Miyuki Kazuya Appreciation Post
In honor of his birthday this year, here's a little meta about Miyuki Kazuya's traits that I find most interesting (other than his beloved snark) throughout Act I. This is hardly everything, but I wanted to love on him a bit before the day is out!
Please forgive the fan-translated panels, but they're much more accessible for a quick post.
Miyuki forgives his father for not consistently emotionally or physically taking care of him. He may not even see it as something to forgive at all due to his family's circumstances.
He instantly forgives Chris for being a jerk to everyone after his injury, still wishing for him to make first string, and even wonders if he could have helped more.
He gives Zono an olive branch in the game immediately after their fight in front of the team, never once blaming him for causing a scene, laying hands on him, or damaging morale.
He forgives Tanba for not working with him as the ace. After being snubbed repeatedly as the starting catcher, he's excited when Tanba asks for him to catch, and is the first to back up Tanba's ace speech to the coach directly before the injury happens.
Even as a kid, he doesn't seem to hold a grudge against or tattle on the guys who beat him up in junior high. He just greets them at practice the next day (cheekily) and remains focused on holding onto his position no matter what.
Even though he can seem like a jerk about it, Miyuki gives up a ton of time to his pitchers even before he's captain. He doesn't mind being hated or misunderstood if it gets them the win, however he gets extremely frustrated with selfish people, notably Mei, Eijun re: Chris, and pitchers shaking off signs because they want to duel the batter one-on-one.
It's true that he's unabashedly ambitious when it comes to baseball. However, Miyuki dismisses internal wants that aren't for the good of the team, such as getting to play with Chris on the first string or worrying about his future health when Koshien is on the line. The only thing he truly refuses to give up is his position as catcher.
Miyuki's been a physical caretaker since he was a little kid feeding his dad and an emotional one for his Seido teammates. Sometimes it's in a 'tough love' way for the confident ones, and sometimes it's done in a more gentle way for the insecure ones.
Does he always express it appropriately? Definitely not. Is he a little shit when the stakes are low? Absolutely. But his thoughts and actions are usually trying to motivate or support others.
Miyuki feels personal responsibility for the success of his pitchers. He lets them blame him for failure. He feels guilty for failing to notice injuries or distress. He even shifts away from his naturally harsh communication style based on individual needs, such as with the less-aggressive Nori or when Eijun struggles with the yips and he's trying to find the right way to help.
When Miyuki is named captain, he takes the team's success completely on his shoulders. He refuses to allow himself any moments of weakness as a batter, catcher, or playmaker because the team is counting on him, and redoubles his own training. He even seeks out advice from Tetsu to better handle his role when he realizes he doesn't have the perspective he needs to lead.
This is part of why he contradicts himself during the yips arc about whether he should focus on the team first or help Eijun to help the team. He's being forced to choose if he's going to take care of Seido as a captain or take care of his pitcher as a catcher, and he doesn't know how to balance those priorities yet.
At the end of it all, even when he's injured badly enough to be on the verge of collapse, Miyuki still nags the team to remember their ice.
During his recovery, we see his caring nature a final time in the guilt he feels around Chris' injury. It's completely irrational. After all, Miyuki was brand new to the team when it happened and probably new to being a real teammate in general. Still, he wonders if he helped his already injured rival senpai enough. The fact he was openly friendly, supportive, and patient with Chris in his second year, even though Chris was short with him, wasn't enough in his mind because someone he cared about dearly suffered.
He has abandonment issues.
Miyuki can't accept people he cares about, especially those he admires, leaving him. He expects himself to fix the situation if their relationship is threatened. If he can't fix it, his frustration can manifest as atypically childish anger for such an emotionally mature teenager.
Looking at his history, it's unsurprising.
Miyuki doesn't seem to have any junior high friends that have stuck with him into high school. It isn't that they're at odds, like Mochi's, but more like they were kids he just walked home with because his own dad couldn't make games.
His dad appears to be a hard-working widower who doesn't have time to be involved with his son. Miyuki respects rather than resents him for his dedication to his job despite having to raise himself in a lot of ways.
Once he reaches High School following Chris, his idol and should-have-been mentor first ignores him, then disappears due to his injury, then lashes out at him ("First string catcher") even into Miyuki's second year. Miyuki keeps seeking him out all the same.
The only involved adult figures Miyuki seems to have in his life are Rei, who is one of the few people we see watch out for him from the beginning, and Coach Kataoka, who has been a quiet supporter since Miyuki was made a starter under horrific circumstances.
Given all of this, it's unsurprising that Miyuki has learned to verbally accept that people leave, but he can't do so emotionally. We see this over and over again:
Miyuki losing control over his emotions when Sawamura said Chris should just give up on baseball. He can stand Chris hating him or ignoring him, but having Chris disappear from his world awakens that primal fear and anger of being left behind.
Miyuki telling the team that they have to win to keep Coach Kataoka. Other players mention it on occasion during the second half of Act I, but he is the first, last, and most consistent to demand they win so Kataoka can't leave. He even plays through a serious injury while internally citing the impending loss of Kataoka as why he has to.
Miyuki gets furious after Mei makes a stupid mistake, denying their match against each other. That petulant rage bleeds over into his conversation with the team afterward, causing him to nihilistically state that everyone moves on in the end, so there's no point in being friends. He instinctively tries (and fails) to protect himself from the pain of people leaving by never building bonds to begin with.
And after all this, when Zono comes at him, he doesn't really fight back. He lets Zono scream at him and listens even if he's stubborn about it in the moment. He seems to believe this as an acceptable consequence for his words like he did with his old bullies.
Although baseball comes easily to Miyuki, not much else in his life has, and it makes him roll with the punches. From his home situation, to what happens with Chris, to teammates who hate or bully him, to dealing with losses - he's still always looking forward.
It's what makes him a great player, and ultimately, a great captain.
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