Galileo: Some thoughts on Yukawa
Again, as with Utsumi, I have read the Higashino books and seen the first season of Galileo. And I am finding Yukawa to be so utterly fascinating! Of course he is, he's the focus of the show through Utsumi's interactions with him. In the books he's being viewed through the reader's and other characters POV.
Beware, wild ramblings ahead!
First off its nice to see Book! Yukawa actually acting like a normal human being. It was a relief when Yukawa started outlike a reasonably normal person, just an incredibly smart, very observant, rather snarky, one. My initial thoughts right away is that he uses his stoicism, observations and intellect to keep people at arms length, usually by cutting, rather ruthlessly, their arguments to shreds and showing them how much more smart he is. And this results in folks feeling like they are idiots. That screams defense tactic to me. He likes to maintain the upper hand. Its like protection, right? I think his awkwardness / detachment is also a shield. It's a construct he's created to form a protection around himself. He's not just going to let anyone past his formidable defenses. He's a stoic, patient, very formal man. He hides his emotional involvement to remain detached and logical. It's his castle, his fortress, his defense. He hides them, he just isn't divested from them. They are there, he just doesn't want to bother dealing with them if he can rationalize his way around them. But he's also compassionate, if the way he acts at the very end of The Devotion of Suspect X has anything to say at all! Gaaah, heartbreaking moment, but he really stood out! It came out again when he was dealing with Kuribayashi's friend who had been ruined by his greedy ex-wife.(Episode 7 - Foresight) Yukawa doesn't really tolerate 'idiots'--especially heartbroken idiots-- but he ends up going out for drinks with Kuribayashi and his friend in the 'camaraderie of lonely men' spirit of things. Interesting that he did that huh? Utsumi knows that underneath all his intellect, barriers and defenses, that there is a vein of compassion and morality and she is able to get at him that way. Sometimes actually shaming him into facing it. Yukawa grudgingly comes around to some of her points of view (she does sting him one occasionally...) Plus he does notice when she's not taking care of herself,even going so far as to buy her something to eat, possibly even giving her some space to deal with grief from one case, though I personally think he should have stayed in that damn lab with her for that! (That's my overly romantic heart talking and its sticking with that! I mean seriously, she came to his lab, sought him out, and asked him politely, if she could stay there. I think she wanted him to stay there for some sort of comfort? And he gets up and leaves?? Regardless that he's going on a food run? *facepalm*) Another aspect of Yukawa that I personally really like is his love of teaching. He's not just a professor doing research at a University. He's lecturing, teaching other students, and he has a cluster of advanced students he's teaching personally. This part of Yukawa's character really stood out, and was a primary focus when he is dealing with Kyohei in the book A Midsummers Equation. He runs into an obstinate young boy. He takes it upon himself to start tutoring this kid. Despite declaring that he does not like children! He shows Kyohei how to build rockets, the whys and wherefores of rockets being used for aerial observations. He teaches him about the metals used to create different colours on fireworks, the different properties of fire and paper, down to mathematics and geometry. I think Yukawa really enjoys seeing young minds grasping scientific principals that he is teaching them. He would get a lot of satisfaction seeing that 'light bulb" moment when a student grasps what he is teaching them. In Kyohei, in particular, he's not actually going to be around when the light bulb goes off in the kids head, but he's planted the seeds deep enough to know that moment will happen and he personally sets things up for a support system for the boy when that time finally occurs. That folks, is compassion, investment and pre-planning for the emotional well being of another well ahead of when it is needed. How would, and why would Yukawa do something like that? You see? He's leagues ahead of people. Lets face it too, Yukawa is a handsome man. He has a streak of vanity... the guy seems to be a bit of a clothes horse. I mean Book! Yukawa wears Armani for crying out loud! Even Utsumi notices the special short sleeved shirts he's wearing that shows off his... ( oh gawd help me! gulp ) his arms? He keeps himself fit and in good condition. I already know Show!Yukawa likes those three piece suits. ( Uhh, yum? ) ( Personally I am on a mission to find out if Masha has naturally curly hair... ) He engages in several sports, (don't get me going on how fantastic Masha looks doing archery, oh gawd!), his hobby is cooking and he's a bit vain, the peacock! The man likes to look very presentable, mostly aimed at the opposite sex, so one has to wonder where that came from?? Especially since he does seem to be so 'cold' at outward appearances. The eye candy is strong in this one. And devious! Oh my soul! He's devious! Which I love personally. Gracious, but he could tie knots in people and their logic with ease! You don't quite know what he's up to until you are thoroughly in the trap! By that time you are definitely at his mercy. Great defense tactic that... I can definitely see this happening too. He's just too 'into his thing' to be bothered pursuing a relationship, at least until a willing and much more suitable individual is able to get past all his defenses, tick the appropriate intelligence boxes off, and actually express interest his way as well... that's when his subtlety and deviousness really comes into play. He has some very, very sly machinations going on when his attention is engaged. And does Utsumi ever fall into this trap of his or what? Squuueeeee! I can definitely see these two together, yeah! * fist pump * Utsumi doesn't stand a chance! *** So the question came up about what Yukawa's childhood and upbringing might have been like. Obviously his parents, he does mention mother and father, had a genius on their hands. Boredom is a critical issue here. Keeping Yukawa's mind occupied would be very important. I am inclined to agree with a certain someone who knows who she is... * eyes VR *, that at some point Yukawa's mother ended up having to raise him alone. For what ever reason, the father is no longer on the scene. She has to support them both. He would be both a lonely kid and a latchkey kid, which could explain how he ended up with cooking as a hobby. He may have had to fend for himself if Mom was out working for their support. Being self sufficient for a bewildering array of reasons is crucial to Yukawa. I can see this as a kid, it would be necessary for his survival. And bullied. Big time. That I can see. Mobs don't like the quiet, reserved, smart ones, the introverts. They have bullseye's painted on their backs. If Yukawa was anything like I was when I was bullied, he probably devised a formidable network of alternate routes to get home that would avoid any confrontations with bullies. My favorite was either hiding in the school library after school, or making a break for it and hiding at the big public library a block from the school until I knew the tormentors and bullies were gone. Even going so far as to attend afterschool activities. For Yukawa that would be mostly science and sports types of activities. Of course, hiding out in the library lent itself well for study and research. He could also watch out for when and which direction the bullies would head home and go a different route accordingly. Later on, as he grew older, taller and even more smart, he would probably find ways to defend himself. The man on the show boxes right? What if he learned to do that because of childhood bullying experiences? Growing up, my middle and high schools were two miles from home. Alternate routes weren't easier. Riding my ten speed allowed me to get past the bullies until my childhood chum learned to drive and we could avoids them outright. I don't know how the schools are set up or how far they are from the students in Japan, but you wonder if Yukawa didn't do the same thing to avoid the confrontations? And as for the inevitable confrontations, he probably developed, quickly, how to wipe the floor, verbally, with factual, logical arguments. No doubt this lead to him getting the snot beat out of him because bullies often don't like to hear the truth and even more often resent being made fools out of and will act, usually by striking out, accordingly. (Personally I was routinely pounded on in elementary school. Bloody noses, urinated upon, bruised, scratched, you name it. Introverted welfare brats were prime targets for bullies. I had that alternate route home system down to a fine art. I hid in the libraries until it was 'safe' for me to get home. I participated in art classes after school. Eventually middle and high school changed that aspect of bullying, afterwards it was the more psychological aspects of bullying for being poor and introverted that had to be dealt with. You learn to survive.) There's also quite a bit of maturity in Yukawa. The more settled kind, like its something he's worn for quite a while. He's still youngish in the series, but definitely more mature. His upbringing and possible need to be independent early in his life is quite the determining factor here. He has had to be self-sufficient, especially if he was younger than his 'peers' when he enters college. You get a glimpse of very painful episodes in his earlier life moulding his character to what it is now. His former professor was doing things he ought not when Yukawa was still studying. It created a dilemma in Yukawa's life that was upsetting, unsettling and taught him a hard lesson about himself. One that he had to endure and make him 'grow up' even more. An experience he didn't want to repeat and one that he loathed having to face when that professor reared his head again in Yukawa's later life. Life experiences often times are hard and painful but are actually the often ones that 'make' us. Think of Yukawa and Utsumi as diamonds in the rough. The hard experiences are the chisels cutting off, rather painfully, the chips, shards, and pieces of the rough rock to help form the invaluable diamond under neath that exterior. This deeper maturity, really came out when he had to deal with Utsumi after he defused the bomb in his lab. He had to be detached and not react when she began to emotionally crumble before his eyes. She been pushed far beyond her endurance and stress. She was terribly vulnerable and he could not take advantage of her when she was in that state. He became her rock instead. A far more gentlemanly, and gallant position when you really look at it. Yeah, as viewers we want them wrap their arms around each other for the big ol' bear hug of feels, but really? What he did was far more rational --it's Yukawa peoples-- and much more needful for Utsumi. He was helping her through a painful experience that was shaping her into that metaphorical diamond. And he wants to be there to see her become that precious stone. Even contributing to the process itself to see her become what she could be. Over time he's become invested in her, and like Kyohei from A Midsummer's Equation, he's seeing much, much further down the road than anyone else can see. Seeing this aspect in Yukawa, if he was attracting her as a potential life time partner, you can bet he's setting things up for Utsumi much like he did with Kyohei. Utsumi just hasn't seen what he's done yet. He has such an extraordinary far seeing ability to see logical conclusions and he's more than willing to exert that ability if it will help others that he begins to have a special regard for. And he definitely has that regard towards Utsumi. He does think about her, outside of 'professional' circumstances. (Germanium again? You know that stuff isn't cheap...) he notices when she's not eating, not sleeping and he realizes--in the face of unbearable duress--that he needed to stay calm, rational and unemotional for her sake. Plus, you know, there is the matter of a small nuclear bomb needing to be dismantled I know there's more, so much more to Yukawa! I just need more time to process it all! LOL!
