#daiyamemorylane
people tend to overlook how pivotal this page is to miyuki's growth. this is the first time he had shown a bit of his real self after kuramochi took him by surprise with his accurate observation on tanba disliking the 2nd year catcher. he might've let it slipped unconsciously because he was not expecting mochi's attack. i bet that on the next panel, kuramochi realized this. miyuki, too, realized that he'd let the latter see too much of his other side so he tried to lighten the atmosphere by teasing sawamura and furuya. he's always smirking, making sarcastic remarks and laughing that we forgot he's only human, that he has his ups and downs. "i'll lie and make myself hated if i have to" what a heartbreaking thing to say. the way he behaved, and the things he said on this page might've somewhat be related to his junior high days. he was once beaten up by his upperclassmen just because he's trying to correct their errors during the game and stood up for his belief that everyone is equal on the field, no matter if they're a senior or a junior (which he may have practiced in real life as well as he's rather easy on his blatantly rude underclassmen at seidou. yes, you know who im talking about lol). afterwards, they believed that he won't show up the next day, and that he won't defy them again after breaking him like that but guess what?
he did the exact opposite, to their surprise. he showed up all smiles, a plaster and bruises all over his face (man that chapter broke my heart. my son deserves better TT). im sure that those smiles and laughter were fake (update: it's confirmed that he does wear fake smiles at times. terajima himself mentioned it). he's only human after all, a 13 year old at that. of course he'd be hurt, both emotionally and physically. but knowing miyuki, he'll see no point in dwelling on these minor things for way too long. he had to be strong, there was never really a choice for him. because he's well aware that he had no one to rely on.
from what we know his mother is either deceased or left the house. but that's all there is to it as the author didn't delve any further into his childhood. he had to grow up in such environment in which there's no mother to confide in, a detached father who's always busy working and no friends. and to top it off he had to experience being ganged up on by his seniors who were not on the same page as him. no wonder he's distant and calculative. in my opinion, his presently snarky personality is nothing but a facade. his true nature is more to what i've said just now, distant and calculative.
remember that time when he fought with zono about nabe trying to quit the team? he said something along the lines of "we're not playing baseball so we could be buddies". harsh, i know. but that's just who he is, who he's grown up to be. though he still truly enjoys baseball and playing catcher from the bottom of his heart, and is always trying his best, this and that are two different things. that's him as a captain, catcher, and cleanup, not him as a PERSON. luckily in seidou he gets to meet people who share the same passion as him (which would later help him grow as a player and as an individual). but i bet it was hard on him at first, being the only first year to make it to the first string and a regular at that, might've evoked jealousy from his upperclassmen. who knows somewhere off panel he might've experienced the same thing he did back in junior high. but this is miyuki, even when faced with such things, he refused to let himself crumble in front of other people. also it's interesting how he's always seen alone in the corner of his classroom, staring far into the distance (probably calculating plays in his head) until mochi interrupts. now that i've mentioned it, this might be a way to get things off of his head. what if baseball is his means of escape. a medium he can use to truly express himself. if that is so, the day he lose baseball will be the day he lose himself, and he'd have to start from square one (but i wish that'll never happen, no. my son had been through enough bullshit, no more). he's also known to speak his mind. if he has something to say, he'd say it right to your face, no matter how cheesy it is (him sincerely encouraging nori in season 1 of the anime and him saying he wanted to focus on getting to koshien with the team first and that he'll get to deciding his future after everything's over in act 2).
i believe he could so easily say even the things people would normally avoid saying outright is because he haven't been talking to many people to understand that. the only time he would chatter for so long is when he's happy, and it's usually only with kuramochi. thankfully over the years we could see the improvement in his character. he's learned to become a bit less distant and calculative, being the captain and key player might've made him realize something. he had grown into a wonderful player and i hope he'll continue to grow, but this time as an individual. who knows one day he might even be more open about his worries and regards his peers as more than just his teammates, but as his friends. and that's all for my lengthy throwback+opinions lololol im sorry you had to see/read this 😂
p/s: everyone in seidou has their own weight to carry, their own story to tell. but i find miyuki's the most heartbreaking.
