H.G. Wells - A Character Analysis [Bsd 55 minutes]
In the last scene, we see Wells meeting up with Atsushi. She thanks him for saving her life as well as preventing the catastrophe from occurring.
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WELLS AND ATSUSHI
One aspect of their relationship strikes me the most. Wells trusted Atsushi despite knowing next to nothing about him. She sends him back to the past since she couldn’t go back herself. Even though Atsushi was a literal stranger to her, she didn’t doubt him once before sending him back. He might as well be a criminal and take advantage of the second chance that was granted to him, for all we know, as he had done nothing notable before her to convince her that he was indeed a good person. But Wells trusted him, may it be because of hurry or may be because he was the only option available to her at the moment, or just straight up plain intuition, we do not know. However, for a European intelligence military engineer who had met a lot of people, there sure was something in him which made her realise that he was indeed a good person, just as how Dazai saw it in him. Just a thought: may be it was his eyes, as eyes as considered to be doorways to one’s soul, just as how Atsushi knew that she wasn’t the terrorist by looking at her stone cold blue eyes in the surveillance camera. It is indeed to say that their relationship and bond of trust is something to be kept in mind.
Unlike most other light novels, the writing style of 55 minutes is very different, and very interesting to read. It has an open ending, which further allows us to speculate as to what might have happened later on. It’s a very personal opinion, but the last scene kind of left an empty hole in my heart, a solemn, comforting feeling of solitude resided within me. With her practically evaporating into thin air, I felt that Wells would never return, leaving us yearning for more of her presence, like a drug. I got greatly attached to her character, and felt a deep sense of sympathy towards her. She was labelled as an international terrorist, despite her only intention of wanting to save others. She was misunderstood, her actions misinterpreted and no one believed her. So her only option was to run away and hide, which further only fuelled the suspicions regarding her. Despite everything, she was still determined to save others, even if it meant to put her own life on the line and ruin her own reputation. In the first timeline, she killed the island manager as she thought that he was the culprit and obliterating him would save the lives of four million people, even though it would tarnish her own image. In the second timeline, in order to catch the real perpetrator, she even got herself stabbed in the process. Despite not being physically very strong, she was a very intelligent an determined woman who was willing to go up to any extent in order to save others – a trait I find similar to that of Dazai, he too doesn’t back off from using underhanded methods if it means it would result in the eventual good and save human life.
“I should be on my way to the next catastrophe. As I will continue to do until I draw my last breath and am forgotten in the flow of time.”
The incident on the Standard Island and her sheer strong will to save others from the destruction caused by the device ‘Annihilation’ may be considered as a way of atonement for her own crime of creating the device in the first place (another part of her that I find similar to that of Dazai, as he too is on the side that ‘saves’ people as a form of reparation for his past crimes and promise to his friend). However, she says that she will ‘continue’ to prevent catastrophe until she draws her last breath – this further proves the fact that she indeed has a strong will to save others despite it being any situation, whether it involved something that she created or not. She emphasizes on the fact that she would only save people where a ‘catastrophe’ was supposed to occur, meaning she wouldn’t really deal with a situation which wasn’t large scale destructive in nature, leaving it to be dealt by others, and her ability would help her in her mission, despite the conditions being very stringent.
‘….forgotten in the flow of time.’
- Those were her last words before she vanished into thin air. Now the question arises – why did she way this?
Wells’ ability allowed her to reverse time uptil 55 minutes, however she could no longer use it on herself since she could only use it once on someone. Now, if she used it on someone other than herself, she herself would no longer retain the memories once time was reversed. From this story, we get a little more insight on what actually are abilities in the first place. We are given information that abilities evolve and their capabilities increase, as we have seen in the case of Gab while using Wells’ ability. However, as time passed, the skill itself got separated from the user and caused irreversible destruction. Now if that were to happen to Wells, with her time-reversing ability, it undoubtedly would result in a devastating situation. Maybe, Wells had predicted that something similar might occur in the future and that her ability itself would result in her ultimate demise. With an ability as powerful as hers, it is safe to say that almost anything can happen.
She also says that she ‘owes him one.’ Meaning, the fact that Atsushi helped her to prevent the catastrophe to be brought about by the device of annihilation, she would repay him back this favour. Given that she only took part to prevent catastrophic disasters which was capable of destroying many lives, we can assume that there is a chance that she might make an appearance in the future (manga/light novels). In the manga of the main series, we see that the vampire infection outbreak is considered as a catastrophic event. Now it might be that Wells makes an appearance to return the favour to Atsushi. Reversing back time only upto 55 minutes, we don’t really know what could be accomplished. Also, since she had already used her ability on Atsushi once, she would have to use it on someone else.
P.S. WELLS IS STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL :)
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