When I first saw iko karaoke i thought this series was gonna be another yaoi bait genre akin to something like "buddy daddies" or "my new boss is goofy" but after finishing iko famiresu, I think it's something completely different. At the end when satomi tries to give kyoji the money, he says he wants to be able to reach the starting line. He's acknowledging the elephant in the room, that despite whatever connection they have, he's still a child. Satomi needs to have his own life & experiences before he can stand on equal ground with kyoji. The whole series kyoji has been paying for all the expenses during their meetings, of course, because hes THE adult. But this is the first thing satomi is paying for. This is satomi taking the first step over the starting line. But because of his feelings for kyoji, he cant keep going if he's constantly looking over his shoulder for approval. So he needs space to run & trip & fall & get back up on his own. Thats why I kinda really love this ending. Like, sure, maybe in another 10 years when satomi is 30 & kyoji is 50 something could work out, but where we're left at, it kind of spits in the face of the BL principle that the best ending is the one where they end up together. It treats the characters like real people forming real human connections & not like dolls under the archetypes of "protective bad boy" and "petite nerd" that you mash together for your own amusement.
When I first saw iko karaoke i thought this series was gonna be another yaoi bait genre akin to something like "buddy daddies" or "my new boss is goofy" but after finishing iko famiresu, I think it's something completely different.
At the end when satomi tries to give kyoji the money, he says he wants to be able to reach the starting line. He's acknowledging the elephant in the room, that despite whatever connection they have, he's still a child. Satomi needs to have his own life & experiences before he can stand on equal ground with kyoji.
The whole series kyoji has been paying for all the expenses during their meetings, of course, because hes THE adult. But this is the first thing satomi is paying for. This is satomi taking the first step over the starting line. But because of his feelings for kyoji, he cant keep going if he's constantly looking over his shoulder for approval. So he needs space to run & trip & fall & get back up on his own.
Thats why I kinda really love this ending. Like, sure, maybe in another 10 years when satomi is 30 & kyoji is 50 something could work out, but where we're left at, it kind of spits in the face of the BL principle that the best ending is the one where they end up together. It treats the characters like real people forming real human connections & not like dolls under the archetypes of "protective bad boy" and "petite nerd" that you mash together for your own amusement.