Why Mitsunari’s worship of Hideyoshi makes perfect sense
I’m tired of talking about Ieyasu and my many problems with his MS, so let’s talk about my favorite character, Mitsunari, instead!
As you may know, I operate under the assumption that Mitsunari is on the autism spectrum. I don’t even consider it a “headcanon” at this point; it’s just part of who he is. Taking that into account, Mitsunari’s worship and adoration of Hideyoshi makes perfect sense for his character.
If you aren’t familiar with actual autistic people, you may not know that we (I’m on the spectrum too) are in fact not predisposed to be assholes as the internet might have you believe. In fact, we’re quite aware that we’re not good at dealing with people and many/most people on the spectrum actively work to understand these strange rituals other people call “normal human interaction.” (How much work is put in varies, of course, and girls are often pressured into working much harder to learn how to be social than boys are.)
Because people on the spectrum find it difficult to do things like “reading the room,” “understanding conversational subtext,” and “charming others into doing what you want,” many of us are in awe of people who seem to do these things with ease. They’re like magicians who always know the right thing to say. Tell us your secrets, wise ones! Hideyoshi, of course, is a master of charm, conversation, and subtle manipulation of people with words. No wonder Mitsunari, who considers himself so skilled and learned in other subjects, sees Hideyoshi as someone amazing to be deferred to.
Furthermore, Hideyoshi is nice to Mitsunari. That alone is enough to get an autistic person to latch on to you (much to some neuro-typical people’s discomfort). Beyond that, he recognizes Mitsunari’s talents and defends him to others. He understands that Mitsunari sometimes needs explanations of how social rituals work. You’ll notice that most of the times Mitsunari is deferring to Hideyoshi, it’s something like “Hideyoshi wants me to attend a party.” “Hideyoshi said I should celebrate your birthday.” “Hideyoshi says we should get married.” Even though Mitsunari isn’t sure of the value of these things, he trusts Hideyoshi’s social knowledge.
He also trusts that Hideyoshi won’t steer him wrong for his own amusement. (Hideyoshi does skirt this line a tad sometimes, but Mitsunari never notices.) It’s sad, but most people on the spectrum have experience with being led astray by people who aren’t so well meaning. :( We’re very honest and it’s hard to remember sometimes that other people aren’t always forthright. We can’t tell by looking at someone, after all. Context clues are all we have to go on, and those have to be carefully learned. Even if we do pick up on the clues, we can’t be sure we’re right. It’s a minefield.
People on the spectrum are also incredibly loyal once someone has earned their trust. Mitsunari is going to follow Hideyoshi to the ends of the earth unless Hideyoshi somehow betrays him (which Hideyoshi has absolutely no reason to do).
So even though I’m not too fond of Hideyoshi myself (he’s too manipulative, determined to have his way, and prone to meeting jealousy with assault), I really love how SLBP depicts his relationship with Mitsunari. It feels very real and grounded in real-life friendships between people on the spectrum and neuro-typical people. It’s another reason I’m really impressed with Voltage’s character work.
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