Concept and creation In 2019,
mangaka Kentaro Yabuki published the
one-shot manga in the 11th issue of
Weekly Shōnen Jump on February 9, as part of the magazine's "J Romcom Festival!" for
Valentine's Day celebrations. This one-shot would later be used by Yabuki as a source of inspiration for him to create
Ayakashi Triangle, with the manga featuring a premise similar to that of
Reo × Leo, although there was no
ayakashi in the one-shot, a significant difference that would only be shown in the manga.
Reo × Leo focused on a normal high school student named and her childhood friend a martial artist boy who is magically
gender-swapped into a girl by his father; Yabuki reused the characteristics of both characters, including their personalities and designs, to conceive the main
protagonists of
Ayakashi Triangle,
Matsuri Kazamaki and
Suzu Kanade. In May 2021, Yabuki commented that when he created the primary setting of
Ayakashi Triangle, Omiko City, he modeled the designs of the scenario after an unspecified area near
Odawara, located in
Kanagawa Prefecture.
Development In
Ayakashi Triangle, one of the most outstanding elements present in its plot is the constant display of female nudity (male nudity is also seen, but rarely in comparison to female), as in the 37th chapter of the manga, in which Suzu is initially seen taking a shower and spends the entire chapter naked, with special focus dedicated to her body. Other elements observed are the use of panty shots (
panchira), revealing or sexualized clothing, groping, and other representative cases of sexual overtones that can be considered as
ecchi or as qualifiers for anything related to erotic and simply content. In digitally released chapters, the intimate parts of the female characters' bodies, such as the vagina and nipples, are censored. However, the printed volumes of the manga show the latter exposed and in detail. The previously mentioned elements of
Ayakashi Triangle are commonly associated with Yabuki's works, especially his earlier manga series
Black Cat (2000–2004),
To Love Ru (2006–2009), and the latter's continuation
To Love Ru Darkness (2010–2017); the first series was created solely by Yabuki, while the last two manga were only illustrated by him, with writer
Saki Hasemi as co-creator of the
To Love Ru franchise alongside Yabuki. Unlike
To Love Ru, the sexual content seen in
Ayakashi Triangle is less explicit and prominent than its own, due to the
fan service not being one of the main focuses of the manga as it was in
To Love Ru, although the graphic and sexual intensity of many scenes in
Ayakashi Triangle is still higher when compared to other manga series. Furthermore, the occasional
cameo appearances of
To Love Ru characters in
Ayakashi Triangle confirm that the two series are not only
canonical to each other but also coexist in the
same fictional universe. For instance, the character
Run Elise Jewelria (who has the ability to gender-swap identical to Matsuri) makes a brief appearance in the 4th chapter of
Ayakashi Triangle, and
Kyouko Kirisaki is indirectly alluded to in the 8th chapter of the manga.
Cultural references Ayakashi Triangle is notable for focusing on
legendary creatures that are notable in
Japanese folklore and
mythology, with the aforementioned ayakashi as the central point of the series. In legends, ayakashi are
yōkai that appear above the surface of some body of water, whereas in the manga, ayakashi is the collective name to refer to the variety of spirits that inhabit the world, in addition to having subspecies such as the
tsukumogami, a type of ayakashi that take over inanimate objects. A secondary focus in
Ayakashi Triangle is
Japanese culture. An exemplification of this is how some of the manga's drawings pay homage to the classic style of Japanese art. Another case worthy of observation is that Matsuri is constantly seen wearing a
fundoshi (in both his male and female forms), which is a traditional Japanese undergarment for adult men. Up until the 35th chapter of
Ayakashi Triangle, the manga had a predominant emphasis on mythological figures from Japanese folklore. As of the 36th chapter, the series started to address supernatural beings from other cultures, with the character Rochka being the first non-Japanese creature seen in
Ayakashi Triangle. Rochka, whose name is an abbreviation for
Snegurochka, is generally depicted in
Russian fairy tales as the embodiment of winter and the granddaughter of
Ded Moroz. Described as a "magical Russian
loli", she is believed to be the Russian equivalent of
Yuki-onna,
yōkai that appear as beautiful women in icy, snowy or mountainous regions. ==Themes and analysis==