Lady Moon + Alinatron Doodle

reading the spoon bucchigiri interview is so funny like the writer is just "yeah i actually wanted to make a cool mc but utsumi said it was too boring and asked me what i was like as a teenager and i was like 'lol i sorta sucked' and she was like 'PERFECT'"

man i fucking LOVE how hard bucchigiri?! commits to arajin being a complete shit, it's so relatively rare for shows not to rush to redeem their asshole mcs which is, eh, fine but often uncompelling

like the most predictable way for this fight to have gone would have of course been for arajin to lose his will to fight (even to live, dramatic ass lmao) after being rejected by mahoro, and then rediscover that will when he sees matakara hurt, and realizes he doesn't want the past to repeat

would have been fine i guess but in all honesty ARAJIN HAS NOT EARNED THAT MOMENT. yes from the flashbacks he gets, and the timing of them, it's obvious a lot of his current complex has to do with him not being able to protect matakara in the past. he either doesn't want to be put in a situation where he has to protect someone again, where he can fail, or he can't forgive himself for the past (or both)

but he also is genuinely a gross horndog and it's seriously refreshing that the show has the balls to continue to let him be that. i feel like way too many series are so concerned* about making their protags likeable that they forget to let them be interesting, and forget that sometimes shitbags that are not at all likeable can be SO fun to watch (like arajin is)

anyway arajin is still The Worst and i'm so glad for that 🥰

*i guess in all fairness this isn't exactly an unwarranted concern bc so many viewers these days also fail to realize that a character that is not a likeable person is not necessarily a bad/uninteresting character lmao, it's like. a shame that shows have to walk on eggshells with these things but. for shows that want to be widely marketable. understandable i guess. it's just sometimes (many times, in fact almost all the time)... things that are widely marketable...... are worse.........

subtext exists yknow

i dont quite ship them but this is their dynamic to me

the people are too scared to admit that every character in bucchigiri is in fact a "simp"

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sorry this scene was so good but this shot had me fucking giggling

this week's episode was one that i've been looking forward to for a while, and while not perfect in execution, i still found it interesting, especially how it expanded on matakara and how his and arajin's fight played out.

arajin is a character that is guilty, that flees unless absolutely necessary not to, and would rather save face. he is a character that is meant to be unlikeable. contrast this with matakara, who is kind and considerate, helps his friends, and is willing to reach out, even if someone has hurt him. even their reasons for fighting could be pit against each other: arajin wants to fight to lose his virginity, and matakara wants to fight for his brother, arajin, and his friends.

the difference between arajin’s idealization of mahoro and matakara’s idealization of arajin is that, at the very least, you’re meant to make fun of/laugh at arajin- because you're not supposed to like him. matakara’s idealization of arajin is not put in a comedic light, because you're made to sympathize with him; you're meant to root for him. another example of a character who idealizing another person: mahoro. mahoro is self-aware she’s delusional. she’s self aware her brother doesn’t want her, and because she is so weird about him, her brother doesn’t open up to her as a result. but even mahoro (as much as i hate the brocon thing) can recognize it'll never happen. she still has her core values that don't stem from her brother.

arajin and matakara idealize people for two similar reasons. arajin is in love with the idea of mahoro, because she represents what is expected of arajin, a guy who wants to be un notable because he believes he can’t do more.

matakara idealizes arajin, because arajin represents the simpler, ideal life, the best life one can live as honki person, one that he strives toward. he idolizes arajin because he himself needs something to cling onto after his brother is gone.

matakara and arajin are two characters both stuck in the past. they both keep ideals from their childhood; because arajin couldn’t protect matakara, he believes he is weak and cannot do more than that on his own. matakara believes that since arajin wanted to become honkibito together, he would still want the same deep down and it’s him who’s weak.

matakara puts his faith in people, even if it hurts him. arajin doesn't put his faith in people, but he gets hurt because he doesn't trust anyone. both put their faith in different things because they don't trust themselves, so they let others dictate it for them. both are stubborn about their beliefs, yet fragile, and it hurts them when they are questioned so they double down on it.

arajin is an asshole, hell, he's a bad friend, but he never lied about his motives. matakara seeing their relationship through rose-tinted glasses and arajin being detached harms the both of them; it prevents their relationship from progressing any further.

arajin is *partially right, he is not is not what matakara thinks he is: the ideal matakara holds for himself and him. one of the key things that is first emphasized about honki people is that, "they don't run away." this is what arajin has been doing all this time. even then, arajin has not been tricking matakara in any capacity, because matakara has an idea of what arajin is, and clings to it for support.

*arajin didn’t lie back then about wanting to be honki people together, but since he believes he can’t do more for matakara (he’s used to running away) he avoids confrontation about it. matakara’s used these ideals as support so basically it’s like his beliefs were a lie

arajin is no longer the ideal that matakara saw in his childhood. now that matakara's ideals are shattered, he is vunerable to akutaro's & ichiya's manipulation.

i do think arajin and matakara are capable of being friends. however, they both need time and space to process their emotions. it’s shown that they can look out for each other, but one is overly committed (to an ideal version of the other) and the other is not. they need to find a middle ground to understand each other. i love their relationship because they're made out to be so different, yet they're so similar. i love how messy they both are, and i'm so excited to see how their relationship could possibly contrast ichiya/senya's. more importantly, i can't wait to see how their relationship develops/spirals from here.

That shadow and the way Matakara reacted makes me think it's the blue Honki (that one that we see in the OP). Either he's reaching out to Matakara or spying on him or maybe he's already merged with Matakara but I feel it's unlikely

Matakara doesn't look spooked or pleased (even holding the stone for protection). I'm looking forward to see this mystery resolved..

Me: *Just merrily away admiring the revealed merch that has Matakara in it and he is holding a boathouse bucket and towel which references his current living space*

Also me: *saw that one merch of Aramata plus their younger self being plush sized*

YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME, MAPPA?!?! HOW THE FUCK IS IT JUST SO ADORABLE?!? I-