It hurts, doesn’t it? Kaneki really, really hates himself. He’s basically paralleling 240 Kaneki right now, hysterical because it’s
all his fault in his mind–but it isn’t. And he’s despairing. He really
believes he isn’t worth anything beyond what he can do for people. That’s probably behind his hypocrisy, too: his lines however hypocritical are ways of convincing himself he’s okay. And it’s heartbreaking. Ken. Let me hug you.
It kind of embodies the whole manga, and kind of how the fandom perceives Kaneki as well. TG is literally a manga about tearing down the divides between black and
white, good and evil, monster and human, and yet you tend to see either
‘Kaneki is Femto 2.0’ or ‘Kaneki did nothing wrong in his life ever’
but everything about TG suggests neither of these. Kaneki
can be both victim and perpetrator, ghoul and human, capable of love
and extreme kindness and capable of murder.
And they will save him. The bad things he’s done do not make his life not worth living, and it does not make it so that the world would be better off if he was never born. I personally think the message of “you messed up, but you are worthy of love” is an incredible message of hope. It’s the message we saw with Mutsuki really, and that we’re probably going to see with Kaneki when Touka & co save him.
In the star The Fool is suffused with a serene calm. Radiant stars shine in a cloudless sky serving as a beacon of hope and inspiration. The fool is blessed with a trust that completely replaces the negative energies of the devil. His heart is open, and his love pours out freely. This peace after the storm is a magical moment for the fool.
What effect could spoil this perfect calm? Is there another challenge for the Fool? In fact, it is his bliss that makes him vulnerable to the illusions of the Moon (18). The Fool’s joy is a feeling state. His positive emotions are not yet subject to mental clarity. In his dreamy condition, the Fool is susceptible to fantasy, distortion and a false picture of the truth. He falls easily into the deep waters of the Moon.
As we catch up with Rize now, once again the fandom has mistakenly assumed that what she tells Kaneki will be the truth which finally sets him free. However, pretty much everything she spells him this chapter is a half truth, or even a lie, as Kaneki himself sinks to the deepest part of the moon and falls victim to its illusions. Let’s discuss more under the cut.
@linkspooky Imma just going to quote you on one thing:
“Every single thing in existence is Kaneki’s fault, and no matter what he will do people will die. This same mindset is exactly why Kaneki has such trouble believing in his choices. […] Kaneki’s never going to have one fixed resolution, or one moment which solves everything. In fact his own willingness to adapt to the moment could be a strength when utilized properly.”
This is something I agree with to some extent, but at the same time I just want people not to forget that Kaneki also has issues finding a stable middle ground for personal resolution because he literally is the main character of a play that he didn’t write…
…so he’s not exactly in any position to escape all the troubles sent his way and the bad choices he constantly seems to make. Just looking back on Furuta’s attack on the 24th ward as an example…
Kaneki played right into Furuta’s trap because he came back to protect the people he loves which led to the situation with Dragoneki
however if Kaneki hadn’t come back, then Furuta would have simply killed all the people he cares about
So, it’s hard to hope for him to find a stable way to achieve resolution when every choice seems to partially lead to bad results (at least for now in the narrative) and these are what he fears. That’s why personally I think it was expected that he’d blame himself for the damages he ended up causing, even if it’s also important to notice that the alternative choice would have led to worse and Kaneki would have even probably lost his reason to want to live at all.
That’s also why Kaneki’s development as a character doesn’t rest in being able to make good or bad choices in my opinion: as the protagonist of a play that seems to be out of his control for now, he doesn’t appear to be satisfied no matter what choice he makes because of the two-faced results:
And it’s exactly what happened in the new chapter, with “Rize” who
conveniently forgot to make him realize that, yes, maybe he killed many people, but at the same time he managed to save his loved ones and him not coming back would have led to even worse results anyway.
Instead “Rize” insisted that he alone was the reason his friends were even targeted in the first place which, as you pointed out Spooky-chan, is not true, because ghouls in general are chased after by the CCG.
So ultimately I think that what Kaneki can do is to start realizing that he’s no different from 99.5% of the rest of the cast, which is, to quote you “why looking at himself honestly needs to be the end point for him. Not to absolve himself from any blame, and not to blame himself for everything but rather to find a healthy middle ground.”
Stagnating or regressing hardly ever are an option, but I guess that we’re considering those nonetheless after what Rize said in the newest chapter, because it is all linked to Kaneki’s irony as a character, since he constantly feels powerless even though he’s (probably) the strongest.
It’s my belief that he’ll get there eventually though, maybe next chapter who knows, if he realizes that “Rize” is conveniently not showing him all the consequences (good and bad) that his choice to go back to the 24th ward led to, or later in another arc. 🙂
Ahhh thank you! So there are very complex reasons behind Kaneki’s motivations to do everything on his own, but let’s look at the other characters who explicitly embody this trait as well: Shirazu and Urie.
I think it’s notable that the reason Shirazu takes on all the responsibility is not because Kaneki saddles him with leading the squad (Shirazu was a good squad leader), but rather it’s connected to his upbringing. After Haru got sick, his mother left, and this happened to his father:
His father hung himself, leaving Shirazu as the only one who could possibly care for Haru. That’s why, when he’s dying, he genuinely thinks the world is cruel. He doesn’t trust the new family he has–Urie, Saiko, Mutsuki–to try and save her, and why would he? His mom left and his father also left when things got terrible. So he asks them to let her die, because without him, he thinks there’s no chance for her anyways.
And then let’s look at Urie. He takes over the Squad after Shirazu dies, and kind of is not a great leader, unlike Shirazu.
His determination and desperation to be strong and to overcome Kuroiwa is pretty clearly rooted in a childish desire to tell his father he didn’t want his father to leave him and to prove he was worth his father not sacrificing himself, because in Urie’s mind, Mikito prioritized his squad’s lives over coming home to him.
Basically, Urie does not want to be his father, but he’s become just like him anyways, and it almost killed him when he framed out, but Saiko saved him.
So, Kaneki. We know that Kaneki’s mother died from overwork, because she was so desperate to bear the burden for her sister and her sister’s family. Kaneki’s father died when he was so young that his mother is really the only parental example he had in his early formative years. And even though he truly does resent her for prioritizing everyone else, it’s obvious that Kaneki’s followed in her footsteps in that.
But beyond that, Kaneki’s dad died, his mom abused him and died, and his aunt abused and neglected him. These are all things Kaneki had absolutely no control over. He is not in any way at fault for any of these. But it’s highly, highly common for abuse victims to blame themselves–especially children. See, all children are by nature egocentric–but I’m using a psychological term here, not the common way “egocentric” would be used as a negative thing. It just means that children are not able to fully grasp the complexity of the world, and so they believe that they deserve or have earned everything that happens to them. It’s interesting to me that Kaneki is shown in a fetal position last chapter:
So this chapter really highlighted Kaneki’s childlikeness for me (I should also clarify: childlike is not a negative thing; childish is negative, they have different connotations).
Because Kaneki believes he is somehow responsible for every bad thing that’s happened to him (thinking of himself as the protagonist also ties into this), and because he also doesn’t want to be his mother and wants the bad things to stop happening to both him and to those he loves, he believes he alone can stop it. Which is a faulty mindset: Suzuya made his own choice to fight in the 24th ward. So did Mutsuki. Hinami chose to stay behind and almost sacrifice herself. Naki expressed that he wanted to die. Those are not Kaneki’s fault.
Like Shirazu, due to his childhood experiences teaching him he could not rely on others, Kaneki is too scared to actually rely on others. Like Urie, he’s still grief-torn over the loved ones he lost even though he had no control over most of them. He’s a traumatized child.
And furthermore, Kaneki absolutely loathes himself. He sets up seemingly hypocritical boundaries like “killing ghouls fine, killing humans no, but I’m the ghoul king” because it’s literally the only way he can live with himself. It’s a maladaptive coping mechanism. He does not believe he’s worth love if he isn’t good enough, if he isn’t kind enough, if he doesn’t get hurt enough. Love for Kaneki is inherently tangled in him being hurt, just like his mom hurt him but also loved him. Touka is not abusive, Tsukiyama is not abusive, Hide never was, so Kaneki must hurt himself to protect them.
(I’m crying as I’m writing this, because it’s really damn relatable and my heart’s broken for him.)
Kaneki does know he’s loved. Touka, Tsukiyama, everyone in Goat could not show him more how loved he is–except they actually could if they confronted the worst parts of him, like Urie and Saiko did with Mutsuki recently (what is foreshadowing). Because he doesn’t trust them fully to love him if he’s what he fears he is (a murderer, and he is a murderer). But they love him anyways, and I expect them to show him that at the end. Like Mutsuki, he’s probably going to be in complete and total despair after this, but accept that he’s a murderer and he cannot justify his murders.
But. But Touka and the others still love him. The entire CCG and Goat are trying to save him because to them, he’s worth it, even though he killed countless CCG agents in the 24th ward and countless ghouls. Like Urie and Saiko had to acknowledge Mutsuki’s wrongdoings, Touka and the others need to acknowledge Kaneki’s, and tell him that they love him no matter what. And they will, I believe that.
Tl;dr: Kaneki is afraid to know himself, and to let others know him, due to his childhood trauma and deep self-loathing.
Should the Undertaker=Cedric theory be canon, which Kuroshitsuji character will confirm it?
That’s what I’ve been thinking, so I decided to make this post.
I used to be a little hesitant of this theory, however, as soon as Yana confirmed that Vincent and Francis are true-blood siblings, all my hesitation disappeared. (English translation by@akumadeenglish)
In my point of view, the missing puzzle piece that will click everything together and confirm this is Undertaker’s real name.
So who of all the Kuroshitsuji cast will finally reveal Undertaker’s real name?
¤ Frances: She is very likely to confirm this, however, seeing how Vincent never told his sons about their grandmother, her life experiences could be kept secretive for various reasons. That could eliminate all the chances of her talking about Cloudia, or her father.
¤ Tanaka: He has been a Phantomhive butler for a very long time, thus him having knowledge of Cedric and Cloudia is very plausible.
Unfortunately though, the said mystery of Cloudia P. could be an obstacle to him revealing anything about her.
¤ Ciel Phantomhive: While being under UT’s care, Undertaker might have told him a thing or two about his past.
Nevertheless, should that have happened, it’s viable he knows very few things conserning this topic.
¤ Undertaker himself: He could reveal his name himself, though the chances of that happening anytime soon are extremely low considering his goals.
He might not give us a head start for this theory, meaning that he might not confirm his real identity. However, it is feasible that Undertaker is going to be the one who will explain his ties with the Phantomhive family (ideally through a very long flashback).
And finally…
¤ William T. Spears and Grell Sutcliff: Indeed, everyone! It could very well be them who confirm the Undertaker=Cedric theory.
Let’s not forget that William manages the shinigami files, and asked Grell to make a report on the deserter. Undertaker’s name could be found out through that report and when that happens, this theory could finally be considered canon!
Edit:
Thank for reminding me! I’m surprised I forgot him myself, haha!
¤ Othello: The guy has been a shinigami for a pretty long time but hasn’t been in the human world for half a century. (Undertaker has also been a deserter for half a century as mentioned in the Campania arc.)
Also, let’s not forget that since he hasn’t been in the human world for half a century, he couldn’t have seen Vincent or Ciel ever before. Nevertheless, Ciel must have reminded him of someone. Of someone who has managed to make a shinigami fall in love and desert, Cloudia Phantomhive.
@serinigalini ahhh good, you saw my addition! :3 I definitely am vouching for Othello to give us either UT’s real name or to tell us about the circumstances behind his desertion 50 years ago, once this arc is coming to its end or something.
One thing though, I just don’t think UT necessarily deserted because of Claudia. And even if somehow she was in some ways involved in what happened 50 years ago (since it’s possible that’s who Othello was reminded of when he saw Ciel), I doubt he would have left because he fell in love with her or anything, since she was barely ten years old at the time. 😉
I mean, UT has stalker vibes, but he’s definitely not Kelvin, at least I hope so. xD
Well, it seems everybody has already taken the place on the chess board (which is actually the floor in the Phantomhive manor and in the Sphere music hall).
We can see characters are associated with chess pieces, for example, Sebastian is equivalent to the Knight, O!Ciel and R!Ciel to the black and white Kings.
But there are also someone else.
Doll and Madam Red are the white and black Pawns, Joker is shown as the Bishop, and Vincent Phantomhive as the Queen. That is why I can asume, that: 1) All these people are relevant to the plot and will play their role soon 2) Doll and Joker will act on R!Ciel’s side/against O!Ciel, whereas Vincent and Madam Red on O!Ciel’s side/against R!Ciel (and it may work with the idea, that Madam Red recognized O!Ciel before her death) Perhaps, there are other explanations, but these ones seem quite obvious to me. If only I could play chess and understand more from this pages… But the only thing available to me is general knowledge about chess on the Internet. I’m sure that having a clue about chess pieces, their value and strategy will help to understand manga and even predict some events. So, if you’re into chess I’m looking forward to your comments. And in addition… White moves first.
Hi Anon and no worries :3 Did you mean this scene?
Personally I always understood that moment as Casca feeling self-conscious about not looking enough “like a woman” for Guts, which is why she initially didn’t like him focusing on her scars.
It’s always been one of her issues with being a mercenary…
because the scars are a proof that she’s a warrior, and a good one at that since she survived through a lot of battles. However, in Berserk’s universe, women aren’t mercenaries or soldiers, so the scars make her stick out from what usual women look like, which obviously is a good thing but also why she looked so self-conscious about them.
The context of their lovemaking also plays a part in her reaction in my opinion since, at the time, Casca had just realized that she had gone from seeking a life as Griffith’s blade (to help him achieve his dream) to Guts reciprocating her feelings and seeing her as an equal.
So it was probably scary for her to realize about her feelings, but also to suddenly see herself holding a lot of value for someone else’s heart, hence why she was worried about not being pretty/womanly enough to meet Guts’ expectations
(besides, at the time she had no idea that she was his first too).
Casca’s worries about not being pretty enough for Guts were irrelevant though…
…
because
he didn’t give a shit and was just impressed by what these scars tell about Casca’s skills and journey as a mercenary. xD
Sorry if I couldn’t explain properly, I hope it can still be helpful! Have a nice day Anon. :))
Hi! Thank you for reading in the first place. :)) As I said, it’s just what I understood, so some parts of it might not be 100% accurate.
Since you bring up the subject though, I just want to confirm (because I saw in the tags that people were worried) that the part about ch56/end of volume 7 and Kondo’s feelings is one I most likely didn’t misunderstand. xDD The words used were very clear and the following events (beginning of vol 8) totally confirmed it, so no worries for this part, you can consider it to be accurate.
Anyway, to answer your question: considering that episodes 1-3 cover exactly 10 chapters, since the cour probably has 12 episodes, that’d mean that overall the anime would cover 10×4 = approximately 40 chapters, if it keeps up with the same pacing.
Just my opinion there again, but I find such a pace to be very fitting because ch39 or ch41 would both make a very good stopping point for the anime, ch41 especially because it is a throw back to their first meeting:
Of course, it’s only “if” they keep up with the same pace as for the first three episodes and if they don’t change canon content. So we’ll see, but for now personally I’m totally satisfied with how it’s going. 🙂
In general, if you wish to know whether or not I might know about a specific series, just type its name in the search bar on my blog and you’ll be able to see for yourself. 🙂 If it’s not mentioned on my blog, that means I very probably never read/watched/played it.
Have a nice day. 🙂
Haha thanks Anon! We’ll see whether I play them or not because I know there is an awful lot of games and it’s more or less roleplaying, which isn’t what I’m the most fond of so….. we’ll have to see whether I ever get started or not. :3
As I was saying it’s not for now at all anyway, I’m way too busy because of college. ;_; Still, thanks again for the recommendation! :))
midnight-in-town 