So, I was surprised when read in the interview that Satomi and Kyouji will not be close if they met at the same age AU. At first I thought they will be like the ones in Captivated by You (EmaHaya or MedaNika). What do you think that made them different?
Hello anon! For me, it wasn’t much of a surprise at all since their relationship basically hinges on them being two guys with a drastic age difference, but I can break it down further for you because it's not just one factor preventing them from getting close in other situations. Their gender, age, and current path in life all contributed to their tedious relationship in canon.
Think about in what manner their feelings for each other form and how their age difference made it happen. Kyouji approaches him on a whim, interested in Satomi's singing, telling that boy "I need you, and you specifically", regardless of the place he got in the competition. This left a deep impression on Satomi, who was ashamed of his efforts and blames himself for the reason their choir didn't get first place. At this point of change in his life where his voice is failing him, this story wouldn't have gone anywhere if Satomi was a little older (after he's already gone through that age-based turmoil) or younger (where he has more confidence in being leader and does not go through this change yet).
But it's also Kyouji being an older man who was unrelated to his school life, rather than a classmate or fellow peer, that made Satomi seek him out and continue to meet up with him. Wada had told him how proud he was of Satomi being their leader and how secure he felt having him there, but it doesn't lighten Satomi's feeling of burden, seeing how he acts towards Wada and practices even harder. He can't see Wada as someone who can understand because he hasn't reached his growth period yet. Kyouji is, technically, relying on Satomi to "mentor" him, but it has been Satomi emotionally relying on Kyouji, an authority figure who will indirectly validate his feelings, this entire time.
If Kyouji truly, sincerely wanted to get better at singing, he wouldn't have whisked Satomi away and continued to meet him. Like Satomi said, he would've gone to a tutor. This can only be called a whim based in emotion for Kyouji, feeling a shared loneliness between them. Their relationship had not ended because Satomi's use had stopped, but because Kyouji no longer had a proper excuse to keep meeting him. That treatment where he tries to treat Satomi like a junior or a kid is his way of trying to take responsibility for his choice as the older party, but the avoidance he takes emotionally is hurtful for Satomi because their relationship keeps being hid behind a guise of transaction. Maybe it hadn't been about his usefulness, but I don't think it felt that way for Satomi himself.
Kyouji's feelings are verbally unstated in Karafami as of now, but it's clear he adored Satomi from the beginning and loves him now. I'd have to argue, personally, that it didn't go beyond fondness until he felt Satomi's sincere love at the karaoke competition and then those feelings he wouldn't actualize as something to deal with came to the front with this undeniable confession. This is not me pretending there is nothing predatory about his approach with Satomi or that he is oblivious either of their feelings for each other, I'd be the last person to tell you this. However, a straightforward approach would undermine them as people.
According to Wayama, Kyouji has never dated younger than himself, and as much as he treats Satomi like a "woman" or how women have treated him in the past, I truly doubt he loved those women or was interested in them enough to barge into their lives again the way he does with Satomi in the airport scene. Seeing how he answers his "get to know you" sheet, he might've preferred the company of older women, but the topic of love disinterests him because he's not one to keep others in his life. He's a person who is directionless and works on whatever is given to him, so the only time he chooses things for himself is on a whim.
From what we are shown, the people who do want him, the yakuza or through compensated dating, are the people who gain something from it and the people who don't, like his family, abandon him. At this point of his life, he does have regrets and can reflect on how he's lived it, especially with how becoming a yakuza has affected his relationship with others. Nobody was like Satomi, who cared for him and would walk into a room full of yakuza members, even after telling him he wasn't comfortable being around them. Wouldn't you also be touched by a passionate rendition by someone who thought you were dead? Compared to his smiles before this scene, the expressions he showed there felt much more real and loving.
I keep saying this, but I would like to make a separate post for their relationship development in Karaoke Iko. It makes the most sense to me that Kyouji would have fallen for Satomi at this point in time because, before this, he was just a "funny kid" he liked being around. In the airport scene years later, he practically admits he loves Satomi with the tattoo on his skin and that he missed him a lot. It's fine if you think otherwise about exactly when he officially loved Satomi, it just made the most sense that this would be the "capture his heart" moment for them.
To cut my point short, the way they fell for each other in Karaoke Iko is dependent on where they were in their lives. For Kyouji, it was Satomi's absurd sincerity and care for a person who he shouldn't care for. For Satomi, it was Kyouji entering his life when he needed someone to depend on, escape to, and validate his feelings. And well, Kyouji is unfortunately charming haha.
I explained the way their age gap impacted how they attract each other, and now you're wondering what this has to do with their relationship if they had been classmates, other than Satomi's side of things about Kyouji's age. So, let's talk about them briefly as individuals. There are parallels between Kyouji and Satomi, with them both working as servers and Kyouji going into the boss's car like Satomi had with himself, but they are very different people. Personality wise, it’s a surprise they even like each other at all.
They are both passive with the direction their life takes them, but Kyouji is more self-destructive and impulsive with his life as he thinks he was bound to be a problem child. Satomi is passive within reason of the average person who's not sure about their own future. He is not interested in the things others his age would be into and would be considered rather boring, while Kyouji soaks up the environment and people around him. It's why Wayama said Kyouji would be the pursued over the pursuer, he's more of a people person than Satomi is, even though they're both liked well enough in their circles.
If Kyouji hits a wall, he pretends nothing is wrong and goes the other way. If Satomi hits a wall, he'll contemplate and address it after giving himself several migraines. They both have some recklessness in their actions, but Kyouji is much too casual about his recklessness while Satomi has a lot of emotion behind his actions. Point of fact, they're opposite in all the ways where if they met as classmates, they'd either have little to say about the other or clash badly through Kyouji's attitude of life. What brought them together in canon is not there, so...
I guess this is mainly an issue of them losing their reason to even meet each other because I don't think it would be impossible for them to becomes friends, but normally, without a writer's intervention to make it happen, it just wouldn't. A lot of romantic conventions are really dependent on those conventional, contrived moments. A lot more stories could only happen within their circumstances than you think they do, unless fate is a direct point of conversation within the story. They aren't much different than EmaHaya or MedaNika, if you're asking what would happen if they lost the reason they caught each other's eye haha.
I like how episode 5 is from Kyouji's pov. At first I thought why does this Kyouji feel different from the one we see in episode 1-4? Did the studio change his looks or mannerism? Why does it feel like he's not as charming as he was? Is it bc he's freshly out of jail and his hair is not slicked back or bc he's not in his crispy black suit? Then I realize that it was not bc the studio changes his character but the way he is portrayed here is different. This is not from Satomi's pov it is from Kyouji's pov.
During ep 1-4 Satomi is the main character, we see Kyouji thru his eyes. Kyouji is cool, calm n collected. He is this mysterious, fearless, confident n spontaneous man with his dead eyes that seems to stare into your soul. He confuses yet amazes Satomi's young mind. But when Kyouji's is the story teller we can see that he is not really all of that. In episode 5 we see him emotes more. Even in his flash back he looks dead inside but he's definitely not this suave guy from episode 1-4, young Kyouji looks like he just moves along where flow takes him to, like he's dgaf w everything. But in episode 5 his facial expressions are more noticable. Instead of the 'sure whatever' young Kyouji or the smiley face + dead fish eyes combo guy from Satomi's pov. He looks confused when he talks to the prison guard. He looks lost when he's waiting for somebody to pick him up. He looks disturbed when his brothers start singing gen z songs he doesn't understand. He shows fear when the boss says he lost the karaoke contest. He looks very worried when the boss wants to tattoo 💩 all over his body. Aaand he looks unsure n nervous when he sees Satomi at the airport. Where is the always cool always confident Kyouji? Not in episode 5 obviously, bc maybe that Kyouji is only ever exist in Satomi's pov. When Satomi is back in the screen again Kyouji is back to his flirty charming self.
I especially likes the choir in the background when they met. In episode 4 (Satomi's pov) d BG music in this scene is light, fun almost like it's made for a supposedly comedic scene, bc maybe to Satomi meeting Kyouji again is like the source of his emotional distress is back to bring color into his life again like "ah yes, here we go again.." or "you gotta be kidding me" as if he's secretly happy but also exasperated by it. But in Kyouji's pov the choir makes the scene feels more dramatic, like this is fate, this is what meant for him. He didn't plan to see Satomi, he didn't look for him but here he is by coincidence in the same place and time with his sensei n he still keeps his name card like a treasure n that is a sign that yep it's the right thing to do: go to Satomi and be a part of his life again bc both of them definitely want to be in each other's life 🤗
I love pathetic Kyoji in episode 5, stripped naked down of his black costume, hair gloss and his glory. Just middle aged man, past evict, all alone, lost in this life with his cigarettes and his broken watch. It’s not something you see in anime every day, full of attractive young characters.
“Glass Casket” started playing when he saw Satomi in the airport, it’s Kyoji’s theme. Lyrics is about a sad person who put himself in a glass box to hide from a world, but a single beam of light fills the box and brings him out to life. Airport looked like glass box with huge windows and Satomi was this beam of light. Kyoji’s watch ticked forward and it moved me for real. If there is just one person who cares about you, and you care about them, it’s not over yet.
Let's just say it as it is. It's not grewming it's not pr3d4tory, it's not BL. Karaoke Ikou is about Satomi's gay awakening.
Kyouji is morally shady but he's not evil. He has no bad intention towards Satomi. He doesn't try to take advantage of Satomi. He needs Satomi's help. He thinks his proposal is sincere enough: he is asking for a favor n in returns he offers Satomi free FnB. He is not a perv. He is fanboying. He picks a kid to teach him singing because he thinks the kid has a voice of an angel. He is amazed by Satomi's talent n becomes an instant fan of Satomi. His overly enthusiastic behavior is how a fan behaves around their idol. He tries hard to impress Satomi with his singing, he buys him FnB, strawberries, video player.. he likes hanging out w Satomi, he is happy when Satomi gives him attention. He is a fan of Satomi. It is inappropriate, not normal (that's what Satomi tells him too) but to his standard as a Yakuza it's completely harmless. He has no awarenesses of personal space bc that's just how he naturally operates -he was once a sugar baby n had worked as a host when he was young so he probably thinks his overly fake uwu behavior, the papakatsu or passenger seat joke r completely normal way to make friends (he probably grew up around that kind of jokes so he thinks Satomi can too).
Satomi is not having a crush. He is developing feelings. He doesn't mind Kyouji's company, likes that he listens to him (even surprised when Kyouji easily agrees to not meet again after the Yakuza group singing session), likes that he cares about Satomi's safety. That 'like' changes into care, he cares about Kyouji's karaoke competition, he wants Kyouji to win, he doesn't want Kyouji to get the punishment tattoo, he thinks adults are disgusting n weird but Kyouji is an exception, he admires him, he is annoyed by Kyouji's antics, but he doesn't hate him, he doesn't want anything bad happens to Kyouji. He adopts Kyouji into his circle of ppl he cares about in his life -a person he doesn't want to lose.
So is Karaoke Ikou BL? The answer is no. If anything this is a case of unintentional imprinting. Kyouji unintentionally imprints on Satomi n during Satomi's Kurenai scene he realizes that and decides that this is actually not good for Satomi, he should leave Satomi alone (in eps 5 we see Kyouji remembers Satomi still, but he is not paying much attention to it that he needs to be reminded again and again with the charm, by his Yakuza friends n boss, that Satomi exists, he does want to know how Satomi is doing but he doesn't make the move to actually look for him, bc he thinks not seeing e.o anymore is the best option for the both of them). Satomi feels strongly n deeply for Kyouji, he becomes too emotionally attached to the point of prioritizing Kyouji over his own important event. Kyouji has taken over the focus and that's not good for Satomi. On the other hand Satomi developed a standard of an ideal man based on Kyouji. In the final scene (rooftop scene in the movie) Satomi said that the Kyouji in his memory is 'sparkling' -the imprinting is now complete. Without going through a long process of exploring life on his own, middle schooler Satomi Oka suddenly has an image of a man that he sees as 'cool' that has left a strong impression on him (at this point Satomi probably doesn't even know the name of the feeling he has for Kyouji yet, it's not even a crush just 'I care about you I want you to be in my life don't leave') that over the years that image stays with him (Karaiko the movie ends here)
..n only later in Famiresu Ikou it develops into the real deal, it's not a standard anymore. It's not what Satomi wants from an ideal romantic interest bc the man that the image is based on is actually what he wants, no one else would fit that standard. He doesn't have eyes for others, not other woman not other man - only Kyouji. Kyouji is Satomi's romantic interest.
Is Famiresu Ikou BL? Yes, or should I say very light BL bc it's nearing the end of the series n so far we only get "kinda confessions" so I'm guessing we would get the real confession in the finale -such is the climax we deserve from Wayama Yama (at least give us hand holding!😅)
So this is how I think “Famiresu Iko” story is going to unfold:
>! possible spoilers ahead !<
1. In the next chapter all characters are going to gather in family restaurant Saizeria to help Kumicho son, Masanori, to finish his exclusive Christmas manga chapter for “Neko-Neko panic”. (Credit to rrorro on batsu ch 18 commentary section for this idea). Satomi is invited to sit at the table by Kyouji’s side and they brush shoulders for the rest of the evening.
2. Satomi and Kyoji are having a Christmas date with kfc chicken, and Go to Karaoke to sing Kurenai together/or Hot onsen to warm up/To love hotel for Satomi to investigate Kyoji’s tattoos. It’s time for sayonara gift, which becomes a trigger moment for their relationship once again. But instead of saying goodbye they are levelling up in their relationship in some way that night (I expect no less than Kyoji’s confession). Since Satomi also accepted his feelings for Kyoji by chapter 17, he’s not giving up on Kyoji anymore, being a stubborn Japanese man in love as he is. They embrace their feelings for each other, but their future looks uncertain, because Kyoji still belongs with yakuza.
3. “Neko-Neko Panic” becomes a huge success, also screen adaptation is coming up. Masanori becomes a successful man and therefore proves his own worth and independence. But he still won’t return to his yakuza father Kumicho.
4. Kumicho dissolves his Matsuribayashi group to reunite with his son because he realized how much he loves him and wants him back in the family (for once thanks Okada for that sentimental karaoke performance in chapter 16). (Credit to @feralpurin on twitter for this idea).
Yakuza had been in decline in Japan for the last decade anyway, they don’t hold much power neither useful anymore.
5. Kyoji is free to go. He can start a new life with Satomi there for him.
UPD: I have a feeling that Satomi will personally come and address Boss Kumicho to dissolve his yakuza team and reunite with his son like real father. During his time in Osaka. This scene will parallel Karaoke iko, our boy is facing the boss again to protec his man.
So this is how I think “Famiresu Iko” story is going to unfold:
>! possible spoilers ahead !<
1. In the next chapter all characters are going to gather in family restaurant Saizeria to help Kumicho son, Masanori, to finish his exclusive Christmas manga chapter for “Neko-Neko panic”. (Credit to rrorro on batsu ch 18 commentary section for this idea). Satomi is invited to sit at the table by Kyouji’s side and they brush shoulders for the rest of the evening.
2. Satomi and Kyoji are having a Christmas date with kfc chicken, and Go to Karaoke to sing Kurenai together/or Hot onsen to warm up/To love hotel for Satomi to investigate Kyoji’s tattoos. It’s time for sayonara gift, which becomes a trigger moment for their relationship once again. But instead of saying goodbye they are levelling up in their relationship in some way that night (I expect no less than Kyoji’s confession). Since Satomi also accepted his feelings for Kyoji by chapter 17, he’s not giving up on Kyoji anymore, being a stubborn Japanese man in love as he is. They embrace their feelings for each other, but their future looks uncertain, because Kyoji still belongs with yakuza.
3. “Neko-Neko Panic” becomes a huge success, also screen adaptation is coming up. Masanori becomes a successful man and therefore proves his own worth and independence. But he still won’t return to his yakuza father Kumicho.
4. Kumicho dissolves his Matsuribayashi group to reunite with his son because he realized how much he loves him and wants him back in the family (for once thanks Okada for that sentimental karaoke performance in chapter 16). (Credit to @feralpurin on twitter for this idea).
Yakuza had been in decline in Japan for the last decade anyway, they don’t hold much power neither useful anymore.
5. Kyoji is free to go. He can start a new life with Satomi there for him.
UPD: I have a feeling that Satomi will personally come and address Boss Kumicho to dissolve his yakuza team and reunite with his son like real father. During his time in Osaka. This scene will parallel Karaoke iko, our boy is facing the boss again to protec his man.
UPD2: Kyoji can face his boss like a man as well, and suggest the idea. Therefore boss “dies” as yakuza but stays as a father for his son and daughter. Perhaps Kyoji can even keep his job as looking after her karaoke place or hair saloon:)
