#Me about Aoi: she's like a poorly kept dog

[digisurvive]

Was talking to a friend about dogs and dog symbolism, which inevitably circled back to talking about Aoi — why wouldn't it? She's a dog girl all the way through.

While it's a fun contrast to have this shy, proper girl have the partner that evolves into aggressive attack dogs, those traits actually end up mapping pretty well into her partner; which is no surprise not only because the soul-reflection lore the game lifts from adv, but also per Habu's own words about them picking the human character's background first and then a Digimon that fit them. It could be taken to say: Labramon is Aoi's partner because her attack-dog preset evo line fits Aoi the most.

The evo line not only reflects Aoi's repressed aggression and anger, but also fit her on a more core level: Doberman are guard dogs who are utterly committed to their training and purpose. This is naturally reflected in Dobermon's life mission as a virus hunter and Aoi's whole behavior being underlined by acting under the precepts of what's right— which involves safeguarding social harmony through social conformity and her commitment to fulfilling her duties both in her daily-life as class president and being a senior at camp. Simply put, just as Shuuji does, she sees it as her responsibility to take care of the group. Her ultimate commitment is always to her values/her sense of rightness, however, so if she ends stops viewing taking care of them as conducive to preserving proper behavior and social hierarchy—Harmony— she'll definitely switch tunes. This is very fitting for the attack dog symbolism, given the devotion to one's duty.

Even her near-constant state of anxiety feels fitting to the attack-dog theme, factoring how poorly managed/neglected doberman show the tension and anxiety from always being alert. At the core of her struggles shown in her Wrathful flashback and bitter Plutomon rantings lies that neglect and overwork, being taken advantage of, being counted on always taking the extra mile and not properly shown the support, care and respect she needs.

She also has the more classic aspect of dog symbolism regarding obedience and control baked into Plutomon —but arguably implicit in her desire for assertiveness and power. Her need to enforce a strict social hierarchy and expectations of absolutely obedience come through in the way she talks to the group as Plutomon. She'll interpret talking back as misbehavior and a challenge to her authority, and her ultimate plan basically boils down to wanting to bend the world down to her orders/will. Doberman and Labradors being highly trainable and obedient breeds ends feeling extremely fitting for her narrative.

She even feels the most fulfilled when being able perform her duties as their leader/senpai —extremely apparent in the euphoria she feels as Plutomon; it's very telling that in Moral that this is achieved through expressing the aspects of her personality she usually suppresses and getting the support she needs, while her neurosis and insecurities still threaten to cloud her judgment, it's shown she's becoming better at managing them.

The way she approaches her so-called motherly inclinations being through guiding others makes her such a dog girl LOL like literally the kind of person for whom a poodle or a collie would make a great animal for companionship.