I guess I’ll be the one bumping all the topics now, huh
More than anything, episode 1 was a Yuu episode. As such, I have a looooot to talk about in regards to him. I should save some stuff for the podcast, but I thought I’d share something about my analysis.
Yuu is a very unique character. If there is any one word to describe him, it is egotistical. One thing that struck me is how, despite him having easier options, he strives to go for something more difficult.
First example is the entrance exam. He spent soooo much effort tracking down whoever would get the highest grades just so he could copy from them. If he spent as much time actually studying instead, he might have even gotten the same results
Next is with Yumi. So many other girls fawn over him, and yet he chooses the school’s madonna. Sure, she’s pretty, but why even bother?
So the way I see it, Yuu treats everything he does as a game to one-up everyone else. He isn’t cheating on exams to pass; he’s cheating specifically so that he can tell himself that he successfully took advantage of those people for his own benefit. And he isn’t chasing after Yumi because he necessarily likes her, it’s because if he does get her, it’ll be a victory that he was able to achieve through his manipulative means.
And that’s why he was so struck when Yumi flat-out rejected him: it wasn’t because he was rejected by a girl he likes; it was because it was a straight-out attack on his ego. His own skill failed him, and that’s what hurts him the most.
He’s a terrible person, that’s for sure; but he’s very interesting, as far as characters go.