#WILL I EVER STOP TALKIN BOUT DACHI?
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So, you all know by now how much I love talking about Adachi and since I donāt have much on my hands right now, I think Iām going to do it again.
Yesterday night I stumbled upon this video while looking for ... Adachi things (yes, I do watch periodically his final battle against the IT, donāt judge me ok) and I wholeheartedly recommend it to those who still have doubts about Adachi as a villain or as a character in general.Ā
Summing up, this video answers two questions which have gone around the fandom for a while (how old is this fandom anyway? it feels like Iāve been here forever, someone give me a veteran discount), namely:
Is Adachi realistic?Ā
Does Adachi fit P4ā²s story as its villain?
Iām not going to make a summary of what the guy says in the video (I mean, watch it), but Iām going to simply add or stress some of the things he mentions.Ā
Question 1.
"It doesnāt take an horrific childhood trauma to make a person into a monsterā: I particularly loved this sentence because, well, this is kind of what Adachiās character is all about. I think I will have to add just a little bit more of a context (because remember kids, when analyzing a character, never forget about the time and the place), by directing you toĀ this post on the so calledĀ āLost Decadeā. Either way, what is important to understand is: Adachi is not your common villain who had childhood traumas or underwent abuses of some sort. For all we know, he lived in a well-off family who wanted him to study and become someone important and gain lots of money. Lots of pressure, of course, no time to have fun, high expectations and all that jazz, but no one would compare such things to what, for example, Goro went through. No. Poor kid had it much worse. However.Ā As the video correctly mentions, other factors like isolation, arrogance, lack of human contact twisted his view of the world to the point of him hating his current life to death. It doesnāt take much to turn a person into a monster. Which means, that your neighbour, your childhood friend, even you, under the right conditions, can become Adachi. And this is exactly what is fascinating (and terrifying) about him. I think that many people donāt like the way heās written because heās too real, and deny him for what he represents: how easy it is to step on the wrong path.Ā
However. There is something I didnāt like about that part of the video; or, letās say, it was not clear enough. Adachi is compared to a mass-shooter who, I am very sorry, I donāt know much about. The comparison works, when the roots of their hatred towards the world are analyzed. Still, let us take a step back and try to be as objective as possible.
Adachi many and many times mentions that:Ā āIt was the TV that killed themā,Ā āThrowing them him was never the planā,Ā āEveryone is the killer, including youā,Ā āAll I did was to give a little pushā (quoting from memory here). Letās leave these sentences here. Now, letās recall the scene in the TV World where Yu confronts Adachi on his own: as we know, he shoots the boy to scare him away, but remember what Yu (or Souji, whatever floats your boat) thinks?Ā āThis didnāt seem like a threatā (again, quoting from memory). Then again, we have the infamous scene of him puking at the sight of a corpse (I have no objective proof here, but I honestly think it was a sincere....uh, puking-moment, if it makes sense). What I am trying to say is: he is not capable of killing anyone with his own hands. He did that - I mean, if Yamano was an accident, Saki surely was not- however he keeps on trying to distance himself from such things,Ā āIt was the TV that killed themā. Heās a disgusting manipulative bastard, but getting his hands dirty? I canāt see him having it. Even when stating thatĀ āWe donāt need our world anymoreā, Adachi can do that because heās not actively doing it. Let the TV World engulf reality, see what I care. But firing a bullet through every peopleās head and killing them? Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh, nah. So, honestly? I donāt think heād have the guts to go, I donāt know, at Junes, gun in his hand, and kill everyone.Ā
After all. What he wants is slightly different from what a mass-shooting is.Ā āBetter for mankind to turn into shadows.ā He hates this world, Adachi hates this worldās guts. But what he canāt stand is, and now Iām accurately quoting:Ā āOnce everyone turns into Shadows, theyāll still keep on living, oblivious to all the things around them...[...] No need to hold back to anything...No more pretending we donāt see things.ā People see things going wrong in this society, they see injustices, they struggle to obtain nothing: and this causes pain and suffering. At the end of the day, he doesnāt want to kill people, he wants to free them from societyās chains and turn everyone into creatures of pure instinct. In his very own weird and twisted way, he thinks heās making a change for good. And Iām going to get a bit deeper about this in just a second.
Question 2.Ā Ā
I donāt think I need to add much more to this part of the video. Adachi is clearly the other side of the coin of Yu. I actually want to continue talking about Adachiās speech during his last fight.Ā
The whole point of P4 is understanding the power behind bonds and friendships, how they make you grow and change, and help dealing with the world around you. Listening to what the others have to say, understanding and trying to put yourself in peopleās shoes. And this is where the IT utterly failed.
I am not saying there was any other way to behave in such a situation: in no way I am implying they should have gone likeĀ āOwww poor littleĀ ādachi, itās ok, we forgive youā. No, that asshole needed a good spanking (no innuendos intended, please, no). However.Ā
What Adachi missed all his life was someone, anyone, to stand by his side, to vent to, I imagine, someone to share his troubles with. During his speech, he many times mentions things likeĀ āYou are young and you still donāt know anything about lifeā,Ā āIām telling you thisĀ ācause I already went through this shit and Iām warning you kidsā. Heās warning them. Heās explaining that life is not all merry and happy and friends and adventures and fun. Heās saying, you might have hopes and dreams, but life will crush them, so be prepared. And the best response the IT can give to him isĀ āWow this is bullshit u suck shut upā. And again, yes, they had ALL the reasons to be mad at Adachi, BUT there was no point in straightforwardly denying anything he was saying. I think that in this regard, the P5 gang did a much better job while dealing with Akechi, and Iām infinitely grateful to them for this. So, basically, what the IT did was nothing but to corroborate Adachiās twisted view:Ā āNo one listens, no one understandsā.Ā
This pretty much covers all the topics dealt with in the video. But there is something more I want to say. Of course, the video tries to explain Adachi as a villain. And when we think about aĀ āvillainā, as the guy mentions, we think about someone who can be described by negative adjectives or emotions or words only. So, yes, the video does a good job telling you why Adachi is a well written bad guy, but despite it being the first question addressed, it does not fully explain why he is a well written human being.
When I say human being, I mean that he is capable of experiencing not only negative feelings, but also positive ones. Him caring about Dojima, or about Nanako, him showing interest in Yuās life is not in contrast with him being the P4 (mid) villain.Ā
Given the very poor contribution the IT gave to Adachiās final speech (āguyz this world sucks and ill tell u why. in this essay i willāĀ āsHUT UP ADACHI WHO CARESā >magydyne), he understands he has to abide by the rule of the world on his own. As shown in P4U, he wants nothing but serve his time in prison peacefully, he steps up only to help the guys preserve the world he still hates (ļæ½ļæ½cause he still hates it ok), he understands that Minazuki is full of hatred like he once was, and hopes that he will change and open his eyes. Adachi understands the importance of the bond he shared with Dojima and realizes how blind he was. All on his own. Yeah, letās say that Yu did like 50% of the job, but thatās because you are the main character and whatnot.Ā
He is capable of growing, of understanding and being stubborn (ācause lets admit it this world suckz am i rite fellow kids), because he is a well written human being. He can care for Dojima, while wanting to obliterate the world. He can tuck Nanako in, and still throw Saki in the TV. People are not completely black or white; they are made of many colors and shades.Ā Ā
And this is it. I could talk about this piece of shit for hours, but maybe itās better if I cut it here. Thanks for reading the whole thing, I know itās long, so you deserve a round of applause, Adachi-style.Ā Ā
Wow, Iām surprised you made it this far --quote.Ā
PS. I didnāt throw in the Ameno-Sagiri possession thing, because I wanted to be as objective and mumbojumbo-free as possible; I do believe it played a role as well, but probably only for a 20%. In any way or capacity I endorse what this piece of trash did; you can appreciate a character for what it is without calling it a poor and misunderstood babu uwu. Adachi needed prison, like, all of it. I hope heās there staring at a wall.
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