I think the only reason why I specifically can't take mikey x y/n (especially bonten or tokyo manji era) fics seriously is because I know that man would leave our ass SO fast the moment takemichi reappears.
A complete analysis of mikey and takemichi's relationship on both sides (HOLY SHIT ITS LONG)
I find mikeys and takemichi's very interesting, and I had a sudden urge to analyze it specifically on mikey's end from when they first met until bonten
This can be seen in whatever light the ones reading wants read it from, I've written it from a platonic perspective to get it as close to possible to canon, keeping in mind that platonic relationships can be just as deep if not more than romantic ones, and they're bond can't simply be classified as either because it is so much more deeper and complex than that
This is going to be pretty long, so I hope yall have fun reading!
Why is the manila timeline so uniquely brutal?:
Mikey is fundamentally dependent on other people to keep him in check. He physically can't stay sane on his own without a support system whom he can rely on
Now, however, one thing I noticed is why the timeline after Christmas... So brutal compared to all the ones before it?
That's the question. Technically, Mikey is in a better place than he was when in the original timeline or the timeline after it. Draken is alive, he didn't kill kazutora, black dragon never merged with toman, all the loose ends seemed tied But it is the worst one yet.
He kills everyone, which is something he hasn't done before. Yes, he let himself be corrupted before. Yes, he ran a violent criminal, Toman. It was bad but never "killed all your friends" bad
And for that, I think we have to go back to before Christmas and see exactly where the shift started. because I think we do have the reason why Manila in particular was so brutal compared to the other timelines before it, and it's pretty easy to deduce that it is when takemichi and mikey started getting closer
Where I think it started:
After the Black Dragon fight, Mikey completely lowers his guard. He shares his weaknesses, talks about Shinichiro, gives Takemichi his brother’s twin motorcycle, and teaches him how to ride.Most importantly, the "Invincible Mikey" admits he is weak for the very first time to takemichi. He explicitly asks Takemichi to stay by his side, guide him, and scold him when he goes astray. After watching Takemichi, I endlessly stand up to Taiju.
I think this is fully the moment where mikey decides to start relying on takemichi for his sanity,
And that's exactly why this future goes all wrong
Before the Christmas arc, when they weren't as deeply bonded, Mikey's downfalls were bad, but they were mostly driven by Kisaki’s manipulation. Mikey would get sad, Kisaki would take over Toman, and Mikey would become a puppet leader.
Christmas fundamentally changes Mikey's
dependency. Before Christmas, Mikey relied on a group of people , but after Christmas. he increasingly relies on one person
Takemichi becomes the object onto which Mikey redirects a dependency that already existed.
But then takemichi leaves, and then mikey snaps almost immediately. The first thing he does ask takemichi is why he left?
And every timeline after this arc is just devastating, almost always resulting in mikeys death. It is precisely because Mikey got emotionally attached to Takemichi during and after the Christmas arc that the futures become intimately tied to Mikey's personal mental state and takemichi's ability to keep him sane
Takemichi spent the entire series trying to save Mikey's loved ones (Baji, Emma, Draken), thinking that keeping them alive would keep Mikey sane. But he didn't realize that Mikey’s sanity also violently depended on his presence
Mikeys posessiveness:
And of course, we know that mikey is posessibe to an unhealthy degree, but I especially wanted to address how his posessivenes over takemichi isn't the same as his posseiveness over his friends
And I wanted to bring up the fact that mikey seems like he kinda views friendship and ownership as the same thing, he wants to get baji back from Valhalla because he belongs in toman, disregarding baji's choice of wanting to leave, same with kazutora where he affirms that he is his hense he has the right to kill him, his friends are his and he's allowed to do whatever he wants with them
And it is not different to how he treats takemichi, mikey deeply loves takemichi as a friend, but that love is devoid of respect for Takemichi as an independent human being, he is ESPECIALLY posessive of takemichi in a way that he isn't with the others
And it's shown even during their very first meeting, takemichi has no say in his friendship with mikey, wether he likes it or not from now on he's mikey's friend, even the way he says it is testament of that, its not "from now on we're friends" it's "from now on your my friend.
Mikey consistently showed disregard for Takemichi's own personal choices. Be it in Manila when he really couldn't accept the fact that Takemichi wanted to leave Toman and leave him when everyone accepted his decision. Or be it him being the leader of Black Dragon 11th generation. He genuinely could not care less about what Takemichi wants or desires if it does not involve him or his orbit or what he considers to be a safe distance.
Not only that, but to further get into this, mikey's feellings towards takemichi are described using 可愛がる (kawaigaru)
The root of kawaigaru comes from 可愛い (kawaii - cute/small/helpless). If you look up kawaigaru in a standard bilingual dictionary, it is often translated simply as "to love," "to cherish," and "to be affectionate toward."To dote on" or "to treat tenderly"
When you use kawaigaru as a verb, it means to dote on, pamper, or cherish someone who is smaller, weaker, or lower in status than you.
You use it for children, pets, or a junior coworker/underclassman who you have taken under your wing.
It is inherently asymmetrical. You cannot kawaigaru an equal or a superior,
But kawaigaru also has a well-known double meaning, which is to subject a junior to brutal physical training, hazing, or beating them to teach them a lesson.
But both have something in common: it always comes from someone having power over someone else
Mikey deeply cherishes and dotes on Takemichi (kawaigaru as love). But Mikey also physically beats him, subjects him to extreme violence, and breaks his bones
There is something so incredibly...patronizing in this.
mikey doesn't mind the power imbalance betwen them be it physically or socially in toman, he's perfectly content keeping takemichi under him wether or not he's in toman
Think about everything Takemichi receives early on:
He gets Mikey's personal protection.
He gets access to executive meetings.
He gets to ride around with Mikey.
He gets invited into spaces nobody else would.
He gets extraordinary leniency.
Those are all privileges But what doesn't he get? A position. Authority. Independence. Responsibility over other members.
Recognition that exists outside of Mikey himself, everything Takemichi has is mediated through Mikey.
If Mikey decided tomorrow, "Nah, you're not hanging around anymore," all of those privileges disappear because none of them belong to Takemichi—they belong to Mikey.
It's only later on that he starts seeing Takemichi as his equal, but more importantly, as his hero during Christmas, and even then, he is still stripping Takemichi of his humanity. Now, instead of controlling him as a possession, he is putting the entire weight of his sanity on Takemichi’s shoulders.
Mikey views other toman members as people. He respects them. They are strong, they have authority, they run their own divisions, and they have lives outside of Mikey. Yes, Mikey is still possessive of them (he will fight a whole gang to get Baji back), but he recognizes their agency. If they make a choice, he might get angry, but he processes them as independent entities.
Mikey, however, does not view Takemichi as an equal early on until Christmas, He views him as a possession. Because Takemichi is physically weak and socially a nobody at the start, Mikey can completely bypass all boundaries with him. He doesn't respect Takemichi's boundarie's, he disrupts his school, barges into his home, and drags him into gang violence without ever asking if Takemichi wants any of it.
In some way, having this weak, completely loyal, "cute" person who is entirely under his thumb could give Mikey a profound sense of safety. He can control Takemichi in a way that he could never control the harsh reality of death and trauma.
There isn't really any textual evidence on whether or not mikey liked exerting power over takemichi until I went back until the very beginning,
Mikey had this whole thing of saying, "I'm going to kill you." He uses that threat a lot, and he uses it a lot with Takemichi in the first season. But not in an actually threatening context. He uses it to tease Takemichi.... knowing that it genuinely freaks him out
Takemichi isn't Draken or Mitsuya, who know Mikey well enough to brush it off. He's a complete stranger whose body language screams, "I am terrified of you." Mikey notices that almost immediately. Then he keeps making jokes that rely on Takemichi, believing he might be serious. It is a subconscious flex. He scares Takemichi because he can, and because watching Takemichi sigh in relief, he makes Mikey feel securely in control of his environment
It is funny banter first, and foremost, I won't deny it it is essentially for comedic purpose and is sweet, but True banter requires equal footing. If one person can have the other beaten to a pulp on a whim it's more so like a hostage situation
That's a subtle form of power. It's less "I'm going to hurt you" and more. "I know I have the ability to scare you, and I'm amused by it." I also think it's important that Mikey never really seems malicious during these moments. He comes across as genuinely entertained. That's what makes it interesting. He's not trying to traumatize Takemichi; he just doesn't really see anything wrong with exploiting that imbalance because, in his mind, Takemichi is someone to dote on, tease, and keep close. It's affectionate, but it's also deeply unequal, and he's perfectly aware of it
When you view someone as a true equal, you don't find their genuine fear of you entertaining.
TAKEMICHI'S ASS ISNT INNOCENT
I focus a lot on mikey here so now enter takemichi, so I will try to structure it as best as i possibly can so it doesn't get confusing
i NEED to talk about takemichi's character because I find him so complex and interesting once we're able to get past all the action of the story and pin point exactly why he does the things he does
I'd say takemichi suffers from being the mc of a Shonen battle manga, which means that sometimes we don't really bother searching for a character as unfortunately a lot of Shonen mc's are well...bland with not personality or a very basic motivation.
On the surface, takemichi's whole character is pretty simple and self-explanatory: he wants to save everyone , that's what he's known for, he has a savior complex complex
I don't think Takemichi starts with a savior complex, but more so develop one
1. How Takemichi’s initial goal completely takes a detour
In the beginning, his motivation is incredibly personal. He wants to save hina, That's a normal, human response to being given the chance to prevent the death of someone you loved.
takemichi is introduced as having no real ambition in life, incredibly low self-esteem, and just going through the motions without a specific goal or drive, he has spent so much time in this state that he completely forgot about hina until life itself gives him a second chance
This is takemichi's very first goal we see him adopt in the series: save hina, it was always about saving hina, which led him to finally take back control of his life instead of letting it drag him wherever it's leading him, like joining toman to save hina, then prevent drakens death so that mikey doesn't go rogue and create the toman that kills hina and ect..
But every time he succeeds, his responsibility grows.
At first, it's just save Hina.
Then Draken.
Then Baji.
Then Emma.
Then Mikey.
Then everyone.
To the point where the question isn't if takemichi is capable of saving them, but that he feels morally obligated to save everyone no matter what, even if it breaks him.
he gets so fixated on saving everyone to the point of neglecting his own needs, boundaries, and everything else as long as the person he's trying to save is safe
And it's pretty easy to deduce that his terrible lack of self-worth is the cause
2. Self-Worth issues go brrrrrr
Takemichi doesn't hesitate to put his life on the line multiple times, he takes hit after hit without minding the pain or the injuries he's sustaining, he's extremely careless when it comes to himself, he's prepared to save everyone even at the cost of his own life or body
I don't think Takemichi believes he's 100% worthless, but more so that he believes his worth is conditional, that His value comes from what he can do for other people and not from simply existing
That's why i think every every success immediately becomes another obligation slowly straying from his initial path of only saving hina, Saving Draken doesn't let him rest. Now he has to save Baji. Saving Baji isn't enough. Now Emma. Now Mikey. The finish line keeps moving because Takemichi's sense of worth keeps moving with it.
And it is sadly made oubvious during the multiple scenes we see takemichi...blatantly contemplating the idea of dying, he doesn't seem to care if he lives or dies, all he cares about is that the others are safe even if he has to chip off parts of himself to do so, multiple times he contemplaties the idea of death or outwardly saying he doesn't care wether he lives or dies, it's deeply destructive when you think about it
Everything about himself becomes secondary if someone else is in danger. Yes, it has courage on paper, but it's incredibly unhealthy
3. Enter mikey
Now, how does that play when mikey comes in... because oh boy, mikey might be obsessed and toxic, but takemichi isn't any better about that guy, and trust me when I say this 😭
We always talk about Mikey’s issues, but Takemichi is operating on a level of psychological self-destruction that is wild when you step back and look at it.
Leaving your own literal wedding; where your childhood sweetheart is alive; your friends are thriving, and everyone finally got a happy ending—to dive back into the trenches for a guy whom you know is running a violent crime syndicate is WILD
Takemichi is just as fixated on mikey as mikey is with him, we just have to read a little deeper into it to see it because it is not spelt outright for us like it is with mikey where we are told and shown multiple times that mikey isn't normal about takemichi
Takemichi's way of seeing mikey and interpretation his actions are so terribly different from how he usually goes about saving others or holding others accountable for what they have done or are doing
Takemichi has this bizarre, hyper-focused moral tunnel vision. As long as Mikey's soul can be "saved," the collateral damage, the body count, and even the stable futures of his other friends kinda seem to take a backseat? He absolves Mikey of almost everything because he views Mikey’s violence not as a choice but almost as a tragic symptom of his pain, he's absolutely dead set on saving mikey no matter what and no matter what it costs him
4. The holy Codependency
And theres the thing, as much as takemichi's and mikey's relationship is needed for the both of them its terribly codependent as they enable each other's worst coping Mechanisms
Mikey’s cop-out: Mikey uses Takemichi as an external hard drive for his morality. He doesn't actually learn how to process his grief or control his impulses; he just relies on Takemichi to be the barrier. It's the ultimate abdication of personal responsibility: "I can't go wrong as long as you're here to stop me." He makes takemichi his absolute anchor in Christmas, and it never changes.
Takemichi’s Martyrdom: Takemichi thrives on taking the weight of the world on his shoulders. The more Mikey suffers and pushes him away, the more it triggers Takemichi’s need to sacrifice himself. He treats his own life, his own body, and his own happiness as a completely expendable currency to buy Mikey’s salvation.
Like i think, because Mikey has lost almost everyone he ever loved (Shinichiro, Baji, Emma), his brain, latches onto the one person who reminds him of safety and manages to calm him down when he's losing himself: takemichi
Mikey is a very dependent person, he NEEDS something to depend on because he is unable to manage himself by himself, that's why he surrounds himself with toman and everyone else, but the more his issues grow the less effective they are at containing his urges until they're simply just not enough, that is before takemichi.
Imagine you catch a cold, if you take 3 doses of x medicine you feel the symptoms less, but imagine one dose of y medicine is enough to quell your sickness, I think this is what's happening here
Takemichi reminds mikey of shinshiro; the one person who has been able to single handedly handle his dark impulse, which makes him highly effective, and takemichi has the same effect on him
5. Timeline nightmare and what changes depending on it
That's why Manila goes so horribly, shinshiro is gone, baji is dead, Emma is dead too, the only one mikey has left is takemichi, so he holds on extra tight.
but then he leaves, and everyone is telling him he has every right to do so, despite mikey being determined to keep takemichi in toman Of course, he'd snap, the last thread holding his sanity together just snapped.
Toman had become an awful environment that takemichi wanted an out of, yet mikey selfishly clinged onto him, knowing that Takemichi didn't want to stay, he didn't care they theyre were in a miserable environment so long as they were together
Mikey is essentially a drowning person. When you’re drowning, you don't think about whether you’re pulling your rescuer underwater with you—you just thrash around and grab onto whatever is keeping you afloat.
But I also wanted to note that mikey almost always goes wrong the moment takemichi goes back to the future post Christmas, be it in bonten and manila, Mikey's mental state collapses exactly when the timeline shifts
In Manila timeline, mikey doesn't snap immediately after takemichi leaves. Past takemichi is still around, but mikey doesn't know that past takemechi and the takemichi he has attached himself to are different, so he snaps when even past takemichi leaves
However, in the bonten timeline, mikey IS aware of this, Mikey knows Takemichi is a time-leaper by this point. He is explicitly telling the Future Takemichi goodbye. The exact second Takemichi returns to the future, Mikey vanishes into the underworld. Kind of like he knew that without Future Takemichi there to keep him sane, he couldn't trust himself around his friends anymore.
Almost like Mikey is only stable when he is around the future version of Takemichi. The moment Takemichi goes back to the future to enjoy the "happy ending" he just created, he unintentionally leaves Mikey alone in the past with a version of Takemichi who can't save him, like bonten Mikey doesn't even try to handle things on his own he straight up gives up and let's his dark impulse take over, the timeline always starts fucking up THE MOMENT takemichi leaves, the only time where it didn't go to shit was when takemichi stayed with mikey TOGETHER fixing it.
Like he realizes that the Takemichi he depends on doesn't belong in the past. He belongs 12 years in the future, hense he's STILL losing his anchor even if he'll still be physically there
But it also explains why mikey specifically waits 12 years to end it all instead of doing it at literally any point in time
6. Two Sides of the Same Coin
Now let's circle back to takemichi and why mikey's plan would have worked...if takemichi was literally anyone else 😭
Like i said before, the more Mikey suffers and pushes him away, the more it triggers Takemichi’s need to sacrifice himself. He treats his own life, his own body, and his own happiness as a completely expendable currency to buy Mikey’s salvation.
Mikey thinks distancing himself and cutting off everyone will fix everything as his first act of letting go of the thing keeping him grounded instead of clinging to it desperately because now hes self aware Because Takemichi explains the futures to him at the end of the Tenjiku arc, Mikey goes from the angry, confused state of the Manila timeline to the self-sacrificing, intentional isolated leader of Bonten.
, but he fails to realize that Takemichi is just as obsessed with saving Mikey as Mikey is with being saved by Takemichi .Takemichi thrives on taking the weight of the world on his shoulders.
We know Mikey handles his trauma through externalized destruction (violence, syndicates, breaking his possessions).
Takemichi handles his trauma through internalized destruction (extreme self-sacrifice, lack of self-worth, and martyrdom).
Mikey's instinct is to erase himself from everyone else's lives or to cling so tightly that he smothers them. Takemichi's instinct is to throw himself into danger over and over until there's nothing left to give. Neither approach is sustainable, and neither is healthy.
I have discussed before that mikey shows a complete disregard towards takemichi's agency at first, but I will now add that it is completely reciprocated by takemichi himself
Mikey explicitly tells him, "*Stay away, I will ruin your life," and crashes his own world to give Takemichi a perfect future. But Takemichi’s savior complex is so massive that he basically says, "I don't care what you want, and I don't care if you kill me, I am going to save you anyway." It is a total disregard for Mikey’s explicit choices and a complete erasure of his own self-preservation.
I will give it to him that he did intialy back off when he judged it to be mikeys choice, before remembering mikey telling him to keep him in line- but he takes it so far to the point of an unhealthy degree
Think about the psychological toll this takes. In any normal dynamic, if someone shoots you three times and leaves you for dead, the bond is shattered. But for Takemichi, it’s the ultimate trigger. The more horrific Mikey’s actions become, the more justified Takemichi feels in destroying his own happiness to intervene.
He abandons Hina—the woman he spent the entire series trying to keep alive—on the eve of their wedding. He looks at a timeline where every single one of his friends is safe and breathing and throws it all away for mikey
Conclusion
Takemichi’s savior complex needs someone who is desperately broken so he can feel worthy. Mikey’s obsession needs a savior so he doesn't have to face his dark impulses alone.
It’s a deeply codependent, trauma-bonded relationship. Mikey uses Takemichi as his emotional crutch, and Takemichi uses Mikey to give his otherwise "mediocre" life a grand, tragic purpose. They completely enable each other’s worst, most self-sacrificing tendencies.
By framing his fixation as heroism and friendship, Takemichi tricks sort tricks the audience, and himself, into thinking it’s noble. But when you look at his actual behavior, it's just as terrifyingly unhealthy as Mikey's fixation on him.
He essentially BEGS mikey in bonten to let him save him, we have NEVER seen takemichi act this way, to the point of creating another trigger between them when mikey goes back to depend on takemichi to save him,
Takemichi has got to be a masochist at this point because no matter how much mikey beats him, shoots him, breaks his arm, even kills him, yet he still doesn't give up,
I'm super interested in everyone's thoughts on this topic, and thanks for reading! I'm exhausted this took forever to type out
I’m almost done with season 2, can’t imagine what’s gonna happen next. So far, I like Aqua’s development but the girls take the spotlight every time and I love them sm
Now, I don't think that the fact that Gabriel was monarch would be the thing to hurt Adrien the most.
but the fact that people have always made choices for him, thought that they knew better than him, completely ignoring his wishes in order to do what they think is best for him.
Adrien now more than anything despises the idea of anyone controlling him ever again because he thinks he has finally broken out of that cycle when his father died, he thinks he can move on and finally do the things he has always wanted to do, find new passions and FINALY live his life on his own terms, having basic bodily autonomy that he was denied of all this time
But the worst thing is that HE DOES NOT KNOW HE IS A SENTIBEING, I can't reiterate how bad it is that no one has told him the truth about himself, be it marinette, kagami, Felix Nathalie, ameli, sturugi, it is not normal that A WHOPPING 6 people deny you the right to you own truth, your very existence, that is a mind numbing revelation that should not be kept by ANYONE but Adrien. All his life he has been controlled by his father using those twin rings, not a single one of hus decisions was his own, he was not allowed to feel the way he wanted to and now he is denied access to this very fundamental truth.
But the worst isn't even that, it's people refusing to tell Adrien the truth BECAUSE they think they know better than him, that he's not ready, that it'll hurt too much, that it's not the time yet. When it is not ANYONES RIGHT to keep this information to themselves.
That mindset turns Adrien into something to protect, something to manage, something to handle carefully, NOT SOMEONE TO RESPECT
There is this continuous infantilisation of Adrien where people think he is capable of making his own choices, there is evidence that not even his father saw him as human, and even now he is not seen as a proper individual.
His choices are not his own and what he should and shouldn't know is processed and sanitized because getting spoon fed to him. they are treating him like a fragile object that needs to be managed rather than a person with the right to his own reality.
How do you trust your own thoughts after you find out your biological coding was controlled by rings, and your "freedom" was just a script written by your friends
So no, Adrien will not be fine when discovering the truth. I'm not even sure he'll get upset at the fact that his father was monarch, but that EVERYONE around him has been actively lying to him.
He didn't even get upset in heart fixer about Marinette supposedly loving Nino, he got upset SHE LIED.
It’s incredibly tragic that Adrien thinks he’s finally free because the person holding the leash is gone, not realizing the leash still exists it simply changed hands.
Something something all evil versions of Adrien having several screws loose and intense homicidal and suicidal urges...
No wonder cat noir abilities are so limited. "The only limits are those you give yourself." Cat noir has been consistently shown to be scared of hurting others due to his cataclysm because HE KNOWS he's perfectly capable of doing so, he's actively holding himself back because he's scared of what might happen if he loses control of himself.
I'm crying he doesn't gaf 😭 the guy is sitting in his chair
Daniels' ability to get crazy connections needs to be studied, because fym you know everyone in this damn country, what's next? the president? are you networking or accidentally speed-running South Korea’s entire social hierarchy? 💀
James Lee is the New Charles, Jake is the New Gap, Daniel is James but not evil, and kitae is somehow, mexican shingen.
I know this sounds crazy but bare with me:
Kitae wants to take over the shadows of Korea, and James wants to take over everything. Jake has officially stepped up as the head to stop them.
He isn't a simple crew head anymore like before, hes taking on something much greater and hell have to work with people outside the network of the crews and big deal, its a generation marking move so to speak.
Like Gapryong, Jake’s power doesn't come from a desire to rule—it comes from the "Will to Protect." PTJ is framing this so Jake isn't just fighting his brother, but a far greater evil that threatens to hurt everyone he loves just like his father
Shingen wanted to invade Korea, and Gap stepped up to stop him, kitae wants to take over the shadows and so Jake wants to stop him from doing so too
A war has officially started and from what we know, its the first since the pre generation
Now this is the exact same situation: History is repeating itself. Another war is beginning: someone wants to take over, and someone else is stepping up to protect.
(Quick side note: If Jake Kim is officially stepping into Gapryong’s shoes to stop the 'Invader' then he'll need his own version of gapryongs fist gang; and that's pretty easy to find who since PTJ is obsessed with bloodlines.
Jake is already related to Gap ofc
Jerry is Baekho Kwon's son
And I always wondered why recently PTJ is giving the jake/daniel friendship a lot more attention until I noticed that PTJ might want to recreation the Gapryong fist gang through blood relations since daniel is Jinyoung's nephew and for that Jake and daniel have to be pretty close.
We have yet to see if Tom Lee has a secret kid we don't know about, and maybe Crystal will somehow join the gang)
Now, what's jame's role in this?
If kitae is directly taking on the role of shingen (the raw, terrifying force), then James Lee is the Charles Choi (the strategist/manipulator).
Considering that Elite/Charles choi was secretly shaking hands with the very enemy (Shingen/Yamazaki), they were supposed to be eradicating while keeping up his image lines up pretty well with what James is doing right now
james Lee presents himself "savior" in the political/business world after exposing Charles choi, saying he wants to protect and keep Korea safe. But he’s also conspiring with Kitae who wants the exact opposite of that. He’s using the threat kitae is (the new foreign invader) as his private muscle while maintaining his public image as the golden boy.
If this isn't a one for one recreation of the pre generation's situation happening in the second, I don't know what is
How daniel and james are Painfully similar:
We know charles sent james to crush the 1st Gen Kings. Why? To clear the board so Charles could build his business empire (HNH) without interference from old-school "monsters."
And we know that james sent daniel to to unite the Four Major Crews so he can build his own empire—launching his political career by using Daniel’s defeat of Charles Choi to make himself look good in front of the public. Something he intended to do since early Lookism.
There is no difference.
Both of them built their success on top of the work of one guy they sent out to put the stepping stones for their success.
Charles sent James to defeat the kings to establish the major crews
James sent Daniel to unite the major crews and his win streak comes right after that
I think James always planned to turn on Charles and expose him to the public so he could be regarded as a hero, launch his new empire, and begin his political career. Hence why he sends Daniel to do it for him—just like how Charles sent James to destroy the Kings so he could establish his own system and build his empire for him.
The sheer audacity of James Lee using another incredibly talented individual to perform the exact same labor he once performed for Charles Choi is the ultimate irony
And not to mention, James is practically tweaking out wanting Daniel to be his right hand man
He talks about how Daniel is more than worthy to take the spot Gun left behind. And we know that if James is the new Charles Choi, then he’ll need his own Gun and Goo — or, in this case, Daniel.
Whether Daniel parallels Gun in James’s mind, I’m not sure.
Daniel perfectly parallels James in every way, but it happens naturally, and without force, it's the narrative subcaunstly building up that way
James insists that he wants Daniel to be the gun to his Charles.
Knowin that Gun was extremely loyal, while James was not.
He wants Daniel to take on the role of Gun while ignoring how similar Daniel actually is to himself. And I think he hates that — because he knows how clever and calculating he is, he knows he'll never be as loyal as Gun, so having to rely on someone who resembles him is extremely tricky
If Daniel "perfectly parallels" James, then by the laws of the universe we just discussed out, Daniel MUST fuck up James in some way.
But every narrative decision Daniel gravitates toward screams James Lee.
James clearly wants a Gun by his side:
someone with immense power and talent who is loyal to a fault, someone who can pave the way for his rise to the top and help him achieve his goals.
The irony is that James wants a Gun, but he’s recruiting a James (Ambitious Traitor who will do anything to reach their goals).
James is literally building the weapon that is destined to destroy him. He’s so focused on the Power Daniel provides (the "Wings") that he’s ignoring the Pattern (The Betrayal).
James is so blind to his own hubris that he thinks he can control a version of himself. He thinks because he's the "Master" now, he won't get "James Lee'd" the way Charles did.
He survived Charles by studying him, serving him, and then turning on him at the perfect moment.
James played the role of the "Lycée Star/Pop Idol" and "Charles's Loyal Genius" for years while secretly plotting to dismantle him.
Daniel operates the same way — even if it's for morally good reasons — we can see it even now when daniel is done getting manipulated by James and is trying everything in his power not to go in his side.
And they are incredibly similar on that front.
Daniel has played the "undercover" role in almost every major arc:
Hostel: Posing as a runaway.
Workers: Infiltrating as a member/spy.
Busan: Posing as a drug dealer.
The Second Body's entire existence is a "role" he plays to navigate different worlds.
Daniel doesn't betray people because he's evil he betrays them because he is ideologically stubborn. He will lie to your face for 100 chapters if it helps him achieve his goal of "protecting his friends."
But he has always been shown to do it to bad guys hens why it isn't obvious, and it helps that he's not looking ominous and devious about it, but it still doesn't change the fact that daniel weirdly likes to get really close to the enemy before Stabbing them in the back.
It's been shown time and time again that daniel's number one strategy is sliping through the cracks and acting as a wolf in sheep's clothing until he sees the perfect opportunity to strike.
James uses "Undercover" tactics for self-interest and power, while Daniel uses "Undercover" tactics for justice or for the sake of protecting others
Don't know if this was coherent enough, but I hope I could convey my thoughts well enough!
Even though their morals are different, their methods are identical, and we can't really deny that.
Both aren't open with what's on their mind or what they're planning, allied themselves don't ask questions when daniel calls them to go on their 100th adventure of the week, zack specifically calls daniel out on this but nothing changes
James and Daniel are incredibly similar be it in their way of thinking or the narrative path PTJ put them through.
