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just-sp-in-inginthevoid · 1 year

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WHERE DOES TAIJU'S BEHAVIOR COME FROM aKa the Shiba Family and Intergenerational trauma (aKa it's his father's fault)

(Here it is, @raizelswitch (sorry for the long wait))

TL;DR (this shit is over 7,000 words long): Hakkai’s father is implied to be abusive, Taiju as a traumatized child without support, help or way to cope, traumatized his younger siblings he was too young and not mature enough to have the responsability of taking care of, Yuzuha parentified herself and we need to appreciate Mitsuya more

Love is pain

Hakkai thought love is pain because that’s all he ever knew until he met Mitsuya. He loves his brother. Loves his family. And Taiju did love him, he says so himself and I really don’t think he was lying as messed up as it is. Taiju, as a child himself who only instance of love was also his family, grew up thinking love is pain too. Perhaps he didn’t experienced it himself but he witnessed it with his father and his mother. Taiju doesn’t see his father as abusive. If he does, he constantly justifies it by « love ». His parents love each others, they have to and they must love him. So if they hurt each others it must be out of love. If he is hurt or hurt his siblings it’s out of love. If his father is the actual reason for his mother’s death (whether it be direct or not) and he loved his mother then when Taiju is about to kill his siblings, he loves them too. That just how it is, isn’t it ?

Here’s Hakkai’s pride/failure story :

When he was younger he used to always run together with his older brother. One day, his brother jumped from the fence and Hakkai followed him, breaking his leg on the spot. His brother carried him on a piggyback ride to the hospital. Hakkai was happy.

This hurts me in all the good and bad ways. Between Hakkai being happy and Taiju showing he could be a good brother… It never says Taiju got angry ; and he could have who knows if Wakui let that out in purpose but since it’s not written, there’s a even slight chance Taiju didn’t. Hakkai got hurt, it stopped them from running, from what they were supposed to do and Taiju carried him to the hospital.

But then Taiju is still Taiju, and at the end he never made Hakkai happy more than he ever made him cry.

(there’s also the possibility it happened before their mother passed away)

And if you read this without ever knowing Taiju – if Wakui had only given us that and we’d never met Taiju we’d think of him as a good brother. And he could’ve been, he did what he thought was being a good brother. But he wasn’t. And he’s changed but this time lost will never come back. His relation with his siblings won’t ever be what they want/ed it to be. (It’s not the time to waste more of it)

He had had to witness it, the beating by his father. He knows he’s the one who remembers their mother the best out of them three, Yuzuha remembers a bit (and if Yuzuha had memories of that time (when their father was still living with them) she could’ve forgot them – which isn’t impossible because Wakui has proven to know the brain can block out traumatic memories with Kazutora.) Hakkai might not remember at all (he may have glimpses).

And while we can’t be sure for Hakkai, if Yuzuha remembers her time with her mom, she remembers Taiju at the time when he didn’t have a violent behavior (since she knows when he changed, she can pinpoint it)

Taiju never talks about what he’s feeling. We have a example with how he never talk to Yuzuha and Hakkai about their mother (chapter 107, Yuzuha: "Ever since mom died... You never talked about her.") but thinking about the character, who’s a lonely one (I talk about it more somewhere below), he doesn’t talk about anything that could leave him vulnerable (does any character know he likes sharks?)

And he loved his mother very much. It’s never said but i doubt people will disagree with me on that one. She was the only adult that could’ve possibly shown him what love and affection are truly like. But she died. She was weak.

You know who else stop seeing their father young and had their mother in a hospital before she died ? THE SANO. But, Shinchiro is ten years older than Mikey, not one or two like Taiju with his siblings, he was already a teen when he lost his last parent – which is still terrible but he was emotionally mature enough. (or at least, more than Taiju was.)

Tokyo revengers shows a wild range of different relationships among siblings ; but they have almost a thing in common (staring at the Inui family forcing me to put ‘almost’ because we don’t know enough about them and Akane is only present for her death)(and also the Tachibana) – the oldest goes through parentification. (whether they suceed to become a good substitute parent is another question and most importantly : THEY SHOULDNT HAVE TO. WHY IS EVERYONE TRAUMITIZED IN THIS STORY)

(Takeomi – Sanzu – Senju | Shinichiro – Mikey – Emma have the same age gap and i refuse to believe there isn’t some kind of parallelism to dig here ; without mentioning their family situation is the same. Chapter 241, Senju : "We were raised by a single father but he was always busy… so he left us at grandma’s. That’s why Takeomi plays the father role for us". Mikey, Emma and Shinichiro don’t have their parents, the one who was present the most was Mikey and Shinichiro’s mother but she couldn’t raise them when she was at the hospital. They stayed with their grandfather but, chapter 269, Shinichiro (talking about Mikey) : "I’m like his father figure at this point.", chapter 109, Mikey : "My bro raised us both. He was 10 years older than me, and we followed him everywhere. He taught us all sorts of things.")

The way Shinichiro+Mitsuya dealt with this is different from the way Takeomi+Taiju did. That’s the difference between children who were raised to know how to take care of others, who were taught how to by parents who did their jobs (the best they could) vs children who were raised with constant neglect/abuse and had to out of nowhere take care of other people (we dont know enough about the akashi and it pisses me off)

The main way humans socialize is by copying behaviors. Children copy their parents alllll the time. The concept of ‘do what i say not what i do’ is not naturally there, that’s what it is said and repeated – we do what others do. Taiju had two different paths he could follow, two different caretakers he could copy. First, his mother, if his father wasn’t home often even before his wife’s hospitalisation then Taiju must have spent much more time with his mother than him. She was a positive influence on him (she seems to have been a caring and good mother only stopped by the fact her husband is a piece of shit for the little bit of her we’ve seen).

Taiju loved his mother, he copied her, never got violent with his siblings – because his mother wasn’t. She dies. And Taiju could’ve kept his memories of her close to his heart, copying over and over her behavior, what she would’ve done but. If she died it’s because she was weak, no ? His father was strong, always and his mother took beatings, which is to say his mother’s way of being wasn’t wrong but if she had died because of it and Hakkai and Yuzuha – his young baby siblings – are weak… Won’t Hakkai and Yuzuha die ? But, if he takes care of them all by himself and they never do anything – they won’t get stronger, he’ll just keep playing the parent forever but he won’t be there forever. He has to make them stronger.

So, second, his father.

… His father ?

If he was concious what his father did was wrong (which – since he is listed as Taiju’s ‘respected person’ in the official guidebook might not be the case) he wouldn’t copy him. Scratch that – how could he copy his father if he’s never there ?

Taiju. Had. No. One. To. Show. Him. Own. It’s. Done.

He has blurry, old memories of his mother, a few and short memories of his father. He had had to improvised. He had no one to copy fully. How do you raise two children who aren’t yours when you’re yourself a child and the two possible role models you have are either dead or absent ? Badly, very, very badly.

(– It makes me understand people saying their father isn’t abusive but simply not there, that a theory that could work (just like mine), Taiju could’ve very much become violent because he was a child with no way to cope or control his anger. The grief of his mother’s death, their father not being here, responsabilities of raising Yuzuha and Hakkai – too much emotions for a kid without support. But still

If Taiju started to be abusive after their mother’s passing, why would she, first, apologize, second, say "I’ll protect you." ? Simple, her husband is abusive ("Don't worry about what's happening at home") and that’s why she asked what Yuzuha thinks of him right before – there’d be no need to put those two informations (‘what do you think about your dad + i don’t know he’s not home often’ and ‘I’m sorry, i’ll protect you’) if they both weren’t linked. And even if didn't do any of that, he’s still responsible for not providing support to his children having to go through their mother’s death.)

If his father was a good role model although not here, wouldn’t Taiju turned out like Mitsuya ? Mitsuya’s mother seems to be a good mother although she’s rarely present (Mitsuya cooks better than she does, chapter 122, Mitsuya : "I think I’m the better cook. She hardly does it, so it tastes like shit."). Mitsuya (+Luna and Mana) knows his mother love them. Luna’s Ema (chapter 110) was "I hope mommy will play with me more." and Mana at her side said "Me too". Yuzuha doesn’t think anything of their father. None of the siblings say anything about their father unless it's to say he's not here. (Chapter 85, Hakkai: "We don't have a mom in our family, and since we were little, our dad's hardly ever been at home.")

And I already said it and I’ll keep repeating it : Mitsuya. and. Taiju. are. meant. to. parallel. each. other.

They are both big brother of two younger siblings | the age gap is different

Both had had to take care of their siblings at a young age | Taiju seems to have been younger than Mitsuya was (Taiju was 8, for Mitsuya it seems to have started not to long after Mana's birth? I can be wrong but tbf wakui never gave us that information)

Both have a working parent who’s rarely home and another nowhere to be seen (dead for the Shiba, no information for the Mitsuya) | Mitsuya’s mother doesn’t have a choice, she’s alone to support her family financially and she’s aware of all the responsabilities she gave to her son (chapter 101, Mitsuya: "Once […] (I) ran away from home. When I came back the next morning, mom slapped me real good. Then, mom gave me a hug. She cried and said ‘I’m sorry you have to put up with this’."), Taiju’s father is very much rich (just look at their house. Wakui drew them a big home in one of the guidebook, they even have a pool and a jacuzzi. I would have put it here to show you but there's no more place for pictures) and as such could’ve at least hired people to take care of his kids but no. He seems very detached from them if it’s only for Taiju having tattoos as a teen (or even an adult) when it’s something even today (although it’s changing) frown upon as only criminals and mostly Yakuza are tattooed. And if the Shiba are indeed rich and well-known then their father not caring about the image his son(s) (since Hakkai is also in a gang) is a bit worrying. Altough it could very much be because he’s absent so often he isn’t even aware his oldest son has tattoos but that doesn’t change much since at the end the problem is still the same – he isn’t present in his children’s life. (And yet Taiju goes to the same school as Koko – most likely a private one, their father is sending mixed signals.)

The Shiba being rich and Taiju not being here often as well (chapter 79, Hakkai : "He’s hardly ever home… except for shit like this.") would explain why he doesn’t appear to have baggages with him when he’s leaving the household for good. He’s already living in another of their father’s houses.

The abscence of their father does affect them. Another parent we know isn’t home often because of work his Hina and Naoto’s dad. And Naoto resents him for this. They don’t have a good relationship, he barely knows his children and all that he knows comes from his wife. (chapter 90, Tachibana father : "Im so busy, it’s difficult to find time to spe,nd with my children. So i hear about them almost entirely from my wife. in particular, Naoto, my youngest... he hates my job, because I’m hardly ever home."). If not having one parent out of two present affects Naoto (especially since his mother appears to be the perfect typical japanese housewife) ; imaging two. And, Naoto’s father is aware of him being barely here affects his children, no way we can guess if Hakkai’s father is the same.

(And, gotta correct myselt - Takemichi does live with his parents as a teen. We can see it in chapter 204 where (what is most definitely) his mother says "Hurry up and get changed ! Breakfast ready ! Jeez ! You haven’t changed at all even though you’re in highschool now !" just after he time leaps after shaking Bonten Mikey’s hand. Takemichi doesn’t seem to have a bad relationship with his parents either and he has both of them ! If there were problems surely Wakui would’ve made it an issue in the story ...right ?)

On the other hand, Kazutora has an explicitely abusive father, and is constantly subjects from critics from one parent to the other. (chapter 55 : "Are you on your dad’s side ? Or are you on my side ? You can’t choose both. You have to choose either one." ; chap 278.3 : "The only reason I gave her parental authority is because she’s your mother, despite the fact she’s a complete simpleton.")

Izana killed Emma. Not directly and he was definitely manipulated by Kisaki, but he was still okay with the plan. Here’s the thing though, him and Emma hadn’t talk in years and he didn’t feel any kind of connection with her anymore while the Shiba siblings all tried to kill because the connection they had wasn’t good. In both cases, the siblings didn’t know the other, they are strangers who can’t tell anything about the other (Yuzuha and Hakkai are an exception but they probably don’t know much about Taiju the same way he probably doesn’t know much about them), they’re not curious about their older brother, they intensively avoid him (which, understandable)

Izana and Taiju are both lonely. But their defeat ends differently : Taiju, who thought he wasn’t alone since he had had his siblings and they were family and blood, is alone by the end of the arc. Izana who’s convinced to not have anyone, dies because — because he had always had Kakucho (chapter 177 : "Sorry, Kakucho. But, I… Only have, you after all."). Both emphasize on blood relations (chapter 80, Taiju: "Family bonds are more important than friends, aren’t they ?"; chapter 95 : "Hakkai. Yuzuha. You tried to kill your blood-related brother. Your own family [...]" ; chapter 177, Izana (after being told he’s not related to any of the Sano): "The hell of one day thinking you have happiness only for it to suddently be taken away."), and knowing we’re talking about Japan here it’s not surprising. Both come to realize blood is not everything, Izana too late and Taiju… he has done damages to his relationship with his siblings but since they’re all alive, there are chances it gets better if efforts are made.

During the Christmas arc, Yuzuha and Hakkai don’t work together, they’re convinced they have to end the problem by themself as they always do. (chapter 84, (after Hakkai tried to stop Mitsuya from meeting Taiju) Mitsuya : "You always try to handle everything yourself." ; chapter 85, Hakkai : "To protect my family. I’m going to use violence. I’m going to kill Taiju." ; chapter 96, Yuzuha : "I’ll protect Hakkai. I’ll protect... him."; chapter 103 : "For years… I protected hakkai on my own. That’s why i jumped at the chance… that Kisaki gave me. I’ve got to. I’ve got to do it alone !!") They’re close but they think they have to fix things alone, they can’t depend on the other. And, it’s the same for Taiju (chapter 107, Yuzuha : "Ever since mom died.. You never talked about her. You moped and put all this presure on yourself. You’ve been alone since that time. I was the same. I thought I was alone.") (his mother’s death clearly impacted him). And all three of them see the issue they face as a Shiba family's issue where no outsider should come and help/interfere. (Chapter 93, Hakkai: "Stay out of our family's business !", chapter 96, Yuzuha: "Hanagaki this is the path we siblings chose.", chapter 80, Taiju: "Keep your nose out of the Shiba family's business, you little shit.")

The other siblings having a year or so as age gap are the Haitani. And they get along well (ignoring Rindo’s fear/hated person is Ran (now, that’s a true little brother)) despite that. Here’s the thing, Ran never took on the role of a parent. He’s protective of Rindo, sure, but as an older brother. They’re a package deal. They don’t stay on their side like the Shiba do, if there’s a problem they deal with it together. (same for the Kawata twins)

Now, one of the thing the Shiba have that is different from the other siblings is that it wasn’t only one of them who got parentified. Taiju did, Yuzuha too. From the moment her mother died and Taiju became abusive she took on the role she thought she had to take – the mother of the family. The chapter of her flashback is named ‘Mother figure’ which could refer to her mother but to me it’s here to really show she tried to take on this role for Hakkai (chapter 103 : "Don’t worry mommy, I’ll protect our family." ; "I’m sorry, Hakkai… I’m sorry. I swear I’ll protect you !! I promise, I promise I will ! I’ll protect you in mom’s place !!"). She’d been constantly protecting him.

Speaking of which, we have Hakkai and Yuzuha’s flashbacks but… never Taiju’s. And he’s an antagonist, but Izana got his flashback (chapter 172; 177), South got his flashback (chapter 227), Kisaki got his flashback (chapter 182-183), Hanma did too (chapter 205)(sure it’s not about him being a kid, but we still got insight of what he’s thinking – we’ve got his point of view, we never have Taiju’s)

Speaking of Hakkai’s flashbacks –

Hakkai’s flashback shows he was, or was about to become, like Taiju. With no other way to express his feelings but violence. But then Mitsuya stopped him, took him home and they became friends. Taiju had neither ever been stopped before the Christmas Showndown (chapter 107, Hakkai : "How’s your first ever loss taste ?") nor had friends. While Hakkai got someone to show him another way to deal with his feelings and everything else, Taiju got no one but perhaps his father.

More on Taiju's loneliness

Taiju doesn’t have anyone – as a kid he’s alone, he beat up those other kids and they may or may not stick around, as a teen he’s alone when Inui meets him, then both Koko and Inui leave him right after they lose against Toman, he is distant with his siblings, doesn’t come home often, then never. Even in Manila timeline, the only time we see him as an adult, he’s by himself. And Inui and Koko are the ones who come to kill him. They weren’t close from the start, but it reinforces this idea, doesn’t it. No matter how much people gravitated around him, they never knew him and were never there to.

And think about it, if you think about idk, Izana you’ll end up by thinking about Kakucho and maybe the rest of S-62 (+Sano siblings), if you think about Koko there are many chances for you to think about Inui at some point, but when you think about Taiju… Nobody comes to mind. He’s by himself, sure you might think about Yuzuha and Hakkai but they don’t feel like a package deal. They don’t feel inseparrable, actually you want to separrate them. Only one character once thought of them as something that should stick together and that was Taiju himself. Why ? Because that’s all he has. Taiju is the « Shiba family’s protector », the tyrant, the one who keeps everything in order, the one raising his siblings. Honestly, without them, what does he have left ? (chapter 102, Taiju : "You dare to defy your elder brother, protector of the shiba family !!?" ; chapter 80 : "Family bonds are more important than friends, aren’t they ?")

And then. We have this :

The only character we see Taiju interact with his siblings aside is Mitsuya. We don’t know who reached out for the other, we approximately know when it happened –

– but Mitsuya knew where to find Taiju. Not only that, but he asks him to fight alongside Toman 2nd Gen ; he sews him a uniform. But most importantly —

He is okay with Taiju being left alone with his sisters (from where he is, i don’t think Taiju knows he’s here whether he was since the start or not) and Taiju is even close to them. 1. They’re the ones present on his birthday illustration 2. they’re handing him a present 3. they nicknamed him.

Here’s what Wakui wrote alongside Taiju’s birthday illustration :

Luna : Happy birthday Taiju-chan !

Mana : I love you Taitai !

Taiju : … (Taiju-chan ? Taitai??)

Taiju can’t take a firm attitude to anyone but his siblings.

(translation by @RanHaruchiyo on Twitter)

A thing I didn’t talk about and is important : Taiju is christian and religious abusers love to use their beliefs against others, mostly to justify what they’re doing. Yet, he never does – it’s never implied anywhere. Neither Yuzuha nor Hakkai seem to be christian, it’s never adressed. At first, I thought Taiju’s parents were christians – since 八戒 Hakkai means ‘Eight Commandments’ but it refers to buddhism commandments it seems (Eightfold Path), so my bad. Still, if his parents weren’t christians (which they may have been) it’s very interesting. If Taiju became religious later in life, it must mean he had found comfort in it. Allow me to explain how I think it went: his mother dies, he can’t no longer see, hear or interact with her in any way and he has to take care of his siblings without any help, he has a father – but none to guide him, to show him what to do. Although you won’t get answers, you can make yourself hear to the deads if you pray, if you believe in god then – you have a father. A father who watches over you, always, a father who loves you, always. Plus, as a child who was lost, having a set of rules as guidance must have helped him (even if he didn’t follow them-). Yuzuha and Hakkai don’t have those reasons to believe in anything – Taiju does. I’m reading lines that might or not be there but whether it is what Wakui intended or not it still adds to the character. Religion comforts Taiju. Yet he doesn’t seem to be close to other christians – he goes to church on Christmas when no one else is here after all. Still, by believing in god he feels less alone. Less crushed by the responsabilities as he has ‘someone’ to talk about the problems he’s facing.

Speaking of which, Taiju aside only Mitsuya has a cross in his charadesign, reinforcing the idea of them paralleling one another.

And Mitsuya in all of this ?

Without Mitsuya, the Shibas wouldn’t be where they are. Hakkai will have end up like Taiju, taking his pain and anger onto others like he was starting to as a child, and even if one day Taiju would’ve wake up with the realisation of what he does is messed up, he wouldn’t have been given his redemption with Luna and Mana or when he was invited to come to help at the battle against Kanto Manji by Mitsuya. And Yuzuha, will have continue to handle it all by herself, because it is her job and she is the one who has to do it.

Mitsuya being the only one keeping a family together which isn’t even his AND his own family. The devil works hard but Taka-chan works harder

And Mitsuya is honestly the best person to help the siblings save their relationship. Not that it means he has to and that’s realistically not going to stress him out with even more responsabilities he doesn’t need. He is an outsider, he knows what happened in this family – only a bit. He knew there was abuse because he knows Hakkai since they were children and noticed it, he met Yuzuha too somewhen. (chapter 84, Mitsuya (to Taiju) : "Hakkai’s been protecting Yuzuha this whole time from your domestic violence.")

He knows two siblings out of three and has a close bound to one of them since Hakkai is his vice captain but as a stranger to Taiju, as a not family friend, as someone who didn’t know all the informations (Yuzuha protecting Hakkai and not the other way around) he was not caught in this mess, he wasn’t a part of it (once again, the Shiba keeping everythings to themselves). And after the Christmas Showdown, since things calmed down, he can look at this mess and clean it up – well, help to. He isn’t going to do everything by himself, it isn’t his job nor his mess to begin with but he can show Taiju how it is done while being a middle ground for the siblings to talk if they ever wish to.

Taiju took the ‘cut yourself the ties’ route ; Yuzuha and Hakkai were probably waiting to do so after reaching adulthood so why wait when he can leave already ? It leaves his youngest siblings time and place to breathe, to not have to worry about him anymore (they might do things and fear he might yell or hit them but they eventually feel the relief of remembering he’s not here anymore.)

But with him away, no reconnection can happen. And in a way, Taiju may have thought about it, but not about acting on it. Hakkai and Yuzuha had two years to think and rethink about their entire life and Taiju wanted them to have more, perhaps forever – but Mitsuya comes to him, and yes it was about fighting Mikey but Mitsuya more than anyone knew Hakkai, his vice-captain, would be there. And Taiju wants to – he wants to see his younger brother. His younger sister. He loves them, always did but he also hurt them and he knows it. And if knowing your abuser actually fucking loves you hurts, knowing you hurt someone you love in a irrevocable way hurts too.

Taiju doesn’t make excuses for what he did – what would it do ? But make it look like he’s the victim ? Mitsuya doesn’t make excuses either, he sees a broken family and is here to help if they want to reconnect, he sees a man who acknowledges he fucked up and wants to do better and offers him a chance to do that. Wakui doesn’t make excuses for Taiju and neither do I. What he did was messed up but a lot of characters in Tokyo Revengers are messed up. Gotta wonder how and why they ended up in gangs /sarc

Mitsuya offers to Taiju a chance to prove he changed. First, by coming to help against Mikey, but mainly, by being nice to Luna and Mana (again, like the hell Mitsuya would’ve let them interact with Taiju if he hadn’t changed. We’re talking about mister "Whatever she does, do not hurt your sister, that’s what being a big brother is, asshole !" here.)

Mistuya knows if things would’ve been different in his life he could have ended up like Taiju. And, (this one hurts) Taiju knows if things would’ve been different in his life he could have ended up like Mitsuya.

At the end, although he came perhaps late (but it’s better than never), Mitsuya became Taiju’s role model.

Which leads me to this, that pisses me off… :

(Edit: + Yuzuha (Talking about Takemichi to Hakkai): "In the end, he changed you and Taiju", chapter 110)

I understand what it is said Takemichi saved the Shiba sibs… BUT MITSUYA???!! like he’s the one who did the most for them, period. And yet it’s never talked about ? Like, never never, reread the manga as much as you want, Mitsuya is never thanked. For anything. And I doubt it was made on purpose, but actually... forgetting about Mitsuya makes sense.

Allow me to explain.

You don’t think of Mitsuya when something happen to the other founding members. He’s not present during the Moebius fight where Pah-chin gets arrested – you focus on Draken and Mikey and how it affects them, you focus on them fighting. And yet, we know Mitsuya tried to calm them down (chapter 21, Mitsuya (to Takemichi) : "Thanks to you. Even us captains couldn’t stop those two from fighting.").

You don’t think of him after Baji’s death either – you see him cry and then ? He’s not the only one crying. Focus on Mikey, Kazutora and Chifuyu (and maybe, maybe after you learn Sanzu and Baji were childhood friends you’d think of him too) – How does [thing] impact Mikey? We focus on things Takemichi focus on – Hinata, Mikey, many characters when he knows their death is comming and he has to stop it (Draken, Baji…) … there’s never, ever a focus on Mitsuya. He feels like a background character at time, there when you need him and that’s it. He doesn’t cause problem. Ever. Same with Draken, but Draken is loud when he wants people to listen to him Mitsuya is more level-headed than him (ie ; chapter 265, Draken : "We didn’t form this gang to do that sort of dirty tricks !!! IF YOU TRY TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT PAH, I’LL LEAVE YOU !", Mitsuya : "Mikey I don’t think Pah would like this idea either.") . They’re both solving problems, which aren’t even theirs. Mitsuya never throws the first punch, there are multiple moments where Draken does (Emma’s death for example, really sorry to have you remember it).

Which, explains why there’s never an arc caused by them. Pah-chin stabbed Osanai and ends up in jail – Peh-yan teams up with Kiyomasa to kill Draken. Moebius arc is about Pah-chin. Baji and Kazutora killed Shinichiro – that causes the Valhalla arc. Since Draken and Mitsuya never causes problems, while they’re present in the overall story (Draken more than Mitsuya), it’s never really focusing on them.

And Mitsuya could’ve been focused on in Christmas arc but it doesn’t happen does it. It talks a lot about the Shibas (which is normal), we have Takemichi and Hina on the side, Mikey showing his first really noticeable signs of not doing well…

(There is a small focus on mitsuya for 2 or 3 chapters when takemichi decides to form a ‘new’ gang (thousand Winters, later Toman 2nd gen) and goes recruit his friends because when he comes to Mitsuya – he’s not in the best of shape, clearly. It doesn’t last long. We’ve got a one week time jump and Mitsuya is magically all better (smiles as much as you always do i know you’re still depressed). There’s also his flashback when he first met Draken and the few times where he fights but honestly it’s never that much.)

When does Mitsuya ever do something because it’s something he decided to do for himself? He decides by himself to make that truce with Taiju – he wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for freeing Yuzuha. He lets his hair covers his head tattoo because Draken ordered asked him to. He doesn’t follow Mikey and pursues his dream of becoming a fashion designer because Draken asks him to. He loves sewing but wouldn’t have found out about this if he didn’t decide to make a plushie for his sisters as a child (chapter 198 : "Since we were poor… i couldn’t buy Luna and Mana any toys. This is the first stuffed animal i tried to make for them. I started enjoying sewing as i made things like this.").

The only instances where he does it’s when he ran away from home, when he got the dragon tattooed on his head and then ? He does indeed join Toman second gen – Takemichi, Hakkai and Chifuyu went to pick him up.

Mitsuya is a supportive character, literally. He’s only there to support either emotionally or in fights and he never brings attention on himself when doing so (perhaps a reason he admired the Haitani – they know how to be the center of attention, added to "They’re the type of deliquents who are urban and stylish" in chapter 248.)

Mitsuya doesn’t seem to hold grudges as in chapter 244 he says "That should be my resentment shouldn’t it ?" after Hakkai said "I also got someone that I have to kill, Haitani Ran ! The guy who crushed Taka-chan’s head !!" and that’s can either be because of his role as Toman mediator or he just doesn’t (and that’s why he’s Toman mediator, since he’s never the one to cause fights) (I mean, it was two years ago but still. Perhaps it’s because Ran got beaten up by Angry after so there's no need for revenge–.)

The first time he appears in the story it’s to stop another Toman member from being violent with Takemichi.

Chapter 10 : "Why’re threatening the president’s guest ?"

Second, it’s for expositions.

Chapter 11 : " ‘Moebius’ is a biker gang two generations older than us who’s been controlling Shinjuku. [..] Toman is over Shibuya. Shinjuku is a different story. Plus toman is still a new gang. […] The Moebius leader is a guy named ‘Osanai’. He got into a fight with Pah’s best friend over some trifling thing. So the Moebius members ganged up on Pah’s friend. Then they raped his girlfriend right in front of him, strung up his family and took their money. So as a last resort, he came to Pah for advice. [...] Moebius is that sort of gang."

Third, explanations.

"Mikey was gonna use money to buy Pah-chin’s freedom. But Draken was agaisnt it. […] Even us captains couldn’t stop those two from fighting. […] If you hadn’t stopped ‘em, toman would’ve been in some serious shit.", "When it was settled within Toman that nothing could be done about Pah-chin’s arrest… Peh-yan was the one who couldn’t let it slide."

Let’s not forget Takemichi wouldn’t have succeeded to save Draken if he hadn’t find Mitsuya (since he shows him the way to get to the parking lot).

And it goes on and on… (ie : chapter 38, he is the one stopping Baji from beating Takemichi up ; in chapter 53 he’s here for exposition again: "We’re already at a disandvantage in numbers, with Toman’s 150 versus Valhalla’s 300. But they’re older than us, and stronger, too. Even if we captains can handle them, the guys below us can’t.")

He is silent. I don’t know if it was made on purpose (again it’s never explicitly said or implicitely talked about) but he never draws attention on him and if we readers look at him and everything to have happen in his life (friends’ death, parentification, where the hell is his father…) and go "yeah he’s fine" because he looks like it, what do other characters think ? Caring, calm, mature… he can’t have problems now does he. He’s always here and it goes unnoticed. As much as I would have hated for it to happen (who am i kinding i love angst) I wonder how Mikey and the rest of Toman would’ve handled his death if Wakui’d had ever decided to kill him (Manila doesn't count) – no matter if it’s before or after the promise to never leave Mikey’s side in chapter 86. (Mikey : "We’re down to half now. Of the founding members. […] Mitsuya, don’t you go disappearing on me !!" Mitsuya : "… Yeah. I promise.")

This promise is also very interesting. It reinforces the idea of Mitsuya being constantly there for support. Mitsuya is caring and kind, he’s in a gang and he fights but he’s pacific still. He’s here for protection. (chapter 84 : Violence should be used to protect." ; "Hakkai […] only use your strength to protect." ; chapter 96 : "This (knife) isn’t something you use to protect others.")

However in timelines where Mikey goes down a dark path, as he has promised to not leave, he has to go rid of that moral (chapter 117, Draken : "Mikey… you chose the path of violence . From now Mitsuya and me put our lives in your hands. It’s our choice .") He can’t leave Mikey alone. (he does in Bonten and in the final arc but it’s because Mikey says so. Because Mikey is the one making clear he doesn’t want him by his side anymore.) And it’s said twice he is not meant for deliquency I really want to know how he handled it. (Chapter 239 : Takemichi thinking "He does not belong in the world of deliquent. He should be in this (fashion) world instead !" ; chapter 122, Draken : "You’re actually so worried [...]About your little sisters. It’s written all over your face. You’re a good person. Being a deliquent wouldn’t suit you.") I mean, he literally enters this world saying "I’m gonna be a deliquent who cares about his family !!" (chapter 122) which, one, his family is tied to every aspects of his life, two, they (pretty much) all care about their family in this story (story built on siblings’ relationships with each others) and I won’t say it’s ‘more important’ for Mitsuya, but he thinks about it more than the other characters. (Never once does Takemichi talks/thinks about his parents, except that time to tell us he doesn’t think about them. (chapter 1 : "The instant I thought I was gonna die… I didn’t remember my parents or my friends."))

And listen, the only character explicitly saying he’ll follow Mikey whatever that might let him is Sanzu. (chapter 256: "Mikey. As you fall deeper into the shadows. No matter if you kill me along the way, i will give all of my life for you.") And Kakucho does the same for Izana. (chapter 164 : "I’ll follow the man I offered my life to into hell, if that’s where his path leads.")

Mitsuya had had to take care of his sisters at a young age, responsabilities he shouldn’t have had to carry AND with his mother rarely there and his father who knows where, he couldn’t reach out for support, he had to be the support. Help his mother, help his sisters, no need for him to be helped – no one to help him. He got rid of a good chunk of his childhood, he couldn’t do things he wanted to because he had to play parent (taking care of his siters, cooking dinners, chores…).

And most importantly – his mother already have a lot to do for their family, even if he needed help, he can’t add that to his mother’s issues to deal with. Surely, he can manage somehow. (Chapter 247 : Hakkai : "Can I hear a ‘help me’ from Taka-chan !? » Mitsuya : "Hell no, you dumbass ! », like I know this is a joke. But mitsuya doesn't ever ask for help so…)

Then there’s the day he ran away from home with his mind set on not coming back. His child-brain, child-self, couldn’t handle not being free to be a child (chapter 122, Mitsuya "I was thinking… you’re lucky… My mom’s never at home. I gotta spend all my time after school looking after my two little sisters."). And then he meets Draken and he goes back home and he learns to appreaciate what he has, no matter how traumatized it leaves his brain. He accepts that part of him that wants to run away, but he also shoves it aside. (chapter 101 : "I told you no to hate the situation you were born into, like a showoff. But in reality, I really hated mine. [...] Hakkai, you’re not the only one who wants to run away. »)

Being the one to take on the role of parent at age 10 or so leaves marks, no questions asked. Looking how parentification affects children going through it, it makes a lot of sense for Mitsuya. To not brag about what he does. To not tell anyone what he does – what would it matter ? He’s only doing his job of mediator. He deals with things with a smile on his face. (chapter 85: "His home life looked really hard. But he smiled about it.")

Dad never coming back ? Can deal with.

Raising two sisters ? Can deal with.

Kazutora killing Mikey’s brother and going to jail ? Can deal with.

Pah-chin in jail ? Can deal with.

Baji’s death ? Can deal with.

Mikey distancing himself ? Can deal with.

Draken dying —

Break.

And he stays like that for 3 days at least (chapter 238, Luna : "But the thing with draken-kun happened, y’know ? Ever since my brother started to shut himself in. He keeps on designing and doesn’t even fet out to eat. Mana got scared, too..." ; Hakkai: "Taka-chan… you lost so much weight...") before Takemichi, Hakkai and Chifuyu come to see him. Then, one week later he seems all better. He most definitely isn’t, okay ? I refuse to believe this. His oldest friend, his twin dragon is dead. The reason why he met everyone else is dead. Toman – the founding members gave Mitsuya this fun/childhood he lacked, and without Draken he wouldn’t have ever got that.

Mitsuya does everything that is asked of him. Be his sisters’ caretaker, done. Be toman peacemaker, done. Never leave Mikey’s side, easy as cake. He also does what is not asked of him with helping the Shiba siblings.

He does everything, he never says anything.

Takemichi fought Taiju once and refused to give up when opposing him.

Mitsuya fought Taiju, refused to give up, then helped him change and grow (which implies staying in touch – getting in touch to start with).

Takemichi is thanked to have changed Taiju (and he may, yes, have been the trigger). Mitsuya is not when he’s most certainly the reason Taiju succeeded to change that much.

And it works.

It works because Mitsuya never brags (‘what is there to brag about ?’) (if we ignore his 12y/o self bragging about his Impulse in chapter 63) but he acts and people take it as granted and he sees it as things not worth mentionning and/or remembering.

In conclusion, Mitsuya is highly underappreciated. And thanking Takemichi is good and he deserves it with all the things he did thorough all the story — but Mitsuya needs his more than well-deserved thanks too.

#SO. It took a while #so sorry to have taken this long those past days have been busy #and between that and me wanting to do +1000 different things..#anyway. its THERE #i reread all the chapters to be sure not to have missed things #so i ended up with a bunch of quotes #i ended up psychoanalysing mitsuya too eheh oops #tokyo revengers hcs #could this be consider meta #idk #shiba family #shiba taiju #shiba hakkai #shiba yuzuha #mitsuya takashi #tr taiju #tr hakkai #tr yuzuha #tr mitsuya #tr hcs #featuring luna and mana #not going to go into details but as someone with a family trying to stop Intergenerational trauma since several gens now I can't hate Taiju #(or takeomi)#not when I almost turned out like him as a child #écrire des posts de trois kilomètres de long c'est ma passion. faudrait que je le fasse plus souvent #if i ever realize i forgot to talk about something I-#13 pages and bit more than 5 are about mitsuya... It was supposed to be about the shiba family what have i done #i hope there are no typos i hope there are no typos i hope there are no typos i hope there #hmmm... maybe baji wore a cross somewhen but im not sure. anyway #i have a lot of feelings about the shiba family

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