Talk:Ikuma Momochi/@comment-36876768-20190621042947/@comment-10733658-20190621202922

Ikuma's appearance in the manga is an Easter Egg for people that have read the novels. The novels tend to have intertwining stories, with characters making appearances in multiple stories. They often aren't named in every single story, but instead indicated through other details for readers to pick up on (description, mannerisms, a reference to an incident in their own story).

In the case of Ikuma and Hide's meeting, we know because their meeting is told in both of their focal stories. He's unnamed in Hide's story, but his mannerisms are the major giveaway that it's Ikuma. The coffee Hide gives him shows up in both stories, further tying them together because we see the gifting in both stories and the follow-up in Ikuma's story.

We know that its Ikuma in the manga cameo because of his design and mannerisms.