Kris-hawkins - In The Stars

Never will understand people who hate the majority of Rin's friends in Aoex. Like I have characters I'm not 100% into, but when the story focuses on them it's never boring. This series is so well written with some of the best characters I've encountered in manga that to dislike or hate one is just... so weird to me.

Oops, I dropped my fav pokemon in color 🫢

More close up !

Fathers

wtf is komamura's whole deal species wise? I never understood it

WOW this is an excellent question, because even though we technically have an answer, it’s never really made much sense to me either. First off, I want to acknowledge that it is stated in several sources that Komamura is an anthropomorphic wolf. His character profile says he is a wolf. In KaraBuri+ it also says he is a wolf (although many people mistake him for a dog). If you were looking for the straightforward answer, I suggest you stop reading here. I know that Komamura is a wolf, but am choosing to do this the hard way, using SCIENCE to find a more definitive answer. (I say this, as if I actually know how to wield science to do anything.) Strap yourselves in, because this is a long one.

Komamura identifies as a wolf, although I don’t think he looks much like what you would stereotypically imagine as a Wolf™. However, we know that phenotype/morphology isn’t always the most indicative of species identification since there’s so much variation, and we don’t have much to compare to. That, and he’s not a true wolf anyway, being some kind of wolfman/werewolf. But also, wolves/dogs/canids come in all sorts of shapes and colors. 

We’ll start off by looking at the history of wolves in Japan. Sadly, the Japanese wolf went extinct in the early 20th century due to disease, deforestation, and policies that allowed wolves to be hunted. Honestly the wikipedia page on the Japanese wolf is actually really interesting, and I suggest you give it a perusal for some interesting tidbits on Japanese history and wolf trivia you can use to impress your friends. Science also has an interesting article on the Japanese wolf and history of dogs, which is a little easier to consume.

Of note, the Japanese mainland was inhabited by two types of canids: the wolf (ookami) and mountain dog (yamainu). The ookami was described as “a devouring animal, the body of a greyish-brown colour, the long tail ash-coloured with a white tip; the lower jaws also white-spotted. The mouth wide, the teeth quasi in double rows, perfectly shaped for holding the prey. The eyes appear triangular, sparkling at night. The toes are webbed, so it swims well pursuing and catching deer in the water.” Meanwhile, the yamainu is “very similar to the Ookame [sic], usually yellowish-brown and sometimes speckled; the toes are not webbed and its claws are hollow? Usually it is lean and stinks like waterfowl.”

Due to some poor record keeping and a mix up of specimens however, there is some confusion about which canid is which. If we're going purely off looks though, I feel like Komamura looks more like a wild dog? Plus, his grandfather has long shaggy fur and kind of looks like he could be the ancestor to the Japanese spitz? Look, time is Jeremy Bearimy and we don’t know at what point the timelines might have intersected for the gene pool of modern dog breeds, but I’m saying it’s a possibility.

Note: I feel like Kubo does not know what a dog looks like nor did he use references, because dog shoulders/arms do not work like that.

Recently scientists have been using CT scans and mitochondrial DNA testing of existing specimens (of which there are very few) to describe the Japanese wolf. Interestingly, they have some genes in common with modern Japanese dogs breeds, suggesting there was some interbreeding at some point. Unfortunately we cannot do a CT scan on Komamura, nor can we get a sample of his mitochondrial DNA. We also don’t have a good reference specimen with which to compare his appearance. So what can we examine to determine what he is?

The closest structure that we can examine is TEETH. Luckily for us, one Komamura gets rid of that bucket helmet, there are plenty of instances where he shows his teeth.

In order to provide you with some context, let’s first talk about canid teeth in general. The dental formula for most canines (including wolves and dogs) is incisors (I) 3/3, canines (C) 1/1, premolars (P) 4/4, molars (M) 2/3. The slash indicates upper jaw/lower jaw. This formula is for only one side of the jaw, and the same formula holds for the other side. This means canids generally have 42 teeth (21 teeth on each side of the mouth). Importantly, the maxillary (lower jaw) fourth premolar (P4) and the mandibular (upper jaw) first molar (M1) of canids are modified to oppose each other and maximize the shearing efficiency when biting into prey. The modified teeth are called carnassial teeth.

According to Endo et al. (1997) the Japanese wolf has a very large M1 compared to the Akita (dog). We have nothing to compare to in the Bleach universe, but let’s assume that M1 will be prominent. 

Now that we know all this stuff, we can finally look at some pictures of Komamura!

I want to discuss the appalling lack of of consistency and regard for normal anatomy in the anime. At first I tried to get anime screencaps to use as reference, but then I saw THIS offensive picture and immediately got angry and stopped looking.

DO YOU SEE WHAT’S WRONG HERE?? Do you see that unicorn incisor in the middle of the mouth??? We already discussed dental formula and you’ll notice that teeth are mirrored in the mouth, with the same number of teeth on the left as on the right. They come in PAIRS. I can’t think of any animals that naturally have any teeth that are not paired. Even narwhals have paired teeth (the horn is a modified left canine). So this tooth sticking out in the middle is EGREGIOUS.

Moving onto the manga screenshots…

Honestly… I don’t know what’s going on here. We start off ok with that volume cover where it appears Kubo used a reference. I see (I) 3/3, (C) 1/1, and the first few premolars on the bottom. But then... looking at the side profiles... It doesn’t look like any kind of canid mouth I’ve seen. Definitely doesn’t seem to follow the dental formula and the number of teeth seem to change. All the teeth are so sharp…? Where are the premolars and molars? Especially the carnassials, which as we learned, are the hallmark of a canine mouth? If you ask me, these almost look like shark teeth…? Shark teeth fall out/are replaced constantly. Could this explain why Komamura seems to have different numbers of teeth at different times...?

The upper and lower jaws of the blue shark Prionace glauca.

Turns out, looking at Komamura’s dentition didn’t actually give us many answers… Apparently we’ll have to take his word for it that he’s a wolf. Although personally I think he might be closer to a wild dog and I think there’s some evidence for it too, at least going by his appearance. And maybe he’s part shark too??

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If you’d like a more philosophical and in depth take on the wolfmen of Bleach, I highly suggest you check out this post by @littleeyesofpallas, because it explains much more than I could ever hope to. 

And as it turns out, someone already realized that Komamura has some really messed up teeth, and tried to fix it. Honestly, that fix soothes my soul.

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So, what did we learn about Komamura? … nothing really. But LOL we took a journey to get here and learned a bunch of other things along the way (maybe?).

Btw I did some legit research for this ask and if you’re curious about any of the papers I referenced/linked/read in preparation, please DM me and I’ll send them to you! I considered formatting this like a research paper and providing a separate references page but I decided to spare y’all.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Returned with a surprise art.

I hope you are showing appreciation to your dad or father figure.

I haven't had much motivation to make art, but I did want to make art for Father's day again.