Why are these characters perpetually wearing a scowl? Riffing off of a recurring series within Adventures in OCdom, we’ll put our grumps under the magnifying glass in this month's OC analysis.
Watch out! There be spoilers beyond this point!
Joel Onno (Search for the Sky)
At first glance, Joel looks like a pretty normal kid with a little sister that gets on his nerves. But he’s also dealing with caring for his sick mother. His father is out of the picture, having abandoned the family just after Michi was born. And his older brother, Sora, has gone missing. This leaves Joel with some major baggage, especially in regard to his father. With unresolved anger and frustration toward his father and stress from watching his mother get sicker and sicker, it’s no wonder he’s got a bit of a chip on his shoulder.
Jun-ai Shen (Eternal Rain universe)
As discussed in a previous post, Jun’s prickly exterior is a result of years of abuse at home. She doesn’t trust readily, so she can’t rely on others, so she’s extremely perfectionistic and constantly finding fault with others and herself. Initially, she will not allow herself to expose her vulnerabilities to anyone but her cousin, Shaoqiang. With only one person to vent to, she’s constantly bottling things up and simmering under the surface, which leads to her either being emotionally exhausted or ready to blow at the slightest provocation. When she finally opens up more to Kita and her other Keyholder teammates, the negativity dies down a bit… sometimes surfacing as caustic or dark humor instead.
Yousef Sadik (Eternal Rain universe)
Yousef is the bodyguard of the next Key Guardian of the Earth Gate. Constantly walking around with a terrifying glare is part of his job, but is it just for show? Yousef is extremely protective of his childhood friend, Nasim, and also very possessive. Paired with his serious and prideful nature, this means he tends to take his bodyguard duties to an excess. Anyone who even looks at Nasim the wrong way will find themselves on the receiving end of intense aggression. As Yousef is distrusting of most, the only ones who can rein him in are his parents, Nasim and her mother, the current Earth Gate Key Guardian.
Ikuo Kondo (So Distant)
Ikuo appears cold, aloof and steely; but he’s actually nearly the opposite. Before he was adopted by the Kondos, Ikuo was in the foster care system. His single mother was an alcoholic forced to surrender him when she was deemed unfit to raise a child. Unstable or not, she was still his mother, and Ikuo feels incredibly homesick while he’s trying to fit into his new family. When Naoyuki shows up and upends his new home life, Ikuo feels like he’s losing his place to belong all over again, so he freezes him out. When Taki convinces him that Naoyuki’s not out to steal his family, Ikuo slowly lets him in; but the stress that his adopted father puts him and Naoyuki under doesn’t help his persistent frown.
