Certifiedlesbianvampire - You're A Styling Star!

posting this image again because i just looove how. it's like

it's not just that outa went to fight ken-san, knowing he would lose, so that marito and ken-san would have a reason to fight, so that marito would get to break out of his slump

because that's just like, proof of one-way loyalty/devotion which is very delicious but it's the "i can see right through you" that does it for me!!

there's that loyalty/devotion from outa but also this deep and instant understanding from marito that i'm gonna be chewing on forever. first it shows marito isn't just dumb as shit (and i love me a guy who's dumb as shit, but also love a guy who understands their people, Their Person)

like there's no doubt whatsoever in marito's mind that outa did this for him, he just Gets It, because he Gets outa, and that paints it as a two-way street for me. i'm so on board. choo choo fucking ka choo or whatever sound ships make (that's a train)

also kicking him when he's down in an affectionate way my beloved 🥰🥰🥰

mizuki mentality

thinking… senya’s pin(???) is in arajin’s head yet both arajin and senya are more emotional… while ichiya’s pin is by matakara’s heart despite ichiya seeming more calculating… what are they cooking 🤔

Just like before, but not as same

I read recently about how some feel the end of Bucchigiri?! was a return to the status quo, and while I don't entirely disagree, is that really so? I think part of the problem comes from how compressed the episode was, so it's very easy for some things to go unnoticed. Because yes, we are back to "normal." But at least in the case of Arajin and Matakara we can notice (very briefly) that something has changed.

Let's go in order…

First let's talk about Arajin, I understand that as a character he can be frustrating for many, especially seeing him go after Mahoro again, even though it seemed like he had finally learned something from everything that happened, but there is something that we must highlight and that is the scene in front of the mirror while trying to imitate Marito.

Arajin always appeared as someone simple and content with his mediocrity, because as many here have already said, it was not only a way to escape from his guilt, but also because he surely felt unworthy of something better than being a "common" boy

It's easy to believe that he's just trying to imitate Marito because he knows that Mahoro has him on a pedestal, but… wouldn't it also mean that he's finally willing to aspire for more? Marito is someone strong, charismatic, casual and who never hesitates in the face of any challenge that catches his attention, qualities that if we think carefully, can be attractive to someone like Arajin, contrasting with the more disciplinary and traditional principles of Minato kai, much more in line for someone like Matakara.

Imitating Marito means recognizing him as superior, and therefore, a goal to achieve, and perhaps even surpass, something that until now, Arajin had never dared to consider.

And regarding insisting on Mahoro again… We remember that Arajin is a teenager, right? I understand that his approach to her has never been the most appropriate, but… is it so strange that he wants to try again now that he has rediscovered his own courage?(again, it's obvious that his way is not the right one)

In Matakara's case, although the fact that everyone forgives him so easily after what happened still seems convenient, I prefer to believe that it has more to do with the reputation he had and the high esteem in which he was held even if he was not capable to notice it, once again reinforcing the idea that he is no longer alone.

His changes, like Arajin's, are very subtle, but deep down they say a lot. The first thing is at the party to celebrate Marito and Kenichiro, where we see him making gyoza with Arajin. I had already said it in a previous analysis, about how cooking is connected to affection and bonds. Here I will take the opportunity to complement it with a couple of things.

Something I mentioned was how the ability to cook could be interpreted as the provision of tools to deal with life, although now that I think about it, also how they were in an unequal relationship. But returning to the party, we see Matakara managing to make his first gyoza well, making visible the fact that the gap between them has fallen, but not only that, I also mentioned how cooking as an activity is closely related to the people Matakara loves. It's more than evident that Arajin has been teaching him, again reinforcing not only their reconciliation, but also the fact that from now on he will be there for him.

Here we also add that he is cooking, not only for his close circle, but for everyone, letting us know that he is finally willing to open his heart to others, which we can also appreciate by how he affectionately hugs his friends after being accepted into Minato kai again.

I had already said this, but I think it is worth returning to it. Remember since Mitsukuni's incident Matakara didn't go to see him even once? Surely because seeing his brother in that state would have been more than he could have endured. You don't have to be a genius to understand what a shock it's for someone like him and at that age. It was a reality that he was fleeing from, because most likely deep down he knew that there was no way to rationalize what had happened with his weakness.

Now, however, knowing that he is no longer alone, that there are people who, despite not knowing him thoroughly, care about him, he finally feels that he can face the situation without his own darkness tormenting him, in one way or another, he has accepted his vulnerability and that he has no control over what will happen, which is certainly a difficult and sometimes very painful lesson.

It's obvious that such a hasty ending in one way or another still hinders the experience and doesn't justify other problems, but I do think that perhaps we shouldn't say that our boys didn't learn anything from all this, plus, again, they are teenagers, This is not the only thing they will have to learn, but there is no doubt that the seed of change has sprouted in both, whether to a greater or lesser extent.

Rosiemilla

crying for the yuri that could have been...

(from the 4th dvd volume commentary)

Questions Of Love In Bucchigiri!?

Hiroko Utsumi is no stranger to distilling homoeroticism into their works, but Bucchigiri!? is able to take it a step further as it intertwines with the hypermasculine idea of fighting and gangs. Because of that, Bucchigiri!? poses two questions to the definition of love and how people experience it.

"What is love versus lust?"

Truthfully, it's a rather simple question to answer (at least to someone outside of high school). The point being the depth of feeling. Lust is strong but shallow, while love moves much deeper.

And the second episode in particular expresses this very strongly through the two gang leaders, Marito and Ken.

They don't feel any way in particular about Arajin until they feel their punch. After that, like Marito says, they just can't forget about it. That's all they know about this kid, "his" punch. And that's all they want from him as well.

The point is to express superficial lust towards Arajin because of something they only experience one single time. They believe that they want the strength behind the person no matter what because of a single moment.

And it's a great comparison to make against Matakara's feelings for Arajin.

Matakara doesn't need to feel "Arajin's" strength to know how he feels about him. On the contrary, he only ever needed to fight (really train) beside him to come to understand that emotion. Even more than that is Matakara's understanding of Arajin outside of fights, and he focuses in specifically on Arajin's passivity and carefulness.

Because of that, you can begin to draw the conclusion that "Lust" is represented by actions involving violence and action, while "Love" stems more from passivity and aversion in this context. Which I think is really really great. It's sort a sort of symbolic explanation of the whole point of violence being boorish and shallow while other communication is deeper and more valuable.

"How much is love worth if they don't love you for who you are?"

Super easy example here with this one. Just look at the Love Forever stone Arajin gives Mahoro vs the friendship one that he gave Matakara.

The whole point is that Arajin's love in the hands of someone who doesn't love him isn't valuable at all, nor is it valuable in the hands of someone that doesn't love him for who he is.

Marito and Ken can only feel something for Arajin because of the strength channeled through him by Senya. It's something entirely foreign to Arajin as a person, and represents both how shallow the gang leaders are, but also how shallow Arajin is.

Loving yourself is something that's tricky to do, and obviously especially so for high school kids. I think it's well understood at this point that Arajin struggles to love himself in a meaningful way, and that's expressed by his willingness to take on Senya.

Case and point being that he intentionally used Senya's strength to try and make himself look good in front of Mahoro, and in the same way used it against Ken to the same effect.

He's afraid of being and accepting himself, so he's allowed something else to speak for him. And while that catches the eye of many, including Matakara, Arajin himself already knows that it's nothing more than a farce to save face.

It's just... really great work in terms of narrative as it bundles so many different aspects of love together to create this complicated web that all stems from Arajin's inability to love himself. Matakara loves the current Arajin, but that Arajin is unable to face himself so he runs from the reflection that Matakara offers and buries himself in lust and unrequited romance.

And that all just comes from high school kids duking it out for fun alongside mystical fighting people that can merge with humans.

It's definitely a step up the symbolic ladder in comparison to Sk8 The Infinity, but I think it's allowed Utsumi to express much more in terms of romance through implicit narratives.

These first two episodes have been incredible, and I'm loving every moment and want to share every bit, but the overall production effort Mappa's been putting in leaves me in an awkward spot for sharing stuff like this.

I really love to, and I want to celebrate the efforts of the staff behind the series, but Mappa rains on that parade with its terrible scheduling and work ethic. The credits are a veritable mess that make episodes like this an incredible feat. And I'll celebrate that and share what I want to, but I do also want to call out Mappa for their terrible work as a studio.

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Hello, I love your drawings ❤, could you do Jabashiri and Hagure after the battle in chapter 6? cleaning each other's wounds or resting together or something like that

(there isn't much content in this ship and it's my otp)

ehe ofc i cannn... and thank uuu <3 !!

something about the way zabu dismisses matakara's love for the honki people story while arajin also verbally bashes it but is still so clearly endeared by it....