yusentai appreciation (part 1, probably)/analysis of their bond in the first arc
Did i cry several times writing this post? Yes, yes I did.
God I just get emotional thinking about how much they trust each other. Like these aren’t just “hey you’re my friend” bonds, these are “i’ve known you for years and i can tell when something’s wrong” bonds. They’re “i trust you with my life” bonds.
One of my absolute favorite parts in the beginning of the manga is when Taiju doesn’t need any sort of explanation about what happened with Tsukasa. He doesn’t even need someone to tell him something’s wrong— he knows Senkuu well enough to tell that things aren’t alright.
Taiju isn’t dumb by any means. He knows his friend, and he can tell this is about more than some simple dispute between goals. And it’s just the fact that he absolutely trusts Senkuu, takes his side no matter the reason, believes that Senkuu wouldn’t take advantage of him, even though he knows Senkuu could do so if he wanted to, that gets me. Taiju’s strengths lie in his trust and his solid determination to stick by what he believes. And one of the things he believes, believes in, is that Senkuu doesn’t make calls like this without a good reason. That Senkuu is inherently a good person, one he’s known for ages.
He knows something must have happened. And he trusts Senkuu to make these decisions. He doesn’t need anything explained to him. “Just tell me what to do,” he’d say, no matter what.
Then things start heating up. The fact that Senkuu specifically says those two, specifically doesn’t mention himself, is giving those two an out despite knowing it would make stopping Tsukasa a whole lot harder without them— it’s got nothing to do with logic. Senkuu just cares about them, knows them and knows how hard fighting would be for them. They are his best friends and he’d never want to put them in harm’s way if he could help it. Just like back when Taiju tried to throw himself in front of those lions— Senkuu says it’s only logical to stay together, but what he’s thinking is that’s Taiju, the big oaf who couldn’t throw a punch if his life depended on it, about to sacrifice himself for Senkuu. The man Senkuu had just gotten back after six months (and three thousand seven hundred years) on his own, about to dissapear right in front of him if he doesn’t do something.
And Taiju absolutely knew what Senkuu meant. Senkuu doesn’t have a plan. But he knows that he can’t make one without Taiju there. And would you look at that, Taiju actually remembers where the man that would save them is. Taiju might not be bursting with information, but that’s because he’s a physical learner— he remembers things like movements and smells and things he does, and what he sees Senkuu do and tell him.
And then here, you get both Taiju and Yuzuriha ready to do whatever they have to. And Yuzuriha’s only just woken up. She doesn’t have a clue what’s happening, but she can see that there’s trouble. Neither of them entertain running away for a moment.
Yuzuriha is absolutely a strong female character. She isn’t some sidepiece there to cheer on the protagonists, she’s a character with feelings and a history and despite having just woken up that day, she doesn’t let it stop her, doesn’t let it get her down and keep her from contributing.
And her two best friends, that have known each other longer, don’t even need to speak to each other to move around her, at her back and in front, both of them supporting her and telling her not to worry and that they are absolutely going to save everyone— including her family— no matter what stands in their way.
And then we get here. One of the things that bothers me when people talk about Senkuu’s characterization is that they take him as an incredibly logical and emotionally distant person. But he really, really isn’t. Tsukasa even acknowleges this as part of his weakness. Senkuu wants to say he’s a logical person, that he does things based on reason— but he doesn’t. He goes out of his way to save his friends, to keep them around. He cares about them— about Taiju and Yuzuriha— and doesn’t want to see them hurt. He tries to bluff his way out of Tsukasa holding Yuzuriha hostage, and then Tsukasa calls him out on it. Cuts her hair— makes them think he cut her neck— and Senkuu immediately drops all pretense because he thinks she got hurt.
And Yuzuriha, seeing Senkuu backed into a corner, doesn’t just stand there like a damsel in distress. Yuzuriha knows they cannot give that formula over to Tsukasa. And what she does, is laugh in Tsukasa’s face, before voluntarily holds his spear to her own neck. She doesn’t want him to die. She says Tsukasa can’t kill him if he doesn’t know the recipie. She stands there and she’s willing to die to make sure she isn’t used against him, to make sure he lives.
And now that’s twice. Both Taiju and Yuzuriha have offered their lives for his.
And Senkuu can’t get out of it this time. Whatever he does, he knows he can’t let her die. So he doesn’t. He gives up the formula, and he falls back on his fail-safe, a chance, one he wasn’t absolutely certain would work— he dies for her. For them. And he relies, trusts, them to figure it out and bring him back.
Senkuu dies, and they take what they have, assess the situation, and come up with a plan to get away from Tsukasa. They promised they’d fight together, and that’s exactly what they do— they take Senkuu’s science and they take their places, and they head right in— not with brute force, but with a plan, and they manage to get away.
One of my favorite things about Senkuu is, despite how logical he tries to act, he never wants to see anyone die. Even fighting against Tsukasa— his first instinct was to make a negotiation scenario.
Taiju knows his best friend enough to know he’d never do this without some sort of other option. He refuses to believe Senkuu died. That he’s absolutely gone. And he tries to think, think of anything— up until Yuzuriha mentions Senkuu directing Tsukasa’s attention to his neck.
And they figure it out. They read Senkuu’s mind and they figure out exactly what he was thinking and they save him. Even in this desperate situation, they think and find a way, never once giving up on him.
Senkuu wakes up, and he’s proud of them, he trusted them and his gamble paid off— Taiju makes another insight to the petrification, Senkuu trusts Yuzuriha with a certain job. All their small interactions are just completely out of care and trust and the importance they place in one another— and then they make a plan.
A plan to separate and meet up once again, to work together to take down their enemy and build their own world. (I made a post (spoilers) here that was just me rambling about my feels over that.)
Senkuu trusts them to stay safe. Trusts them to do whatever they have to, to work together and use everything they know to be there when he needs them. And they trust Senkuu to do the same.
“So what’s a few more months or years at this point?”
We’re ten billion percent going to win. And we will see each other again.
