This panel of Suo’s teapot downturned and drying as it’s piled with his other cups is rather… emblematic of Chapter 221. In essence: Class 1-1 and Sakura are hanging Suo out to dry.
If you aren’t aware of what “hanging someone out to dry” means, it is an idiomatic phrase. The definition is as follows: to put someone in a difficult, vulnerable or compromising situation, especially by exposing them to blame.
If Chapter 220 is an examination of Sakura’s personal feelings towards Suo, then Chapter 221 shows the predominant view of Suo that the other characters harbor: someone who unfairly beat down one of their own and left without any explanation. It makes sense that they are focused on this aspect, since the Furin kids are overprotective of each other.
Sugishita being the one to bring this topic up and telling Sakura that getting vengeance for Nirei is somehow more important than Sakura’s own feelings also lends itself to this. Nirei was the first person to truly understand and want to connect with him (aside from Umemiya and his four kings). Sugishita is protective not only of someone he considers his friend, but also of someone who is a part of Furin. Which is why he doesn’t care much about Suo’s disposition or Sakura’s emotional baggage towards Suo. Allowing Sakura to focus on the people around him rather than just Suo helps him gain a new perspective; and a new modus operandi. After all, Nirei is someone he is especially protective of.
So when Sakura relays this information to Class 1-1, they’re more motivated to punch Suo in. Not only because their class captain declared it, but seeing the closed Sugishita vow to go alone just to avenge Nirei must’ve invigorated the class to seek Suo out.
But like. Forgive my subjective opinion infringing on what is supposed to be an objective analysis, but isn’t this rather nonsensical? Nirei was able to land a punch on Suo (never mind the fact that Suo let him do so), so why do they need to avenge Nirei for it? Yes, Suo did overpower Nirei, but at least Nirei could properly reciprocate an attack at the end. By all means, that is a done deal unless the victim himself tries to pursue further charges.
Not to mention that out of all the characters, Nirei is the only one who tried to actually understand Suo. Even when the others assumed that Suo never cared (which was a fair assessment), even when Sakura could only feel confused and overwhelmed; the very same person Suo insulted and beat up jumps to defend him. I guess Class 1-1 is more focused on the things they can do instead of the what-ifs or mere speculations.
Aside from that, nobody has truly ever thought about Suo’s motives or character. Momijikawa couldn’t—after all, he isn’t part of Class 1-1, nor can he read Suo’s mind. Instead he reaffirms Sakura’s pre-existing trust in Suo, which helps him come to terms with his feelings. But again, we have no examination of Suo’s side. Maybe that perspective can only come from Suo himself.
Sakura, who can only reminisce about Suo as if he’s lost at sea and conjure a metaphorically homosexual nightmare about him, couldn’t understand either. He can only wonder why. Because he never really knew Suo as a person, his mind can only resort to producing anything but actual introspection about Suo.
I suppose this extends to the rest of Class 1-1. Not only was Suo a closed-off and invulnerable person, but he only really stuck by Sakura and Nirei’s side. He isn’t a social butterfly like Nirei, nor was he bridging connections with people outside Furin like Sakura was. Nobody else has gotten to know more about Suo beyond the surface. Hence why Sugishita and co. are still blaming Suo.
It makes the characters' motivations being predicated on Nirei even more ironic. But for the victim himself, I think he just wants Suo back. The same applies to Sakura, as he is willing to hear Suo out. But there is a delineation between the desires of Sakura & Nirei and Class 1-1; Suo is a more personal matter to the two, but for Sugishita and the rest this is a Furin problem. For Sakura to properly understand Suo, he needs to fight him physically (and this has been foreshadowed since Wind Breaker’s first arc). Who invited the rest of Class 1-1 to the party LOL?
From an audience perspective, especially if one sympathizes with/understands Suo’s predicament, it just feels jarring. It reminds me of the delinquents that infringe on Makochi’s peace just to get revenge for one of their own (think of the guy from Episode/Chapter 1 who tried to harass Kotoha and how his gang came back for seconds). Like if they all used their collective braincell, Sakura and his peers would realize that they don’t really have a right to drag Suo back. Especially if he’s part of another organization. Suo had already turned in his withdrawal forms, by all means he is no longer a part of Furin. They also don’t have the right to just infringe on Bankoku-gai like this. Have they ever thought about what being an officer of the Red Chanpurus really entails?
This whole debacle is so incredibly amusing to me, though I do wonder if this negligence will come to bite them back in the ass. Will their passionate rigor really be enough to drag Suo back? And can Sakura be able to reach Suo even if he hasn’t properly introspected about his personhood? More at 9
