Not janka related but i wanted to maybe open this discussion, esp since you’re rereading the manga. Ever since urana stated the main trio dont really hang out with each other like that in their free time (outside of team dinners mandated by enjin) ive noticed they kinda dont have any chemistry with each other?¿ or no, they do have chemistry but it’s very. Weird. For a shounen trio they’re interlocked in a way thats very awkward to me
Like i understand in fics and fan comics/art we want deeper relationships between the characters because thats the nature of fanwork but in canon i do not think zanka and riyo are best friends. Like maybe they are friends but they moreso feel like the dynamic you have with your favorite, most reliable coworker. But also if you asked riyo who her favorite coworker is i dont know if zanka would be her 2nd answer.
Theres a feeling of distance between the three. Especially riyo who keeps everybody at arms length. Rudo seems like the one who could possibly break through and actually connect with riyo but hes still an autistic kid who just started learning how reach out and connect to others. Plus he has like. Gods to kill i guess. And then of course theres zanka’s upward comparison issues and resentment at his own perceived inadequacy as he watches rudo get better and better but at the same time hes also supposed to be his mentor. Its also SO funny seeing zanka push rudo to connect with others (remlin) when he himself is not doing that at all
So it all cumulates into a kinda awkward trio dynamic. At least to me. Typically there is the “glue” character in a shounen trio but thats not really present here. Atm the glue is enjin, which is different for a shounen but i think its good and makes total sense
Interesting topic of discussion! I’m eager to see what my community thinks. My own take below:
So, disclaimer: I usually take a pretty “Death of the Author” approach to analysis. I’m not always sure how to fit meta-commentary made by the author about actual story details into my perspective, and I’m also lazy, so I kind of just go, “eh, whatever.” And I probably get everything Urana-sensei says way out of context anyway, since I only hear it secondhand. Thus, I usually ignore all of that and just go off of the text.
That being said, I find this an intriguing statement, because you’d ordinarily think that it would mean they aren’t really each other’s true friends, and that they have other people in their lives, right? But here, I doubt that’s the case. I think they don’t really hang out with each other like that because two of them don’t hang out with anyone at all.
Riyo has been shown to have no close relationships with anyone outside of maybe Enjin. She seems to have some interest in Rudo as a person, but shares nothing about herself with him. We also don’t see too much of her relationship with Zanka. I noticed that she was the one he came up to during Rudo’s welcome party. I also liked their back-to-back moment during the Doll Festival arc; I thought it showed how they genuinely trusted each other and moved as partners. Nor does Zanka mask his pain to her at the arc’s conclusion; granted, he might have just not been able to, or he figured that she already knew everything anyway — but that second thing in itself is also closeness, for weird, emotionally isolated people like them. However, it’s not particularly reciprocated. Riyo doesn’t show anything of herself to Zanka at all, not that we’ve seen.
I would argue, though, that she does feel quite some personal loyalty toward him. She did shoot Jabber a bunch of times. And she lugged his stupid ass back with her, even though no one would have known if she’d just left him. As I recall, her dialogue in the Noerde fight makes a lot of references to her motivations being wanting to help her friends. It’ll be interesting to see what that means to her in the arc I desperately need her to get, oh my god. It makes me wonder how much she values herself.
As for Zanka himself, I think it’s safe to say he’d never had a real friend in his life. Riyo seems to have cared deeply for someone at some point in the past; that may have been reciprocated. But Zanka had never had the experience of caring about a peer by choice. I don’t think he knows how to do it. He’s so weird around Rudo — much like how Rudo can’t smile, Zanka can’t do genuine peer-to-peer connection. It always has to be either fake (like we see in his introduction) or weird and stunted (like we see in the scene where he advises Rudo to talk to Remlin <-and totally talks out of his ass, just like you said. Zanka, you don’t have friends). He loves Enjin, but Enjin is not his peer! He puts that man on a pedestal probably because it is the only way he knows how to have a positive relationship with somebody like that in his life. He’s Rudo’s mentor probably because he couldn’t handle being around the kid without a power structure like that in place.
Thus, for Zanka and Riyo, I think the situation is that Zanka does not know how to be friends, and Riyo either won’t or can’t. The implication is that she suffered a terrible loss, and that she blames herself. During her Amo hallucination, I think she said something like, “I’ll protect you this time.” Now she’s in a new place with new rules, more powerful but with less access to her tried-and-true skillset, and… you want her to have another friend? Of course she won’t.
But that doesn’t mean she wouldn’t be devastated if Zanka died on her watch. Not only because it would be a repetition of her past mistakes, but also because… they are well-suited for each other. Both strange, both withdrawn, both lacking experience with normal relationships… Strong enough to stand back-to-back with each other, but not strong enough to cry on each other’s shoulders. Lonely together.
Meanwhile, Rudo actually is hanging out with other people. Despite being naturally the worst at it, the way he was raised and the effort he puts in have made him the best at it! His heart is open. He doesn’t have the same peer-to-peer hangups, and because of his past inexperience, every situation is new. He can learn and grow without having to un-learn. For this reason, if anyone is going to be the “glue,” it’ll probably eventually be him. He’ll grow into the role as he matures. Gachiakuta seems to want to be about human connection, and as a shounen, its main character should be the avatar of that theme. It’ll be interesting to see how everyone develops going forward.
Anyway, in fanon, I’ve kind of extrapolated off my read of Zanka and Riyo to give them the kind of friendship where they’re just really comfortable with one another. I think they sit in a lot of rooms together and don’t talk.
I NEED to know what other ways high school zanka would drive his teammates mad🤲
Oh my god, I thought I hallucinated this ask. Turns out it just disappeared from my inbox after I saved it as a draft.
Okay. Please imagine you are a teenage boy from a well-off family living in Manhattan, New York. You are white (or trying to be), and you are casually xenophobic in that way elite white people are where they carry with them an unshakeable innate sense that their culture is simply normalcy, and everything else is silliness. Insulated in a community of others like you, peppered sparsely with a few “differents” who are all doing their best to adhere to your normal, you are quietly assured that you are the kind of person in this world that matters. You are one of the protagonists of this earth. Your triumphs are the most noble, your sorrows the most exquisite. And from a young age, your parents have been sending you to do sportsball. Through privilege, the natural talents you were born with have been tended like your mother’s heirloom tomatoes. You are the coolest guy on the soccer team. Everybody wants to be like you. High school is going to be your time.
And then one day, some Japanese hick rolls up.
And he’s better than you.
He’s smarter. He gets better grades. He’s more athletic. He gets more goals. He’s more charismatic. People flock to his side. Yet he doesn’t really have any friends; he exists at the top, alone, perfectly accessible as your teammate and yet tantalizingly out of reach. Why won’t he hang out with you? Does he think he’s better than you? Is he better than you? But he’s so nice. And, despite his crazy fucking accent, he performs your cultural norms BETTER THAN YOU DO. While simultaneously having that special little exotic “something” insulated white people are so drawn to—little hints of oriental mystery (blegh) that make him undeniably cool. Your crush is buying a kimono.
Okay, well, maybe he’s a conceited asshole. NO; HE’S SO HUMBLE IT MAKES YOU WANT TO KILL HIM.
Okay, well, he’s not dating anybody. Maybe he’s insecure. Maybe He Has A Small Dick.
how do you feel abt swap au janka? Likee with jabber being a cleaner and zanka being a raider and stuff. i’m not usually into swap au’s but i think with them specifically it’s cool to think abt how they’d turn out in those diff environments
I think it's cool! I don't have any particular ideas for it myself, but I've been enjoying what others have put out about it. If Zodyl had been there when Zanka was in the well... We've seen he has the social and interpersonal acumen necessary to attract weird people of all types, and Zanka Nijiku is hardly all that complicated. My only concern is that I think poor Jabber would be bored out of his skull as a Cleaner. We know so little about him that I'm not sure at what point Enjin would have needed to show up for him.
I don't think of Zanka as a completely amoral character (he seems to at least have an instinct to care for others, as seen in his interactions with Rudo), but I think he's easily manipulated.
Oh, on that note: Zodyl Typhon is a very interesting villain to me because he is almost a trope that I despise, but it ends up being fine. The trope I mean is the extremist villain whose viewpoints are kind of correct, but the story justifies their defeat (and a return to the status quo) by having them pursue their goals through unforgivable methods. Zodyl Typhon is right about the status quo between the Ground and the Sphere needing to change, and his methods are also unforgivable; you can't just kill people willy-nilly, sir. However, the story avoids making him into this trope because the main characters are ALSO trying to get to the Sphere and change the status quo. Because of this, I think the narrative may end up saying something actually interesting about extremism vs necessary change. Which... has nothing to do with what you asked, but thank you for making me think of it!
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Greetings, all. I am a humble fanfiction author who does the collection Crouching Jonkler Hidden Zonkler on AO3, which is centered around the ship between Jabber Wonger and Zanka Nijiku from the shounen manga & anime Gachiakuta. Kind commenters have named me Crouch.
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Well, hopefully that's everything. I am going to go reblog dozens of Janka fan art images now.
For that one anon claiming that Zanka would have fairy types... I'm sorry, but as an avid Pokémon fan, I have to disagree. Zanka doesn't really seem to be a type trainer at all-- instead, favoring Pokémon that aren't seen as strong by others, but he wants to bring out their potential as their trainer. Not something like Gyarados, but more Pokémon that might not have any known evolutions (single-stages currently), no baby Pokémon, just ones that seem to be underutilized by others or deemed 'useless.' Something like Zangoose, Heracross, Orthworm, Bruxish. Those are just off the top of my head, not a real team for him. If Zanka has steel types, it doesn't matter, because Jabber would have Pokémon with the ability Corrosion. Zanka doesn't need the type disadvantage to still have his ass wiped by Jabber. It all comes down to trust, moving with your Pokémon, and experience. Zanka's confidence is still the issue he has in a Pokémon AU as he would in canon.
Zanka would absolutely start fist-fighting with Jabber in the middle of yelling out commands for their Pokémon battle, though. Jabber likes to mimic their own Pokémon's Poison Touch with some claws of their own. If you've ever seen Sneasler... that's just Jabber as a Pokémon.
Sorry Crouch-sama, you may not know anything about Pokémon, but I needed to speak my mind. Zanka can't have fairy types just because they are weak to Jabber's types; it doesn't make sense for the rest of his individual character!
It is true that I know absolutely nothing whatsoever about Pokémon, but I love a good debate. Pokémon understanders, the floor is yours.
i really love your post-clarity fic, your evil zanka is so good
would you ever write a fic where janka are equally evil together? not a request ofc pls write whatever you wish, but i was just curious because i feel like you'd really do them justice, and i think it would be really fun for them to be murderous boyfriends together
I don't currently have any ideas that are specifically this concept, but that could be fun. What does everyone else think?
Crouch-sama, please bear with me once more. Hope you are doing well!
I don't think Zanka would avoid choosing fairy-types because they are strong, but rather because there aren't really any that are "underutilized" because of their strength. Fairy-types are so strong that almost all of them are used based on that alone. Zanka isn't going after weak Pokémon-- he is going after those he thinks people don't see their full potential in. I think his relationship with his Pokémon mirrors the one we see him have with Lovely Assistaff in canon. He sees the potential for Lovely, even though she's "just a stick," and picked her. It's not to say Zanka would actively avoid the fairy-type, as he would fire-types for more trauma-related reasons, but rather it seems that way since none of them are having their potential overlooked. Zanka with a Tinkaton, though... that one would be very fun, considering it has the best typing in the game, a crazy overpowered move, but an attack stat so ass it can't make use of any of it. I'm sure Zanka might want to see beyond that and try using it. Honestly though, there just isn't a fairy-type that anyone looks at and goes "Oh, unusable."
I'm curious what other people think for Jabber. I do imagine Jabber as a type-trainer. For poison, of course. Jabber seems like the type to fight the wild Pokémon he takes interest in. If they're strong enough to land a hit or make him worry, then he catches them. His Pokémon are overpowered and fiercely loyal. They match up really well in spirit because of this too! Scary, scary.
I did see someone else talking about Rudo-- I have many thoughts for him as well! With 3R being so powerful, but the power specifically being bringing out potential in any object, even things deemed as trash in a derogatory way to others, so I was trying to think how that translated into a Pokémon AU. My conclusion was that with Rudo, I can't pick out a specific team because I think he ends up rescuing a lot of Pokémon, or ends up with a team of those who were abandoned and released or mistreated by their original trainers. I can see Rudo as a Cubone, or I can see Trubbish as a partner Pokémon who joins him when he is off collecting trash to fix up, but not much more than that. With Rudo, it's more about thinking about where he is going inside of whatever region he is in to see what Pokémon he is trying to help. I don't think it would be limited to weak Pokémon either, just any in need of help.
Another submission to the Gachimon journal, pending peer review.
