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Iykyk

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(my) Kiyosumi Katou Character Analysis

This one's a long one so strap in, gang. The alt text on the images gives more context to what I'm talking about too, by the way 👍

starting off with,

Personality

I think it's pretty evident that Kiyosumi is not the...nicest or most caring person out there. He's shown to hurt (or attempt to hurt) others with no second-thought or remorse for his actions, indirectly showing his overall arrogance and unsympathetic behavior. I can't even show a fraction of him having outbursts of anger or something of the like because of how often it happens.

But we can't talk about Kiyosumi if we don't mention his cocky attitude and humorous nature. He's shown multiple times giving smug smiles and doing a little bit of teasing throughout his few shown spars. It can be pretty heavily deducted from an outsiders perspective that he's awfully confident in himself and his abilities. Though, whether he truly is can be debated.

What can be clearly deduced from most everything is his general self-centered nature, going out of his way just to do things the way he wants to do them. He even leaves the dojo to go join the yakuza for the sole purpose he can hurt others without any repercussions. Because in his mind, the one who matters most is himself. What can also be heavily deduced is his status on body count. I'm basically saying he's most likely killed a few people, especially during his time in the yakuza.

Another thing which is also pretty evident is his almost sadistic way of fighting others. He really enjoys sparring, or more precisely, hurting other people in a way that makes him feel good about himself. We can determine that he really likes to be above an opponent, to have power over an opponent. Perhaps being superior helps him forget how inferior he truly believes himself to be. Though, this'll be expanded on soon.

A small thing that I personally find out of character for him in some character writings is making him more social and outgoing than I believe he truly is. He can be outgoing, yes, but if you combine all of his clear hatred and arrogant nature it's pretty easy to deduct that he is quite an antisocial person, being quite unfamiliar with proper interactions with other people. As is expected from somebody who indulges in all of the heinous things that he partakes in. But I feel it's also out of character if all of his goofiness is overshadowed as well. He is humorous, and it's not unfair to say that he's also probably a prankster as well. There's a perfect balance in his character which isn't always perfected by people, not even by me all the time.

Another thing I think is worth noting is how easy it is to set him off with...just about anything. Like during his fight with Yasha jr when Tokugawa brings up the fact that Baki had defeated Yasha's very father, he was quickly overcome with rage and jealousy before immediately making countless attack on the giant animal. He's easy to manipulate by controlling his anger and likely his insecurity too.

Overall, Kiyosumi is an arrogant, sadistic prick who enjoys hurting other people and getting his way with a cocky smirk painted on his face. Being an awfully antisocial person in nature and perhaps a bit awkward and inappropriate in certain situations because of his lack of normal human interaction, he fights on to reach the top perilously. Though he's not completely ruthless and hateful, even if thats what it may seem like.

Kindness and relationship with Doppo

Decided to combine these two thoughts because his sparse kindness is usually directly related to his feelings on Doppo. Some of his few moments of caring are to him in particular.

While he doesn't show much kindness in comparison to his violent outbursts, he does have some little moments that shows he's not completely out of touch with being caring and having softer emotions.

You've seen it here first, folks. Kiyosumi just admitted to caring about somebody. This is honestly kind of groundbreaking for him. But the fact he's willing to admit this so easily shows how dedicated he truly is to his father. I mean Sensei. Sensei is what I meant to say.

Doppo is very obviously a big part of Kiyosumi's character, most of his vulnerable emotions stemming from Doppo particularly. It's pretty clear that Kiyosumi and Doppo have a long history together, canonically having known each other for probably 5~6 years, but I'd say most likely more. (though there is a space in between when Kiyosumi ditched the dojo for the yakuza) While Doppo most definitely gave Kiyosumi the most shit and teased him a bunch, it can still be fairly deducted that he likely trained and taught Kiyosumi with compassion, something we know he isn't very familiar with. This caring from another person mixed with the fact Doppo was almost like a father to him (perhaps the father he never had?) had opened up some more delicate feelings for Kiyosumi. Or at least, thats what I assume of course.

I also really enjoy the scene in Tokugawa's home before Kiyosumi's fight with Dorian. He walks in so rebelliously, using his own hand crafted weapon to slice Dorians ear off, even though...he can basically already do something like that with his hand. I like to think this is his way of trying to disconnect from Doppo and the Shinshinkai "way". He knows that he cares about Doppo the most out of anyone, and the fact that he does know this tells me he's trying to, almost, get rid of that vulnerability and that emotion. He knows he cares, but he also knows that he shouldn't care about anyone but himself. He may have tried to show out to Doppo then, demonstrating that he can do things his own way and succeed, but no matter what, he'll always desire his true approval. Because he does care.

Of course, I can't forget the scene where Kiyosumi does a myriad of seiken's with Atsushi is order to motivate Katsumi during his fight with Kaoru. Though, this can either be taken as caring for Katsumi or just generally caring about the victory and success of his father- of his Sensei's karate school. While its hard to say, if I were to think about it most canonically up to this point in his character, it'd probably be the latter. Since by that point, him and Katsumi were only acquainted at best, Kiyosumi even showing a little hint of hate or jealousy towards him in one part. Though, I will say Kiyosumi has shown jealousy to someone before while still liking the person in question. This is true with Baki.

Speaking of Baki, he is one of the only other people Kiyosumi is shown to care at least a little bit about. During some of Baki's fights in early manga, there are some panels of him showing genuine concern for the boy. Not to mention his expression when Baki won the maximum tournament. While this is really surprising, I think there might be some kind of deeper reason he likes seeing Baki succeed. Perhaps, he sees part of himself in Baki. Maybe feeling as if Baki were the more powerful and open-minded teenage version of himself, the version of him that didn't walk such a dark, incriminating path. Or perhaps relating to his struggle with his father and sympathizing with his, quite sad, backstory. That would make some sense considering how close he is with Doppo, almost seeing him as a father. Maybe all of this alludes to the fact that Kiyosumi may have also struggled during his upbringing and childhood. Though, this is just speculation, why he really cares about Baki on the occasion is hard to pinpoint exactly. But if I were to put a good guess on it, it's probably because of what I aforementioned.

Forgot to mention that he basically indirectly calls him his parent after they sparred and Kiyosumi went for his eye. This is beautiful stuff. Fictional father and son relationship fans, rise.

His character depth and fight with Dorian

Remember when I mentioned that whether Kiyosumi is really confident in himself is debatable? Well I'm back to expand on that idea. I've always kind of headcanon'd him to be secretly very insecure of himself, putting up a wall of fake confidence or some kind of facade to hide his hidden insecurity from others. Though this was originally speculation and headcanon, I'm pretty confident in saying that this is probably a very realistic and canonical thing to consider when talking about his character.

I think this image kind of tells me that my suspicions of his fear and falters are correct. While it is small, I think this is Itagaki's way of giving him that eensey weensey little bit of depth.

His tough attitude and huge built up wall keep others from knowing that he is fearful, that he is frankly pretty vulnerable. If this was ever pointed out to him, he would most likely, you guessed it, get angry immediately and probably attack. His rage controls him constantly, so much that even he may start to notice as well.

Kiyosumi knows he's not the strongest out there, though he definitely desires to be. Looking down on others has always been the thing that made him feel better about all of the stressors and the shit he puts himself through. But he does realize he's not the best. He absolutely hates thinking about it though.

It's not unfair to say Kiyosumi thinks quite low of himself and abilities. But I think that's what makes the Shinshinkai working to avenge him that much more beautiful. This guy who truly believes nobody cares about him gets hurt by someone severely, almost at the edge of death (something he was quite content with) But the whole entire Shinshinkai was out looking for this man who caused him harm. No matter what trouble Kiyosumi gets himself into, his dad- HIS SENSEI...will always be there for him. Doppo was the one who ended up avenging Kiyosumi anyway, instead of the other way around. Even bringing him out for the final blow. Quite nice.

Speaking of that fiasco, lets move onto his infamous battle with Dorian Kaioh. I love some of the little implications in this fight that alludes to small traits in his character. His empty eyes after taking several blows mid-fight really speaks to me. It's even hard for me to put into words exactly how he's feeling during that fight, but it's pretty clear he's determined to bag a victory at any cost despite his rather somber state during the spar mid-way. I think it's also pretty funny how quickly he went from calm to blood-thirsty again so quickly. Maybe he really never does change. It's fair to say that Kiyosumi probably chose to fight Dorian due to what he did to Doppo, not only wanting to "avenge" him but also wanting to gain his approval, something which he heavily desires. Underestimating Dorian's strength and stealthily sneaking in his hideout, he jumps right into battle. (Very like him, I know.)

Of course, we all know the unfortunate outcome of the fight. But I'd like to point out some of the quite peaceful looks on his face during it. Even Kiyosumi admits that maybe amidst all of the pain and all of the shit, this is really what he's been looking for all along. What this means exactly can vary depending on how you see it, but I like to think this is almost Itagaki's way to give him an actual character arc. Even though we know...that didn't really happen (Which is really fucking funny don't get me wrong. Another part of the Kiyosumi curse) but I appreciate it nonetheless, thank you Itagaki-Sensei.

A little update here, I almost forgot to mention how sad it is that he recognizes that his only worth lies in his fighting. This, of course, is not true, but he's so caught up with fighting and martial arts he cant find any other part of him that he deems "good enough". He says the only thing he could ever find praise for was his fighting ability, but think about how he feels after engaging in battle and being overpowered and beaten. That's essentially all of his self worth down the drain. I think this is part of the reason he donned that expression at the end of the battle. He doubted his abilities and he lost horribly. What other means of living does he have at that point? He makes the statement that karate is simply a tool to him, but accumulates all of his self worth into his fighting. But I think during the fight where he basically says karate is all he has but then proceeding to say all it is to him is a tool is him trying to cope with the fact that he can't find pride in anything else about himself. Him telling himself, perhaps reminding himself, that karate is just a tool to him very clearly upped this fighting ability. That Kiyosumi confidence showed back up again, all because he was trying to convince himself he's more than his karate. Too bad his desire to win was taken advantage of so quickly, right as he was making a realization.

Kiyosumi's peaceful look and very very slight smile as he passes out at the end of the fight is really telling. He fought as hard as he could for a victory but he fell short. Just as he always knew he would eventually. Of course, he felt bad he couldn't please his Sensei, but his look tells us that he gained something that he's been looking for. A defeat. But not just any normal defeat. A death. It seems Dorian wasn't the only one who was seeking to know defeat in that battle.

Kiyosumi subconsciously desired a defeat which was completely unavoidable. A defeat that he couldn't make excuses about. A cut and dry loss where it ends with his inevitable demise. Almost like an escape from all of the problems. This, is what I think he was looking for.

But he lived! We all know that. Very happy for him. I guess. A little thing I would like to point out thats probably just something I want to have depth is the unexpected light in his eyes here, as he's indirectly apologizing to Doppo. His expression has been so hateful and bleak this whole time and the one moment he thinks he's about to finally die, he thinks about his dad with a slight smile and a light in his eyes. Pretty sad.

He tried so hard to retain at least a little bit of confidence in himself only for him to come to the pitiful conclusion that things wont change. His self worth is solely his fighting, and he'll die that way.

Headcanons and littler things

Thought I should add a section just for little things I think about his character, like how much I think he may struggle with substance addiction. Particularly with alcohol, it helps him forget that he's sad or even insecure at all. I think it's pretty fair to assume that he's an awfully messy person, so I imagine his apartment is trashed with empty beer cans and trash that was never picked up.

I wanted to make a stand-alone post on this but I thought I should just bring it up now. Kiyosumi not showing up to Katsumi's fight with Pickle is somehow the funniest but also most canon thing Itagaki could have possibly accidentally done. Like where is he? Probably sleeping in after a tough hangover, huh? No big surprise. Just really goofy to think about where he could possibly be during all of that.

Kiyosumi going back to the yakuza after his fight with Dorian (which can be easily assumed based on his clothing afterward) is really, not only funny to me, but also a bit saddening. I love knowing he's a yakuza and I also love knowing he's just generally a bad guy but the fact he so quickly goes back to the yakuza really shows that no matter what, he never truly changes. But that's the Kiyosumi curse. Character with tons of potential that has absolutely nothing else done with them in the story. While it's kind of messed up to not really continue on with his "arc", I still see it as cool character writing even though I doubt Itagaki drew and wrote that in for exactly the reason I'm describing it.

Kiyosumi's pure unadulterated rage is the most amazing thing to me. Nobody mentions the fact that completely UNCONSCIOUS, he got up with pure fighting spirit alive and well, just to land a blow on Dorian. When I said his rage controls him I was not lying.

Afterword

Well, that about concludes my character study of everything about him thats at least canonically shown, with of course, a few of my thoughts and idea's sprinkled in there. There are admittedly a few things I didn't include, that were either really minuscule or would've made the post even longer than it already is. But I hope my analysis can help others understand his character and motivations a little better, since I know not many people care about his character or are willing to really look in depth about him. Luckily, I'm just obsessed with him enough to know him almost like the back and front of my hand. Of course, if there's anything you think means something different, thats great! That's the joy of character understanding and comprehension. If you have any thoughts make sure to comment them down below, I'd love to see.

Number one Kiyosumi fanboy, logging off.

[basketcase1982]

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3 years of improvement.....we've come a long way, boys.....we've come a long way.......