Why would Azusa pair his children in this way? Even Ayeka is aware that others would see the union as unusual or unnatural.
I theorize that Funaho was originally a
Azusa didn’t pair Yosho with Aeka. That was done by Funaho and Misaki. If I recall correctly, their reasoning for this was to further seal the bond within House Masaki since there had been problems with Azusa bringing this Earth girl from roughly the waring states period of Japan to Jurai, mainly because Azusa had been arranged to be married to Misaki by Misaki’s mother, Seto.
House Masaki was nearly extinct, so to preserve this former great house, Seto groomed a young Azusa. Azusa was much like the founder of Jurai in that he didn’t like being tied down. So after he came to Jurai, was chosen by the 1st generation royal tree Kirito and set out on his proving journey, he encountered Kagao and Ryoko. The battle that ensued was destructive and Tsunami had to intervene, sending Azusa to Earth. There, he met and fell in love with Funaho, and he saved her and her little sister from space pirates that were using as a hideout.
(There is a theory that Ryoko’s Cave might have been the old pirate hideout that Yosho would use centuries later to seal Ryoko in, but that’s just theory.)
Regardless, while Earth was officially a colony of Jurai, Earth was a very primitive planet. So when Azusa brought her to Jurai, he was not only defying the powerful Seto and rejecting his arranged marriage, but he also dared bring a primitive and propose to marry her instead. In the end, a settlement was reached whereby Azusa was to marry both. Misaki was younger than Funaho and looked up to Funaho as a big sister (as I recall it). The two got along well, and after both had children, both agreed to the whacky notion of having Yosho marry Aeka.
If Azusa wanted Yosho to take the throne…
Azusa had no say on whether Yosho took the throne or not. The politics of Jurai are not traditional in terms of the emperorship. The four royal houses of Jurai hold an election. To quote the FAQ,
Before Azusa was elected emperor, the previous emperor was from House Amaki. When he died, the heads of the four royal houses come together to choose a new emperor. Various factors (including normal politics) go into whom is elected, but having a 1st-gen tree as a partner all but assures your election since only five (not counting the 1st-gen seed that bonded with Seina) have chosen to bond with Juraians.
What made Yosho first in line for the throne was his royal tree (whom he named after his mother, Funaho) was 1st generation. Yosho didn’t want this, which is why he used Ryoko’s attack on Jurai as an excuse
Admittedly, the more I watch OVA series 1, the most I sympathize with Ayeka. She simply had her heart set on marrying the man she had been groomed to love. sadface1
Supposedly, the one of reasons Kajishima-sensei was unhappy with Hasegawa-sensei was how she saw Aeka as a tragic figure and thus her scripts reflected that, which wasn’t the way Kajishima-sensei portrayed Aeka in his earlier draft of the story. In Kajishima-sensei’s mind, Aeka would accept the official account of Yosho having died after seeing the royal tree Funaho planted in the ground. Royal tree’s usually live longer than their Juraian partners, so when their partner dies, the tree is planted in the ground to serve as grave marker and grave keeper.
WisperG wrote: