I have been reading past comments made by Eto about the revolution and change which she wants the world to go trough. The world sure could use a change, since at it`s current state it`s basically a cycle of violence that keeps hurting and twisting the people living in it.
However, as I have read Eto`s lines, there is something that puzzles me. When she is talking about this upcoming change, most of the discussion is surrounded with rather violent metaphors or word uses in general. To me it seems that by change, Eto means the destruction of the old system. Not, reform, not change but destruction. From the ashes of the old corrupted world, a new one shall rise. Let`s look at some of her word choices:
“Our enemy are the the Doves of CCC. However, eradicating the warped root that lurks behind all of this is my true aim.”
“ In the destruction of this twisted birdcage, is the key to returning balance to the scales of the world. I would like you all to become the foundation of that destruction.”
“Because I want to take this fucked up, piece of shit world, fuck it up even more and then give it a factory reset.”
“To give birth to something, you`ve gotta destroy the world right before your eyes.”
This old world that needs to be broken, does not seem to be the CCG, but the warped root behind all of it that I guess is causing all this. What is that root? Is it the Washuu family that has held up a system for decades? Is it the mysterious V organization, which members said in the new chapter that some secret project they are conducting is related to keeping world at peace? Do all of these need to be destroyed that you can create something new, because I think a simple reform was not something Eto had in mind when she started to plan this.
Why then Eto uses such such a violent words and metaphors, seeing destruction as the way to change things? I guess a lot of has to do with how she grew up. Eto grew up in a harsh world, that probably made her see it trough a warped perspective. Her massive kakuja tells that she has done a lot cannibalization over these years, so she has lived a rough life. Her father leaving her alone with Noroi affected this too, making Eto very bitter. As has been discussed before, this manifest in her writing:
When you think about, I guess you could say that most of Eto`s creations end up having a tragic fate, as do the characters in her books. When she molded and re-created Kanae/Karren, I think Eto knew that she molded her in a way that she would not live very long after that. Aogiri Tree, a creation of Eto too, perished at the of Rue island mission by the hands of the CCG. Probably this was partially planned so that the empty space of power left by AT could be filled by the One-Eyed-King, Kaneki. King Kaneki is also Eto`s creation, so I wonder what will happen to Ken…
So to wrap this up: the thing is that Eto, whatever she sees that the warped root is (the CCG/Washuu/V..?) that keeps twisting their world, needs to be destroyed. Not reformed or changed, eradicated. In a odd way this reminds me a bit of the mentality that the Communist had. If you read one of the most famous manifestos by Lenin, a good chunk of the text is just talking about how the previous order/system etc… needs to be destroyed. A simple change is not enough, destruction is needed. What is an odd coincidence is that this kind of “breaking an egg” metaphor used by Eto has been used by the Soviets too in the past. I can`t remember who said, but the massive amounts death in the Soviet Union were told by a needed sacrificed, and the process was compared to making an omelet: You can`t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. To make things clear, I am not saying that Eto is a communist. Her violent word choices and talk about destroying the old system just reminded me of those instances.
But is the current actions taken by Kaneki doing this? He has talked about bringing the CCG to the negotiation table, by force if you have to. Is this the thing that Eto wants to happen? Possibly a peaceful discussion how things should change?
Why Eto uses these hard words is likely because of her hard life, and as has been seen in the past, the life of ghouls at it`s worst is very violent. Even the wars she used to live in, the 24th, has been said to one of the most dangerous and violent places to live in.
In the end, I guess Eto herself summarized it the best in a quote from Dear Kafka:
“What cannot change can only be broken. “
Things are too warped to be changed anymore, so they need to be broken instead.
Hey Anon 🙂 Well, Saiko is absolutely amazing, no one can disagree on that (and I’m super happy about Hsiao’s crush because of her limitless imagination)…
and I do associate with her on some level, but that being said I wouldn’t want to be her and I don’t consider myself to be a Neet xD
I think it’s great if some people completely associate with her, more than I do, on a personal level though, she’s an excellent model and I just love her a lot ❤ I’m glad she got her time to shine!
Have a nice weekend Anon! 🙂
Hey again Anon!
Awww, I’m so sorry, I am really not good at reading tones in messages… That’s why I like to add many emoji myself, just so my mood can show a little more clearly in what I post, haha. Sorry for not catching on your joke in any case, but I think you were right in what you were saying about Saiko in the first place! ^^
And thank you so much for the really nice words ❤ To be honest I’m only nice because I don’t receive any “meh” ask, haha! Still, thank you very much! :3
I totally relate to what you’re saying too! I mean, it’s not often that authors add “details” about their characters’ tastes and dislikes towards things from the ordinary life and that these details really have an influence in their characterization.
Personally, I’m really glad as well that Saiko got an entire chapter just dedicated to her own genius, so that she could shine as much as she deserved to.
(Hsiao’s crush is so cute :3)
Myself, I’m always amazed by people with great creativity and limitless imagination, so… Saiko definitely rocks!
Thank you again for reading and for the sweet words, Anon, that truly made me happy! ❤ Have a nice weekend Anon :3
Hey Anon! Ah, I might have addressed the subject once but since it wasn’t recently, that doesn’t matter.
Anyway, yes I do, you mean this scene right?
With Hide as the witch’s servant?
To be honest I’m not good at talking about symbolism like that, so I’ll just say that Hide’s makeup in that scene reminded me of the clown Ganbo…
…which is why I also used to consider this a reason for Hide to possibly be linked to the Clowns
(in case it’s not just a trivial detail, I mean).
About the Witch herself though… honestly I don’t know, but considering that Kaneki was the main character of that play, I always considered Eto to be the Witch, especially with her importance in the story so far as well as the significant link between her and Kaneki.
Not to say that it doesn’t mean Itori can’t have a big role, it’s just that her link to Kaneki is, as of right now, nothing in comparison to the bond with Eto and Kaneki was the main character of the play, which means that logically the Witch has to be someone with a big link to him.
Anyway, I’m really no good at symbolism because, while the witch being Eto in regards to Kaneki being the hero of the play sounds likely to me, I don’t think Hide is Eto’s “servant” or anything like that (at least not with what we’ve seen of both of them until now). Besides, I like to think that either the Clowns set up the stage for that play (as in they’re waiting in the background), or that they are the play’s amused spectators so… I just don’t see the Witch being a Clown (which doesn’t mean that I don’t believe that Hide and Itori could be clowning together, but that’s the thing, the Clowns’ gang hierarchy wouldn’t forbid Hide to be an actor on that stage while the other Clowns watch).
So you see ¯_(ツ)_/¯ when it comes to this, to tarot cards, the fool’s journey or subliminal messages hidden in Ishida’s drawings, I really can’t say I know how to make good interpretations, sorry Anon.
I like my canon clues and hints too much, so don’t count on me for symbolism xD Sorry again that it has to be quite messy as an answer. Have a nice day!
Hm, well, to each their own opinion as always, but I personally think that with Ishida’s habit of writing and developing his characters as being morally grey, he did a good job with Eto’s character, especially considering how she was first introduced in TG (as one of the biggest villains).
I used to dislike her in TG, mainly because she was the villain and one of the reasons it seemed that the last arc (Anteiku raid arc) had been so deadly in vain, so I really welcomed any insight I could get into her character with :Re.
And, that’s just me, but I don’t think she was ever supposed to “the big bad” of the story, even back in TG. Actually, she felt to me like she could be Kaneki’s personal antagonist (because he needs one and now that it’s probably not going to be Eto, I have other guesses in mind) but the “twisted world” is actually the main antagonist and the basis of the ghoul vs human conflict so Eto as just herself could never be the big bad in my opinion.
That’s why I was ready to see her as Kaneki’s personal big antagonist, but after the last arc and even if I think she’s alive too, she’ll never become another figure of fear to Kaneki’s character. At least in my opinon.
Being off screened is Ishida’s decision though, not hers haha, and I think you should still take her seriously. She was the leader of a big and powerful ghoul organization + technically she only ever lost to Arima, Kaneki and Furuta amongst all the people that she fought against so… I think she’s still one of the strongest characters, despite aging becoming apparently a weakness in her case.
Anyway, as I said, to each their own opinion, I just think differently from you in my case 🙂
Thanks for passing by Anon and have a nice day!
Ah, I disagree 🙂 First of all, Eto and Kaneki never fought directly before the Roze arc so I think she really gave it her all back then, but Kaneki was stronger (just like he was stronger against Arima) so in the end it couldn’t be helped.
Maybe she was happy when she fought him because, by becoming strong enough to beat her, that meant Kaneki was closer to become the OEK like she wanted but I really think she didn’t go easy on him.
As for Furuta, maybe she was caught off guard yes, but I also think that between being someone from the garden (so a “half human” like Arima) + Kanou making him a OEG with Rize’s kagune, Furuta was also too strong for Eto.
And about her being off screened, just tell yourself that it most certainly means she’s alive at least and that she’ll probably come back 😉
Thanks for passing by Anon! Have a nice day.
Errrrr, I just told you (?) I don’t think Eto held
back? And her kakuja was its usual normal size.
She even went crazy (please reread ch56) because of
the kakuja so there is no way she held back.
As for Furuta as I said above, yes maybe she was weakened (though he did give her something to eat) and he caught her by surprise, but that’s what he does. Constantly.
Furuta is hardly ever serious, except when he has no other choice, so Eto
wasn’t probably expecting him to be a OEG (young and with Rize’s kagune) which
is partly why she lost.
And finally about the Arima vs Kaneki fight, I
disagree: fighting isn’t just about beating someone else violently, it has to
be strategic, especially against strong fighters like Arima or Eto. So call it
a cheap trick all you want, Kaneki still won and that’s why both Arima and Eto
want him to be the OEK now.
Please keep in mind that both Arima and Eto
were “aging” and becoming “old” as half human/OEG which is why they
both chose their successor.
If Eto could have been Arima’s successor, after all that she already did to
change this world I’m pretty sure she would have been happy to do it, but she
was getting old too which is why Kaneki ended up being selected. Also please remember that Arima saw Kaneki’s true potential back during V14 so Arima himself knew Kaneki would end up winning against him one day and that’s what he wanted, since he had chosen him as his successor.
You have every right to disagree with my point of view Anon of course, but
there is no need either to try and convince me that Ishida did a shitty job
with her development, or with the way things went down between Kaneki and
Arima, because I think he did a rather good job on these points.
I hope that makes my point of view clear. Have a nice day.
Ah but Anon, that’s what I was trying to explain: it’s been long past both Arima’s and Eto’s strongest time so it’s not a question of “Ishida wrote it that way because Kaneki and Furuta aren’t strong enough” because Kaneki and Furuta are now slightly stronger than Arima and Eto. So obviously, Arima and Eto were weaker than they used to be when they were beaten, for different reasons that were explained several times and that have nothing to do with cheap tricks.
Please remember that OEG and half humans die younger than full-bred ghouls or normal humans, which is why Eto surrendered precisely when she did because she was, as per her own words, becoming “old” and it’s basically the same thing for Arima.
Besides, look at V14, Kaneki couldn’t beat Arima because he wasn’t strong enough back then but also because Arima was stronger than he was in :Re since he was 4 years younger, and that’s probably the same for Eto.
I personally really believe Eto and Arima fought against Kaneki (or Furuta in Eto’s case) without holding back but Kaneki and Furuta winning was completely logical considering what we know about OEG & half humans (as confirmed by both Arima and Eto at different moments in the story).
So, if you want to say that it’s bad writing/cheap tricks/that you don’t like it, feel free to do so, but I personally find that it made sense because Arima and Eto didn’t have as much strength in :Re than they had in TG, so there is no trick, just plain old reality that when you age you get weaker (and in the case of OEG/half human, old age is probably late 20s/early 30s).
I hope again that I managed to write a clear explanation. Have a nice day. 🙂
Hey Anon! Ah, I totally agree with you. 🙂
The fight against Eto was mostly her testing Kaneki to check if he really could face Arima from my point of view as well, and obviously Arima gave time for Kaneki to emotionally recover, since Kaneki himself initially wanted to be killed by Arima. From the moment Kaneki decided to fight with all he had though, Arima stop holding back.
And I also agree about the rest even if, just to be clear, my argument of Arima and Eto aging thus being weaker was simply used as a logical explanation to why I thought Furuta and Kaneki winning wasn’t Ishida using a cheap trick to defeat Arima and Eto, who were seen as the two strongest characters for a long time.
Same for the other examples you mentioned: Shirazu beating Nuts was because he thought ahead. As for Mutsuki, Seidou fought against Tatara + Houji’s squad + Amon before fighting Mutsuki so it’s possible he had started being tired on top of Mutsuki becoming stronger (thanks to Torso). Heck, even the whole “which Kagune type is stronger against the other types?” stopped being true for a long while now. So yes, I agree, it’s all about not being too rigid about what’s built within TG and it goes for literally everything.
Eto and Arima once were the most powerful, that is a fact that was true until :Re, but they aged + Kaneki got stronger (because Arima trained him to be that way) and Furuta got stronger (because he underwent the ghoulification surgery), which means there isn’t just one factor to Eto and Arima losing these fights. That’s why I personally think it’s good writing, even if I can totally understand not everyone agreeing with this.
As for Eto in general, I agree with you and I personally wasn’t mad at Furuta winning against her since, as you said, things more or less always went the way she wanted them to, Furuta aside because she didn’t expect him to be a OEG, so I found that different and interesting, even if he totally deserved a good slap in the face xD
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Anon and please have a nice day or evening yourself :3
Hm, well, to each their own opinion as always, but I personally think that with Ishida’s habit of writing and developing his characters as being morally grey, he did a good job with Eto’s character, especially considering how she was first introduced in TG (as one of the biggest villains).
I used to dislike her in TG, mainly because she was the villain and one of the reasons it seemed that the last arc (Anteiku raid arc) had been so deadly in vain, so I really welcomed any insight I could get into her character with :Re.
And, that’s just me, but I don’t think she was ever supposed to “the big bad” of the story, even back in TG. Actually, she felt to me like she could be Kaneki’s personal antagonist (because he needs one and now that it’s probably not going to be Eto, I have other guesses in mind) but the “twisted world” is actually the main antagonist and the basis of the ghoul vs human conflict so Eto as just herself could never be the big bad in my opinion.
That’s why I was ready to see her as Kaneki’s personal big antagonist, but after the last arc and even if I think she’s alive too, she’ll never become another figure of fear to Kaneki’s character. At least in my opinon.
Being off screened is Ishida’s decision though, not hers haha, and I think you should still take her seriously. She was the leader of a big and powerful ghoul organization + technically she only ever lost to Arima, Kaneki and Furuta amongst all the people that she fought against so… I think she’s still one of the strongest characters, despite aging becoming apparently a weakness in her case.
Anyway, as I said, to each their own opinion, I just think differently from you in my case 🙂
Hey Anon and aww, thank you for the nice words! ^3^
Might I just say, you’re asking a really good question (one I initially read as “who then are the other chess pawns”) and I just hope I won’t ramble forever on the subject. :3
You said it, in appearance this is a fight between King Kaneki and King Furuta opposing their respective “pawns” on the chessboard that is the world, but in reality, even as kings, Furuta and Kaneki are pawns too, if just because they became Kings thanks to other people helping them attain such a position.
In Kaneki’s case obviously it was Arima’s wish to have Ken succeeding him as the one-eyed king…
But I’m still considering him a chess player, even if he’s dead, because the fact remains that he apparently lied to Kaneki about something important (namely that V/the Washuus wanted to become “more humans” when everything so far implied that they were trying to become the strongest ghouls, which was the reason for the Garden and ghouls like Rize), which is basically the same thing as manipulating Kaneki and using his own death to make sure Kaneki would listen to him.
Then obviously there is Eto, who’s also a major game player using Kaneki, except that she doesn’t hesitate to be more direct about it…
She set off the stage just before going to prison (with her last book and revealing she was a ghoul to her fans) and she also made sure Kaneki would owe her by saving his friends since, as she said herself, Kaneki would have no reason to be the OEK in the first place, and yet he still did exactly as she supposed he would.
Obviously I’m over simplifying here, but that’s just as a way to sum up, and since I don’t think Eto is dead, that makes for at least one chess player even if she’s not directly interfering with Kaneki acting as the OEK. Kaneki basically does as he wants now: he was initially manipulated to become the OEK (by both Arima killing himself and Eto), but that was still his choice in the end, especially since Eto admitted he technically didn’t have to go through the trouble, which means whatever he does now is entirely his own burden.
In Furuta’s case, it’s a bit…. different, because Furuta has two groups he can play with in order to reach his goal and, while I can’t speak about V because we don’t know enough about them, I’m… really sure there is nothing like loyalty between Furuta and the Clowns.
…If just because looking at Donato, Uta or even Nico (who did Kaneki a huge favor not so long ago), who are the ones who helped him become a king, they don’t really look like they are anyone’s pawns.
Furthermore, Furuta was so depicted to be Kaneki’s ultimate opponent because he’s also a “king” and he’s the one who dropped the steel bars in ch1 that I’m pretty sure Ishida intends on stabbing him in the back because we’re not at the end of the story yet.
So V aside, because it’s hard to speak of what they could be after, the Clowns using Furuta instead of the other way around sounds good to me. It could also be a status quo and Furuta is aware of it, but still, there is chance he believes he’s the biggest player too, so depending on which it is, he might or not end up being stabbed in the back.
I’d say all the older main Clowns (Donato, Uta, Nico and Itori) follow their own agenda on top of having a common goal (which might be to burn this world their own way because it’s so fucked up), but Donato and Uta have the potential to be actual chessmasters in my opinion, and not just over Furuta’s side if you see what I mean. 😉
Nico seems more of a passive watcher and since I am not entirely sure of what Itori is doing, it’s hard to speak for her (unless I go down crack theory lane). Roma is younger and currently not fighting so I’ll leave her out of this post for now.
Almost last but not least, still on Furuta’s side, there is also Kanou to consider because, for now he didn’t make any mistakes and always found one organization or another ready to take him in and protect him, as he loses more and more of his humanity by experimenting over basically everyone. So he could be a chess player too, maybe not over Kaneki’s side, but over Furuta’s, although I don’t think he’s trying to manipulate anyone, busy as he is with his experiments.
Finally… Hm, I’m one of those who think maybe Hide could be more of a chess player than of a pawn and I’ll just direct you to this post, in case you want to know why. 🙂
So that does appear to be a lot of characters, but I think for now (for this arc) we can safely consider that Donato and the Clowns are the same side which means the chess players of the current game would be the Clowns, Kanou, Eto and maybe Hide (and V too, but I don’t want to take a wild guess about them).
I hope it makes sense explained like that. Thanks for passing and for the nice words Anon :3 Have a nice day!
Ah yes, it’s possible he was in love with her, I like to think it was the case personally. And about that scene you were talking about…
Obviously we can’t know for sure, but since Tatara said he didn’t get the two things he wanted/was looking for and at the same time he called out Eto’s name… Well, I interpreted it as one being either revenge for his brother or achieving his goal of changing the world through Aogiri tree and the other being Eto herself.
Eto was not only Aogiri’s leader, she is also the only natural OEG in the story (so far at least) and she wanted to change this world, so she probably inspired Tatara (hence why they were in charge of Aogiri together) and I just wouldn’t be surprised if he had come to love her after all these years of fighting together.
He seemed to be longing for her in my opinion, so it makes sense to me, even if Eto might not have felt the same way.
I hope that answers your question. Have a nice day Anon 🙂
Hey Anon 🙂 Well, I really like the OST in general, I think it fits with TG’s atmosphere quite nicely so I don’t think I dislike any songs but since you asked for my faves, here you go, in no particular order (and I apologize if the names aren’t accurate):
Licht und Schatten
Schmetterling
Verzerrte Welt
Auferstehung
Tokyo ghoul Symphony
On my own
Glassy Sky
“On my own” and “Glassy Sky” are songs from Root A but I really like them too. 🙂
I hope it satisfies your curiosity Anon! Have a nice day ^^
Aaah, it’s the beginning of 2017 and I feel like we’re going miss them all for probably some more time…
Hide’s and Itori’s hide & seek games are way too strong tbh but at least we saw Eto and Amon last arc (while I’ve been waiting for Itori’s return for almost 108 chapters now xD).
Hide’s position in the plot is definitely secured so I’m just hoping that in Itori’s case it won’t be like Gori and she was actually just hanging out in her bar the whole time doing nothing fishy lmao.
Honestly it’s whenever Ishida-sensei is ready haha.
Ishida walks into a bar. He sits in a stool next to Hide, Eto and Amon and orders a drink.
“You know what they say about cliffhangers?” he asks, once the silence becomes awkward.
Hide shakes his head, expectant.
Eto looks bored out of her mind but leans forward nonetheless.
Amon positively bristles, looking as though he’s about to say something, but he’s holding back.
Ishida takes a look at them, smiles and leaves the bar.
Rize meanwhile, is lying underneath the bar, stone drunk from waiting so long. Itori on the other hand, is the one who served Ishida the drink, and has long given up hoping for a reappearance.
midnight-in-town 