In particular something associated with the lotus flower in different cultures is “purity”. This is because the lotus flower is able to maintain itself clean despite living in muddy waters. Itori and Uta’s words in this chapter seem to suggest something similar about Yomo. He is “warm”, he fights for others and has faith in the future, he is always honest and can trust the world they are in.
What’s more, there seems to be a hinduist motif going on with the clowns and with Uta in particular as others have noticed. In this religion it seems this flower is associated with several gods who are often represented with a lotus in their hands:
And quoting from the site I linked:
“As with Buddhism there are many Lotus Flower symbolism’s that are
associated with purity, further to this the heart of the Lotus is
considered to be purist and people need to strive to be like the opened
flower and be of good heart; the soul is also considered to be within
the heart of the Lotus”
And in this chapter we have Uta saying he wants to reach Yomo’s heart with his own hands to feel alive and probably as Itori’s speech implied to feel the “warmth”.
In short I think Yomo’s lotus symbolism is relevant here and is used to underline how important he is for Uta (and Itori). Uta can’t truly be completed without Yomo and at the same time Yomo represents a “purity” Uta and Itori can’t comprehend exactly like Yomo can’t truly understand them.
good catch!
i’m not sure if this is the same for all cultures who derive significance from the lotus plant, but in chinese culture the lotus plants’ rhizomes connect individual flowers and leaves together, and so despite being ‘loners’ they are actually connected to one another. i think this could definitely tie in together with yomo’s need for connection and uta’s need to stay in the thick of it.
additionally, there’s a connotation that lotus plants are resilient and immortal. in china, it’s believed that a lotus seed that’s a thousand years old can still become a flower if it’s planted into the mud. i feel like this is pretty relevant to yomo’s determination (and also physical durability), as well as uta’s possible ties to the old oek.
in japanese hanakotoba (flower language), in addition to representing purity and chastity, the lotus also signifies ‘he who is far from the one he loves’. maybe that’s something closer to ishida’s culture and something he’s drawing upon as well, for this particular conflict.
…Yomo has never actually stated, or agreed that they are friends, despite Uta voicing it many times. The only time it happened was when Renji was drunk, in an omake, but even so, he’s never explicitly referred to Uta as anything but “Uta”.
It seems to me that Renji does appreciate hearing Uta state their bond still exists (judging by his smile above)- well, mostly, at least-
But then again… he has never explicitly stated “We are Friends, Uta”
Until now.
And I think, it’s been kind of one-sided always. With how Uta “wanted friends of his own age” back in 4th ward. With how he specifically has referred to Renji Yomo as a friend over and over again, never getting confirmation of their friendship back. He even went as far as to save Yomo- because they are friends:
“He’s my friend”
&
“You’re my friend”
And I think, he looks shocked to hear it coming from Renji, for the first time most likely. It’s maybe something he was either waiting for, all this time (because maybe, in his strange logic, that would solidify his reasoning to eat Renji- you know, the purity of the lotus that has persisted in the murky waters- and he hopes to devour that purity, feel alive, even at the cost of losing the physical manifestation of that purity- too bad one lotus cannot clear the whole water)
or perhaps something he had already given up on. Accepted that it was a one-sided thing, in a sense, even if Renji didn’t flat out hate them either. Uta’s attachment, versus Renji’s goodness- the life away from Uta that makes him “pure” and “good” (lotus, again). So when Renji says it- includes Uta in his life verbally, says something Uta had given up hope on, it causes Uta to “flip his switch”. His demeanor changes- at first he was elated to fight Renji, to relive their young days, possibly, and then, because maybe he knew he would have to do it one day, kill him, to “make me feel alive”. Uta’s Kakuja form, and the laugh, I think, they symbolise that switch being flipped. The emotions, thoughts or feelings hearing those words (“You’re my friend”) made him experience. Why do I think this could be the case?
Because it didn’t have to be that difficult.
Uta was already pretty much tossing Renji around like a ragdoll. That scene could barely be called a fight, because of how Uta was entirely dominating it. Renji was already bleeding, wounded, on the ground and not getting up. Who knows if he was even healing quickly enough to keep going. Uta could have ended it easily without the kakuja, is what I’m saying, and judging by his words:
That is what he intended to do as well. Based on the fight against Noro way back in TG’s aogiri raid, where Uta seemed definitely more intent on killing than when, say, fighting Juuzou during the clown siege, PLUS flashbacks to the 4th ward and killing the investigators, Uta seems to have a thing for piercing people’s chests with his bare hands. Often from around the heart area, too. He’s never shown his kakuja before, even if his intent was eating his victims afterwards (I mean who knows, that dicc we see him munching on after they confront the first doves in the 4th, while discussing with his gang and Renji, could have belonged to one of the investigators. Just a thought.) So it’s definitely specific to Renji only, and especially… the reaction Renji’s words had brought on.
this, though. This is so important, because it’s so true. I don’t know exactly how long our!Ciel managed to “remain” his twin and live this life allegedly only for his sake, but it’s been a while now that “Earl Ciel Phantomhive” became way more about him than his brother.
The proof is:
the difference between ch137
and ch95, which is almost 4 years after real!Ciel’s death.
That’s why I still think that we will never learn his real identity because…
he really did become Ciel Phantomhive overtime and it’s not even just a throwback to survivor’s guilt that started it all. After all, it’s impossible to make your real self disappear and pretend to be someone you’re not, so, that’s why the current “Earl Ciel Phantomhive” stopped being about his brother to become about him instead.
…This flashback is really setting up a confrontation between the two brothers, isn’t it?
It’s a way to show us that the Ciel of 4 years ago who agreed to the contract after thinking his older brother sacrificed himself for him did become a different person after 4 years (when the twin most likely didn’t).
Reblogging ‘cause I got a few questions and so I just want to precise that personally I really think that Ciel didn’t become his brother. He definitely tried since it was a decision motivated by survivor’s guilt, which is what he was telling Seb in the new chapter, but where we are four years later it’s obvious that it didn’t happen in my opinion.
That doesn’t mean he solved any part of his trauma that triggered his decision to become “Ciel Phantomhive” (like survivor’s guilt), not when you see the GW arc for example, but rather that unconsciously he didn’t succeed in erasing himself to become his brother.
You can see that it’s hinted in his change of speech in ch95 as I pointed out above, but also on small details like…
since it was implied more than once that our!Ciel was possibly more selfless/kinder than his brother (in ch132, and you have other examples here). The Funtom corporation, his asthma, or the fact chocolate cake still is his favorite are other little hints in my opinion.
So…
the fact the twins were presented to mirror each other, despite being different otherwise, is particularly interesting in this particular case of symbolism, because right now, we’ve got two “Ciel Phantomhive”s:
the real/original one (the twin) who died 4 years ago,
and the fake one (our!Ciel) who tried to become his brother but failed and thus made “Earl Ciel Phantomhive” according to his own image => “the lie eventually became the truth” (or will, if our!Ciel reaffirms once more that it is his one and only identity).
That’s why I really think that a confrontation is coming: all that happened to our!Ciel until now made him grow into his own person, who’s neither the brother real!Ciel possibly expects nor the boy our!Ciel himself tried to impersonate.
this, though. This is so important, because it’s so true. I don’t know exactly how long our!Ciel managed to “remain” his twin and live this life allegedly only for his sake, but it’s been a while now that “Earl Ciel Phantomhive” became way more about him than his brother.
The proof is:
the difference between ch137
and ch95, which is almost 4 years after real!Ciel’s death.
That’s why I still think that we will never learn his real identity because…
he really did become Ciel Phantomhive overtime and it’s not even just a throwback to survivor’s guilt that started it all. After all, it’s impossible to make your real self disappear and pretend to be someone you’re not, so, that’s why the current “Earl Ciel Phantomhive” stopped being about his brother to become about him instead.
…This flashback is really setting up a confrontation between the two brothers, isn’t it?
It’s a way to show us that the Ciel of 4 years ago who agreed to the contract after thinking his older brother sacrificed himself for him did become a different person after 4 years (when the twin most likely didn’t).
I find Ciel’s reaction to receiving the ring rather interesting. Last time I remember seeing this background was in ch103, when Sascha mentioned the P family and Ciel got the feeling that Shinigamis were around (iirc it was also used when Kelvin showed his basement to Ciel).
So I wonder if it’s a throwback to ch2…
or just because Ciel realized that getting the ring meant this finally concluded his transformation into “Earl Ciel Phantomhive” for good.
…that no one managed to dig the legendary OEG out of his kakuja, 100 years ago?
Does this mean that the body and kakuhou from which that huge kakuja originated is still somewhere inside? As in…
there is a very old person inside that thing???
Bringing that back, because when Kaneki was freed…
Meanwhile, for the Nagaraj 100 years ago, they had to stop him through breaking his eyeballs, which resulted in…
…which would explain why we can still see the huge kakuja down in the 24th ward, because there is a chance no one managed to rescue this guy:
Moving on to Uta, since I really think we’re going to be targeting his backstory and the rest of the Clowns’ in the next chapters (and he has idk how many foreshadowing hints of having a link to ^ this dude), I think everyone noticed this:
Which is that in the new chapter, his tattoos literally expanded to cover his kagune (?) and which is surprising to say the least, that is of course,unless Uta is something like a kagune/kakuja clone of the One Eyed Washuu and his whole body turns out to have the properties of a kagune/kakuja:
It’s always been one of the possibilities for Uta’s identity after all [x][x] and it would be one door to explain many things, such as:
Noro himself, who could have been a kagune/kakuja clone of Eto’s foster parent Noroi (killed by V, according to Eto)
why Uta told Yomo he doesn’t know why he’s so strong in his flashback and why he looked so young despite knowing Roma, Donato, etc, who got sent to jail way before Yomo came to the 4th ward
why Uta used a piercing to make his clones when Donato used a finger (ch116): if Uta’s whole appearance has kagune/kakuja properties because himself is a clone, then he could make yet another clone of himself through his piercings.
maybe even those kids Ayato found in the 24th ward (? I mean they look very similar to each other aside from the hair and you gotta wonder where their parents or everyone else were)
Imma stop there, but it’s just to say that, personally, this chapter kinda tilted the balance towards Uta being a kagune/kakuja clone instead of the One Eyed Washuu in the flesh, because Sensei foreshadowed that link for such a long time that there is most likely a trick to it.
More answers on Monday, hopefully, or for the chapter after the next!
Itori is a
fascinating shadow of a character. Almost always away from the narrative with
very little central focus she does bring us new information each time we get to
meet her. Not only that, like the rest of the clowns she seems to have found
value in being on the sidelines, then stepping onto the centre stage not to
alleviate any boredom, but to not go mad.
But why
would Itori go mad? A ghoul that we know so little of yet someone who dares to
give us so much information about the world as a whole… I’ve got an
interesting theory about Itori’s lost innocence, so let me make an assumption
first and then try to back up my thesis.
The theory
in question?
Itori used to be a breeding machine like Rize,
became pregnant with a one-eyed ghoul and that child died in her womb.
This meta post, however, is a character study
of Itori as a whole, to further explain why I do believe she was in a similar
situation to Rize, why she might have gotten pregnant with a half-ghoul and lost the child and why I believe that she sticks with the Clowns because the
One Eyed King of old (Uta) saved her.
The first time we meet Itori, she is sitting
in the Helter Skelter bar. The bar’s name is hereby a reference to a song by
the Beatles of the same name, whose meaning can be summarised as “using the
symbol of a helter skelter as a ride from the top to the bottom; the rise and
fall of the Roman Empire – and this was the fall, the demise”. It also, in its
lyrics, very clearly talks of a woman:
“Look out,
helter skelter
She’s coming down fast
Yes, she is
Yes, she is
Coming down fast”
Itori is a Ghoul whose backstory we do not know, but
who we can be certain of has suffered much and lost her innocent outlook on
life through it, something that she tries to feel an illusion of by sticking
close to Yomo.
One of the first things that Itori realises is that
Kaneki still holds an innocence that she has already lost. She also comments on
him being the “first one eyed ghoul she has seen”. It is extremely important to
know that Itori knows way, way more than she says.She’s playing coy
all the time, to seem approachable and normal. At the same time she gives
Kaneki hints upon hints, as if indulging in the fact that she can toy around
with him as much as she pleases.
Her comment about the “other one eyed ghoul” becomes a
lot more eerie if we take the Uta as the One Eyed King theory into
consideration and if that is true, then her remark can be seen as a direct question
towards him.She looks his way, too, despite addressing Yomo instead. At the
time of this Chapter (36 of the original Tokyo Ghoul) though, we simply think
she is referring to Eto as the other one eyed ghoul. Given the fact that Furuta
was the one who pushed the beam onto Rize however, and Furuta was/is a clown no
less, would make it lot more intriguing were she to talk about Uta instead,
especially given the fact that the clowns have been looking at this whole
spectacle for a long, long time.
I mean, she gives Kaneki so many hints to chew
on!
The meat of this theory comes down to Itori being the
one to introduce us to the biology behind One Eyed Ghouls in the first place,
though. Because Itori tells Kaneki what happens when ghoul and human genes mix,
how extremely unlikely such a pregnancy is and how risky it is for both child
and mother.
She also tells us this:
Itori then goes on to claim it all as nothing but a
rumour, looking at Uta while ranting about possibilities, while affirming that she has never heard of happy stories concerning one eyed ghouls. If she was
used like a breeding machine like Rize was, living through countless rape
attempts to bear kids that could grow up in the sunlit garden, maybe even being
made to bear a half-ghoul child, then she certainly wouldn’t be in favour of
any stories concerning one eyed ghouls.
If Uta is
indeed the One Eyed King and the one who freed Itori (if she is older than she
looks, like Roma) from the claws of the Washuu, then her attachment to Uta is
also made clear. It should be known that Itori knows a whole lot about Rize
herself, too, to the point that she gives Kaneki the clue of ‘Rize’ not
existing (under that name, at least). We know that Rize stems from the Sunlit
Garden and that Furuta is the reason for her escape. No wonder, then, that Itori knows a whole lot
about Rize.
(Do note
that all of this takes place in the first half of the original Tokyo Ghoul! And
Itori has already let us in on so many facts: Ghoul biology, she leads Kaneki
onto the trail of Tsukiyama as the Gourmet, she knows who Furuta is, she knows
who Rize is, she most likely refers to Uta as a One Eyed Ghoul. To put this
into perspective, this all happens before Kaneki is being tortured by Yamori.)
The next
time Itori becomes relevant is when she shares information about Kanou, of all
people. She reveals to Kaneki that he used to be an autopsy doctor who worked
for the CCG. This is also where she lets Kaneki know that he seems to get a
grasp on the value of information. Considering the fact that Itori is a clown,
one who sends Ken on wild goose chases, it isn’t wrong to assume that, as
someone who values information, Itori gets a sense of almost morbid fascination
of seeing others learn more about the world that she inhabits. Remember, she
knows about Rize, and Furuta, and most likely the Garden. She knows so, so much
and has no way to share this knowledge with the world freely. Seeing others
gain information that she herself holds close is not only entertaining, it
gives someone like her purpose when there is none that she finds in herself.
Because as
she says in the most recent chapter herself, she’s seen a lot, she’s heard a
lot. She knows exactly that the views of a Ghoul are not important to humans as
a whole. The world is against Ghouls, so it is against her. And it is
entertaining and oh so stimulating to see a man made ghoul go on a wild goose
chase trying to learn more about her world.
Keeping this in mind her advice to
Kaneki that he should take Nico’s story about Aogiri tree and the One Eyed King
with a grain of salt, because free information should always be looked at with
a keen eye, makes triple sense if she is old enough to know what really went
down with the One Eyed King back in the day.
Kaneki then
leaves Itori after she has told him that a rabbit masked ghoul has been
murdering people. But that he should take this story with a grain of salt, too.
The next
time we meet Itori is at the end of Tokyo Ghoul, where she is celebrating a
hollow evening of fun with her fellow clowns. This is also the moment she if
officially outed as being a clown and having the last laugh (within the tragedy
that is Tokyo Ghoul).
The next
time we meet Itori after that isn’t until Chapter 148 “Where is the Stone” of
Tokyo Ghoul :re!
Here she riles the Ghouls up by suggesting to watch until the
end to honour their King.; because he saved them by becoming a monster. Not
only that, she re-iterates that humans hurt them. Itori is, of course, wrong
here. Kaneki become dragon out of a selfish wish to protect Touka at all costs
when he had already railroaded himself into despair and while her words should
be taken with a grain of salt, Itori despises humans, which is made entirely
clear in the most recent Chapter (Chapter 169).
Itori does
not state this just to rile up these Ghouls to have fun; she does so because
she fully believes that Ghouls are not loved, so you should honour those who
save you by sticking with them to the bitter end, even if that end is bloody
and nothing but ungraceful bloodshed. Because if you bleed, if you hurt and
hurt others, you can feel warmth, you can feel alive, you can change something
in the world even if this change is nothing but negative. You have to watch on
the sidelines until you have to play the Fool on the stage yourself to keep yourself
from going mad.
So, here’s what I think about Itori:
She is older than she looks, similar
to Roma
If Uta is the One Eyed King of old,
then she sticks to him because he most likely saved her
Similarly, she sticks to Yomo because Yomo still has the innocence that she couldn’t hold onto
She knows who Rize is and is
interested in her because she has probably suffered similar trauma
Considering her knowledge of ghoul
biology, perhaps she got pregnant with a one eyed ghoul, who she then lost due
to the risks of ghoul-human pregnancies
midnight-in-town 