Well, for me at least-- I really like YHS and its portrayals of relationships, because they're so queer (vague) in how it handles the structure of it... If you get what I mean??
Like the biggest example is with the Main Trio, but specifically Saurtis. There is absolutely an argument to be made that Sam was actually in love with Taurtis, but then there is an equal footing for the argument that maybe he "just" loved him as a friend. Because, at the end of the day, Saurtis had some Gay moments, but they never explicitly dated; and, mind you, they didn't have to in order to justify their closeness either.
Sam didn't need to outright say, "I'm in love with you Taurtis and want to get married" for the audience to know that he was in an obsessive relationship with him, because the actions that he took spoke for everything. And, I could honestly say that maybe their dynamic "simply" being a childhood-friendship adds more layers to their writing; because it then symbolizes something like "familiarity", "the past", or even "a safe space."
...Which... is kind of the basis for Sam's codependency with him.
But let's take a detour and talk about an actually, explicit relationship. Sam and Yuki.
Because in contrast to Saurtis being platonic "and yet" having some of the most intense feelings for one another; SamKi's relationship is incredibly strained and distant. Even with things like prom-dating or even the entire "Yandere" trope being explicit with only their dynamic, the way that they interact with each other is absolutely bonkers.
(I could make an entire thread about how YHS subverts the Yandere trope but that's not the point. The point here is just that Yanderes are defined as romantic.)
And this isn't to say that YHS is outright defining romance as something hollow, because we do see explicit (sorry for using that word so much!) romance with what you'd expect! Soul and Sookie have the typical Loud x Quiet dynamic... Hidden and JTS have a very tragic ending together...
But for the main couple to be so... plastic? To be so strange?
I think that this writing is unintentionally fire, and is exactly why many aromantic people find this series (and Sam!) to be incredibly alluring. Because although the series should be centered around romance in the most typical way (The textbook Yandere trope would suggest that their feelings are only intense because it's romantic); the actual theme of the entire show is derived from a platonic relationship. So much so, that in every season, Sam will always have a co-star that he is never explicitly with.
Do they have some romantic moments together? Yeah, but it's always in a way that's still easy to read as platonic.
I don't know; I just really enjoy Sam being a character who views romance in a very shallow way. Because with how he acts, he really only treats it as a thin label, rather than an actual definition for a relationship. With how he interacts with other characters, you can tell that he's not tied down by societal standards of Platonic Vs. Romantic.
And the fact that we see it in action, with him literally using Yuki as a tool-- so by extension, their entire relationship was a tool-- is really just so much more perfect.
Does this make sense?
(I also wanted to mention the fact that the Main Trio(s) can also be read as polyamorous or monogamous between specific characters, depending on your analysis of them. So that's another fun little queer tidbit that you can pull from them. Honestly, what's the difference between a polyamorous romantic relationship and a really close friend group? In YHS, almost none. The trios will never give you clarity.)
I know it’s stupid to get so meta about yhs but like. I love being meta about yhs.
Anyway, I often think back on how the credits in the description of the first yhs video label the characters by their archetypes, like tropes in movies or TV shows, and it just makes me think of how far each character has come.
Even for characters that didn’t move over to Tokyo Soul, I could go on all day about how Sam’s character developed, characters like Sookie-who was just meant to be shy- or Yuki-who seems to have been planned as just a token weeaboo girl character-changed.
These characters don’t have full, satisfying arcs, but the subversion of them growing out of the tropes of their archetypes feels really fucking cool, and that’s not really what yhs was about, but it very well could have been about how teeanagers hide behind their labels, how they use it to protect the parts of themselves they don’t want people to see.
And we see examples of this! Dom hides the fact that he’s gay, and that he and his dad have a toxic relationship, by being a bully and getting into fights. Taurtis was smarter than he let on, using his status as a popular idiot to avoid any of his feelings or grief, no one ever asked him how he was feeling after Salex died, because he hid the fact that he had feelings. Even Okami, a grown adult, avoids showing emotion, repressing it so she can present as perfectly bubbly.
This repression is somewhat of a catalyst for the action in yhs, the expectations forced onto these teenagers is what makes them all so fucked up, all on the verge of exploding.
But not every Minecraft roleplay can be a John Hughes film, sadly.
I rlly like the post you made about Yuki actually using J’s car in the crash, do you have any other “theories” like it/anything to add to that one? ^^
Hey!!! Thank you for liking it and this very fun question. I definitely don’t make as many “theories” as I used to, so I had to go through an old diary to find some 2022-2023 YHS thoughts LOL.
(I really enjoyed writing these out, since I don’t get to talk about them often. It’s kind of inspired me to write fanfic about these concepts now… much to ponder.)
Zita_Art the Yakuza member is Okami Artist’s younger sister.
This is a “theory” I remember the most vividly. It’s obviously derived from their similar “surnames,” but there’s some serious lore implications that come with it. Okami is a character I feel like no one gives deserved-dimension to—often being dumbed down to Gr*an’s guardian-figure or just another adult—so she pairs well with a character who genuinely is flat… aka a Yakuza member LOL.
Anyways the idea is that they’re both:
1. Blonde
2. Two of the few adults in the series (Yandere is NOT reliable for ages so yes, the Yakuza are all adults!! There’s literally an entire bit about how they don’t fit in the YHS uniform!!)
3. Containing the word “art” in their surnames
And they’re also on two opposing major sides of the finale: Yakuza and SWAT.
I’ve always pictured that Zita was the unruly little sister who was drawn to danger—a selfish girl in contrast to the perfect eldest sister; selfless, pretty, and soft. Since there’s the idea that being in SWAT Is part of Artist-Artifex’s family tradition, I’ve pushed it towards the -Artist side, which is how Zita became infatuated with being something totally rebellious.
The Yakuza.
Zita ran away from home as soon as Okami was out of the house. She was hardly 18 when she wound up in YHS’s town. She intentionally sought out the Yakuza, wanting to join their ranks, and found comfort in a “family” that she chose rather than one that was thrust upon her. It’s just so unlucky that her sister would accidentally find her later on.
If you’re wondering why she would only partially keep Artist as her surname, it’s from a head-canon that I have:
The Yakuza are all using aliases, either chosen by themselves or by Karu himself. When Zita chose her new name, she pulled Zita from another source (a middle-name? A nickname? A character from a book?) but retained Art as to reclaim something she was sentimental over. Her family.
So when Okami has to gun down the Yakuza in the finale, she’s not only furious over Rowan’s death, but the death of her sister that she has to cause. I don’t think Silly ever knew about her aunt, by the way.
Stars are a religious symbol.
Did you ever wonder why there’s literally three characters named after stars in OG YHS? And then another character named after the galaxy? So in total, there’s at least 5 star-themed characters in the franchise????
Admittedly, I don’t remember any characters other than Starforce36, StarFinder, J the Star, GalaxyMonstero and StarringNova…but there’s probably more, and you get the idea! From the OG series to the 2023- Reboot, there are so many star-themed names, and it’s almost irritating!! I can’t tell you how weird it is to make J ship-names, because if you use the Star from him it sounds like the other two…
So here’s an in-universe explanation: there’s a very common superstition regarding stars in the YHS world. They’re a sign of prosperity, luck, and love. And to some others, they are a much more serious symbol, because what else can you find in the sky?
Well, if you rewatch the OG finale, then you’d notice that the ghosts specifically ascend towards the night-sky when they are finally satisfied. Some people believe that there is a loved one found in every star, with their souls acting as the reflected light.
This also goes hand-in-hand with what I said about the Yakuza code-names, because StarFinder as a name is fucking metal when you consider the superstitions/belief around it. Perhaps he was bullied as a kid, or wasn’t ever believed in, so he renames himself to show that he will become something great.
J hates Grian.
I don’t know if I’ve ever talked about it on this blog yet, but there’s something really interesting about the Taurtis 2 arc. When Sam turns Grian into Taurtis, he asks for vindication from several people. Obviously, Yuki— but J is, like, the second or third student to see the fiasco. He directly interacts with it, because Sam asks him to.
Wait. Sam what???
After Sam and Taurtis suddenly drop J and begin ignoring him—almost like he’s lost all of his use; what, do they not need his money anymore?—Sam suddenly finds him again, and asks him to feed his delusions?
Well, golly, don’t mind if he does!
MIND YOU, J is literally buff. He’s cool and popular. He’s rich. And, of course— HE SEES THEM BEFORE THEY GO TO THE SCHOOL. If anyone has a chance to stop this situation before it gets worse, it’s him!
But he doesn’t. He goes with it, and seems incredibly aware of what Sam is doing.
And you could say, “what if he was scared?” But I seriously don’t think J was. Maybe cautious, but then why wouldn’t he tell a teacher as soon as he gets to school? And besides, my explanation is so much more interesting when you consider one thing in specific:
J was the original tritagonist before Grian replaced him. So if anyone is going to hate Grian, it’s J.
Is this theory a little self-indulgent? I mean duh. But the Grian and J rivalry is so fucking funny to me when you consider their role-switch. And another thing, the Taurtis 2 arc in school tries its best to emulate a twisted version of the early YHS atmosphere:
Instead of Grian, there’s “Taurtis.” Sam brings up his Sookie infatuation after so many episodes of ignoring it.
But of course, it’s all wrong.
So to have J be the one who feeds into this delusion—the original tritagonist, a character who was initially important in early YHS but has since lost relevancy—is so fucking good to me. It’s so awesome. I love YHS.
The reason why I still enjoy Grian so much, despite making fun of him constantly is because he-- at least to me-- is a character who needs to be made fun of to be enjoyable. A character who thrives on reacting to others, himself feeling alienated, rather than the vice versa.
I see a lot of rewrites/AU's/headcanons (though, it's not a really a headcanon if it contradicts canon directly) where Grian is an actual, genuine student at Akademi. I see people write him as a character who is familiar with the cast. The students. The tragedy. Everything in YHS that makes it so petrifying to be in. However, if I had to be honest, I feel as though this would be, and is, entirely missing the point of why he exists, and why he was so polarizing to suddenly see as the series progressed.
Regarding Sam and Taurtis, the series has always centered around them. I mean, obviously. From a writing standpoint, they are the main characters. But even in universe, everything that happens is almost always snowballing from something that they did. At the beginning of YHS, it was Taurtis! He was the one pushing the plot along, even though it was entirely unintentional. Later on though, the role switches to Sam, who finally realizes his protagonist role and-- in using a personality trait of leadership that many people seem to forget about him-- leads crisis to its brink.
But when Grian shows up, he is entirely detached from all of these things. He does not have the luxury of a background character to know about the deceased or how Sam/Taurtis act together as a duo. While in-universe, they are prior friends (regardless of whether or not you see Yandere as canon), Grian has also spent so long away from them. Not in the town of Akademi. And so who is he to know anything about how people act? About the customs? About how tragedy is just an inherent trait of this world?
Literally nobody. The entire point of his debut episode is that he is being brought around the town, meeting the civilians, classmates, and learning the history through his guides: Sam and Taurtis. The entire point is that he's lost, because he would not be nearly as funny as he is, if he was actually ever here prior.
His role in the main trio is to literally act as a consistent straight-man. And not just for Sam/Taurtis! Although they definitely needed it, since they would often switch that role around and it would come across as sometimes inconsistent... but it was also for the entire town, and the viewers.
Grian commenting on how the classmates are weird, or sounding concerned and annoyed about their wacky behaviors, is meant to be sobering for everybody. Because he's right! Nothing here is normal. And if anything was, then it would not be YHS. And I'm not saying that every student is a crazy murderer (unlike the Reboot cast rofl), but I am saying that because they were all here for a good chunk of time, they're either 1. Enablers or 2. Bystanders who have become accustomed to it. And if you're not convinced, then just think about the results of the Prom Episode.
Yuki is not at all sneaky. Like. You would expect her to be? She literally whips out a knife in front of everybody, and was loudly hunting Sam down... and yet, nobody comments on it after the event. It's almost everybody is used to this kind of behavior! Well, either that, or they just really hate Sam... which isn't entirely wrong, but it's mores the former... maybe another day I'll talk about Sam's dynamic with the class. It's irrelevant.
Because again. We're talking about Grian. And why his presence was necessary. Does he become "corrupted" overtime? Well, duh... but that's the final point I need to make.
If Grian had been an Akademi student all along, then his Corruption Arc would not hit strongly at all. Because if he stands out as literally being a foreigner, an outsider, a man alienated for being moral and well-adjusted-- then just how bland would he be, if he had never been fully normal to begin with?
If Grian had been an Akademi student, then let's be honest... literally anybody could have taken his role. He is not the only "smart" guy in the class. Because that's not his niche.
His niche is being normal, because that's exactly what does make him abnormal within the context of YHS.
...Also, if you're a Taurian shipper, I feel like it's 10x more tragic if Grian has to comfort Taurtis about a girlfriend he doesn't actually know... because yeah. They never actually PROPERLY meet pre-deaths. Salex and Gareth do NOT know this guy. Bro thinks he's on the team 😭
TL;DR: Grian being a non-student in Akademi is not only canon, but a symbol for how he is not "meant" to be in YHS. How he represents normalcy, and how the Akademi student body represents anything but.
No hate to people who believe in Student Grian propaganda though. Unless you just use it to turn YHS as an accessory for his backstory and genuinely believe it.... because that just tells me you haven't actually seen the show.
I have a hate/tolerate relationship with Grian’s character but yet am interested in how his brain works during YHS.
I mean, he definitely has the capacity to be interesting. If he didn't, then there wouldn't be so many inconsistencies in how he's portrayed across fandom. People want to find reason behind wacky characters, even if it's just because the situation itself is wacky.
However, it's pretty hard to connect with these theories if you're pretty rigid in your belief of Grian. Which, I guess I sort of am? It's not like I have a really clear view of him, but I do have a view of what he's not--which is like the worst position to have on anything, because it's miserable.
Shrug. Maybe you just wanted to vent, but if you were asking me my thoughts on his Logic, then it can be summarized really easily:
Grian likes to feel smarter than people, but that doesn't actually protect him, and instead puts him into a position where he's still weak.
Grian/Sam/Taurtis all genuinely care for one another, and no matter the abuse that any of them take, it would be impossible to sever their bonds. Sam and Taurtis are used to their over-attachment, because they grew up in the climate of YHS; however, Grian is not, and finds himself stuck in a limbo between "I need to stay" and "I need to leave."
Grian does not have a warped view of intimacy, which is what YHS thrives on. Because of this, he can recognize toxic patterns in other behaviors--including his own--which makes his actions conscious decisions. Not to say that he willingly gets abused or hurts other people, but it does give him the gall to hesitate about it, and then feel guilt about it afterwards. Grian is the type of person to run away, but if there were hurdles on his escape, then he would consistently think-twice with every step-out-the-door.
Grian has a good measure of morals, but it has never been rigid. Even though he has a measure of what's "wrong" with YHS, and can use it as logical thinking, I don't think he's ever been fully stuck to it. I genuinely believe that even if Grian never stepped foot in YHS, he would've still been a chaotic piece-of-shit. He might not have murdered people, but he would still feel rage. He would still question things. He would still feel sick at the prospect of being "proper" and "good." I think this may have been why he liked Sam and Taurtis--they were worse, so he couldn't have ever been "bad" in the presence of them... Furthermore, I think YHS does corrupt him, but not by placing random beliefs in him. It instead taps into subconscious ideas that he already had. Grian grew up with a lack-of-personal-love, so everything he knew beforehand were just societal and logical stances. So if he grew into an imperfect friend or lover, who gets swept up in teasing people too much, or enabling behaviors that he knows are bad--then who on Earth should be surprised?
thoughts on J and Dom’s relationship throughout the series?
This took a long while, because it's impossible for me to talk about characters (especially ones like J) without laying down miles of context, but I hope you're still around to enjoy this! Even if I over-explained a lot of simple things...
This post includes both meta-analysis and in-universe dissection.
To be honest, I can't recall a single moment where they directly interact with one another... which is weird, because they're both really prevalent characters. I'm sure they've interacted at least once and my memory's simply failing me (I'm washed!!), but I'll just have to go off of subtext alone for this.
(So this is going to be a lot of reaching, and Quinn-portrayal-y.)
To begin: I don't take Yandere as canon, but due to their very similar attitudes and wacky core-concepts (exaggerated bully archetype & hyperbolic rich-kid), I do want to believe that they grew up in YHS's town together. It would just make sense! And add a lot of background to how they interact with the world around them, especially the Main Trio.
From Sam's perspective, Dom and J have totally contrasting roles in his life:
Dom debuts solely to torment Sam, creating issues that didn't need to exist in the first place. He misconstrues Sam's intentions, and is one of the first characters to really antagonize him. Remember, Sam was not that bad early-on, and everyone else just found him pathetic or slightly strange. And for good reason! Of course, the Cool Kids should be off-put by Sam if he consistently flirts with Sookie; he might not know she's uninterested, but he's still being overbearing. With Dom, however, his reasons are stupid, and yet his reactive attitude is the most violent.
J is a yes-man who provides Sam and Taurtis a consistent supportive presence. He hardly questions the things they do, and even indulges in questionable behaviors himself when he can rope The Main Two into them. He’s essentially the “cool kid” that they can talk to. He’s not as untouchable as Yuki or Sookie, but he’s invulnerable enough that Sam never worries about using him for his money. Because it’s J! He’s strong! And he can always handle it.
However, these are only initial roles, and we know that these boxes dissolve as the series progresses. Dom becomes a vulnerable face, eventually a friendly one as well—and J is completely shoved out of the picture, only returning when he’s more reserved and stoic.
So! With that being said, I want to point out two things:
1. Dom and J both sought attention in how they acted before. Dom wanted the affections of Invader—something that he’s likely deprived of, judging by the situation with his father. And on the other hand, J yearned for approval from everyone, but specifically the two boys that he secretly admired.
2. When they develop, they don’t totally switch roles, nor do they mirror one another. Dom doesn’t become as subservient as J, despite his new kindness. He just becomes more confident in his true self, and now doesn’t feel the need to overcompensate. So his mask before, the rowdy boy that got into fights daily, isn't completely discarded; however, it's less of a shield now that he can embrace it without fear. J's personality is similarly deflated. However, it's not due to a new personal milestone (as far as we know), but more-so the fact that he's just simply not around the Main Duo anymore. And Sam does naturally bring out chaotic parts of people, so J's development from the absence isn't exclusive to him... but it is worth mentioning that despite his sudden stoicism, he still cares about the Main Duo, and never stops seeking their validation out.
Because these two things kind of summarize what I think about JDom both as a dynamic and individual characters.
As individual characters, Dom has a complete arc, and that's something that not every YHS character has. However, since J and Dom both have a lot of screen-time, it's incredibly staggering that J doesn't have this same treatment. What we see of J is very unreliable. Not only are we missing a lot of scenes of his development (why does he owe money to the Yakuza? Why did he stop pursuing Sam and Taurtis? How did he become so rich and educated in such a short amount of time?), but it's also obvious that J is filtering himself. He's very go-lucky, but then there are scenes where he almost seems unsure of himself; an inconsistent attitude that's present throughout the entire series, but only peaks during the Yakuza scene.
But it's sooo much stranger when you then realize: they have such similar core-desires. And yet, despite this, only one of them gets what they need, while the other only gets what he wants... and that's still briefly.
But let's talk about their actual dynamic now!
Like I mentioned, I genuinely cannot remember any direct interaction between them, so I'm going to go with the idea that maybe it was intentional.
After all, Dom hated Sam while J was overly-attached to Sam. So perhaps it was simply circumstances that wedged them apart. Or, maybe, we could also question their personal opinions for one another.
I have to say, it's hard to believe that Dom would care about J in any capacity. I don't think Dom cares about many people to begin with, but with J especially, it'd be hard. J's main gimmick is that he can charm people with his wealth, but Dom comes from wealth, so their early relationship wouldn't have much to build off of.
After all, if J can't instantly charm someone, then there isn't much else for him to do. If people can't like him for what he has, then how could anyone possibly like him at all?
I also think that J's people-pleaser personality might irritate Dom. It's not that he doesn't like praise--everyone knows that Prime is his token Yes-Man--however, if J is equally kind to everyone, then he's promising loyalty to no one. What Dom likes is someone who swears to stick by him, not someone who half-smiles for virtually no reason.
From J's perspective, I think he's slightly disappointed, but it's not that big of a deal since he has everyone else. One missed opportunity for a friend doesn't mean anything in the long-run. (And... his economical thinking is a shield that holds him back, though he doesn't realize it.)
But if there's something that he can appreciate about Dom, it's the chaos that he brings. Even though his standards are something that J can't meet (for whatever reason! Isn't he perfect? He tries to be), he's very adventurous in a way that humors J. J almost wishes that he could be along for the ride, but hey--he's still got Sam and Taurtis. They're just as chaotic, if not more, and J loves chaos.
Later on in the series, I think that their dynamic could change.
Once J stops hanging around with Sam and Taurtis, he realizes that he's never been promised long-term friendship. He showed kindness to everyone, but that kindness has never been intimate. Gold doesn't bring warmth.
But if there's someone who's even colder than him--it's Dom. Dom, who has been rejected by his family. Unconditional love isn't as loyal as one would expect.
I think there's two things to consider:
J would definitely help out Dom, right? But we never see that in the show. But, hypothetically, if he did--how would Dom react? Would Dom really take that kindness?
I think a big part of Dom's redemption is how he connects to his pride. He had no confidence before, but he acted proud, because that made him strong. If J sees him in a vulnerable state, then would he be weak for accepting? And moreover--would he think that J is only being nice for the sake of being nice? I think there'd be a lot of tension there, where J has to confront his real motivations for being so generous. Dom doesn't act without intention, but J has always been dumb on purpose. He's smart, but really, only an idiot would be as wasteful as he is.
Another thing is that Dom learns to love himself, while J does not. And I wonder, would J be jealous? Would he almost wish that Dom would get worse, so that J could play the hero? And would Dom try to help out J with his newfound knowledge? Or, is it just like before, and he still doesn't really care about J at all?
So...
In terms of base-personalities, I genuinely don't think that J and Dom would get along. Dom has specific wants, and J doesn't offer enough to entertain him. Even though they overlap in what they crave, Dom is shockingly more in-tune with himself than J is. And just from general circumstances, with Dom being wealthy like J, it's hard to imagine how the latter would react. Because, truthfully, I think J would just remove himself from the situation.
But if they were forced to interact regardless, I do believe that there'd be a lot of tension. I think Dom might have some resentment towards J, because J is acting for a system that Dom had to escape from. J flaunts his wealth, and Dom now knows that none of it really means anything. But despite that--J persists.
And again, even if they could get along, J is friends with the people that Dom hates. And later on, when J is no longer attached to them, he's then forced to realize that, somehow, Dom is even closer with them!
I don't know if this was really helpful, but these were just some haphazard thoughts. If you want something more light or general, here's some bullet-point ideas:
Bully & Cool Kid: Dom is a typical bully while J is the classic image of a "cool kid." Despite this, there's no social overlap between them... but could there be? Would you even consider Dom popular? Or is he just scary? (Or, does this label really only count towards Sam, so everyone else sees Dom as a generic guy? That could make J's image of Dom very skewed, due to his bias for Sam!)
Redeemed & Corrupted: Dom gets better, while J only gets worse. There's a mutual understanding that they had similar wants, but J never confronted what he really needed. Imagine an AU where Dom goes Antagonist->Support and J goes Support->Antagonist.
Dom is missing his only friend, while J is surrounded by all of his friends. Going with Prime's disappearance--maybe he transferred or died, or betrayed Dom!--let's imagine that Dom feels stranded and alone. He may have had one friend, but he was a great friend. This contrasts with J, who has plenty of friends, but none of them really connect with him properly.
J wants to take advantage of Dom's vulnerability. This goes hand-in-hand with an Antagonist!J, but he doesn't have to be super evil to do this. I just think it'd be interesting if he was slightly manipulative, and saw Dom's descent as a way to get closer to him and feel heroic.
Dom wants to push J to be better (worse.) Imagine if Dom thinks J is lying to everyone, or he’s sick of his niceties, so he tries to make him snap. He baits him into a fight, and J, being super buff and smart, absolutely DEMOLISHES HIM!!
I'm sure I could think of more, but then I'd start straying more into AU-territory, and I had wanted to be more canon-compliant. I hope this was a sufficient answer, because it was kinda hard to write this.
any idea what kind of car Yuki used when she killed Salex? odd question but i couldn’t find it anywhere so 😭
This is the car that we see crashed into Salex. It's "exploded" and on fire, so it's pretty hard to see, but it's clearly grey and average-sized.
That would've been where I stopped the post, but I actually went digging to see if we see this car prior to the crash, or anything that looked similar to it at least. You wouldn't believe what I found.
In episode 10, directly after the scene where Taurtis and Sam plan their date with Salex and Invader, we see J in his car...
a GREY CAR.
Coincidence? Maybe. Unintentional? For sure.
But do I care? No. So here I bring up my new crack theory:
Can you imagine if the Yakuza used J's car to kill Salex? Because not only would they be appeasing their "princess," they would also be sending a message to someone who's evaded debt for far too long.
It would also actually give the Yakuza reason to help Yuki. Sure, she's their employer, but she's still a child, and Karu has the ultimate say. I think that if they honored her wishes, it would only be because they knew that they'd get something out of it. Or rather, Karu would know that he'd get something out of it.
Think about it: Karu threatens Sam to date Yuki, and it's masked as a way to make her happy, but we also need to remember that there's actually a prior personal connection between Sam and Karu. Sam had successfully made a fool out of the Yakuza by scamming them. By scamming Karu. So by chaining him to Yuki, Karu would be able to keep an eye on him, and ensure that he never underestimates the Yakuza-- or him-- again.
So if they were instructed to kill poor Salex with a car... and, if it's J's, then it seems to be a "happy accident" that they're killing two birds with one stone. Well, just one, really-- but J would know that it's intended for two once he picks up on the message being sent. The threat.
...I think that Karu is very conscious of how Yuki is as a person. I think that he knows that she's not a good leader. He tried his best, and he has some weakness for her, but she's still not up-to-par. His affection might be natural, but his protection is conditional.
So... what if he has to pull some strings to get things done? She's just a pawn, and queen-promotion is known to be tricky.
I'd quite like to hear any thoughts/headcanons you may have on Karu
Karu… my evil evil king…
Something about the YHS cast is that there’s a running theme where many of them feel pressured by their familial expectations: Dom is heir to the Dorito Conglomerate, Hidden comes from a royal family, and Silly is essentially a child-soldier—and with Yuki coming from the Yakuza, she has one of the worst upbringings of this, because she’s now at the core of what makes YHS such a crooked town. She’s born with violence, thievery, and vengeance, and yet with no unconditional love that could have set her straight.
All at the responsibility of Karu.
I’d like to believe that maybe he could feel some measure of guilt about Yuki, but that would still just be an extension of his pride with her. That’s his blood, and maybe in a better world, his blood wouldn’t have to be tainted by such messy work. This is why his affections for Yuki are always so material and transactional. He’s lost the capacity to care for her normally, and wouldn’t know how to do so even if he wanted to. He has to frame his love for her as pride, because it then becomes easier to digest, and easier to profit.
If Yuki is satiated by sparkly gifts, then it’s a good investment. If Yuki is satiated by this boyfriend, then Karu is lucky that Sam has so much more potential.
I do think that thjs is why Yuki never learns how to contain her obsessions. Karu never taught her how to love properly, only showing it through shallow motions instead. So when Yuki is taught that love is transactional, it then leads her to frame love as possession.
She receives a gift out of love? Then her lover is expected to do the same thing ten-fold: give themself up as a gift.
However, if I’m tying this back to Karu, then we should consider why Karu would do all of this in the first place, even if we’re considering something that explains almost everything else in YHS: the cycle of abuse.
The Yakuza is a family-business, and it had to have started somewhere. I’m sure that some could read it as Karu being the first leader, but I like to assume otherwise. Mostly so I don’t have to think about how he got into the business if not through family-means, but also so he parallels more directly with his daughter. It just seems fitting to imagine that he had been in a similar position to her—groomed into believing that this was the right way to live, without actually having a chance to turn things around.
I also like the idea that both Main Antagonists of YHS—Karu and Yuki—were ultimately just byproducts of their environment. It makes them feel weaker and more pathetic, which they somewhat are when you think about it.
The Yakuza had been fighting with Sam for ages, despite him literally being a random teenager. They seem to rely a lot on children to do their work. They’re not totally smart, and are easily ambushed by Okami.
Yuki did everything out of shallow infatuation. She seems to chase the image of a perfect relationship, and it’s likely built from romanticized anime or manga that she liked. She’s also easily figured out by Chan, and has to scramble to cover up her tracks.
Some other head-canon I have, since that was a lot:
Karu is StormForm’s twin brother. I think they fought a lot over who would become leader, but Karu ultimately won. I don’t totally remember what Storm looks like, but I think he has one of his eyes covered by hair? So I wanna say that maybe Karu took out one of his eyes as a show of dominance #LOL.
Ellen is Karu’s nephew, because of the crack-idea that Ellen is Storm’s child. This was born out of a joke by the actors, where the spread it as misinformation in comments… but I liked it a lot, so I’m taking it as serious. Karu pities Ellen, because they’re proof that his brother couldn’t have ever been a good leader. After all, he raised a pacifist, so Karu only feels vindicated that Storm was too soft for this work. (That’s why Storm was put in charge of petty drug-deals rather than anything “serious.”)
Karu is a queer man. I don’t know if he’d really label himself with anything, but I don’t imagine that he really loved Yuki’s mother in a conventional way—if he loved her at all. I’m not versed in Yuki-Verse like you LOL. But in my perception of YHS, I can imagine that reproduction was his main goal. He’s very business-oriented.
Most of the Yakuza adults had joined this work later on in their life. They hadn’t been born into it like Karu. Because of this, I imagine that they’re very caring towards Yuki, and are almost more loving than her own father. They’re still not perfect, but they are a step better. Karu does not like this, as you can imagine. They get very thinly-veiled threats to stop “pampering” her.
While Karu is very cutthroat and certainly not-dumb, I don’t think he’s as intelligent as he thinks he is. SacredRedstone is his right-hand-man, as well as his main thinker. If not for him, I think Karu would have gotten his time cut short much sooner. I think he’s aware of this.
