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jenerallyreading · 3 months ago

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I just finished my reread today of the English pubbed volumes and then had to read the online/translated chapters up to chapter 80–they were so good—and wow do I have thoughts on everything, but specifically Easthies and the Knights Moralis.

Firstly: oh yeah from the minute the Knights Moralis were introduced it was definitely clear they’re the cops of this world, and it’s not like they were introduced to us on a good note either lol. But anyway while rereading I’ve been thinking about the role the knights play in the story and it’s also fun to write out your messy thoughts so here we go.

To begin, part of the necessary backdrop is part of the overall theme and messaging of the series: i.e. that the separation of witches & nonwitches works literally and as a giant metaphor of systems that allot power (and knowledge) to one group, and withholds it from another, and there is no escaping at the end of the day that systems as unequal as that will inevitably privilege the empowered group even as it harms both. There’s lots of names for these systems and how they’ve played out in the real world, but besides paralleling different systems of subjugation and discrimination, it still holds true to reality regarding the power of education and how much it matters who gets to access it and who is barred from it.

Within the witch society is a microcosm of this: the Knights Moralis. Similar to real-world police, they have power only allotted and permissible for *their* use. Spells (memory wiping) only *they* are allowed.

It’s clearly shown throughout this series why these systems are harmful for society, who they harm and disadvantage the most, and how different people participate in them and how it affects them.

I’m going to breeze through our first introduction to them a little bit, but I’ll cover what sticks out to me the most. First of all: if you have instant beef with a CHILD you *need* to go home, sit down, and have a self-evaluation. I don’t care if she’s breaking your idolized and perceived rules. The fact that Easthies is so punitive and rigid—even acknowledging her youth and disregarding it—speaks to a lot. If you have no flexibility, no grace, nothing at all for children—who oftentimes lack agency and rights even if it’s better for them in this world—then that demonstrates the core of your principles is cruel and unforgiving. If you can only provide punishment and not something restorative for children, who are the most oppressed people worldwide, you’re not going to get it right on any other facets, basically.

Second, I get it I get it, worrying about protecting magic is their job. Their number one priority! But I still think the premise that protecting a non-living entity (in order to protect humanity as a whole, indirectly) is a flawed premise and the mentality of that is reflected by the Knights showing up to these types of scenes like at the river and being more worried about broken principles than people’s lives. Cops too have the core premise of protecting “law and order,” and the issue is: who gives a shit about concepts that originate in white supremacist ideology over actual living and breathing people? This is (at least a little bit) why people say “WE keep us safe.” The cops don’t care about you! They care about “law and order.” And the definition of that is entrenched in prejudice and false ideals they’ll abandon to suit *their* wants and agendas. Just like police the Knights Moralis clearly state their mission isn’t to protect witches or people, it’s to protect the secret and sanctity of magic. I’m gonna circle back to this when I get to what Easthies is up to rn!

Skipping ahead a bit to Luluci & her arrest of the peeper. I think I’m remembering correctly that this was her? It’s interesting to see how the different members of the Knights Moralis are kind of being presented to us with a bit of good cop/bad cop dynamic (I have more to say on this later). My long story short here is that I think this scene demonstrates the concept any abolitionist will tell you, which is that so many of the things police are in theory existing for are things that can instead be done by community members and a system of community care. Like yeah, fuck that guy! What kind of consequences he deserves is probs a separate conversation about how we deal with punishment, and led by survivors in situations regarding assault, but the main takeaway is that, realistically, stopping this guy and holding him accountable is something that could happen without the existence of the Knights Moralis.

Moving on to Galga! Like Luluci, I think he’s more or less being presented to us as ‘good cop.’ I think what’s interesting to talk about here is less his actions pre-memory loss than what happens after. I think the Galga situation demonstrates very well how the principles and this unforgiving black & white adherence required to following them is intertwined with the Knights’ policing, and furthermore, how even the ones who carry out the punishments don’t always escape it themselves.

The obvious discussion point is Ininia pointing out the hypocrisy of the Knights for their memory-wiping practices, which, yeah. It’s definitely not okay and I feel like I don’t really need to explain that one. I also don’t think we’re meant to see Ininia as horrible, just as a child that’s been led by someone who very likely doesn’t have her best interests in mind and is seemingly going to end up with a lot of regret over what she did to Galga. I’m so invested in where Galga/Ininia/Atwert is going to go. It’s a fascinating trio! A former Knight who was cast aside by his comrades, a brim hat child with an unknown past, and a witch who lost his partner and sees the injustice of the principles and witch society firsthand.

So to start with Galga’s memory wipe and the Knights’ reaction. This was, to me, like prime example of cop behavior. They are married to their principles, except for that one about memory wiping because it’s okay for *them* to do it. They aren’t “heartless” as Atwert accuses them because they are ~furious~ about what happened, because how dare someone do this to a Knight!! And! How dare you beg for answers and question the principles, how dare you be a human fucking being, who’s devastated and upset and desperate for hope. Atwert was treated cruelly, with disdain, and it was painful to witness.

I think the incident was a good portrayal into the culture of the Knights. They do not choose to focus on recovery and rebuilding and recuperation for Galga, they choose to focus on retribution. It’s in the name of the protecting the principles and others from harm, sure, but it’s a clear demonstration of one of the ills of policing: the focus is on pursuit, punishment, power and who’s using it, who prevails. Atwert is the one checking on Galga, who fights for him to stay a witch and in witch society. Also a side note that the oblivion island is so fucked up? Literally banishing people, especially some who’ve done literally nothing wrong, out from their society is like, red flag number 8563727 of what’s wrong with their world at the moment.

I didn’t know exactly where to throw this in, but I also think it’s important to point out the separation of the Knights from society, both witch/nonwitch alike. Another police parallel of course. Anyway I feel like they try to treat their separation as necessary and good, if not ideal. But I would argue it’s another one of the issues, mainly that they operate as a vehicle of fear and control, and there’s clearly nothing healthy about that.

It definitely connects to the way that the Knights do not really communicate with people, at least not with those who aren’t equal to them (i.e. other Knights). There’s a very uncomfortable and dangerous power imbalance, and an element of dehumanizing behavior at work. They don’t listen to what people have to say, why they’re doing something or feeling a certain way—there are just THE PRINCIPLES and no room for anything else. It shows in the way they treat Coco, Atwert, Dagda and Custas in particular. Many times Dagda acts as the carrier of this concept, calling out the Knights single-minded and prejudicial behavior. He questions their actions being based off a hat, a seal he doesn’t understand or remember anything about, etc.

It all comes together in the overall concept that the Knights operate with far too much power and far too little care. People fear them, because they are absolute. Any society in which there is a group of people who alone are allotted the power of judgement and punishment, with no allowance of recourse from those on the other end of it is just clearly not healthy imo! Witches and nonwitches alike have no rights or ability to question this authority and the principles that rule their society, even when they witness the harms that befalls people as a result, even when their own morals lead them differently. And wouldn’t you know, that’s how police work. Oh you want to protest a genocide. A pipeline. For the right of queer and trans people to just fucking exist. Well we’ll jail you and beat you for it because we say otherwise. There’s no end of the ways and reasons that’s a system that ought to be criticized and abolished. Anyway I’m getting off the point back to WHA.

So it’s time to talk about Easthies. It looks like we’ll be getting some backstory on him soon, but I’ve gotta say I’ve been a hater since day one and that’s unlikely to change. So, our bad cop. Currently on a rampage. Trying to single handedly wipe hundreds(?) of people’s memories and also shut down a life-saving contraption. Sigh.

This is also where we get into the more interesting aspects of our good cop/bad cop ting going on. For starters let’s talk about no such thing as a good cop and the concept that a good cop is one who quits/leaves because the system of policing is inherently corrupt and oppressive so if you want to do good you’ll leave. I kind of think that in a way that’s exactly what Shirahama is doing by having Galga forced out by his own memory loss and Luluci defying Easthies and questioning the Knights’ principles.

Essentially demonstrating that this isn’t something to reform, but that the premise of their existence and the rules it’s built upon might, in fact, be the problem.

Anyway I actually don’t have much to say beyond like “Wow, what an abuse of power,” and “Wow, you’ll clutch so tightly to these ideals even while you actively hurt people and I just won’t ever believe that’s not wrong.” What’s that Ursula Le Guin quote, “what if all you have left is the means?” I think Coco got him good when she talked about the uselessness of his reasoning, so worried about future harm that he’s ignoring the harm happening right now, in front of him, *by* him.

I think what he doesn’t seem able to grasp is that they’ve lost sight of their purpose by naming it as protection of the principles and the secrets of magic. Because *why* are you protecting those things? Because of the belief that this knowledge is dangerous and that before it was protected it caused great harm and thousands died as a result. The main goal at the end of the day is to avoid needless suffering, but by putting it under a different name they lose sight of their true goal. So caught up in the idea of future suffering, in the mirage of danger that might appear on the horizon, that they’re unable to see the misery and despair of those in front on them.

Because while so many of the witches are living pretty well, we see through the stories of Qifrey, Coco, Custas, and Tartah—just to start—how many people are suffering under the principles. I wish I had the aptitude and intellect to speak about it better, but the way these principles are set up & the policing of them are very connected in ways I’m not able to coherently articulate—but it really speaks to the issues of their world.

At the end of the day, the ideas of knowledge needing to be a secret only entrusted to some, education being limited to a select group, and deviance from rules being punished severely with no recourse and without opportunity for exception or explanation are all themes put forth by Shirahama that I love engaging with. Overall the heart of the story is these children, and the question of how children deserve to be cared for, respected, and treated as they grow up.

What’s bigger for children than the question of how to approach what happens when, as Coco says, what you *feel* is right is different than what the world/authority says is? When there exists an institution that will do nothing but punish you for believing or acting outside of that narrow definition? And how can you trust the adults around you that call that society safe, just, and peaceful?

***I didn’t even talk about the Custas/Dagda/Luluci/Coco scene 🥲 This got too long, but maybe i need to do another talking about the brim hats…

Spoilers for Witch Hat Atelier chapter 80

I know its been a bit since the english translation of the chapter came out but oh my stars was it awesome

I feel horrible Coco and all the other apprentices for having to deal with all this

But this chapter was so gay

The first thing Coco thinks about not wanting to forget is Agott

Everyone else including Qifrey only get one panel dedicated to what she wanted to remember

And Agott got two

Qifrey and Agott appeared together on the next page and stuff

And then we see Agott running in to hug Coco

Character development

She never does stuff like this

Oh my stars

I feel like im reaching hear but im also not

Also we got wizard cop development which was awesome

And we explore a bit more about the bad stuff about wizard police

I know they are called the Knights Moralis but they are wizard cops to me

I will always love discussions about law enforcement and how the cops suck

#so anyway this was a mess #and way too long #please someone come share your thoughts #and maybe say this better than i did #witch hat atelier #wha #custas #knights moralis #easthies #excuse me that loser called Easthies #wha coco #wha tartah #qifrey

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