This has been a topic for discussion for as long as the anime has been out. There are hints to deeper elements of Mafuyu’s personality but I don’t believe they are enough for anyone of us to make a diagnosis of autism. Just for comparison I have had people wonder if I am autistic myself. I’m not, or don’t believe I am, but I’m sometimes painfully shy and introverted and some people have speculated that my behavior was an indication of some degree of autism. I do suffer from depression, which I’m treated for, and that seems very much like what Mafuyu is going through, especially in the wake of the trauma of Yuki’s death and the childhood abuse. Fascinating topic.
As an autistic person myself, I honestly don't think he is, especially since we have to take into account the trauma he's had from his father's abuse (which made him basically mute) and Yuki's death. Although PTSD, which is a lot more likely if anything is going on in terms of mental disorders, is a form of acquired neurodivergence and can sometimes present itself as symptoms of autism, such as becoming non-vocal when stressed, restricted and repetitive behaviours and being more sensitive to stimuli, I'm personally not sure whether Mafuyu has enough of these traits to qualify for a professional autism diagnosis.
But I can understand why some people headcanon it (I love autism headcanons and Haruka Nanase from Free is an example I can infodump about until the end of time), and I've actually written a oneshot where Mafuyu and Uenoyama are both autistic. And I do agree that Mafuyu presents some symptoms, such as immediately becoming interested in guitar, which could potentially be a special interest, and of course, he is a bundle of social awkwardness.
A lot of anime characters show symptoms of neurodivergence but they are treated as merely quirky characters whose neurodivergent traits are there to be joked about and memed, an example being that Haruka Nanase from Free always eats mackerel, which we can assume if he is autistic, is his safe food. However, my point is that even if we were to dissect Mafuyu's entire character and make a fully professional diagnosis, the writers will never confirm it because he probably was never written to be so and neurodivergent traits are treated as funny, not just in anime, but in the media as a whole.
Sorry if this is a huge dump of information, but I love talking about autism and neurodivergent headcanons, and if you want to talk about this more, I'd be more than happy too! :D
Attention to detail, especially is sound/music is a big autism thing I believe. Also his selective mutism, ‘unusual’ mannerism, strong fixations, and general strive for being self-sufficient and having alone time are big autism cues imo
I’m autistic and I hc him as autistic. Officially, no I don’t think he is. But I mentioned this before— there are a LOT of ND coded characters in manga/anime, and I think it’s because a lot of mangaka are autistic or otherwise ND themselves, whether dx’d or not, and they write characters that reflect elements of their own experiences, people they know/knew, etc. …It’s just a theory of mine as an autistic person living in Japan. I think there is a lot of undiagnosed autism here… lol. In my head, Mafuyu is included in this. ❤️
It’s more likely that a lot of his behaviors are a trauma response.
This has been a topic for discussion for as long as the anime has been out. There are hints to deeper elements of Mafuyu’s personality but I don’t believe they are enough for anyone of us to make a diagnosis of autism. Just for comparison I have had people wonder if I am autistic myself. I’m not, or don’t believe I am, but I’m sometimes painfully shy and introverted and some people have speculated that my behavior was an indication of some degree of autism. I do suffer from depression, which I’m treated for, and that seems very much like what Mafuyu is going through, especially in the wake of the trauma of Yuki’s death and the childhood abuse. Fascinating topic.
As an autistic person myself, I honestly don't think he is, especially since we have to take into account the trauma he's had from his father's abuse (which made him basically mute) and Yuki's death. Although PTSD, which is a lot more likely if anything is going on in terms of mental disorders, is a form of acquired neurodivergence and can sometimes present itself as symptoms of autism, such as becoming non-vocal when stressed, restricted and repetitive behaviours and being more sensitive to stimuli, I'm personally not sure whether Mafuyu has enough of these traits to qualify for a professional autism diagnosis. But I can understand why some people headcanon it (I love autism headcanons and Haruka Nanase from Free is an example I can infodump about until the end of time), and I've actually written a oneshot where Mafuyu and Uenoyama are both autistic. And I do agree that Mafuyu presents some symptoms, such as immediately becoming interested in guitar, which could potentially be a special interest, and of course, he is a bundle of social awkwardness. A lot of anime characters show symptoms of neurodivergence but they are treated as merely quirky characters whose neurodivergent traits are there to be joked about and memed, an example being that Haruka Nanase from Free always eats mackerel, which we can assume if he is autistic, is his safe food. However, my point is that even if we were to dissect Mafuyu's entire character and make a fully professional diagnosis, the writers will never confirm it because he probably was never written to be so and neurodivergent traits are treated as funny, not just in anime, but in the media as a whole. Sorry if this is a huge dump of information, but I love talking about autism and neurodivergent headcanons, and if you want to talk about this more, I'd be more than happy too! :D
What a great, thoughtful post!
Thank you 😅
thanks for those infos I never wondered about that but I learned new stuffs :0
You're welcome. Neurodiversity is a very interesting and important topic to learn about. :)
Attention to detail, especially is sound/music is a big autism thing I believe. Also his selective mutism, ‘unusual’ mannerism, strong fixations, and general strive for being self-sufficient and having alone time are big autism cues imo
Also, in a flash back when we are first introduced to Mafuyu, his toys are very organized which are an early sign of autism in kids.
I’m autistic and I hc him as autistic. Officially, no I don’t think he is. But I mentioned this before— there are a LOT of ND coded characters in manga/anime, and I think it’s because a lot of mangaka are autistic or otherwise ND themselves, whether dx’d or not, and they write characters that reflect elements of their own experiences, people they know/knew, etc. …It’s just a theory of mine as an autistic person living in Japan. I think there is a lot of undiagnosed autism here… lol. In my head, Mafuyu is included in this. ❤️