I LOVE KEKKAISHI

I think I've figured out that the main reason why I love this series so much: the sibling rivalry. 

In this series, a mark appears on the body of the person who will succeed as the next head of the household, and a while back it showed up on the apathetic-toward-spiritual-battles middle son who wanted to be a baker of impossibly crazy cakes when he grew up, not a clan leader.  The dedicated, hard-working, ambitious oldest son was baffled (along with the rest of the family) and angry.  He left, joined some slightly shadowy otherworld organization, doesn't really keep in touch.  It's all quite awkward and strained and embarrassed. 

As time in the story passes, the middle son finds his sense of responsibility and starts working harder and comes up with a plan to stop the madness (he's still working on the details).  He misses and looks up to the older brother, but the older brother doesn't seem to want to have anything to do with him.  It creates a unique, gentle, realistic, and sympathetic tension I really haven't found anywhere else.

I do like the action and adventure, the intrigue, the mistrust and backstabbing, the mystery, the unrequited feelings, the actual and stunning deaths, the mysticism, and the character growth, but it's the quiet, domestic drama in the background that really makes me love this series. 

I wonder if this affection stems from my similarly awkward (sans the supernatural shenanigans) relationship with my older sister who really wanted nothing to do with me for years. 

I just feel for the poor main character, and I wish his brother wouldn't hold all this against him, if that's what he's doing.  I wish they could just be friends, but as a person, I understand that they have grown apart.  And as a  reader, I am privy to more about his older brother than he is.  I understand the whole looking-up-to-the-guy thing (he is pretty powerful and awesome), but I don't know if I can trust him. 

I want to believe he's one of the good guys, but he's ambitious and his motives are, at best, murky.  We don't really get inside his head, so we're only able to build our picture of him from his actions and words (which mostly take place in very delicate and highly charged political situations which sort of preclude frankness).  It's maddening and kind of brilliant. 

I want the author to keep pulling Kekkaishi off with this quietly sad internal tension.  I want, somehow, for the two brothers to be reconciled and trust and love each other.  I want their relationship to become strong and beautiful.  Or is that my relationship with my older sister I'm longing for?  I guess it doesn't really matter. 

I want the older brother to be one of the good guys.  I also don't want him to die.  I really don't want the main character to get him killed.  I want an end to jealousy and resentment.  I suspect I am wanting a lot of impossible things here, but I don't mind.  As long as this story is compelling, I will stick with it and love it.  Even if it has an unhappy ending.

I'd also like the anime to be great.

Rumbling Hearts (or, the consequences of finally being honest with yourself and others)

Takayuki is an insensitive clod.   NOTE TO TAKAYUKI: Dude, what she wants is for you to say you love her (because you mean it).   Also, you're right: this is all your fault.   First time in anime history that the milksop hero actually realizes this in a realistic manner and sort of tries to do something about it.   Way to go.

Akane is a brat who doesn't know what's going on, but it's not all her fault because nobody told her what was going on.

The world would be a better place less full of needless drama if these people would just talk to each other and explain what's going on.   Sheesh.

I also wish they would have eased up on the cheesy music.   It would have been more drama than melodrama that way.

Did I mention I really like this show?  Bust out the tissue boxes and angst!   You were right all those years ago, JB.   :)

Have you seen this show?  Any thoughts?  Any comments on how intervention could have prevented a bunch of the problems the characters caused each other?