it is not that i disagree, but i have seen many people saying that gai is the few in naruto that treat the main characters like actual children, what is the reasoning behind that? like what is the difference between how he treats those kids compared to some other adults?
oh man its really hard to explain without outright going back 1200+ chapters/episodes and finding examples
just off the top of my head, gai;
listens intently to his three students when they grieve about their problems, and gives advice an adult should give a preteen (encouraging, openminded, gentle)
like look at the test he gave fresh-genin graduates neji, lee, and tenten and how believable it is, its like an actual test you give to 12-year-olds and not kakashiās ridiculous mindgame that made things wayyyy more complicated and manipulative than it needed to be
when heās disciplining, he does it in a way that i cant easily explain but its obviously the type that works well because its firm but forgiving and it makes preteens feel like they want to do better
is super free with his physical displays of affection towards the kids (ALL kids, not just his students) even though theyāre at an age where they might cringe and try to wiggle away, because we may not all like hugs but its always nice to know that someoneās gonna be there no matter what with their arms open and a warm smile
(i tried my best to find the clip but i cant im sorrrrryĀ IT WAS FOUND FOR ME, ITS HERE) the anime has 16-year-old choji run up to gai because none of the genins have eaten dinner and chojiās hongry and gaiās reaction is to āscoldā as if chojiās whining about trivial stuff, but one hand immediately sneaks him a package of cookies with a sneaky thumbs up, choji isnāt even his student hes just some random kid
like look at this clip, its one of my absolute favorites because it features just how much of a dad/family this whole group is, plus its made even funnier knowing that this is happening as gaara is deadĀ
so look at all that wholesome stuff and compare to kakashiās depressed mid-twenties ass and how he chose to tackle the whole teaching-middle-schoolers thing. he doesnāt talk to them, he doesnāt engage their goals or their ambitions, he arrives late to lessons he put up, literally his first formal introduction to them is that heās not gonna share anything about his interests or history with them. now, im not saying kakashiās a complete shit or anything, just that heās more of a dissociating babysitter than gaiās loving dadnessĀ
and its not just in comparison to kakashi, its also about the parents that we see - the hyuuga clan, gaaraās royal family, the third hokage and how heĀ āraisedā naruto, jiraiyaās whole shitty self and his role asĀ āmentorā, even tsunande with sakura even. gaiās one of the few who knew how to interact and nurture his students
also fun fact; what i also like about gai is how he looks like half the young adult men of my dadās generation, seriously all of them were trying to emulate the bruce lee aesthetic back during the late 70ā²s/early 80ā²s