Refusing to Forget "The Reasons Why I Shipped Toi Kuji x Kazuki Yasaka" Part 1
Source: from my Twitter thread. I am rewriting again to celebrate Toikazu's Day on October 1st.
1. Both of them have brother complexes in their family even though in different ways. Then their problems lead them to impact their own morality and lifestyle. Even they want to use Dish of Hope for their each own brother. Here
2. Both Kazuki and Toi have their own beautiful mom who looks the same as them, especially in their hair and eye color respectively. Here
3. Their eyes zoom which reflects some leak scenes (My favorite part of them of course is their eyes and the zoom of the eyes). Here
4. Their merchs sometimes being juxtaposed (just like ReoMabu did). Here
5. Usually the 1st and 2nd protags' official colors are Blue and Red. Kazuki (Red), Toi (Blue) Same cases with other animes' protags.
Banana Fish: Ash (Red), Eiji (Blue);
Yuri!!! on Ice: (Blue), Victor (Red/Purple), turquoise (actual) here
Explain: In the official merch, Victor's official color actually is turquoise, but since he has his Stammi Vicino's costumes are pink and purple, his color can be depicted as pink (or we can mention it red) and purple.
6. Speak of the devil, both of their official colors match with both their hair and eye color. Meanwhile, even though Enta's color is yellow and matches his hair color, not with his eyes which are green. Here
7. Same pattern: One has a slightly hanging bangs style that parted a little bit of his left eye; the other has an asymmetrical parting on his hair, and some can cover one eye. All of them parted on the left eye, except Victor. Here
8. Of course many moments about them from all episodes (except ep 3). Update: even I like Ep. 7 since Kazuki is now smiling and calling Kuji 'Toi' which means he has become close to him. But the result is Enta's jealousness. Here
Source: https://www.tumblr.com/infizero/686998966516219904/heres-my-kazutoi-compilation-that-was-also
(Unfortunately, this video didn't include their moments from episode 1)
9. they have different belt buckle types which can be depicted as their personality. Toi: frame-style buckle Kazuki: box-out buckle When they open/close their buckles, Toi's is more complicated than Kazuki's, just like their rep lives. Here
11. In their childhood, both of them had pure cutesy round eyes and small gaps when they stared at something even though in different vibes. Seems parallel but opposite, isn't it? Here
12. Both of them have the initiative to first clean their soccer field together twice (1st: Toi, 2nd: Kazuki) before they know that the actual culprit of ruining their spot is Enta who is the one who is always on that spot. Here
13. Coincidentally both of them have upside-down lives that begin from 5 years old happiness to 10 years old sadness. Here
14. They have slender and delicate necks, jawlines, napes, and collarbones which are always being exposed in every episode. Also, Toi's Adam Apple looks sexy. Kazuki still doesn't have it yet, huh? No wonder! Here
15. YEAY!!! Finally, the relationship between Kazuki's Miçanga and Toi has been the truth. Even they have their (side)forgotten 1st meeting. Do you remind them of some other couple in another anime?
16. In fact, during the anime their left eyes have always been the focus of their scenes. I know why the left eye is special for being zoomed. Even Enta doesn't get that treatment yet because his eyes are being focused on both. Here
Btw, bonus from Sara herself *even though not related to Toikazu hehe...*
17. Kazuki Leak's OST and Toi Leak's have different basic chords but both of them are full instruments. If you listen their songs repeatedly (minus Enta's) you'll find that they have some synchronized beats and vibes even though different chords and instruments. Even their songs end with a fade-out chorus which gets quieter and quieter, unlike Enta Leak's song chorus which ends with some growing surprising strings (maybe). Here
18. Kazuki and Toi have the letter 'K' in front of their names (Kazuki and Kuji) and the letter 'i' as the last letter in their nicknames [Kazuk(i) and To(i)]. Are they only coincidences or there are the intended meanings behind these, guys? Here
19. The zodiacs Kazuki: Taurus Toi: Scorpio Believe or not, there are some fun important facts about their zodiacs and the compabilities between them. Here
There is also the compatibility description between Taurus & Scorpio
https://www.zodiacsign.com/compatibility/taurus-scorpio/
More compabilities about Taurus and Scorpio (are some of them very similar to Toi and Kazuki's connection).
https://www.astrology.com/love/compatibility/taurus-scorpio.html
No wonder they're matched as a couple.
20. Did you realize that in that new official art, both Toi and Kazuki exchange their color themes throught candied-apple and kimono. Even those things colors matched with their eye colors sometimes. Here
love me some under-the-surface bad boy x openly worse boy romance (kazutoi) but eremin was the blueprint for me i fear....im sick in the head about these childhood friend romances. if i had to choose from their polycule toi's getting tossed but i swear i love him too lol. the brother complex is insane and honestly he's more of a stand-alone character relative to the other two, even with the connection to kazuki through his miçanga
How Can I Connect to You? Breaking out of toxic masculinity and capitalist ideologies in SARAZANMAI
Spoilers for SARAZANMAI
Content Warning: Discussion of torture, toxic masculinity, ableism
A young person on the cusp of adolescence is running on the edge of a river. The camera flashes to the barren streets, the water below, and his miçanga, the symbol of his connection to others. All he can hear is his own thoughts: “Those connections can be easily lost,” he says to himself, as his brother calls out his name. “I know that better than anyone.”
To watch the opening scene of SARAZANMAI is to be pulled into a world of queer masculinities, a world of aching desire to love another person, even as you are told you both should not and cannot. Watching this, I could feel something rustle within me. This image of a child alone and afraid, told by society that that is the way of masculinity, spoke to my soul.
How can queer men resist the loss of love and connection which masculinity so thoroughly inscribes upon our souls? Masculinity, as defined by heteronormative society, is a prison. It is a trap, researcher Niobe Way has described, set through constant policing towards certain norms of behavior and thought: reduce women to sexual objects. Center yourself. Above all, do not care for another person. “You are an individual,” it says to men. “Do you want to be weak and dependent on others, or encourage that weakness in other people?” Friendship, the caring for the other, is not allowed. (This framework has been shown to not just exist in Western Cultures, but also in many East Asian cultures too.)
The boxes that Kazuki and Toi are trapped in are intertwined, and the way they both first emulate then escape toxic masculine roles can serve as a model for our work in undoing toxic masculinity. The roles each play seem diametrically opposed, with Kazuki basing himself on the idol Sara Azuma, hyperfeminine and designed to sell you an item a day, and Toi basing himself on his brother Chikai, hypermasculine and happy to kill to survive.
However, both emerge from similar circumstances of capitalism, oppression, and the hypermasculine coping mechanisms they’ve been given to deal with the pain of that oppression. It is only through learning to care for one another—and learning that they can care for one another—that they can both be free.
Refusing to Forget "The Reasons Why I Shipped Toi Kuji x Kazuki Yasaka" Part 2
Source: from my Twitter thread 2. I am rewriting again to celebrate Toikazu's Day on October 1st.
TW!: The mention of r*pe and suicidal attempt
21. The dynamic of Bad Boy x Good Boy.
You know, sometimes bad boy x good boy ships have a place in their own shippers' hearts.
Ex: Ash x Eiji from Banana Fish, Kanba x Shouma from Penguindrum, etc (let you mention it by yourself because I don't know all of them).
So does Toikazu in that trope. Besides, the good boy x bad boy ship dynamic never gonna make it boring since they are like two different magnetic poles but if we put them together they will attract each other. It makes sense, huh?! Here
22. According to PASH! Mags, I find some similarities between Toikazu and Reomabu:
a. Toikazu's height difference is the same as Reomabu's = 5 cm
b. Even each of the couple's blood types has type A and type B (no wonder why Toi same as Mabu n Kazu same as Reo) Here
pics source: Weibo
Here are the description of the personalities of person with type A and type B. More detail about the blood type characteristics can be read in this link: https://www.tofugu.com/japan/japanese-blood-type/
Some of them are correct.
23. Toikazu and Reomabu remind me of my ships when I was a KPOP stan, especially SMTOWN. *ToiKazu look like KriSho (Kris x Suho EXO) (fierce boy x sweet boy vibes. Unfortunately they were drowned since Kris quit from boy group EXO, and now was involved in the underage r*pe cases in China) while ReoMabu like ChangKyu (Changmin TVXQ x Kyuhyun Suju) (coincidentally they have the same height and blood type respectively) Here
Not related to Toikazu but: Changmin from TVXQ has the same blood type and height with Reo, and he has dark skin as Reo (even though not so dark), while Kyuhyun from Super Junior is also the same as Mabu even he has white pale skin like Mabu. They are the evil maknaes in their group respectively.
24. In episode 11, Toi parallels with Kazuki about narrative even though in different last sentences (ep 1 & 11), even they fall to ア sign are still parallel. And red and blue cars in the background. Here
25. And last but not least, apparently they had wanted to commit 'suicide' (disappear from the circle) for their own ways and reasons, but fortunately, their actions were thwarted thanks to misanga in their last arcs. Here
That's the end of the post from my very old Twitter thread post.
For an anime all about connections, Sarazanmai, with its musical numbers, kappa mythology, and formal experimentation sure can be obscure. But its unique symbols are an inventive communication tool, one rooted in the unique power of cartooning.