On Kadoya Tsukasa and whether there is no character development in Decade

[gekidasa]

I've been thinking a lot over the weekend about the whole Decade = anniversary gimmick thing, and... well, it IS true that there is just not enough time or opportunities to REALlY explore deeper themes the way Agito, Faiz or Blade do, and that overall, it does end up being a series about awesome nostalgia moments and all, but...

Thinking about Tsukasa's journey during the past month's episodes... well, I just have to say that anyone that still thinks there's NO character development in Decade is just not paying attention.

I mean, yes, it's been subtle, and so very much of it is through Ma-kun's performance that a lot of it would be lost if, say, Mizushima Hiro himself (who may be a japanese Johnny Depp, and is very pretty, but is just not that good at subtly conveying emotions... lol, don't kill me, HIro fans! I like the guy, I really do :D;;;) was the one playing Tsukasa. But just, compare the self-absorved, absolutely oblivious douchebag from the beginning (SPECIALLY from Kuuga's world) with the guy that Tsukasa has become. Yes, he's still a dick, yes, he's still arrogant and self-absorved... but he's also changed, little by little. He no longer sees other people as cardboard props or pawns to be moved around (which he totally used to). He's become invested in people, he's learned to empathize, and he's learned to care and on occassion, usually when it most counts, he's learned to put others before himself.

Yes, I'm on a MASSIVE Tsukasa love fest right now, why do you ask? :D