Why I Ship Benten - Speculations Galore

valvravetruth said:
Interesting, but what do you think of the picture slides in the ending song? It is implying Nidaime and Benten...

Shakabutt said:
I got 10$ on that being Akadama. The figure doesnt really match Nidaime and you can see his gray hair when Yasaburo watches them.

valvravetruth said:
Interesting, but what do you think of the picture slides in the ending song? It is implying Nidaime and Benten...

JokerxHisoka said:
If I were in his place, I'm not sure I would be okay with dating the person that killed my father

Takuan_Soho said:


Well to be fair she only ate him - and it seems as if she purchased him legally. It was the Uncle that really killed the father.

But it has already been established that Tanuki don't have any hard feelings towards humans for eating them, for them it's just another way of dying. Seems weird for us, but in a world where their are shape changing Tanuki and Tengu, I guess it's just to be expected - it's their natural order.

Plus I have a feeling that Benten joined the Friday Friends in large part to spite Yasaburo, but that is going to have to be covered in the next 6 episodes.

Takuan_Soho said:


Well to be fair she only ate him - and it seems as if she purchased him legally. It was the Uncle that really killed the father.

But it has already been established that Tanuki don't have any hard feelings towards humans for eating them, for them it's just another way of dying. Seems weird for us, but in a world where their are shape changing Tanuki and Tengu, I guess it's just to be expected - it's their natural order.

Plus I have a feeling that Benten joined the Friday Friends in large part to spite Yasaburo, but that is going to have to be covered in the next 6 episodes.

Bluefeld said:


Wait, I just read this. How did you mean, spite Yasaburo? What had he done to her to get her to spite him? (This is a real question; maybe there's something I didn't notice) I always get the feeling Benten sees Yasaburo as an amusing child, not her equal, not someone worthy of her spite, like Nidaime.

BTW : Hi, Takuan Soho. 😊 Remember me? I used to be Tolfest. Just logged in here again a few days ago.

Bluefeld said:
: Hi, Takuan Soho. 😊 Remember me? I used to be Tolfest. Just logged in here again a few days ago.

JokerxHisoka said:
I doubt she even knew who he was on the first season.

Takuan_Soho said:


That is just wrong. The first episode last season showed that before Akadama was crippled Yasaburo because his disciple and he met Benten then. Later at the bar scene, when Yasaburo chided Benten for not visiting Akadama he said it was their fault he was crippled (had to do with tricking him with a fake tree). So yes, they knew each other for a very long time, and they have a very deep and troubled relationship (as the kiss showed).

Takuan_Soho said:

As for Spite - my theory is that Benten is in love with Yasaburo, but because of his guilt in crippling Akadama (mentioned back in the first season), he won't return the favor (though it's clear he's in love with her as well). Another part is that he doesn't truly recognize his own power, so he views her as being too far above him, he mentions that too much, and this blockage is what the Grandmother hinted at.

Since Yasaburo is scorning Benten, she does have some spite towards him.

Clues, every time Benten meets Yasaburo she asks him (did you miss me) or (aren't you happy to see me) or whatever, again this episode (you would come all this way to meet me). Last season she gazes sadly up at the moon, this season she commented on how beautiful Yasaburo's moon was.

Also Akadama is jealous of Yasaburo, from not giving him a blessing back at the end of last season to trying to find out if she wrote him at the beginning of this season, you can see his is aware of something between them. He also subtly plays on Yasaburo's guilt a lot.

HatsumiShinogu said:


I can see that you're a big fan of Yasaburo-Benten. :D Well, I'm not trying to disagree with you here as your theory might be in place. I think it's very obvious both Yasaburo and Benten are interested in each other and there's some kind of attraction between the two but whether both of them have feelings for the other is yet to be seen. It's clearly obvious that Yasaburo is infatuated with Benten and she's clearly interested in him but we still don't know for sure the nature of this interest.

Kaisei is already aware of Yasaburo's feelings for Benten and obviously she's not happy about it. She thinks Yasaburo is an idiot for falling for the woman who ate his father. Oh, well. People are stupid when it comes to matters of the heart, I guess.

Shipping aside, aren't people interested to know why Souichiro wanted Yasaburo for Kaisei and not any of his other sons? Yajiro already made it clear to his father that he wants Kaisei but Souichiro still chose Yasaburo for her. I, for one, would love to know the truth but I guess this won't be revealed yet.

HowTragic said:
While we're on the topic of the ED, it's pretty clear that it follows the perspective of Yasaburo, esp. given some of the descriptions of Benten that a fellow tengu would be hard-pressed to use. That being said, it's unlikely that it'll ever be realized. This isn't some low-key moral lesson about love transcending all boundaries and impossibilities surreptitiously disguised as a late-night children's cartoon. If anything, the melancholy of yearning for an unrealizable, unrequitable love fits more along the whimsical and iconoclastic story-telling that this series is known for.

So who does Benten end up with? If anyone, then Nidaime is probably at the top, and I reckon that's what Kaisei was hinting at when she sighed and told Yasaburou that he was a fool for believing Benten had Nidaime on her mind constantly because of "rage". But I'd be surprised if she officially ends up with anyone. This never struck me as a romance anime, but much more as a "use romance as a tool to see a bunch of interesting reactions and behaviors". Every major character gets played like a fool in the end - now wouldn't that be an appropriate ending.

Bluefeld said:

Soichiro only found out Yajiro had a thing for Kaisei hours before he died. I think had he lived, he prolly would've done something about it. Kaisei & Yasaburo were initially betrothed prolly because they were closer in age. I mean, if Yasaburo has never once seen Kaisei, then they were prolly betrothed as babies, so I don't think Soichiro picked Yasaburo from his other sons for personality or compatibility reasons.

I do wonder why Kaisei is so insistent on Yasaburo not seeing her. In her mind, is it like the way a bride isn't to be seen by the groom, and that she still thinks the two of them will marry one day?

HatsumiShinogu said:


Um, I highly doubt Souichiro chose Yasaburo for Kaisei because they're close in age and just a whim of a father. I believe there's a much bigger reason. Anyway, I could be wrong but this is what I think.

I, too, wonder why Kaisei refuses to show herself in front of Yasaburo. It could be as you said that she still thinks they will get married one day but who knows. I personally think that she likes Yasaburo.

Bluefeld said:


Wait, wasn't there a dialogue where they said something like Soichiro betrothed the 2 but nobody knows the reason why? I think there was, do you recall which episode it happened in?

Now if they actually said "nobody knows the reason why Soichiro picked Yasaburo", then you might have a point. I'm gonna look for that episode....

HatsumiShinogu said:


I don't really remember which episode but it was in the first season. It has been ages since I saw it, so I'm not sure which episode it is. And yes, they definitely mentioned that there's a reason why Souichiro chose Yasaburo for Kaisei but nobody knows it. And since Soun hates Souichiro, he had to go and nullify the betrothal thing. Since it was something arranged by their fathers, I don't think Yasaburo felt strongly about it. Add to that that he's more infatuated with Benten and the fact that he never saw Kaisei. Can't wait to know what the reason is.

Bluefeld said:

Found it. Seas 1 ep 9, intro monologue before opening credits :
"As for why my father would have arranged for Soun's daughter Kaisei and I to be engaged, I suppose I'll never know. To me it seemed like utter insanity."

So I think the issue sounds more like why Dad arranged the engagement, instead of why Dad picked me instead of my brothers.

Here's what Yajiro said in seas 1 ep 8 : "I had fallen into an unrequitable love. Why was it unrequitable? Well, the tanuki I loved was awfully young."

Same ep, Yajiro-Soichiro dialogue :
"But Father, does that mean I have no choice but to endure this?"
"I'll see what I can do. I don't know if this will work or not, but for the time being, leave everything to me. Be patient for a bit."

So I believe Soichiro had a plan to do something so Yajiro wouldn't keep suffering. Too bad he died right after.

If I had to play matchmaker, I think Benten is bad for Yasaburo 'cause he can't keep her in check. Everyone in the series is her plaything. Except Nidaime. She needs someone like this.

Kaisei cares about Yasaburo, she's his constant rescuer. The 2 haven't had chance for romance yet, and he certainly has no feelings for her now, but I think they'd be great for each other. But if they do end up together, Yajiro would hurt.

Yaichiro & Gyokuran's set and good to go, though.

HatsumiShinogu said:


Ah, so maybe it really was just a whim on Souchiro's part and he wanted to wed Yasaburo and Kaisei since they're closer in age. Since he was willing to change the arrangement for Yajiro's sake, then it really must not have been a big issue. But again, since he died, maybe it wasn't meant to happen?

I believe Kaisei likes Yasaburo and maybe she's jealous of Benten since she knows Yasaburo likes her. Well, maybe this is just me. There's also a chance Kaisei likes Yajiro but I kind of doubt it. I think Yajiro already gave up on Kaisei but who knows what will happen if he's finally able to turn into his human form. I do believe Yajiro will support it if he realizes that Kaisei likes Yasaburo, though. It would be sad for him but I'm all for Yasaburo-Kaisei.

tropicaldaruma said:


I do think Kaisei likes Yasaburo, but I don't think she's in love with him yet, because she doesn't seem pained about Yasaburo-Benten situation. Yajiro is clearly in pain about Kaisei. Yasaburo too, seems a little in pain about Benten, and he's said this too. Kaisei seems still childlike with regards to such emotions.

Hmm, but this gave me an idea (and this may not be true, but just a thought ) :
What if Soichiro did manage to do something about Yajiro's situation? After all, he did go on to meet with Soun after his meeting with Yajiro. And after he died, Soun did come to the family to cancel the 2 kids' engagement. Also, for him to die with such an important matter unresolved (this is about the emotional wellbeing of his 2nd son), you'd think his ghost would've passed on a message or a request to Akadama when they met in that restaurant. So, just a thought, but if this turns out to be true, then Soun must've been intentionally honoring the last request of the brother he murdered, by canceling the engagement.

HatsumiShinogu said:


This might be the case but I guess we'll never know. For now, we didn't see any interaction between Yajiro and Kaisei except for him mentioning that she visits him sometimes, but there's a chance it could still happen. Now that the engagement is called off, Kaisei can go and marry any other man/tanuki, right? But let's say that Souichiro did manage to do something about it before his death, it's still up to Kaisei who she wants to marry, right?

leve1 said:
I want to ship Benten and Yasaburo as well, but it seems pretty obvious to me that Benten likes Nidaime. They dropped a couple of hints of this in the show.

At the end of the first season where Yasaburo was praying, Benten comes in and says that she has a lot of things she wants to wish for. Yasaburo responds by saying that if she is too greedy, she won't be able to obtain any of the wishes, which prompts Benten to make a wish that she wants to meet the one she is destined for. Then right at the start of the second season she goes to London to meet Nidaime. Although we don't know what actually happened yet, I feel like she went to London to try to obtain her wish.

During the Benten and Nidaime fight, where Benten loses and falls down. We later see Yasaburo reflect that when he saw Benten charge towards Nidaime, her expression filled his chest with an indescribable sorrow. He said that he knew Benten would lose to Nidaime at that point. I take this as him realizing at that moment that Benten has feelings for Nidaime, which is why she couldn't fight him seriously and lost. This is also similar to how Gyokuran purposely lost to Yaichiro in the shogi match.

There is also that scene where Kaisei called Yasaburo a fool for believing Benten had Nidaime on her mind because of "rage". To me, it feels like Kaisei is insinuating that Benten had Nidaime on her mind for other reasons.

Also, there is this very strange sexual tension between Benten and Nidaime every time they are interacting. Personally I can't imagine Benten being interested in anyone who is not stronger than her. They seem to fit pretty well together... we have Benten who is a human pretending to be a tengu, and then we have Nidaime who is a tengu pretending to be a human. He is the only so far that has been able to best her.

But of course this doesn't mean that Benten will end up with Nidaime. This seems very much like a one sided love, which would explain her frustration. She has grown up with all these men being infatuated with her, and then comes Nidaime who doesn't give a shit about her. You know how they say girls want what they can't get.