( this isn't even half of what I was supposed to write, it's a totally incomplete analysis, I started writing but never got the chance to finish properly. It's been sitting on my notes, but finally with some courage, and inspiration from @scoups4lyfe , I'm posting this.)
George Karizaki:
starting with my favourite, yes I'm biased. First, let's just celebrate the fact that I even HAVE a favorite this time? Because despite popular belief, I don't always give out 'fav' title in every season. Even when said seasons are very good and full of good characters.
... But looks like I don't have to write a thing. someone already did a breakdown, of the main question, of Juuga arc. Who? Oh no, not just any random fan.
The actor himself, Hamao Noritaka. He wrote it all! Explained everything!!
When you don't write breakdowns for years, and only come back to find out actors themselves took up the job. 🙄🤣
This actor is a fan himself, and truely so. Well, Nori-chan (yes, I'm using this name) Mainly explained why George went berserk in 47-48, I have something more to say. But He pointed out some things I didn't think of either. Makes sense, as my main clues are from actor's subtle expressions, of course the actor himself should know better!
So at first glance, George Karizaki is... Pure entertainment 🤣. Yep. End of discussion.
He's insufferable, a manchild, pain to work with, also incredibly lonely. In a chill mode most of the time, always having fun, but also uses this persona as coping mechanism.
Has no idea how to deal with serious emotions.
Wants to appear to be in Control, not showing weakness. Tries to act cool and unattached.
...........
Relationship with father:
Goerge clearly had a sweet relationship with his father in his childhood, loved and respected him, masumi was also such a nice and encouraging father. Crystal clear from flashbacks.
Also from the very 1st episode, before any flashback, we see how George looks up to Masumi, and still misses him. Yes, the scene of fenix ceremony. When George was talking about visstamp history, after saying "my father made those..." There was a little pause, then he said 'but he died' with very faint, bittersweet expression.
He also regularly attends Masumi's death memorial, as seen in ep 21/22?
So yah, he respects and misses his father, but came to accept and live with it for all these years. But then eeeverything crashes.
And isn't it funny how he figured this all out in the background ? Unlike main characters typically in such situations, he didn't get a grand revealation like 'whaaat! Daddy you're aliiive!!' he pieced together clues, investigated, and came to this conclusion by himself.
Without any emotional support to handle this grave situation.
Even before knowing the fact about inner demon transfer thingy, I saw a bit of 44 when George refuses to visit his father. Thought of another simple psychological state.
Denial. forced detachment.
He lost his father once, it was definitely sad enough then, plus at such young age. Definitely came to adjust and accept this loss over the years, as normal.
But to find out he's actually alive and then lose him soon AGAIN? For 2nd time? 'I'd rather not care, I'd rather not feel.' tried to deny, and not care, to not feel hurt again.
This idea wasn't exactly true, but still not totally invalid. SO many factors and emotions played roles in this case, ultimately resulting in the breakdown.
Ep 28. Scene- first time facing his father,
"Why didn't you tell me you're alive?" Then his father kept talking about defeating Giff, the world, etc.
But in that moment, with every step George kun took, he couldn't hear the 'world' or giff or whatever. His mind was filled with resentment,
'I'm facing you after ALL this time, and you keep talking about missions, you're not even explaining yourself, I have So many questions, and yet everything else comes first to you, before me? just answer my obvious simple question! How could you? How could you?!!Why? Whywhywhy...'
Masumi was dying, and made it his life's goal to redeem himself of the vail incident, spent his last moments engrossed in it too. Very logical and understable, but to George? It hurt.
'Why couldn't you focus on ME, our time more, and a bit less on the world' , as illogical as it sounds. Also resentment about all the mistakes Kari-chan papa did before, they're separated in the 1st place because of those, and had to spend the entire time fixing those.
He felt abandoned, and used.
Juuga arc:
why didn't it happen sooner and longer??! Lol.
Going berserk and totally unhinged (and suuuper cool! )
Was, in simple words, Goerge's strange way of dealing with grief. Dude has no idea how to deal with such emotions.
Despite everything, did you notice how incredibly lonely this guy is? How he barely deals with serious, real emotions?
Now, a big problem here is that I'm missing some info right here, the summer movie takes place right at this time, so might be missing some important piece of info. Also chic, his father's transferred demon , we barely know any info about that. chic is a villain in the movie, released from George. So gimme info!!
If George's behaviour was indeed influenced by chic, that would change some explanation.. but right now I'm describing things mostly without this effect.
I might have to update this part after the movie comes out.
(*later Update: Summer movie came out, and no, no explanation on this whatsoever. A surprising lack of, I'd say. Chic was one of the main villains there, but George didn't even have a proper talk! Chic is definitely interesting, everything demanded a proper face off or conversation at least, between these 2! Like come on!
And the movie doesn't even transition well from chimera special, I mean George's mood is nothing like in chimera. He's not supposed to be the usual peppy Kari-chan, he was already unhinged in chimera special!)
Someone from FB noted that transfer of Masumi's demon gave George 'imposter syndrome'. It happens in real life, when you doubt your own achievements as someone else's influence.
If all this time he had the part of his father, not sure how much chic influenced him, so everything he did, achieved, invented, was it his own doing, or was it just because of his father? Who am I? He thought he's been controlled, as clear from the lines "in the end I've been dancing in daddy's palm" and "he transferred his demon to control me".
Character development -
Why you became kinda nice later, George- kun? 😝
He slowly started caring for the igarashis, particularly, Daiji's wellbeing. The change seemed sudden at ep 26, when he was genuinely concerned about daiji vs kagerou situation.
But the reason is, from 25, after learning about the igarashi secret and his father's involvement in this whole thing, experimenting on Genta was the reason why the fam, the siblings are in this mess. So that... Kinda gave him a sense of responsibility and guilt? (From This guy, yes!) That's the point when he visibly became more caring. Probably.
......…..
(more observations, theory and questions coming up next!)
(aka) The George Karizaki Dilemma — My George Character Analysis
WARNING: This essay goes into dark topics such as child abuse, trauma, and many other touchy and sensitive topics. Read at your own risk, basically. Also contains spoilers up to episode 48 of Revice.
Warning, again—sensitive topics ahead.
big thanks to @alpona for inspiring me to actually write and post this.
My Interpretation of the Inner Demon Reveal
Vulnerability is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as: “the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.” George Karizaki is a character that uses humor to disguise vulnerability. On the surface he comes off as more of an unbothered-genius, or mad scientist archetype. He works on what he likes, moral or not, all with an infuriating cocky-smile on his face. But humor isn’t the only thing George uses to hide his vulnerabilities, the very mask of ‘mad scientist,’ or a ‘villain’ caricature/persona is one of the other substantial ways George disguises his own traumas, fears, and pains. At the heart of it all, George cannot be analyzed without being placed in the “Tragic Clown Paradox.” Or— the ‘sad clown paradox’ as wikipedia calls it.
Wikipedia defines said paradox as: “The contradictory association between comedy and mental disorders such as depression and anxiety.”
More specifically, the link between humor and trauma. The paradox here, of course, being the fact that clowns—who are associated with laughter, fun, etc.—are actually the saddest or perhaps loneliest individuals in the room.
This analysis seeks to examine George Karizaki as a character: how he’s being presented, his type of humor, and most importantly—how it all relates to his trauma.
First on the list of analysis then, is the clown archetype and why I think George fits particularly well into it, and what that might mean for the character. In the article “The Great Comedians: Personality & Other Factors,” Samuel S. Janus states:
“The world of theatre has always found meaningfully symbolic the alternate faces of comedy and tragedy. Historically, court jesters were tragicomic figures— the embodiment of the bittersweet of life. Among the oppressed, the role of social critic has been the comedian's forte. Freud indicated that humor is a release for anxiety, to quote Abe burrows: ‘The comedian must practice his comedy in order to avoid destroying himself.’ Jack Carter, another leading humanist, says: ‘the funny part, the laughter, is given to the audience, but the comedian is left with the bitter dregs.’ Comedy has been described by a leading theologian as: ‘The ability to laugh at one’s own tragedy.’”
This is a particularly powerful section looking at the role of the tragicomic—the jester, the clown; and just how entwined with tragedy said comic is. Now, examining George’s portrayal in the show, fifty-one seconds into the first episode of Revice we are introduced to George first via his voice-over explanation about the Giff stamp. Then he brings up the idea of fighting demons with demons and with a snap of his fingers he brings up Daiji’s profile. Here we see George as a confident scientist. He obviously has a plan and knows what he’s doing. All, as stated previously, with a cocky-smile on his face.
At Daiji’s coronation he cuts off Hiromi and pushes him humorously out of the way, saying he’s ‘taking too long.’ (This is notably also the first episode where we hear mention of his father and/or his father’s scientific legacy.) During the entire attack at the coronation, George is shown to be one of the only people not panicking. He’s rational and level-headed, even warning Hiromi not to try using the vistamp because it would be too strong for him. But then refusing to intervene or do anything more, letting Hiromi go through (and fail) at transforming. Simply stating: “See?” when things go wrong. This—from the standpoint of the audience, is also quite humorous.
George takes on this theatrical jester archetype throughout the entirety of the series, sarcastically commenting on the sidelines as things take place within the central plotline. Like with Hiromi’s failed henshin. In “Fools are Everywhere” Beatrice Otto takes notice that ‘It is the nature of jesters to speak their minds when the mood takes them, regardless of the consequences.” In fiction, and real life, jesters employ a variety of skills. Such as storytelling. In fact, the modern term derives from gestour, or jestour, Anglo-Norman (French) meaning ‘storyteller’ or ‘minstrel.’ (Wikipedia) Jesters have a privilege of mocking/stating the truth to those in power (King) and being able to get away with it. George Karizaki is shown (like in episode 1) to mock, narrate, or comment on a situational folly or irony—again, such as Hiromi’s failed transformation.
There are, of course, other notable instances of George’s jester antics—such as in episode 2, when Hiromi is informed he’s been demoted. Stating: “Your disgraceful failures to protect our Vistamp research labs AND inauguration ceremony have led you here.” So truthful and mean that you, as the audience, can’t help but feel bad and be amused. But instead of ending it there, George puts on that mocking smile of his and says in English, “Don’t mind, Hiromi.”
George, like most jesters, are passive commentators rather than active forces within the narrative. They spectate. In fact, the most active thing George does is create vistamps to be used, which is barely, if ever, shown on screen. Yet somehow George still manages to manipulate and dictate main storyline events. Often working as the catalyst for something to happen in the episode. Such as when he gives Daiji a henshin device, or when he sticks a tracker on something stolen from their base in episode 14/15.
Moving on to his sense of humor, George’s humor is a mix between self-enhancing humor that: “Involves a generally humorous outlook on life, a tendency to be frequently amused by the incongruities of life, and to maintain a humorous perspective even in the face of adversity,” (Like George at the coronation in episode 1), and Aggressive Humor which “relates to the use of sarcasm, teasing, ridicule, derision, ‘put down’ or disparagement humor.” Both are used to enhance the self, and the second is used to enhance the self at the expense of others, specifically.
In Scott Kaufman’s and Aaron Kozbelt’s study, “The Tears of a Clown: Understanding Comedy Writers” they look at these types of humors and found self-enhancing humor to be positively correlated with social support and optimism, suggesting an optimistic outlook on life is closely linked to using humor for coping, perspective taking, and emotional regulation. On the other hand, they found aggressive humor to be positively correlated with self-report measures of hostility and aggression. We have seen George employ both kinds of humor throughout the show. Especially aggressive humor. This shows that George, as a person, is someone who uses comedy to cope and emotionally regulate himself, aka: He builds himself up by taking others down. I stated at the beginning that George uses humor to hide vulnerability, and to give himself a sense of control. As George—though it might not be obvious at first glance—is someone who hates loss of control, as it puts him in a vulnerable position and reminds him of his past trauma, which I’ll get to in a minute.
Above is a video of George putting on his Villain persona in response to Hiromi lashing out at him
Janus states that, “there appears to be an awareness on the part of the audience of the relationship between humor and anxiety. Consequently it would be reasonable to assume some awareness of the fact that comedians are very anxious and often depressed people. (...) Humor, then, can be seen to be especially applicable in situations in which the individual feels himself to be powerless.”
Power, powerlessness, control, and lack of, are all important elements of George Karizaki’s character and the clown mask he uses to cope with his past and his present. In Janus' study on the relationship between humor and anxiety, he found that the early lives of all the subjects were marked by suffering, isolation, and feelings of deprivation; and I quote:
“Humor offered a relief from their sufferings and a defense against inescapable panic and anxiety. The presence of these same needs and ears almost universally accounts for the success of these particular individuals as humorists. The fact that humor is a language of protest to mitigate their anxiety and permits them to function. (...) It is felt that comedians are able to convert their rage from physical to verbal assault and that for many their comic routines are a form of acting out. (...) They (comedians) are keenly sensitive people who have an uncanny perception of the needs and fears of their audience.”
Losing his father at such a young age and with no information about a mother, other than the mention of her not being around/gone, I think it is safe to assume George grew up an orphan without parental role models in his life. But not having parents is not George’s only trauma.
(And here’s where my take becomes hot ….lol)
George was forcibly given his father’s inner-demon as a child. This is obviously a metaphor for the passing down of generational trauma. It is also a form of child abuse. If we examine the facts, which are: (1) the father inserted his demon into George’s body without his consent, (2) this hereby violates George’s sense of self/his bodily autonomy, (3) as stated above, it’s child abuse. You don’t use a kid as an experiment and violate his control over his own body and not have that qualify as child abuse. George had to have been about 4-5 years of age at the time. That’s messed up. Though he might not recognize it subconsciously, this is another reason George hates lacking control.
He’s already had things taken from him (i.e his parents) and things done to him (inner demon) all outside of his control. Then he had to grow up in that environment of deprivation and abandonment, where all he had left was his father’s inner demon and a legacy to live up to. This is also why Geeorge has the tendency to mask as a villain when confronted/put into an uncomfortable situation. It’s self-protection. “People lash out so that they can reject before they get rejected or abandoned. It is a way for the person to feel more in control, which makes them feel safer.” (‘Why do people lash out’ by Dr. Monocle Borschel) Some people with trauma lash out because they go into fight or flight mode when they feel threatened.
To George—being vulnerable is putting himself out to be exploited. So he masks behind aggressive humor and villainy instead.
Now, onto George Karizaki’s dilemma.
One of the ways the George inner-demon reveal can be read (aka the way I read it) is as a metaphor for CSA. (Child Sexual Abuse.) How the scene is shown, the translation, and the fact that George’s bodily autonomy is being violated by his father, is why I came to this conclusion. This would also further explain George’s unusual sexual-coded interest in older men/father figures/authority figures. Victims can seek out the same type of abusers in order to have “control” over their own situation this time around, ergo “winning.” Though it never quite does work out that way. Either way, basically, if George is flirting/making the advances, then he has the control.
All throughout the show George is usually the one to initiate physical contact with others, not the other way around. And when it is the other way around? George has never once reacted positively, instead forcibly removing the hand/touch from his body.
Of course, this might’ve just been the actor being silly/doing something he finds amusing, for when he does things like flirting with the Igarashi father in episode 8 at the hot springs. But it still shouldn’t be ruled out imo.
One of my first questions at George's inner-demon reveal was: “How does this differentiate from the intergenerational trauma passed down to Ikki from his own father?” Ikki’s situation (mostly with Vail) is often seen as a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. Ikki literally uses himself as a shield to protect his other siblings from his father’s inner demon. Vice, Ikki’s own inner-demon, is modeled after Vail, his father’s demon. Vail caused Vice to be created. I could wax poetic on this forever. But in examination and comparison to George’s situation, I found that the difference was in the actions the fathers took. Genta failed to protect his family from his inner-demon and hurt them, both physically and emotionally. But, George? George’s sense of bodily autonomy is being violated. His father, in fear of losing his son, decides to do something to his body that can never be undone; and he does it in his sleep. All without George knowing or realizing what’s going on.
The entire situation reads to me as CSA.
That’s the difference in the traumas being passed down; because unfortunately, it is a common fact for victims of CSA to become perpetrators of it when they’re older. Once again it’s about revisiting the trauma but from the winner’s side. Which is a disgusting thought process/reasoning, but that is the underlying motive. Now, was his father abused that way? As the audience, we can’t be sure. We know from separate Revice releases that the father, Masumi, worked as a scientist in a position lacking power—but that’s all we really know about his side of the story. The only thing that hints at it being like that is the knowledge of this being an intergenerational trauma being passed down from father to son. Literally, the same inner demon. Plus, the fact that it is being passed down from body to body.
This is George’s essential dilemma—how he should view his father who was a good dad in most aspects up until the inner-demon insertion, and abandonment.
This is why George states that it would be easier to forgive his father if he were really dead.
The entire scenario does nothing but fill George with turmoil. How can he reconcile these two facts? The good and loving memories versus the abandonment and bodily autonomy violation. The bad things should make his father irredeemable, unforgivable, evil. But he was still George’s father. One who gave him a majority of good memories when he was around. The situation here isn’t black or white but a complex gray area.
Even Chic, George’s inner demon, shows aspects of this: George and his father’s love for science (good)—but twisted into something ugly, and, humor—George’s way of coping. A perfect mix of the trauma and how it both drives George/causes him to react a certain way (masking, etc.). That’s what Chic represents. A trauma inherited from his father.
So, George Karizaki is a “tragic clown paradox” because of this gray situation he finds himself trapped within. It’s a lose-lose. The jester’s met his match. Humor finally wasn’t enough to mask his pain. So George did the next best thing: he became the villain. (Juuga)
A few things to note now that we’re coming to the end of my essay: (1) this situation reminds me of two other things—Perks of Being a Wallflower (Charlie), and Eliot’s situation in Mr. Robot. In BOTH cases (spoiler) the MC has been a victim of CSA by someone close and very dear to their heart. In Perks it’s by Charlie’s favorite person—his aunt, and in Mr. Robot it’s by Eliot’s father. Both Charlie and Eliot repressed these memories and went on remembering their abusers as people they really loved and who really loved them. Yet, once they remember what happened to them…sh*t hits the fans. Here’s a clip from Perks of the scene where Charlie remembers/finds out what happened:
WARNING: The videos below might be triggering, watch at your own caution.
Here’s a clip for when Eliot finds out:
In both, finding out had (obviously) detrimental effects on them. But even before that, their trauma is shown subconsciously. For Eliot, his personality split in order to protect himself. For Charlie, his depression and suicidal ideation. The same can be said for when George finds out. George literally slowly loses his mind, with the catalyst of his father dying adding to previous stress, and instead tries to destroy his father’s legacy by attacking his friends. All so that he can feel more in-control. All so he can feel he has power over his father. So yeah, Charlie and Eliot’s stories reminded me a lot of George’s, which only strengthened my previous assumption of his inner-demon metaphor being about CSA trauma.
Other things to note: (2) George uses touch to manipulate others, often initiating contact when trying to get someone to do something. Such as an arm over shoulder. For George, this can show that to him, touch equals power and control. Especially over others. (3) I think this is one of the reasons why George works out a lot. He worked out enough so that if someone touches him, he can physically remove the touch himself. No more letting others have control over his body without his consent.
Daiji killing Kagerou in episode 26 is the equivalent to Ikki and Vice's growth in episode 13.
I just think its funny that while Ikki learns to trust Vice (himself) because Vice would never hurt him,
Daiji's is literally about fking fiGHTING Kagerou to the DEATH.
I mean it makes sense.
A big part of Vice is Ikki's desire to be loved as he truly is and needed.
While Daiji created Kagerou as a coping mechanism cause he hated himself so much he was like one decimal point away from harming himself.
And I guess we got to see that fking FRONT and center today boys.
Ikki and Vice Episode 18:
:D....Ikki's slowly learning to love and trust himself;;;
and Daiji -- by effectively killing off his 'self-hate' coping mechanism; is learning that he can be both ruthless AND kind.
.....Fked that he has to literally fight himself to the death to grow as a person.
Yeah so that's the parallels and mirrorism between Kagerou/Daiji's arc and Ikki and Vice's arc that I was seeing as I watched their fight LOL.
Literallllly word for words but directly fking OPPoSITE-
I mean I should've known better
¯\(°_o)/¯
I even said in episode fking 9 (when Kagerou told Daiji to watch his fking mouth, and Daiji apologized meekly) that Daiji and Ikki worked as each other's FOILs.
Ikki would rather die and take Vice down with him then let Vice run around unrestrained. Versus Daiji apologizing when Kagerou yells at him
Ikki ultimately deciding to trust Vice -- Daiji refusing to trust Kagerou
Ikki apologizing -- Daiji thanking ---it's
it's fked up and poetic and really REALLY fking GOOD storytelling.
What did Hana tell you, George? Please don't do something you'll regret?!!!!! now look at what you've done?
Scoups, I know someone who doesn't really like George, they feel like he's been forgiven for all his shadiness all too quickly for their taste, don't get me wrong, I agree with that sentiment, but I'm eh to him :p
Honestly though—he didn’t even wait that long before going to see his father. Imagine he waited like 30 minutes before making his way over there. (Too bad it was 30 minutes too late.)
It just makes it all the more tragic because it shows that George put everything—EVERYTHING— bad that his father has done to him on the backburner, sucked it up, and went to see him before he died one last time. He likely had things he wanted to say, but ESP. things that he wanted to hear.
But he couldn’t do it right away because his emotions were still too high, so he built himself up to go see him; but when he did, it was too late. And it was only a few minutes, too.
(Now onto the other part of this ask :D )
I don’t think George has been forgiven for his shadiness too quickly at all tbh.
Though I can see how it comes across that way.
My logic really just revolves around George’s Igarashi SIMP card. Episode 13 was the first time he actually admired someone —Ikki, and episode 18 the first time he apologized to someone—also Ikki.
Everyone else was pretty much “whatever” to him, but when it comes to the shadiness, let’s examine:
(1) Gave a fked up Daiji the driver ← → It ended up working out in the end.
(And Ikki was lied to about it so who knows how much they know about that, other than Daiji.)
(2) Everything he did to Hiromi ← → Showed (in the episode where Hiromi got shot off a cliff) that he at least wanted Hiromi to hate him / blame him / leave his position (and thereby not have to fight anymore).
He also apologized to the Igarashi’s for being soooo….shady as sh*t LOL, like ten episodes later.
I know I stated this before but George (much like his own father, RIP) has a tendency to rely on masks when he’s vulnerable.
In particular, the mask that gives him the most control —which for him, is being a villain. AKA — The shady scientist with loose to no morals.
George does this even when it feeds into the negative perception of himself because he feels a general lack of control from his circumstances, so at least he can be in-control of how people view him
(as by being an a$$hole).
It’s a trauma response.
George never had any control over his life, that’s why he’s such a little prick.
(Not that this excuses him BEING a little prick <333. Fr turned Hiromi into a granddaddy.)
In the beginning we see him working for Akaishi and this can be for many reasons but most likely Akaishi was taking advantage of a vulnerable George and getting him to “take up his father’s legacy” mixed with George’s inner demon actually being his father’s.
We’ve seen Akaishi do his cult propaganda on people in similar situations; Oltecca —(abusive household, made to feel like a freak, Akaishi called him a genius and ‘special’ boy instead of treating him like how everyone else did) and
Daiji —isolated and out of control because of “killing” his inner demon. Can’t see right from wrong, becomes obsessed with “doing the right thing” and makes that his identity, driving him to an identity crisis 🤝🤝 Akaishi seeks him out after beating him and convinces him that siding with Giff is “the right thing.”
Time and time again we’ve seen that bastard a$$ sea-faring mfer manipulate people in vulnerable states into doing insanely bad things.
Likewise, in episode 26 —we saw just how little of control George had in Fenix, because when he objected to giving Kagerou the stamp, Akaishi grabbed him by the collar.
Even when he helped Oltecca jack up the DEMONS driver, he was being held hostage, mixed with his father’s demon / ‘legacy’ (literally the last thing Masumi worked on before he ‘died’)
PLUS
being vulnerable = George going extra hard into his “bastard personality.”
It’s what he falls back on, time and time again.
We saw him do it just before his father died, he put all of himself into his science
(he’s a ‘shady scientist,’ remember?)
and he likened his father to a “frail old man” or something like that.
He did this because again, it plays into that villain persona he falls back on when he’s vulnerable, and—
(2) because by calling his dad that, it separates his father into a different category, now he’s a “frail old man” instead of his “father.”
This is another way George handles trauma —by distancing himself from it / the people.
Right.
Anyways, we haven’t actually seen George be truly super shady-shady. We’ve seen him be a manipulative, secretive liar. We’ve seen his reactions to confrontation (laughter, going full villain bastard), we’ve seen him be ruthless (Hiromi), and we’ve seen him consistently distance himself from others.
Ikki was always his exception.
Like, we can’t forget the actual good George did as well —creating the drivers, helping with upgrades, making it so Hana doesn’t die, apologizing to Ikki and worrying about his overall health, trying to help himself in the fight but deciding instead to help others fight instead; apologizing to Hiromi and not expecting forgiveness, etc. etc. etc.
I think the bad he’s shown is far outclassed by his neutrality and then the good acts he’s done to make up for being an evil bastard.
Besides, Ikki forgives too easily because he doesn’t care about his own well-being, and he needs to use George in order to have power / keep transforming, ergo it makes sense that he stayed amiable with George even after the whole Hiromi situation, and then once George apologized Ikki was instant to forgive because that’s a pretty big thing for George to do, and in Ikki’s experience, he’s only done that when he’s been genuine.
Daiji forgave him because he really just wanted to pick a fight with Akaishi LOL!!!!
And Sakura wasn’t really too deep into the gossip / the drama, so she was never close enough with George to feel really slighted by what he did to Hiromi. At least not enough to condemn him completely for it.
And the Igarashi’s just LOVE pushing things under the rug and pretending it's all okay hahahahaha, so their forgiveness came off very natural to me.
ANYWAYS — I love George’s character <333 because I’ve always wanted to put him in a little soda bottle and shake it up like a maraca; Or to put him into a little jar to study like a bug.
Like you mentioned it seems the relation with own demon is really complex.. we can see it in kagero-daiji and ikki-vice situation.. makes me wonder is there anything like that with sakura-lovekov?-Hiromi anon
Ahhhhhh, yesssssir.
See, I have a theory about this. I said a fews ASKs ago that I was gonna copy and paste the essay so might as well just go ahead and do that here LOL.
In light of the insanity of episode 31--I truly think that each of the siblings have like a 2 part arc they each need to fulfill.
(Idk maybe more than that 🤷♀️).
Ikki's first arc I'd say is split into two parts:
Arc 1: Trust & Worth.
He had to learn to (1) trust his siblings to be able to handle themselves
and (2) To trust himself (Vice lol). Which came to completion in episode 13.
The worth part he's still working on
but he IS slowly coming around to the fact that y'know there are parts of himself that he DOES love.
His 2nd arc is also split into two parts
(1) Remembering the trauma and acknowledging it -- aka ep 25 to 31 --- and
(2) learning how to cope with said trauma, and learning healthy coping mechanisms instead of choosing self-harming behaviors/coping mechanisms.
Of course there's still plenty of sh*t Ikki hasn't acknowledged or processed.
And that's because he still needs to learn how to cope in a healthy way instead of immediately trying to run away from the problem (mentally) and y'know in reality too I guess.
Because he'll never grow as a person until he actually learns a new way to cope so that he can process everything, instead of repeating the same cycle of toxic behaviors to the point of idk, death? Mental death? Physical death?
Hmmm.
Well there will certainly be a death of some kind with the way the show is going full power nonstop, bullet train 800 mph right ouTTA the gate.
In fact, Ikki's current storyline kinda reminds me of the Kdrama "It's Okay Not to be Okay" -- more specifically, Ko Moonyoung's kid's book:
"The Boy Who Ate Nightmares."
NGL y'all this book fits TOO damn well. It's almost uncanny LMAO. "Why can't I become happy?" just HITS.
……..Since Ikki keeps falling back into these same patterns -- down to the foundation of who he is as a person, I believe he's destined (on this current path) to end up becoming exactly like his father.
(Unfortunately.)
Because when you get down to it, the two of them cope the EXACT same way.
(The father's albeit a LOT more unhealthy, but that's because while Ikki had something positive to fall back on, all the dad had was like....scientists horny for abusing human rights, and actual isolation in the DANKEST fking place on earth. Lmao.)
Of course Ikki's big thing is that
he needs to recognize that he copes in this wildly unhealthy manner because its how he coped with the trauma from his childhood.
Its the only way he currently knows how to cope, he doesn't really know anything else, so he keeps going straight back to this mechanism, even though it at this point it could severely ruin everything in his life that he's come to live for.
....
For Daiji, I think his arc is very similar
(but with obvious differences, as Ikki and Daiji are like direct foils with each other.)
Like (1) he had to learn how to trust himself, (aka confidence) --- and to do this he had to learn how to fight against his own self-hatred.
But this also meant that he had to revisit HIS foundational coping mechanism
(aka how Kagerou works as a "mirage" so that Daiji can keep living, by changing the story to being something caused by OTHERs instead of caused by HIMSELF -- so that he wouldn't idk do something crazy with all that hate.)
I do still think he's working on his confidence and how to fill out the shoes of trusting himself, but he has (unlike Ikki) successfully faced his demons, his unhealthy coping mechanisms, and idk,,, killed them?
Basically he learned that he didn't need to cope like this anymore because he CAN and WILL have to face his own problems and he finally accepted that. (Ep 26)
BUT.
The thing he still hasn't gotten to yet on his narrative arc, would be the changing of his view point. While he one-shotted his coping mechanism and learned how to be more cruel and decisive, he STILL hasn't really changed his way of thinking. He largely follows and operates with this binary of "Black and white" y'know?
"Good versus evil, justice versus injustice" etc etc etc.
Like he might've changed his shoes -- but he still walks the same?
Which is why Kagerou is currently MIA -- not because he's gone for good
(lmao we WISH we could just fight our demons to the death and be demon-free LOL.But, real life isn't like that sooooo)
BUT
because Daiji hasn't yet learned to accept the parts of himself that are bad -- y'know the more negative emotions, the violent thoughts, aggression, (etc. etc. etc.) Because he still views and sees these things are "evil" and puts them in a box buried deep inside him, and since he's punched out his MAIN coping mechanism of needing to protect himself from reality……
what he needs to do now is accept his OWN reality.
Accept that things are not a binary, they are nOT black and white,. and that it is oKAY to be flawed, and that it’s essential to acknowledge that it doesn't make you inherently evil for having a negative emotion.
This change of viewpoint and final acceptance of himself I believe is his main narrative arc.
And that until he learns how to accept himself and this viewpoint, he'll be forever playing side-character because he hasn't yet truly allowed himself to BE a main character. To BE someone flawed. And this is something he is going to have to learn if he wants to actually complete his goals.
Like at this point, he's accepted the wrongs of the past. and that things need to change.
But he still lacks the foresight of things being more complicated than just 'good and bad' to actually SEE how to successfully implement any kind of change.
Etc. etc. :DD
***
So, going back to Sakura I just fullll out BELIEVE that her entire journey is about growing—
(yes -- as a person like everyone else in this show/the igarashi family L O L) but more specifically
growing up
Like the 3 siblings are each trapped by different things. Ikki's trapped by his past so he can't see how to change his present and/or his future until he deals with said past. If he never deals will it, then he's doomed for failure.
***
Daiji's big problem and conflict deals with the present. He's too stuck in the present to fully process his past, and he can't move towards the future unless he recognizes who he IS in this direct moment, and comes to accept it.
(Which he hasn't lol)
And then of course, back to Sakura -- her problem is the future.
She's too stuck on the future, on growing -- maturing -- trying to learn to be more responsible, more..."adult".... trying to figure things out on her own, that she ALSO neglects the past AND the present.
Hence why she just accepts everything that she hears and has yet to think more critically about what is true and what is false and whatever else falls in-between.
All of the Igarashi siblings
(but DEF Sakura and Daiji, as Ikki has had to deal with this directly a lot more, but now his problem is with how he copes with it)
have a problem of viewpoint.
Specifically (from what I can tell) the binary of good and evil, black versus white, yada yada yada.
This is originally WHY Sakura wants to figure things out on her own/become more 'WOKE'. It's because narratively she's inbetween this phase of childhood and adulthood.
Like the first 10 episodes of the series are Sakura seeing just how different "real life" is to the only life she's known prior. AKA that Ikki isn't superman. That Daiji isn't inherently just a "sweet, kind, older brother" and also that society is jacked to hell.
Y'know this is why "LIBERAL UP" is Sakura's henshin phrase, and also why she uses the "Libero" driver.
Because she needs to transition from the past to the modern present.
HOWEVER.
Sakura's too far ahead of herself. She still has the tendency to naively believe what is presented to her. (AKA 'this mUST be the truth. Because he said so. LOL!!!) This is probably also why she joins WEEKEND because y'know she's "At the end of the week" Yet she in the transition period right before the start of the next (week).
Hmmmmm. Sakura' biggest conflict
(Y'know other than with this viewpoint)
Is also the concept of honesty and dishonesty. Which is why her animal motif is a SNAKE, because (and yo this could be symbolic to her joining weekend, idk I guess)
she has to choose between:
"Accepting the honesty of what she already had, or she has to choose and accept the dishonesty of the SNAKE"
-- leading to her "Fall".
(If we're going by religious connotation. But seeing as the show has a literall fking CULT I feel like this connection isn't too far fetched LOL.)
Which YEESH. But its true. She needs to understand that you can't just confront things head on and expect to always be right, or to win. There's more to reality than just beating the opponent in physical combat.
Wayyyy quicker than Ikki and Daiji, Sakura NAILED the first part of her arc (accepting her own vulnerabilities, accepting her own demon)
(Ep 11-12 lol).
Ikki first accepts his demon in episode 13 (when he has to trust Vice), and again in episode 18 (accepting that him and Vice are one); Daiji never accepted his demon (Ep 26)
Which is also why Ikki and Sakura are more proactive in the narrative versus Daiji who has A LOT of self-introspection that he's got to do.
We are talking about the same Ikki who tormented himself to try and find a way to avoid the death of those who were literally his worst enemies. That Daiji would think that his practical saint of a brother would "sacrifice" Akemi for whatever plan they have is absurd and certainly speaks volumes on how not in his right mind he is.
It’s Daiji’s victim-mentality.
I wrote a whole essay about this on google docs LOL! I’ll see what I can transfer over here,,,
BUT basically—
Daiji is currently surviving on the idea of "doing the right thing" of "being righteous" because, essentially, Daiji's coping mechanism is masks.
(This is why Kagerou's name meant "mirage," dude existed to obscure Daiji's darker, more self-ish parts of himself, from Daiji. )
Daiji has a lot of self-hate based around this idea of "Good / evil." The binary of being 'Righteous' and helpful, versus selfishness and mal intent.
Being selfish doesn't necessarily equate to being evil, but Daiji doesn't see it this way.
And this all stems from how he was raised, i. e, the fact that Ikki was his caretaker/basically his parent.
Now, how does Ikki relate to this entire mess, you might ask?
Well.
Since Ikki raised Daiji, that means Daiji grew up attached to/ developing around the way Ikki acted. And what is Ikki if not self-sacrificial and righteous?
(Quoting a book about enneagrams now, lmao. Once again, daiji's an Enneagram type 3 -- for reference)
"As young children, Threes were connected to the nurturing-figure, the person who in their early development mirrored them, cared for them, and provided affection and a sense of the Three's personal value. Young Threes are highly adaptable and responsive to the emotional states of others, and so learn to adjust themselves to the reactions and subconscious expectations of their nurturing- figure. This person is usually the Three's mother or a mother-substitute, but not always. In some cases, the mother may have been largely absent, physically or emotionally, and it fell upon the father or a sibling to nurture the baby. In any case, it is important to understand that the nurturing-figure is the person who cared for the child and who provided mirroring.
In their formative years, Threes learn to tune in to the desires and hopes of their nurturing-figure. The expectations of the nurturing-figure need not be expressed explicitly. With the remarkable intuitive gifts of children, young Threes know what will please their nurturers and which behaviors produce approving looks and smiles."
So, as a child Ikki raised Daiji. Which means Ikki provided the mirroring for Daiji. And, Ikki is someone who is super hard (on himself AND others) about the idea of being righteous/good.
What do I mean by this?
I mean that Ikki was TERRIFIED of "being bad" because more than anything else he wanted to be loved. But he got the idea in his head that in order to be loved, he had to do something in return. For him, this meant the services he could provide to others. (I.e raising Daiji and Sakura, helping out the bath house, etc.) Deep down, Ikki holds this belief that he must be inherently "bad" and that's why he has to make it up by going the extra mile to be good. After seeing his dad attack his family as a 4-year-old, Ikki came to be of the belief that HE was the one who had to protect the family.
And that without him helping, or sacrificing himself, his family would fall apart/die/leave him/ any litany of other terrible things a kid can imagine.
I imagine it went smthn like: "Ikki! Shouldn't' you share that toy with your brother? You're the older sibling now. You have to be responsible."
Pre-Dad's attempted murder of the family, Ikki would've just "psHT" that away, cause he's a kid. But because his dad attacked his family, and oNLY Ikki could save/protect them, this trauma greatly changed/impacted him.
Now instead of being like "psHT" when it comes to sharing, Ikki willingly gives it up, because if he doesn't something bad might happen and his family might get hurt. And if his family gets hurt then it's HIS fault. Because he wasn't "good" and didn't listen or do as he was told.
Obviously a child's logic, no doubt. But it impacted Ikki and his development/personality and it obviously STILL impacts him to this day. It's a core part of his being. He will ALWAYS have this mindset or thought process inside of him.
Now, what do you think would happen if a child so terrified of being wrong or 'bad' ended up raising /parenting his little brother?
Since Ikki's a child, he obv wouldn't be able to emotionally handle all of that responsibility. Which would stress him out and make him incredibly anxious. (All. the. time.)
But to the people he's raising -- Daiji and Sakura, since they're also kids, they don't realize this. So they model themselves in ways that Ikki would find approving.
For Sakura this meant being capable and helping out. Daiji,,, well Ikki helicopter-parented him (no doubt about it), which meant Daiji grew up having everything done FOR him, leading himself to believe he's not worthy or good enough to do things for himself. "No one lets me do anything, because I CAN'T do anything on my own. I'm a failure."
Plus he still loves and greatly admires his brother. So Daiji grows up seeing "Ikki" as his ideal. His role model. The person Daiji wants to be like, the most.
But BECAUSE it's Ikki, Daiji is grows up believing what he can sacrifice for others, what he can achieve or do to help, are what makes someone 'good'. What makes them an admirable person. A lovable person. Ergo, 'being selfish' = being wrong/evil.
"As adults, Threes continue to play out this pattern learned in early childhood. They seek out people whom they admire and esteem to give them validation and admiration. Threes are not interested in indiscriminately getting everyone to like them: rather, they focus on specific individuals who they themselves view as valuable, successful people. Although this motivates Threes to do those things which will make them seem worthwhile to others, this also leaves them highly vulnerable to fears of rejection. They will work tirelessly to avoid ever being rejected, ever being seen as a "loser." The admiring gaze which they sought from their nurturing-figures made them feel that they were loved and valued, and in one form or another, they are always seeking that look in the eyes of others. Admiration makes them feel alive and worthwhile—at least for a while. Without it, they feel empty and hostile because their underlying feelings of not being valued for who they are begin to surface."
Daiji doesn't feel valuable/loved if its not from others. He WANTS his family to admire him. And more importantly, he WANTS to help. But he especially wants to help his older brother.
He wants Ikki to rely on him and trust him (instead of babying him) -- so he needs to be seen as capable.
Hence, he enrolls with Fenix.
And then everything went downhill and this "image" Daiji was building for himself was failing spectacularly. Now, whenever someone got hurt (because he wasn't able to him, being he failed) Daiji blames himself. Yada yada yada, this lead to his first breakdown.
Threes (like Daiji) are people who "can't survive" without their masks. So when their masks start to get threatened, it turns to dangerous territory.
This is why Daiji tried to kill Ikki. Because Ikki was ruining his perceived mask of "helpful Fenix hero" and he hated himself for it. Hated that his brother was forced into a position that risked his life because DAIJI failed to transform when he needed to. He can't survive with the self-hate, so Kagerou projected it onto Ikki.
"this is iKKI'S fault. HE'S the one that's caused all these problems. Not you. People didn't get hurt because of you. They got hurt because of Ikki." etc etc
"To give up their performance and risk exposing the vulnerable self within feels like an enormous risk to Threes. They feel that their authentic self has been rejected in the past and are secretly terrified of having it happen again. They also become convinced that their real self is relatively undesirable and that only their performance is worthwhile. Having put so much effort into it, to give it up seems unthinkable."
"Failure is one of the most humiliating prospects for Threes. If they continue to overextend themselves and cannot make good on their claims, they will attempt to maintain the impression that they are still "winners" by deceiving others. Their fear of failure, and thus of humiliation, makes unhealthy Threes more than willing to be dishonest to get what they need to maintain at least the illusion of superiority.
Threes are determined to survive, and since they are completely identified with their image, that means ensuring that their image survives. Their pragmatism has degenerated into an unprincipled expediency in which Threes will do almost anything to convince others that they are still exceptional people. But because they actually are having severe psychological difficulties it is almost impossible for them to do this without distorting the truth of their situation."
Riiighhhht.
All the quotes here are from [Taken from the Book: “Personality Types. Using the Enneagram for Self Discovery”]
So, Daiji isn't exactly thinking clearly rn. He's in a really unhealthy psychological state stemming from his perceived mask of self failing miserably.
This is why I think it's important that Kagerou comes back/why it's inevitable.
My homie Nacho, said this about the Kagerou/Daiji situation:
“I mean the demons themselves are actually important to create a whole person. Nobody in this world can function by just showing/enacting on the good inside them, they need to reconcile with the bad. Otherwise they're just a shell of a person.”
“And for Daiji, I feel his demon protected him by being more assertive. Like Daiji accepting always being second place, always being pushed aside and feeling ignored—all of that was killing him inside. And being a slave and a doormat isn't all of who Daiji is. Denying/killing the side of him that is more selfish is harmful in the end.”
Lovekov is flipping out because of (as always) Sakura’s own internal states.
Sakura said “Did I even get stronger?”
She stated this because both Ikki and Daiji have advanced to the next stage (Daiji can now combine with his demon too) — which means Sakura’s the last; and now—
The weakest (TM)
Ikki being the strongest is one thing. Man’s always excelled and since he raised Daiji and Sakura they see him at Superman Standard / basically like a god.
But Daiji? Weak Dai-Chan? The middle bro she has to protect?
Now he’s stronger than she is and Sakura can’t handle that. She can’t handle being the last of the three. The youngest. The weakest. The girl.
(Etc. Etc. Etc.)
She states this because she’ll always protect her vulnerabilities, especially as an enneagram 8.
Being vulnerable is something she hates the most. She always wants to be seen as capable and strong. Reliable. (Yada yada yada)
Basically—
Sakura has embraced her vulnerabilities YES; but that doesn’t mean she’s accepted being vulnerable; which she isn’t a lot of the time.
And since things have been especially hard lately (thanks Dai-Chan <333), she’s feeling extra vulnerable. Which is why she’s questioning herself and her abilities, and also why Lovekov is injured
(The irony of this being asked right after he looks at his disappearance from the family photo is …💀💀💀💀💀🏃)
o fvck x2
I mean we all knew that he would say yes
(I knew from the preview that she was going to ask and well, it’s Ikki LOL. What’s he gonna do? Say no??)
Man I think what gets me about all of this is the poetic irony of it all.
Ikki using Vice’s power is a sacrifice he keeps making for his “home.” He cares for them and so he gives and gives until there’s nothing left of himself any more.
He’s repressing himself right out of existence because other peoples problems are *still* more important than his own.
And cherry on top — he’s doing everything for his home, his family — and yet he’s going to inevitably lose them because of it
