LAF

Kitty gabi

I don’t usually make written posts like this , very diff from fanart, but I’m so brainrotted about Gabimaru as a character and the show’s themes of love and balance that I felt like yelling my thoughts into the void (though i’m not great at putting my thoughts into words so bear with me—spoilers for hpj season 2 ahead ‼️)

What I find so heartwarming about this show mainly is how literally every single character loves or learns to love in some way, and that makes the cast feel so incredibly human and sympathetic. However, it also serves to pose season two’s final threats through the actions of Shugen. An asaemon whose love for each late clan member leads to a burning vengeance. I would say smth about Shija, however I only know so much about their backstory and presence in the story as I’m anime only at this point. (I’ll start reading the manga tmrw)

What I find interesting about Shugen’s is that his love is used as a direct foil for the main cast, namely Sagiri and Gabimaru. Sagiri learns the ‘middle way’ through out the show, or balance of her strengths and vulnerabilities. We see how Gabi learns from Sagiri to embrace his own vulnerabilities and emotions. Gabimaru is prevented from continuously killing to survive due to embracing his own vulnerabilities, and we see him make alliances throughout the show as a result of this balance. He no longer lets his love for his wife turn him into a cold blooded killer, and instead he listens to his vulnerabilities (namely his pain that prevents him from jumping to killing anyone who poses a challenge) and forms camaraderie as a direct result. I find this to be a really interesting contrast to Shugen, who again, lets his love for his clan control his actions and lead to the order to execute all the criminals on the island.

Love being a central part to most of these characters makes me rlly happy, it makes them feel so human and Yuji Kaku has amazed me with how many times he’s showcased that with his cast. Like you could edit any of these mfs with steven universe music it’d fit so well ˃̶͈◡˂̶͈

Since I’ve been typing for thirty minutes straight I’ll wrap it up here, but I’ll definitely yap ab Gabi more in depth if I feel up to it. He definitely competes with Denji as my fav mc from the dark trio and I wish I saw more people talk about him <\3