Birth Order Theory: The Anvil of Responsibilities of Being The Oldest
I've read something interesting about new official informations about Rin & Sae from Kaneshiro:
• Sae doesn't see himself fighting with Rin. The author thinks that Sae is more like “Why is my younger brother picking a fight with me like that?”
Ik that a lot of people have been surprised at this tidbit but considering Sae's behavior and personality, it's not really a farfetched line of thought to him.
Which is why this brings the attention of Alfred Adler's Birth Order Theory in theories of personality as the theory's core idea is that the birth order of a person shapes the person's personality and attitude.
I remembered that I did bring this theory back in Kiyora and how his backstory is related to it but it's interesting to note on how this is also related to Sae's life and story with his family in general.
According to Adler, "firstborn children typically have higher expectations placed upon them by parents and thus develop a greater sense of responsibility and ambition."
Noticed that in Rin's backstory in this match, it is revealed that when they're younger Sae has been taking care of him albeit in a "practical way." He's the acting second parent of his brother when their parents are unable to immediately fulfill on that role because of some other factors which might be a career related scope hence it is the "oldest child" whose responsibility to take care of their younger siblings and placed higher expectations around them.
Typically, these children are the usual achievers and the most matured of the siblings. However, the downside of it is that the other people can see them as bossy, blunt and overly ambitious.
When Rin and Sae had a fallout during that snowy scene in the manga, it's one of their major fights between the two of them. But I'd like to interpret Kaneshiro's words about the new information if we're going to step into Sae's shoes for a moment. In his own perspective, it's not him fighting with his brother but him enacting his "tough love" on him because he experienced firsthand on how harsh and cold reality could be for geniuses in other countries. It's him acting out as a "parent" to his brother to toughen himself out because it's a shit world out there. Sae was clearly hurt by Rin's words in their confrontation but I gathered that Sae was in his "tough skin mode" to let it deter him. The core strength of his character had also become one of his weaknesses as he failed to understand on how his words must've cut deeply to Rin especially his younger brother idolized him and place him on a pedestal. That's why he can't imagine fighting with him because he's always acting tough for the two of them and he was taught of some adult responsibilities when he was young.
Can't believed that Adler's theory will be relevant as Freud's Psychoanalytic theory in Blue Lock but here we are once again.
