#hakusumi

The grim reaper arc opens great conversations about

Racial biases

Misoginy

Critizices the traditional marriage

Opression and priviledge to speak against opression and the consequences of not doing so

sadness, sorrow, all the things that kou would go through should he ever exorcise mitsuba. his expression explains it all. the distraught running through his mind, tensing at the idea of it,

and dare i say the crazy refers to kou’s desperation. the will that he has to keep mitsuba alongside him. going as far as exorcising a supernatural, ripping its heart out, force feeding it to mitsuba.

and then of course the similar panel structure, mitsuba and sumire’s side as they smile with their eyes closed, their hands delicately making contact with the other.

and then kou and hakubo’s expressions falling as an un/hidden shock. because they’re the ones who would go crazy, go through all that sadness, should their lover disappear.

If Hanako didn’t love Nene, we wouldn’t have gotten the Picture Perfect arc

If Akane didn’t love Aoi, we wouldn’t have gotten the Clock Keepers arc

If Hanako didn’t love Nene, the Severance never would’ve happened, and by extension no Grim Reaper arc, Red House arc, etc.

Every major arc that happens in the story uses romance as a major catalyst. Even many minor arcs like the Misaki Stairs arc, the Mitsuba arc, the Hell of Mirrors arc, and the Nightlife arc have romance as a prominent theme. So without romance, TBHK has no plot. It’s just Nene helping Hanako clean bathrooms while Kou tries to decide if ghosts are good or bad. We wouldn’t even have that much, because without romance Nene never would’ve met Hanako

There are enough mindless action shonens out there, it doesn’t hurt to have one that caters more towards a female audience. Not to mention most shonens don’t write romance well, it’s refreshing to see one that recognizes the importance of those dynamics. Most shonens struggle with romantic and familial relationships and those are the ones TBHK does best, it makes it unique. Many of the platonic dynamics like Teru/Akane and Hanako/Kou are well-written as well, though there are some that need to be fleshed out more (*cough* Aoi and Nene *cough*)