Humans do make the same mistakes over and over - it is a part of human nature. What's the old saying? If you fall off a horse you get back on and try again? If you did not get back on, how would you ever learn to ride? Same thing for many other human experiences.
Then there's another old saying stating you learn from your mistakes. Sure, I won't argue that it's possible to repeat past blunders again despite that, but I just felt like Akihito's case kinda suspended my disbelief a bit too much. Don't get me wrong, I still adore him :)
There is getting back on the horse and learning how to ride, and then there is doing the same thing over and over without learning and expecting a different result. Aki tends to make the exact same mistakes over and over without learning from it at all.
What exact same mistakes is he making?
Sudoh did put the idea in Akis head and yea Aki thought about it and he still left him. The only reason he went home was because he got into another fight and was put in jail. Now in that moment I was so proud of Aki for protecting that old man but still Asami balled him out and I think he would have gone home but he would have been MIA for a few weeks. They have a unsteady and passionate relationship but I'm so tired of all the blame being on Asami Asami is not perfect neither is Aki they both fuck up. And let's face it they both love each other. And we live them for their messed up flaws
Okay - how about someone doing their job ... like say a fireman. If he runs into one building on fire, is that going to stop him from doing it a second time or a third? Or a reporter - who goes to dangerous places to do their job again and again? (Akihito is in a danger filled job and he is still young, trusting and naive - the big appeal to his personality for Asami)
What mistakes did he make that were the exact same? If you are referring to the drugging - once was by his lover and once by someone he wanted to rescue.
Kidnapping? Once he went with people he thought belonged to Asami, once he was blackmailed by his friends being held hostage (here he escaped by turning the table on them), once he was trying to help Asami out by giving him Feilongs' location, and once he was drugged by someone he tried to rescue - who then sent him off with Sudou. What is exactly the same about ANY of these situations other than the fact that he pokes his nose into dangerous situations? He is an adrenaline junkie who works at a risky job (real life reporters have been held hostage numerous times - does that mean they should quit their jobs?)
What mistakes does he repeat? Mostly he trusts everyone as if they were all honest even when he knows they are dishonest, and he never looks for traps. This theme is repeated over and over. I understand it shows he has a pure heart but you can be nice and still get a clue every so often.
In the very first story, Aki trusted a cop who he thought was his friend. He already chose a business where he would be photographing crime and other shady affairs, so he should know a little something about the darker side of human nature--but after the cop betrayed him and he knew he was being used, he should be on guard for that. Yet he was still Fielong's pawn, and the new photographer's pawn, and the sleazy club owner's pawn, and Sudou's pawn...etc.--all because he never learns to be wary of others using him.
Aki was drugged once when Asami uncharacteristically gave him a drink in circumstances were it would benefit Asami if Aki took a nap (and he should have known Asami was cable of that since Asami had Aki drugged in the first story too). However, when the "actress" offers him a drink in strange circumstances, it never occurs to him a secret sex worker may drug him for sticking his nose into whatever was going on. Of course he thought he was rescuing the girl--but it was very clear she didn't need rescuing, and that should have raised huge red flags for a reporter who is used to investigating dangerous situations.
Aki always reacts to what others say and do without thinking things through and questioning their motives. For example, he reacts to Sudou's taunts about how he should chose work or being Asami's pet and never questions why Sudou is saying such things and how it may benefit Sudou. I don't think it's stupid for Aki to question the relationship and leave---but I do think it's stupid to do it on cue without looking at the person who is setting him up as a pawn. It's the fact that he does it on Sudou's time instead of his own that annoys me--and that he never sees Sudou as suspect for it.
I don't think Aki is wrong for running into danger. I think he is stupid to do it blindly without thinking things through, and that he needs to see the big picture. He never seems to learn that there is more going on and that others may try to use him. He's brave for doing his job. He's brave for doing what's right. He has a good heart. But he refuses to learn, and that is stupid.
I will add that Aki did tell Asami that he'd lost his key--but not that he gave it to Sudou. He should have mentioned that, since I think Asami would have been suspicious of why Sudou would need or want his key.
So - he should not have trusted a police officer that he has known for years? And should not try to get along with co-workers - even if they rip-him off on occasion?
Akihito's character is that of a soul that is trusting (or at least willing to forgive people who do thing that are wrong, he is impulsive and anxious to please. There are many people who have this sort of personality, this does not make them stupid - it makes them hopeful that perhaps that someone can change if people are nice enough to them (witness how he won over Fei Long in the end). People who are unforgiving are the types who start conflicts instead of resolving them. People who are suspicious of everyone they meet live in isolation.
Get real, I have seen Akihito's personality type again and again in manga, fiction and real life. And very few of them have been called stupid for being that way.
I'm not saying Aki should not have trusted the police officer. I am saying that he should have learned from the betrayal. Now that he has had that experience, he should question people's motives and avoid being used by others. Also, there is a difference between getting along with coworkers and being used by them. Aki is being used, and he falls for it again and again.
I agree that Aki is a trusting soul and he sees the good in people. I agree it won over Feilong. I still think it is stupid not to learn from past mistakes. I don't mean he has to be paranoid about everything, just that he should know that some people will use him if he lets them, and he should start looking out for himself if he is going to rush headlong into dangerous situations as a career. He doesn't have to start conflict or live in isolation. He merely needs to wise up and start looking at the big picture.
Aki's personality is more extremely trusting than most, and his lack of adaptation after being fooled repeatedly seems unrealistic to me. The only time I have seen anyone as extremely trusting and unwilling to learn from the past in real life is when that person had a developmental disability--and for them it was okay and I do not judge them. But for someone who is able to learn and does not, that is a fault. I don't mean he has to be paranoid, only that when you work and live in dangerous situations, you need to start thinking about potential traps and protecting yourself from being used. He is trying to make a living by tracking down criminals and photographing them. Maybe he needs to consider the fact that some criminals may not be nice people.
I still like Aki overall--it's just annoying that he never gets a clue when he is walking into a trap or being used.
But ESPECIALLY with that kind of job he should know better. And ESPECIALLY since he's been around Asami and the underworld for a while now he should have caught on about one thing or the other, like for example that not everyone is what they seem like, that people often have ulterior motives to benefit themselves, the list goes on. If he wants to work in that field he doesn't only need determination and bravery, he also needs a certain level of caution and wit to stay one step ahead of the people he is dealing with. The way he's handling things at the present time he's not cut out for the job. Diving into things that appear too big for your britches isn't necessarily a bad thing in that field of work, you can try and gain something against the odds...but honestly, you can't just do it haphazardly, you need to think things through, you need something that gives you the ABILITY to defy the odds in the first place; Akihito doesn't, he just overestimates himself. He is chanceless like that. I do understand that it make shim a pure soul and all that, but even a pure soul can exercise caution. Trusting people isn't a bad thing, but if you trust people to the extent Akihito does, especially given the environment, you're simply digging your own grave.
I Iike your sense but have we learnt about aki's childhood yet maybe there's a back story (hopefully)
You have to think like a normal guy, he doesn't want to KILL anyone
I would like to know more about his childhood For example, if he has parents, why are they not helping him out or checking in on him every so often? For a while, I thought he was an orphan, and that the police officer from the first story had kind of taken him in or something. I also want to know why he wants to do the sort of photography he chose, instead of say artistic photos in a gallery. Backstory would be great.
Omg I accidentally pushed annoying, sorry, hopefully they do a back story it'd be exciting to know
He does say at some point (and I can't find it right now) that he wants to do the kind of photography his father does but he does all of these other types of photography because he's just starting out. It's also stated that his father helped him figure out what he wanted to do after his turbulent teen years. He thinks about his parents during the Naked Truth arc and in the New Year's short there are a couple of clues. When his friends see Asami's name on his phone and assume it's a girl, he says no, it's his mother, so we know he has his mother as a contact on his phone. We also know that his friends know his mother's name and know it's not Asami. So his friends also know his mother which suggests a close relationship.
Let's talk about him winning over Fei Long. That's a pretty big deal. That was a deadly situation. By Fei Long's intent, someone wasn't coming out of that one alive. Even Mikhail assumed that Asami had pretty much walked into a death trap on Fei Long's ship.
But through the very aspect of his personality that you dislike, Akihito was able to diffuse the situation, to calm the extremely highly strung Fei Long and get him to see sense. If the Russians hadn't taken over, the exchange of the deed for Akihito would have taken place without incident and there would have been no bloodshed and that would all have been due to Akihito and his trusting, caring personality.
As it turned out, he still managed to mediate between Asami and Fei Long and keep them from killing each other. And remember what he had been through at that point. He had just been shot, had been beaten, been on the run for his life, and yet he could still stand up for his own morals and say "Enough" and make people hear him.
I really don't get this insistence that he's some kind of dolt wandering helplessly through this story. It is Akihito's unique nature that drives, alters and uplifts this story.
Winning over Feilong was a big deal, but Aki didn't do it with the aspect of his personality I dislike. He did it with the parts I admire--his good heart and positive nature. What I don't like is his inability to learn from past mistakes, think things through to look for traps and not let others use him as a pawn so often. It is possible to have a good heart *and* still think thinks through and look at the big picture. It is possible to learn not to let others use you without becoming completely bitter and cynical. It is possible to set boundaries and protect yourself when you work in a dangerous situations and still be a good person.
Let me say again that I like Aki overall. He has an good heart and his cheerful enthusiasm makes others like him too. But he repeats the same mistakes of not seeing obvious traps over and over instead of learning from his experience--and that is annoying. He can keep his good heart and still learn to use his brain a little bit.
There is an old saying: fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. You can have a good heart and not be a fool.
Winning over Feilong was a big deal, but Aki didn't do it with the aspect of his personality I dislike. He did it with the parts I admire--his good heart and positive nature. What I don't like is his inability to learn from past mistakes, think things through to look for traps and not let others use him as a pawn so often. It is possible to have a good heart *and* still think things through and look at the big picture. It is possible to learn not to let others use you without becoming completely bitter and cynical. It is possible to set boundaries and protect yourself when you work in a dangerous situations and still be a good person.
Let me say again that I like Aki overall. He has an good heart and his cheerful enthusiasm makes others like him too. But he repeats the same mistakes of not seeing obvious traps over and over instead of learning from his experience--and that is annoying. He can keep his good heart and still learn to use his brain a little bit.
There is an old saying: fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. You can have a good heart and not be a fool.
We commented about our like and dislike about Asami Ryuichi . What do you like and dislike about Takaba Akihito beside the obvious we already know about.