(rant incoming) Kagurabachi strikes me as the type of manga where the protagonist will get the sort of development where he goes from gloomy edgy and never smiling to someone who will end up learning how to be happy and relax for once despite all the torment he may feel. And I think these panels specifically sell the character of Chihiro in his current state as someone who is just really dedicated to the mission he got from his father, which is to not let his katana fall to the wrong people, and since the wrong people with katana took his father (whom he clearly adores and looks up to a lot) it makes pretty clear sense for him to be so upset but it's still tragic for him to have never been seen smiling thus far (unless I forgot a panel?), and having someone a bit more goofy like Mr. Shiba around to be more of a contrast to Chihiro with how he can be a bit goofier is also a fun and good way for Chihiro to hopefully develop out of being so gloomy. Char seems to be another great figure for Chihiro's development cause it looks like he's becoming a teenage dad LOL but taking care of the little kid who's even wackier makes things more fun while putting stakes on the line, keeping the plot going, and giving Chihiro the chance to be in weird and different situations that will impact his growth as a person. It makes me really excited for the future of Kagurabachi cause it seems really clear to me it has a lot of good potential with these characters for something that'll shape up to be awesome. Oh also I'm obviously such a sucker for "edgy guy goes soft" lol Dimitri from Fire Emblem: Three Houses is one of my favorite characters of all time and he is EXACTLY that. It's......... It's peak! Fr tho Kagurabachi is unironically very good! It might even be unironically a peak series too depending on how it goes. Tenoí.