The following contains spoilers for Episode 6 of The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting, "First Friend," now streaming on Crunchyroll.

The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting is a wholesome new comedy anime of the Summer 2022 season, and its gap moe tendencies remind viewers that they must never judge a book by its cover. Many of anime's best and most endearing characters seem rough or sketchy on the outside, only to prove the doubters wrong. Kirishima Toru has been doing that since the start in Yakuza.

Toru is a gap moe character himself, an unofficial dad who's been thrown into the deep end by being assigned as Yaeka's babysitter, similar to Spy x Family's Loid Forger. These foster dads both know better than to bribe their young "daughters" with expensive toys -- as Episode 6 proves, Toru would rather give Yaeka a cheap but sentimental gift than spend thousands of yen on something she doesn't want.

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Toru with Kanami

Episode 6 reveals Yaeka's birthday is right around the corner. She has reason to expect her aunt Kanami, her father and the mobster Kei to give her typical gifts for a kid her age, but the biggest question is what her babysitter Toru will give her. Aside from her father Kazuhiko, Toru is the adult whom Yaeka is closest to right now, and everyone can tell how well they get along despite their age gap. Toru himself is feeling unsure though; he isn't the savviest gift-giver, especially for little girls. This is his biggest challenge yet, and to his credit, he doesn't simply throw money at the problem. Instead, he looks within himself and finds a smarter solution.

It's not clear how much spending money Toru has access to, but it's a moot point because he doesn't even think to bribe Yaeka with an expensive toy. It's a sign of emotional detachment and personal estrangement for one person to send the other a generic gift that emphasizes cost over sentimentality, and fiction often shows dysfunctional parents trying to win over their estranged kids with expensive gifts. Money can't make up for personal touch, and sure enough, Toru defers to his own childhood experiences to make a cheap but meaningful gift for Yaeka.

Toru harnesses the power of food to impress his young charge, and Yaeka's aunt Kanami loves the idea. Toru knows the secret ingredient to any dish is love -- the same lesson often emphasized throughout the popular Food Wars! anime -- and this idea fits the overall themes of Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting. Toru has wealth of the heart and finds it surprisingly easy to connect with Yaeka on a personal level with all their common ground. For them, it's about what's on the inside, and food can bring any two people together. Unsurprisingly, Yaeka's birthday lunch is a big success.

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young toru with mom

Despite being a bloodthirsty, combat-loving mafia thug, Toru is a surprisingly tender and sentimental person who clearly learned many vital lessons from his unnamed mother, as flashbacks in Episode 6 show. He seems unapproachable at first due to being a wild mob enforcer, but there are more and more signs that forming deep, meaningful connections is his true calling.

He's almost like the astrological sign Cancer the crab, describing anyone who prefers quality to quantity of friendships and "pinches" strangers who get too close. Cancers also enjoy the cozy comforts of home and family, including home cooking, and Toru's birthday lunch for Yaeka matches that theme. Regardless of his actual birth sign, Toru's traits help him make a humble but meaningful contribution to Yaeka's birthday.

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In addition to bonding with Yaeka, Toru also has a friend in Hojo Rei, a lively and cheerful man whom he has known since middle school. Even if they have contrasting personalities -- and even if Toru outwardly finds Rei annoying -- the two clearly have a deep bond, Cancer style. Neither has to make any grand gestures to the other to keep the friendship going.

Toru favors wealth of the heart once again, and this bodes well for him as Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting continues. If he can open up his Cancer crab shell and connect with Yaeka so deeply, he can do the same with others and expand his social circle while broadening his horizons. If Yaeka can do all that in her own life, then so can Toru.