Dungeon Meshi - Advanced Authors & Audiences

[@akirachisaka9997]

So yeah, in my opinion, I do think Dungeon Meshi as a fictional piece of work is about “being normal” and “defining normal”. Which means, we should take notice although a pretty major and fundamental part of autism and neurodivergence is with “not normal”, there are a lot of people dealing with even more “not normal” that have nothing to do with autism or neurological stuff. Like having 4 fingers or being from a different culture. However, I do think this is why the work resonates so well in autism culture. It’s because this story isn’t about “autism”, it’s about “normal”. It isn’t about the weirdness and confusing nature of “autism”, it’s about the weirdness and confusing nature of “normal”. Also have to admit… I don’t actually have this opinion while watching your last video. It’s really an opinion that solidified when watching this video lol As in, Kui’s statement on “Laios is normal” made me realize that yeah, this is the theme of the story. The theme is “normal”. Even the premise of the story isn’t “it’s autistic to eat monsters”, it’s “it’s not normal to eat monsters”.

[@superdude10000]

I've read your whole comment chain, and I'm processing it currently, but I just want to say this is really well constructed, and I think you're absolutely right. Kinda blew MY mind with this stuff, I love what you've written here! Thanks for taking to time to state your thoughts so well. If/when I make another Dungeon Meshi video (presumably after the second season), I would love to point to this, as I think you've arrived at a strong insight that is perhaps more illuminating to this collective struggle I'm/we're talking about (with your permission, of course). Also, with your permission, can I pin this comment to the video?

[@akirachisaka9997]

​@@superdude10000 ​ Thanks for reading it! But yeah, sorry it wasn't super well formulated lol. I just typed random stuff I thought of when going through this video. I was randomly discussing with my counselor today how your previous video made me realize "yeah I probably do have some degree of autism". More specifically, the part on Kabru made me realized I literally said word for word to my counselor that "I believe manipulation is an important skill for every person". But yeah, so I decided to watch that previous video again, then later KZbin's algorithm decided "oh I forgot to show you Superdudes new video a week ago oopsie" and pushed this to me. So in conclusion, I think the keyword for Dungeon Meshi as a whole is "normal". And more specifically, the struggle of "being normal" and the struggle of "defining normal". This struggle is pretty universal too. Our "normal" is defined by the struggle of those before us, and our struggle will go on to define "normal" for those after us. Oh, and I'm feel free to pin any messages you like, I'm glad for being pined XD

[@xllvr]

I'd like to add to this argument having watched the previous video first. I think the word here may be "conformity". Regardless of where a culture stands in individualism and collectivism, society expects conformity. If you do not conform to expected roles you are seen as an oddity and given enough examples as pariah. If you do conform regardless of the reason you are treated as if you are "normal". And in cultures where you are a foreigner, because you are already an oddity it doesn't matter as much if you conform or not. I think your comment speaks to life in general as well as to Dungeon Meshi. Very insightful

[@onioncutterninja1535]

Maybe I'm dumb, but i can't see how Normality is an overarching theme rather than a smaller one.

[@dinosaysrawr]

Neurodivergence issues and questions aside, Dungeon Meshi does a great job of depicting the miscommunications that can occur between people from high-context cultures and low-context cultures, too, in addition to arguably portraying how neurodivergent people can misread social situations generally.

[@fishyfishyfishy500akabs8]

That scene always reminded me of that scene in Porko Rosso where the American guy starts just stating direct facts at Porko as they punch each other.

[@malbenita]

Honestly, what annoys me most about the whole discourse around the interview is that majority of people discussing it leave out the final paragraph of Kui’s answer: “Everyone has their individual problems. It's not just Laios or Shuro; the problems are mutual. We always need to try to understand and learn from each other. Sometimes, you might hurt another person, but that's the process we need to understand other people.” Not only did she say she didn’t intend it yet doesn’t mind this interpretation existing, but she wrapped her answer up by saying that every person is different and we need to try to understand and learn from each other. I feel like it’s not only about the scene interpretation but about fighting sides of the fandom. We all are different and should try to understand where other person comes from with their interpretation. That’s literally the point of the original scene. And looking at the way Kui answers questions, she seems to aim to leave as much space for interpretation as possible, deliberately avoids giving any clear answers on questions that would leave half the fandom in the wrong. If anything - her intent was exactly to leave freedom of interpretation. I think it wouldn’t be too wild to assume that Kui knows what fandoms can be like, considering she plays popular video games. Her responses feel very carefully crafted with goal of not shutting down fans and not giving people these very “gotcha” cards. If we to respect author’s intent - let’s please first and foremost respect this one

[@worawatli8952]

I think she know, she know the stigma, especially in Japan, people have no clue what really is autism, even in the west, this is still not well known and understood. So I think the way she answered was really good, you'll agree if you're autistic, and would take it as neutral answer if you disagree.

[@AceSilver78]

maybe its also worth considering, that if Kui thinks she wrote a "normal" character, yet so many people relate to him as being autistic.. that perhaps autism is in fact, much more normal then people want to believe 😌

[@bella_daze3092]

Maybe😭😭😭❤❤❤❤

[@AutisticJesusGaming]

Motherfucker, he barks like a dog. Bro has too many autistic traits to be like a normal character

[@AutisticJesusGaming]

Motherfucker not everyone can relate to this character design. I think they might be on the spectrum just a little bit. I am autistic Jesus after all

[@Rowlesisgay]

was gonna comment that. Hell I'm gonna do it anyways

[@drbiohazmat]

I mean, Autism is just normal things cranked up or down. Many things autistic people experience are things that non-autistic people also experience, but less frequently and less intense than autistic people. Levels 1 and 2 Autism in particular

[@Shrifbun]

I'm not autistic but many people in my life are, including my brother and my significant other. I see the way Kui labels Liaos is "normal" because as you said, his issues with forming relationships is one that everyone can relate to on some level. But like autism itself, how you relate to problems is a spectrum, and my friends and love feel SO MUCH MORE intensely connected to Liaos than I do. My S.O. read the manga before the anime and knew what was to come, but still was visibly affected by the argument between Liaos and Shuro, because someone telling you directly that they've always hated your guts you just "can't read the room" hits close to home. People also head canon Falin as autistic as well, because her ways of interacting with the world line up with how women with autism experience life. And I can see that in the way she is in flashbacks because in those she looks just like one of my best friends. I was the first to engage with her, she was a quiet worker, and the moment I expressed interest in her hobbies, she attached herself to my side at work, just like Falin did to Marcille. It's not out of the question for an author like Kui to accurately depict autism in a character without intending it, after all, we all walk through the same world. Many of us have friends and family who may not be diagnosed but fit the definition of neurodiverent. We can have autistic coworkers and friends without knowing it, because that's normal. We have made so much progress in just the last 2 decades about how autism is defined and treated. Once upon a time it was seen more as an illness, an impediment on a family to have an autistic child, something that would mean said child would amount to nothing academically and would be nothing more than a financial burden. Treatment was sending your "mentally unfit" adult child away. Now we respect autistic adults and children, with treatment that is therapy and tools to meet their needs so they can succeed in life. Anyone who takes issue with seeing a character as autistic still treats autism as an illness/burden and that's a shame. Because there are few experiences as lovely as seeing your loved one's eyes light up when you ask them about their special interest and you get to listen to their elated voice as they finally get to do the info dump they have been waiting to do.

[@coolstraw7682]

I also have most of family and friends diagnosed with autism.. the way they immediately fell inlove with laios or any of the characters that show their traits it just felt so nice to me… despite Ryoko Kui not meaning to do it, her characters have changed people❤

[@SPofSaturnProduction]

I love your comment, it makes me so happy. I was thinking something kind of similar in neurodivergent individuals being kind of part of the norm, but you said it all better.

[@andrewgoehring9108]

I get what your saying but I'm also not going to disagree with calling it a problem. It is still defined as difficulty communicating(with the majority? of people). It's not even close to what I would consider mentally unfit or a burden. Still a handicap because it's better to be able to effectively communicate than not right? but it's a minor one with some benefits it would seem. Despite all that even without the label, humans still fail to communicate so I guess it's a matter of how much. We could have just call it a skill issue. Edit: with that line of thinking it's kinda the same as saying not knowing how to cook is a problem cause that is an important skill too. We didn't make a label for that. Personally I don't categorize anybody and just say people are people. This is just how I see the logic of what's being presented.

[@coolstraw7682]

@@andrewgoehring9108 this is true.. being autistic i suppose isnt a problem it self, but people do struggle with it (esp people very high on the spectrum)

[@browut644]

@@andrewgoehring9108autism is more than just “I have difficulty’s talking to people” and you summing it up to just that is very disingenuous. There’s rarely a benefit to being autistic, and different people on the spectrum struggle with different things.

[@TindraSan]

As an autistic person with ADHD I very often hear neurotypical/allistic ppl invalidate or undermine my struggles simply because on some level they can relate to whatever experience I'm describing but compared to me they have the ability to push through it or not let it hinder them the way it hinders me. Making it out as if it's only a matter of me being incapable rather than considering that maybe I am actually having a different level of experience to whatever they're thinking back to in their own life. not to mention the people out there I've met, usually a generation older than me, who are very obviously neurodivergent in some way but never got diagnosed, who have been subconsciously masking for so long that they assume that life is just supposed to suck and if you can't pull through it then you're not trying hard enough. (these same ppl tend to eventually snap and burn out real badly. their mask having been completely worn out and used up for good and now they're less capable than ever bc they don't have any real strategies on how to deal with it, but I digress) point being, while we indeed shouldn't speculate about real life ppl neurological conditions, I feel like at least half the time a fictional character comes off as autistic when that wasn't the author's intent, it's because they might be a bit on the spectrum themselves and just assume their own experiences are more universal than they are, and the other half of the time it's really just a matter of heightening human traits bc it makes the character more recognizable, iconic and entertaining. In general when it comes to fiction and especially animated fiction, almost all characters come off as some form of neurodivergent imo bc it's all just particular universal human traits cranked up to 11, yanno? We are living cartoon people, and that would be p great more often than not if the world was better built for us.

[@PäiviYevheniy]

Some decades ago: You're not autistic, some making yourself special. 2024: Everyone is autistic in one way or another. I'm special!

[@WolfHreda]

As a 36-year-old Millennial who has only recently learned I've had undiagnosed ADHD my whole life, and might be on the spectrum as well, I feel you.

[@5001Fergies]

as someone with adhd, i experience the same thing all the time. ill try to explain adhd paralysis and theyll be like “thats just called being lazy, i do that all the time” and refuse to accept that it might not be the exact same thing. i literally never even mention my adhd to people anymore unless theyre also ND because i just hear the same 3 reductive/discrediting responses from people who have already made up their mind that my condition isnt real

[@yundorphin]

You put this really well! Thanks!

[@seeleunit2000]

I see what you're saying, and as someone who's also on the spectrum I feel you

[@crestfallensunbro6001]

the way i see it, in the text liaos is autistic. he displays so many traits and has so many of the struggles that it seems silly to actively deny the idea that he is. While i was genuinely surprised to learn that this was not intentional by Ryoko Kui, he is still one of the most accurate depictions in media that i can think of, my theory as to how this happened is that Ryoko intended to write the character the story needed and came at things from that angle but it just so happened that, in that role, the story called for an autistic character. that the struggles, strengths and eccentricities that fit for liaos and his place in the story came together to create an autistic character, and a very good one at that. TLDR: imo, even if Ryoko didnt plan on making liaos autistic, thats what ended up happening as the story unfolded.

[@MousaThe14]

You’re right, and Honestly I think that happens with a lot of characters in a lot of stories who can get an autistic reading. Like we write what we know so we can pull a collection of traits from people we’ve experienced in life and it could be those people were on the autism spectrum and we just didn’t know. They were just another person. Frankly I feel like there’s a disconnect between the probably allistic people that intentionally write an autistic character and a character who can easily have an autistic reading without intend because they happened to be built out of all the right traits and experiences put together. Just because a person didn’t try to write for something doesn’t mean they didn’t do it, and it always feels like the ones that didn’t try tend to do a better job stumbling into those traits when they write with sympathy and understanding than people clumsily making Sheldon on purpose.

[@HandleToBeDetermined]

Or it could be that what those that are diagnosed with autism interpret as autistic conditions are simply universal experiences

[@5001Fergies]

it’s a perfect example of how, when a character is written really well, the author cant control how they react in certain situations because theyve become such a fleshed out character that they, in a sense, gain their own agency. toriyama talks about this in dragonball where he would sometimes feel at odds with the characters because he wanted to take the story in one direction, but the characters wouldnt allow for it so he would have to introduce an outside force so they wouldn’t have a say in the matter. whats funny about people being mad at the prospect of liaos being autistic is the fact that, for as long as art has existed, art which allows the reader to interpret it in a way even the author didn’t intend has been praised as being deep introspective masterpieces; yet when that interpretation allows a minority group to see themselves represented in the media they like, it’s suddenly a bad thing to stray from the author’s vision. the same thing happens with queer coded characters: some people outwardly claim to be tolerant of them, yet get uncomfortable at the sight of them as if theyre contagious, so instead they try to minimize any claim at a character being queer because it makes them uncomfortable. this way they can claim the moral high ground of “staying true to the authors vision” when all theyre doing is a dressed up version of queer erasure

[@5001Fergies]

@@HandleToBeDeterminedmany autistic experiences are universal, the difference is simply the frequency and overall impact it has on their ability to blend into normal society. for example: stimming is a common autistic trait that is experienced by everyone. when you stub your toe, you usually will grab your foot, hop around on the other foot, and swear a bunch. all of these actions actually help your body regulate the intense emotions you’re feeling because that pain was such a sudden shock to your system. A more subdued version of this is tapping your pencil on your desk rapidly out of boredom or anxiety. We all do these things from time to time, but a person with autism may find themselves constantly needing to tap their fingers on something or blink in a flutter every couple seconds because their brain is being overwhelmed by stimuli. It’s a small thing, but its just one of many of these traits that can make everyday life more tiring and stressful

[@Amy_the_Lizard]

For what it's worth, after I got informed that I have autism when I got my OCD screening, and I sat down and researched it, I realized that a _lot_ of the characters in my writing probably also have it. A decent number probably also have mild OCD or exhibit OCD-like behavior - though only one of those was deliberately given OCD by me. Ironically, that guy's a villain, I just decided to kill two birds with one stone when I invented him in junior high, and decides to simultaneously make him more relatable to myself (and thus easier to write) AND make him suffer (which he deserves) by giving him ALL the unpleasant anxiousness I'd get about having to do things VERY specific ways. Basically I sat down and thought "You suck - therefore you shall know my pain!" Most of the time it just kinda bleeds into my writing/character creation, and now the protagonist of one of my storylines gets hyperfocused on sorting stuff by color, and I have a germophobic D&D character that hoards soap, and had a small mental breakdown at one point because a serial killer the party was hunting just left a bunch of rotting corpses lying around. (If anyone's wondering, she's a Ranger - which is probably one of the classes you'd expect a germophobe to have...)

[@sushiroll3795]

Pretty ironic how the people who claim to care so much about authorial intent are ignoring what Kui actually said in the interview.

[@PurplesttCoffee]

Because they don't care about Kui, and it's safe to assume they don't care about Dungeon Meshi either 👍 Take it from me as someone that was there from the VERY beginning of the "Is Bridget from Guilty Gear trans" discussion, and had to link people to **positive** author responses multiple times: culture war people don't care about media, they care about the culture war. They engage with these discussions in the same way a sports fan does about discussions of their team.

[@superdude10000]

@@PurplesttCoffee (It's like how everyone's arguing about Laios's autism, when I also assert that Kabru is autistic, and that's a much more contentious and shaky claim If they were really engaging with my video, they would be arguing against Kabru, not this. But you didn't hear that from me, I'm a little bird) Tweet tweet

[@mikurusumi]

@@superdude10000 I really like the kabru is autistic claim. It is a very bold claim, and it's almost for sure not intended, but it makes sense and that interpretation is just so interesting. He whistles the tune that people want him to and instead of not picking up on social cues he activates hyperfocus and over analysis, and starts like an actor. I've picked up acting when I was about 7 years old and it got me through so many situations. Then the whole masking argument comes up and it's even more complex now, I just... I really like his character with this interpretation, and frankly it's not like those traits and observations don't exist if he isn't autistic, so I'll just claim him and put him in my representation box with laios and others.

[@WokioWolfy]

​@PurplesttCoffee they aren't even culture war people, they just wanna defend popular thing to get likes and attention from strangers on the internet. Because these people will always not act on what they preach. They will say about Laios being autistic or Bridget being trans and then go "straight white men, am I right?"

[@corrinflakes9659]

Another classic example of people misconstruing a Japanese creator’s interview to an extreme absolute by cropping out contextual portions, here it was Ryoko Kui keeping the forum of interpretation open. Just like how Hayao Miyazaki just hated Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings handling of Tolkien’s nuance on war. Or Tatsuya Endo made Anya begrudgingly for a cute character in an espionage story after his darker series were cut short, but gradually grew on her as he saw *why* she appealed to so many.

[@corrinflakes9659]

Miyazaki put The Hobbit in a Top 10 Children's Books and spoke highly of Tolkien. I do not think that man is a Tolkien hater.

[@vodkaffee4856]

15:58 i cant wait for the Harry Potter remake with a black Hermione fighting elf slavery and everyone laughs at her because slavery is normal there. Good luck with that

[@deadlock_problem]

can't wait till DEI slop is in all my stories, let the America racism unracism spread.

[@NoMustang273]

It's so annoying that these people will only care about authorial intent when it comes to people interpreting characters as neurodivergent or queer. They will completely and utterly refuse to see alternate interpretations of a character even when those alternate views could be more interesting and pretend like it somehow ruins it even though it doesn't affect the story or themes in any manner. She also straight up says that people can interpret the characters how they want when the interviewer asks about Falin x Marcille. It's extra annoying because they'll insist the people who headcanon as autistic or Marcille as gay as pushing it onto other people. I'm sure that some people do that, but isn't trying to argue that these chaacter AREN'T any of these things also pushing headcanon? Until the text itself literally comes out and spits it out and you can back up your arguments with points, it is a perfectly valid way to read the story from an analytical perspective and headcanons themselves don't need support from the story.

[@kaygirl10101]

There's also a reflection to it that is also annoying, where a character in cannon is of a certain sexuality/romantic leaning, yet shippers will disregard any authorial intent and want an asexual character bone every other character in a work, for example.

[@andrewgoehring9108]

The point of the video is that it's all headcanon and at the end of the day it doesn't hurt anyone, even when they get pushy about it. They can say whatever they want but as long as your happy with your headcanon, it's all good right. It's not like fans have authority over the work of art. So don't be annoyed, just like sticks and stones, words can't hurt you if you don't let them. Nobody needs to be defensive or push back against it, those people just want to be right and they can't, because it's an opinion.

[@alflundgren8138]

I don't think this is a fair take at all. Most people care about the authors intent in most works of art. There are definitely bigots and assholes arguing because that's who they are, but it's not fair to discount everyone who cares about author intent, because... most people do when viewing art.

[@TheAmberFang]

It reminds me of people that say they want to "keep politics out of stuff." As soon as someone starts looking at a piece of media with a queer lens, a racial lens, a neurodivergent lens, or any other "not-normal" lens, they resist the very idea of "making things political." But they lack the understanding that *everything* is political: it's just a matter of what politics one is accustomed to and comfortable with. Resistance to the very idea of someone else looking at things from, say, a queer lens is itself an anti-queer political stance.

[@aangelspaw]

9ppp

[@coolstraw7682]

Even if she didnt plan to make him autistic, he resonated with people who were and made them feel seen. That is beautiful and the reason why people like to have autism represented in media. Ryoko Kui is a very skilled author and she did him perfectly to the point many people feel so resonated with him… Who can be mad?❤

[@AlexanderFaciane]

I like this video. I also really admire that Ryoko Kui has continued to let her work speak for itself rather than confirm or deny fandom discourse. Not to discredit any real feelings people may have about their headcanons or interpretations. I LOVE that Laios isn’t confirmed to be autistic. It allows for the misunderstandings to be more present instead of a modern label. Especially because it makes sense that an autistic label wouldn’t be present in the setting so I think it’s good not to confirm it outside of the setting. I believe Laios is autistic someone else may not but who cares we both enjoy Dungeon Meshi. (Or at least I hope so)

[@akirachisaka9997]

And in a way “Laios is autistic” is obviously not true. Society in Dungeon Meshi hasn’t developed to the point where autism is a thing. Heck iirc even psychology isn’t a thing yet. Yeah, in the end of the day, the statement “Laios is autistic” is less of a statement defining Laios, but more of a statement defining autism. Laios is just Laios, he can be a bit more autistic or not depending on different people’s interpretation of Laios. But those differences are so tiny compared to different people’s definition of autism.

[@lolanola1783]

@@akirachisaka9997 regarding the first part of your comment, autism has likely existed for a very long time. It's not as if autistic people didn't exist 30 years ago because the general public didn't know what that was. As an autistic person, that was extremely distasteful, and you look like an awful person.

[@Jergling]

I think an underexplored angle to this is that Laios and Falin both display behavior that is totally normal FOR CHILDREN, but becomes signs of autism in adulthood. The party "parents" Laios the same way Marcille parented Falin, and to them it's normal. All of the characters who act like "normal adults" are relatively old for their race. Maybe from Kui's perspective, the 20-somethings in her real life really are like that. She's known for being a CRPG completionist, so there's no way she's getting out much. "Normal" to her might not be a great reference one way or another.

[@Aviplotbunny]

People seem to forget why stories are so cool is that we all bring our own experiences to the table and we can notice and interpret different things. That we can read a work or characters in different ways is just a sign that a story has depth and nuance and I think that’s rad as fuck.

[@Jaxrocable]

I see a lot of myself in Laios, as a 26 year old white man in the early stages of trying to get an autism diagnosis I feel represented by him. I do find it odd that every other character openly calls Laios and Falon weird but that Kui intended Laios as 'normal', whatever that means. I really liked your original video because it set a lot of my thoughts straight on the feelings I was having about the show that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Even if it's not what Ryoko Kui intended it doesn't change the meaning that I took away from the show

[@Solstice261]

I will start by saying, I read laios as autistic, but continue by stating that I imagine Rui was trying to make laios relatable and the truth is a lot of people specially teens and young people have felt misunderstood or felt they were the odd one out, it's a very common experience, it's just that for autistic that is less of a feeling and more of an actual thing

[@nicholashalden3408]

I think interpreting autism as "not normal" is part of the issue here. I think Kui wrote the story without any intention of autism in mind, but more that Laios is just a normal dude who happens to be knowledgeable on monsters. The only special things about Laios are in his head, and even then it's not like he always knows right away the correct answer. He's "normal" in the sense that he's a dude you could find on the street who happens to really like birds or undersea creatures. Autism is normal, even if it isn't average.

[@eh9618]

Here's an even funnier interpretation of kui's answer. If laios who most of us would see as autistic is considered normal to kui..could it be that everyone in the world of dungeon meshi is autistic. To quote syndrome. "and when everyone's super, no one is". If everyone is autistic, then laios being autistic would be normal

[@potatopotayto8332]

considering there are substantial autistic interpretations to kabru, toshiro and falin, i choose to adopt this as canon to me now

[@softglow9]

I can definitely see how Kabru and Falin could be autistic, but could you tell me why you think Toshiro would fall under the same lines? I'm super curious ❤️

[@potatopotayto8332]

@@softglow9 of course! there are interpretations that say toshiro has been masking for his whole life, because of the pressure that comes with his status. this was mostly stated during the fight with laios, because toshiro could've gotten mad at him for being an autistic person who doesn't nor need to mask, unlike he does. there's also art of him showing interest towards the same things falin does as a kid, like bugs and other small animals all of these are smaller things of course, but since autism is so heavily linked to culture and societal perceptions, i think it's pretty additive

[@softglow9]

@@potatopotayto8332 Thanks so much for sharing this! I can definitely see how culture can create different avenues of expressing neurodiversity. It's invaluable information tbh, really broadens our perspective of characters.

[@Hitori_mole]

I honestly never thought of liaos as autistic up until I watched your video on it. Sure there were some glimpses I got here and there watching the show, but the last video on the subject really brought it home for me. And having this head canon actually gave a lot more depth to laios’s character for me. All this to say that, even if some people may disagree (author included), there’s no harm in enjoying a head canon especially when it enhances certain characteristics of a story, neurodivergent or not.

[@Nizati]

Hmm.... for the first time ever, I'm curious how the Japanese deal with mental disabilities. In the western world, where there is more of a cultural focus on individuality and self-expression, we're JUST finally realizing how many people made it to late adulthood completely undiagnosed, because they didn't want to be centered out and looked down upon. ....... Imagine how many more people are walking around undiagnosed in a Collectivist culture???? I'm not saying Ryoko Kui is an undiagnosed autistic. I'm not a psychologist and don't know them personally so I can't say sfa... What I'm trying to say is: there's probably alot of adults over in Japan with these autististic traits, who are considered 100% 'normal' for them and their friends. Just a thing to think about.

[@ceroscentauri7045]

“,I’m curious how the Japanese deal with mental disabilities”. Well, recently there’s been ongoing legal efforts to validate the autistic victims of long term secret sterilization programs performed by doctors. So… not well in certain areas, to put it lightly.

[@TulipsinAntartica]

Well, The hikikomori phenomena is likely caused by a clash between neurodivergence and japanese society, especially with autistic individuals

[@ItsAllNunya]

The phenomenon of Hikkikomori is often disabled people who have no prospects in life being hung out to dry, so theres part of an answer.

[@stephanieok5365]

I feel that. Not going to speculate on anyone's personal health. As a generality though, autism seems tough in a collectivist society. You're supposed to not be disruptive and gambatte your way through everything. That must make it really hard when meltdowns can be a defining feature for some. I'm betting it's hard to get a diagnosis and accommodation, so you just walk around feeling like a broken alien. 💀

[@Homodemon]

Tbh, japanese cultural context and societal cue feed into a lot of autistic traits by default, the whole lower your head, keep to yourself don't speak up is pretty easy to follow when you already got nothing to say, don't have the nature to share with other people and also are bad with direct eye contact. A lot of etiquette is pretty impersonal and cold and if you memorize what you're supposed to do and how you're supposed to act and talk, then is pretty easy to just live your life following the script. And then there's those that just cannot fit in too, because their social graces are even lower in the scale They completely shut themselves in. Why do you think hikkikomori and otaku are so common? Hell, I would say that most otaku are somewhere on the spectrum, let's not forget that otkaj not only refers to anime, of there's an obsessive fixation with something, then you're an Otaku, Photography Otaku, Train Otaku, Poetry Otaku, Gardening Otaku, you name jt and a lot of late stage capitalism up there thrives on hyperfixation and the collectors habit of "there's only a finite amount of this piece of plastic, spend money on it before it runs out to be part of the 100 people that owns it too" The Japanese love exclusive time limited merch and as a society, a lot of those kinds of obsessive tendencies are encouraged and normalized So to me, is not very weird that like Japan is a bit behind the time when it comes to recognizing spectrum disorders and only base the definitions of these on outdated stereotyped examples Hell, I come from a country that does just that too...

[@axezeeplushie2497]

I love your Spelunking On The Spectrum video, it’s very important to me.

[@softglow9]

Your 'Spelunking on the Spectrum' video was absolutely wonderful to watch, and to me, you provided very compelling arguments. To even assess Kabru as autistic was so out there (I wouldn't have thought of it), but it made so much sense. I hope you make more of these videos in relation to anime because it's so nice to hear your thoughts imo.

[@macamoo12]

I've seen so many people in the past say "the best neurodivergent representation is usually unintentional neurodivergent representation" in both a joking and serious matter that I was shocked when I saw folks were upset at kui's response to the question loll. On a related note, I've seen a trend of people treating their headcanons as if they are complete, 100% fact which I do not like at all. And then they get mad when people have a different interpretation of the character and call them shitty people. I've seen this happen with the character Tsubaki from the manga Wind Breaker (but specifically in regard to whether Tsubaki is a transgirl or not). It's just exhausting frankly

[@nidohime6233]

It happens a lot in fiction actually, because many times when a writer wants to create a neurodivergent character they often relay in stereotypes and outdate data. Meanwhile when someone wants to write a character with similar experiences as them, or want to create one with a more unique personality they end creating a more complete, nuance representation than the average "This is X, so all X are like this".

[@SnakebitSTI]

I think there's partial truth to the sentiment, but only partial. Writers often base characters on people they know, and, well, some people are autistic, whether the author knows it or not. Just because an author isn't trying to write an autistic character doesn't mean they aren't writing a character with autistic traits. But I think it tends to result in characters that act autistic in social contexts while missing other aspects of autism which manifest in ways that are subtler from an external viewpoint.

[@rootoo555]

In situations like this, what people get out of a work is often just as important as what the author puts into it.

[@timoth4529]

honestly Iam very annoyend at people who deny others interpretations of thei favorite charackters, sure you dont have to see him in this way, but also dont take it away for others. We can all enjoy this without having to ruin it for others. This goes both ways ofc aswell.

[@Nevri.]

They do it, because they think it "taints" the character or some crap like that. Alternatively some people just love to "own" people and post those "gotcha" comments, to feel better about themselves.

[@drakenzahn9149]

Kui saying "Laios is normal" is what gets my attention the most, by all means he is anything but: he doesn't fit in his hometown, he doesn't fit in the army, he didn't fit in any job, he didn't have any friends before reuniting with Fallin, his monster interest is abnormal, every character in the story is weirded out by him at some point because of said abnormalities. "Normal" just doesn't fit him so I suspect there was an issue in translation. Other than that I think the general clapback is just an attempt at a gotcha, and it corresponds to the question that was answered with the least "disapproving" response too (if you ask me the Marcille x Fallin question looked like she was holding back but I digress). I think the problem in engaging in the discussion is the nebulous feeling to assume that you have to be X to relate to X, instead I'd present the argument impersonally: Laios exhibits many traits present in the autistic spectrum, therefore it's reasonable to think he is autistic. Anyone could relate to him in many ways because his are very human conflicts, and other characters share them one way or another. Autism isn't required for those themes, but how Laios is written indicates he's autistic. Ironically the latter isn't what Kui intended, but the disagreement does prove she achieved her goal.

[@akirachisaka9997]

In a way, the moral of the story can be summed up as “it’s normal for people to struggle to be normal”. In a way, yeah, this is exactly what “normal people” experience. Pretty much everyone has their own struggles on “being normal”. Even the most “normal” people have this struggle too, since “being normal” and “not struggling to be normal” is actually quite unique. Making “not having any unique trait” actually quite a unique trait. And I guess this is what makes neurodivergent people resonate a lot with the story. Since it’s a story about “being normal”, which is just something we have to deal with everyday.

[@ryuumajin]

Ryoko Kui: "Laios is a normal person". Characters in Dungeon meshi who are not Laios: "WHAT THE FUCK's WRONG WITH YOU LAIOS!?"

[@Kazuhiro-i]

XD

[@briannenurse4640]

I like your lazy eyelid personally. I think real beauty is in what distinguishes us from each other, rather than beauty being some standard only reachable by a genetically privileged few. Makes you look like you're always doing a bit of a smoulder. Edit: I totally agree with you on the autistic reading of Laios, but I'm probably biased.

[@superdude10000]

Haha, thanks mate. I have been pushed multiple times in my life to get it surgically fixed, but it doesn't affect my health in any way, so I don't want to. It's a part of me, y'know? Plus, as I said, if people decide to be mean because of it, that's a quick signal that they aren't the sort of people I want to be around. I have a built in noise-filter for mean people, right on my face!

[@EmmaBGames]

The author's intent doesn't change what story has been produced. Opinions are just that, opinions; both the authours and our own. The author drives the story forward, but once written, once completed, that's the story; everything else is creative liberties of your own mind.

[@e-hn8br]

Jajajaja en serio gente como ustedes no les basta con un no. Están tan dispuestos a hacer su voluntad que prefieren ignorar las opiniones de la propia creadora. 😂😂😂 Ya basta con gente como ustedes.

[@diwatya]

Right? It's like there's intent but the end result should speak for itself. If you wrote a character with all the symptoms of something but didn't intend it, that doesn't mean those symptoms immediately mean nothing. If you wrote a character who was obviously miserable with their assigned gender and felt a whole lot after dressing up and being another gender, you can't just say that they're still cis because it wasn't the intention to write them trans. This I feel is the case with Laios too, like he's the embodiment of autistic struggles that a lot of autistic people experience. Saying he's not autistic is like saying that mentioned character is cis solely because of intent instead of the actual end result.

[@e-hn8br]

​​@@diwatya el personaje sería cis porque el creador dijo que es cis lo que cuenta es su intención la gente como ustedes cansa porque a fuerza quieren creer que tienen razón lo mismo pasa con dungeon meshi, Laios no es autista. Que gente como ustedes los gringos que no dejan de pensar en géneros no lo entienda es otra cosa. Además esa tontería de cis es un término incorrecto solo se dice que es normal y ya.

[@e-hn8br]

​@@diwatya la intención de la autora es lo que cuenta. En serio ya basta de gente como ustedes que a fuerza quieren seguir creyendo que todo son generos y orientaciones y que "x" o "y" personaje es autista.

[@MillyKKitty]

​@@e-hn8brThey are just having fun. There isn't anything objectively wrong with thinking a character is autistic or connecting to that intepretation. If the author didn't intent it, they simply didn't. I don't think the author even takes offense to if the fanbase prefers to think so. This is such a nonissue to get mad about 😂.

[@AshlynnAspires]

Honestly as 27F, I relate to Laois a lot and didn’t even know he was autistic (never considered myself as one) until I found your video about him being on the spectrum. It opened a whole new perspective for me since despite being autistic, he’s still a good guy with well-intentions, can still read social cues at times and act normally when “masked”. This made me start to question whether I am autistic as well so I started doing research and taking personal assessments. The more I research, the more I learned that the weird, quirky traits, social awkwardness I have are inline with autism. I scored 140 on the Raads-r test even though I tried to min-max my answers. I’m not officially diagnosed yet but I know for sure I’m on the spectrum and I’m learning accommodations and slowly trying to unmask.

[@coolstraw7682]

Thats great you found yourself in laios.. Ryoko kui is so great with characters :]

[@superdude10000]

A lot of comments are addressing this "normal" word, which I do a bad job of talking about in the video, so let me do so here. As far as the word "normal" goes, it's very unspecific. It's like when your parents would tell you something is "common sense" as a child; it's common to them, but you seemingly didn't know any better, did you? Normal is a moving target, what's normal to me is certainly not normal to all of you, and therefore the use of the word normal specifies nothing. I (and all autistic people) have been autistic all of my life, so this is very normal to me. My fiancee's family is COMPRISED of ADHD and autistic people, so when I bring up the concepts in these Dungeon Meshi videos to them, they are often confused, because nothing about neurodivergency could be more normal to them. It means something different to all of us, so when people say "Laios is Normal"... that's communicating little, really. Kui saying Laios is normal in an interview could have multiple meanings, but the one I believe in is that she's giving a non-answer: clarifying nothing and leaving Laios's neurological status open to opinion. The reason why I take the stance that "Laios is normal" means "Laios is allistic" in this video is because people were leveraging her comments against my video, so I was arguing from their stance (even though I know they were operating in bad faith). I didn't set that up well, so I apologize for that. Also, I don't like the use of the word "normal" to describe the opposite of autism, anyway. Just my two cents.

[@akirachisaka9997]

Yeah I do feel like in hindsight, the response the author gave that “Laios is normal” just felt really true. Like, “autistic people” are definitely still “people”. And “some normal people are autistic” does feel like a sentence that makes a lot of sense. Especially if we are talking about some other topic that isn’t related to autism. But yeah, I do feel that in Asian culture, the definition that “normal” meaning “functional” is even stronger. So the definition of allistic is “more or less functional enough”.

[@Nevri.]

You could understand it as Rui meaning "they didn't write Laios in some special way (here being autistic), but just a normal person, meaning in their eyes being autistic isn't normal", so I can understand why some people might understand their statement to not be as clear cut, but considering how divers cast of characters there is in series and that Kui makes sure to represent very different body tipes in positive light, which is ultra uncommon, not just in Japan, I'm very positive that even if they didn't intended for Laios to be "special" in any way, they're happy many people can relate to him.

[@akirachisaka9997]

@@Nevri. I also do wonder if there are things lost in translation. Like, is the interview conducted in English? If not, it’s hard to say the English translation is the “gospel”. But yeah, on the flip side, I do think Kui meant that “Laios is not defined by autism”, and “the concept of autism isn’t a major factor when designing the character”. Which I guess is true. Laios isn’t that defined by autism, but more by his love of monster. And I don’t think autism cause people to want to eat monsters lol

[@Rosa-kd2cl]

Reminds me of a story my mom relayed to me. Apparently I did a lot of visible stimming as a kid (jazz hands when excited and all that) and my teacher wrote to my mom about - likely asking if I was autistic or similar, to which my mom responded that no, I was normal. She told me about this as a silly story of my teacher misunderstanding me and jumping to conclusions. I’m glad it happened because I’ve been able to use it as proof that I’ve had neurodivergent symptoms since I was a kid when getting diagnosed. But my mom’s use of the word “normal” has always stuck out in a “well yes but actually no” kind of way. Being neurodivergent is normal, stimming is normal. And yet, it’s not “normal.”

[@ClassicCat80]

People are too obsessed with "being right" and having one way to consume a piece of media, i watch romance because i like seeing people fall in love but I'm sure some like it to relate to/self insert to or maybe even to laugh at and that's fine. You can also have conversations about what a piece of media is/what you interpret about it without anyone "being right" because it dosen't really matter. Also i just found out semi recently that sometimes people don't argue about things for fun or a new viewpoint but to always be right, i just thought that was weird.

[@Bloinker]

Your video was kind of the penultimate nail in the coffin that actually made me consider my own experiences and how much I related to many neurodivergent experiences. It has been an eye opening last few months and I am now in the process of getting tested for ASD. I probably would have gone an even longer time oblivious and thinking there was just something off about myself if not for your video. Even if nobody sees this, thanks.

[@darthmal4444]

Honestly, Kui's comment of calling Laios "normal" seems like a bad translation to me. The show makes it clear that no one in it considers him normal. What it seems like she was trying to say is that she wrote him specifically to be relatable, but that word gets used a lot in the quote, so maybe substitute "universal". Which he is, and this video does a good job of discussing that. And if you substitute the specific usage of "normal" from the author's quote, it does become very difficult to use it as an argument against autistic interpretations. If he's written to be relatable, someone who everyone can see their own struggles in, then it makes perfect sense that for some people, he's going to be autistic. Autistic people are a part of everyone. It really seems disingenuous to the quote as a whole to get stuck on that one word within it.

[@sisterlillybug3142]

I had a feeling that Laios was not created with the intention of being autistic from the start of the watching the anime. I saw a lot of people get pissy when that interview was released, but it made sense to me. Laios is a person who displays many behaviors that could be read as autistic. That does not mean he has autism. I don’t know how that flew over so many people's heads.

[@davidkim6673]

This whole discussion reminds of Community, an American Comedy Sitcom created by Dan Harmon. I'm not sure if I am hundred-percent correct on this, but the main character in Community is called Abed and when the first few season were airing, many people pointed out how Abed exhibits autistic tendencies, and at first Harmon rejected the claims that Abed was autistic - he was writing how he and other people behaved, he wasn't thinking about autism when writing Abed. But as more autistic people resonated with Abed, Harmon did some research and concluded that Abed probably was in the Autistic spectrum and that Harmon himself was autistic. What does this mean? It means that just blindingly believing author's words and rejecting the commonalities many people find about certain characters or situation is flawed, because the author is not this prophet/oracle in which one dispenses the truth with absolute... authority. (Ha!) It could be the case that the author themselves do not know about certain interpretation and that they might change their minds as they explore these alternate positions - some might reject the alternate position, others might embrace it.

[@gaswe9236]

And thats skmething that can happen almost exclusively with topics of psychology in media. The human brain is uncharted and not understood by anyone at this point in time so we project things in fiction that we dont understand ourselves. If i give a specific factor of identity to a character, it is probably not up to interpretation and the intent behind it can show quite clearly. Sexuality, race, gender, etc... but someone can write a character with personality disorders or mental illnesses or anything at all regarding their behavior that they project from their subconscious and thus the intent does not signify the result directly

[@WrestleCat9]

Not trying to be confrontational about this, how was Harmon not thinking about autism when writing Abed? I think S1E1, Jeff tells Abed "You have Aspergers." point blank. I won't discount the idea that maybe initially Harmon was intending to write Abed as not autistic, but to say he wasn't even thinking about it seems off to me.

[@The7thDraconian]

I'm right there with you on "the author's read of their work is valid, but not the end all be all." I think people have this idea that what the author intends is only what ends up in their work, but I can tell you from first hand experience that isn't true. Sometimes an element that the artist adds for no deeper reason than "It thought it was kind of cool" can be the basis for entire essays. Hell it's not uncommon for the creator of characters widely headcanoned by fans to be neurodivergent to say "It wasn't intentional." To say that the authorial intent is all that matters when analyzing a work misses the forest for the trees.

[@coolstraw7682]

Exactly!

[@MX_sharkpup]

From the few q&as that Ryoko Kui has done, she has never given confirming or concrete answers, I think she understands the most about author and reader interpretation, which is evident considering she is a good writer. From what I understand, Dungeon Meshi is her first major published work so she’s seeing a much wider range of interpretations and opinions of her work which with how good of a writer she is, she’s definitely taking into account. I think folks would get a better understanding of Ryoko Kui as an author if they read her older works like Terrarium in a Drawer.

[@Neverwas]

I don't understand your take, but maybe I should just watch the other video. Laios is a leader, he's good with people and liked by many. The reason why he has that moment with Toshiro is because the latter is japanese, and japanese people are not "direct", they expect you to read the air, which is something not everyone is able to do (totally not happened to me, an Italian, in Japan). To support what I'm saying, immediately after that scene they joke about samurais not being transparent with their emotions and yet they outright come at your face to confess their love even if they haven't developed any sort of relationship before that moment. Laios has a weird fixation with monsters but overall he is a golden retriever (can imitate a dog very well) who is very open and extroverted and at the same time insecure about being a leader. He embodies the average joe, who is knowledgeable but has flaws, who is brave but insecure. Why do you need to put a label on him? What's the purpose of that?

[@vivvy_0]

His and his sisters childhood have a certain undertone common to neurodivergent peoples upbringing as stated in the video.

[@Neverwas]

@@vivvy_0 Putting labels on things is the new western/american fixation. Every character is, in a way, weird, especially shonen characters. Trauma and quirkyness help characters to be more interesting and less flat. Every smart character should be autistic/neurodivergent at this point: Kira from Death Note, Fushiguro from JJK, Aki from Chainsaw man etc. as they embody the stereotype of the intelligent but social-isolated and a little bit weird person. You want to call them autistic? Fine. Do we have to argue about that? Do you need someone to represent you and label it so you can feel more accepted and make multiple videos about that, trying to prove to everyone that your subjective view is right? I think there's something wrong with your inner peace...

[@akirachisaka9997]

To add, as an Asian, I do feel like in the Asian perspective, there isn’t “high functional” or “low functional” autism. As in, autism is pretty much defined as “not functional”. In this way, Laios definitely isn’t autistic, since he is quite very “functional”. Being able to do this and that and spoilers for manga.

[@sugar9064]

i think that kui saying that laios is a normal person could mean that autistic people are just like every other person and should be treated as such

[@funwari_tsukune]

First, I don’t have an opinion on either Laios is autistic or not. I just want to throw my two cents in as a Japanese who grew up in the US so I kinda have an understanding of both cultures. In Japan, going to a therapist is not “normal”. I think in the US (and probably Europe?) that going to a therapist is not that big of a deal, but in Japan it would mean, something is wrong with you, like to the extent of you can hear voices in your head or something like you are very suicidal. Along with that, I feel diagnosing people is also out of the norm. Autism is called 自閉症 but I think people consider it much more heavily than in US. I feel like people are more willing to be “weird” than to be diagnosed in Japan. So I feel when Kui sensei says “Laois is normal”, she is fully aware he is “weird,” but I don’t know if she even considered 自閉症 to be the reason. I think it’s more natural in Japan to just consider someone “weird” than to label them 自閉症 which would just give it too much weight in Japan making him more “mentally ill” rather than just some condition. So I don’t really know when she says “Laois is normal” in Japan, means the same thing as “Laois is normal” in American (European) context.

[@evilshrimpy]

It is a fact of art that once you show it to anyone else, it no longer belongs solely to yourself, or to your interpretation alone. The impression of that art lives then in at least two minds, each one containing a version of what you have created. Perhaps your intentions have a light to cast upon the meaning of that creation, but intentions alone are not enough to comprise the existence or nonexistence of a thing- as with anything else in the world, you must actually do something, not merely intend to do it. Most people can't keep their art to themselves; part of why most people create art is, after all, to express something of themselves to another. But the risk you take in sharing yourself with others is that what reflects back from their experience of your voice... might not be you. The only way to escape the shadows that other minds cast on art, is never to show it to them at all. But then, we can't all be Emily Dickenson.

[@MilenaVoitsekhovska]

Heyyy, thank you for this video, it brought me some comfort as an author and Game master. It's somewhat common, when you introduce a character, and slowly build it, and then your readers or players see them for what they're weren't supposed to be. And not everytime for the best, as for my perspective. I was actually so upset one time, that I completely dropped all the work for some time. But seeing the "Death of the author" concept from this perspective is... Oddly comforting. It really is a perspective, and I should not be ashamed, when mine is not alike my audiences. Huh.

[@soap3468]

It was "Spelunking on the Spectrum" that led me to actually watching and appreciating the series (anime, analyses and breakdowns, and manga). I acknowledge that it influenced me to view some of the characters through a lens, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. I think these kinds of conversations are important to have in online spaces, so thank you for making videos and I hope they open the minds to other viewers.

[@hyobro8392]

The lens of masking is also something that strongly improves Laios and Falin readings imo. The thing I relate to Laios for a lot, is that he *knows* people hate him. Not why, but he's aware, and powerless to change it. The main thing he's able to do is just not talk about his special interest. Falin seems to benefit from being seen as a woman at times, in some aspects being accepted as the "weird girl". She's not embraced and she's often infantilized, but people don't overtly hate her like Laios. And thanks to Marcille, I think her masking probably improved as well. When they met again, Falin becam a crutch for Laios socially. He says so when they ate the sorbet. This shows us that he used to benefit from the fragile way in which Falin had found a better mask than his, and now he has to face social interactions without her. I think it adds even more layers too their relationship, there's a feeling that they were the only one who could understand / help the other, and that they *had* to be there (especially for Laios, Falin also has Marcille but their sibling bond is very strong because of how they grew up).

[@airplanes_aren.t_real]

Laios ain't autistic, he's just got that *dawg* in him/j

[@stephanieok5365]

[cue accurate dog impressions by Laios]

[@BattlerUshiromiya9999]

This might be a bold take on my end but ANN’s question is objectively a dangerous one with or without intention. The reason is it creates a division based on the answer and in this case the division is “Laios’ place”. I think Ryoko did her best in answering the question where Laios can remain in an ambiguous enough state to still be up for interpretation. On one hand had she answered ‘No’ in the absolute sense, as many are interpreting it, it has much potential in hurting a lot of people but if she answers yes then many would start over analyzing Laios and comparing him to some textbook definition, going through him with a fine comb and criticizing Ryoko for “a bad representative of Autism” if she falters somewhere along the way. Again although this is a very interesting question many may want an answer, the answer has potential of tearing down certain monuments rather than building them.

[@mayap_66]

Love this take. Your content is very fun and well-written and I have subscribed, can’t wait to watch more of your videos!

[@cronoz-sensei4259]

As an aspie whos watched Dungeon Meshi, no one can tell me Laios is NOT autistic. My entire life has felt exactly how Laios has felt like. Kui-sensei might have not intended Laios to be written as autistic, but he reads as such for anyone whos experienced the autistic person experience either from first hand as an autistic person or as someone whos been around an autistic person. There has been many a case where a character started being written different than they were later conceived as. Celests protagonist and the authors own discovery of herself through her protagonist was something that the author realized only much later on. Not to say that Kui-sensei might be autistic and just doesnt know it, more so that sometimes you can realize you wrote a character with one goal but ended up on another goal. As such, it will take an extremely long and very convincing explanation from those who say Laios isnt autistic to convince me otherwise, and NO the "Kui said Laios isnt autistic get owned" comment will NOT suffice. If youre gonna rebut my own conclusion, use YOUR OWN WORDS that are based on YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE WATCHING DUNGEON MESHI to convince me. Regarding Kabru however, I do not think he is autistic. He seems more akin to a sociopath (which is completely understandable given his backstory), while the difference may seem subtle to some its important to remember the distinctions: Sociopaths do notice social queues, in fact better than average, but they are separate from most subconscious moral boundaries, hence they can, if they so choose, use this information to intentionally manipulate allistic people. Autistic people dont notice these queues subconsciously and have to look for them constantly. And if they dont they run the risk of hurting someones feelings even if they dont intend to, as happens at times with Laios. And also, wouldnt an autistic person be able to relate to another autistic person without issues? If so, Kabru couldnt relate to Laios, so I doubt that he is autistic. But he is certainly neurodivergent. My source for this is The Autism Relationship Handbook by Joe Biel and Faith G. Harper. Its a great book to read if youre autistic or allistic, I highly recommend it. Aight, with that said thats all I wanted to write relating to your video. I found it an excellent look at the series and while I disagree about some of your conclusions I cannot help but enjoy your deep dive into your reasoning. Connecting this deeply about a topic like this with a fellow autistic person brings me immense joy in life.

[@stephanieok5365]

Since the author's words were "I wrote him as normal" I kind of take that as one of your big standard Japanese non answers. Autism is normal variation. If I wrote someone as left handed they'd be normal variation, just less common. 🤔 I like your asides on Kabru even though he eerily reminds me of myself in high masking work mode. I think what distinguishes him from sociopath is that his motives don't appear to be hidden from personal relationships, just professional relationships. His team seems to be well aware of what he is doing and tease him for it. For what it's worth, I have the formal diagnosis of attention disregulation (or whatever acronym we are on these days). Finding another neurodivergent in the wild might trip me up at first because my scripted behaviors are for the ease of communicating effectively with neuro-typical stuff. If a Laios is out there flipping the table, not even playing that game, hell yeah buddy. Masking is exhausting. Those who don't bother but also aren't hurting anyone are impressive. 🤔

[@cronoz-sensei4259]

@@stephanieok5365 1. paragraph: Yes, this is a solid conclusion to come towards, especially given Japanese culture between author and fans. 2. paragraph: I'm really sorry for unintentionally associating a character you find reflects yourself with being a sociopath, I really didn't mean to intend it to sound like that T - T curses on me. My inner Laios strikes again! Again, I really apologize if it ticked you the wrong way, I really didn't intend it. Regarding why I came to the conclusion that I've come, it was all I've said in my original post but also another thing. Upon meeting up with Shuro and Laios when Laios brings the omellete and asks Kabru to try. We see his inner thoughts and what stood out was that Kabru did not even hesitate when he thought about killing Laios to get out of that situation. This doesn't seem like a trait an autistic person would gravitate towards naturally, if he is autistic he is also probably not right in the head on another level due to his trauma. But to me it read as him being a sociopath, but one that uses his "gift" to surpass their lack of combat skills by knowing his party well enough to get them through many complicated situations. It's important to keep in mind that while there are sociopaths who actively use their "gift" with ill intentions, there are also those who use it responsibly and manage to maintain healthy relationships. To me, Kabru read as one of those kinds, extremely socially adept and able to read body language and think with the bigger picture in scope. That said, there were a few times where Kabru has shown that he has an interest in watching and listening to his party and how they interact, stating it out loud the party finds it sort of creepy (mostly as a joke). There could be a case made that here Kabru is showing a sign of a hyperfixation, that said I don't think the evidence is conclusive enough to really come to that conclusion for me. Little tid bits there next to a massive pile of signs of sociopathy. And it kind of makes sense why I think this way. Kui-sensei wrote Laios and Kabru as polar opposites. Laios struggles to communicate his thoughts well, Kabru not only manages to do that well but he has a read on social situations that Laios couldn't even dream of having. However Laios' encyclopedic dungeon monsters knowledge and fixation on saving Falin as soon as possible is something that Kabru just doesn't have and cannot acquire, as such his party often gets wiped and has to be revived several times. They are polar opposites, on so many levels. Laios only found himself in Dungeon Spelunking, Kabru could've easily never entered the Dungeon and found a fruitful life in the rest of the world. It's a pretty interesting dynamic between two protagonists. It just happens that by them being such contrasting characters, they will inevitably read as having very different neurodivergent conditions and thus will see one as autistic and the other as a sociopath. It just happened to be me who ended up falling into that line of thinking. Not to suggest that my line of thinking is remotely better than anyone else's...except people that say Laios isn't autistic because Kui-sensei indirectly suggested it. 4. paragraph: Agreed, I absolutely hate having to mask. I mostly just try to keep quiet and suppress my autistic tendencies for the moments. Regarding people who are accepted despite not masking, I guess that's just a personality lottery. You and another autistic person could be incredibly different in your exact symptoms. You're kind of rolling a gatcha on what kind of autism you're getting, some might be more accepted in a neurotypical-designed world, some might make you literally hated by what feels like most of the people on earth. It just depends a lot. Ok it's late now I need to sleep. Have a good one and thank you for your kind response. Dungeon Meshi has some of my favourite characters in any fiction work period. So thanks for talking with me, I appreciate it wholly.

[@Solstice261]

I think you are mixing up sociopath and psychopath( don't worry happens all the time but I die a little inside every time I see it, also be careful with the psychopath a lot of people can be socially adept and very good at reading and manipulating people without being a psychopath), sociopath while also an antisocial disorder is characterized by quite the opposite, a bad handle of emotions( not hiding them well) and difficulty at reading social cues, while psychopath is the whole reads social cues and emotions but doesn't really understand them but can imitate them, and such and such, however I don't think kabru is a psychopath, he does seem to legitimately care about his party and the island, the autism angle reads more natural to me, maybe because I have behaved and seen people behave and think like him, as weird as it seems and I am sure you know all autistic people don't share a way of being, think for example that social cues and etiquette and socialization was a weird hyperfixation of yours and you learned it to the finest detail to try and fit in, you were never diagnosed with autism but you are basically constantly masking because by this point you've been doing it your whole life and it's just part of being normal and then you suddenly saw someone not masking but instead bluntly info dumping on everyone, you would think that person is weird despite you yourself also being autistic, I wouldn't call it impossible to read kabru as a masking autistic person, that doesn't share laios' intersests but that's just what I feel everyone is free to their opinion

[@Solstice261]

O think the no hesitation killing was more of a joke, not psychopathy, just to really strees how uncomfortable that situation was, exaggeration by comparison, the thought of eating a monster was so bad the killing someone seemed more reasonable, I think it's meant to be read like that over killing is worth so little effort, by all measures kabru seems to have a working moral compass in my opinion specially when it involves people he knows like his party members​@@cronoz-sensei4259

[@Solstice261]

Also also, I am definitely starting to refer myself as an aspie, I never heard it before but I love it, just for that I am infinitely grateful

[@akirachisaka9997]

I do feel like this might not even be like completely a “Death of the Author” thing. As in, it’s more of a “I’m an author not a psychology professor, I dunno the answer either”. Similar to Celeste, where the author said: “During Celeste’s development, I did not know that Madeline or myself were trans. During the Farewell DLC’s development, I began to form a hunch. Post-development, I now know that we both are.” Like the character is the character, they are already created. It can be said that “during the creation of Laios, I didn’t know what is autism so I didn’t research this topic while creating this character”. But honestly for pretty much everyone, autism is something you realize in hindsight as “hun yeah I was pretty autistic I guess”. So I guess it’s hard to say it’s different for fictional characters.

[@jeremyvoss4461]

Great video. Another point in favor: neurological diagnosis are just shorthand tools we use to describe behavior. Writing a character without a specific quality in mind does mean that they don’t match that quality. Just as with real people, their written actions and behaviors are the basis on which someone can diagnose something. If an author is not able to diagnosis real people with autism, why should they have to with their characters?!

[@goblinrat6119]

I personally held this view from basically the start, before DunMeshi really kicked off. I never really assumed that Kui had a strong intention to portray autism (I don't think she has a strong intention to portray any simple, easy, clear labels), as much as she had the intention to portray a certain kind of a character. Reading her commentary, she has a lot of "I saw this in real life and thought it was interesting" type of fascination and inspiration. She's intrested in how people are different and how they interact, for one. So I'd frankly be pretty surprised if she wasn't ever intrested in portraying a character that very much corresponds with neurodivergent traits. And, Kui is really good at making rather deep, very human characters that behave in authentic and believable ways. So, it'd be kind of weirder if she just absolutely did not depict autistic personalities at all. Thing is that most of us know autistic people (even outside ourselves), and most people do, in fact, have some notion of what an autistic person might be like (they generally don't associate it explicitly with autism, but plenty of people know "the type"). So if you want to start drawing inspiration from people around you, you are very likely going to land on some of them being autistic.

[@flamingleo27]

God man Watching the show, it never crossed my mind. But I have to say you opened my eyes

[@mikurusumi]

I absolutely loved the initial video, I'm noting this early, every single edit will comment further on the video. Which Im sure I'll like. -> So I ended up watching it all in one go, which makes sense it wasn't that long. I ultimately agree, works are to be explored through various views to reach different interpretations and it's a testament to the works quality if many interpretations, some of which the author hasn't intended, are found. For instance Kafka's works are so interesting because they're so open to interpretation. I personally think that laios is autistic, and I'd claim him even if I were to be told that he isn't by the author themselves. For me it is a little more complex to determine, I am neurodivergent, but I have ADHD not autism, a almost as badly misunderstood and misrepresented condition. There is a lot of overlap with autism and ADHD and so I see a bit of myself in laios, and I like that interpretation for myself. I won't let anyone take it.

[@golanperry5885]

yo superdude so cool to actually see you, you look good so don't bother listening to others. i just want to say how much i love you content and i hope you can keep on making your vids, thank you!

[@kikirv_]

I'm soooooooo glad that some day I found this channel. A lot of your videos gave me new views on some of already loved media, made me feel that I'm not totally going insane with my perception of it. And I also have a lot of new thoughts on my own art, especially in regards of autism in it. Thanks for all you do.

[@akirachisaka9997]

Digression on “Death of the Author”, I feel like the tip is more on “don’t listen too much to the author’s explanation of their intention”. As in, there isn’t actually any way to listen to the author’s intent. All we can do is record the author’s explanation of their own intent. But just because it’s the author’s explanation doesn’t mean it’s the perfect one. Like, if you asked most humans who can walk to explain “walking” to you, it’s probably not gonna be a very good explanation. Meanwhile creating stories is even less of a math or physics problem and more of an art problem. So why would the author be the expert at explaining it?

[@SocraTetris]

As a person on the spectrum who identifies with Laos, it is wild to me that people are going out of their way to disprove it.

[@candace219]

I watched the video you recommended, it was well-worth it and I heavily encourage people reading this to go watch it. I was aware of some sort of death of the author but not that it had a name, so it's cool to see that lol. I still love neurodivergent Laios (and Kabru. I absolutely adore nuerodivergent Kabru).

[@oriyo899]

That Freddie Freaker plush is quite haunting. I love it.

[@MelvaCross]

Seems KZbin ate my comment. There was a similar discussion about Beastars queer and autistic readings where people refused to accept that multiple readings, part of them in complete opposition to each other, can still be valid. As an autistic person, it's easier to spot typically autistic behaviour and we also know how blurry the lines between neurotypical and neurodivergent are. So, it's valid to see autistic traits in the socially inept Laios but also in the manipulative Kabru who doesn't use his masks intuitively but purposefully adjust his social interactions to mirror or appease the other person he tries to manipulate. (Masking is also normal for neurotypicals, but the active and purposeful adjusting of social behaviour is something lots of high-masking autists can relate to. Even if Kabru isn't meant to be autistic nor perceived that way by most readers.) I also praised you for not indulging the people who try to frame Kui as autistic herself. We don't know her and also we are not well equipped as Westerners to do that for a Japanese woman, nor are we psychologists/psychiatrists and shouldn't do that, like, ever with acutal, living, breathing people.manipulation

[@tape-6]

i havent finished the video so maybe this comes up but is it possible translation played a hand in this all? I could be wrong, no clue if ryoko kui is bilingual, but if this is an interview translated from japanese to english its entirely possible further context especially surrounding the word "normal" could be missing. I'm always curious about that especially since japanese and english are SO different, even more so when it comes to kanji vs english writing.

[@kjarakravik4837]

I also think the word normal might have a very different meaning in Japanese, because objectively speaking, Laios is an outcast in almost every way. He doesn't fit into his hometown or into the army to the point where he runs away, he didn't have any friends other than his sister for most of his life, and almost everyone he meets in the series thinks he's very weird.

[@Camio_016]

another amazing video that is not only very informative but relaxing from just how level headed and down to earth you are. I am so happy you exist! also a reference to overly sarcastic studios, I love it! keep up the great work okay?

[@meaninglez100]

Even if she said definitively that he wasn't, like...that wouldn't change the impression. That wouldn't change my own interpretation and reflection on his character. It's fine

[@carolynv8979]

We should not speculate on the diagnosis of an author, that is true. And also It is not-uncommon for fan-fiction authors to discover their own diagnosis after writing what they thought were merely “extremely relatable” characters. It’s likely a consequence of the prolonged systemic under-diagnosis of women playing out in a female-dominated creative space. But it is interesting, and not the first time I’ve heard this particular explanation for a character. Some from authors who were later diagnosed, others from women who did not feel a need to seek that label, and that should be respected too. Part of the issue is that autistic people are people, there is significant overlap in the human experience, and that’s part of why so many higher masking people go unrecognized and unsupported as we, like Laos, search for our niche.

[@akirachisaka9997]

Yeah, like for me autism is like “it’s my mental illness I get to decide the label!” But it’s very understandable to not want a label or two.

[@_Ducky_]

I just realized- you know how at art museums people are always asking “what do you think of this art piece?” “What are the emotions you feel when looking at this?” It’s the same thing with shows/anime/books/etc… Dungeon Meshi is the painting, and we are the crowd of people with different ways of looking at it and interpreting it. People need to realize that not everything is so black in white in art

[@jemleye]

This is an amazing breakdown of lots of things I was thinking too. Really, it's kinda spooky how spot on same your thoughts are to mine XD hello there, long lost soul brother

[@papermoonbunny]

Laios is autistic he told me himself /j you already touched on it like a nugget in the video in terms of the fact that Kui comes from a very different society from ours as well, and im really not trying to be offensive here at all so I hope it doesn’t come off that way, but afaik in Japan mental illness etc is… not something that’s very well accepted or talked about. More often than not I hear it’s very much swept under the rug, and I feel like, taking your point into consideration, it’s very likely that might have something to do with it.

[@dylanehooverlibrarian7026]

This is very pointed. I can't speak to the Japanese perspective, but most manga I could name that are About Autism are meant to be Very Special Episode type character dramas, like Into The Light. Autism defines the characters and narrative, which is not how that is in Dungeon Meshi. The story isn't about explicitly Laios learning to be neurotypical or his peers learning to accept him - it's a standard jrpg fantasy plot about heroes delving into the netherworld called a dungeon to rescue someone and slowly learning about how to Save The Land. Given both manga publishing's concern with image and marketability, and how neurodivergence & mental difference is treated differently in Japan than the anglosphere, my suspicion is that Kui just gave a very politic, noncommittal answer. Which is fine, and leaves her text open for us to play with

[@Solstice261]

I am not sure but yeah from what I know culturally in Japan neurodivergence is rarely considered openly, it's more a people are what they are thing it's always seemed to me, however I ain't japanes so don't listen to me

[@tonkinthehanoian1843]

When I saw Ryoko Kui answer I think "Good heavens she don't confirm that." From what I've seen maybe, just maybe because the Western/English-speaking world had more exposure to ASD, that people are taking it as their personality. This habit of categorising does not only affects NDs, but in cases like trans or asexuals. People are dead set on declaring what is right or wrong. Normality is something not definitive to every culture. Is it typical? Or is atypical still fits in this category? If you see an artistic person being weird or just some classmates in your class being a nerd, will you call him normal? In my view, the concept of normal = neurotypical/conventional is lost to me. In this chaotic decade, normality is diversity and acceptance. I'm a late diagnosed ND anyways, I supposed I've met more NDs in my life if I think about it. But yeah, it's not like we're on the same boat just because we have the same executive dysfunction.

[@TheGrinningViking]

I got huge bags under my eyes, I do things to keep it from getting worse but people who could only see one of my eyes kept checking to see if I'd been punched. Real black eye level circles. Anyways the "fix" ended up being cool sunglasses with a very faint amber tint. Got em off Zenni optical, forty bucks, dirt cheap for prescription sunglasses with metal frames. People look at my eyes or the frames but not around my eyes. Plus it's nice when things are too bright. Eh.

[@Barakon]

Why do people assume that normal = allistic just because that’s the majority? Why must your perpetuate that normal is something that exists?

[@Rowlesisgay]

"Hi, welcome to my face!" Thanks for the reminder to like without being annoying and literally liking

[@leavemealone802]

The best stories are the ones we see different interpretations of the same characters. Aka, we all see each other on those characters Representation is important, but I always enjoyed seeing my neurodiversy/sexuality/identity on characters that weren't those things

[@akirachisaka9997]

Yeah, like in the end of the day, the statement “Laios is autistic” depends a lot less on the “Laios” part and more on the “autistic” part. Like, in Asian culture, there isn’t a thing as a “mask”. Because “taking off the mask” isn’t real it can’t hurt you. So being able to construct a good mask, maintain the mask, look after the mask, and become one with the mask, it’s pretty much the definition of “being a functional member of society”. So yeah, of course “Laios isn’t autistic”. He’s able to be a functioning member of society. He’s definitely “normal”.

[@Lucky_Dagger]

I find the fact she brought up Shuro "has his own difficulties" indicative of how the rift between their communication being hindered by more than just someone being ND, i feel she was addressing the question from the perspective of if autism is a factor in their relationship. From my limited knowledge of this interview and Kui herself she most likely has more of a leaning into cultural and class barriers in communication making the Shuro to Laios communication particularly poor.

[@Viperiidae]

You just made me realize I might have a lazy eyelid

[@Milla4life2]

Hey man, I hate that you even needed to add that beginning part, the world is just wayyy too cruel. I had a lot of issues as a baby, and the medicine that saved my life, also disconnected a retina permanently. So I relate to you so heavily, it’s a purely aesthetic thing, so i didn’t even realize it happened until I was bullied in middle school. Much love to you random stranger. ❤

[@mikaylaschroeder9698]

As I go through my diagnosis (recommended by my therapist) I’ve used Laios as an example of my thoughts and worldview when I struggle to portray them by myself. I’ll tell my psychologist about my experiences while using Laios and his experiences as bouncing boards

[@havocsTeacher]

I'm autistic and I (sarcastically) love when people say things like "this character isn't autistic, they're normal". Like what do you mean by that? 🤨

[@Ryogasempai]

Well an autistic person is literaly a neurodivergent, divergent from what? The norm, the majority the normal. I'm sure there are a lot of people who are self-diagnosed or have bad and lazy diagnoses, and I've seen it.

[@superdude10000]

Sure, but normal is relative. I've grown up around ND people all my life, and, y'know, am one. It isn't odd to me at all, I FEEL normal! So it doesn't describe the same thing between you and me. And what's the opposite of normal? Different is one word. A more negative one is weird. Normal is unspecific, introduces bias, and may piss off the person you're talking to depending on their different/weird split. Saying "they're not autistic, they're normal," while true in the sense of what words mean, is unspecific, and can be hurtful. I feel normal, y'know? I'm not an alien. So saying, like, "he's neurotypical" or "he's allistic" leaves no room for emotions or misinterpretation. I've never convinced anyone of this when I bring it up, but this is why I try not to use the word "normal."

[@anicrue]

People are people are people. What one person sees, another won't, and neither is objectively right or wrong. Truth is a community construction that is fallible and there are multiple layers of "reality," as in what is real. In the end, Laios' place on the spectrum is Schrodinger's cat, only there is no opening the box. Laios can be autistic or on the spectrum or neurotypical but the label doesn't matter, it is his experiences and story that can be coded and read in a thousand different ways. As said, the experience of feeling alien and being alienated for having a communication deficit is human, but some humans experience it in different ways or more often. Is he ND? Is he ace? Is he an expatriate/expat? Is he a minority interacting with the social hegemony or a majority group? Honestly, it doesn't matter the "reality" of the manga or anime or what Ryoko Kui intended because, in the end, he is a tool to explore an idea and these readings a new lens through which to look at them.

[@gfxb3177]

At least it's just your eyelid"s that's lazy. Me? My whole body

[@scruffy.househusband]

Thank you so much for making this video! I wish people could be less hostile to the idea that other people can interpret the same idea differently than they do, but alas we do not live in an ideal world. The reason that fandoms are able to keep pieces of media alive through time is because discussions take place about the media whether between fans among fans or fans and the author(s). Even if Kui does not see or agree with Laios having autism, that doesn't take away the fact that many neurodivergent people relate to him or any other character from the series. By watching your video analyzing autism through 3 different Dungeon Meshi characters, I felt more connected and seen than I ever have in my life by anyone. It gave me the courage to finally get diagnosed with autism and I am currently working to get some accommodations and social training to make my life a little bit less unbearable. I look forward to seeing more videos soon :)

[@MyopicMickey]

Prefacing this comment by saying I fully agree with you. However, I have to be A Fandom Old real quick. There was a time pre-Twitter where fans of a media only ever talked to creators at convention events or via fanmail. And we kinda just did whatever the hell we wanted with the interpretation of the characters. For good and bad. The overall internet culture was Significantly worse in a way that def included abelism. But we also didn't rely on any one specific interpretation of a character. I think we would gain more than we lose if we just... stopped requiring all valid takes to be Canon. Bc not all writers are going to give us representation. Some will! And that's awesome! But frankly, some writers aren't equipped to do it justice. Or are simply from a different culture. Laois' autism doesn't need to be canon for it to be important. It doesn't need to be canon to be as real as anything else from the show. It IS just drawings. ❤

[@dhaneharrison1230]

TLDR, twitter ruins everything.

[@justinlaw2999]

11:35 great point

[@Brenilla]

The whole cultural definition difrences angle is really interesting. Honestly its always bazzare to me how much of the anime community seems to forget their is such a diffrence beyond the general basics.

[@mens4000]

18:42 the pinnacle of this argument... For me at least.

[@jemleye]

Lots of talk about media literacy, but truly people in the internet era have overall difficulty with common discourse literacy. Like damn if anything can be twisted in one way or other to support your point in denying people a character to identify with because they have a weird boner for "normalcy", you damn well can believe they will twist the shit out of that.

[@Noah-tg3vf]

I'm autistic so obviously I'm gonna want to see him as such and thus there's a specific bias, but it really makes me happy seeing how much people love Laios. Whether he's on the spectrum or not, people love him. Not despite his weird personality and lack of social awareness but BECAUSE of it and that's amazing to me. The things he does that make people love him are things I do or did that made people around me avoid me bc I was weird (students were asked for a school newspaper what they were good at and my mom still has the clipping that shows young me with a quote saying "barking like a dog") So seeing how much people not only love Laios but how there's so many people who relate, it makes you feel a little less isolated. I always related more to the monsters in fiction, sure they cause destruction but usually only once humans did something to start it. I always hated the King Kong movies pre-monsterverse bc I never thought it was fair that Kong dies after having his home invaded, attacked, and then captured and after he's dies everyone is cheering and happy. This is the first time in a while (probably mob-psycho 100) that I've related to a human character on what feels like a deeper level than just thinking they're cool or wishing I could be like them. It kinda makes me think if Laios can be accepted by people for his love of monsters and goofy excited personality then maybe it's not so impossible for real people too.

[@_averageenjoyer_]

The way people try to police how an author's work should be read/ interpreted reminds me of the critisism that a lot of people in modern times lack media literacy. Just because you lack a specific personal or cultural context to interpert an author's work in some way that they may not have even intendent, doesn't make it wrong. I love seeing other people's interpretation of media. Reminds me of game theory in the early days coming up with often otlandish ideas especially around fnaf but I still loved them

[@trop3848]

I write stuff. Sometimes people see things in my work that weren't on my mind when I wrote it. Sometimes the things they find are chilling or offputting, sometimes they're beautiful, thoughtful, sensitive in ways I could never in my wildest throes of manic ego believe myself capable of. I almost never correct them. I share my own vision with them, but don't correct them. What I have given them are words, images, divorced in space and essence from my heart and soul. They read my works and find things within them that I didn't necessarily intend, but those things are true to them, they come from my readers own heart, their own soul, mingling and growing on something that came from mine. The story remains consistent even with those things (things that never even occurred to me) being true for the reader. Authorial intent only gets you so far when your reader, the one who has chosen to recieve and think on your work, has discovered a truth.

[@wizmizz]

i cant believe you got so much hate on the original video that you had to do a response vid. i loved everything about that video i dont understand how anyone could hate it

[@alflundgren8138]

Honestly, while its perfectly okay to have him as autistic in your personal headcannon, and in fact thats fantastic if you it helps make him more relatable or you get more from the show because of it, I still dont think you can argue that he canonically is autistic. I also think while he does have traits that are often associated with autistic people, and it is clear that autistic people relate to him, we shouldnt forget that there are non autistic people with the same quirks and traits that are associated with autism, and claiming anybody who has those traits IS autistic definitively erases those peoples existence to some degree. Loved both videos regardless of my disagreement though, and again, if nothing else im glad that people are finding ways to relate. Thats what storytelling is about after all.

[@eh9618]

17:20 ey, OSP red reference!

[@Dominik-K]

Yo

[@Meatpieman]

Freaking love laios, and all the characters, any other person’s opinion genuinely would not change a thing for my love or relation to them. I LOVE THIS SHOW!!!

[@theradioactiveplayer3461]

to anyone who may not happen to know: the "So, yeah" bit is from Overly Sarcastic Productions' videos

[@Axolotled88]

There is no way I’m this early loved the first vid btw

[@CherryNah]

The neurodivergent reading of Laois is nice but people pushing so much on it... it's a little too much at times (as you said you know who get angry when saying he is autistic, I found some who get angry when saying you identify with him becauae you are not autistic and you 'don't understand '... Same goes about the Falin and Marcille relationship 😢). We should accept different interpretation (the work/art goes independent once created and is free for open readings even all 'wrong' from the author's original view). I'm not autistic and I'm just as Laois in the part of reading people (an other things haha since it right about the universal struggles)... I understand my short ability on it cuz I didn't had many interaction with 'friends' when I was growing and now as a grown up, there isn't much time to socialize because everyone got their life. 😂 I have to be very direct about many things when trying to befriend and socialite and for others THAT is strange haha

[@jeremyvoss4461]

Plus, I think the fact that some autistic-coded behaviors are seen as kinda “normal” is sort of the point. Neurodiversity means recognizing that everything that happens in our brain is kind of normal and just happens in everyone to vastly varying degrees.

[@JustStartingOut]

Your voice is very nice and your video on dungeon meshi was really interesting

[@damiancaballero7660]

in my heart he is, and every time i see fanart of him, i see him like that also, and in the future when i remember him, he will still be an autistic man. it’s just how i enjoy the character and how i connected with him. i honestly haven’t thought of kabru as autistic, but after your first video it became obvious to me, so now he is also autistic in my heart