Fatherhood is not an easy path and Kagurabachi captures it beautifully

For a series that is primarily Shonen, Kagurabachi captures human emotions beautifully. Among next-gen anime, its realism when it comes to portraying characters also sets it apart. This is one of the reasons it rose to fame so quickly. Viewers who watched Kagburachi are promised beautifully choreographed fighting scenes coupled with raw and vulnerable moments.

These vulnerable moments come in various shapes and forms and are spread throughout the series. One way Kagurabachi shows its vulnerability is through relationships. Most of the relationships featured in the series are familial, and Kagurabachi does not shy away from showing the ups and downs of family. This can be seen in the toxic family bonds between brothers or in a mother's pure love for her child.

The characters with the most terrible dynamic in Kagurabachi are the ones between father and child. The fathers in the series are survivors of the Seitei war, and it comes with severe trauma and danger.

The fathers in Kagurabachi are split between those who abandon their children because of love and those who stay with them, knowing that time is limited. Samura and Kunishige best embody this dichotomy more than any character. The world of Kagurabachi is steeped in patriarchy, and it forces fathers to make tough choices. Here is how Kagburachi explores the difficulties fathers go through.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the author’s views and may contain spoilers.

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How Kagurabachi gets fatherhood more than most anime

Rokuhira's death changes Chihiro (Image via Shueisha)

Fatherhood in anime is poorly portrayed, especially when it comes to Shonen. Fathers are either not shown or their characters are wallflowers: they are there to fill in the numbers.

The instances where fathers are shown in anime are mostly terrible, and the relationship between the characters and their fathers doesn’t reflect reality. Isshin and Ichigo from Bleach are a prominent example; another is Luffy and Monkey D. Dragon from One Piece.

Kagurabachi shows what real fatherhood looks like; while there are comedic bits, vulnerability is not forgotten. No two fathers in the series capture this vulnerability more than Kunishige Rokuhira and Seichi Samura. These two had their children after the war, but were affected by the war differently, and therefore, they became different fathers.

Samura and his daughter Iori (Image via Shueisha)

In a bid to protect the world from the cruel effects of the enchanted blades, Rokuhira secluded himself and his son. During that time, his child, Chihiro, became his religion.

He devoted all his time to raising the boy and teaching him what was right and wrong; he also tried his best to become his closest friend. Rokuhira would sometimes act silly, and while this looked immature to many viewers, it was to make up for the fact that he robbed his son of making friends with his agemates, and he needed to act like the friend his son would have had.

When Rokuhira dies, Chihiro’s sorrow feels genuine because he has not just lost his father, but a close friend. Samura, on the other hand, is a man filled with trauma. His complicity in the Seitei war makes him hate himself. However, he grows to love his daughter so much that he forgets what not loving himself feels like. Samura ditches his daughter for her safety, and that is fatherhood in a nutshell: making the hardest decisions.

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Final thoughts

While there are good examples of fatherhood in the story, there are also bad ones. The Sazanami family is filled with toxicity, and this comes from the dysfunctional family head, Kyora Sazanami.

The Sazanami family has a system where the children compete among themselves to be the next patriarch. This system makes the children yearn for power at the cost of their interpersonal relationships. The father also ignores the emotional needs of his children, as he wants his heirs to be strong. This leads Hakuri, one of his sons, to resent him.

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