Hanakou (analysis)
I think a huge part of Hanakou's dynamic is build on the fact that Hanako just doesn't take seriously Kou.
When Kou appears in chapter 3, he is kind of a ridiculous character : screaming in the hallway about "exorcising an evil ghost" and when he uses his staff, he hurts himself doing it. He says "Don't you dare look me down", but the way he acts shows a lot of immaturity and carelessness because of his lack of experience. He is quickly put down by Hanako and was truly not a challenge for him.
This is why Hanako keep calling Kou "kid", because he acts like one. Interestingly enough for Hanako's character : He is very fond of this "delinquent".
Even if he doesn't take him seriously for reasons above, he is not just bullying him. He doesn't punish him harshly even if Kou literally tried to kill him, he doesn't hold any grudge, and even if he is his "enemy", he acts benevolently by sealing his staff, so he won't hurt himself.
And instead of hurting Kou's ego, he even encourages him, telling him that he will make a fine exorcist someday.
Here Kou is very much confused as to why Hanako would like that ; The ghost's behavior can be explained by the fact that even if in this chapter, he is revealed to be a murderer and Kou calls him an evil spirit for it, he is here to atone for his sins and that means he is not against an exorcist wanting to kill him because he thinks he deserves it, but before that, he must do what he has to do on the near shore.
So for Kou's character, his relationship to Hanako helps him understand that his superficial view of supernaturals (where they are all evil) is more nuanced than he thought because Hanako is aware that he is bad and his benevolence for Kou is a way to make up for it. Helping the living is his job after all.
This chapter establish their dynamic well : Kou will see a side of supernaturals that change his world view and Hanako will become someone he relies a lot for help. In return, while Hanako will not take him seriously, he will be the person Hanako rely on.
There is an extra where Hanako teaches Kou words, and while it's meant to be a joke, it's worth to point out that Kou goes to Hanako to learn to new stuff, he trusts him.
(The fact that this method probably worked for Kou is hilarious to me)
If for the next first chapters of TBHK, Kou is most of the time the one that needs saving, there is a shift in their dynamic in Young Exorcist.
While Hanako says that he will look forward to Kou exorcising him, I don't think he ever really saw Kou until chapter 9 as someone that he could really rely on. He was the one doing all the saving and if Kou could try to help, he was never really that useful in the first little arcs.
But then Kou saved him.
(Look at the shock on Hanako's face, saying "K...".)
I think we can guess that when Teru was about to kill Hanako, he probably thought this was his end (or maybe he thought Tsukasa would show up ?), and you add the fact that Kou literally took a blade into his hand, making his body lose a lot of blood, I don't think he ever expected that to happen. He never thought that Kou would have the guts for it, or that he could even break free or that he could even stop Teru. But now, Hanako has to recognize that Kou isn't just a idiot that says things, but will act on it, that he is able to protect people, that he can be reliable.
Hanako is forced to take him seriously. I think a part of him obviously doesn't want to be vulnerable about the way he feels about Kou, and this explains why he makes a joke and try to undermine Kou because then it would probably take a toll on his ego. I mean, he was always the guy, and now he is getting destroyed, crying and the "kid" is the one to save the day.
A part of it is also that Hanako feels a lot of self hatred and he was always lonely.
Hanako doesn't know what it feels like to have someone that defends you, that will protect you and that just truly likes you. Remember, Hanako was bullied at his school, and even then as a supernatural he was never friends with a lot of people, mostly being by himself.
So it must feel strange to have support around him, and to let Kou into his heart.
And letting people in is much harder when you, as a person, already sees yourself negatively, you push them away because you don't see why people around you would like to be friends, why they talk about you positively when you only see the bad part of yourself. Especially, when it is something as extreme as being a murderer, because as Hanako says : How can you even justify or forgive such an act ? By reasons ? Isn't just that just dismissing how final and irredemeemable how of an act it is ?
Hanako is trying to atone for his sins, and he doesn't want to disappear yet because he wants to make up for it. Dying would also not repair the damage he has done, so he needs to do everything is his power to do "good" to feel like he can rest.
I think this is where Kou sees Hanako's duty differently : Kou thinks that him trying to help people and do his duty means that he can't be an evil supernatural, he can't just see a truthfully bad person be kind and thoughtful for others, but Hanako sees his duty not as a proof of his goodness, but simply a part of his guilt, he does it because he sees himself as a bad person, and he needs to be a force of good to atone for his sins. He wouldn't be on the near shore if it wasn't for his sin, he wouldn't be a school mystery if he didn't do something wrong in his life that he has to make up for.
I think this shows that Kou's view of "evil supernaturals" is very caricatural, it doesn't take into the fact that people can do horrible stuff while being humans too. Kou sees the way that Hanako cares, that he isn't just a malevolent person and it seems to absolve Hanako's crime in his mind. It's quite black and white : Either Hanako is bad or he is not, there is no in between.
The truth is that it's more complicated : Someone can feel remorse and try to be a better person the best way they can and in a way it's true that they are not pure evil, but when it comes to murder, it's not just some mistake that you will learn, this changes eveything forever. Tsukasa will never come back. Of course, Hanako has his reasons, but this act is, for most, unforgivable. Where do we draw the line where a murder is forgivable, even justified and where it's irredeemable. Is a murderer doomed to be a bad person because of his crime all his life or can he become a good person later in life ?
But for Kou, Hanako's positive aspects in his mind makes him unable to see him as evil, he sees the good in him and decide that he shouldn't be exorcised yet.
When Kou decides to save Hanako, he does it also because even if he isn't sure if Hanako is an evil spirit or not, he recognizes that he saw in Hanako, something more nuanced than pure evil.
I think this arc for Kou is summed pretty well by the phrase "Maybe, it really would be better...to stop thinking about it."
Because Kou doesn't have to help Hanako, he doesn't have to make hos own opinion of Hanako, he doesn't have to make Hanako's responsability, because Teru, someone more competent and knowledgeable, will take care of it. No one ask him to do this, but he has to save Hanako because it's a way to take his agency back.
He is the one, by his own judgment, to decide whether Hanako should be forgiven, whether he should be exorcise or not, whether he has to think about it not.
Kou proves that he is not a kid anymore, that he is able to see the many sides of Hanako, and that he doesn't need to be coddled by Teru because he can make his own decisions, his black and white view has evolved and he sees the more nuanced shade of grey. Not thinking about it is easier, but then he would never grow, he would stay to same kid that stayed at home waiting for his older brother to come back. If he wants to become an adult, if he wants to be reliable as he wishes, he needs to take matters into his own hands and prove that he is not foolish, he has thought about it. He has made a decision back up by his very experience and he "logically" concludes that just killing Hanako would not be the right thing to do, that we can give him a second chance because he shows good intentions (That's Kou's opinion I'm relaying, not mine)
Obviously, we know their relationship will sour, but it's especially important for the way that Teru will start relying more on Kou (Red House) and Hanako will take his speech seriously in CKA.
Without young exorcist, Kou would still be a stupid kid that people think can't do anything without the help of someone. It also contextualizes Hanako just letting Kou take care of Mitsuba.
As I have stated before, Kou mature swhen he is in contact to Hanako, and Hanako becomes less self reliant, trusting someone to help him.
And one of things that Hanako does in CKA is ask Kou to protect Nene because he is his partner when protecting her.
But he doesn't specify what. I think that, even though he relies on him, he still either wants to protect Kou from a bleak reality or doesn't think he can handle the burden of knowing about Nene's lifespan.
From Hanako's perspective, there is nothing that they can do to make Nene live. Hanako is not perse fine with Nene dying, but he has seen students come and go and I think he sees himself doing his job as a supernatural : being a benevolent force in Nene's life before she dies.
But while Hanako can handle it, he knows that Kou will probably be deeply affected by this information. Kou is still alive, so compare to Hanako where death is just a part of his "life"', he will not just be okay with it, he will think about it everyday and obviously be sad that Nene will not follow him in adulthood. He will not be able to just act normal, or at least he will not accept it.
And you add the fact that Hanako witness Kou losing Mitsuba and him not being able to accept his death. Yeah, he didn't have any reason to think telling him would be a good idea.
(Note here that Hanako is challenged by Kou because he does see supernaturals as doomed to be dead anyway and that their suffering will come to an end when they disappear, but Kou doesn't think it's a solution, because he'd like to believe that if he was strong enough, he could give them a better outcome and he could defy their fate, I think. Kou doesn't fall to fatalism.)
There is this aspect to Hanakou where one has already given up, one is dead and think that we can't change what fate we were bestowed upon. But one believe, and try as hard as he can to change fate, to not be bound by rules and what is "right".
Hanako thinks that he should do just his duty as a supernatural that this is what must be done because the world is this way and you can't change it because then it might cause a worst outcome than before.
But Kou won't give up and shake to its core, Hanako's belief.
It's not accidental that the moon is behind him. The moon to Hanako represents something that he will never reach and he can never have, he won't "go anywhere" because what he wishes is unattainable.
So when Kou says that he won't give up, that he will not forget it all and let Nene die because that's "what meant to be", Kou shows something that Hanako wishes for but that he doesn't think can be reached.
But the double sense is that if Kou is associated with the moon, then he is himself someone associated with miracles, with defiance of what is meant to be and this is why in the end, he is swayed by him, because Hanako thinks Kou is someone that reach the moon (Or at least, that's how I interpret the panel)
Kou made Hanako believe that no, you don't have to accept what is supposed to be.
And Hanako doesn't dismiss Kou's "foolishness", since young exorcist, his opinion of him has changed, he respects him and believes that if Kou says that he will acheive something, he just might.
For Kou, this is personal, and I'm probably going to talk about it more in a Mitsukou analysis, but Kou is told multiple to just stand there, do nothing and just accept things when he personally feels this is unacceptable.
He feels guilt for Mitsuba's death because he felt weak and if he doesn't do anything for Nene then that means he admits that Hanako was right, that he just couldn't do anything, but Kou wants to believe that he can. He, at least, will try to save her because he can't give up, for Mitsuba, for his ego and because he wants to prove that he is right.
Kou cares way too much to just accept people dying in front of him and also he wants to feel reliable. It's the balance between his want to save the people he loves because losing them is unbearable, but also his ego : his needs to be competent, to help people, to feel reliable, to feel that he is strong and a part of it is to not accept his failures and try his best to be a man of action. He can't be passive or that would mean accepting his weakness.
So now we leave Kou determined to continue becoming a competent exorcise and not give up and Hanako trusting that Kou might actually do what he says.
But then PPA comes.
First thing we see of Hanako showing the way he feels about Kou, and oh boy, he doesn't seem to be impressed by Nene wanting to rely on him. (Besides his jealousy) Makes you think that he doesn't see what Nene sees in Kou.
Now I want to preface this before getting into the meat of Hanakou PPA, but I don't like the way they are handled at all in this arc.
Don't get me wrong, there is nothing incoherent about Hanako being disappointed in Kou and Kou in return losing his trust of Hanako.
But the way this arc treats their relationship pisses me off, because I can tell Aidairo doesn't care much and only wrote those scenes because it made sense with what was established earlier (especially knowing how they are handled later on).
Because they have such a focused on Hananene and Mitsukou, the whole Hanakou beef feels very out of place, because we go from CKA to PPA without Hanako's internal monologue.
And at the end, it's just Hanako thinks that Kou is a moron and Kou thinks that Hanako is a jerk, and bye bye, you're only getting that, no exploration of their relationship in a scene focused on them in the arc itself, no interactions that further establish their new dynamic in other arcs, no follow up on what this means for their characters forward.
Like Aidairo ended their Hanakou arc there and never picked it up again.
This is an aveux from them that they've given up interest in Hanakou and will only focus on Mitsukou and Hananene for those four moving forward, because they feel like a not addressed sore thumb in this arc.
But speaking of Hanakou PPA.
This page really makes me sad because Kou has such a high opinion of Hanako, he is the person that is always reliable, that always look for him and he feels relief when he sees him because that means that they will be saved in Kou's mind.
But then look at how Kou slowly realize because of Mitsuba's intervention that this isn't the same as the other times he came. No, he is silent, no teasing and smugness, completely shut off in his own world.
I think this is the first time that Hanako is truly Kou's enemy. He is not trying to help or encourage him. He is even making Kou doubts his abilities, pointing out he did a big talk for nothing.
(Hanako : knew this moron didn't understand)
From Hanako's perspective it makes sense. Kou made him believe that they shouldn't have to accept fate, but he also disappointed him.
He started to think that he could rely on someone and that Kou wasn't just a fool who said things when he couldn't actually do anything.
But now Hanako made the realization that Kou is weak, and that if he wants truly to make Nene live, he can't wait for Kou to do something, especially when he is not ready to make sacrifices for it.
So in a way, we're coming back to Hanako thinking that he is the only strong and reliable person in the room and that Kou is a kid who doesn't really have the power to make what he says come true.
And you know coming back to Hanako's jealousy, there is an element there where Hanako doesn't understand why Nene would seek Kou when he is the one doing everything for her, he is the one that can give her substantial results. He always saved her and he is the only one that is going to do it again.
It's kind of egotistical, because he does see Kou as beneath him and even in a page in another chapter, he looks down on Mitsuba because he doesn't think that his wish means as much as he says.
All those people say things and talk the big talk, but He is the only one that you can take at his word and that's why everyone can't save Nene, ne one can do what he can do (in his mind)
For Kou, there is the devastating realization that while he thought Hanako and him were friends and that Hanko respected him and they saw each other positively, Hanako was actually hiding a lot of ugly things inside. This broke also Kou's trust of Hanako.
Because Hanako won't talk to him, won't trust him and even see him negatively.
He even starts doubting himself and start thinking Hanako might be right. Like Hanako does affect Kou's internal monologue negatively (Chapter 65, Grim Reaper)
And you know that's why I find the way their relationship is handled to be a missed opportunity.
Aidairo never explores this new tension they have with each other : How can they just return to be friends after this ? Will they just fake it until they make it for Nene ? I mean, it will affect Nene too if her two friends are not on good terms. Hanako still feel like Kou is a useless moron and Kou is very much on edge when it comes to him now because he can't be sure he will help them when they need it. It brings a totally new dynamic for them and even with scenes dedicated to them in PPA, it doesn't go anywhere.
Aidairo is able to distract you from this because Kou and Hanako are so obsessed with Mitsuba and Nene that them not giving a fuck about the other seems to be absolutely normal and not just a failure to follow on a relationship set up that you have established from the BEGINNING of the manga.
Besides giving me more comprehension for their characters and other relationships, I really feel like all those Hanakou scenes were a goddam waste of my time.
I just have to accept that Hanako will act like a friend to Kou as if this didn't happen and Kou will just continue to save Hanako because he still cares about Nene but his friendship with him lost the trust they had.
I think a lot of the appeal of Hanakou is that they are both kids who have very different world view that clash and affect each other, making them grow. They find each other to be equal, but the barrier between supernaturals and the living keep a tension between them that can explode at any moment (and it did).
They are also just funny together, being a natural comedic duo where Kou is dense and serious and Hanako is more knowing but also a tease.
But I think the moment where you see them being vulnerable towards each other, caring towards each other, this is what can be interesting to explore in fanficiton because these two have such egos and walls that they don't want people to see a "weaker" side of them, and yet they make each other feel like their inner strong man is crushed (Hanako mocking Kou and Kou making Hanako be stunned).
So yeah, I really like them, and they have so much potential, I wish Aidairo cared, but maybe it's just not something I should expect from TBHK, maybe they are not the point.
I just think that they are the unfortunate twin of Aoinene : Bisexual sapphic and achillean ships that Aidairo will never give a deeper discussion between them in the future.
And truly that's tragic because I made the mistake to like them both.
