Itβs so tragic that Jikka survived and returned to Edo, while Shugen died alone, his face crumbling away. But what makes it even worse is everything that led him there.
After losing his parents, Shugen ended up with that clan that executes people. They did save him onceβwhen he mistook some criminals for his parentsβ killers, confronted them, and got beaten badly. Thatβs when the clan stepped in and took him in. But instead of teaching him how to live like a normal human being, how to cope, how to survive his griefβ¦ they filled him with inhuman, rigid, βrighteousβ rules.
They didnβt help him heal. They turned him into something else.
He was just a normal boyβthe son of a simple merchant, living an ordinary life. But the clan trained him to execute people, to suppress his emotions, to devote himself completely to loyalty and duty. That life was never meant for him. Execution was never the right path for someone like Shugen.
And then Jikka joins the same clan.
Thatβs the cruelest part.
Jikkaβhis parentsβ killerβbecomes someone he has to respect, someone above him. The very clan Shugen trusted, believed in, and dedicated his life toβ¦ was also sheltering the man who destroyed his entire world. The man who didnβt just rob a shop, but took everything from him.
Itβs so painfully ironic.
Shugen remained clueless the entire time. Until the very end of his life, he never knew the truth. He never got justice. He never avenged his parents.
He deserved so much better.
He deserved to live, to understand, to grow. He could have had real character developmentβhe could have found meaning beyond all that suffering. But that chance was stolen from him.
I cried so much when I saw the panel where he died. Even now, just remembering it makes my eyes fill with tears again. I can feel them falling as I write this.
He was the most precious person.
//Apologies for taking so long to respond, I donβt really stay logged into this blog as my focus is currently on my Shugen and Fuchi blogs, but-
It did break my heart when Shu died, a part of me wished that it was fake and that Shu got his little happy ending with his friends, but it was not meant to be
I feel like a lot of Shugenβs upbringing in the clan was a product of the times they lived in combined with Shuβs need for revenge or justice- whatever one wishes to call it. I think they knew, or at least Eizen knew that if something was not done to direct Shugenβs emotions that the boy would get himself killed (like him hunting those he suspected to have killed his parents). In those times therapy wasnβt really a thing either so I suppose they made do with what they knew best. Idk.
With Jikka, no one knew of his past transgressions- Iβm sure if they did that he would have not been accepted as a Yamada Asaemon.
Jikka is not my favorite ever, though I think it would be fun to continue to explore his complicated and strained relationship with Shugen.
I think near the end he did have a smidge of redemption, but I think it would have been interesting to see how things played out if he did survive- not only because I loooove me som Shu, but because Iβm genuinely curious to see if he would still turn his back on his friends, even after all that.
But Iβm also not an expert XD Itβs just my ramblings as a silly role player!
Also, also, my replies on this blog will not come often! Iβm focusing on my Hellβs Paradise blogs rn!! <3
yousharknotpass
jacobvanloon
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