I Want Mahoro To Receive A Love Letter From A Girl And Actually Be Sorta Flattered (this Is How Arajin

first love

silly goofies

the stupid

The way I'm seeing Bucchigiri so far is that the Honki people feel coded as homosexual and as a kid Arajin was really into being like that. But he was never open with that to anyone but his one friend, who was supportive and bonded with him over it. And in trying to defend that, that friend got mercilessly attacked while Arajin just ran away. So the way that Arajin so desperately avoids even Matakara is that he feels like that lifestyle reminds him of both that danger and his own personal weakness. And so he finds it safer to overcompensate by trying to act 110% straight.

ooh this is an interesting reading! i've thought about how fighting=an act of love in this show, but honki people=homosexuality could fit quite well into ara's character arc and relationship with matakara.

given how arajin is the protagonist of a brawling show, and I think it would extremely strange for arajin to completely reject his childhood desire to become a honki person by the end. they've definitely played up his refusal of the call so far, so i think we're going to see ara stepping up into his fighting anime protagonist role. if we assume that fighting, in the language of bucchigiri, is an expression of true self/feelings, i think we're definitely in for some kind of reciprocity of matakara's feelings on ara's part. i will be very surprised if we don't get a arajin x matakara fight by the end.

arajin has obviously buried his feelings about his past very deep and has tried to pivot his life in a completely opposite direction. I wouldn't be surprised if it's revealed that his obsession with dating is due in part to his trauma surrounding fighting; possibly him trying to emulate what a normal teenager does instead of 'embracing his true self' (ie. becoming honki). if this is how the story goes, there will be a definite queer reading to be had.

allegorically, the story would read as: young matakara is beaten up for being queer, arajin sees this and knows being queer is dangerous, he runs away and tries to compensate for his queerness by acting 110% hetero, matakara meets back up with him years later and tries to bond with ara over queerness, ara soundly rejects him and tries to distance out of shame, and ara (assumingly) learns by the end that being queer isn't shameful and embraces that part of himself (i.e. becomes a honki person.)

this all makes me a bit curious how mahoro's character is going to be dealt with going forward. i think there's a few things they're likely to do with her:

get over her brocon stuff and get with arajin at the end as his 'prize' for finally accepting his role as a fighter

arajin's moved on from focusing on girls by the end, mahoro gets with matakara

remain brocon to the very end

get over brocon stuff, become friends with arajin

i'm not a fan of option 1, i find it boring and a disservice to ara's and her character. i think option 2 is plausible given the romantic trope-y type scenes we've been seeing between matakara and mohoro, plus them bonding a little over their brothers. however, neither of them seem really interested in each other during those scenes beyond caring that other knows arajin. these scenes seem superficially romantic to me. i'm not really a fan of this ship so i wouldn't enjoy this outcome and i find it a boring thing to do with mahoro. option 3 sucks, but it wouldn't do damage to any other character at least? option 4 is my ideal outcome. it would allow mahoro to finally function outside of being in love with her brother and be a 'look how he's matured' moment for arajin.

there are a few appealing other options (like giving her kickass majin) that i would personally love the show to pull off, but unfortunately i don't think bucchigiri is going to do them with their limited run of 6 eps left. i'll be super excited if it proves me wrong, though.

sorry for the rambling here, thanks for giving me something to think about anon!

CAN THEY COOK?- project: eden's garden cooking headcanons

detailed explanation for each placement, starting from "let them cook" to "do not let them in a kitchen unsupervised." everything's below the cut:

LET THEM COOK

-ingrid and eloise have big families and they have siblings, so it only makes sense they can cook well. desmond's mom and dad run a chain restaurant, so i feel like he'd be a good cook by proxy. -if there are people you trust to take you to a good restaurant, i feel like it'd be wenona, toshiko, and jean. partially vibes based but wenona would know when those ingredients are good and fresh, toshiko would appreciate expensive but also simple and affordable meals and jean has enough experience around his crew to understand how people's palates differ (as well as having tried a variety of dishes) -grace is an athlete. she will have her "cheat days" but other than that she is DEDICATED. veggies and grains before playing and protein after. i feel like she'd hate those weird health shakes though. she makes and breaks the rules as she wishes

-kai is the type of guy who strikes me as someone who is a good cook. there are a few dishes he can make off the top of his head and they're probably all specific internet dishes (i.e. pancakes, breakfast bowl, veggie pasta... myriad of drinks etc.) buttt i think if you asked him to just fry an egg he'd somehow burn it.

-damon's parents probably taught him how to cook as a life skill and also as #bondingtime. he'd probably know how to make some traditional japanese dishes but like i also feel like he gets a bit lazy with cooking sometimes (either because he's too locked in studying or he's just tired). so like, a bowl of cereal or a boiled egg and plain toast and a banana. i like to think kai and co. bring him to restaurants or cook with him so it's easier.

-diana, diana, diana. if you believe that she is italian then i do think she could cook some great italian food. but in all honesty i feel like half of her meals are things you don't have to cook (as in over a stove or in an oven). diana 100% is a baker though. she is the type of person to bring freshly baked brownies for the class. i headcanon she, ingrid, toshiko and eloise help her out.

What the hell, sure.

-i am so hard pressed to believe these guys eat enough veggies.

-all busy + don't feel like cooking + it's faster to take out food. once in a while they will cook but it is rare. their food is edible to them and that's all that matters

-cassidy is a MENACE on the grill though (proof? that one eden's island promotional art). ask her to fucking grill anything and she will DELIVER. same goes with jett but i believe cassidy is the better grill dad here

-this is a joke but why can I see jett, cassidy and mark going to restaurants guy fieri style

DO NOT LET THEM COOK

-i feel like eva is the type of person to be like "i can cook" but she ABSOLUTELY cannot. you'll be in the kitchen with her and she would be too embarrassed to admit she can't despite the fact she is continuously failing. she gets the hang of it after a while -wolfgang doesn't know how to do his own laundry so i assume he can't cook (bc he spent all his time studying as a kid) -if you asked ulysses if he could cook he'd be like "sort of?" he can follow a recipe, but if something goes wrong he panics a bit. i think he forgets to feed himself sometimes -i think tozu would make a mean shepard's pie (pun not intended). i feel like he likes french food. while he jokes about british food he finds it very unexciting and bland. he is genuinely a good cook but would absolutely troll you by putting a "secret ingredient" in his food (i.e. putting pineapple in lasagna) unfortunately, this would be ineffective on someone like kai or eva who like "weirder" food combos

doubtful abt them ever showing their families so i just be making whole ass ocs now..... here is jabashiri's brother and hagure's parents in my mind 🙏

My thoughts on the latest episode of BUCCHIGIRI?! Episode 9 aka the one episode that had me mentally broken

WARNING: *May contain spoilers esp in regards to Senya and Ichiya and the starting of the corruption arc of Matakara*

- Continuing the ending scene of Episode 8, it seems like everything was Akutaro’s and Ichiya’s plan was to go smoothly but SIKE! It was ICHIYA’S plan all along! Akutaro was just a pawn!

- Akutaro doesn’t seem too pleased about it and wants to merge back with Ichiya with the latter telling him straight up how he was nothing but a tool straight up made him mad.

- In class, Mahoro as always is looking at photos of her brother and holy moly! THE JIN’S HAVE A DOG?! I DIDN’T KNOW THEY WERE FRICKIN RICH!

- Anyways, Arajin being the simp that he is tries to give her the soapstone but she ignores him.

- However, Arajin just so happens to overhear Komao and Zabu being worried for Matakara and how he’s been gone for three days! WHAT?!

- This has got me super worried AF.

- Arajin doesn’t seem too concerned about it but something tells me that deep down he feels…worried for some reason.

- Back in the Tomoshibi family restaurant, Arajin is helping out as always and Senya can’t help but notice Arajin’s worry so much to the point that he slapped him on the back pretty hard to cheer him up which he doesn’t seem to accept.

- Back with Zabu and Komao, they asked the receptionist about Matakara’s whereabouts again only this time he’s back. Excited about the news, both Zabu and Komao bought him something to eat but they heard a crashing sound.

- They open up to see Matakara opening up his piggy bank and taking up whatever remaining money that he has all the while ignoring Zabu and Komao. Man. That hurts.

- Meanwhile, Arajin is heading to the bathhouse due to the showers in his home being broken down, but then he bumped into Matakara but unlike the usual, Mata’s whole cheerful demeanour is gone, most likely from what happened last episode and just left without saying a word.

- The customer and cat cafè waiter returned again. This time, when the customer asked for Pu’er again, the waiter begged him to take Jasmine again because of how she’s been waiting for the customer which causes the customer to change and asked for Jasmine. What this means is probably gonna be foreshadowing of the next episode or the current predicament that’s happening.

- At the bathhouse, Arajin was trying to enjoy a peaceful bath time when he ran into Komao and Zabu with the former being all cheerful, calling him Ara-pyon and offering to wash his back despite seeing him act like an uncaring asshole last episode (what a sweetheart).

- Arajin and Zabu asked each other about Matakara’s wellbeing before Komao jumped into the bathtub cannonball style.

- There’s something oddly cathartic seeing the NG Boys and Girls discussing about Akutaro’s downfall (I mean he did abuse them after all) and Akutaro can’t help but watch all of this happen and ran off embarrassed by his downfall.

- Tho that being said, Akutaro does have a plan in which he discovered a slip of paper that says Honki on the front but what it says is pretty unknown.

- Any scene with Matakara and Ichiya is just so heartwrenching because unlike Arajin and Senya’s relationship, Ichiya is trying to break Mata down mentally.

- Oh and it turns out that the dark shadow thing isn’t Ichiya’s but something hiding within Matakara all along.

- Also, we got some backstory regarding how Matakara joined Minato Kai, in which he just beat up a bunch of random thugs because of honoring his brother and Arajin, he and Ken went up against each other to pass the trial to become a member of Minato Kai.

- Also, just saying but the first year design of Zabu and Komao are just so adorable. Oh and I guess my headcanon of the first meeting between these three got debunked but it technically became true when it’s revealed that all three joined Minato Kai at the same time.

- To Mahoro, Marito and Outa (the latter two who are absent since last ep): Mahoro is playing some sort of imaginary tea party with a dolly of Marito lol but the moment real Marito and Outa came in she quickly hid under the covers.

- From there, both Marito and Outa began to discuss about Mitsukuni’s hospitalization and also revealed that not even Kenichiro can beat him. When Marito asked why is Outa is concerned about Mitsukuni and even brought up the topic about it, Outa then revealed that Matakara is going through a hard time right now and that he is the kid brother of Mitsukuni.

- Both Marito and Mahoro who overheard about it expressed shock at the relation. And my reaction to all this is: “Wait none of you siblings knew about it?” (Moreso from Mahoro because Matakara told her about it back in Episode 4)

- Marito heard something and began to search in his room for the noise which Outa began to question what is he doing before they continue their discussion.

- Mahoro oddly began to display worry and concern for Matakara, despite those two never interacting by a whole lot. But it is a nice gesture nonetheless.

- The next day, Arajin and Mahoro have a talk on the rooftop, to which the latter asked about the condition of Matakara’s wellbeing. Arajin was hesitant to ask and even begin to worry about how she is showing interest in Mata (which is not true at all) to which Mahoro is disgusted by and just left him.

- Also, it’s interesting to note how Mahoro said that it happened to her once (regarding the things Matakara is going through) but what this mean is quite peculiar.

- While walking back, Senya tried to cheer Arajin up with a massive slap to the back but Arajin dodged it this time. At least until they are approached by a disheveled Akutaro who slipped a paper right into Arajin’s jacket pocket before going off.

- Ichiya breaking down Matakara and manipulating him to fight Arajin. My poor sunshine puppy. 😭

- Arajin and Senya are walking to the bathhouse again but this time we are given expository on Senya and Ichiya.

- Both Senya and Ichiya are street kids (possibly back when they were mortals) who live in an unknown part of the desert long time ago. Senya (who wasn’t given a name back then) admired Ichiya’s fighting style and begged to fight him. Ichiya was disinterested in Senya at first but he doesn’t seem to say no either.

- Over the years, both Senya and Ichiya’s friendly rivalry grew and grew so much so that when they were hanging out, Ichiya was the one who named Senya as he is today.

- But all of a sudden, their relationship turned sour at some point with black shadows covering Ichiya. What happened is unknown but it’s seem odd for some reason.

- When Arajin asked why Senya relied the backstory to him, the genie said that both Arajin and Matakara’s goal of being Honki People is a lot similar to his and Ichiya’s goal.

- Matakara appears in front of Arajin, clearly looking distraught and not long before he starts attacking Arajin.

- Arajin had no idea what has happened and Senya told him to merge with him to which Arajin managed to thankfully stop Matakara’s kicks but Matakara overpowered Arajin and just as he was about to land a finishing blow, Arajin’s gut began to growl which hit him to run to the nearest bathroom

- Also in all seriousness, can’t they dropped the toilet humor?

- Ichiya appeared and is convinced that the reason Matakara held back was because of his kind heart.

- Back in the Tomoshibi residence, Ara patched himself up from what has happened and Senya looked down and muttered about how Ichiya now has a hold on Matakara now. Angered by all this, Arajin began to ask how did he know about it before Senya disappeared.

- Just as Arajin is lying down, he saw the slip of paper that Akutaro slipped in meet him in the dead of the night.

- Akutaro then revealed that the reason why Senya is being secretive is because apparently Senya is planning to take over Arajin!

- Back with Ichiya and Matakara, Ichiya talked about Mitsukuni and feed lies on why the latter is weak before Matakara began to go apeshit and destroyed the dark shadow. Oh and Matakara has a mark behind his back not unlike the one Arajin has behind his ass.

- And with that, the final scene now has Ichiya in full possession with Matakara all the while saying that he is lacking anger and hatred in his heart. Matakara’s eyes lacked shine and now resembles Ichiya’s.

Should’ve posted this yesterday but…

THESE ARE SO ADORABLE!!!!! LOOK AT THEM!!!!

Mahoro, Matakara, Aladdin and the Princess

I think Episode 8 finally confirmed to me that the role of the Princess in the Aladdin allusion was actually split between Mahoro and Matakara, rather than it being one or the other. There's a reason why they're both represented by Jasmine-chan during the Nyan Nyaight Love cutaways!

Preface; imo Bucchigiri's narrative takes inspiration from both Disney's Aladdin and the original Aladdin story, so I'm going to switch the Princess's name depending on which version of her I'm referring to. So Jasmine -> Disney's Aladdin, and Badroulbadour -> 1001 Nights Aladdin.

From what I saw in the 1001 Nights Aladdin, Badroulbadour didn't have much of a personality, so it makes sense that a lot of Mahoro and Matakara's personalities were taken from Jasmine, while their roles in the story were slightly more influenced by Badroulbadour.

Mahoro: The feistier side of Jasmine. She has a sharp tongue and always speaks her mind, regardless of potential danger. Eg. Mahoro stands up to Akutaro after he gains the upper hand on both gangs, similarly to how Jasmine refuses to bow to Jafar when he becomes Sultan.

She's also regarded as pretty desirable, and has charmed several men to get them to do what she wants (something that both Jasmine and Badroulbadour do at some point to trick Jafar/the sorcerer). Arajin falls for Mahoro at first sight, similarly to how both versions of Aladdin fell for both versions of the Princess, and like Aladdin his crush on her becomes his driving motivation throughout the series. Akutaro also talks about turning her into a NG Girl and…abusing her, a la Jafar. Ik it's just to trigger Arajin but yk what I mean!

Matakara: The gentler, more naive side of Jasmine, in that he trusts/believes in Arajin...a lot more than he should, really. The main 'lying' plot point between Disney's Aladdin and Jasmine is directly implemented into Matakara and Arajin's relationship. On a surface level there's also their blue colour schemes and phonetically similar names (Asamine -> Jasmine). Near the climax of the 1001 Nights version, the sorcerer tricks Badroulbadour into giving him the lamp with the genie in it, similarly to how Akutaro manipulates Matakara into shooting himself with Ichiya. Both actions trigger a Very Bad Turn of Events that Aladdin stops/will have to stop with the help of his own genie.

Also very interesting how Ichiya has a moon motif, and Badroulbadour's name is a metaphor for female beauty meaning 'full moon of full moons'. Totally not losing my fucking mind over that no sir

Though they both fit the Princess allusion, the entire show is screaming that Matakara is Arajin's true Jasmine, and Arajin is going to realise he was what he needed all along. Honestly, it doesn't get more obvious than Episode 9.

That's not to mention how Mahoro and Matakara also have many, many parallels to each other via their relationships with Arajin. (Both visit him one-on-one at his mom's restaurant to convince him to do something and order the exact same dish, Arajin thinks of child Matakara after seeing both current Matakara and Mahoro get hurt, his meetings with both of them are juxtaposed with one another and described as a 'fated meeting' in this trailer, etc.)

Aside from that, there's also a lot of little stuff that the two have in common! (Both suck at cooking, both deeply care about their older siblings, both are cute as hell etc etc.)

(it's also pretty neat how they're technically both the respective 'princesses' of Minato Kai and Siguma, being the younger siblings of the leader/former leader of each gang!)

I think it should be obvious, but Bucchigiri is an anime about bonds and relationships, with three different ways of approaching it, sex, fights and cooking.

Saying that Arajin only wants sex and losing his virginity is to stay with the most superficial aspect of his character. Because yes, that's what he says he wants, but there are signs that it's not what he really seeks, a meaningful bond/relationship with someone, surely in an attempt to fill the void of that friendship he lost when leaving Matakara behind, because if we look closely, despite what he says, every time Arajin fantasizes about Mahoro it's never in a sexual way, what we see are bonding moments.

And his rejection of fights doesn't seem like a simple coincidence, not only because it's a characteristic of his condition as an antihero (in the classic sense of the word). But it's important to remember that just like sex and cooking (for someone) they are ways of relating, I mean… it is a very common trope… "men understand each other in a fight" which is particularly important here because it's the main way in which the boys relate to each other. Seen this way, by rejecting fights Arajin not only rejects confrontation, but the possibility of relating to the other boys, because doing so means constantly facing his guilt of what happened with Matakara (which also left him with after-effects), because if you pay attention, you can see that Arajin does care about him, more than he is willing to admit.

Let's also add to that how important cooking is (which I already have an analysis on this), cooking is independence, maturity, the warmth of a home and above all affection. I never get tired of saying it, the food in Bucchigiri "speaks", the single scene where Arajin and Matakara cook together in episode 8 is simply beautiful and tells us several things about both characters, their backgrounds, the state of their relationship, how they have coped with their lives after separating. And not only that, but cooking is presented as a kind of "third way" with respect to the previous two, not for nothing the last scene that both friends share is precisely cooking together.

By the way, have you noticed that there is in fact a common idea between sex, fighting and cooking (especially between the first two)? They all involve in one way or another "give it your all" and in particular "being exposed" and therefore "being vulnerable" which ends up being part of the resolution of the conflict, because it is at the moment when Matakara admits his pain that Arajin is also able to accept not only his guilt but the damage he caused him, it is there that he is finally able to gain the determination necessary to become a honki person and save his friend.

Bucchigiri is a story about bonds, relationships, trauma, loneliness, but it doesn't throw all its cards on the table in one sitting, it's also a story told through the small details it wants you to notice, because there's a lot to see if you are willing to give it a chance, it's a unique experience, even touching, that despite its flaws (because it has them) gives off a lot of personality, charisma and especially soul.

it's interesting how despite her freakiness, mahoro isn't on the same level of delusional as arajin or matakara. arajin and matakara keep chasing the object of their affection (mahoro for arajin, arajin for matakara) to fuel their own coping mechanisms, and in the process they start to build up a version of them that only exists in their heads. meanwhile, mahoro fangirls over marito and chases after him, sure, but she knows that he won't listen to her and leaves when she knows he doesn't want her there. i think she's self-aware to an extent because mahoro knows what kind of person marito truly is. i hope next episode arajin finally realises that he and matakara are wearing the same hat and does something about it.