anyway an interesting thing to consider wrt the terasaka gang is their uniform design - specifically, how terasaka always has two buttons undone where yoshida + muramatsu only have one, hazama has no alterations, and itona wears his turtleneck as opposed to a shirt. the clothes characters wear are often subtle indicatives of characterization yk?
terasaka yoshida + muramatsu having their buttons undone and forgoing ties is obviously to present them as “delinquents” (the same reason karma also has this) BUT specifically terasaka having two buttons undone where yoshida + muramatsu have only one each imo connotes their respective commitment to their delinquent personas. terasaka is a lot more attached to his as a defense mechanism than the other two are which is reflected most heavily in vision time - where yoshida + muramatsu begin to breach their previous distance with korosensei because of the differing ways he reaches out to them, terasaka remains firmly distrusting and it takes Much more for him to consider too closing that distance
hazama wears hers without alteration because she sees no reason to announce to the world through something like a school uniform her opinion on the system as she conveys her thoughts potently enough through her simple manner + through her association with terasaka yoshida + muramatsu. it certainly may appear odd for a character so tied to nonconformity to be compliant with a uniform, but for hazama it shows her lack of reliance on what others think imo + not being shaped by perception
then finally itona wears his turtleneck as opposed to the uniforms shirt. but the difference is he now wears the school blazer over it making it a pretty powerful means of reclamation of identity for him imo. the turtleneck was something he wore under shiro, but by continuing to wear it in e class and by wearing it under his blazer it demonstrates the plastering over of his time with shiro with his time time with 3e
there are many characters within 3e that are frequently posited to be a form of neurodivergent and for obvious reason considering the commentary the series draws upon. but a character i veeeery rarely (bar myself + friends) see included among the likes of itona or okuda or sugaya when discussing autistic headcanons despite it being imo one of the most blatant is yoshida
disclaimer one: i am in no way claiming that yoshida being easily read as autistic was intentional on m*tsui’s part lol. id never give that man the credit for that especially considering his track record of dealing with sensitive subjects
disclaimer two: this is NOT intended to be a diagnostic tool. this is simply me (an autistic guy) discussing my own traits i recognise in yoshida that, along with how much i have studied his character, cause me to have the strong conviction i do regarding headcanoning him as autistic. also u dont actually need to have any in depth reasoning to view a character as such either im just insane and have been meaning to fully write this up for eons
so without further ado!!!
firstly, the absolute most blatant trait of yoshida’s that would attract neurodivergent readings is his passionate interest in motorcycles. but id like to go into the extremely far extent to which his interest goes and how it, as a result, reads very much like a special interest
i have often talked about how i dont believe “interest” is strong enough a word to describe the sheer passion yoshida holds for motorcycles. he is associated with them to the degree that its his most recognisable trait by classmates and those in any way familiar with the series
examples of the extent of immersion in his interest exist within his character profiles. his graduation album profile (trans. @/irraydiance) comments on how “he’ll tackle any problem as long as he can apply the knowledge of motorcycles” and has korosensei tell him that he hopes he’ll be able to express his motorcycle knowledge in “a way everyone understands”. a defining factor of a special interest is how it impacts the way in which one understands and interacts with the world around them, we see things through the context of our special interest. yoshida is explicitly stated to have this apply to him — he can achieve anything, he just needs to be able to view it through his obsession with motorcycles. the “in a way everyone understands” is noteworthy wording, as it easily relates to our realities as autistic people and not being understood by the world, including how our intense special interests are perceived.
additionally in his graduation album profile is his reasoning for dropping down to e class which literally is: he spent too much time with his motorcycle. special interests are characterised by an obsessive fixation that makes it hard to do things that dont involve it — things like studying!!! it’s in this sense they can impair our day to day lives. and korosensei picks up on this, in yoshida’s roll book time profile (trans. @/ansatsu-database) he identifies yoshida as “the embodiment of what one likes one will do well” and tries to entice him into mathematics by calling it “useful when tinkering with bikes” - giving yoshida an incentive to bother with it. his roll book time profile is also where we learn that collecting bike related memorabilia is the main thing he spends his money on, and the “collection” aspect of special interests comes up again in chapter 154 where we see him at home with a little motorcycle figurine on his desk. it is also because of his obsession with bikes and his hobby tinkering with them (also influenced by his parents repair shop) that he, according the graduation album, possesses engineering knowledge beyond that of a university student.
it is our first in series introduction to yoshida’s passion for motorcycles in vision time and the context surrounding this introduction that gives us the best grasp on the sheer extent of this intensity. vision time sees the breaking point of terasaka in the face of yoshida and muramatsu beginning to trust korosensei — the way in which korosensei gains the trust of the boys differs significantly but the core similarity that is important to note here is how he directly appeals to what he knows they care about most at this point. with muramatsu he tutors him and helps him improve his grades, appealing to muramatsu’s extremely strong desire to succeed (a recurring theme in his character) as well as his desire to prove himself
with yoshida, however, korosensei appeals to what he knows from observing and talking to him is most important to him: motorcycles. he appeals exactly to what yoshida strongly reacts to and clings to: he engages with him in his interest. he goes out of his way to make a model of a motorcycle and dress in biker gear and to describe yoshida as excited by it would be an understatement!!! look at this boy stim!!!
korosensei engaging with yoshida in his motorcycle interest is likened to muramatsu improving his grades — something INCREDIBLY significant within the context of 3e/kunugigaoka in general and that effectively demonstrates the intense extent of yoshida’s interest. furthermore, through this appeal by korosensei yoshida exposes himself to the class he had before distanced himself from: he is seen openly stimming and openly laughing, something before unimaginable from him, all because of this act from korosensei, because of motorcycles
terasaka destroying the motorcycle model prompts a reaction from yoshida that again is placed on the same level as terasaka literally throwing muramatsu against a tree, equating the two as inflicting similar damage which is reinforced again in yoshida + muramatsu’s comments towards terasaka later
his special interest in motorcycles also leads him to develop smaller but still seemingly intense interests in other vehicles, the most notably being trains. in the character databook there’s a page on the clubs some members of 3e were in before being sent to e class and yoshida is revealed to have been a member of the railroad research club - specifically, it notes how he’s “especially crazy” for steam locomotives which led him to take a railroad tour out of his own volition. trains are a common interest for autistic people (not for me personally, but i know while it is a “stereotype” it IS true for many) which is why though im sure its entirely coincidental i bring it up because i think its funny how one of the most easily read as autistic characters would be given it
how he connects with itona links to this also. itona holds an interest similar in intensity to yoshida regarding electronics and it’s the core way through which the two bond — sharing these interests with each other and becoming a “tech team” the class can rely on. notably, yoshida’s thought process behind giving itona his first bike ride is the same as what i’ll mention more later: it works for him, it must work for itona, not factoring in the differing contexts.
the second trait of yoshida’s i feel might be the next most obvious is his very prominent sense of “justice” by his own rules of black and white thinking. this is implied offhandedly somewhat in hazama’s databook profile where she and yoshida are stated to be the “most rational” out of the terasaka gang, compared to terasaka, muramatsu and itona. but there are a few instances that explicitly demonstrate this idea
the “rules” yoshida has for himself with his thought process to determine something as angering to him largely center around this idea of “fairness”. to him something is either fair or unfair and there appears little room for nuance — terasaka destroyed the motorcycle, that’s unfair, he gets angry — grip using underhanded tactics against karma is unfair, he gets angry — takaoka’s grudge on nagisa is unfair because nagisa defeated takaoka fairly, he gets angry — karma and nakamura positioning him the way they do in the civil war is deemed “not playing fair”. he never lets what he deems “unfair” go uncommented on. less emotionally focused is when he calls out gakuhou by commenting on how korosensei has played by his rules fair and square, so gakuhou should just give up
additionally, this manifests in yoshida’s reasoning for choosing “kill” during the civil war. while compared to the rest of the terasaka gang his reasoning is much more up to personal interpretation in that he only says one brief thing - that one brief thing has him say how he too thought of ways to save korosensei but, evidently, couldnt find one and so accepted this was the only other option. this line of thinking on yoshida’s part of wanting to save koro leads me to think it wouldnt be a stretch to suggest that his idea of “saving” after he realized it wouldnt work for korosensei fell decidedly upon prioritising saving his friends and classmates by continuing with the assassination and thus avoiding what the fallout for failing to do so would be. it again connects to his fixation on “fairness” and how black and white his thought process can be considered in that he quickly acknowledges that its a one life vs billions of lives situation with seemingly little emotional input. this is true in a fair less “noble” or objectively “just” way in the very first episode regarding his willingness to participate in terasaka’s plan to sacrifice nagisa to kill koro-sensei ergo “save the world” and get a billion yen - we can only speculate given what his role was, but the way yoshida probably justified his involvement at this stage to himself is likely to fall on the same wavelength as what else i have discussed.
connecting to anger, however, is the third point: yoshida is a sensitive guy who is easily overwhelmed by the force of his emotions + struggles to regulate them
yoshida rarely gets openly angry or upset, but when he does he seems to get very overwhelmed by it in how it essentially bursts out of him (much like his joy!). the island arc is an excellent example of this in how he is (understandably) extremely distressed by the prospect of people dying due to the virus (especially muramatsu and hazama which is why theyre positioned in the background of the panel!!!) and it causes him to burst out in an example of overwhelmed panic
notably, he is the only character to have an outburst as big as this displaying the difference in emotional regulation, and doubly notably is how the only other time before this point we had seen yoshida display emotion like this was the motorcycle incident in vision time. i think, from experience lol, that his behavior here and from here on out does resemble the teeterings of a meltdown, that hara (his childhood friend) seems able to soothe him away from for the time being. but he remains extremely notably on edge for the remainders of the arc. which again, would be understandable for anyone, but he is the only character (bar terasaka) who is depicted to this extent distressed. this becomes ESPECIALLY more easy to read as a teetering-on-meltdown because of how yoshida’s distress in part stems from how this ordeal has entirely disrupted how he imagined this “vacation” to unfold. it is notable that before the poisoning, it’s yoshida who asserts that they will kill koro-sensei and then relax - especially as part of the terasaka gang previously distant with the assassination, this is all that is in his mind. and then the not only does the attempt fail but entirely unexpected disaster strikes and it is yoshida who frantically points out “we didn’t come to this island to be killed”
the departure scene captures this element of him as well, having him be one of the students openly sobbing during the final roll call for one
linking to him being overwhelmed is a few instances of his hypersensitivity when it comes to sensory issues, and then presumed hyposensitivity. regarding the former, the fascinating examples are found in his roll book time profile. theres a comment by karasuma that notes how when playing cops and robbers yoshida “was able to sense karasuma’s presence, when many students failed to do the same until he touched them” — connoting some form of possible tactile hypersensitivity on yoshida’s end, which could also explain why he never wears the school blazer instead opting for the cardigan all year round unless forced.
the other example found here is his favorite food: monster energy drink. he is the only character with a fave food listed who provides something like that — everyone else gives examples of actual, you know, cuisine. realistically, it’s likely a gag about how common a sponsor monster are at motorcycle races particularly in japan, BUT at the same time it can be interpreted as him having a hypersensitivity to taste where monster energy drink is a “safe food” for him. many autistic people, including myself, with hypersensitivities to taste or texture in food have a safe food that is often a processed snack food due to their predictable nature
regarding hyposensitivity, i think his special interest in motorcycles factors into it. motorcycles provide the rider with a feeling of immense adrenaline due to the pressure and extreme feeling of movement exerted onto them — hyposensitivity to pressure is the reason many autistic people love things like weighted blankets and vestibular hyposensitivity leads to stimming by rocking, spinning etc. regarding yoshida, his remedy for both of these things is riding his motorcycle
another “blatant” aspect of yoshida’s character that can open way for easy autistic interpretation concerns his communication, such as: how blunt he can be!! understandably this is often overlooked by him being in the proximity of itona, which is fair, but yoshida is similarly blunt without the awareness of how socially acceptable it is to be so. most notably this manifests in how he talks to korosensei in chapter 154 where in response to muramatsu saying he guesses korosensei “had his own worries” yoshida says “some pretty stupid worries compared to how depressed the rest of us were”
aside from the above instance the biggest moment displaying him misreading a situation + suggesting something that to him is a completely logically sound idea is during kayano’s reveal + attempted murder of korosensei
finally, mention of that moment brings me to his atypical thought process which is on full display here as he suggests in full sincerity that mimura play air guitar + distract kayano with his “badass skills” and doesn’t understand why others react to it in the flummoxed way they do because in his mind this is an easy, obvious, natural connection to make - mimura’s air guitar had a prominent impact on him, that should apply to everyone!!! the differing context doesnt occur to him, why would it? autism often causes us to fixate on small details rather than the “bigger picture” - this is a similar thought process with its disregarding of contexts that earlier in the story has him take itona on a bike ride to take his mind of the tentacles
conclusively, through connecting many of yoshida’s character traits to autistic symptoms + traits, most of which discussed here i personally experience with my own autism, i think he can extremely easily be read as autistic and joins the pantheon of class 3e students who also can also extremely easily be and are frequently read as such (okuda, sugaya, itona)!!!
