i love how Itori is watching Uta and Yomo fight like [x]
hey guys, on the subject of “Yomo won against Uta???”, I know the chapter isn’t out yet, but I just want to say that it makes sense considering the recurring themes of TG + the fact that Ishida ironically debunked the power ranking
shonen
trope a while ago.
Keep in mind, this is why Yomo fights…
vs this is the reason for the Clowns (and thus Uta)
so this is yet one more reminder that hope & love >> despair & loneliness in TG.
I strongly doubt that in terms of raw strength Yomo is stronger than Uta (not that I think there is that much of a gap between them, but all in all Uta is probably physically stronger). However Yomo’s reasons for fighting (and wanting to win against Uta) in this precise moment make him stronger than Uta who feels mostly loneliness if he’s not playing around.
It’s Mutsuki winning over Seidou during the Rushima arc all over again, it’s not about raw strength but about what makes you strong enough to win. EDIT: to word this better, I’d rather say that ultimately I think “who wins a fight” is directly correlated to whom the defeat might bring more development/insight.
Long story short, it turns out that this far in :Re, there are still fans who get confused about the timeline that we were given (I’m aware that overlapping different hints is not always easy though, so no pressure).So, due to a certain post I saw yesterday and that I can’t get out of my head, I decided to make a recap post on the subject to hopefully clear up some confusion.
(Please note that all of this is based on the assumption that the timeline I mentioned is accurate/can be trusted.)
Firstly, there is supposedly no need to wonder about the identity of the Nagaraj who’s a kakuja ghoul who went on a rampage 100 years ago or so, because…
we already know he’s the One Eyed Washuu Matsuri mentioned in ch151 and we even saw what he looked like on the same occasion.
Of course, one could argue that Matsuri is lying/doesn’t know the real truth but… (personal opinion here) it’s not really the kind of plot twists Sensei seems to work with in general?
So, without mentioning theories about a link between Uta & the One Eyed Washuu (if just because of the resemblance in ch151), while I can understand the need to imagine more complicated plot twists, I find it hard to consider that, say Itori, could be the Nagaraj of 100 years ago when we already saw who he supposedly was in ch151.
However, again considering the timeline we were given throughout :Re, since there is another OEG/OEK that started a second rebellion after the Nagaraj’s but before Eto’s, I think it’s legit to wonder about their identity because it’s bound to be addressed eventually.
I personally have 3 suspects at the moment:
Noro
Itori
and Donato
(since this post is a little late, considering the next chapter is soon, more below)
For Noro, I already explained why I thought it was a possibility along with the timeline here.
For Itori, I advanced “arguments” in different posts [x][x][x][x] but to make a really general and superficial summary (something I actually put together for @hamliet who I think love the idea of Itori being a OEG):
This is obviously not something to take super seriously (actually I made this set as some kind of joke compared to the one I had made for Uta a long time ago), but I think that with the posts I linked to above, there is at least a small basis to consider the idea.
In general the second OEG of the timeline was less addressed than the Nagaraj, because they were defeated by the newly created V and didn’t have the opportunity to go on a rampage like the One Eyed Washuu or even Kaneki himself.
So far, Kaneki mentioned them in ch121, Nishiki in ch128 and maybe Roma briefly in ch135 (when she said that she went to Cochlea after “the grand party” and Roma being 51 years old, she would have only bee, born in time for the second rebellion), but as far as I could notice that’s it, which is not a lot compared to the One Eyed Washuu/Nagaraj.
Of course, that’s not the only theory about Itori’s identity and past, another popular one being that she’s a breeder (like Rize was supposed to be), possibly already alive by the time the Nagaraj went on a rampage (@cirrocumulus-cloud made a good recap post on the subject after the latest chapter and you can read it here).
[Additional note: the ending cards of Root A episode 8, which was about Yoshimura’s backstory, were
So as always make whatever you want from that, but Eto and Kaneki are OEGs, there are theories that Uta could have a link to the One Eyed Washuu, so there might be a reason Sensei decided to make a card for Itori at the same time too]
Finally, for Donato, it gets slightly more complicated and symbolic…
…knowing that this is the biggest hint, as far as I’m concerned.
We already know thanks to Itori that the Clowns are ghouls tired of despairing, which means that it would seem legit that Donato lost more than Amon and his orphanage throughout his life, before he ended up in Cochlea for 18 years or so.
However, despite that, he’s also the suspect I am the least sure about because:
I don’t think he’s a Washuu (not that all OEGs have to be Washuus, look at Kaneki and Eto), but he’s also not Japanese, so it’s hard to see why a Russian OEG would come to Japan to launch a rebellion if he’s neither.
Not to ramble, but I also don’t think he’s such a strong ghoul. I mean, he’s definitely SS rated but I think his “cloning abilities” are possibly triggered by ghouls who were hinted they could be Washuus (and thus “their blood holds profound power”, by Kanou, ch149), namely Uta for the Clowns’ raid arc and Nico healing him in the last chapter.
best theoretical “proof” I have is that he apparently couldn’t make a clone of himself in order to escape Urie’s father and run away with Amon, which is how he ended up in Cochlea.
Nonetheless, there is also some symbolism that might vouch he’s still a likely candidate for the second OEG of the timeline, but since this isn’t really something I’m good at, I’ll let @linkspooky explain! :3
In particular something associated with the lotus flower in different cultures is “purity”. This is because the lotus flower is able to maintain itself clean despite living in muddy waters. Itori and Uta’s words in this chapter seem to suggest something similar about Yomo. He is “warm”, he fights for others and has faith in the future, he is always honest and can trust the world they are in.
What’s more, there seems to be a hinduist motif going on with the clowns and with Uta in particular as others have noticed. In this religion it seems this flower is associated with several gods who are often represented with a lotus in their hands:
And quoting from the site I linked:
“As with Buddhism there are many Lotus Flower symbolism’s that are
associated with purity, further to this the heart of the Lotus is
considered to be purist and people need to strive to be like the opened
flower and be of good heart; the soul is also considered to be within
the heart of the Lotus”
And in this chapter we have Uta saying he wants to reach Yomo’s heart with his own hands to feel alive and probably as Itori’s speech implied to feel the “warmth”.
In short I think Yomo’s lotus symbolism is relevant here and is used to underline how important he is for Uta (and Itori). Uta can’t truly be completed without Yomo and at the same time Yomo represents a “purity” Uta and Itori can’t comprehend exactly like Yomo can’t truly understand them.
good catch!
i’m not sure if this is the same for all cultures who derive significance from the lotus plant, but in chinese culture the lotus plants’ rhizomes connect individual flowers and leaves together, and so despite being ‘loners’ they are actually connected to one another. i think this could definitely tie in together with yomo’s need for connection and uta’s need to stay in the thick of it.
additionally, there’s a connotation that lotus plants are resilient and immortal. in china, it’s believed that a lotus seed that’s a thousand years old can still become a flower if it’s planted into the mud. i feel like this is pretty relevant to yomo’s determination (and also physical durability), as well as uta’s possible ties to the old oek.
in japanese hanakotoba (flower language), in addition to representing purity and chastity, the lotus also signifies ‘he who is far from the one he loves’. maybe that’s something closer to ishida’s culture and something he’s drawing upon as well, for this particular conflict.
…Yomo has never actually stated, or agreed that they are friends, despite Uta voicing it many times. The only time it happened was when Renji was drunk, in an omake, but even so, he’s never explicitly referred to Uta as anything but “Uta”.
It seems to me that Renji does appreciate hearing Uta state their bond still exists (judging by his smile above)- well, mostly, at least-
But then again… he has never explicitly stated “We are Friends, Uta”
Until now.
And I think, it’s been kind of one-sided always. With how Uta “wanted friends of his own age” back in 4th ward. With how he specifically has referred to Renji Yomo as a friend over and over again, never getting confirmation of their friendship back. He even went as far as to save Yomo- because they are friends:
“He’s my friend”
&
“You’re my friend”
And I think, he looks shocked to hear it coming from Renji, for the first time most likely. It’s maybe something he was either waiting for, all this time (because maybe, in his strange logic, that would solidify his reasoning to eat Renji- you know, the purity of the lotus that has persisted in the murky waters- and he hopes to devour that purity, feel alive, even at the cost of losing the physical manifestation of that purity- too bad one lotus cannot clear the whole water)
or perhaps something he had already given up on. Accepted that it was a one-sided thing, in a sense, even if Renji didn’t flat out hate them either. Uta’s attachment, versus Renji’s goodness- the life away from Uta that makes him “pure” and “good” (lotus, again). So when Renji says it- includes Uta in his life verbally, says something Uta had given up hope on, it causes Uta to “flip his switch”. His demeanor changes- at first he was elated to fight Renji, to relive their young days, possibly, and then, because maybe he knew he would have to do it one day, kill him, to “make me feel alive”. Uta’s Kakuja form, and the laugh, I think, they symbolise that switch being flipped. The emotions, thoughts or feelings hearing those words (“You’re my friend”) made him experience. Why do I think this could be the case?
Because it didn’t have to be that difficult.
Uta was already pretty much tossing Renji around like a ragdoll. That scene could barely be called a fight, because of how Uta was entirely dominating it. Renji was already bleeding, wounded, on the ground and not getting up. Who knows if he was even healing quickly enough to keep going. Uta could have ended it easily without the kakuja, is what I’m saying, and judging by his words:
That is what he intended to do as well. Based on the fight against Noro way back in TG’s aogiri raid, where Uta seemed definitely more intent on killing than when, say, fighting Juuzou during the clown siege, PLUS flashbacks to the 4th ward and killing the investigators, Uta seems to have a thing for piercing people’s chests with his bare hands. Often from around the heart area, too. He’s never shown his kakuja before, even if his intent was eating his victims afterwards (I mean who knows, that dicc we see him munching on after they confront the first doves in the 4th, while discussing with his gang and Renji, could have belonged to one of the investigators. Just a thought.) So it’s definitely specific to Renji only, and especially… the reaction Renji’s words had brought on.
…that no one managed to dig the legendary OEG out of his kakuja, 100 years ago?
Does this mean that the body and kakuhou from which that huge kakuja originated is still somewhere inside? As in…
there is a very old person inside that thing???
Bringing that back, because when Kaneki was freed…
Meanwhile, for the Nagaraj 100 years ago, they had to stop him through breaking his eyeballs, which resulted in…
…which would explain why we can still see the huge kakuja down in the 24th ward, because there is a chance no one managed to rescue this guy:
Moving on to Uta, since I really think we’re going to be targeting his backstory and the rest of the Clowns’ in the next chapters (and he has idk how many foreshadowing hints of having a link to ^ this dude), I think everyone noticed this:
Which is that in the new chapter, his tattoos literally expanded to cover his kagune (?) and which is surprising to say the least, that is of course,unless Uta is something like a kagune/kakuja clone of the One Eyed Washuu and his whole body turns out to have the properties of a kagune/kakuja:
It’s always been one of the possibilities for Uta’s identity after all [x][x] and it would be one door to explain many things, such as:
Noro himself, who could have been a kagune/kakuja clone of Eto’s foster parent Noroi (killed by V, according to Eto)
why Uta told Yomo he doesn’t know why he’s so strong in his flashback and why he looked so young despite knowing Roma, Donato, etc, who got sent to jail way before Yomo came to the 4th ward
why Uta used a piercing to make his clones when Donato used a finger (ch116): if Uta’s whole appearance has kagune/kakuja properties because himself is a clone, then he could make yet another clone of himself through his piercings.
maybe even those kids Ayato found in the 24th ward (? I mean they look very similar to each other aside from the hair and you gotta wonder where their parents or everyone else were)
Imma stop there, but it’s just to say that, personally, this chapter kinda tilted the balance towards Uta being a kagune/kakuja clone instead of the One Eyed Washuu in the flesh, because Sensei foreshadowed that link for such a long time that there is most likely a trick to it.
More answers on Monday, hopefully, or for the chapter after the next!
Itori is a
fascinating shadow of a character. Almost always away from the narrative with
very little central focus she does bring us new information each time we get to
meet her. Not only that, like the rest of the clowns she seems to have found
value in being on the sidelines, then stepping onto the centre stage not to
alleviate any boredom, but to not go mad.
But why
would Itori go mad? A ghoul that we know so little of yet someone who dares to
give us so much information about the world as a whole… I’ve got an
interesting theory about Itori’s lost innocence, so let me make an assumption
first and then try to back up my thesis.
The theory
in question?
Itori used to be a breeding machine like Rize,
became pregnant with a one-eyed ghoul and that child died in her womb.
This meta post, however, is a character study
of Itori as a whole, to further explain why I do believe she was in a similar
situation to Rize, why she might have gotten pregnant with a half-ghoul and lost the child and why I believe that she sticks with the Clowns because the
One Eyed King of old (Uta) saved her.
The first time we meet Itori, she is sitting
in the Helter Skelter bar. The bar’s name is hereby a reference to a song by
the Beatles of the same name, whose meaning can be summarised as “using the
symbol of a helter skelter as a ride from the top to the bottom; the rise and
fall of the Roman Empire – and this was the fall, the demise”. It also, in its
lyrics, very clearly talks of a woman:
“Look out,
helter skelter
She’s coming down fast
Yes, she is
Yes, she is
Coming down fast”
Itori is a Ghoul whose backstory we do not know, but
who we can be certain of has suffered much and lost her innocent outlook on
life through it, something that she tries to feel an illusion of by sticking
close to Yomo.
One of the first things that Itori realises is that
Kaneki still holds an innocence that she has already lost. She also comments on
him being the “first one eyed ghoul she has seen”. It is extremely important to
know that Itori knows way, way more than she says.She’s playing coy
all the time, to seem approachable and normal. At the same time she gives
Kaneki hints upon hints, as if indulging in the fact that she can toy around
with him as much as she pleases.
Her comment about the “other one eyed ghoul” becomes a
lot more eerie if we take the Uta as the One Eyed King theory into
consideration and if that is true, then her remark can be seen as a direct question
towards him.She looks his way, too, despite addressing Yomo instead. At the
time of this Chapter (36 of the original Tokyo Ghoul) though, we simply think
she is referring to Eto as the other one eyed ghoul. Given the fact that Furuta
was the one who pushed the beam onto Rize however, and Furuta was/is a clown no
less, would make it lot more intriguing were she to talk about Uta instead,
especially given the fact that the clowns have been looking at this whole
spectacle for a long, long time.
I mean, she gives Kaneki so many hints to chew
on!
The meat of this theory comes down to Itori being the
one to introduce us to the biology behind One Eyed Ghouls in the first place,
though. Because Itori tells Kaneki what happens when ghoul and human genes mix,
how extremely unlikely such a pregnancy is and how risky it is for both child
and mother.
She also tells us this:
Itori then goes on to claim it all as nothing but a
rumour, looking at Uta while ranting about possibilities, while affirming that she has never heard of happy stories concerning one eyed ghouls. If she was
used like a breeding machine like Rize was, living through countless rape
attempts to bear kids that could grow up in the sunlit garden, maybe even being
made to bear a half-ghoul child, then she certainly wouldn’t be in favour of
any stories concerning one eyed ghouls.
If Uta is
indeed the One Eyed King and the one who freed Itori (if she is older than she
looks, like Roma) from the claws of the Washuu, then her attachment to Uta is
also made clear. It should be known that Itori knows a whole lot about Rize
herself, too, to the point that she gives Kaneki the clue of ‘Rize’ not
existing (under that name, at least). We know that Rize stems from the Sunlit
Garden and that Furuta is the reason for her escape. No wonder, then, that Itori knows a whole lot
about Rize.
(Do note
that all of this takes place in the first half of the original Tokyo Ghoul! And
Itori has already let us in on so many facts: Ghoul biology, she leads Kaneki
onto the trail of Tsukiyama as the Gourmet, she knows who Furuta is, she knows
who Rize is, she most likely refers to Uta as a One Eyed Ghoul. To put this
into perspective, this all happens before Kaneki is being tortured by Yamori.)
The next
time Itori becomes relevant is when she shares information about Kanou, of all
people. She reveals to Kaneki that he used to be an autopsy doctor who worked
for the CCG. This is also where she lets Kaneki know that he seems to get a
grasp on the value of information. Considering the fact that Itori is a clown,
one who sends Ken on wild goose chases, it isn’t wrong to assume that, as
someone who values information, Itori gets a sense of almost morbid fascination
of seeing others learn more about the world that she inhabits. Remember, she
knows about Rize, and Furuta, and most likely the Garden. She knows so, so much
and has no way to share this knowledge with the world freely. Seeing others
gain information that she herself holds close is not only entertaining, it
gives someone like her purpose when there is none that she finds in herself.
Because as
she says in the most recent chapter herself, she’s seen a lot, she’s heard a
lot. She knows exactly that the views of a Ghoul are not important to humans as
a whole. The world is against Ghouls, so it is against her. And it is
entertaining and oh so stimulating to see a man made ghoul go on a wild goose
chase trying to learn more about her world.
Keeping this in mind her advice to
Kaneki that he should take Nico’s story about Aogiri tree and the One Eyed King
with a grain of salt, because free information should always be looked at with
a keen eye, makes triple sense if she is old enough to know what really went
down with the One Eyed King back in the day.
Kaneki then
leaves Itori after she has told him that a rabbit masked ghoul has been
murdering people. But that he should take this story with a grain of salt, too.
The next
time we meet Itori is at the end of Tokyo Ghoul, where she is celebrating a
hollow evening of fun with her fellow clowns. This is also the moment she if
officially outed as being a clown and having the last laugh (within the tragedy
that is Tokyo Ghoul).
The next
time we meet Itori after that isn’t until Chapter 148 “Where is the Stone” of
Tokyo Ghoul :re!
Here she riles the Ghouls up by suggesting to watch until the
end to honour their King.; because he saved them by becoming a monster. Not
only that, she re-iterates that humans hurt them. Itori is, of course, wrong
here. Kaneki become dragon out of a selfish wish to protect Touka at all costs
when he had already railroaded himself into despair and while her words should
be taken with a grain of salt, Itori despises humans, which is made entirely
clear in the most recent Chapter (Chapter 169).
Itori does
not state this just to rile up these Ghouls to have fun; she does so because
she fully believes that Ghouls are not loved, so you should honour those who
save you by sticking with them to the bitter end, even if that end is bloody
and nothing but ungraceful bloodshed. Because if you bleed, if you hurt and
hurt others, you can feel warmth, you can feel alive, you can change something
in the world even if this change is nothing but negative. You have to watch on
the sidelines until you have to play the Fool on the stage yourself to keep yourself
from going mad.
So, here’s what I think about Itori:
She is older than she looks, similar
to Roma
If Uta is the One Eyed King of old,
then she sticks to him because he most likely saved her
Similarly, she sticks to Yomo because Yomo still has the innocence that she couldn’t hold onto
She knows who Rize is and is
interested in her because she has probably suffered similar trauma
Considering her knowledge of ghoul
biology, perhaps she got pregnant with a one eyed ghoul, who she then lost due
to the risks of ghoul-human pregnancies
Assuming Editor-san’s line is actually relevant this time, I’m just super excited about the prospect of knowing more for different reasons.
First of all, the one who founded the Clowns was Roma, but she also said that…
…the others might not know it was her. Whether she meant Itori, Uta, Nico, Donato and Furuta or small fries who joined the gang, that’s not certain. As a side note, the “grand party” she’s talking about might be referring to the conflict between the second OEG of the timeline and V, since we know Roma ended up being defeated by Tsuneyoshi in his youth.
Anyway, if the others really don’t know Roma was the founder though, then it may mean that…
the reason they all ended up joining is not necessarily closely related to Roma’s own reasons for founding the gang (which mainly was fearing getting bored), which is logical if Roma actually was the youngest out of them all (not counting Furuta) and even if Itori’s description of the Clowns does encompass Roma too.
Secondly, in the new chapter, Donato said this…
… just before Itori rambled about their group while watching Yomo and Uta fight, and precisely as Kaneki was meeting with Furuta.
In other words, it’s a perfect lineup to understand what’s exactly linking all of the remaining Clowns and why they finally decided to step forward onto the stage after (what was implied to be) so many years of staying in the background and pretending to be the audience.
In fact, we even got a little hint a while ago that the Clowns had some sort of leading figure who had a plan about Kaneki, thanks to Uta:
And while I’m aware that Uta is a real troll and taking him seriously shouldn’t happen, at the same time, it still makes sense for Uta to have been talking about Furuta in ch31.5.
After all, the Clowns are currently playing for time for Furuta, they helped him overthrow the main Washuu family, they followed his directions during the Clowns’ raid arc, etc, and besides, Roma also said this in ch135:
…which is a direct throwback to the current arc, since Furuta purposely recreated a situation (using Kaneki amongst others) that paralleled what had happened with the Nagaraj 100 years ago because he seemed to have been seeking the same results.
In other words, either the “raison d’être” of the Clowns is directly linked to Furuta’s goal of “super peace” or, more simply, Furuta offered them a way to “keep cracking jokes on stage so that they wouldn’t go crazy”, which is why they’re helping him.
Personally
I’d rather buy the latter than the former, even if we’ll see next week, because Uta expressed that he didn’t understand “his boss”
more than once…
…which would mean that he probably doesn’t understand the finality of his goal either, so whether there is “super peace” or not, Uta literally doesn’t care.
Then again it’s logical, since we already know why Uta is in it thanks to ch116 (”I’ve always been quite the reprobate and that’s why I want to stay in the thick of it. Because it’s lonely on the edges”). That’s why he can still refer to Kaneki as a “special customer” and kinda root for him, even if he’s currently helping with Furuta’s plan, because ultimately he’s only after fun.
Same for Roma, which is another example making me think that Furuta simply gave the Clowns a reason to look forward cracking more jokes on stage to avoid going crazy because…
and mostly, we know that if “super peace” is really about Furuta turning humans into ghouls, well, Roma would also give 0 fuck about it:
I’d also say same for Nico for similar reasons as Roma:
because “a society with ghouls at the very center” (Aogiri’s goals) looks to be what Furuta is after as well (if you forget that the toxin in higher rate is also dangerous to ghouls).
For Itori and Donato, it’s slightly trickier. Donato denied being the same as Uta in ch116, because he’s not “as sentimental” as him, while also having a past that’s made of constantly being deprived of what he held dear:
…so whether he’s like the others (cracking jokes to avoid going crazy) or truly looking forward to “super peace” (like V, I guess?) is not so evident, at least to me. Whichever allows him to get “another place of tranquility”, maybe?
Finally, about Itori, she’s a complex one too, but I wouldn’t be surprised if what she said about the Clowns was literally the last shield she had to herself:
…which would mean that every joke is really nothing but a way to counter going crazy out of being tired of despairing. After all, there always seemed to be an existing contrast in her words and attitude, as if to imply that she isn’t sure where she stands:
using Kaneki as a toy to get info vs still giving him genuine heartfelt advice;
calling the Clowns “the ones who’d watch this play come to an end from the box seats” vs “the ones cracking jokes on stage to avoid going crazy”;
having a mask that’s hinting at a strong/deadly/rampaging ghoul when she was never ever seen fighting (and doesn’t even seem to enjoy it?)
TL;DR the Clowns all have sad backstories, that’s for sure, so when it comes to how their (personal or collective) “raison d’être” aligns with Furuta’s plans, it may not be with Furuta’s goal of “super peace” directly (rather I think that’s V, except maybe for Donato, tho’ I’m not sure), but because he’s providing them with more occasions to seek what they enjoy or feel so lonely about.
Sorry for rambling,
keep in mind that it’s just my take on it and for all I know it’s going to be wrong next week, but still
I hope it made sense. I’m just loving these chapters. xD
So here we have it finally stated in text. If the scenario is following Furuta’s plans, and the humans and ghouls have teamed up together in order to create a better future then why are the clowns still fighting on the side of V.
It’s important to remember that clowns are entirely nihilistic ghouls, so much so they were willing to watch their own extinction as a species as long as they got a front seat to it.
Nico’s words here, Itori’s words here.
Donato and Itori’s own implications in this chapter.
That they’ve seen this all play out before in some form or another, tragic comedy after tragic comedy. So when Renji is called warm warm, I can’t help but believe he’s being called naive.
That Renji’s worldview, his hopeful one comes not from having glanced at the madness of the world and overcome it by himself, but rather from not looking. That Renji himself is so straight forward and simple he doesn’t try to stray from his expectations. He hasn’t come to understand the wold and decided to trust it anyway, but rather his own reaction comes from a lack of understanding. A blind faith.
Renji basically says even agrees to as much with Take in “101″, ironically while the clowns are attacking in the background.
“Mutual understanding doesn’t require sharing everything with one another.” very convenient for Take who hates telling anybody anything, until everything’s already exploded in the background to say. It’s also the exact opposite of what Uta says in what the beginning and end title reference.
Mutual understand is difficult because everybody thinks differently vs Mutual understanding doesn’t require sharing everything. Both of those are opposite philosophies, but I think it’s no coincidence one comes from a human and the other comes from a ghoul.
Uta’s words sound entirely pessimistic, even perhaps foolish considering right now he’s claiming to fight because the world has no place for ghouls when he’s fighting for a human and ghoul alliance, but to some extent ‘This world loves but humans” is right.
The human ghoul alliance does not care about ghouls at all, we’re shown signs of this again and again.
The human ghoul alliance was not born out of mutual understanding, just like Take said they didn’t choose to share everything with one another, but rather to put their faith in different entities, the CCG and Kaneki Ken.
They all worked together to save Kaneki Ken, but even Kaneki himself doesn’t actually care that much at all about a world where humans and ghouls get along, just one where he’s personally accepted.
Hide himself doesn’t believe in a cooperation of humans and ghouls beyond it’s use to help save Kaneki. Do you know why I know this? Because Hide knew where Goat’s headquarters were all along, and he could have avoided this entire dragon mess if he just went to see Kaneki when Kaneki was leading a rebellion for ghouls, who needed a rebellion since they were at their highest time of persecution but he didn’t. The fact that he didn’t is telling. He’s a so called terrorist, but he didn’t even join in the rebellion that was challenging the established order.
Amon and Akira had their change to join Goat too when it was challenging the CCG and they were both rejected by it, as both of their arcs had them realize that the CCG was holding them back from personal growth but neither of them did anything at all until a scenario presented itself where they could conveniently walk back into the doors of the CCG.
The thing is also, Kaneki in no way has moved past only fighting because everybody around him needs him to, for various vague definitions of “everybody”. He even said “Everybody…” repeatedly the last time he used his kagune.
Nobody in Goat cares for the peaceful coexistence for humans and ghouls not really, they’re either fighting to survive or because Kaneki. Nobody in the CCG cares that much about what will happen with ghouls after this conflict is resolved. They’ve made absolutely no plans about it, they haven’t even tried to discuss it.
Even if they somehow magically all defeat the clowns and purge the remnants of V, there’s absolutely no guarantee that the world won’t simply return to the status queue, because nothing has been done on either side to actually understand each other. They’re only working together out of pure necessity and eventually if the entire world doesn’t end, that need will crumble, and nobody’s actually done anything to anticipate when it does crumble.
And that’s why Uta laughs at Yomo’s pure and simple faith.
Because as he admitted a chapter ago, Yomo doesn’t even understand Uta. So why does he so badly want to end this conflict without death, with a person he does not even understand. What’s the reasoning for that? How is he going to trump Uta’s reasoning? Why does he want to be friends so badly with somebody he doesn’t know or understand?
He hasn’t thought of it at all though. There’s a curious parallel in the fight as well, Uta says this.
Yomo says it’s stupid to only try to reach him through violence.
But this move by Uta parallels the beginning of the fight.
Amon stabs Donato straight through his heart, but it’s pointless because Donato just heals a moment later.
It’s an explicit set up parallel. Yomo says it’s pointless trying to reach him through violence especially when they’re mutually friends. Donato and Amon mutually love one another as well, no matter how twisted their relationship is. Yet Amon has only ever tried to comprehend Donato through violence.
Amon says while punching another ghoul who doesn’t even know who Donato is in the face.
So, Yomo’s own rejection of Uta’s want to fight is on a flimsy basis in the first place, because the other person in his alliance is completely gung ho about fighting. In fact, Amon himself probably thinks that piercing straight through Donato with his spear, and then heroically triumphing over evil and returning home without even having to bother to think about him anymore is in fact the best ending possible for him.
The two fights contradict one another. Donato actually does want to talk with Amon and understand him, but Amon only meets him with violence. Yomo doesn’t want to fight Uta, but Uta only meets him with violence and the ugly parts of ghouls.
Neither Yomo nor Amon though understand at all the people they’re fighting. Yet, they’re both people who claim to represent the hope that humanity and ghouls will someday get along.
Whereas the clowns who have looked at and understood the world with a critical eye, have decided there’s only despair in it for them. So, how exactly can they be overcome by people whose hope is only born out of blindness?
The only way to overcome them is to look honestly at the world and draw a different conclusion, but neither Amon nor Yomo have done that. In fact Amon’s explicitly been called to do that multiple times but he still doesn’t. He’s a ghoul who still fights mainly with a quinque, and who has yet to call himself a ghoul once.
Yomo puts all his faith in Kaneki, and truthfully he does understand Kaneki’s inner strength and struggle because he’s been watching all along, but he doesn’t understand Kaneki’s shadow.
Yomo lives to protect his niece and nephew but… Who the fuck is Ayato?
There is however one character who has seen the darkness of the world, but still decided to live on without feeling the need to blind himself.
The black and white pattern collar around his neck even resembles a classic clown collar. Google it yourself because if you try to google clowns you get about 100 creepy and not helpful results.
There is a character who had a strong prejudice against ghouls, and then battled with it, came to terms, and accepted himself as a ghoul and it’s not Amon, it’s not even Kaneki.
So either Amon will defeat Donato, with no build up or attempt to understand ghouls, his self as a ghoul, or Donato even for basically the entirety of Re: (boo) or Amon will lose due to his lack of understanding and his simple world view. However, the side of coexistence won’t lose because there is somebody out there who is similar to the clowns and has suffered similarly to them, but unlike them hasn’t gone mad. Seidou even ends up saying a clown phrase at the end of his fight.
However, even Seidou’s conclusion is a temporary measure. After all despite saving both of them and supposedly living for them, neither Amon and Akira have even mentioned Seidou once, even though a return to the CCG, and a human ghoul alliance would be a perfect time to go looking for Seidou and remind him that there’s still a place for him.
Both Amon and Yomo see the world in idealistic terms but it’s more out of a choice to take everything at face value, not out of genuinely seeing the darkness and choosing to see the light.
That’s why point of view is so important. If you look at Kuzen and Ukina’s romance from Kuzen’s point of view for example, it’s a love story. If you look at Kuzen like Yomo or Kaneki does, he’s an extremely kind old man that saved them, but a lonely one because the big mean world got in the way of his miracle romance with Ukina.
From Eto’s point of view she was an accidental product of an investigative report and a sad emotionally desperate man who didn’t care about his kind, or even his daughter over his own comfort.
And she’s not wrong.
She’s not entirely right either, and there’s definitely an element of Eto’s complete inability to comprehend healthy love because of the entire lack of it she’s received her whole life, but that doesn’t make her perspective wrong either.
Mutual understanding is difficult because everybody thinks differently, that’s the point. Amon and Yomo take way too many things at face value in order to overcome this at this point. Yomo still sees Yoshimura as somebody who took care of him and took him in out of the kindness of his heart, not because Yoshimura was using him as a substitute for the daughter he should have been taking care of.
I’m belaboring the point of course, but I want to make it clear there’s a difference between what blind idealistis like Yomo and Amon perceive which is mainly just people’s projected image of themselves, Kaneki is a kind and understanding person who has friends on both sides, Kaneki is somebody who fights for his friends, and the shadow that the clowns implicitly understand. That’s why Amon’s reaction when Kaneki claimed that he was fighting only for his friends, and he didn’t care about the vast majority of people was to smile and see the nobility in it.
And Seidou’s was to call him out right away… like maybe half assing this kind of thing was a bad thing…Seidou’s callout produced something closer to the truth for both of them as well in a much shorter conversation. Seidou did not really want to give up responsibility and the weight of that cross, Kaneki only wanted something to fight for because he was empty inside. However, Amon and Kaneki’s much longer conversation really only reaffirmed their equally delusional beliefs.
Anyway, that’s the conclusion to my essay on why I only stan Seidou. (This is a joke). (Ps. Laugh, it’s fun!)
midnight-in-town 