erasso

[erasso]

nevermind I'm too sad I need to know what happens next first I can't reread yet

[erasso]

I've still been reading kagurabachi, but I didn't have much to say about things. I wanted to do a reread but wanted to wait for something major to happen

but this happened? uruha? no... no... no... I can't take it... I'll do a write up about him and samura I think

[erasso]

yoji uruha

it's early, he's only been present for two chapters, but I want to talk a little about uruha

from what we see of him before his introduction for real, I thought he would be a bit of a goofball, cool but more comedic, but not a character I'd be too attached to

but the reality is...

...actually, my initial thoughts weren't too far off the mark. uruha is cool, and he's been pretty comedic. but in a completely different way than I expected!

he's a huge kunishige fanboy...

...but he turns out to be more level-headed than initial impressions. while he seems deranged, I think if we consider the timeline, his emotional outburst is reasonable... enough (his expression is so gentle here)

while there isn't too much to say about him yet, I mostly want to point out that he's a kind person who doesn't think of himself as better than others

though he's a war hero, and other people look up to him the same way he looks up to kunishige (pretty nice way to quickly remind us of this)

but, while I love that he's kind like this, I worry that this might also be his downfall... in chapter 47, he still decided to rely on hakuri, despite his inability to recognize how many sorcerers were attacking them, lack of knowledge of the kind of weapon he was carrying...

...and his immediate failure when he tried to attack

but being able to believe in people the way he does without being harsh at all makes me think he could be a great mentor

well, I hope he survives

[erasso]

ever since the tsugimanga win and the new chapter there's been so much fan art and fan discussion I feel like it's draining all my energy... it makes me very happy but it's hard to organize my thoughts on things!

[erasso]

the range for the day 😭 NOT including that one shibasoya yuri

[erasso]

Congratulations to Kagurabachi for winning the 1st place in the print category for Tsugimanga Awards! This basically makes it confirmed to get an anime down the line right?

Also from the stream lolol

[erasso]

hakuri sazanami

[erasso]

Lapse in self-consciousness

[erasso]

most normal shounen pair of guys

[erasso]

the kanji for sazanami is [漣], with the meaning of the appearance of rippling water, or continuously flowing tears...

there's a lot that can be said about that but! I've decided that it means all the sazanami are actually big criers

characters who cry a lot are usually really annoying to me... but it's endearing here, for some reason

[erasso]

Happy Kagurabachi Sunday truly it is a day

[erasso]

the sazanami family is so well written... thinking about it is making me sad now

kyora's expression after tenri and soya's death, what he imagines in his final moments...

there was love there, but in the end, he chose the rakuzaichi above all

kyora wasn't the one who started this system. he was born into it and molded by it, the same way his sons were

I'm not saying to forgive him, or that none of this was his own choice. but the sazanami family depicts a cycle. he was a child once, and this was how he was raised. it's something worth thinking about

[erasso]

[erasso]

sazanami trio thoughts...

I think soya is a pretty interesting character... I set out intending to write this about him, but it ended up being more general

kyora seems to have many children, but there's 3 he clearly values more than the rest: soya, hakuri, tenri

soya is 5 years older than hakuri. it's interesting. it's a pretty big age difference for manga siblings, I think.

from how he acts, I get the impression soya was loved and put above the rest as "special" for years. he's pretty confident in the things he does, and doesn't seem to be so fixated on conforming and doing everything "for the family" like everyone else we see. after all, you can't be a leader if all you know is following directions.

but then hakuri was born, and, a year later, tenri...

do you see soya there in the background? if you haven't thought about it before, it's worth taking another look. soya is always in the background in these flashbacks. he's there, but he's not acknowledged. he's an afterthought.

look at the panel of them at the funeral. tenri and hakuri are in kyora's arms. soya wants to be in the inner circle, but he can't.

sure, hakuri is treated like an idiot now. no one respects him and he's considered trash... but I think he really was the one being raised to be the next heir, once upon a time.

he's goofy so it's easy to think he's dumb, but look at how he acts in battle... he's really a genius, and I don't think kyora would've missed that. in one day, he picked up so many techniques he's never used before in his life. he has a great ability to understand how other people work. see: syncing up with chihiro flawlessly, trusting that his dad would hold out until the end, using himself as bait for soya...

hakuri's also very brave and proactive. even though he was powerless, he tried to escape with the ice girl... and after what happened with that, he still left on his own. he saved a little girl and tried to fight the yakuza, and approached chihiro himself even though chihiro was in the middle of a yakuza killing spree... then he took hiyuki's attack head on...

alright, alright, that's enough hakuri praise. I love him though. I could probably talk about him forever

(I know you will, hakuri)

kyora's hands shake when he was about to kill hakuri. he says it's from rage, but I don't think that's really all he was feeling. love and hate...

if kyora never had any love for him at all, I don't think he would have let him run away when he could have just teleported him back any time... and would he have ever felt like this if hakuri didn't matter to him?

it really seems like hakuri was someone kyora put his hope into until it seemed like hakuri couldn't do sorcery at all... it even seems like hakuri was given more leniency than other sazanami when it came to learning.

we're told sazanamis are expected to be able to focus spirit energy by age 8, and to use isou by 12. kyora gave up on hakuri at 12, but that's 4 years of extra focus when he didn't show any ability at all the entire time...

...and I think all this is why hakuri is treated so badly, and why soya hates him so much. soya knows he's just the backup. and the one meant to take on the role he's been given is right here, a complete failure

he can't get angry at his dad for treating him like this, but he can get angry at hakuri... and the rest of the family can be angry at hakuri for "letting down" kyora as well, so he becomes the perfect punching bag

I think soya was already bullying hakuri before hakuri became considered a failure, but only in small ways that he could have gotten away with, teasing him, annoying him, pretending it was all out of "love". this might have been one of the reasons why hakuri didn't show any sorcery ability... or maybe he was just a late bloomer... or maybe both!

and the abuse just ramped up higher and higher once nothing was stopping him

now, tenri... the youngest ever member of the tou. he's special, but he doesn't think for himself. he follows directions absolutely. he was never set up to be a leader, and so I doubt soya ever bothered messing with him.

tenri exists so that there's no space for soya as either the strongest nor the leader. I think this is also one of the reasons why soya is so unhappy when he's told he's going to be the next head. if tenri could be the next head, he could at least be happy knowing he was the strongest, but he isn't

the way tenri acts is also good contrast to how soya and hakuri behave.

I don't have much to say about him beyond that. he plays his role well and that is all

[erasso]

hakuri sazanami heir au...

he would either get discovered at a really early age and it would change everything about the story, or

how about kyora realizes when hakuri is 15? so it would mirror chihiro not getting any combat training until 15 himself

how would that go? the failure turned into the star of the family overnight. 3 years is enough to change someone a lot but that core of abuse and lack of faith in himself would still be there

soya would go insane with envy. he's one of the more independently minded sazanami... he wouldn't answer kyora's call because he was too busy chasing hakuri, he wasn't happy when he was told he was going to be the next head of the family. but here, if hakuri becomes the next head, he stops being special at all.

he's not the strongest, tenri is. he might have been the smartest but (I love hakuri so I'm biased but I think he's actually smarter) hakuri would be uncomfortable around him, and he can't control himself around hakuri as it is. being pushed to the side as "just another sazanami", seeing how he's someone who seems to prioritize himself over the family, I see him being the one to betray the family

he wouldn't join chihiro though, not that I think chihiro and shiba would agree to keep this guy around anyway. I think he would sabotage things from within, trying to destroy the rakuzaichi as revenge

how would hakuri end up joining chihiro team here? I'm not sure. I think in this version he's the one who ends up being like the ice girl. he would have to be gradually won over, being shown genuine kindness and unconditional love

he could still witness the sojo mei attack. I think he would be impressed and be drawn to chihiro still. his confidence, his poise, his heroism...

that's all my thoughts for now

[erasso]

this tweet is always what i think of whenever shiba makes some vague torture-related comment

[erasso]

crashed the car for the last time