Sinnesspiel (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sinnesspiel) wrote2015-01-17 12:30 am
sinnesspiel) wrote2015-01-17 12:30 am
Shiki Novel Translations 3.7.1
Chapter 7
1
It was two days after Setsuko's funeral, October 13th, just coming on noon that Yasumori Atsuko of the Maruyasu Sawmill brought Yasumori Tokujiro in for an examination at the Ozaki Hospital.
"Since losing Setsuko-san, now Tokujiro Oji-san is all alone you see, we were going over to take care of him but ever since the funeral he's been so pale. I thought it was only natural but it seemed like if I wasn't careful he might only get worse, so."
Toshio nodded at Yasumori Atsuko's words. It was another case of that. Indeed all of the symptoms were present. Going by the blood test results the first stage had passed. They'd attacked twice, maybe three times, Toshio calculated in his thoughts. It was possible it started directly after Setsuko had died.
"To the treatment room," Toshio noted to Kiyomi. "1000ml lactated Ringer's solution, 15 minute checks."
"The catheter?"
"18G."
Tokujiro did not respond as Toshio instructed motioned about the room. It was Atsuko attending to him who seemed more worried. Even when Toshio plunged the catheter needle into him he only faintly furrowed his face without showing any particular sign of emotion.
"About Setsuko-san?" While treating him, Toshio spoke to Tokujiro. "She had said she had seen a dream of Nao-san. She wondered if she was coming to pick her up, she'd said. I told her it wasn't good to say such defeatist things, but none the less."
When Toshio said that, Tokujiro showed only the faintest reaction.
"Ah...... Nao-chan, huh? ...... I saw her too."
Tokujiro's face looked somewhat blessed.
"A dream of Nao-san?"
Mm, Tokujiro nodded. After nodding he gave no further response.
"You can't get weak hearted," Toshio said to Tokujiro, looking to Atsuko. "I do think it'd be best to have him hospitalized, though."
Before Atsuko could answer, Tokujiro cut in.
"I won't."
"Tokujiro-san?"
"I'll pass. I won't be hospitalized. I won't go anywhere. I have to watch the family altar."
Atsuko soothed him saying that she could see over the family altar if that was the problem but Tokujiro distinctly declared that "I won't."
"Being hospitalized didn't help Setsuko, and with the family altar and work I can't leave the house empty. Just let me be."
Toshio furrowed his brows. It wasn't at Tokujirou's topic. He was uneasy about how he said it. Patients being able to have a firm will at this stage was rare. Almost all showed an attitude of 'do whatever you want.' It was like it was another person's issue. That meant that so distinctly expressing any will was strange, and in spite of that the way it was said was strained, almost as if reading off memorized lines from the odd sound of it.
Is that your own will, Toshio wanted to ask. Or did somebody---did Nao give you detailed instructions to say that? If Atsuko and the nurses weren't around, by all means he would have asked him.
"As far as Setsuko-san's case, all I can do about it is apologize but Tokujirou-san needs to be hospitalized too. If I don't have you hospitalized, I can't give relevant treatment. I know how you feel but I wonder if I couldn't at least have you stay for two nights? If after that, you want to go back home no matter what, I'll let you do what you want, so."
If two days went without an attack, his consciousness would clear and probably return to normal wouldn't it, Toshio was thinking. But Tokujirou insisted "I don't want to." He exhausted his words trying to convince him but it didn't seem like Tokujirou was listening to his words at all. Atsuko said that she would at least look after the Maruyasu Sawmill but he said he didn't want to leave home. If the patient himself ultimately said no, he couldn't force him. There was no choice; with only a transfusion of Ringer's solution and an administration of CRCs he went home.
"I wonder if he'll be all right, Tokujirou-san, I mean."
Giving a vague response to Kiyomi's uneasy words, Toshio entered the waiting room. After just a bit of hesitation he picked up the phone. After three rings, Mitsuo picked up the phone.
"It's Ozaki. Seishin there?"
"Right now he is working. What is it?"
"Sorry, but when he's finished could you tell him to contact me? The Yasumori's Tokujirou-san fell, tell him."
"Tokujirou-san did. ---Is he all right?"
"He's really not doing all right is the thing. I suggested he be hospitalized but he wouldn't agree to it. If he can I'd like Seishin to convince him. If he still says he doesn't want to no matter what, then I want him to help him out and make sure he can sleep through the night properly, tell him if you could. If you say that he'll know what I mean."
Sure, Mitsuo said, not sounding convinced by his explanation, but Toshio said that he was in the middle of examination hours and hung up the phone.
He said he didn't want to be hospitalized, was insistent on staying home, but he couldn't imagine that was Tokujirou's own will. He had a sure feeling he was instructed to say that. When Setsuko was hospitalized, it was a problem for them. If the bunch of them all got together with a single goal, then from now on probably all of his patients would refused hospitalization.
As he was thinking about it the phone rang. A woman's voice on the other end sounded frantic.
"Uhm---This is Shimo-Sotoba's Maeda."
"Maeda? Iwao-san's place's?"
Yes, the woman answered. It was Maeda Motoko.
"What's happened?"
"My husband is acting strange," Motoko said with her voice seeming hushed. "No, he hasn't collapsed or anything like that. It's the same as my father-in-law was. It looks like anemia but..."
Toshio nodded. "Please bring him in, immediately."
"That's," Motoko said, hesitantly. "My family..."
I see, Toshio said clicking his tongue. Motoko's mother-in-law Tomiko hated doctors. As a result, once Iwao had died, it had only become more resolute, he feared.
"Your mother-in-law?"
My husband too, Motoko said letting out a heavy breath. Toshio knew the situation.
"Is your husband at work today?"
"Somehow he was able to take today off."
"Then I'll come by this evening."
I am counting on you, thank you very much, Motoko said, hanging up the phone with a relieved breath. She was happy that Toshio had judged the situation without having to make a fuss. Putting the phone down, Motoko peered into the living room. Her mother-in-law Tomiko was out in the fields. Her husband Isami was lying down seeming terribly sluggish. Even when she urged him to get into bed, he insisted there was no need. Because he had taken off work, she couldn't not cling to his arm and beg him somewhere out of Tomiko's sight. Motoko could by no means operate a vehicle, so she couldn't force her husband along to the hospital. That Toshio had known what she'd needed had been a relief from the bottom of her heart.
Motoko entered the living room and peered at her husband's face. Isami looked dubiously up at Motoko but seeming troubled by the effort he immediately closed his eyes.
"......For lunch, how about rice porridge?"
"Don't need it."
Isami's words were blunt and low.
"But."
"Going one or two days without eating isn't that big a deal."
I see, Motoko said breathing a sigh. Her husband's pallid face, the way he spoke, it all exuded the same washed out feeling that Iwao had had.
(It can't be.... Not him too.)
Motoko thought, shaking her head.
That shouldn't be, he wasn't like Iwao. She was worrying too much. That evening the doctor would come, so it shouldn't turn out like it did with Iwao.
(Please, this is all I ask.)
If Isami were to go before her. Motoko didn't even want to think about what would happen after that. Strangely it was Kanami's face that passed through her mind. Instantly she had thought how much she didn't want it to be like that.
(That's the one thing I.... No.)
What was she afraid of? Unable to see the true form of her fear, Motoko stared down into Isami's face as if to be swallowed up by it.
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I recall thinking something along the same lines regarding Sunako, her spiritual search as a vehicle of her being drawn to Seishin, as well as his complete turnaround by the end by being the one to drag her away from a self-destructive situation because he didn't want to be alone. I thought that was interesting to see, and yet I have some sympathy for Seishin too (even if I also find Toshio fascinating because he's so proactive, but that's another post), privately wanting freedom from a village he perceived as stifling, yet unsure if it was the right thing to break away because, as I saw it, he still did care about the individual people, just not what they represented. I can imagine that by the end of things, he was weary; watching his best friend become what he saw as a monster, even while he befriended another person who could also be seen as one. Then he goes to the shiki with intentions of probably dying, only to figure out that nope, he's a jinrou now, and as he puts it to Sunako in the manga (paraphrased, if I'm remembering and interpreting correctly), "We are outside of God's jurisdiction and outside of sin; all that is left for us is despair." That was also part of why I found his interpretation of God in one of the chapters interesting too; it felt to me like he had an ideal of what God is supposed to be, but like all ideals, things sometimes don't work that way, hence his questioning what God was and what God meant to him personally--my memory's a bit fuzzy there, though.
I somehow get the feeling Sunako won't be getting all that she bargained for in getting Seishin as a companion, someone who has his ideals and if they're not what he thinks they should be,it's not worth holding onto. Maybe sometime in the future he becomes somewhat more like Tatsumi in that he knows Sunako is ultimately doomed to failure, but tags along because it's interesting and at least he's not alone. Anyway, sorry for all of my ramble.I haven't found anyone else to discuss the series with, so it's good to have a group here.
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One thing that's interesting to me is Seishin's concept of God/religion; it's a creed or a code more than, say, a deity or a certain consciousness or entity. It's like the 10 Commandments rather than the God who passed them down, in Judeo-Christian terms. By Seishin, I imagine certain alignments (political, etc.) would be "religion" to him. It seems like a very Buddhist concept. I don't really know a terrible lot about Buddhim and its different sects, granted, and Shiki's shown us parts of traditional Buddhism are certainly entity-conscious, but.
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Ah yes, I think I understand what you're saying. I don't know the nitty-gritty on the differences between Judeo-Christian interpretations of God and Buddhist philosophy's/religion's understanding of it (really should look into Buddhism more), but to some people, the two are inter-changable to one degree or another. Maybe it's another case of my grossly misunderstanding there, but I got the impression from what I've seen so far that the exact *what* (entity vs. philosophical idea/code for conduct) didn't matter to Seishin so much as the ideals behind it (because maybe it could also be argued that the concept of God/belief is an ideal in and of itself, despite differences in what that means to different cultures/people; add to that that some people do indeed treat their politics and personal feelings in a similar way to religious beliefs) and his feeling that those ideals weren't meshing with what he was seeing in the world around him. For some people, that's disappointing and depending on the severity of the realization and exact circumstances, heartbreaking. But, I suppose I'm also adding more ramble and repeating myself a bit.
Either way, I saw in Seishin the embodiment of something I once heard that went something like, "There's no more bitter a pessimist than an optimist who's seen their dreams shatter."
8D
(Anonymous) 2015-01-22 01:00 pm (UTC)(link)Still not very sure whether his development is actually for the better or worse (since if you ask me, I believe everyone in Shiki is going downwards till the end) but I think it suffices to say that, while his development and turning would probably and potentially be bad for his surroundings (define bad?), it would be the best for him.
It's also in my opinion that in the end Seishin and Sunako would clash. That they'd realize that they can no longer find what they want in the other/their companionship. Seishin strikes me as a very detached, follow-no-one person who deep down has only himself as the center of his universe and that he's his own God. There's no one else in his 'universe' but him. I used to say he was a natural follower, but now I think it's only in the surface only. Even if he does that, it's in a very detached way he probably doesn't feel much difference between actually following them/having them as his companion or not, which is creepy in an interesting way. For now he's probably really alone, but when he's blossomed into a mature butterfly he'd probably think to ditch her.
I think Shiki is a story about death -- the death of everything, including God, the 'God' that Seishin refers to a lot in his novel. The 'God' that's Sotoba and its system and faith. God comes in a lot of idea in this work, and I think he's torn between two sides here-- on one side he's following the 'God' he cannot exactly believe in, but love nonetheless just for the fact that he was born in Sotoba, tied to its traditions and all. It's the same as someone who loves their country or their parents. On one side he has his own (somewhat vague, for now) ideal of what 'God' is supposed to be, but he has nothing to validate it because, well, who can? The best he can do for now is finding like-minded people (the person who built the church, perhaps also Sunako) so he could feel that he can validate his true ideal, which means he himself can be validated. But I think once he has discovered a complete form of his ideals (his God, which means his own self) and knows how to realize/validate it, he'd no longer feel the need to find solace in either the church or Sunako (back to the paragraph prior to this).
He doesn't exactly believe in the 'God' that Sotoba has tried to instill in him, but he's still a follower of the system because, people would naturally feel validated as a follower of the existing system, right? Sotoba existing means he can feel somehow validated, even if his heart isn't exactly there. So, perhaps 'love' is not the only case here (there's also his obligation to help making things more difficult). Shiki is also a story of his separation from the system -- from God, from Sotoba. It's marked by several happenings: his suicide attempt, the moving of the Kirishikis to the village and the turning of the villagers into Shikis, his meeting Sunako and the discovery of some of his self, his clashing with Toshio, his turning into Jinrou, and finally the complete destruction of Sotoba. There's probably more but the last two are especially important, probably last three. If these things didn't happen I cannot figure Seishin would have had the guts to actively separate himself from the system, because as mentioned, he still has this bond to the system which he himself helps nurture out of many reasons. The last two especially mark the point where he's fully separated himself/realized that he's been separated from the system, perhaps since day one, hence what he says to Sunako in the burning church.
I find it interesting that to him, faith should be something that comes directly from one's own heart and not from existing traditions. I have personally seen many instances of the latter, and while being a part of the system/tradition would feel reassuring to many people, it'd indeed lose its meaning if your own heart doesn't actually follow it. Doing something that doesn't directly come from one's own heart sounds like something Seishin would really despise. I imagine he'd probably despise himself because he's basically doing the same.
I've always imagined that while Seishin on one side loves -- truly loves -- the village, on one side he's always thought of himself as separate. Probably mix of his feeling unable to be validated by the village for being different, but then he also wishes to separate himself from the system for being different. He's torn between two sides, but at times it also seems to me that he's torn between two sides of himself as represented by his novel. One reason as to why he's come to hate the village may also be his inability to break his bond to the village.
I at some points refer to Seishin as 'the ghost and the walking corpse', taking inspiration from his novel: the walking corpse is represented by the younger brother who's no more than his facade or persona of 'true follower of the system'; the ghost as represented by the older brother is his real self who lacks any body because it has yet to be realized/validated (and because it's been repressed, also because its complete form is yet to be discovered). So the suicide attempt = the murder of the younger brother by the older brother marks his true disengagement from and destruction of his persona, and him beginning to release his own self and actually develop it. It's also interesting to note that he actually began to write thanks to his suicide attempt.
Re: 8D
I think too that he's selfish, deep down, but it's not always in a way that wants to hurt people, though this may change after he changed. His Cain and Abel story was basically an allegory to his two sides, yeah, and I liked the way it was woven into the larger narrative.
I imagine that's why he struggled with writing it--it was the truth, an uncomfortable truth, and it took a huge catalyst for him to face it and begin living his truth. I can understand that, being a writer myself. Sometimes, the themes you write about are there for a reason you didn't anticipate yourself. You don't always want to write. You don't want to lay a part of yourself out there, but it's a searing feeling inside that needs to be expressed because the thoughts need to get out somehow. Yet at the same time, when someone pays attention and wants to talk about it, it's also like they want to discuss a private part of you. That's why I can understand why he didn't like it when Toshio put his essay in public view.
Sunako, well...I have mixed feelings about her. I don't hate her as a character, but I'm not a huge fan, either. I got the strong impression while watching the anime and manga that she's almost emotionally manipulative to a degree. While she helps Seishin put a voice to and organize his true thoughts, it also felt to me like she was also subtly guiding him to think the way she wanted him to. The novel might prove me wrong, though. I can see him abandoning her once he gets used to being a jinrou, but on the other hand, I can also see him hanging around long enough to see the fulfillment of where despair and being abandoned by God/an ideal may lead them.
Re: 8D
(Anonymous) 2015-01-23 01:58 pm (UTC)(link)I have a headcanon that this is why he neither drinks nor smokes. He doesn't want to get drunk because then his control will slip, and so he avoids alcohol altogether. While it's true that he'll not get drunk from drinking a little, I imagine he's already come to dislike the idea of what alcohol would cause in him that he treats it like a poison to completely avoid. Drinking even a drop of it would mean poisoning himself with that bad idea. That man doesn't do compromise. I figure it's kind of the same with smoking in that he doesn't want to lose himself to addiction, so he also avoids it altogether.
Prior to being turned, Seishin is very moralistic and his morals are what primarily tie him to humanity, I think. While it's true that some of his morals are strange enough people may frown at them, he can still pass as a good enough person. I think he's nicer than most people in the village. After being turned, however... he's probably rewritten his morals to be much worse than before, added by his growing indifference towards humanity because he's no longer part of it, and having lost any love towards it because he's no longer a part of it (probably partially why he rewrites his morals)-- that he'll now probably pass as 'actually less than good a person'.
I think it's also the case of his writings being exposed to the people from the village he was born in. While I cannot imagine Seishin being fully comfortable with knowing some people actually reading his works for the reasons you mentioned, I think at least they'd be strangers. He's fine with Tsuhara (the one from the publishers) and Sunako reading them, though I figure if all they do is to read, the better. But at the same time it'd perhaps be disappointing to him, because I believe the reason he started writing was so he could be seen as who he genuinely was, even if it was subconscious. Even if he was only thinking to vent and to process the happenings of his life through it. Meeting someone who's willing to go deeper than just reading his novels, I figure, will be terrifying but at the same time relieving and has somewhat been anticipated. They would be people Seishin can show his genuine self to; they could help validate and acknowledge his self.
While if it's someone from Sotoba I figure Seishin would just sooner run. The villagers are after all the people he's been hiding his real self from, for whatever reasons. If it's strangers they'll have harder time gauging him as the real character of his own novels, but the villagers will perhaps have a better idea on how to do it, perhaps especially Toshio, if he tries hard enough.
I'm hugely indifferent about Sunako and ignore her majority of the time, so I haven't got around to properly analyze her, but the fact that you're not the only person who thinks along that line likely says something. Though I also pity her for all the likelihood of being doomed the moment she becomes Seishin's companion. Really, he'll be much worse than Tatsumi in my opinion. I can understand why she would do what you think though; she sees herself in Seishin and she'd like to keep it that way. I'm thinking more about it being a subconscious thing but I could perhaps be wrong, knowing Sunako. This is how they primarily bond, with her seeing Seishin as the extension of herself (and he's probably likewise). She's alone, with swirling thoughts she perhaps cannot exactly share with the others, and Seishin is one person who's likely able to understand that because she believes he's just like her. I don't know why she's willing to go to such great lengths to seek him out, is it possible that she does all that just because she wants to talk to him? She probably really has ulterior motives for approaching her in the first place. She's, after all, full of political agenda.
That's pretty much the part where she's going to be severely disappointed, in my opinion. If she wishes to shape Seishin in the way she wants, well, just good luck with that. I think she's going to be surprised about how much Seishin actually differs from her. She's stuck in one place, while Seishin still has a long road ahead of him. I think the moment she truly realizes it the gap between them will already be too far apart, and probably he's also been somewhat manipulating her all along.
Re: 8D
For me, there's always been a big difference between someone you don't know or might be mildly acquainted with reading something you've written versus someone you're close to; one's the polite tapping on your door when you're home and debating whether or not you'd like to answer while the other is barging into your bathroom in the middle of a shower (of course, there are people who you don't know more than willing to judge you based on something you've written too, but most of them from what I've seen seem to have too much time on their hands). If the villagers already judged and isolated him due to his perceived 'strangeness' and the suicide attempt, I can see why showing his real self in any way, or having his true nature somehow suspected, would be a terrifying idea. In short, I agree there too.
The reason my feelings on Sunako are mixed is because on one hand, as you said, she has her agenda and doesn't seem to care what needs to be done to accomplish it (though it could also be argued she's not doing the dirty work there, she has Tatsumi/the other shiki and jinrou and her foster family to do most of it for her). Yet at the same time, when she's being hunted down herself, she seems to abandon the cavalier attitude of death being terrible no matter who it comes for to actively fearing for her own existence, then back to 'I'd rather die than keep going on this way.' Whether that was a genuine thing or another way to have Seishin feel badly for her is hard for me to tell from what I've seen. I'd like to lean to her feeling that all in a genuine way, but once the seed of 'this person can be manipulative when she wants to be,' I have to question it somewhat.
I'm not sure I can see Seishin being worse than Tatsumi in the long haul because we don't see much of him after the incident in Sotoba, but with the way he spoke when he urged Sunako out of the church, despair is all he feels he has left, and imo, that can lead to desperate, restless acts or simply not caring as much as one otherwise would about the consequences of one's actions. I do also agree that Sunako will find she may have made a poor choice in companion as time goes by.
Re: 8D
(Anonymous) 2015-01-25 12:15 am (UTC)(link)He perhaps also thinks that what they do is what naturally comes to them, like an instinct or so (oh ho what a big lie that is), and that they cannot be held accountable for what they do because they're not human and not included within the human system? So they shouldn't be judged by humans. Add that with his growing hatred for the village to make things more confusing.
Sinnesspiel once said that perhaps the reason behind his hesitancy was so he didn't have to make difficult choices. I think I quite agree with this. Seishin is a passive person and if not for his surroundings pushing him, chance is he wouldn't achieve most of things he has throughout the novels. Like majority of the villagers, he perhaps prefers stability and safe where he doesn't have to make difficult choices and face them and be held accountable for them. Again, I cannot say I don't understand.
Seishin usually has really strong morals. One time he notices Toshio doing something he thinks very, very unacceptable, he immediately goes to him and gives him a piece of his mind. That's the chapter where he's shown to be truly angry. I think that'll be how Seishin is if he fully operates on his morals.
I like reading where his feelings and logic mesh and cause him extreme confusion. Seishin is all feelings/morals but Toshio is all logic and practicality and Seishin understands what Toshio's been saying and acknowledges his being right. I think that part is very interesting and amusing. Even I'd get confused a lot if I really let it get to me, like for example: what Toshio does to Kyouko is something I'd really, really hate. I'm just not feeling as much because this is a fictional work and I'm a detached reader. But I also understand where he comes from and that, perhaps, it really needs to be done for them to move forward. So I really get Seishin there.
I think part of reasons why Seishin hides his real self from the village, since the beginning is so that he could be accepted. This is sad really. Even while he's using his persona people still cannot accept him fully, for various reasons (one of them being his being a Muroi). His wanting stability and safety likely also plays into part, because if he only follows his real heart difficult choices will be all he faces. A good thing Toshio and Sunako are both people who like to push him beyond his comfortable zone, because he really needs that.
No, Sunako is fully the one to be held accountable here with her lot. Perhaps people would think 'they aren't human so humans cannot judge them' or say 'let God judge them', but really, you reap what you sow. The villagers are only defending themselves and have all the rights to be angry. This will not come to this if the Kirishikis don't try to do bad things to the villagers in the first place. They're not human but they've been intruding humans' territory, so humans have a right to judge them using human means. Trying to understand them is all good, in my opinion, but mere understanding will not solve problems and in this case one really needs to harden their heart were they in this situation to not let sympathy gets to them too much. Sunako's reaction as you mentioned is a very human one which I understand, however. For what she said to Seishin in the burning church, I think it could be a genuine one because it's quite a life and death situation where people usually are they most genuine state. However, I like that Seishin follows his heart there and doesn't do what Sunako wants him to do, as opposed to his passive past self. Seishin = 100, Sunako = 0.
What was in my mind when I said Seishin would be worse than Tatsumi is, I figure, Seishin will have his own agenda/goal as opposed to Tatsumi fully following her and bending to her will. Though perhaps the similarity is, they are both observing her and see what would come of her. He'll be playing an even-more detached guardian who doesn't belong to anyone in every sense of word, in my opinion. I think he'll still have some of his morals and help her when she really needs it, though. But it'd not take long before they actually clash. I also want to see Sunako actually, actively trying to fight him. Perhaps it's my wishful thinking; to see them fight one another in all terrible ways. But I think Seishin would win here.
Re: 8D
I think the shikis' explanation to kill humans would have been more of a viable one if they actually needed to kill humans in order to survive, not just take some of their blood periodically and decide whether to leave them human or not. The way I interpreted it in the narrative was that Sunako and her people wanted to turn people more out of a desire to have a place they could call their own, rather than strict necessity. While it's understandable, it's also selfish to a point--certainly Sunako and Chizuru remember what it was like to be human at some point themselves, and the break with that humanity that becoming a shiki caused them? Yet at the same time, many in their position would feel that need to have a sense of belonging and community. That's another plot tactic that I applaud Shiki on. Nothing is clear-cut and the reader/viewer needs to decide what might be right and wrong based on their own beliefs and values.
Sunako and Seishin clashing after they've been together awhile would be entertaining from a reader/viewer standpoint, but to me, so too would be another encounter between Seishin and Toshio. People could (maybe rightfully) argue that Toshio wouldn't walk away from it alive or even human anymore depending on what happened, but he's proven himself to be clever so maybe it wouldn't be a clear case of who won or lost if it did come to pass. If Seishin and Sunako did come to blows, I can easily see what you're saying. Sunako has a child's body and strength. She needs to sleep when the sun rises. Seishin doesn't have those restrictions, so if push really did come to shove, all he'd need to do is wait out the sunrise and get a stake.
Re: 8D
(Anonymous) 2015-01-29 03:26 am (UTC)(link)I agree with that. If they truly kill people out of real necessity and not for some political agenda, I figure many people will have an easier time understanding and accepting what they do. Not saying they don't have the right to be angry, because they still do. I also agree with your interpretation and I believe it's really implied like that at some points in the manga/anime. The novels may show us more too.
Aha, another Toshio/Seishin encounter is also high up in my wishlist, and I certainly believe they will. Even knowing Seishin's a jinrou, I don't really think Toshio would do anything about it unless Seishin's up to some bad plan. I do think he'll keep a close watch on his person though, because with the Shikis you just don't know. If they once more came at breaking point, I think it'll be more heartbreaking in some ways to see two people who try to go at each other's throat because they don't feel like they can coexist but in all truth they don't have personal grudge at one another. I think at some point Toshio does have slight personal grudge at Seishin, which is understandable, but I don't think he'll live on that and/or act based on that. Reading Toshio's parts is very interesting to me because like Seishin he's the type who hides his real heart. He may have short temper and whine a lot, but he'll never share his emotional turmoil with anyone. In short, I really want to read more of his monologues and dig deeper into his head. The novels so far have allowed us to get a glimpse of it, but not exactly close to my satisfaction.
I do sincerely believe that Sunako's time will come to end. She's old and thus now it's the time of the young. I think even if Seishin is more superior biologically than Sunako, she has a lot more experience and unlike real lone wolf Seishin Sunako actually knows how to obtain comrades and build an army. Sunako knows how to inspire people and get under their skin rather like Toshio. I think this is a talent we should fear. Which means things will likely get even more intense and interesting.
Re: 8D
I hope the novels do show us more in regards to Toshio's private self (although I get an inkling that it will focus more on Seishin's--he seems like he's the 'real/focal' main character in some respects) as well as any underlying motivations of the shiki that the anime/manga may have brushed over. I recall appreciating the manga because it went into some details that were more than a little confusing in the anime since they were skipped over. And yeah, I also agree that if Seishin and Toshio were to meet again, they would fight more because of what they are and not who they are. I can see Toshio wanting to put the matter of Sotoba to rest after everything that's happened but at the same time having lingering feelings of unease and 'what if' because Sunako and Seishin are still out there and maybe Plotting Something. I can also see him living somewhat of a lonely and isolated life after the happenings in his former village, since he doesn't have a family or close friends left anymore. He may put up a front as you said to show the people around him that he's coping well, but underneath, the buried feelings are anything but.
Sunako may be able to recreate the situation in Sotoba fairly quickly depending on where the pair of them end up, but it would also be interesting to see what might happen if Toshio investigated and met with Sesihin again; would Seishin be tired of Sunako by then and willing to possibly listen? Or would he have taken his damnation to heart completely and actively participate in the destruction of another village/people? I think that would be a hard call to make, but intriguing to see. Even the best leaders eventually do mess up or succumb to grandiose notions of power and that's when they're open and vulnerable. When that happens, all it takes is one person who knows them well enough or gets lucky enough to overthrow them and then nothing can save them. I feel that Sunako's time in that regard, as you said, will come, although the 'how' could be different.
Re: 8D
(Anonymous) 2015-02-07 01:30 am (UTC)(link)The novels focus on multiple characters, but I think it's been deemed official that Seishin is the true protagonist. For Toshio's lack of monologue, I agree with this opinion that it's mainly because Toshio himself is not much of an introspective character, as he's much more of an action one, while Seishin is the exact opposite. Them coexisting is likely out of picture, so a final showdown between them would be the next best thing I can get from them. The sadder one to me would be them going their respective life direction without even knowing that the other is still alive post-Shiki period. I hate thinking about Toshio genuinely not knowing about Seishin being alive (he could very well expect that his friend wouldn't survive), and that's just one way to make him sad and depressed. Seishin is his lifelong friend and all. (Regarding Seishin though, I cannot exactly say anything because he seems to be a whole different person post-Shiki. He may have decided to ditch everything associated with Sotoba). Strangely I'm not worried about Seishin at all post-Shiki. I believe he'll pull through whatever it is even if it means he'll become a full-blown villain. It's Toshio I'm more worried about since he has deeper ties to Sotoba.
I want to see Seishin as a somehow-of-a villain as well.