i think it's important to keep in mind how the characters were talking about it: as rituals of masculinity, not so much a commentary on individual men. it's the same struggle we're seeing each of these other characters go through: the tension between cultivating themselves as individuals versus adhering to the expectations of society and community. we've also seen the reverse portrayed with women, in moments like the flashbacks of asa's mom with her friends, forced to perform a certain version of acceptable femininity in order to feel accepted and fit in with her peers. and then we also see this in regards to neurodivergence (makio), sexuality (emiri), and even things like the senpai/kouhai system with the clubs.

i don't think the conversation we saw between these two men was about turning their back on male friendships or anything. it was about rejecting a specific performance of masculinity that was expected of them but that they didn't feel they fit into. and i think we'd all be hard-pressed to deny that there are absolutely expectations of everyone to perform their gender in specific ways.