#fuyushima

The Empress of Destruction’s trolling potential has just reached new heights thanks to her new trapper buddy, whose sure-fire skill is proving quite entertaining.

Ashihara must have really had fun showing the personality of the teams with the uniforms. There are quite a few movie archetypes in there - clearly, Ashihara watches a LOT of TV and movies.

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A001 Tachikawa: over the top, a riff on mentor shinoda’s similar trenchcoated uniform, Even Ashihara comments that Tachikawa should be ashamed of his flashiness. But really, we can’t pick on Tachikawa - after all, he liberally borrowed (nearly wholesale) from mentor Shinoda. They aren’t really into the whole team dynamic so much either - Tachikawa always has the top strap undone (an ode to his laidback personality).

Look familiar?

I can’t help but think of the Matrix trenches for Shinoda’s especially.

And of course, the logo is a play on Tachikawa’s name (Tachi is an old term for sword and Kawa is river - whose Kanji is three ‘slashes’: 川 ) with his sword Kogetsu (moon) in the background. It’s quite clever when you think about it - so don’t believe Tachikawa’s ad lib in the manga when he tells Yuiga it’s for him, Izumi....and his second sword.

Since this is a team not really known for its teamwork - each wears the uniform differently (Tachikawa always has the top clamp open).

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A002 Fujushima.  It looks like Touma was the designing force on that one that coat and definitely it is straight out of the movie Grease - the Kenickie look (1960s greaser).

Complete with ‘pompadour’ hairstyle.

Kenickie from the Grease movie:

Clearly, only Touma decided on the uniform- here’s squad leader/trapper Fuyushima:

He’s clearly going for a military special ops type of look. E.g., here’s Bradley Cooper from American Sniper (I think Ashihara watches too many movies!)

Interesting how fuyushima’s necklace has 2 holes - we know Ashihara loves his circles to denote rank (here for 002 squad maybe but also on both the Aftokrator and Galapoula forces).

Their squad badge, however, is all Fuyushima. He’s a trapper whose job is to control movements on the battlefield - much as the same way a chess player controls movements on a chessboard. The knight is the exception and the only piece that can ‘jump’ (or warp in this squad’s case) so I can see why that was chosen. No clue on why the knight is a unicorn, though.

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Kazama 003 is all utility. The green ‘buttons’ are one of the few mod add-ons - a design to reduce the amount of trion used during chameleon (so they have a ‘beep’ and blink when chameleon is used). This is probably the most complicated uniform - one that Ashihara says causes him to die whenever there is a Kazama Squad sequence.

It has the border “cross’ at the collar and chest - I’m guessing that Border is considered a ‘crossing’ between two worlds and so there is that intersection at so many uniforms.  The reversing of the colors in the crosses is also a point - Kazama Squad’s tactic is to use chameleon so they come in and out of view. I’m guessing the reversed colors and color blocking reflects that. The blue is likely to reflect Kazama’s first name, meaning blue (though of a bit darker indigo shade). The looping at the thigh is a nod to the other Border uniforms, most of which have a belt there instead (they are all attackers/all arounders so they don’t need bags to hold their trigger while they shoot away).

Their squad badge? Definitely the easiest of them all to interpret.  This is the ‘high concept’ stealth squad and so we have an eyeball with the international symbol for ‘no’.  It could also stand for Utagawa’s unparalleled ability to completely disappear in any scene he’s in. They are a tight team known for their teamwork - and so they all wear the exact same version of the uniform.

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Jumping down to Arashiyama Squad 005. They have a variation on the ‘standard’ uniform of Border including the cross at the collar (a “tracksuit style that won’t intimidate civilians “)  - likely because they are representing Border and therefore shouldn’t stand out from the Border norm (e.g., Jin has nearly the same uniform in blue). Since they are a tight team, they all wear the same uniform in the same way.

The Arashiyama badge is pretty obvious: they are the Hollywood ‘stars’ of Border and each start is the same size and in a circle - showing that they are a team of equals who work together. I love that all the 5 stars equal one big star in the middle - representing the synergy of the team working together creates an even great star/team.

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And on to Miwa Unit 007.  The uniforms are SWAT-team styled storm troops - also based on a common Border uniform (seen in the background on Border employees).  Although it appears purple, it’s description is usually grey. This is a team who values aggressive attacking - and so their uniform looks very militaristic.

And here is Yoneya’s customization, complete with animals buttons (characters from Ashihara’s other series, Super Dog Rilienthal.

As for the squad badge, we have a squad of pairs (twin snakes) in the form of two attackers (Miwa/Yoneya) and two Snipers (Kodera/Narasaka). In both pairs, there is someone who shoots bullets. It’s as if it makes a statement that if one pair doesn’t get you, the other will.

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B001 Ninomiya Squad

The sly joke from Ashihara with this squad is that leader Ninomiya despised the ‘cosplay’ aspect of uniforms and so put his team in business suits. Of course, because they are wearing suits, they are the most cosplay type standouts of all. 

Their squad badge is located on the end of the 1960s slim tie - you can see it best in Inukai’s image at the bottom. Because they aren’t really a team so much as some backup players to ‘Terminator” Ninomiya, their uniforms are each worn differently.

The influence (and likely statement about Ninomiya himself) is probably Pulp Fiction. it matches up with the blood in the B001 logo.

The squad badge is, fittingly, blood dropping into a puddle of blood. But it is also in a shape of a crown - Ninomiya clearly thinks he’s the King and the top of the Border pack.