[Fish Sandwich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurona

You got an opinion on this duality? Because it's hitting me like a ton of bricks right now

I think both of us have actually covered this a bit already!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish Sandwich

Minori confronts Yuusuke with the fact that the thought of what he could become scares her, and Yuusuke admits something important to remember. It scares him too. So how can he still so gung-ho about being Kuuga? Why can we have scenes where he seems so at peace with it, to the point of branding his own clothes? That seeming contradiction could've run the risk of hanging over the show in a bad way, but what this episode accomplishes is addressing it by reemphasizing what we already know. When Minori asks why he still does it if he's scared, Yuusuke answers with another question. Why is Minori a teacher? The answer, in both cases, is because they believe in the importance of making people smile. Minori does that in her way, and right now, being Kuuga is Yuusuke's way of doing it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurona

And I don't want to say Yusuke sees himself as a superhero or someone that swoops in to save the day or even someone that's proud to fight, because I think that goes against the core tenets of his character. Rather, I think he's very optimistic and very driven. He's determined to turn this power into a positive in any way he can; he refuses even at Kuuga's worst points to see it as the ultimate darkness. He refuses to give in to the idea that it's inherently a terrible thing -- he's going to go against everything that's been said and make Kuuga a beacon of hope that shines through the darkness.

Basically, the way I see it, he values the good he can do as Kuuga, thus the pride, but that's not the same thing as valuing the experience of being Kuuga, if that makes any sense. It's a tricky balancing act, but I don't think these two things are at odds with each other, especially when, as I also mentioned a few times, the show's message is less about bluntly saying violence is bad, and more about asking people to consider the real weight of making those kinds of decisions.

There's also a bit from Document of Kuuga where Arakawa, talking about these exact themes, sums Yuusuke's attitude up as perfectly as only the show's head writer could:

"I don't believe he ever thinks things like 'why do I have to fight!?' He fights because he believes he should; it's just that he plain feels it's unpleasant, and that feeling is something he holds dear."