Understanding Yugi Tsukasa - A Perspective - Analysis
This analysis is a character dissection of Tsukasa, making an attempt to cut through the surface and dig into his true feelings.
Do you love me? Or... Do you hate me, but hide it?
It is important to emphasize on the fact that 3-4 year olds cannot grasp a lot of things. They don't have a sense of empathy developed, They can't grasp the importance of life and death, and they have a very black and white view on things- They're not capable of seeing nuance at such a young age. All of these things normally develop later throughout a person's childhood.
So, for such a young Tsukasa, things are naturally simple in regards to love- You can only love or only hate someone. He loves Amane, really, more than himself, so he openly shows it.
From even before he first found the pit god and even after, Tsukasa always brought him all sorts of gifts and toys he thought Amane might like. After all, if it makes him happy, then he's happy too.
Because of the pit god, Tsukasa learnt something. For a price, he could get anything he wanted. He could make Amane happy. In other words, in exchange for a sacrifice, he could bring happiness.
Amane's health worsens, and he is told that he is no longer able to play with him, not until he gets better. A white lie, really. After all, the one who told him was none other than his mother, who knew for a fact that he wouldn't ever get better. That it wouldn't be long before Tsukasa would actually never be able to play with Amane again.
But Tsukasa already learnt that's not true, because there's a 'God' under their house that can make Amane happy. This leads us to the following scene.
Amane rejects Tsukasa's attempt at showing him the 'God' that can bring this happiness in the most direct way possible, as a result of discontent and pain piling up on another toddler's mental.
In other words, envy had manifested in a 3 year old Amane, who was slowly dying.
But, referencing my first paragraph, toddlers naturally have a very elementary way of perceiving things. Therefore, this is what Tsukasa understood- "Amane hates me, as I have what he does not." as follows, he made the following decision: "The price that comes for Amane's health will be paid by me. This way, Amane will live and I will disappear, bringing him the happiness he desired."
He couldn't have possibly understood that it's not, in fact, what Amane had truly wanted. Trying to grant another happiness at a sacrifice that they did not want to make. On their fourth birthday, he asked Amane if he loved him, to which he said yes, but... It was far too late. The price already had to be paid.
Tsukasa reflects Hanako's mindset in the Severance. That ultimately, all the pain will go away and love will quickly turn into hate as the wish granted will bring the happiness they deserve. That despite the sacrifices, they'll be okay, because they will hate them. They will slowly forget about all of it, be happy and accomplish everything they wanted to.
However, Tsukasa hadn't been able to grow up normally and gain the traits I have mentioned in the first paragraph. He had offered himself up to the pit god and not only was he stuck there, but he had been a witness to the soul-wasted kannagis in its belly and to multiple people losing their lives in exchange for a wish. In short, Tsukasa had been groomed by the pit god from an essential age for toddlers to develop empathy and the ability to grasp nuance, ripping all of it away from him without realizing and making him grow into a boy who gives no importance to life and death.
When he had met Kou and Nene, people who cherish Amane, he was happy. He was originally given hope that he had achieved the happiness Tsukasa sacrificed himself for, that it wasn't for naught. Unfortunately, he was quickly proven the opposite.
Kou's words pushed onto Tsukasa one thing: That Amane, in fact, does hate him. Dumbing everything down to a toddler's level of understanding, you only kill people you hate, right? But that wasn't enough. Tsukasa gave Amane the opportunity to chase his dreams, to grow up, to run, to do the things he couldn't have possibly done without him. Tsukasa gave up on his own future to give Amane one, but Amane chose to forsake it. If Amane chose to do what he wanted and stepped all over Tsukasa's sacrifice, then he should so whatever he wanted as well, shouldn't he?
For him, Amane became his biggest mystery. You hated me, so you should've been happy with my sacrifice, but you decided to ruin everything yourself instead. Why?
Life & Death, Love & Hate
Tsukasa is unable to actually understand Amane. Kou's statement practically shattered his trust in Amane, so no matter how many times Amane would act caring towards Tsukasa, he would consider that he just hides the fact that he actually hates him. He thinks Amane is weird for not liking it when he's not around.
For Tsukasa, Amane is extremely confusing because he can't grasp nuance and thinks he can only be loved or only be hated. He knew for a fact Amane would kill him, in other words, hate him, yet he would always keep him around. Tsukasa hated this, he hated that he was, in his eyes, not only being lied to, but also that people would lie to themselves- Proven in the Mitsuba arc, when he was psychologically tormenting Hanako.
He likes it when people decide to stop holding back- In other words, he likes it when people act upon their true feelings and desires. Acts that should naturally bring them happiness. From Tsukasa's perspective, when Amane killed him, he was finally being true to himself. That, like he thought, Amane hated him, and simply held back from acting on his hatred.
However, Tsukasa never doubted his own love for Amane, and he affirms it multiple times, but this love is ironically laced with resentment and frustration. There are two relevant reasons as to why Tsukasa continuously emotionally abuses Hanako:
Tsukasa is unable to understand Hanako, even in their death, and that frustrates him. Why does Hanako constantly contradict himself? Why is it that despite being his brother, he can't read him at all? Why is it that everytime he thinks he finally grasped his thought process, he gets his expectations completely betrayed? Why can he so easily exploit his weaknesses, which shouldn't have been there in the first place? Why was he left 50 years trapped inside Amane's Boundary as his Yorishiro, when he was the object of his hatred? Is it because he felt guilty? Then, why did he never respond to his calls, no matter how hard he tried? Why?
The longer he questions Amane, the longer he feels less in control, and that frustrates him even more, so tormenting him not only vents that frustration, but also has him regain control and solidify his belief that his view on Amane is accurate, that it's true that he hates him, that he must hate him.
2. Resentment towards Amane taking his own life. Tsukasa doesn't care about the murder itself, but he does care about the circumstances that led to it. Chapter 91 proves this. This part relies more on interpretation, so I will relay my own. The implications chapter 91 provides suggest that Tsukasa might've been killed while attempting to stop Amane from killing himself.
As you know, Amane was suicidal, and according to Tsuchigomori's memories from the 4PM Bookstacks arc, he had already decided on his own death. That he would forgive everything that was done to him, and that he wouldn't go anywhere.
Now, what information does chapter 91 provide in this context?
For Tsukasa, who considers that people should stay true to themselves to reach happiness, who sacrificed his entire self for Amane's own, just how did his decision to give up affect him? Consider that Kou only said that Amane would die after he killed him, not how he would do so.
With tears in his eyes he holds back behind a laugh, he ironizes Hanako for wanting Nene to live despite her intention to give up, all the while Amane is the one who gave up and killed himself, even changing his own future to do so, in the first place- An act which in itself is a massive disrespect to Tsukasa who sacrificed himself specifically because he wanted Amane to live and find happiness.
It's very possible that in the past, the roles were reversed and is one of the reasons why Tsukasa is upset with Hanako, and perhaps without acknowledging it, resents him for it.
Happiness is built upon sacrifice, isn't it? But it cannot be achieved without exposing your true self.
As previously mentioned, Tsukasa is a firm believer that happiness comes at a price and that it's only attainable by acting on your true desires, exposing your true self, and he's not the only one, really.
He considers that a world that breaks if everyone acts upon their true desires is a world that's better off broken, contrasting Hanako as the leader of the Seven Mysteries, who consistently steps on his own wishes and feelings in order to maintain it.
It's a theme that reoccurs in the series multiple times- Hanako wanting to save Nene, Tsukasa later granting Kunishige and Mitsuba's wishes, Nene being content with the lack of her own happiness if it meant Amane had found his own in the new timeline- Actions taken by characters who have not understood that true happiness cannot possibly be built upon another's sacrifice.
Despite that, Tsukasa wants his beliefs to be affirmed, that there is no room for regret once you have exposed your true desire, because there is no such thing as no sacrifices, right? That would defeat the point of everything he has ever worked for, after all. It would go against what he had witnessed and had been taught since he was three years old.
In spite of Tsukasa's own mindset however, no one succeeded and people only got hurt. On every occurence, the happiness granted via sacrifice in any form was only a superficial one, void of consideration of everyone's feelings, despite everything.
Such as how the village ultimately fell apart even after sacrificing dozens of young girls in exchange for peace, such as how Hanako didn't take into account Nene, Akane and Teru's feelings regarding the Severance, such as how Nene kept trying to convince herself that in the new timeline, because Amane got to grow up, that would mean he had found happiness, so did Tsukasa never consider that Amane could've never found happiness without him, that Amane would go to any lengths to save him, that Amane actually loved him...
Tsukasa is not aware of this, or maybe he doesn't want to be. That is why he fully accepted his fate, to be destroyed once more as his brother's Yorishiro. His cruel words, his faith that if Nene wouldn't be able to destroy him, Hanako would once again.
Tsukasa's views are ones that are meant to be challenged, that just like Hanako's, though different, are both hopelessly realistic. I think his ideals will be the most difficult to deconstruct as they were instilled in him from such a young age, but I think that fits his character in the narrative perfectly as one of the main antagonists.
All the same, while he talks of people not holding back and being true to themselves, it's incredibly hypocritical- After all, doesn't he constantly hide his own feelings and frustrations behind plastered smiles and manipulation, out of fear that he would lose his ever-fleeting sense of control? Honestly, I would talk more about Tsukasa's need for control over others caused by lack of control over his own life, but I feel like that's for another thread.
In conclusion, it's a huge tangle of misunderstandings around him and Amane, and I fear that by the time Tsukasa finally realizes that Amane actually loves him more than anything, it'll be far too late. Not like it's not already too late as they're both dead, but... Even later than that, when Tsukasa will unavoidably have to be destroyed.
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