Shino Aburame

Why the Boruto version of Shino is so sad

I think I get why this version of Shino disturbs me so much.

It’s not that everyone disrespects and insults him. That’s been going on forever.

It’s not that he lost his stoicism. Considering all of the stereotypes about autistic people being emotionless (and make no mistake, Shino is definitely coded as autistic), I think being expressive is a good change of pace.

It’s that he hides his Aburame nature. 

I thought it was weird that Shino never used his bugs to stop his students from wreaking havoc. He always stood on the sidelines and begged for the kids to listen to him. I thought the animators didn’t want to animate the bugs.

Instead, it seems Shino’s been hiding his hive. None of the kids have ever seen his bugs before. Most of them didn’t know he had bugs. The first time he uses them, he hides them in plush toys so that the kids will accept them. For good reason – when the kids discover that the party is run by bugs, they panic and cower in terror.

Shino used to be proud of his bugs. He’d bring them out whenever, and if the people around him were entomophobic, too bad. Let them scream; he had a job to do. In fact, he often seemed confused about why his friends were afraid of such tiny creatures.  

But now it seems like he’s gotten the message. Bugs will scare the children. Bugs will cost him his job. Being Aburame gets him hated, even more so than he already is.

So he represses his hive. Ties his wild hair in a scalp-tight bun. Hides his eyes in a gigantic mask so no one will see what he’s really feeling. He stops protesting when people ignore him or insult him, turning all that frustration inward. He never thinks, “Wow, my friends raised real brats,” or “Geez, Kurenai gets really passive-aggressive when she’s drunk.” Instead he calls himself worthless and tries even harder to win people over. Then the kids mock him for overcompensating. 

It was one thing when this self-destructive pattern was subtext. Seeing the anime confirm it is…sad. I don’t think there’s going to be a “be yourself” message at the end of this. I think Shino’s going to repress himself again in exchange for basic courtesy and kindness, and the anime is going to pretend that this a happy ending.

[🎲] 𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙧𝙖 𝙞𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨 ::

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[⛓] 𝙟𝙤𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙤 𝙞𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨 ::

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lil kank doodles

hey lol

i don't want to give up just yet

take me back to the basics and the simple life

you should be scared of me