#like how i joked about yuu getting cucked by misaki and low an behold

[rebellionbeach]

Reblogging my 3 year old analysis because I am narcissistic and want to yap about the Usami bros again...

I agree with most of what I put down but with the new chapters I think there is somethings that have been cleared up regarding their dynamic.

I think it's important to note that the idea of Haruhiko "stealing things away from Akihiko" is like the first thing introduced about his character around act 9~ or beginning or season 2. I'm not saying Akihiko is delulu but there aren't really any good concrete examples he's laid out obviously disregarding Misaki. But with Misaki I truly believe that regardless of his association with Akihiko, Haruhiko would have made a move cause he was going to be sending this man flowers anyway. This isn't to say however that the association didn't add a bit of interest on Haruhiko's part (he does put himself against his brother when he was harassing Misaki lol).

Okay, so maybe he wanted Misaki initially because Akihiko had him (he owns him bitch), but aside from that what else? I've come to believe that the main thing that Akihiko might be referring to is this head position of the Usami family. It all really makes sense when you think about it, the whole arc surrounding the family is regards to this succession and the one flashback we get to demonstrate Akihiko's trauma is regarding that whole point.

That brings me to a side tangent, Natsuko's character. I have a lot of bias when it comes to the idea of redeeming parental figures who did their children wrong (which I really think Nakamura is aiming for with Natsuko and even Fuyuhiko blegh), and Natsuko did Akihiko a lot of wrong. This whole character trait of her words coming out like 1000X worse then the message she actually wants to convey is honestly a little relatable, but in what way ma'am is saying I should not have had that man's child in front of that man's child anyway to convey to them that you want them to pursue their own path in life??? That's what this whole arc is shaping up to be which is a bit disappointing. Even Kaoruko notes that even though she "may have not meant any harm" she could never forgive her for hurting Akihiko like that. I won't even get into the mess that is Fuyuhiko's character because honest to god how are you going to redeem that. I just feel that if Nakamura is trying to shine a good light on Natsuko and Fuyuhiko's characters, there's going to have to be a lot of apologies in order, to like almost everyone, they fucked up all the kids.

Anyway, back to Haruhiko and Akihiko, they were basically manipulated by almost all adult figures around them into believing that becoming the heir of the Usami group was their merit or right. Really, it seems that Akihiko moreso and Haruhiko mostly by Fuyuhiko, since everyone didn't want a "bastard" to lead them. It's honestly a classic succession set-up, but really fucked up when you think about the fact that Haruhiko was raised as the perfect heir only for Fuyuhiko wanting to give that position to Akihiko now.

Obviously, Akihiko has no intention of doing this, the whole conflict in this arc, but I don't think its unreasonable to think that there weren't lingering feelings before. He became a successful author and swayed from that route, but the constant influence of people in his life telling him he should have that spot probably affected him in some type of way. That's why I think it's really nice closure on the chapter like 4 emeralds ago where Akihiko not only fully states he doesn't want to succeed, but he thinks Haruhiko will succeed based on the merit of his accomplishments and that anyone around him would feel the same. It's almost a full circle moment where Haruhiko finally gets some sort of validation from the brother he was 'competing' against this whole time. This was a great chapter and a really sweet interaction between the two which is actually the first time that's really happened.

Now, if I had a say in this, Haruhiko and Akihiko would then go to Fuyuhiko and assault him with bats....but I don't think that's where this is going so the remaining conflict lies primarily between Natsuko and Fuyuhiko. So, I think we're pretty much at the closing stretch of this quite long-drawn arc and the next chapter we'll probably see a Natsuko-Fuyuhiko conversation which will be very interesting. Their dynamic hasn't been properly depicted and, while I don't sympathize, I do find both of their characters pretty interesting and am very curious as to how Nakamura wants to wrap this all up. Will Fuyuhiko cry and beg for Natsuko's forgiveness? Will they finally get that divorce? Will Misaki-Kaoruko-Akihiko-Haruhiko beat that old man up with hammers? Yeah...idk

The Usami brothers and whole family as a whole are really interesting characters.  Due mostly by the fact of how different Haruhiko and Akihiko are yet similar in many ways as well.  Let’s start with rabbit boy.

Not only is this man extremely sexy but he’s also one of the most popular novelists in Japan believe it or not (not in real life guys)  Akihiko is the presumably biological son of Natsuko and Fuyuhiko and younger brother of Haruhiko Usami.  Growing up, he had always yearned for the attention of his parents, wanting to impress them and make them happy.  Haruhiko had actually been introduced to the Usami household at the age of 12 so Akihiko was 10 at the time and significant development seemed to grow from this change.  As shown from volume 21, everyone had been cheering Akihiko on as the legitimate heir of the Usami family meaning to take over the family business however he had never gotten this support from his parents before.  As a young child he had believed that if he just tried harder and became good at everything, then his parents would finally recognize him.  However, this wasn’t the case unfortunately as shown in the same volume once a young Akihiko came home from school gaining full marks on a test, eager to show his father when he caught him telling Haruhiko that he truly intended to make him the heir of the family business.  This impact was further felt once his mother, who had also witnessed this, declared that she should have never bore Fuyuhiko’s child which in the eyes of a young child must have been completely shattering.  An important seed was planted however and I believe that it was at this moment that Akihiko had started to evolve into the person he is today.  He poured all his emotion, pain, loss, suffering into his notebooks, his stories, proclaiming it to be his entire world.  Overtime we see that Akihiko grows to be very adept at the talent, being one of the top-selling authors from debut which occurred while still in high school and becoming a full-fledged novelist.  Doing this, he completely rejected his family and any connections he might have had to take over the business.  

Looking as Akihiko today it is very clear the type of individual he is, independent and self-serving, he’s his own boss and does only the things he wants to do.  From the first episode of season 2 we see this as there is a key event that takes place between the two Usami brothers in which a confrontation between two escalates into a full-out argument over Akihiko coming back to, as I assume, take over the lead of the Usami company and or serve there.  I will note later on Haruhiko’s tone and content of his language but it’s Akihiko’s response which truly stuck out to me as he stated that he had no inclination of going back to that house and if that Haruhiko truly didn’t like being there then why doesn’t he just leave as well.

This point may seem entirely irrelevant but I actually believe it highlights an essential part of Akihiko’s character that not only serves as his strength but also a blind spot in that of his independence.  Akihiko is the type of person who is able to do the things he’d like to do and encourages the people he cares about, basically Misaki, to do the same such as in episode 2 of season 3 where he is actually the one who encourages Misaki to enter into Marukawa after Misaki dismisses those thoughts as just a fantasy.  This is a thing for his relationship with Misaki as he allows the man a different perspective and in a way allows him, or at least encourages him, to be more selfish.  However this can also be seen as a flaw of his character as it can be interpreted that the only reason he has this lax and independent personality in the first place is because of his more well-off family and the fact that he’d had connections from the start.  In all honestly though, this part of Usagi-san’s personality is one of the main reasons why I actually enjoy his character, along with his thoughtful nature, as I believe that it’s a pretty unique and well-suited trait.

Let’s get into Harry Potter or the eldest brother of the Usami residence, Haruhiko.  Haruhiko isn’t Akihiko’s direct brother as stated before but rather a product of an affair that Fuyuhiko had with his mother.  For the first 12 years of his life, Haruhiko had actually been raised by his single-mother whom he loved very much.  During these times he had been seen to be much more happy despite living in poorer circumstances.  This is a large aspect that is pretty big onto why he is the way he is today.  After his mother tragically passing on, Fuyuhiko took him into to live in the Usami residence.  Now this in itself is absolutely devastating, living with a father-figure that had never truly been there for you with a new mother-in-law that despises your every existence because you’re the proof of the infidelities of her marriage and a new younger brother who seemed lifeless from the rest of this.  Top it all off with the devastation from losing the only person you truly loved and was there for you and damn I’m surprised that Haruhiko didn’t full out lose it.  

Now going back to the scene originally discussed with Akihiko’s backstory, let us switch perspective onto Haruhiko during this situation.  Your new dad just stated that the person he had truly loved in his lifetime was your dead mother and that he intended to make you, a 12 year old child, the heir of their family company that you had just learned about.  Not only this but everyone around you is your enemy as shown through all the people cheering on Akihiko to become the true heir and saying that Haruhiko stole his position.  There is basically no one there to support you, similar to Akihiko, and unlike Akihiko he actually was not used to this new circumstance making the situation even worse. 

I’d like to discuss the scene stated before during episode 1 of season 2.  Here, Haruhiko is visibly angry as Akihiko’s lack of care for his role in the Usami residence.  This is something we’ve never actually gotten to see ever since with Haruhiko barely showing any emotion at all.  However, if you take in the full context of his upbringing and circumstance to that point, you can see a fuller picture of what the man has gone through to become the stoic chosen one we know today.  Akihiko, after being hoisted by Isaka to finally start publishing his works, his entire being, finally achieved success independent from the Usami residence, marking himself finally as an individual allowing him to finally see that he only needs himself.  I think this is what caused Akihiko to cut most connection from his family, despite the occasional visits, and totally puts himself away from the idea of succeeding and become the heir of his family’s company.  This leaves Haruhiko with the burden of shouldering the entire Usami company’s future, something he never truly wanted to today with architecture being his main priority.  What he see’s in Akihiko is this lazy, selfish person who only thinks of himself, abandoning all his familial duties to a brother whom he barely batted an eye to during childhood.  This is what he hates in Akihiko, but also envies.  A very interesting point that season 2 makes with the connection between the Usami brothers is the inherent jealously Haruhiko feels toward Akihiko, with him trying to steal things from him during their upbringing together according to Akihiko.  Even Misaki finally has this revelation during episode 8 I believe when he was distracting him from Kaoruko.  I think his jealously mainly stems from the fact that Akihiko got his independence while Haruhiko is still confined to the Usami gates.  With all of Akihiko’s absent-minded behavior and to quote Haruhiko, “having the eyes of a dead fish”, Akihiko in the end still achieved that sense of independence that Haruhiko could only dream about having.  Add onto the fact that everyone around you hates that you got this position, lobbying for your younger half-brother who barely gives in the effort to succeed you, then baby that’s a recipe for childhood resentment if I’ve ever seen one.  

So what does this all mean, well nothing since this is an over-analysis on a yaoi manga but in a reality I think it comes to show the clear dynamic Haruhiko and Akihiko have on one another.  In recent chapters it is shown that Haruhiko is more and more aspiring in his own pursuits in architecture, even accepting his position as lead of the Usami household and accepting the fact that he’ll never get Misaki, wanting to stay as his ally instead (which is a lot more than I can say for a CERTAIN manga author).

I love Haruhiko AND Akihiko, they both are really great characters and I’d think it would be nice if in the future they could perhaps reconcile their relationship and kind of start to get along.  The Usami household fucked up a lot of kids but they are still going strong and who knows, maybe Haruhiko might get a lover in the future (AKA Todo)

Thank you and now I implore you to go listen to Nelson’s After the Rain album, 10/10 made me cry.