8D why hello there! Fellow Seishin fan here. He's my favorite puzzle pieces, so to say. While no one in Shiki is shallow, we're presented with even deeper stuffs (in my opinion) regarding him, which really, really interest me. He's a well rounded, complicated character which makes him very relateable and human, and I love that.
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.
8D
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.