The Character Who Says It Like It Is

The snarky boyfriend is often paired with "the character who says it like it is." Despite all external appearances, the snarky boyfriend is usually the more vulnerable of the two. He needs "the character who says it like it is" to keep his head above water.

One of the most delightful examples of a straightforward, straight-talking character is Yoshida from His Favorite. He is paired with Sato whose back story provides excellent fodder for both vulnerability and snarkiness.

Sato learns as a young teen that

angst at life's futility is an easy way

to achieve protective superiority.

In elementary school, Sato was a fat kid of great intelligence who built up a kind of nihilistic philosophical defense against his family's indifference and his peers' bullying. People are ants and life is fleeting. During this time period, Yoshida, scrappy, straightforward, and inherently moral, came to Sato's defense.

Fast-forward a few years to high school. Sato has returned from abroad, now tall, suave, still faintly nihilistic yet somewhat bothered by his memories of Yoshida. He embraces (literally and figuratively) his interest in Yoshida but it floors him. Did the memory of Yoshida's protection really mean so much? Could another human being truly have had so much impact on his emotions? Does he actually feel guilt that Yoshida was hurt so many years earlier defending him? Especially when Yoshida himself doesn't feel any antipathy or rage towards Sato (Yoshida doesn't even remember how he got hurt: "I fell on a rock," he states, reminiscent of Last Man Standing Boyd's claim, "I ran into a do-or").

In truth, no one other than Yoshida could handle Sato or avoid being pulled into his strange inner world. Instead, Yoshida--the character who says it like it is--keeps Sato tethered to the real world of everyday people and interactions.

Two scenes stand out:

1. Yoshida is the only person (as of Volume 5) to recognize in the tall, suave Sato, the overweight grumpy boy of years earlier. Sato expected others to eventually recognize him; it is uncertain whether he is relieved by or indifferent to their lack of recognition. But it does puzzle him that only Yoshida makes the recognition leap. Yoshida not only recognizes Sato but passes no judgment about Sato's past. It doesn't seem to occur to him to do so. Why would he? He knew Sato then. He knows him now. And sure Sato is handsome now, which gets Yoshida flustered. But okay, whatever, moving on.

To Sato, who still sees himself as a loner rising above the discomfort of his past, Yoshida's ability to say, "Huh, yeah, that was then-this is now" is...

Confusing. And a breath of fresh air.

2. Yoshida also manages to see through Sato's game-playing. Sato is perfectly willing to play up to other people's expectations, largely because he doesn't care. He flirts with the girls, agrees to teachers' bizarre requests, and goes along with the romantic self-dramatizations of his rival for Yoshida's affection. But it's (mostly) a game--which Yoshida recognizes and calls him out on. Everyone else may be in awe of Sato's good looks and dramatic appearance. Not Yoshida. He is totally willing to tell Sato to stop acting like a "villain in a B-movie; it's embarrassing!"

In this particular case, Yoshida keeps Sato literally grounded.