Matsuri is happy for being able to touch Urie, cute

I’m proud of him (’:

I want an omake of Scarecrow either tripping or holding the wrong page so instead of "Lend me your strength Urie" it says something totally ridiculous and Urie is like "wtf" lmao

say no more

Matsuri destroying his clothes is such a blatant metaphor of how he breaks his cages when thinking about Urie, though. He no longer is restrained by him being married, a Washuu, a Ghoul, a CCG member, etc; he feels he can be who he wants to be. Also, I just thought of that scene where Yoshitoki FORCES him to climb the mountain, and the other one where he tries to FORCE him to do things. Freedom is a big deal for Matsuri. After being betrayed by V, he has nothing to lose, and can finally be free.

This is a really good point, Anon. A lot about Matsuri needs to be viewed within the context of Japanese society, and the expectations that are laid out.

From birth, he has been expected to uphold a number of roles and strictly confined. He even admits to Urie that he is unhappy, and lacks freedom as a member of the Washuu clan. Matsuri admits that he was happier living in Germany, where he had more freedom. This makes sense both in terms of not being right there under his family’s thumb…..and the very big differences between Western and Eastern culture.

Japanese society places a strong value on harmony and group obedience. Individuals are expected to surrender their personal desires or ambitions, and carry out whatever duties they have to their family and society. You are born to go to school, get good grades, get a good job, and/or marry well and raise a family. You are expected to not complain, to avoid bothering others, and to know your place.

It can be a very rigid society, especially from the perception of a Western audience.

Beyond that, Matsuri is a gay man in such a rigid position. In Japanese society, LGBT people are often viewed as being “selfish” because they are putting their personal desires ahead of what society expects from them. If Matsuri follows his heart, he would not marry a woman and sire children as is expected of him. He would not uphold the duties of his position, and go against society and its order.

So his entire life is about being forced into things by his family. He is bound by the expectations of Japanese Society for a first-born male. He is bound by the expectations of his family, Ghouls posing as prominent humans. He is bound by the expectations of an Heir, responsible for marrying well and fathering children. He is bound by the expectations of the CCG, to be a flawless and steady leader.

Everything is a lie for him. His entire life has been about being trapped by those expectations. Society, his father, his grandfather, his clan, the CCG, and his wife all demanding he do, say, or be something he doesn’t want to.

Like Rize, Arima, and Furuta…….he is someone being forced to occupy a role in spite of what he wants for himself. And Ishida is kind of defying society once again, in showing the negative.

So, yeah. Matsuri bursting free of his suit while musing on his love and fighting his own kin kind of…..really cements him trying to escape everything that has trapped him his entire life.

do you think Ishida is misrepresenting the LGBTQ+ community ? esp with Matsuri and that all of them end up being fucked up and this is like saying this community is?

I think this is a very sensitive issue and that people should be really careful when they discuss it.

I am not exactly fond of how Matsuri was represented and was reduced to a comic relief, but I always waited for an explanation for this, through some sort of Matsuri characterization. Sadly, it does sound that people in the fandom are associating the odd behavior Matsuri portrayed with him being queer. I am not sure if I should link the two. I’d rather not, though.

Before going as far as judging Ishida’s portrayal of LGBTQ+, it is worth noting the following:

It is true that there is so much debate about this issue, be it with Mutsuki, or with Matsuri… or even Nico… and maybe perhaps with other characters that are not yet revealed to hold such an orientation. I do think that Ishida is only scratching the surface with his LGBTQ+ portrayal, but I am not sure if he really needs to dwell deeper on this in this manga. I don’t see a point. I am already satisfied with him showing that they are not bystanders and that they are members of this society and have feelings and motives. 

I can’t quiet answer your question to satisfaction, but I would not relate what the characters are doing with their sexual orientation/gender identity. I personally wished to know more about Matsuri’s desires and why he is driven by these motives and why he acts that way. I definitely wanted a better representation, especially when people are linking his queer nature to his actions. However, I wouldn’t go as far as making the statements you did in your question.