#yea that one panel with the ash did really happen and he remembers it way too well

[coconutlimeverbena]

I've learned that you can't criticize Blanca without someone popping up with "well if you read Private Opinion..."

Please, spare me.

I've read it. It's a side story about how he met Ash. It's good. It doesn't, in any way, change anything he did to Ash (and Eiji). Understanding someone's behavior doesn't mean that you have to suddenly overlook everything they've done, especially if many of those things were by choice, and not, for example, for survival.

Based on this panel here,

Blanca was clearly raised, or at least spent his formative years, in an environment where he was in harsh conditions, and was taught to follow orders, obey the chain of command, and never question things.

Here, he immediately apologizes to Golzine for simply expressing an opinion...

...which leads me to believe that this is beyond his usually unctuous, Sebastian Michaelis cosplay that he does. Maybe he was punished for thinking independently, idk.

So, from this perspective, I understand why he's so rigid and regimented. I really do understand.

HOWEVER.

He's not a robot. He clearly has a mind of his own, he knows how to be an asshole, he has a personality. So, he's not a completely lost cause...which makes his later actions much more disappointing.

In episode 18 (I forgot the corresponding chapter), Ash asks to fight Blanca. Here's the scene here:

Pay attention to what Golzine said and how Blanca didn't even react to it. This is the same Golzine that Blanca insisted Ash should return to. The man who violated him in every way possible since age 11.

I'd be willing to excuse his failure decision to not help Ash if he had just left and never come back. I could say "this is all that he knows, but at the very least, he taught Ash how to survive".

HOWEVER

That's NOT what happened! Here he is, observing Ash's interactions with Eiji. He notes how happy Ash looks

Then, he notices how protective he is

And...still decides to come OUT OF retirement just to fuck things up for Ash. And that's my biggest beef with this man. You see how happy this boy is, after being in the depths of despair for years, and you choose to ruin this for him.

Then, in episode 23, proceeds to scold and yell at a teenage boy who literally JUST watched his soulmate get shot. Not a word of comfort or warmth. Not even "Ash, calm down". He actually said "why didn't you protect him" when HE was the one who shot at Eiji before! Also, the idea of Ash not protecting Eiji is LAUGHABLE. Remember this?

Ash said this in episode 11...hours after destroying an entire mansion just to find Eiji. Doesn't know anything about him, but knows enough about how he FEELS about him to risk his life to rescue him. Then there's the whole "putting a potentially loaded gun to his head in exchange for Eiji's safety" thing, which Blanca saw with his own eyes.

So yea. Private Opinion: good side story. I do feel bad for Blanca because he was clearly raised without any sense of autonomy, and who knows the extent of what he experienced (I really wish we'd gotten more details).

HOWEVER

It doesn't really change much about events in the main series, because, again, Blanca has power AND freedom on his side, and chose to use both in the most destructive way ever.

Still in my Top 5 most interesting BF characters, but I'm not gonna sanitize his behavior just to rationalize liking his character.