way you want to after. Ena thinks back on her dad calling her talentless, unable to ever become an artist. The memory clearly hurts her and she says in that case, she might understand.
Mafuyu returns, and Ena wants to talk to her but is interrupted by an incoming call from Mafuyu's mom. Mafuyu, though clearly distressed by the prospect, picks up the courage to put on her "good-girl" persona before taking the call. She says she's over studying at a friend's house and apologizes for not telling her mom know earlier, to which Ena is annoyed by. Ena thinks she should stand up for herself already, instead of complying with her mother's control over her life: forced to always study and thus to give up doing what she likes, and have her things looked through and taken without her permission. Ena sees that Mafuyu is trapped, and eventually will lose herself entirely. To Mafuyu's shock, Ena takes the phone and starts to talk to Mafuyu's mom, introducing herself as someone Mafuyu met through an art exhibition of her father's. She uses his name as a famous artist to build a reputable explanation for Mafuyu being friends with her, so Mafuyu's mom might also approve of their friendship. This pains Ena since her father's name has hung over her for her entire life as an expectation she'll never be able to reach, and she hates being associated with him. However, she's willing to do so to help Mafuyu, demonstrating how much she cares about her. Ena says she wants Mafuyu to model for an art project she's doing, saying Mafuyu needs to stay overnight so she can finish. Mafuyu's mom says she'd rather Mafuyu be studying, but it might be okay for one night. Mafuyu is genuinely grateful that Ena gave her a way out, and thanks her. They decide to go talk to Ena's mom together so she knows Mafuyu will be staying overnight.
Quotes[]
- Main article: Mafuena/Quotes
Fanon[]
Mafuena is one of the most popular ships in the fandom, as well as the second most popular for Mafuyu and Ena. It is mostly rivaled by Kanamafu and Mizuena. As a result of Niigo’s main story and the first few events, many find it or have called it toxic and problematic due to Ena's negative attitude towards Mafuyu and the way Mafuyu treated Ena. Many have also criticized Mafuyu's brutal honesty and indifference towards Ena's problems, when in reality she just doesn't understand or is unsure how to express her thoughts. However, many fans enjoy Mafuena due to their gradually changing opinions of each other and sense of respect, with Mafuyu appreciating Ena's ability to be upfront with her when she messes up and admiring her passion towards art, and Ena growing to be more compassionate towards Mafuyu's issues and being more open to receiving criticism from her on her artwork. Many shippers also enjoy the clash between their personalities and find their opposing natures interesting.
It is the 8th most written ship in its fandom on AO3, as well as Mafuyu's 2nd most written ship, and Ena's 3rd most written ship.
Ship Weeks[]
The first Mafuena Week was held from July 25 to July 31, 2022 under the MafuenaWeek hashtag on Twitter. Prompts for the first day were "Hello／How Are You or Totemo Itai Itagaritai", "aquarium or flowers" for the second day, "painting or similarities" for the third day, "angst or growth" for the fourth day, "date or soulmate" for the fifth day, "fantasy or childhood" for the sixth day, and the seventh and final day was "summer or free theme."
The second Mafuena Week was held on July 25-31, 2023, under the mafuenaweek2023 hashtag on Twitter. Prompts for the first day were "Phony or I Nandesu", "art gallery or theme park" for the second day, "portrait or rain" for the third day, "warmth or memories" for the fourth day, "sleepover or confessions" for the fifth day, "medieval or future" for the sixth day, and the seventh and final day was "fate or free theme."
The third Mafuena Week was held on August 1-7, 2024, under the mafuenaweek2024 hashtag on Twitter. Prompts for the first day were "theater or masquerade", "light or reflection" for the second day, "cafe or dress up" for the third day, "dreams or doubt" for the fourth day, "storybook or supernatural" for the fifth day, "catharsis or transparency" for the sixth day, and the seventh and final day was "steampunk or free theme."
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Mafuyu/Ena tag on AO3
- Mafuyu & Ena tag on AO3
- Mafuena posts on Twitter
- Mfen posts on Twitter
- まふえな posts on Twitter
- 마후에나 posts on Twitter (Korean "Mafuena" tag)
- 에나마후 posts on Twitter (Korean "Enamafu" tag)
- @Daily Mafuena on Twitter
- @Weekly Mafuena on Twitter
- @Mafuena Quotes Bot on Twitter
- @Korean Daily Mafuena Account on Twitter
Trivia[]
- Their ship is referred to with the "❄️🎨" emojis.
- Their Kizuna Rank titles are: "So Close They Argue?", "Secretly Envious", and "Expressing Feelings".
- Some of their Cheerful Carnival Team names are "Gets Along Despite Fighting?", "They Fight Because They're Close?", "Tell Me In Private Later" and "Think Of The Light That Shines".
- Mafuyu is canonically the first and only Nightcord member to stay at Ena's house.
- They have a 4 cm height difference, with Mafuyu being 162 cm, and Ena being 158 cm tall.
- Mafuena have currently covered four songs together (Hello／How Are You, Totemo Itai Itagaritai, Aishite Aishite Aishite and Dokuzu).
- In kimi no yoruwo kure's 3DMV on the official Project SEKAI YouTube channel, Ena wears Mafuyu's outfit, and in Samsa's 3DMV, Mafuyu wears Ena's outfit.
- In Envy Baby's 3DMV, Ena wears Mafuyu's outfit from the Imprisoned Marionette event.
- According to a Japanese survey about the most popular femslash ships on Pixiv between the time period of April 2021 and March 2022, Mafuena ranked 1st.
- Mafuyu and Ena's seiyuu, Tanabe Rui and Suzuki Minori respectively, are best friends in real life.
Gallery[]
- Main article: Mafuena/Gallery
Variations[]
- Airimafuena — the ship between the two and Airi Momoi
- Kanamafuena — the ship between the two and Kanade Yoisaki
- Mizumafuena — the ship between the two and Mizuki Akiyama
- Polyniigo — the ship between the two, Kanade Yoisaki and Mizuki Akiyama
