Isn’t it just like Tohru to see someone else who uses a winning personality to hide their inner turmoil and, rather of recognizing herself in them, doubles down on trying not to be a burden to them?
“It’s almost like he’s protecting something by hating Yuki.”
God, this fucking scene. I’m not sure what secrets Kyo might be hiding, but just from his body language you can tell how deep the scars they left in him are. Tohru’s right; for all his tough talk, his heart is as delicate as glass. Him and Yuki alike.
-Sothat’sthe voice Momo’s been hearing all this time. It’s the fucking walking elephant island.
-”Am I simply a coward, Yamato?” God, I feel Momo’s uncertainty here. He’s trying to follow directions left behind by someone who no longer exists and has no idea what the present day even looks like. Can he really rely on such a person’s advice anymore?
-”How could it possibly put a smile on my face?” hahahahahaha get fuckedOrochi
-What the shit? The Elders want Luffy dead now?What are they so afraid of?
-Yep, this whole battle seems to be winding down now. Nothing left but an island falling apart… and one last face-off to settle.
-”Your ambitions mean nothing to be! Especially if it leaves the people here with no food to eat!” Remember when Luffy said he didn’t consider himself a hero? Yeah, me neither.
-OH CHRIST ALMIGHTY PLEASE DON’T EAT HIM
-okay I can’t tell if Luffy just bounced off the falling rocks or if he bounced off the goddamn explosion itself
-”Strong, or just stubborn? The victor needs no epithet!” Kaido continues to be the most sensible, even honorableopponent Luffy’s ever fought.
-OH FUCK YOU CP0 YOU KNOW KAIDO’S NOT GONNA LIKE YOU MESSING UP HIS DUEL
Can we also just, like, appreciate how casual this representation is? This is a manga from, like, the late 90s, and it prominently features an unambiguously bisexual character who isn’t ashamed of proclaiming how much he loves another dude. Get on this level, shounen.
I think Hatsuharu’s backstory is a really fantastic representation of the cycle of abuse. The other Sohmas made fun of him for being the Ox, an animal that’s supposedly slow and stupid. That complex manifested in an aggressive split personality that he used to take out his anger on Yuki, since the Rat is the animal that tricks the Ox in the old fairy tale, thus giving the Ox its reputation for stupidity. In other words, Haru’s family stereotyped him based on an intrinsic part of his being, and not only did that leaveHaru himself with lasting trauma he’s still working through to this day, it caused him to lash out at Yuki with the same harmful assumptions. He was hurt by being shoved into a box, and it drove him to try and shove someone else into a box in the exact same way, because that was the only way he knew how to process his anger. Pain passed down from person to person, perpetuating itself in an unbroken chain until someone’s finally able to stop it in its tracks.
-Yeah, Kaido just straight-up smashed that guy to bits. Not surprised at all.
-”Kep your preposterous lies to yourself!” I swear to god if Yamato doesn’t end up joining the crew by the end of this arc I am going to have words
-”You dared fight back against me, and you have earned my wrath! This is what it means to lose a war!” Even in totalitarian conquest, Kaido still carries himself with a certain sense of honor. Freaky.
-”I’m going to fight, Trafalgar. No surrender.” And the grim determination to soldier on regardless. Christ.
-”What will that survival even mean? Just a return to slavery, counting down the days until death!” I think what makes Yamato so cool is that he just does. Not. Quit. Even moreso than Luffy, in some respects. He plants his feet and runs against the current no matter how much it tries to sweep him away.
-”Joyboy… has returned!” …i beg your pardon
-So you’re saying. That on top of being a master Haki wielder. On top of being the descendant of Dragon and Garp. Luffyis also bearing the powers of the fucking sun god of liberation.
-”MY NAME IS KOZUKI HIYORI! HOLD YOUR TONGUE, YOU KNAVE!” YOU TELL HIM GIRL
-”This is the pinnacle of what I can do! This is… GEAR FIVE!” WELL ALRIGHT THEN
-oh
oh my god
oh my god
HE TURNED INTO A LITERAL RUBBERHOSE CARTOON CHARACTER
listen the whole “aggressive hot boy defends his pure crush from creeps” is the tropiest trope to ever trope but god dammit this one really worked for me
