Gakushu Asano’s Story Arc Wasn’t Handled With the Seriousness it Deserved
Gakushu Asano is not a likeable character initially. He uses underhanded methods, seems to have no sense of empathy, and calls his own friends his “minions.” But as the story progresses, he grows as a character. He inspires his classmates, brings them together. He becomes a better leader. He even swallows his pride and bows to 3-E, asking for their help in taking down his father.
His issues with his father are mainly what cause him to act in these less desirable ways in the first place. Which is why it’s a let down that he doesn’t get the proper resolution his character arc deserves.
I want to preface this with this: What Gakuhou is doing to Gakushu is undeniably emotional neglect and abuse. The backhanded slap is a case of physical abuse, however, it is not the focus of Gakushu’s trauma. I see the backhand/slap as a wake-up call to both Gakushu and Gakuhou. It’s really what makes them realize that their relationship isn’t just “unique”, but legitimately a case of abuse.
What is interesting is that Gakushu is actually humored by the fact that his father hit him in front of the entire class. This shows that he was so desperate for his father to acknowledge him, that any type of acknowledgement was fine with him. Even violence was okay with him, as long as his father was looking at him.
He tried to beat E-class, trick them into signing a contract to release their secret, all just to have something to hold over his father. To have him look at him.
This is a sentiment we see echoed with Koro-sensei and God of Death/Reaper 2.0. This boy was the one who betrayed Koro-sensei, all to get him to acknowledge him.
This is where it gets a little controversial.
Koro-sensei emotionally neglected and abused his apprentice, Reaper 2.0.
Yes, I am aware that the boy was not actually, legally his son. But nothing they’re doing is legal in the first place, so I don’t see how that counts. Reaper 2.0 clearly looked up to Koro-sensei, and was desperate for his approval and affection. He saw Koro-sensei as a father figure, whereas Koro-sensei saw him as merely a student.
Gakushu is very similar to Reaper 2.0. Yet very different. In the same way that Koro-sensei and Gakuhou are similar, yet in different ways.
Koro-sensei committed horrible deeds in the past—cold blooded murder of thousands of people even if it was for the sake of making the world a better place, means that at the very least, one of the people he killed had to be innocent. It would be impossible to kill that many people and not have just one of them be not guilty of the crime he was killing them for. So he killed an innocent person. Possibly more than one of them. And he made someone an orphan. Then proceeded to emotionally neglect and abuse said orphan.
But then he saw someone he loved die, was redeemed, and became a better person.
Gakuhou was the opposite. He used to be a good person, but then saw someone he loved die, spiraled downwards, and became a horrible person. His educational system was plain cruel, and he most likely drove several students to suicide through the bullying and harassment he promoted. He exhorted billions of yen out of the ministry of defense.
Looking at the parallels between Koro-sensei and Gakuhou, it is clear that the one thing they have in common with their narratives are death.
Death of somebody they loved was the catalyst for change for both of them. Whether it was to send them on a downward spiral or a path to redemption.
Which is why I don’t think Gakuhou will change with just having his own life being put in danger. The narrative tried it’s best to follow through, using Gakuhou’s potential death as a catalyst for change, but it’s not enough.
It’s one thing for Nagisa and Karma to have their lives threatened as catalysts for change, because they are students, innocents.
Gakuhou needs to have somebody he love die (or nearly die) in order for him to change for the better.
And I think this person is Gakushu.
First off, Gakushu likely faced a constant pressure to be the best at everything. We’ve seen how his father responds to failure. It’s not pretty.
The fact that Gakuhou literally sees every failure as a matter of life or death puts a lot of pressure on his son.
Which is why, it’s unrealistic to think that Gakushu will just bounce off his failure like he appears to do in canon.
He will start to spiral. I don’t believe it will happen right away. Perhaps he’ll pretend to be fine at school, and when he goes home that night, he’ll start becoming depressed about his second place.
I like the poetic nature of Gakushu jumping off the same bridge that Ikeda did.
But I also like the idea that he survives.
That Gakuhou has to acknowledge the trauma that he’s caused, that he doesn’t just joke about a court case like he does in canon, but change and become a better more capable father.
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