πππ‘ππ & πππ¦ π£ππ₯ππππππ¦ πͺππ§π ππππ₯π¨π¦: a gachiakuta observation
βmanga spoilers below the cut
credits for the art -> @casa_corvo on twt!
How this connection between two figures who hold seemingly no similarities to each other all started when I first took a look at this photo of Mymo in his god form.
As a Zanka fanatic, I couldn't help but draw the connections between the wings on his back, and how similar they look to lovely asisstaff. The overall shape is the exact same, the spiked beams of light protruding out of the wings parallel the spikes on asisstaff, and though I might be reaching with this, the trianglesque design around the top of Mymo's neck reminds me a lot of the triangular rope wrapped around the top of asisstaff. Coincidentally, the first person Mymo happens to attack is also Zanka.
Now that we've gotten to the explanation of Zanka & his 'wings', it's time to talk about his connotations with Icarus.
For those who aren't familiar, Icarus is a figure in greek mythology who alongside his father Daedalus, escaped from imprisonment in a tower overlooking the ocean/labyrinth via wings that Daedalus crafted. Before they flew, Daedalus warned his son not to fly too low as the feathers would get soaked from the ocean, and not to fly too high, as the heat from the sun would melt the wax keeping the feathers together. As expected, Icarus did not listen to his dad, flew too close to the sun and proceeded to fall into the ocean where he then died.
How does this relate to Zanka?
"Highlights the dangers of hubris, or excessive pride." Hubris is extreme or excessive pride or dangerous overconfidence and complacency, often in combination with arrogance. Hubris, arrogance, and pretension are related to the need for victory instead of reconciliation.
All of this describes exactly how Zanka was before he met lovely asisstaff. We see in his backstory that he was top of his class, and not to mention a son of the famous Nijiku family, and that led Zanka and everyone around him to unanimously believe he would reach the golden throne. His classmates wanted his approval because they believed he was the best, and Zanka himself developed a superiority complex where he believed a genius like him shouldn't have been lumped in with the rest of his class.
But then, Hyo came along and ruined that illusion. He saw what a true genius was like, and it destroyed the perception he'd had all his life of what it was to be the best. When he picked up lovely asisstaff for the first time and everyone gave him judging looks, that was the final breaking point, and Zanka climbed into a well and stayed there for three days. If Enjin hadn't found him, it's very likely that he would've died. Zanka himself was having suicidal thoughts alongside the mental breakdown he had in that well, wondering if he should just kill himself.
Zanka, like Icarus, was arrogant and overconfident, and in ties with Hubris, constantly needed to win over his classmates to feel a sense of accomplishment. When Hyo bested him in sparring over and over again, we quite literally see him hit his head against a wall hard enough to draw blood. -> "Related to the need for victory instead of reconciliation."
Also like Icarus, their arrogance was what led to their downfalls, reaching the lowest points of their life. With Icarus falling to the ocean, and Zanka symbolically almost dying at the lowest point in his town, being the bottom of that well. It's also interesting when you note that the well Zanka was in, a place that should contain water, was completely dried up -> which is the direct opposite of the vast waters of the ocean that Icarus fell into.
Now, if the story of Icarus in regards to Zanka is meant to represent his mental state, then I think it's only fair to point out that when Daedalus tells his son not to fly too high nor too low, he's subtly telling him to fly right in between. Don't be too arrogant, don't be too self deprecating, and where does that leave us? Zanka does make it a point to call himself an average Joe in the story over and over again....
βI also would like to briefly talk about the modern day poem 'Rewriting Icarus'. Though it is not a part of the original myth, it's quote "Icarus laughed as he fell", is popular enough for me to point out how Zanka, in similar fashion, laughed maniacally whilst having his breakdown in the well.
Though there's no confirmation of this and it's just a observational theory, it does hold some credibility especially when you consider the elements of greek mythology already in the story > Rudo being a parallel to Cerberus, and the Sileia tribe being a parallel to the Amazons tribe
