#i dont *like* how yuri is written but i get what Endo was *trying* to show

[luccie-eclair]

...I want to share an Unpopular Take about Yuri...

I see quite a bit of criticisms of Yuri's character that are all fair and valid. He's creepy. He's overprotective. His relationship with Yor borders one-sided incest.

And I agree with all of this, but I do think that it's a little different with Yor and Yuri. [I am not defending the move to make the relationship seem almost incestuous, but I am more discussing the point of creepiness and overprotectiveness.]

I don't know Endo's intentions with Yuri's character, but to me it reads as Yuri having an extremely dependent relationship with Yor because of their childhood (or lack thereof) and he's merely trying to repay her or be the pillar that she was for him.

They lost their parents at a young age (exceptionally young for Yuri) and Yor basically gave up her entire childhood in order to give Yuri a chance at having one. And Yuri saw that. He, of course, didn't know what she was actually doing, but he always saw her working all types of hours, coming in late, covered in blood & maybe some injuries. All so that she could keep a roof over their heads, food on the table, clothes on their backs, and still have a little extra to spoil Yuri with books, materials, and activities that he'd been eyeing at shops because he loved learning. In his perspective, Yor gave up so much: going to school, having a social life, being a normal kid, and being truly happy for him (and she admits this in her thoughts). So, in his adult years, Yuri is trying to give that up to ensure that she's happy and finding that with a good, worthy person.

I *absolutely* agree that the way it's portrayed isn't... the best. I think it could've been written in a way that didn't seem to lean into a one-sided incestuous relationship. But (assuming that this was his intention) I think Yuri is just extremely dependent and feels indebted to Yor, so he's doing everything to ensure her happiness the way she did for him.

Despite this being a slice of life/comedy, there's a lot of moving parts going on underneath that's making literally every character On Edge All The Time: the war, losing parents/friends/homes, people are plotting another war, SSS arresting everyone for everything. Perhaps, it makes sense for Yuri to be the Overprotective Trope. Yor is all he has left and losing her after everything they've been through would crush him. I would find it strange in a world where everyone's suspicious, everyone has a motive, everyone has something at stake that Yuri, who only has his sister left, isn't overprotective of her.

The Overprotective Brother/Father/BF/Male BFF Trope is annoying, toxic, and kind of overdone. With Yuri, it still isn't portrayed well. It's still creepy and bordering on incestuous, but the Overprotective Trope for Yuri makes the *most* sense.