#i just about found him in chp 230 that was sneaky

[boinin]

One last rambly post before I go be productive. This one is less shitposty... though it's also about Kunigami so, you know. Expect copium from a stan.

He features in four panels during this week's chapter, which is a development. He features once in each of the preceding chapters (230 & 231), minor appearances in either case. Squint or you'll miss him altogether.

That said, the mangaka and writer continually remind us of his presence, much as they have with Hiori in the run up to and during the Ubers match. Although he hasn't had a proper line of dialogue since chapter 218, and he hasn't done anything particularly meaningful since chapter 219.

But that's to be expected.

What happened in chapter 219? It's the build up to Kaiser's goal in the following chapter (220). As a reminder, Kunigami initiated that attack himself, and cleared many of the defenders single-handedly. But without support, his attack chances were goosed. So Isagi intercepted the ball, and through a series of plays, Kaiser ended up scoring.

What's happening now (in chapter 232)? Another Bastard Munchen goal attempt, this time spearheaded by Kaiser from the start.

Kunigami has fallen into operating as a goal poacher. Where he positions himself in chapter 232 is reminiscent of his positioning in chapter 185, where he scores against Manshine using Isagi's shot attempt. You can understand why he continues to use this method. Compare his placement here with where he positions himself beside Aryu, in the leak panels above.

It doesn't work out for him this time though, because Lorenzo deflects the ball away from him... and he doesn't have metavision like Isagi, allowing him to foresee that chain of events. He waits around for the opportunity like a scavenger, unable to use his mind to play the potential scenarios out. It's less efficient, and he also has no one to support his plays. Respectfully, Isagi would be a lot less efficient too if he didn't have Kurona, Hiori or even Yukimiya for assists.

Kunigami himself isn't playing up and down the pitch because he's a forward, and in part because he has no metavision. Tellingly, he barely featured during the Star Change system, when Ubers were the dominant attackers. But is he still an effective player overall?

Certainly. Had Lorenzo been sloppier about that deflection and sent it the other direction, it'd have been on Aryu to keep that ball out of Kunigami's reach within a split second. Kunigami's a difficult player to contain, even two on one. Ubers would have been in danger there, had the ball gone his way rather than Isagi's. While the deflection could be random, I wonder whether that's something Lorenzo considered. If the choice was Aryu V Kunigami, or Aiku V Isagi... well, I'd put my money on Aiku every time. No shade, glam king, you're still an icon ✨

The point I'm making is, Kunigami is always present when Bastard Munchen are attacking. If he's not driving the attack himself (as he was in chapter 218/219), then he's hanging around to see if he can steal a goal opportunity from another forward (Isagi, and now Kaiser too).

As much as I enjoy the jokes about Kunigami being absent in this match due to his shinigami side hustle, it is tiresome to read through people slandering his ability to play overall. He can, and he continues to pose a danger to the goal whenever the ball is in play in that area. We can dump on him for being inflexible, for not having metavision, or for his shitty personality change. But I wanted to highlight as per the latest chapter, how he's shown to be engaged and present within this match.

Further reading: I did a deep dive on what Kunigami's role is in the Neo-Egoist league here.

I take the piss out of him here and here, if memes are more your speed.