Hes Interesting But Not My Favorite - Blog Posts

kakihara and ichi are really interesting parallels... kakiharas violence and ichis violence has the opposite effects too, because of how they act.. I feel like in a way kakiharas is appealing? im not a freak but I feel like everyone was entertained by the things he was doing, the high he got off of it was fun to see.. while ichi as a character in general, is the childishness to kakiharas maturity. hes still getting pleasure out of it yeah, but its especially apparent in the last fight.. maybe its cause of kakihara being unceremoniously beaten and seeing ichi like that? was so disappointing not seeing him be able to enjoy it

like idk if this makes sense but I'll put it like this;

kakiharas violence is the most appealing because you can see him enjoying it sincerely whether its on himself or someone else, and its sometimes a lil comedic (gun rimming) or kinda sexually appealing (karen stabbing someone as he smiles) what im tryna say is that its easier to see him a certain way, hes an older man, hairy and flabby, scarred and pierced with a thick tongue

ichis violence refuses to be appealing to anyone, because you see how he has to be stuck in his trauma for so long and be manipulated by jijii to do it properly. his face and crying while he kills also refuses to be appealing. he doesnt really have control, so he wants to hurt people to gain it back. even wanted to abuse the only person who stuck up for him in school because of that- but its also sad at the same time because hes deluded himself into thinking that she'd want it to be that way? in both instances where he was with a woman that reminded him of that girl, he thought that they enjoyed being hurt, and he even had a moment of clarity after jijii told him off.. it was short lived because it made him question if he should kill. really tragic shit. I don't think he "became normal" either, not just cause he started crying again when he was almost attacked- but because of how that girl reacted when he asked her out.. it was kinda weird! like maybe hes abusive behind closed doors..? maybe im wrong though and hes just a douche at worst. one way they showed how ichi thinks is by having him only really interact positively with jijii, kaneko, his son and a boy. two kids.. and he teaches em to fight because he sees himself in them. so maybe showing him interact with someone his age is proof enough that hes normal? eh. i still hold that somethings up. ichis a smooth faced young man with a strong build, short hair and bright eyes, hes tall and shy looking, and overall extrmely plain. contrasting kakiharas insanely unique design

also i think ichi "getting stronger" is like, super funny too. like a twisted look on a shonen protag that wants to be the best at whatever. thats all i wanted to say though, i hope this makes sense.