Curate, connect, and discover
honestly, everytime i see someone say "matakara should've been the mc" in response to them not liking bucchigiri i kind of laugh because like. i really don't think it would've changed your mind. if matakara was actually the mc, people would've gotten mad that he still wants to reconnect with arajin because of the way arajin distances himself from him, or that he gets corrupted, or that zabu is the one who should've stepped in.
i think when people say that bucchigiri sucks because matakara forgave arajin, they fail to understand that arajin was matakara's first friend other than his brother. komao and zabu, while matakara's friends are not as close to him as arajin was (i.e. how they get matakara's favourite gyoza lunch from the convenience store, but arajin teaches matakara how to make gyoza.)
people dismiss arajin because he's an unlikeable, cowardly protagonist, but he and matakara are two sides of the same coin: matakara wants to become strong because he believes he is weak. everyone's left him. he wants to become strong, so he doesn't have to rely on anyone, because he doesn't want to burden them. he pushes the people who care about him away. the biggest hater arajin has IS himself. arajin runs away from his problems because he believes he is weak, so he doesn't try. he thinks he doesn't deserve (in this case) matakara's forgiveness, so he pushes him away because he doesn't believe in himself. he doesn he also doesn't reach out to the people who care about him, and pushes them away. both are flawed people who idealize and project onto others in order to cope: matakara with arajin, as a reminder of his past, and arajin with mahoro, as what an "ideal" and "normal" relationship should be like. and when the illusion is broken, they double down. and, in order to help matakara, arajin has to forgive himself in order to help others. does bucchigiri have flaws when it comes to writing? yes, absolutely. i think there are issues when it comes to pacing, i think certain characters could've been tied into the plot better thematically, and i think scenes could've been added to push the relationships and themes more. however, i want to stress: when you dismiss arajin as a character, you also dismiss matakara as a character as well, and the parallels between them. you ignore what makes their relationship, and in turn, their characters, by extension- the show- so interesting.