akitofan · 11d
Touya feels like an unreliable narrator 90% of the time when talking about his past because when it's with other characters Harumichi is painted as this his famous father who was just a bit too strict with him. And when it's an inner monologue he's most of the time bringing himself down as well, and you can tell it clearly affected him. But then you turn around and you got him smiling while recalling how he almost fainted, got high fevers or tendinitis from playing piano. I think people don't talk about it enough and it drives me crazy when others use Touya's words to "redeem" Harumichi. While I do think Touya should heal and be the happiest guy on earth, I also think him painting the abuse as just "strictness" or something to be proud of because it gives him musical background is unhealthy. So when it's about Touya's backstory I like to read his thoughts and inner monologue but it definitely doesn't prepare me for the torturous flashbacks they're about to show right after. I was kind of hoping they'd tie this to Touya's brothers in Touya5 but from what I've heard I guess I'll have to wait and hope the writers don't ignore it...
taps chin. i agree that he’s an unreliable narrator (he has an incredibly skewed perception of himself and has to be constantly corrected by others, most prominently in “you really do love music touyakun and you didn’t run from it”) which largely stems from his massive feelings of guilt. and i also agree that its not the healthiest mindset he has but it’s also an incredibly realistic one? the way touya speaks about his past and his father, if people choose to use those words in bad faith that’s one thing, but fandom aside i believe this is his way of rationalizing his treatment alongside everything he had to go through—see main story flashbacks where his mother guilttrips him by saying he should be grateful since his father is taking time out of his schedule to practice —> touya early on internalizes this treatment as “for his own good,” and that he should meet those expectations.
of course this is unhealthy and concerto is entirely about him having a near meltdown because of it, but i don’t think it’s anything that can be held against him. he’s not “painting the abuse as just strictness” moreso than he’s just coping with the abuse he experienced, i think. it’s also not really in his character to outright say “my father abused me,” even though he’s fully aware that what he went through isn’t right. because ultimately he is still grateful for his father and his teachings despite everything. this is extremely common especially in family dynamics like these. it’s definitely going to be worked on as part of his character though
