All right. Here's the dope on Dokugakuji, Kougaiji's right-hand-youkai (well, I can't exactly call him a man, can I? No offense meant of course... ^.^') And, by the way, for a laugh or something, check out Which Sayuki Character Would Sleep With You? Annoyingly enough, I keep getting stuck with Hakkai ahead of Dokugakuji...not that Hakkai isn't cool, but he's just not my boyfriend. Doku-kun and Sanzo are 2 and 4, respectively, while Hakkai is no. 1 and Kougaiji is no. 3. Love Hakkai and Kougaiji, but they're for Mitsukai and Anzu!
Dammit, I'm getting distracted again. Right, I'm here to disclose Dokugakuji's past. I love Dokugakuji for several reasons, probably all of which I'll get into here. As someone said, "He's good with a sword and even better with his shirt off." And it's so true.
See? Hot damn.
I like his rather Chinese-looking coat-and-pants combo, though.
Posing for the camera. Smile! I do also like his youkai-markings, including the one across his nose. It's very cute. Here's a closer black and white shot of his face. He's going a little Dilly-eyed there... O_o
Before I get further distracted....on to the story of Dokugakuji. For starters, Dokugakuji is not his real name. His real name is Sa Jien, and he's Gojyo's older half-brother. That's the real secret behind him, and behind Gojyo. Their father slept with a human woman, producing Gojyo-kun. When Gojyo-kun's mother abandoned him (my god, chibi Gojyo begging her to stay is so tragic...) their father took him in. Not sure what happened to their father after that, although he kind of drops out of the picture, so maybe he was killed. It's really immaterial, because Gojyo's problem was his step-mother.
Doku's mother (okay, I could call him Jien, because this is before he actually became Dokugakuji, but I like the name so I'm sticking with it!) had some issues with raising him. She probably was pissed that her husband was unfaithful to her, and too it all out on Gojyo-kun. Kind of unfair, but I guess I can see how he'd be a constant reminder--half-youkai have red hair and eyes, so every time she saw him it must have reminded her that she was...whatever you call a woman who's been betrayed. Not a cuckold, but you get the idea. So she beat Gojyo-kun physically and probably fucked with his head, too. I mean, he has some huge complex about his hair.
So one day, when Gojyo-kun was about 12 years old (he's 22 in the show), his step-mother was abusing him. She slashed his cheek, giving him those scars that look like youkai marks, but, ironically, aren't. As Gojyo remembers it, he was looking up at her (she's always kind of shadowy) and she was about to kill him when...in steps Dokugakuji. He and Gojyo-kun were close. Doku was a great niisan, taking care of Gojyo-kun and watching out for him. So, to protect Gojyo-kun, Doku killed his mother.
When Gojyo-kun looked up into Doku's face...oh my god. It was so reminiscent of Orson from Lodoss (especially about his sister dying for him) I went into a little boneless puddle. This is one of the reasons I love Dokugakuji: I'm a sick fuck. Honestly, something about a hot man in pain makes my heartstrings twang like a slide guitar in a honky tonk bar. Doku was crying, and his hair was floppy instead of spiky, and if I could find a picture of him from that flashback...
Let me put it this way. I watched some of Saiyuki by myself, and when I saw Gojyo's flashback I was like, "Oh yeah...I love Dokugakuji." (Well, I knew I loved him when he showed up with no shirt on too ^_^) Later, watching some more with Mitsukai, when it flashed back to that scene again, she just looked at me, and said, "You're so gone." And she was right. I have a thing for the men with the troubled families (especially if someone they loved is dead...Orson...Aya...you get the idea).
Doku and Gojyo parted ways sometime after that, and Gojyo had no idea where Doku went. Dokugakuji actually ended up working for the son of Gyuu-ma-oh, Kougaiji. I think one of the main reasons Doku is so loyal to Kougaiji and so protective of him is that Kougaiji superficially resembles Gojyo: they both have red hair, and Kougaiji's youkai marks are three parallel lines on his left cheek. Gojyo only has two, but still, it's pretty similar. So although Doku is technically Kougaiji's servant/underling, he acts a whole lot like he's Kougaiji's niisan. He probably felt horrible and guilty for leaving Gojyo after he killed his mother, so he attached himself to Kougaiji because Kougaiji reminded him of Gojyo-kun.
Anyway, that's my personal take on Dokugakuji-kun. Oh, and I should probably share this because it kind of disturbs me, and I like to share misery: one of the weird things about Doku is that he and his mother were...close. I mean, close. Apparently, to ease her loneliness and suffering, he used to sleep with her. *Pauses for the willies to pass* He actually says at some point in the manga that he "held his mother in place of his father," which I'm guessing means doin' the nasty. You know, I find mother-son incest rather disturbing. O_o I got kind of used to the brother-sister incest thing because it happens a LOT in anime (besides, if you like Angel Sanctuary...yeah, the hero and heroine are blood siblings). And now I'm even used to shounen-ai. But I really don't want to think of Doku and his mom gettin' it on.
On that note...I finally got D
Which Saiyuki character would sleep with you?
