Artblog// he/him | 19 // little green man from Alpha Centauri // big fan of anything sci-fi, d&d, and currently BSD // all art is tagged with #captsci’s art // it’s mostly Kunikida
the concept of kunikida's ideals being entirely self made will never not be funny to me. like okay 'rule-following' my ass. this man canonically hates authority and sure he's organized but he also technically does whatever he wants whenever he wants like 80% of the time because he himself came up with his ideals.
OK I GOT SO EXCITED WHEN I SAW YOUR TAGS. For the longest time I have also thought that his 58 requirements are his excuse to avoid vulnerability because of how easily he could get hurt in a relationship but I’ve never seen anyone else share the same idea like literally word for word… I would love to read your deeper dive into his ideal requirements :)
OMG hello!!! Thank you for dropping in I'm such a huge fan of your art!! :D💕 Bless your heart for constantly feeding us amazing Kunikida art 🙏✨
I haven't seen anyone talk about this before as well so I guess now's my opportunity!
I've had this idea on my mind for a long time that Kunikida uses his ideals, particularly his list of 58 requirements for his Ideal Woman, as a sort escape from getting into an actual relationship.
I'm going to try my best to piece my thoughts together, mostly by using references from the Entrance Exam novel! I apologise in advance for the terrible snaps I took from my camera 😭
The first thing we learn about Kunikida and is clearly established by Kunikida himself, is that his notebook is his guide to life.
It's not just a notebook where he writes in his daily tasks or future plans. He goes so far as to call it his "personal prophecy", which gives the impression that everything must or will happen as preordained by the notebook.
He uses the words "control of my future", which in a way this reflects the most important thing to him, order and stability. Kunikida is someone who thrives on structure.
But the thing about love is that it's messy. It isn't something that can be planned and fit neatly in his notebook. That aspect of uncertainty that comes with it is exactly the reason why he may try to avoid it, whether intentionally or not.
So in order to establish at least a semblance of control, to feel like he knows what he's doing, he designs a list, detailing all of the qualities he would want in a potential partner.
This list, described as, "A voluminous work consisting of eight pages, fifteen topics and fifty-eight items," has all of three people who laid eyes on it, calling it highly unrealistic from the get go.
The thing about Kunikida is that while he may pursue lofty ideals, most of his actions are still grounded in reality. He is painfully aware that the world is far from ideal, and that despite everything, he needs to push himself in order to find the middle ground, where his ideals and reality can coexist.
So I find it interesting that Kunikida seems almost oblivious to the reaction he recieves, even from someone like Dazai.
He is highly idealistic even in the way he perceives relationships, as if it were just another aspect of his life. It's like love is meant to be something that aligns within his world view, rather than something organic, something that would just happen. As if he were thinking on the lines of "This is what an ordinary adult must do–" as if trying to imitate one.
He thinks to himself, "Is it really that far-fetched?" as if it's news to him.
Rather than a malicious list of misogynistic demands (as some people like to call it, which i want to remind is not even hinted at from the info we have/do not have), it seems to reflect a sort of naivety or inexperience.
When the topic about dating and relationships comes up, he even has a clear answer:
Now having a timeline for big life decisions like marriage isn't exactly bad or unrealistic, but here Kunikida almost describes it in a way like finding love is like a schedule in itself.
So this brings us to his list. We can only speculate about what it exactly entails. But regardless of what opinions those who have seen it, we can conclude even without knowing the contents that it's simply impossible to find any person who can match all of the 58 requirements.
It could be a way of distancing himself from the pursuit of love. To avoid the pain and vulnerability that comes with it whether consciously or sub-consciously.
So isn't it meaningless for him to have this highly unrealistic list of requirements at all?
This seems to contradict Kunikida, who at his core is very much in touch with reality.
Because the truth is that despite trying to appear indifferent and tough, Kunikida feels deeply. He cares and deep inside, he feels guilty for not being able to save someone, takes every loss as a personal failure, and struggles to reconcile with these emotions and so he tries to close himself off.
Despite this, he still ends up caring, only to find himself hurt in the process.
When he heard about all the police officers who died in the Azure Terrorist incident because of the intel he had provided, he admitted to having a breakdown so terrible, he couldn't even call in at work.
He tries to help a young 16 year old Rokuzo, being a young 20 year old himself, only to see him killed right before his eyes. The death of Sasaki, believing that her heart still could have been saved, haunts him even after 2 years have passed. He's ridden with the feeling that his inability to help them caused their demise.
Everyone in the agency mean so much to him, his ideals would simply cease to exist if he were to lose even one of them.
This kindness he possesses and emotions he feels for others, what should have been his strength, is repeatedly used to test him, and as a device to tear him down mentally. It's why Fyodor goes after him by blowing up that little girl right in front of him.
This is exactly why in the beginning, he distances himself from Atsushi to protect himself from the pain. He wants to avoid being involved, for the fear that he would be unable to save them and struggle with the grief and guilt once again.
Somewhere deep down, he has perceived that the emotions he feels would only make him weak, and vulnerable, despite his best attempts to be strong.
Being involved in a real relationship means exposing one's most vulnerable side. And while it's obvious that he craves to be understood and find someone to rely on, he's also mentally distancing himself from it.
With how rooted his life is in his ideals, the "list" he has in his notebook, what he considers his personal prophecy, only becomes a convenient excuse for him to avoid dealing with the complexity of emotions that would come from a relationship.
As mentioned in the previous post, there isn't a single moment when Kunikida sat down, checking out the requirements a person matched or not, even when it's clear that he was developing feelings for Sasaki. So it possibly doesn't even mean that much to him to begin with, as if he knows somewhere that it's pointless.
But at the same time, he doesn't do anything to act on said feelings as well, probably not even realising it, until it's too late.
If he can convince himself for the time being that he hasn't met the ideal person, or even dismiss any developing feelings as not meeting his requirements, he can delay the inevitable heart break he thinks would come with it, whether it's the possibility of them choosing to walk away from the relationship, because of his shortcomings, or if something happens to them because of him.
Kunikida is extremely hard on himself and is unable to truly let anyone in, and the list somewhere could serve as a solace for him to avoid worrying over something completely unpredictable and full of uncertainty.
This is highly subjective to interpretation (and I might even be self-projecting at this point lol), but I also like exploring the idea of him being aroace, because he sometimes doesn't catch the romantic implications in certain actions. There's been subtle hints like that in the canon material.
(From Kunikida and Katai's Magnificent Days)
(From BSD Twitter Valentine's special)
That or it can be interpreted as being truly a romantic at heart (and a silly awkward goose at it most of the time lol). I also love that in both instances he's immediately shut down by Yosano (lol), which really serves as a confirmation to me that his requirement list cannot possibly be utterly misogynistic.
That's all for my thoughts and I'm sorry this took a while and turned out so much longer than expected!!
Not a question but I just LOOOOVE how you draw kunikida ... ur lowk one of my favorite kunikida artists
THANK YOU!!!! :D
I am always SO SO incredibly honored when people tell me they like how I draw Kunikida… he’s so dear to me… it makes my day whenever someone refers to me as a Kunikida artist like yes that’s my goat I draw him every day
also here is a whole website that not only has a shit ton of adventures and such but lets you search for any item or npc or whatever and see their stats and info at your fingertips
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