#harahon

[lxmelle]

hi lxmelle!! I have another jp(?) and jjk related question that I'm too shy to ask anyone else again ... do you know why takaken (takaba x kenjaku) is called pinchan? 🤔

and also how are you doing? 😄

also also, I had another question, but I totally forgot what it was. I might come back to ask if that's okay 🥲

again you don't have to answer ! that's all thank you🩷

Edit: this has an update 😊 https://www.tumblr.com/lxmelle/766125746628542464/hi-lxmelle-i-have-another-jp-and-jjk-related

Hi lex!!

Thank you for sending me an ask!

Hehe, I think you’re thoroughly adorable 😆 I’m sorry this took a while - you can ask me anything, anytime! It’s nice to have something to write about on this platform - I probably get a bit too noisy on Twitter/X, so I appreciate the opportunity to do something here as well.

So about Takaba x Kenjaku… From what I understand, TakaKen being “Pinchan” is the equivalent to GojoGeto being “Harattare Honpo” - it’s their manzai name (stage name).

That’s the straightforward & simple answer to the question!

But I think… perhaps some context might be useful? I hope you don’t mind, I’ll just blab a little bit on the arc & manzai in general. If you want to skip it, that’s fine! More under the cut:

I will once again preface with that I’m not Japanese, and haven’t lived there, so my understanding is through research and from being… uh, I guess an otaku / fujoshi / someone who had an interest in Japanese culture once upon a time 😅

So if there are inaccuracies, please feel free to educate me and I hope it’ll also allow others to learn from your knowledge. The bottomline is, even if I dare to write about stuff and talk freely about what I think, I’m in no way trying to claim myself as a subject matter expert. I just like to ramble, and I’m no better than anyone else - these are just my opinions free for anyone to read and you’re all welcome to make up your own mind 😄

With that out of the way...

So I’ll take the opportunity to offer a little bit of what I’ve come to understand… there are comedic duos (combi / コンビ) who do manzai / skits with set roles of the boke and tsukkomi, and also solo comedians (pin-geinin / ピン芸人). Sometimes duos & solos alike will partner up for shows and variety programmes, making it a nice mix of characters and dynamics. Some of these are quite popular internationally.

Kenjaku making it up on the spot on the grand stage in the “finale” of his battle with Takaba is likely a nod / reference to this manzai culture, where the “pin” in “pinchan” is from “pin-geinin” (solo comedic act), which makes it humorously ironic because they’re a “combi” / duo.

To add to the irony, they’re a manzai duo / combi comprised of enemies… They are on opposing sides but get along? It’s funny!

The more I think about it, the more it appears to me that pinchan represents some kind of dark irony.

For example, Kenny appeared to have worked solo (“pin”) for decades doing his brain-hopping thing with his research & awful experiments and Takaba has always wanted a suitable partner to be a “combi” in his manzai career. They stumbled upon their amazing chemistry by accident, that it was fun, and discovered these feelings within the battle - it’s quite bittersweet and sadly ironic to enjoy something together but ultimately have to mean to harm the other until there is just one.

And as light-hearted as comedy is, what they’re doing is also ironic because it’s totally not light-hearted to want to kill the other. So it’s like proclaiming “we are a solo!” They’re a combi/soulmates! …but they have to kill each other.

The “cute” nature of the honorific -chan also makes it more ironic because, in actuality, the skit itself that brought them together is a battle to the death. It’s so dark. There is irony and duality intermingled in the entire scene. It’s a bit sad, too - which I guess is also shown in how there were mixed feelings between the duo with Takaba crying and Kenjaku appearing rather stoic.

Someone joked on X that with chan gone there can only be pin left. And who knows who is meant to be pin or chan, lol. So I guess it’s quite well understood that the term “pinchan” has some reference to a pin-geinin / solo comedic performance.

I hope my thoughts made sense 🤔 it sounded ok (well, better) in my head, so I never really know how it’s received.

Ah and honestly, lately my brain like Swiss cheese, so I forget a lot of stuff… there are times where I can’t remember what I’ve written, or where 😂 please forgive me if I sound like a broken record.

As for how I am, I’m constantly shifting gears in my head at the moment as I juggle this and that. But! I’m doing good, thanks for asking~!! 🫶 How are you doing? And btw, everyone else is welcome to also post a comment 😃 and tell us how you are!

Comments and thoughts welcomed! Repost, comment, do what you like 😄

[fushiglow]

i was gonna write more about 242 and the recent chapters but everyone is making it boring.

i've really been enjoying this run of chapters since we cut to kenjaku, but i often feel like i'm one of about ten people having fun with the manga recently so i've kept my mouth shut. the thing is, i reckon gege is cooking something really good with these chapters, but the discourse is *not* worth wading into.

like, it's worse than during gojo vs sukuna because at least that was stupid??? depending on who you ask, we should not:

like kenjaku because they're evil, actually

like takaba because he's irrelevant, actually

relate the chapter to geto because he's dead, actually

relate the chapter to gojo because he's dead, actually

relate the chapter to satosugu at all because they're dead and they're not coming back and this isn't about them, actually

god help you if you think it's funny or clever on top of all that!! (for the record, i think it's both of those things)

it just sucks the fun out of analysis and theory when i'm second guessing myself, so i'm not going to bother for now. i'm gonna go back to writing my silly little k-pop fic and enjoy these characters in a way i personally find fulfilling. you know, the way we all should engage with the things we like!!

however, please know that i'm silently but spitefully doing *all* the things listed above. gege is clearly having fun, so why can't i???

[72-5-blog]

harahon geto log

[getoed5725]

Harahon Satosugu as Buzzfeed unsolved

[pinchan]

Hi! I loved your last gojoken fanart, especially with the nod to the microphone?? Idk it’s just so fitting! I also adore how you do lighting and colors, I hope you have a good day!!

thank you! i knew i wanted to do a harahon callback since the chapter dropped, it was just such an iconic cover. my original idea wasn't as direct as the final piece, having kenjaku recording a podcast with gojo('s corpse) instead

i definitely like the more direct approach better :-] i'm very happy you do too <3

[72-5-blog]

harahon

[lxmelle]

hi lxmelle ! I was wondering if u happen to know what “hrhn” means?

I see them in drawings of this satosugu ↓ so I assume it's a name/label for it

but I'm curious what it stands for exactly. what do the letters hrhn mean, if it stands for anything? 🤔

I'm considering asking the artists themselves but I'm too shy to... and I wanna try asking you first lol

Hey!! Thanks for the ask!

I’ll try to keep it succinct, basically hrhn is the alphabetical acronym for 「祓ったれ本舗」 which is Harattare Honpo -> はらほん (shortened) Harahon -> HRHN.

It was the cover of chapter 77 (I believe) that depicted them together like that, similar to a strong duo in the Japanese entertainment universe - a manzai / comedy pair who require great synchronicity and chemistry to perform. (Think of Takaba’s story).

I think JUMP used that for April Fools joke one year, and the term Harattare Honpo (exorcism HQ) made them out to be a comedic duo that broke up the next day 🥲

The duo is commonly depicted in fanart because it understandably captures people’s imagination as an alternate universe that is pseudo-canon, seeing as Gege drew it himself.

This is just my understanding though, and if tits wrong in any way please let me know!

[fushiglow]

KENJAKU I LOVE YOU TAKABA I LOVE YOU

i’m SORRY i know people are hating these chapters but i’m having the time of my LIFE. literally burying my face in my pillow so i don’t wake everyone up laughing. it’s so SILLY!!!!

i’m gonna post some more thoughts on the last few chapters later because there are a few things that have got me side eyeing gege… like the harahon reference???? the chapter titles potentially leading up to christmas eve??????

gege is cooking something, i’m certain of it!!