Okay, but guys I can’t express to you all enough how excited I am to finally see Donato in action – at his creepiest in the series. And Ishida’s characterization of Donato in this scene so far has been fantastic, because he manages to make Donato frighten us even after all the recent bloodshed in the series while still reminding the reader of his more sensitive/personal side.
Just in that phrase “Taste how it feels. How I feel.” In that short quip, Donato manages to fit in a megalomaniac comparison of himself to God and his personal, vulnerable emotions about Amon.
Because the metaphor of Urie, crucified, watching from above certainly implies a God-like presence. (Without the power to intervene, it sounds more deist than Catholic, tbh. but I’ll let Donato pass on this one.) And in a way, he himself has watched over others in his priestly role. By running the orphanage, he always had that burden of caring for children in the name of God. However, the scene also indirectly references Donato’s seeming omniscience when it comes to the ghoul world, as Donato knew a notable amount of information about the events outside Cochlea despite having been imprisoned for years. Hinami’s intelligence became obsolete by the time of the second Cochlea raid. Donato’s, though, was still relied upon despite remaining in Cochlea for maybe a decade or longer. So, Donato himself has embodied throughout the series the Godly traits his metaphor in this scene emphasizes.
However, at the same time, that knowledge he accumulated couldn’t do anything to save Amon. He had to sit there and hear about his son’s capture, ghoulification, and possible death without the ability to protect or shelter him. It most likely felt like the equivalent to what he’s doing to Urie now: torturing the entrapped person’s loved one – one he’s been entrusted to take care of, as Uncle Higemaru’s monologue just highlighted – right in front of his eyes while he’s immobilized. And while Donato’s thirst for revenge is pretty prominent here, you can see that frustration with his own limitations, too.
And that’s why I love those two sentences. Because they seem to present the reader with two seemingly contradictory meanings. It confuses you on whether to think of Donato as an omnipotent God or as a fallible mortal. And I think that’s what makes him one of the most terrifying types of villains.
Late observation is late but I’m wondering if this scene doesn’t actually kind of confirm that Nico giving Ogura’s card to Kaneki’s group isn’t something Furuta asked them to do.
Obviously Kaneki’s plan in ch106 is easy to understand since he doesn’t really want to be held accountable for the massive clown attacks directed towards the CCG and civilians, so it’s no surprise that Furuta caught on immediately but that’s the thing, he apparently wasn’t 100% expecting it either, which is why we got a small monologue as he was thinking about why Kaneki would show up now with another group of ghouls.
And I’d say that could contradict the theory that he asked Nico to give them Ogura’s card, because Nico giving Ogura’s card to Kaneki was an almost certain way to make sure Kaneki would raid one of the CCG’s lab (since he would obviously want to save Akira and Nico would know that Ogura isn’t Kanou and that only the CCG has Rc suppressants).
So that means that Nico could have expected Kaneki showing up like he did, when it seems that, while Furuta caught on easily in ch106, he didn’t seem aware in advance that Kaneki would surely show up because he has to raid the CCG’s lab.
All that to say that it makes me think it’s another hint this scene…
…is completely true, at least as far as we can see right now.
That’s just an idea of course but it’s to say that it’s not out of character at all in my opinion, especially not when Nico didn’t even free Roma even though they’re of the same organization.
Like many others, Nico has a personal agenda and besides for all we know, since Ogura only gives his card to “people he trusts”, maybe Nico is actually one of these people (unless the card wasn’t theirs in the first place).
Oh, boy. To have been a fly on the wall of the Pierrot meeting where this plan was constructed.
The Clowns, at least those higher up, totally know what Furuta is doing with the CCG. He isn’t playing them. Those Clown mobs are headed to their death and Donato knows that. He planned it that way. I wouldn’t be surprised of the clown troops know it to. Considering the balloon clowns take their own heads off in the explosions. And the ghouls in front of Suzuya were just standing in a row and laughing.
Considering the amount of similar masks (and similar behaviors), I just wouldn’t be surprised if all those kamikaze clowns were “like Ganbo”, as in, yeah maybe they could be ghouls that Donato managed to convince for the fight or simply they’re ghouls of a certain kind that Kanou (or someone else) might have been experimenting on which would explain why they just laugh and really don’t care about being killed. Might be both.
As for Furuta asking Suzuya to kill them all, I’d say we’re still in the same idea as for the last chapter. Furuta has assumed so many roles up until now that he might be starting to confuse himself when all in all, only his goal matters. Plus, I doubt Furuta actually gives two shits about whether the Clowns (Uta, Donato, Nico) die or live as long as he gets what he wants so “please kill them all” was probably legit in his head (he did more or less call V and the Clowns his pawns in ch98 and since Donato is a clever ol’ fox, I wouldn’t be surprised if Furuta was wary of him for obvious reasons).
midnight-in-town 