chocoboxnow:

Anon!! I feel you because I have such mixed feelings about that monologue. On the one hand, it’s super cute that Takao thinks Midorima hasn’t really changed. I mean, it’s clear that he has, but Takao knows his essential Midorimaness hasn’t changed, and I feel like you have to know someone really well to see something like that. On the other hand, jeez, go on long enough about how you don’t like Midorima much? (Is this a case of he “doth protest too much” maybe??)

I will say that at least part of the problem here is Crunchyroll’s translation…for instance, Takao doesn’t say “we’re not friends,” he says—well, first let me say that Japanese often doesn’t include the subject of a sentence. So when Takao goes off on this rant, it’s not entirely clear if this is how he, personally, feels about Midorima, or how he thinks the entire team feels about Midorima. It ends with him clearly saying that “everyone” can’t hate him, so maybe the whole speech is about Midorima’s relationship with the team, not Takao in particular? Anyway, back to “we’re not friends,” the original line is 仲良くなってなったわけじゃない which I would translate as “it’s not like we’ve become close.” This monologue started with the question of whether Midorima has changed or not, so this could just be read as a lack of change in the relationship. I think this (and Takao’s feeling at the beginning of the speech that Midorima hasn’t really changed) is at least partly because they’re so close and spend so much time together, it’s harder for Takao to see what has been a gradual change. “We’re not that close, really! We just…spend all of our time together, and…argue like an old married couple, and….okay, you have a point.”

By the way, when you ask for canon, are you including drama CDs?? Because the drama CD that goes along with this game is the one where Midorima spends an entire week worrying about Scorpio’s bad luck and getting lucky items for Takao (including one that cost $500(!), not to mention asking Kuroko and Riko for help), and offering to let Takao ride in the rear cart without doing rock paper scissors, AND at the end of this, Takao wants to spend the day with Midorima because Scorpio’s lucky item is a “precious friend”(!!!!). So, you know…that itself directly contradicts the translation of Takao’s line as “we’re not friends.”

OR, strictly canon scenes:

• Takao tossing Midorima a roll of tape and Midorima smiling at him (he sometimes smiles “while he’s playing basketball,” hmmmm?)
• Takao offering to skip rock paper scissors after they lose to Seirin
• taking a bath together during training camp
• also during training camp: Midorima knowing Takao is watching him with Kagami and telling him it’s time to go (he can’t just leave on his own??)
• if I may use an example from Extra Game: when Takao first arrives to join Vorpal Swords, he says “thanks for taking care of our Shin-chan,” [a rote greeting you say regarding someone in your “in” group, usually family] which I feel is basically reminding everyone there that Midorima belongs to Shuutoku (and Takao), and Vorpal Swords is just borrowing him for a while
• Sky Direct Three Point Shot (and basically all of episode 56)
• in 75.5, Midorima asking Takao to get his lucky item, and Takao delivering him to practice
• I already said episode 56, but: it’s canon that they’re the light and shadow of Shuutoku. The author of this series looked at Midorima and Takao’s relationship and equated it to the partnership that’s the focus of the entire series

I hope this helps, Anon! Don’t ever doubt that these two are inseparable partners.
(งロ-ロ)人(`ω´ )ง