Not to be a depressed motherfucker on main that’s looking way too much into a manga with a not so well planned story but like I think if there’s something that I feel is really consistent with this manga is the concept of kindness and how words can save a person
Like I know shounen protagonist number 817328283737 from shounen anime/manga number 28373738293838 will tell the misunderstood villain of the 737372th arc of its story why they are wrong after punching the ever loving shit out of them to get their point across and then offer their hand in friendship or whatever and like yeh I know that shit is great I dig it too but idk bro the way it’s portrayed in knk seems more genuine to me
Rei is not the one throwing the punches, he’s the one getting punched by the person he wants to help and the only thing he can do is talk to him, apologize to him for ignoring the pain he was going through and offer his hand to try again for a second time
I feel as a society we’ve been taught that talking about our problems and relying on people is bothersome, that we are being bothersome bc we need help and we need to stop bc we are independent adults who can deal with stuff and the worst thing is we live believing that. We are taught at a young age to be self reliant bc the world is cruel and hard and people just won’t help you and that’s such a saddening thought bc you know? Humans are meant to connect with each other, help each other, rely in each other and if the world was a little kinder to us then we wouldn’t be in the pain we find ourselves in
The world wasn’t kind to Nagi so the second someone was there for him and helped him with the worst of intentions he welcomed it, probably bc he wanted to have that human connection we all crave and need. That scene in the manga where Rei is trying to talk things out with him kind of pissed me of at the beginning bc I felt it was rushed and like there wasn’t like a really deep connection between Nagi and Rei at that point but the more I look at it I just wonder if the whole point about is that no matter how well you know a person you can still somehow reach out to them and how being kind can even save them
Rei showed him kindness in a way I believe he hadn’t experience before, he reached to him and went “yeh what you did was wrong but it’s also my fault for ignoring your pain, even if at the time we didn’t know each other I should have done something but it’s not too late we can start all over again” and like fuck bro I can’t even begin to imagine how hearing that must have been, despite this kid knowing I did bad he still accepts me and gives me a second chance? That I don’t deserve? And that’s why I feel Nagi’s (possible) death is so sad and unfair, he was finally accepting that yeh the world sucks but at least I have someone by my side now that can make it a little better
And it doesn’t have to apply to a heavy example like Nagi it can be as simple as a little bit of encouragement like Rei does with Yukito, that simple yet powerful “I like what you do so keep it up!” even if it comes from one person it can be so fucking uplifting knowing that there’s at least someone cheering on you and supporting you and being happy at your success
I feel it just works to not give Rei any powers like Tobi or Yuu bc words are just powerful enough, something as simple as an “I’m happy to see you” or “tell me more about this thing you are doing” can save a person without any of us knowing and even if it was taught to us that being honest with our feeling is embarrassing and troublesome we should just let our feelings flow
Idk what any of this is I’m kind of an emotional wreck rn bc ✨reasons✨And yeh maybe I’m giving too much credit to this manga for making me think it’s pulling off something deep but still I’m happy Eve woke up one day and decided to make a manga where the protagonist’s power is kindness
