Yeah, I think Akane has always had meta elements to her. If you weren’t aware, her attempted suicide arc from the dating reality show bears a striking resemblance to real-life events surrounding the death of Hana Kimura. I don’t think Aka has ever confirmed that this was the inspiration for Akane’s suicide attempt, but (especially for Japanese readers), the similarity is striking and clearly marks Akane’s character as one that can be used to connect to things outside of what is simply on the page.

Her narration this chapter reminded me a bit of an old Film Noir where, at the end of the movie, after the mystery is solved, usually the detective narrates a denouement to the story. I would like to think that this is a nod to how the fans of the series have, for a long time now, referred to her as Detective Akane. I have no idea if that nickname is present in the Japanese fanbase as well though, just something that makes me smile when I think about it.