You are not. Welcome to the club of people who think Furuta could live/want him to live. It’s not about what you deserve or don’t deserve in TG, after all. And Furuta had a truly, truly terrible life. I would prefer him not to follow in the footsteps of his brother and parallel, Arima, and commit suicide.
Basically there are two ways this ends: Rize eats Furuta, as he wants, and unlike where Kaneki said No and refused to kill Arima (as he wanted to commit suicide via a loved one exactly like Furuta), Rize gives Furuta what he wants. However, if this is to happen, the narrative really cannot have him die laughing. We saw Furuta’s mask slip in 146 when he and Ui were talking after the Dragoneki eruption, and we’d need to see more of that vulnerability (we’re probably getting flashbacks this next chapter), and also him realizing in the end that (just like Kaneki realized) it did not have to go this way.
However, the other way it could go is Rize refuses to eat Furuta, and he actually lives (those V agents are so dead though). He might not survive the aging (unlike the others) but for him to be denied the grand culmination of all his dastardly plans–his death, which is an affront to the series’ themes of living, even if it isn’t stylish–would be a fantastic thematic and character moment for Rize, because she’s always been a tool used by men and hated it, and I would just love for her to refuse to do what they want. Ishida also likes to fulfill foreshadowing through subversion rather than through the most obvious route.
Here’s a short not well articulated kinda drunk sounding theory. It’s more like a collection of ideas really… I read a few theories and was also personally thinking about how Kaneki’s body is being purposefully used and then discarded only as kind of breeding vessel for a new phase and life cycle of dragon. And story wise that makes sense but I think that’s possibly only really because the natural process was kinda hijacked by using an artificial ghoul not because it’s natural for the life cycle of the dragon to truly kill the host.
Because I mean… Kaneki is an artificial dragon. In the case of the original OEK dragon (Well… it was called “Serpent" or Naga but same kind of being) the kakuhou and it’s DNA actually belonged to the natural born OEK, meaning the dragon was probably just trying to make a new clone of itself. (Probably Uta)
Like some weird fungus that feed off itself and tries to remake it’s host (which is also itself in the case of a ghoul) as well as creating more of itself. (What if it was turning humans into ghoul’s with it’s genetics so it could continue feeding on it’s own genetics like what triggered it’s creation in the first place)
Maybe the reason Kaneki probably doesn’t seem to have healed is probably because the dragon is supposed to recreate itself at the end of it’s life cycle since it’s original form is left worn out by the process. (Maybe in some weird biological attempt for the half ghoul body to rid itself of it’s human-ness it just kinda explodes in a mass of confused genetic data when confronted with an excess of it’s own RC cells and kakuhou and then recreates it’s self as a “pure” ghoul and all Kaneki’s human data was thrown out after numerous failed recreations though I have zero proof of that, I said this sounded drunk, I know only very little about biology also it doesn’t explain the “spores” turning humans into ghouls)
So even though it seems like it might have made some attempt to recreate him (see all the lifeless clones in the eye/eggs) probably because he was dragon’s originator and his kakuhou does (or did) seemingly store his genetic data perfectly enough to literally regrow parts of his brain with their memories intact (maybe it didn’t work recreating him for the same reason his arms didn’t grow back right his body was wearing down and the genetic copies were corrupted. Though if Nishiki’s theory about the telomeres being lengthened by a large influx of RC cells this concept it bull shit)
Unfortunately for Kaneki his kakuhou isn’t truly his and the kakuhou’s in the Furuta coffin children squad and “nucleus” definitely weren’t.
Or maybe Rize literally regrew from the nucleus in primordial soup of her own DNA and her RC cells that was dragon despite Kaneki being the dominate copy it tried to make initially. Maybe that’s why it remade her perfectly. IDK Because there had to be some precedence for the creation of the egg for Furuta to know about but I doubt the “nucleus” (whatever the fuck that is) of the original OEK was separate from him and then consumed and yet the egg was probably still somehow created if Furuta knew about it as a possibility.
Finishing writing this I can think of numerous reasons why saying all of this makes no sense and I’m just sort of spitting what comes in my head without researching because it’s 3 am and I can’t sleep. But maybe this will at least trigger a thought in someone else.
@littlemissymonster actually, this makes a lot of sense to me and this saves me the trouble of making a post because this is basically what I think too. 🙂
I agree with you, there should be yet another parallel between what Kaneki became in the current arc vs what happened with the Nagaraj 100 years ago, especially since Furuta admitted to being inspired by a legend/fairy tale…
except that as you said, where Furuta was expecting Rize to be “reborn” (because it was Rize’s kakuhou in the first place), the same OEG probably was recreated from the Nagaraj 100 years ago.
Here’s the thing for me: I find it’s really interesting that the kakuja tried to pull Kaneki back in…
…because it means that Kaneki being saved from his kakuja is just really the result of a big luck (starting from Tsukiyama being able to gather so many metal detecting devices in record time to the Qs helping Touka). Whereas 100 years ago…
…the original One Eyed Washuu very probably couldn’t be extracted from his kakuja which led to it turning into stone after its eyeballs were destroyed.
In other words, this is how I’d sum up this possibility based on a parallel between the Nagaraj and huge kakuja!Kaneki…
In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if Uta was “reborn” more than just once over the last 100 years, considering the flashback with Yomo (assuming he told the truth to Kaneki of course) + stuff like gasmask86 and it works also regarding those clones both he and Kaneki are able to make…
The biology details for how/why Rize could be reborn from Kaneki + the Oggai are a bit lost on me right now (even if I think that Kaneki not looking so well is possibly because all that he ate was used to fuel the kakuja and maybe recreate Rize), but if ghoulism is akin to parasitism, in the end it’s not so surprising that Sensei would introduce a life cycle (based on monoxenous development).
I’m sure Furuta or someone else will explain soon anyway but it’s fun to consider ideas. :))
I actually have no idea and I’m DESPERATE to find out more. There are 3 most likely options here:
lab!Rize is dead. Kanou transferred the “nucleus” from lab!Rize into Furuta, Kaneki consumed part of Furuta and the nucleus, dragon!Rize was reborn from the genetic coordinates within this nucleus.
lab!Rize is alive and dragon!Rize is a clone made from the nucleus. There are now 2 Rize’s?
dragon!Rize and lab!Rize are the same person. Kaneki’s dragon consumed lab!Rize and since she has the same kakuhou/kagune/Rc cells as Dragon, she has been healed/regenerated inside the egg
The way Rize said she was torn asunder and put into tiny coffins, as well as how her and Kaneki are now whole, I think number 1 is the one I’m leaning towards but HOOOO BOY I can’t wait to see what happened. Is she gonna help Furuta now? Is she conscious enough to have agency? Does she have memories of her past life??????
Hello Anon! And yes, possibly, that’s what I’m thinking at least. 🙂
She’s not the only one, but @hamliet recently wrote a good meta about Furuta still ultimately wanting to die and I do still think that he’ll want it done by Rize’s hand, especially if that can help her get herself out of being usedby everyone.
I’m currently not sure what Furuta’s plan is, why he’s still with V, what he did or intends to do to Rize (because these are all points that are likely to be answered in the next chapter), but from the way he referred to her lately, I’d say that Rize is bound to grant him that old wish of his…
because she’s “an ally of his”.
Furuta had a terrible life so, while this doesn’t excuse his actions, the fact he’s conscious that he’s a tragic character and that he’s been actively making the plot move forward might allow him to finally die the way he wanted it to happen long ago.
That’s my take on it at least and, for all I know, it could change next week with the chapter about “Furuta and Rize”. :))
I hope it helps for now though, even if it’s to take with a grain of salt, as always. Have a nice day Anon!
Hello! Ahhh, from what I saw, you weren’t the only one Anon. 😉 However…
just like for Kaneki, it’s likely to just be a parallel of situation and not of characterization.
Of course, seeing ch128, it’s possible for Rize to be forced to become some kind of antagonist to the CCG and Kaneki’s side, however, it doesn’t mean that her character will follow the same development as Griffith/Femto. Rize had similar shitty years of being tortured just like it happened to Griffith, I’ll give you that, but I don’t think Dragon!Rize is going to become an equivalent to Femto.
In the first place, while Femto might be one of the executioners of the Idea of Evil, he’s still “free” in the sense that he’s bound by the law of causality to still go for his dream no matter what (that’s why he was chosen from the beginning), so he was given a corporeal body and an army of Apostles and he just does things his way, since his way is benefitting the Idea of Evil anyway.
Rize though, the poor girl, as far as we know she always only was a tool to one antagonist or another, so as you can see it cannot exactly lead to similar developments.
I don’t doubt that Ishida-sensei reads Berserk, it’s an absolutely amazing series for a reason, but let’s not say he’s not creative enough to develop his own plot twists without basing them all on Berserk and what happened during the Eclipse.
I hope it answers your question! Have a nice day Anon. 🙂
Ishida rarely disappoints me, but this one in particular was top tier. It’s probably one of my all time favourites. I mean…even my precious baby is back!
Such beauty.
And,
even more important
, we finally have a
clearer understanding of his “super peace”. Although not everything has yet been explained, the general picture has become clearer.
Honestly, I much prefer this execution
rather than what we believed until now. This makes a lot more sense than having humans and ghouls cooperating to defeat Dragon. What would have happened once the common enemy disappeared?
What
humans
really
needed in order to understand ghouls was a taste of their damned existence. And Furuta delivered.
But doesn’t this concept remind you of something?
Yup.
Our beloved Pineapple-kun
summarizes in a few words what H.P. Lovecraft used as a
foundation
for his writings. The greatest fear that humans harbor in themselves is the fear of the unknown. And of course Furuta, being an
ingenious
little asshole, is well aware of this.
So he plays by these rules, acting in a
rather ironic way. In order to achieve peace,
he thins the boundary between humans and ghouls. Little by little, subtly.
It’s a gradual process, but Nimura is managing to put one in the other’s shoes.
First off, he makes the CCG
feel the terrible sensation of depriving a human of its life,
regardless of whether this happens against the will of the investigators
themselves.
After that, coup de grace. He makes humans understand what it’s like to kill someone not by their own decision, but by necessity.
I define all this as ironic because it tremendously
reminds me
of the words of someone who certainly was not allied with Furuta.
Basically Furuta’s goal (more likely to be just one of them) is to uncover the lying humans, forcing them to open their eyes to the miserable condition of ghouls, abandoning their own comfortable and fictitious truth.
After the last chapter, in my eyes this phrase takes on further significance. It’s almost as
if Nimura was asking humanity if they really are determined to continue
like this, staining themselves with the sin of life without recognizing
the tragedy of death. The tragedy of being born as a ghoul.
At this point i think that it’s safe to assume that,
narratively speaking, ghouls are the living incarnation
of death. Their survival depends on the death of others.
Seidou was afraid of it,
and he defeated it by becoming death himself.
By becoming a ghoul.
Takizawa was an
unaware precursor of this concept that Furuta introduced much later in the story,
along with his friends in black
clothes.
This should also explain the presence of that enigmatic letter on the cover of the third volume.
Also, i almost forgot about something else!
Boom.
Ishida back at it again with the sneaky foreshadowing. It was always in front of us.Ending the conflict = becoming a ghoul. That Sui dude is always 100 steps ahead of us, i don’t even…
That being said,
one wonders how the humans will react to this
terrifying mutation.
I personally believe that the best way to understand it is, once again, to observe the path taken by Seidou.
I would really love
to see Takizawa reintroduced into the story in order to make the mutants aware of this principle.
There’s always a ray of hope, even after turning into the worst sinner. A brighter future awaits you, and you’ll be able to see it as long as you find someone to live for.
Or maybe, something to live for.
Even if you lose your very own humanity, you still have the power to fight in order to achieve true peace. I must assume that Amon will play a huge role in this, considering how important he was for Seidou’s
rehabilitation.
Furthermore
he is one of the few already aware of how the real enemy is the world itself, bounded in a twisted birdcage.
That’s it for today!
I wanted to write something longer and more articulate, but I think this is enough for a first timer. Also italian is my first language, so sorry for eventual potato english. I’ll discuss the rest another time.
Obviously, in case you want to see me discuss something specifically do not be afraid to ask. ;}
Good meta! I hadn’t even thought of the Takizawa connection!
For now I think he’s completely exhausted and the reason his body still hasn’t healed probably is because, as explained in this post, all that he ate was most likely used to fuel that giant kakuja, so hopefully if he rests and tries to eat a decent amount of Rc cells, he might be able to heal.
That being said, in case the aging problem of ch131 still hasn’t been solved by the amount of Rc cells he ingested during the Dragoneki arc, then I guess it’ll be Kimi’s redemption to try and figure something out to help him.
For now, he’s very probably exhausted Anon, but no worries he isn’t going to die [x][x] and I also doubt he’s going to stay that way:
not when we saw an arm full of eyes holding the ring in the previous chapter
or when it seems he could create clones
or when it seems the whole arc “gave birth” to (another?) Rize.
the guys we saw eating at the end are humans turned into ghouls and it’s definitely the result of Kaneki going huge kakuja.
Remember Kaneki when he first became a OEG? He craved meat, because “hunger” for a ghoul is horrible to deal with compared to humans, but still, the thought of eating humans must be disgusting to these new ghouls, which is possibly why one of them was throwing up as Furuta walked past them.
That’s how I see it for now. :3 I hope it helps! Have a nice day Anon. :))
Hi Anon! And I’m sorry, I really tried but I can’t really understand what you’re trying to say? ;_;
I do think Rize got a new body (whether there are now two Rize or just one though, that I don’t know) but I don’t think it means that Rize became or can become Kaneki (or the other way around)?
This isn’t a meta so much as speculation + what I would like to see.
Itori starts this question by telling Kaneki that a ghoul named Kamishiro Rize does not exist… but also that Rize is the key to everything. Which the latest chapter reinforced.
This is foreshadowing both for Rize’s past in the Sunlit Garden (was her original last name Arima? seems possible), but also for her role in the story going forward, in which Rize is not given agency since her attack on Kaneki. She’s first captured and mined by Kanou and then she loses her mind. She’s then recaptured in :re and taken to the lab again, where Furuta turns her into the Oggai. She appears in Kaneki’s mind, but she’s just a hallucination in Aogiri, unable to speak for herself. Kaneki instead projects the worst of himself onto her and this continues. Furuta becomes enraged she wasn’t grateful to him for freeing her and lashes out.
Personally, if Furuta and V are intending Rize to be some kind of final Dragon/Boss, I’d like her to subvert that expectation in the end. Because the Rize we have known has been a plot device more than a villain, an unkind person yes, but someone who never deserved the things that happened to her. Unlikeable people are victims too, and I would really like to see Rize say “fuck it” to Furuta and his expectations one last time. He’s someone who, while I love him, has repeatedly seen himself as a god in her life, as someone who can give and take her agency away from her (and V has as well, given what she was born to do).
Rather than the ending be Rize being killed by Kaneki as the Revelation/Kaneki as Christ symbolism seems to hint, I would like Rize to say “No” to Furuta’s plans again, as saying “no” to expectations is something Rize does best. I’d like her to begin by not eating him, leaving him alive to witness her defiance of the constraints he repeatedly places her in.
If Kaneki’s identity is a giant question mark to us, and it is, so is Rize’s. Kaneki willingly submits himself to the loss of his agency, Rize does not submit but loses her agency all the same. If Kaneki is going to take his agency/responsibility the next arc, as the story seems to be setting up for him to do, I would love to see Rize, a foil and parallel of Kaneki, do likewise in the end–choose not to be some sort of villainous Dragon, or (more likely) choose to stop.
That would be hard to do, of course, given that facing all you’ve done is something that Kaneki could barely do and Rize even said so (hallucination or not it seems pretty likely Rize wouldn’t really want to do this)
Plus. Rize doesn’t have the world working together to save her. But there are a few people who might try to stop her without killing her. Banjou possibly, Yomo, Uta if he is the previous Nagaraj (for Yomo’s sake lol), Kaneki even, and Yoshimura in the lab who made that promise to Shachi.
Basically I just want to learn who Rize is, and for her to choose her own path rather than serve as a plot device for Furuta and Kaneki.
since that person seems surprised by their kakugan
and this person twisting flesh and surrounded by bones was seen in chapter 145 before Dragon rampaged through Tokyo, sleeping with the person they ate???
So, is that why the underground babies told Ayato that they were humans? Did the first oek turned them into ghouls?
holy shit, you’re so right!!
when the previous OEK created a Dragon in the Underground Tokyo, it must have turned humans into ghouls just like it is now!
From the moment Furuta referred to Dragon as his “ally”, I guess we definitely should have considered Rize since he was in love with her and she had 100 kids for him.
It’s like “Eto is the OEK” all over again until she dropped the bomb herself that she wasn’t.
Gosh, I love Sensei for constantly proving us wrong. xDD
midnight-in-town 