Riruka

To address the Showdown question first -

This anon is talking about the following lyrics. Subjects and objects in [brackets] are assumptions I'm making.

怒りが汚した光と影が 君の嘆きを見逃しかけた 荒れ狂う海から掬い上げ救う 『シンジュク：痛み打ち克つGroup』

Shadows and the light corrupted by wrath Have almost caused [me] to miss your grief [I] shall draw [you] up from the tumultuous ocean "Shinjuku: the group that overcomes pain"

I was discussing this with a friend recently, actually. I like the interpretation that those lines refer to Ramuda, but light and shadow aren't images associated with him; if anything, they're more appropriate for Hitoya. Light imagery (such as lanterns, candles) is pretty common in Jakurai's lyrics as a whole, and so the "light corrupted by wrath" strikes me as a pretty clear reference to himself and his pain from his time as an assassin. Jakurai rarely acknowledges this pain in himself (which is partially responsible for his loss of friendship with Hitoya), so I think that the grief he speaks of could also be his own grief. I think this could also refer to Jakurai's lost friendships as a whole, Hitoya and Ramuda both, and speak of Jakurai's desire to save all three of them and thus finally overcome the pain that has been haunting him for a decade.

Now for the Jakuramu. Let's see. What I love about it:

It’s cute how canon adjacent they are. They hold hands! Ramuda braids Jakurai’s hair! Jakurai repeatedly goes out of his way to accompany Ramuda on adventures!

Every time Jakurai makes the face. You know the one.

I find Jakurai’s complete inability to make good decisions in Ramuda’s presence very amusing. (Not to suggest that Jakurai isn’t incapable of making some truly baffling decisions entirely on his own, but Ramuda appearing anywhere in the vicinity only exacerbates this character trait.)

Along that line of thinking, I love the trust they have in one another despite both being pretty guarded individuals.

I also love how this is Ramuda’s first true friendship and how it’s such an accepting, nurturing one before things go south. Jakurai has so much patience for Ramuda, which allows him to explore and learn concepts he would have little opportunity to experience otherwise.

Likewise, Ramuda draws Jakurai out of his shell and introduces him to the world of rapping. The Hypmic as a concept seems especially important to Jakurai, because it’s a non-lethal weapon produced by a group that seeks to eradicate violence in the same way that Jakurai does. Ramuda gives Jakurai a fallback he can resort to without ever needing to “sully” himself again. This also opens the door to other opportunities, like befriending Hifumi and Doppo later down the line.

Ramuda and Jakurai are narrative foils which makes comparing and contrasting them very fruitful exercises. I found Jakurai really boring before I started comparing him to Ramuda and finding some of his more hidden traits that are starting to appear in more transparent form in current canon.

They’re also complete weirdos who tend to go along with each other’s weirdness which, as a reader, is hilarious to consume.

Ramuda brings out qualities in Jakurai that aren’t readily visible otherwise (see point 7). I especially enjoy this when Ramuda brings out negative traits, like impatience or pettiness, as we sometimes see in the first DRB content.

Unlike other characters who usually treat Jakurai somewhat reverentially, Ramuda doesn’t look up to Jakurai (apart from in the purely physical sense). He can and does acknowledge Jakurai’s good qualities, but he doesn’t treat Jakurai as inherently better (and takes umbrage to this idea, in fact) or demanding of a certain respect like most other cast members do. Jakurai seems to enjoy this intimacy; it’s probably lonely being placed on a pedestal like he is. He rarely lords his superior traits over other people, so he doesn’t seem to enjoy them. He would likely prefer fitting in with others better, and Ramuda gives him an opportunity to experience that.

Okay, I admit, I have a weakness for height gaps. I think this is a byproduct of being very short and thus becoming accustomed to the idea that any sort of romantic relationship is likely to include a lot of looking up. Plus, their size difference means that Jakurai can do things like - and this is scandalous - pick up Ramuda if both are so inclined. I may or may not be extremely attached to this idea.

Their dynamics are very fun to write, especially in current canon when they become more vitriolic to each other.