I think I’m just going to keep putting cutoff points ridiculously early in my posts. it may look ugly as hell but at least it won’t spoil anybody.
This panel really fucked with me because it shows just how bad Fushi’s “All Successors are the same person” problem has gotten. They sound resigned to another round of failure, but not terribly broken up about it. Like in Fushi’s mind they can just wait another couple generations and try again at saving Kahak.
Sorry that’s it, that’s everything I have to say about this chapter besides “Huh???” Because, like, I thought Funa was in Paradise? And that Bon would have brought up another ghost in the diner? (Although I guess Bon lies a lot, but still.) And when did Fushi revive Funa? Was it right after they transformed to the Nameless Boy in this chapter? I’m so confused.
I just want to say I love all of your posts about FnAe, and I'm glad I'm able to meet you guys <3 And can you explain more about the recent post with the image of Fushi and Izumi ;v; I might get it wrong so I want to ask ;-;
That's really sweet, thanks! I wish I had a coherent answer prepared for you but alas, that recent post was for me to note a random pattern I noticed and to add to later if the pattern continues. This is a good opportunity for me to sort it out though so I'm glad you asked.
The dialogue in both of these panels uses wording that relates to acting. First Fushi tells Izumi's knocker to stop acting and then Izumi, who saw this exchange, implies that they're also putting on an act. Fushi believes the knockers are monsters pretending to be human and wants them to drop the act, but Izumi thinks that Fushi is a human playing at god and encourages them to continue. Izumi got this opinion from reading the Defense Corps.' records of them as a child. So you could also say that Fushi and the knockers both think the other is full of shit.
This is really interesting especially coupled with a few other things we've seen Fushi and the knockers do when they have their confrontations. Pictured above is Funa's knocker applauding after Fushi says they'll love Mizuha and give her a hug. This makes it seem like Fushi and the Left Hand were simply acting out a scene without any real feeling behind it, and also kind of subtly calls Fushi out by implying that their intention was to play Mizuha for a fool.
WIn chapter 144.1, Funa's knocker is confronted by Fushi and decides to play the villain. It takes a kid hostage and distracts Fushi with that, but later they find out that the child is a half-merged knocker and in no danger. It's just a performance that Funa's knocker put on to control Fushi, and works as effectively as the scene in which Funa dies.
Most of the knockers are acting how they perceive the human who their body belongs to would, but as Satoru says, it's only mimicry. There's no feeling behind it. He also compares them to dolls. They have the right motions, but ultimately they're just playing house. I am intentionally referencing the Volume 14 cover, write that down.
Now Fushi's side of things. When they confront the knockers, they're constantly trying to find the moral high ground so they won't feel guilty. They'd like to be the hero, and so they confront knockers with the sword that Hirotoshi calls "the sword of righteous fury." They approach Izumi's knocker saying things that make them sound like a monster slayer. It's a very dramatic scene. That's the angle Fushi is going for. But their desperation has begun twisting their character. This is how they appear to others:
With Mimori's and Funa's knocker, Fushi is looming above them with their face in shadow. As they approach Izumi's knocker and Mizuha, we don't get to see their face until after we see that the sky is dark and rain is pouring down. Until we see their gradual approach and the sword they're dragging through a puddle. Izumi's knocker's reaction to danger and the apprehension of Mizuha's face. They're not the hero in these situations.
Even their actions towards humans have become ambiguous. In this era, been confronted with the hurt of others because they neglect to consider the feelings of others, or they just don't care. Even though the manga readers understand Fushi's intentions, these scenes above still make it clear that they're in the wrong. At this point in time, no one really likes them or understands what the hell they're trying to accomplish and that won't work in their favor.
This started as an explaination of the meaning behind two panels I slapped together and turned into an analysis of Fushi's views on morality but I will do my best to tie it all together. Ahem. By acting as antagonists, the knockers are deliberately restricting Fushi to a black and white mentality in the hopes that they'll slip up badly. Ideally, they would kill a knocker in public and expose themselves, but if not that then at the very least they'll be making some unsound decisions which would put the knockers at an advantage. Why do I think this? I don't know. Vibes. It's intuition.
The thing about Fushi is that they aren’t strictly speaking ethical. They’re more or less a Hedonist: seeking pleasure (e.g. searching for good food, loving towns and beds) while avoiding pain (e.g. spending 40 years on an island because you don’t want to feel sad ever again). It’s just that, because of their enforced Empathy, Fushi’s definition of avoiding pain extends to every single person alive.
It goes back to this theme of performance you mentioned. They’re a hedonist roleplaying as an altruist.
And the thing is, it used to be a lot easier for Fushi to maximize everyone’s pleasure while minimizing everyone’s pain. But it’s gotten steadily harder to do that. Avoid people so knockers don’t attack them? The knockers will attack them while you aren’t around. Fight the knockers in a giant, final siege? There are going to be casualties. Then it rapidly escalates here in the modern arc, where everything’s gotten infinitely more complicated while Fushi’s been staying the same in a tree for five hundred years.
Gugu: I think about my old life sometimes, you know? It wasn’t much, but it was still mine. My brother and I worked hard to make money, I had a crush on a cute girl, and I had a dream of living in a big mansion someday. Now look a me… I’ve become such a monster I have to wear a mask all the time. Working for the old man who saved my life, but I’m not sure how much he actually values me as a person. My old life is gone, but I’m still doing the same things. Doing chores around the brewery and just living… But you know what? I think it’ll be okay. I’ve had a lot of fun since you came, Fushi. And I feel like this life is a bit more bearable. There’s someone who needs my help, and I can help out. So I’ll be your big brother, Fushi! Because you make me feel at ease, and you’re someone who I feel comfortable around with. We understand each other!
Fushi, who just learned how to speak like a week ago:
Excuse me as I grab your lighthearted post and drag it down into hell. I sometimes think about how there are so many instances where someone says or does something that impacts Fushi in a big way later on, but at the time they don’t say anything because they don’t understand/don’t know how to express their feelings/don’t care much about the other character. And then later they look back on their precious memories with this person. Do they wish they could have comforted Gugu in this moment or at least responded in some way?
This kind of thing is exactly why I love this panel:
That whole chapter, really. It’s indescribably sad. And also maybe the most outward expression of Fushi’s grief that we’re shown? Probably because they spent the last 40 years in isolation on an island ( with a slight detour for fish escapades) and not processing their emotions in the slightest.
For manga-spoiler heeavy thoughts that are too tiny for their own posts.
#1: The Funa thought
I joked a while ago that Funa was literally just Shoya from Koe no Katachi, and I was kind of right, in a fucked up way. She feels like a perversion of Shoya’s character and I’m loving it. Like, she was totally apathetic to the bullied Mizuha as a human, and it’s only when she’s being controlled by a sadistic, terrifying Knocker that she’s showing kindness, and even then the one its being nice to isn’t really Mizuha, exactly.
.#2: The Gnostic thought
An even whiler ago I made a post about FnAe’s Knockers resembling Gnosticism, and this is. Well, it’s about as Gnostic as it gets. Especially this imagery right here.
#3: The Eko thought
I wasn’t going into the chapter expecting to get teary-eyed and then this bit hit me. I don’t even know why, it was just really cathartic. (Also we got some sweet sweet Gugu screentime as a nice side benefit.)
#4: The Yuki thought
Local middleschooler confirmed more intelligent than immortal being
I think this was a really good chapter. It pulled a lot of minor details together into a big picture while simultaneously introducing the start of more tiny plot points that will eventually become important. I'll go ahead and talk about the things I noticed, but if someone makes a connection that I missed I'd really like to hear it.
Izumi underwent an image change between this chapter and the previous one. The geometric haircut is a fresh, modern look, and sets her further at odds with the Defense Corps. Ooima usually goes for realism with her art, but some of the hairstyles in FnAe are a bit exaggerated and have special meaning (Hayase and her successors have jagged, uneven bangs; Tonari's sticks up and out in a way that matches her comical facade; Bon's is like That). As a part of her character design, it makes her look harsh and underscores the the sharper aspects of her personality, which, as we see in this chapter, return with a vengeance after she motivates herself to live with Mizuha.
Izumi doesn't get on with the other moms of Mizuha's ballet class, and there's no mention of any friends she may or may not have currently either. When she overhears them talking about musicals, she turns right around and asks Mizuha to audition for one, further emphasizing that comparing herself with others and then doing better is a coping mechanism that she's relied on since she was a child. She thinks she's starting over, but really she's just gone right back to the beginning.
Izumi's forgetfulness has been here the entire damn time:
Since Izumi's knocker is the one that practices leniency, it was likely the one who told Mizuha it was OK to take a break. When Izumi was confronted with having done something she would never normally do, coupled with the reappearance of her father, she freaked out. Regardless of the circumstances, her inconsistency was probably another source of stress for Mizuha, and as we see when Izumi grabs onto her before she gets into her grandfather's truck, it can be frightening too.
I really really want to know what Mizuha's dad's deal is. From his behavior, he either knows everything about the Defense Corps. or next to nothing. He doesn't mention knockers at all when he talks to Izumi, despite that being a very conclusion to draw, if he knows anything about knockers. Izumi just agreed to visit the home of the father she despises, that's incredibly out of character and very suspicous. But if he knows what the Left Hand's plan is, then of course he wouldn't bring up any possibility of knockers. He would be deliberately gaslighting her. He's definitely lied to her in the past, but I honestly don't think he's smart enough for that.
From the bits Izumi overhears of the conversation between her dad and the Left Hand, more things about the Defense Corps. can be inferred. First, the Left Hand probably had some way of knowing or ensuring that Fushi would return within Mizuha's lifetime. Maybe it's the same sense that allows knockers to locate Fushi, but stronger because the Left Hand was around them and Hayase's successors for longer. Second, it's not just idiot people who worship the Left Hand. Knockers also think it's the literal best. They changed their whole plan for it and I want to know why they're so devoted. Finally, a piece of its plan has been revealed. Instead of bringing all humans to Paradise (read: killing them), the knockers are now bringing paradise to the humans. And killing the ones who get in the way. The Left Hand thinks there's something better about a living body than its experience outside of one, and I guess it managed to convince its friends.
So directly after Izumi decides that she must do something, there's a long timeskip during which she does nothing. This also happened in the previous chapter, where she explained that she had no choice but to stay with the Defense Corps. as a child, but continues delivering sermons as a young adult and is shown to be cautious but eager to please her mom with no intention of leaving. By the end of the chapter, she's also decided to continue as a ghost instead of changing her course of action. Alternatively, it's possible that something actually happened during that period. The only thing I can think of is Izumi discovering new information about the Defense Corps. and the like, which would then be on her computer.
The next plot point has been set up: Bon instructs Fushi to get the key to Mizuha’s house from Mizuha herself. It’ll be interesting to see if they actually obey or if they try to sneak in. It’s Bon’s orders vs. their own desires. They’ll probably bring Yuuki with them, since he’s more tech savvy than they are. If Mizuha supervises them, she’ll also see the photos of herself and Izumi, and Fushi might use this as an opportunity to shove Izumi’s love for her down her throat. Which is definitely super helpful. The password to the computer, 0406, or April 6th, is Mizuha’s birthday.
Probably the most important thing in this whole chapter is Izumi’s final line. She really likes to make the last page dramatic. The first part “Don’t do anything out of character” shoves one of Fushi’s biggest flaws in their face. They need to save everyone because it makes them feel better about themselves, and that desperation’s started to interfere with their ability to judge the situation with the knockers impartially. The Defense Corps. think of Fushi as inhuman, practically a god, as pure as an angel and as selfless as a saint. This is the Fushi that Izumi grew up reading about. She recognizes that the Defense Corps.’ version of Fushi aligns with what Fushi believes they should be, and when she warns them not to act out of character she’s reminding them that if they’re chosen to play the hero, they should stick to it. Unfortunately, Bon does what he’s always does and waters it down for Fushi, so they don’t get to hear this.
Second part: “If I wanted that, I’d already be begging you to do so.” As has been hammered in time and time again, Izumi is stubborn as fuck. That stubbornness is the root of why her relationship with Mizuha soured and why she got killed. I’d go as far as to call it a fatal flaw. In death, she’s realized how harmful that stubbornness was for her family and herself, but she hasn’t dropped it. She’s still refusing to show her real feelings, and instead Bon colors the picture in for Fushi and the others. Although she says she would beg, she would never beg. Even if she wants to return to being Mizuha’s mother, she won’t change her stubbornness because, shockingly, she’s too damn stubborn. She’d rather insist on continuing to be a ghost instead of doing anything.
These are some great pulls, especially on Izumi’s forgetfulness and haircut, and I don’t have a ton to add except a possible explanation for the Left Hand’s status among the Knockers. And it’s this: of all the Knockers, the Left Hand got the closest to actually killing Fushi, and it achieved so through a wildly different tactic from the rest of its kind. And sure, it failed in the end, but so has literally every single knocker, and after spending so much time in the physical world (and especially around Fushi), I imagine it would have some stories/ideas to share when it returned to Paradise. Maybe we’ll get more information on this, but that’s what I took from it.
turnnoffyourmind
kaledo-art
origamiaround
baratheonpilled
yousharknotpass
ellievsbear
