Yo-kai Watch has included some fun, mini-episodes throughout it’s airing focusing on individual yokai in interesting situations. For a while there was a mini-episode series entitled, Komasan, Movin on Up (Komasan Shīzun 2 Inakamono wa Bara-iro ni) which followed everyone’s favorite yokai with flames on his head, Komasan, as he suddenly skyrockets through the Dandai corporation moving up from Janitor to CEO in rapid fashion.
In the process, Komasan’s free time appears to disappear. He spends less and less time at home. He also spends less and less time with his brother Komajiro. As Komasan realizes what he’s lost, he has a choice to make. Does he continue on effectively running Dandai with the stress, but also the perks of being a wildly successful businessman? Or does he give it up to go back to the simple life he had with his brother? It’s a hard choice, one we all face at times in life.
In these mini-episodes, Komasan really is struggling to figure out what to do. Yes, it’s a challenge, but oddly enough while stressed, Komasan is incredibly capable of doing the job of CEO. It seems weird as he’s…an anthropomorphic komainu (lion dog) who doesn’t always have a great understanding of the culture around him in the big city. Yet, here he is running a major toy company. Yet, in his heart he knows something is missing. That something is time with his brother, his only family he has nearby. By accepting and continuing this position, he is losing the relationship he had with his brother. He’s losing his family by prioritizing this job over all else.
What do we set as our priority? Our priorities in life give us a great indication into the heart of a person. If a person prioritizes fashion, money, fame, sex, anime, or any number of things before things like family, health, or God – they are revealing themselves and what they really worship. In the end, people who put those things first are idolizing those items and place their worship in themselves or in those items.
Now, I know I’ve spoken about idolatry in an everyday sense before, so I won’t belabor the point. But, in this situation, we see Komasan missing something important – family.
We all need family and have an innate desire to belong. Sometimes that family is where we’re born, surrounded by those who love us. Sometimes that family is found through a spouse and joined through marriage. Sometimes a family is chosen through the blessing of adoption. Sometimes a family is chosen through friendship. In each case, we crave the connection that is found in family. We desire that closeness, that bond of family that brings us joy and love.
As Christians, we have a huge family – a family that we are adopted into through the blood of Christ. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross adopts us into His family. It’s why many Christians refer to their fellow church members as their brothers and sisters in Christ. In the church, we can feel like a family. There is a bond there that is greater than just simple friendship. It is a bond forged through the souls through our Savior. It is an eternal connection to one another through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The family bond is one Komasan misses and he realizes his priorities were misplaced. He gives up the job and never looks back. He walks back to his brother, sitting on a street corner eating what he could scrape together and the two share a meal together as they used to. The family bond was restored between the two brothers and I was glad to see it happen.
- A Farewell to Dr. STONE - 03.07.2022
- Newman’s Nook: Bakuman and Women - 01.28.2022
- Manga Review: Fist of the North Star, Volume 2 - 11.23.2021
[…] Por MRNewman […]