★With a Wish★

Yes, Mitsuba is canonically gay

Things don’t have to be explicitly stated in order to be canon, subtext is a major part of media analysis. This is something a lot of fans miss which leads to a misunderstanding of the source material. I do have some credentials for this, I’ve taken two undergrad college literature classes in which the subject of queercoding did come up multiple times. Meaning analyzing queercoding has literally gone towards my degree so I feel like my opinion holds some weight (not as much as that of an actual English major but yk I assume I’ve had more education on it than the general TBHK fandom)

There are multiple ways to queercode a character, sometimes it can be as simple as feminizing a man or masculinizing a woman. Though that method might be a bit outdated nowadays with gender roles becoming less strict, it’s still worth keeping in mind when analyzing queer characters. Another way is through romantically colored scenes with characters of the same sex, or by having them hint at disinterest in the opposite sex. Mitsuba checks off all three of these boxes and then some

First off, Mitsuba is attracted to men. This is made extremely obvious through his relationship with Kou but I’m gonna explain it anyways because unfortunately I’ve seen a lot of fans say they’re just platonic

Mitsuba and Kou went on a date. When this is brought up, fans typically jump to the excuse of “but Kou said it wasn’t a date,” which is where my American Lit class is going to come in handy. One of the major things we learned is that authors have to understand that everything they write has some sort of real world connotation. If you write a scene with a doctor, you have to understand that your readers already have preconceived notions of what doctors represent. You can choose to either lean into that or subvert it, but you have to be aware that as soon as a doctor enters the scene, readers have already made assumptions about that character

The word “date” is clearly being used in a romantic context here. When Kou texts his friends and brother about it, they all assume he’s talking about a romantic date. While in the actual context of the scene, Mitsuba and Kou aren’t quite ready to use such a strong label yet, the romantic wording here is still very intentional. AidaIro would not have labeled this moment as a date if they didn’t want readers to view it in a romantic light, because they understand that their readers are going to associate dates with romance. Japanese censorship is really strict, it’s hard to publish stories with explicitly queer characters unless the series is labeled as a BL or GL. And so Japanese manga writers often have to find roundabout ways to express that characters are gay without outright stating it- such as suggesting that they’re going on a date with a character of the same sex

In the printed volume for Vol.20, there’s an editor’s note that mentions that when Kou and Mitsuba are making plans to hang out at the school festival, it holds a romantic implication for the Japanese audience. Cultural differences are important to keep in mind, to western fans this scene might not raise any eyebrows but for its primary audience, it is confirmation that Mitsuba and Kou are romantic. I also find it interesting that the editor felt this context was important enough to warrant clarification

And frankly, their relationship doesn’t make a lot of sense if it’s solely platonic. Male friendship is something TBHK writes very realistically, the male characters aren’t as touchy-feely with their friends as they are with their female love interests. Yokoo and Satou don’t directly ask Kou how he’s feeling when they notice he’s upset, instead they give him a task to distract him- similar to how men in real life cheer their friends up through quality time rather than talking through their emotions like women do (not every man ofc but a good majority of them). When Teru is down, Akane doesn’t hold him and reassure him the way he does with Aoi. There are no grand declarations of ultimate “friendship” the way you see in fan servicy series like Haikyuu. Instead, he used his and Teru’s rivalry to indirectly motivate him to get his head back in the game. When Hanako is sad, Kou cheers him up by making donuts for him and then giving them to Nene so she can pretend she’s the one who made them. This is a very healthy portrayal of male friendship, and Mitsuba and Kou are nothing like this

Mitsuba and Kou both cry and vent to each other multiple times (the Mitsuba Arc, the Picture Perfect Arc, the Nightlife Arc), and instead of comforting each other indirectly they do things like offering to die for each other. You would never see Akane offer to die to make Teru feel better, nor would you Aoi and Nene or Kou and Hanako. It stands out so much from other friendships in the series, even Kou’s friendships with other characters. That is a conscious writing decision, AidaIro make a point to show Mitsuba as an exception for Kou. It’s worth noting that in the same chapter where Yokoo and Satou cheer Kou up indirectly, Mitsuba attempts to directly have him talk about his feelings

They’re also incredibly possessive over one another, in a way friends usually aren’t. When Kou was in the Red House, he was shown his greatest desires, and Mitsuba appeared in one of these. Kou said he knew Mitsuba would appear, which is interesting because at that point he had already picked up on the house showing him what he wanted. But what does he want? He wants Mitsuba to rely on him entirely, to be completely useless without him. He wants Mitsuba to be “no good without him,” to need him so badly that he begs him to die so they can be together. I’m not exaggerating, these are lines pulled straight from the chapter (paraphrased but still). Later on in the Nightlife arc, Kou breaks down when he discovers Mitsuba has been relying on Tsukasa for life-saving help. As for Mitsuba, he wants to die by Kou’s hands. He says it wouldn’t be satisfying if anyone else killed him, and that he would be happy if Kou were to be the last person he spent time with before he died. He tries to trap Kou in a picture perfect world just like Hanako does with Nene, because he wants to live a normal life with him. It’s also shown in one of the extras that Mitsuba cries when Kou ignores him

They’re also drawn very romantically, again we don’t see Teru and Akane this intimate with one another unless they’re fighting. We especially don’t see Kou this intimate with anyone other than Mitsuba, and while Mitsuba is sometimes clingy with Tsukasa we certainly never see him posed romantically with a woman. This comes back to authorial intent and real world connotations, AidaIro know that male friends aren’t typically this close, and therefore casual affection like this will be interpreted in a romantic light. We see them hold hands/wrists multiple times too, Kou gives Mitsuba a piggyback ride in one scene, and in ASHK they had a classic “pinned against the wall” page

I’ll also mention the AUs, because those indicate a lot about the characters as well. In Hanako-Kun of the Opera, Kou poisoned Mitsuba so he could take him away from the opera house and protect him from Tsukasa. He basically kidnapped him. He also stayed with Mitsuba at the opera house for a seemingly long period of time despite hating opera. Aaaaand they’re childhood best friends in this au and Kou took care of Mitsuba while he was sick

Then there’s the Ghost Hotel, where Kou is a werewolf who takes bites out of mummy Mitsuba during full moons. Despite this, the two appear to be friends and Mitsuba helps Kou out around the kitchen. Cannibalism is consistently tied to romance throughout TBHK, most notably with Hakubo and Sumire but other romantic pairings have cannibalistic moments or official arts. During the zombie mokke chapter, Nene panicked when Akane tries to eat her because she assumed it would put her in a love triangle with Aoi. So yeah, cannibalism in TBHK is directly tied to romance and we see that with Mitsukou both in canon and in this au. Speaking of which, I’m not even gonna get into the symbolism of Kou holding a heart out to Mitsuba. Connect the dots for yourselves

Now that we’ve got Mitsukou out of the way, let’s talk about Mitsuba’s disinterest in women

Remember how I said one of the ways queercoding is done is by having a character hint at disinterest in the opposite sex? Yeah, very rarely are we going to see a queercoded male character outright say “I have no attraction to women.” Instead they say they just never saw the appeal in dating, or that they never had time to settle down. In more obvious cases, we have scenes like Reiner from AOT joking that Ymir isn’t all that into guys

I couldn’t find the second scene but there are TWO extras where the subject of Mitsuba’s disinterest in women comes up. C’mon guys I’m trying not to be mean here but you have to be blind, oblivious, or in denial to not pick up on that. Whyyyyy would they mention Mitsuba not having a crush on any girls twice if it weren’t to suggest something about his preference?? Coupled with his appearance (which I’ll get to later) and relationship with Kou, these scenes carry a lot of weight. Even if those other aspects weren’t included, scenes like this would still indicate he has no interest in women (which would make him gay or aroace, though due to his relationship with Kou the aroace thing is kind of ruled out)

Compare this to a scene where Mitsuba thinks he’s being asked out by a man. He doesn’t say “hmmm nope no guys, I’m cuter than all of them~” he specifically says “I’m not interested in guys with lame earrings.” The way this is worded implies that Mitsuba is discussing a type, though it’s v much a comedic scene and we know from everything else that he absolutely does like guys with lame earrings, it’s still worded in a way that makes him appear queer. If he were straight, they would have had him say he’s not interested in guys at all (like Dazai from Bungou Stray Dogs, John Watson from BBC Sherlock, Finn Hudson from Glee, idk there are a lot of male characters that are explicit straight sorry for the crazy random list). Also note how he teases Kou about it, he knows that Kou is fond of him and doesn’t hesitate to use that against him (like when he was comforting him during the Nightlife arc)

They don’t go overboard with Mitsuba’s disinterest in women because, well, that’s not really necessary. Two scenes is already a lot, and he doesn’t have any romantic relationships with women in canon (even as a crush/a joke scene). It’s rare for TBHK characters to have absolutely no scenes expressing interest in the opposite sex, since the series is partially a romance. But Mitsuba consistently only ever shows interest in one man, and when girls are brought up he’s quick to brush it off. His mom did think Nene was his girlfriend when they met, but this was depicted as a very awkward and comedic scene. Because the premise of Mitsuba having a girlfriend is objectively hilarious

(Due to Sousuke’s young age it’s reasonable to assume he wasn’t out to his mom yet, he’s around the age where most kids are closeted. It’s even possible that Sousuke hadn’t come to terms with his sexuality yet, though it’s still a prevalent part of both his character and No.3’s)

Now let’s move onto appearances. I want to give a quick disclaimer, not all gay men are feminine and not all feminine men are gay. Androgyny is also very common in anime and doesn’t automatically mean a character is gay, but there are cases when it’s used for queercoding. Mitsuba is one of these cases

Mitsuba is a very feminine character, this is addressed as soon as he shows up in the manga. He was bullied for his appearance (and personality), but unlike his personality he never tried to change his feminine appearance. He kept his hair long, continues to wear scarves and cardigans and earrings. No.3 wears these things as well, and I would argue has a more feminine personality since he seems to be more open about his emotions and idk. I struggle to categorize feminine and masculine traits because imo that’s subjective but there are things society deems feminine vs. masculine. The problem is that I really dislike the whole “men are strong and women are emotional” thing but ehhhh I guess I have to talk about it for this. Hmph. But yeah although Mitsuba isn’t exactly the biggest sweetheart ever, he does act somewhat feminine compared to the other male characters (as I’ve said he’s p much the only man in the series who attempts to work through emotional conflicts directly)

Once again we circle back to intent, AidaIro know that a male character dressed in pink with pink eyes and long pink hair is going to raise some eyebrows. Even by androgynous anime standards, it’s a bit much. And good for him, although not all gay men are feminine, some are and that’s also fine. I can’t speak on how well he represents feminine gay men because I’m a lesbian but he does dress similar to some of the feminine gay men I’ve known irl (or slightly less feminine in some cases…I knew this one dude in high school who used to wear corsets to class and he was so badass I hope he’s doing well)

I could get into how Kou is a bit feminized too with the whole housework thing but this ain’t abt him. I will say that Kou is still a very masculine character but despite this his character is feminized in some ways compared to the other men. I’m not really here to discuss whether that’s good or bad, I’m just stating the evidence as it is, you can make your own conclusions as to how you feel about it

So how does being queer impact Mitsuba’s character arc?

When I get around to writing my analyses of all the TBHK characters I WILL be talking more in depth about the queer allegories with Mitsuba’s character but for now I’ll give ya’ll a quick summary. Supernatural characters have been used for years to represent queerness, the same could be said for villains and any character trope that represents a feeling of “otherness.” Sometimes it’s more broad like X-Men, where the superpowered characters are used to represent all types of minorities (though I believe X-Men is more closely tied to race, there are rampant queer themes as well). Then there’s books like Interview with the Vampire that get more specific with it, where Louis denying his “true nature” as a vampire is used as an allegory for him denying his queerness. Well I’m here to tell you that Mitsuba and Louis de Pointe du Lac are in the same boat

Mitsuba differs from the other supernaturals because he desperately tries to hold on to feelings of normalcy. He wants to be a normal human and live a normal human life. He doesn’t want to be othered, to be outcasted from society for something he can’t control. We don’t see Hanako, Tsuchigomori, Mei, or any of the other supernatural characters struggle with this. You could argue that Akane does but his situation is more related to learning to empathize with others than any internal battles within himself. Hanako may have moments of wishing him and Nene could have something more, but that’s more about romance than his identity.

This desire to be “normal” is unique to Mitsuba’s character, and it’s a very queer desire. Being an angsty teenager who hasn’t fully accepted themself yet and hasn’t realized that being queer is not only normal, but a beautiful experience. It’s also so interesting to me that as he’s trying so hard to be normal, it creates a push and pull between him and Kou. He wants to be normal for Kou but he also feels that he’s hurting Kou just by existing, that this could only end bad for him. Oh the inherent guilt of having your first gay crush and feeling like you're corrupting them hist for pining from afar

So, can you ship him with women? Technically you can do anything, shipping isn’t illegal and we all have free will. Should you ship him with women is more subjective, I personally think no!! Queerness is not just a sexuality, it’s an identity that deeply impacts who you are as a person. It shapes your experiences and your view of yourself, and in an allegorical way it has certainly done this for Mitsuba. Yes, bi people are queer as well and this is still true for them, but bisexuality is not Mitsuba’s experience. Mono-attraction exists and that specification is very important to gay men and lesbians. For some people sexuality is fluid and that’s beautiful, but it doesn’t work that way for everyone

Some queer fans don’t care if gay characters are shipped with members of the opposite sex, and they’re entitled to their own opinions. It makes me immensely uncomfortable tho, so please block me if you ship Mitsuba with women. That goes for any ships between canon gay/lesbian characters and the opposite sex. I respect people’s right to have opinions but that doesn’t mean I have to like the opinions themselves, and I don’t have to engage with anything that makes me uneasy. That goes for all of you btw, never let people convince you that you have to put up with shit you hate on the internet lmao, this is not real life babes. Block and move on

TL;DR

Kou, while he may not be the best at fighting or the strongest, has great survival instincts. He has a fast reaction speed, strong situational awareness, and (while sometimes caught off-guard) is constantly on-guard. We see this various times throughout the manga, going as far back as to when he was introduced. For example, we can see Kou jump back quickly as Hanako brings his knife to Kou’s neck. Immediately after, Kou brings his staff in front of him as a means of defense. He does this often throughout the series, so it is most likely a habit he developed from training. Even while his raiteijou is being held by Hanako, Kou is still able to evade the attacks.

A more recent example of his survival instincts would be chapter 98, in which Kou senses the supernatural approaching him and Mitsuba and reacts quickly by swiftly grabbing Mitsuba, then jumping back with him. He again puts his raiteijou in front of the two of them to act as a barrier and as a means of protection from the supernatural.

Kou’s relationship with Mitsuba offers a window for us to see a a side of Kou that we don’t usually get to see, as well as someone that helps us to hear his internal conflicts. Kou, who tends to keep his feelings to himself, bawls his eyes out in front of Mitsuba and ever so slightly opens up.

However, Kou wasn't always this vulnerable with Mitsuba. In fact, Mitsuba himself was no exception to this guarded behavior. In chapter 47, we yet again see Kou jump back and put his staff in front of him to defend himself as soon as Mitsuba transforms into his school wonder form, even though Mitsuba assures Kou he isn’t going to hurt him.

At this point in the story, Kou is under the impression that Tsukasa is forcing Mitsuba to do something that he doesn’t want to do, so he is on-guard as he would be with any other person capable of harming people or worthy of suspicion.

However, when Mitsuba reveals that he agreed to this fake world on his own accord, reveals his self-awareness when it comes to the impossibility of his wish, and allows himself to be open with Kou, Kou seems to let down his guard with Mitsuba.

Despite keeping his distance moments before, Kou allows Mitsuba to get close to him, their faces being only inches apart. Part of this is because Mitsuba reopened a wound of Kou's by showing a memory of Sousuke, but another part of it is that Kou feels bad for mitsuba, who feels like this fake happiness is all he can have.

Kou tells Mitsuba that he’ll help him find happiness in the real world, to which Mitsuba replies with anger. Kou has always been human. He’s the complete opposite of Mitsuba, who was born as a supernatural. Kou will never understand how Mitsuba feels, they are two worlds apart.

Following this interaction, Kou begins to be vulnerable with Mitsuba. He wants to understand Mitsuba, and he is willing to die in order to do so. He entirely abandons any logical thinking and acts on his emotions. Mitsuba is the only thing on his mind; not anyone or anything else, Mitsuba.

Vulnerability by definition is "the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.” By jumping off the building, Kou puts Mitsuba and the chance to understand him fully above his own life, exposing himself to the possibility of being harmed, as per the definition.

Kou jumping off the building not only displays his selflessness and dedication to understanding mitsuba, but also a selfish side of him. He jumps without any regard to how Mitsuba, or even his own siblings, would feel. It also displays his emotional commitment to Mitsuba. From this moment on, Mitsuba has become someone that Kou deems a priority. He has found his way into Kou’s heart. This in itself is vulnerability, as Kou’s promise to help Mitsuba become human and to stay with him forever has turned Mitsuba into someone important to Kou, someone capable of hurting him, both emotionally and physically as we come to find out in later chapters.

Another example of Kou’s vulnerability when it comes to Mitsuba is chapter 77, the Red House arc. The Red House contains a supernatural entity that has the ability to grant a wish in exchange for life, and Kou finds himself face to face with the red house’s manifestation of Mitsuba.

Kou claims that he’ll ignore whatever the Red House throws at him, which includes this manifestation of Mitsuba. However, he treats this manifestation as if it really were Mitsuba, and Kou is unable to fully ignore it. When it holds him back from leaving, he replies and doesn’t try to pull away.

When it tells Kou to die and become a supernatural so that they can be together forever, Kou stands still. He stares at the manifestation and allows for it to reach out to him, nearly touching his face before it says "I trust you to keep your promise." He then slaps its hand away, claiming "Mitsuba would never trust someone like him.”

This is a prime example of Kou’s vulnerability with Mitsuba. For someone who’s constantly on-guard, Kou allows this manifestation to get close to him. He lets his guard down because it takes on Mitsuba’s appearance and he goes against what he knows: that this isn’t actually Mitsuba. He knows that this is just a manifestation made by the Red House to trap him, yet he still finds himself being affected emotionally. He’s unable to shut off the part of him that cares for Mitsuba, so he lets the manifestation close to him and fails to look away. If it weren’t for that one statement, Kou might have been fooled.

Kou’s vulnerability with Mitsuba can also be seen all throughout the Night Life arc, starting at the very beginning. Kou jumps at the slightest rustle of a bush, yet he is caught off-guard by Mitsuba yet again. We know that Kou has a keen sense of hearing (see chapter 65, when Kou hears a noise just before Natsuhiko screams) and is also aware of his surroundings a good amount of the time, yet he is caught off-guard by Mitsuba, who gets close enough to cling onto him. While Mitsuba could have just been moving silently, this moment still accurately depicts how easily Kou’s usual guarded behavior is constantly disrupted by Mitsuba; It depicts his vulnerability with Mitsuba. He has let Mitsuba get in his bubble enough to affect him this way. Mitsuba has once again found a way to get past the walls Kou has put up.

Chapter 99 is when Kou is most vulnerable with Mitsuba. when Mitsuba tells Kou about his situation, Kou is immediately upset at the fact Mitsuba invited him out just to ask Kou to exorcise him. He then angrily exorcises a supernatural, providing a heart for Mitsuba to eat.

Mitsuba refuses to eat it, which just angers Kou even more. Despite mitsuba refusing to eat, Kou persists. As Kou tries to get force Mitsuba to eat the heart, we see him upset, we see him frustrated, we see him being aggressive, all in a desperate act to fix Mitsuba's body. It’s an act full of pure fear and panic. He doesn’t want to lose Mitsuba again, so he desperately tries to prevent it from happening, though he does it violently. He isn’t acting rationally and his emotions are getting the best of him, which is a form of vulnerability.

Alongside that, Kou refuses to exorcise Mitsuba, even saying "Don't you dare..." to the supernatural, which is presumably an unfinished "Don't you dare say that." He is unable to fathom the thought of doing that to Mitsuba. By refusing to exorcise Mitsuba, Kou is unknowingly and selfishly indulging in his own desire to stay with Mitsuba forever, even though Mitsuba has given up on his supernatural life. Through his emotions, we see that Kou is exposed to emotional hurt from Mitsuba, another form of vulnerability.

As this moment of desperation for Kou continues on, we can see him crack. The emotions and side of him that usually tends to stay hidden are revealed: we see his fear of losing Mitsuba, his emotional attachment to him, and his weakness towards the supernatural.

Chapter 99 is also the first time we see tears actually fall from Kou’s eyes rather than just seeing his eyes water up (see chapter 10 & chapter 74) or him crying into his pillow (see chapter 20). His tears show raw emotion, emotion that he’s not holding back like usual. Kou is unguarded, he is showing Mitsuba how much he truly cares about him. He non-verbally tells Mitsuba that he does not want to lose him. Not only does he offer Mitsuba the supernatural heart, but he offers his own to Mitsuba as well.

Early on in the manga, Kou had mostly been depicted as cheerful, dedicated, and selfless, with a desire to make everyone happy, even if he’s not expected to. Yet in chapter 99, he yells, he cries, he’s stubborn, he’s violent, he’s selfish, and he's vulnerable. This is by far the most emotionally vulnerable we have seen Kou be.

Prior to this arc, Kou had been known to tend to keep his emotions and thoughts, especially regarding Mitsuba, to himself. However, Kou continues to cry in front of Mitsuba, not attempting to hold his tears back. Kou’s tendency to ball up and cover his face to hide his tears is revealed in this moment, and while he doesn’t break the habit, he does allow himself to be comforted by Mitsuba and expresses how he feels, slightly opening up to Mitsuba.

Mitsuba jokes that Kou would be lonely without him, to which kou denies. Though, his tears say otherwise. By admitting he would be lonely without Mitsuba would be admitting his emotional dependence on him, to admit that he would be left with pain he wouldn’t know how to deal with. Yet by trying to hold back, he ends up being more emotionally exposed and vulnerable. His tears tell Mitsuba everything he needs to know, and vulnerability is in the words that Kou isn’t able to say. Though, Kou himself may not fully understand this yet; He might not know why it is that he wouldn’t be able to handle Mitsuba being gone or why he would be sad with him gone, which makes him even more vulnerable. Kou fails to hide how much he truly cares about Mitsuba, and his failure to suppress the truth makes him vulnerable, it makes the moment intimate and real.

In a promotional art for volume 20, we see Kou leaning into Mitsuba as Mitsuba comforts him. Here, Kou stops trying to be strong and allows himself to be weak with Mitsuba. Kou, who tends to keep his feelings to himself, allows himself to be cared for and comforted by Mitsuba instead of holding back. He doesn’t try to pretend like he’s okay, he feels his emotions rather than suppressing them, and he allows Mitsuba to see him in this state. He lets Mitsuba hold and comfort him, showing that he trusts Mitsuba enough to see him in such a fragile state even for just a moment. Kou allows Mitsuba to see how much he truly cares for him, even if he doesn’t verbalize it. In the end, Kou is most vulnerable with Mitsuba.

+ Nene’s catching on