i also want to talk about the azayuki parallels in gaki atsukai/minority, because thematically they are very similar songs. let's go over the similarities first.
(minority/gaki atsukai) both songs have lines about looks of disgust, and just wanting to be accepted. while these sentiments share a verse in minority, they're separated in gaki atsukai
(minority/gaki atsukai) both songs have lines about how conforming to "logic", or what others consider "normal", is bullshit and they're not having it, though it's worded much more aggressively in gaki atsukai. there's also a line about dreams in it, even though the act of dreaming in itself is honestly really not what's at stake here (i will elaborate on this down below)
(minority/gaki atsukai) both songs also have sections before the final chorus where they express anger towards their dissenters and the resolve to move forward
however, while these songs are both about not giving a fuck what anyone else thinks, the way the singers talk of the subject of other people's scorn is very different. let's get into it
(gaki atsukai) these lyrics are obvious to the point of parody. trans people feel like they have to lead completely lives to be able to live the way their parents imagined them to live. hell, the main reason i myself haven't gone on T yet, even though it would fix a lot of what i don't like about myself, is because i'm still in contact with my mother. i'm literally restricting myself for my family's sake
(minority) oddly, minority doesn't have as much of this as you'd think. as i said in the original post, yuki's character conflict is less about keeping herself under wraps for others, and more about what she has to go through specifically because she refuses to do such
"just want you to see me for who i am" is the most explicit they get wrt queer coding in gaki atsukai (tbf it's very hard to compete with a song literally titled MINORITY), but it's immediately undercut by the following lyric being about azami's dreams. as if the main conflict of azami as a character is "woahh he has TWO passions however will he choose?!" and not... the fact that she feels trapped by obligation and knows doing what she loves will bring her personal joy but possibly alienate her from her family
my thesis is this: gaki atsukai, or azami's character arc, is more about the fear of scorn; while minority, or yuki's character arc, is more about bravery in the face of it.
azami, in gaki atsukai, says she talks herself in circles about what the best course of action is. constantly mentioning obligation, her family's expectations. talking of fate and destiny, even if she says right after that she plans to break it. even as she says throughout the song that she won't let anyone stop her, there is still an undercurrent of terror. and it's obviously something she is only recently grappling with. she'll fight, come hell or high water, and this fits in with her theme of teenage rebellion. but she's spent her whole life fighting, despite keeping this part of her under wraps, and she clearly resents the fact that she has to continue to do it, especially about something she feels this strongly about
yuki in minority, on the other hand, is almost telling us about a story from her past. her childhood left wounds that would never heal, and they will stay with her forever, but this song is more of a reminiscence than anything. a look back on the experiences that molded her. she was right for not having lied to herself, past tense. she'd been searching for a place she felt accepted, past tense.
conclusion: both of them need estrogen. okay that's the post everyone go home
