#kazalim

[spectralpixelsredone]

Funny they call themselves demon lords...and only one is really this

[demonlordclayman]

Big meta post I'm finally getting around to writing! This has been in the works for a while.

I'm going to focus on Rimuru, Yuuki, and Ludora (and naturally tie it back to Clayman's Revenge). All three of them, in some way, want to control the world. I see Yuuki and Ludora at opposing ends, with Rimuru in the middle.

^ a rough summary of what we're going to discuss

Ludora wants to control the world in order to prove to Veldanava and Guy that humankind can unite as one (LN 16). He is focused on a very broad goal, and doesn't necessarily care about the details so long as it's achieved (more so once his ideals get corrupted over time). It isn't about his friends - just dominating the world to prove that humanity can unite as one.

Yuuki on the other wants to control the world so he and his friends can have fun. It doesn't seem to matter to him too much what kind of world he creates, so long as he controls it. This is why I put them at opposite ends of the spectrum - Ludora cares about the world, and Yuuki cares about his friends, and they don't have much overlap between these goals.

And that puts Rimuru in the middle. He cares about his friends over everyone else, but he's not abandoning the world, and his list of friends is steadily growing. He cares about the state of the world, wanting to expand his network rather than dominating. This to me is the balance between Yuuki and Ludora, and I think that's intentional, and it's why he's so successful.

Additionally, all of these people are very strong, and I find the differences in how that plays into their motivations pretty interesting too. Ludora was already strong at the time he decided to take on his goal of uniting everyone. Yuuki was crafty, but not exceptionally strong at first, and I think his thirst for power plays a significant role in his motivation. Rimuru becomes strong as a result of wanting to protect his friends, rather than for strength itself. It's just an interesting comparison, and I think it lines up with this scale I've created for them.

I think it's also interesting to note that all three of these people are or were humans. Humanity is the driving force of the story still, in many ways, despite how weak humans are on average compared to every other creature.

Changing the topic slightly, in LN 14 Laplace actually thinks that when Rimuru is talking about friendship, he's mocking Yuuki.

To Laplace, as learned from Yuuki, world domination is necessary to make the world a place where they can all live together. In many ways, this isn't that different from Ludora. But Rimuru doesn't believe world domination is right, and that he can achieve peace for his people without it.

So to summarize my broad meta point, I think Rimuru represents moderation and balance of viewpoints and concerns in the story, and his success suggests that this is one of the morals of the story.

Now, I'm the Clayman blog, so without further ado...

What does this mean in context of Clayman's Revenge?

Clayman at the start of Revenge is at the far left of the spectrum, with Yuuki. However, I would argue he's somewhere between Rimuru and Yuuki now.

I've theorized before that Clayman's Revenge is about Clayman becoming more like Rimuru, and thus being successful. This comparison only emphasizes that point, to me. It also makes me wonder if Kazalim was actually in a similar place on the spectrum I've devised, prior to meeting Yuuki.

This part from chapter 30 is what makes me think this might be the case, and also made me realize I don't have a good grasp on Kazalim's character, so I hope we get more of him/Kagali.

In short, I anticipate Clayman will continue shifting towards a more Rimuru-like viewpoint in Revenge. I don't know what meaning I can draw from that at this point, since we don't know where Revenge is really going, but this is all lining up pretty well to me, imo.

That said, the biggest question this brings up for me is how Yuuki will interact with this new Clayman that's developing as a result of Revenge. Will this cause a conflict? We're very far away from this timeline wise, but it's one of my biggest questions.

Have some thoughts? Share em with me!

[thunderingblacksteel]

[demonlordclayman]

Main manga ch 126 spoilers under the cut (thanks @zeldriszezinho for getting me hyped to read it!)

Just sharing some errant thoughts here. I'm actually pretty excited for this arc but I totally forgot we were almost there!!! I think it'll be interesting to see, especially because the LN didn't really talk about individual elves iirc, but now we have more of Clayman and his people fleshed out as a result of Revenge so...let's dig in!

hello Eva 🥺

The exploration outfits are SO cute! Both Rimuru's little hokey one and Kagali's, actually!

Kagali!!!! I don't remember Milim mentioning seeing anything with Milim's Eye in the LN but I'm also not surprised. Of course she can tell something is up. Either way, Kagali is such an incredible actor, we love to see it. And cute to boot!

🥺

that's definitely a mourning veil. Oof. Oof. Man. I'm gonna explode with emotion about that, hold on. Coupled with Kagali in that panel not having her eyes visible. I can guess, but I always wondered how Kagali was feeling during these moments and this entire arc. She always holds herself together with remarkable poise, but can you imagine what she must be feeling beneath it all?

And Eva with the mourning veil just...I can't. I also always wondered if Eva realized Kagali is Kazalim - I think she probably doesn't, since Clayman himself never got to meet Kagali, but man...the sections with Eva next chapter have a good chance of ripping my heart open huh. Prepare for pain in February...

bonus shoutout to this panel:

[demonlordclayman]

[sunnyartistwriter]

Shout out to LN Kazalim, compared to the WN he's really gender fr fr