Frustration or Sympathy? The discourse around Custas in episode 7.
One of the most tense discourses around the anime has been around Custas' introduction, with many anime-onlies very frustrated about his impulsiveness and manga readers rushing to defend him, but with a completely different perspective on his character. This post is not to say what's right or wrong to think, but to reflect on what an interesting phenomena this is. How important is it to know a character in order to sympathize with them? (vague manga spoilers ahead)
When Custas goes down for the cargo, the first thing he does is wrap Dagda's roundlute in his arms with a smile. It's a scene that easily pulls on the heartstrings of manga readers, knowing how important it was to changing the entire course of Custas' life—it's what brought them together in the first place. Anime watchers might infer broadly about the ownership of the lute, but have no access to the emotional gravity given to the manga readers (for the sake of this post i will not focus on readers that do not like custas).
There are two major reasons for Custas' actions. The first one is foreshadowed by the visual of Agott falling off a cliff at the start of the episode. Both Qifrey and Olruggio call out that this is a major flaw in her character: she is in a hurry to prove herself and does not consider the consequences. When Custas is first rescued, the first thing he says is that he couldn't save the cargo. Dagda reassures him that it is fine, much like Agott would get gentle reassurance from Qifrey, but Custas clearly still feels a need to prove triumph over this failure by going back for the cargo. Thus, the cliff tumbles. The accident is a consequence of his own major personal flaws, and because it's so clearly wreckless, audiences are often more frustrated with this mistake than sympathetic.
He cannot be just understood as a parallel to Agott or even Coco though, as that ignores the major difference between them: he is a lower class outsider. This is where the anime vs. manga perspective gets complicated. The manga is much more explicit about class differences later on, both considering the priviledges witches have over others as well as the classes within outsider society where we see a spectrum of royalty to muckpool people. It elaborates on their nomadic lifestyle to imply that losing their cago would bring major ruin to their livelihood.
A major reason that viewers are quick to frustration instead of sympathy for Custas is the perspective of the fall being merely a plot device. Many stories have civilians making wreckless decisions to simply give the main characters more conflict: and let's face it, that is what Custas serves to the plot. It's a cliche in all senses until Custas becomes a fully developed character later in the series. Reacters, especially, are most likely to root hard for the protagonists to show high engagement and passion for the series, so having harsh reactions to conflict towards them is natural.
Another influence on audiences is the tendency of anime/manga to immediately explain the ins and outs of characters, with villains often getting fully visualized flashbacks so that the audience is left with no confusion with how to feel about them. That's why it is so easy for Custas to get reduced to a plot device; with no backstory within the episode, audiences expecting a typical anime presentation of characters don't get the usual "this is why they have this tragic flaw."
It brought me to a question that nags at my mind: does a character necessitate a backstory to be sympathetic? Plot device or not, should we not strive to make sense of a character's actions? The real world does not offer backstories behind the strangers we interact with. Actions that seem frustratingly ridiculous may be explained by an economic situation that makes someone risky and desperate. Often when discussing complex characters whether that's agott, qifrey, or custas, the conversation is often "oh just wait for them to get better." And to me, I don't think that should be the necessity of compassion towards others. Once again, however, it's easy for manga readers to say that in hindsight. That's why the duality between these different perspectives is truly interesting to study.
You can buy it officially here: https://kmanga.kodansha.com/title/10065/episode/365575
If you are region locked or don't have the money here: https://cubari.moe/read/gist/cmF3L25laWxvd2VlZW4vUmljaGVoL3JlZnMvaGVhZHMvbWFpbi9XaXRjaC1IYXQtQXRlbGllci5qc29u/97/1/
Spoilers under the cut.
With this chapter I think I have an idea what this "arc" will be.
We are getting one chapter that covers each of these points of interest before wrapping around and fully covering those arcs, with the only exception being the flashback which fully covered Qifrey and Olruggio's past. Ch94 covered Coco's part and her direction going forward, catching us up on her feelings and direction going forward. Ch95 covered Eoleo and Riliphin's part, and seeing as Lagrah, Beldaruit, and Zayamaiya are in the background, I am guessing these characters will play into there arc more. Ch96 covered Jujy and Hiehart as well as the girls and more of Coco, although we don't have a full idea of Agott and Richeh's role in this arc, seeing as they are front and center with Tetia they will most likely have a bigger role. Ch97 covering Luluci, Vinanna, and Easthies with the other Knights (with a surprise addition of Loroga of course). This leaves us with three "boxes" left unexplored. Ininia, Atwert & Galga (with a little Nolnoa), and Tartah & Custas. These could all be covered next chapter if it is decently long, especially if it is supposed to be a catch up rather than an actually starting of their arcs but I could also easily see it split into two chapters.
Anyways onto the chapter itself. In the chapter cover, the fabric Luluci is holding is reminiscent of a veil, and I wouldn't be surprised if that is because it is supposed to be demonstrating that she has a choice in Vinanna's offer. She can pull away the veil of the Knights, full come to terms with the fact that their actions are not just, or she can continue holding it up and hiding away from the truth.
This is further supported by Luluci's expression which is rather contemplative and she is looking into a reflection in the water, but cannot yet see who she is in the water. Reflection is a common theme this entire chapter. Luluci contemplates the paths offered to her by various people she has met in her life, however brief some (Dagda) may be. Taking the side of Easthies, becoming the Vice Captain as Vinanna wants, listening to Dagda's desperate request… all are options available to her.
Though if I am being honest, I think in the end Luluci will follow none of them, or at least she will go about them her own way. While I do think it is most likely she will listen to Dagda, I believe she will offer Custas a choice, rather than simply making Custas her apprentice and trying to force a connection. I also believe that in the end Custas will refuse that offer as he has no desire to be a pointed hat.
On another note, I find it interesting how willing Luluci voices those doubts of hers, and I very much worry about it as Vinanna seems to be a lot more conniving then we (or at least, I) initially assumed.
And thus that leads me to Vinanna. Ah, Vinanna. She is a lot more menacing and manipulative than I first realized. Baiting Luluci into seeking a higher position so she could access secrets she wants to know,
How she tests Luluci with glasses, despite already having made up her mind,
She takes pressure off by telling Luluci there are other candidates while still asking her to think it over, not taking Luluci's first refusal even though she says she is fully open to other options,
It all shows smooth, subtle manipulation we haven't really seen from other characters. It makes me want to go back and reevaluate what other manipulation she may have been using in previous chapters. One that is already coming to mind is ch48, where she suddenly attacks Easthies to demonstrate the Knight's power in front of the outsiders. Looking back at her expressions during this moment, they were all very frightening, I wonder if this was to "teach" Easthies a lesson and put him in his place.
He does look rather dispirited when he is defeated and pinned to the floor…
We have learned of a cruel aspect to her character, not only in what I previously mentioned, but also in the fact she would have erased everyone's mind herself if whatever was "amiss" didn't exist.
The way she speaks of it also implies to me that she would have been a lot more detached while doing so unlike Easthies who very much was driven by emotions. Before I didn't think much of Vinanna, if anything I was surprised by how open minded the Captain of the Knights Moralis was, but now we are seeing her true colors, and I am far more interested in her now than before. Her impact on Easthies might have been larger, and more negative, than I assumed.
Before I speak on Easthies, I do want to quickly mention that this chapter we learn they ship prisoners to Adanlee, they don't use a windowway. It makes sense, A windowway would be too easy for prisoners to use and could be easily exploited where as ships are easier to control and guard.
Anyways, Easthies time, though to be honest I don't have to much to say on him specifically. This chapter confirms a part of Easthies I was already pretty sure about. He makes no exceptions. Not for coworker, friends, people he cares about (and he does care about the other Knights, as seen with his reaction to Galga), no one. Order is absolute.
He seems to very much recognize how fragile pointed hat society really is, though there is something he is hiding, really everyone of upper rank is hiding, even Utowin recognizes the secrets being kept it despite not being directly told to him like Luluci.
I am guessing this has to do with the (ch57) "These things are not for use to decide," (ch57) "You divulge too much," and all of ch75 pg16 where Vinanna mentions a cold wind while Beldaruit reacts in fear.
Now the biggest surprise for me this chapter. Loroga. Hey buddy. If anyone is lost or wants a recap on him cause it has been three years (or 37 chapters) since we lost saw him his is Agott's rumor dude. He appears at the end of ch32 then the beganning of ch33. He also appeared in ch60. He is a member of the House of Roenton, descendant of one of the original three who formed the Pact, similar to Agott who is of the House of Arklaum. He seems to be jealous of Agott's skill and is one of the people who perpetrated the copying rumor. He also seems to be doing it because he has a crush(?) on Agott and wants/values her attention, however negative it may be. At least, from the little we have seen of him that is what I gather. I wouldn't be shocked if him seeking out Easthies has to due with Agott. Agott is apprenticed to Qifrey, appretice to a Wise One so Loroga is following in the same path but with Easthies.
I don't think Easthies will accept at first. I think Loroga will need to push for him to get accepted. I do wonder if they will be good or bad for each other. On one hand, Easthies is very principled, in a way Loroga is not. Loroga is arrogant and has a superior attitude, but he is rambunctious because of that, though he isn't that big of a troublemaker, simply difficult to work with. Meanwhile Easthies is strict. He doesn't have a superior attitude, he simply acts on what he thinks is right. It is far deeper than Loroga's holier-than-thou attitude. Then again, if Luluci accepts Vinanna's offer he might just go to her instead, which will get him a far more compassionate mentor, and maybe someone who could more easily set him on a better track. I suppose only time will tell.
Anyways, flan is delicious. You deserve it Luluci.
shirahama-sensei is known for her manga panels and you might've noticed two panels that connect together.
qifrey's one from ch. 53 and coustas'es one from ch. 55. tree-characters
actually i wasn't so attentive and understood this only when it was pointed out to me. and it was long before this particular chapter released with another one piece (?) of this "puzzle":
ch. 78 with coco.
coco is associated with trees as well as the stars. but i don't think i can make more then visual connection today, so if u possibly know what this might mean... please tell me (im losing my mind)
so.
firstly i cleaned qifrey's and coustas'es panels, tried to connect them as much as possible and defined every pattern so they are full on each side. side note: they weren't connected originally and it is possible that i connected then wrong, but the red ones, loops weren't connected with those rhombic middle part buttttt it seems to be fitting. i also tried to make it colourblind friendly but :( doesn't seem to work
this how it looks with their respective panels on top:
qifrey's one is outer (blue/lighter) and coustas'es is inner (red, darker). at this point in my research i didn't know there was a third one but turns out it doesn't give much about branch pattern itself. it's in a middle.
but what it did said to me: i was right and this pattern extends to four corners!
and the other thing this panel implies is... that in the middle of tree branches there's this sigil.
reverse time sigil.
u might've noticed that "puzzle pieces" reoccur within a little range within chapters: first tree branch panels are from 53, 55 and last with the biggest gap, was in 78 chapter, and reverse time sigils occur throughout the story, but the ones i took in first picture was from 82, 84 and, again gap, 95. pieces that come with a gap doesn't give anything new but does close pattern, but i must say i learned about qifrey having this sigil also in his book too late and it does contribute to puzzle with new info (as well as dagda's sigil... and one that beldaruit did.... well...). so, about the picture:
i took ch. 82 sigil and overlaid it with coco's panel. if u closely look to original one there's no cube inside, much likely because there's something different as in ch. 84's panel which has curtain leech's sign instead.
the sigils i took in first picture did not had dark triangles and qifrey's, dagda's and beldaruit's do have them. it also seems that lines i revealed in darker parts extent as those fork signs that differ from sigil to sigil and i actually dunno what are they... buttttt we don't know for sure if they are there actually.
hell, we don't even know if reverse time sigil is truly related to tree branch pattern!!!! does this means that only cure for three is to reverse time?! coco having both of them in her panel is a symbol that she will learn this truth?! no clue. i jus did a silly pattern copy while listening to the opening for... HOW MUCH... FIVE HOURS??? damn those fixations are hard..... well.....
bye ig
i would share tree pattern but i run out of image space in this post 💔
I've been looking for that one WHA post where someone took designs that showed up in several important panels (I think there was one with coustas, coco, and Qifrey) and connected them into what looked a lot like a spell (perhaps for reversing the Silverwood?)
Cuz this here looks a lot like it too
I'm thinking this story with the king and the witch that keep appearing is gonna end up being another huge lore drop/reveal like ten years down the line the way the Silverwood was lmao
Anyway if someone could find that post for me again so I could reblog this with it that would be super cool :)
I haven't seen the post that connects it to a sigil (Edit: comments found that one) , but do have details about the patterns mentioned
Credit to @leafy-m for all the work in finding these posts. First here's Zukarinkani compiling the times the branch motif mentioned earlier came up in the manga. The Qifrey and Custas one are volume release edits by Shirahama, so it was a very intentional addition. Notice in each corner, there's a bug-like motif, perhaps related to the lifecycle of the silverwood.
Bee on discord connected this bug-like figure to the creation of magic ink:
"The process of making magic ink is similar to real-life iron gall ink. A couple of interesting notes:
The oak galls used in gall ink are formed when a certain type of wasp injects its eggs into an oak tree. The oak tree then forms a kind of tumorous "scab" around the eggs, protecting the larvae as they develop. This makes me wonder if a physical wound is required to implant a silverwood host.
The other component of gall ink—iron sulfate—can be used to turn lumber silver."
it's all really vague how it could actually connect, but I definitely think there's significance to the bug--maybe a Zozah equivalent of this wasp. Shirahama has made it clear that there's a connection to magic and ecology, especially for silverwoods--the "circle of life" behind everything.
On a thematic note, the Qifrey and Custas one both have a Master speaking to their apprentice. Both of these volume 10 edits further draw the parallels between Custas and Coco being outsiders that drew forbidden magic, but under different circumstances. It is also more visual suggestion that Restys too is a silverwood host.
As for the pattern behind The Witch and Decaying King, it seems to be a different pattern from this one, so perhaps has a different connection. The exact same pattern appears with a coco illustration in 2019.
CUSTAS IS A CHILD CUSTAS IS A CHILD CUSTAS IS A CHILD STOP FUCKING WISHING HE GOT LEFT BEHIND I HOPE SOMEONE SPAWNS OUT OF YOUR SCREEN AND DUMPS YOU IN A FUCKING RIVER THEN LEAVES YOU THERE FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE WHILE YOUR LOVED ONES SCREAM YOUR NAME IN EMOTIONAL AGONY
this post is dedicated to all the FUCKS who think we should leave a child in a river because he made a childish decision of wanting to make his dad happy
I’m gonna do minimal explaining because its midnight and I am tired and I feel crazy
Okay SO. In this theory Thristas is a healer witch of old who fell so deeply in love with someone who had a silverwood parasite that they accidentally cursed (is it cursed??) a whole forest trying to heal / bring them back to life. Their love was so famous at one point as to inspire several differing legends. (Reminder the forest of thristas is where lil qifrey was found). I think the body Thristas is holding in the ominous image is likely the body of the silverwood maiden.. (also why does thristas have so many eyes???? Is it related to qifrey missing his eye???))
Note that in both the silverwood/maiden story and in this explanation of witches they are called “messengers from the heavens”
Maybe thrista’s family is the one Deanreldy descends from? I think if my theory that Thristas was a healer witch is true it could be likely? idk could be interesting
More reason to believe that dean’s family is connected to or descended from thristas: Restys and Ininia are the reason Custas was taken over by the silverwood parasite (they both likely have it as well), AND they have (supposedly silverwood) seeds to give to Dean????? So the point of giving the silverwood seeds to human hosts likely has something to do with healing (we’ve seen it with custas’s legs, but also Dean specializes in healing) (he’s keeping beldaruit captive so maybe bel is the intended recipient of this seed????????? Oh no?????????????!!!!) (maybe the brim hats were using qifrey in their experiment because he was entirely blind and they wanted to see if he could regain vision?)
I keep thinking back on that one moment from chapter 50. Even before the anime came out and I got back into Witch Hat, it would creep into my head from time to time. It's my favorite moment in this series (if not out of all of fiction), and it just keeps getting better as time goes on.
Putting the post under the line since I know a lot of people are getting into the series with the anime and I don't want to ruin this for anybody. Spoilers for chapter 50, but talking broadly about the whole series.
Her face there puts my heart through the wringer each and every time I think about it.
What makes this moment so powerful to me is that by now we've seen how capable Coco is. We've seen how even in life or death situations, she's able to push past the fear and inspire people with her determination and creativity. We see the strides she makes in her studies and how unbending she is both with her craft and with the people around her. And we see her at her lowest, too - and isn't this moment something of a parallel to her panicked rush for the tower? What Coco needed at that moment, and what Qifrey was able to provide because he's been in Coco's position, was hope for the future.
And that's what this child needs, too. She doesn't need a magic wand. All she needs is a little bit of hope. Something, anything, to give direction to all that childlike awe and wonder.
This isn't an Brimmed Cap plot, or some complicated test or trial, or a dark mood to work through. If it was any of those things, we know there would be a way out, because we know Coco doesn't give up.
It's just a little girl asking for her joy to be validated.
It's a happy, gentle moment, in broad daylight, during an event meant to bring joy to the people.
This simple little moment encapsulates so much of Coco's character and journey so far. It's not just painful because there's nothing she can say.
She knows what she needs to hear. She knows what she wants to say. She knows why she can't say it, but just how much harder is it to follow the rules when you're a living example that the rules can be bent? She knows she's responsible for this spark of wonder she's now expected to snuff out. She knows this child is just the first in a long line of hearts she'll have to watch break, unless changes are made. And she's far from the only witch who's had this struggle, but she's the only one who is expected to demean and lie to her own past self, to refuse to offer the exact same hope she herself once needed.
No other witch is expected to shun their inner child like this.
And honestly, as heartbreaking as all of that is, there's something even more painful to consider. Because in this scene, the issue is that between telling the child she can't be a witch, and telling the child to keep on hoping, there's no answer that doesn't feel like a lie.
That's where we're at in ch50, at least. But with what Coco has been through since then, and what's in store for the future, how long before the horrible third answer starts creeping in?
How long before she looks at that kid, looking so much like herself at that festival years ago, thinks back on what she's gone through, and starts wondering whether the good really outweighs the bad? How much pain is left before she arrives a different answer, and tells the child "you shouldn't want to become a witch like me"?
That thought scares me more than a brim on her hat ever could.
