Obiyuki Has Consumed My Soul

Obiyuki Has Consumed My Soul

For the past week or so, Obiyuki has been on my mind like crazy, crazy. It’s like my new religion or something. I went into Akagami no Shirayukihime anime thinking that it would be a cute fairy tale romance between a prince and a commoner, but who knew that I’ll fall into the second lead syndrome hole again.

For some reason, I tend to like the second lead more than the first lead in most love triangles. Probably because the second leads I like tend to have more chemistry with the female leads than the main leads in my eyes. However, it hurts my soul when I have to see the second lead being used as drama fuel to boost the drama of the love triangle. So when I went into Akagami no Shirayukihime anime, I fully prepared myself that if there was ever a love triangle, I should suppress my second lead syndrome feelings and focus solely on the main leads because I don’t want to go into the void of second lead feels again. 

Even when Obi showed up and caught his Young Miss when she was about to faint, I paid no mind, and believed that Obi was just a character that served a similar role as Kiki and Mitsuhide. No love triangle whatsoever. Everything was going smoothly and my focus was still on Zen and Shirayuki’s cutesy romance until…

this scene came: 

My heart exploded. Pterodactyl screams left my mouth. All my focus and love for Zenyuki were gone, completely destroyed. This, was the cutest thing I have ever seen in the first season of this anime. Not even a passionate kiss shared between Zen and Shirayuki can ever captured the level of intense cuteness of Obi gifting a hairpin to his Young Miss.

What I love about this scene is that even though Obi is aware that his Young Miss is cautious about revealing her hair in public, he still decided to gift her a hair accessory. It’s like, he’s indirectly saying that she’s beautiful and her hair doesn’t deserve to be always hidden away. Also, the design of the hair accessory is so fitting. It has a red flower mark embedded on it, which compliments Shirayuki’s red hair. If Obi did pick it out instead of claiming to win it at a martial arts tourney, he sure does have a keen eye for details. The manga does this scene even more justice because it shows more details leading up it, such as Obi gazing at his Young Miss after Zen commented on how her hair is beautiful, and Zen asking Obi what kind of gift would she like, with Obi responding with an “I don’t know.” (BUT HE TOTALLY KNOWS OMG)

And then Season 2 just punched me in the feels with all the Obiyuki moments and fluff. I had to pause and compose myself whenever Obi and his Young Miss shared a moment together. They. Are. Just. Too. Cute. At this point, my resolve of not falling for the second lead was dead and I boarded the Obiyuki ship knowing that it’s bound to crash and sink eventually. 

And then the manga doesn’t even give me any breathing room. The Obiyuki moments just keep coming. It’s CRAZY! My feels were choked, stomped, and murdered, and I had to wonder if this shoujo manga I was reading was actually a shoujo. Even though there are two male love interests, it doesn’t feel like a love triangle because there isn’t any intense drama, which I wholeheartedly love since I’m tired of the usual love triangle shenanigans. Romance is barely the focus of this series from what I have read so far. It’s more like an adventure, self-growth type of series. It’s a unique take on the shoujo genre, and I can’t wait to find out what kind of destinations the characters will find themselves at.  

Also, the moments that Obi and Shirayuki share in the manga give me hope? That the Obiyuki ship might not sink, and that it can actually sail off towards the sunset without any icebergs in site? There are a lot of foreshadowings in the manga that I had to go back to several chapters and reread. If these foreshadowings lead to an Obiyuki ending, then Sorata is an absolute madwoman for making a bold and strategic move. If not, I will feel sad, but happy at the same time because the bond that Obi and Shirayuki shared, grew and bloomed into a beautiful sunflower that not even a heavy storm can uproot it. Also, Obi as a second lead doesn’t get trashed and burned for love triangle drama fuel, which I appreciate. He grew as his own character, and even if he doesn’t end up with his Young Miss, he can proudly walk towards his own future. 

Before my Obiyuki rant approaches its end, I just want to say that I have never came across a love so pure like Obiyuki. Obi doesn’t resent or envy his Master for being together with his Young Miss. Hell, he actually supports them. He doesn’t want anything in return for all the things he has done for his Young Miss. He just want to see his Young Miss happy, healthy, and safe, and that is more than enough for him. Shirayuki provides Obi a home, a place to go back to with open arms and warmth. They both rely, TRUST, and walk with one another towards whatever path they choose. 

They are pure perfection.

Now every romance I come across looks like potatoes to me because they can’t be compared to the absolute purity of Obiyuki. And thus, Obiyuki has consumed my soul and nothing can save me now :,)