ok ok i have a whole essay abt this in my drafts but i do want to talk about it a LITTLE here.

i am obsessed with how childish raikou’s movements are in the manga. he’s leaning over the table towards ichiki (a person who very much outranks him) as casually as he would do with one of his peers.

anime raikou would never DREAM of doing this. he acts almost as gau’s other half, mature and confident where gau is not (but that’s a whole different essay). anime raikou is consistently poised, consistently collected. he’s never at ease when he’s in the vicinity of his superiors. he has the guise of adulthood down to an art.

manga raikou is not as poised. he gives off the same confident vibe as anime raikou, and it’s clear he does want to have that adult façade, but he can slip into childish behavior every so often (see: falling asleep while gau is talking, drinking tea with his elbows on the table).

i’ll stop talking about this because i’ll totally get carried away if i don’t. keep scrolling <3