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I don't think I'd fully realized it until I watched this episode, but in continuing my thesis of "Kiva = Recycled Inoue Tropes" this episode made me realize that there is a definite subset of Inoue-penned character debuts that I'm going to start referring to as "peacock intros." I hadn't connected the dots before, but going back through so many of these shows again has helped me start seeing some more patterns.

In particular, the Taiga portions of this episode reminded me a lot of the alleged 30th episode of Hibiki and the introduction of Kiriya. But it also got me thinking about the first appearance of Kusaka and, after double-checking some writing credits, the first appearances of Kitaoka in Ryuki and Tsurugi in Kabuto. The thing that all of these peacock intros have in common is that not only do they add a new character to the show, but they do so in a way that's designed to make them look impressive as hell from the outside. A lot of Taiga's scenes as president of Fangire Inc., LLC are all about this, but the one that really clinched it for me was his dinner with Mio, where the two are the only couple in the expensive restaurant and the entire wait staff is standing in orderly rows to watch her eat a fancy gourmet meal. So many of these episodes are about really highlighting a new character's wealth, prestige, success, and authority in ways that are meant to make them appear really intimidating. But again, that's from the outside.

The other thing about peacock introductions is that Inoue uses them on characters who are all about putting up an imposing front to mask their real insecurities or failings. Again, Kiriya would be the poster boy for this if I acknowledged his existence. He looks like the successful golden boy but it's a cover for his real self-doubts and need for attention. Kusaka is really a sociopath, Kitaaoka is a narcissist, and Tsurugi is barely functional manchild. They look like they have all the accomplishments that anyone - especially the protagonist - could ever want, but it's shortly revealed to just be a mask for their inner failings (or delightful wackiness, in Tsurugi's case).

Taiga's introduction reminded me so much of these other peacocks, but with a little bit of a twist. That twist is his interactions with Wataru and his obvious joy at seeing his old friend again. There's an honest happiness to him that wouldn't fit with many of the other characters that Inoue has highlighted like this. I actually think his meal with Mio came off as far less controlling and creepy than a Kusaka or Kitaoka could have pulled off. The character seems more complex and less potentially douchey than many of his predecessors, basically, and I'm excited to be reminded of what his whole deal is and how it plays out (I'm finding that on a lot of these shows that I haven't seen in years, I've forgotten a lot more about the back halves).

Quote:

Originally Posted by DreadBringer

Regarding Otoya only wanting her as a warrior, that'd mean Otoya is in love with the idea of someone rather than the actual person, which is a flaw for loving someone. This'd mean Otoya fails to actually comprehend Yuri beyond the warrior trait, and it's common for someone to fall in love with a girl because of being incredibly beautiful, or brilliant fighter, or incredibly smart, etc. but only for that reasons.

That feels pretty on-brand for Otoya, though. His entire pursuit of Yuri started because she was a hot girl who randomly hugged him. He didn't really have much sense of who she was as a person and he blatantly ignored her when she said she wasn't interested, but often felt like he had the right to decide what was best for her himself. I'm not going to say he hasn't gotten better, but I think one of his big flaws is that he's still very much a romantic. Not inherently bad, but he's the kind of romantic who creates an idealized version of the person he's interested in and then expects her to live up to that ideal. One of the biggest reasons why he and Maya click so much more strongly is because she has a very similar perspective on the world, especially compared to the far more pragmatic Yuri.