Kanji has grown up over the years, for lack of a better word. He was always this tall and well muscled but aside from the hair and glasses, the occasional new piercing on his ears or tongue what's changed most is his attitude. He's comfortable with himself, and you can see it in ever inch of him. He's confident and relaxed in a way he never was when he first got here and it actually makes him seem cool, instead of like someone desperately trying to be cool the way he did as a kid. It's taken him a long time to get here but he's happy with himself in a way he never was before. And yeah, Jack does get some credit for it. A lot, actually. Over the years he's had to stop thinking of him as a mentor and more of a peer as he's gotten older and Jack's stayed the same but he still looked up to him and respects him.
He's also not really buying the cheerful attitude. He knows how things have been going with him lately. He doesn't push it yet though and just grabs the stool, getting comfortable and ordering himself a beer. "Nothin' new, just the same old. Did some spring cleanin' at the Education Center today. Not sure it's really spring but whatever."