Yukio Okumura

[GolPhee]

Of all the characters, Yukio is the subject of by far the greatest discussion and controversy. With some people reading the manga soley because of him and others wholeheartedly disliking him, I figured it was time he had his own thread.

So what's your opinion on Yukio and why? Do you think he's changed as a character since the beginning of the series? What would your ideal resolution be for him in the manga? Does he remind you of any other anime characters?

[Grieves]

With a face like that

he doesn't need to be a good person.

[keemew2]

^ But Yukio is a good person! HE's just very conflicted. He's a 15 yr old boy whose been handed a responsibility that technically should not have been pushed on him. He loves his brother, there's more then enough evidence of that, but he has problems dealing with the issues currently presented in the storyline. What with his own black and white views on good and evil mixed with Mephistos manipulations adn deceit, the new knowledge that there's soemthign changing about him and being unable to know who to talk to about it.....
Sheesh. I dunno. He's not a bad person, but somethign is gonna break soon.

[Wikkelsoee]

I'm somewhere in the middle. He's an interesting character, but he's not really my favorite even though he's the one I can relate to the most.

[The silent smiling demon]

I'm in the "Somewhere in the middle" percent. I like his internal struggles, and think he a good complex character. Not to mention, after seeing other characters who have the same type of personality traits. He actually seem to be one of the best, from I seen so far. Yet, I can't really say I'm not a really a big fan of his.

[Buttercup]

I have always been in love with his character. He intrigues me...and yes his kind of character is cliche but its a character one can sometimes relate to. And I definitely notice when he finally gets a wardrobe change. Theres a hot bod under there.

[Wikkelsoee]

Now when we're talking about Yukio, there's something I have ben wondering about. What's the meaning behind the demon on Yukio's cover? Isn't it a little brutal to draw him stepping on it, smiling, while it's lying in a pool of its own blood? The plant on Shiemi's cover played a big role in The Phantom Train, so do you think this demon could be foreshadowing something?

[Paradox]

Now when we're talking about Yukio, there's something I have ben wondering about. What's the meaning behind the demon on Yukio's cover? Isn't it a little brutal to draw him stepping on it, smiling, while it's lying in a pool of its own blood? The plant on Shiemi's cover played a big role in The Phantom Train, so do you think this demon could be foreshadowing something?

Good point. That demon also appeared in the second opening of the anime.
I know, that is not important, but I really like the color (combination) of the feathers. I hope, it will appear sometime.

Edit: Sorry, I forgot. I voted that middle thing. As for myself, I dislike Yukio since the "Just die please" scene, but he has an interesting character and I'm looking forward to seeing more character development.

[NeeNee]

^ Same. I still haven't forgiven him. Might still do so if he ever properly makes up with Rin, but for now he's just acting like a big jerk most of the time.

^ But Yukio is a good person! HE's just very conflicted. He's a 15 yr old boy whose been handed a responsibility that technically should not have been pushed on him. He loves his brother, there's more then enough evidence of that, but he has problems dealing with the issues currently presented in the storyline. What with his own black and white views on good and evil mixed with Mephistos manipulations adn deceit, the new knowledge that there's soemthign changing about him and being unable to know who to talk to about it.....
Sheesh. I dunno. He's not a bad person, but somethign is gonna break soon.

Of course he's not a bad person, but his relationship with Rin is kind of unhealthy. If this was a manga for an older audience, I could easily see it turn into an abusive relationship, with Yukio taking his anger out on Rin and Rin making excuses to justify his behaviour.

[keemew2]

  That is a scary thought! I suppose it's possible that given enough stress, Yukio might lash out negatively, but even if he did I really don't see Rin taking it. Yeah, he may make an excuse for Yukio, saying he's stressed and didn't mean to do it, but at the same time he would make Yukio understand that that isn't acceptable behavior. Besides, I see Yukio being more self destructive then abusive. ANd even if he does lash out at Rin, he would dwell on what he did and consider himself scum for hitting his brother when he'd made a vow to protect him. IT would add to his already bleek outlook and further thrust him into the darkness that is his own self.
Wow. I'm really itching to see someone write a dark fic characterizing those kind of events now. >_<

[NeeNee]

^ 'Might'? He already called Rin a murderer, told him to die and beat him down for saving a city. Rin took it all without complaint and never brought it up again, and Yukio himself hasn't shown any signs of guilt either.

It's nothing dramatic here because Rin is a big boy who can take care of himself when needed, but imagine if he was five years younger and depended on Yukio as his parental figure? Then Yukio's attitude would be close to emotional abuse. Not just the lashing out, but also the fact that he's always criticising him (valid criticism is good, but it shouldn't be the only thing you ever say to someone). It's not that Yukio has bad intentions, but it appears he uses putting his brother in his place to make himself feel better, and he doesn't seem to realise (or care) that this can be hurtful to Rin.

That's also why there are so many fanfics/works of art that depict Yukio as an abusive lover/sadist/psychopath. It's often exaggerated, but the seeds are there, and people pick up on them.

[keemew2]

There's no way Rin would look at Yukio as a parental figure when they were ten, or any other time. But I can see your point on the here and now with Yukio's personality in the dog house. I admit, he really needs to cool his jets on the critism. I hate seeing the darkside of Yukio and it really worries me. I want to see more good moments from him. I really don't know why I like him so much, and it bothers me sometimes that I do. But I htink it's because I see someone that's hurting and doesn't know who to go to for help. He's so isolated and he kinda does it to himself, refusing to confide in anyone. If he would just take his brother into more consideration it'd make things so much easier for him!
I need to make a correction from my last post. You are right, there is no might about Yukio lashing out given enough stress. I just remembered that he did strike Rin at the end of the impure king battle. I'll give you that, but there is no way he's going to be outright physically abusive! ANd definitly no way Rin would take it. I mean, think about it. Rin has always been bad at controlling his temper. When he was a kid he beat on Shiro when he was mad, broke his ribs and stuff. While I don't see Rin doing that to Yukio, I do see him fending off Yukio with minimal effort if Yukio tries anything stupid.

[NeeNee]

^ I meant, if Rin was five years younger than Yukio.

And of course I'm not expecting him to beat Rin to a pulp (I was mostly talking about emotional abuse anyway), but I could see him pulling his tail, or pushing him against the sharp end of the door or something. Domestic abuse is often pretty subtle, that's why most of it doesn't get noticed until the victims speak up.

[earthforge]

I can't exactly like him or dislike him. I just feel for the kid. He is isolated. He has been isolated for all his life - he has always seen things no one else saw, not even his big bro who promised to protect him. With all the accumulated emotional baggage - repressed anger towards his father, anger at his brother for never being there for him, fear of everything that surrounds him, and especially fear of himself - is it any wonder that he is explosive? He suppresses his feelings, but things get pushed past a point and his real emotions show. At the core, he is just as emotional as his sib.

He also grew up with a rather distorted view of demons. While Rin had to reconcile that he was a demon and that demons are not all necessarily bad despite one killing his father in front of him, Yukio never really reconciled it. He's been tortured by demons since he can remember, then killing the things since he was 7.

As for Rin and Yukio: there's just a lot going on there.

I do feel somewhat annoyed with Rin, because he does have a share of the blame. He's keeps occupied with his friends & school life. He ignores what's going on with his sib. He keeps acting like the younger sib when Yukio is starting to crack severely. He has to seriously step up to the plate and be the older sib to Yukio. He needs to take the first step, and not when Yukio challenges him. This would minimize significantly Yukio's anger at Rin never taking responsibility.

However, the way the situation is going, Yukio will explode and Rin will be shocked and Rin's shock will infuriate Yukio even more. At this rate, I fully expect Yukio to do something really cruel to Rin (like try to convince him that Shiro would have wanted him dead). Yukio can't beat up his sib, but he can mess with people's heads.

[NeeNee]

I can't exactly like him or dislike him. I just feel for the kid. He is isolated. He has been isolated for all his life - he has always seen things no one else saw, not even his big bro who promised to protect him. With all the accumulated emotional baggage - repressed anger towards his father, anger at his brother for never being there for him, fear of everything that surrounds him, and especially fear of himself - is it any wonder that he is explosive? He suppresses his feelings, but things get pushed past a point and his real emotions show. At the core, he is just as emotional as his sib.

And now he's so used to it that he doesn't know how to connect to people anymore. Or if he knows, he can't bring himself to do it.

I'm starting to think that Yukio will need to get seriously drunk in order to talk to his brother. Like, Shura finds out that Yukio has been saying mean things to his sib and it's making Rin depressed, so she takes Rin away. Rin goes back to check up on Yukio anyway, but finds him completely wasted... and blurting out whatever comes to mind. Ironically, this could actually really help in this case, since I believe their relationship will drastically improve if only Rin can figure out what Yukio is thinking.

He also grew up with a rather distorted view of demons. While Rin had to reconcile that he was a demon and that demons are not all necessarily bad despite one killing his father in front of him, Yukio never really reconciled it. He's been tortured by demons since he can remember, then killing the things since he was 7.

He must have known his brother was a demon for quite a while though. Shouldn't that have changed his views a bit? Or could he have been in denial to the point that he told himself that his brother wasn't really a demon since he hadn't awakened yet? But he was planning to protect him after 'in ten years time, Rin will see much worse things', wasn't he?

As for Rin and Yukio: there's just a lot going on there.

I do feel somewhat annoyed with Rin, because he does have a share of the blame. He's keeps occupied with his friends & school life. He ignores what's going on with his sib. He keeps acting like the younger sib when Yukio is starting to crack severely. He has to seriously step up to the plate and be the older sib to Yukio. He needs to take the first step, and not when Yukio challenges him. This would minimize significantly Yukio's anger at Rin never taking responsibility.

It's true that Rin is taking it easy, leaving all adult responsibilities to Yukio. On the other hand, Yukio actively claimed that role. Rin was fully willing to protect his little brother when they first arrived at the school, but then Yukio immediately established himself as a superior exorcist and Rin's 'prison guard' (and later even an official babysit from the Vatican), taking every opportunity to make Rin feel that Yukio is the more mature one and should be obeyed. At this point, challenging Yukio's leadership would only cause conflict, and Rin knows that. So he's putting up with his little brother ordering him around for the sake of peace, hoping that things will just get better over time, because he doesn't know what to do to make them better himself. All his attempts to approach Yukio so far have been shot down.

However, the way the situation is going, Yukio will explode and Rin will be shocked and Rin's shock will infuriate Yukio even more. At this rate, I fully expect Yukio to do something really cruel to Rin (like try to convince him that Shiro would have wanted him dead). Yukio can't beat up his sib, but he can mess with people's heads.

That's possible. It could also go the other way around though, with Rin doing something legitimately suicidal and Yukio being totally blown away. He also is oblivious to his brother's pain, to the point that Shiemi and Bon probably know Rin's situation better than he does at this point. If they would pick up on the signals and react in time to save Rin while Yukio hasn't noticed a thing, Yukio would simply collapse.