#chapter 200

Suzuki-sensei is truly an incredible character artist. Just the simple act of him grabbing his pant leg like that telegraphs so much.

It's such a child-like pose. One that shows he is vulnerable and needs support/love. Like a self-soothing action. I think it comes from the idea of a child grabbing their parent's pant leg/skirt, but I'm not sure. But this way to show vulnerability for children is pretty common in Japanese media. The first one that comes to mind is from SpyxFamily:

(in this one you can see the connection with looking for comfort from a parent in Anya holding onto Loyd)

We even see Shin do this as a child when he's upset with Asakura. And, as I've talked about, this argument with Asakura, I think, boils down to Shin looking for acceptance and love from Asakura and, instead, feeling like Asakura doesn't like him either.

13 is already young, but in this moment, Shin looks so, so much younger. He thought he'd finally found the love, the family, he was craving. The support. The acceptance. But For the 3rd time in not that much time, Ando has proved he doesn't want or care about Shin.

So now he's left as a child, looking for comfort and finding none.