#Chapter 61

[psychlocke]

LMAOOOO mithrun does NOT give a fuck about kabru

[dungeonmeshititlepages]

[manga-meow]

[mapoeggplant]

skip to loafer chapter 61 analysis // spoilers

between monster and doctors, the ones who are fit to survive are the ones who are ready to bare their souls to the world — and sometimes, the one to do so it’s the one we expect the contrary.

at first, when i started to think about this thread, i was about to say “we have a chapter with two extremes: one character who’s ready to speak his mind and the other who’s afraid to do so”. but, as fast as this thought came to mind, it also slipped away because…well..they are not that different from each other, are they?

ujjie is tired. tired of people who do nothing but bring other’s down for their own benefits — and tired of being on the other spectrum of things. after all, what gives the right to some to step on others but act with superiority as soon as they taste their own poison? after a long time of being rejected and having his opinions denied, ujiie starts to speak what is on his mind without worrying about any retaliation — after all, what could harm him when he is someone who has nothing in the eyes of others?

having this power allows him to express himself more and fight for his place in the world, as well as serving as protection. this causes him to block himself from relating to other people who are not seen as equal in his eyes. if they didn't listen to him, why would he listen to them? why do they have this right and he doesn't? (and this becomes much more explicit when he has the argument with mitsumi, someone who is really the opposite of him and who tries to see everyone's heart before anything else.)

however, ujiie doesn't realize that he ended up falling into his own trap: what ends up slipping through his fingers is the opportunity to realize that other people also hide much more than he himself imagines.

then shima enters and the concept of appearance starts to suffer a shock. well, in a world divided between monsters and doctors, who knew a monster could have a soul after all? unlike what ujiie imagined, shima is much more like him than he thinks. after all, both were silenced several times and had their desires denied in different ways. while ujiie suffered from the hypocrisy of those around him, shima was forced to accept a desire that was not even his, but that of everyone else around him. both were created by a doctor, but in different laboratories.

and it's at this moment that the second monster has the chance to show its claws: shima is finally fighting for something he likes and for a role that he admires so much. this gives him the courage to feel like he does have the right to play whoever he wants, because he will do his best to make that possible.

shima is starting to change and come out of the glass dome he had previously been placed in. it is now becoming clearer to him where his desires stand in comparison to someone else's that were forced upon him. he is starting to fill up all the things that were stolen from him and is taking them one by one, with his own hands.

of course, not all change comes with serenity: it is still very difficult for shima to understand who he is taking the reins from. even though he now understands that he needs to make his choices alone, the shadows of all those who helped him begin to creep in. "if i have the right to take what's mine back, who should i take it from? if taking back what's mine would mean hurting those who helped me, would i still have the right to do it?"

it's still very difficult for him to see himself in any position other than the fine line between doctor and monster. he can see parts of himself with his character and his battles, but he also finds himself carried away by the speech of others, making him see a little of the doctor, who denies the monster a free life, in himself. that’s why ujiie’s right in his opinion, but that doesn’t mean he will accept it that easily.

compared to all the chapters focused on shima, this is a big leap towards conquering his identity. it's very beautiful to follow shima's growth and see him abandoning the silence that has always accompanied him. sensei chose to give him a chance to find his own voice in a very gentle way, without generating any other trauma that would put him back in a dark mindset. all of this could have taken another form and shima could very well have been forced to take risks that he had never before thought of taking — but that is not the way she chose to write this story; skip to loafer is written on the basis of love, and there is nothing more tender and painful than the struggle for self-love.

in the end, we had a chapter that wanted to show two very different characters but, in fact, ended up showing how the similarities are found in details that would most likely be ignored or overlooked due to the behavior or the way the characters were developed.

this is a technique that i really like in sensei's writing. it always tends to put into combat two characters who, on the surface, have no similarity at all just to then unravel them and make them connect in the end. i don't think this means that we will see a big change in the relationship between shima and ujiie (but i, personally, would love to see the two being friends or at least colleagues), after all habits are difficult to break, especially after just one event. but i believe this showed us readers new ways of reading them. now we have a more in-depth idea of ​​ujiie and his interpersonal relationships and we have a new shima who prefers to face what eats at him instead of absorbing everything for himself.

i'm very glad sensei chose to write this chapter and not jump straight to the trip. we do need a little more ground to stand on before facing what comes next, because that will take a lot from shima and his new power and confidence he found. he would not be able to face mitsumi if he didn't face himself or people who don't believe in him first — he needs to find his own strength to fight this new battle.

as always, thank you for reading 💛 hope you guys liked the thread and the chapter as well!! remember: if you can, please help sensei by buying the chapters or the volumes. also sorry for any mistakes. thank you thank you!!!!

[iamamythologicalcreature]

Snowbaz has conditioned my thinking in ways I never anticipated.

I just looked at my phone and saw it has 61% battery left. I got a little thrill.

[violentdelightshavevioletends]

How did I never realize Rhiannon’s sister is a twin as in she is a twin too?!

[cithis-daily]

[every-ciel-phantomhive]

[psychlocke]

kabru having his worst fears become a reality

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

KAIJUU NO.8 MANGA SPOILERS

(INCLUDING CHAPTERS FROM 54 TO 109)

Iharu chasing Reno like Kafka chases Mina is such a cool detail.

Iharu and Kafka are older, they were supposed to be the leaders, they were supposed to protect!!! Instead, Reno and Mina ended up being on the spotlight as some of the strongest prodigies of their generations.

Reno and Mina's responsibility sense is so strong it is tearing them apart: they think every death and failure is their fault. Mina from chapter 102 to 109, Reno in chapters 59 to 64... It hurts me sooo bad to see the truth they are hiding. No one can shoulder so much alone— and in the end, that's why Iharu ends up becoming like Kafka (or in one more parallel, what Jugo wanted to be for Hikari).

Just like Kafka and Jugo, Iharu struggles with the fact he won't be the person he envisioned he'll be within the Defense Corps. It started as motivation in the form of a rivalry, but the more the prodigies grew and left them behind, the more they realized it was no longer children's play. Hikari is the living example of it: she burned out, sacrificed herself to stop a monster and left Jugo struggling with the survivor guilt.

It drives one of my favorite themes of Kaiju No.8: rivalries that turn into unyielding support for the other, because they won't allow anyone to stay behind / they can't continue if one of them can't keep moving forward.

Kafka and Iharu had to understand that they still had a chance, that Mina and Reno wouldn't leave them alone deliberately because they didn't want to be alone. No one wants that, if they have a say in the matter. Unlike Jugo, who can't do anything else now that Hikari is dead, the new generation can aspire to support their way to victory.

So, really. It's simply cute that we see Kafka and Mina being such an influence to the new gen. The whole "I need to be by her side" and "I'll wait for you to reach me" is an amazing driving force for a story about people fighting a Kaiju apocalypse.

[manga-meow]

[every-shiraishi]

[everyryuujisuguro]

[dinodivider]

Damn it damn it damn it, never did I expect Kaladin to decide that the king needs to die. Damn it. This man is going to lose his powers before ever even unlocking them fully, why is he like this? If you ever find yourself agreeing with Moash, maybe it’s time to re-think your position

[the-beard-of-edward-teach]

this song makes me think of chapter 61 so much

especially with the “you think youre a hero?” And the “you think you’re a villain, but i know youre not. Under all that angst and anger is a beating human heart”

and this whole part

that whole part feels like chapter 61

[every-ciel-phantomhive]