Ah! I am so excited that the English translations for 王ムギ6 by Philipさん can be enjoyed by everyone! This peaceful AU series explores a timeline where everyone can grow and be together.
Please show Philipさん your support on Pixiv for their wonderful work.
I shared my thoughts on Twitter, but I'd like to share here as well.
王ムギ６ shifts the setting from the public Gungi board to the private space of Komugi's room. In fact, I'd argue chapters #1-5 establish their proximity, where #6 deals with the absence of proximity as well as mutual reciprocity.
"But wait! You talked about this already! You talked about this a lot!"
I am guilty of this, yes! 🙇♀️And I come back to #3 "Fallen Fortress" often. However, thematically I think it's fascinating how much #6 has in common with #3, simultaneously mirroring and subverting events.
In #3, both characters immediately retreat to "fix" the breach in efforts to restore normalcy after an accidental touch. In #6, we experience another, larger touch where the King catches Komugi, and once more they part ways, only to ruminate on the experience separately, alone.
Of course, in #3, we see them 'alone together', in the way the panel is framed, suggesting that though they are apart, both are struggling in the same way. Yet in #6, they visually struggle separately.
I believe #3 isn't where the fortress falls, but that cracks form in the foundation. Komugi refuses to dwell on that touch despite her yearning, while Meruem’s private, less-than-regal wordless grin suggests a breach he’s not ready to name.
Once the fortress cracks, one-sided breaches follow. In #4, Komugi offers food, and Meruem is a passive receiver. In #5, Meruem touches her palm and Komugi is oblivious. Each effort is one-sided and met with confusion and hesitation. These are bridges with one-way traffic.
#6 is the first time the traffic moves both ways simultaneously. We see hesitation crumble in the face of impulse, which is ultimately rewarded. And for the first time, both characters allow themselves to indulge in those impulses openly in the presence of each other.
The King 'selfishly' goes to her room anyways to play. He grins and laughs in front of Komugi (compared to his private moment in #3). Komugi delights in the fantasy of playing together every night and surprises him with her enthusiasm instead of holding it in.
And after they part ways, unlike #3 where Komugi immediately squashes her thoughts, she allows herself to desperately yearn to the point of pain from longing. Furthermore, she can't even wait until morning and seeks him out to play at dawn.
Both characters in #6 mutually tear down the walls of their 'fortress' that #3 laid the groundwork for, and both are rewarded when they permit themselves to be openly true to their feelings in the presence of one another. It is such a beautiful progression from #3.
I also do not believe it is a coincidence that this chapter is bookended by moments of light. In the beginning, it isn't until the twinkling night stars catch Meruem's attention that he realizes rushing to Komugi's room in the middle of the night might not be a good idea.
It's not the first time the King has paused to contemplate Komugi's well-being (We see this, albeit comically, in Pitou Main #1), but here he actively stops himself from acting without consideration of her in a moment of clarity. A King doesn't worry about being selfish, right?
When Komugi trips, a white King piece falls. In Gungi, the King is protected at all costs. Seeing the White King (his status, her color) topple as he catches her suggests the "Supreme Leader" has finally been defeated by something very human: instinctive concern for another.
The chapter ends with a sunbeam landing on the black Shinobi tile. Unlike the distant, cold starlight from the opening, this light is literally in his hand. His humanity is no longer a concept, but now is like a tangible thing, finally within his grasp.
I realize I am rambling now! But I believe the core of this is reciprocity. In previous chapters, both characters were testing the walls that had begun to form cracks. But in #6, they’re actively tearing them down together in their openness.
I also would love to talk about the symbolism of flowers! Honestly, there's a lot you can say about flowers, and in canon we see them everywhere. The Rose bomb, the field of flowers Meruem envisions when he remembers Komugi's name, flower imagery in the fight with Netero...
So here, it might seem fairly straightforward (and very beautiful) to see 'the catch' being likened to holding an armful of flowers. They're soft and beautiful, and they smell good! It makes for a very pretty moment, like a scene in a shoujo romance.
But the shoujo imagery is a beautiful trap. The Chimera Ant King isn't a shoujo protagonist, he's an apex predator. Flowers are fragile. By likening Komugi to flowers, he perceives her as something that requires restraint, lest she be shredded to pieces in his fingers.
Perhaps it's a coincidence, but it feels like an intentional parallel between Meruem's pivotal moment in canon where he looks at his palm, envisioning how little effort would be required to destroy Komugi...
And here, the King likens the sensation of holding her to that of delicate petals crushed and scattering in his hands. It is a beautiful warning to him, one that returns later in the story when he remembers this moment with caution in #13.
Flowers blossom, grow, and spread. In #6, Meruem and Komugi are rewarded for being openly true to their feelings. This suggests that their path to happiness is through this messy, fragile reciprocity that is coming into bloom in their 'spring' season.
In truth, before this chapter, I was quietly translating things in a document for my own enjoyment. And when I read #6 for the first time, I believed that perhaps the story had reached an end, and that this was the last chapter!
I decided it would be an injustice not to try... so this actually was the very first time I tried to typeset something. I am just a translator-using hobbyist with rusty Japanese who perhaps loves these characters more than I should (haha). But I cherish this chapter.
I'm so happy that my assumption was incorrect, and we've plenty more to enjoy! But looking back, I've also grown and learned a lot in this craft, and I hope to continue improving! I am honored to help bring this story to an English-speaking audience, so please enjoy!
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