[Sol Falling]

Originally Posted by musouka

This relies almost entirely on assumptions. For one, the assumption that once Akitsu falls in with the group, there is nothing more to be said about him. This would only make sense if the central conceit is the struggle between Akitsu's stomach and his mind. From what I've seen, the central conceit is really more about the struggle between Akitsu's stomach, mind, and heart, which adds an entirely new dimension to his trajectory.

In other words, whether Akitsu joins the group isn't all that important. What really matters is what happens with both him and the members when he does.

Akitsu gives off a sense of paradoxical fragility. It makes perfect sense to me why Yaichi would be interested in what happens when that's threatened. Will he break under the strain of being in a kidnapping group, or will we see steel underneath the veneer--like we did when he fulfilled his duty as bodyguard in the first episode?

I'm not sure where I brought up 'stomach' and 'mind'? Unless you took those as extensions of 'pride' and 'morality'...but I was referring to both his pride and morality as things which conflicted with his longing, i.e. weakness, i.e. heart. Which is to say that I indeed had included that in my projections of Masa's 'trajectory', and nonetheless am currently in no suspense over it.

'Breaking under the strain of being in a kidnapping group' seems incredibly unlikely given how he's being coddled as the 'pickle boy', having money thrown at him waved off as 'hush money' or most importantly the highly focused personal interest he is recieving from all corners. Yaichi's fascination with him beyond his combat strength only contributes to this, as it only makes it more likely that Masa will be allowed to stay there without approaching his moral boundaries. Whether Masa will be able to fight or kill for their sake is indeed an interesting question, but it is not being presented as at all an urgent one.

There's deception in the fact that he doesn't really know the true formation of this group and their goals--and no one is exactly jumping up to tell him either. He's entranced by their warm, welcoming exterior, but who knows what's underneath?

:P It's only one guy who Masa's unaware of. In terms of goals, if there really is some larger, conspiratory motivation that'd really be something but their current representation as 'kidnappers, 'cause it's good money' isn't precisely warm or welcoming in the first place. Given Ume's presentation this episode, I am more or less certain that the surface 'House of Five Leaves' we have seen is truth for at least some of them. If there's some greater motive afoot, it's Yaichi's background that's the real question.

This is based off a manga series aimed at adult men. Ono has a large crossover audience, it's true, but it is somewhat off the mark to imply that this "fascination" is there mainly for fanservice. And let's be honest, this fascination could be played up a lot more than it has been if they really wanted to go this route. The idea that men can't be interested in the interactions and reactions of other men without it being homoerotic fanservice is more than just a little absurd, and I say that as someone with a forum avatar of Touma no Shinzou.

Guy, there is a distinction between 'fantasy' and 'fanservice'. Not once have I mentioned the latter. Your insistence that what I'm talking about is 'homoeroticism' also completely misses the point. Masa and Yaichi's fascination with each other is not gay--it will neither lead up to a homosexual relationship in the manga (again, I'm assuming), nor is it representative of actual homoerotic relationships. Rather, it is fantasy--please understand that yes, there can be non-sexual fantasies!

And my comment was pointing out that there's no point in judging it on this male/male basis simply because you find an element of it doesn't fit into your own personal perception of how same-gender relationships are supposed to work.

It's not my perceptions of real-world same-gender relationships that I've based this on. That is merely a secondary comparison. Rather, it's the similarities this piece has with other works of female fantasy--yaoi, which as I mentioned earlier, I have been exposed to enough to have some familiarity with. As hinted in the first post, I identified the mangaka as a yaoi-authoress before I ever checked her work history--the elements of female fantasy are inherent in this work itself. Masa's fascination with Yaichi's carefree smile; Yaichi's consuming interest in Masa beyond his established self; the highly personal nature of their (non-sexual) attraction to each other is there without me having to look for it. It is nothing so logical or critical as 'interest in another man's interactions and reactions'.

Also, to say that I'm 'judging' this is pretty damn disengenuous. I've already stated that I consider yaoi as perfectly emotionally valid as yuri is for me--which is to say, 'absolutely', as the fact that Kannazuki no Miko is one of my favourite animes ever, for its completely fantastical emotional content, might testify. That I'm identifying this show as having elements of female fantasy does nothing to degrade its nuance or validity--it merely acknowledges that a core part of its characterization is aimed at another audience.