#baji keisuke

[iadoremik3y]

sillies

[chifuyu] : “you’re stupid”

[baji] : “no I’m not”

[Chifuyu] : “what’s 9 + 10?”

[baji] : “21”

[Chifuyu] : “you’re stupid.”

[Baji] : “Bit rude…”

[Chifuyu] : “Bit stupid…”

[manymangomochis]

Low effort BajiMai(/p) shitposting to motivate me into daily six hour studying session or smth.

[manymangomochis]

Ngl I always thought I would be one of those fans that would get super competitive abt liking their favorite characters in online spaces, but then whenever someone actually mentions either Baji or Kazutora to me in my general vicinity I’m just like “YAYAYAYAYYY:DDDD!!!” super loudly and excitedly, and I remember I’m like. The least competitive person ever. I do not particularly care abt competition; I’m just happy I have someone to blog back and forth with in my spare time lmao

[manymangomochis]

I could write a whole essay abt ts, but one of my favorite things about Baji’s story in TR (and why imo the Valhalla arc is better when consumed blind) is how the details of his character are revealed like the layers of a matryoshka doll.

I like how the story is structured around him being a liar. Whether it’s by omission of important details or by the way he actively twists the narrative with half truths and full lies and whatnot, he really does present himself as this horrible, awful person — and I think it’s interesting how the actions of his character contribute to one of the reasons why the Valhalla arc has so much rewatch value imo.

Hm. Initially planned to leave this post at that, but I’m just going to go on the whole side ramble bc I can’t help myself, and I’m percolating more over this line of thought — but anecdotally, I’ve noticed a whole lot of complaints that Baji was an active participant in the story for way too short a time.

Tbf, I don’t think this criticism is unfounded whatsoever. I genuinely believe that Wakui lowkey engineered a character that would die so that Takemichi could take their place as first division captain — just like how Kazutora’s character was written to be a foil to Mikey to make him snap — but the author also ended up making Baji too likable in a sense.

I actually think that part of the tragedy of his character is that he was gone too soon, but I’ve also seen that as a point of contention for people that came in later into the fandom that expected him to be around for longer. Essentially, the argument is that he died before they could get properly attached.

Anyways, whether u like the guy or u hate the guy, he still continues to be a persistent story element past his death since he haunts the narrative so heavy-handedly, but in the context of the wider story of TR, his screentime as an actual character is super short.

After all, he quite literally dies in the same exact arc that he gets properly introduced. I’ve mentioned this in passing before, but I had a really hard time understanding the appeal of his character at first — because when I first read the story, it really felt like he was there, then he was gone, and then the whole fandom just fawned all over him lmao (😭😭). He was a really popular character, esp in 2021, to the point where I had heard abt him and his death, even though media-wise I tend to live underneath a proverbial rock.

Like: “there’s this guy that killed himself? Okay. I mean, that’s actually pretty sad.” Followed by: “HE’S 14?????😦😦”

The thing abt fandom is that it highkey spoils stuff for u as a new viewer, which isn’t anyone’s fault tbh since people actively want to discuss the details abt the things they like, y’know? However, in terms of the telling of Baji’s story I don’t really think that played in his favor for me personally, or anecdotally with people I’ve talked to in person when it was still popular, or on Reddit (another example I found btw but with better explanations) or other online forums, etc.

Tbh the constant glaze from his fans abt how cool and amazing he was did not really help, esp since it was essentially like trying to overhype smth that u already don’t see the appeal of. Yes, I thought he was intelligent. Yes, I thought he was a competent fighter, but it was never really outside the realm of reason, and I couldn’t really find an exact answer as to why people liked him besides the notions of “oh he’s just really good at fighting and he saw through Kisaki’s plan and he’s the goat and he’s etc. etc.”

(That, or the explanations given basically boiled down to liking his character for aesthetic reasons, which is fine, but not really an important part of determining why I find characters to be appealing.)

The thing is abt me — and this still holds true — is that I will literally never glaze Baji for being strong or just glaze him in any respect whatsoever. This is primarily since I personally prefer the message of storytelling over powerscaling, because in the end the author always decides who’s going to win. What matters more in my book is the clash of ideals behind the fights as opposed to the feats performed in the fights themselves.

Did I think he was overrated when I first read the story for myself? Yeah(💀💀💀), and I won’t lie about that. Not to say that the reasons above are not good reasons to like a character, but I just thought that there would be more to it than that, esp since Baji (generally) is so universally loved.

I don’t think it was until I began engaging with TR on my own outside the lens of the fandom that I really came to appreciate the way he was written; because the aforementioned massive thing abt Baji is how that kid is a liar.

Whether it’s the omission of what his actual words were to Kazutora the night that they committed involuntary manslaughter, or the way the story doesn’t unveil its hand with how he and Chifuyu first met, he just hides that shit from the audience(😭😭😭). It’s not until the end of the arc that the scope of everything going on is revealed.

— and tbh I think I would have liked Baji more off-rip without having any expectations of him being a secretly nice person (esp to Chifuyu); because, as I’ve mentioned before offhandedly in a previous post, many of the (nicer, kinder, more caring and more loyal) aspects of Baji’s character are presented as the last minute twist rather than the way he has been acting this entire time throughout the story.

[manymangomochis]

One of my favorite things about the official Baji merchandise is that they on god cannot decide on how long his hair is supposed to be. Does it just reach his shoulders? Does it run all the way down his back? Idk, that shit’s just supposed to be long, just make smth up fr.

[aceywhomps]

stupid and stupid-er.

shibuya inferno baji and chifuyu.

[manymangomochis]

Baji’s lowkey mean as fuck bc wdym Chifuyu could be going “oh my god Baji-san, you’re my best friend! I’m so glad I’m friends with u😁😁” while Baji would just be like “…yeah. Well, I’m definitely YOUR best friend”

Anyways day whatever of Chifuyu having dogshit taste in the men he chooses to dedicate his life to.

Please… for the love of god Chifuyu please choose better guys…