Heartbreak never looked so beautiful
Spoilers ahead for DanDaDan Ch 241 ‼️
There was something so... bittersweet about these panels. Aira being a complete badass in how she handles the situation from multiple angles: the fight against an enemy, her obvious heartache, and something subtle I wasn't expecting Tatsu to do but he has been using it as a recurrent theme: fighting predators.
It's genius how Tatsu used dinosaurs -- the ultimate predators in history-- to hint at what seems to define this arc's villains.
I find it INCREDIBLY poetic that Aira has been the one to defeat not one, but TWO of these pervs, the first one was several chapters ago, against that pig Murakami
And now, this idiot who uses "the spirit of Albert Fish", a known murderer and child molester irl.
When I read the chapter, my skin almost crawled. The disgust lingered a minute at the implication of the double entendre given by this sonofabitch, but then it hit me.
The unwanted effects of beauty and popularity: attracting weirdos.
We are so used to seeing the perks that often come along with beautiful people: popularity, admiration --awe, even--, that we can overlook the fact that other people, THE PERV KIND, will also seek them for this reason.
These interactions made me wonder how many times Aira had to deal with this kind of "admirers". The ones who definitely stand out as red flags with just a brief exchange in the hallways, and how she understands better than anyone else how shallow and lonely it can be for someone who finds herself (accidentally or otherwise) surrounded by people who are incapable to look deeper in the person beneath the beauty.
Which takes us to this MIND BLOWING panel. Proving, once more, why Aira is one of the best written characters of the series and my personal favourite:
I absolutely LOVED how Tatsu drew her here, not only because she looks BADASS AF, having the high ground from a fighting standpoint, but because it also shows her character development until this point in the story.
At first, it may be a little strange that she almost "sympathised" with her opponent. Almost.
The fact that she says this words AFTER BEING REJECTED BY OKARUN gives their interaction so much weight because it's true: She can somewhat understand where he's coming from because she used to think like that: that "love at first sight" meant, first and foremost that you found each other attractive and nothing more.
However, Aira's no longer the "popular, pretty airhead" that we met at the beginning of the series, and she most definitely isn't a pervert (tho I guess one could argue that she kinda tried to force Okarun to kiss her back in the Nessie arc).
Tme and time again, Aira has proven how much she's grown, becoming the de facto leader of the group and being one of most reliable combatants of the dandagang. She is fierce and determined and has given us some of the best fighting panels in the series imo.
I mean... she's basically given us two masterclasses of how to kick a pervert's ass:
Yet... Aira is so much more than just a pretty face or a badass leader. The masks that she made for herself have finally fallen off, which is why I thought this panel here is absolutely brilliant:
We can see her face clearly. The acrosilky mask removed so that we may see that she meant every word she said. Even if it hurts.
It's too soon for Aira to move on. I mean... she literally just got rejected. However, I'm hopeful. I think she'll get a happy ending in a not so distant future and while I just spent several paragraphs defending she is more than just a pretty face, I can't help but say: Even with a broken heart... Aira Shiratori has never looked more beautiful.