u/icemage56

The winner in the "Terrible Listener" category is Kou Minamoto!

Scoreboard
Nene Yashiro - 1
Hanako - 0
Kou Minamoto - 1
Mitsuba Sousuke - 2
Akane Aoi - 0
Aoi Akane - 0
Teru Minamoto - 1
Tiara Minamoto - 1
Natsuhiko Hyuga - 0
Sakura Nanamine - 0
Tsukasa Yugi - 2
Kako - 0
Mirai - 0
Yako - 0
Shijima Mei - 0
Tsuchigumori - 0
Hakubo - 0
Sumire Akane - 0
Mitsuba's mom

On to the next round!

As explained before, "Drunk, Stoned or Stupid" is a board game where a group of friends draws cards that describe a person and votes on who among them fits the description the most.

For example, a card could say "listens to musical soundtracks," and then one person needs to be chosen who fits it the best. That person gets a point, and you play until one person has gathered 7 points. That person loses, so there are no winners in this game, just one loser.

The rules are as follows:

1. Present one or more characters and also explain your reasoning
2. Upvote the answers you like
3. Feel free to argue for/against everyone's cases. Make the conversations colorful xD

By the end, I will calculate the votes by adding all the comments that voted for a character and the upvotes.

So:

- 2 comments with 10 upvotes each = 20 Votes
- 10 comments with 2 upvotes each = 20 votes

At the same time, feel free to write down your own categories, and the one with the most votes will be the category for the next round. The rules for voting for a category are the same as the rules for a character in any round.

Here's the next prompt:

Insert themselves in every conversation

I already have my answer, but I'm curious what the consensus is : D

I would like to seperate the people who believe he has a crush on Akane, so there's a clearer picture of everyone's opinion.

View Poll

Alright, for transparency's sake, I will say from the start that Hananene might possibly be my most despised ship... ever, perhaps.

So if I sound biased, trust me, I try my best not to be xD

But the summer festival might be one of the earlier parts of the story that has actively tarnished my view of this couple, because it kinda showed how a different relationship was being blatantly neglected for its sake. Among the many others that have been left to die in a ditch...

Yashiro and Kou.

Their friendship has always been one of my favorite parts of TBHK, but I've noticed I've grown apathetic toward them because it has become so one-sided.

For one, it's because the beloved toilet trio that used to feel like a group has now devolved into a duo with a plus-one. Specifically, Hananene with Kou as a third wheel. Or, more accurately, a wingman...

That's how their dynamic feels in the modern chapters.

Whenever Kou and Yashiro have a moment together, it's usually Kou supporting Yashiro, and then it's usually tied to Hanako. It feels like their friendship only starts to matter whenever Yashiro needs his help. Otherwise, Yashiro's attention is almost always focused on Hanako.

It starts to feel pretty disappointing that a friendship that felt mutual back then now feels like it exists for one person's benefit.

Back during chapter 15, Kou and Yashiro had my favorite moments in the manga: the donut-cooking session. While Kou mostly helped Yashiro, it still felt like they were equals who relied on each other, especially since they both had emotional investment and character arcs tied to Hanako. However, nowadays Kou's bond with Hanako is just no longer a thing.

https://preview.redd.it/eg2fue7n1xmh1.png?width=895&format=png&auto=webp&s=04598f70ce4255faf7bea7c54b02092f6a8194c1

https://preview.redd.it/m2j9ouqo1xmh1.jpg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=56eb496f508833e167acdf33950f6fe296d396b1

This brings me to the summer festival arc, because I used to see it as a moment that showed how supportive she was of Kou, just like he was of her...

https://preview.redd.it/mkp2fjr53xmh1.png?width=773&format=png&auto=webp&s=e8c85076867bde0c12e39a085ffd018c460f6d9a

...but then I remember how Hanako didn't let them have a moment together. Yashiro expressed her worries over Kou, and Hanako made it about himself.

https://preview.redd.it/mj9c3bn72xmh1.jpg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=60e1f1b7b921300d59d4d338e0500f49912ba74e

https://preview.redd.it/5lpatsn92xmh1.jpg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a32b62f77fae4280cfcc4013061e763b6800808f

Yashiro wanted to make an active effort to help Kou. So, of course, Hanako had to change their plans so he could tag along in a moment that should have belonged to Yashiro and Kou. So now we're preoccupied with Hanako and Yashiro's romance, and then it goes even further by having Yashiro travel to the past and hang out with baby Amane. By then, everyone has forgotten why they went to the festival in the first place.

Kou went through a bunch of traumatizing events, and now has to process the idea of a fake Mitsuba who doesn't remember him being at Tsukasa's mercy, and he's generally absolutely depressed.

Did we really have to shove the concern for his mental health aside, just so Yashiro and Hanako could hold hands?

https://preview.redd.it/9aueqpbc1xmh1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=68355c0c7e2ba080e9c8d429ea4d2a5ec6fb7c9c

This might just be a me issue, but I genuinely hate the direction this mini-arc went, even before I ended up hating this ship, and I do see it as the prelude to the trivialization of the toilet trio as a group.

https://preview.redd.it/s0dq7i1j3xmh1.png?width=776&format=png&auto=webp&s=525ecad2b3351f1a030f89c15450a254a25bb5a6

This panel may be just for jokes, but it's a pretty accurate depiction of their relationship now...

Even when depressed, he thinks about how to help Yashiro, while Yashiro, who originally wanted to comfort Kou, now only thinks about her ankles and her love life...

Hope I didn't sound like too much of a bummer, but it's just really sad to me how a friendship that used to feel like an integral part of the story now feels like a shallow afterthought : (

I remember finishing episode 1 of the anime back then thinking "I really hope there's no romance between them, cause I really enjoy their friendship!", because I liked the idea of that dynamic more.

Then the first ending song "Tiny light" started playing and I went "Dammit lol", because that song made it immediately obvious that they'd end up a romantic pair.

I was curious if anybody else felt similarly at the beginning, even if you're a Hananene shipper now : D

Whether or not they're your favorite ship, do you feel like there are ships that are not talked about enough or deserve more appreciation? And if you do have a favorite ship that isn't a canon or popular one, why do you like it?

I was curious because I only ever see people talk about Hananene and Mitsukou : D

I remember many people saying that Teru was wrong to try to kill Hanako during the severance, since he would apparently be going against his own assertion that the seven mysteries are necessary for the world's balance.

However, that is incorrect, because it's the Yorishiros that are necessary, not the supernatural acting as its owner. That's why killing No.3 had no impact on either the boundary or the Yorishiro, as it simply dematerialized but is still functional, which is why the BC club needs Mitsuba to rematerialize his own version of the Yorishiro.

So killing Hanako wouldn't affect the world. In fact, his role as the main malefactor makes it extremely reasonable for Teru to go after him. Killing the guy who actively made it a goal to destroy the Yorishiros and hasn't really resolved to stop is an understandable action, especially when their death carries no actual consequences.

Then I realized that killing Hanako would be more of a solution than Teru even realized, since Tsukasa is Hanako's Yorishiro. Given how killing No. 3 dematerialized the Yorishiro and took away its form, killing Hanako should have the same effect, meaning Tsukasa would effectively stop existing. The biggest threat and most active problem of the BC club would be gone.

In fact, if Teru killed Hanako as far back as the Young Exorcist Arc, most of the problems they caused would have been avoided.

https://preview.redd.it/xymhanwo7gkh1.png?width=894&format=png&auto=webp&s=a8446a19aaf8d552a5e5468d9f9e007bdc27b178

I was never the biggest Mitsukou fan. I never really saw the appeal in them romantically and preferred their friendship, but I always appreciated their bond and felt their relationship was fascinating for both characters.

However, over time I've grown indifferent to them, and I have now reached a point where I actively dislike their relationship. What was once a relationship that explored their bond in a really unique way ended up consuming both their characters and their relationships with other characters, and it also mischaracterized them both.

I have plenty of issues with how their bond is handled nowadays, but the recent arc really cemented my problems with it, so I'll use one specific example to illustrate the problem I have with it:

The reason why Kou and Mitsuba never became friends / Kou's biggest wish

https://preview.redd.it/l2gie80e9gkh1.png?width=837&format=png&auto=webp&s=aeebe1f9f47485928e008e76582cdc4034acc5c1

The Mitsuba arc establishes that Mitsuba struggled between expressing himself and connecting with others. His eccentric demeanor and tendency to provoke others drive most people away, as he's stuck in a loop where he and those around him antagonize each other. Not wanting to always be at odds with others, he decided to adapt and change his behavior, trading self-expression for an easier time befriending others, unaware that this would also make it harder to actually connect with them.

https://preview.redd.it/7jchhe8oagkh1.png?width=835&format=png&auto=webp&s=d735e96c7a0e8fc52f114798b1ee8017ff2ccf5e

This is why Mitsuba and Kou never became close before his death. It was a reason that belonged to Mitsuba, an exploration of his personal struggles.

I'll be frank. Chapter 118 replaced the reason for the tragedy of a friendship that never was with something that was not only shallower but also did a disservice to both characters and their established character arcs.

https://preview.redd.it/7vhcudddbgkh1.png?width=957&format=png&auto=webp&s=399e5aa9a1561c5d033d0356c223addc21d39a5b

This panel is incredibly disappointing. It undid Mitsuba's struggle with identity and self-expression, because now he's apparently not hiding his true personality at all. Mitsuba was desperate to be liked and make friends, unaware that those aren't the same thing. He became a people-pleaser, which is why he never managed to connect with others, Kou included, because he became a forgettable person. That's the tragedy of Mitsuba and his fate, as it left him with a death that few remember and even fewer grieved.

In the new timeline, he's apparently not hiding his personality at all. Suddenly, there was no struggle for him to connect with others; in fact, he's actively pushing Kou away, the opposite of what Mitsuba was originally trying to achieve.

https://preview.redd.it/b9h0sjilcgkh1.png?width=1110&format=png&auto=webp&s=9a1cbfc9c3151189ca20d45ac1f4f6405b7bbae9

The new timeline discards the reason why their bond never developed. Instead of it being a problem that resulted from Mitsuba's struggle, it now became an issue that originated from Kou.

Now the story pretends they never became friends because Kou never had time to connect with him, since he was too busy looking after the house and his sister.

This genuinely cheapened both their characters, and it only exacerbated the growing problem of Mitsuba being reduced to being Kou's plus-one.

Their tragedy became a shallow consequence of circumstance instead of a driver of their character arcs.

It also doesn't make sense that Kou's lack of time is why they never connected, because he has Yokoo and Satou as friends he's had since he started the same middle school the same year Mitsuba and Kou met. It never prevented Kou from having a social life. The story very clearly established and outright stated that they never became friends, because Mitsuba was forgettable and had no presence. This also contributes to Kou's guilt over how he ended up forgetting about him.

What makes it worse is that it also completely changed the context of Kou's character and doubled down on the issue that his character arc focused only on Mitsuba.

Because it reduced a tragic event in Kou's life that shaped the person he is today into a mere inconvenience: The death of his mother.

https://preview.redd.it/01pyjse0egkh1.png?width=834&format=png&auto=webp&s=82f1365260d2c153923796d00dcd29cf7f233101

Throughout the series, we see how much her death has affected Kou's life and its trajectory.

He loved her, and the red house arc established that having her back is his biggest wish, and it makes sense, considering how much his life changed after her passing.

He now had to replace his mother and look after the house. It also kept him from pursuing the path of an exorcist, as Teru sheltered him and wanted to take on most of the burdens that came with the profession himself, now that he had to be the closest thing his siblings had to an adult to rely on. The Minamoto siblings had nobody but each other to rely on. Most of all, Teru wanted to provide his siblings with a carefree life, which ended up contributing to Kou's struggle with his own self-esteem as a result of being sheltered all his life.

https://preview.redd.it/7tgq7zlmfgkh1.png?width=1004&format=png&auto=webp&s=4004ad1fba85eca0f36113f7796dd1be8ab1ade9

In the new timeline, that tragedy no longer held Kou back from pursuing his desires, as it's heavily implied he actually got to do some exorcist work as well. He likely didn't have the same responsibilities as Teru, nor was he in as much danger, but he still got a glimpse of the supernatural world he was originally kept away from. He actually managed to contribute and fight alongside his brother, as he always wanted. And he didn't have to replace his mother while he was still in the middle of grieving her.

The alteration arc did a disservice to this monumental change in Kou's life by reducing it to a convenience that let him become friends with Mitsuba. That's all it ended up being, because that's all Kou worries about as he tries not to remember the old timeline.

Mitsuba's theme of identity and human connections was discarded entirely as the tragedy of their relationship was no longer a result of his own struggles.

Kou's established values, ideals, and desires were reduced to mere decorations for that tragedy, as the things he once cared about deeply became an afterthought.

And chapter 118 is only the tip of the iceberg that contributed to my growing problems with the way their relationship is handled in later arcs.

This is my personal stance on the matter. Do you agree or disagree? I hope we can have civil discussions on this regardless of where we all stand : D

There are a lot of discussions on the matter of how much fault Hanako should get for >!the severance!<, and I still firmly believe that he deserves most, if not all, of the blame, and the involvement of the BC club is not enough to gaslight me into forgetting that destroying the Yorishiros was always his plan.

That said, I was willing to excuse the Misaki Stairs arc, because I always thought destroying Yako's Yorishiro was the only solution. Then I realized that that's bullcrap.

There were a number of ways to handle the issue. Why didn't he enlist the help of some, if not all, of the mysteries? It's their job to keep each other in check, and he could have tried to >!find the clockkeepers and have them reverse time. Yes, they didn't want to associate with him, but he knew that he could have found the human clockkeeper of the present and have him inform Kako of the matter, since Kako was willing to reverse time for the mischief that Mirai caused, so reversing time to before Yako's rampage was a viable option.!< It's not like there was a time limit that he needed to immediately enter with the girl failure (>!who conveniently could shut off the life support of one of the pillars of the world!<) and the boy he beat up the other day.

If getting the mysteries to help wasn't an option, then why didn't he just have Yashiro change Yako's rumor from the very beginning? It's not like they needed to take away her status as a mystery to change her rumor since Sakura could change Yako's rumor just fine. It could be chalked up to Sakura and Tsukasa having more influence, but this was never established, and >!the leader of the mystery having less influence than his Yorishiro doesn't seem right unless this was stated.!<

And the concern that she could have her rumor changed again also doesn't work as an argument, since they could have her leave her boundary after she comes to her senses, so Hanako can keep her in check. He could even keep her in the boundary of another mystery for extra security. I know there's the concern of >!one of the mysteries being a traitor, but he clearly trusts Tsuchigumori, so he could have definitely asked him to handle that task. Tsuchigumori may be the weakest of the mysteries, but Yako would still be inside his boundary. And again, if that's not an option, Hanako could keep her in check there. It's not like she needs to stay inside her own boundary. And it's not like her Yorishiro needs to be guarded, because only Yashiro is capable of destroying it, so entering the boundary undetected would do nothing for the BC club.!<

There can be the explanation that you need to understand a supernatural and their desires to change their rumor, since they changed Yako's rumor based on her desire to revive Misaki (Not to mention Yako herself stated that the rumor didn't fundamentally changed her, it just brought out a side of her she could normally control) and Tsukasa needed to bring out the wish of the original rumor in order to change his rumor and transform him into a proper supernatural. But Yashiro did find out about Yako's past and wishes once she traversed her boundary and read her diary. She was already equipped to change the rumor at that point if that's the logic.

The argument can be made that they were stuck inside Yako's boundary unless they defeated her and destroyed her Yorishiro, but >!the Grim Reaper arc disproves this when Hanako summoned an elevator in order to leave Hakubo's boundary, so they could have left the boundary.!<

There can be arguments made on why destroying the Yorishiro was their only option, but all of this is based on evidence that is not provided.

The story clearly insinuates during >!the Grim Reaper arc that destroying the Yorishiro was part of his own agenda from the very beginning. The fact that he didn't tell Yashiro the consequences of destroying the Yorishiros only confirms this further. The Yako incident and the involvement of the BC club were merely convenient excuses to push through with his plan, especially with the implication that he wanted to save Yashiro, before Kou made his declaration that he'd save Yashiro. And if saving Yashiro wasn't his goal at first, destroying the Yorishiros to have his wish granted certainly would have been. !<

Regardless, no matter how you slice it, Hanako is absolutely at fault, as he's an incompetent leader at best and an active hazard to the people around him, who conceals his own goals on any normal day. Both of which are bad, considering his position and responsibilities. Even after he learns >!that Yashiro's lifespan is tied to the Yorishiros, he doesn't even do anything to stop the BC club until it's too late.!<

A friend of mine recently said something about TBHK that just stuck to my mind, because of how accurate it was and I was curious if the others agreed or not.

The take was: TBHK is great for writing fanfiction, but it is a nightmare to write analyses for

I personally agree with it on both fronts lol

There's so much material and the world is imaginative enough to put your own spin into the story or write AUs, especially since Aidairo made many AUs for TBHK.

That said, I've never encountered a story where analysing it felt more frustrating than with TBHK. So much info is left unadressed or kept vague and when we do get clearer info it contradicts the info we already have. The rules of the world also don't feel well established as it feels like the characters are free to break them when the plot demands it. The fact that people still can't agree on what Hanako's plan and motivations regarding the Yorishiro's were (or how responsible he was) even after the severance goes to show much the readers are left to interpret the story to make sense of it.

View Poll

There's been a lot of discussions lately on whether or not the Broadcast-club is as competent as the plot portrays and I personally maintain that they aren't.

However, I'm currently rereading the manga to make a few analyses and I've noticed something I kinda forgot about and I think this was legitametly an actually smart move on their part. But it's also this move that reminds me how much their evil scemes are just a LARP lol

https://preview.redd.it/jtj6usidelch1.png?width=841&format=png&auto=webp&s=f52dc4d354eef1d34f2f1a3b1f6d9ad302689268

In chapter 15 they used a Mokke to smuggle their Tsueshiro into the donut bag that Kou gave to Yashiro.

https://preview.redd.it/8f2ywa3qelch1.png?width=782&format=png&auto=webp&s=5ba70caeb8002d35f7a6dcbb3971977de44a8bde

https://preview.redd.it/ruex4yyselch1.png?width=659&format=png&auto=webp&s=c249a9088b589d80f25685c6d68166089844ed9e

That was actually kinda smart considering how Teru was present and as we learn from chapter 103 Teru was the only person who's perceptive enough to see through it.

https://preview.redd.it/4niv4udlelch1.png?width=831&format=png&auto=webp&s=91f6f885ccf0b437f8ef3c7be8a9472e9b94b29f

https://preview.redd.it/u1igf9xmelch1.png?width=839&format=png&auto=webp&s=67e3ee5dacddf28a31eb6e6d633b8df03092ec53

Having a Mokke, the most harmless supernatural that Teru generally leaves alone, do this meant that Teru's guard was completely gone, especially since he kept getting distracted by Kou.

Using the Mokke for stuff like this is pretty smart...

...which is what reinforced my belief they aren't as smart as they pretend they are LOL

How is it that this the only time they've used this trick? Why didn't they do it during the school festival when they were tracking Akane as using Mokke seems to be far less suspicious. The only reason that didn't blow up on them was because Teru met up with Akane after he went to the clockkeepers (Which they needed to know their location). If Teru met up with Akane before this, this plan would have been an utter failure. Getting the Mokkes to do tasks for them isn't even difficult as it was enough for Sakura to bribe them with candy.

https://preview.redd.it/3isa7b5dflch1.png?width=709&format=png&auto=webp&s=66641d821a5f7c3f58d4d508f6657f78e3c29698

Not only is this the only time they use this trick, the only time they use it is for the dumbest reason ever.
They had the Mokke sneak the Tsueshiro in just so Tsukasa can jumpscare Hanako and Yashiro.

https://preview.redd.it/80glbtrmflch1.png?width=849&format=png&auto=webp&s=52a65ccbeef3b7aeeba5e378c691f33b7b0b956a

That's it. That's all they accomplished with this move. Nothing else. Why did they need to do it? It doesn't seem like Tsukasa needs to sneak around as he seems to have been moving around the school without issue before. And you can't tell me the school is large enough that Tsukasa wouldn't be able to find Hanako without this. Even if he needed to follow Yashiro in order to find Hanako, why did they need to do this elaborate scheme, when Natsuhiko managed to sneak the crane on Yashiro without the Mokke in chapter 4?

https://preview.redd.it/1kuau6i4elch1.png?width=781&format=png&auto=webp&s=05bf38bc9abdce39e1b1f0c699480a7293e5aeaf

And if they did do this because of Teru, why did they specifically do this in a time that Teru would be present? Yashiro rarely interacts with Teru, especially back then, so there aren't many opportunities for Teru to catch that. Especially compared to Akane, who Teru interacts with on a daily basis. It's so backwards.

There was no point to it. It was just to make Tsukasa's appearance more dramatic and make themselves looks like they did a genius move. It was for pure theatrics.

My only hope for this contrivance is that they really did this to avoid Teru's detection. Tsukasa avoiding Teru would imply that Teru really is stronger than him, which is something I suspected for a long time now. I really hope that this is the case as this would explain why the entire club avoids him like the plague, when they don't really sneak around anyone else. It's also incredibly boring if no one in the main cast is strong enough to defeat Tsukasa when the broadcast club already has so many advantages. This would give their scemes and attempts to stay hidden some weight at least, since it kinda feels like they're doing everything in the most unnecessarily convoluted way imaginable. There are no stakes for the antagonists if the strongest fighter on the side of the protagonists doesn't actually pose a threat to them.

I was curious to see what everyone else thinks, because if not for the many advantages they have over the rest of the cast, one of which being seeing the future, and the main trio being bumbling buffoons they'd be utterly incompetent. Every single plan they've had so far was riddled with so many holes that could only work out for them because the plot said so. Them seeing the future means it doesn't matter what they do, they will get what they want. And them staying undetected for so long isn't even impressive, considering how their existence was known by the trio for over half the length of the story, but they didn't think to notify anyone. The fact that it took Teru getting filled in on their existence by him being the first person to notice someone getting tracked over so many arcs is an understandable writing choice, but it's a bit infuriating how blatant it is. Teru has done actual progress against them before he even knew they existed, while the trio spent the majority of the manga twiddling their thumbs and after they learn what's at stake if the broadcast club get their way, even then they don't ask for Teru's assistance. They go on shenanigans instead until the BC-club causes the school festival disaster. It becomes increasingly obvious that not a single one of their plans would have worked if the trio were actually trying to oppose them. Even if they try to oppose them, they don't actually accomplish anything. All of that kinda causes me to not really like them as antagonists, especially since the story insists on giving us as little info on Sakura and Natauhiko as humanly possible so I'm kinda losing interest in them as characters, too.

What are your thoughts? I hope we can all have a civil discussion about this.

View Poll

It can be a comedic spin-off like ASHK or a side story to explore them more. It can be a prequel. Anything you'd want to say. Which character would you want to be given this opportunity and do you have any ideas on any specific scenarios or ideas?

Personally, if we went with the comedic route, which seems redundant considering ASHK, I'd want a spin-off with a complete focus on the sunflower trio as their dynamic is the funniest part of TBHK for me.

I'd personally love either a prequel of Teru's beginning years of becoming an exorcist or a present day side story that explores the exorcist world and his current standing in it and his many encounters with dangerous supernaturals. I'd also just love a spin-off dedicated toward wholesome family fluff of the Minamoto siblings and their daily lives and domestic scenes as I adore the siblings to bits and always smile when their bond is displayed.

What are your ideas?