The reasons why Kenma has been treated as an “uwu baby” in fandom spaces are numerous, mainly based on foundations built around ableism, homophobia, misogyny, and to an extent racism. In this essay I will explore a handful of theories as to why Kenma is essentially woobified —> https://twitter.com/chukishima/status/1320425946814550016

First and foremost, the elephant in the room: it would be unfair to attribute Kenma’s fanon interpretation purely to outside sources and encoding, as a majority of Kenma’s “unhinged” qualities only truly start to show following S4 E17. As a majority of fandom is known to

Only watch anime (which is a crime but i wont get into how good the manga is) we must give a certain threshold of doubt, as well as include the fact that as a result of how many Haikyuu characters there are, a majority of people will only remember a few key aspects of each.

However, this doubt does not excuse this treatment entirely, as there have been many examples of Kenma’s autonomy and cunningness from the beginning of the series. From Kenma’s second appearance in volume 4 they are established as a powerful adversary, and the true strength

Of Nekoma. We are also given snippets into their snappy attitude during the Tokyo training camp arc, and characters such as Lev specifically point out that they’re scary.

Another reason this should not be seen as the main reason for Kenma’s treatment, is that a good majority

Of Kenma content (excluding the timeskip, which is its own complicated equation) has existed following the Nekoma v. Karasuno match, and much of it still portrays Kenma as a “uwu baby”.

Why? And where does a majority of what seems to be popular fanon stem from?

To answer these questions we need to pick apart each misconception (mis-ken-ception) in relation to the wider context in which Haikyuu is read.

One misconception which is near-international, is the notion that Kenma is helpless as a kitten. This stems from two main aspects;

The first is the inherent ableism that surrounds characters who exhibit symptoms of social anxiety, the second is the very symbolism used in Nekoma and its relation to pop culture: cats. As a result of popular media, people with anxiety tend to be stereotyped as being helpless

This stereotype often seems to be a result of the conflating of social anxiety with subservience, thus feminizing it particularly in the context of the romance genre. Cat symbolism is in itself interlocked with this concept, as cats are typed as being anxious, shy, and helpless

In and of themselves. The emergence of the cute helpless catgirl, and subsequently the catboy (who is often portrayed as a small, feminine twink) is often linked to power fantasies, as is most ableism. Kenma, who shows both symptoms of social anxiety and is given cat motifs,

Is then more likely to be put into these subservient roles. This brings me onto two more points; Kenma’s femininity and stature, and how these two are interlocked with both homophobic stereotyping and concepts surrounding misogyny, and how those two interact.

One more stereotype which is often seen in fanon is directly corrolated with Kenma’s dynamics with their best friend, Kuroo Tetsurou. In most popular fanon there is a clear power imbalance between the two of them, despite the fact that this is not the case in the anime and manga.

On top of the fact that we are specifically shown that Kuroo is the one who owes his own social capability to Kenma, and that it is in fact Kenma who is the more emotionally mature of the two, we also see that Kuroo is as childish and immature as the rest of the cast

Often endearingly (and less endearingly) called out by Kenma and other members of the cast for acting out or making dumb statements. Yet in fanon, these aspects of Kuroo are Played down or entirely erased, and Kenma’s own maturity is stripped from them.

This creates a caretaker dynamic between them which doesn’t exist in the canon beyond Kuroo occasionally pestering Kenma to do something or another. It also Removes Kenma’s autonomy entirely, removing the fact that Kuroo has specifically stated that he would never force them

To do things, or making it out to be that Kenma is incapable of doing things for their own gain — which, once again, is shown from the fourth volume where they get an interest in Hinata and his playing. This fanonized dynamic is an echo of the popular

“”masculine controlling top/femining subservient bottom”” trope, or the uke/seme one which was more popularized around the 2000s (citation needed). This trope is built on both homophobia and misogyny, using the concepts of control referred to earlier with catgirls,

To place gay men in “man and woman” roles, where none are needed.

(As an aside, had these roles not been forced onto this pairing there would be nothing homophobic about it at all, it is this specific twisting and erasure or canon that is homophobic)

As such Kenma, who is shorter, long haired, more naturally withdrawn, and already affiliated with these “subservient” codes, becomes the target of further emasculation. This in itself is more rooted in homophobia and misogyny of course, because the idea that being more feminine

Makes you more subservient both erases mlm culture and furthers agendas built to remove women’s sense of self and strength.

While so far my points have encompassed a more or less global view on the “uwu baby”-ing of Kenma, there is also aspects which are specifically western too

The most important of which is orientalism, and the western portrayal of (particularly east) Asians as pure, subservient, quiet and once more; lacking autonomy. This is in itself an aspect which adds onto Kenma’s western portrayal, as a character which may seem more

“Stereotypically Japanese” to some. (Which btw was kind of a shocker to me, like yall didnt realize MOST anime characters are japanese?? Ok...)

These are all the points which, to my knowledge, can be agreed upon by a majority of true Kenma fans. However, there are a couple more things which I personally believe are part of why Kozume Kenma, as opposed to a majority of characters, is treated so badly by the fanon.

This is a concept I like to call, the Nepeta effect.

To those who may not know, Nepeta Leijon is a H*mest*ck character who has received what may be the worst of fanon treatments in a fandom which is already known for treating its source characters so badly that it became

A plot point. But why? A big part of it is the same as the points I argued for Kenma: cat symbolism, anxiety, caretaker dynamics, and femininity. However there is also an added aspect of ableism, and an element of disempowerment.

Nepeta, much like Kenma, exhibits

Symptoms of autism and ADHD. Most notably, both characters have small but close friendship groups, indulge in roleplay and/or imagining scenarios based on their favourite media, have two or so hyperfixations, tend to be laid back but sometimes have outbursts of anger/emotion,

And have varying degrees of attention depending on whether or not they are even interested in whatever may be going on around them (for example, joining a game just because their friends are too.) However, despite these symptoms both characters are shown to be extremely skilled,

And are valuable members of their teams. They are competent, confident in their individual abilities, and capable of taking steps out of their own desires. There is no subservience to either character, little to no outside interference except for the enabling

From their best friends, small twists of power to allow them both to act out to their full potential. This portrayal of neurodivergent characters is empowering, especially for people who are naturally coded as needing to be subservient by society for any reason. For people who‘ve

always stayed quiet, allowing people to talk down their abilities (much like Kenma/Nepeta), having characters who’re able to go “batshit” when they want or need to, who’re strong and powerful not because they changed who they are, but because they are who they are, is empowering.

And, in order to keep these people from being empowered, a society must adapt these characters. Defang and declaw them, make them a farcry of their original majesty. All in hopes that the people who may one day realize they can fight will not see them as they are.

In conclusion; the reason Kenma is made out to be “uwu baby” is a case of building subservient characters which allow for power fantasies to be played out, both in fiction and in reality.

Thank you very much