Nah but hear me out 🙂 I know it can sound far-fetched at first but that’s something I’ve discussed with both @thedarkestcrow and @dorkshadows (who are both just amazingbecause they constantly put up with my ramblings and always provide great insights to my crazy ideas, so a lot of credit and kudos to them, always ❤ <3) and, while it’s just one possibility for Lord Sirius’ identity, I really want to explain why I find it interesting.
/! The post might be a bit heavy on details (but as always there is a TL;DR at the end if you don’t want to read the whole thing).
TheUndertaker as the mastermind behind Bravat’s actionsis a common point to all of them, and it’s also implying that the 4 Lords are Bizarre Dolls he’s currently trying to perfect. Besides, Othello’s introduction is also a hint to this arc being about UT’s character since Othello is linked to what happened “50 years ago”, which is when UT deserted.
The other important and common point to all these theories is Lizzie running away because she discovered something big and plot relevant, which would explain her depressed attitude and why she refuses to go home, with 2 main theories so far:
Lizzie found out about the contract and Sebastian being a demon
Lizzie found out about the 2CT, namely she was told that our!Ciel (the main character) pretends to be his twin and that the Undertaker is currently trying to bring back Real!Ciel.
However…
About point 1: Recently @dorkshadows rightfully pointed out to me that, if this theory was correct, then Lizzie’s attitude in ch117 was a bit off because she seemed more concerned about Sebastian trespassing than anything else.
About point 2: Also a fair possibility, presenting Lord Sirius to be Real!Ciel, but me, @dorkshadows and @thedarkestcrow find this explanation to show inconsistencies on a few points, as well as not having the best timing for an introduction, since the 2CT is a big theory on many aspects and we know that this arc is likely supposed to focus on UT.
… Which means there might be another reason as to why Lizzie feels so powerless and depressed, as well as a reason she refuses to leave the Sphere music hall. About the latter, at the end of ch114 we have this panel of Lizzie staying next to someone…
… and, since this scene happens on the evening of the “Sirius limited event” day, it could be that the person besides Lizzie is “Lord Sirius” (being transfused with the blood they collected during the event) and in that case, Lizzie protecting the lab and the lords’ rooms because she seems to have a connection to “Lord Sirius” would explain her defensive attitude in ch117.
The 2CT theory proposes that Lord Sirius is Ciel’s twin (so Real!Ciel) but, as I said above I still have for now a few things I find inconsistent, so considering that this arc is also hinting at a strong involvement of the Undertaker behind the scenes, how about the theory that Sirius could be Bizarre Doll!Claudia?
It might sound crazy presented like that, but here’s a list of my arguments:
Ever since ch85, Yana has been emphasizing on a strong emotional link between the Undertaker and Claudia & Vincent (ch85, ch105 and even ch107.5):
We know UT is experimenting and trying to perfect his BDs to bring back a few people in particular (probably the ones represented by the lockets).
However Vincent has no locket, and would UT still be crying about Vincent 4 years after his death if there was still a chance to bring him back as a BD? I personally don’t think so, which is why Sirius being Claudia sounds more likely than Sirius being Vincent (imo).
UT’s also probably not over Claudia’s death (otherwise he wouldn’t be trying so hard, and also killing people, to reach his goal) and there is this possibility that Claudia, as the Watchdog, was murdered like Vincent, which would explain why UT dislikes the Watchdog duty and the Queen as much as he says he does.
Othello’s introduction with “50 years ago” on top of Mr. K saying this arc is supposed to move the main plot forward is, for me, a good hint that this arc might delve into UT’s character and his emotional link to Ciel’s predecessors is very plot relevant
(since Ciel selling his soul for revenge happened basically because Vincent was killed).
Also there is this scene in chapter 107.5, which I always thought to be foreshadowing about UT for the current arc (especially since the arc then began with ch108)…
And, while there is all kinds of love and as many possibilities, this scene referring to the Undertaker’s possible love for Claudia leading to tragedy could also be a correct interpretation (especially since the Sphere music hall is responsible for many murders already, mainly because of Lord Sirius).
Finally there is this scene in the new chapter:
And about Polaris mentioning being a butler, well, all Watchdogs had their personal butler so far: Sebastian for Ciel, Tanaka for Vincent, so *maybe* Polaris was Claudia’s butler back when they were alive (and in that case he might also be Tanaka’s predecessor)?
Besides Lord Sirius seems to be referred to as “the blue star” and to be the most important person of the sect so…
…If we consider the Undertaker really is behind all this, then “Lord Sirius” is probably someone very important to him.
Now, assuming that “Lord Sirius” is in fact Claudia, in that case that should be enough to justify a possible connection between Lizzie and Lord Sirius, even if Claudia died years before Lizzie was born. As for this scene…
Lizzie is talking about something very threatening to Ciel, something
that isn’t the contract but that the Undertaker would also know about, and when it comes to the Undertaker himself, as I was saying above his significant link to Ciel’s predecessors highlights mainly
a big dislike of Queen Victoria and the Watchdog duty…
… especially considering that Claudia and Vincent probably died of their job, but also considering the strong possibility that Victoria herself might have ordered those murders. [x] [x] [x]
We don’t know much about the Queen in the first place, but the current arc began with ch108, in which Victoria and “Albert” (John Brown) both said really ominous things to Ciel, regarding the fact that he tried to double cross the Queen (by hiding the SULIN that she wanted) and, after the mess of the circus case, that makes for two failures/big lies in less than one year.
So obviously the Undertaker would know about the Queen being a possible enemy and a formidable opponent after losing both Claudia and Vincent, and he could be worried of Ciel dying similarly, which would also be why he’s so appreciative of Sebastian’s demon skills when it comes to protecting Ciel:
Because Sebastian and the contract definitely are a pain for UT too, but so far Sebastian did okay to protect Ciel, so he might not be UT’s first priority. Besides, Ciel being contracted to Sebastian creates a vicious circle…
UT can’t warn Ciel directly about the Queen because otherwise Ciel will have found the target of his revenge and Sebastian will get Ciel’s soul
And taking care first of Sebastian is not a good idea either since Ciel would still be in danger as the Watchdog (UT himself already failed to save Vincent)
…but at the same time as long as Sebastian is here, UT can focus on his Bizarre Dolls and on maybe finding a solution to the threat caused by the Watchdog duty/the Queen.
Finally, back to Lizzie, she was raised and trained all her life to be strong enough as the Watchdog’s wife in order to protect Ciel and survive,
and her character development had a pivotal moment with the Campania arc because…
until the Campania arc, she was afraid Ciel would hate her because of her strength
but after the Campania arc and despite Ciel accepting her, she started becoming afraid of not being strong enough to be by his side
which is why
the prospect of really being powerless against Ciel’s fate as the Watchdog would be terrifying and depressing for Lizzie, especially when her whole life always was about overcoming danger from this side of her future with Ciel (that’s why she endured training and self-loathing for all these years).
Besides, if the Undertaker couldn’t save Vincent, even though he knew and suffered from what happened to Claudia (in the theory she was also killed), then what is someone like her supposed to do, especially if the real enemy is the Queen?
So basically, a good possibility for the blue sect arc to be main plot-relevant could be giving some focus to the Undertaker’s character through his link to Claudia P, thus allowing the readers to learn more about Ciel’s family since Vincent is probably not the only one who had such a tragic death. Besides, Lizzie and Edward are also strongly involved with this arc and they’re Claudia’s grandchildren as much as Ciel is.
TL;DR
(under read more + 1 crack idea)
Sirius = Bizarre Doll!Claudia (Polaris = Tanaka’s predecessor? Since he’s Japanese someone probably trained him so he’d become a “perfect English butler”). /! We don’t know what “the blue star” is, whether it is one of the Lords (Sirius?) or some kind of event that Bravat and the star lords are getting ready for.
Lizzie “can’t save Ciel” because she was told that the Watchdog duty is like a curse and that Ciel is bound to end like his father and grandmother (both murdered on the Queen’s orders), especially since Ciel already fucked up twice (circus and green witch arcs).
Besides, if someone like UT already failed twice to save the Queen’s Watchdogs (Claudia & Vincent), it seems impossible for her to succeed and protect Ciel, which is why she’s so depressed.
And yet UT wouldn’t have told her something like that without a good reason, so he must think she might be helpful somehow (for example, since he’s constantly chased after by Will and others, maybe he needs someone he can trust to watch over the 4 Lords when he has to leave).
…Unless Lizzie’s just supposed to be a hostage. Or UT wants to teach Ciel some kind of lesson by taking her away from him (but that seems a bit anticlimatic since that would mean attracting Ciel’s attention to his new BDs).
Or UT just became so desperate that he seeked the empathy of Claudia’s 14 years old granddaughter, I mean at this point who knows.
Also please note that I have no idea if that panel from ch120 is UT holding Ciel’s hand like in ch108 or UT holding the hand of Sirius/Claudia/someone else (?).
/! Additional crack idea with @thedarkestcrow :3 (crack because Yana-sensei doesn’t develop her secondary characters enough for it to be so likely right now):
I so don’t want Frances’ absence to be plot convenience that I still am vouching for Lizzie having an argument with her mom (like Lizzie thinking Frances is not helping/stopping Ciel when she knows what happened to her mom and brother) which then triggered Lizzie’s departure.
It’s hard to say how Frances would feel about revenge. She might have moved on after her mother’s death, but maybe Vincent’s murder changed things. Or on the contrary (which sounds the most likely considering her character), she gave up on revenge altogether because she doesn’t want her husband and children to suffer from it since revenge is so destructive.
However Frances and Tanaka teaming up secretly and trying
their own way to save Ciel from walking a destructive path is 100% happening but Frances can’t say anything to Lizzie because she doesn’t want to involve anyone else (and especially not her children) in this blood bath that’s been going on for now 3 generations.
It works with the “UT wants revenge/justice for Ciel’s predecessors” theory too, especially since UT’s way to reach his goals includes killing, manipulating people and bringing back the dead, so Frances wouldn’t associate with him.
And maybe that’s even why UT turned to Lizzie. Initially, if he wanted to avenge Claudia and Vincent/save Ciel, the most logical person to turn to in the P family would be Frances, but if Frances said no because UT’s way is shitty + she just wants to make sure Ciel doesn’t die like her mom and brother (since she would know that revenge is destructive), that could explain why UT approached Lizzie.
So Lizzie joined the Sphere music hall to be of some help to UT, because he is really trying to reduce watchdog casualties (that’s what his words of ch105 sound like, as if he made a promise to Claudia or himself, except that he already failed to save Vincent which is why he was crying and getting desperate) and because she thinks her mom isn’t doing anything to help Ciel.
As always, all of these are just fun speculations (Claudia is just one possibility for Sirius, and it doesn’t even explain who Lord Canopus and Lords Vega are) and it can completely change next month for all I know, so take everything with a grain of salt! ^_^
Thanks for reading and feel free to say if anything’s unclear :3
I certainly do! Well, so the most common thought is that Undertaker became involved with the Phantomhives through Claudia. It seems that she must have been special to him in some way as he did have the locket with her name. A lot of people have theorized that he might have been Claudia’s lover, and there’s even some ideas that he might be the Cedric K. Ros shown in the Phantomhive family tree.
We know there must have been something special about this marriage as Claudia kept her name and title, and we don’t have any clue to Undertaker’s real name. So far, even those who might know his name, like William, have only referred to him as a deserter.
Basically, the way this theory pans out is that he was with Claudia and is the father of Vincent as well as Ciel’s grandfather. This was one of the reasons that Ciel could see Rudgar and Sascha.
I think it’s a solid theory, so it might be plausible. My only issue is that I’m not sure if Shinigami can produce offspring. It would be death creating life. I have a slightly different theory I’ve been working on. Right now it’s still a bit ‘cracky,’ but I still think it might be interesting.
Okay, so we know that Othello said that people can sometimes acquire advanced technology by making deals with demons.
But the Shinigami realm is full of advanced technology. Assuming that the shinigami didn’t come from different time periods, maybe there’s another explanation. Perhaps most or all of the shinigami had contact with demons in their lives. This could have led to them taking their lives. Some might have made deals and others did not.
What if Undertaker, who seems to be a very old reaper, is actually a much more distant ancestor of Ciel. Think of him as the original Phantomhive. He might have even been a Watchdog. He had some contact with a demon and perhaps even made a contract. This led to his death, but his family and all generations afterwards were cursed. Later on, as a shinigami, he met Claudia and saw what his actions in life had done, so he’s slowly trying to fix things. Perhaps he even thinks Ciel is his last chance to end this pattern.
Like I said, it’s still only a crack theory. I do think that Undertaker has some connection to the Phantomhives. Whether he’s related or only a friend is still unknown.
Ah, actually I’ve spoken about this before but I think the chances he meant UT are 50:50 yes 🙂
Honestly, the only thing we can be sure of right now is that UT is most probably involved with what’s going on in the current arc (otherwise he wouldn’t have been showed in ch120), so aside from that, either Othello meant UT or it’s possible he meant another deserter if he wasn’t thinking about UT.
Just to be precise, in case Othello did mean UT…
The last time they met was probably 50 years ago, so if “UT didn’t know much about this stuff“ 50 years ago, he probably had the time to learn since then.
It’s also possible that another deserter is involved as you proposed, if just because we can’t be 100% of what Bravat is (even if Yana showed that his eyes were blue).
Personally, I think Othello could have meant the UT he knew 50 years ago, but that UT just exceeded his expectations by learning about what he didn’t know 50 years back in time: because UT has done a lot of experiments and we saw he was good at progressing.
I hope my thoughts help a little and if you want here’s a theory by @thedarkestcrow about Othello possibly mentioning a demon in particular 😉
So in the latest chapter Othello says that demons sometimes help humans with the development of new technologies which implies that demons have some knowledge about these kind of things.
That makes me wonder how much Sebastian really knows about such developments. As a demon he’s one of those Othello spoke about so maybe he should know about all these technologies. However, Sebastian doesn’t really strike me as someone who does. He usually seems very surprised whenever he sees some advanced technology and even though he looks quite fascinated it doesn’t seem as if he already knows all of that or could provide someone with such technologies on his own.
In the Green Witch arc he sent the samples of the gas to England for examination and he rather relies on humans (e.g. Sieglinde) to get some results regarding medical and technological questions. Also, when Sebastian investigated the cult’s lab he only seemed to see it as a room where the blood is being stored and maintained.
Othello, however, seems to have found that there’s more going on since he said that this is even more progressed than it should be (which might be related to what the cult is doing with the blood).
So I guess that not all demons possess the knowledge to provide humans with such technologies and Sebastian probably isn’t one of them. Of course, he could just hold back such information since Ciel isn’t asking and his fascination with new technologies might be more of a fascination for the humans who apparently developed them on their own. But to me, Sebastian seems more like someone who draws his knowledge from the past and who’s maybe a bit old-fashioned.
And maybe that’s what Othello meant here:
Many people think Othello is talking about Undertaker here and while that indeed could be true, he might also be talking about Sebastian.
It’s not a secret among the English shinigami that Sebastian is under contract with Ciel. So when Othello spoke about the possibility of a demon being responsible for the cult’s technologies Sebastian could have been his first guess. However, as Othello says, “that one” doesn’t really have the knowledge about this progress.
By the way, if Othello really meant Sebastian, it seems as if he knows him…
Chapter 119 brought an interesting issue. While looking at the hidden lab of Sphere Music Hall, Othello comments that they (whoever is behind the cult) has progressed too far. He even talks about some people can gain technology by making deals with a devil.
What’s peculiar is how he could know if someone has progressed ‘too far.’ People are making advancements all the time after all. How would anyone know if someone had progressed just the right amount? While Shinigami know some things about the immediate future, such as who is about to die, it seems odd they would have knowledge about what should or shouldn’t be invented. If Othello just expressing his opinion, or is there something more?
There was a post by into–the–abyss recently (you can find it here) about fixing the anachronisms in the series. Honestly, before this chapter, I had always thought these anachronisms was just a bit of a quirk of the story. There is so much careful detail and research put into decor and food – yet you have those little things that stand out. There is mention of television and shows. Bardroy refers to Sebastian as ‘Superman.’
In fact, the entire Shinigami society seems out of place when you think of time. Their suits are too modern, their scythes have yet to be invented, and then you have Ronald’s watch. Unless they are traveling through time, something seems a bit out of place. What if it’s not just a quirk? What if it’s part of the bigger story?
What if something happened in the past that caused the entire timeline to skew? Most characters would be unaware of this entirely. Finny and Bard think nothing of a television despite the fact it shouldn’t exist. To them, it simply exists. Of course, even the ones that do know aren’t really able to do much about it. There are attempts to correct this skewed timeline or, at least, attempt to get it back on track, but it’s a big issue. A single change could affect so much.
Allow me venture further into crack theory territory here. There’s been a lot of talk about this ’50’ years ago. Undertaker deserted and this was the last time Othello had to come to the living world. What if Undertaker did something 50 years ago that led to his need to desert? He could have been trying to save Claudia, but this caused this shift in time.
If he was saving Claudia, then this would mean that she was supposed to have died. If she had died young, there would be no Vincent…and no Ciel. In other words, almost none of the events we’ve been reading about were supposed to have happened. Of course, they have happened so now they have to be dealt with accordingly.
Please note that this is only a crack theory. I’m not really able to defend it or anything. It’s just a strange little thought that occurred to me.
Nice post 🙂 I would just advise to be careful with the beginning of the series (namely anything before the JTR arc) because Yana-sensei hadn’t received the offer to do a long serialization yet, so she had to change and plan a lot of things after the beginning of the story.
I do think you have a good idea though, if anything because “50 years ago” led to UT’s desertion and we don’t know if it’s because of him or if he just couldn’t handle it anymore after a sordid case, but since Othello (who is from forensics) was involved, it’s obvious it was a big case (I wonder if it could have had to do with Victoria becoming Queen, it was in 1837 which is technically 52 years ago…).
I also wonder if your theory could also have a link to the last arc and not just mainly the current one. After all, panzer and radars were also a bit out of place considering the time era, no? And Ciel said…
So I’m just wondering if whoever/whatever helped the Blue Sect progress so much could also have something to do with the technology progress of last arc in Germany. I mean, when you take a look at the Murders at Manor arc, Grey did tell Siemens that for now Germany was not able to surpass England, and yet they had the panzers (amongst other things) when England didn’t…
And in case UT is involved with all that (even if Othello doesn’t seem to think so), because of 50 years ago or because of recently as well, then maybe that post of mine is linked to your theory…
Sorry for the huge add ^^” while I am not really considering the initial anachronisms of the earliest chapters (except the TV in the curry arc), I do think you might be onto something. 🙂
((PS: just saying, but if there is really something off with the flow of time allowing all this progress (linked to what happened 50 years ago or not), I wonder if that’s not another hint towards the Worthy Ciel Theory…))
So far, even the other Shinigami doesn’t seem to know Undertaker’s true identity. When Ronald first saw him, he only figured out he was a deserter by his lack of glasses.
Of course, Ronald appears to be young, so it’s possible he wasn’t a Shinigami when Undertaker was active – but it seems like Grell should have been. Why doesn’t she appear to recognize Undertaker? His customized scythe alone should be recognizable.
What if Undertaker has been recognized and identified by now, but none of the Shinigami had referred to him by name? They haven’t even called him Undertaker.
In Chapter 119, Othello is musing aloud about the advanced technology when he talks about ‘that one.’
A lot of people have theorized ‘that one’ might refer to the Undertaker. So, why didn’t Othello use his name? After all, Othello was sent on an assignment to the mortal realm around the same time that someone last referred to Undertaker as a Shinigami, so it seems like their paths might have crossed.
I think Othello might know Undertaker’s true identity, but talking aloud to himself about ‘that one’ was possibly a clever way to avoid using Undertaker’s true name. It’s only a theory, but I feel like Undertaker’s real name, thus his identity, is important to the overall story and perhaps it’s not something this is to be revealed just yet.
Thoughts?
Very nice!
It is indeed possible, as others pointed out, even though as I said to an Anon last week, if it’s really him Othello is talking about, then that doesn’t mean UT is out of the list for the likely candidates behind the explanation of the current arc (because even if he didn’t know about this stuff 50 years, he might have learned since then).
Anyway, I think it’s a good theory and I wonder if Othello not giving any name is because we supposedly already have a hint towards UT’s name… I agree his identity is probably important to the story, otherwise Yana wouldn’t have hidden it for so long. About Othello knowing UT though, I think the “50 years ago” bit Othello mentioned when introduced is definitely a big hint and I would be very surprised if they didn’t know each other, so maybe Othello will be the one revealing UT’s identity when confronting him at the end of the arc?
Food for thoughts I hope you don’t mind. (@Anon about Undertaker & Othello of last week, if you see this :))
Wah, hold your horses Anon there is a misunderstanding, he never implied anything like that lol. He didn’t even mention UT’s name or anything proving that they know each other so how did you reach the conclusion that Othello believes UT isn’t the one who gave all this equipment to Bravat’s sect?
For me, Othello is completely implying that there is a supernatural being that gave all this to Bravat (but that it’s probably not a demon) and in my head, it makes even more sense that UT is the one who did that with what we know of his characters 🙂
There are too many hints, so between ch108, Othello mentioning “50 years ago” a few chapters ago, the fact UT is pretty good at experimenting and very knowledgeable on sciences… Well, I’m pretty sure this chapter was yet another hint that UT is definitely the most likely candidate lurking in Bravat’s shadow (as all Othello implied was that a supernatural being helped the sect and nothing else). 😉
Maybe reread the chapter Anon? 🙂 Looks like you misread a bubble or two, haha!
Have a nice day, Anon!
Hey again 🙂 And sorry but UT is not the only deserter around, according to Sascha and Rudgar in ch105 (or even Grell and Ronald during the Campania arc), so while UT is currently a big problem to the Shinigamis because of his experiments, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any other deserters Othello could be thinking of.
I just think you’re being a bit too hasty in your reasoning Anon, that’s all. 🙂 Yes it’s very easy to theorize that UT and Othello know each other, because some readers know how to connect the dots together, but I remember when Othello was introduced a few chapters back and “50 years ago” wasn’t a hint for everyone until a few people made posts about it.
So, while you definitely seem to be one who can connect the dots and say that it’s very likely Othello and UT know each other (and I completely agree), I just don’t want to go too fast and say that this panel…
…is Othello dismissing UT as no name is written, UT is not the only deserter and it’s not even written that Othello is thinking about a shinigami in the first place (even if it’s easy to theorize it’s the case, I’m not disagreeing with that).
Besides, let’s say Othello really meant UT in that panel: in that case they haven’t seen each other in over 50 years so “he didn’t know much” 50 years ago might not have any value in 1889 (as UT is able to experiment by himself and is intelligent enough to wonder and understand about things like blood transfusion if he gets interested).
Sorry, it’s just that I like to keep an open mind and I won’t dismiss UT until Othello (or Ciel) faces the guilty party and says “so it was you”, and for me (as I was saying earlier), UT remains a likely candidate because of several hints ever since ch108. As I always say though, you’re free to think what you want. It’s just that you came to my askbox so I gave you my opinion in answer to yours 😉
Also, when I mentioned UT and blood, I simply meant that the BD project is a good indication that UT has the mind of a researcher because he likes to experiment and his job as a mortician gave him a good knowledge about the human body, that’s all (there is a possibility that he and Othello know each other because UT wasn’t always collecting souls, he might have been a part of the forensics department too).
And finally, I agree he didn’t start the blood transfusion experiment. I’m just saying we can’t dismiss that he possibly helped Bravat and his guys by giving them this equipment and/or a few clues to understand how blood transfusion works if he knew about it (since Othello said there was no way such progress was possible without a supernatural help), just like he “helped” Ryan on those corpses.
((By the way Anon, we in fact have no idea of what UT possibly did in regards to the Osiris company, as they were mentioned only once by him (in a subverted way even) and once by Ryan, so you shouldn’t use “never” when you really can’t know about that 😉 ))
I hope this makes more sense Anon, and please don’t take this as me trying to dismiss your theory because I am not and you’re free to see things the way you want to. I just like to keep every possibility in mind because it’s easy to forget/misinterpret a few details that might in fact matter a lot, that’s all. 🙂
Have a nice day/evening!
Oooh but not at all Anon ^_^ if your tone had really displeased me, I wouldn’t have answered you at all in the first place, so don’t worry 🙂
Have a nice weekend as well Anon, and thank you for the discussion :3
So if what Othello is saying in Chapter 119 is correct, demons can provide future technology to humans who are in contract with them.
Is this Yana’s way of explaining away the anachronisms from the entire series? Ciel’s radio, television, and video games were all gifts from Sebastian, then? Interesting. I was wondering if that would ever be addressed.
And the Queen and John Brown walk around sporting sunglasses, so does that mean he’s a demon providing her with 20th century gadgets?
Oh, yeah, and about that tank the Germans have…..
Or, maybe this is all a sleight of hand, and the technology at the Sphere Music Hall is there not because of a demon, but because Undertaker pulled a Prometheus and gave some curious, blood-happy humans a little lesson about the four blood types.
(Or maybe UT has been a demon all along and isn’t a shinigami….)
Nice idea, maybe that would explain the advanced technology we see sometimes. But I think demons are not the only ones with such a knowledge. It seems like Othello knows quite a bit about that, too, and so do probably other shinigami. We’ve seen them using tools that seem quite modern for this time era (some death scythes, Rudgar’s shoes and watch,…).
I guess shinigami are usually not the ones to give such information to humans, that’s rather something a demon would do. But it’s not impossible that in this case it was a shinigami. And maybe in other instances, too (looking at John Brown…). ^^
Looking at Chapter 115, there’s actually a little more information we can gather about the Shinigami. First, there’s some things we can gather about death scythes when Othello reveals his..
Othello has never customized his death scythe. Considering he’s stated previously that he hasn’t been to the human realm in about 50 years, it would stand to reason that he wouldn’t need to use his scythe much. However, he still has his own scythe. All Shinigami must be given one to use even if they aren’t assigned to collect souls. Since Othello has never saw any reason to customize, and his lack of confidence concerning using it, it’s possible that he’s collecting very few souls if any at all.
Secondly, Grell remarks that the sight of this uncustomized scythe is reminiscent of a training scythe – which was similar if not identical to those seen in the OVA “The Tale of Will the Reaper.” All Shinigami must be given these type of scythes to train with. However, since Grell also comments about not imagining someone still using this type of scythe, it must mean that just about all active Shinigami must customize their scythes. So far, ever Shinigami we’ve seen has used one that they’ve have customized. It could be a right of passage. Even William, who follows the rules very carefully, has his pruner scythe.
Othello also asks for Grell’s protection. This would mean that while all Shinigami might have greater strength and abilities than humans, there is still some differences among them. This might be due to experience, and Othello doesn’t seem to have much experience in these sorts of matters, or some Shinigami are simply stronger physically. This might have something to do with why they are assigned the positions they are. Othello has admitted he’s not confident in his abilities, which would mean he wouldn’t be good at Grell’s job. Later, he even seemingly taunts Grell regarding her interest in the science and research that his job requires.
Lastly, Othello tells Grell that collecting souls is the most important job of the Shinigami.
It’s hard to tell how sincere Othello is being since he seemed to be teasing Grell a lot, but it makes sense that it would be the most important job. While Othello appears quite intelligent, and comments Grell would understand his work even if he explained it, there’s a strong chance that collecting is held in higher regard.
Finally, we have a few more hints about the Shinigami!
midnight-in-town 