#utsumi hiroko

[animehouse-moe]

Questions Of Love In Bucchigiri!?

Hiroko Utsumi is no stranger to distilling homoeroticism into their works, but Bucchigiri!? is able to take it a step further as it intertwines with the hypermasculine idea of fighting and gangs. Because of that, Bucchigiri!? poses two questions to the definition of love and how people experience it.

"What is love versus lust?"

Truthfully, it's a rather simple question to answer (at least to someone outside of high school). The point being the depth of feeling. Lust is strong but shallow, while love moves much deeper.

And the second episode in particular expresses this very strongly through the two gang leaders, Marito and Ken.

They don't feel any way in particular about Arajin until they feel their punch. After that, like Marito says, they just can't forget about it. That's all they know about this kid, "his" punch. And that's all they want from him as well.

The point is to express superficial lust towards Arajin because of something they only experience one single time. They believe that they want the strength behind the person no matter what because of a single moment.

And it's a great comparison to make against Matakara's feelings for Arajin.

Matakara doesn't need to feel "Arajin's" strength to know how he feels about him. On the contrary, he only ever needed to fight (really train) beside him to come to understand that emotion. Even more than that is Matakara's understanding of Arajin outside of fights, and he focuses in specifically on Arajin's passivity and carefulness.

Because of that, you can begin to draw the conclusion that "Lust" is represented by actions involving violence and action, while "Love" stems more from passivity and aversion in this context. Which I think is really really great. It's sort a sort of symbolic explanation of the whole point of violence being boorish and shallow while other communication is deeper and more valuable.

"How much is love worth if they don't love you for who you are?"

Super easy example here with this one. Just look at the Love Forever stone Arajin gives Mahoro vs the friendship one that he gave Matakara.

The whole point is that Arajin's love in the hands of someone who doesn't love him isn't valuable at all, nor is it valuable in the hands of someone that doesn't love him for who he is.

Marito and Ken can only feel something for Arajin because of the strength channeled through him by Senya. It's something entirely foreign to Arajin as a person, and represents both how shallow the gang leaders are, but also how shallow Arajin is.

Loving yourself is something that's tricky to do, and obviously especially so for high school kids. I think it's well understood at this point that Arajin struggles to love himself in a meaningful way, and that's expressed by his willingness to take on Senya.

Case and point being that he intentionally used Senya's strength to try and make himself look good in front of Mahoro, and in the same way used it against Ken to the same effect.

He's afraid of being and accepting himself, so he's allowed something else to speak for him. And while that catches the eye of many, including Matakara, Arajin himself already knows that it's nothing more than a farce to save face.

It's just... really great work in terms of narrative as it bundles so many different aspects of love together to create this complicated web that all stems from Arajin's inability to love himself. Matakara loves the current Arajin, but that Arajin is unable to face himself so he runs from the reflection that Matakara offers and buries himself in lust and unrequited romance.

And that all just comes from high school kids duking it out for fun alongside mystical fighting people that can merge with humans.

It's definitely a step up the symbolic ladder in comparison to Sk8 The Infinity, but I think it's allowed Utsumi to express much more in terms of romance through implicit narratives.

These first two episodes have been incredible, and I'm loving every moment and want to share every bit, but the overall production effort Mappa's been putting in leaves me in an awkward spot for sharing stuff like this.

I really love to, and I want to celebrate the efforts of the staff behind the series, but Mappa rains on that parade with its terrible scheduling and work ethic. The credits are a veritable mess that make episodes like this an incredible feat. And I'll celebrate that and share what I want to, but I do also want to call out Mappa for their terrible work as a studio.

#bucchigiri?! #mappa studio #mappa #utsumi hiroko #hiroko utsumi #sk8 the infinity #anime original #anime and manga #anime #anime reccs #anime recommendation #anime review

[kudouusagi]

Bucchigiri Charcter Names Interview Question

From an interview with Utsumi, it turns out that Matakara's name is just a play on words with magic. The Japanese word for magic is Mahou and his name can be read Maho.

Q: Where did the character's names come from? A: They were mostly from the story writer, Kishimoto, but they are dirived from the tale of 1001 nights. Arajin is of course Aladdin, Matakara is "mahou = magic", Zabu is "flying carpet → zabuton". However, only Mahoro doesn't have anything to do with the tale of 1001 nights (lol). All of the ateji is inspired by the yanki use of 夜露死苦 (read yoroshiku which means please treat me kindly but the characters mean night dew painful death). As in the title ぶっ契り(Bucchigiri, serious pledge)　マジ(本気)フレ (majifure, true friends, but can be imaginary friend) things like that (lol).

(Animage April 2024)

Also, sorry.... The 契り is definitely from making a agreement/pledge (契約 keiyaku) with a genie but I laughed when I looked at the dictionary.

#bucchigiri?! #utsumi hiroko

[reki-exe]

Reki and Langa on the back cover of brand new magazine TV Guide AStars (vol.01), which will include exclusive interviews with show-runner and creator Utsumi Hiroko and voice actors Hatanaka Tasuku (Reki) and Kobayashi Chiaki (Langa)!

You can preorder the magazine here before its release on Nov 28, 2022!

twitter source

#sk8 #sk8 the infinity #renga #reki kyan #langa hasegawa #sk8 anime #sk8 magazine covers #hatanaka tasuku #kobayashi chiaki #sk8 cast #utsumi hiroko #sk8 staff

[xiexielians]

Free! - Iwatobi Swim Club (2013) Banana Fish (2018) SK8 The Infinity (2021) Bucchigiri?! (2024)

Dir. Utsumi Hiroko

#banana fish #free! iwatobi swim club #sk8 the infinity #bucchigiri?! #animangaboys #fyanimegifs #animangahive #fyanimanga #dailyanime #free! #bucchigiri #sk8 #madebyanis #m:animanga #The Utsumi Hiroko™ print #another one added to the list yup yup #*500

[5-pp-man]

#yeah im making multiple of these cause ive got a bunch of fave creators. #hiroko utsumi #free! #free! iwatobi swim club #bucchigiri?! #bucchigiri #sk8 #sk8 the infinity #banana fish #she loves putting symbols in her titles huh. bf doesnt count that ones an adaptation #also i havent seen bf yet so uuhhhhhh no spoilies pls #tedpost #tedit

[panicking-silently]

Hiroko Utsumi back at it again with the iconic eyes. When I see this in an anime, I just assume they're the director.

-Bucchigiri?! ep2 & SK8 the infinity ep1

#hiroko utsumi #bucchigiri?! #bucchigiri #sk8 the infinity #it's the gay eyes ✨ #I know theres a scene like that in free and banana fish #but im too lazy to search it up #anime screenshot

[kaiiscottage]

CATBOY JUMPSCARE

#I DID NOT THINK WE WOULD HAVE A CATBOY IN THIS PARTICULAR ANIME #WHY DID THEY HIDE HIM FROM THE PROMO MATERIAL #GOD BLESS THANK YOU SO MUCH HIROKO UTSUMI YOU KNOW WHAT I LIKE #bucchigiri?! #bucchigiri #anime #live kaii reaction #kaiicore

[ketchupfrog]

And if you KICK every content starved sk8 the infinity fan out of the anime community... WHO is going to be watching bucchigiri, HIROKO UTSUMI⁉️⁉️

#bucchigiri?! #sk8 the infinity #me and my love hate relationship with sk8 #hiroko utsumi #man... yuri on ice didnt die for this

[captain-hawks]

god i love this show already.

#bucchigiri #hiroko utsumi does it again #matakara and zabu are instant faves #give me more episodeeeeeeees

[saph-yells-into-the-void]

yall i desperately need the new anime from hiroko utsumi to be good bc explain to me why am i losing my shit to a less than two minute trailer of a show that hasnt even release yet 😭😭

#AND LIKE 60% OF IT WAS ABT THE MC AND HIS CHILDHOOD FRIEND IM LIKE BRO?? #WDYM IT CUTS TO A FLASHBACK OF THEM TOGETHER WHEN THE MC THINKS OF WHAT WISH HE WANTS WDYMMM #THE MC SAYING HE WANTS TO GET LAID RIGHT AFTER A SHOT OF THE CHILDHOOD FRIEND BLUSHING??? HWATS EVEN GOING ON ANYMORE #hiroko utsumi rlly said idgaf imm tell my gay love story and yall gonna have to deal with it😭 #(for context shes the creator of sk8 the infinity) #ok well in fairness half my excitement of this anime is from the comparisons im drawing between it and blue flag but still #pls let this be good god pls im begging you #bucchigiri

[thecraftyninjacat]

do i need to see a therapist or was matakara asamine grown in a lab to appeal to me specifically

#brick shithouse with a heart of gold who fights with his legs?? #blue-coded fluffy-haired childhood best friend??? #PRINCESS JASMINE ALLUSION???? #HIROKO UTSUMI GET OUT OF MY HEADDDDDD #bucchigiri?! #crafty speaks

[animehouse-moe]

Bucchigiri!? Episode 1: Merge?! Fall in Love with Fortune Bang Bang Chicken!

An anime about a high school kid taking in a Majin so that he can lose his virginity? Created by the same person that made Sk8 The Infinity? Say no more and sign me up because this first episode was an absolute riot! Though, there do exist a few caveats.

And the biggest of those is that this is a Mappa production. If it was Bones I'd feel far more at ease, but Sk8 The Infinity is taking those resources so the production landed elsewhere. I'm hopeful, and will try to remain so throughout this series, that Mappa will keep things together, but even though the episode looked and felt really good, the staff lists are a bit concerning.

This image is all directors for the episode. The left shows a rare animation layout director credit, but the rest comprise all the animation directors, a total of 17 of them.

Thankfully, they key animator credits are much more reasonable, so I don't have near the same concerns as some of the JJK episodes, but the ADs are definitely keeping me on edge.

But I really don't want to talk about the negatives with how deeply enjoyable this first episode was, I want to talk about the good stuff!

Like the combination of longtime Trigger associated color designer Kakita Yukiko getting on like a house on fire with art director Suzuki Kurumi. The pair give the world of Bucchigiri!? an incredibly strong and appealing identity right out of the gates that emphasizes the disarray and disrepair of the town that our main character Arajin returns to.

Similarly, character designer Kagami Takahiro brings some incredible personality out in great detail, but also has been able to help draw out the best of the humor in their designs. They're impressively flexible, able to melt from their more detailed originals into very expressive vehicles for the series comedy.

I know I really should say something about Utsumi's boards in this episode, but being an introduction to the content, and being so focused on comedy I don't really have much to say. Utsumi does a great job of creating boards that allow the episode to express itself. She doesn't guide the viewer or inject value of her own into the expression of each scene, and while that can be disappointing in some cases, it's really what something as intensely creative as Bucchigiri!? needs to set the stage, to provide a tone that viewers can internalize.

Though it's also important to realize that this is Utsumi's world in the first place, so she deserves credit for the confidence of really messing with it. Changing color schemes, mixing around character designs and motion, even the art style itself is putty in her hands. Every aspect remains fluid and malleable under her supervision, and it means that Bucchigiri!? is left with near limitless potential.

But of course potential means nothing without a purpose, and while Arajin's stated purpose is to lose his virginity, it's obviously more than that going on.

Namely, this stretch of the series seems ready to focus on Aarajin and Matakara's long lost relationship.

The idea of moving on and improving as a person is very much the core idea between the two of them, but those ideas are expressed very differently.

Where Arajin is all about the easy way out and luck and whatnot, Matakara's immediately expressed as being someone who's put in the time and effort to shape himself into who he believes the old Arajin would be proud of. It's a great dynamic that expresses much deeper character motivations between the two, and promises a wonderful and emotional buildup and breakdown as friends. I really can't wait to see how Utsumi approaches their relationship.

And then there's the action. I'm actually surprised it took me this far to talk about it, but it's promising to be deeply enjoyable. Equal parts excessive and accurate, much like every other aspect of Bucchigiri!?, Utsumi is promising a very subjective and expressive approach to it, as is evident with this sequence ending the episode.

It's the perfect explanation for what drives this series, really. Heavy and gritty, it dives into Arajin's character, providing a solid foundation to build out from in all sorts of shapes and forms. Taking humor in stride, it brings a powerful and promising end to the episode that we'll no doubt be further built upon as we continue deeper into Arajin's story.

So yeah, Mappa might be showing signs of a struggle with things like nearly 20 animation directors, but more than I have faith in them, I have faith in the fact that Utsumi will refuse Mappa the ability to disappoint with Buchigiri!?.

So of course I'm going to be looking forward to the next episode!

#bucchigiri?! #mappa studio #mappa #utsumi hiroko #hiroko utsumi #sk8 the infinity #anime original #anime and manga #anime #anime reccs #anime recommendation #anime review

[wesleytreehouse]

he's like teenage cherry but 150% more gremlin

#jin marito #bucchigiri?! #utsumi hiroko at it again

[specterthief]

bestie vibes only!

#sk8 the infinity #langa hasegawa #reki kyan #renga #sorta #you can't skateboard unless you have a boy best friend. hiroko utsumi taught me that #fanart #mine #fandom: sk8 the infinity #specterart

[xiexielians]

JIN MARITO in BUCCHIGIRI?! EPISODE 1

bonus:

#bucchigiri #bucchigiri?! #jin marito #animangaboys #fyanimegifs #anisource #dailyanime #allanimanga #animangahive #bucchigiriedit #madebyanis #m:animanga #hes so probelmatic babygirl coded #and literally matchablossom love child #thank you for your service hiroko utsumi

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Watching Bucchigiri?! this season and loving it so much. Only two episodes are out and it's already right up my alley! Def check it out guys.

#fruity delinquents in a one thousand and one nights inspired plot? sign me tf up #hiroko utsumi you've done it again #the op and ed are great too #the characters are all so pretty and entertaining #not poll related #bucchigiri?!