I wouldn't exactly call it an "unsolved mystery," but this still leaves me with a vague sense of unease. If the author themselves or someone involved in manga editing were to drop in here, we'd finally understand, but that hasn't happened.
--- *Editorial Department Review:* High completion level as a one-shot, and the pacing is good. However, the problem the heroine is carrying is a no-go. Please rethink.
*Saeki-sensei's Review:* I felt the structure was solid, but if you're going to make it a rom-com, I think the heroine's background is taboo. ---
If it's taboo for a rom-com, does that mean it's fine in other genres?
I thought about it, but could it actually be the protagonist's delusion?
I have an editor assigned to me, and they told me, "The only absolute taboo is cannibalism (human eating human)." Though there are other manga that actually do that.
I seem to remember people speculating it was related to the Imperial Family.
Does "Mikura" come from the *Takamikura* (the Imperial Throne)?
If that's the case, wouldn't it be taboo even outside of a rom-com...? Though the editorial department's tone is more like an absolute, unconditional "hell no." I seriously doubt they'd get this furious over anything else, so this theory feels more likely.
Would a 17-year-old really think, "I know! Let's make a member of the Imperial Family a manga heroine!"?
I actually think they would. That kind of edgy spirit—the "everyone else won't touch this, so if I do it, it's gonna be a hit" mindset—probably peaks around high school.
Apparently, she was a trap (a male character dressed as a girl).
She's got breasts, though.
Some guy on "Nan J" was swearing that was the case recently, too. Did the author drop in somewhere?
I just saw that guy's post and pasted it here myself.
Actually, Hibari-kun already did the "surprise, it's a trap" trope. Since Saeki just moved over to Jump from the adult manga scene and is calling it a no-go, it must be pretty extreme. I wonder what kind of character setting would be treated as taboo in 2014 Shonen Jump.
The Gemini-kun theory: The secret of this heroine—declared "taboo and a total NG" despite being in a shonen magazine rom-com—really gets your imagination running wild. The reviews published in the magazine at the time (the general comments for the JUMP Treasure Newcomer Manga Award) didn't reveal the specific details of the setting. Because of this, Jump readers on the internet back then were tossing around all sorts of speculations (or rather, delusions) about what on earth she had done... Considering settings that would be an "instant out" for a shonen magazine, especially a *Weekly Shonen Jump* rom-com, the following patterns were considered strong contenders:
1. Genuinely out-of-bounds ethical and legal settings - The heroine is actually the protagonist's "biological sister" or "biological mother" (incest themes). - The heroine is an "actual criminal" or has a crazy criminal record (parricide or being the mastermind behind a major scam, despite it being a fresh shonen magazine rom-com).
2. Overly raw settings that shonen magazine readers find impossible to moe over - She is actually married or already has children. - The heroine's "secret" (her job) is the kind of nightlife industry work that simply cannot be featured in a shonen magazine (sex work, etc.). - Personal, physical, or psychological problems that go way beyond terminal illness—the kind of raw reality that makes readers recoil.
3. Media-mix and compliance-breaking NG settings - She is literally a parody of another company's famous character, or directly modeled after a real-life person. - She carries extremely sensitive religious or political ideologies and backgrounds.
Religious things feel pretty likely. Like her family being the cult leaders of a new religion.
Could you elaborate more on the Imperial Family theory?
1. It directly connects to an absolute media "taboo." Internet delusions tend to lean toward dark, ero-guro elements like "she was actually incestuous" or "she was actually a sex worker," but those kinds of expressions can easily work if you move over to a seinen magazine. However, in Japanese commercial publishing—especially in Shueisha's top-tier shonen magazine—treating the "Imperial Family" carelessly or using them as fodder for a rom-com (especially in a scandalous or potentially disrespectful way) goes beyond the bounds of freedom of expression. It becomes a "real taboo" (social and political NG) that could instantly turn into an all-out disaster.
2. It fits neatly into the context of the critique: "If you're going to make it a rom-com." If the heroine were simply "a princess of some country attending a regular school in secret," that would be standard fare for light novels and mainstream shonen manga. However, if it wasn't a fictional country, but rather a realistic setting closely reminiscent of the *actual* Japanese Imperial Family—and moreover, trying to exploit it as a scandalous "secret" or a tacky rom-com—it completely makes sense why the editorial department would clutch their heads and tear the work to shreds, saying it's way too messed up in too many ways (= taboo).
3. It explains why the work "never sees the light of day." Normally, if a newcomer's submission is rejected or just narrowly misses the mark, the author will later upload it to social media or tone down the settings and publish it somewhere else. Yet, regarding *Terasaka Mikura no Himegoto*, absolutely no details of its contents have ever surfaced. If they really crossed a dangerous bridge involving the Imperial Family—to the point where compliance and all-around caution dictated it was "at a level that must never be released to the world"—it explains very convincingly why the editorial department strictly sealed it away and the author backed down (or was forced to rewrite it). Thinking of it not as an "NG for a shonen magazine" due to ero or guro, but as a "genuine social NG," this "Imperial Family theory" is quite a sharp piece of speculation. It's fascinating because you can almost see the "real panic of the editors" lurking behind that scathing review. If this theory is correct, just what kind of frantic (and sweat-inducing) rom-com were they planning to run...? Imagining it gives me chills in a whole different way.
I remember seeing that Jump one-shot trap theory on Nan J back in the day, too. Well, it's probably just a hoax, though.
*Tekken Chin P* also had to change a character named "Hako-sama" to "Ha-oji-sama" (Prince Ha), so touching the Imperial Family is genuinely a no-go.
That reminds me of the Imperial Family taboo—I heard there was once a plan to involve the Imperial Family in *A Certain Magical Index*. Naturally, it seems it wasn't allowed.
That'd be Emperor Tsuchimikado, huh.
Think about the name Touma Kamijo. There are past emperors with similar names, like Emperor Ichijo. And as for "Touma," there's Takechiyo... wait, *Toma no Hayato* appears in the Nihon Shoki.
I heard a rumor that since a shrine maiden appears in Volume 2, they had planned to tie it into that from there.
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