AND ANOTHER THING. Chiba and Inugami’s dynamic could be so great. While I love the scene where Haguro confronts Chiba about his lie, there was build up to it, it had to happen, it still feels like such a waste of a character.
I have a hard time relating to Akira because of his holier than thou attitude towards humans. I don’t care that he’s a werewolf, he’s supposed to be a teen and that already turns me off about him. But in this moment?
He’s incredibly sympathetic to me. This right here is a kid who is a self imposed loner and because of that he ain’t so good at the starting a conversation thing so he rehearses his lines! There’s no cocky bravado here, no swagger like he knows all the answers or that he’s above it all. He’s worried about Aoshika, y’know, like a human with feelings and he’s never had to rely on someone before. That’s some good shit.
And who is there to pull him out of his own ass? Chiba.
In a perfect world Chiba could have been the one to get Inugami out of his shell. Chiba’s not scared of Inugami, he doesn’t wanna beat the shit out of him just for kicks. Chiba’s real enough that he can acknowledge his jealousy of Inugami’s power, but he doesn’t act on it because of the chip he has on his shoulder. Chiba seems grounded and mature for his age and that’s a presence that Inugami could really thrive off of. Someone who isn’t on a pedestal of purity like Aoshika that can show Inugami that not every human is a fucking black hole of negativity just by being himself.
And Akira can be a more positive motivating force for Chiba than fucking Haguro. Through Akira, Chiba can grow past the hang ups he has. Akira can be a conduit through which Chiba can realize that physical strength isn’t the only strength that matters, that Chiba doesn’t have to rely on people like Haguro to achieve his goals, that he doesn’t have to sacrifice a part of himself to get where he wants to be.
All this to say I just want to see them being fucking bros man. Just two teen boys who rip on each other, aren’t afraid to be honest with each other because at the end of the day they’ve got each other’s back.
