#this is clearly a purely romantic reading of the manga

[nexadarling]

Look. I know this is not news to anyone. I know we all know this. But if i don't say i will actually explode, so just let me and come scream with me about it!

It's just that Vash's "Don't say anything stupid" reads a lot like "Don't say 'I love you'" and i literally cannot hear it as anything else and i just.

Of course they would know and not be able to do anything about it, and just have to watch it slip through their fingers like that. They know each other too well to not be aware of what edge they're on and also know that in the situation they're in, there's nothing they can do about it. And then it's too goddamn late.

I fucking hate it here, what have these stupid men done to me

[evil-women-step-on-me]

How Hand Jumper Treats Gender

Most of the manga/manhwa I read default to the male gaze. I don't even mean that the female characters are needlessly sexualized, which they often are, but that they're only allowed to fill certain roles. Holy figures and healers are (young, impossibly beautiful) women, the tragic, innocent character who gets assaulted is a woman, the skimpily dressed ninja is a woman, the pure, younger sibling that needs protection is a woman, the seductive villain is a woman, the extremely powerful fighter that will nonetheless always be second in strength to the male lead is a woman. Upskirt shots and carefully framed ass/boobs panels abound. Their characterization can be shallow: especially in action and thriller series, the motivations of female characters are rarely given the same consideration that male characters receive.

Hand Jumper is different. First, female characters are taken just as seriously as male ones, in every way possible. Second, a character's gender does not influence their power level. While it's true that cis men are physically stronger than cis women in the real world, "men are always stronger than women" does not make sense in fantasy action contexts. Why are all the most powerful heroes in My Hero Academia men? Why must all the notable healers in Naruto be female ninja? In worlds where people possess honest to God magical superpowers, power is totally divorced from the density of your muscles. This is true of Hand Jumper's world as well, so it treats its characters appropriately: Male and female Aberrants fight on equal ground. As a result, some of the most prestigious Aberrant positions are held by women: Samin is the leader of the Crimson Society, Cell 4's instructor and mentor are both women, and Sayeon's mother Sara is so mysterious and so powerful that she seems close to godly. Sara's treatment is especially interesting, given that she's filling a role usually reserved for men: the mysterious, legendary parent of the protagonist who left their life when they were still a child. Think Gon's father in HxH, Baki's father in Grappler Baki, Naruto's father, the Joestars in JoJo, or Luffy's father in One Piece. In Hj, it's not the mother, but the father who is drowned out in the shadow cast by his spouse.

Personalities, fantasy power levels, and interests are not inherently gendered! So Hand Jumper doesn't treat them as gendered either. The bubbly, cheerful member of the main group is usually a girl, but this time it's Iseul Kim. The pretty, androgynous Min is both a deadly weapon and a baker of cute pastries- he picks up Sayeon in a bridal carry after a fight, and incredibly, it's not framed as a romantic gesture. Lastly, the aggressive, jaded rival to the protagonist is usually male, but this time it's Ryujin Kang. This position being filled by a female character is so unusual that I remember the comments section being filled with people mistaking Ryujin for a boy, even though she was clearly presented as a woman from the start. Part of this confusion is probably fueled by how Ryujin has a lot of… tension with Sayeon, tension usually found in heterosexual enemy-to-lover relationships. And Sayeon herself? She's on a crusade to avenge her childhood friend, a damsel in distress who died in Episode 2. Somehow, in Hand Jumper, the tragic dead lover that needs avenging is a man.

[marunalu]

Isn't all of the rabid BKDK shippers similar to that one pairing in Bleach where the loud shippers want one pairing and the Editors suggest that the Bleach's author should do it, but he explicitly stated that he wanted this pairing instead because its his story? At best, the official canon ship for Izuku would be Izuchaco or implied of it or no ships at all.

At least Hori agrees with us that the BKDK relationship is abusive and that the two would be treating each other as acquaintances who just happen to grow up together. And the thing is for that BKDK contest, he acknowledges the skills of the artists but the relationship is not romantic at all. So it's really just people being extremely obsessed with the idea that any and all relationships should be romantic instead of platonic. I wonder if he was expecting a badass action scenes between the two working together instead of causal romantic times?

Do you happen to have a citation for the contest so that we can point towards the fact that BKDK is just for fun, not canon?

I remember I saw horis reply somewhere on twitter between 2 or 3 years ago. But I dont have twitter, well X know, anymore. Honestly, I dont quite remember if it was a bkdk fanart contest or just an exhibition. And I think it was only japanese artists. But basically, while he praised all the fanarts and the talents of the artists, he made clear that the way bakugous and izukus relationship is portaied as in these fanworks is not what their relationship is really or ever was like. There were tons of romantic bkdk and fanart of them as children playing happily with each other. He basically confirmed as unbiased as possible that this kind of interpretation of their relationship is completly fanon. Maybe someone who reads this can give us a link though, I tried to find it with google, but google only showed me reddit and quora posts about "why bkdk is canon" and such stupid stuff. 🙄

And yes you are right, the bkdk shippers are VERY similar to the rapid ichiruki shippers back then. Mind you I WAS THERE when the shipping war between ichirukis and ichihimes was at its highest and believe me it was UGLY and for me who never shipped ichigo with either rukia or orihime it kinda destroyed the manga/anime for me back then and its one of the main reasons why I dont like shipping in generell anymore. But despite never shipping it myself I KNEW ichigo would end up with orihime, because kubo made it obvious. The anime cut a lot of canon ichihime moments and included tons of filler ichiruki moments, so its no wonder why so many people believed at first ichiruki was a thing. And to be fair to kubo, he made clear statements back then about ichigos and rukias relationship being pure platonic YEARS BEFORE the manga ended, but the shippers ignored that and played victim afterwards. Hori on the other hand would never make this kind of bold statement, because he is aware of the backlash that would happen. I like hori and I can understand why he wouldnt want to upset people because he was attacked and got death threads in the past already from stupid shippers, but I have to say tite kubo is clearly the braver one of these two. He simply gives a fuck what people think and just does his thing no matter if people like it or not.

The best part was how not that long ago he completly destroyed an hardcore ichiruki shipper on social media who attacked him and insultet ichihime and kubo was just like: "you know what? FUCK YOU! From now on I will make even more ichihime content just to piss you off even more asshole!" Kubo is amazing and a legend!

[nocandnc]

Hello!

I just wanted to say thank you so so so much for being in the WaruYama tag.

I've been with the manga for a long time, and have been shipping the General with Yamano since the first Volume.

I know Pink's probably more likely to be a romantic partner, but gosh darn it, Yamano knows him better than a lot of people do, and he respects her opinions, at least on foods and wants to save the place she works for last in the destruction of the world.

I literally thought I wouldn't find anything on them when I looked it up today- finally breaking to the pressure of loving the ship so much- and I found you!

Thank you so much for having anything on them at all!

I love them and your cute little post-it note drawings were cute too, thank you! ❤️💓💕💝💘💖

Hi there~

Thank you so much for your kind words!! I still think about these two a lot even though the anime’s ended, it’s great to see other fans of this ship are doing the same ^///^

(Although Pink clearly likes him, I really can’t see that going anywhere as it’s purely one-sided… just a bittersweet first love for the would-be magical girl. If anything I find her and Blue more likely? Wouldn’t be the first time someone says “they’re like a sister to me” only to realize it was romantic later on lol)

But let’s keep this about WaruYama!!

I really love how he and Yamano just vibe together so well!! From the start she was able to read him, knowing he was disappointed that his favourite snack was out of stock or feeling the same reluctance about eating the Panda buns… the contrast between his ‘tall dark and stoic’ appearance and her sweet sunshine personality is also just to die for >///<

I also really love that she works at HopeMart, like… that’s where hope for coexistence begins and ends!! It’s the place he’ll spare till the very end, and so of course, Yamano as well…! Feels poetic lol

Although it’s a bit cheesy, I’ve been quietly headcanoning Yamano’s given name to be Nozomi (wish, desire, hope etc.) since she hasn’t been given one far as I know ^^;;;

Yamano Nozomi~!! I think it has a nice ring to it.

If it turns out she does have a first name, then I’d make Nozomi their child’s name instead~ (Nozomu if it’s a boy!)

I’m glad you liked my silly sticky note doodles!! I should really draw proper fanart of them sometime, but until then, here’s another one—

I like the idea of Yamano being allergic to cats, making the General’s robo kitty the perfect playmate for her ^^

Thank you so much for the Ask, feel free to pop in again anytime!!

[ogata77]

¡The Power of a Name!

Never had a name had so much power literally and metaphorically speaking, not at least in saezuru. We only hear "Chikara" from Doumeki's own mouth while answering Yashiro's interrogation at the beginning of this story and from his mother while visiting him in the hospital when the first arc ends, so it only remains to think how close Doumeki and they can become that woman so she can call him the same. For this reason it is not uncommon for Yashiro to be so surprised and jealousy to break out within him.

The first theory of someone who does not know this story in depth would be to believe that both have maintained a loving relationship during these 4 years and that Doumeki has calmed his basic needs while waiting to meet Yashiro again, but someone who has really read what happens in saezuru can't believe in such a basic idea at least I don't. Doumeki told Yashiro "I want this body not to want anyone else", this phrase speaks of exclusivity and I can't imagine him asking for something that even he can't fulfill, on the contrary, I think he makes the request because it's his way of seeing love with Yashiro, he does not want him to be with anyone else and in his heart there is no room for another person so much so that he covers his hands with gloves at the precise moment that he begins his new life as a yakuza declaring: I am here but my feelings they will be preserved until the time when Yashiro returns to my life but let's leave the story of the gloves for another time.

An important detail that makes me curious is why in the scene where Doumeki enters the woman's apartment Yoneda leaves Inami's dialogue: "As always, you don't stop", is it perhaps a clue to tell us that in the same way as Yashiro he gets turned on by no one but Doumeki himself, he is still powerless and only Yashiro can turn him on. If the above is correct, the romance with the woman would be completely ruled out.

So if we eliminate the idea of ​​a romance between the two, I can only think about the importance of this woman as an informant. Mama-san owns a bar where yakuza people usually meet to have fun, close deals, etc. therefore it is not uncommon for you to have important first-hand information to use at your convenience. Now, but where this closeness between the two comes from, the only clue we could have is the concept that Yoneda delivers through the conversation that Kamiya has with Yashiro in the bathroom of the Sakuraika house where he clearly explains what the intentions of the "women of the night", the protection of a man. Doumeki has not forgotten what he learned at the police academy and knows that information and contacts are pure gold, especially in the world of the mafia, he is also the "problem solver" assigned to that bar, that means he protects those who work there then it is ultimately a win-win relationship: information for protection.

Don't think that I have these thoughts to defend Doumeki with a romantic ideal, of course not, because if Yashiro could continue looking for other men in these 4 years then why couldn't Doumeki take refuge in someone too. It's just that to me the character's devotion to staying in the yakuza for love and putting this whole plan together for all this time doesn't fit with there now being a third person in the story.

On the other hand, what happens to Yashiro when he hears the name of Doumeki from this woman is a ticking time bomb. Yashiro has a theme with women that Yoneda is always developing throughout the manga, from his earliest childhood the most important woman in his life abandoned him to his fate with his stepfather, then in adolescence he realized his masochism by to have sex with a girl and from that moment he began to frequent places where yakuzas met to obtain the violence that aroused him, but many times these same men reminded him that his destiny would have been different if he were a woman.

Ryuzaki mentions that if he had been a woman he would have been able to protect him, Misumi tells him that it reminds him of his wife, the man with whom he has a relationship in his early years in the yakuza and who is expelled because of him, constantly treats him like a girl and all this blows up Yashiro. But when Yashiro and Kamiya have a conversation in the bathroom of the Sakuraika's house, Yashiro realizes that in the world of the yakuza women still need a man to protect them and it seems to me that for a moment he thought that if he had been a woman as everyone told him, now he would be without so many problems with Doumeki.

Yashiro has all this going around in his head and when he sees the closeness that Doumeki and mama-san have, it's obvious that everything fits and his jealousy explodes. I can't leave out the scene from this last chapter when everyone is eating in the restaurant and Kamiya makes Doumeki see how gentle he is with women, to which Doumeki replies: "I can be gentle with Kamiya too." This for Yashiro is the straw that breaks the camel's back, the kindness to mama-san, the kindness to women, the kindness to Kamiya and the kindness that Yashiro craves so much, where is he?

Yashiro no longer imagines men raping him in a group, now he dreams of Doumeki chasing him, kissing him and letting him lie on his legs like in the past, that's what Yashiro wants at this point in his life, but he believes that everything that is held by other people close to Doumeki. The place that Yashiro occupied in Doumeki's life is no longer even as his boss, from the moment they met again after these 4 years Yashiro has realized how much he lost and how much he wants to get it back, that's why he goes out on he looks for Kido to self-sabotage again and run away from what is happening to him with Doumeki.

This chapter focused on jealousy and how much damage it can do to us, they say that a person can hide any feeling except when they are jealous and it became clear that neither Yashiro nor Doumeki can run away from this feeling anymore.

If there are errors in the text, it's Google's fault hahaha I'm sorry but I hope it's understood. Thanks for reading my ramblings.

[warm-starlight]

I hope I will not disturb you I wanted to talk about this and… I just came to share this with you The interesting thing is that when I talk about this relationship and its characteristics with others and say why I think there was something more than love between them… they usually pay more attention to three things: Hanji blushing in the forest Shinzo Wo Sasagyu's strange scene

and Levi's strong reaction to Hanji's death((they don't expect Hanji to be so important to Levi because they usually don't read manga and only watch anime and don't pay much attention to details) And most importantly, the plane but In fact, none of these three cases have the effect of the sea scene where Levi was staring at Hanji :) I mean, every time I say and explain, most of them accept what I say, butsome of them say, well, Hanji was in love with Levi, but Levi see's them as a friend. Then I show them chapter 90 and everyone is like: Wow, where was this? Why wasn't it in the anime? Why did they delete it? And then no one says anything anymore :) Because they haven't read the manga and are seeing it for the first time, there is such a thing But why? This is tied to the culture of my country I don't know much about other countries… But in my culture, from the time we were born, until now, in our poems and literature, we recognize true love by looking In fact, the sea scene and the situation of Levi and Hanji is one of the most famous romantic situations in our poetry and culture… Hanji is staring in front of them… they has disappeared into the sea and the wind is blowing in their hair And Levi is staring at Hanji behind Hanji in a position where no one except the manga reader can see Levi. he seems emotional I wish I could find a suitable translation of the poems of the ancient poets of my country or I could translate… or equate the beauty of the metaphors from this situation… but it is beyond my power. For example, I showed that scene to someone and said, "What do you think about this?" This is from chapter 90.. in this sequence we only have 4 frames.. this scene is not a screenshot from the anime In fact, the author puts the most important event of every moment in every frame and cannot put asides or a passing glance inside this scene. And you can see that Levi is completely turned towards Hanji Staring at Hanji And the rest (friends) are really doing what two friends do, for example Armin and Mikasa are worried about Eren. And Jean, Sasha and Kenny were playing together But our two adult characters are in this situation And in my answer he said: Hahaha, come on, Levi had a crush on Hanji (he was really shocked because for the first time he saw something romantic in their relationship). Well, I'm not Japanese...im iranian But I just want to say that such a scene of Levi and Hanji by the sea is one of the most beautiful romantic situations in my country...

In our poems, in our songs, in our paintings, in our textbooks, this scene and situation is constantly mentioned. As a pure scene of love, especially one-sided love or true love We call a lover whom we stare at (saname sangdel=An idol with a heart of stone) because they cruelly plays with our feelings and charms us with their beauty.

Hello. You aren't disturbing me at all.

Yeah, we see in ACWNR Hange looking at Levi clearly interested in him and curious about him and we see Levi stealing glances at Hange a few times. For me the most impactful look he gave was that after Hange said they should go explore Marley. It seems like he felt the old, curious and knowledge thirsty Hange was back and he missed them so much...The way Isayama tends to focus on his eyes when he looks at hange is definitely significant.

[thequeenofsarcaasm]

- Who are your top favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)?

[Feel free if you want to write the reasons or not of why you love those couples....]

- Is there a fictional couple who you dislike but you just know that they are right for each other?

- Which fandom that first introduce you to ffn or ao3?

Thanks if you want to answer, hope you have a wonderful day....

Thank you for asking ❤️

1-Let me just name 10 of them

Naru Sasu (IYKYK. I’ll leave it at that)

SatoSugu (I don’t need to explain)

MadoHomu ( I love dramatic sapphics and pure insanity. That’s what they represent to me)

Katniss and Peeta ( I love THG cause the “love triangle” is an allegory really. Katniss chose peace when she decided to be with Peeta. You can’t top that)

KilluGon (It’s the devotion for me. Also the parallels with Komugi and Meruem? The “lover’s suicide” line? The fact Killua’s birthday is on Tanabata??? I’m sold)

Okabe and Kurisu (I think they’re just made for each other. When things started going downhill, Okabe was so lost that the plot stopped progressing for an episode or two but the moment Kurisu asked him what had happened it felt like she was pulling on an entangled string. I love them so much)

Ed and Winry (She gave that boy a leg to keep moving forward. He saved her by reminding her who she was and what she stood for 🤷🏾‍♀️ )

SuzaLulu cause they’re toxic as fuck and I love toxic (not the real reason but it would be too long to explain. They’re just so GHHGFDD)

AshEiji (*sobs*)

BokuAka (“We’re the protagonists of the world” 🙄 I hate them anime queers)

2-I am sorry but I hated Helena and Damon. That’s your little bros gf!! Are you dumb? GET AWAY FROM HER!!!!!!

3- I started reading ff after Shugo Chara but it was Saint Seiya : The last canvas that introduced me to mlm ships (it’s also the first manga I ever read since we never got a second season ). In SS you have two guys who’ve been friends since forever cause one of them uses a technique that literally causes his heart to burn so he was appointed as partner the only guy who has a cooling technique. Do you see the potential???? Do you see the vision????

Also, the guy who’s possessed by Hades is the bff of the hero and he clearly loves him.

Honestly, all the ships are 12/10

I started STRONG cause the first SS fic I read was violent…( I won’t get into the details but I aspire to that level of toxicity)

🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾

[piro-piroooooo]

90s Sailor Moon Re-watch Thoughts by Piro

I was around 13 or 14 when I first watched Sailor Moon. I stumbled upon the first episode on YouTube and ended up watching the whole series, ignorant of the massive impact this manga/anime had on fiction and popular culture.

Most episodes of the Latino American dub were available on YouTube. Sure, the quality was terrible, and the videos were surrounded by copyright frames (Is that the right term?) but my standards were low back then. I cried at the end of every season.

I decided to re-watch the whole thing last November and just finished. I now proceed to share some of my thoughts now that I'm a more grounded maho-shoujo enjoyer. This time I watched it in Japanese.

Thoughts about each season under the cut!

Sailor Moon Classic:

-Absolute masterpiece. Perfect. I loved the finale. As a child, I wasn't able to properly comprehend why Usagi longed so much to go back to her previous life. She had the power to revive all of her friends. She could have kept their memories. But she didn't because in her eyes the greatest gift she could give them was a normal life.

-Usagi is one of my favorite fictional heroes, maybe my favorite one, for a simple reason: She is weak and selfish. Sailor Moon always needs someone to strike the enemy before she uses her all-mighty magical spell to solve everything. But she isn't useless. She is the hope that keeps everyone else fighting.

-Sailor Moon doesn't actually care about ideals like justice (clearly stated in the manga finale). Her sole motivation is the love she has for her friends and the world, a selfish desire to enjoy a happy life with her loved ones. She's just a girl in the world, let her go home and have a yummy treat.

-The shitennou are a lot more interesting in the anime. In the manga, they serve as romantic interests for each senshi. That s a little bit too easy and heteronormative for me. Having two of them be gay for each other and giving Nephrite an actual character arc is a lot more fun to watch!

-I used to be very neutral about Mamoru. Now I enjoy him a lot. His character is really fun. As far as I understand, he gets into a cosmical fight to find some gem and try to have back his memories from before a car accident. He finds out that he is the reincarnation of ancient royalty and has an equally ancient demigod girlfriend. And he still doesn't recover the memories he was searching for in the first place. That's fun.

Sailor Moon R:

-The Tree arc is good. It also helps fill the season. The Dead Moon arc would have been too long without the tree arc.

-Chibiusa is fine. I disliked her as a child. Not anymore. I love how much we can see Usagi's growth in this season. Sure, she and Chibiusa are a little bit mean to each other sometimes and have petty fights, but you can see they care. Usagi goes as far as trying to trick Rubeus to protect Chibiusa. No one has to force Usagi to transform and fight.

-The Ayakashi sisters are really good. I think their struggles kind of represent being undervalued by an organization/company you have given your whole life.

-Not exactly about the season itself, but the Sailor Moon R movie is one of my favorite anime movies ever. Great animation, great design, great homoeroticism.

Sailor Moon S:

-I've read that having this season as your favorite is seen as pretentious to some people. But sorry, it's just an excellent season. That episode, where Haruka and Michiru are about to find they are the talisman holders. Woah. So aesthetically pleasing. Those shots, those angles, that timing, and edition. Great episode.

-This season delivers one of my favorite Minako episodes. The bad guys finally target her, and she runs off clutching her pure heart in her hands laughing like a maniac. I love her (She later does something similar on SuperS). It inspired me to donate blood, but I couldn't do it because the nurses said my veins were too thin.

-Again, great relationship between Usagi and Chibiusa. I love the friendship between Hotaru and Chibiusa too. I don't care about shipping, but in my heart, she has two hands. Third-season Chibisusa is my favorite Chibiusa.

Sailor Moon SuperS:

-The season I disliked the most as a child, the season I like the least now too. They made the girls so fucking dumb. Usagi's only character trait is being jealous of girls around Mamoru all the time. The inners' personalities are erased over wanting to have a boyfriend. Usagi and Chibiusa fight over the stupidest things.

-This is by far my favorite arc in the manga. I love the lore and how each character has a chance under the spotlight. Extremely sad they wrote out Mamoru's role.

-I'm very indifferent about Helios and his relationship with Chibiusa. I don't dislike them but every time I find myself liking them I realize it's because I'm seeing the Usagi and Mamoru on them.

-Why are the antagonists so creepy? like, they don't even NEED to seduce their targets to see their dreams, so the whole tactic comes off as creepy. Sadly, they had to include Fish Eye in this dynamic. I like her.

-One thing I do like about SuperS is the visuals. I love the opening and the little guys doing their silly performances at the circus. Very good.

Sailor Moon Stars:

-The opening song makes me so emotional. Every time I listen to it, I feel like I'm surrounded by my allies preparing for a deadly fight against a big enemy. The enemy is formidable, but the fire inside our hearts is stronger.

-Big fan of the second Nehelenia Arc. I love seeing the senshis all fighting together, using their unique skills and strengths instead of being defeated immediately and leaving Usagi to do the rest. I also like how they tie the return of Nehelenia with upcoming events.

-It will never be not funny to me that Kunihiko Ikuhara didn't get to direct the season where Mamoru does die.

-I do enjoy how Stars feels a little bit more serious and mature with the absence of Mamoru and the girls being in high school. The Three Lights' music is perfect to build that melancholic atmosphere that characterizes this season for me. But I believe it would have been nice to have Chibiusa a little bit more, it's not her character's fault that the previous season felt so childish.

-Something I did dislike was how the inner senshi were neglected a little bit because most screen time was dedicated to the Three Lights. I like them don't get me wrong. But the opening bit where you see the inner senshis holding hands, while throwing themselves into the void, makes me think I would have preferred to have them on the final fight. They barely did anything on the final fight.

-The Sailor Moon finale is very dear to me. I deeply appreciate the message of the manga of not waiting for a 'peaceful time' or a 'happy ending' to enjoy life with your loved ones. Conflict will always arise again, and life is a constant fight you can only win by accepting the eternal struggle of existing. I think the manga version conveys this message better, but the anime is a worthy adaptation with its own merits.

I will be rewatching Crystal soon after I get some rest from Sailor Moon and watch something else for a little while. I haven't watched the Cosmos movies. I'm looking forward to doing so. I will also be watching the live-action for the first time soon. I will post my thoughts about those too.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far! Remember english is not my native language and I might have made grammar and spelling mistakes on this post! I'm open to suggestions regarding that ^^

[apparently-artless]

Oooh i love this type of games!! I would like like to give my view in this and for the animangask: what do you think about, Shanks AN EMPEROR going back to Foosha village? (without taking into consideration his possible romantic relationship with Makino) Why do you think an emperor would do that? Do you think he knows he can't beat Blackbeard and that's why he visited her as a "maybe this is the last time we see each other"?

For me, and so this may be an unpopular opinion, but I'm going to say Makino's baby is Shanks's till proven otherwise.

Though it may not be good to draw parallels, but I'm seeing one with Shanks/Makino and Roger/Rouge. Roger decided to have a kid after Laugh Tale, however, the marines had cottoned onto his actions, and targeted Rouge's village of any possible pregnant woman/ woman with a baby because they didn't want Roger to have any offspring. However, thanks to Rouge delaying the birth of her and Roger's baby, Ace was born and Garp took him to East Blue. The fundamental mistake Roger made was making it obvious by acting fatherly, which was how the marines found out that a baby was due.

After seeing Shanks enter Mary Geoise without any of the marines knowing, he is clearly better at stealth than his old captain.

Everything I say after this is purely hypothetical. After reading a few posts that suggest that Shanks may die by Blackbeard's hands in the future, leaving Luffy to face Blackbeard as a way to surpass Shanks. I'm seeing the parallel between Shanks and Roger here, if it is possibly foreshadowed that Shanks will die. What if Shanks travelled to Windmill Village without the marines knowing and spent some time there with Makino, and she got pregnant during the time skip. Oda stated in SBS 63, that Makino's baby is 'probably that person', which I will assume is Shanks. Shanks may not have planned to have a kid, if he knows, he may have planned to, this I don't know, but if he did plan to, similarly to Roger, he handled it better than Roger without anyone knowing. This means his kid will be safe from the marines, in a way Ace's birth village wasn't for a lot of women and children. If Oda is foreshadowing Shanks's death, in a way that Shanks knows he cannot beat Blackbeard (two devil fruits, Shanks's scar, Shanks going to the Mary Geoise to discuss a certain pirate (assuming this is Blackbeard) etc), he may have decided to have a kid. Makino and Shanks had a close relationship during Shanks stay when Luffy was a kid, maybe Oda planned this from the beginning with these two. Though, I do have to say the marines won't react the same way with Shanks's kid as they did with Roger's kid, but who knows.

On a more positive note, if Luffy returns to Windmill Village after becoming Pirate King and finds out about Shanks/Makino baby, maybe the straw hat will go to this kid in the future.

There are clearly a lot of what ifs with this theory, with very little to work on the moment, but what are your thoughts?

To be honest, I'm still not updated with the manga. The info about OP I know so far is only limited to anime. I also think that Shanks is the father of Makino's child. As you mentioned, Oda confirmed the father of Makino's child is "probably that person". Other than Shanks, there is no other character we could think of aside from him and vice versa. I'd also like to stick with this theory.

My response for the rest is purely out of emotions rather than looking at the story so far objectively. For me, Shanks doesn't necessarily have to die in order for Luffy to end up facing Blackbeard. Inevitably, Luffy has to face Blackbeard, but what I'm thinking is Shanks may play another important role that is yet to be revealed.

Shanks is already an emperor for many years and I think he is fully aware of his position that every small action he does will make an impact whether he likes it or not. Assuming Shanks is really the father of Makino's child, wouldn't it endanger the child's safety if he went back to Foosha Village? There must be another reason why he went back to the village, a very important one, that he's willing to risk his family's life. Judging by Shanks's personality, I don't think he'd be the type to act based on emotions. One example would be during the end of Marineford Arc. Shanks had not seen Luffy for a long time, but he still decided not to meet him. So if Shanks decided to come back to Foosha Village, it might not be to see Makino and their child again (assuming they're Shanks's). Like you said, Shanks managed to keep the child hidden from the Marines, if that was Shanks's true intention, he just wasted the opportunity that he created. I don't know what the reason may be, but it has to be something important that may contribute greatly to the current plot. And at least, that's what I hope. 

Lastly, I personally don't like the theory that Shanks will die at Blackbeard's hands, and Luffy will defeat him as a way to surpass Shanks. Doesn't that theory sound like what happened to Ace and Luffy? And if this ever happens, I'd be seriously pissed (not to the point that I will drop this series though XD). What I want to happen is when everything's been resolved, Shanks and Luffy will have a friendly match. And through that, Shanks will see for himself that Luffy had definitely surpassed him. A little cringe, I know. But this is what I want. XD

I apologize in advance if I wasn't able to address everything you've mentioned. (￣▽￣*)ゞ

[cocksuki2]

i feel like a lot of people water down satosugu and took that line “my six eyes tell me you’re geto suguru by my soul knows otherwise” and ran with it just to ship it and ignore how actually important they were to each other. esp THOSE certain women who you can tell fetishize mlm seeing that panel and they’re just like “omg they were in love” “gay!” like bro…

i literally seen someone get attacked a while back for saying they shipped satosugu platonically and not romantically. they talked about how geto was important to gojo’s character, they’re platonic soulmates, and how it affected gojo more than meets the eye. In the comments people were telling them “you clearly don’t understand the manga then” “they were gay get over it” like how do you water down a character’s importance to another’s THAT BAD? i try not to point fingers its mainly a certain demographic of people doing it too

i agree with most of this except for the concept of seeing them as romantic meaning that it’s watered down. i don’t think this is necessarily what you’re saying, but i don’t think romantically shipping them is watering-down their characters or their importance. i def see what you’re saying with like.. certain groups of people.. but i also think that reading them as romantic is a completely valid way of looking at satosugu. 

i think there’s this idea that romance and romantic attachment is inherently less important than platonic (which is seen as “serious”). i could get into how i think it’s because romance is commonly tied to femininity but that’s an entirely separate conversation and a super long one 😭😭😭 though i hear what you’re saying but i personally think looking at satosugu romantically can be just as powerful and impactful as looking at them platonically. 

that being said, it does feel like a lot of that is used purely for shipping purposes, but i don’t think that takes away it’s meaning. yes, it’s an important comment of gojo’s that indicates a deeper level of hurt, grief, and resentment within him, but it is also a REALLY strong indication of gojo and getou’s attachment to each other. i think even reading that as ship content is a really valid and interesting way of looking at it because it IS about his connection to getou. it IS about how much he cares for getou. 

though that’s kinda off topic from what you were saying 😭😭😭 i guess all im adding to this is that i think reading satosugu as romantic and reading that moment as indication of a romantic connection doesn’t necessarily water-down their importance... but it IS annoying when it’s done in a way that purely fetishizes queer men rather than acknowledge the importance to their character arcs. i feel u. 

[saotome-michi]

Just finished rereading Yozora no Sumikko de AND Yoake ni Furu back to back and my god THE EMOTIONS ;o; I am not strong enough for this

I really have so much love for these series especially Yoake ni Furu which has cemented its spot as my Number 1 Favourite out of Hayakawa’s works and I think? that I’m in the minority with that opinion, but I just adore how multi-layered and subtle the storytelling is. I think that it’s definitely one that grows richer the more you reread it, because you don’t really get a clear picture of Shouta’s mental and emotional conflicts until the very end and not even then. In the beginning we’re made to believe that Shouta’s love for Hoshino is romantic in nature, at least partially, but gradually the inconsistencies appear and enough pieces come together for us to realize: Oh, it’s not romantic at all, but purely familial and protective; Hoshino is the third parent whom Shouta dearly loves but is uncomfortable “claiming” in that way, because that’s not normal and Shouta has always been aware how not normal his family situation is.

Add to that his pain over his mother dying and leaving him when he was so young, and his fear that he’s a burden to Akihiro (and also Akihiro and Hoshino still not getting their shit together even after 6 years) and well... that’s how you get a boy who can only express his love for his third parental figure by pretending he’s his long-distance girlfriend. It’s honestly so sad, and that’s also why he breaks down after seeing Hoshino cry and overhearing him say that he has a marriage interview, because he’s faced with the prospect of Hoshino leaving him as well and the confirmation that him growing up does not guarantee Hoshino’s presence in his life.

Another cute/heartbreaking sign of how Hoshino is really his second dad, is when Shouta invites Daiki over to his house for the weekend to see Hoshino, right after he stayed the night at Daiki’s house hanging out with Daiki’s mother and sister. It’s so clear that he loves Daiki’s family and really appreciates them caring for him and also appreciates Daiki for sharing them with him, which is why he wants to return the gesture by sharing his family aka Hoshino with Daiki (and he’s so disappointed when Daiki says he can’t come). What makes it extra special is that Daiki is one of the only people Shouta can share Hoshino with, and I think that’s also why Shouta is so upset after Daiki pushes him down and implies that Shouta’s feelings for Hoshino are sexual, because he trusted Daiki out of all people to understand him (but who can blame Daiki for not when Shouta never explained the whole situation to him, poor guy was under the misconception that Shouta has been dating his elementary school teacher this whole time).

The whole manga is really Shouta’s coming-of-age story as he struggles with accepting his unique family, not because he’s ashamed of them but because his fear of abandonment and his reluctance to depend on others even when he clearly wants to results in him feeling like he has no right to them (and that includes Daiki!!) Meanwhile, Daiki is just trying to figure Shouta’s shit out, and making some missteps along the way, but once he does, he tackles it head on, telling Shouta he loves him and that he wants Shouta to depend on him. And that reassurance, more than anything, is what allows Shouta to finally relax and be vulnerable with him.

I also really recommend reading this along with Yozora no Sumikko de, because there are some very cool parallels, contrasts, and callbacks between the two series. In Yozora, Hoshino thinks of Akihiro as a dazzling person, a star, far from his reach, until he gathers the courage to grasp him with his own hands, while in Yoake, Shouta thinks of Hoshino and his mother as stars, their familial love an ideal and something he must chase and prove himself worthy of, but Daiki? Daiki is much closer than that; he is the streetlamps, the houselights that make homes seem so warm and inviting at night, so much closer and yet easier to overlook because of their proximity. Honestly, it’s poetry.

[comicscourse]

Defining Yuri

Introduction 

While manga, whether we talk about shonen, shoujo or seinen, often displays elements that are distinct from Western literature, as a whole it is easily recognizable. You can use the same tools you analyze East of Eden with to look at Lone Wolf and Cub. If you can parse A Midsummer Night’s Dream then Urusei Yatsura should be just as comprehensible to you.  

Yuri however, becomes interesting and is distinct enough that I think it is worth talking about what is intrinsic to it. This is very much an evolving work in my mind and I welcome feedback as it evolves. For this point I’ve considered some of my recent reads in Yuri and re-read volume 1 of Eclair.  I intend to expand this over time so consider this a work in progress.  

For future reference this is dated March 11th, 2023.

Common Yuri Themes 

Affections

One theme drives everything else in Yuri - love.  This includes five types of love that serve as sub themes:

Sexual Love - While love and sex are often separated the emotions connected with physical attraction should not be understated and are important here.  A subcategory of this is aesthetic attraction, a concept based on attraction that has a physical component but may not elevate to full sexual attraction.  Skinships are a related concept.

Romantic Love - Most audiences are very familiar with this concept.

Devotion or Devoted Love - I avoid the term Platonic Love for several reasons,  One, it’s meaning going back to Platonic Forms implies it is the most pure and true form of love which I don’t agree with.  Also, it implies an exclusion of sexual and romantic love in how it is used while in Yuri devotion is often expressed in intense friendships and is an important part of connections between characters.

Familial love - While the first three are all common in Yuri, familiar love is the least common.

The fifth kind I don’t have a term for yet but it is based on common experience, sometimes trauma, sometimes not that binds people together in a sense of shared identity around these events.  

It is important to underscore that several of these afflictions are not sapphic or lesbian and while yuri comics are often sapphic the genre has enough diversity that it shouldn’t be defined as such.

Ambiguity 

Ambiguity is a common theme in the genre, with character feelings and even the exact form of conflict resolution often unclear to the reader and open to interpretation.  “The Hairdresser” is an example of this, where the characters have a relationship at the end but the nature of it is unclear.  It might be a mild form of devotion though one clearly has some level of aesthetic attraction.  

In “A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow” both characters are ingenues and everything is ambiguous throughout.  In “The Hairdresser” a girl attracted to another does her hair, they clearly develop a relationship at the end but what kind is left in doubt.  

Power Exchange 

Dominance and submissive themes exist and can be expressed in various kinds of existing affections.  In “Master 1/365” a sexual attraction is connected to the aggressor putting herself into a submissive role. 

In “Human Emotion” a co-worker is seen as a pet, fitting naturally into a dependent role with the protagonist.

Conflicts 

All Yuri has one central false conflict and one or more true conflicts.  The false conflict mirrors western romance literature and is the resolution of the status of a relationship between two women.  

The tone of resolutions is diverse ranging from happily ever after to tragedy and bittersweet endings far more common than in English western literature.  Additionally, even the tone can be ambiguous.

This is attributed to a critical difference between Yuri and Western romances.  While both revolve around a central relationship conflict the resolutions are very different.  Western romances may factor some self revelation in the build up to resolution but resolving the relationship itself resolves the conflict.  This is to say the conflict is external.

After the rain

In Yuri the true conflict is internal to one or more of the main characters.  The resolution of the relationship between them is a side effect of internal conflict being resolved but optional.  Nothing may change in that relationship or it may be ambiguous.  

Character Roles 

The Minx - Is interested in another girl sexually and/or romantically.  This does not preclude other types of relationships as they are often friends as well.  May have many self doubts and not be as sophisticated as they appear.  May be aggressive and a combination of their doubts and interests are usually a major driving force behind the plot in stories in which they appear.  Examples: Hotaru from NTR.  Both characters in “The Unemployed Woman and the High School Girl” are minxes, an unusual point of conflict. The aggressiveness of the minx can mix into themes in a variety of ways, for example in “Master for 1/365” the minx positions herself to be the slave of the enigma until out of frustration she makes a physical ploy.  

The Ingenue - This girl is naive and is likely interested in other girls but not even aware of it herself. Often paired with a Minx. Examples: Yuma-chan from NTR.

The Enigma - This is a character we don’t get to see the internal voice of and is often unexpressive.  They are an object of interest from other characters and we often don’t know their feelings until the end and even then may only be implied. Their job is to react. Kai-san from “Happiness in the Shape of a Scar” from vol 1 of Eclair is an example.  Note that being an enigma is not about being emotionally reserved but their viewpoint as to the relationship is unknown.  In “Human Emotion” from volume one of Eclair we see that the minx is very reserved and probably autistic while the enigma is very vocal and expressive.  

The Tourist - This character has just wandered into a Yuri story and really has no place in it.  Often used open endings and plot twists.

The two combinations of the Minx and the Ingenue and the Minx and the Enigma are the most common pairings because indeterminate relationship is one of the most common storylines in the genre.

[marshmallowgoop]

Things I love about Heiji and Shinichi (as someone who hasn't read much of the manga and is about halfway through the anime):

🔎 The way that Shinichi is instantly impressed by Heiji's deductive abilities. He respects Heiji's skill to such an extent that, solely out of concern for what will be discovered about him, he decides—unhesitatingly and while feeling deathly ill—to accompany the Detective of the West on a (seemingly non-murderous) case investigation that he pointedly had no interest in otherwise (Episode 48).

🔎 The way that Shinichi tells Heiji—the boy whose life has been so defined by comparisons to his father (and later to Shinichi himself), who is so insecure that he constructs unnecessary competitions in an effort to feel as though he's worth something—what essentially amounts to, "You don't have to prove yourself to me" (Episode 49). Despite the temporary antidote wearing off and making it a considerable effort to even remain standing, Shinichi is still sure to let Heiji know that there isn't any competition in detective work—that "[t]here's no winning, losing, above, or below when it comes to logic... After all, there's always only one truth."

🔎 The way that Heiji enters the series purely to find Shinichi, and the symbolic significance that can be read into how Heiji is, quite literally, the reason that Shinichi does in fact appear for the first time since being poisoned (Episodes 48-49). It's as if to say that Shinichi cannot keep hiding behind Conan when Heiji is present—that Shinichi cannot help but be himself, not the false persona he's created, when in the company of Heiji Hattori.

🔎 The way that Shinichi not only can be himself with Heiji but also feels safe being himself with Heiji, even early on, when he doesn't (consciously) want Heiji to know his true identity, so easily deducting with Heiji in their second meeting (Episodes 57-58) because he respects Heiji's abilities, trusts that Heiji can solve the case, and wants to do so beside him.

[Image descriptions: Screenshots from Episode 57. Conan and Heiji stand outside in the dark. Conan talks to Heiji, who looks at him, saying, “But all the suspects were in the lodge... Could someone have put a time-activated detonator in the garage?” End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that Shinichi, regardless of his tsundere attitude, genuinely loves deducting with Heiji and makes this fact no mystery. He's full of smiles when they're working a case, absolutely ecstatic to share his findings with his partner, thrilled to bounce ideas off of someone he trusts to be on the same wavelength. From the way Conan looks adoringly up at Heiji in Episode 118 (and throws a literal tantrum and is sooooo grumpy when they're separated), to the way he eagerly calls out to Heiji that he's found what they're searching for in Episode 167, to the way he's so clearly looking forward to the prospect of comparing notes in Episode 174, to the way he smirks when they've both come to the same conclusion at once in Episode 263, to the way he grins and asks, "You got it too, right?" in Episode 382, there's the definite, undeniable understanding that Shinichi absolutely cherishes Heiji's company.

[Image descriptions: Six screenshots. In the first image, from Episode 118, Conan walks with Heiji and Sakata, looking up adoringly at Heiji while smiling broadly. In the second image, from Episode 167, Conan shines a light on a small hole in a wall, saying with a wide grin, "I found it! Hattori, it's here!" In the third and fourth images, from Episode 174, Heiji asks, "Then shall we compare notes?," to which Conan smiles in response. In the fifth image, from Episode 263, Heiji and Conan stand out in the rain. While smiling and looking at Conan, Heiji says, "Now we know why the killer wore a special outfit that has a zipper." Conan smiles back. In the sixth image, from Episode 382, Conan smiles and says, "You got it too, right?" End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that Conan looks so content when revealing the full truth to Heiji (Episode 58). The way that letting Heiji in is such a comfort, a relief. The way that Shinichi is elated to have someone to confide in, to not have to hide from, who is his peer, not a mentor figure or a parent.

[Image description: Screenshot from Episode 58. Conan and Heiji sit on a bus; Conan has told Heiji everything about how he’s really Shinichi and searching for more information about the organization that poisoned him. Conan has his hands behind his head and smiles. Heiji leans against the window and rests his face in his hand as he looks at Conan. End image description.]

🔎 The way that Heiji is adamant that children not be exposed to murder (Episode 48) but also doesn't belittle children, either. When trapped with a killer (Episodes 57-58), Heiji doesn't brush off Conan's insights or tell him that he's not allowed to speak; in fact, Heiji encourages Conan to share his thoughts prior to realizing that Conan is actually Shinichi. And Shinichi, who has consistently been discounted and not taken seriously because of what he looks like, relishes Heiji's consideration, momentarily forgetting his circumstances as he deducts without his usual façade. Heiji always recognizes the value in Shinichi's words—he goes so far as to suspect that they're true Sleeping Kogoro!—regardless of how the person speaking them appears.

🔎 The way that Heiji is so set on seeing Shinichi again—after meeting him all of once!—that he enters a Sherlock Holmes fan tour (Episodes 57-58), which required exemplary knowledge of Holmes to be selected, despite openly not being a Sherlock Holmes fan and preferring Ellery Queen... all for the self-admitted chance that he might find Shinichi there. Not only that, Heiji effortlessly rattles off various facts about Shinichi, making it abundantly clear that he's read plenty of Shinichi-focused interviews and reports.

[Image description: Screenshot from Episode 57. Frowning and with his hand on his chin, Heiji thinks to himself, “Kudo ain’t here. I shouldn’t have come on this tour...” End image description.]

🔎 The way that Heiji notes in FUNimation's English dub, "When a guy's away from his girl, she's all he can think or talk about" (Episode 48), and the way that this sentiment near perfectly applies to his feelings about Shinichi, given that he gushes and talks about the Detective of the East so incessantly and with such reverence that Kazuha initially believes that Shinichi is a girl whom Heiji is in love with (Episode 118).

🔎 The way that Heiji's unabashed affection is so notable in this story, as characters here are typically embarrassed to admit their warm feelings for one another.

🔎 The way that their relationship is thus built on a kind of openness and honesty seldom seen in the franchise, something evident not only in Heiji's proud displays of emotion but also in Shinichi's vulnerability with Heiji. As soon as their third meeting (Episodes 77-78), Shinichi reveals to Heiji the tragic conclusion of one of his most emotionally devastating cases, “The Piano Sonata ‘Moonlight’ Murders" (Episode 11), wherein he couldn't stop the culprit from committing suicide. It's a trauma he explicitly feels unable to share with Ran, and it's likely that he hadn't spoken of it to anyone else aware of his identity at that point, either. But he feels safe letting Heiji in.

[Image descriptions: Screenshots from Episode 78. Conan kneels on a table and looks inside a container while Heiji looks at him. Conan says, a very serious look on his face, “Say, Hattori. Have you ever killed someone?” End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that Heiji takes Shinichi's words then—"A detective who corners someone with logic, but lets them commit suicide, is no different from a murderer"—to heart, sustaining a bullet wound whilst successfully preventing a culprit from shooting themselves in the head (Episode 118). The way that Heiji so deeply values Shinichi and his insights. The way that Shinichi realizes the depth of Heiji's admiration and is profoundly affected.

🔎 The way that Shinichi so deeply values Heiji and his insights. The way that, in as soon as their second encounter (Episodes 57-58), Shinichi's nervous about Heiji uncovering his true identity, despite never feeling similarly about the actual police detectives with whom he'd worked dozens of cases at that point. 

[Image description: Screenshot from Episode 58. Conan looks up at Heiji, thinking to himself, “But it’s all over if he catches me during my explanation.” End image description.]

🔎 The way that Heiji's deduction suspecting Shinichi's favorite soccer player of murder enrages Conan (Episode 239), and the way he angrily declares that he'll prove Heiji wrong, signifying just how intensely Shinichi respects Heiji and his logic, because why else would Shinichi get so heated and determined to uncover the evidence that would render Heiji's deduction false?

[Image descriptions: Screenshots from Episode 239. Conan, furiously angry, tells Heiji, "That's ridiculous! It's absolutely impossible!" Then, Heiji, with a surprised expression on his face, is shown beside Conan, and Conan continues, "And I'll prove it, just you wait!" End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that Shinichi thinks so highly of Heiji that, in his imagined future (OVA 9, "The Stranger From 10 Years Later"), Shinichi conceives of 26/27-year-old Heiji as a prominent, well-renowned detective with his own agency—who is so good at what he does and so attractive that he's nicknamed "The Lady-Killer of Naniwa."

[Image descriptions: Screenshots from the 9th Detective Conan OVA, "The Stranger From 10 Years Later.” Conan (now an 11th grader just like Shinichi was) watches a news broadcast on the streets of Tokyo. It's an interview with an older Heiji Hattori, who smiles politely. The interviewer says, "I've heard that the young ladies have a certain nickname for Hattori-san... "The Lady-Killer of Naniwa." End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that they both respect each other but never fall into unhealthy idolizing, with Heiji not hesitating to call Shinichi out for his bias in the aforementioned Episode 239, with both willing to disagree and not unthinkingly believe anything the other says (see also Episode 174).

[Image descriptions: Screenshots from Episode 174. In the first image, with his face shadowed by darkness, Heiji says, “This is very interesting.” In the second image, the full moon is shown, with clouds moving to let its light shine through. Heiji continues, “How unusual. Our deductions aren’t the same.” In the third image, Conan’s face is slightly lit by the moon. He says, with a smile, “Yes, this has only happened once when we first met.” End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that, with the help of their fathers, they both solve the same case while in middle school and are then too ashamed to meet because they feel the other is the better detective for seemingly solving the mystery on his own (Episode 490)... but they still smile fondly at the prospect of finding each other again one day.

[Image descriptions: Screenshots from Episode 490. In the first image, with a fond smile on his face, Heiji thinks, "Well, even if I don't see him, if he's a detective..." In the second image, with a similarly fond smile on his face, Shinichi thinks, "We'll get to see each other one day on some mysterious stage." They are both outside at night, with snow falling around them. End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that the sponsor screen at the end of the episode (left sponsorless on streaming sites like Viu and Bilibili), which usually consists of a still or short looped animation, is instead a collection of clips from the case that looks like a Heishin fancam.

🔎 The way that the episode, focused on Heiji and Shinichi's relationship, is filled with traditionally romantic imagery, with cherry blossoms in the beginning and, of course, the snow.

🔎 The way that Heiji originally defines Shinichi as his rival but is repeatedly ecstatic to work with Shinichi, not against him. The way that Heiji loves to emphasize their similarities, bringing them closer together rather than farther apart (as pictured below in Episodes 117, 189, and 516), and the way that Shinichi, likewise, is delighted by the existence of a young detective just like him (Episode 490), even blushing when he first learns of Heiji in the manga's version of the story.

[Image descriptions: Three screenshots. In the first image, from Episode 117, Heiji smiles while talking to Conan on the phone, saying, "Yeah, I bet! You and me are a lot alike! We cross paths before we even know it!" In the second image, from Episode 189, Heiji sits with Conan on Conan's hospital bed, holding a bouquet of flowers. Heiji says, "I was shot in the stomach, too. We've got things in common." In the third image, from Episode 516, Heiji smiles broadly while picturing Shinichi, thinking, "It's just as I thought! We're two of a kind, birds of a feather!" End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that Heiji gleefully describes himself as Shinichi's best friend rather than Shinichi's rival (Episodes 277, 521). The way that Heiji finds helping and being friendly with Shinichi so much more important than competing against him.

[Image descriptions: Three screenshots. In the first two images, from Episode 277, Heiji smiles and blushes as he says, "This old man [Dr. Agasa] called me, saying that if I, your best friend, came, I could help you." In the third image, from Episode 521, Heiji smiles and blushes in the car as he tells Kogoro, who is driving, "Of course because I'm Shinichi's best friend." End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that Heiji engages in some of the silliest—and cutest—shenanigans so that Conan can participate in solving mysteries with him. Be it stuffing Conan in his jacket (Episode 118), lifting Conan up so that he can see evidence (Episodes 263, 278), or even sabotaging a good luck charm to make it so rain would cancel a field trip that'd keep Conan from a case (Episode 325, though, okay, maybe I don't like that example so much...), Heiji treasures working with Shinichi and is so eager to do whatever he can to ensure that his friend can freely do what he loves.

[Image descriptions: Four screenshots. The first image, from Episode 118, shows Heiji unzipping his jacket, where Conan had been hiding. Conan gasps for breath and blushes. The second image, from Episode 263, depicts a rainy scene. Heiji holds up Conan so that Conan can see a photograph held by Inspector Otaki. The third image, from Episode 278, shows Heiji holding up Conan so that Conan can see a photograph held by Inspector Megure. Jodie, behind them, looks at the photograph, too. The fourth image, from Episode 325, shows a sunny boy doll meant to keep the rain away. Heiji’s hand reaches for the doll. End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that Shinichi asks Heiji for help.

🔎 The way that Shinichi Kudo, the guy who hides his trauma, who'll skip meals out of anxiety without ever admitting what's really on his mind, who forces smiles so that others won't worry about him, whose refusal to ask for help and rely on others is what created Conan in the first place, confides in Heiji. The way that Dr. Agasa, who has been more of a constant in Shinichi's life than his own parents, calls for Heiji, all the way out in Osaka, to help Shinichi—and more than once (Episodes 189, 277)!

[Image descriptions: Screenshots from Episode 189. With a serious expression on his face, Heiji sits on Conan's hospital bed, holding a bouquet of flowers. He says, "Truth is, I got a call from an old guy named Agasa last night. He wanted to talk to me about you." Conan looks surprised at these words. End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that Agasa feels that Shinichi will not open up to anyone else. The way that, even if Shinichi (so far as I know) never explicitly refers to Heiji as his best friend as Heiji does for him, from how he must talk about Heiji, Agasa believes as much.

🔎 The way that Agasa is right. The way that Shinichi does open up to Heiji, especially in Episode 189, where he asks for advice—where he asks, regardless of his near-constant moralizing and strong sense of justice, what Heiji thinks is right. Where he asks what Heiji would do in his place. 

[Image descriptions: Two screenshots from Episode 189. In the first image, Conan, in his hospital bed with the bouquet of flowers that Heiji brought on the sheets, says, "Hattori, listen." In the second image, the camera pans out to show Heiji standing by his bed as Conan continues, "What would you do? What do you think is right?" End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that, though it looks amusing out of context because Conan's sitting on the toilet, Shinichi repeats the same question to Heiji hundreds of cases later (Episode 491)—"What would you do? If you were in my position?"—and how, in that case, he's looking for Heiji to supply the same answer that he's already decided for himself because he, too, finds comfort in their similarities. The way that Heiji's identical response then—that he'd "just go for it" regardless of the danger—assures Shinichi that he's making the correct choice even if you could argue that he really isn't.

[Image descriptions: Screenshots from Episode 491. Conan sits on the toilet, talking to Heiji on the phone. He says, "What would you do? If you were in my position?" Heiji then answers, “Well, if it were me, I’d just go for it.” But then, with troubled expression on his face, he stammers, “I mean, no, I would...” With a smile, Conan says, “I’d do exactly what you would. I’ll pry as deep as I can into it. Until the curiosity within me dries out.” End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that Heiji is always so ready to help Shinichi, be it the little things like lifting him up or the bigger things like trying to give him peace of mind in regards to Ran (Episode 189). The way that Heiji directly says as much in Episode 278—"If any other suspicious persons show up, just call me! I'll run right over!" The way that, as the story progresses, Shinichi asks for Heiji's help without any prompting from anyone else (Episodes 345, 479). The way that Shinichi trusts that Heiji can help, not even bothering to think up a plan to get away and shrink back into Conan where he can't be seen in Episode 522 because he has complete faith in Heiji to handle it.

🔎 The way that Heiji's immediate response to Shinichi's request that he put his life on the line and disguise himself as Shinichi Kudo is to send an "OK" composed entirely out of heart emojis (Episode 345).

[Image descriptions: Two screenshots. In the first image, from Episode 278, Heiji runs and says, "If any other suspicious persons show up, just call me! I'll run right over!" In the second image, from Episode 345, Conan looks at his phone, which has a message up that's just an "OK" composed out of pink heart emojis, which had been sent to him by Heiji. End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that the 33rd opening sequence, "Miss Mystery," so beautifully and perfectly encapsulates this aspect of Shinichi and Heiji's relationship. Conan readies himself to handle everything on his own, as he feels he must do, only for Heiji to rush in, without any hesitation, and break through the obstacles in Conan's path. And Conan accepts Heiji's help. More than that, he smiles at Heiji's help, because Heiji gives him strength.

[Image descriptions: GIFs from OP 33, set to the song "Miss Mystery" by BREAKERZ. Conan runs only to stop before long, finding a wall of English text blocking his path. The wall includes the words "DNA," "POISON," "LOCKED ROOM," "ALIBI," "BLOOD TYPE," "ANAGRAM," "FINGERPRINTS," and "DYING MESSAGE," among others. Conan takes a step back and prepares to knock away the text, but Heiji arrives running. Conan looks in surprise as Heiji leaps into the wall and clears the path for him, knocking text away with his feet before landing. Heiji then turns to look at Conan behind him, smiling. After a moment of surprise, Conan returns the smile with one of his own. End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that Shinichi is truly so grateful to have Heiji in his life. The way that he's immensely frustrated when Heiji declines working a case with him and hangs up the phone (Episode 117). The way that he can't stop thinking about Heiji when his partner suddenly disappears from an investigation (Episode 174). The way that he doesn't want to carry out a deduction show alone when Heiji should be there (Episode 224). The way that he so earnestly and genuinely thanks Heiji for his help in Movie 13, The Raven Chaser.

[Image descriptions: Six screenshots. In the first image, from Episode 117, Heiji, talking to Conan on the phone, hangs up, saying, "Lemme know if you figure anything out! Good luck!" In the second image, also from Episode 117, Conan angrily throws down his phone, swearing, "Damn!" In the third image, from Episode 174, Conan sweats and thinks to himself, with a worried expression on his face, "What's happened to you, Hattori?" In the fourth image, from Episode 224, Conan sits behind Kogoro, preparing for a deduction show, and looks at his watch. He thinks, "Hattori, where are you? Why aren't you here? What're you doing?" In the fifth and six images, from Movie 13, The Raven Chaser, Conan talks to Heiji on the phone. He smiles kindly as he says, "Thank you, Hattori. For real." End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that they both care so much for one another that they have nigh-supernatural instincts about when the other is in danger. The way that Heiji is so haunted by a bad dream of Shinichi's death—which very nearly comes true—that he lends Conan his good luck charm (which then saves Shinichi's life) (Episode 118). The way that Conan instantly knows something is amiss when Heiji is thrown overboard a cruise ship, despite no one else noticing anything and, considering how deep he was in the ship, how he shouldn't have noticed anything himself (Episode 174).

[Image descriptions: Four screenshots. In the first image, from Episode 118, Heiji says, "I had a bad dream..." In the second image, also from Episode 118, Conan has his hand on his face in thought, while in the background, Heiji imagines Shinichi in pain, clutching a bloody wound on his chest. In the third image, from Episode 174, Conan sweats with a horrified expression on his face. In the fourth image, also from Episode 174, Conan asks Kogoro, "Hey, didn't you hear a strange water noise?" End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that Heiji always sees Shinichi as himself. The way that his aforementioned nightmare involves Shinichi, not Conan, even though it's Conan who's nearly killed (Episode 118). The way that Heiji describes Conan when asking about other investigators of a case (Episode 516) but pictures Shinichi in his mind (pictured way above). The way that he sees Shinichi in the place of Conan and has to rub his eyes to find reality again (OVA 2).

[Image descriptions: Screenshots from OVA 2, “16 Suspects?!” Both wearing coats and scarves, Heiji stands next to Kazuha outside. She smiles, but Heiji looks as though he can’t believe what he’s seeing. It turns out that he’s seeing Kudo, who crouches next to Ran with a serious expression on his face. Heiji thinks, “Kudou!” He then rubs his eyes and sees reality: Conan standing beside Ran with his hands in his jacket pockets. End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that Heiji is arguably the catalyst to a more permanent APTX 4869 antidote, and thus, symbolically, the key to Shinichi's true self. Because of him, Shinichi is able to instruct Ai to drink the baigar/paikal/baijiu to escape from Pisco (Episode 177), which not only saves her life but also allows her to procure the drug data necessary to concoct more antidotes.

🔎 The way that Heiji is right by Shinichi's side practically every time that he's able to be himself. The way that the only movie in which Shinichi makes a genuine, non-flashback, non-Kid-in-disguise appearance, Movie 7, Crossroad in the Ancient Capital, features Conan purposefully making himself sick and taking an antidote for Heiji and Kazuha's sake.

🔎 The way that Conan thinks, "Thank you, Harley!" while holding a bottle of alcohol in FUNimation's English dub (Episode 50).

🔎 The way that they both want the best for each other and support one another. The way that Heiji encourages Shinichi to do the right thing when it comes to Ran (Episodes 189, 524). The way that Heiji celebrates Shinichi's successes (Episode 491). The way that Heiji cheers Shinichi up when the conclusion to a case depresses him to such an extent that everyone worries about his wellbeing (Episode 239). The way that the tension leaves Heiji when he sees a smile on his friend's face again.

[Image descriptions: Six screenshots from Episode 239. In the first image, Conan looks sad, holding his face in his hand. Offscreen, Ran says, “Maybe Conan’s the same [as Shinichi] and he’ll start to hate soccer [because something disappointed him about it].” In the second image, Heiji tries to kick a soccer ball but drops it. In the third image, Conan says, “You’re lousy.” In the fourth image, Conan starts kicking the soccer ball himself, saying, “This is how you do it!” In the fifth image, Heiji smiles in relief. In the sixth image, Conan smiles as he kicks the soccer ball. End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that Shinichi attempts the same lifting of spirits for Heiji when Heiji's found himself angry and irritated for reasons he doesn't understand (Episode 406). The way that Shinichi is sincerely flustered that his pick-me-up effort fails.

[Image descriptions: Two screenshots from Episode 406. In the first image, Conan holds on to Heiji with his hands over Heiji's eyes. Heiji, standing, grips Conan's arms, saying, "Hey! Stop it!" Conan, imitating Kazuha, says, "It's me!" In the second image, Conan sits on the ground and looks up, a surprised expression on his face. He blushes slightly as he thinks to himself, "Hey, Hattori." End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that, when Heiji admits his insecurities (Episode 479), Shinichi assures him that he's in the right without any teasing or sass. The way that, throughout that case, Shinichi is always by Heiji's side, even as Heiji gets insulted left and right. The way that Shinichi never follows Hakuba and openly defends his friend.

[Image descriptions: Screenshots from Episode 479. With a serious expression on his face, Heiji asks, “Hey, Kudo. Am I wrong?” Conan answers with a smile, saying, “No. Not at all.” End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that there's an official illustration that depicts "Conan's Dream Vacation"... which involves Shinichi as himself playing beach volleyball with Heiji, Ran, and Kazuha.

[Image description: An illustration that depicts Conan dreaming about playing beach volleyball with Heiji, Ran, and Kazuha as Shinichi. End image description.]

🔎 The way that the cover art for a movie guidebook promoting Movie 21, The Crimson Love Letter, shows Conan unabashedly enjoying a piggyback ride from Heiji.

[Image description: The cover of a book that depicts Conan on Heiji's back in a piggyback ride as he walks down the street. They both smile broadly and share street food. The text advertises the book's contents, and there are two images of Momiji on the bottom left. End image description.]

🔎 The way that they're so in sync that they come to the same conclusions at the same time even when they're not directly working with each other (Episodes 58, 490).

[Image descriptions: Five screenshots. In the first three images, from Episode 58, Conan and Heiji make a realization at the same time, which is visually represented with a flash of light and their eyes widening. Heiji then thinks, with a smile, "That's it!" Afterwards, Conan thinks, with a smile, "Now I see!" In the fourth image, from Episode 490, a detective, on the phone with Shinichi, says, "He [Shinichi] is telling the exact same deduction as that boy [Heiji] with the exact same timing." In the fifth image, also from Episode 490, Shinichi and Heiji, in different locations, are shown reacting in surprise to this revelation. End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that they Vibe. The way that they finish each other's sentences and speak in unison (Episodes 142, 174). The way that they smile at each other when they've realized the same thing simultaneously or succeeded in their goal (Episodes 293, 327, 522). The way that it's repeatedly stated that they're such good friends (Episodes 191, 325) because they love being together and make that love no secret.

[Image descriptions: Five screenshots. In the first image, from Episode 142, Conan and Heiji sit in a tree and smile at each other, saying, in unison, "The case is hereby closed." In the second image, from Episode 174, it's nighttime, and Conan and Heiji smile broadly at each other as they bring their faces close together and say, in unison, "A fake!" In the third image, from Episode 293, Heiji crouches so that he is eye level with Conan and smiles at him. Conan eagerly smiles back. In the fourth image, from Episode 327, Conan looks up at Heiji and smiles, and Heiji smiles back. In the fifth image, from Episode 522, Shinichi and Heiji sit in a car and smile at one another. End image descriptions.]

🔎 The way that they're both so good for each other—"that Heiji is someone Shinichi can trust and rely on when he’s forced to keep so many secrets, and that Shinichi is someone who respects and values Heiji when he’s so plagued by self-doubt."

[captnjacksparrow]

Hi, recently I saw a post about that "sasu**** was planned before show even aired (excuse me, wtf) .The beginning of the chapters said that Sasuke has a sweet spot for Sakura. 'you read the manga ' , but you forget the first proof of him liking Sak***. Sasuke even blushed around her like 4 times and winked and smiled at her in the manga (ch 36).Sasuke is shy when around Sak*** and blushes when she does/says anything romantic towards him unlike other (🤣🤮) . He allowing Sak*** to hug him for a while before telling her to let go. Sasuke then throws himself in front of Sakura to protect her from harm,Kakashi swoops in makes Sasuke jealous, As if protecting Sak*** is his duty (duty my a**). Sasuke doesn't reacts to Naruto when he calls him a coward but he reacts when Sak** calls him a Coward (who calls who?) and has the will to fight again(😂) . Sasuke having nightmare when Sak** getting punched in the face, his conscience is telling him that he’ll just let Sak*** die too if he doesn’t wake up in time.He is also clearly jealous that Sak** is smiling, and acknowledging Naruto. Her attention now on Naruto instead of him(I can't 🤣🤣). Sasuke threw away love (Sak***) and friendship (Naruto) (ch 365?) . Sasuke was keeping tabs on Sak*** to be able to know sak*** was a medical ninja. When Sakura randomly charges at Madara Sasuke immediately runs towards Sak** when she gets impaled by Madara meanwhile Naruto is still in shock. Sasuke cared about Sak*** and Kakashi falling to their death inside of the lava when he glances up at them to see if they were okay, then tells Naruto how they were safe. Naruto sees sasu saved Sak** and Kakashi due to his body moving on its own when they were in danger of being infected by the infinite Tsukuyomi. Sasuke’s eyes are hidden upon putting Saku*** in a genjutsu, indicating that he is once again hiding his true feelings".

naru**** post - Kishimoto’s first concept of Hi*** has Naruto in the background with her wearing a necklace of Naruto’s trade mark spiral an artwork made in 1998 before the series published in 1999.Naruto and Hi*** being hinted at all through at the series even years before the manga ended let alone the signs from even pre series".

What's your opinion about this, sparrow?

My Reaction after reading this :

Sasuke always hides his true feelings, Right???... Even after he married with her for 12 years and for an unforeseeable future, Sasuke would forever hide his true feelings... Because there was never one!!!! 

Naruhina was hinted from 10,000BC, eh?? That epic romance!!!!

Then what was the need for a movie, I wonder?? Instead Kishimoto could've created that Timeless Romance in 700 chapters. If he could make a MinaKushi, why couldn’t he make NaruHina???

Leave that. 

If NH was planned from the beginning, why Naruto (atleast) attempted to kiss Sakura, planning to date Sakura but never heard Hinata’s confession????

The Author drew them for us to photo manipulate at zero cost of Time and Energy.

How Considerate!!!! 

Is there anything like this for SS or NH??? 

To my Eyes, Naruto and Sasuke were just exchanging their Deep Rooted Rivalry feelings through their Lips.

If you think they are kissing, Satan will come in your dreams and punish you.

Kishimoto is not a NaruSasu shipper at all. Especially he didn't cut Sakura out of this picture. And writing the initials of 2 people (N.S) is purely "Brotherly".🤡. 

Don’t you dare think this is a couple thingy!!!

After knowing that I have this picture in my phone, My male friend gave me a suspicious look that I was into Gay Porn with Vampires and Werewolves.

Can you even believe the embarrassment I felt at that time??? 

No, You won’t.

Oh!!! N and S are definitely not wanking next to each other. They are just in deep meditation while holding their breaths. 

It’s all just some Yoga.... guys!!!!

Clearly wearing a 'Friend's' face in your Necklace with Heart Shaped pendant is just Friendly. Only in Naruto and Sasuke's case, of course!!!.

But SS/NH photoshop those girls’ face into the pendants and then it becomes Romantic with full of love.

Naruto’s Necklace from first Hokage looks extremely WEIRD!!!!! 

Sasuke is not at all giving a Blow Job to Naruto. Especially Reddit dudebros commented under this pic as 'Retarded'.

You know what???

Even for a crack ship like SasuSai.... They have the ultra content from Canon.

Did I say that all these pictures were drawn by Kishimoto himself???

For a ship that was planned from the beginning, Why don’t they have anything like this???? It’s very easy to draw some suggestive pics for a Hetero Ship, Right????

I wonder why couldn't he draw something like this for SS or NH... Atleast once???

He won't. Because,

Kishi is the No.1 SNS shipper. And that's the fact.

[telehxhtrash]

A masterpost on Togashi’s gay subtext and why it’s intentional.

Hi ! After seeing so many posts about Togashi dropping subtext about Killua's possible romantic feelings for Gon, I thought it'd be a good idea to make a sort of "masterpost" with all the subtext that Togashi has included into his work.

I usually see a lot of people trying to say that HxH isn't about romance and that Togashi isn't interested in writing romance into the manga, but when you analyze all the subtext that's been going on the further Gon and Killua's relationship progresses, I think it's incorrect to say that Togashi has never hinted at the possibility of romance in HxH.

This is going to be a long post, enjoy your read!

Also, please note that I will only base this analysis on the manga, so there can be no mistake that "maybe this is just something the anime made gayer" : i want to prove that the subtext is 100% intentional on Togashi's part.

I'd also like to mention, although I will analyze it further after listing the subtext, that Togashi is a VERY smart man. There are always little details in the story and/or foreshadowing that are easily missed at first but when you notice them, it truly makes you understand how much attention and care Togashi puts into his work. There are countless details and symbolism that are analyzed daily through wonderful meta posts, from the main 4′s birthdays and their link to their character or the religious symbolism in Kurapika’s story arc.... Togashi loves to foreshadow and plant little details into his work, so when Togashi plants subtext, I'm sure he 100% knows that he's writing it, and it can't be seen as unintentional.

I'll also link all my references for this post at the end of it, so feel free to read all the additional textposts and content if you want to know more.

Well, let's get into it!

EDIT : i can’t believe this post is still being used as a reference it makes me so happy... thank you so much !!! i edited this to tweak it a bit because i wrote this a while ago and the phrasing seemed off to me, so if you’re reading or re-reading this post, hi, welcome to masterpost on gay subtext 2.0 !

GREED ISLAND ARC

Greed Island is to me the arc that lays down the nature of Killua and Gon's relationship. It's during this arc that we get to see a bit more of what Killua thinks, how he's lucky to have met Gon and that he feels really grateful. Gon’s behavior in this arc is also very affectionate, with him always reassuring Killua about his place next to him. While the scene where Killua thinks "You've got it backwards, Gon, I'm the one that's glad I met you." can't be considered as subtext, I think it's something that lets the reader know a bit more about how Killua feels towards Gon. 

But other than this scene, which can clearly be dismissed as platonic, there are 2 more moments in the Greed Island arc that are layered in subtext.

• The Rainbow Diamond (chapter 151)

During their time in Dorias, Killua uses Risky Dice to gain cards from the slot machines. The first card that Killua gains is called "Rainbow Diamond", the description of the card being "A diamond that shines in a rainbow of colors. Propose with this diamond and she is guaranteed to say "yes"". 

There are 3 different things we can take from this panel. First, the card is a marriage proposal card, so it's obviously romantic in nature. Second, the object is a RAINBOW diamond. And third, Killua, wanting to keep the card safe, gifts it to Gon.

In short, Togashi sat down at his desk, decided to draw Killua winning a MARRIAGE PROPOSAL CARD (it could've been any card, but Togashi CHOSE to make Killua win a marriage proposal card) that has a RAINBOW diamond on it and made Killua gift it to Gon. 

While I personally don't think that subtext can be used to 100% ascert that Killua has romantic feelings for Gon, I think it's a funny little touch from Togashi, and I'm even gonna say a sort of hint towards how Killua's feelings for Gon are going to evolve in this arc and the next.

• “It has to be Killua” (chapter 166)

Now this is a scene that I've never seen anyone talk about, at least on Tumblr, but when I read a bit of analysis on it I was 100% convinced this was intentional subtext. I'm basically quoting here what this article explains, so if you want more detail, I recommend reading it.

As you probably recall, during their deadly dodgeball game against Razor, Killua decides to sacrifice his hands to ensure that Gon could use all his strength. When confronted about it, Killua insists that it's nothing, and Gon shocks him by saying that he knew all along that he was hurting himself for his sake. 

Gon then says that it can only be Killua holding the ball, and that it has to be Killua, resulting in Killua being absolutely awestruck and embarassed. I'm also going to talk about the anime adaptation for this one, because it's perfectly executed and translates extremely well the nuance that the second sentence bears. If you want to rewatch it, this scene happens in episode 70. It's worth noting that in the anime, we see Killua not reacting to Gon's first sentence, but losing his composure entirely when Gon says the second sentence. But why ?

The reason was lost in translation. His exact words are "Booru wa Killua ga motte-kurenai to. Killua ja nakya dame nan da.". Both sentences basically say the same thing : It has to be Killua holding the ball. That second sentence can be translated literally as "If it's not Killua, that won't do." However, the second sentence, in a different context, can also be used to say a totally different thing. 

While it's certain that Gon used this sentence in the context of the dodgeball match, the sentence "~ja nakya dame nan da" also serves as a confession of one's feelings in japanese. It's basically the equivalent to "you're the one for me". When you google the sentence, it turns up romantic songs, forum posts asking what it would translate to in English and posts on how to confess to someone. 

The sentence basically drowns in romantic subtext. As mentioned before, Killua has no reaction to the first sentence "Booru wa Killua ga motte-kurenai to.", but loses his composure at the second one, and I think that was a very deliberate thing Togashi wanted to convey : this sentence has an additional layer, and clearly Killua is taking it to heart.

I will come back to this specific subtext in a bit, because we can parallel it with another subtext-y situation, so please keep it in mind for now.

CHIMERA ANT ARC

Now onto the sad gay arc! This arc is so RIDDLED in subtext and parallels that it's making me lose my mind.

• Gon, you are light. (chapter 199)

This scene is just... So romantic in nature. I’m not too objective on this, but I really do believe that this moment is the exact moment Killua fell in love with Gon and started to realize he felt a bit more than friendship towards him. It’s Killua respecting Gon for who he is, realizing that he’s light and he’s always been, he’s the one who saved him and who’s always been so bright and optimistic and always makes the best out of any situation. In this scene, Killua lets himself drown in Gon’s light, allows himself to feel this “wow” moment of pure admiration and love, and it’s absolutely beautiful.

It's extremely important to take the context of this scene into account. What happened is that Killua, who has been struggling mentally for the entire series with the fact that he's always running away, ran away once more, leaving Kite to die with Pitou. This ENTIRE chapter is literally adults absolutely DESTROYING Killua, first Kite's troupe bashing him for leaving Kite behind, and then Netero, Morel and Knov coming in like icing on the cake telling Killua that "After all, he's just a kid", and that he should hurry up to his mommy. 

Killua is beating himself up for running away again, got destroyed by Kite's team and 3 extremely strong pro hunters. His morale is down in the drains right now. He expects Gon to be mad at him for betraying Kite, for running away once again, for leaving Kite to die alone and ripping Gon away from Kite : he expects that he'll lose Gon for his cowardice.

HOWEVER, the first thing that Gon says to Killua after having been passed out for god knows how many hours is "Thank you". 

Gon woke up and instantly eased up all of Killua's fears : he wasn't a loser for running away, and Gon was actually thankful for him. Gon, at this moment, was the only one that showed kindness, understanding and gratefulness towards Killua. Gon even goes so far as saying that he knows that Kite isn't dead, and that they have to help him. At this instant, Gon is truly Killua's saving grace. He's the one that trusts him with his entire heart, and believes in his choices when even he can't believe in himself. Gon is truly Killua's light at this precise moment, because he was the only one who supported him, trusted him and reassured him in this awful situation.

How can someone shine so bright in such a terrible situation ? How can someone be so positive that nothing bad will happen ? 

Gon asserting all of this makes Killua respect him a lot. Keep this word in mind, because it’s going to be important in the next piece of subtext I’m analyzing, because those two scenes canonically follow each other and are basically Togashi highlighting that something special happened when Killua called Gon his light, and that his feelings deepened.

• Introduction to Palm's character (chapter 200)

This piece of subtext is very very easy to miss but it's one of the most important subtext-y scene, because coupled with the “Gon, you are light” scene, it’s very clear that this dialogue is deliberately highlighting Killua’s feelings.

This chapter introduces Palm's character (which, imo, is a character introduced for the sole intent of being a catalyst to Killua's feelings towards Gon, but I'll talk about it in my post talking about the CAA parallels) - edit: i talked about this briefly here.

So, Killua having looked into Gon's eyes for like 10min straight and concluded that Gon was the light of his life a chapter ago, is now chilling with Gon as they meet Palm. 

Palm takes them to a café and STRAIGHT OFF THE BAT harasses them about how much she's in love with Knov. Like when I say harassing, it's literally a whole page of her explaining her feelings towards Knov. 

There are two interesting things that can be drawn from this interaction.

First, it's extremely easy to draw parallels between Palm's situation towards Knov and Killua's situation towards Gon. Palm starts by saying how amazing her master is, that she probably has special feelings for him but the most important thing is to respect the other person. Remember how I talked about how this last scene was Killua having a surge of deep, deep respect for Gon ? Palm makes sure to highlight that special word, that it’s important to respect someone when it comes to love.

She then goes on to say that she hasn't said anything to Knov, and never will. All of this adds nothing to the story, it's empty dialogue, Togashi could've introduced Palm in virtually any other way possible, but he chose to drag her and the gay duo to a café and make her have a monologue about love RIGHT after the extremely emotional panel of Killua declaring that Gon is his light just a chapter ago.

But there's more. Not only does Palm monologue for a while about love, but after finishing her monologue, this happens :

This panel features ONLY Palm and Killua, her looking at him like the psycho she is, and straight up telling him that "love can suddenly spark out of nowhere, don't you think so?". 

What's so interesting about this is the fact that Togashi made the deliberate choice to have Palm say this to Killua and Killua ONLY, which after the gay existential crisis he had last chapter, can very much be applied to his situation. Love DID spark out of nowhere, and Togashi wants you to notice. Togashi could've made Palm say this to herself, with no distinct listener like the last panel, but he made the conscious choice to draw this panel with Palm adressing herself to Killua SPECIFICALLY. 

Those two pieces of subtext, that fit perfectly together, make me believe 100% that Togashi knows what he's doing and he's not unintentionally planting gay subtext in his work. The fact that Togashi sat at his desk, drew Killua calling Gon his light, and then followed this scene with the introduction to a character who picks Killua apart to tell him that "love is something that just happens, don't you think?" is 100% proof that Togashi knows what he's doing.

• Date with Palm (chapters 217 and 218)

I think this situation has many layers, but many people still dismiss it as bro behavior so I'm gonna try my best to counter argue. First of all, and although that's not proof of anything, Killua looks EXTREMELY distressed by the prospect of Gon going on a date with Palm, but that can be counter-argued by saying that Killua is just worried because Palm is completely crazy. 

What I want to talk about is the scene that happens right after, when Gon and Killua go to the gym (because theyre DUDES YEAH WE WORK OUT NO HOMO), and the conversation casually drifts to Killua asking Gon if he's ever been on a date before, valid question considering what just happened previously. There are multiple things here :

1) Killua seems distressed that Gon has been on dates before. While it can be argued that it's a normal reaction because Gon has and he hasn't, I believe that Killua - who is in no way a normal person who would get flustered about "not having been on dates before a certain age" - would not feel uncomfortable that his friend is more experienced than him - especially when literal seconds later, he monologues about how he doesn’t care about dates and just wants to stick with Gon.

2) Gon then proceeds to ask Killua if he's ever been on a date, to which Killua responds :

What I want to highlight is the panel where Killua says "And the truth is, I want to stay by your side... Always...". Basically, what Killua is saying, is that he doesn't care about dates, all he wants to do is be with Gon.

I don't think this can be counter-argued as bro behavior, but with all the subtext I've explained before, this right here is pretty gay. Togashi put this panel deliberately to show that Killua doesn't give a crap about dates when he can stay with Gon, and with the "gon you are light" scene and everything in mind, this is another intentional subtext.

There's also the fact that Killua stalks the date like a jealous girlfriend - but I'm not gonna count that as subtext because it can be argued that he's just worried about Gon because Palm is insane.

• Gon is my best friend ! (chapter 219)

Remember how I told you to keep the "It has to be Killua" subtext in mind because I was gonna come back to it later ? Well.

During Palm's date with Gon, Killua runs into Rammot, who would definitely have ran into Palm and nenless Gon. Killua is forced to confront his worst fear : this is the moment where he knows that if he runs away again, Gon WILL die. Killua is literally overcoming his "programming", the physical representation of years of abuse out of love and care for Gon. He's ripping out the needle from his forehead out of pure, genuine care for Gon, because if he doesn't, then he'll lose him forever. 

Now, what I actually wanna talk about is this panel :

What we see is Killua thinking happy thoughts about all his adventures with Gon because he can't - won't - doesn't want to run away anymore, and all this for his sake. But what I wanna draw attention to is the dodgeball panel that's bigger than all the others, and the only one where you can actually clearly make out what's written : "Killua ja nakya dame nan da". 

Now, isn't that interesting that the panel that takes a bigger place in the whole panel is the one with this particular sentence? Remember what I talked about a bit earlier, about how "~ ja nakya dame nan da" is a sentence with a lot of romantic connotations (would pretty much equal to "you're the one for me" in English). Clearly this particular sentence stuck with Killua. 

I'm not completely objective on this matter since I firmly believe that at this point, Killua has romantic feelings for Gon, but I interpret this as another deliberate thing Togashi did : putting the panel bigger so we can see that it has a particularly significant importance to Killua, and Killua's state of mind right now (not wanting to lose Gon). 

In my opinion, two things happened here: One, Killua remembers this specific interaction because he knows how much Gon trusts him and he doesn't want to betray his trust. But I also firmly believe that Killua remembered this specific interaction because of the romantic connotation the sentence "Killua ja nakya dame nan da" has. Those words clearly shocked him, and I think he remembers them in this life-threatening situation, after the "gon you are light" scene, Palm talking about "love just happens", the "i want to stay with you, always" because he realizes that he wishes Gon would say that sentence in a romantic context, and not in the context of the dodgeball match, thus leading him to surpass himself to prove his love and perhaps live to see the day where Gon could say those words in that romantic context.

Now, of course, all of this is my interpretation, so it's really up to debate, but I really wanna highlight the fact that Togashi deliberately CHOSE to highlight this particular interaction between Gon and Killua, this sentence with romantic subtext, to lead Killua to finally break his chains and be able to be protect Gon fully. It’s also interesting to note that the 2011 anime adaptation also makes it a point to emphasize how deep these words stuck to Killua by making it the last flashback that makes Killua effectively rip out the needle out of his head. 

Also let's quickly mention the irony in the situation here : while Gon is on a romantic date, Killua fights to protect him, overcoming his weakness to prove his love. It’s not Palm who deserves that date, it’s Killua.

• A lovers’ suicide (chapter 286)

Now, onto the most important piece of subtext, that can not be counterargued as platonic in any way, shape or form. During the palace invasion, Killua leaves Gon's side, proceeds to go kick Youpi's butt only to have to fall back because he used up all his electricity nen. When Killua is charging up, he meets with Meleoron, and tells him that once he's done charging, he'll go back to Gon's side. 

They briefly exchange information about the battle, and then Meleoron proceeds to ask Killua what's the plan for him and Gon. That's when Killua explains that "Once Gon is like this, he won't budge an inch. Worst case scenario, it'll be a double suicide.". At worst they both die, cool. They “go down in flames together”. It’s actually much, much more meaningful than that.

The specific word that Killua uses for double suicide is "心中" (shinjuu), which is a heavily romantically connotated word in japanese. Shinjuu, also translated as "lovers’ suicide", is when two people die out of love, by the same method, because there's a belief that this'll allow those two people to spend eternity together. Shinjuu is a major theme of Japanese literature, and it is always used romantically. It's a very uncommon word to use to refer to two people dying together, because of its heavy romantic connotation, and because it always refers to double suicide committed by people bound by love. In literature, it always refers to two lovers, in love. If you want to read more on shinjuu, i suggest this and this, those articles explain its historic roots and the definition, also emphasizing the feeling of "oneness" that characterizes shinjuu. If you’re interested, I also suggest reading the japanese article that defines shinjuu, and hitting the google translate button, it has some pretty interesting sentences like “Shinjuu is traditionally committed by men and women out of mutual love, in the hope that they will be connected in the afterlife because they can't be together in this world.”

So basically, what Killua is saying is that he wants to go back to Gon's side to die with him, committing a "lovers’ suicide" because he doesn't want to leave Gon to die alone, and wants to die with him.

I also want to emphasize how special this word is to Killua, and that he and everyone around him know the special meaning of this word - In chapter 300, Ikalgo literally says "We were... No, KILLUA was ready to commit shinjuu with Gon". Ikalgo is really highlighting the fact that this word holds special meaning, especially to Killua, and that it was HIM who was willing to commit shinjuu by staying with Gon. Ikalgo and company dying with Gon wouldn't be shinjuu, but Killua dying with Gon would be, and Togashi emphasizes this through Ikalgo's thoughts.

This is pretty much the gist of it, but I suggest reading the wonderful post I linked in the references below if you want to know more about this specific subtext.

(edit : i actually wrote a post going a bit more into detail on Killua’s shinjuu wish if you want to read it here ! :3)

• “The one that Gon needs the most is you” (chapter 294)

I will go into this subtext more in details when I write the post about parallels in CAA, but I still want to talk about it briefly here.

Like I said before, to me, Palm was introduced as a catalyst for Killua's feelings towards Gon. Togashi purposefully wrote Palm as having romantic feelings for Gon to foil Killua's feelings for Gon and make him show jealousy towards Palm. 

To Killua, Palm is someone who stole Gon from him, he sees her as a threat because maybe she'll make Gon happier than he does ? (ofc we all know thats not true but Killua is baby) - Basically, Killua thinks Palm might be more important to Gon than Killua is, because he believes they are romantically involved. That's why when he sees her again later on, after Gon rejected his help, leaving Killua helpess as to how to save his dear friend, Killua sees Palm as a saving grace. 

He knows that if Gon sees Palm as a chimera ant, he will spiral down even more, so he tries to reason with her to get her to be gentle to Gon, because if not her, then who could? Palm would clearly be able to comfort Gon, with whom Killua believes is romantically involved with, better than him, right ? If Gon rejected Killua, then clearly Palm could help, since she seems closer to Gon (BECAUSE HE BELIEVES THEYRE DATING), right? 

This confrontation between Palm and Killua closely ressembles a situation like an ex confronting a new girlfriend - and I think this is exactly why Togashi wrote Palm this way. He wanted Killua to confront who he thought was a threat to their relationship, making him believe that this person who's """"dating"""” Gon is more important to him than himself, only to have her openly admit that she means nothing to Gon. The only one Gon needs is Killua.

And that, my friends, coming from someone you believe is romantically involved with your best friend (who you probably have a crush on), someone you're jealous of, the one you thought was the person most important to him, that's a pretty meaningful statement. 

Basically, what's happening, is that Palm reaffirms that Gon holds Killua closer than a potential romantic partner. And that's why Killua is so, so happy to hear that. He was questioning his entire relationship, questioning if Gon even cared about him, because he rejected him a few minutes before, but then his "rival" comes in and reaffirms that even she knows that no one comes close to Killua to Gon.

I also want to mention that this act of pure love (Killua only thinking of saving Gon when in a life threatening situation) is what made Palm come back to her human senses. d'awwwwww

• Illumi and Hisoka’s parallel on lovers who die of Alluka’s requests. (chapter 323)

Now onto the final significant subtext - while I don't particularly think of it as subtext-y, I know a lot of people have so I still want to include it here.

When Illumi explains Alluka's powers to Hisoka, he explains that there are two different types of linked deaths when a request is failed : 1) the person who failed + the person they love the most 2) the person who failed + the people they spent most of their time with. 

When applied to Killua, Hisoka naturally comes to the conclusion that no matter the outcome, Gon would always be the one dying with Killua, because he's spent so much time with him, and because he's the one that Killua loves the most. In the panel where Illumi explains this, we see a romantic, heterosexual couple  demonstrating the effects of not completing one of Alluka's requests, and thus the "most important person dying". 

While not making any true parallels, the fact that Hisoka, and the readers, are drawn to compare a heterosexual, romantic pairing to Killua dying with Gon because he's his "most important person" is an interesting piece of subtext.

_______

I want to finish by talking about Killua's birthday and how significant it is in my opinion. All the main 4 characters have birthdays that fall on specific dates, related to Japanese tradition, and often with events that can be associated to their character. Gon's is 5/5, which is Children's Day. Kurapika's is 4/4, the number 4 being considered an unlucky number, and this being an unlucky day to have a child. Leorio's is 3/3, Hinamatsuri (not really any main parallels here but still). But Killua's birthday is 7/7, and is the Japanese day to celebrate Tanabata. 

If you are not familiar with Tanabata, the story is as follows : Orihime is a princess who works for her father, working hard and well, but she laments the fact that because of her hard work she can't meet someone and fall in love. Her father arranges for her to meet Hikoboshi, allowing Orihime to leave because he expects her to come back to work for him, but the two immediately fall in love and get married, and she never returns. I won't get into the rest of the story as it's this part that interests me the most, but if you want to read more about Killua and Tanabata I suggest reading the post I referenced below.

Does the story of Orihime remind you of anyone ? Killua also works for his father, but laments the fact that he can't go outside and meet someone. His father then lets him go, saying, and i quote: "he will come back, because he's my son". Doesn't this remind you of the tale of Tanabata ? Killua's story references the tale of Orihime perfectly, and I believe this is intentional : Killua's birthday isn't of any importance to the plot, so why make it Tanabata, a day that celebrates a love story that closely ressembles Killua's story ? The answer is simple : subtext.

With all this in mind, I think it's pretty clear that Togashi is writing intentional subtext to hint at Killua's feelings being romantic in nature. Togashi is a master writer, he has years of experience, and I strongly believe he knows what he's doing and not planting unintentional subtext. He's a very smart man, and knows how all of this can be interpreted.

I will finish by saying that Togashi is NOT an author that would deliberately queerbait his readers. So many people dismiss the possibility of having gay subtext leading onto an actual canon gay relationship because "it's not like the author would ever have gay main characters". While this holds true for a lot of manga authors, especially shonen manga authors, it does NOT apply to Togashi. 

Togashi has always displayed interest in queer subjects and queer representation, putting trans characters in all of his major works (Miyuki in YYH, Mikihisa in Level E and Alluka in HxH). There were also canonically gay characters in his previous works : Itsuki in YYH, and a character named Kuramoto in Level E. 

Togashi also always had interest in mangas having BL elements, citing Maya Mineo's "Patalliro!" as a manga he was attracted to during High School. If you're unfamiliar with Patalliro, the story focuses on the main character's love life as a gay man.  He also admitted to basing Hiei's (YYH) design off a character from that manga. 

Last but not least, Togashi mentioned in a note included in volume 1 of YYH that he wanted to write a sports manga, called The Trouble Quartet, where basically all the characters are gay. Togashi said he based it off his own interests as a writer, and that while it was refused by Shonen Jump, he got deeply attached to the project and that he would love to explore this project in a different shape once he made a name for himself. I suggest reading this post because the parallels between The Trouble Quartet and HxH are HILARIOUSLY accurate.

In short, Togashi has always had interest in queer matters, and was always interested in putting queer representation in his work. After YYH, which was a terrible experience for Togashi as a writer, he managed to snatch a contract that basically allows him to do whatever he wants with HxH. Having always held dear BL matters but never being able to explore it to his full intent, I believe Togashi is exploring queer identity further with HxH, because Shonen Jump basically lets him do anything.

To conclude, with Togashi's past experience and skill, his interest in queer representation, and the amount of subtext surrounding Killua, I honestly believe that Togashi is trying to explore further queer representation, and I wouldn't be surprised if HxH ends with Gon and Killua becoming a canon pairing, whether it be delivered in an ambiguous manner or not. 

Edit : I actually wrote a post on why I believe it won’t be ambiguous, and that it’s truly never been ambiguous, just developing : here.

I hope you enjoyed the read, thank you for reading all of this, and feel free to show this to anyone who denies subtext in HxH !

REFERENCES

- "It has to be Killua" - Medium article, "Impossibilities in Translating Queerness : The Dodgeball Dilemma" 

- Palm's Date Scene - Reddit post, "Togashi's love of Ambiguity: Chapters 217 and 218" 

-A thematic analysis of Palm’s character : ”The Issue With Palm”

- Shinjuu - Tumblr post by hunterxhell, "A lovers' suicide, I guess." :  + the post that mentions Ikalgo talking about shinjuu 

- An analysis on different subtext-y situations

- Illumi and Hisoka’s parallel : here and here 

- Killua’s birthday : "Killua, July 7th, and the significance of his birthdate”

- Togashi's interview mentioning Mineo's Patalliro 

[cowboy-like-jean]

I literally don't care if you don't ship jeankasa, you're free to ship and not ship. But saying shit like "Mikasa doesn't even care about Jean" "they only have like one conversation" "she doesn't even pay attention to him the whole manga" "they have no development" and other stuff like that, that's just pure bullshit and shows that you don't even read properly, or that you hate that ship so much til you wanna omit or refuse to acknowledge any kind of interactions they have.

There's this thing called nuance and it clearly happened to Mikasa in the way she viewed Jean. She used to look at him indifferently and didn't really pay attention to him in the early years of training and I couldn't argue with that. But they've been working in team for many years and yet you still think she didn't care?? People really like to think Mikasa only cared about Eren since it's the most OBVIOUS one that was shown in the manga and anime, so you refuse to see the subtle change in her and how she viewed her other comrades.

It's clearly shown many times in the manga and anime (especially starting from season 4) that she sympathized with Jean, that she actually listened to him, trusted him, and she even actually found comfort in him in times of distress, when she felt conflicted about Eren. Jean always tried to make her feel less awful and she actually considered his words.

But idk, I guess since they don't have many conversations together it means that they're not close or that Mikasa doesn't care about him.

Take a good look at these pictures below.

How can you see some of these moments and thinking that her gaze at him doesn't mean anything? Facial expressions can also be a form of communication 😭🔪

Well yes, it's obvious that it's platonic since it's canonically one sided. But it's still there, they do have a really close bond with each other as comrades and friends. Open your eyes and stop denying ffs

Many ems (toxic ones) are so insecure because Jean has romantic feelings for her. Y'all barking that you're sure he doesn't have a chance and that jk will never happen, shouting that eremika is canon all the time (and it is canon), then why are you guys so terrified and bothered by it? Fan behavior ✋🏼😭