#Yukiatsu

[ultraericthered]

One Villainous Scene: Not Alright

[Feel I should start doing these types of posts at least once a month.]

In this case, the scene and character in question aren't "villainous" in the purest, most traditional sense of how you'd define that, but it comes off the heels of an antagonistic character acting in a very antagonistic way that makes him the closest thing to a villain this story has got despite him also being one of the six main characters. I'm of course referring to Atsumu Matsuyuki, AKA Yukiatsu, from the 11 episode anime Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day.

For context, Yukiatsu was...more than a little bothered by hearing that his childhood ex-friend Jinta "Jintan" Yadomi, who he'd long been envious and resentful of, was allegedly able to see and communicate with the ghost of their deceased childhood friend, Meiko "Menma" Honma. We'd also been shown that Yukiatsu might have some skeletons in (literally) his closet. Then a few days back, Poppo caught a glimpse of Menma in the woods near the six friends old Secret Base, meaning Jintan isn't so special in this regard. And then Yukiatsu said he'd communicated with Menma too, but the actual Menma protests that Yukiatsu is lying. Now, at the end of Episode 4 and the start of Episode 5, we get the truth: the "Menma" that Poppo saw earlier who has been stalking around the forest and casting doubt on Jintan's claims about Menma...is, in fact, Yukiatsu with shaved legs and wearing a wig and dress in order to ressemble his deceased childhood sweetheart. Who could've seen that coming?

And that brings us to this scene, the moment where Yukiatsu finally shows us who he really is. Jintan tries to keep calm as he asks his old friend "are you alright?" And Yukiatsu. Mcfreaking. SNAPS, thrusting Jintan to the ground and putting a stranglehold on his neck, furiously asking "Do I seem alright to you?" More disturbingly, he proceeds to ask, in total seriousness, "Do I look like her? 'Cause you can SEE Menma, isn't that right? Say it! Do I look like Menma? Yes or no?", all with a completely unhinged look on his face. Once he's no longer strangling Jintan and is just holding him up by his shirt, Yukiatsu begins to break down in tears as he finally expresses why he finds Jintan's claims about ghost Menma so impossible to believe - he is convinced that if Menma's spirit rose from the grave and came back to the Earth, the person she'd want to visit, interact with, haunt or even curse would be him. Because according to Yukiatsu, it was his actions and something he'd said to Menma on that last day all six friends were together that directly led to Menma's following death. In his own words, he killed Menma. For years, Yukiatsu was racked with guilt over this and had a secret yearning for Menma to return to him, to make him face some divine punishment for it which would also serve as closure for him. But no matter how hard he hoped for it, he's never been able to see Menma, not even in his dreams. He seems far more hung up on the late Menma than Jintan ever was or could ever be, so to him it makes no sense why it'd be Jintan and not him that Menma would opt to appear to. By now, he's a weeping wreck.

There are, however, two good reasons why Menma went to Jintan and not to Yukiatsu. One is plot-based and revealed later on (has to do with Jintan's dead mother), but the other is left implicit: Yukiatsu has never been truly hung up on Menma, but on himself in direct relation to Menma. Every sentence out of Yukiatsu's mouth during this breakdown just oozes with self-absorption, self-obsession, and entitlement. His mind cannot fathom, cannot comprehend a scenario in which he is not made the center of his deceased friend's attention, in which he is not considered by the girl herself to be the friend who'd made the greatest impact on her and was the most crucial figure in her life, even if in a negative way that reflects poorly on him. He does not want to process the possibility that after death, Menma has rejected him in favor of Jinta Yadomi, just as he'd feared she'd do in life when they were children. Jintan remembers Menma for who she was, valued who she was, cares even now for who she was and is. Yukiatsu has been and remains fixated on Menma for what she was to him; his would-be trophy GF. An extension of his sense of self.

It's my belief that Yukiatsu is a psychopath, or close enough to one, as he hits off many boxes of the psychopathy checklist. He'd loved Menma as dearly as he could ever love someone, and deeply regrets his percieved part in her death with the most remorse he's capable of, as he is still only human. But not only do his consistent thinking and behavior showcase an inability to empathize with others and put their own feelings and individual personhoods on a level equal to his own, his actions in later episodes serve to undermine the purity of his feelings that this scene brings to the forefront, partcularly when he cajoles Anaru into getting the five living friends to re-enact the last time they were all together, right in front of Menma who he for 100% certainty knows is in there with them watching it all, mainly as a way to hurt Jintan. Such cruelty comes all too easy to him, and even when re-connected with his oldest friends, he seems to process life itself through the filter of "how does or can this relate to me?"

Yet the writing never simply makes him out to be a complete lost cause either, and that's also showcased beautifully in this scene. As he continues to weep, Menma walks over to Jintan and softly tells him something, prompting Jintan to announce out loud what she's saying to him. At first, Yukiatsu is getting aghast that even now, Jintan would mock him by "pretending" to see and hear Menma while he and none of the others can, but when Jintan mentions "that pretty hair clip", something that was only between Yukiatsu and Menma that Jintan could not possibly know of unless he heard it directly from Menma herself, he stands in shock, his tears dry, and he just...walks away. Like he needs to get back home and rethink everything. Even at his most deranged, Yukiatsu's heart can be reached, and his mind made to see reason and clarity, even if he is still a creep about it all.

Aside from the presence of the ghostly Menma as a supernatural occurance, Anohana is typically a very grounded and very believable anime, so this plot turn of a crazed, cross-dressing Yukiatsu so easily could've thrown it off for me. But as I watched it dubbed, what really saves and sells this moment for me is Ray Chase. He is astonishing with his voice acting for Yukiatsu and he holds nothing back in the character's bouts of madness. This man is so mad talented and so committed to his voice acting roles that his take on Yukiatsu elevates the character into almost a horror villain, which fits when you know that Chase would later provide the voice for an actual horror villain! This character, and this scene especially, really do belong to him, and so they linger in my memory, haunting me like Menma herself.

[lunar-lily-ramblings]

Something I've always thought about when watching AnoHana was how each character must've grown up with their guilt.

You could say that Yukiatsu is a complete piece of garbage.

You could say Anaru is extremely desperate to fit in.

You could say Tsuruko is cold and emotionless.

You could say Poppo is irresponsible and too lax. (Whoever, actually, says this about the man is getting a punch in the face. I know it.)

You could say Jintan is apathetic and an absolute shut-in.

But grief isn't easy to process.

Sure, there are healthier ways to cope but, remember, these characters were around 10 years old when their friend left them. These five who remained kept thinking they could have prevented Menma's death had they done something. ANYTHING.

They distanced themselves from each other because they remembered their memories together and they hurt. How could they not? Those are just memories now. Menma was just a memory now.

What I love about this series is how they let all the characters show the worst sides and best sides of themselves. None of them are perfect. But the final episode allows them to finally express themselves. Express their grief. Express their pain.

It doesn't end there.

The five come to the realization that they've been holding on and tormenting themselves. They have the chance to talk to Menma again but they all don't take it because of their guilt.

When they begin to let go of their guilt, Menma begins to fade away. Her wish wasn't the firework or to make Jintan cry.

She just wanted them to be friends again.

With their guilt gone, the five look to the future with their friend in their hearts knowing that she's been reincarnated somewhere and having the time of her life.

This anime is a classic and still deserves lots of love

[liliumsmangacaps]

[idontthinkimokaymentally]

Hello there Atsumu "Yukiatsu" Matsuyuki fans.

[thinking-in-broken-scenes]

@emiliosandozsequence

[fuj0wuj0]

Atsu, Darling <3

ISFHDISDF Maaac....Mackleey....I missed youuu...... 😭

But yes! Some slight design tweaks have been made! Mac is now a seamstress! I've also changed his hair, and changed his eye colors a little >:) He's still so sassy though. Can't wait 'til I draw him in some tight dress again 👀 Whatever he wears, it's sure to blow (👁️👁️) Atsu's mind. And how could it not? Have you SEEN this guy?!

[doyoulikethisanimeship]

Matsuyuki Atsumu (Yukiatsu)/Tsurumi Chiriko (Tsuruko) (AnoHana)

Important: Please do not vote if you don't know the characters.

[okamarinosuzoki]

[Poppo/Yukiatsu]

Tags: Drabble, Friendship, Pre-relationship

[tsunderrated]

Anaruuuuuuu

[aparticularbandit]

me, squinting: yuta i know your voice from somewhere where is it

me, five minutes later: YUKIATSU. THAT ASS.

[ultraericthered]

A key part of the Anohana experience no matter how many times you have to go through it.

[fuj0wuj0]

MY GUYS!!

men 👍

(@fuj0's guys, Yukiatsu & Mackley)

[applepie-enthusiast]

anohana AU ft. kamaboko squad, you cowards

Tanjirou as Menma - the pain of having someone so sweet, so pure and so kind dying untimely and in a horrid way too, just, 😞

Inosuke as Jintan - Inosuke will bear on the guilt and the burden of Tanjirou dying despite him having the least actual fault in all of it.

Genya as Yukiatsu - Genya wouldn't be able to handle Tanjirou's death and will repeatedly blame Inosuke for it. I kept imagining his personality here as canon pre-tanjirou.

Muichirou as Tsuruko - Secretly likes Yukiatsu but the latter is too dense for it. He doesn't seem to want to engage with their other childhood friends too but that's not exactly the case.

Zenitsu as Anaru - Secretly pines for Inosuke and claims to have had mixed feelings for Tanjirou but every time he does, he is reminded of how kind and sweet Tanjirou was, and he feels guilty over that day.

Kanao as Poppo - I know her personality is far from Poppo, but just imagine her seeing "unaffected" by all of it but she has had the most guilt of seeing young Tanjirou getting swept over the water and she couldn't do anything, being a child as well.

The last two I'm not so sure but come on 😞

Just, Nezuko as the sister Tanjirou left behind. It's uncharacteristic for Kie to lash out at other kids or to even blame them for her son's death (like Menma's mom did to her friends) but imagine her crying while smiling, saying she's proud to see them all grow up, which is i think, will make them feel more unintentionally guilty over Tanjirou's death.

[c4llm3h4ru]

Ramblings from a rookie writer #1

Can somebody tell the OC character in my brain to stop creating OCs for movies and series that are perfect without them just for the sake of grounding the villain to reality? Anjo, Hyuko and Mei were suppoes to be the only 3 from MHA, now I have both a tradirional clan and a small coast village in Japan of MHA OCs, that include, but are not limited to Uahio and Yoriichi Shigaraki (a duo if cousins that rely on each other the way AFO and OFA never could), Ushio's husband, Hamaru Suzuki, the twin older siblings of Yoriichi, Yukiatsu and Yuzuri (who are both dead btw) Asahi Shirasagi and her five year old son Haru Shirasagi/Todoroki

Also, why does Hyuko have to die? He's 17 and a student. To break UA's morality? Oh! Is to break the comission's morality?! Oh!!!

Yes, the concept of Ushio getting mareied and settling down and build a family is good, I'm pretty sure Hamaru and her would be good parents to Kotarou Shimura, but they do need to step up more on his behavior toward Tenko and Hana.

We still didn't watch Ruby Gillman Teenage Kraken, staff! If we want to make a mermaid family- WAIT!

Aaaand... they didn't... welp, guess I have a single mother mermaid that seeked refugee on earth after the Battle of the Trident to raise her talasophobic daughter, that's also a mermaid, ironically.

(They both have some choosen words for Chelsea)

When it comes to Graycliff Diaries, we need to stop making Hitch suffer, they're already destroyed enough after trying to save their partner feom an analogic horror situation.

Still on the topic, why did Isaac and Sahara had to lose their parents on June 30th, 2021? The story is grounded on reality! Techno dies exactly one year after that! Give Sahara a break! She's 17!

Also, Alexis cannot be just a background comic relief if he's Sahara's support when Isaac can't help! Give Alexis A GOD DANM ROLE!

Honkai Star Rail might be our hyperfocus right now, but why are we so down bad for Dan Heng? We need crushes that are not so traumatized.

And yes, Kafka is a villain, but Kafka is still mother, the fanarts are too cute.

Oshi no Ko... Asahi and Asano Gold... huh?

Look, I love the idea of paralel twins, but we need more background if they're supposed to be close to Ai Hoshino, so we need to work on that later.

[fuj0wuj0]

Fighting Artblock 2: Electric Boogaloo

AAAAH FINALLY MANAGED TO DRAW SOMETHING AFTER A MONTH OF SILENCE 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 LET'S KEEP IT GOING, ME!

Anyway, I bring forth a little Vierra redesign! This time in her human form, without horns and tail (don't worry, they're all safe and sound though -w-), also bringing back the iconic first hairstyle of hers that I low key forgot how to draw lmao

[doyoulikethisanimeship]

Hisakawa Tetsudou/Matsuyuki Atsumi (AnoHana)

Important: Please do not vote if you don't know the characters.