I think there are some really interesting points here, especially when you also take into account some of the supports you don't mention (Ryo also compares Judai and Johan in their passionate enthusiasm, even suspecting that Johan has 'the same infinite potential' when dueling him in ep...128 is it? And let's not forget how Johan suddenly goes into rigid high-alert whenever Rainbow Dragon is mentioned--he can be downright unsettling once or twice!). This isn't necessarily to say I agree with everything in here, it's just very well argued!
I think that part of Yubel's particular assault on Johan is also driven by the fact that he's the one of Judai's friends who doesn't succumb to 'basic' and 'general' attacks. People like Shou and Manjoume, who one would naturally expect to be closer to Judai and therefore more threatening, are nonetheless brought to heel by mere zombie minions. In that way, they're not something Yubel had to focus on directly him/herself, and they at no point appeared to be getting between him/her and Judai. Furthermore, of the survivors when Judai finally challenged Yubel, only Johan jumped into the fight. This means that of all of Judai's friends, only Johan ever directly confronted Yubel, and Johan did so while declaring himself a close of Judai's. In this way, he made himself a much more direct threat on several levels in one fell swoop, and I think that's a large part of the reason Yubel focuses so much hatred on him: he directly, and forcibly, DID put himself between them, and Judai accepted it. The message of 'I reject you and substitute this European guy' is an easy extrapolation from there.
I also think it's interesting that one of the other most famous 'rainbow as bridge' mythologies is Greek--tying in neatly to 'Caesar's Tablet' which contained Rainbow Dragon. and then there's Peru with the 'rainbow serpent' as bridge, and power conduit, with the black and white faces, but I think that has less to do with Johan as a character than it does with the Chavin references in the series so disregard
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Date: 2011-07-15 03:56 am (UTC)I think that part of Yubel's particular assault on Johan is also driven by the fact that he's the one of Judai's friends who doesn't succumb to 'basic' and 'general' attacks. People like Shou and Manjoume, who one would naturally expect to be closer to Judai and therefore more threatening, are nonetheless brought to heel by mere zombie minions. In that way, they're not something Yubel had to focus on directly him/herself, and they at no point appeared to be getting between him/her and Judai. Furthermore, of the survivors when Judai finally challenged Yubel, only Johan jumped into the fight. This means that of all of Judai's friends, only Johan ever directly confronted Yubel, and Johan did so while declaring himself a close of Judai's. In this way, he made himself a much more direct threat on several levels in one fell swoop, and I think that's a large part of the reason Yubel focuses so much hatred on him: he directly, and forcibly, DID put himself between them, and Judai accepted it. The message of 'I reject you and substitute this European guy' is an easy extrapolation from there.
I also think it's interesting that one of the other most famous 'rainbow as bridge' mythologies is Greek--tying in neatly to 'Caesar's Tablet' which contained Rainbow Dragon.
and then there's Peru with the 'rainbow serpent' as bridge, and power conduit, with the black and white faces, but I think that has less to do with Johan as a character than it does with the Chavin references in the series so disregard