It’s a hard situation! Presuming Lizzy saw OC before Frances did, it wasn’t until AFTER Lizzy believed her fiance was suddenly alive agaim that Frances realized this wasn’t true – in fact he’s actually STILL DEAD. Lizzy was only 11 years old at the time, and would not be old or wise enough to keep OC’s secret… So what do you do?
If Frances exposed him, his reputation would be ruined and it’s possible the last heir of HER family (because Frances is a Phantomhive) would either be shunned for lying, losing his Earl status or replaced in some manner. We’re supposed to believe OC wouldn’t have been given the responsibility so easily, especially nor after lying like that. He’d likely be carted off to live with a guardian somewhere.
OC isn’t her son but I’m sure she has almost equal affection for him as compared to Lizzy, she knows it isn’t her secret to tell but also not telling could hurt people… hence why she has been angry at him all these years.
I don’t think any option is good, but I wouldn’t blame Frances for keeping the secret. Lizzy and RC had a political marriage (kinda) not a love match, so at their young age perhaps it was understandable that keeping it a secret was best. Plus, thinking RC was alive made Lizzy SO happy; how hard would it be to tell her otherwise? Tricky!
Just my opinion but additionally, I think the fact she knew very much what kind of danger her family constantly faced is maybe why she (like Tanaka) kept the secret, because they could guess that our!Ciel had his reasons after being abducted for a whole month and coming back alone + probably that he felt horrible guilt about whatever happened to real!Ciel.
stole it bc her dick was hard 4 vincent and we all know it. lol but in reality no clue man, honestly i think it’s bc frances 100% knows OC is a faker and it’s why we ‘aren’t allowed’ to see her in the flashbacks. she’d give the 2CT game away (hence why she’s been testy with OC @ Lizzy all these years)
I thought I was out of the game, but they dragged me back in.
Let’s address some common complaints I see within the fandom (talking extremely generally here), and try to correct the misreading of Furuta with the text itself.
There is nothing plot breaking, or even shallow about Furuta’s character. He’s a character in the narrative the same as everybody else, however the narrative tries to trick you into believing that he is a shallow meme in order to hide his vulnerability. It’s like a narrative thing, alright the rest is under the cut.
There was one important little slice of information on the first page of the most recent chapter that was so casually dropped that it could be easily missed– something I’ve been waiting for for a long time that confirms the overall atmosphere of the Sunlit Garden:
“Tsuneyoshi dotes on him more than any of the other illegitimate children”
I think we can gather from this alone that the children in the Garden were treated well, with affection and care from their father. There was structure and playtime, a beautiful location where individual activities were encouraged (more than one has listen “drawing” as a favorite hobby), and an overall feeling of love. Their childhoods were full of “halcyon days”, as Hairu put it in the light novel, Quest.
Now, to clarify, I want to do my best to convey something about expressing love in Japanese culture that differs somewhat from how many of us understand it in the West. Put simply, people don’t really say “I love you” with the same sort of flexibility that we do in English. There are exceptions of course, but generally speaking, it isn’t something that’s thrown around.
There is a literal translation which you might’ve heard in songs or seen on television before, and that’s aishiteru. You can say the ambiguous suki (“like”) or daisuki (“really like”, which is a little closer), but overall “aishiteru” is something often viewed as pretty friggen dramatic when said in real life. As I’ve heard it put by various Japanese bloggers on the subject, “it something you’d say on your wedding day” or “you’d say it to your grandma on her deathbed”. In certain situations, it can even come off as creepy or stalkerish when said to the wrong person.
I wanted to take the opportunity to introduce this idea, not only in regards to the Garden, but in Tokyo Ghoul as a whole, since I’ve read time and again that “x-person doesn’t really love y-person because they didn’t say it or show it [in a way that’s familiar with my culture]”. That’s understandable, but absurd once you realize that not all cultures express love in the same way.
So, with not explicitly stating “I love you!!” in big neon letters kept in mind, there’s also a social concept in Japan called omoiyari, which translates loosely to having empathy, sympathy, consideration, and understanding towards others. Having a lot of omoiyari is generally a good thing, and showing it is paramount to healthy community. Omoiyari is even more important in your personal relationships, as it’s understood inherently through actions that there’s love between two people or a family, and not simply by expressing it verbally.
We have similar concepts in the West, but it’s something that isn’t as intrinsic or deep-seated in our culture.
***side note, just to reiterate: people do say “I love you” and “I love him/her/they”, it’s just that where’s typically a good deal more weight to it than it does in the West, where we say “I love [ice cream, anime, cats, etc]”. It’s just that the word itself is a little more flexible in English, as it can carry different connotations.
Anyway, the reason I want to talk about this in terms of the Garden is because I’m hesitant to say that Tsuneyoshi didn’t genuinely love the women and children he tended to in the Garden.
I think he did love them. That’s evident in the way that Yoshitoki affectionately behaved towards his father, and it’s evident in the way that Yoshitoki vied for closeness with Matsuri. It was shown through the books Arima picked out to give Haise, and how Haise regularly cooked for the Quinx. These are learned feelings and actions of people who understand love, and who know how to give it.
Tsuneyoshi’s love wasn’t shown on paper through hugs and kisses, but symbolically through images of big bright floral fields and the mention of his “doting” alone.
But! Obviously there were problems that arose from that Tsuneyoshi’s particular brand of love. Arima mentioned that he did express favoritism, and Furuta flippantly suggested that Tsuneyoshi “probably doesn’t even remember my face”, indicating that they grew distant as his actual purpose as a member of V caused a rift.
And that’s where things get really muddy. Tsuneyoshi might’ve loved his kids when they were little, but he isn’t exactly getting Dad of the Year Award. He was running an empire after all, and sometimes you’re just shitty and want to put your pride and power and money ahead of the people you created with the intention to use as tools.
He loves his kids, but will exploit the living fuck out of them for a little cash. Like Toddlers and Tiaras but with more ghouls.
Either way, it makes sense that so many of the kids like Arima, Hairu, and Furuta would find themselves stuck trying to fill the void as adults. As their already-large families continued to grow, and the chasm between themselves and the love that they knew as children became wider and wider, their individual responses of despondence or anger or cries for attention came as absolutely no surprise.
Arima, a bright, thoughtful kid described as “gentle” by the narrator in Quest, became cold and detached as his peers and ghouls alike began to use words like “monster” and “nihilist” to describe him– words he learned to agree with.
Hairu was sweet and well-meaning even in adulthood, but she suffered from a nostalgia that left her longing for the old Arima to return to her, along with all the beautiful memories she had of them in the Garden. Even she misunderstood who he became, and openly admitted to competing against her peers by killing more ghouls for his approval. That was the last thing he wanted, but she died thinking of him nonetheless.
Furuta, a “timid” boy who played with girls and flowers, learned to slap a smile on and deflect his pain with boisterous comedy. He would get attention– good or bad– by any means possible. Love was something he could force with enough torque, and everything became a game as he grew to believe that nothing mattered anyway.
To wrap up, I wouldn’t go as far as saying it was all sunshine and rainbows. Each and every one of the kids were trained with the same barrage as the last. Innocent sparring could have started when they were young, but it was clear that they were subjected to higher and harsher standards as they got older. Furuta’s manic fighting style immediately reminded me of the way Kaiko tormented Yusa, you know? That’s not something someone learns solely on the field.
As a matter of fact, maybe it wasn’t sunshine and rainbows at all. Maybe Tsuneyoshi really didn’t give a fuck. Maybe it was just an illusion of love that strung the kids along and fooled them into working harder for it’s return when the curtain finally fell on their Garden days.
Or maybe it wasn’t so black-and-white.
Even so, in the end, the Garden kids all became people living to make up for what they lost. They wanted someone to praise them, to think about them, and to understand them. They wanted love– some believing they no longer deserved it– and spent their fleeting days trying to feel it for just a little while longer.
Addendum:
I also meant to highlight and underline Arima’s stone-cold truth: that even though Furuta was loved, he was only on the highest rung on the lowest ladder. All of the Garden kids must have been made painfully aware at some point that they were essentially disposable, and that their beautiful memories of the Garden would be tainted forever by the fact that they weren’t worth true and unyielding love in the eyes of the pure Washuu family.
Even if Tsuneyoshi loved the half-human kids, there would always be a barrier that kept it from being good enough.
Actually I’m surprised our Ciel hasn’t gotten an asthma attack yet. I mean, this is such a stressful situation for him right now and just look how much he’s shaken and shocked by all this:
And given the situation it’s no wonder our Ciel looks close to a breakdown. He never expected his twin to return. The identity as “Ciel” gave him confidence to return while he blamed himself for his brother’s death. First I even thought what he tried to say in the current chapter here…
…was that he himself was the one who had caused real Ciel’s death. However, given the prior panel…
…you may be right that he had actually wanted to say that it was him who had died that day.
I’m sure our Ciel was always aware of his lie. He didn’t forget who he really was even though he did everything to be “Ciel”. But still, being “Ciel” gave him strength and helped him deal with his feeling of guilt. Now with the return of the twin and with his lies being revealed all this is threatened to be destroyed. And that will surely throw our Ciel into a crisis.
I’m really unsure about where his will all lead to. Our Ciel is certainly forced to face his decisions and the truth now and depending on how he deals with that and on what will happen to the twin he may or may not continue living as “Ciel”. On the one hand it would be nice for him to be able to live as himself once again, realizing that it wasn’t his fault for what happened to real Ciel and that he himself is worth as much as his twin and has all the right to return as himself. On the other hand would it take much character development for that and I don’t think our Ciel is ready to let go of all that he clung to these past four years. Keep being “Ciel” may be the easier way for him.
I mean the thing is Furuta has cast himself as the villain in this story because he believes no one loves him. And no one does love him. And it appears his father’s “love” was conditional on his abilities–like, that’s exactly what they say this chapter–and my guess is the moment he fell out of favor was related to Rize escaping because it makes a ton of psychological sense for why he projects all of his issues onto her (which is horrible and unfair to poor Rize). Because he literally gave up everything for her. Of course, that’s how life and love work. You give and sometimes you get back but sometimes you don’t, and that’s no excuse for what he did to her.
But Kaneki is definitely not going to kill him, and if he empathizes with Furuta and Furuta rejects it a la Amon and Donato, that’s a bad sign. But I don’t know. Furuta doesn’t strike me as someone nearly as far gone as Donato–and let’s talk about how, in addition to the Kaneki paralleling, Donato and Arima both parallel Furuta, as does Uta, which the narrative seems to be hammering into us right now.
Like Uta, Furuta is driven by despair and by the belief that life will not get better. Unlike Uta, he does not have a Yomo to cling to.
And unlike Uta and like Donato, Furuta plays the villain.
That was Arima’s plan too, was it not? To play the villain, the CCG’s Grim Reaper, though he was secretly the king. And to die and the person who killed him to be lauded. And like Uta and like Furuta, he was depressed and suicidal and believed he could not be forgiven. And he chose to die even though he didn’t have to, not even with his shortened life span, but because he did not want to live with the weight of his sins.
And isn’t that what Furuta believes? That life isn’t worth living? Whether or not he feels regret over anything and he very well might not, he feels life isn’t worth living because he’s had no chance since he was born. It’s not like this chapter was subtle about comparing him to Arima.
Why would the story grant Furuta’s wish when Arima’s suicidal wish has only led to disaster? I really, really hope it would not grant him that wish. It’s also true that a lot of Ishida’s foreshadowing tends to be subverted (like the idea that the Qs will have to kill Sasaki if he loses control, and each other=they’ve all saved each other and Kaneki), so we will see.
I would really like this to end with Furuta like it did with Uta and Yomo–empathy, even if Kaneki isn’t like, gonna be BFFs with Fruit-chan, and with Furuta helping them to atone. Because if that mask is off he’s cured from his anti-aging isn’t he? At least he might be. Sooo. If Rize tries to eat Furuta, I would love more than anything to see Kaneki stop it.
Tanaka likely has known Undertaker the longest out of all the Kuro. characters since he worked for Claudia (whose name was on Undertaker’s mourning chain, indicating familiarity).
The scene below means a lot (though it’s not very surprising), but honestly it just creeps me out.
Note how close Undertaker is to RC. It’s not even close at this point– he’s touching the kid.
If you were a butler, would you let just anyone approach or touch your master, especially when that master is practically your grandchild?
Just so you know, Tanaka and RC were standing on the same step at the beginning of this chapter (where they’ve been during OC’s flashbacks).
But while everyone was talking, he disappeared…
While I don’t know where he went, or if this is just an artsy angle and Tanaka either moved back or is purposely absent for aesthetic reasons, Undertaker’s proximity says a lot.
Tanaka let Undertaker approach Real!Ciel.
Tanaka is letting Undertaker say his spiel.
It is now very, very likely that Tanaka knows Undertaker.
Unfortunately, we only got to see one Tanaka-reaction shot in this chapter, as seen below.
This is after RC stated that he wouldn’t let anyone try to punish OC for his lie.
Tanaka is very composed and not disturbed by RC’s speech, indicating that this protective behavior may be normal (based off OC’s flashbacks, I think we can agree).
If you squint hard enough, you can see a degree of sadness, but honestly I read that expression more as calm acceptance rather than sadness at RC’s words.
Aside from this image, we don’t see how Tanaka reacts to Undertaker except for his inactivity– no one’s stopping the man.
The look on Tanaka’s face and his lack of surprise at RC showing up also implies that he knows a great deal about the twin switch, and apparently about RC (due to his allowance of Undertaker’s actions/ proximity).
Questions
Tanaka’s actions and Undertaker’s presence lead to more questions in this deepening plot:
Was Tanaka working with Undertaker?
When did Tanaka become privy to RC’s existence? Did he allow Undertaker to begin his work, or was he only notified after RC was brought back or in the stages of “rehabilitation?” For all we know, Tanaka was just made aware of Undertaker’s presence in this chapter or when RC arrived. Based on his composure toward RC and his lack of interference with Undertaker, I doubt this is the case (i.e. he’s known for a while).
Why does Tanaka allow Undertaker’s current actions?
Tanaka’s lack of interference indicates that he already knew of Undertaker’s involvement. Though Undertaker was an Evil Nobleman, that does not give him the intimacy to meddle in Phantomhive matters, especially ones related to life and death.
Possible answer: The Undertaker-Claudia theory, in which Undertaker and Claudia were friends or lovers (though iirc, the age differences would have left Claudia as a child or relatively young when Undertaker was alive– feel free to correct me if I’m wrong). This long intimacy with the Phantomhives may have reassured Tanaka.
A related theory is that Undertaker is Vincent’s father, whether that be through the guise of Cedric K. Ros or through an extramarital tryst. Reminder that Undertaker would have already been a shinigami at this point, so the question rests with whether or not shinigami can have children. If Undertaker was Vincent’s father, whether as Cedric or himself, and Tanaka knew, he may feel obliged to assist the man in his endeavors.
Love
Could Tanaka only know Undertaker as an Evil Nobleman? Is he moved by promises of reanimation and returning what was once lost? Personally, I’m not so sure if Tanaka would be lured by such ideals. The Halloween chapter (120, iirc) showed that while he greatly misses those he’s lost, he wants their souls to be comforted. Does he think that reanimation is a comforting solution?
What does Tanaka know about Undertaker?
At the very least, Tanaka knows Undertaker from the latter’s role as an Evil Nobleman. However, these two have likely known each other for decades. Tanaka’s composure indicates trust in the man, plus he was not shown reacting to Undertaker’s arrival or explanation. Further than being acquainted with Undertaker, Tanaka likely knows about his reanimation attempts and equally likely about his shinigami status.
Tanaka and Undertaker both share Japanese aspects as well. Since Toboso-sensei enjoys using stereotypes, this could indicate that Tanaka is familiar with the notion of shinigami or believes in such.
Again, all of these questions stem from the idea that Tanaka and Undertaker are more than acquaintances due to the Phantomhive connection and age.
Perhaps next chapter will show Tanaka reacting in shock, that his lack of action this chapter was merely artistic focus, but based off these scraps of context and Tanaka’s composure thus far, I highly doubt it.
Bonus: The Fire
Remember this online mistranslation, in which RC should have said something about OC taking advantage of the fire? What fire do you think RC was referring to?
Originally I thought it was the Phantomhive Manor Fire, but after this chapter, perhaps RC was referring to the cult fire?
OC saw Tanaka after he had Sebastian burn down the cult building– perhaps he told Tanaka about setting the building ablaze and about RC’s fate?
We know that Tanaka knew about the switch, but we don’t know what exactly OC told him about his brother’s fate.
Either fire being referenced makes sense, as evidence would have been lost in both cases.
Time to wait another month to find out what’s up.
I hope you don’t mind me butting in, OP! You make some really good points (although I don’t agree that Undertaker could still have been alive at the same time as Cloudia, that’s a separate issue;;), and there’s something I’d like to add!
First, regarding their shared link with Japan, I think it’s always good to note when Tanaka’s past is on the table that Japan was forcibly opened to trade (and following that its citizens were finally allowed to travel abroad without being automatically branded as pirates) in 1854. This is three years after Vincent was born, and the same year as one of Undertaker’s lockets. If Tanaka had left Japan before that point, he would have been considered a criminal by his homeland.
Therefore, if Cloudia and by extension Undertaker had anything to do with the political situation going on then, it’s even possible Undertaker was one of the first Western people Tanaka ever met. By all means, he has far more reason to side with Undertaker than Sebastian, especially if he knows that Sebastian is here to eat OC.
I personally feel like Tanaka has a general policy of non-interference, considering how he’s played along with OC’s charade, didn’t want Sebastian to do anything drastic during the green Witch arc, and right now doesn’t seem keen on interfering either.
The big thing you reminded me of though, was that there was a gag scene in the anime where Tanaka was found casually drinking tea with Ash, who as we know turned out to be the big bad. (speaking of non-interference, season one also showed him having agreed not to tell Ciel anything under Vincent’s orders, so as not to inspire Ciel to take revenge and live in hatred) (lol). Supposing Tanaka has known about this for a long time, and known about both sides for a long time… tea with the enemy, indeed. I don’t know how you feel about the anime, but considering it was supervised by Takeshi Kuma and has foreshadowed other major things with throwaway gags (like Grelle’s exaggerated suicidal tendencies), I’m personally inclined to say this lines up
midnight-in-town 