hi! so for the longest time, I've been thinking about Taichi and Iori's characters given their career paths. do you have any thoughts on what their similarities or differences might be with regards to the nature of their professions and their own perspectives on ideas of justice, mediation, diplomacy, and law? I have some loosely formed musings on this, but just curious if you might have some as well.
I don't know much about Japanese politics to be super-detailed on this, but what I will say is that I think the biggest difference is "scope". I personally feel this applies overall to the Adventure group and the 02 group, with the whole thing about how the older Adventure group seems to have more ambitious, wider-ranging careers that will have big impacts on the world at large, like "first (something) in the world", or being a huge influencer, or just relating to individual ambition in general, whereas the 02 group is what I call "community-oriented"; their careers involve smaller-scope things that involve service to the people around them, or, in the case of Takeru, something of immense personal sentimental value.
Taichi and Iori are definitely people who want to do good for others in their lives, but Taichi's goals relate to his character of "bringing people together even from different places" and "leading everyone forward" -- so on top of being a naturally ambitious person who shoots high, as a diplomat, his eventual career is about mediation and peace, to resolve conflicts and help lead in a new era (see his thesis at the end of Kizuna). His goal is to propose solutions for the future and to help "bridge that gap" between two entire worlds, in a sense. Iori, on the other hand, is working more at the community level; it's never said that he's the first of anything, he just happens to be a defense attorney. But for him, it means understanding more about other people and the circumstances and psychology behind those who commit "crimes", or are accused of committing crimes, to think harder about what that even means, and to help people on the individual level. I personally feel that part of it is for Iori to be able to help and advocate for people like Ken and Oikawa due to his past experiences, but part of it is also as a learning experience for himself; even as an adult, I imagine he'll always be feeling that there's more he needs to understand about the topic.
