I'll be doing this review... slightly differently. As it's a book I wrote, I already know some of the hidden meaning and character intentions and all that, so doing a review would be a bore to watch since I'd be jerking myself off. Instead, I'll take a more crapshoot approach and ramble about the book and the kind of thing I was trying to convey in each chapter or part. Hopefully, that's more entertaining.

Let's begin this deep dive into Fox's Poor Work Ethic and start with the context of the story. Obligatory spoiler warning is obvious.

Originally, this book was written in secret, with no one (except Assistant-kun) knowing about what I was doing. I was aiming for a triple V Series release in 2019, since Shida created Spiral Soul, and Cookie created Silence. If two V Series CCEU books would debut, then I'd make it three's-a-hole. Thus, I settled on Yza's birthday (16th November, which was coincidentally a Saturday) to publish Generations, and begged the other two not to publish that weekend. With everything set, all that's left is to unveil it.

The opening of Generations, "Identity" by Mikio Sakai, is meant to reflect Yuuto as a character and how he's a brand new challenger in a cutthroat world. He wants to engrave his identity in the school, which foreshadows the change in character during chapter 8, since he starts off in the book as a nameless nobody, before turning into someone who wants to leave his mark on the world. "I won't allow anyone to touch my identity" is a direct reference to the fact that Yuuto wants to cut off any ties he has to him, and wishing to keep a pristine image of having nothing to do with "him"; despite how commonly life reminds him that they are related.

"Our hearts beat in resonance", "our fate will be decided in this very instant", are both references to his bond with Yukina, and how together, they will decide their fate in this school. They won't be backing down without a fight. Furthermore, fate being decided in "this very instant" symbolises two of Yuuto's most high-stake matches against Ryuzaki and Kaido. Winning either match would easily carve Yuuto a better life, but he's a little off the mark, and thus fails at his attempts to do so.

"They can laugh at our resolve, or be as indignant as they wish" represents the poor treatment E Class students receive. However, despite being E Class, Yuuto won't let anyone else stamp out his dreams, and will fulfil them while ignoring their attempts to stop him. This is further shown in "stamping out our hesitation", which can represent how Yuuto asks Yukina for her help in Chapter 9, even though he feels their relationship has collapsed and is hesitant to rely on her.

The chorus of the song empowers Yuuto's "breakthrough" and subsequent aim to rise from the bottom to the top. The visuals show Gauntlet Buster Dragon (Yuuto's avatar) fighting a multitude of opponents, all of which are from other classes. "With a single strike" represents Yuuto's brawler play-style, centring on his Vanguard to plough through the opponent with one busted attack. "The time for our comeback has arrived" couples very nicely with the change Yuuto goes through in Chapter 8, no longer wanting to just be an average nobody, and coming back after his humiliating losses.

Finally, "It's time to take the top!" embodies the fierceness and cutthroat environment the school promotes. Taking the top and being the best are very important in the meritocratic society on GEN Academy. The core of the book is to explore the meritocratic system and how it affects people and the way they act. The story focuses on the bottom of the dumps, which give an insight to the vigorous and dark emotions that swirl in the students that suffer in this area, while contrasting the upper class that laugh at them and has worked hard to get where they are today.

The conflict is "equality and freedom", because this system isn't built on being fair - it judges students based on abilities - but it is logical and correct in its thinking. Rewarding good students with better standards and punishing bad students with worse standards gives the good students a reward for being upstanding people, while it hits bad students with consequences for their poor actions, both on a more extreme level than a typical high school. GEN Academy promotes freedom of students, but when you're in a dog-eat-dog world and you have to stay on top constantly not to get dragged down, it's hard to feel free in such a system.

Generations starts off with Chapter 1: Welcome to GEN Academy, which is an overview of the school written by the Headmaster as a letter. The general exposition dump is situated here, and we don't meet the actual protagonist until Chapter 2. This chapter serves the main purpose of making GEN Academy one of the most prestigious schools to go to, so being invited to it is an honour. In addition, it paints it as an idyllic high school where the best and elite of Japan has been raised in. It's setting up the crux of the volume, where it is all about revealing the true nature of this school.

Chapter 2: The Next Generation is a proper introduction to the protagonist, Takanori Yuuto, who's presented as a plain and average fifteen year-old that has been pulled away for a different entrance exam to everyone else. This is strange, because usually only the specially gifted and talented get treated differently, but this average nobody got chosen for some unexplained reason. This sets up an idea that there's more to Takanori than what we initially thought, especially because Mikazuchi Ryuzaki is the one who's examining him and mentions his "potential", a common theme throughout Yuuto's character arc. Even stranger is the fact the exam is to Cardfight him. Win or lose, doesn't matter, he's accepted into GEN Academy either way, but the severity of the reward and punishments are on the extreme ends. Become King, or become the worst student. With all these mysteries set in place, it sets up a mysterious atmosphere for the Cardfight and adds heavy weight to it, since the outcome can radically determine Yuuto's fate.

It gets revealed that Ryuzaki wants to become a mentor to Yuuto, like he did before for Ryuuga, protagonist of the Spiral series. It's becoming more hard to believe Yuuto is just some average nobody. He has to have some sort of quality that makes him stand-out. Especially when he's being a successor to Ryuuga, who is immensely successful. The possibility that his Cardfighting skills got him into this exam is lessened by the fact he is losing against a ZANBAKU deck, even though he's piloting a meta deck. Strangely enough, it's hinted that it's his father that makes him "stand-out".

His whole reason to go to GEN Academy is for "freedom". Not for all the bonuses or perks, but freedom. It shows that Yuuto is trying to escape from something. "Who he is" is left purposely vague, but with the use of the pronoun "he", the reader can deduct it is an important male figure in his life that he's trying to discard. As Ryuzaki knows who he is, they could be friends - same age range, perhaps. The only person who could fit this figure is his father. This is further supported with "Because you couldn't ever reach out to my heart, you're using someone else as an intermediary." Reaching to his heart would mean it'd be someone more personal, so it can be assumed Yuuto doesn't have a strong relationship with his father.

This hate is so deep-rooted, it makes Yuuto actively try to disregard the fact he has no obligation to be like this man. He doesn't want being associated by this man to touch his identity. He hates him so much, Yuuto will "destroy anything" in his way that makes "him" similar to him. Later, when he gets Vanguard stunned by Ryuzaki, he cannot break those chains pushed upon him. These represent the mental chains he places himself by hating this man, even though he wants freedom. It's a contradiction meant to highlight the unreasonable logic Yuuto has for his situation. He even refuses to remove these shackles, or let go of the ancient grudge, telling Ryuzaki to "shut up" in blind anger.

The significance of Yuuto's loss is to show his naivety and weakness early on. This loss may seem small at first, but it slowly comes back to haunt him over time and has a larger ripple effect on Yuuto's life. This one moment that could change everything symbolises the line in the opening, "fate will be decided in this very instant", as Yuuto's fate was set in stone the moment he lost. He shows heavy regret, questioning his position. "The worst...? Me...? I'd be no different from..." shows that beneath his poker face, Yuuto is terrified of ending up being the worst. It also reveals he would feel just like the man he hates, making it apparent he feels like that man is the worst. Not wanting to be associated with him, he doesn't want to be "the worst", or else he'd be like him.

The first sign of change in Yuuto is seen in "...I'll consider your offer." Even though he's shown nothing but aggression and disinterest in Ryuzaki, after being dragged through the mud, he wants to change his potential standing. He doesn't want to be weak or the worst. He wants strength, and to be at the top. To be the opposite of the person he hates so much.

Chapter 3: My New Dream-like School Life is 7 parts of pure character interactions. We're first introduced to Yukina, the main heroine, at the docks, which the setting exemplifies her beauty. Her first impression on the audience is that she's a kind girl who's comfortable communicating with Yuuto. This shows Yuuto's more friendlier side, and also his poor communication skills with others. The small talk between them is limited and he lets Yukina tease him, but doesn't mind. It's strange that Yukina, this clearly beautiful girl, is hanging out with a quiet loner like Yuuto. It makes the reader question the validity of their relationship and whether or not those two are actually true friends or just old classmates.

Part 2 introduces a slew of new characters: Yukimura, the hot-headed ball of anger, Nora, the shy but sweet novel boy, and Matsushita, the charming ikemen. Yukimura's first impression is that of a person with bad temper. He's not wearing his uniform properly, so he's a messy person that doesn't really care about his appearance. It's not revealed why he's in such a bad mood, but he's willing to use violence over the smallest things, such as a shoulder bump.

Nora, his first victim, comes off as ignorant of his surroundings and cares more deeply about his book rather than everything else. This "disrespect" Yukimura feels was probably was the reason why he decided to shove him into the wall unjustly. When Yukimura finishes thrashing Nora, he's "satisfactory" at the result, which shows that he feels better venting it out through fighting. This ideal of violence and fight is carried over into the Yukimura SS which deals with the consequences of his violent behaviour.

Yuuto shows some heroic attributes, going to help Nora, but ends up caught in the crossfire. It's when Matsushita, the more standard hero protagonist for a series like this, appears, trying to ease the situation. Immediately, the description that he's an ikemen connotes he is a good-looking, popular person who has a good personality and communication skills. When Yukimura threatens Matsushita, it hints his hate for ikemen, as he "seemed more mad with him" despite Matsushita doing nothing wrong.

This climax results in Matsushita getting shoved into the wall the harshest, but develops his and Yuuto's relationship by accident, as they go together to the Vanguard shop shortly after. This illustrates Matsushita's beautiful communication skills and Yukimura's violent tendencies. At the end of the part, Yuuto monologues "the less people who know about my personal life, the better". This again goes back to the idea he hates his father and doesn't want people to know about it.

Part 3, we're introduced to even more characters, but this time, with some variation. The Ishima twins, Akihiro and Tamaki, one who looks like a devil, the other an angel, and Mitsuba, the short money-spending bling-bling man. There's also Yamamoto, but he plays a less important role in this chapter. Part 3's Cardfight serves to highlight the type of person Akihiro, the secondary male protagonist, is. His aggressive deck with high power and critical, despite being a Protect deck, represents his deceiving looks (where he looks like a delinquent but in reality is a good person), and his more forward and audacious personality. His "deep caucus laugh" also characterise how he's quite strong and deadly as well. His overconfidence in his final turn is shown through his "cocky grin" despite being not sure of his securing his victory.

In comparison, his sister, Tamaki, is first noted to wear a white tie in comparison. Her attitude as well is a lot different. She's more careful and planning, having a "light, feathery laugh" as if to exemplify her femininity and gentleness compared to her aggressive brother. However, looks are deceitful, since her deck is a Soul Saver Dragon deck, which focuses on blasting the opponent with three massive lanes. This shows that even Tamaki, who has "gentle features" can also be a terrifying threat. Her more precautionary side is seen when Yuuto describes her as "wary", unlike her brother. This is further enhanced by the fact Akihiro misplayed last turn because of his cockiness.

Mitsuba's first impression is good, despite his later crude behaviour as the book progresses. He's knowledgable at the game and can communicate just as smoothly as Matsushita. His enthusiasm for Vanguard is very clear when he goes to play Vanguard after the Ishima twins leave. His opponent is Yamamoto, who also wears a white tie like Tamaki. This sets up a distinct difference between students with white ties and red ties. The white tied students win their Cardfights, while the red tied students lose their Cardfights, which is one of the first hints that the classes are separated by skill.

Part 4 shows how uncomfortable and anxious Yuuto is when in a place with "popular people", otherwise known as the ikemen and bijins. Still, he braves the (imaginary) storm and enters the cafe, where he interacts with Nora, the boy from earlier, once more. Nora displays his more shy and awkward side here. His "cute sounding voice" shows his femininity despite being a boy. Maybe he's a trap. Maybe he's just girly. That's the kind of impression Nora leaves. It shows that Yuuto is higher on the social hierarchy than he is, by the way he talks to him. With more familiarity and confidence, he can talk to Nora smoother than he can to the ikemen and bijin who are above him. Once again, he plays this role of "average person" spectacularly.

Part 5 unravels the system of the school, and how generous it is. In standard protagonist fashion, Yuuto is seated at the far back next to the window and is very contempt with the situation so far. Despite disliking it at the start, he has settled down well and observed his classmates. Just like everyone else, he is ecstatic over the 100,000 private points and new phones. The feeling of freedom is highest here, as the school is further set up to appear to be unbelievably dream-like, especially with homeroom ending early and letting the students do whatever they want until the entrance ceremony. This helps set up the trap of the school's true nature and it's meritocratic society.

The second half of this part establishes E Class. Yuuto describes them as "acting like middle schoolers still" despite being Japan's "elite" for being invited to GEN Academy and passing the entrance exam. He's trying to rationalise the situation he is in because it feels so insane and unreal, and this doubt nags at him as the story progresses. Yuuto shows regret at not understanding the true situation they are in and just accepting everything as per his passive nature. In the end, all his mistakes come back to irritate and haunt him, just like the losses he faced early on.

Yukimura's deep hatred for ikemen is also foreshadowed here, when he kicks his desk over after hearing Matsushita speak. This seems extremely out of nowhere, and also demonstrates that people in the class find his outbursts funny. They "began giggling", showing a sign that these people were still immature and unable to feel the gravity of the situation, making them childish. This is another hint at their bottom of the barrel ranking. Not to mention Yamaguchi's racist comments at Sakigamiya which were uncalled for just because she wanted to be hospitable and get to know others. As a result of Yamaguchi's words, about half of the non-sociable students leave, showing E Class has many students who are selfish or unsociable and aren't very accepting of others kindness, further exemplifying their defectiveness.

From those that are left behind, we get more character introductions. Sakigamiya is presented as a fellow "class president" type, similar to Matsushita. She's forward, kind and exotic, being half French. A clear hit with the boys, especially Yukimura later on. Yuuto reveals that he's also not pure Japanese, and is part English. Here, a glimpse of his parental relationship is seen, as he is glad "to have blonde hair", just like his mother. This shows their close relationship and how Yuuto prefers her over his father. The next character introduced is Akari, and Yuuto has loose connections to her as well. Once again his parents are mentioned again, and they are mutual friends with Akari's parents. If her last name "Jomko" wasn't a dead giveaway, her father is "Ryu Jomko" from the G Era of the CCEU. This clues in on who Yuuto's unmentioned father is.

Kiba is introduced next, but she's a miscellaneous seeming character, not appearing for the rest of the volume. Kawaguchi swiftly follows her, and is part of the "core group" of boys in E Class. Being an avid Vanguard lover, he forms a friendship with Akihiro very easily, demonstrating Kawaguchi is a sociable person who's passionate about sharing his hobbies. Furthermore, he acts as a straight-man, being more logical and calm in comparison to characters like Mitsuba and Yukimura. His "mop hairstyle" gives him a confident flair, wearing whatever hair style he wants while not caring about what others think of him. His clan being Gold Paladin also reflects his personality - a blazing chain of multitude attacks that never stop coming.

Katsumi, Misogi and Hono are in a similar situation to Kiba, but Katsumi gets referenced later on being Nora's friend. Taiga is introduced after them, her body language conveying her flirty personality, just like her father, Backlion. She's a main figure in the "core group" of girls, and has connections to even the higher classes. In Chapter 9, she brings Yuuto and Ichinose (from B Class) together to play karaoke. Because of this, Yuuto is able to extrapolate information from Ichinose to help him plan out a strategy to the top.

Yuuto's introduction displays his social awkwardness, messing up his introduction from the get go by just saying his name and "likewise" without any real introduction. Despite his monotonous and calm approach to the situation, he fails to deliver even the basics of a conversation. There're signs of the class judging him, such as when Sakigamiya mutters what he said, almost mockingly, and Matsushita trying to salvage the situation by clapping for him. The class clumsily goes along with it due to the awkward atmosphere set up by Yuuto's poor introduction and seeks for an escape by the ikemen's lead. This demonstrates Matsushita's leadership and kindness for others, but this backfires since (while he's believing he's helping Yuuto), Matsushita is just embarrassing him with the forced applause.

Yukina's introduction plays off Yuuto's one, contrasting their relationship and status. While Yuuto's introduction is bleak and hopeless, setting him up for high school failure, Yukina's introduction is described as "most beautiful girl" in the class, and that her "popularity must've tripled" just from her looks alone. Despite not being as forward as Sakigamiya, she has the possibility to rival or surpass her for the most popular/attractive girl in the class. The way she teases Yuuto is similar to their first meeting in the docks. However, she does it publicly this time by going "the one with the bad introduction" which makes the class laugh at Yuuto (further cementing his loser nature) humiliating him. This makes him realise the gap in their social status. Despite being good friends from middle school, Yuuto comes to the realisation that he has no chance to hang out with someone like her (a beautiful, popular person) when he's nothing but a socially awkward, secluded loner. Despite this, he's cheering on for her, encouraging her (in his head) to "grab ahold" of that riajuu life, as if she wasn't one before.

This hints to their past. Not much is known about them, except from the fact they went to middle school together. It's implied that they were close (since Yukina mentions it in her introduction, which implies significance and Yuuto talks about "drifting away" from each other which isn't something he'd think about if they were just acquaintances) but it wouldn't make sense that they were good friends if Yuuto is an awkward loner and Yukina is a beautiful popular person. Rather, it could imply that either Yuuto used to be an ikemen and super popular, thus being close friends with a girl like Yukina, or that Yukina used to also be a loner like Yuuto back in middle school, which is how they became friends. It's most likely the latter because the way Yuuto carries himself doesn't imply "former ikemen" at all, and his plain looks aren't "handsome" or "cool" at all. In addition, in later chapters, it's hinted that Yuuto was a loner in middle school as well, so there's very little chance he used to be popular.

Rather, it is most likely Yukina who used to be a loner like him. This is further supported by the fact Yuuto wants her to "grab ahold of that riajuu life", as if she's never had it before. But this poses the question of how Yukina became this bijin between middle school and high school. Furthermore, she gets flustered when Sakigamiya poses the topic of love on her, showing that she's not used to things like gossip or romance (which is a common topic discussed stereotypically between girls). Yuuto compares this situation to the "trope" of a gloomy protagonist and a beautiful main heroine being mistaken as a couple, showing his knowledge for otaku hobbies and an insight in the type of things he does for fun. This further solidifies his loser standing in the class as it's generally frowned upon to enjoy those hobbies.

However, Akari swings a complete curveball and reveals Yuuto had a crush on his mom, making him seem like an incest-loving creep and creates an impression of a depraved loser weirdo to his new classmates even more. However, she forgets to mention this was when Yuuto was four, thus turning it into a bittersweet childhood memory for his classmates to scornfully laugh at him for. The significance of having a crush on his mom lies mainly in the idea of which parent he prefers more. From a very early age, he's always had a preference for his mom, and loved her so much he wanted to marry her. It shows just how wide the gap of him and his father's relationship is and just how strained it's become.

Matsushita shows off his ikemen charms by trying to save Yuuto by dredging something embarrassing from his past. However, this is used to contrast the difference in social status between him and Yuuto, as the class sympathises with his situation of wetting himself rather than laughing at it like they did with Yuuto having a crush on his mom. They show more respect and empathy for a popular, good-looking person like Matsushita, but treat a plain freak of a loser, Yuuto, like dirt.

Shortly thereafter, it's revealed Yuuto doesn't want his reputation to go down the drain and doesn't know how to remedy his poor start to his new school. This excessive worry over something everyone forgets later on implies that Yuuto's experienced something like this before, and that can be attributed to his life in middle school where he was also a loser. Unlike Yukina, he's failed to change his situation, but in this scene we can see that Yuuto can smoothly converse to another person, as she and him talk to each other in a back and forth friendly manner.

There's even a glimpse of Yuuto's limits, as he warns Yukina to "stop teasing" him so much. As a result, we see Yukina "flash a small frown", but quickly put back on "a smile". This shows that Yuuto isn't a complete loser who would get trampled over by another person so easily, and also shows Yukina's true feelings. Despite being hurt by his words, she puts on a smile to act as if everything's fine. She's trying to be a good friend to him, and even apologises. As a result, Yuuto feels guilt and let's the conversation die off in a pitiful manner due to his sudden, out of character, outburst.

Part 6 focuses on Yukina's suspicions towards the S System and Yukimura's incredible football skills. Another hint to Yuuto's reclusive nature is in the first paragraph, as he "felt like a full-fledged riajuu for the time", implying he doesn't go outside and socialise very often. Yukina supports this, "in middle school you always stayed inside playing on your phone". Once again, it's pushing the narrative that Yuuto is a loser.

Yukina's perceptiveness is caught when she admits that "I can't help but feel like... there's a catch to all of this", in regards to the generosity the school has given. Yuuto agrees that the school is "shrouded in mystery", but still doubts there is something wrong. He "dispelled" his thoughts and tried to "rationalise" what happened to them. Despite that, he goes ahead and agrees with her, and tries to find out this "catch". This shows Yuuto's initiative and this becomes more prevalent later on when he's scouting for information on other classes.

The latter half of this part focuses on Yukimura, who has a radical change in appearance. He's dropped his temperament, calmed down, and looked "extremely refreshed". This is all because he played football, showing just how much he loves the game and how it makes him happy. He may have had a "scowl", but now he "smiled at certain points". Yuuto even credits him for his amazing skills, saying he "resembled a pro-football player". This implies Yuuto watches football, and considering his half English heritage, it's likely, so even he has riajuu interests like sports. In addition, Yukimura is made out to be a prodigy athlete, which sets up a surprise later on when it's revealed E Class is the defective class. Yukimura has incredible skills, but was placed in the bottom of the barrel, giving hints at what qualifies a student to end up in that position.

When Yuuto approaches him, Yukimura acts with hostility, giving him a "dirty glare". However, when Yuuto compliments him, he calms down because the conversation centres around football, his favourite sport. He "sounds sincere" when they have a conversation, and even apologises for what he did to Yuuto on the cruise ship. It shows that Yukimura, who's impression to everyone else was a visibly angry and violent person who'd blow up over the smallest of things, to someone who seems more misunderstood and has a composed, nicer side to him.

It's here that we catch a glimpse of Yukimura's feverish attraction to girls. He refers to Yukina as a "cutie", implying that he has a thing for her. He tries to impress Yukina by showing off his football skills, and that makes Yuuto question why he ended up in GEN Academy, rather than a specific school made for footballers. Yukimura's angry personality comes back when Shibata, a C Class student, chides him for going off the pitch to converse with Yukina. Shibata easily pisses Yukimura off, making him almost hit the other boy in fury, but Yukina manages to calm him down, showing that Yukimura can be put at ease by a beautiful girl (which becomes integral for his SS later on).

Part 7, the final part, focuses on the introduction to the Royalty of the school. Each Royalty member is unique and shows their personality through their speech and Yuuto's observation of them. The first to speak to the 1st Years is the King, Kishou Arashi. His name is significant because it means "Superior Commander (of the) Storm". This references how he is the King of GEN Academy and encompasses the room's heavy atmosphere when he goes up to speak. Just by announcing he is King, Yuuto describes the feeling as "like a storm had blown past us and left us paralysed", showing just how much weight is behind his "icy words". The idea of the cold is also heavily implied with Kishou's character, as a "storm" is generally accompanied by harsh winds and heavy rain, both connoting the ruthless cold. Appearance-wise, his glasses symbolise his intellect and skill that made him come to the top rankings. So far, he's the only character to wear glasses (as explicitly told by Yuuto), making him stand out that way.

To further increase the threat level of Kishou, Yuuto says his "heart was shaking with fear", creating an impression he was on a level above the riajuus, who made him feel anxious on the cruise ship. It implies a level of Godliness that no other character has. The King isn't a braggart either - he's described to be "self-aware" and "have a perfect balance". He had a level of humility to him too, despite his "insane pressure" and status in a prestigious academy like this one. Being the best means he is a role model for everyone else to look up to, and to also try to beat in the process.

In fact, Kishou's so confident and humble, he admits his weakness publicly to everyone, despite being a King. He understands the situation well since he was also a King in his middle school, but describes his experience in GEN Academy being much different, furthering this cutthroat premise laid out. He admits "the gap between the King and his people is minuscule", basically telling the 1st Years they could easily become King with the growth and development they'll receive by the school. He says they'll all become "worthy rivals" and he "must continue fighting", showing that he's not a contempt person who stops at an invisible wall. Instead, he's a good person who continues to improve himself decisively even if everyone else thinks "that's good enough". He acts as a "gatekeeper", but feels more like a distant entity Yuuto cannot defeat at his current level. Though, since he's not exactly ambitious at this stage of the story, it doesn't mater too much.

The next to go on stage is Satsubatsu Himura, the Queen of GEN Academy. Her initial impression is extremely girly, having "bright pink hair". She's described as also being short and pale, giving a vampiric edge to her character. This is supported by her "ruby eyes", which are a shade of red (commonly associated with blood) and her family name (Satsubatsu) roughly meaning "bloodthirsty". Her family name is also very important, because Satsubatsu is the name of the Headmaster, meaning she is his daughter, and that is terrifying.

While she is given this underlying dark tone, Himura is a surprisingly sweet girl who is "cheerful". Her voice is more expressive and "cutesy", as she addresses everyone with excitement (as shown by the exclamation marks). She rides a fine line between cute and deadly, but generally encourages the 1st Years to be successful and go explore the academy. This is an inadvertent hint to them regarding the S System - "more interesting aspects of GEN you should explore in your free time" - showing her slyness which is attributed by her vampiric edge.

Following up Himura is the Jack, the "onee-san" type, Hina Hikari. She's a 2nd Year and gets the most detail regarding her appearance, showing just how much she caught Yuuto's - and by extension, everyone else's - attention by her appearance. That commanding atmosphere shows how much of a presence and influence Hikari has over others. Her beauty is so overwhelming Yuuto has to "take a second look" and calls it "breathtaking". Even though he finds Yukina and other girls beautiful, he hasn't shown this level of enthusiasm for them. In fact, this is the most enthusiastic he gets over a girl.

Her description paints a kind and motherly personality, with her "long and silky" hair, "large, gentle eyes" and a "heart-warming" smile. Yuuto even takes note of her "hourglass figure", showing just how entranced he is, as he usually doesn't ever talk about the girls bodies when he interacts with them. Hikari is set-up as someone who stands out to Yuuto, and it could be due to that motherly impression. After all, he had a crush on his mom and is very close to her, so perhaps he likes that type of girl the most.

Regardless, Hikari is a very impressive girl as she is a 2nd Year amongst the majority 3rd Year Royalty. Her overflowing presence is also conveyed in "it was appropriate to break into loud cheers", showing that popularity wise, she is more liked than the King or Queen and the students feel more casual around her, rather than uptight. She is proof that the system in GEN Academy is cutthroat, and brings more weight to Kishou's words that everyone in the school is a rival for him.

The Ace is introduced after the Jack, and he is a 3rd Year, Hagane Kimeru. His most distinguishable feature is that he is the sporty Royalty, embodying the physical aspects of overall abilities. Being an athletic person, he is "large" and connotes an image of a strong muscular man. To further add to his testosterone fuelled caricature, he has a "large visible scar" on his nose, conveying a tough guy look, and an "unnervingly deep" voice to show that puberty hit him like a truck.

Hagane is a very casual person, as shown by his speech pattern, but is passionate when it comes to the subject of sports. He brags about GEN Academy's achievements, but is strict and disciplined in regards to learning from teachers and becoming better. While this is fine, Yuuto notes that he "didn't fit" in comparison to the Royalty that came before him. Considering he's very sports orientated while the previous looked like academic honours students, it's clear why, but there's still ambiguity to that perception.

Finally, Yuuto meets the person he's "all too familiar" with: the Joker of GEN, Shinsei Ken. That shows they have a precious connection somehow, and Yuuto even calls him by his first name, "Ken", while talking about him in his head. It shows their closeness but the exact details of their relationship is left unclear. Ken has "dark blue hair" and "a cheeky smile" showing his relaxed, confident nature and is able to utilise GEN Academy's freedom to the fullest. The hair colour makes him stand out, especially since Yuuto also has connections to him already.

However, being a 2nd Year, he is still naive and has a lot to learn. While enthusiastic and genuine, he admits he became Joker only through War Time. It's a flimsy ground to stand on, so he's one of the weaker Royalty members. However, like Kishou, he outwardly challenges the 1st Years to dethrone him, showing just how much faith he has in himself. Yuuto thinks "he's the same as ever", implying this is how Ken is all the time.

Furthermore, Ken is the only Royalty to have an extended scene. He casually calls Yuuto by his first name and "slung an arm" around his shoulder. It's very casual behaviour, despite their difference in status. It shows just how far back they go and how close they supposedly are. However, Yuuto, being secretive and not wanting people to know they're related, asks to cut off that closeness. During their conversation, it's revealed that Ken and Yuuto are "family" which changes the context of their thoughts and behaviour towards one another. It makes sense and humiliates Yuuto since one of his family members is successful, while he isn't, and is still a loser, just like in middle school.

Yuuto strengthens this disregard by thinking "No... you never existed to me ever since I understood our situation." in a very cold matter, essentially pretending Ken isn't a family member and giving another hint to what Yuuto's situation is like, especially since he already admitted "the less people know" about him, "the better". Despite this unreasonable request, Ken agrees, even "shrugging" showing just how he didn't really care. He even has the audacity to call Yuuto a "tsundere", which is fairly true.

Now, when I first set out to write this, I didn't expect to have to break this down into parts. Especially because I didn't expect there was so much to write about... it's already reached 6000+ words... what the hell...

So, I'll leave this review of Chapter 1 to 3 here for now, and delve into 4 to 6 another day. When I finish that, 7 to 9. That is, if I get the spirit to do those things, ha ha...

Well, I'll see. If the response for this is good, I'll continue it. If not, I probably won't bother. I got better things to do than just jerk off for no reason.

I rate Generations a Yuuto/X. Yuuto being equal to the score you give his character, and X being the appropriate "out of" score. (If you get the X reference, you read past chapter 5.)

That's all, Fox out!