and now w/ this, the parallels between ikki & vice and genta& vail are even clearer. not in only that their demons are the reason of their amnesia, it's also in their relationships.
vail was forced to kill junpei's parents and also lead him along thereby losing his sense of self (sanity and sense of humanity) so junpei had to leave him while vice wanted to kill yukimi out of his own will (and of ikki's desire) but didn't end up doing it and through his relationship w/ vice, ikki finds his sense of self.
if vice managed to kill yukimi, ikki /would/ have abandoned him!(also… wonder if there's extra symbolism in vice being worried abt yukimi and fighting vail in ep34? yes, it's vice protecting ikki's family! the reason he exists but i wonder if it's also vice being worried abt yukimi (the reason genta has sense of humanity) then fighting vail (part of the reason why junpei didn't have it)? )
I think the Ikki & Vice 🤝🤝 Genta & Vail parallels are soooooooo fascinating in an especially cursed way
Like, we know Ikki seen his father and decided to go the exact a$$-opposite way.
And yet,,, dude is on the fast-track of being his dad 2.0 --- especially with the memory loss. (RIPPPP)
I do think the contrast between them is also super fascinating.
Like,,, Vail was created by NOAH --so he's essentially Junpei's toxic war-prisoner coping mechanism. While Vice was created by Vail's possession of Ikki's father, and Ikki's need to rescue his family. So parental trauma being passed on to the next generation.
The foundations are similar but different.
Vail's is based on hate, fear, and survival. Vice's on love, fear, and protection.
Both were created during a state of powerlessness in order to cope with the situation.
However, VAIL was forced to kill Junpei's parents, while Vice willingly and readily attacked both Ikki's mom AND Daiji.
Seems weird when Ikki wants to protect his family, right? When Vice was created from that foundation, right?
Well, Vice's "love and fear" are also part of his foundation.
And this is where he is different from Vail.
His attacking of his family isn't out of a need for survival, it isn't based on hate. But...it IS based on fear.
Ikki is afraid of losing his family. He's afraid of abandonment. Of being unlovable. Of never being accepted as he truly is, but only for what he can do. (Which is protect and provide)
The reason Vice attacked Yukimi and Daiji and why he wanted to "consume them" is because of Ikki's need for possession. He wants to possess their love.
He doesn't feel secure, that they love him, that they won't randomly abandon him at any moment, and so he wants to consume them so that they can't leave him. (Once again, Vice's 'food' obsession is because Ikki feels 'love starved'.)
Vice is so aggressive in the beginning because Ikki is so desperate for love, and because his own fear and self-hatred are high.
You eat to live. You consume something and it becomes a part of you, it sustains you, and helps you grow. Ikki needs their love. He *needs* his family. And he's starving. He's desperate. And he's angry that he's been driven to this point of desperation. Angry at himself. But also at his family. And Vice picks up on this.
Hence why, its his "childish way" (in viewpoint) of getting that sustenance. Of getting that love.
Vail wasn't created for love. He was created out of hatred, survival and fear. And THAT's the reason why Junpei couldn't stay with him. Because Vail was killing him too. Nobody can survive on hatred alone. It's poison.
Now, for Ikki and Vice, I don't truly know how the scenario of Vice hurting his family/killing them would've gone. I....honestly don't think Ikki could survive without his family. They're literally all he has. They're his everything.
A part of me wonders if Vice would've actually gone through with eating his mom or Daiji. But since the situation didn't happen, it's all hypothetical.
As for the symbolism in the episode 34 fight?
Hmmmm. Well I think that fight represented many things.
It represented the toxic cycle of trauma creating new trauma. Of an abusive father-and-son relationship. A trauma created that hurts others, and a trauma created that protects others. Selfishness versus selfless-ness. Vice is worried for Yukimi because he's an 6 to 8-year-old Ikki worried about his mother, worried about what the abusive side of their father could do to her if left unsupervised.
This is why I said Ikki is such a unique mix of both of his parents.
Vice is a perfect representation of his father's pain (VAIL); but his mother's need to protect.
This is the reason why Ikki doesn't see the humanity within himself; but he sees the humanity within others.