⌗. Manjiro Sano

The events that transpire throughout the story force Mikey to quickly mature. He is still an incredibly charismatic leader, but there is now an underlying melancholy beneath the surface. Indeed, within Mikey, there exists a great darkness. He is forced to carry the burdens of a troubling past, teetering between treading the right path and succumbing to that darkness. He usually hides this with his carefree grin. Without the right people to guide him, he becomes corrupted, turning into one of the most heinous criminals in the present. It is a large mission of Takemichi to make sure Mikey never veers off the right path ever again. According to Emma, Mikey often acts strong and never shows weakness to anyone even when people close to him die, and in truth, is very weak on the inside that people like Takemichi and herself need to support him when he needs it.

Even in instances where Mikey succumbs to that darkness, there are conflicting aspects of his personality and contradicting behavior. He is seen to be attracted to and seeking to embrace a life of violence, committing multiple atrocities or otherwise enabling his enforcers to carry them out without any apparent sign of emotional response, acting with indifference and a cold poker face, being even capable of hurting or even gunning down dear friends of his. At the same time, he tries to distance himself from his friends, likely knowing he won't be able to control his impulses, trying to separate himself from taking central command of his crew, and even going as far as attempting suicide as a means to seek both solace and a way to put an end to the chaos he helps create.

The central catalyst for this darkness is loss. As Mikey's loved ones either suffer or die, it affects Mikey on a very personal level, to the point he later claims their souls guide him, much to the surprise and worry of everyone present who question the veracity of said statements. Along with the increasing body count, Mikey's mental and emotional state deteriorates accordingly. Although he is still capable of acting composed and normal the effects of this growing darkness become more apparent even to Mikey himself. It is a result of this loss that renders Mikey vulnerable to manipulation and subsequently degrades his moral compass. In fact, in every timeline with a dark future, the cornerstone was triggered through the death of those closest to Mikey which allowed third parties to fill the void in his heart with evil.