#indeed Yuusaku had to die because he was incorruptible

[lostinlogicerror]

A fever dream or character-defining introspection?

The seemingly sensible and practical Ogata is probably the last person you'd expect to experience hallucinations in which he's being visited by the ghost from his past. But for the man who praises himself on having a firm grasp of reality he's actually quite a self-deceiver, when it comes to assigning the responsibility for his more questionable actions, at least. So it's somewhat fitting he'd embark on this journey of confronting the truth about himself in a form of a delirious dream.

The curiously faceless man, Yuusaku Hanazawa, at first glance appears to be an ideal man of strong convictions and backbone, contrary to the meek impression he gives off, a virtuous and charismatic individual everyone's looking up to, raising above any temptation, capable of always seeing the best in others, you name it, but more importantly, we're led to believe he actually lives up to that image.

There was a point where part of me wondered whether Ogata didn't subconsciously build Yuusaku to these impossible standards in his head, consequently turning him into a flawless if irritatingly naive and idealistic and the unreachable figure above reproach as a result of self-doubt perhaps? But then we have a peculiar case of Tsurumi and how Ogata's feverish mind allows for his involvement and actions to be interpreted in a favorable light despite being so predisposed against him, which is why I assume we're supposed to take this flashback at a face value. In this instance, Ogata had a perfect opportunity to deflect the blame to someone else, an easy scapegoat, as he's so wont to do, but instead this fever dream, his mind conjured, appears to be his moment of solid truth and self-reflection.

On the topic of our secondary character of this unfolding drama, Tsurumi, he's shown to be already preparing the groundwork for his future operation. It only makes sense why he'd want to secure Yuusaku as a potentially influential ally to his cause. Although it's rather interesting that, as far as we know, he wouldn't approach the man directly but opts to reach out to him through Ogata instead. Did he already have an inkling trying to persuade him to his side would turn out to be a fool's errand and thus didn't show more personal investment? But as good as he seems to be at reading people, he's not omniscient, and others do manage to mislead him about their true nature or lack of loyalty, as Ogata himself will prove to be one of these cases later on. Even his great insight has its limitations. Most likely he just assumed Yuusaku would be more open and responsive to his half-brother whose attention he was already seeking out. All to no avail.

However, what I'd like to bring attention to, is his response to this failure. Keeping in mind these events unfold from Ogata's point of view, and he's never the one to give another a benefit of a doubt, I'm not surprised Tsurumi's actual reasons are not elaborated on further. Still, from what we can infer, whatever nefarious plans were concocted behind the scenes regarding Yuusaku's fate, Tsurumi's putting them all to a halt. And what makes him change his mind? The sway and popularity a charming person like Yuusaku held among soldiers, and who in fact appeared to be really taken with him, could pose a challenge to Tsurumi's authority in the long run, yet it's that reason that factored into his decision of sparing his life.

Tsurumi was capable and willing to recognize the value in Yuusaku's ability to inspire and boost up the morale of the fellow soldiers. At that moment, choosing to put their wellbeing above his personal ambitions and objectives he's decided to devote his life to, he ultimately rises above his own selfishness for the sake of his subordinates.

Moreover, this is not the only instance of Tsurumi acting against his own best interests and choosing to keep someone alive despite his best judgment and their volatile potential to prove themselves detrimental eventually. Nikaidou comes to mind. You could argue he spared the traitor, in the first place, because he figured they could mutually use each other, and they did seem to come to that agreement at the time. Yet that doesn't explain his insistence on keeping him by his side and caring for him even when he's long since become a liability to him, a loose cannon you could say. He goes even further by making sure Nikaidou remains in his inner circle, in spite of danger he poses to him personally. When you think about it, the time and effort he's investing, the risks he's willing to take for Nikaidou's sake far more outweigh the benefits of still having him serve under him. Yet he's continuously the one refusing to give up on him, no matter how far gone Nikaidou is, be it mentally or physically.

People are too caught up in the idea of Tsurumi being utterly blinded by his grand goal, not even allowing for the possibility he's genuinely caring for his subordinates, why can't both of these facets of Tsurumi coexist?

Moving back to the matter of Yuusaku. I can't help but wonder, whether Tsurumi could have succeeded in swaying him to his side, in the course of time, by making him realize his own father's foolishness, considering his negative contributions and orders resulting in the loss of so many men during the Battle of Port Arthur. I suppose, Ogata deprived us of an opportunity to find that out.

Ogata has this fascinating habit of assuming the worst of everyone (and eventually being proven wrong, the same applies to Tsurumi, really) because he tends to judge others by his own measure. The blood bond they shared made Yuusaku automatically a very important and personal stake for his half-brother, it's no wonder he'd be very invested in revealing Yuusaku to be just a phony, to show in reality he's cut from the same cloth as him. Yuusaku turning out to be his antithesis and constantly disproving his beliefs about everyone just putting on the front must have really hit Ogata where it hurts. The final test he's prepared for Yuusaku, taunting him into needlessly killing a prisoner of war, came off as almost last desperate attempt of Ogata to validate his worldview and his own existence. If only he could prove his noble brother deep inside is just as flawed and vile as him... In a way it made me look at Ogata with a more benevolent eye, the flashback did serve its function of making Ogata if not sympathetic, then to a degree pitiable, while at the same time disabusing us of a notion Ogata's on his path to redemption. Until now he's been struggling with his inner demons and trying to achieve self-acceptance by bringing down others to his morality standards. Will reliving those memories put an end to that and help Ogata achieve some inner peace? That remains to be seen.

By the time of their last confrontation, Ogata has already proved to Yuusaku what kind of person he is, yet despite that he still insisted on seeing good in his brother and not giving up on him, even in such a twisted situation when fully confronted with how far his callousness and malice go.

These words of Yuusaku unwittingly implying there is no place in the world for people like Ogata pretty much sealed his fate.