The thrilling saga of my “why TG is not ending yet” theories continues as I try to prove why this is not a matter of Ishida rushing his story to a premature end and he has actually planned to end :re at chapter 179 for a long time as well as to have the resolution arc as a separate entity. There seems to be a common theme in these latest chapters that supports this.
These current events parallel the end of part 1 in several ways, we for example have Ui, Juuzou, Hirako and rest of the gang battling the Owl
Kaneki going off on his own underground, because he’s tired of not being able to do anything
On the way a friend of his sacrifices themselves so that Kaneki can keep going forward and they go missing in the process
And he in a big underground area meets Arima and Furuta who he has to get past by using force. If Arima technically was the main villain of part 1, Furuta was that for :re, they are the obstacle Kaneki is meant to get past.
The main difference here is that while in part 1 Kaneki decided to die and succumbed to his flaws, here he is doing his best to live and move forward. Kaneki actually managed to learn this lesson and won thanks to it, his change in attitude highlighted by his discussion with Furuta. Kaneki never got past V14, but here he finally took one step closer to his goal and this is where the parallels end and he gets a happy ending, right?
There is a twist however, because Kaneki despite his pretty speeches about living has not yet reached the complete end of his journey and is instead still in the middle of Judgement, not the World. The biblical symbolism present is referencing the Book of Revelation, which happens to have an event called the Final Judgement. Also, in two poems Ishida has written in the past, the theme of judgement is present and those poems seem to match the current events rather than anything that has happened before. Judgement seems to be a recurring theme, which is important, because it is not the ending point of the journey, those V14 parallels I talked about just now will be relevant too.
Before anything else though, I’ll just roughly go through some of the Book of Revelation symbolism in the One Eyed King and Dragon arcs to get this started
In the beginning a scroll with 7 seals is presented to the Throne of God and it is declared that only the Lion of Judah, the Lamb, is worthy to open it. The Lamb was given praise and angels along with creatures from Heaven and Earth fell down before him.
I believe the Lamb in question is Kaneki who was given the role of the One Eyed King by Arima and Eto who represent God.
Both Arima and Eto are like gods in the series, Arima even has the nickname God of Death and is seen as one by the CCG and ghouls
Eto especially has a lot of biblical symbolism associated with her, for example the instance of her talking about Genesis with Karren and wanting to become her god. If Arima is the one who ultimately made Kaneki become the One Eyed King during Cochlea arc, Eto did most of her part of the job back in Tsukiyama Extermination arc by awakening his memories using Karren. The biblical symbolism with Karren and Eto becoming her god is what she tried to do to Kaneki as well
Both Arima and Eto were basically in the position of a God for Kaneki, Kaneki even was like a son to Arima (plus Eto wanted Kaneki to become her child) and has some Jesus symbolism associated with him. For instance him being stuck in the Dragon and being in coma lasted pretty much exactly three days before he woke up and was reunited with his loved ones.
Kaneki is also associated with goats a lot, with the book Black Goat’s Egg and the fact that he even named his organization Goat after becoming the One Eyed King, therefore it’s fitting that he is also the Lamb.
His role as the One Eyed King can be considered the scroll since once all of the 7 seals are opened, the Apocalypse begins, just like how Kaneki’s time as the One Eyed King only led to ruin, destruction and loss of lives. Even if Kaneki technically failed as a King, the outcome still happens to fit with Eto and Arima’s ideas of what the world will look like in the future. For Arima:
And Eto’s world that is yet to come
It is just around the corner though since once the Apocalypse is over, the old Earth and Heaven are replaced and there’s a new order of things in the world. What the story is heading towards is in fact quite literally a factory reset, but I’ll get to that more in detail later. What matters is that when Kaneki was given the scroll, it led to what it was supposed to lead to, the Apocalypse.
The six seals of the scrolls are undone and there was a great earthquake, the sun became black, every mountain, island were moved out of their places etc. Mankind hides from the one who sits on the throne and the wrath of the Lamb. The seventh seal is then broken, followed by half an hour of silence and destruction that devastates the Earth.
Typical apocalyptic events occur and this is represented in the story. The way the borders of the pages became black during Kaneki’s time as the Dragon might represent the sun becoming black, mountains and islands being moved out of their places is the same as all the buildings being devastated and there was an earthquake as Kaneki became the Dragon. Most notable one is chapter 145, which has no dialogue as it most likely represents the silence. Once the seventh seal is broken, numerous different kinds of devastating events occur that kill a huge chunk of humanity, but one particular thing Ishida seems to reference a lot is the bottomless pit.
As the star opens the bottomless pit, smoke rises from the Abyss like smoke from a gigantic furnace darkening the sun and the air. From the smoke locusts come out who are commanded not to harm anyone or anything except for people who were not given the “seal of God” on their foreheads. Locusts were commanded by the Abaddon, the angel of the Abyss who many interpret to be Satan himself.
This is a reference to the oviduct that houses Rize in the 19th ward since the place where she’s situated at is told to be a huge cave that seems pretty bottomless as Kaneki peers down it.
Furuta also has the key to the place where she resides before being interrupted by Kaneki. The bottomless pit is actually the place closest to Hell and Underworld where the Dragon is eventually banished to for 1000 years.This works since the Dragon present in the Book of Revelation is actually Rize rather Kaneki since he was just a tool Furuta used to turn Rize into her current form
Rize also represents Satan who commands the locusts as she is the one creating them and has St. Peter’s cross on her forehead. The Dragon in general is meant to represent Satan/Devil in the Book of Revelation.
The smoke rising from the pit is the poison that infects people with ROS and blackens the sky and the locusts are the kagune monsters that attack everyone and spread the disease in the process.
Since Rize is the true Dragon, Kaneki and his Dragon form represents the Beast emerging from the sea.
The sea being the sea of corpses from Kaneki’s mind where all the people he killed during his rampage went, the place by the Torii gates in his mind where he talked with Rize
It’s also noted that the Beast has a fatal wound, which they had miraculously healed, Kaneki too managed to heal his grave wounds and stop his aging by becoming the Beast.
There is also a second beast that emerges from the Earth known as the False Prophet. He exercises authority on the previous beast’s behalf and caused miraculous signs that cause people to follow the Beast. He is also connected to the Dragon.
The False Prophet is Furuta since while in the Book Revelation they would be the two Beasts, in TG they are the two kings that are very similar to each other. Kaneki’s Dragon form was also technically Furuta’s ally and it was what he called it himself too. People worshiping the Beasts was seen soon after Itori, who was working with Furuta, tried to manipulate the people from Goat.
While it wasn’t during the actual Apocalypse, we also saw the huge cult like following Kaneki had as well as the fact that Furuta himself was quite popular himself and even had a fan club.
The Beasts were good at making people follow them and worship them. There are probably some other references too, but these are just some of the bigger ones I noticed. What this all seems to be leading up to is the highlight and climax of the Book of Revelation, the Final Judgement.
Jesus finally returns to Earth, which the Beast and False Prophet try to fight with armies of their own before they are defeated. The Beast and the False Prophet are cast into the lake of fire while the Dragon is imprisoned in the bottomless pit for 1000 years. The Dragon is freed after 1000 years, tries to deceive all nations in four corners of the Earth and gathers people to fight the God, but is eventually defeated and cast into the lake of fire as well. The wicked dead and all of those who died during the thousand-year reign of Jesus are resurrected and judged. A new Heaven and new Earth replace the old ones and there is no more death or suffering as the old order of things has passed away.
Kaneki’s Dragon form, the Beast, has been defeated and while he was stuck there, he technically was working with Furuta, the False Prophet. And like I explained before, Kaneki has Jesus symbolism associated with him so he also takes the role of the one who fights and defeats the False Prophet, leading to both of the Beasts being taken down in the end. Rize the Dragon meanwhile is imprisoned in the bottomless pit, which was where all the smoke and locusts previously came from. Kaneki now has been imprisoned in the bottomless pit with Rize and is going to be stuck there for some time, which is going to represent the 1000 years of peace before he comes out with Rize and a new conflict arises. Kaneki caused the Dragon to be stopped so he as the Jesus is the one who allowed this period of peace to exist, which of course is followed by the Final Judgement after those 1000 years of imprisonment.
Kaneki also seems to take the role of archangel Gabriel, who resurrects the dead in the Judgement tarot card and is one of the angels that causes the Apocalypse to happen.
His appearance is like that of an angel with wings and crosses with a white color scheme. Chapter 164, where he gets his angelic appearance, is even called “The White One”. Archangel Gabriel blowing his horn on the Judgement tarot card is the thing that makes the dead rise from their graves and in the Book of Revelation a trumpet blast is said to proceed the resurrection of the dead. On the card is depicted a sea where caskets float and this sea of corpses is a recurring motif with Kaneki. There has been plenty of foreshadowing and teasing in the story about bringing back the dead, but we have yet to see any kind of payoff for it. Furuta mentions this being possible, but the Beast, Kaneki’s Dragon form, of course is not capable of doing it.
As the dead are resurrected, the old Heaven and Earth are replaced and like I mentioned before, it is essentially a factory reset. The factory reset that Eto wanted to see and who coincidentally happens to have returned just a few chapters ago even if that would be kind of pointless if there’s nothing left for her character to do in these final chapters. Arima is back too in a way, in spirit at least, during CCG’s fight with the Owl (Oh, and Hairu, the prime candidate to be resurrected is there too)
The Judgement symbolism carries over to Kaneki’s personal character development as well since with Fool’s Journey he is not at the World yet despite all his revelations, he is still at the Judgement.
The Judgement card calls for a period of reflection and self-evaluation. Through meditation or quiet reflection, you may come to a point of deep understanding about the common themes throughout your life and what you can do or change to avoid these situations in the future.
The Judgement card suggests that you have reviewed and evaluated your past experiences and have learned from them. All the pieces of the puzzle of your life are finally coming together to form one, integrated picture of your life story. This integration has healed any deep wounds and you are now in a position to put the past behind you. Your memories no longer haunt you, and you are able to understand and value what has happened to you and what it has taught you about life.
This is exactly what Kaneki talks to Furuta about, he has had his moment of self reflection and found peace with has past and where he is right now. He has had time to think about things and learn from his old mistakes, the past is no longer something that hurt him, but it is something that turned him into the person he is and gave him everything he has. He is completely content with it.
Judgement is about finding absolution. Through a period of self-evaluation, you will feel cleansed of your ‘sins’, wrongdoings and mistakes, and you will finally be released of your guilt and sorrow about the past.
Kaneki also acknowledges the fact that everybody in this world hurts each other and finds absolution. Kaneki committed a grave sin by becoming the Dragon and killing half of Tokyo, but he doesn’t get stuck on it and moves forward, he is at peace with everything that happened
You may even feel a calling – a personal conviction of what you are meant to do. If you are in a low period, in need of hope and absolution, Judgement can show you that renewal is at hand.
That doesn’t mean Kaneki is going to ignore all his wrongdoings and instead of just feeling guilty, he decides to take responsibility for his actions. This is Kaneki’s resolve to do something for the sake of people around him, him being tired of not being able to do anything and that resolve is not shaken even by Furuta as he moves forward towards his goal.
The angel on the Judgement card also represents the Fool’s higher self calling them to rise up and fulfill their promise so Kaneki doesn’t just physically represent the angel in question.
You may be at a crossroads, aware that any decision that you make will bring about significant change. The choice can be an obvious one, or perhaps the only viable one. You know that this choice must be made and you are facing it with maturity and level-headedness.
He is making his choice despite being hesitant to kill Rize, because he believes this is what must be done to save everyone, even if it has its downsides
Kaneki is at Judgement, but he has not reached the finish line yet. The World card is about reentering the world with a complete understanding and Kaneki at the moment is basically stuck in the Underworld and has to get out. The moment Kaneki emerges from the pit is the moment he has reached the World and is the moment he has to become more involved with the world around him. Kaneki is going through his trial of Judgement, but the end is not that near yet.
This finally gets us to the poems that Ishida has written that are pretty much about this event and these latest chapters. You can read it fully here.
Interesting thing to note is that poem is divided into three sections. I’ve already talked enough about how the announcement about TG:re ending was handled in an extremely unusual way so I won’t get into that now, but one of those strange things was the three chapter countdown we got so suddenly. My theory is that the three chapter countdown for the climax of the story is meant to represent the Final Judgement and each of these sections describes one of the chapters. The first section should represent chapter 177 and is from Kaneki’s point of view.
(1)
The end of the trial
All lies are being revealed.
All sins are being judged.
A reference to the Final Judgement and Judgement phase of the Fool’s Journey. Facing Rize is the end of the trial for Kaneki and Furuta was what started it.
The first thing that disappoints you is anger,
and if you’re sick of being mad, then it will try to kill you.
This bit is rather vague, but it seems to fit with Kaneki’s feelings toward the world and Rize. He is no longer mad at the world, but currently it and Rize too is trying to hurt him
A god that is willing to murder for atonement,
is no different than you people.
Kaneki is being put into the position of Jesus or an angel and is doing all this to take responsibility for his actions. Ultimately he is put into a situation where has to kill Rize to atone for his actions and in this chapter he even talks about how he is not special compared to everyone else.
Next is a single leaf from a fig tree
that conceals a body without leaving a trace.
It carries through while it is still vivid.
In Garden, Adam and Eve covered their private parts with fig leaves after eating the forbidden apple and becoming ashamed of the fact that they were naked. Before that they were free of sin, but this event changed everything and when they were banished from the Garden. This is probably a reference to Rize who escaped from the Garden and started living irresponsibly and “in sin” until she was captured and ended up in the fate she currently is in.
As blood spills in that moment, you softly laugh.
Blood spills as Kaneki attacks Rize
(2)
The ark is being swayed like a casket.
V called the Dragon their Ark
It is swaying like a casket since both Kaneki and Ayato got trapped inside as it collapses and the V agents too are finally defeated and this is the end of their journey, the Ark only led to V’s doom
“It’s okay if a cute person catches your eye!”
And then I went blind.
God is resentful because of his lost eyesight.
This is a reference to Kaneki’s first meeting with Rize. He at first regretted catching Rize’s eye, but in chapter 176 came to terms with it and thought it was a good thing since it helped him meet all the important people in his life.
It is in quotes though. Not only did Rize catch Kaneki’s eye, but Kaneki also caught Rize’s eye
And she went blind thanks to it as it was what led to her capture by Furuta and her current cruel fate. The one who feels resentment about the event is Rize
Because of your self-righteousness,
how many have had their blood spilled,
how many have suffocated in the depths of the sea?
Reference to Kaneki’s flaws what eventually caused him to fail and kill half of Tokyo and also perhaps a reference to events even before that where Kaneki caused the death of lots of people due to his flaws. This also happens to be a something Rize and Furuta to an extent share with him
It is what Rize called Kaneki out on at the Torii gates, but as Kaneki tried to move forward, Rize stayed behind
The buildings are gravestones floating in the sea.
And as they creak, the crooked foundation
one day breaks with a quick snap.
If Tokyo is the sea where all the people Kaneki killed died, the buildings that were wrecked by his Dragon form in the process are the gravestones along with all the other oviducts, including the one Kaneki and Rize are in right now. It too breaks with a quick snap in this latest chapter
That is when you experience the dull figures with your eyes.
That is when you stack up the limbs of someone you love.
That is when you get tired and fall asleep.
It happens, so abruptly.
Submerging beneath the sea again.
Kaneki falls asleep inside the Dragon and submerges beneath the sea once again, this time unable to escape.
Stacking up the limbs of someone you love could refer to Ayato since Kaneki was trying to look for him before he got stuck inside the Dragon or it could be referring something yet to come since it is talked about later in the poem.
People are bound to lose.
Our gradual burial at sea.
Everyone I know has died,
and I cry to the point of dying.
Before long, everyone became a pillar of salt
and it too, dissolved into the sea.
(3)
If the world ends for someone I know, then that’s okay.
The cradle swayed and disintegrated.
The sea filled up with salt and dried out.
A throat is punched with holes, and all the blood began to sing.
You will no longer be able to stop laughing.
When the world ends, the last person alive will truly think he is a villain.
It has been pointed out several times during these last chapters that everyone will eventually die
Kaneki however was not bothered by it as he said he was going to always strive forward.
This time it seems like he was the one to “die” while everybody else lives, a repeat of V14 despite the poem suggesting there being an inversion of Kaneki surviving while everyone else dies.
I already mentioned how Kaneki is connected to the resurrection of the dead when I talked about him being Gabriel of the Judgement tarot card and this is how it might happen. Furuta already talked about how the old Nagaraj shared some of his life force even if he probably killed more people than he gave life to.
After, which he turned into stone.
Perhaps the stone in question represents the salt pillars in the poem, the act of taking and giving life goes with the all of Judgement symbolism too. Kaneki eventually is going to be the key to resurrections according to all the symbolism I already talked about so perhaps now that Kaneki is separated from everyone else, he feels like he’s the only one left on Earth, feels like everybody he loves is dead. The V14 parallels I talked about still apply since this is the exact same thing that gave Kaneki amnesia. After his confrontation with Arima, he was stuck in a jail cell and wanted to reunite with everyone before being made to believe that they were all dead.
Now too after his confrontation with Furuta, he ended up being imprisoned again separated from all his loved ones, just like now he is meant to stay away from them for “1000 years” before the Final Judgement can occur. After all a total destruction is needed until the Earth and Heavens can be reborn and it was said that those with Washuu kagune have the power to change the world, this being Rize and Kaneki’s kagune too
Maybe Furuta was right that it was all will be in vain, or maybe it’s just a brief obstacle to be overcome. The world being reborn would be a valid reason for Ishida to separate the final resolution into its own part rather than include it with :re, it would also give it the same feel as Part 1 had when it ended. I’ve also before talked about why it would be a valid reason to divide TG into three acts, the third one happening right after the climax.
There’s also another poem that Ishida released, the Phosphenes poem found here: (x) The art that came with it is interesting in particular, because the number in the corner is almost the same as 179, the supposed final chapter that I believe will be about Kaneki and Rize
If behaving like a god is a sin, even the act of creating life would be blasphemous. Wouldn’t doing this be mocking the gods?
The act of creating life is brought up again and as I previously pointed out, whatever Kaneki now does underground might lead to resurrections, creation of life that even Furuta talked about. The poem seems to be implying though that something even worse than creating life is being done.
Wanting to be judged, I entered the prison of my own free will. I play around with sludge in a silent room. “So you’ve come back again,” I was being cursed at with a timberless voice.
That place was dazzlingly beautiful.
Again, Kaneki entering the bottomless pit to meet Rize can be considered his final rite of Judgement and that quote probably belongs to Rize as she meets Kaneki again after he left him at the Torii gates. Kaneki drowned in the sea like she hoped he would and they’re now reunited.
The area formed from kagune is sludgy, but yet so beautiful as Rize herself looks like a godly being. It’s important to note that this meeting with Rize is the climax of his Judgement, the end of the trial as the previous poem said. Kaneki moved to Judgement after his meeting with Rize at the Torii gates and now he’s reunited with her at the sea of corpses and being tested to see if he can truly move on and reach the World, end of his journey.
I was starving to death, and then from when I was gnawing on someone’s body, that’s right, from that moment, it all became strange. There definitely have must have been poison in there. Only beautiful merely to the eye, and shit.
This reminds me of the myth of Persephone who was abducted to the Underworld (coincidentally this bottomless pit where Rize and Kaneki are right now is also near the Underworld/Hell) and ate some pomegranate seeds that forced her to stay there during winter months since she had eaten the food of the Underworld. Chapter 162 happened to be called “Holding a Pomegranate” and it was the chapter where Kaneki woke up after returning from the Torii gates where Rize is. The reverse happening now is fitting, especially now that the latest chapter talked about the poison Rize emitted.
There’s a spider lily too, an ominous flower that typically bloom in graveyards and is associated with death. They grow in Hell and guide the dead to their next reincarnation. They specifically symbolize lost memory, abandonment and never meeting someone again.
I don’t want to put anything in my mouth, I don’t want to hear anything. I don’t want to see anything, anything at all.
The three wise monkeys are related to the sins we’ve committed and therefore fits with the theme of Judgement.
Place myself on a scale, along with the things being sold off, along with the ripped-apart bodies given away in pieces, along with playing by peeling off scabs, don’t, don’t.
Throw away everything you don’t need out the window. It’s okay if you fall and die. Until the very end, lend your ears to just the sounds fading away.
Once again this seems to be related to the previous poem and Kaneki losing people that matter to him and being left alone, the scale line in particular reminds me of chapter 140 of part 1.
This was the last moment of self reflction for Kaneki before his end and with all the V14 parallels we will probably get this too since the inner monologue in chapter 177 was instead more meant to be a reference to Yoshimura’s words (x) I suspect the next and last chapter will be exclusively in Kaneki’s head, because of this and also because of the parallels to events 100 chapters ago. Latest chapters have all had a reference to something exactly 100 chapters ago, between 76 and 176 there was this moment with similar paneling and theme about living
In chapter 77 we had Urie venturing and finding Torso, in chapter 177 we have Kaneki venturing underground while and finding Rize, both struggling on the way
In chapter 78 we have Torso explaining his backstory and Mutsuki becoming sympathetic towards him despite all the awful things he’s done to them. Chapter ends with Mutsuki potentially about to meet their end in the hands of Torso after having been captured by them for a while
In chapter 177 we have Kaneki feeling bad about killing Rize since he was always sympathetic towards her despite her originally trying to kill him and starting his tragedy, now Rize traps Kaneki and potentially is about to get him killed. The reason I mention this is, because chapter 79 is exclusively about Mutsuki, them being stuck inside their own head and realizing new things about themselves. A moment of self reflection and discovery just like what Kaneki went through in V14. Chapter ends on Mutsuki discovering something awful they’ve done while they were spaced out and start laughing like a maniac.
Sounds similar to the end of the last poem, doesn’t it?
A throat is punched with holes, and all the blood began to sing.
You will no longer be able to stop laughing.
When the world ends, the last person alive will truly think he is a villain.
This Phosphenes poem though finishes with this:
Hey, how many things did you get that you wanted?
Kaneki in the end found all the things he wanted, but…
…the field is filled with our old friends, red spider lilies.
We are once again going through a period of transition, Kaneki has “died” and his loved ones are left waiting. The manga will end, but soon a new part will be made that continues after a time skip. A new manga for a new world, which is fitting since this references the Book of Revelation. There will be “1000 years” of peace before the bottomless pit is opened and out comes the Dragon with Kaneki and a new conflict arises. It won’t last long though since it is easily stopped and soon after all the dead are resurrected and their sins are judged. This is what part 3 will be about and once Kaneki comes back, he’ll have completed his trial of Judgement and reach the end of his character arc. In the end the Judgement always leads to the World, which in both the Book of Revelation and the Fool’s Journey is a happy ending.
I suppose it’s about time for my take on the most recent fandom crisis.
To me, it seems that Rize died for the same reason Furuta did. Both indulged in escapism instead of processing their pain, both created tragedy instead of fighting against it, and most importantly, neither took responsibility for their sins and tried to make things right. They never ceased to be driven by selfish desire, even if it was at the cost of everyone else.
Though sympathetic characters, it was this unrepentant irresponsibility that led to their destruction, not because they deserved it, but because giving into tragedy will only ensure it.
It should also be noted (though this could be a stretch) that Uta’s conveniently asking Shirazu about any girls, and Shizaru the “do no evil” monkey is often seen crossing his arms or covering his genitals.
So I’ve complained a lot about Saiko’s a habit of sleeping:
And being unable to act until it’s
almost too late:
…And now she’s confined to a bed and can’t act. 😭😭😭
What’s also interesting is that of the original Qs, Saiko is the only one who is probably not a full ghoul at this point. Mutsuki and Urie both pushed themselves to become stronger and are probably full ghouls (which I personally think may be part of why Urie is not exhibiting the same symptoms). But she’s been a participant in this war and raised no protests until her friend was arrested.
Even though she sympathized with ghouls (which Urie and Mutsuki did not), she continued to participate in fighting them however unhappily. Which leads to the question TG always asks us: what makes a person a monster? Does her reluctance absolve her? (The answer would seemingly be no, since TG is all about personal responsibility which Kaneki brings up this chapter too.)
Every other Q has become consumed by their flaws. Shirazu died bearing the burden. Urie framed out and vented exactly what he really felt when confronted with his true feelings by Donato. Mutsuki lied and lied and lost sight of who he was (the Qs’ family) chasing a lie (Sasaki). Saiko slept and slept, and now she has to sleep.
It’s tragic, and now I’m sad. But the way forward is through the paths Urie and Mutsuki and Kaneki are fumbling down: personal responsibility. But it’s not entirely up to her, because she’s ceded her agency so many times and now it’s been taken from her (like Kaneki as Dragon). People are going to have to work to save her and the others dealing with ROS and ghoulification (Juuzou’s probably next). I absolutely think they will succeed and Saiko is going to be saved, and hopefully sooner rather than later.
Hi Anon, I’m sorry for the delay, I wanted to gather my thoughts about the newest chapter before answering you! :3
So, about this scene:
if Furuta was thinking of Rize only when talking about “Dragon” (and not about Dragon’s different nuclei, one of them being Kaneki), then this may not have been foreshadowing about the Qs playing an important role into rescuing Kaneki as we could see in ch161.
So I’m going back to my initial thought about this scene, which was that the first generation of Qs have two main roles in the story:
And the interesting thing is that they did stop Kaneki with ch161, just like their group saved first Urie and then Mutsuki from losing themselves too, which means that the ones left to possibly stop/help at some point are Saiko…
and possibly Shirazu (which makes sense if you consider @mawjaw’s theory about who the different nuclei Kimi mentioned in the new chapter could be [x][x]).
Remember, Kanou was very impressed by the Qs surgery Chigyou performed on Shirazu and besides, I think Shirazu is still plot relevant considering that…
He still wasn’t buried properly (+ that little part above “I don’t wanna die at the end of my friends” kinda sounds ominous if zombie!Shirazu is really coming back as one of Dragon’s nuclei).
So that’s how I see things for now about this scene:
so maybe Saiko + Urie + Mutsuki, after saving Kaneki, will have to stop/save zombie!Shirazu too.
Considering that Furuta’s plan still wasn’t explained so clearly, I’m sorry that I can’t be certain of what exactly he meant to say in ch128. Nonetheless, the Qs have always been about stopping/saving Kaneki or each other, so after this turning out to be relevant for Urie, Mutsuki and Kaneki, it may as well become relevant for Saiko and zombie!Shirazu in the future.
Just some thoughts, nothing certain as always. :3 I hope it answers your question, have a nice day Anon!
First I wanted to slap Urie for that, but then I got the feeling that they’re both just very hurt and are still unable to communicate properly, because of that. They weren’t even facing each other when talking, whcih shows that they can’t be honest with each other. I’ve already talked about why Urie keeps putting his job first, but I’m starting to think there’s a lot more to it than just his father and Shirazu, more specifically the fact that he straight up got rejected by Mutsuki in chapter 126. Urie before this had no idea that Mutsuki was in love with Sasaki and probably deep down thought that he had a chance. It’s no coincidence that he was salty about Kuroiwa getting married before him and then he was rejected at his wedding by his own love interest. This one line in particular from the omake caught my eye:
He doesn’t think he can or deserves to have to have a family and Mutsuki basically confirmed that for him. He looked dead inside for a reason after Mutsuki confessed their love for Sasaki and after that scene we haven’t really seen him act the same when it comes to Mutsuki. I think he’s given up on his love and is trying to suppress his emotions by focusing on his job which is why he can’t be honest about his feelings. When Mutsuki was kidnapped by Torso, Urie was very obviously concerned, but when they disappeared in 24th ward raid we didn’t get to see what Urie was thinking. When they got reunited he only treated Mutsuki like a member of his squad and couldn’t show his love openly like Saiko did.
Akira and Urie are still parallels and this is a trait they both share. The scene where they stopped Mutsuki had a lot of parallels to the fight scene with Akira/Takizawa/Amon/Qs in Rushima [x] and there Akira was suppressing her emotions so hard that she was ready to kill Takizawa, because of her job even if she truly loved him and was ready to sacrifice her own life for his sake in the end. While Urie was trying to save Mutsuki instead of killing them in the name of CCG, his approach to the situation was very cold as Akira’s was. He didn’t even act like he was Mutsuki’s friend or family like Saiko, but just their squad leader. I still think Urie will have a scene similar to what Akira had in that arc where he has to choose Mutsuki over his job, but until then he is going to continue acting like this. His father and Shirazu’s influence combined with Mutsuki’s rejection makes a very nasty combination that makes him continue prioritizing his job and think that that is his way to find happiness. In this latest chapter he really seemed to be distancing himself from Mutsuki.
This ship hurts me so much, why do they both have to have so many issues that prevent them from communicating with each other? Like I just want one scene where Urie is able to open up, stop suppressing his emotions and tell Mutsuki how he truly feels even if he doesn’t get anything in return from them. I think I’ve been expecting too much from Urie lately by thinking he’ll save Mutsuki, because Urie needs as much help from Mutsuki as Mutsuki needs from Urie. With Urie I still feel like he’ll have to choose Mutsuki over CCG and tell them how he truly feels, but I think in that situation the act is more important than what he has to say. I’m convinced that Mutsuki already knows how troubled Urie is and they also probably know about his feelings for them. For example Mutsuki knew that Urie wasn’t being honest when he was talking about being a responsible squad leader.
The mutsurie fandom always seems to focus mostly on Urie when it comes to the hug scene back in chapter 29, but that scene was rather important for Mutsuki too, because they found out about Urie’s biggest flaw in it. It was even specifically mentioned in the re:Quest novel:
“The smell of oil paint would ooze from Urie’s room and even from Urie himself, and Shirazu and Saiko would often call him stinky without a moment’s hesitation. But to Mutsuki, it felt like that familiar scent exuded Urie, exuded his coldness and prickliness. Was he thinking that way because he had experienced Urie’s solitude during the Auction Operation?”
I’m pretty certain Mutsuki knows Urie is a lonely person that is just working hard at their job, because they think they don’t have anything else. In this chapter they just wanted to talk and explain what’s been going on, but Urie ignores them, because job™ and Mutsuki looks rather sad.
I’m also almost certain that Mutsuki knows that Urie loves them romantically, because they seem to very sensitive to that sort of thing. When they first met Torso they recognized the way he was staring at a woman and was uncomfortable, because of men’s stares when they dressed up as a woman and went to the nightclub. They also immediately realized that Sasaki was in love with Touka after he just stared at her once. Afterwards they became jealous.
I don’t think that “coats are nice, I guess” scene was there just for the sake of a joke. It just proved that if Urie has been admiring Mutsuki’s beauty so blatantly like that then Mutsuki has probably noticed that he’s into them. I think the reason they confessed their love for Sasaki in chapter 126 was, because they wanted to tell Urie to give up on them and move on, because they were going on a kamikaze mission for Sasaki. It’s just kind of funny how they both were lonely people who just wanted to be loved in that scene, the tragic conga line of love got in the way of everyone’s happiness.
Anyway, before this I’ve only really been focusing on how Urie could help Mutsuki, but I don’t really know what kind of future this ship would have if it was just a one way street of Urie doing stuff for Mutsuki’s sake. Mutsuki seems to be aware of Urie’s issues to a certain extent so I want them both to make a move to bridge the gap of communication issues. With Urie that probably is picking Mutsuki over CCG and speaking up, but for now I don’t really know what Mutsuki could do. Whatever happens I think they both have to make an effort, Urie just going up to Mutsuki and confessing isn’t enough.
If I may, I think the panel that’s freaking everyone out does indeed look like a fetus, but it’s probably symbolism.
It shows us what’s at stake here. The 72 hour grace period is up. It’s now or never, and Touka’s child’s future is on the line. If she doesn’t dig Kaneki up now, her child will have no future. (If she doesn’t decide to fight for ghouls it won’t either).
But in the next panel the creature attacking Touka is stopped by Kaneki’s other children. The Quinxes.
The children are the ones at stake here. They always have been. The Oggai were slaughtered. The Qs are being exploited. The baby is about to be killed. But an alliance can save their future and create a better one, for the sake of the kids. And the kids have to break away from the old system and fight for a future too (hence why I still think the Qs need to leave the CCG in Judgment).
And it’s also important to note Kaneki’s taking responsibility last chapter. Touka did not save him by digging him out and I would like the magical healing vagina idea to go out of fashion. Kaneki’s acceptance of himself last chapter (which mirrors Mutsuki’s acceptance of himself earlier), should he decide to act on it (and Judgment being up next suggests he will), saved him. Physically saving one isn’t the same as emotionally saving someone, but it’s part of it–Kaneki is saving himself emotionally and mentally, but Touka is giving him the freedom to do so; it’s a 2-way street. Kaneki acknowledged the wrong that had been done and needs to seek to change that. Touka needs to seek to change the world for the sake of her kid (and I believe she will too).
Starting by the easiest, yes, obviously she does (just like him) and there are so many hints that I don’t think it’s very necessary for me to expand on this. xD
It’s something they just haven’t told to each other out loud yet, but I think it might happen when the Dragoneki crisis finally is solved (or in order to solve it, we’ll know soon enough). :))
By the way, she has yet to call him Ken too, even though they’re married, but it’s a romantic development that will happen as well at some point!
Hinami
Not in my opinion! I think Hina loves both Touka and Kaneki immensely, but just not in a romantic way, and the whole point of ch142 was to focus on her being mistaken when thinking that she was not good enough to be by their side.
She felt responsible for triggering what she thinks was Kaneki changing when the case with her mother happened & she felt “jealous” of Touka (careful tho, the word used in Japanese has a positive connotation as explained here), because she was striving to become as strong and reliable as she sees Touka to be.
However, as explained in this great meta by @ayahinas, ch142 was just yet another stone used to build up to more character development for Hina, which is something that I, too, understood as leading towards a likely romantic relationship with Ayato.
There was never any romantic longing for Kaneki in Hina’s character for me, rather he’s her family (her onii-chan). 🙂
Eto
Nope, at least for me! If Eto ever held romantic feelings for anyone, I suspect it was probably Arima (even though Tatara was also longing for her ;_;) but I’m not an expert on this specific subject. x)
In my opinion,
Eto was like yet another “mother figure” for Kaneki, which is a role she took upon herself too and which is why she said:
because with Arima, she ended “giving birth” to the next OEK. So, nope!
Rize
Um, actually, Rize (as in the real girl, not the personification of Kaneki’s mind) probably doesn’t even remember who Kaneki is (I mean he was just this meal that ended up destroying her whole life),
so not at all.
Mutsuki
Against, it’s just my opinion, but yep I definitely think that Mucchan totally was obsessed and in love with Sasaki (not Kaneki though, just to precise, because it makes a notable difference since Sasaki is just one part of Kaneki).
I explained why I thought so before here and here, so please check these posts for more details!
Tsukiyama
It starts getting complicated. xD So to make things simple, let’s just say that I think it’s definitely possible that Tsukiyama felt something like romantic love for Kaneki at some point, but it’s not something that has to be as clear as day for everyone, including Tsukiyama himself.
Whether Tsukiyama ever felt romantic love for Kaneki or not though, for me, ever since he realized a while ago that these possible romantic feelings always were going to be unrequited, I think…
it changed in favor of a love that’s not romantic anymore.
Tsukiyama only acted possessive & jealous with Kaneki back when he considered him to be a top class meal. After that, it became genuine concern over bringing Haise back to who he used to be, because Tsukiyama realized that he really cared about Kaneki as a person…
but still, never once after the Anteiku raid arc did Tsukiyama show any animosity towards Kaneki getting closer to Touka (look at how happy he was to organize their wedding ceremony or how much he already loves their future baby), which is why I can understand people saying it doesn’t have to have been romantic.
Just like for Tsukiyama, I can understand why people have opposite takes on what Hide said to Amon…
…and I don’t mind whether Hide meant that his feelings are romantic or not.
The only thing bothering me (so to speak) is why we never had any clear hint of that (unlike with Touka, Mutsuki or even with Tsukiyama) before his words of ch148, if he meant for that confession to be taken in a romantic way, especially since he’s the one who’s known Kaneki for the longest time.
Obviously Hidekane fans won’t agree on that, but that’s why I can understand some people seeing Hide’s confession as being similar to Eto’s, except that Hide’s link to Kaneki is meaningful in a completely different way.
So I’m just undecided. On the one hand, the absence of previous hints makes me think it’s possibly platonic, but on the other hand, if it really is romantic, then I have no problem with that and I’m happy that Hide seems to be taking so well Kaneki falling in love with another person. :))
There you go, I hope it helps! Have a nice day Anon! ^_^
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.
I mean, there isn’t a lot of differences between ch112 and ch156 narratively speaking, which is something I’m hoping will change before long. Mutsuki is the only one who benefited from what happened (Aura maybe too, we will have to see), which is natural, considering that they were the one who needed help the most in the first place, but I wouldn’t say that what happened will help Urie and Saiko to change.
It’s necessary that they do, if just because Mutsuki will need to be confronted about their actions (like Kaneki will be maybe tomorrow), something neither Urie and Saiko did in ch156, which again is natural since Mutsuki wanted to die. So at the time, it was more important to reassure Mutsuki that they still had a place alongside Saiko and Urie, rather than address the subjects Mutsuki was so scared to face.
Confronting Mutsuki might lead to Urie and Saiko developing. Hopefully. So we’ll have to see. xD
I’ll let you read this post if you don’t mind, it should expand a little on the subject. 🙂
Thanks again for the nice words Anon! :3 Have a nice day :))
midnight-in-town 