#but i would vote him inno just because the song slaps
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clover0101 · 1 year ago
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Kazui - Half/Cat analysis
Face discernment for what you really feel or live in a comfortable lie being unhappy? Following the path of the heart can lead to greater satisfaction and joy, but it can also end up dooming the dreamer.
Let's find the king of the masquerade,
[CW: Animal cruelty, suicide implications, themes of addiction to alcohol and smoking]
(For convenience, I will be reviewing Cat first and then Half, in order to better structure the analysis)
A romance that begins more with the desire to be loved, to be touched and to touch, to feel like that special person in someone's life, rather than to think of her in the same way. Kazui doesn't make any progress until he realizes that Hinako likes him, at first he doesn't even turn to look at her, possibly seeing the relationship as an opportunity to satisfy that need for affection and emotional connection.
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(An interesting trivia is that he worked as a policeman, explaining his way of seeing MILGRAM in the first trial and actions such as trying to hit Es or wondering 'what kind of organization is behind something like this'. Also him being used to witness violent acts) The ring comes out of his mouth as if it was a word, and when it reaches his hands it turns into a white dove. White doves are popularly associated with freedom, symbolizing possitive things. During funerals, it is believed that white doves can carry a loved one to heaven. Another slightly less common meaning is that they represent the soul as such, which is the interpretation that comes closest to what we see in the video. The animal symbolizes them together, the apparent happiness that they live as a couple, the peace in their lives. The years pass and the relationship evolves into a marriage. When we see Kazui propose, the lyrics read “It's for the sake of true love - who wouldn't lie for that?” Kazui sees in the relationship an opportunity to satisfy both their desires, Hinako loves him, and although his feelings are not sincere from the beginning, she sees it as an exchange where they both manage to get something: she gets to be with him, and he gets the affection and closeness that he yearns so much.
The topic of lying for everyone's sake is also present in the VD, specifically mentioning Kant's philosophy regarding lies; "The one who lies, even if he has good intentions, must face all the consequences that this may entail." If your lie, no matter how white or harmless, caused someone's death, you must face the consequences. For Kant, telling the truth removes all moral responsibility from the person. Instead, lying implies being responsible in the eyes of others and in oneself. As Es themself mentions, this doesn't sound all that convincing. For Kazui, it is, because what happened was just a result of him starting to lie and after a long time deciding to stop.
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We can see how Hinako expresses strong emotions after being proposed to and marrying him. She cries with joy and has a big smile on her face, while Kazui seems to smile more out of commitment, without really feeling that joy. I say this taking into consideration that as we saw in Half Kazui is actually someone quite emotional, even if he doesn't let others be aware of it. What would be the problem in showing your wife, who is also just as touched as you are, that you're glad you're getting married? Hiding negative feelings is understandable, but I really don't see why he should camouflage his joy at this moment. Something to also note is that Half's barista is present at the wedding, right in the middle of the frame. This implies a fairly close relationship with him, which reveals how often he frequents said bar and something that was never a secret; his problems with alcohol.
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Kazui simplifies their relationship as that of a victim and a perpetrator, quite close to MILGRAM's definition of him. He covers the happy couple with a and when he lifts the cloth there's a group of red apples and a single green apple. Apples are seen as the fruit of sin and adultery, of falling into temptation. It can also represent rebirth. However, out of all the red apples, Kazui only chooses the green one. Apple green represents once again hope and new beginnings. I believe that the apple represents Kazui's desire for freedom, the one that is denied to him by staying in his marriage. He must keep it at bay, preventing her from reaching Hinako so as not to disturb his magic tricks.
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Seeing himself trapped in a highly unhappy life, Kazui falls into bad habits such as smoking and drinking, frequenting the bar very often. As soon as he starts to pursue that desire, the apple gradually moves closer to him. Kazui sees his true self as a spectator of his own act, witnessing how his own actions take him away from his dream, and in turn bring him closer in an insatiable quest to satisfy that feeling.
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(Not so related, but I come to think that the empty seat on the stage represents how Kazui doesn't see Hinako as the love of his life, therefore the space that should be occupied by that special someone next to him is still empty. Also look at: 1. the person standing in a seat far away at the other side of the apple, apparently a femenine silhouette and 2. this parallels I found)
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As soon as he gets a taste of that fruit, through his own addictions, he begins to see it as an inherent part of himself. His reflection in the drink is wearing the clothes he wears when visiting the bar in Half, where he's also close to a woman, who in fact doesn't appear again in Cat. I doubt that infidelity occurred, mainly because Kazui himself clarifies that the situation "didn't end with that." I'd also like to revisit one of Cat's lines: "Oh, I'm drunk again – If I told you I liked-liked you, what would you do?" I doubt very much that he is telling this to his wife, so I think that because of his own drunkenness he ended up flirting with other people (I'm not saying that it was with the woman next to him, because his body language indicates respect more than anything and he doesn't seem to want anything with her, besides he doesn't seem to be drunk either. I would say, in fact, that he probably tried to flirt with the bartender(?)
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His magic tricks start to fail, depicting how his facade is slowly weakening further due to his own dissatisfaction. This line “I can't stop, I can't be normal” along with the VD mentioning how he has tried to live “just like he was born, being himself” are pretty on point. To me, they're suggesting the possibility that Kazui really doesn't like women, which is why his relationship with Hinako was doomed from the start, taken much further to extremes due to his habit of smoking and drinking too much. In front of her, he removes his ring and transforms it into a cigarette, while asking her to take a break – once again making it clear how Kazui would come to neglect her marriage in favor of his escapism in addictions. After turning off the cigarette in his palm, it turns into the same dove we see at the beginning of the video. In front of the horrified face of his wife, Kazui rips off its head; this is the moment in which he reveals his dissatisfaction with the relationship and with his life as it is now, putting into perspective how his actions and decisions ended up condemning them both. The animal's blood splatters Hinako as a sign of how much this affects her, who then falls to the ground, dissolving just like a red apple that falls and dissolves into a red, blood-like liquid.
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I also find it interesting that during this scene Kazui is depicted under a red light, which may not only refer to how he continues to see himself as guilty despite being voted innocent, but also symbolizes danger, risks and sensuality. "I want to be loved, like a cat" cats instinctively chase and kill birds. As much as you want to avoid it, they will always have that primal instinct. Kazui ends up "succumbing to instinct", or rather to his emotions. Meanwhile, Hinako is in a white background, much brighter than him – playing again with the perception of the perpetrator and the victim, that pure person who ended up going through all this because of his fault. She's also viewed from above, possibly because Kazui perceives her as someone less capable of handling all the difficulties that end up being revealed between them. The fact that the person she loves so much sees their commitment more as a punishment, the cruelest way of seeing things. She ends up committing suicide, overwhelmed by all the problems and the realization that everything has been just a lie until now. “Keep lying until you find the king of masquerade”, mask events are usually based on just acting under a mask and pretending to be someone you are not. Kazui is our king, who lies best and who comes out unscathed, until the catastrophic end unravels. ( The truth is that I haven't gotten much information about it online so I'm using what I remember about the Hunchback of Notredame, don't believe me too much, this post explains it much better.)
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1moremilgram-enjoyer · 1 year ago
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With the knowledge that I can send as many asks as I want, be prepared for me to never shut up (/hj) Anyway, like I said in the comments of my previous question, I would like to hear a few words about Haruka, because he is also one of my favorites All of my favorites have at one point or another gotten unforgiven and I don't know what that says about my morality
Oh, don’t worry, I love receiving asks! And I wouldn’t worry too much about the guilty thing, like half the cast has been voted guilty at one point or another. Or maybe I’m just coping because my favorites are Amane and Mikoto, maybe Fuuta and Muu, so I’m on the same boat. At least Es can’t be voted Guilty, right?
CW: Murder, animal death, suicide.
Anyways, Haruka. This physical manifestation of mommy issues is really quite cool. I really love his MVs, and his songs slap, hard. His need for attention is a very unique motivation, and I love how it plays off Muu’s own issues. Their dynamic is super interesting.
Haruka: Muu is my mother. (2nd VD)
My guy. What.
But he’s still a really intriguing character on his own. I’m really fascinated by the way his character tackles untreated mental illness, there’s a lot to be said about that aspect of him. And I am a big fan of the “suicide theory” by moibakadesu, I think it makes him an even more fun-to-analyze character.
His interrogation questions are some of the most interesting too imo.
T1 Q17: Is there something you regret?
H: There is.
Ooh… What’d you do Haruka boy?
T1 Q18: What are you most scared of?
H: Betraying people.
Muu and him were always going to form a unhealthy codependency weren’t they.
T1 Q20: What’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought?
H: Cotton candy.
From this we can gather that cotton candy is extremely expensive in Haruka’s world, which implies a shortage of the elements used to create it. In this essay I will
T2 Q2: What’s your opinion on the Guard?
H: Guard-san is not my mom.
My guy. Please.
T1 Q14: What’s an event that sticks to your memory?
H: Fireworks
???
T2 Q4: Tell us the origin of your name.
H: It seems like she wanted a girl. She had already chosen this name.
Like the girl in Weakness? Oh, theorizing go brrr…
T2 Q11: Are there any prisoners you can't deal with right now?
H: I'm fine with Amane-chan now. I'm not scared of small children anymore.
Objectively hilarious answer. These two need to interact more.
And I also just think it’s really funny how the most recent timelines dialogue we’ve gotten outside of character birthdays are him begging us/Es to inno Muu, and then we gave her the widest Guilty ratio in Milgram history. L moment.
(I really hope he doesn’t manage to kill himself or that is gonna age horribly)
On the topic of verdicts, I do think the Guilty this trial was probably necessary. Not because it’s somehow gonna stop him from hurting himself (because I’m pretty sure that’s not how that works), but because we need him to realize he did something real bad at some point, and putting it off until the Third Trial is dangerous when we don’t know what the final trial will be like. Sorta the same reasoning as Muu funnily enough, we can’t let the Trial 1 inno be misinterpreted. Though I do wonder how he’s gonna react to both his own and Muu’s verdicts. I have a feeling the answer will be “not well.”
Anyways, yeah. He ranks a solid score on the Silliness Scale. He’s cool, I like him. Thanks for the ask! Hope this was a satisfying answer!
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