#love rin dearly

[cenvast]

Rin, Kabru, & Toshiro: On Asian Identity

I have a lot of thoughts about Rin's identity as a second-generation Asian refugee and how it impacts her relationships with other characters, especially Kabru.

I see Rin as being Indonesian specifically. The name "Rinsha" is of Muslim Arabic origin. In real life, Indonesia has one of the largest Muslim populations in the world, so what might seem like a geographically incompatible name works if Rin is the Dungeon Meshi equivalent of Indonesian.

Rin also says that her parents came from an island that isn't Wa, and Indonesia is a series of islands.

In her Adventurer's Bible entry, she's described as having "no real knowledge or attachment to the East" because "she's second-generation." She also clarifies to Mickbell that she was "born here." From this character description and her dialogue, we get the sense that Rin doesn't really identify with being Asian.

As noted in this Rin masterpost, a large part of this is because she was denied her parents' cultural identity by the elves. They likely suppressed any cultural markers she had and denied her information about her heritage. Since she wasn't born in the Eastern Archipelago and her parents died when she was young, she understandably hasn't inherited a lot of cultural knowledge.

Rin seems to have internalized ethnic self-hatred. Her disconnect from the East and her unwillingness to remedy that disconnect suggests that she has shame surrounding her Asian identity.

Again, she doesn't have many opportunities to interact with people from her parents' homeland, and her trauma also impacts her behavior. Remembering her parents is probably painful, considering the horrible way they died, and since they're her main connection to her cultural heritage, it makes sense that she wouldn't broach the topic.

You could also argue that Rin identifies more with her Northern identity than her Eastern identity since she was born and raised in the North for the first eleven years of her life, and as a result, she doesn't feel the need to connect with her parents' culture. But considering her home was presumptively still steeped in her parents' culture and her main association with the North is probably her parents' murders, this seems unlikely.

It's important to note how different her experiences are from the story's other Asian characters', like Toshiro's, for example. Toshiro travels to the Island as an adult of his own volition (technically, his father's). He's completely culturally Eastern. In comparison, Rin's parents fled from the East. Her family had to assimilate into an unfamiliar Northern culture, and later, she was "raised" by western elves, who are coded as colonizers in text. She seems to have internalized the elves' suppression of her culture and the way assimilating to the North required them to discard parts of their heritage. Her lack of interest in her culture seems learned.

Her strong attachment to Kabru further complicates her relationship with her Asian identity. I see Kabru as Indian or Nepalese; his name derives from a mountain on the border between India and Nepal. On top of being the only person who treats her like a human being during her childhood, Kabru is the only other significant Asian person in her life. They share the trauma of their parents having been brutally murdered and being raised imperfectly (much more severely in her case) by elves. While in the elf's care, they're both othered as tallmen— this aspect is strongly emphasized in the text — and in the main story, they're othered as Asian people in its European-inspired setting. Their shared experiences as Asian refugees are the foundation of their close bond.

It's not a stretch to assume that Rin consequently views Kabru as her main connection to being Asian. While they're from very different parts of fantasy Asia, their experiences as Asian refugees still overlap significantly as seen above, and the way she clings to Kabru suggests she wants to connect more with her culture, but for the previously stated reasons, she doesn't prioritize it. Besides, she doesn't have good models for what embracing one's cultural identity as a refugee/immigrant looks like. Just like her, Kabru doesn't seem to have many cultural ties, similarly because of his upbringing with the elves.

Toshiro could completely topple Rin and Kabru's original dynamic. Rin doesn't seem to like Toshiro. Their personalities would probably clash at first, because just like him, she's prone to judgment, out of self-preservation, and she's quiet. One of their canonical interactions is being captured by the orcs together; they don't even speak to each other in this scene.

Kabru and Toshiro become friends by the story's conclusion. Deep down, Rin might feel threatened by this. She's been Kabru's closest Asian friend up until this point. Toshiro, as an Asian person who was born and raised in his culture, might seem like a "better Asian" and thus, Kabru's replacement for her. This would be the worst projection of her buried insecurity over her disconnect from being Asian and how it potentially separates her from other Asian people. Given her personality, I doubt she would express this beyond acting wary around Toshiro.

With time, Rin, Kabru, and Toshiro could resolve her fears and the deeper issues they point to by all becoming friends. Interacting with other Asian people would heal her. She appears unphased by Mickbell's microaggression, implying it isn't an uncommon occurrence; she seems to only hang out with Kabru and their party. Being around other people of color would lessen the amount of othering she experiences and grant her a break from defending her identity.

Beyond the potential for cultural exchange and bonding over being Asian in fantasy Europe, Rin and Toshiro are also very similar in character. They're both anxious, quiet, and caring. If they made a little effort, they'd relate to each other and get along well.

Ideally, Rin would also befriend Hien, Benichidori, and the other girls in Toshiro's party. Kabru and Toshiro have their own issues with their treatment of women, so without positive Asian female friendships, she'd have another issue on her hands. Still, Kabru could be the bridge to a friendship with Toshiro, and Toshiro could be the bridge to friendships with his retainers. And with mutual growth, they could all enjoy each other's friendships.

Rin herself points out the vast cultural differences and language barriers between different parts of the East. The Asian characters of DunMeshi might not always share culture, but because of the story's setting in fantasy Europe, many of them experience being nonwhite in a mostly white locale. A support system of other people of color could allow Rin the space to explore her identity and culture and begin healing from her childhood trauma.

[dolorum-magne]

Just realised I never posted any of my blue exorcist fanart, this must be fixed immediately

Drew this about a month ago after talking to some friends about headcanons and several of them agreed with the headcanon that Yukio has asthma (which was apparently apart of the original concept for his character which I did not previously know! Very interesting!) and one of them asked me to draw Rin comforting Yukio and handing him his inhaler during an asthma attack, so I did!

I'm incredibly proud of this piece, more blue exorcist fanart to be posted soon

[vertejay]

Rin Itoshi. That’s it. 🙂‍↕️ Rin Itoshi brain rot. Yup.

[flimsyichigo]

my delusional ass hiorin-pilled brain praying for a crumb of rin and hiori interaction during the pxg match only to get 50 chapters of isagi vs rin and a couple lines of karasu and hiori being overtly horny and borderline romantic to each other

[heatsu]

Meirin my beloved

[purpleleafsyt]

Rin and Ruri!! For the Rin and Ruri event!!!

[choccorin]

...........................

[518062]

when i first read aoex, i constantly wondered what happened to shiro to make him so flippant. he was ready to die, and there had to have been a reason why, of course. but i was not expecting the truth to be so sad. what he went through is a huge lesson of time and place—he loved yuri too late, and he must have carried the guilt with him forever since. but he didn’t let the guilt swallow him; he had two boys to raise, love and care for, and how could he say no to their little faces?

he truly loved rin and yukio so much, and that makes me so happy and upset at the same time

[speckled-biscut]

I love superhero characters! Don't let anyone tell you I don't!

[littencloud9]

THIS EPISODE WAS SO GOOD I LOVE CHIGIRI

[honetii]

vocaloid huevember day 7, song is year 3 class c-14 chiyoko kubozono's joining of the cabinet !

[paintedbutton]

Only 55 pages into System Collapse and already hit with the incredible need to just reread the entirety of the murderbot diaries.

[hanrinz]

also mourning for twenty sundays rin fic @naosaki

[soldier--poet--queen]

things vash has done since i adopted him:

fell into the toilet

screamed at me while i made tea

ran into the couch

slid into the wall after chasing a toy

tried (and failed) multiple times to be friends with my resident 15 year old cat

tipped everything in my shower over

nearly fell out of the cat tree (twice)

[rindomness]

im back on my bullshit hi. ok goodbye again disappears back into the void of finals season where im going to fucking drown

[wnjntual]

🎧🎧🎧🎧!! also i know i said it already but HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRI!! 🥳🎉🎂🎊🎁

RIN MY BABY !!! MY TWIN!!!!!! 💓💞💖💗💐💘💕💞💕💞💕

gasoline - key !!!