#again thanks to gozo-ban for bringing the stuff about kaito and ryoma to light

[ellameloetta]

Why don't you like Kaito?

*rubs hands together* ok LETS DISSECT! buckle up kids this is gonna be a long one-

i just generally think he’s a kind of unpleasant and kind of annoying character. usually i really like optimistic characters (see kaede🥰) but for kaito in many instances his optimism gets to the point where it’s problematic or overbearing and it makes me grit my teeth.

the two cases that stand out to me in particular are his treatment of shuichi in the fourth class trial and his general treatment of ryoma (ESPECIALLY the latter). him getting mad at shuichi in the fourth class trial for being willing to look through the evidence of gonta being the culprit just makes him come off as a massive hypocrite. you’ve been encouraging shuichi this whole time to always look for the truth, but NOW you’re suddenly not ok with it? girl bye

now i completely get not wanting to believe gonta’s the culprit. it’s clear that no one is happy about that, even shuichi. but if they don’t find the right culprit, they will all DIE. kaito and shuichi both know this, but seemingly shuichi’s the only one who understands it.

but you know what? that’s small potatoes ultimately to how he treats ryoma. (i’d like to highlight @gozo-ban for a sec here because she was the one who brought this to light for me with her posts.)

playing through/watching the game it’s clear that ryoma suffers from suicidal depression due to everything he’s gone through (losing his entire family and lover to the mafia, then being thrown in prison after daring to fight back) and how does kaito respond to ryoma’s depression? by calling him a “moron” and an “idiot”. even after his death.

regardless of whether you like kaito or not this aspect of his character is a genuinely problematic one. he’s talking down for ryoma for the “crime” (i say crime very loosely here) of being depressed and suicidal and no?? just no?? you don’t speak to anyone with mental illness that way. you just don’t. but i guess a lot of ppl don’t see it because ryoma’s one of the more underrated and overlooked characters in the game smh

and don’t even get me started on the sexist remarks he tends to make particularly in the japanese version ughhhh(and yes i’m aware tenko has this problem too but at least she’s enjoyable. to me at least)or how he punched shuichi near the end of chapter 1 for…grieving? idk that’s how i saw it

tldr: kaito is annoying character to me and some aspects of his character are legitimately problematic and should be addressed more