The Nakiri Family Picture
Did anyone else notice this? Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but…the relationships can definitely be seen in the picture, even as far back when everything used to be “fine”.
Soe (Alice’s dad) is sitting on a chair which I can only describe as “throne-like”, big, with intricate designs, it’s bigger than the rest. Behind him is Sanzaemon himself, standing tall and proud but also serious, his status as the head Nakiri is apparent. Next to them are Alice and Leonora, both smiling, Alice on her mother’s lap (looking curiously at the camera) speaking of the close bond.
On the farther right, Erina and her parents when they were younger. Erina’s mother is smiling happily, clasping her daughter’s hand with both her hands, speaking of their close bond and her full support for her child. Her smile is warm, she looks happy, unlike we’ve seen her since her introduction.
Now let’s look at Azami. While the picture overall is a happy family photo, Azami’s particular shot saddens me a bit. He’s not sitting, but standing and not to his full height, not as proud or serious-looking as Sanzaemon or Soe, but more crouched, a hand on his wife and child’s shoulders. He looks far softer, more approachable and kind here.
There’s also his chair. Since he’s not sitting in it, we can see it’s very small, maybe it’s even a chair meant for Erina, but if we assume they had known beforehand Erina wouldn’t sit in it (just like Alice sitting on her mother’s lap), we can assume it was meant for Azami specifically. I think the contrast between his and Soe’s chair is clear: Soe Nakiri is the head of Nakiri International and the one favored by Sanzaemon (as opposed to Azami). Also, Leonora and Azami married into the families, but clearly have very different standings within it.
Azami is portrayed as the “black sheep” of the family, a man not to be trifled with, not generally favored by his family, whose own daughter is apprehensive of him to put it mildly. I even think the chair sort of represents Sanzaemon’s feelings towards Azami as possible heir to the Nakiri family name: it’s impossible, or at least the chances are very low. It was never an option to begin with. We also see how Senzaemon disapproves of Azami’s actions in the manga and anime.
We haven’t seen (as of yet, nor do I have the feeling we will this time around) the relationship between the two men, Azami and Soe. I assume it’s equally strained like the one between Sanzaemon and Azami, or it’s distant but not openly hostile (as in, they respect each-other’s work etc and engage during familial gatherings politely but don’t show any/much affection).
I can imagine they used to have a better relationship before everything went downhill, when they’d been at the start of both their relationships and the culinary business. However, I can’t imagine Soe approved of the way Azami treated Erina, since he loves his own daughter very much (a doting dad and husband), so maybe he tried to avoid Azami wherever he could or simply used his many business travels to his advantage. I can also imagine Azami being slightly jealous of how Soe got the better treatment in the family, how he had Sanzeamon’s trust and support, while all Azami had was his wife and child and he even partially lost that as we’ve seen in the story.
After losing his greatest idol and friend, Joichiro, to the ferocious storm, he thought he was alone. He turned into a bitter man he never wanted to be, after that he kept spiralling deeper into despair. Erina mentioned how him and Mana used to walk through the storm together (perhaps at that time everything had been alright).
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