BELOVED FULLSCORESHENANIGAINS UR TAGS NEVER CEASE TO MAKE ME SMILE!!! Ty for your analysis on The for the last time trend :D I’m glad you think i encapsulated the self sacrificial aspects they all share especially with Emma being the best liar since she learned from the best (Isabella raised them well lol)
[Regarding this post]
EVERYONE PLEASE WATCH GRAPHX'S ANIMATIC ON THE TRIO'S M FUCKING O IT'S LOVELY
Panels I think about a normal amount:
(Chapter 5 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 25)
But fr fr she learned from them she learned from theeemmm
(Chapter 88 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 178)
Always wild when people will frame Emma as the dumb one of the trio for convenience when we see her phenomenal acting prowess early on even when under immense stress
(Chapter 3)
and she's stated to be on equal footing with Norman and Ray from the get-go while each has their own strengths and weaknesses (further articulated here).
I can't stop myself to wonder if Isabella often wondered how was her child during the first 6 years, before discovering that it was Ray. Did she feel sad at the birthday date, did she something wonders "they can't be shipped anytime now" after the 6th birthday and being even more sad about it? Did she wonder if they had her smile, her eyes? Did she miss her baby?
Isabella is the queen of compartmentalizing and staving off cognitive dissonance, so I think she actively distanced herself from those thoughts if she found herself brushing against them. Even if I don't consider her an entirely reliable narrator in the second light novel when it comes to Ray, it fits with the drive we hear her voice in her private dialogue and inner monologues and how others describe her.
(Chapter 181.3 | Chapter 3 | TPN Light Novel 2: Moms’ Song of Remembrance - “The Starry Sky and Leslie’s List” Chapter 9 | Chapter 37)
It helps her ignore any similarities she subconsciously notices between herself and Ray (and she does see many, when she allows herself to do so)
(TPN Light Novel 2: Moms’ Song of Remembrance - “The Starry Sky and Leslie’s List” Chapter 9)
until she couldn't anymore, and it makes her reaction all the more horrified and poignant.
unpopular opinion that each arc should have changed POV based on who it was centered around (aka escape arc was ray, goldy pond was emma, imperial was norman etc.) cuz it would have balanced out all of their development more than just focusing on emma
ty for carrying this fandom on ur back :D
If we're narrowing it down to a single person carrying the fandom, it's definitely @1000sunnygo for not only compiling the most comprehensive masterlist of materials for the English-speaking fandom, but also translating countless fanworks purely out of love for the series. The thought is very sweet, though! 💖💝
I don't entirely disagree with what I think is the underlying sentiment behind this ask of wanting more insight into the characters because switching the main POV for different arcs of a story can shake things up and be engaging, but assuming we're working under the same chapter/time constraints, I'm not sure what new development could be gained and balanced by this with how much POV swapping we already do between chapters and within single chapters? Other than potentially more insight into the specifics of Norman's time at Lambda and post-Lambda escape, including the Ayshe-Norman conflict branch that Shirai consciously cut to streamline the story.
Would swapping POVs mean we're firmly locked out of any other character's internal monologues? Or would we see monologues like Emma's feelings toward Isabella, Emma saying she wants to be like Norman and Ray, Norman saying he wants to be more like Emma, Norman's incensed vow that he won't lose to Isabella, and Emma's reflection on how Norman's apparent death hurt her retooled later on in their respective POV sections?
Granted, the anime cut all of those too, but that's one of the main criticisms I've seen lobbied against it, even with how it reflects some of the essence of them in other ways. Still, I feel like the escape arc is balanced near perfectly in the amount of focus each member of the trio is given and at what point insight into each of their psyches is explored. That balance is what I would have liked to see replicated in subsequent arcs, specifically during the imperial capital battle arc.
A criticism I've seen toward this portion of the story, and one that I assume is one of the main inspirations for this ask, is how Ray comparatively fades into the background/feels like he's on unequal billing with Emma and Norman despite his prominence in the beginning. The series' Japanese logo even features three parallel lines that represent each member of the trio (minus chapters 30 and 31 when Norman's line was removed to fake out Japanese readers)
(Mystic Code Book Chapter 1 | TPNManga Tweet)
So for a lot of people to see him not be as engaged with his own agenda feels kind of jarring.
I don't mind him aligning with Emma's position at this point despite his personal reservations given the conclusion of the escape arc has his entire worldview being thoroughly reconstructed, but I would have liked more reflection and insight that we see crop up in the bonus pages since we have small moments like Emma taking some time to speculate if a person losing their memories constitutes death in the story proper.
(Chapter 159 Bonus Scene | Chapter 169 Bonus Scene; I'm very happy both of these scenes are included at all, but they're unfortunately among the casualties of Shirai trimming branches that don't feel as integrated into the narrative in the last few arcs due to the accelerated pacing.)
I also feel the story would lose some cohesion by displacing Emma as the main character given she's the main driving force behind the idealism that permeates the series and thus serves as the strongest unifier to keep that theme front and center. Similarly, I'd hate to lose out on how beautifully foiled she and Isabella are during the escape arc and having such a powerful and heartbreaking mother-daughter dynamic as a focal point of a shounen jump series.
(Mystic Code Book Chapter 2)
That said, this is another topic where I'm at odds with Sugita as I would have very much been up for more time spent developing the secondary cast.
We lose a number of things in the transition between the manga and the anime such as all the minute details Demizu puts into the architecture, but for me it's worth it in season 1 for little animated nuances like this. Both Emma and Norman are completely caught off guard by Isabella being there, but it only takes Norman a second to shift between that initial shock to sorrow over realizing what it means that the woman who he’s viewed as his mother his entire life is here casually talking with demons and not recoiling in horror at what’s taken place. The way it creeps into his features is heartbreaking.
Another thing we unfortunately lose in the anime is confirmation Norman is the one who designates the demons as demons as opposed to settling on it as a term of convenience in episode 2 after having some time to muse on it (though Emma does tearfully ask Norman how are they supposed to escape from those monsters in her shared bedroom later).
There's a chilling, sinking horror upon reaching that conclusion with the moral connotation he associates with the term after witnessing the casual, gleeful indifference at his sister's life being snuffed out by these unknown creatures. Demizu's use of dark negative space as opposed to the backdrop of the inner gate's floor and the bottom of the truck further enhance the haunted, hollow feeling that's settled in his gut and etched into his expression as he whispers it into existence.
It's probably why Sonju reacts like this to Ray using the term in chapter 46, back before the promise when humans would openly regarded them as such despite their mutual participation in slaughter. "Monsters" can potentially overlap with this, but it seems to be more associated with mindless chaos unattached to any moral code, less severe in degree and scorn. Demons consciously choose to inflict cruelty and suffering, and it's a visceral, near-immediate designation from Norman founded on all the information and media he's been exposed to over the course of his short life.
(Director Mamoru Kanabe in the Minerva Confidential Report from the S1 Blu-ray)
I do understand why it was cut since the scene was reduced to less than a fourth of the episode's run time, and being in an audio-visual medium the grunt demons not picking up on their whispering on top of missing their scents becomes a bit harder for the viewer to ignore, but I still find it lamentable, especially with the differences that crop up in a later scene in the middle of episode 2 and the ending of chapter 2/start of chapter 3.
In the anime, Norman and Emma are presented as being on the same wavelength regarding Isabella as an enemy, and while weary of what now stands before them, their anger is more muted.
In the manga, Emma is having more difficulty reconciling the woman who raised her for over a decade with the one she saw at the gate the previous night.
Norman, though, emphatically renounces her. "Demon" is an extremely loaded designation for him, and it's spat out with such complete bile in his voice and reflected in his body language. He's physically revolted by her. I've talked about how rigid his morality is before and how badly his pride takes a hit at being deceived and left in such a vulnerable state (coupled with the horror of losing children he considers family), so it's regrettable to lose those insights into his character for the sake of episode runtime.
You know, Isabella's life had been so tragic. She had to make a choice of becoming a sister or die. How can you make this kind of choice at 12? She didn't want to die of course. she had to have a kid who would be throw in the system. And who would be eaten at a point.
She became a mother. And..ultimate horror: her child was under her care. She had to raise him to be eaten. And they both know that. Ray KNEW that she was his mother and she knew he knew.
She tried to give as much happiness that she could to the kids. Making her personal toy and stuff like that. She loved them. She kept their toys as memories after have been forced to give them to demons.
She must have felt so awful at first. Knowing that it was heer siblings fate, that it could have been HER fate. That all the kids under her care were going to reach this fate. that her OWN kid was going to be eaten and that she would be the one to give him to the demons.
Isabella could just hope to save few girls, like Emma by sending them to the same fate then her: becoming sisters and maybe mothers.
She could give more time to few kids by sending them to Lambda, as much horrible it was, because it would give them more time to live. Even if it was not so much. She has kinda saved Norman by doing that, even if she didn't knew at this moment. That's horrible because of what the kids live there but they live a little longer.
She never had any choice. She was as much captive of the system than the kids themself. She could just save few girls. Give more time to few boys.
How much she must have hated herself? how much painful it has been?
And about Ray? she knew that she couldn't do anything. He was a boy so he couldn't become a sister, he was not a super genious as Norman so he wouldn't be fit for Lambda.
He was almost 12 at the beginning of the manga. so close to reach the point where he would have to be given to demon. Isabella may have managed to keep him as long she could but the limit was close (lucky her, he was very smart so he succeded in all tests). She knew that he probably hater her. But she just could give him things he wants and buy him as much time she could give him. She loved him but couldn't let herself have too deep affection for a kid who was never going to be 13.
And when the kids escaped. she was certanly proud and relieved that the kids (Ray) were safe (for now) and thought she was going to die. But then she promoted. Then forced to prepare the kids she raised to be eaten, killing them herself. And then she dies, protecting Emma.
And then she dies, holding her own child's hand. Hearing him cry for her.
She deserved better. All the humans, who suffered of the farm system, in the demons word deserved better.
Yeeeeesss I repeatedly come back to how utterly fraught Isabella and Ray's relationship is because it's one of the things that lingered with me the most after binging S1 and still does, even almost two years later. She's one of greyest characters in the series when it comes to the morality behind her actions and motives, and I always think it's interesting how different people interpret them.
The despondency and resignation after years at headquarters training to become a Sister and eventually the youngest Mom in the history of Grace Field is so palpable in that shot we see of her caressing her stomach during the flashback where she's pregnant with Ray:
(S1 Episode 12 Flashback | Minerva Confidential Report from the S1 Blu-ray)
She's not even in control of her own bodily autonomy as she's forced to carry this child she doesn't want so the system can continue to be replenished. It's nothing short of systemic medical rape that's been going on for generations, and part of why I question the harshness of HQ during the glimpses of it we see in the series proper and in the light novels after Ray explicitly points out how important it is for Grace Field children to not grow up in a distressing environment.
(Chapter 27)
If nothing else, you would think the demons would at least attempt to glamorize this aspect of their existence. Even if they didn't want the children, even if they were still cattle and their autonomy was an illusion, they could at least be offered more material comforts and be allowed to relax in relative luxury for the duration of the pregnancy. But Isabella's room looks just as stark as a young Krone's does.
(S1 Episode 8 Flashback)
Enduring such torture for years for the slim opportunity of becoming a Sister or a Mom at one of five plants is such an agonizing thought exercise, and one of the most vile things is how it forces them to buy into this vicious, cutthroat cycle in order to barely survive and maintain their sanity.
What becomes a sticking point for me is how Isabella has internalized this mentality to the point where she derives enjoyment from besting her charges or resolutely reinforces the belief that she is more deserving of a long life than them.
Upon seeing a completely distraught Ray alone in the library toward the end of episode 10 after Norman is shipped out, Isabella smiles to herself as she turns and walks away. There's so much that can be pulled out of this minuscule four-second scene, I obsess over it. The child she was forced to deliver has lost one of his most beloved friends after she had acknowledged the happiness the other boy repeatedly brought to Ray and how she appreciated her biological son could have that brief respite under the cruel circumstances they found themselves in.
(TPN Light Novel 2: Moms’ Song of Remembrance - “The Starry Sky and Leslie’s List”)
And yet here she is, silently reveling in thwarting his plan of six years in one fell swoop.
You could argue that she's expressing contentment at how the system can remain intact so the other Grace Field children are still able to live ignorant and blissful lives until their shipment dates, that her five oldest children haven't ruined that for them, but given how it's Ray specifically in this scene she's looking at before turning away, I'm inclined to disagree, or at least that it's solely a selfless (if warped) stance.
Ray is the result of one of the worst acts the farm system forced upon her, and she's found herself more than once being caught off guard by how much he takes after her.
Another thing up for debate is how much of an unreliable narrator Isabella is regarding her own feelings because that's an element that's constantly in play for this series, but taking her at her word here, she states she holds no particular maternal feelings for him.
I think being stuck in such a routine, mundane domestic cycle with little to no outside contact and knowing deep down one isn't truly living would eat at a person as the years went on, so she took it out on the only other person in the house who had an idea of the true hell they lived in. Never directly in the form of physical abuse or explicit verbal threats, but with all the self-loathing and frustration she held for herself over succumbing to the system, and how she saw herself in Ray both in his plans of escape (because she had no idea he planned on killing himself, otherwise she would have taken some countermeasures to ensure he would still be able to be shipped out successfully) and his physical resemblance, I think there was a silent, petty delight she took in seeing him fail just like she had.
Though at times she probably hated herself for that, too.
Further plagiarizing myself from this post but my thoughts largely remain the same:
I continue to debate how much of her maintaining her deal with Ray was strictly for pragmatic reasons and how much was due to wanting to keep him close out of some painfully complicated mess of emotions that was constantly oscillating between a tainted affection and spiteful hatred. Any time she would find herself falling into the former, forgetting the circumstances of their relationship, him being the living, breathing reminder of one of the worst things HQ forced her to endure would resurface and how they chose to put him in her plant as if to silently mock her and unknowingly rub in how pitiful the life of a Mom would always be under this system. To openly love him would be one step further in giving in than she’d already done by accepting the Mom position and loving all the other cattle children she raised for slaughter, and she hated to give that much more of herself than she already had when she wasn’t aware of his origins. So she would dutifully do what was tasked of her, but on her terms, as petty as they were.
The most important thing in this moment is this smile isn't for anyone else but herself. Ray's not looking at her. There are no other children around she's trying to maintain an iron front for so as to crumble their resolve so they'll give into despair and live the remainder of their time in somber peace. This one is for her being able to stave off cognitive dissonance regarding the life she lives and coming out on top in this match of wits. She was presented with essentially a non-choice when she arrived at the gate on her twelfth birthday, but she did have a choice in how she chose to express this.
There isn't an equivalent scene of this in the manga, but the last page of chapter 3 gives us a manga-only one.
Again, we have Isabella alone, so she's not putting up a front for Krone, who has yet to arrive, or any of the children. This is her reinforcing that, while she loves the children she's charged with in her own distorted way, she is the one who deserves to survive and live a long life, perfectly preceded by Emma's contrasting declaration that the sacrifice of any more lives for the sake of singular survival is not an acceptable outcome for her. It's something that I can't entirely fault Isabella for, because she didn't deserve this fate for merely being born in the demon world, but it's something that should be acknowledged as selfish, albeit human.
The same can be said regarding her complicity with the continued sacrificing of children during her tenure as Grandma. I doubt that if you presented this scenario to every single one of those children they would be okay with being among the lucky few who were shipped while waiting for the escapees from plant no.3 to come back and finally put an end to the Neverland.
(Chapter 177)
I think there's also a selfish reading one can pull from her final words to Ray, though it's unintentional on her part given where one's mind must be when they're on the precipice of death.
At this point, it's safe to say she's genuinely remorseful when she states she wishes she had time to atone for everything she's done, and asking Ray to take care of everyone in her stead given what we've seen of him truly beginning to thrive in life when he opens himself up to his family's love and has others relying on him does pair well with those maternal well wishes for the children's future. Yet knowing everything he went through and how little regard he held for his own life for so many years because he was also filled with self-loathing over his actions, her last request being to take care of everyone else without also advocating for him to take care of himself feels somewhat off, especially in light of how it was stressed by Emma and the other escapees in chapter 38.
It's a small choice of wording, and again she's not thinking the clearest when she's so close to death and so overwhelmed with wanting to convey her final sentiments toward them, but that's a lot to place on the shoulders of a thirteen year old, especially when he's not afforded the chance to truly have an honest conversation with her to express all his feelings over the years to her, and he's left to mourn that lost opportunity and all the "what ifs."
