One Great Panel: Kagurabachi
Snot, blood, and a ridiculous notion.
Hey look, a new feature! Since I’m forever addicted to both manga and writing, I needed some shorter features here at MangaCraft, and given the ridiculous amount of single panel screenshots in my photo library, I figured it’s time to start analyzing why these panels deserve a spot in my limited storage.
Justification aside, the panel we’re looking at today is Kagurabachi Chapter 19, page 20.
Context: Up until this point, Hakuri, the character pictured here, has been living a life of wrong place, wrong time, wrong family, wrong everything. He’s part of a crime family, kicked out for not being useful enough, but he clings to shreds of bravery and goodness even as he continues to get beat-up. At the moment of this panel, Chihiro (the protagonist) and crew need a way to infiltrate Hakuri’s family, making this panel an exceptional intersection of plot, character and voice, pivoting all three on a unified direction all at once.
Aside from being straight-up hilarious in its own right—I mean really, look at that face
—both artistically and in the ridiculous notion Hakuri presents, this also kickstarts Hakuri’s arc in a very clear and easily trackable way. He presents what he wants, but we also see some inherent flaws in it. Hakuri’s big ask is put on someone else—Chihiro. That, in and of itself, is a compelling launching point. Will we see Hakuri’s purpose change? Will he put Chihiro on too high a pedestal? Will he ever be able to stand on his own? So many wonderful questions brought about by this one, snotty/bloody face.
Not just that, but zooming back to look at the series as a whole, there are some pretty straight-shooting characters in Chihiro’s crew, including Chihiro himself. And while Shiba showed some early personality and comedic relief, it has since faded. Hakuri is all personality, all of the time. He’s hilarious in his own unique way. He brought something different to the cast. He’s not a fighter (yet?), he’s not deadpan (hopefully ever) and he’s just plain ridiculous (hopefully forever). He’s that breath of fresh air, the injection of unique outside the norm.
Kagurabachi has a lot going for it, but one thing it needed was a consistent source of humor to offset just how… what’s the word… ‘unflinching’ Chihiro is. He never smiles. He never laughs. His face might as well be cut from stone. Hakuri is his exact foil. He’s everything Chihiro isn’t, and that all starts with this singular panel. Up until this point, Hakuri had briefly teased what he was capable of, but here, he states outright what he needs in his life, and showcases how determined he is to keep it, along with merging the plot into his own character arc. Now everyone in Chihiro’s party has a way forward, and that way is Hakuri.
From here on out, Hakuri is everything this series needs, everything Chihiro needs, and I can only hope that he’s here for the long haul, because he is certified awesome.