“Rambling About Your Ship!” Said the mod. And I took it personally.
The Two Halves of Redemption
An absolutely unnecessary essay of 4k words about Keimichi's dynamics, and how these two fictional losers have completely altered the way my brain works to the point of seeing green and purple and going //GASPS//
Special thanks to @koniro-25, @strawberrycamel, @mezzodrops and that one anon on tumblr, as well as Bluesky users seriluvz and sipbitchsip (fantastic handle btw) for sending me questions and topics to be talked about.
__
SUMMARY
Keiwa/Michinaga (better known as Keimichi, but often I refer to their suited interactions as Buccoon (Buffa/Tycoon)) is a ship that navigates better in the negative space, with ⅔ of the story leaving a lot of work for imagination and truly shining with potential and chemistry during the first and the last arcs. First introduced as diametrical opposites (peace vs violence, idealism vs cynicism), but equal counterpoints to Ace (selflessness vs selfishness, humanity vs godhood), both Keiwa and Michinaga are exposed to the DGP’s twisted world, to the abuse of sadist supporters, and to Ace’s influence in their lives, until the culmination of the Creation Arc and the complete switch of roles and of who they are.
They walked the path of a Destroyer, and survived their way back, but not unscarred.
Their story is a tale of everlasting remorse and mutual forgiveness. It’s the idea of learning to love oneself through the other, the permission to heal, share the burden, and find the better version of themselves that they can only see projected in one another.
_
They had every reason to become sworn enemies: blood was spilt, desires were stolen, lives were taken and granted back. Instead, they found in each other a kindred soul, tarnished by grief and vengeance in their seek of justice, unable to find inner peace in a world promised of happiness.
Thus, they became confidants. Whenever misery finds their way again, they seek shelter in one another. No masks, no judgements, for they already had faced the worst of each other.
_
INTRODUCTION: The Rise of a New Fixation
I'd like to mention first where my point of view comes from, as a fairly new Tokusatsu fan and a shipper who usually prioritizes smaller ships over big ones.
Before Geats, I’ve watched only three other Rider shows, one Sentai, and a season of Garo a decade ago (that I barely remember nowadays), and in none of those I had a ship to cling to. Sure, I did entertain some couples for my favorites (Gentarou/Sakuta, Emu/Hiiro, Emu/Parado, Hiiro/Graphite, Ian/Souji/Ucchi, I think Momotaros/Urataros too?) but none of them drove me to actively make material for…
…Until July of 2024, soon after my fixation for Destiny 2 lifted away and left an empty space in my brain ready to be occupied. My friend was excited to watch me get into Geats, he was certain that I’d fall for Ace. He wasn’t ready for what would come. I wasn’t ready.
_
PARALLELS AND JUXTAPOSITION, an overall look on the series
You say this is for the good of others, but if you change your point of view, you can also become a destroyer
Keiwa Sakurai is introduced as a common civilian who desires for world peace, willing to do anything in his reach to help others and contribute to the good of all. When he’s chosen to the DGP, he sticks with his desire and values, often offering a helping hand, which leads to him being easily tricked several times during his first DGP experience. On the other side is Michinaga Azuma, a Rider with an intense grudge against other Riders and an aggressive approach towards those who stand in his way. The revelation of his Desire Card comes with his motivation: to have power to destroy all Riders, for they are the ones inflicting suffering onto others for selfish wishes.
At surface level, they’re full opposites: Keiwa is the face of cooperation and trust, Michinaga, of competition and aloofness; one desires peace (and later, revival) and the other destruction (death). Still, both wishes are born from a biased view of ending the world’s suffering and dedicated for a greater good. Keiwa takes the idealistic path, he is already happy enough with his sister and a bowl of Tanuki Soba, and wishes the same happiness for others. Michinaga takes the cynical path, preferring to create his ideal world with his own hands through the destruction of his opponents, his own happiness comes last, if there is any chance to come at all.
Their selflessness is proven to be wrong, though. Michinaga’s actions inflict even more misery to those around him in his attempt to reduce pain, and Keiwa is gradually exposed to his own self-centeredness whenever his family is put into danger.
In reality, the two of them have much more in common than in contrast. Narratively, both Keiwa and Michinaga exist to equally juxtapose with Ace. If Ace is the reincarnated God of Creation with a pile of granted self-centered wishes, who seeks a purpose for his life and finally finds it in his godly role, the other two are common men turned into Riders and twisted into antagonists, using their power for self-imposed purposes. Tycoon and Buffa both had been abused by their supporters for pure amusement, they both wished for power in response to grief, had this wish granted at some point, and they gave a new meaning to their power as protectors. They have become the sword and the shield that fight for the happiness of all, for the world they learned to have faith in.
And stretching their comparisons for lighter sceneries and headcanons, Michinaga can be seen as a tough shell hard to crack, but with a quite sensible side within that yearns validation (Hyperbattle Episode my beloved), while Keiwa is all smiles and giggles to all around him, but is the scariest of the two if he’s mad (Geats anime my other beloved). Keiwa is a good cook and Michinaga does love to eat. Both of them would catch up with Neon TV streams, and if Neon has Ben and John, Sara has Keiwa and Michinaga to look out for her. As confidants, Keiwa is the rambler most of the time and Michinaga is the listener, only opening up when he really needs to.
_
TURNING POINTS AND THE NEGATIVE SPACE
I consider three turning points in the series, and I headcanon a fourth one depending on the fanfic I imagine lol
Episode 6, the Memory Card Game. It’s the first opportunity the two of them have of bonding and working together. It’s when Keiwa has to learn that he can only win by defeating others, and Michinaga goes out of his way to have a clean win and eliminate Mary, sparing Keiwa in the process. Considering in the previous episode Michinaga says he will not lose to Ace, to only Ace, I like to imagine that, in that moment, Michinaga saw in Keiwa a Rider he’d prefer to destroy last, if he had to.
Episode 40 and 41, it’s well known how the Bujin arc is the biggest turning point for both characters. I’d like to go deeper about this part in specific for a later moment, but for now, I say this is where their character arcs intertwine and switch roles, and it’s when Michinaga takes full responsibility for what happened to Keiwa and Sara. In headcanon territory, he would carry this responsibility to much later if not to the grave, going out of his way to protect the Sakurai’s happiness and finding his own in them.
Episode 46 is the turning point for Keiwa, out of his Bujin berserk and saving Michinaga, who had been trying to save his sister all the time. He understands the world Ace wants to create and fully believes that even those who did wrong deserve happiness in this world: even someone who harmed Sara before, like Daichi, even someone who seems to not care about his own happiness, like Michinaga, even someone used by the devil to betray his friends and cause ruin to all, like himself.
In headcanons and fanfic territory, a sort of reunion of the two is the fourth turning point, something to have them talk about anything, just a chance to truly speak out their experiences, share their particular concerns, and find out that amidst the madness that is to be a Kamen Rider and the normalcy of two civilian guys working to get food on their table, they are not alone.
The Memory Card Game is perfect to introduce their dynamics and chemistry and serve as a prologue for what comes later for them, way later, and hell, talk about later…
They have few, if any, meaningful interactions until the last arc. For one side, I did wish so much to have more of them together, leaving me to simply fantasize divergences to justify a closer approach and have more of their chemistry in action.
There are worlds in which a moment of casualness between matches leads self-reflections, like Michinaga finding out his twisted feelings for seeing Keiwa back to his normal self but dragged into the DGP, or like Keiwa owing Michinaga for helping him in the Memory Game, if he ever comes to know if that third shuffle was no mere luck. A world which Keiwa makes an approach when he finds Michinaga across the street. A world where one finds the other asleep in the lounge and brings a blanket. Maybe one where Michinaga's concern for Keiwa being tricked by Ace is more present, one where Keiwa learns that his revival wish includes someone Michinaga lost, perhaps even a distant universe where Tycoon is compatible with the Zombie buckle due to his desire of reviving the dead, and he’s the one sent to the Garden and meet a Jyamato who happens to know Michinaga way too well. Who knows, a world where Undead Fire is addressed before it’s too late.
This is the negative space, a world of possibilities never to happen but forever entertained. This is my playground.
All that said, on the other hand, it’s this classic lack of conversation and their own individual journeys that culminate in their real connection, on a deeper level that no one they know can ever relate. Perhaps no one in the world, dare I say no one in spacetime.
_
"I’ve carved my own path, you followed your wrath, but maybe we’re both the same"
Michinaga had watched his friend die and be mocked by Riders. Moved by grief, he relentlessly pursued his wish for power so he could make justice with his own hands and destroy those who cause suffering. He let himself be used by the Jyamar faction to kidnap the Goddess, as long as he could get his wish granted and change the world. He got blood in his hands for that cause, and that blood will stay with him until the grave. He would never deserve a happy ending, he was told, and he believed it.
The parasite game begins, and Michinaga does what he does best: he crushes his enemies... who happen to be innocent people turned into monsters. One of them happens to be Sara.
Keiwa watches his sister die, by a Rider nonetheless. He can’t rationalize it: the very reason for him to fight, to live, is dead. Out of grief and despair, he wishes for power to make justice, and uses this granted power to seek his vengeance first, to destroy those who caused her death and his misery. He lets himself be used by the enemy to corrupt a Goddess, as long as he gets his ideal world. He took people out of the grave, only for the resurrected by his wish to fill those graves with even more victims.
Michinaga sees the man who once claimed to not desire to harm others, the very counterpoint of his twisted worldview, now becoming a cynical destroyer like himself used to be, and this time, it’s his fault.
And I’m guilty of not being any better than Beroba and Kekera.
_
"The world has turned, and so many have burned, but nobody is to blame"
If Ace taught them about faith and redemption, they actually put it in practice with each other.
Here comes what I briefly said earlier about my thoughts on taking responsibility. Michinaga has the need of himself to be the one to bring Keiwa back to his senses before it’s too late, not only because it’s his fault, but he knows well the misery that awaits at the end of that road. Keiwa is the living mirror of his actions, but he’s still at reach to be pulled back. If Michinaga sees himself as unfit for a happy ending, he makes sure at least Keiwa won’t have the same curse.
If Bujin!Keiwa is a reflection of Michinaga in the earlier episodes, on the other hand, for Keiwa, Michinaga had become what Keiwa thought himself to be at the beginning and had lost on the way: someone who will do anything in his reach for the best of others, even at the cost of his own happiness; who finds joy and purpose in the good for others in his community, even if the man will forever believe to not deserve a happy ending of his own. Besides, Michinaga is the one who knows better than anyone the meaning of “a budding wish from the wreckage of a heart” that the Black General turned out to be.
For both of them is the idea of “I need you to find your happiness, so I can believe I’m worthy of it too”.
"We deserve it... but I need you to prove it to me too. Show me that even us deserve it, even if we don't believe it ourselves..."
_
FURTHER QUESTIONS
Honestly just happy to hear any keimichi/buccoon thoughts you have whenever you do. Know it probably doesn't help to not ask about anything specific buuuuuut it's true. Maybe something niche between them you thought of that you haven't shared before?
Mmmm I think I never went on about my favorite scenario to fanfic in my mind about.
You see my fourth fanfictional turning point in regards to their reunion. Let time pass first, have them both older like +5 years after the series. They reconnect by a strike of luck that Keiwa tends to attract, and renew a sparkle in their dull lives. Let them drink and get drunk, spill truths they’ve bottled for so long that no one else in the world would understand, let them talk shit about their job, about being a Rider, let them cuss Kekera and Beroba, let them blame Ace for putting them in each other’s way again because Ace knows they need each other, he knows what’s best for his pathetic friends. Let them be each other’s catharsis and be the missing piece in their puzzled lives.
"I've been told many times that I'm unworthy of happiness. It became true somewhere within me, and every day it's an uphill battle. Every day I look for reasons, as small as they are, to be happy. A sunny day to dry my clothes, a rainy day to refresh the weather, an easy day of work, a good meal, and someone to share it with... This world Ace created made my fight easier, but it hasn't ended yet, it might never will."
-
when did you get into keimichi (around what scene/episode)? what's your favourite thing about them as a ship?
By episode 1 I was already attached to the 1st of the losers (better known as runner-up) moody buffalo,
By episode 2 I was already attached to the Sakurai siblings and called out to my friend something like “boy I’m already into the pacifist guy and the angry bull, will my favorite ship finally be a big one for a change??????” Notice here how I was already playing with what-ifs instead of waiting to happen.
By episode 6... You've seen the rest sdfgjkhgfdfghj
As for my favorite thing, I hope this whole essay is a good answer LOL but in a very small nutshell, it’s the slowburn. It’s the redemption that many believe to be impossible.
-
Not really a question, but some ideas are the parallels between Keiwa's relationship with Sara and Michinaga with Tooru. Anger and the want for revenge, and how they both eventually come to peace with things. [...]
SIBLING BONDS!!!!!! About Sara and Tooru’s relationships I think I’ve said a bunch about how their deaths shaped Keiwa and Michinaga to desire revenge and yadda yadda, so instead, allow me to digress into the family theme that is so recurring in Geats.
There’s Ace in his thousand years of seeking his mother, forging a faux siblingship with Tsumuri, there’s Neon who doesn’t feel like she belongs in her own home, there’s Keiwa and Sara and how their bond means the world to each other… There's even Win and his stern grandfather, Sae and her little siblings, Archimedes and the Jyamato… and there’s Michinaga, an outlier, for we barely see any of his connections other than Tooru and the father figure that kicks him from home.
Here I’ll stretch a bit away from keimichi and enter the Geats OT4 territory, more specifically about Neon, who I believe to draw a better parallel to Michinaga when it comes to family, as both at some point didn’t have a place to belong. Their relationship also lives in the negative space in the series (Bonding over terrible parentship, Michinaga either resenting or supporting Neon’s escapades depending on the direction of the talk, etc.). But the reason I bring Neon’s parallel up is because of what Keiwa tells her back in the Yearning Arc, and that I think it would also resonate with a post-ending Michinaga.
Do I mean Michinaga would live under their roof? Not necessarily, but I'm not against it lol
I do mean though that I imagine the Sakurai siblings accepting him as part of their family. Even more so considering that Michinaga and Sara do share a special condition.
“But Sara’s Jyamato powers only happened once under a specific condition!!” it didn’t even need to happen on Girls Remix for me to already think about Sara as half-Jyamato, the fact it happened only spared this text an extra paragraph of rambling kxcjvbcxkvnocixnvcx
[...] And how Keiwa is the ball of sunshine that Michinaga desperately needs in his life. And how Michinaga is a stubborn bull to everyone but softens for Keiwa.
YOU GET ME!!! You’re all lucky I’m nerfed with the incapability of cropping the 4 Aces credits scene I mentioned earlier at the moment. The imagery of Michinaga softening his scowl to the brightest smile he ever showed at the sight of Keiwa and Sara being safe, sound and silly, it’s peak ur honor.
-
- Moments! Even the dumb ones! I will NEVER get over the fact that these two were literally sleeping in the same place in the Geats × Gotchard movie. *slams table*
HAHAHAHA AND THE SHOULDER PAT DURING THE FADE OUT!!! I’ll be brief about the banquets of episodes 6 and Creation Arc that had been already pointed as turning points, but I’ll at least highlight:
“Now this (the Boost Buckle) belongs to us” says Michinaga in episode 6, and Keiwa has no clue he’s the one included in the message;
Keiwa’s full FLIP when he speaks to Michinaga and soon after to Kekera in episode 46. I mean it when I say he’s the scariest when he’s mad;
In Episode 14, when Michinaga stops Keiwa from lending his buckle to Ace with a quite protective tone if I may say;
The brief demon baby shittalk in the Revice vs Geats movie which both of them are smirking while Ace is quite serious;
Episode 39 in its full, but especially Michinaga’s surprise visit at Keiwa’s house;
If no one gets me, I know 4 Aces movie credits gets me.
Geats Oneness have Buffa and Tycoon together in the same shoulder pad;
Still in 4 Aces movie, Buffa’s zombie shielding Tycoon against XGeats;
Michinaga dreams of Keiwa winning the cutest noraneko dancer contest in the Hyperbattle;
The babysitting passage in Master Micchi ofc;
They share screen in the Geats anime opening, also bug nerdsssss;
And I’m pretty sure there is more but I’m listing those that comes faster in mind kjhgfdfghjk
And honor mention to this moment because…
listen...
Episode 31 does more harm than favors for the ship, but Buffa throwing Tycoon in the hellhole is a staple screenshot I make so much fun of jhgfghjkkjh
But most importantly.
- Please explain why Keiwa definitely likes being hugged and why Michinaga definitely likes having his hair played with (??????) (no one is getting me off this boat. To me, this is specifically canon.)
LKJHGHJKLLKJHCXKJVC LET’S WRAP UP WITH FLUFF THEN!
Keiwa loves being hugged because this is Michinaga demonstrating his affection in an intimacy level he saves for him. It’s when his boyfriend is finally allowed to rest after a busy day and melt over his favorite person in the world. Michinaga loves when Keiwa plays with his hair because, after a lifetime exposed to violence, it’s the most delicate touches that really gets into him, it feels like cleansing his hair from the memory of Beroba messing up with it before (based Beroba for giving him peak hairstyle btw).
Now, may I offer the opposite scenario as well? Because I also imagine Keiwa’s fluffy messy hair to also be quite soothing to be played with, and he totally has the face of someone who would love being cafuné’d. In my pile of drafts my Michinaga writing often falls into daydreaming about burying his hands in Keiwa’s hair and wasting all of his time just enjoying the sensation. On the other hand, I see Keiwa being the cuddler of the two, and the touchstarved Michinaga loves him so much for that. <3
who do u think fell first :3
DEFINITELY Michinaga and definitely on episode 6 after realizing Keiwa is another brand of dumb but selfless Rider 🗣️ but ofc he would bottle it until so much later bc the guy has this rooted belief of being unworthy of happiness, even though seeing the other happy does make him the happiest.
Meanwhile I imagine Keiwa attracted by Michi (and by most of cast lol) but he separates it from his feelings pretty well. It does take him a slow burn to actually fall in love (Bujin causalities lol) but being Michi the one who understands his trauma the best, it’d change a lot his view on the other.
-
Do they ever get into arguments over sales at the grocery store?
PFFFTTTHITHSIUGIFXCV who wouldn't 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️ I think Keiwa is the one to go to the store and walk thru all alleys and deciding what to buy on the get-go, while Michi is the one who sticks with a list of essentials with a lot of questionable items like cheap snacks.
_
CONCLUSION
HOLYSHIT GUYS, TALK ABOUT A RAMBLE
First, I just want to circle back to my introduction, when I mention having watched Geats in 2024. As you can infer from the year, my entire Geats experience was after its release, completely unaware of production news and discourses that I only heard it happened. It did reach me, however, instances where fans of one character reblogged my posts with tags mentioning their dislike for the other, and I’ll admit, it’s always so funny when it happens (lol), but it's a weird spot to be when my two favorite characters with almost identical developments allegedly have conflictuous fanbases.
Still, just in case you happen to hate either Keiwa or Michinaga for whatever reason, and you happened to cross with this unnecessary ramble of 4k words from a woman with a pile of webtoon pages to color: I do know how negative experiences can affect the bias for a fictional character beyond the character itself. If that's your case, relax, none of this was written with the intention of convincing you otherwise, and your experiences and opinions are still just as valid. However, if this whole rambling somehow softens your opinion on any of them, I'll be happy to hear it!
All that said, I don’t want to call this a love letter because my real declaration of love for the ship is stuck in my drafts in the form of a slowburn fic, but it definitely is close to it.
I don’t know how many will read so deep into this, but I take this also as an exercise in expressing my thoughts, something I tend to be very shy about even in my usual tag rambling. I don’t know if my interpretations make justice to the characters and the series, or if I’ve been too convenient in some points and twisted it all up to fit my fantasy (episode 31 is a sore spot that I don’t want to ignore because peak!Keiwa is there but damn what an anticlimax lol) but I hoped I succeeded in expressing my deepest appreciation for the two comfort blorbos that had been with me for a year and a half.
If you have come this far, I hope you enjoyed the trip!
_
Now to return to the usual schedule
(last edited on 03/03/26 to fix some mispellings and weird phrasings)
