#yukiko kanzaki icons

[luna-loner]

Duality: The True Beauty of Kanzaki Yukiko

It's best girl's birthday! And what better way of celebrating than to gush talk about why I love her so much? Fair warning, this is going to be a long read 'cause when I start rambling about my girl, it's hard to stop ;)

The title pretty much spells out what it is that makes her character so unique in my humble opinion, but honestly, it has to do more with how her duality is handled rather than it simply existing.

Two Sides Of The Same Girl

Yukiko's character can be roughly broken down into two aspects: the Yamato Nadeshiko, and the Gamer Girl. Hardly can we imagine these two things going hand in hand given how their connotations and presumptions differ vastly from each other. Whereas the Yamato Nadeshiko paints the picture of an ideal Japanese woman, often submissive and obedient, the Gamer Girl invokes a more modern and frivolous image. Maybe she's a tomboy, a nerd, an irresponsible embodiment of chaos, or a hot babe with a console; but she certainly wouldn't be an ojou-sama in a kimono and geta sandals.

In Yukiko's case, the Gamer Girl is a stark contrast to the Class Idol we were first introduced to. Dyed, wavey hair replaced the prim and proper Hime cut. Brown eyes, once filled warmth and kindness, were now hardened, and the polite smile that often accompanied them was no where in sight. Rather than meekly clasping her hands in front of her, our gamer showcased a tough exterior. Rather than elegance, she radiated a badass vibe.

I'll be honest; when I first watched the episode, I thought they were going with the "True self" route with the newly-revealed gamer aspect.

Thank Matsui that's not the case because that would've been cliché and sexist. "Hey, see this ladylike character over here? Yeah, that's not who she really is. She's actually a hardcore gamer with a filthy mouth and big gremlin energy :D" (wooooow, what a girlboss *eye roll*)

@/o0o0thorn0o0o and I actually discussed this a long time ago and she told me how the reason the plot twist was so shocking wasn't because it made you go, "Oh, she was a gamer this whole time?" But rather, "Wait, a girl like her can be a gamer?" It's what makes her a breath of fresh air and a very unique character.

It's why I don't like it when people play up her gamer side until it becomes her whole personality. I've seen fics that erase her growth and revert her back to her 2nd year self and I'm just thinking, "Why...?"

Yes, I'm aware that everyone is entitled to their own interpretation of the character, just like how I am entitled to express my disdain of said interpretation 😇

A Lady, Not a Loser

Yukiko's arc concluded with her learning to embrace herself and stop worrying about how others perceive her. She never traded her modest, feminine attire for gamer merch, nor did she feel the need to denounce her interest in flowers to permentantly adopt a skull motif. My lady doesn't need to do any of that because she can walk into a damn arcade as herself now, thank you very much!

To some extent, the Class Idol persona is just another aspect of Yukiko's true self. She's genuinely a nice girl who gets along with everyone, which is one reason why she's popular with the boys; it's not just for her looks. She's still earnest and diligent, so don't expect her to be obsessively gaming in class or pulling an all-nighters. In fact, her doing that would just make her arc meaningless. That girl on Ryuuki's phone represented a terrible version of Yukiko-- stressed-out, overindulgent, and unsure of her place in the world.

But just because she's quiet and reserved doesn't mean she's lost her rebellious streak. She gave her dad the finger when he disapproved of her career choice. She stood up to Takaoka even after witnessing how violent he got with Maehara, and of course, we have this iconic scene:

I will forever thank Lerche for adding the raised pinky finger to this magnificant scene. Look at this! Look at how my girl's putting Ren in his place like the lady that she is <3

And then there's the time she gently threw ladylike out the window XD

Her duality enjoys playing games with us and constantly challanging our presumptions of Yukiko. As stated before, I initially thought Gamer Yukiko was the real deal, but later moments in the series, as well as the details from the Roll Book, proved me wrong. She's not your typicial gamer girl, or your typical Yamato Nadeshiko. She fits perfectly in those two boxes, but never stays put in either one. You have to expect the unexpected and the expected from this girl. The moment you think you have her figured out, she either subverts your expectations, or fulfills them when you don't expect her to!!

Conclusion

I wouldn't go far as to say she's a very deep and complex character (if we're strictly going by canon), but she isn't one-dimensional either. Both sides of her are equally important and to dismiss or downplay either one would be a major disservice to her character. She's just the perfect blend of two unrelated tropes, wrapped together to give us something new and interesting.

I mean come on, she'd obviously play DDR in a Kimono and geta sandals and still win. (Meanwhile, everyone's just standing there wondering what the logic behind this strange phenomenon 😂)

[chickennuggieee]

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