Kid Kazuichi! I like to think she's never totally looked "normal," that the teeth were always sharp and her hair was usually a curly mess in between those times where her dad or grandma got some clippers and gave her a homemade buzzcut, but her hair grows back fast. When she was really little, with her long hair and her running around pretending to be a magical princess when she was away from home, a lot of people thought she was a girl...heh.

Judging from her conversations with Hajime, I got the sense that apart from comic books she was mostly into nonfiction like guides on building things or cars or history.

I have a lot of feels about Kazuichi's relationship with reading. When she was a kid, the library was a safe haven: mentally and physically, she could get away from her dad, teachers, mean kids, and just escape -and she is an escapist with a big imagination. But as she got older, it was hard to keep up with the other nerds in her class, who had an easier time focusing and understanding, and reading felt more brutal and insulting. There was a false dichotomy of being an advanced reader or being "stupid." At her breaking point, she couldn't keep up her grades any more and was burning out, and if it wasn't for Hope's Peak giving her a new chance she may have considered dropping out altogether.

Every time she tried to return to books, it would remind her of the stress of school. It also felt like she was leagues behind everyone else, that she was "stupid", and the shame would drive her away. But there is no rule that you have to only read books at a "high level" - when you're not in school, this doesn't matter at all. It's okay to admit that you have a disability and it makes it harder to read some books.

I hate that there's some discourse right now that makes people think it's wrong or somehow damaging to yourself only/mostly like media for children and teenagers, so I need to internalize more positive messages for myself. Anyway, media is supposed to be enjoyable, something you want to do, not something to keep up with social trends or to impress a former gifted kid with a superiority complex who misses the days when they could compete with you and feel like a big shot. You do not have to compete with them.