Hinami is okay! Ish. She’s crying. I’m crying. Crying Hina=wrong.
Kaneki you’re upsetting your wife i know she said you needed to put on muscle but that was like years ago and this is a bit of overkill, dontcha think?
Nishiki has more faith in Kaneki as his friend than anyone else at this point 😦
Ken why
honestly where the f*ck is mucchan
Urie come and wake up your bae
where the f*ck is ayato
Ayato come back and comfort your girlfriend
where the f*ck is yomo
Hopefully off galavanting with Uta
give them back to me ishida.
oops i forgot aura again, where is aura
i’m not losing hope that they’ll appear this chapter or the next but bring them back to the war please.
I assume you’re talking about physical appearance?
I’ll do my top 10 again, but not in any particular order. This is based on multiple factors, such as how intriguing I find their appearance as it relates to their character, not on how physically attractive I find them (though that plays a role in some of these, lol).
Uta
Everything about his design screams edgy, mysterious, and I’m fascinated. Like the moment he showed up I wanted to learn more about hi,.
Takizawa Seidou in :re
Everything about him screams dangerous, unhinged, and above all, suffering, tbh. His appearance is so disheveled that it inspires sympathy as well as fear.
Juuzou Suzuya
Like Takizawa’s, it screams dangerous and unhinged to me, but instead of just pain, he appears childlike and innocent in some ways too.
Yonebayashi Saiko
She’s adorable, she’s chubby, she wears her hair in pigtails and has a funny grin, and all of this adds to her childlike personality and reinforces her refusal to take responsibility/grow up in many ways. (Also? Her ears are usually covered thanks to her hairstyle.)
Urie Kuki
He’s hot. Also, I like how he’s drawn without a mouth sometimes.
Mutsuki Tooru
He’s beautiful, and while in this panel his eye is uncovered, usually he has one eye covered (I see what you’ve been doing there, Ishida).
Kirishima Touka in :re
Talk about a glow up. I actually very much miss her soft fluffy blue hair. Bring it back, Touka, Mutsuki couldn’t insult that hair because it’s angelic. It also reflects her more gentle personality in :re.
Kirishima Ayato
Can you say angsty teenage edgelord? Because this is pretty much the exact image that comes to mind.
Ui Koori
He’s beauty, he’s grace, I no longer have a rhyme that works with his face. Also I like how he starts to lose his pretty looks when he sells his soul.
I just noticed something. Remember the circles on the clothing of the 24th Ward residents…?
They fuckin match the eyes on Kaneki!
So I’m thinking, if his eyes resemble embryos up-close, and we’re hearing all this business over and over about birthing something only by means of “breaking the eggshell” (destroying in order to create)…
I think we’re being handed the origin of ghouls without even knowing. Those people in the 24th ward may have been born from a kakuja’s “eyes” too.
To start, the bodies pouring out of one of Kaneki’s eyes are too numerous to only be the Oggai, and instead they appear to be manifestations those children he killed. They may not be more than highly-detailed kagune.
And, if you remember, all the “kids” in the 24th Ward had white hair, just like those bodies.
If the 24th ward people and the empty dolls above are the same, it leads us to the concept of the Nagaraj gaving “birth” to them just like Kaneki did. They definitely seem to be more than walking, talking kagune, but really, after what we’ve seen with reanimation and cloning, at what point does the kagune stop and the person begin? Can a ghoul give their kagune sentience? The ability to learn and think for itself…?
Do all these little husks of children need in order to be “real” is have a little life blown into them? A kakuhou of their own?
In regards to origins, I immediately thought of something Roma said:
THE CHICKEN CAME FIRST.
I’m going to water this down to the very basics, but hopefully you guys can follow me:
If we go as far back as possible on the evolutionary tree to find a link between humans and ghouls, I think we’d find something like a proto-kakuhou. Maybe it looked like an Red Child cell. Maybe the little proto-kakuhou needed nourishment and couldn’t find any… so, in a last-ditch effort, it eats itself.
Bing bang boom- it survives, divides, and creates two! Then those two eat themselves and create four. Then eight, sixteen, and so fourth. At this point, ghouls and humans are one species relying on each other for survival while evolving upwards for some millennia. But, eventually, the eating-of-themselves starts to only lean to one side, as the other evolves to have an ever-smaller and smaller kakuhou.
** Side note: keep in mind that the 24th Warders believed themselves to be human even though they have kagune. They don’t differentiate themselves from ghouls, let alone know what they are. If Nagaraj began as a human, too, then it’s natural those people believe they were created in that image.
Now they’re two species.
Ghouls (while still carrying the genes to develop a kakuhou) continue to rely purely on concentrations of RC cells to survive. They even evolved the ability to shape their weapons to hunt in a million ways to help them trap and snare and kill. Humans, however, have evolved to get their nutrients from a variety of sources.
That’s all good and fun so long humans (those “thinking pigs”) are able to fight back… until the scale tips. If ghouls are backed into a corner (like they are now), they begin to eat their own species. And if a ghoul eats their own species, their RC cells twist and morph and multiply by the thousands to create a kakuja.
…And if a kakuja-laden kakuhou absorbs one too many RC cells, all with the same exact genetic code of themselves…?
…just like that proto-kakuhou— like that first RC cell that could only eat itself…
it multiplies.
And thus, as Furuta put it, “life is born from chaos”.
That’s why I think Kaneki is following the footsteps of the Nagaraj. That’s what I think Eto meant by giving this world a “hard reset”. It’s all cycles within cycles within cycles. All we need to see are those bodies that came spilling out of Kaneki to come to life in order to confirm it.
sorry I’m boosting again, but I almost ran home when I remembered who else of questionable age and origin looked a little like one of those white-haired kids
/2 long ago that said something like the Sun arc being an arc of
revelations more or less (sorry don’t remember it that much), and
characters like Hide, Eto and the Clowns would fit in that, and I really
agree on this. Especially because these characters probably know things
we’re kept in the dark about. But I just don’t get why you say Hide’s
been associated with the Sun due to him acting sunshine-like…Sorry if
I’m misunderstanding. Maybe it’s me who is in the wrong here :’D
No, it’s fine to ask this! I actually do think Hide has been associated
with the Sun in canon, and my referring to him as being associated with the Sun is actually not because of his personality–I didn’t even know it was a nickname inspired by his personality though it definitely fits, lol. He’s mostly been associated with one aka the Magician, but I think that may also be associated with the Sun, and this
post theorizes that these cards are associated with Hide’s birth date as
well. I will be the first to admit I’m not the best person to ask about
tarots (my understanding is limited), but that’s as much as I understand–if anyone has a better understanding and would like to chime in, please do! Thus take what I say with a grain of salt.
The last time we saw Hide appear to Kaneki as Hide, it was as a vision in the Star Arc. According to this summary of the Fool’s Journey, the Sun represents this:
it is the lucid clarity of the Sun (19) that directs the Fool’s
imagination. The Sun’s illumination shines in all the hidden places. It
dispels the clouds of confusion and fear. It enlightens, so the Fool both feels and understands the goodness of the world.
Now, he enjoys a vibrant energy and enthusiasm. The Star’s openness has solidified into an expansive assurance.
The Fool is the naked babe pictured on Card 19, riding out joyously to
face a new day. No challenge is too daunting. The Fool feels a radiant vitality. He becomes involved in grand undertakings as he draws to himself everything he needs. He is able to realize his greatness.
It would therefore be fitting for Hide, who first appeared to give Kaneki some hope and openness in the Star Arc, to reappear in the Sun Arc and solidify that hope he gave Kaneki.
You’re absolutely
right that Uta and the Clowns have an association with the Sun too. I definitely do
expect Uta to play a role in this arc, but I think Hide is the one
likely to help stop Kaneki.
You’re
welcome to ask anything anytime, anon! I think that’s @midnight-in-town’s theory, and so they might be better able to answer
this. I think it’s a very interesting theory and Uta’s presence in the
underground raises some questions (though that could be explained by his
role as a part of the Clowns).
As for what the Nagaraja did… it’s a
great question. Is the original OEK still alive? (I’m thinking so, especially with what we know about Roma cannibalizing to keep herself young.)
Was it an attack? Well, we don’t know, but this looks pretty destroyed, you’re right.
Then again it also kind of looks like what happens when no one inhabits a town: everything falls to disrepair. Ayato says so here:
Of course, we know that there are people here, so what gives?
Does whatever the
Nagaraja did mean that ghouls think they’re humans, or is there no
distinction down there? The kids aren’t really clear here, not even to
Ayato, so it’s difficult to say. There are all these questions
surrounding the underground city that 100% have to be answered, whether
it’s in :re or in a third series (again, the fact that they were raised
so prominently in :re indicates it should be in :re to me, but who
knows).
But, if the king is Uta, it seems strange that he goes above ground to me, although maybe that’s the point, and please keep in mind this is vague speculating on my part, anon. Maybe he keeps the people in the underground city trapped but enjoys freedom himself.
But then again, if the original OEK is to be yet another foil of Kaneki’s, I wonder if this is his way of keeping ghouls safe. By living underground, they avoid the conflict and seem completely unaware of it. But then again, they also live essentially in ruins, and have undoubtedly missed a ton of opportunities. Given Kaneki’s obsession with keeping everyone around him safe, that could be an interesting direction to go in, if the original OEK was motivated by the same factors and surprise, it doesn’t lead to utopia.
I just realized that I “answered” your question with a bunch of other questions. I’m sorry if this isn’t helpful at all. Apologies for not being able to answer this better, anon! And thank you for the ask.
Soooo in light
of the most recent chapter if Uta plans on helping Hinami and Touka he
better shapeshift into a CCG agent really fast and hightail it on over
there if he ever wants to earn true love’s kiss from Yomo.
I’m
kidding. But I’m not sure, tbh. I’m still thinking that TG:re shouldn’t
end here, though a third series is possible but unlike the first TG,
there are just too many unresolved arcs and plot threads.
But
it definitely seems like Uta knows what Fruit has planned, and is
therefore warning his friend not to continue on ahead, to remember his
words during the Anteiku raid: All we can do is live while losing
things. I really don’t know if Yomo plans to chase after them anyways or
leave. I don’t think he’ll leave, which does not bode well for Yomo…
but then again, would Uta really let him die?
I really think that, if
this isn’t the end of :re, the sun arc is coming. And while my
understanding of tarots and arcs is limited, I do know that the sun
tarot is tied to the clowns. Furuta is the moon’s embodiment, and so
it’s the darkest moment right now, when he looks like he has won:
This
title page really should have clued me in to this exact scenario, of
Kaneki really looking like he’s been defeated, but I can be dense.
But @linkspooky theorized once before (at least I think it was them? I can’t find the post right now) that this title page is referring to an eclipse
before. Uta and the clowns might get involved if Kaneki turns into a
full kakuja (I bet they’d find that interesting at least) and the moon
would be overtaken by the sun (bye Fruit, I love you, but I’ve resigned myself to your
death so long as you don’t die laughing).
No, but in actuality, I’m not a defense blog (not that there’s anything wrong with those) or a hate blog–as much as I love the characters, I try to give honest takes on them. Here, Touka has done nothing wrong. Yes, I do think she still has some growing to do, particularly around her shutting down her emotions, though we did see her show some when she thought Juuzou was about to kill Hinami…
…and to be fair, when you’re running for your life with a bunch of kids, you don’t get the luxury of breaking down until you are safe. I agree with you about Yomo (Uta’s warning seemed ominous, plus Uta’s Yomo’s only plot armor, so), and that’s kind of the point: all of these characters made a choice. She did not force anyone nor did she ask anyone to stay behind and protect her. Yomo, Hirako and 0 Squad, Hinami–they all made their own choice to do so. If they die, it is not on Touka (if you want to blame anyone, blame Kaneki tbh, though again that’s not entirely fair). I think we have a pretty good idea of what Touka’s opinion of people sacrificing themselves for her really is from the original TG:
But it’s not just her here. Here, it’s her baby. It’s Yuuki and the other Aogiri kids. She’s trying to save them, so she’s accepted that this needs to happen and I don’t think that’s something to criticize. I want to see her get to a point where she can break this cycle of seeing her loved ones leave her and die, but now isn’t that time; as Yomo says, she has other things she needs to protect right now.
Also: good point about Urie. And when Mutsuki comes back (because he isn’t dead), it’s the same thing. All of these characters have plot armor. It’s part of storytelling. It’s not implausible for Urie or Touka to survive, though it comes with a cost, which is why I still am skeptical that everyone who stayed behind for Touka will make it. Honestly, if either of them were to die here (or Mutsuki), you’d have people rightly complaining about fridging in Touka’s case and incomplete character arcs for Urie and Mutsuki.
And, while I hate to be that person, I will say it seems like there is a double standard when it comes to how every single fandom I’ve ever been in treats female characters as opposed to how they treat male characters. No matter how progressive the fandom, female characters tend to get criticized far more harshly for things that male characters get cheered for. Exhibit A: Kuroiwa dying for Urie and Hide, Matsuri, Marude & co coming in deux ex machina, and people maybe sacrificing themselves for Touka and Kaneki (or someone else, please God) coming in deux ex machina (though, to be fair, while I was expecting some sort of deux ex machina, if that is Kaneki, it feels unearned–but again, that’s nothing to do with Touka or Hinami as characters).
In all honesty, I don’t expect something like this to happen, but I do think a “you couldn’t protect her!” parallel from Yomo to Arata with Ayato to Kaneki could likely happen. I don’t think Hina-chan will die though she’ll probably be badly injured and unable to protect anyone again, and as much as I hope and pray Yomo lives, I don’t think things are looking good for him. I hope I eat my words on that and Yomo manages to escape before Mutsuki and probably Aura frame out, or Uta arrives to help his boyfriend, but idk, I’m feeling kinda pessimistic about his chances here.
hamliet 