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good thing one of them has older brother EXP

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i know your main thing is ousa/usao and oripa but i was wondering how you felt about yuuo? do you think that the problem with them was that ogata wanted yuusaku to choose him over anything else (their father) which by extension meant that yuusaku had to accept his philosophies and (imagined) defectives or was it simply that ogata wanted the pure version of him to be secretly the same as him, proving himself correct? (or a third thing, i would love to hear your thoughts about them regardless)

I think both reasons you listed here for Ogata killing Yusaku are valid -- I don't think it's one or the other. Yes I agree. I agree with both (lol).

Thoughts, thoughts... welp, I still haven't quite wrapped my head around Ch. 310 when Ogata says "Yusaku was the only one who loved me". So I'll riff on about that even though that's off-topic -- oops!

"Yusaku was the only one who loved me" made me confused when I first saw it-- because one could argue that he received love from his mom at one point, his grandparents, Asirpa. The list is short but not completely empty... so *maybe* Ogata's 'real' definition of 'love' is for someone to 1) understand who he truly is (a "normal guy") and 2) genuinely, and unconditionally, show affection.

So like Usami fulfills 1) -- he can read Ogata like a BOOK -- but unfortunately he doesn't actually LIKE this part of Ogata and instead chastises him for being a weakling.

Asirpa, well, she SORT OF fulfills 2), she likes Ogata, but conditionally, when he's on their side. Also because Ogata lies too much to her for her to really understand who he is, doesn't quite fulfill 1).

His mom, well, she almost fulfills 2) but she kind of loves Ogata as an extension of Mr. Hanazawa, telling him to follow in his father's footsteps and all that, so her love for him might be more on the conditional side.

So I SUPPOSE Yusaku is the only one to fulfill both 1) and 2), in that he 1) saw through Ogata's edgelord-ass facade and explicitly told him "what the fuck are you talking about, literally everyone feels guilt, even yourself, because you are just a normal guy" and 2) he just genuinely loves Ogata, hugging him and crying for him, even after Ogata clues him in on his fucked up philosophy, even after Ogata tries to persuade him to kill a POW, even after Ogata tries to trick him into losing his virginity.

What's really tragic about this whole thing is that he had this realization that Yusaku genuinely LOVED HIM mere seconds before he took himself out ... AFTER he killed Yusaku for the reasons you mentioned in your ask... :'( like bro was looking for unconditional love the whole time and IT WAS RIGHT THERE...AND HE MURDERED IT.

I did answer in another ask that Ogata was agnostic about whether "attention" comes from a positive or negative place -- and I wonder if maybe his attention-seeking behavior is just a quick dopaminergic fix and what he was really looking for was for someone to truly "see" him and love him for it. Wehh.

Edit: I just realized after I posted this that yes, I guess it was sort of on topic -- because one last possible reason why Ogata could have killed Yusaku is that he was OVERWHELMED BY LOVE. and he literally was like ahh

^relevant tweet. I posted this as a joke, but honestly, kinda true... the agape from Yusaku shone unto him ... and he was TERRIFIED...

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got me fucked up thinking about how ogata gave usami the highlight of his life by KILLING him -- and how he wished the same for his mother but his dad never came to her funeral

i'll probably have to make a comic about this so I can disseminate it to the people of pixiv... grr... I love drawing but I don't ACTUALLY. it's so tedious.

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in the golden kamuy official guidebook Noda answers a few questions about Tsurumi's alcohol tolerance to which he says Tsurumi's alcohol tolerance is low and he only pretends to drink -- and when he gets actually drunk he becomes "quiet"... the brainworms run wild...

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men of culture i need you to read this fic

this is a fic I highly enjoyed -- it's just SO GOOD the way the author describes Usami -- as "barely a person" (clenches fist) and "tailor made to be of use to someone" (clenches fist HARDER...) I need to YELL about it to someone other than myself.

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Everything you are saying is very insightful and I love how many parallels can be drawn between them even though they are so different in temperament, upbringing, outlook, etc. i hope to see more of your arts for golden kamuy. also, i think you might enjoy this work i found going through the usao tag on ao3.. https://archiveofourown.org/works/54486463

Thank you for your kind words! I appreciate you liking my art as well -- although I probably won't be updating as regularly as I did in the month of April -- I do want to try different styles of art aside from the two-toned black and white sketches I always do (and yet, as I'm typing this I'm working on a little black and white sketch lmao).

I'm currently obsessed with modern day reincarnation AUs for Usao/Ousa and the fic you linked captured their specific "more than enemies but not quite friends" vibe so well -- especially how Ogata starts mentioning Tsurumi to push Usami's buttons. They understand each others' weaknesses so well and it almost makes me think, like, if they weren't in competition over Tsurumi, would they -- be actual friends?? <- what a devastating thought. If they were to be reincarnated in the modern universe without war and without gold, would they just be two friends who understand each other to their very core... best friends... (crying noises)

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im bore. does anyone want to shoot each other until one of us hits something vital

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I thought of another similarity between them that I want to add!!

I think Usami and Ogata's perception of love is agnostic to whether that attention comes from a positive or negative place: they will gladly take whatever attention they can get as long as they get it from their designated persons of interest, and they want to receive love without external competition.

Usami says the line "Lieutenant Tsurumi is going to scold me!" multiple times when he fucks up on an assignment -- and he appears excited and looks forward to it, because any attention from Tsurumi counts as 'love' in his book. Although Ogata fucks up on purpose to draw Tsurumi's attention, it's similar -- he just wants someone to look at him, whether they look at him with positively or negatively. I look back on Asirpa looking at Ogata with those pitch black eyes and shooting an arrow into his side -- and in that moment, I think he felt satisfied because she was looking at him, and him only, and it must have felt as if there was no one else in the world -- no Sugimoto, no Shiraishi, no bear -- just the two of them. This can also extend to the skirmish that happens a few pages before with Sugimoto -- before the bear comes in (why was there a bear in the first place, I still wonder -- anyway...) they are fully concentrated on each other, and Ogata looks genuinely delighted to see him. Similarly, I would say Usami's happiest moment is when Tsurumi shields him from the rest of the soldiers looking on and shouts the same bullshit he said to Tsukishima to create a temporary space just for the two of them. <- which, looking back on it is kinda sad considering the parallels between Tsurumi collecting Usami's pinkie and Tsurumi collecting Fina and Olga's pinkies -- like hmm I wonder how much attention Tsurumi was putting on 'actual' Usami and how much of it was him simply projecting his wife and child onto Usami. *choking back a sob*

do you any headcanons/aus/thoughts on usao/ousa ? loved your analysis of ogata/asirpa

Oh boy, I might have too many thoughts about Usami and Ogata so this may have to come in parts, especially the AUs. I have started writing a modern day reincarnation fic for them because I am just very feral about these two at the moment, so if I ever finish that and feel compelled to put it out to the world I'll let you know. The thing about writing fic or manga is like -- I can write little snippets but to piece them together into one coherent story is very difficult.

Anyway, your ask came at such a prompt time because I managed to buy the Japanese volumes on Bookwalker for almost 50% off and I specifically reread the main parts with Usami, so they are quite fresh in my mind. I think I agree with other analyses I have read about Usami in that he is a direct foil to Ogata. And this can be seen in their superficial traits: Ogata has many square-shaped, angular, sharp motifs on his face, like his square-shaped eyes, square shaped iris, squared eyebrows, square jawline, square hairline, while Usami has rounded tips on his eyelashes, round moles on his cheeks, rounded lips (cupid's bow), concentric circles for his pupil/iris, and rounded brows. Usami excels at close-range combat, while Ogata excels at long-range combat. Usami grew up amongst a large family with many siblings, while Ogata grew up practically an only child.

But here's the weird part -- I actually don't think they are complete opposites -- I think they have some things in common. <- more on this later.

It is interesting how in Usami's backstory (Chapter 227), Tsurumi (in conversation with the dojo owner) refers to Usami as a "dog among sheep" and a "born soldier who is highly loyal, combative, and is able to kill without remorse or regret". Then, it cuts to Usami in present day saying he predicts the serial killer in Sapporo will return to the scene of the crime and masturbate while reminiscing of their crimes because he understands that sentiment on a personal level. Usami here appears to show understanding that he possesses an innate capacity for violence.

Ogata was always wondering about the whole nature vs nurture question -- like whether lacking remorse for the act of killing is something one is born with or a product of one's environment (ex. bad childhood, war). Usami is a shining example that humans can in fact kill without remorse, and everyone except Ogata knows Usami is an exception to the rule. Usami is well aware this is what makes him special and this is one of the reasons why Tsurumi values him so much as a subordinate.

The problem with Ogata is that because he appears to have very little personal connections outside of Usami during the war (which is... kind of cute in a pitiable way?), he misconstrues that people like Usami are the majority. Usami agrees with all of Ogata's skewed interpretations and analyses that "all (majority of) people do not feel remorse in the act of killing" and in doing that, he is straight up lying. Usami knows people like himself are in the minority -- and because his analysis of Ogata's character was so spot on -- I'll go as far to say Usami knows Ogata is "normal" -- because if Ogata were truly a "born soldier" like Usami, he would not be ruminating about the philosophy of guilt and killing and questioning himself and bouncing his ideas off of another person -- he would just simply, be. Usami receives further confirmation that Ogata is simply, "just a guy", when he overhears Ogata calling Yusaku's name in his sleep. Usami also calls Ogata a snot-nosed brat quite a number of times, and I think that is alluding to Usami knowing that Ogata is just a sheep wearing wolf's skin.

It's interesting that Ogata entrusted the inner workings of his mind to Usami. I thought about this and I came to the conclusion that maybe he saw his own mother in Usami -- which I know, it's kind of insane, but I'm going somewhere with this! In Chapter 304, when Ogata is reminiscing about his mother, it appears she has a prominent cupid's bow -- a physical characteristic possessed by Usami. His mother likely called Ogata by his first name, and Usami is shown to be THE only person in present day who calls Ogata by his first name. Ogata's mom was head over heels over a man in a position of power with a wife who never returned the same level of love, while Usami is head over heels over a "promiscuous" man in a position of power who will likely never return the same level of affection that he's outputting. Another interesting side note: Usami chides Ogata for being the illegitimate son of an escort* and back in the Edo period, women in the business would chop off their pinkie as a sign of loyalty to their patron. Although Ogata likely did not have a good vantage point (nor did he care) to observe Usami's final moments, I think it's still worth mentioning that Usami getting his pinkie chomped off by Tsurumi resembles an escort chopping off her finger as a sign of ultimate devotion to her customer, lol. Anyway, I think because Ogata drew parallels between Yusaku and Asirpa, it is not so far fetched that he saw his mother in Usami -- and ultimately his projection made him trust Usami more than one ever should. There is one more important evidence that Ogata saw his mother in Usami -- in that he killed both of them with similar intent. He killed his mom not out of hatred, but because he wanted to put her out of her misery -- and he thought that if his father came to her funeral, she would be happy. Before he shoots Usami, he says something like "if you're so worried about being Tsurumi's cheapest pawn, why don't you see what his face looks like at your funeral," and in a way, he is putting Usami out of his miserable state of feeling inadequate. Ogata killed his mother with conviction that the positive outcome would happen, while he kills Usami with more of a neutral outlook -- and interestingly, Ogata, by killing Usami, gave Usami the thing he wanted most in life -- a reaffirmation from Tsurumi that he was his one and only (which, whether Tsurumi was telling the truth or not is dubious from a reader's POV, but alas, we are happy for Usami).

So here we return to my earlier point -- that they are crafted to be very different from each other, but they do possess similarities. One obvious one is that they both yearn for affection from Tsurumi -- which highlights another difference in that, yes they both yearn for love, but the love they seek are different. Usami yearns for love from one person and one person only, while Ogata is more agnostic and yearns for love from pretty much anyone who is willing to give him attention. But here's the thing -- I think Ogata's yearning for affection is a product of his environment -- and I think Usami's yearning to be someone's one and only, is also a product of his environment! I think that because he grew up in a large family, the love from his parents was dispersed amongst all of their children***, fostering an environment ripe for someone like Tsurumi to sweep him off his feet and pour "love" into this near-empty vessel. Usami felt intoxicated by the notion of being someone's one and only, that his jealousy-filled-rage led him to murder. I'd argue that without the addition of Tsurumi, there would be no Usami. Tsurumi compared Usami not to a wolf or a bear -- but a domesticated dog -- which is not, by itself, likely to commit acts of violence**. A soldier becomes a soldier only when commanded -- STEERED in the right direction, much like a dog will become violent when raised to do so. Therefore, a version of Usami who never met a sweet-talker like Tsurumi in his formative years, would likely not grow up to be an ultra-loyal killing-machine. To sum, I believe Usami's capacity for violence is an innate quality that can only be harnessed by the right environment.

Thank you for the question! One thing I still haven't quite wrapped my mind around is how after Ogata shoots Usami, he says "thank you, Usami, your death has completed me as a sniper." Okay??? What does he mean by that! I don't know! So if you or anyone reading this has any thoughts I'd love to know!

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*=note that 商売女can include prostitutes and geisha, and the lines between geisha and prostitution was a lot blurrier back then so I'm just calling them an "escort" although Ogata's mom is officially known to be a former geisha

**=note that this is a sweeping generalization and I am aware different dog breeds do display varying levels of unpredictable, aggressive behavior

***=I just want to point out that Usami's parents are portrayed as being in love with each other, so they may have had that many kids as a result of lack of contraception. There's a scene in Vagabond with a couple who are having sex despite their many children crying out of hunger, and it kind of reminds me of that...

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do you any headcanons/aus/thoughts on usao/ousa ? loved your analysis of ogata/asirpa

Oh boy, I might have too many thoughts about Usami and Ogata so this may have to come in parts, especially the AUs. I have started writing a modern day reincarnation fic for them because I am just very feral about these two at the moment, so if I ever finish that and feel compelled to put it out to the world I'll let you know. The thing about writing fic or manga is like -- I can write little snippets but to piece them together into one coherent story is very difficult.

Anyway, your ask came at such a prompt time because I managed to buy the Japanese volumes on Bookwalker for almost 50% off and I specifically reread the main parts with Usami, so they are quite fresh in my mind. I think I agree with other analyses I have read about Usami in that he is a direct foil to Ogata. And this can be seen in their superficial traits: Ogata has many square-shaped, angular, sharp motifs on his face, like his square-shaped eyes, square shaped iris, squared eyebrows, square jawline, square hairline, while Usami has rounded tips on his eyelashes, round moles on his cheeks, rounded lips (cupid's bow), concentric circles for his pupil/iris, and rounded brows. Usami excels at close-range combat, while Ogata excels at long-range combat. Usami grew up amongst a large family with many siblings, while Ogata grew up practically an only child.

But here's the weird part -- I actually don't think they are complete opposites -- I think they have some things in common. <- more on this later.

It is interesting how in Usami's backstory (Chapter 227), Tsurumi (in conversation with the dojo owner) refers to Usami as a "dog among sheep" and a "born soldier who is highly loyal, combative, and is able to kill without remorse or regret". Then, it cuts to Usami in present day saying he predicts the serial killer in Sapporo will return to the scene of the crime and masturbate while reminiscing of their crimes because he understands that sentiment on a personal level. Usami here appears to show understanding that he possesses an innate capacity for violence.

Ogata was always wondering about the whole nature vs nurture question -- like whether lacking remorse for the act of killing is something one is born with or a product of one's environment (ex. bad childhood, war). Usami is a shining example that humans can in fact kill without remorse, and everyone except Ogata knows Usami is an exception to the rule. Usami is well aware this is what makes him special and this is one of the reasons why Tsurumi values him so much as a subordinate.

The problem with Ogata is that because he appears to have very little personal connections outside of Usami during the war (which is... kind of cute in a pitiable way?), he misconstrues that people like Usami are the majority. Usami agrees with all of Ogata's skewed interpretations and analyses that "all (majority of) people do not feel remorse in the act of killing" and in doing that, he is straight up lying. Usami knows people like himself are in the minority -- and because his analysis of Ogata's character was so spot on -- I'll go as far to say Usami knows Ogata is "normal" -- because if Ogata were truly a "born soldier" like Usami, he would not be ruminating about the philosophy of guilt and killing and questioning himself and bouncing his ideas off of another person -- he would just simply, be. Usami receives further confirmation that Ogata is simply, "just a guy", when he overhears Ogata calling Yusaku's name in his sleep. Usami also calls Ogata a snot-nosed brat quite a number of times, and I think that is alluding to Usami knowing that Ogata is just a sheep wearing wolf's skin.

It's interesting that Ogata entrusted the inner workings of his mind to Usami. I thought about this and I came to the conclusion that maybe he saw his own mother in Usami -- which I know, it's kind of insane, but I'm going somewhere with this! In Chapter 304, when Ogata is reminiscing about his mother, it appears she has a prominent cupid's bow -- a physical characteristic possessed by Usami. His mother likely called Ogata by his first name, and Usami is shown to be THE only person in present day who calls Ogata by his first name. Ogata's mom was head over heels over a man in a position of power with a wife who never returned the same level of love, while Usami is head over heels over a "promiscuous" man in a position of power who will likely never return the same level of affection that he's outputting. Another interesting side note: Usami chides Ogata for being the illegitimate son of an escort* and back in the Edo period, women in the business would chop off their pinkie as a sign of loyalty to their patron. Although Ogata likely did not have a good vantage point (nor did he care) to observe Usami's final moments, I think it's still worth mentioning that Usami getting his pinkie chomped off by Tsurumi resembles an escort chopping off her finger as a sign of ultimate devotion to her customer, lol. Anyway, I think because Ogata drew parallels between Yusaku and Asirpa, it is not so far fetched that he saw his mother in Usami -- and ultimately his projection made him trust Usami more than one ever should. There is one more important evidence that Ogata saw his mother in Usami -- in that he killed both of them with similar intent. He killed his mom not out of hatred, but because he wanted to put her out of her misery -- and he thought that if his father came to her funeral, she would be happy. Before he shoots Usami, he says something like "if you're so worried about being Tsurumi's cheapest pawn, why don't you see what his face looks like at your funeral," and in a way, he is putting Usami out of his miserable state of feeling inadequate. Ogata killed his mother with conviction that the positive outcome would happen, while he kills Usami with more of a neutral outlook -- and interestingly, Ogata, by killing Usami, gave Usami the thing he wanted most in life -- a reaffirmation from Tsurumi that he was his one and only (which, whether Tsurumi was telling the truth or not is dubious from a reader's POV, but alas, we are happy for Usami).

So here we return to my earlier point -- that they are crafted to be very different from each other, but they do possess similarities. One obvious one is that they both yearn for affection from Tsurumi -- which highlights another difference in that, yes they both yearn for love, but the love they seek are different. Usami yearns for love from one person and one person only, while Ogata is more agnostic and yearns for love from pretty much anyone who is willing to give him attention. But here's the thing -- I think Ogata's yearning for affection is a product of his environment -- and I think Usami's yearning to be someone's one and only, is also a product of his environment! I think that because he grew up in a large family, the love from his parents was dispersed amongst all of their children***, fostering an environment ripe for someone like Tsurumi to sweep him off his feet and pour "love" into this near-empty vessel. Usami felt intoxicated by the notion of being someone's one and only, that his jealousy-filled-rage led him to murder. I'd argue that without the addition of Tsurumi, there would be no Usami. Tsurumi compared Usami not to a wolf or a bear -- but a domesticated dog -- which is not, by itself, likely to commit acts of violence**. A soldier becomes a soldier only when commanded -- STEERED in the right direction, much like a dog will become violent when raised to do so. Therefore, a version of Usami who never met a sweet-talker like Tsurumi in his formative years, would likely not grow up to be an ultra-loyal killing-machine. To sum, I believe Usami's capacity for violence is an innate quality that can only be harnessed by the right environment.

Thank you for the question! One thing I still haven't quite wrapped my mind around is how after Ogata shoots Usami, he says "thank you, Usami, your death has completed me as a sniper." Okay??? What does he mean by that! I don't know! So if you or anyone reading this has any thoughts I'd love to know!

--

*=note that 商売女can include prostitutes and geisha, and the lines between geisha and prostitution was a lot blurrier back then so I'm just calling them an "escort" although Ogata's mom is officially known to be a former geisha

**=note that this is a sweeping generalization and I am aware different dog breeds do display varying levels of unpredictable, aggressive behavior

***=I just want to point out that Usami's parents are portrayed as being in love with each other, so they may have had that many kids as a result of lack of contraception. There's a scene in Vagabond with a couple who are having sex despite their many children crying out of hunger, and it kind of reminds me of that...

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updating yet AGAIN ---

I read a fic on pixiv where Usami and Ogata meet in hell and Usami shows off his missing pinkie, and Ogata recalls his mom also had a missing pinkie because she chopped it off to pledge loyalty to his dad -- and that altered my brain chemistry; also saw a photoset on twitter about the parallels between Olga and Usami's death -- anyway I feel Normal about everything

uploading again because I can't believe I forgot the line between Ogata and Tsurumi!!! also OUsa or UsaO are very tasty to me right now

original by chengongzi123 on twitter

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usao moodboard

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aaaa sorry for reuploading so quickly. noticed some errors..

(*shakes my cane* back in my day we could edit photos!!)