I donāt know what I was expecting from this chapter, but I wasnāt expecting Marco backstory LOLL. Mother Rosa mentionā¦ please come backā¦. We also now have a better approximation of Marcoās age, since heās clearly still a child but older than 12 when Josh was 12.
Lisa seems to be actively in the process of dying for more power. āWe have no interest in arguing with youā and the focus on methods I find interesting. In previous arcs and and specifically recently with Charlotte, the idea of violence as a tool to get to the negotiating table has been brought up. However, here we can see that even now there is no negotiating going on. Interestingly, there is also no focus on what methods they do think she should use. Thereās a complete disinterest in engaging with her on any level. They neither agree nor disagree with her ideas, and while they disagree with the extent of her violence, thereās no expression of what outlet they do think should occur for her expression of ideas. Barbara and Leah both have been shown to understand gender based oppression, and oppose it, but theyāve also been uninvolved in enacting any sort of systemic change. If violence is a no go, or at least this extent of violence, what is the appropriate level of violence or alternative methods that they hold should be used? Again, none of the cast outside of Lisa has expressed what they specifically think an ideal world should look like, and what the appropriate methods for accomplishing that are. Whether thatās a weakness of the story or a purposeful critique, Iām not sure yet.
I had thought that there had been a direct reference to the Hammer of Witches, but hadnāt screenshotted it and forgot it was Marco! Itās kind of incredibly fitting. The Hammer of Witches, or Malleus Maleficarum is one of the most influential texts on witchcraft in Europe. It was written by Heinrich Kramer, a Dominican Priest, who was misogynistic to a degree that was notable even in the 15th century when he was alive. Like, he was so misogynistic that other theologians were condemning him in his time, including a bishop. One of the Popes did like his work though. He deeply disliked women, and the Malleus Maleficarum is one of the works most influential to tying ideas of witchcraft to women, and specifically womenās sexuality. Ideas of women have shifted over time, and in this specific time period misogynistic constructions of women held them to be excessively sexual and insatiable, and also more easily susceptible to sin as they were held to be less capable of reasoning then men. Heinrich Kramer did not disagree, and the Malleus Maleficarum is a deeply misogynistic text that is obsessive about womenās sexuality in much of the same manner that Marco talks about Imuri. That itās the weapon he uses against Lisa is immensely charged, whether on purpose or otherwise.
The Japanese word he uses for aspiration also translates to longing, but it is a different word than the word used for longing in the chapter title. Idk enough about Japanese to make any commentary about that, but if anyone who does has any thoughts Iād be interested in hearing them.
Chapter ends with Lisa offering up her uterus, her reproductive organ, which also feels incredibly charged on a gender level. Sheās been tied to ideas of pregnancy (c section headless woman, the story of the curse of Eve, swallowing the fetuses, her status as a lesbian in a time period and society that valued her primarily in her availability to men including in the range of reproductive labor). Really wondering where thatās going to go.
Just a minor complaint about something that doesn't really affect anyone, but I want to mention it
(THIS IS NOT HATE)
Iāve noticed that in a lot of Dante fanarts the artists tend to depict his hair as blonde or yellow. This is because on the cover of Volume 8 (which features Dante), a large portion of his hair appears to be blonde.
And even though I love all those fanarts, I have to say that something about them bothers me a littleā¦ Danteās hair isnāt blonde
His hair is beige (a little bit dark); the yellowish tint visible in his hair on the cover of Volume 8 of the manga is due to the light reflected by his Salt Miracle, which gives off that yellowish/orange glow (+ the white, but that doesnāt make much of a difference), and itās also partly due to Fukayamaās own artistic style
Iām not going to say that everyone is wrong or blind, since the hair color artists choose for fanart is also part of their creative decisionāafter all, the same thing could happen with Verge. But I guess because the lightās color is a strong fuchsia, itās obvious that itās not his real hair color
Again, Iām not hating on anyone, I love everyone whoās made fan art of Dante and Verge š„¹, itās just something I wanted to mention as a fangirl of these two
I keep waiting for Ekuoto to acknowledge that structurally speaking Satan should be this arcās final villain (since itās been the demon lord whoās each arcās main antagonist), but then I realized that heās probably been feeding on the wrath of the apocalypse that, while now undone, will probably result in even more wrath. So like huh.
Some Saraasu drawings I did in the last months ššššš (the second one is based on a panel from "Utsushicha Dame na Kao" aaaah)
I hope I find more time to draw them soon again grumph.
Another funny treat :
Spoilers below the cut. Content warning for references to sexual violence and death:
First off, what is up with that embryo. Where are the embryos coming from. Especially in consideration with that Baba Yaga image that resembles like a medieval c-section.
Evil demon lord of capitalism and misogyny runs the United States of America like yeah that sounds about right. Also very on the nose that it's nuclear weapons that are launched on the US, as Lisa says, "the very weapons you created."
The manga showing each of the days absolutely feels like a reversal of the seven days god made the world in the bible. The speed of the destruction is also massive--by the first day, most governments are gone (this is the direct action of Lisa). By the second day, most humans have died in the flood (this is not Lisa's direct action). However, it's clearly part of her plan, as her end of her bargain with Beelzebub was to "fill the Earth with meat." It seems that most of her actions are structured as retribution tied to the actions of others: she attacks America with weapons they've created, and used on others. Leviathan destroys the Earth because of weapons that humans made with the assistance of Mammon (the demon of greed, tied to misogyny). The Nephilim are the children of men. Even the attacks against the women in Paris fall within her worldview, as while she's created the situation, the men are taking action on their own to attack those women, something which I'm sure she holds would not happen if patriarchal society wasn't as evil as she contends it to be, which I'm sure she feels proves her own point that women have no future without her. Her actions are also, so far, each tied to actions god has taken--the sending of a flood, the destruction of countries in very sodom and gomorrah fashions. It seems that she perceives her acts then as acts of divine wrath, the same sort of acts that a god might take when clearing the earth as opposed to a human idea of justice. Even her seeming to speak to all the women of the world in what seems to be their dreams is reminiscent of a vision sent by god. And the seven demon lords are functioning as the seven angels in Revelations (and America being destroyed seems to be used as the fall of Babylon in Revelations)āsheās bringing about her own divine apocalypse. She seems to be literally making herself into god, which seems to be tied to at least her thoughts on what god killing are (still unclear how much Vergeās god killing aligns with this or if he had another plan).
What's her plan next though? Where will her witches live if the earth is unlivable? Additionally, will they live immortally, or is the presence of the embryo meant to be some sort of hint towards a potential role of parthenogenesis as sometimes appears in older feminist utopia literature such as Gilmanās Herland? Alternatively, if they live forever, in a way they fulfill the sort of end time ideas of the elect going to heaven, only, in this case, it is the witches who are the elect.
I also completely understand people's concern with the narrative framing of Lisa. Centering so much of the harsher criticism of the church and patriarchal actions on a character who is not only narratively portrayed as a villain, but also repeatedly shown to be okay with the harm of those not of her immediate care (which, includes people who don't take her side, outside of Imuri), is a narrative choice that, lacking any other character who holds similar beliefs or takes any actions on them, is a bit iffy. I think, too, we're in an incredibly precarious position wherein if Priest (and I mean specifically Priest) is allowed to be the one to defeat Lisa, it sends an incredibly distasteful message for a multitude of reasons. My most optimistic read of where this arc could end up is that the inaction of all those who've been in power, and the repeated failure to listen, mean that while Lisa took these destructive actions, it is within the context of a world that repeatedly failed to head any of the warning signs, and as such bears a massive amount of the responsibility. (Had society resolved more of the issues of gender based discrimination in the centuries since sheād died, she wouldnāt have posed a negotiation, had the leaders in charge chosen to step down, the invasion wouldāve never happened, etc. All attempts at more peaceful resolutions were rejected by those in charge who wished to maintain that power, and were willing to use violence to do so). But, that's my most optimistic read, and its one that I think at the very least would require a character like Becu, someone without ties to the church and with the same basis of victimization by patriarchy, and who has taken action, to become more centered, otherwise it feels like a sort of āfeminism gone too farā narrative a la Daughters of Eve. Even if a character like Leah, who is also a victim of sexism, were to take a broader center stage role, I think it could still muddy the messaging with her ties to the church. I think, at this point, if it commits to the sort of "Lisa was harmed then turned evil then had to be stopped by Priest but Priest learned a lesson but did it the Right Way" I would feel pretty disappointed. Of course, this is all assuming that the apocalypse is undone. If the apocalypse is staying as is then I think we may just be heading towards a tragic ending, which I wouldnāt necessarily be disappointed by. Iām still waiting to see where this all goes, as it may or may not color how I feel about most of the events of this arc, in a negative or positive sense.
I do think though that weāre heading towards something about what happened in the Garden of Eden, what with Lisaās focus on Eve, Satanās wife (Lilith ?), and their respective ties to wrath. Although Lisa has been so far the primary antagonist, keeping in line with the structure of the series itās Satan who should truly be this arcās antagonist. However, outside of occasional appearances, heās been outside of focus. Why is that?
We know that by the end of this chapter, most humans are dead. We've completely skipped past the possessed Dante, Leah, and Marco fight -> will we be returning to it? Are all of those named characters in the church dead as a result of Lisa's bombing? What about the male witches--we know the witches are most of the survivors of the bombing and the floods, does that include them or only the Lisa aligned witches? Do they not have their powers anymore?
I assume Verge is alive, if only because I think Satan would think it's funny for him to bear witness to the amount of destruction he's partially responsible for. Lol, do you think heād un-possess Dante if it was in a world that Verge has successfully destroyed, fully and completely ruining his relationship with Dante?
This chapter's title appears to be a reference to a novel called Silence by Shusaku Endo. I have not read Endo's Silence, but God being silent is a theme to the work apparently (according to Wikipedia lol). Certainly, he's doing nothing here.
Also, more snails. I looked up snails and the Bible and thereās a verse that also references premature birth, which is interesting considering the embryo. Belphegor is up to something. Peopleās theories about it being a dream are interesting to me, although I may feel partially cheated by that. Seeing stuff about Lucifer too and also find that interesting.
Also, is the reason Beelzebub took on so many witches and allowed great leniency in their Baba Yaga stuff because he wanted this all. Thatās so fucked. I hate that guy so much. This chapter had such a depressing vibe in the sense that after all of this series, nothing changed with the demon lords. Belphegor may show up and be helpful, but I also wouldnāt be surprised if he shows up again and parrots more stuff about women. Weāll see. We may very well be headed to an incredibly bleak ending (like this chapterās end of a five day old corpse of our protagonist). But maybe not!
Anyways these are just some thoughts, and sorry for how disorganized they add. Iād be interested to know what others take aways were, and whether they agree or disagree with any of this
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It's funny how, despite Lisa being unfortunately stereotypically villainized by the plot, we still don't really know what she means by "Massacre", "Invasion" or "World destruction."
Like is she thinking about killing everyone as she advances? Is she thinking about obliterating a major city, several, all as examples? Taking control by liquidating governments? Waging a more classical warfare?
Like come on. Is this famous objective really just a narrative strawman that has no substance until Satan can arrive to give it one?
Because tbh, when reading the last chapters, I often felt like I was lowkey forcing myself to act like I understood the whole thing. A thing never explained, never defined, and only vaguely represented by some burning concrete buildings with that ominous panel in which the only victims are women.
And for now, it feels like each reader has been asked to position themselves on the chessboard of opinions with not even a single clue of what Lisa wants (a shame bc the story also exposes us how accurate, precise and intelligent she is regarding her reasoning).
Now that we know what Angelo's role in Vasilisa's story was, I wonder if this contributed to how she interacted with the Pope. Johannes and Angelo are both very similar people separated by centuries, from the looks of it. Two very progressive men in their respective eras who are openly aware of the injustices wrought by their society and the religions they serve, and were making active efforts to mitigate the harms done to the vulnerable with their actions. But who were both still flawed and human people in their own ways.
We don't really get to see Vasilisa's thoughts on Angelo (though given her focus on systemic injustices and rejection of the notion of there being any men who act as proof that the system only negatively affects women it makes sense), but some part of me wonders if under her resentment of Angelo being the one "chosen" as Imuri's priority over her, there's that one small crack in her otherwise overwhelming wrath at the familiarity of seeing people who should benefit the most from this broken system who still gave their lives in their ideals of trying to save the innocents within it.
Thank you so much for sending this in Anon! Iām so sorry for my late response. These are some really interesting points! I have more thoughts down below, and as a warning, sexual assault in the context of the last chapter and of character backstories is discussed.
To be completely honest, I hadnāt noticed the similarities between the Pope and Angelo, but now that youāve brought them up, I can totally see what you mean. Iām not sure I would specifically describe them as progressive per say, but they are certainly both reformist with an interest in removing corruption from the Church. The Pope in Ekuoto is interesting to me, because while he does do things like acknowledge the history of discrimination against women in the church, he also is the head of the conservative faction of church. Unfortunately, I donāt have access to all the chapters where the church division is discussed, so Iām working off memory to the best of my ability, but from what I can remember, thereās been sort of a traditionalist v. utilitarian divide, with an unclear level of division among social progressive issues (although, with both Leah and Barbara being on the opposing side of the conservative faction, itās possible that that is intended to be part of the divide as well). I will also say, itās interesting considering that Satan tried to prevent Angelo from influencing his contemporary Pope. Did Satan interfere with Pope Johannes becoming Pope, or remaining in power, or losing power? Has he ceased to be Pope because of a long game of chess in which Satan wishes from the removal of a reformist, or did he gain the papacy through Satanās chess games because, although a reformist, he has been largely unsuccessful in preventing corruption? Iām not sure this will necessarily get answered, but itās certainly something my mind jumped to after this chapter.
I will say, I do think itās an interesting point that Angelo did actually try and help Lisa. Angelo is certainly an interesting figure in the Imuri-Lisa relationship. On one hand, Imuri became close to Angelo as part of her mission from Satan, whereas her relationship with Lisa was personal (although, knowing that Satan had already made a pact with Lisa, I wouldnāt be surprised if there was a level of preplanning on his part to their meeting). On the other hand, Imuri goes to visit Angelo first before she goes to visit Lisa when they are imprisoned. But then we additionally seem to get more focus on Imuriās guilt over Lisa than we do for Angelo. (I should also note, we get no information on why Angelo wasnāt successfully rescued, although presumably Satan also interfered in some matter. But in what manner I have to wonder? The violence he helped orchestrate against Lisa is incredibly gendered. Is Satan the type who freely uses sexual violence, or is he one who specifically uses whatever options present themselves? Is he himself a misogynist, or does he simply use whatever is in the people he uses?). Iām sure the past with Angelo is part of what gives Joshās presence a bitter taste in Lisaās mouth, as this is yet another man that Imuri prioritizes over Lisa. At the same time, I think both because she loves Imuri, and also because Imuri was genuinely the only person who showed kindness to her while she was at the brothel, she seems to have a lack of anger at Imuri herself for hurting her. Which, Imuri absolutely did, repeatedly, not entirely intentionally, but certainly from a callous disregard for Lisaās feelings.
On top of this all, I think itās been interesting the relationship with religion that Lisa has been established to have. She focuses very much on how itās been used as a cudgel against women by men who are empowered by it, separate from religion itself. Iām specifically thinking about how, during her assault, she asks āCanāt you at least judge me in the name of God?ā Thereās a sense of pain that she is expressing that the violence she is facing is not as a result of genuinely held beliefs (ie. that witchcraft is a sin or etc), which she could at least stomach, but that these religious expressions are really just an excuse for these men to hold power over her and abuse that power to get what they want and hurt her. She was burned on the stake as a witch, but her identity as a woman versus broader religious outsider seems to be more emphasized in her mind. This seems to be distinct from the rest of the Baba Yaga collective spirit, which seems to care much more broadly about religious injustice. We know the original Baba Yaga was concerned with the souls the Church killed, and the rest of the Baba Yaga spirit has become unstable due to the presence of the Pope. This also feels fairly distinct from someone like Verge, who has a lot of specifically religious baggage. Vergeās desire is to kill God, which he explains as involving rewriting the story. Lisaās desire is for specifically the end of all organized religion. Which, I think is a fascinating point of comparison, because the both of them are specifically queer victims of sexual violence at the hands of clergy. For Verge, however, there is a sense that he feels betrayal specifically from religion itself in a way that Lisa does not seem to feel. Their responses to the violence they have faced is certainly similar in some ways, but starkly different in others.
More directly to your point, I think that it will certainly be interesting to see if Lisa has more thoughts on those with more privilege actually trying to assist in improving the world. I think, on one hand, the similarities between the Pope and Angelo may have influenced her at least hearing out the Pope in the negotiations. It seems she is far more willing to at least listen to someone who acknowledges the faults of the system. However, especially with her connection to Wrath, I think sheās also someone whoās just very tired of it all. I would be interested to know how much awareness sheās had over the centuries, because the idea of finding that even 500 or so years into the future, the problems that hurt you are still in many ways in place would be absolutely infuriating. Her discussion of how the world hasnāt moved ahead fast enough makes total sense. I for one, wouldāve been totally pissed off in her shoes if I was shown only 2 women as world leaders as an example of how the future is better haha (which, depending on what time period she was originally from, may well have been the case in her time frame as well lol. There were various periods in European history in which there were women heads of state, which, unfortunately, did not necessarily mean that life was any better for ordinary women). For that reason, I think it makes sense she doesnāt think too much about it. But, additionally, I think weāve repeatedly seen that those with more privilege, such as the Pope or even Josh (in terms of gender and power), repeatedly center themselves in attempts to fix the problems. Although the Pope gives himself up for the plan, he does so as a leader of a world religion. My hope, I suppose, with this arc, is that if she realizes she can find broader allies under intersectional identities (such as the male witches, each named one we have seen being a queer man and so also subject to oppressive violence), that it will also come with Josh fully coming to terms with only being one person among many, and needing to not always be the one leading a situation (which, with some of his reflections on Imuri lately, Iāve been more hopeful about).
This is mostly just a brain dump, but I will be interested to see more about Lisaās specific world view. Thank you again as well for sending this in, you gave me lots to think about! Ā
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