Misc Manga Jabber Thoughts pt 3 ch 48 - ch 60
The trashbeast arc is upon us!! I feel like we got the most information about Jabber here and I'm so excited to yap about it
This moment is exactly why I need to see more of Jabber in the manga.
Zodyl is the person that Rudo is always put up against. He's Rudo's narrative foil, the main villain, etc etc.
But it's Jabber that Rudo interacts with the most. Jabber is our introduction to the raiders as a group, Jabber is the one originally sent to kidnap Rudo, and Jabber is the one who, in this moment, reveals to Rudo that "hey we're gonna go fight your friends real quick."
Zodyl doesn't reveal that information, but Jabber is too honest not to.
In a lot of ways, it kind of feels like Jabber is more important in the story than Zodyl, or he's being set up as this key player that's going to be very important to Rudo's development.
Also, after their first ever fight, Rudo is not just the sphereite anymore to Jabber. Instead, it's always Rudo my friend.
This is Jabber, who we know is super intense about all his relationships. Jabber, who finds connection with people through pain because he doesn't know how to connect in any other way. Jabber, who fought Rudo once and now, I feel, genuinely believes that they are friends, because they have bonded over being hurt and hurting each other.
There is an absolutely amazing analysis of this whole fight done by rugretti so PLEASE read that one too because they make so many good points that im going to reference here.
First off, "I'm only here so we can share the rage." Obviously very very Jabber. Honestly, Zodyl spends so much time during this conversation with Rudo just talking about Jabber (which, once again, building up his importance in the story because the main villain is glazing him to fucking hell)
Once again, bringing back the way Jabber sees relationships, how he sees pain as something that can connect people and can deepen relationships. He wants to share. He wants to share anger, share pain, share all these things so he can become closer with people in his own very twisted way.
As pointed out, here Jabber is—AGAIN, mind you (there's a very similar panel of just his hand during his intro)—showing off his jinki, the extension of his soul. He's presenting Zanka with mankira (and his perfectly manicured hands) coming at him weapon and soul first.
Not a Jabber scene, but I still feel the need to point out the hypocrisy here.
Zodyl is doing the exact thing he's accusing the cleaners of doing. He's only with the raiders because it's convenient. He only keeps them around when they are useful.
I think the biggest difference here is the honesty of it all.
And, this might be part of the reason that Jabber follows Zodyl. Beyond any fear or pleasure tactics, Zodyl is an honest person. He doesn't sugarcoat anything, he never wastes his words, he always tells you straight up. Jabber is also an incredibly honest person and I can really see him appreciating that in a boss/leader.
This also brings to light more parallels between the raiders and the cleaners, because yes, the cleaners are more tight-knit, they're more of a family. But, they're all hiding. They're all buried in secrets upon secrets and, although they're close, nobody in the cleaners really knows anyone. Not really.
(Think of Bundus, who asks about Corvus, only to confirm that the cleaners don't know shit about him, and, by extension, probably don't know a lot about each other either.)
Meanwhile, the raiders are so honest, unashamed, and open about everything. Noerde with her blatant and pure love for Zodyl, Fu revealing his struggles with needing orders and the pressure he's under to perform well or else face Zodyl's wrath, Jabber just..in general??
While I don't doubt they all have secrets, there's a level of true honesty that I feel isn't as present with the cleaners.
Clearly, there is some sort of punishment/reward system in place in the raiders, but I'm just so curious what it is.
I think it's obvious it's different for everyone. It's implied Zodyl controls Fu through intimidation and possibly physical abuse, and he controls Noerde through her affection for him, her fear of disappointing him and need to please him.
Even Bundus is controlled through his love for information (and other means, I'm sure, that we've yet to see)
But how does Zodyl control Jabber? We know he rewards Jabber physically, through indulging his violent fantasies and giving him what are essentially reward beatings. But how is Jabber punished?
What punishment could you possibly devise to punish someone who's mind naturally translates fear and pain into arousal? Through boredom, maybe? Isolation? Maybe separation from his jinki—a piece of his soul?
Notice how Jabber specifically says this time. This time we'll be in trouble. What about every other time? We know this was possibly one of the biggest experiments Zodyl has done so far, so obviously it's important things go well, but are other failures met with lesser punishments? If so, what is a lesser punishment?
Just so many questions about the dynamics at play here.
Jabber getting all sing-songy here is so important to me, I love that he does that. I love that he raps and sings and dances, and that he hums to himself.
Canon confirmation that Jabber is obsessed with Zanka. It just makes me wonder how far the "obsession" really goes, because we know Jabber is someone who gets bored easily and is always seeking new stimulation.
Is the obsession strong enough for him to continue to pursue Zanka even after the disappointment of beating him twice?
Jabber is THAT far and he's mid fight. Metal is clanging together, grunts and groans are happening, it's all going so fast.
Yet. He's still so aware of his surroundings that he hears the gurgling of a body of acid. We know already he has a heightened sense of smell, but this makes me wonder if his other senses are also heightened. Are his ears just better?? Is Jabber really built that different??
There's no way Jabber already knew about the acid on their battle stage beforehand. He couldn't have predicted where Zanka would be washed off to in the trash slide.
Once again, INSANE jump to make. Holy shit does Jabber have hops. Not to mention how gracefully he lands. Jabber's agility and speed never cease to amaze me.
I feel like we always learn so much about Jabber when he interacts with Zanka.
1) We learn a huge part of mankira's powers/mechanics.
+ He can switch out poisons on his left claw
-> Showcases his hatred for boredom and constant need to seek new stimulation
+ Mankira gains this new poison as soon as his body is done processing it
+ Acids count as a type of poison (which makes me wonder what other substances count & can be recreated by him)
+ These recreated substances are essentially bottomless/Jabber can make as much as he wants with just one use (which is so broken)
2) To use the poison mechanic—mankira's main gimic—he has to first use those substances on himself.
He has to actively destroy his body and feel the pain he's going to inflict on his future victims before he can use her power at all.
Seems like a dream life for a masochist who specializes in poisons, but it just breaks my heart.
Also, for the millionth time, Jabber is hella honest! He spills everything about mankira, and I just think he likes talking about her tbh. He's a vital instrument nerd, so it makes sense he'd know everything there is to know about his own.
(although, it does call in question just how long Jabber has had mankira for her to be this powerful, this in tune with him, and to know this much about her
something Enjin's quote about quality something)
Jabber being surprised here is so funny. Although I think this does bring up three points:
+ Jabber is aware that the average person does not seek out pain like he does. Or, at least, he doesn't expect Zanka to just sit there and take the pain
+ And/Or/Maybe Jabber didn't enjoy the pain of the acid and therefore expected Zanka to feel the same way and dodge to avoid it
+ Jabber didn't expect Zanka to take the pain because Zanka just watched what it did to him (and Zanka didn't even react to it like Jabber did??)
Jabber thinking Zanka is the freak is just such a funny thought to me
I don't think this is a face of surprise.
Maybe it partly is, but I think this whole acid-throwing sequence with Zanka is Jabber coming to the conclusion that he can go all out. This is the moment that he makes the decision to bring out mankira's full form, believing Zanka can take it.
In this moment we can also theorize that Jabber is looking at Zanka the same way he did Rudo during their fight, when Jabber was asking Rudo if he was guilty. Zanka just saw what the acid did to Jabber's hand and to his own face, and yet, here he is, dousing Jabber in a pool of it.
This is the moment where I think Jabber and Zanka have their biggest miscommunication. Zanka does this incredibly cold-hearted thing, what is essentially a murder attempt, but he does it while expecting Jabber to dodge (like Jabber was expecting him to dodge). In a way, Zanka is kind of playing Jabber's game here, meeting him where he's at.
But, Zanka is shocked and nervous, worrying that he actually killed Jabber with that attack.
Meanwhile, Jabber is giggling inside his metal cocoon, because he interpreted that attack as Zanka not being guilty or afraid to go all-out when hurting people. To him, this is confirmation that Zanka is like him, to an even more intense degree than with Rudo.
He is SO giddy, because he believes he's finally found a proper playmate.
The moment Zanka started hearing the saxaphones..
A few things:
+ Jabber speaking in third person again. I've noticed he does this a lot when he's excited and praising himself. It makes me wonder more about Jabber's relationship with praise/positive affirmation that he can only handle it in third person.
I don't imagine Jabber is praised often, so maybe the only positive words he ever gets are just from himself, so he switches to third person to make it easier to swallow.
(Parallels with Zanka, who fucking lives for praise but also struggles to accept it)
+ It's been so long. How long? How long ago did Jabber become so powerful that he had to learn to suppress his jinki to get a good fight in? How long ago did he become the terrifying and seemingly unbeatable threat we see here?
Jabber is only eighteen years old, y'all. We can take that age and in turn ask so many questions about Mankira and his relationship with her.
I think people forget that the smaller form of Mankira isn't her default. She starts out as that monstrosity and Jabber learned later on how to make her smaller. What the fuck did he need those claws for??
+ More evidence for the Mankira is a defensive/protective jinki theory. Her full form literally forms a cocoon around Jabber that shields him from anything on the outside. Each claw even has points to attach to each other (shown by the ka-pop as they pull apart).
Jabber, my man, what happened to you? What happened that you'd need a metal cocoon to hide in to avoid being hurt?
Although, Jabber didn't move at all during the acid-throwing sequence, which makes me wonder about Mankira's sentience. Does she automatically activate whenever Jabber is in trouble?
And Jabber gets his name on his jinki!! I wish we knew a little more about the whole name thing, it seems super important but I feel like it's just not talked about?? Especially since Zanka's name is covered up on Lovely.
Also, how fucking terrifying and just demoralizing this must be for Zanka. The last time they fought Jabber mopped the floor with him, and this time he was keeping up with and overpowering Zanka easily. And that whole time? He was holding back.
Jabber gains another friend! Zanka can join Rudo in the "fought this psycho and now he thinks we're besties" club!!
I find it so funny and so fascinating that Jabber assumes Zanka is also holding back. I really need to get in his head and find out what made him think this.
Is it the fact that Zanka's name is covered on Lovely? Is it just his strength based intuition? What is he seeing in him that we and Zanka just..aren't??
I would be fucking FUMING if I was Zanka. What do you mean swinging that stick around can't be it??
Is Jabber just teasing him here, or does he really believe Zanka was holding back to? We've established Jabber sees Zanka as kind of a kindred spirit, someone who's like him.
In a way, it's kind of sweet? Jabber is trying to comfort Zanka here, trying to tell him he's not alone and that he won't judge him for the "monster he has tucked away." Zanka can be real with him, he doesn't have to hide.
It makes me wonder just how often Jabber has been rejected, both by individuals and communities as a whole. How many times did people see him fully, even the darkest parts and just run away? Has anyone ever accepted him fully?
It's sweet that he's trying to show Zanka he accepts him. Incredibly childish and kind of insane, but still sweet.
(Also the "Let's fight for real" part lining up with Noerde revealing her power? Kei Urana I am in love with you)
Jabber, who is desperate for connection, desperate for friendship, desperate for somewhere to belong. He is definitely projecting here. He's getting excited because he sees something in Zanka and he's not thinking objectively anymore. Jabber, as someone who gets super giddy about new things and new stimulation, and Zanka is so new.
While I do wonder if Zanka and Jabber have more in common than they think, I do subscribe to the idea that Jabber is just getting too excited and losing himself a little here.
I went on a whole separate rant about Jabber and loneliness and I won't repeat it all here, but just know I have thoughts.
Jabber outright says here he wants to fight with someone forever. He wants a damn marriage is what he wants. He wants a companion who will stay his side no matter what. Someone who doesn't fear him or is disgusted by him. Someone who he can be his true self with, who he can "let out the monster inside" with.
Once again, verbal confirmation that Zodyl and Jabber fight, that Zodyl is strong enough to absolutely "wipe the floor" with a fighter as formidable as Jabber.
I also think this really clicks into place another reason why Jabber follows Zodyl. He doesn't have to hide with him. Zodyl is essentially this safe space for Jabber to go all out, to engaging in this connection through pain, all without judgement or fear of being abandoned/turned away from. Zodyl doesn't look at him like a monster, he sees Jabber as an asset, and that's a new and amazing feeling for Jabber.
Even if Zodyl obviously isn't looking at Jabber like a human being, he still clings to him because Zodyl is the closest thing to positive affirmation that he can get.
ALSO ALSO!! Jabber backstory crumbs. I need to know everything man. Like I said, Jabber is only 18 and yet he's one of the strongest people in the entire show. How did he get his start fighting? Why did he start fighting? Who has he fought?? I NEED TO KNOW!!!
1) Jabber needs to be stopped, he was tweakin a lil too much during this fight.
2) Once again, Jabber kind of wants to be this safe space for Zanka to be able to go all out without any judgement. "With me, you're free" is romantic as much as it's terrifying.
Remember, Zanka don't got no power up. So Jabber is saying all this, making this huge declaration, and Zanka is just silently accepting his fate.
3) Jabber really doesn't have any loyalty, not really. At his core, Jabber sees Zodyl as more of a plaything than anything. His mission, his orders, Jabber is only involved with any of it is because it's the most interesting thing right now.
I fully believe that if Zanka ever beats Jabber in a fight, he will leave the raiders to follow Zanka. He doesn't have any allegiance to the raiders, he's literally just here to have fun.
Jabber you will never be stupid to me. When the main villain is talking to the main hero about how intelligent a character is, y'all better listen the fuck up.
Obviously, Amo parallels. We know Jabber has a heightened sense of smell, and we know that Amo found the same connection in Rudo. All three of them being watchman series holders connects them in a way that we haven't yet seen the extent of.
Two things: First, I absolutely love Zodyl's trust in Jabber. He implicitly believes whatever he says about people and he just has complete trust in his intuition.
I imagine this is why Jabber was the one sent to kidnap Rudo the first time. (Besides him being one of Zodyl's best raiders) Zodyl wasn't fully expecting Jabber to succeed, or at least he figured even if Jabber came back empty-handed, he'd have information about Rudo and the cleaners. (Zodyl planning for failures, he's such a genius)
Second, I also love that Zodyl is kind of defending Jabber here. He knows how absolutely insane Jabber can be, and yet here he is telling Rudo "despite what you might think." He knows Jabber better than Rudo, and he knows beneath all the insanity and childishness is an extremely intelligent teenager and an incredibly valuable asset.
Zodyl is very good at discovering hidden gems. Jabber is someone the cleaners (and a lot of the fandom) brush off as just crazy, but Zodyl is able to see past that and use that to his advantage.
(Once again, Jabber not finding any acceptance/anywhere to belong until Zodyl)
The glazing from Zodyl continues!
Kind of Zodyl and Jabber parallels here. Zodyl sees something in Jabber that we, the readers, are mostly not privy to yet. We have ideas and suspicions about who Jabber is as a person, but we really don't know yet.
Similarly, Jabber sees something in Zanka and we see he's kind of desperate to draw it out of him in the same way that Zodyl is drawing out Jabber's full potential.
Also, more illusions to why Jabber was sent to kidnap Rudo. Zodyl wanted him to shock Rudo's system, to kind of gauge both Rudo's strength mentally and physically and also see what kind of person he was.
Maybe this was why Jabber was so happy when Rudo didn't express any guilt over hurting him. We see Jabber make these connections between Rudo and Zodyl, and we ourselves are also making these connections and seeing these similarities.
Of course, at this time Zanka is getting this shock to his system BUT he ends up being crushed by Jabber instead of reaching his potential. It makes me wonder when we're going to see Zanka's true self. When is he going to get the shock that uncovers his name on Lovely and forces his true self out?
Jabber vs Zanka round three maybe? I would be kind of disappointed if it isn't Jabber who causes that shock, but I think I'll like whatever Kei Urana does anyway.
Good lord I would be crying if I was Zanka, man.
I need someone who is good at analyzing weapon design to do a deep-dive on Mankira's full form, because she is absolutely beautiful.
Kei Urana always goes crazy with the jinki designs, but Mankira just feels like she's on another level you know? She's just gorgeous.
And later on when he fucking ejects the top sections of his claws like projectiles? HOW does anyone win against this guy?
Close range, you're fucked. Long range, you're fucked. You get a hit on him? BAM he can drug himself AND now he's horny. You're fucked.
I mean, for all his craziness, Jabber is very polite. He lets Zanka know he's about to do a crazy special move. It's still absolutely insane, but at least he warned him, yknow?
Then, of course, we get one of the most batshit moves we've seen yet. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?? What do you do when a tornado made of knives is coming at you full force? Because Zanka RAN TOWARDS IT.
I can totally imagine Jabber inventing this move out of sheer boredom, maybe when he was still learning his jinki. I can just picture a younger Jabber spinning and twirling around, just normal training, before realizing he could really kick up some wind like this.
I will say, they make the tornado way bigger in the anime. In the manga it's really not that much taller than Zanka or Jabber themselves.
Jabber seems genuinely upset here, which is so fascinating to me. This panel, again, goes completely opposite to what we know about Jabber up to this point.
We have finally met a pain that Jabber is not into. He is not happy about this, despite it being everything he's been asking for. I don't think Jabber likes pain as much as he says he does, and I definitely don't think he likes this sadistic side of Zanka as much as he says either.
I've seen a few people say he was probably upset because of the damage. Broken bones are something you have to rest and take it easy from, and they often take weeks to heal fully, especially a broken rib.
BUT I raise you, him being excited as hell when he got his arms broken during the info broker arc.
What was it about this that made him so upset? Was it specifically his ribs being broken? Was it Zanka? Did it just catch him off guard? Am I overthinking it?
Because he's kind of smiling by the next panel, so...
But how much of that is fake? How much of this masochistic persona is Jabber just trying to lie to himself?
Because what does Jabber do almost immediately after getting his ribs busted? He ends the fight. He locks in, he catches Zanka off guard, and he ends it right there, just as it's starting to get real.
Jabber you are so fucking petty.
You know you wrong for this, like cmon.
He was so unbelievably bitter about his ribs bro. He hit Zanka with the worst and most painful combo he had and then just smiled in his face.
Once again, I am wondering about Jabber and his relationship to guilt. He gets so excited when Rudo and Zanka seemingly have no guilt over hurting him, but he shows guilt or, at least, he's a little uncomfortable watching other people in pain. Maybe it's jealousy, maybe it's something else.
He's watching Zanka writhing on the floor in pain after getting scratched by a pretty intense poison combo. What does he do? He stares down at Zanka, rolls his eyes a little, and he stabs him.
BUT specifically, he stabs him with his right claw, which we know by this point has a powerful neurotoxin. It's the one Jabber uses to knock himself out and also the one that he uses to numb his pain.
And, we see after this Zanka is semi-unconscious. Pair that with the hallucinogen, and he's actually having a pretty good time.
Basically, I wonder what Jabber was feeling in this moment.
(Also, Zanka's flashbacks we get are the reason I started not liking him, which I might do a post about, but I already know people are gonna get pissed off about it)
Jabber might be the most disrespectful anime character in history, because dancing over your opponents body after you beat him? Like cmon now.
I really think this is another panel that the anime just does better. It's one of Jabber's most iconic moments for a reason. Just the whole way that Zeno Robinson plays Jabber's character in the dub is amazing. I 100% prefer the Gachiakuta dub to the sub.
Also I know Jabber can get sturdy like nobody
Jabber is so childishly endearing. The visual of him hopping over to Zanka like an excited kid is too cute honestly. People infantilize Zanka to hell, but where are my Jabber infantilizers? Racism, mayhaps??
Does anyone know what venomenal means? Is it just a word they made up for this panel or is it an actual scientific term? Jabber, as seen with the glub-glub acid, is not one to use scientific names for things, so I imagine this is a word he made up.
Jabber, can you please stop being casual about attempts on your life? He has enough lore to level a small city, man.
Of course, this raises so many questions. Who was the guy who poisoned him? How long ago was this attempt? Why was there an attempt at all? Jabber seems pretty crazy, so who's out here just casually starting with him?
Jabber describes the hallucinations and nausea, and we know he has to process a poison to use it, so what happened? I imagine he killed the guy who poisoned him, but I can't help but wonder if Jabber has been poisoned and taken advantage of before.
He speaks of this murder attempt so casually, so how often of an occurrence is this? When did Jabber get so used to just random attacks on his life?
Also, once again, Jabber does not seem happy about his ribs. Why? Why is this the pain that he draws the line on? Later on, Jabber laughs alongside Zanka, which he clearly states is painful for his ribs. So maybe he does enjoy the pain? I just don't understand why he seems so upset here.
Does Jabber only enjoy pain when it's shared? That's a theory. He's upset about his ribs because he's alone, then Zanka starts laughing, and suddenly the pain is now a shared activity.
Someone pointed out how weird the wording is here. "I think people know that." As if Jabber doesn't really know what average or normal people know. He can only make guesses.
This brings me to Jabber who doesn't really see himself as human.
We've established Jabber is someone who has been denied community, denied understanding, denied connection, etc. Just, denied all these things that people need for development, that we need to feel whole and feel human. He clings to Zodyl because—while Zodyl definitely sees Jabber as an asset to use rather than a person—he's the first person to give Jabber this sense of belonging that so vital for his development.
I don't think Jabber registers himself as human. He knows, logically, he's a human being, but he's not a normal human being. He's something outside of humanity, outside of community.
Jabber is a character who, throughout the manga, we've literally seen be stripped of and denied his humanity. (And this could count for the fandom too).
With all this new information, we can actually go all the way back to the first time we met Jabber. The very first panel we see him in, we can go back and sort of click things into place.
When we first meet him, he's put into contrast with a trash beast. The non-human, mythical monsters of the series. BUT, even then, he's this new type of trash beast, which is powered by a jinki. Even when in comparison to literal mindless beasts, Jabber is still the one mindless beast that is different from the rest of the normal mindless beasts.
I think this comparison gets worse when we realize this trash beast he's compared to has a soul. In fact, they're the only trash beasts that are literally powered by a piece of a person's soul, and yet they are still denied personhood. Jabber, despite being a giver, being a person who we KNOW is capable of great care simply because he has a jinki, is denied his personhood.
And we see the cleaners, the heroes of the series, do the exact same thing, although definitely without thinking about it or even meaning to. Jabber isn't a person, he's a raider. Jabber isn't a person, he's a masochist or a pervert. Jabber isn't a person, he's just something outside of it.
It makes sense, considering what the cleaners have seen of Jabber, but even so, that does not mean dehumanization is not happening. They do not register Jabber as a human being with complex feelings, a past, a soul. They register him as an enemy. As a beast that they have to defeat in order to "win," whatever winning is to them.
Jabber introduces himself very politely to Rudo, and yet every single cleaner refuses to use his name.
Jabber is never Jabber, because Jabber is not a person to them. He's just a beast.
And here comes Jabber, having stated a panel prior that laughing is "a hassel" with broken ribs, laying down to laugh alongside Zanka.
I find it both creepy and, once again, so endearing how excited Jabber gets here. Zanka IS having fun, and Jabber is so delighted by this, and he's so eager to join in on the fun, too.
I think this is just more proof that Jabber is looking for a companion or a real friend. As much as he wants somebody that he can fight with forever, he wants somebody he can laugh with too. He wants someone who he can have fun with.
Jabber lays right beside Zanka, so close to pressing against him, a position I think we all recognize from hanging out with our own best friends.
And yet, I can't help but notice that Jabber does not initiate contact with Zanka. He doesn't touch him at all until he's ready to drag him off, and then it's just his ankle. For how obsessive and creepy Jabber is, he really doesn't touch people at all unless it's completely necessary (in a fight/to drag them off to become offerings).
Usually in the character archetype Jabber is mostly attached to—the crazy one, the pervert, the masochist—these characters make it their mission to make everyone around them uncomfortable. They are constantly touching the protagonists, forcing contact, etc. But Jabber just doesn't do that.
I really do hate fanfics that portray Jabber as someone who doesn't respect personal space, because he so clearly does. Zanka is completely helpless here and Jabber could do anything he wants to him, but he chooses not to.
There are a lot of theories about touch-starved Jabber and touch-averse Jabber, and I think those theories definitely do hold. Jabber doesn't bother with touch that won't hurt, and I think that says a lot about his character.
With that, I will leave the rest of this arc for the next post! I would love to hear all of your thoughts!! The point of these analysis posts are to open up conversations about these characters. Disagree with me, agree with me, bring up a whole new connection, I would LOVE to read!!
