I also feel the same way about Toshio's motivations in regards to his wife. The manga shows that he was never wildly in love with her but married her due to social/family pressures. Nevertheless, what he did to her was so raw and inhumane, even if they were acts that weren't hate-filled. Sometimes the worst type of hatred and pain can come from ignorance and in the end I feel that's what Toshio was to a degree when it came to the shiki. He didn't want to know anything other than that they were monsters coming to ruin his village. The scene where he experimented on Kyoko showed some very important things: humans can be monsters just as well if not more than the supposed 'monsters', that shiki can feel the same range of emotions and sensations humans can, and that just because some would view Toshio as a hero, that doesn't mean that his acts aren't morally terrible.
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
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.