#yamashirou

[seventeenlovesthree]

Spring is in full bloom, so let's never forget to be kind - and do all things with love. 🌸

[jamesthedigidestined]

TaiKouvember 2024, Day 1: Friendship

"Tch... this better be important.” Yamato gripes internally, a backpack slung over his shoulder, a sharp-looking spike squirming out of the half-open zipper.

“Don’t worry, Matt, it’s your friends! They’re always important.” Tsunomon exclaims, bumping into his partner happily.

“I guess, but Taichi just called me over randomly. The least he could do is tell me what’s going on.” Yamato sighs, pulling out his PDA. Its sleek metallic blue shell shimmers in the midday Sun as he quickly opens the GPS to make sure he’s going the right way. 

Admittedly, it was rare for him to meet up at Taichi’s apartment, instead opting to meet them in public or at Joe’s. Not that he disliked the gogglehead or his family, but it was easier that way. 

“Matt, weren’t you supposed to take the next left? You went straight.” Tsunomon helpfully asks, pushing more of his body weight against Yamato’s back for emphasis. 

“Oh, right. Thanks, buddy.” The blonde replies simply, softly rustling the backpack as he takes the proper turn, soon ending up in front of the Kamiya Yagami house. 

Knocking on the door at the appropriate strength soon opens the door, revealing a disheveled Taichi, covered in flour and with a pink apron a few sizes too small. “Hey Yamato! Glad you could make it!”

Yamato, naturally, turns the other way and begins to leave. If only he was so lucky. 

“Oh no, you don’t! Koromon, like we planned!” Taichi yells out, dashing after the quickly accelerating blonde. 

“On it, Tai!” Koromon assures his friend, jumping high into the air and latching onto the back of Yamato’s head, blinding him with his rabbit-like ears as Taichi grabs Yamato, restraining his arms, and forcibly carries him inside. 

“Taichi! Let me go! What’s gotten into you?!" Yamato growls and writhes as Taichi laughs, keeping his superior hold firm. 

"You said you'd help! Now quit struggling!" 

“Let me go, and I’d quit struggling!”

“Promise?” 

“Ugh, fine. Promise.”

“Amazing! Kou, get flour! Koromon, you did a great job!“ 

Taichi begins to loosen his hold on Yamato, setting him squarely in the living room as Koromon readily jumps off, spitting and hacking. 

“Gah, I think I have a hairball.” 

“Do it outside, kid; learned that one the hard way,” Gatomon advises, stretching out on the sofa lazily. 

Yamato, adjusting to the scene in front of him, takes it all in while Tsunomon hops out of the bag and over to Mochimon, who’s playing a game on the TV. Koushirou is in a green apron far too large for his small frame, while Taichi is wearing a pink one that’s far too small for his build. They’re both covered in flour, with a... lump of charcoal on the counter. Oh boy, here we go. *Again.*

“Do I *really* have to be here?” Yamato groans, crossing his arms and sitting at the table before continuing, “I already taught you two how to make eggs; isn’t that enough?” 

“Of course not! My mom says a proper man should know how to cook!” Taichi argues, puffing his chest out properly.

“Then learn from her! I nearly died from stress teaching you the first time!” 

“Please, Yamato-san? I can help with teaching Taichi-san, so you don’t have to worry as much.” Koushirou reassures, and Yamato finds it hard to doubt him. 

“Fine, but I’m making this quick. I have band practice at 2.” Yamato acquiesces to their demands, moving to pick up the only available apron, a “kiss the cook” novelty undoubtedly meant for Taichi’s father. 

“Oh? I didn’t know it was still a band with only one person.” Taichi teases, grinning playfully at Yamato. 

“Why you…! I’ll let you know we got a drummer just yesterday!”

“I believe the proper term would be ‘duo’ then, Yamato-san.” 

“Not you too!” 

While this goes on, Gatomon casually carries the ailing Koromon to the patio before he can hack up the hairball. It was blonde. 

[tariringeril]

Yamato x Koushiro (screen shot)

I love Taichi x Koushiro, but this scene is so cute <3 The two have to escape and Koushiro is not that fast and therefore Yamato takes his hand. ( sorry for my bad englisch) (Episode 18)

I don't know, but I just like that =

SO beautiful <3

Episode 18

[sparklyheartsdiana]

I ship Yamato/Matt with both Sora and Mimi. I ship him Taichi/Tai. I ship him with Jou/Joe. I ship him with Koushirou/Izzy. 

[seventeenlovesthree]

Following up after yesterday's headcanon spree, I really felt a tremendous urge to draw some Yamashirou friendship art. It didn't turn out to be a full comic in the end, but I really liked the idea of having them "geek around" scientifically. Having them bond over either food, investigations or science is all very intriguing, especially because it's so rare to see them interact. Which is a shame, because while they have their clashing potential, they would absolutely have each other's backs. Always, no matter what.

Plus... I couldn't help but include smol jealous Taichi feeling a little left out. These dorks have such interesting dynamics, but... Let's say, Taichi may be more used to team up with Koushirou and Yamato respectively instead of being teamed up against. Don't worry, Taichi, they love you too!

[seventeenlovesthree]

Not intending to make a whole Yamataishirou relationship meta post right now, because that'd definitely take too long, but..

All I wanna say is that, like with almost all friendship groups in Digimon, they have a lot of wasted potential. Sure, there are the obvious dynamics that go like: "Koushirou knows how Taito can be (tm) and still has to keep Yamato from strangling Taichi sometimes", "Taishirou acting like (loving) bullies who regularly team up against Yamato - while he has to try hard not to be the third wheel and ends up wondering if Taichi doesn't have a bad influence on Koushirou" and them all going on investigative spy missions...

There are also their novel dynamics and I will never shut up about that, because Yamato calling Koushirou "one of Taichi's fans" and thus accusing him of bias is still the most hilarious thing. Yamato's also not jealous of Koushirou here btw, he's envious of Taichi's ability to move others... But fasting forward a few years, putting a bit of a parody spin on it, Yamashirou's dynamic - aside from bonding over their relationships with their mothers - basically boils down to this:

Yamato: "You're obsessed with Taichi."

Koushirou: "So are you, what is your point?"

Yamato: "... Touché."

[seventeenlovesthree]

On the flipside, you know, all of this is kinda inspiring me to draw a Yamashirou friendship comic. A.) because their friendship is underrated anyway and b.) because I am 100% convinced that Yamato himself would PUNCH you if you called Koushirou boring and "replacable by a computer" to his face.

[seventeenlovesthree]

Digimon Adventure Relationship Analysis: How Yamato and Koushirou, two of the (theoretically) most introverted characters, actually connect very well in the background and are emotionally and intellectually compatible with each other - depending on which canon you choose to look at and whether said canon lets them “communicate”

Like it is the case with many less visible relationships in Digimon Adventure, you might want to take a very close look on how these two interact with each other. Because, for the most part, I’m inclined to say it shouldn’t be a surprise that they’re getting along very well and are actually seen musing, theorizing an plan crafting very nicely once they’re allowed to have screentime together. I say “for the most part”, because there are a few instances in canon that make them clash. A lot. So let’s look at the fine line between “introverts connect well” and “two characters being at odds, because they’re different kinds of introverts”.

I once made a half-serious post on discord about how I felt the different kinds of canons characterized these two interacting with each other. So let’s look at these points one by one:

01: Don't interact that much, but respect each other (Yamato even opens up towards Koushirou in ways he hasn't done towards the others at that point in time, like "I want to evolve too, you know", he might even be a bit protective because he's "smol".)

Despite stating that they don’t interact “that” much, it’s still remarkable how incredibly comfortable they seem with each other. Admittedly, at first I only had “that one” episode in mind that allowed them to go looking for their crests together, since it literally is the most prominent example of them interacting at all. However, thanks to the PSP game - which I will be referencing in a minute -, there actually are quite a few instances that show that, not only are they listening to each other very carefully, but also share some quiet moments together in which they just... Interact very nicely. So let’s fuse these two canons together for emphasis:

PSP game: L i t e r a l l y one of the most prominent relationships besides Taiora, wow, Yamato is vibing with Koushirou a lot, they theorize and worry together (and Yamato offers him to teach him how to cook in one of the side stories. Wholesome).

Yamato is portrayed as very interested in what Koushirou has to say in general (and remembers things he has been ranting about in the past), indicating very early on that he values his opinion - and is also worried about him (which might be his big brother instincts kicking in here and there, since Koushirou is not only younger than him, but just a tad bit taller than Takeru). As said, this might be even more emphasized on in the game, but not only does Yamato ask Koushirou whether he’s fine on his own a lot, but they generally just talk a lot about theories - and one thing I found interesting is that these two seem to be watching TV in their free time, because they reference it a few times, so that could also theoretically be something they bond over. That - and also food. 

(This one I remembered a bit differently, because Yamato specifically addressed Koushirou here in the German dub. “Do you think this will be okay, Izzy? I’ve never hitchhiked before.”)

Then again, there obviously is the famous “Let’s go on an adventure together” episode; it starts with them worrying about Taichi and Agumon - and ends with them having one of the most genuine conversations Yamato may have ever had up to this point. Koushirou even seems a bit taken aback by just how open Yamato is towards him, asking him about why he wants to find his crest and straight up tells him that he wants to mature and discover sides about himself he hasn’t known yet. 

It’s a very honest conversation, showing Yamato letting his guard down towards someone else, which should be a remarkable development. Especially because of how it frames their interaction: Koushirou, upon getting asked why he wants to find his Crest, answers in a very typical fashion: “Because I want to know what Kabuterimon evolves into.” Of course it’s knowledge related, he’s curious and wants to know. Yamato, however, talks about his own development - and by doing so, he basically opens up towards a “friend”, displaying a moment of trust and friendship. So it shouldn’t be surprising that this is where they are finding their crests...

And even if one might have to squint to see it, this may have been the “click” moment establishing them staying communicative in the future. In the most subtle way imaginable. So not only does Yamato maintain his openly worried nature towards Koushirou here and in the future to some degree...

... It also, somewhat, establishes Yamato as the (second to) third most important person Koushirou consults (whenever Taichi and Sora aren’t available).

This is important - because this is something that carries over to 02, Tri and Kizuna. Speaking of which, let’s head over to 02 now:

02: "One braincell" bro squad with Taichi. Very soft and very communicative. Yamato can actually read Koushirou pretty well and even tells his mother that she needs to understand Koushirou only gets persistent towards her, because he worries.

The series basically opens with them still communicating - even if it happens in the back (”Yamato-san told me what happened!”), it definitely indicates a stable connection between these two, even three years later. And although 02 mainly puts Yamato besides Taichi or as a third wheel next to Taichi and Koushirou...

... It also shows how well these two actually understand each other better than expected. One of my favourite scenes in regards of them and their friendship with Taichi and Sora as a whole happens by the very end of the season. Taichi and Sora are investigating together and Koushirou is the one asking Yamato if he’s okay with not having gone with them. His intentions about asking this are not very clearly stated, however - Yamato immediately explains that he would be useless since only Agumon could evolve in case of an emergency, so Taichi was the right one to go with Sora. It implies that Koushirou has been worried about Yamato - and that Yamato himself doesn’t harbor any feelings of inferiority (or even jealousy) towards his friends. It’s just a wonderful display of trust and care between them. 

Furthermore, Kae, Koushirou’s mother, enters the scene asking what it is she could be doing to help out the group besides providing food - and Koushirou immediately tells her off, saying that she shouldn’t stay around much longer in a very persisting tone. She looks down for a second - and it’s Yamato who steps in right there, telling her that she needs to understand how Koushirou feels, since he’s only worried about her. Knowing Yamato, this is a huge deal - because he himself has always been struggling with his own relationship with his mother after the divorce of his parents and, most likely, couldn’t always tell her his honest feelings either. He reads Koushirou’s reaction here correctly - because he understands. They’ve both dealt with family related trauma and are still trying to interact with their parents in more natural ways. We actually don’t know if Yamato knows about Koushirou being adopted, but it doesn’t matter in this context, because he knows him well enough to empathize with his struggles - once again, implying that Yamato and Koushirou are much more familiar with each other than screentime might suggest. 

... Sadly though, Tri doesn’t really continue this streak of familiarity in the same sense. I didn’t summarize their relationship there with words, but with a certain dynamic I couldn’t unsee:

Tri: Koushirou: "Stop picking on Taichi-san already and stop being in denial." Yamato: "Pff, fine."

Tri doesn’t give them many opportunities to interact at all. It does imply that they’re still theorizing about things...

... But at the same time, it kinda also shows that they’re not exactly on the same wavelength at this point in time.

Nice callback to Koushirou still not being able to catch up to Yamato by the way.

Koushirou’s most prominent role in Tri - and ALSO in the stageplay - when it comes to Yamato, is: Keeping him at arm’s length before he ends up strangling Taichi. After everything the three of them went through, it’s natural that Koushirou is able to read Yamato (and his feelings for Taichi as well) and while Yamato is deeply in denial about everything, Koushirou knows (and, just like the others, is obviously done with them arguing the entire time due to teenage angst).

The stageplay actually dials this dynamic up to 11:

Stageplay: Koushirou: "STOP PICKING ON TAICHI-SAN AND STOP BEING IN DENIAL." Yamato: "OKAY, FINE!!!"

It allows the two of them a lot of screentime together - however, they’re not really on their most friendly terms here in comparison to everything we’ve seen before. Yamato is more in denial than ever before, about his relationship with Taichi as well as about the “problems” they currently have to face, being trapped in a timeloop, because they all actually want to return to August 1st. And for the first time since we’ve learned that he values and trusts in Koushirou’s knowledge and view-points, we see Yamato asserting quite an aggressive attitude towards him, demanding him to provide answers.

And since he’s so much in denial, Koushirou is visibly getting annoyed with him as well - he tries to remain calm and respectful, but the way he talks and looks at Yamato definitely indicates a certain level of exhaustion. So he basically switches between a passive-aggressive tone and softness to calm him down.

Not only that, but despite them actually theory-crafting and planning together again a lot, Koushirou definitely has to step in once more to keep Yamato from screaming at Taichi. Which, as much of a theme as this is by now, at least indicates that they’re still familiar enough for it to actually work out - Koushirou gets Yamato’s emotions and his assertiveness is what makes Yamato actually back off in both instances, as much as he fought it at first.

Kizuna, at the very end of the original Adventure life cycle, is somewhat of a cummulation of everything I’ve talked about up to this point.

Kizuna: Fairly close, very communicative (despite a little fallout), a lot of planning (and mutual protectiveness).

Yamato is seen among those Chosen that are still around regularly to fight against materializing Digimon in the real world, besides Taichi, Takeru and Hikari. Yamato is, quite obviously, still so used to Koushirou providing answers and knowing everything about everything that, just like in the stageplay, he snaps at him for not immediately knowing why Omegamon dissolves. 

Once Koushirou witnesses the circle of light around Yamato’s phone/digivice, he goes into research mode, absolutely refusing to let the departure happen to Yamato (and Taichi). Even if the mention of his name was only in the dub/subtitles, it still shows that Koushirou would actually go to hell and back to find a solution for his sake.

And after they and Taichi went through spy-like conspiracing to drive things further - with them actually doing most of the planning together -, they do tell each other to be careful... 

... Just for Yamato to eventually find out that Koushirou wasn’t careful enough. Once he realizes that Koushirou had been Menoa’s target to get the list of Chosen Children all along, he hurries back to his office, just to find him unconscious on the ground. Guilt is written all over his face since he couldn’t protect his friend here - who, by sending the coordinates to the Digital Realm to Taichi before fainting, actually did what he could to help his friends proceed.

To summarize it all: They’re having an overall good relationship with each other - when things aren’t at stake. Yamato tends to get emotionally overwhelmed in certain situations and may snap at Koushirou due to it - who, in turn, tends to know how to handle him due to them actually being on a similar emotional level. Yamato also feels generally comfortable confiding in Koushirou and trusts in and also somewhat understands him - again, if things are not in a pinch.

And speaking of a pinch - since Tri and the stageplay did portray them to be bickering/on opposing ends to some degree, I also wanted to bring up the one part of Digimon that actually portrayed them at not being compatible with each other: The Digimon Adventure novels:

Novels: Yamato: "Oh my god, you're the quiet kid that never talks, stop swooning over Taichi, we get it!" Koushirou: "You're too emotional." Yamato: "FINE. *leaves*"

Unlike in the Adventure series as stated above, Novel!Yamato and Novel!Koushirou do not communicate with each other - and it is outright stated that they don’t properly understand each other because of that. Or rather... They might actually do - and that’s why they don’t get along.

Novel!Koushirou actually does talk - but chooses to mainly do so to Taichi and Sora. Not Yamato. And Yamato seems to notice this, because, minus the general points in the story in which he obviously relies on Koushirou’s skills as well, his main impression of him is that he is “one of Taichi’s fans”. After having accused Taichi of being a “failure of a leader”, it’s Koushirou who steps up - which is something Yamato hasn’t witnessed before:

Yamato, who had accused Taichi of being “too soft” himself, is now facing the bitter truth that Koushirou saw right through him - and by doing so actually summarizes everything we’ve seen above: Koushirou, at least judging by the version of Yamato he knows, the one Yamato himself has been displaying on the outside, understands Yamato’s emotional state. And that’s why it cuts so deep.

Unfortunately, the novel doesn’t actually let them reconcile, with Yamato leaving the group due to “not getting along” with them, especially Taichi and Koushirou, whom he basically accused of being too biased (funnily enough, this also mirrors the instances in Tri and the stageplay in which Koushirou protected Taichi from Yamato). Koushirou, however, does feel remorse and would like to make up with Yamato - but isn’t able to. So, like stated above, he does confide in Taichi and Sora more thoroughly, so he actually asks Sora to apologize on his behalf, since he thought he was going too far. 

It does mean something to him and it’s a shame it was never resolved “on read”. However - it all definitely shows that, even in a universe they’re no friends in yet, it’s possible for them to learn to understand each other better. If they managed to talk.