my pms is killing me today. i feel so much grief i couldn't stop crying. i made this trying to remind myself that wonderful things existed in my life, and they will happen again.
This is all subjective headcanon and blatant over-analysis.
I’m wordy and rambling. Sorry (but not sorry).
It’s pretty obvious to me that Yusei is an E6 (sp 6w5), so I’m not going to waste words arguing that. Instead, I want to talk about one specific aspect, which is his relationship with authority figures. In Enneagram theory, relationship with authority figures is a particularly important theme for E6s.
By authority, I mean things like rules, morals, superego, or social consensus. Furthermore, the word here doesn’t have any negative connotation. Similarly, authority figure refers to those who, at some point or to some extent, provided 6s with guidelines/sense of morality, helped 6s integrate into society, served as examples, etc.
6s’ relationship with authority is tied to their anxiety and need for security: they want to gain approval, support and protection from good authorities, while fear being controlled and harmed by bad ones. There’s a childhood theory that suggests that, if 6s grew up with good authority figures, they will likely try to replicate that pattern in their adult relationships, by seeking authority figures in their friends or spouses. On the other hand, if they were abused by authority figures in their childhood, they will likely project negative feelings/suspicion towards any authority figures later in life.
Yusei also seems to display a subtle, unconscious attachment to authority figures. For instance, he easily internalizes correct values from people around him. He also picks up those parts that are correct/valuable in his enemies’ ideologies (“5ds has no real villain, except for Divine”). And it’s also not just on the intellectual level; Yusei actually empathizes with the antagonists, validates them, and respects them as people.
Yusei also tends to lend trust a bit too readily to authority figures, as long as they don’t appear plain evil. Or we may say, he wants to trust them. We see this clearly with Antinomy. Yusei’s mind knows to wonder about Antinomy’s motive, but that doesn’t stop him from getting led by the nose. Even Rex Goodwin, who’s already under suspicion as head of city government, was given too much good faith regarding his accounts of the signer/dark-signer legend and promises to the Satellite.
Using the aforementioned Enneagram theory, we may be able to explain Yusei’s attachment/trust/positivity towards authority as a carry-over of his positive experience with Martha, the lady who takes care of homeless children in the Satellite. Yusei, Jack and Crow are all raised by her. We may well say that Martha is Yusei’s early/primary source of ethics. When Yusei felt unable to confront a hate-filled Kiryu, or hesitant to reach out to a resentful Aki, it is again Martha’s guidance that he followed. On the other hand, Martha’s general approach seems more or less indulgent, especially towards the smaller kids (plus, she didn’t seem to have reproached Jack for his unethical conducts). It is reasonable to infer, that the good early example which Martha served is what breeds Yusei’s later unconscious positivity towards authority in general.
It is interesting, then, to see similar patterns manifested in Yusei’s later relationship with Kiryu and with Antinomy.
It’s clear how Yusei regards Antinomy, or how the writers [*] positioned Antinomy, as some sort of mentor. Both to forward the plot, and on a psychological level: One example is before the duel with Placido i.e. debut of shooting star dragon. Antinomy said: “it’s time to master accel synchro”. Then Yusei, who habitually worries about others and refuses to let others worry about himself, responds: “Am I able to do that?” To put this into perspective, the only other time he spontaneously and openly voices his inner worries/lack of confidence is at the very end against Z-one when he said to his father's [**] spirit “I’ve done my best…there’s no way out…I can’t do this anymore”. Another (more verbose) example can be found here.
[*] I’m increasingly suspicious of the writers being familiar with the Enneagram system, as so many characters’ (e.g. Jack, Crow and Aki) arcs fit well with certain Enneagram types.
[**] Side note: Antinomy also seems to know a lot about Yusei’s father, hence has a non-negligible influence on how Yusei constructs his father’s image (although occasionally Yusei can also directly access his father's spirit). This is somewhat significant, as Yusei's father is supposed to be Yusei’s conventional early authority figure.
In a similar vein, Yusei’s relationship with Kiryu begins as one of protector-protectee, but eventually transcends that framework. Their arc went through a cycle of fracture, hatred, and deep remorse toward a final, genuine reconciliation. Kiryu eventually becomes a friend like Jack or Crow—an equal where neither side 'owes' the other. From Yusei’s perspective, true reconciliation is only achieved when, in Crash Town, he was able to repay his spiritual debt in a tangible way, thus freeing himself from the role of the receiver. Meanwhile, through the same process, Kiryu found his own way to face his past sins and regrets. Only then can they bond freely, and their relationship achieve a true sense of closure. On the emotional level, Bruyu is like Kiryu died in the dark signer arc without resurrection, making it impossible for the relationship to ever reach completion. This is also partly why Yusei internalized Bruno into his 'inner committee'. It’s likely his default mechanism, before he gets time to process and let go of it.
【Appendix: over-analysis of episode 144 (10:15-14:30)】
To avoid unnecessary confusion, let me state conclusion first: these passages are meant to show an example of Yusei’s mental fixation (which are otherwise mild and subtle), in connection to the “relationship to authority” theme I discussed in the other post.
Antinomy is the one talking the whole time. But there’s a change of pov in the visual presentation. The "slideshow" portion where Antinomy explains what happened to the future is still his perspective. But from where he talks about Aporia’s despair and three personas, the visuals start to shift to Yusei's perspective.
By the time of “My mission was to protect you and help you grow,” the shot of Bruno’s face is entirely from Yusei’s pov. What I want to point out is: what’s on screen here isn't necessarily Antinomy’s actual attitude; it’s how Yusei is perceiving/imagining him in that moment.
Then Antinomy says: “I never expected you to have evolved this far. And to think, it’s on me to cut it short. ”
Yusei: “Am I just a gear then?” (Side note: The use of the "gear" metaphor feels like a deliberate callback. Yusei must have taken to heart what Bruno said about being "gear that turns your dreams" when they first met. )
At this point, the conversation still seems to be about whether Antinomy/Bruno was ever sincere. The cold, aloof expression of the imagined Bruno is just hostility for being on opposite sides. However, there’s a very similar frame in the final battle against Z-one, which suggests something else. There, Yusei “hears” (imagined) Bruno’s voice: “Yusei, you will surely find it—your own accel synchro,” followed by his thought, “Bruno, I found it.” Then, we see the imaginary Bruno smiling.
These frames are clearly Yusei’s mental projections. One could interpret it moderately as Yusei thinking that Bruno was worried about him, and the final smile is a sign of relief. What I find more plausible (and unflattering), however, is that the unsmiling expression in the first two frames represent the internalized Bruno as a member of Yusei’s "inner committee" (the 6's inner authority), with an attitude of appraisal/scrutiny. The final smile isn't relief; it’s approval that Yusei has met the expectation. Furthermore, this interpretation only makes sense if Yusei does regard Bruno/Antinomy as more of a guide/mentor than a friend/equal comrade. After all, it’s 5ds, not GX.
Now, and again, it’s all Yusei’s projection, and has nothing to do with how Antinomy actually thinks about Yusei (Bruno certainly doesn’t think this way). I don't see any textual evidence that Antinomy is judgemental towards Yusei. On the contrary, the original work seems to intend to show that Antinomy worships Yusei, as reflected in, e.g. his dying words: “Would you still call me your comrade?”
