#it might not be to the same extent as Emma and Norman

[fullscoreshenanigans]

“But… Ray is never happy...”

Hi! I'm a big TPN fan who's dying to read A Letter from Norman. I read your spoiler post about it. As a big Ray fan, what you wrote about him having a crush on a older girl really got me curious. What kind of interest did he have in her? How did he show it? What's their story?! It's hard to imagine since he acts different with only Emma. I'm so itching to get all the juicy details. Maybe even my RayEmma ship will sink, but I don't care! I need to know!! Would you kindly enlighten me? Thanks! QuQ

Thank you so much for trusting me with this ! Sadly, i am far from being unbiased, and that post is kinda old, so I need to rectify something :

No, Ray doesn’t have a crush on Susan. 

It’s just me and my own weird tastes in ships (I also like to see them as being actual siblings). But he indeed treated her differently from other children at the orphanage, mostly because SHE was treating him differentely as well. I’ll try to summarize, while giving as much detail as possible, the chapter.

(It’s a detailed summary of  it, so very long)

Keep reading

[fullscoreshenanigans]

When do you think each of the fullscore trio realizes their feelings for each other?

Copying from this post but I generally hold these sentiments:

Sometimes I go back and forth on this with Emma realizing it earlier but keeping it to herself so the boys have more time to digest and put a name to their feelings so as not to pressure them. She has a very acute emotional awareness.

…except maybe when it comes to herself, lol. Feel like the comparative obliviousness on the matter is the final roadblock for most of her ships with her Type A personality. If she’s aware of it and knows it’s mutual, it’s so hard to see her not just going for it, especially with these two with how badly they can get stuck in their own heads.

As for when exactly it happens, Ray realizes Emma and Norman are special to him early on, though he doesn't conceptualize that love to the full extent it would eventually become. Again borrowing from earlier posts, but:

(Chapter 181.1 | Chapter 93 | S1 Episode 6)

He loved them more than he feared the consequences of revealing what he knew to Isabella. They comforted him when he'd have nightmares that left him screaming and crying in terror, even when they couldn’t understand what was upsetting their friend so badly and he couldn’t articulate to them what was wrong.

But he's also the last to act on his feelings after years of self-loathing and his firm commitment to ensuring Emma and Norman survive as a set.

(2020 Exhibition Interview)

One of the immutable truth's of his universe is the two of them belong together, and he would never do anything to jeopardize that, even if it meant remaining silent about how he felt.

Norman feelings for Emma are evident by his eleventh birthday in the fourth story of the first light novel, "A Gift from the 39th Girl."

He admires her deeply, and she inspires him to do better and strive for the seemingly impossible.

(Chapter 14)

With Ray, Norman always had someone he could show his more prideful and impish side to.

(S1 Episode 2 | Mystic Code Book Chapter 2)

I disagree on the wording a bit here because it's not that Norman doesn't show his true nature to Emma, but that the two of them are seeing different facets of a multifaceted person. Emma sees Norman caring for and helping their siblings all the time, and he's not disingenuous in those actions, even if in his pragmatism his mind immediately jumped to just him, Emma, and Ray escaping after being confronted with the truth. Ray was someone he valued and trusted enough to show aspects of himself that he didn't share with anyone else openly at this point in his life.

But it's after two weeks of hating Ray's guts that Norman discovers the true motivation behind Ray's plan at Grace Field:

I adore the way the anime adapts his realization of this, further discussed here:

(S1 Episode 5)

Norman reaching the same conclusion is one of humbling, relief, and grief. Since Krone first arrived at the house, he suspected Ray was the traitor. He hated himself for it, but that didn’t change the conclusion he drew, and he spent two weeks stewing around in those negative, vindictive thoughts. This is the only time I believe Norman ever truly hated Ray as a person. His being aloof and withdrawn might have been annoying and frustrating when they were younger, but he still accepted Ray as he was and didn’t hate him. This development, however, was infuriating. Norman would have been willing to sacrifice Ray, like Ray tells him he should have done, if he hadn’t talked to Emma in the flashback from the manga that instead plays out chronologically here. It isn’t stated by him directly how he aspires to be like her, but it does cause him to pause, reevaluate, and take a step back from adhering to his more rigid sense of morality. And then he realizes Ray’s true motivation and is humbled even further. In the final seconds of the song, the distorted crackling cuts out, and we’re left with the last rueful notes of the string instrument as the camera zooms in on a single child’s drawing, one that we know is Eugene’s based on the chapter 31 extra of the Grace Field House art gallery… …A good use of resources to convey to the viewer the same affirmation Ray had given to Norman: whatever his machinations might entail, his motivation has always, always been his two most precious friends. There’s relief in that realization: Ray isn’t out to maliciously harm them, but there’s also grief in how Ray doesn’t see himself as worth saving. A very humbling experience when just a few hours ago Norman had been so willing to throw him away, just like Ray wanted.

This settles something in Norman—that Ray is once again firmly in the "dear friend who must be saved and protected at all costs" category of his mind, reflected in his resolute stare in these two additional frames in episode 11 of season 1:

Ray intends to die. From what he said, he's doing it so you and I don't get killed. He didn't include himself in the numbers. He's not escaping. Ray has decided to die inside this house. He's going to set himself on fire to distract Mom in order to let us run away. That's his entire plan. But I won't allow him to do that. Not ever.

But it also leads him to begin reexamining what exactly that all entails, and he has over a year to pore over those thoughts in Lambda.

By the time he razes the facility to the ground, he recognizes that he cares for Ray in the same way he cares for Emma (@vinokurinner conveys it beautifully through this comic)

(Chapter 74 | Chapter 129 | Volume 18 Inner Cover | Chapter 145 | Chapter 153 | Chapter 181.4)

Emma's cherished the boys as her best friends her whole life at Grace Field. As they're inspired by her, she in turn is inspired by them.

(Chapter 5 | Chapter 88)

But when exactly she consciously puts a name to those feelings and recognizes them in their totality, I don't have as specific of period for because I like to play around with it.

(Chapter 123)

But there's the beat of pronounced, wide-eyed clarity when Ray mentions Norman's special to both of them.

(Chapter 153)

There's her bold declaration of "I'm never letting you go!" to Norman, firm in her conviction that she'll won't let him sacrifice himself or be separated from them again.

(Chapter 161)

There's the faith that now that she has both of them at her side again, they can achieve the impossible.

(Chapter 180)

And there's the visions she has of them in her dreams after they arrive separately in the human world and she's lost her memories, because not even a god can remove the place they hold in her heart.

[mwolf0epsilon]

How the heck did everyone become werecreatures in the Bendy werecreatures au? A curse or was it something else?

Honestly? Bad luck... A LOT of bad luck. Except for Joey, he did that to himself because he thought it'd be cool to turn into an extinct goat on steroids every month.

Joey Drew - Cursed himself through selective alteration of an ancient set of spells. He chose the creature he wanted to become specifically, and honestly the myotragus is a fitting form since it was a cold-blooded goat that looked like most depictions of Satan in pop culture.

Henry Stein - Genetics. His parents are both werewolves and rather careful about their nature. Even with familial support It's still a damnable situation, since it's hard to get a stable job when you turn into a wolf every month.

Sammy Lawrence - His father insulted an old traveling witch who decided she might as well take out her anger on his unborn spawn. Needless to say Sammy's mother was furious with her husband when on the full moon she gave birth to a little lamb... It's a touchy subject.

Jack Fain - Got attacked by a weresheep. The experience made him a little afraid of sheep, so when the full moon comes around he's actually scared of the other weresheep in the music department.

Susie Campbell - She was cursed by a jealous classmate who was pinning for the same guy she had a crush on. Susie doesn't mind it too much since her beast form is actually quite beautiful, and flying is absolutely thrilling.

Norman Polk - Got bit by a strange gator when he was younger. His great Nanna Polk was initially unsure if it'd be wise to let him live as something so dangerous, but found a way to appease the beast he becomes every month. It's thanks to his family that he's not living his life in a swamp as a feral wild man/weregator.

Allison Pendle - Accidentally cursed herself while doing research on ancient curses. Trained herself to be able to better control her shift and beast form.

Thomas Connors - Got bit by Henry during an incident where the other got injured and lashed out on instinct while he tried to see the extent of his injuries. Has accepted the profuse apologies he's gotten (because Henry was completely horrified) and insists his life didn't change all that much since he was already ostracized anyway.

Wally Franks - Cursed by the same witch that cursed Sammy. Only his parents didn't insult her, she just didn't like them and used this as an elaborate way to call Wally's mom a bitch... Yeah she's not a nice witch.

Shawn Flynn - Got a dare to drink a strange vial he found in a box in the woods. He has accepted his stupid mistake, but often assures others he doesn't mind because he gets a tail once a month and that's pretty neat!

Grant Cohen - Signed up to test some experimental anti-depressants made out of bee hormones when his previous prescriptions didn't work. Needless to say he sued the pharmaceutical company that created the pills that essentially turned him into an uncontrollable monster.

Buddy Lewek - While working his old job he got bit during a delivery. He was subsequently fired because his old boss was a dick, and then hired by the only werecreature friendly studio in New York.

Dot - Was infected by a cousin who is also a werebird. Has taken the time to research the various other werecreatures and their needs, so as to ensure she has an idea of how to help them have an easier full moon.

Abby Lambert - Like Henry it all comes down to genetics, but in her patents' case it skipped a generation. So they were a little unprepared to raise her. Luckily they were both dog people so they knew how to at least deal with her beast form.

Bertrum Piedmont - Return of the bitchy witch, don't ask how this lady keeps cursing people connected to the studio, she just does. Bertrum insulted her himself, so honestly he kind of deserved it although refuses to admit fault.

Lacie Benton - Got attacked as a teenager which gave her parents yet another reason to throw her out of their house. Luckily her uncle knew how to help her out, and she had the support of her friends to deal with it.

Emma LaMonte - Her perfectionist nature and ruthless teaching methods earned her this curse. Ironically the student who cursed her was the lead dancer in the Swan Lake production Emma was pushing her to work hard for.

[flourchildwrites]

Last anon is right! Kerosene is amazinggg!! And it is so funny because some days before reading it I was like "how is normal the most clever person and he never knew about the house". But then again he was kind of living in a paradise and really didint need to think to much about. Now, taking this into account, will he think emma-ray relatioship is real. Because when is has something to do with Emma, norman goes just like that lol.

OMG!  Thank you so much!  The reader feedback on Kerosene has been such a delight.  Posting in a new fandom is like closing my eyes and digging into a box of chocolates—I never know what I’m going to find when I take the plunge and post.  The Promised Neverland fandom has been very kind to me.

If you don’t mind, I’d really love to dig into something you said, about how Norman remained blissfully ignorant about being merchandise.  I’m so glad you caught that part in the first chapter.  I didn’t want to go too introspective at the beginning, but I needed to touch on this point because you are absolutely right!  It is strange that Norman didn’t figure it out, and I have a theory, not a well-formed one (but a theory nonetheless), as to why.

In Kerosene, I said:

Norman and Emma’s bond is not something Ray wants to dig into. When they were younger, he kept himself at a distance with his nose buried in his books. Often, he wonders if Norman would have figured the secret out before him if he hadn’t been busy chasing Emma. But then, without Emma, everything would be different, the past dimmer and the present unfathomable. 

My mind always wanders back to a particular moment from the first episode.  It’s the one where Norman is chasing Emma through the forest in a friendly game of tag.

For me, this moment set the tone for their relationship with Grace Field at the outset of the series.  They are blissfully happy, living an idyllic life, and to me, they seemed rather wrapped up in each other when they’re not helping Isabella out with their daily chores and tending to their younger siblings.

And none of that happened by chance.  When I think about how Grace Field was run, how the children were systematically shipped out with reference to their age and test scores, it makes clever, cruel sense.  There’s a subtle balancing of interests at play.  Isabella was trying to cultivate the highest grade of merchandise, but one too many capable 11-year-olds running around meant there would be more leisure time and fewer chores to keep these keen minds busy.  Plus, there could only be so many adults running around after the children, lest the farm begins to look less like an orphanage and the very smart children might get together and begin to ask questions.  There’s strength in numbers and insight in age.

I think Isabella was taking a big risk keeping 3 11-year-olds, and the cornerstone of her gamble was her own life experience.  I’m not entirely sure how much Isabella figured out beforehand, but that sweet scene with her and Leslie gave me chills.

As much as Norman was deep in puppy love with Emma, Isabella felt the same about Leslie.  And that attachment kept Isabella busy when she was a child, busy enough that by the time she learned the truth about the farms, Leslie was gone.  And she resigned herself to the only option that allowed her to survive—compliance.

So, I think Isabella bet that Norman and Emma would keep each other busy, and once they were separated, Isabella believed she’d be able to cut a deal with Emma or prey on her depression.  As for Ray, like mother like son.  Ray would likely do what he must to survive for as long as possible.  In short, I think Isabella encouraged the attachment between Norman and Emma, and she was right about the depth of Norman’s attachment to Emma.

But... she was wrong about Emma (and Ray and Norman to some extent too, but that’s for another day).  Sure, Norman is special to Emma (I think), but Emma loves everyone, and the depth of her love is boundless, sometimes illogical.  Emma was not a realist like Isabella; she was a dreamer, and between the three children—Ray the schemer, Norman the thinker and Emma the dreamer—they outwit her.

So that’s why I think Norman didn’t figure it out sooner, and ultimately it’s why I think they escaped.  Isabella was a realist, and love itself is illogical.  She never got the chance to understand that in her teenage years.  (Though she comes to it before the end.)

Now for your question:   Will Norman think that Emma and Ray’s relationship is real in Kerosene?

I don’t want to give too much away, though Ray has already gone on record with Norman and pointed out that Norman is the one in love with Emma.  Yet, if there’s anyone who might be able to pull the wool over Norman’s eyes, it’s a Ray and Emma tag team.  If Norman were to believe that Ray and Emma have romantic feelings for once another, both of them would have to give the appearance of such.

Again, thanks for your question!  I’m really hyping myself up for the next chapter now!

[linkspooky]

The Deep Connection Between Norman and Emma

[Source]

While Emma and Norman are standing on opposite sides of a complex, it’s easy to assume that both of their beliefs are opposite as well. Emma the idealist, and Norman the pragmatist willing to use less than ideal means to accomplish his goals that are much more grounded in the real world. 

However, that is a trick of narrative as Emma and Norman are actually foils. They are much more similar than they are different, even while opposing each other. Norman is as much of an idealist as Emma is. Black and white, God or Devil, even if their ideals are opposite they both tend to see things in extremes. Both extremists, both often seeing ideals over people, they are two sides of the same coin and while they oppose each other they are also more connected than anybody else. 

Norman and Emma have the deepest understanding of one another, because of their connection as foils, and by comparing them we can deepen our understanding as well. 

1. A Fatal Misunderstanding

I’m going to review how their characters were set up in the first arc, because all of this set up is being paid off in the final arc. The Promised Neverland definitely reads like a story where things were planned for in advance, and all of these set up and comparisons were intentional. 

From the first few pages, the conflict between Norman and Emma is highlighted. 

Ray comments that while Emma is faster and has a stronger body than anyone, she loses in tag because she is unable to think objectively of the situation. She cannot remove herself from her own head in order to think tactically. She is so caught up in the act of playing tag, that the idea of observing and analyzing the situation does not come to her at all. This is the type of thinker that Emma is, she is on the same level as Norman in raw intelligence but she cannot set outside of herself and observe from a third person perspective the same way that Norman is. 

Norman however, can remove himself from almost any situation and see three steps in advance. Chess is a tactical game because you do not play by responding to your opponents moves, you analyze the set amount of moves that your opponent makes and then try to predict them long in advance and formulate your story around them. 

In fact, thinking in the abstract like this and predicting his opponent’s moves is what makes tag a fun game to Norman. Chess is a game with a select set of rules in which an opponent is only able to make a certain set of moves. There are strict rules that cannot be broken. For example you cannot just walk over to the opponent’s side and knock all of their pieces down. 

Treating tag like a game of chess is a metaphor because you can predict your opponents movements to a certain extent, but it’s not a complete 1:1 metaphor because real life cannot be controlled and put into certain boundaries like the game of chess can be. In Chess Norman has absolute control, almost nothing is left up to chance, the smarter opponent will win 100 times out of one hundred. Therefore it’s easy to see how Norman’s style of thinking where he distances himself and observes others and predicts them would be suited to thinking of his plans in the term of chess, why he would make games out of reality because it allows him to imagine more control than he would otherwise have. 

At the end of the chapter we also see the inversion of Emma and Norman’s dynamic. Remember, as I already pointed out Emma is stuck in her own head, Norman is capable of stepping out of his shoes and reading and predicting the actions of others. 

When both of their lives are put in danger they have opposite reactions. Emma thinks of everybody else, and Norman’s first instinct is to think of his own survival. Emma while not able to think of others tactically in the sense that Norman is, is good at reacting to the emotions of others because she is an empathic, intuitive thinker. Norman is not as good at thinking about the emotions of others as Emma, because he’s deductive and logical. 

However, as I will break down later it’s not as simple as Emma being selfless, and Norman being selfish, the two of them have far more in common with one another than their differences. They are both incredibly selfless almost to their own detriment to the point of self harm. 

Also, important is to understand each of their own perspective on the scene. Even though Emma was literally scared for the lives of her entire family, she thinks it was selfish of her to cry because she troubled Norman and forced him to smile and reassure her. That her own emotions caused trouble for other people. 

Whereas, Norman views himself as selfish because his first thought was his own safety and he did not immediately think of everybody else the same way that Emma did. Even though Emma would not have been able to pick herself up if Norman had not been strong enough to put on a smile and reassure her, Norman thinks that she is the amazing one and he falls short of her. 

Norman and Emma are both complementary to one another. They needed each other’s support in that moment. Not only that but when they are together their opposite ways of thinking can cover for each other. However, this connection is not perfect because they are severely out of balance.  Emma idealizes Norman and thinks she is the more selfish one, always demanding things of others.  Norman idealizes Emma, and thinks that because he cannot be empathic to others the same way that she can he’s a bad person unlike her. 

Norman defines himself as a selfish person in comparison to Emma, and yet there is one more important thing set up in these early chapters. Yes, Norman is capable of stepping out of his own perspective and viewing everything as a game on a board, but Norman does not consider himself any more important than those other pieces. Norman is a pawn on a chess board too, and he’s perfectly willing to use himself, and sacrifice himself. This is most likely once again Norman trying to make up for his own mistaken perception as a selfish person. He cannot be a selfless person like Emma, so he has to make himself of use to her in any way possible. 

I say this is a mistaken perception because once again, neither Norman nor Emma are entirely selfish or selfless. Though they view themselves as selfish and burdening others, in fact they are far more likely to take the burdens on themselves. It’s bad to define them in such black and white terms. They do however think differently which is what causes them to arrive at such opposite conclusions in terms of ideals.

Norman and Emma both think in terms of black and white extremes. They fall into the traps of “all or nothing’ thinking. For Emma it was important that they escape with anybody, and not lose a single person. For Norman, his assumption was that it all rested on his shoulders and if he did not plan properly, if he played anything other than his perfect game of chess, than his mistake would make it directly his fault that someone died. 

Saving everyone is of course a good ideal, and it’s good that they both want to accomplish this. However, at the same time reality is not like chess, you cannot play a perfect game in it. Acknowledging the grey parts of reality, and making the choice over and over again to continue doing what is right, in the face of your own mistakes and failures that will happen no matter what you do, is just as important as what ideals you have in the first place. 

Norman and Emma wanted the same thing in the end. They wanted an ending where everybody was saved, they were both the same kind of idealist. It’s just the way their minds worked was different. Norman’s assumption was that he could plan everything out and carry out the escape flawlessly if he was the one who sacrificed himself. Whereas Emma was unable to accept an ending where Norman sacrificed himself, even if it meant they might make more mistakes, or put more people at risk with him running away. Both Norman and Emma critically fail to understand each other in the first arc, and that is why despite being together the entire time and complementary forces they are separated. 

Now, to break down this final goodbye scene a little more, let’s start with Norman’s perspective. Once again he puts Ray and Emma on a pedestal above him, believing that they are both too naive for this world. Ray and Emma are the good children, and Norman the bad one. Norman claims that he is just facing reality unlike the two of them, but here is the catch. Norman is just as idealistic as Emma is, he always has been, he just pretends that he’s compromising with reality. Norman assumes that after he is dead that all of his plans will work off without a hitch. He does not think that Emma needs him around, does not consider the emotional impact of his leaving. In his own self devaluing he does not see the value that both Emma and Ray place in him. He never once considers that his friends might just give up and decide to die after he leaves them because they are both too broken. 

Norman “Those two are so silly for believing in me”, and then he turns around and says “I’m going to die now and trust those two with absolutely everything and I’m sure those two will carry it out in a way I never could if I had lived.” He is still thinking really really idealistically. 

Norman’s ideals are that he can control everything absolutely like a game. That is why he is not being killed right now, he is choosing to die. Even in situations where Norman does not have much agency, Norman will give himself far more agency because that is how he copes with learning he’s just cattle who nobody else sees as a person. However, this coping mechanism is unhealthy in the end because he also assigns far too much responsibility to himself in reclaiming his agency. He assumes that everything makes or breaks on his mistakes. That if someone dies as a result of one of his plans, if he is not perfectly in control of things, that their death is all his fault. 

Norman may seem selfish in his leanings to imagine everyone as a piece in a game, but he’s actually quite selfless, seeing himself as the most disposable piece and his genuine desire to be perfect because that’s what others need him to be. He plans for the perfect ending because he wants to give it to his family that he loves so much. 

His thinking is still flawed. He’s so selfless he thinks that if he’s the only one that’s suffering it’s the best option. He does not factor how much they value him, because he values himself so little. Therefore, Norman thinks it is okay to martyr himself. It’s not entirely for selfless reasons that he chose death, it’s also an extension of Norman’s various issues. The reason why he is able to walk out of his own perceptions so easily is because Norman has so thoroughly depersonalized himself. If Emma can never stop himself from feeling her own emotions even when it gets in the way, Norman can flip his emotions off with a switch, or at least he thinks he can. 

This in the end is a trait that isolates Norman, whereas Emma his opposite always ends up surrounded by other people. Norman’s desire to isolate himself and distance himself from his friends because he is a worse person than them in his own view, is something that only aggravates his flaws and makes him double down on his flawed thinking. 

Emma acts not on well thought out plan, but instead her emotional impulse. While her refusal to accept and give in, even in hopeless circumstances is exactly what makes her able to think dynamically to consider possibilities that Norman and Ray would never dream of, it also makes her act recklessly. Once again this is not a game where everything is safe, and there are rules protecting her. Her mistakes can get not only her but other people killed, and Emma does not consider that to the same extent Norman does. 

Emma is not wrong for saying that she personally does not want Norman to sacrifice himself. However, she also is completely disregarding his own intentions to the point where she refuses to understand him because it disagrees with what she wants.

Emma’s selflessness to her own detriment shows in her emotions, rather than her planned objectives like it does for Norman. Emma is so empathic, so able to feel the emotions of others that she is not able to divorce herself from her own emotions, or from the emotions of others. Emma could not stop herself from wanting to save Norman in that moment even though it might have put them all at risk, but most importantly she was also risking herself directly by throwing herself in front of Norman. Selflessness diminishes the perception of the self. Emma cannot see how important she is to Norman.

Emma tends to be truer to her own emotions, even if it becomes reckless. Norman will distance himself from his own emotions, and deny himself in pursuit of an objective. 

Both Norman and Emma tend to distance themselves and think in the large abstract, Emma thinks of the feelings of her entire family, of strangers, of the kids of this world, and so does Norman but in a more tactical sense. That’s why it’s hard for both of them to understand fully the people who are closest to them. It’s also hard for them to see themselves at times. 

However, Norman is more prone to seeing others as individuals than even Emma is. Let’s use their affections for each other as a metaphor. Norman canonically loves Emma in a romantic sense, to the point where he’ll want to do things directly for her as an individual. However, Emma’s feelings are unclear not because Norman is an unimportant person to her, but because Emma “likes” everybody, so it’s hard for her to have distinct feelings about one person as an individual. 

Norman will carry the weight of each individual person on his side, to the point where it becomes the cross that breaks his back. Emma will carry the weight of total strangers, to the point where she takes unnecessary risks. This is not opposite necessarily, they could be complementary forces on the same side. 

Norman and Emma’s misunderstanding of each other in the first arc, are in character reasons why Norman chose to sacrifice himself in the end and all three of them could not escape together. 

2. Norman and Emma the Idealists

A brief bridge before entering the final arc. Emma and Norman both think the world of each other, but as they are both children, they tend to have their affection for each other wrapped up in childish idealism. They both put each other on a pedestal, while failing to see just how important they are to the other person. 

(This is partially why Ray is so important as a balancing out factor between the two of them, this meta is just not about him hence why I don’t mention him). 

Even in this scene we see it play out in a microcosm. All Emma and Norman want is to stay together, they both need each other, but they both fail to realize how important they themselves are to the other. Norman waxes poetically about how amazing Emma is again. 

Emma is basically begging Norman not to die, because she personally needs him. Norman realizes that Emma doesn’t know how deep his feelings run for her, and that he needs her just as much. Norman fails to realize what Emma thinks of him because he’s too caught up in his admiration of her. Emma fails to realize what Norman is thinking at this time, because she’s too caught up in how much she needs him. 

When Emma is dying in the Goldy Pond arc, the last person she sees at the deepest part of her dying Hallucination is none other than Norman.

Norman is also the one who brings her back from the point of death and swims up to the surface with her. It’s a touching scene but it is also important to consider how Emma regards Norman. 

He has been dead all this time and because she does not have the living breathing Norman next to her, her feelings of longing for her friend, her idealization have only gotten worse. What kind of person appears when you die? What kind of person can deliver you from the afterlife into this life again? An angel? A god of death? A god? A devil?

Which is exactly what Norman refers to himself later as. Not a human being, but rather a god a savior to all, and a devil the enemy of demons. He appears as both an incarnation of death, and an angel at the same time. Which is exactly what Emma sees him as in her dying hallucination by serving as her psychopomp. 

Which is where we get to their conflict in the final arc. Their final misunderstanding of each other, seeing themselves as opposites when they are really more alike than they are different. The plot will not allow them to be together until they learn how to understand each other, and therefore learn to understand themselves. 

Once again we see Norman’s flawed thinking get worse. Everything in the world is in my hands, and therefore I have to bear all of this alone. Norman pretending he is in control of everything when there were several things he was in fact not in control of, especially his own victimization as a lambda test subject is his way of coping with this fact. Yet, it’s an unhealthy coping mechanism because it only serves to isolate him further.

Norman once again, puts Emma and Ray on a pedestal. They are better people than him, and therefore he can never be like them. He the bad person has to dirty his hands, and self destruct all on his own, otherwise he would just drag them down to his own level. 

His line about having no regrets is a lie though. It is exactly what he said about his original sacrifice of himself, and what he contradicts himself with. He obviously lived to regret when he sacrificed himself for the first time, even though he said he could die with a smile as long as he knew Emma and the others were safe. Even if his plan does work out perfectly and the children build a paradise on Norman’s gravestone, he’s not going to be satisfied with that, just like he wasn’t satisfied the first time.

Norman is able to downplay himself, and think selflessly to choose the best plan for everyone, but he also downplays himself too much to the point where it also becomes about his desire to martyr himself for the sake of others.

Norman clearly has regrets, and by denying them he’s also making a tactical mistake by not seeing other options, and denying his own ability to get better instead of continuing to spiral. 

Because Norman has Emma up on a pedestal to devalue himself, he is not able to realize that his plans to make a happy world for her are the opposite of what Emma wants, until it’s too late. 

Norman can stop seeing himself as a person, but Emma can’t. 

Emma knows that she’ll regret it if Norman dies. She’s mcuh more aware of her own personal feelings and her own regrets. Yet, at the same time she cannot bring herself to speak those up and disagree with others, because Emma is so focused on what is best for everybody she thinks bringing up her own opinion just to disagree is an act of selfishness. Which is devaluing her worth to Norman, and distancing herself from him, because once again Norman needs Emma. 

However, we also see Emma able to think of the well-being of total strangers in a way that Norman is not. Emma cannot stop seeing people as people. She cannot make them pieces on a chessboard the way Norman does. She cannot accept sacrifices even if it will bring about the best result. This is not always a good thing, it’s just the way she sees the world, but it is what allows her to see the results of the genocide that Norman is ignoring. She can even see demons as individual people with their own thoughts and feelings. 

Emma also is able to see the feelings of Norman, that Norman himself is repressing. However, once again this is only because she is not as selfless or as good at denying her own emotions for the sake of doing what is best for others in the way that Norman is. Her empathy towards Norman is also, in part, a selfish desire not to want to watch him kill himself all over again. It’s not one of them being better than the other, Emma makes up for what Norman lacks. 

Norman and Emma have a deep unspoken understanding of each other, which is why they are so similiar in the end and able to intuit each other’s actions. This is true in how Emma sees through Norman’s own denials and asserts that Norman is still a person, and he’s a person suffering all alone right now.

However, at the same time Norman and Emma still critically misunderstand each other and have not learned how to work together yet, even though they are the strongest when they are complementing each other. 

Emma does not comprehend just how traumatized Norman has become. She does not want to see Norman as dangerous, or as an enemy, because the desire to go back to when they were in the neverland together is still there. They both desire the connection they had when they were children and do not want to acknowledge the separation and how they’ve both developed and changed as people differently since then. Instead of reforging and making a new relationship, they hold onto the relationship they once had.

That’s why Emma gets fooled by Norman’s lie, and disappears off on her own long enough for Norman to put the final steps of his plan into motion. That is why Norman absolutely refuses to let Emma reach him. He still sees her as a good person, her innocent childhood self, and does not understand she can also grow up and change if he did. 

They’re both trying to preserve the neverland in a way. 

Norman wants to sacrifice himself, but also cannot accept the feelings of his comrades that want to sacrifice themselves alongside him. He cannot allow himself to be close to those people or accept their love because he has tor remain a god. 

They are both idealists, and they need each other to correct themselves from this past. Norman literally says they need to solve this conflict without shedding blood, and then bleeds the next panel. He thinks everything will be fine if he is the only sacrifice, martyrdom is an ideal too. His ideal is contradicting his reality.

Emma and Norman both get wrapped up in the idea of saving others, to the point where they neglect themselves. Due to the fact that Emma and Norman are so close, they also fail to understand each other due to this failure to recognize themselves. Which is why in essence unconsciously they are both doing the same thing right now. They are both disappearing to sacrifice themselves, because they believe it is what will save the other.

The implication here everything from the way he points at her neck, the way it cuts off before revealing the price, and the classic deal with the devil trope is that Emma herself is the cost for everybody getting to escape from the Neverland safety.

Emma’s third option reflects Norman’s in a way. She gets to disappear herself, at the cost of saving Norman and everybody else and she is the only casualty in an otherwise bloodless victory. The color pages of this chapter are even lunar imagery, and a reflection on the surface of the water, almost as if Emma’s desperation to save people is a reflection of a certain other person. 

They need to learn to face each other to truly save one another, at the moment disappearing off to sacrifice themselves is the equivalent of running away from each other. 

They need to see each other, to see the reality of the situation. They need to come to terms with each other as people. 

What would help Norman the most is for Emma to realize that Norman has done bad things, that he’s been traumatized and alone, but she still would accept him even like that. She would accept Norman the person, not white, or black, but rather grey. As what’s keeping them the furthest apart is Norman’s conviction that he has to dirty his hands, because he’s the dirty one in comparison to the pure Emma, and that if she knew the real him she could never accept him. 

Whereas Norman also needs to allow himself to be seen as a person. That’s what will allow him to see the people around him again. Until he can do that he’s going to be blind not only to what Emma really desires, but also his close circle of friends from Lambda. It’s not just Emma he is shutting out for being too good of a person as Norman puts it, but he also pushes away the lambda group as well despite their genuine desire to be his friends and support. 

It’s an almost fatal misunderstanding of one another, Norman and Emma could both die if they do not come to an understanding that’s how fundamental they are to each other’s lives and narrative. 

[medea10]

My Review of The Rising of the Shield Hero

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

Yeah, this warning because apparently I curse more than normal here. That should give you a fun indicator of what you’re in for.

Is this a joke? Is Medea really going to watch a recent Isekai anime?

No joke. I am. Yeah, since just about every Isekai I’ve ever watched was made before the year 2012, I thought it was time. And in case you’re not hip to the lingo, Isekai is where a random person is transported to a strange world (different from their’s) and go on an adventure. Things like Escaflowne, InuYasha, Fushigi Yugi, Kyou Kara Maou, and to a far-lesser extent, Sword Art Online! But because I haven’t watched anything made past 2012, and haven’t watched things like Konosuba, ReZero, or Overlord, my knowledge is shit and I should be ashamed.

So I’m going to start with one of 2019’s best animes, The Rising of the Shield Hero.

Naofumi Iwatani was checking out light novels when he was transported into another world. But unlike many other Isekais with this similar setup, Naofumi isn’t alone.

He and three other boys (from alternate timelines of Japan) are transported as well to the kingdom of Melromarc. These four boys are going to be the saviors of the kingdom as the “Four Cardinal Heroes” where they must combat against these entities known as “waves”. However, Naofumi is seen as the weakling from the very beginning due to being the holder of the shield (and is now known as the “Shield Hero”). But it goes even further than that! The king of Melromarc immediately shows his disdain for the shield hero due to the previous shield hero doing something to him. I don’t know what, just fuck the king. The kingdom, the other heroes, and the people of the kingdom did just about everything to Naofumi to make him feel like trash. If he was on fire, they wouldn’t even spit on him to put him out!

Being the lowest-level weapon user, no one will join his team and even if they did…they would swindle him, set him up for failure, and spread the worst lie you could ever lie about. But Naofumi can’t return home due to all four weapon users must be there until they defeat the waves. So Naofumi is stuck in a new world where literally everyone hates him or fears him.

That is until he buys a slave (named Raphtalia) and their EXP points can grow. Along the way, he obtains an egg that hatches into a filolial (later named Filo) who has the ability of turning into a human female. And every now and then, the second princess of Melromarc (named Melty) will come along with Naofumi. Trust me, she’s the nice one in that family.

Let’s watch the struggles and rising of the Shield Hero!

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: So this is licensed by Crunchyroll (but I think FUNimation dipped it’s cookie in this milk). I know these two companies divorced some time ago, but FUNimation sees no problem piggy-backing off of Crunchyroll when they get a hit. And yes, this got an English dub and because of that, YES I watched the whole thing dubbed! Done by the good folks in L.A.! I gotta say this was a well-done dub. Well, they did one thing right by hiring Erica Mendez to play Raphtalia. Just about everything Mendez plays is friggin’ gold! Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

JAPANESE CAST: *Naofumi is played by Kaito Ishikawa (known for Kiawe on Pokemon SM, Genos on One Punch Man, Mitsuo on Golden Time, Urui on Tokyo Ghoul :re, Sakakibara on Assassination Classroom, and Rinne on Kyokai no Rinne)

*Raphtalia is played by Asami Seto (known for Officer Jenny on Pokemon SM, Mado on Tokyo Ghoul, Young Yukiatsu on Anohana, and Shizu Delta on Overlord)

*Filo is played by Rina Hidaka (known for Last Order on Index/Railgun, Ririchiyo on Inu x Boku SS, Kohane on xxxHOLiC, Silica on SAO, Nemesis on To Love Ru: Darkness, and Urara on Food Wars)

*Melty is played by Maaya Uchida (known for Norman on The Promised Neverland, Rikka on Chunibyo, Rui on Domestic Girlfriend, Frenda on Railgun, Yoshino on Food Wars, Irina on High School DxD, and Yusa on Charlotte)

ENGLISH CAST: *Naofumi is played by Billy Kametz (known for Jousuke/JoJo on Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Part IV, Osomatsu on Mr. Osomatsu, Metal Lee on Boruto, and Galo on Promare)

*Raphtalia is played by Erica Mendez (known for Ryuko on Kill la Kill, Haruka/Uranus on Sailor Moon redub, Emma on The Promised Neverland, Nico on Love Live, Yuuki on SAO II, and Tsubaki on Your Lie in April)

*Filo is played by Brianna Knickerbocker (known for Rem on Re:Zero, Akane on Durarara x2, Arisa on Love Live, Anna on The Promised Neverland, Iori on Charlotte, and Erica on Berserk 2016)

*Melty is played by Jackie Lastra (known for Conny on The Promised Neverland and Selka on SAO: Alicization)

FAVORITE CHARACTER: I know I’m gonna have fun with the next category, but I think I spent most of this series hating on several people where I forgot to pick a character I liked.

Well folks, I gotta say that I loved Raphtalia. And after her, Filo! Then Elhart, Queen Melromarc, Melty, and Fitoria! With the exception of Elhart, it’s all women! That’s rare! Don’t worry, there’s one woman that has received a restraining order from this category. On with the worst!

VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!

Y’all know what’s coming!

DISLIKED CHARACTER: Prior to watching this series, I have gotten several warnings about one particular character! Princess Malty or Myne, whatever people call her. This woman is despised throughout the anime community and even going so far as to say she’s on “horrible character” status left only to infamous characters like Griffith, Makoto Itou, and Shou Tucker. And I’m like, “WOW, what did she do, kill a pope?” I mean seriously, how bad could she possibly…?!

*one episode later*

FUCK THIS BITCH: Oh this bitch can burn at the stake for all I care! Yes, everyone else who treated Naofumi like shit can go jump off a bridge. Because I hold no sympathy for towns-idiots that treat a hero with no respect (as I’ve said before with One Punch Man and Dragon Ball Z)! But Myne just took that zero respect and pushed it to a crispy 425 degrees of fuck-roast! In the first episode, she seemed genuine with pitying Naofumi because no one would join his team. That didn’t even last a whole day. Myne ends up faking a rape by lying to the kingdom that Naofumi sexually assaulted her.

Faking a RAPE!

Faking a FUCKING RAPE!

Bitch, this is 2019 (I KNOW IT AIN’T THAT IN THIS KINGDOM, I’M JUST FUCKING PISSED). Faking a rape is a big, fat, NO-NO!

After he spends the little money he had on her to buy equipment, she double-crosses him by setting him up for immediate trouble and switches to the Spear-Hero side. Well fuck you too, you skank! Have fun with your dickhead Spear Hero. And may that be the last time I ever see you!

*several episodes later*

WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?! You cheating, lying, slut! Just when you think she can’t possibly get any worse, this bitch takes worse and shoves it off a fucking cliff. As if faking an assault wasn’t bad enough, screwing townspeople for your own gain is another story. She would take over a whole town and give no fucks if it’s destroyed by her or her fuck-face spear-hero. Add to that fuck-cake, every time you run into Naofumi, you find some way to screw him over time and time again. This bitch tampered with a fight between the shield and spear hero so that Naofumi could fail and they could steal his only team member away from him! You have your father, the church, your dickhead boy-toy of yours, and the royals wrapped around your little finger. Myne just continues to be worse than tainted peanut butter. I wish she would catch the worst STD imaginable and die a painful death!

*several more episodes later*

AAAAAAAH gabba da da ffuuuu worble BITCH FACE gararba fruznuss SET FIRE plskay adkkin aidnnlwjsnda UP DONALD TRUMP’S ASS galidamdh amoiejwm wwwaasosoh A POPCICLE! FUCK! AAkajrriaja DIDIA LEJHE KLHAEHAE FYUEEajejioqih3hv SSLLSHE3V ADKDKDDHEI333!!!!

Oh, you do not want a translation from my…whatever the fuck I just wrote. Just know that Princess Malty or Myne is worse than hemroids up the ass. I can’t believe this woman is still around, breathing and shit. Also, I’m tempted in re-writing my Top 10 Least Favorite Anime Character list because Myne would definitely be at #4 after Griffith from Berserk.

Okay…Okay…I think I’m calm now.

WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE CUT THIS FUCKING CUNT’S HEAD OFF LIKE A CHICKEN IN CHINA TOWN?!

Now I’m calm! Now then…

ANYONE ELSE WHO NEEDS TO DIE IN THIS SERIES?: So obviously I hate Bitch and Trash (Myne and the King). And I have the same kind of respect for the townspeople who treat Naofumi like shit. I ain’t got time to be dealing with townsidiots again. But if there was anyone else that should get a mention of how much I want for them to be set on fire and I’ll just sit there drinking my ginger ale, it would be Motoyasu.

Now by no means do I hate him more than Miss Bitch over here. But I hate him on the same level as Shinji from the Fate series (which is now teetering on my top 10). I question why he’s still alive and why no one has introduced his face to a jagged boulder. Unlike the other heroes Ren and Itsuki, this guy has got a vendetta against Naofumi from the get-go. And this was like before the sexual alligations came about. After that incident, this fuckturd tries at every turn to make Naofumi’s life worse than it already is by stealing away his crew and challenging him every chance he gets. And when he’s not doing that, he’s screwing over the townspeople and doing very little to be a “hero” (which is his freakin’ title). Then again, Ren and Itsuki aren’t great heroes either, it’s just I really need to lay into Spear-Dick for the shit he’s done.

SHIPPING: Hmm…aaaaahhhh….eeeeee…urrrrggggh…

Naofumi x Raphtalia: I know Naofumi doesn’t see Raphtalia as a romantic partner and more as a partner on his team, but Raphtalia doesn’t see it that way. She is 100% loyal to Master Naofumi. Who could blame her? Naofumi saved her from a lifetime of enslavement and cured her from an illness she’s had for years. She’s grateful and every other hero is crap in her eyes! She’s worshipped the shield hero since she was younger when she would hear stories about the shield hero. So imagine her worry every time Naofumi talks about going back to his home world, she gets horribly upset. Me being very skeptical here, I can’t really imagine this going any further than team partners. I can’t see at the end of the day Naofumi staying in Melromarc forever or Raphtalia somehow returning to Naofumi’s world when all of this ends. So for now, I’m just going to see where this takes us.

FUNNIEST MOMENT: Whenever Motoyasu gets conked in his frank-and-two-beans by Filo! If anyone deserves to be whammed in the nuts, it’s Motoyasu.

SADDEST MOMENT: I don’t usually mention sad moments in anime anymore, but one moment touched me and that was episode 15 where we learned a little more about Raphtalia’s past. Raphtalia, even after losing her parents in a wave attack, she tries her best to keep a smile on her face. But shortly after that, she and many other demi-humans were taken away from their homes and sold off to a nobleman. This is when we see some pretty inhumane moments where Raphtalia and many of her friends are whipped for the fun of it, starved to death, and sold off to traders.

In this episode, we learn about a few of Raphtalia’s friends (Keel and Rifana) from her younger days. The day Raphtalia got sold off, it looked like Rifana was teetering towards death. When the Shield Hero’s party came to rescue the surviving demi-humans (like Keel), Raphtalia went to see if Rifana could possibly be alive. And if the disturbing picture of Rifana’s skeleton doesn’t churn your stomach, I really don’t know what will. God damn, that was just messed up!

I CANNOT TELL A LIE, THIS ANIME HURT: I know I have sadistic tendencies and take joy in the misery of others. But I seriously cannot enjoy any second of the humiliation and degredation given to Naofumi. And it was because of the abuse put on the Shield Hero that made me feel sick to my stomach just watching all this happen to this guy. I thought it would last for a few episodes at the most, but it carried on a lot further than I imagined. Almost to the very end! And every episode you put on, you just wish for some kind of karma to kick in or for one more person to be nice to Naofumi or something, anything to happen!

But because the king has a vendetta against the previous Shield Hero, Naofumi has had to pay a heavy toll by having every horrible crime or offense thrown at him including rape, murder, attempted murder, cheating, witchcraft, and treason. AND HE COMMITTED NONE OF THESE OFFENSES! So you spend just about 20 episodes watching this poor boy having to go through this hell. I can’t even imagine having to go through this kind of torment and some of these moments make me ill in my stomach and quite pissed off. So like I said, this anime hurts to watch.

ENDING: As it turns out, the kingdom is corrupt under the rule of the king and his daughter, Princess Cunt (yeah, BIG shocker there). How corrupt? Well, they were in cahoots with the church that had their own religion praising only 3 of the Heroes (guess which one they don’t praise)! That was until the pope decided that everything must be wiped away because they are “unclean”. That includes the monarchy, the heroes, and their crew! Thankfully, they were able to put an end to this cult, with a little help from the true leader of Melromarc, Queen Mirelia of Melromarc. She finally shows herself and her powers on the battlefield. And now ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for the moment everyone and their mama have been waiting for.

JUSTICE IS SERVED: With the queen’s return, come some harsh sentences to her own family. Her husband, the king and her daughter, Princess Malty! I gotta tell you, seeing these two in chains makes my heart so happy. The king was guilty of summoning the four heroes prematurely and causing a lot of harm to the kingdom of Melromarc with the church. Then the queen puts a seal on Myne’s chest, giving her unimaginable pain whenever she lied. That still didn’t stop the bitch from lying! In one swoop, it’s proven that Naofumi was innocent the whole time and that the king and princess were worse than period cramps. And for their crimes, THEY ARE SENTENCED TO DEATH BY GUILLOTINE!

FUCK YEAH! BRING IT ON!

CUT THEIR FUCKING HEADS OFF!

Yeah…unfortunately for my blood-lust self, that didn’t happen. Instead, Naofumi stopped the queen seconds before blood was to splatter. Claiming that the princess and king should be stripped from their titles and must go through life with new names! The king will be named “Trash” and Malty/Myne will be named “Bitch” (or “Whore” when she’s traveling). Okay, I guess it’s all good. With that, the church of the three heroes is abolished and handled a lot better than I thought.

But seriously Queenie, was it really, REALLY a good idea to keep your daughter alive? I know she’s your own daughter and you felt severe hesitation (in the anime) before calling for her execution. But for fuck’s sake, literally a day after she’s spared from the guillotine, she’s poisoning food meant for her sister Melty, Naofumi, and his friends!

IN THIS AFTERMATH: Now has Naofumi finally obtained acceptance throughout the kingdom? Yes and no! Yes, it’s true that the people of the land respected Naofumi after all he’s done. It’s just that some of the other heroes and castle men who still treat Naofumi with such disrespect. The queen wishes for all four heroes to be treated equally and to get along so that maybe they can defeat the waves without too much trouble. Hell, the queen of the filolials also said the same thing! I think Ren and Itsuki have kinda been on board with this for a while (even if they are kinda dickish about it). It’s just that Motoyasu’s still a condescending dick to Naofumi! Sigh!

FINAL WAVE ATTACK: Final one for now! On their way to another land, Naofumi ends up getting chummy with two travelers (L’Arc and Therese).

We meet these fuckers three episodes before the finale.

They’re bad guys, aren’t they?!

Something like that! Yeah, the next wave attack was coming up real quick. And the heroes have to go up against Glass again (the woman who caused a lot of trouble in the midway point of the series). But it turns out L’Arc and Therese are in cahoots with Glass. But it gets really…complicated here!

Glass and L’Arc are both fan and scythe heroes from another world. And they’re destroying the waves on this side along with destroying the people of this world to prevent catastrophy in their world. Yeah, finale time guys! How many parallel worlds and heroes are there?

READ THE LIGHT NOVEL!

Fuck me! Well, Naofumi and the other hammy heroes were able to stop the wave attack once more. And we even get to watch Queen Melromarc in action again! In this aftermath, Naofumi gets a new member on his team. Yes, it’s another female, but at least this one is older than all the other girls that hang with him (making this a little less ewwwie). Rishia was abandoned by Itsuki’s team for…reasons. So she’s going to join Naofumi after she helped in the last wave attack. And we get some last-moment hopeful scenes as we see things that give me hope for people in this series. Raphtalia’s old friends and homeland is getting back into the swing of things and Naofumi will take control over the land. And we wait for this promoted second and third season Crunchyroll swears by. Seriously guys, when are we getting more Shield Hero?

DON’T KNOW! READ THE LIGHT NOVEL AND STOP ASKING STUPID QUESTIONS!

If you can’t already tell, I liked this series! Yes it was unbelievably painful to watch certain things where all of these people gang up on Naofumi and screw him eight ways from Sunday, but I guess good stories have a little struggle. Except here, it’s a lot of struggling! It was an interesting tale and is giving me a little hope for the Isekai genre as a whole. Will I get into all the other recent ones so I can one day watch Isekai Quartet? Don’t get too cocky! I’ll stick to this and maybe head on over to Konosuba later on.

Rising of the Shield Hero was definitely a tale and I highly recommend it. It’s just that if you’re prone to anger when it comes to absolute injustice, half of this series might be a little unbearable to handle. But there were several great moments (particularly from Raphtalia) that kept me going with this series.

Especially episode 4! Best episode of the series! Her undying devotion for Naofumi was definitely one to behold! I can’t wait to learn more about these different kinds of worlds, kingdoms, and heroes in the upcoming stories. In the meantime I will await for these seasons two and three Crunchyroll assures us are coming…They are coming right? You guys weren’t just blowing smoke up our asses in the last CRX convention, right?

READ THE FUCKING LIGHT NOVEL, YOU AUTISTIC TWAT!

I can’t do it! There are too many chapters!

Currently, both FUNimation and Crunchyroll have the entire series subbed and dubbed.

Okay, great stuff! What’s next on my Amazon/Netflix…or Crunchyroll licensed anime!

Magical Girl Site?

Oh fuck. I heard about that first episode. This is gonna hurt.

[youuuimeanmee]

My Norman Meta from 129-2

Man, I never expecting to get 500 notes on my Norman meta. I predicted around 100, 200 notes at best, every week as usual. But it just BOOM'ed. And many of you guys commented me with reblogs, when you usually don't. It's a little scary actually. Did you guys just feel the same, or you desperately need some assurance that Norman is not turning evil?? I guess it's a bit of both

I guess it'a just the timing, huh. Everyone seems shock that Norman turns this way after the latest chapter. The way he tortured,dissected, and experimented demons himself has left people horrified. He has become the demon instead. The cycle of hatred continues. There's nothing different about him than demons, because both are destroying each other to gain their personal goals. And that's why people are scared and need a reassurance that the boy they love doesn't change.

Since many of you guys seems to be either sad or relieved that Norman is still Norman, I feel like I need to clarify something.

Truthfully, beside the fact that being independent allowed him to be himself, the horror he has seen is really affecting him. Even if he says he doesn't lose his way, he actually has. When Emma said that she doesn't want to kill all of the demons, the old Norman probably might think or reconsider the possibility that human ans demon can coexist. But he just CAN'T. He now only sees Emma's dream as childish, naive, and unrealistic. He doesn't see the possibility that the two species might coexist. He doesn't see the demons as good anymore, he only see them as devil that needs to be obliterated.

And of course, his experience with Ratri family has changed his perspective that not all humans are wishing for their safety. There are humans he can't trust either. Well he already knows that ever since he realized that Mom is not on their side, but that feeling only increased day by day in Lambda. He just met more humans and more horrifying things they've done to them, cattle children. He can't trust other person, and that's why he's super pessimistic about the chance for them to be accepted in human world.

He can only trust his fellow cattle children, because they have been through the same thing as he did. And probably some other people/scientists who helped him escaped from Lambda.

Of course, the extent of that trust is limited. He doesn't trust them fully to be opened with his feelings. He only trust them to follow his lead. He doesn't trust them to share his burden, because he knows they've also been through much things. He doesn't want to burden them any further (that's just how kind he is), and he really feels that only he should bear his burden alone. It's not healthy at all.

Does he know what his subordinates/followers might think about him if he keeps bearing the burden alone? Everyone seems to respect him, so he doesn't see the possibility of betrayal or disobeyment on their side, but what if there's one or two person who likes to move on their own? (Not neccesarily a betrayal though, maybe they just disobey him because they want to help out Norman in their own way).

Would it ruin Norman's plan?

We've seen this example on Emma's side. When Yuugo and Lucas are not coming back during the raid escape, Gillian wanted to go outside to make sure that they're okay. Ray was against this, saying that it would risk them getting find out by enemy.

So yeah, everyone tried to stop their urge to go after them, but not everyone.

Dominic, Alicia, and the 3 others were disobeying Ray and act on their own.

They really have good intention. They want to ease Emma's burden by trying to get information from the shelter without alerting the enemy.

But their carelessness had cost them 3 people died in the process.

Four, including that one kid who tried to retrieve them. And one person seriously injured. (Dominic my boooy)

(man i hate this chapter bcs it's so painful to read)

What I mean is, who can guarantee that Norman won't end up in the same situation as that?

I think it will be a major blow to him, because he vows to never let any cattle children getting hurt again. And there's just many things he doesn't know beside the demons, and that lack of information could be fatal in the long run.

So my point is, Norman is still being Norman, yes, but you can't hide the fact that he has lost his way by being alone. There's nothing holding him back, yes, but that is precisely why things could go wrong.

He is only human afterall, with lots of faults. He only sought the best possible way for them to survive, but there's bound one thing or two that won't meet with his expectations. He can't become a God, there's a limit about what he can do.

And that's where Ray and Emma will come in.

I'm really glad that Emma and Ray decided to investigate the Seven Walls further to help Norman. And knowing it's a shounen manga, there's no doubt that MC is gonna make it back safely. These two can complete all the missing information Norman needs, and together, they can close off each of their weaknesses.

Together, they can overcome anything.

But I think that won't happen until Norman makes a fatal mistake and realizes that he can't do everything alone, and that would require him to open up with them more,

which is not gonna be easy since he is disgusted with himself from the start.

But that's for another topic later.

[neosnow]

I know it’s bold of me to assume Norman would spill human blood to get to his goal. But, think about how they made those facilities look like demons raided them and took them down. Now how would that look? It would look like children all over the floor dead and shown to look like a break-in rather than a breakout.

I’m playing a bit of devil’s advocate on Norman cause we don’t know the extent the actual true extent to which he will do to accomplish his goal. He can say no blood would be spilled and he can say all the pretty words in the world cause the children will believe him he’s the leader and a damn fine genius in strategy and tactics. Pretty words always hold a little evil in them. I’m not saying Norman is evil I’m saying that his actions and how he’s been acting have shown that he can put on a mask and we all not really know what’s truly going on in that mind. I do think his associates from Lambda know some things, but I truly think his real true intentions are being kept inside him. Something isn’t quite right it’s all in the way he looks at the chess board it’s reminiscent to Light Yagami so much.

A road that was pathed with good intentions can turn twisted. What I’m saying is right now Normans looking at his endgame and needs to eliminate anything that could go wrong which is Musica and will find a way to get rid of it. Don and Gilda know where Musica could be he could say the prettiest words to them like “hey I want to save them you guys and my associates here go and talk to them and we try and work something out.” false security than a takedown. Not saying Gilda or Don would be hurt, but right now in the next few chapters how he uses them to fix the musica problem will show the true Norman the Norman we see now. Which I’ve always felt was hiding something deeper when Emma is around you see that despair come out a little with how she is and how he is now. Now that Emma isn’t here to see what he will do, what will he do? After all, Emma still believes in Norman so he could blame the slaying of Musica on the demons to get her to understand his point that the demons are ruthless. 

I don’t want any of that, but when you’ve been tortured and hurt as much as he has and been planning and planning something this detailed again killing a few to save the many starts to become more logical after all he didn’t have Emma around to give him those kind words and now  he’s warped her ideas and his goals into an endeavor that will I feel lead to his downfall. He has always been the martyr type. This might be his biggest and grandest one of all, but ... I feel like Emma is the key to ending that mentality she needs to know the real him and tell him he’s being a bit edgelord and wrong. Wars don’t stop wars and hate doesn’t stop the hate and there is no true balance, but if Norman saw Emma’s face when he reveals the face he’s been hiding I think she could save him or at least bring him back to the ground. If anyone can bring Norman back down from that gilded tower it’s Emma. But, I just hope it’s not after something him doing something that in her eyes would be horrific.

I’m a pessimist I expect the worst and am pleasantly surprised when I’m wrong. I don’t want to believe Norman would use Don and Gilda to slay Musica and her group, but at the same time ever since he’s been back every word he’s said to Emma and Ray has felt like it was laced with a lie. What better way to exact horrible plans than to stay the role you always were in and say the words people wanna hear. At this point and knowing how they got the demons to fight one another I wouldn’t count out the idea that he would use his friends to accomplish his goal when the goal is so grand the stakes are so high the things you end up doing will no longer align to the morals you hold onto before. 

[presumenothing]

or: the one without ray.

(AO3)

i.

“Goood mohrning, Norman–!” Emma calls out as she comes racing into the dining hall, carrying Phil on her back while Thoma and Lannion hang off her like hyperactive limpets.

“Morning, Emma,” Norman replies, smiling helplessly at her daily antics, although that’s pretty much all the attention he can spare. Managing breakfast preparations for this many children (all thirty-six of them, now, after Conny was adopted yesterday) isn’t really something easily done alone.

Emma must realise this too, because she sets Phil down with a harried apology and runs over. “Ah, sorry, sorry! I keep forgetting we’re the oldest now, and there’s only the two of us, too…”

That much hasn’t changed, really: it’s always just been the two of them, for as long as he can remember.

Norman shakes his head, still smiling. “Don’t worry about it, Gilda helped.”

“I had to, didn’t I!” Gilda sniffs as she passes by them with the milk jug, but soon enough she’s smiling again as Emma takes the jug from her with laughing apologies.

Because this is Gracefield House – it’s the only home Emma and he have ever known, and it’s family.

Norman can’t wish for anything more.

–

β.

“Good morning,” comes the voice through the wall microphone, to no response: the sole occupant of the room remains unmoving on his bed, and it’s impossible to tell if his eyes are even open, behind his fringe and the arm slung over his face.

(A burst of silent chatter behind the window. Still uncooperative? – isn’t that as ever – why do the higher-ups even insist on – you’ve seen the test results and besides he’s apparently the child of – )

“I can practically hear you guys arguing back there. Stop dallying and give me whatever mind-numbing exercises you’ve got planned already, I’m sure you haven’t got all day.”

Pause.

“Very well. I’ll send the test instructions in along with your breakfast, 13D2A.”

His face is still almost completely hidden, but beneath that arm there’s the mocking curve of a smile. “I see you finally took my suggestion, Doctor.”

“Unnecessary as it is,” comes the faintly reproachful response. “I do respect you far more than enough to address you by name, you know.”

“Now who’s being unnecessary, hm.” A quick swing, legs now dangling off the side of the bed, and he looks directly up into the camera. “Really, there’s no need to pretend at treating me like a human when you don’t see me as one, is there?”

–

iii.

“Today, huh.” Emma tangles her fingers with his. “I still can’t believe it.”

“Yeah.” Norman shakes his head. “Neither can I, it still doesn’t feel real at all.”

They’re sitting together in the shade of the solitary tree in front of the house, the rough bark solid against their backs. It’s a rarely-occupied spot, with everyone preferring the full sunshine of the garden or the nooks and crannies of the forest, but no one comes to bother them either. Phil and Sherry wave madly as they race past, to Gilda’s loud dismay, and Norman manages a smile as he waves back.

Being adopted, leaving the house, saying goodbye to Emma and the others – it’s nothing new, he’d known this day would come eventually since the first time they had been old enough to bid farewell to a departing sibling, and yet…

Norman’s gaze travels from the house to the grounds, every inch of it familiar to him: the forest they both know like the back of their hands, save for the gate and fence they’ve always stayed away from.

The infirmary window that he’d spent so many days looking out of, first wistfully at everyone playing outdoors then laughingly at Emma’s messages communicated by charades and oversized letters on drawing paper after Mama had evicted her from visiting for the fourth time in a row.

And there, just out of sight – the open field behind the dining hall where Emma had tried (if not quite succeeded) at pulling off a birthday surprise for him months ago.

Emma squeezes his hand, and he wonders if she’s thinking of the same things. “I’m happy for you, Norman. Really, I am.”

“Thank you,” he answers sincerely, and Emma smiles sunnily at him before letting go.

“What’ll your new family be like, you think?” she muses, her usual cheer restored. “I bet they’ve got to be super intellectual, to adopt someone like you! Like, a whole house of geniuses, maybe.”

Norman laughs despite himself. “I wonder, huh.”

It doesn’t feel real, he thinks again.

(He’ll recall this thought, not too much later, and think in all painful irony if only – )

–

δ.

Honestly, if he’d known that getting shipped out would only result in him being transferred here to this hellhole, without an outdoors to speak of, or even access to a library despite its obviously restricted choice in books – maybe he’d have worked harder to improve his scores back at the house, instead of letting himself be shipped out at ten.

…oh, who’s he kidding. Absolutely not.

He’d never had any way of definitively confirming the reality he remembered, but nevertheless he’d been careful never to get too attached to any of the other children, which hadn’t been a difficult task in the end. Some of them had been more likeable (or at least less irritating) than the others, yes, but that’d been about it.

No one he’d felt drawn to, no one he would’ve been compelled to save from an uncertain doom, and he’d been –

He’s glad for that. He is.

–

v.

Something’s off about this.

Norman doesn’t know what, not just yet, but he’s beginning to see the vague outlines of it already.

Outwardly there is nothing particularly wrong. Mama is still her usual kind self, and just because he’s being asked to help with some kind of research instead of just going to a regular home doesn’t necessarily make this entire adoption a sham. His genius is one of a kind, Norman knows that even without the proof of his test scores – it’s hardly out of the question that someone from the outside would take notice.

But this man, this Peter Ratri, is harmless only in the same way that Norman himself is: until they decide to stop being so.

His palm is not cold with sweat when he reaches out for the handshake, but Norman almost feels like it should be.

“Sorry, just… one last thing, if you don’t mind?” Norman asks as he lets go, and of course he gets a nod in return – they are supposed to be a happily adopted guardian and child, after all, even if Norman’s already waiting for the other shoe to drop as he turns around.

“Thank you for taking care of me all this time,” he says with a sincerity that’s not entirely feigned, to the woman who’s raised him all these years, to whatever end this is. “Mama. Will you help me take care of Emma, please?”

“Of course, Norman. You didn’t need to ask,” she answers without even a flicker in her expression, and that –

That’s what confirms it for him, of all things.

–

ζ.

“I do wish you’d applied yourself more, you foolish child,” tuts a voice just as everything goes dark, except not in the voice he knows it was but another one that only ever echoes in his memory and –

He lurches upright, awake, gasping.

01:18, the LED display blinks in a muted taunt, and R– he presses his forehead hard enough to hurt against the unyielding plastic.

Wishes that the damned thing would tick for once, just loud enough to drown out the humming echo of that tune still ringing in his ears.

–

vii.

He has to save Emma.

He needs to get out of here, needs to get back to the house and warn Emma, to help her escape, to break right in and bring her out – anything. Everything.

It’s the one thing that’s been sharply bright on his mind ever since they arrived at the gate and he saw the truth in the unmoving glare of Mama’s eyes, a burning coal he’d clenched his fists around as he’d been led to this room with its impenetrable locks, a scream he hears instead of the words:

“Hello, Norman. Welcome to Lambda.”

–

θ.

“Hello, 13D2A,” comes an unfamiliar voice over the speaker, some uncertain waver in the words, and he raises an eyebrow.

It’s happened before, the senior researchers vanishing off elsewhere and leaving the rookies with the daily drudgery, and from long observation he’s concluded fairly decisively that it always coincides with the arrival of a new lab rat.

Yes, correlation is not causation, yada yada, whatever. He wouldn’t have cared, anyway, except that it’s certainly never happened to this extent.

Junior researchers are one thing, but this voice barely sounds that much older than he himself does, which means that it’s something – someone – extraordinary enough to have drawn the attention of everyone with any importance. Not that he’s curious, of course.

Because he isn’t.

…dammit.

–

ix.

In another place, in another time, Norman would’ve been willing to play the slow route. Other people use the same testing equipment too, that much is obvious, and there’s not many places to secret away messages where the cameras can’t see but still more than enough. Slow, yes, but so much more safe.

He doesn’t have time for safe.

They’re already lucky that he was shipped out in November, far before his birthday, but still he’s got only months left until Emma’s, and Norman doesn’t have time.

He’s already noticed the carefulness with which they handle him, beyond even what might be warranted by his still-perfect scores, and maybe that preferential treatment will hold here, too.

“The boy who was brought by in the hallway earlier, when I was doing the last few tests…” he begins, toying idly with the Rubik’s Cube in his hand, and it’s hardly specific but there’s no need to clarify.

Norman can count on one hand the number of other humans he’s seen here, let alone a child instead of another scientist, and that profile is already burned into memory: black hair reaching down to the collar of a shirt not too different from his own, hand tucked into his pocket in a slouch, the almost-familiar look in his eye.

It’d been only a glimpse, only from the side, and Norman has never been one to trust his instincts over logic – he’s always left that to Emma.

But for some reason, he has a feeling, indescribable as it is certain.

Emma would’ve said to trust it.

Norman sets down the finished cube with a faint click. “What’s his name? He’s another of your study subjects, isn’t he, Doctor?”

There’s a long pause before the answer comes, almost a sigh. “Yes, he is. Has been for quite a while now, really.”

“Can I meet him? Just to talk. You see, I was always around other children back at the house, and in a new environment without that… it’s a bit hard to keep performing at my best. I’m sure you understand.” Norman looks directly up at the camera for the first time since his arrival, and smiles. “So, what’s his name?”

–

κ.

“You want me to– what? Babysit another of your test subjects for you?” He dumps the last set of completed questions in the tray, and doesn’t bother to watch it retract again. “Sounds like that should be your job, Doctor.”

“Perhaps,” says the same old voice, not that he’d call its return reassuring in any context. “But Norman’s not that much younger than you, actually. I believe you must have seen him the other day, in the central test chamber…?”

The image comes to mind in a second: pale white hair, light cream shirt under a vest, a black line of numbers stark on his neck.

Along with the recollection of stark disbelief at this being the new test subject they’d all been so excited about.

“He looks like a strong wind could blow him over if it tried.” Wouldn’t have to try very hard, even. “Is this an attempt to socialise me or something? Because I can assure you, that’s not gonna do anything, you can save the effort.”

There’s a faint but genuinely amused laugh from over the speakers. “Not at all. The two of you are close enough in age and ability that it’s only sensible to encourage interaction, if you’re both amenable to the idea. At the very least, it’ll alleviate some of that boredom you keep complaining of.”

He snorts. “While also being an extra opportunity for you lot to collect data, conveniently enough.”

There’s no answer, but the soft hiss of static is almost a shrug.

And, well. He is bored out of his mind, after all.

He looks back up at the camera, hanging in expectant silence, and crosses his arms. “Alright, but only on one condition.”

–––––––––––

Λ.

Norman’s in the midst of setting down the last piece on the chessboard when someone strides in like they’ve been owed a massive favour – which is a pretty impressive feat, being escorted by a pair of researchers and all.

“Nice scarf,” Norman comments with a mild glance.

And it is: a vivid shade of sky blue, comfortable against all the sterile white, even if its wearer grimaces like he’s still getting used to the weight of it. Nevertheless the reply is drought-dry, and that’s almost expected too, somehow. “It’s called fashion, you should try it sometime.”

If he’s conscious of the surveillance at all he doesn’t show it, only tilts his head to the left when Norman holds out his closed fists.

Norman turns his right hand over, uncurls his fingers to show the black king.

“Tch.” He reaches over to take the piece, and Norman turns his palm, makes it a handshake instead.

“Nice to meet you, Ray. I’m Norman.”

“Whatever, white king. Shut up and play already,” he grouses, pulling his hand back, but this –

     ( – this, at least, feels real.)

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

Great news!

I really enjoyed episode 6 of The Promised Neverland!

Not that I wasn’t enjoying the previous episodes but there was definitely a decline in quality compared to episode 1, but while episode 6 wasn’t as good as episode 1, it was better than episodes 2 through 5. The first like half of the episode is divided and constantly cutting between Don and Gilda exploring Mama’s secret room and it’s creepy as fuck the entire time, and Emma, Ray and Norman noticing something interesting about a collection of books in their library and managing to draw realistic conclusions based on sufficient evidence rather than their whole “oh there’s a traitor” shtick that episode 3 pulled out of nowhere. And not only that, but while the two scenes being cut between are tonally pretty far apart, not once was there a sense of whiplash or confusion - I was acutely aware of what was going on in both scenes at the same time without it ever feeling forced or awkward.

The second half of the episode (this is probably mathematically incorrect) chose to appeal more to the emotional side, with Don having something of an extreme reaction when he learns the truth of their situation and actually really intensely punching Norman and Ray right in their faces. Which I think is the first physical violence we’ve seen in the show? Cause like Connie was already dead so that was just a bit scary rather than outright violent. But anyway, I could really dig this emotional approach here because Don’s reaction felt totally natural - like the type of reaction that Don specifically would have based on what we know he’s like. It didn’t feel like he overreacted for the sake of drama, but that that’s actually how he would react, and I could totally buy it!

I think in general this episode played more so with the mystery, horror and emotional elements than it did with the “over the top mindgames that lead to ridiculous conclusions” elements and that just made it way more fun to watch. 

Other things of note:

Ray’s apology to Don seemed sincere enough to where it seems like Ray might actually be comfortable escaping with Don and Gilda as well. The books Emma was reading also suggesting that they’d have something resembling help when they escape the farm could mean Ray might actually be convinced to save everyone, just like Emma wants. Also Norman found something under Ray’s bed that we didn’t get to see but it made Norman smile so it might be some sort of evidence that suggests Ray wants to save everyone too? Though tbh I think it’s more likely that Emma will somehow learn that Ray doesn’t plan on saving everyone, get mad, save everyone, and then shout at Ray but forgive him shortly after. Assuming those three even save themselves in the first place, but I’ll stop with the speculation I guess

We see a map of Earth, so any doubt that it takes place on our Earth has been eliminated (I think they actually confirmed it was set in Japan in an earlier episode but I’m so not sure about that that I’ll take this episode as concrete proof)

Sister Krone heard Emma, Norman, Don and Gilda talk about all the plot shit, and offered to team up with Emma before the episode ended. Krone’s already told Emma that she’s on her side since Emma saw the harvest, but this time there’s way more confirmation on both ends that the other party knows what’s up, if you catch my drift. Point is, I think a team up is probably the most logical action for Emma and the gang to take, so I gotta wonder how this’ll play out. Krone’s goal is to become a Mother, so maybe her plan is to help the kids out and make Mother Isabella look so incompetent that she’s fired and Krone takes her place? But then does she know that that runs the risk of making her look bad as well? And then Isabella’s probably on to Krone to some extent so who actually knows how it’ll play out for her. And if they team up with Krone right here, how will Ray react since he’s at home? Will Ray have to act as a double agent for Krone as well? Or will he act against Krone at the same time as he pretends to work for her? Hell, did Krone even hear that Ray’s the traitor? If not, will they team up with Krone and have Ray leak info about Krone in an effort to “defeat” Krone? So many interesting possibilities are raised by this.

that’s all i’ve got

good episode

[briangroth27]

Bates Motel Season 5 Review

Entering its fifth and final year, Bates Motel went all-in and delivered one of my favorite seasons of television of all time. I loved that they dove into the events of Psycho and beyond, touching on aspects of Norman (Freddie Highmore) and Mother’s (Vera Farmiga) relationship that I’d never considered. The series did unfortunately stumble in the last two episodes, but it was still an incredible work; Calrton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin should be proud of the show and the world they created. The attention to detail of the sets and costumes went a long way to recreating the iconic Bates Motel and home (and they didn’t even have a roof until late in the series!), and that was much appreciated. If seasons 1-4 can be seen as a fantastic modern-set prequel to Psycho (with a few minor details changed), season 5 is a great companion piece to Hitchcock’s classic.

I’m going to miss the consistently stellar acting Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga delivered for 50 episodes! They’re both long overdue for awards attention on this series and if they don’t get Emmys for their work this season, it'll be a crime. Farmiga portrayed amazing development of Norma’s character over the first four years, then got to play a crazy spin on her own creation of Mother. Highmore was always eerily similar to Anthony Perkins, but the writing allowed him to take his version of Norman places Perkins never did, and Highmore was excellent every step of the way. As the Bitter Script Reader pointed out on Twitter, Bates worked very well as a prequel by making all of Norman's development (the peep hole, etc.) his ideas rather than having some other character come in and basically instruct him to take on elements of his iconic self. It felt so much more organic and real this way. Highmore also consistently stunned by writing and directing a few episodes—Nestor Carbonell and Max Thieriot showed their prowess as directors too—and I can’t wait to see what all three of them do in the future.

Full Spoilers...

This season finally let Highmore and Farmiga take their mother/son/alternate personality relationship to its fullest extent. The dynamic between Norman and Mother was perfectly written and acted, making their scenes fascinating, frightening, and funny. I loved that Mother retained Norma’s snark with lines like “Well, it’s not like we haven’t done this before” in reference to covering up a body! Both leads seemed to be having a blast throughout the whole season, even when they were at each other’s throats. I’m going to miss their chemistry. I was surprised they went so far beyond the reach of Psycho, with Norman knowing Mother wasn’t real, and I’m glad they did; it made for some extremely interesting developments. I also didn’t expect things to spiral out of control for Norman so quickly with the cops breathing down his neck, even though I knew things had to be wrapped up in 10 episodes.

The writing around Mother—and the pretense that she was "faking" her death—was so good. So good. She might be the character I miss most now that the show is over. I liked that there was a little bit of Mother acting to save herself by convincing Norman to stay off his meds and not get himself killed; as much as she wanted her son to survive, it seems like she wanted to live just as much. It’s so great that they gave Farmiga the chance to play Norman’s imaginary protector instead of just relying on him reacting to an imaginary person we couldn’t see. And when Highmore did play Mother, it was great! The considerable time Norman spent as Mother could’ve come off as cheesy or as something less than totally serious and dangerous in the hands of a less-talented actor. The psuedo-cat and mouse game that developed between Norman, Mother, Norman-as-Mother, and Chick (Ryan Hurst) about who knows what and how was exciting to watch! At the same time, Norman slowly becoming aware of what Mother has been doing for him (and with his body) was intense and heartbreaking. I certainly didn't expect them to reveal Mother had been going out, getting drunk, and hooking up with random guys! It makes total sense, though, and I'm glad they weren't afraid to go there. I really felt sad for Norman when he realized he’d been giving himself over to Mother during his conversation with his (shockingly dead!) psychiatrist (Damon Gupton). Both that scene and his argument with Norma about it were probably his last desperate attempts to save himself, but he tragically didn’t even fully realize what he needed to escape from or how to begin doing it.

Once Norman forced Mother to let him know everything she’d been doing (yet another incredible scene between these actors) and he killed Sam (Austin Nichols), all bets were off and I had no idea how they’d resolve things. I thought Norman being a complicit killer might scare him back into needing Mother, but I’m glad that they didn’t go that route and even had Mother forcibly take over to try and get him out of trouble with the police when he refused to help himself. At the same time, Norman truly being afraid of Mother and telling Dylan (Max Thieriot) he missed their “real” mom was a surprising and truly affecting moment. I wish they’d spent more time exploring that idea and Norman’s attempts to fight back against Mother.

Instead, we got Norman rebooting himself to his "just moved to White Pine Bay" psyche after killing Romero (Nestor Carbonell) and being left by Mother. It was certainly an interesting development—as was Mother leaving him—but I feel like it came too late in the season and left him on autopilot for the whole final episode. Because he was in this messed up state trying to convince himself Norma was still alive the entire time (which we’d already moved past), he never got a chance to fight back. I guess that's what I was looking for: a showdown between Norman and Mother over his body/soul. Why did Mother just give up trying to get him off the charges? I'm not sure I buy her leaving him when they'd made a point to acknowledge her "life" was tied to his well-being. If nothing else, it felt anticlimactic and a little out of character that she'd just leave him behind, unprotected. Still, I liked the flashbacks to the pilot and how unnerving it was that Norman was reliving them with Norma's corpse. This also brought us a few more recreated scenes from the movie, so that was cool. And Norman just checking the guests in like nothing was wrong was creepy.

Regardless of my problems with Norman’s state of mind in the final episode and his actual death, I liked that Norman got to be reunited with the real Norma instead of Mother at the end. Their reunion was beautiful and the shot of him as a little boy, before he'd killed his father (and probably before the night Norma tried to run away with Norman), was a brilliant touch. Norman's half of the headstone having nothing on it was masterful symbolism for his relationship with Norma and Mother.

I was surprised so much time had gone by and Dylan and Emma (Olivia Cooke) had a baby already! They seemed so happy in Seattle and I was glad they’d escaped White Pine Bay and their toxic families. It was also smart to have both of them come clean relatively quickly about Caleb (Kenny Johnson) and Emma’s mom (Karina Logue); it showed their relationship was healthy. I’ve liked Dylan and Emma a lot since the beginning and I was really worried at least one of them—probably Dylan—wouldn’t make it through the season. Since last year, I’ve thought they would play the Sam and Lila roles from the movie, coming to town to look for Norma, and that they’d end up stopping Norman. Norma liked Emma, so I figured she was safe from Mother, but I was sure Dylan would die trying to save Norman from himself. When Norman switched to Mother in front of Dylan and attacked him, I thought that was it! Dylan’s shock was priceless, and I'm glad Dylan was still so dedicated to helping Norman for the rest of the season. He really might be the best person on the show.

However, I was disappointed Emma had so little to do this season. After being hampered by her CF for so much of the series (though to be fair, she awesomely never let it hold her back), locking her away in Seattle with nothing to do but worry about everyone seemed wrong, especially given Cooke’s considerable talent. If she was busy filming Ready Player One or something, I wish they’d used her time in different scenes; she was too big a character to spend most of the season on the sideline. Couldn’t she publish Chick's book, or at least find it to better understand what happened to her friend? I liked that she could immediately tell it wasn't Norman when she visited him in jail, but since we—and she—didn't really know her mom, I didn't feel much during those funeral scenes (despite good acting on Cooke’s part). I felt more when she visited Norma's grave (and that scene paid off their friendship perfectly).

It would’ve been a shame if Norman had split Emma and Dylan up, so I was relieved Dylan got to go home to Emma. She and his daughter are his family now, not the Bates, despite how much he still cared. Dylan going into the Bates house was one of the few times I've agreed with a character going in without the police—Sheriff Greene (Brooke Smith) clearly didn't care about Norman—and as stupid as it was, I probably wouldn't have called the cops either (though Emma should have). I thought it could be cool if Emma stopped Norman at one point, but if it had to be someone other than Norman himself, I’m glad it was Dylan. He'd spent so much time wanting to be part of the family but never quite belonging (or being let in)—a heartbreaking line Thieriot walked perfectly over the course of the series—that it felt right he'd be the one to step away and give them their happy afterlife together. My friend pointed out that Norman possibly wanted to die and just acted like he was going to kill Dylan, correctly believing that Dylan would kill him to save himself. I agree with that, but it’s so passive that I wasn’t satisfied. If Norman’s assisted suicide attempt came on the heels of an internal battle with Mother rather than just being unable to live without her, I think it would’ve wrapped up both his struggle and Dylan’s place in the family perfectly and much more satisfactorily.

At first, I thought that unless he was playing the Arbogast role, Romero would make it through the season. Even though he was (shockingly) straight-up sending people to kill Norman, I figured he’d redeem himself by catching Norman and saving someone. However, as the season went on, his vengeance quest felt more and more drawn out and less and less engaging. I felt his revenge could’ve been covered in two episodes instead of stretching across 10, and worse, that his competition with Norman over Norma’s love felt too petty (all the back and forth with the ring last year, and so on) to be what brought Norman down. Even with Chick selling Romero and Norman’s showdown as “epic,” I never felt the building anticipation to that confrontation. Honestly, it felt settled: Norman already "won" and "Norma" stayed with him; all Romero had to look forward to was revenge and Norman couldn't care less. While I bought Romero loving Norma and liked them together, I couldn't connect with Romero’s loss; maybe because Norma was still "around" and so solidly in Norman's corner. Maybe I was just over watching him take so long to get to Norman. Why not let Romero escape in the premiere, attack Norman in episode 2, die, and have his body be the one Norman has trouble making disappear instead of the random guy Romero sent? You could even play Sheriff Greene questioning Norman almost exactly the same way, since it was really about Romero anyway. They could've spent all that screentime of Romero escaping, recovering, and making his way back to White Pine Bay on the much more interesting Norman/Mother relationship instead. Norman vs. Mother was the epic showdown we should’ve gotten. Nestor Carbonell was great in the role, but his arc in this season was mishandled, IMO, ironically and unfortunately landing him once again in what has always been the series’ weak spot: crime subplots (though at least this one was directly related to Norman).

Chick was such a weird guy, but he never came off as quirky for the sake of being quirky. He’s always seemed like threat to everyone, really, but he never hurt Norma, Norman, or Dylan. More than that, I really liked that he was actually a good friend to Norman after all this time. I thought he’d die once he found out about Mother, but I wasn’t expecting him to go the pointless way he did (another reason I wanted Romero finished this year). I liked that he was writing the novel version of Psycho and believed that might save him (unfortunately not). What an unpredictable arc for such an out-there character, that still totally worked! Also, jeez, the funeral for Caleb was so unexpected and respectable! Chick could so easily have been a mismatch of quirky traits that amounted to a caricature, but he always surprised me and everything about him felt right. I felt bad for him when Norman kicked him out and I was shocked and wanted vengeance for him when Romero shot him. I thought for sure the cops would try to pin his death on Norman, but a friend of mine pointed out the timeline wouldn’t line up; I wish they’d pointed that out, because it felt like a potentially dangling thread (even if it wasn’t).

I enjoyed the addition of Marion Crane (Rihanna), Sam Loomis, and his wife Madeline (Isabelle McNally) to the series. I couldn't help but feel like the redone Marion scenes in her first episode were...not lacking, but not the most engaging. I think it's because they were so similar to what's already in Psycho that I just wanted to get her to the Motel to interact with Norman. I did enjoy Rihanna's performance a lot, though, and felt her Marion was more likable and sympathetic than Janet Leigh’s. Once she got to White Pine Bay, all her scenes were more interesting than stealing money for Sam. I really thought they were going to go the classic way with her and didn't think they'd let her live at all! “Screw this,” indeed! I really liked that change. I feel like we knew Rihanna’s Marion better and I felt sorry for what she’d done for love; I hope she evades the law. Her conversations with Norman were well worth the wait and Norman fighting Mother to save her life was another perfect change!

Sam had little personality beyond “the good guy” in Psycho from what I remember, so I didn’t mind the series making him a lecherous loser. The twist on his relationship with Marion—he was cheating on his wife with her—worked for the world of the show. I saw a few comments online saying they shouldn’t have made Sam so 100% irredeemable, so it’d be a tragedy when he died (like Marion in the movie), but I didn’t mind it: the real tragedy was that Norman killed him, not Mother. I also feel like Sam was such a heel to make it “OK” in the audience’s minds for Madeline to be attracted to/kiss Norman…even though her having a bit of moral gray to her would’ve been in line with everyone else on this show. Perhaps this was also a chance for the writers to makes us root for a killing by putting us in both Madeline and Marion’s corners, even though we’re definitely not supposed to. I didn’t pick up on the idea that Sam was the name of Norman’s father too until I saw it pointed out online; that’s a cool connection.

Madeline was an eerie dead ringer for Norma (and even sounded like her at points!), which played really well into Norman’s issues. She and Highmore had good chemistry and despite thinking she’d die early on, I was rooting for him to get a happy ending for the first time ever once they had their dinner “date.” With Bradley and Emma, I figured I knew things would end badly if they were with Norman so I didn’t want them together, but this far into the story I had the slightest glimmer of hope for him. I’m glad they didn’t drag out Madeline being in the dark about Sam’s affair with Marion and brought things to a head with both him and Norman quickly, but I was disappointed she all but disappeared in the final episodes. I was sure she’d at least briefly look guilty when Mother told Sheriff Greene to question her and I was surprised they didn’t go that route. Either way, I wanted more resolution from her relationship with Norman instead of the dangling confusion she was left with. For a character who’d been built up as a major presence over the course of the season, it felt slightly unfinished.

I knew Caleb was a goner from the beginning and I can’t say I was sorry to see him go, even if I do believe he cared about Dylan. Kenny Johnson gave a great performance over his time on the series, but I couldn’t ever find it in me to sympathize with him. I was relieved he didn’t screw up Dylan and Emma’s lives when he showed up at their house, and I guess “not destroying everyone’s lives” is the most charitable I could get towards him. And when he’d get self-righteous and “protective” over Chick calling him out on raping Norma, any chance of sympathy evaporated. I definitely didn’t expect him to die the way he did, and I liked that Mother was so down to kill him; that was a nice tie to the first time we saw Norman became Mother, way back in the beginning of the series. I enjoyed Sheriff Greene. We didn’t get to know her personally very much, but I certainly got a sense that she was an unstoppable force for justice, and that’s exactly what she needed to be. She definitely unraveled Norman’s lies a lot quicker than I was expecting. I also thought it was interesting that she was very clear about caring about the innocent people and her staff rather than bringing Norman in safely. I usually don’t see that kind of black-and-white hardness in female cops on shows or movies. They did a great job of making her stand out with limited screentime!

I loved that they took the whole season to play with Psycho’s events rather than cramming in the sequels (though the show had already played with Norman being “cured” like in those films in previous years). The nods to the original movie was great, like Norman eating candy corn while being interrogated by Sheriff Greene and seeing Dr. Edwards walking across the street in front of his car. I also really liked that we got a variation on the "Marion driving" music during her episodes; what better way to compliment the show's tactic of taking the familiar and twisting it? There are a few iconic lines and bits from the movie I’m shocked we never got, though. They didn’t include the shower scene music? No one ever said “a boy’s best friend is his mother?” That could’ve been reworked with some sarcasm after Norman learned exactly what Mother had been doing for him. I was sure we’d get “we all go a little mad sometimes;” Marion could’ve said she’d gone crazy on Sam’s car or called stealing the money insane, and Norman could’ve replied with that. Mother also had a perfect opportunity to say it while Norman was calling himself a mad person. It could’ve also fit into Norman’s prison interrogation. Either there or when Mother was talking to Emma, I thought they could use some variation of “he’s such a nice boy; he wouldn’t hurt a fly,” but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. I also thought they should’ve made either the guy Romero sent after Norman or Sheriff Greene the show’s Milton Arbogast, just to involve that prominent film character. Greene could’ve been named Mildred Arbogast or something, since she did most of his investigations anyway. Of course, they totally should’ve included a recreation of this Anthony Perkins photo!

Bates Motel was never perfect—too often, the town crime subplots would drag—but the relationships between Norman, Norma, Mother, and their family and friends always carried the show. In seasons four and five, things moved into high gear and the making of a serial killer next door came to a fascinating conclusion, even if I would’ve preferred a Norman/Mother fight leading up to Dylan killing Norman. Ultimately, I think Psycho’s ending was more satisfying, but Bates explored the characters so deeply that they’re my preferred versions. I can’t imagine another take on Psycho coming close to this, or the original movie, and I’m glad they were able to tell their whole story. 

[drink-n-watch]

Castling is a special type of chess move. When castling, you simultaneously move your king and one of your rooks. The king moves two squares towards a rook, and that rook moves to the square on the other side of the king.

Have you guys been looking forward to our next Promised Neverland discussion? I know I have. Talking things over with Crow is always really fun and interesting. On top of that, this series is certainly generous with the potential material. I feel like we go through almost an entire series’ worth of topics with each episode. For once, that’s not a bad thing.

this was quite the episode!

If you remember, ad I’m sure you do, last episode ended on an epic cliffhanger with Norman pointing to Ray as the “traitor”. An of course, Norma’s always right. I feel like my brain still refused to accept it for a good minute. It’s like the show has already conditioned me to refuse the simplest explanation even if in retrospect the narrative hasn’t exactly done twists so much as simply shocks. Situations are often unexpected but not because we were lead to believe something else, simply because this particular fictional universe is very high drama.

That distinction — shocks versus twists — might be this show’s distinguishing characteristic! Well, that and dynamic and flawed protagonists as well as dangerously intelligent and dangerously unpredictable villains! Oh, this is Crow — I’m in bold this week.

That opening scene with the clock ticking and rapid succession jumps between the two characters was a fun, tension adding, directorial trick. Cheap but effective. In general, I feel the direction took a lot more risks this episode and I liked it. Did you?

Evaluating direction isn’t my strength, but to the extent I understand it, I think you’re right. It’s like the show’s gaining confidence in its voice. There were some relatively straight forward shots, like closeups of Norman and Ray as they realized something (I’m still not sure exactly what!). There was a shot of Ray, leaving the room after the first scene, framed by the doorway at the top of the stairs, as if the camera were on a landing between the first and second floors. It was simple, elegant, and it capture his loneliness that Emma was able to articulate later on.

it was a very deliberately paced and framed episode

The first half of the episode was basically one long expo dump with Norman and Ray having this almost quippy, slightly antagonistic chat in the room. I see your Buffy parallels here. Although the conversation was much more stern in tone, there was something in the quickfire delivery and unspoken implications that was very reminiscent of Buffy dialogue.

Now, if we can just get Anya to sing her song about bunnies being the villains… I think Gilda could pull it off! But now I’m sad thinking about Conny’s bunny, which makes me remember Conny…

Also, I was on the edge of my seat. I was watching two (only two) familiar characters talk to each other in a closed bedroom with nothing else at all going on, and I was on the edge of my seat. This is when you know you got your exposition right!

I think this proves your point about direction. I felt breathless during this scene, too, as if either Ray or Norman might do anything — explode into violence, transfer into an alien — anything! Good dialogue, well delivered, with effective pacing. That’s a heavy load for exposition to carry!

tell me more! 

I have to say, Ray may be an informant, but can we really call him a traitor when he’s been doing this for 6 years? He’s gathering intel as best he can to formulate an escape plan. The boy’s no hero, but he’s merely trying to survive.

Also, if I remember correctly, they’re all 11. Which would mean that Ray found out the truth (that they were all destined to be butchered) and was trying to navigate this dangerous world all alone since he was 5 years old. Somehow, it’s difficult for me to blame a five year old in this situation.

I might have to quibble with “the boy’s no hero.” Fighting alone, well behind enemy lines, without a break, without assistance, from the time he was five? That’s why I adored Emma’s reaction…

The conversation leaves with vague results. Ray is still adamant about not destroying their chances by trying to do too much. Norman agrees in principle but is morally and mostly emotionally torn at the idea of going against Emma’s wishes. And an unsteady truce is formed.

What did you think of Ray’s grudging disgusted look and Norman’s attempt to hold back laughter? I didn’t know what to make of that…

it fascinated me

You know what they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. If anything, this turn of events makes me more likely to trust Ray than before. Of course I have this super weird hang up about not trusting Norman. It may be the white hair.

Right at the end of this extended opening arc, it seems that both Norman and Ray realized something pretty big. It sort of bugs me that these little kids are so much smarter than I am but I’ve learned to accept it. I really wish they would have told us what Norman figured out though. It seemed big!

I’m listening to Neil Gaiman narrate The Ocean at the End of the Pond. (great book) I’ve come to accept that when it comes to a lot of topics, kids are smarter than me! Yeah, Norman’s laugh put me on edge, too. I’m beginning to suspect that we’re only watching the outer edge of the crazy — or maybe a meta representation of it…

Ray’s interaction with Mom was one of the best scenes so far. Mom is a formidable foe but because of the construct of the story and the necessity to keep up the pretense of unity, we have not seen her actually clash with anyone except Krone and let’s face it, at the time Krone was hardly even worthy of the title of opponent. Mom and a forcibly relaxed Ray made for a much more interesting back and forth. I look forward to seeing more mind games.

Watching that scene, I had to wonder: which one of them really has the upper hand? Ray mentioned that Mom only gave him older models of things. What if they weren’t representative at all? The show has me so paranoid that I wonder if Mom’s put the pieces in place so their escape attempt is actually part of their shipment protocol! Kinda like a Hunger Games sorta thing…

it makes me captivated!

We finally got to see that Norman is in fact human and that the situation is getting to him. That nightmare was just great. It was also a nice, visually interesting sequence that put the stakes into perspective for the audience. It was a bit on the nose (a lot of the directing is unsubtle in the series), but I don’t mind that too much when the storyline has a lot going on.

I just needed to throw in a pic

The episode then cleaned up the intel by bringing Emma into the loop. I’ve said this before but Emma is not exactly as straightforward as she plays it. Of course she immediately forgives Ray, of course she gives this compelling and heartstring tugging speech about him no longer being alone. But she let her mask slip for a split second there and we saw it.

She might be the most intelligent one there.

You saw it too, right Crow? That moment when Emma realized that Ray had probably at some point sacrificed members of her precious family, and willfully decided to brush the realization aside and ignore everything it implied. The second when her mind was telling her that if he’s capable of throwing the kids to the wolves once, he could do it again, and she chose to take the risk but pretended not to understand it.

I know you loved the scene between Ray and Mom, but this was my favorite scene in the episode. You could just see her mind connect the dots — and I think she connected more than she spoke of. She has this gestalt perspective that lets her assemble the big picture with only tiny disjointed parts.

I think you hit the nail on the head — she knows who Ray is. She knows how he thinks. She’ll go along for now, but she’s on guard. What more? She’s confident she can make it work.

what’s with that face?

Finally we looped Don and Gilda back into the action. As the other two oldest kids in the place, they have the greatest odds of survival, but I’m not so sure the have the nerves required. This might be where Norman’s (somewhat kind) lie may really cost them dearly.

By not telling Don and Gilda that Conny is already dead but still conveying the great danger everyone is in, they have effectively put a ticking clock on everything and are encouraging Don and Gilda into action.

Talk about being damned if you do and damned if you don’t…

I’ve heard some fas say this exact ting (not many though)

Basically, Gilda and Emma have been observing Mom (enemy recon) and have realized that she disappears somewhere at the same time every evening. Ray comes to the natural assumption that she must be checking in with however she reports to.

Moreover, a discrepancy in the dimensions of the rooms and hallway has lead Emma to conclude the whereabouts of a secret room next to Mom’s bedroom. Naturally, this seems like a place that should be investigated but the kids want to play it slow. Not take any more unnecessary risks at this time.

Not all the kids that is. Determined to save Conny, Don storms off to immediately find this secret room while Mom is away. After some prodding, he and Gilda do manage to discover a decoy bookcase with a locked door behind it.

Their hearts were in the right place. Their minds, though? Let’s just say as bright as both of them are, they don’t hold a candle to Emma, Norman, or Ray. I just hope they don’t have to pay the ultimate price for their mistake!

this isn’t ominous at all…

As usual with this series, I had not realized that this was the end of the episode. Well not this of course. Before that someone had to be slowly opening the door to Mom’s room in time to catch them both red handed and potentially doomed. And you thought last week (or every single week so far) was a cliffhanger!

That’s how I guessed it was over despite it seeming like 10 minutes. I was like, “Dang, that’d make a good cliffhanger… d’oh!”

Also, no Krone at all this week?

She’s still sulking, and it takes time to stitch her doll back together! Interesting point, too, how Ray says mom brought Krone in to watch over him for failing to keep Emma and Norman away from the gate…

So this is it for this week. I’m sure I’m not the only one who can’t wait for next week. Please feel free to catch up on our past episode reviews in the meantime:

The Promised Neverland Episode 1 – 45,000,000$

The Promised Neverland Episode 2: 121045

The Promised Neverland Episode 3: 181045

The Promised Neverland Episode 4: 291045

and of course – I got a few more caps for you guys!

The Promised Neverland Episode 5 –Castling Castling is a special type of chess move. When castling, you simultaneously move your king and one of your rooks.

[linkspooky]

Thanks for the tags @jeanandthedreamofhorses

Rules:

Name your top 10 favorite characters from 10 different fandoms and then tag 10 people. 

I’m gonna tag @kenkamishiro @inumaqi @bloodycarnations @kaibutsushidousha @desmondneedshisscalpel @harostar @cirrocumulus-cloud @coromoor @sir-argues-a-lot (list your top 10 buff dudes conspic)

Hello my name is link and my faves for each series can be divided into two strict categories, white haired bastards, and black haired bastards. Blonde is just white haired bastard LITE. Herre are ten of my favorite bastards. 

1. Kumagawa Misogi - Medaka Box

 My favorite character of all time, Kumagawa Misogi is a fantastic character because he embodies every bad victim stereotype. He’s aggressive, he lashes out, he blames other people for his problems, he has a bad attitude, he’s pessimistic, he’s ugly, he’s mean. He has every single character trait that people traditionally consider bad, and yet underneath it all he’s still a good guy. By playing the bad victim (which is intentional act on his part because Kumagawa is very self aware especially of his own flaws and weaknesses), he makes the point that all victims even the ugliest ones are still human underneath. 

Like the reason Kumagawa is a bad person isn’t because he’s selfish, or because he doesn’t care about other people’s pain. He cares. He cares way too much, to the point where his emotions are so deeply ingrained in him and so illogical that he almost always acts on those feelings above everything else. At his heart he’s a person who wants to save others, especially those who are weaker and those who have been abused, but it always manifests in the most negative ways and his good intentions always go wrong. 

Yet through all of that we see Kumagawa continues living, and that’s the most important part of his character, even as the worst person ever, even completely useless, even as a disaster for everyone around you, you have to keep living and keep struggling to be better. Kumagawa finds identity in being a loser, and he comes to accept himself the way he is because that’s the only way for him to move forward. Not only that but Kumagawa is clever and genuinely subversive, not only is he capable of outwitting people because he’s so good at bluffs, lies, and he’s just so used to surviving every situation that his brain is stuck in permanent survival mode, but he also subverts the whole ‘weak character has to become stronger to protect the people around them’ trope. Because, Kumagawa is still weak but that never stops him from helping others. He never thinks becoming strong is the solution, and his character development is him leaving the mindset that it would be better if he was the one hurting others rather than being hurt by them. 

2. Enoshima Junko - Dangan Ronpa my favorite Junko is not actually her appearance at the end of DR1, or in DR3, or in DR2 as alter ego though all three of those are fanastic and fun to watch. My favorite reading of Junko is how she’s represented in Dangan Ronpa Zero, as this like, girl who has this incredibly overactive brain who literally makes a plan where she lobotomizes herself because the only way to stop herself from getting bored is to erase her own memory so she constantly forgets everything, and even THAT DOESN’T WORK. 

I’m not saying Junko is a tragic character in any way, but the fact that she can never escape her own head no matter how desperately she tries is what makes her interesting. Even her obsession with despair fails her in the end, because she was getting too bored of a world that was exactly what she wanted, pure chaos. If you read her that way there’s a lot of interesting subtext with her character and her actions. 

The best part about Junko is she’s not what is considered a fictional psychopath in a traditional sense, she actually has the ability to make connections with people and genuinely care about them. However, with Junko that just means you’re going to be worse off then if she did not care about you at all. Junko’s motivations are so simple, she really is just trying to enjoy the life everybody else does, but she can’t because her brain is a supercomputer. And she’s trying to feel something about the world, or create some meaning about the world, some reason to continue living in it and she’s willing to break the world and all her toys to accomplish that. 

3. Dazai Osamu - Bungou Stray Dogs No Longer Human, and The Rising Sun two of Dazai’s works are in my top ten favorite books of all time. Bungou Stray Dogs understands the writings of Dazai when they personify him in this character. 

What makes Dazai so fantastic a character is that he’s genuinely mentally ill and traumatized, especially from the way he acts he’s been suicidal since he was a teen and a person is not born that way. Yet, at the same time he’s also a bad person. Which is a fantastic bit of nuance. He’s not bad because he’s mentally ill, he’s bad because he runs away from responsibility, he abused Akutagawa as a way of venting his feelings for the port mafia then completely abandoned him, he doesn’t trust people and goes out of his way to manipulate and control his own allies. 

Dazai struggles the most with seeing people as people, and part of this is for what I call Junko Reasons when a character is smarter than everybody around them and therefore, can read them to a certain extent that they become predictable and boring and cannot relate to them in any way. Part of this however is also Dazai’s own fear of loss, which makes him want to control everything. 

Rather than an adult, he’s more like a child that’s far too smart for his own good. He is smart enough to predict and control situations far in advance, and yet he’s so emotionally vulnerable that just the idea of experiencing loss itself makes him scared to ever be emotionally invested in anybody. And Dazai will spout philosophy all day to make it seem like he’s simply too smart to have friends, but his one sincere friend was just an average person that became his friend because he treated Dazai like a normal human which is what Dazai wants ultimately. The human failure wants to be human and his story is his slow journey to that state. 

4. Shigaraki Tomura - My Hero Academia Horrible. Terrible. Baby. Infant. Shigaraki Tomura is a character I have loved since his introduction. Just like Kumagawa he’s a character always violently lashing out at the society around him. Also like Kumagawa, he’s always taking in victims of trauma around him who aren’t ‘acceptable’ or ‘good’ victims and giving them an outlet and genuine friends. 

Shigaraki Tomura has scars that reach deep under his skin all the way to his bones. One of the most interesting things about his character is how much of a subversion he is from the way he’s originally presented. All Might reacts to Shigaraki like he’s a psychopathic manchild who does not care about a thing and destroys things for no reason. That is also what All for One raised him to be, someone who exists to be a symbol of destruction and fear and nothing else. 

Yet, we eventually learn why he is this way and how little sympathy the hero system has for a victim like Shigaraki. He’s a man-child because he was literally raised in All for One’s basement, only for the purpose of becoming a villain and nothing else. He’s deeply angry at heroes because he knows deep down none of them would save him, he’s a bad victim, and only the good looking victims get saved. 

Despite having every reason to turn into a heartless symbol of destruction, Shigaraki is very, obviously, not. He’s trying desperately to be All for One, but he can’t be that person, because Shigaraki cares about people too much. He wants validation, he wants freedom, and he wants the same for the people under his protection and that keeps him human and stops him from turning into the monster he was raised to be. 

5. Norman - The Promised Neverland so the exact opposite of a villain who cannot help but be good, we have Norman an undeniably good person who chose to become a villain instead because otherwise he was powerless and that was the only means of accomplishing his high ideals. 

Norman is the smartest of the gracefield children, and admired by both Ray and Emma and yet in spite of all of this, his self esteem is incredibly low. He has always put Emma on a pedestal and declared her a good person, and himself the bad person. Due to that he has almost no dreams of his own, and desires almost nothing for himself, putting absolutely everything into making the ideal world that Emma envisioned come true. 

Norman regularly denies that he is a human being, a common trend on this list, because to be human is to be fallable and make mistakes. He puts far too much pressure on his shoulders, and that turns sensitive, kindly Norman, into a card carrying manipulator that plays high risks games with people’s lives in order to get the best result. He is at the same time, an angel someone wanting to martyr himself for heavenly ideals, and a devil someone who wants to commit evil so Emma’s hands can stay clean and Norman is so complex because he’s simultaneously both at once. 

6. Orihara Izaya - Durarara!! Sometimes you just grow up and become an Izaya stan, and you reflect back and regret every single choice you made in life. Orihara Izaya is interesting not because he’s a card carrying mastermind, but because he pretends to be. 

Izaya’s image as someone who can manipulate all of Ikebukuro is something that far outstrips who he is as a person, which is just a very sensitive and lonely child. Izaya is basically too sensitive to love anybody as an individual, or even be an individual himself, so he denies the personhood of all of humanity and instead decides to love humanity. Because accepting everything about humanity and being happy no matter what the result is easier for him than having to deal with individual hardships. He basically wants to become an observer to everybody, and wants to no longer have a body, or be a person, or have to have feelings that aren’t a bemused smirk. 

Izaya is however, extremely transparent in his actions to the point where several characters can see through him. It’s interesting to have a mastermind-type character whose actually not that much of a mastermind, but still because everybody sees them as one things generally go their way. Izaya is great at lying, bluffing, and playing speed chess but he never really has the city in his palms as much as he claims. 

Another interesting quality about him is how complex he thinks and all these little rules he sets up for himself. Basically his only friend is Shinra because, Shinra is guaranteed never to love Izaya because he already has Celty, and yet at the same time Izaya also gets mad that 1) Shinra will always choose Celty over him and 2) Shinra is too detached to love anyone as a person. Even though, he also envies that detachment because Izaya is too sensitive basically to live. In short Izaya is petty. Petty, petty, petty, petty, petty, and he has to follow his own petty little rules to the letter. 

7. Takizawa Seidou - Tokyo Ghoul: Re he starts as a lovable, but repressed bastard who has all this resentment for his life, and the people around them, and constantly blames them and takes it out on them. Overall though, he’s someone you can see turning into a better person if he just grew up a little.

Then instead of getting better, he gets way worse and hits absolute rock bottom. All of the ugly emotions that Seidou was repressing come to the surface and he turns into a monster who makes other people suffer to take out his long held resentments about the world. Not only that but all of the flaws he shows as a ghoul were there to begin with, he always had an inferiority complex, he always resented others, he always lashed out, it was just they were brought to the surface instead of being repressed. 

Seidou however after hitting rock bottom gains awareness, and also the realization that even after he’s crossed the point of no return a long time ago, he can still continue to live and do improve himself. Not only that but it’s his resposnbility to improve himself for the sake of the others around him. 

One of my favorite parts about his character is he used to be an example of how great Ishida was at not playing Good Victim Bad Victim because Seidou is introduced to us as this monster who went insane because he was ‘weaker’ than Amon who stayed righteous despite being ghoulified. Until we learn that actually, Seidou went insane because he took a chainsaw to the face, and Amon was just saved by other people and never endured the same, and therefore never even attempted to come to terms with himself as a ghoul either. 

One of my reasons for liking bastards is because they are all objectively terrible, but most of them also have such a deep sense of self understanding so that the ones who have positive arcs, actually feel like they’re very honest about who they are as a person and grow from there. They just genuinely accept who they are and live as who they are not in denial about anything. Rather than following a narrative blindly laid out for them they break free and create their own. 

8. Kiryu Yoshiya - The World Ends With You If there is a death game for some reason I always end up liking the mastermind the most. Kiryu Joshua is this child, who is just, too smart, too creative, too much for the world. When he’s pretending to be human that just turns him into a pretentious tool. When he’s the demigod of Shibuya, that means he might destroy the entire city because the people aren’t growing in the way he wants them too.

Joshua is very unique because he’s basically the closest to what I call a “Junko Enoshima for Hope” he places people in terrible death game like circumstances, and shows little empathy at all for the ones who lose, but at the same time his intention is to give a second chance for people who have died, and also to steer people in the right direction. 

In a meta sense Joshua will basically force you to have character development. The fact that he sees himself as the author in other people’s stories means he has to control everything. It’s a unique character trait to have a god complex when you are a literal god. 

Despite his good intentions, he’s also very flawed especially in the way he treats people around him, even the ones he likes like Neku and Sanae. He enjoys pushing their buttons, and pushing them to their limits far too much, and makes attempts to control them like any other piece on the board. Joshua is also, suicidally depressed and a lot of his musings about the world in general are some of the most tragic but insightful thoughts I’ve ever read. The fact that Joshua changes his mind at the end, is basically just as impactful as watching someone give life another chance when they wanted to die, because for Joshua, Shibuya is his life. 

9. Jack Vessalius - Pandora Hearts it’s another mastermind yay. The fun thing about Jack is unlike most of these characters who are like, halfway broken, Jack is just this extremely broken person whose far beyond the point of no return. Not only that but he’s not interested in living as a person anymore anyway, even if he were given the chance to come back. 

Jack has worn masks his entire life, to the point where it’s made him an incredibly selfish person who is never genuine in any situation. A child who has told lies all of his life. At the same time Jack is not the one who got himself started on this path, he’s a victim to the cruel and uncaring ways of the nobility, as a bastard being raised with his mother destroying any sense of identity he had by only seeing his father in him. Jack is in a way for them, a reckoning. 

Except Jack does not care about any of that, because his entire goal is to go to extremes, and make the most convoluted plan in history, because he wants to find a reason for himself to keep living. When the person he was using as a reason to live dies, he decides to destroy the world for basically no reason at all, because the act of trying to destroy the world gives him something to do and a reason to keep on living. 

Jack needs to find identity in something, otherwise he’s entirely empty on the inside and he’s exactly the tool the nobility raised him to be. Which is why he ends up doing all of these things for basically no reason, because that is his reason. He wants to feel things like a person. He wants to desire things like a person. He wants to know who he is, and what he wants. And yet, he’s also so terribly afraid of being a person that he does not let anybody get close to being able to understand him.

In the end one person accepting Jack as a person in spite of all of his lies, and saying they were happy to meet him is enough for Jack to give up all of his plans and instead offer his body up to others. 

10. Accelerator - A Certain Magical Index Accelerator is such a fave for me that I will literally go out of my way to read a series that I’m not even a fan of because Accelerator is in it. 

What I like about accelerator is he is pretty much past the point of no return, and he knows he’s never going to be forgiven for what he’s done and yet that doesn’t stop him. He’s not doing this for atonement. He killed 10,000 sisters and he’s going to save the other 10,000 that are remaining. And he knows he should have done that from the start, but it’s too late to take back a single thing he did. 

Accelerator is just this fantastically messy character. He plays the villain, but secretly nobody desires more for heroes and justice to exist in this world than Accelerator himself. We see him finally motivated to help others, because even if he’s a bastard, and will always be a bad person marked for what he’s done, that’s no excuse not to do something when somebody innocent needs help in front of you. 

He’s also, genuinely traumatized, and also genuinely disabled. He goes from this untouachable character to like, someone who is very desperate, with a very fragile sense of ego whose constantly reliving his trauma and having flashbacks in the middle of fights. Accelerator is so genuinely plagued with guilt for what he’s done it almost destroys him several times. And he’s never going to stop feeling that way. He’s never going to stop being broken. And still he fights. 

11. Jacopo Bearzatti - House in Fata Morgana I know this is cheating but sssh, I wanted to talk about Jacopo. He’s the best bastard on this list because he’s not even a bastard. 

Jacopo is someone who breaks himself into fragments because he’s not good enough. He’s always born in an incredibly low position in life, and is always trying to make something worthwhile of himself. He views himself as a person lower than dirt, whose only good quality is how hard he can work. One of them is going to break, either the world, or Jacopo himself. 

Jacopo’s heart is either made of stone or glass and it’s impossible to tell from an outsider’s perspective, because he’s able to commit himself to doing incredibly heartless things, but at the same time Jacopo is far too kind and emotional and it’s something that destroys him over and over again. Jacopo is someone who always takes far too much responsibility, which means he will forgive other people who have betrayed him, see the humanity in his friends when they turn knives against him, but because of that he ends up being hurt over and over again. Jacopo kills his own heart not because he’s unkind, but because he’s too kind and empathic, and it’s something that will literally get him killed unchecked. 

However, the amount of responsibility that Jacopo takes is ultimately what turns his character from a tragic downfall to a redeeming one, because reincarnation Jacopo is willing to take responsibility for two lifetimes worth of mistakes that were not even his. Ultimately Jacopo does genuinely want to do right by the people around him, which means if they do not want him he would force himself to let go because it’s not just about his atonement but the victim’s feelings as well, but if they wanted him he would spend the rest of his life working for the sake of both of them. Jacopo’s realization at the end of this story, because I want to see it too. Is one of the most touching things I’ve read in all of literature. 

Honorable Mentions: Reiner - Attack on Titan, Akechi Goro - Persona Five, Subaru Natsuki - Re: Zero, Emiya Shirou - Fate Stay Night, Kaworu Nagisa - Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ryoji Mochizuki - Persona 3, ii-chan -Zaregoto, Squall Leonhar - (FF8)