#sora meta

[meiloorun-notthefruit]

The cutscene in KH1 of Sora, Riku, and Kairi racing on the island does a great job of informing you of their characters. There’s the obvious that is pointed out a lot, Kairi being left behind, unable to keep up with them. However, she suggested the race, and Kairi does her best, laughing the whole way. She’s happy the way things are. Sora immediately runs, he has no qualms racing his friends. Then there’s Riku, who lowkey scoffs at the notion of a race but still takes it seriously and ends up in the lead, with Sora being able to just keep up with him. The next shot, Sora is ahead of him, and then Riku catches up. Sora and Riku are constantly switching places with who is in the lead, neck and neck with each other. Another thing to note is that while Sora is focused on the horizon, looking straight ahead at the goal, Riku is instead looking at Sora, his head turned towards him. Even when the camera goes to shift above all three of them, right before showing the title, Riku is still looking at Sora

Kairi lags behind, Sora and Riku keep pace with each other. Riku is concerned with Sora, while Sora is both focused and oblivious

Even down to the way they run, their relationship with each other is on full display.

[gulava]

i feel like its easy to forget or miss that the exact reason sora was so emotional here is bc his subconscious briefly came in contact with the memory of aqua telling sora to keep riku "safe". then sora is ripped away from this by the very person who took riku away from him. hes plunged deeper into sleep because his light (riku) was stolen. its not hard to see just why hed be feeling so emotional and delighted to see riku "safe" from harm. even outside of riku risking his life to wake sora up, i feel the fact that sora is near tears and throws his arms around riku was a bit of a nod to there being more at play here. and the reason they show riku waking up here and not sora is because it was more important for sora to see riku waking up this time. and narratively yknow "the world was freed from darkness but has yet to wake from it". at this point, riku is finally no longer trapped in a never ending nightmare of things never getting better for him and sora gets to be the one to personally greet him upon waking from that nightmare.

hes awake and hell be okay.

sora needed to have this moment. he needed to see that.

[verathena14]

yknow i'd always had a headcanon that sora was a lot more proficient with magic than riku, but playing Re:CoM really solidified that for me with the difference between their playstyles.

when you play as sora, you have this massive variety of different sleights and spells and summons you can use, which from an in-world perspective, could read as him just... modifying the spells for his own use. I think it would be super funny if he talks to like. Aqua for example and she's like "wait how did you do that. thats not supposed to happen, that's not how magic works-?" but anyway! the point is that Sora's gameplay has a lot of variety and magic woven into it

whereas with riku, not only can he not edit his deck, but almost all of his sleights are locked behind Darkness-Murder Mode™️. So a lot of Riku's gameplay is just "hit things until they die" (also i feel like there's something to be said about the difference between Holy Spiral and Inverse Spiral, which are basically the same attack except HS is when Riku's not in Dark Mode and IS is when he is, something about HS lasting much less time than IS because riku's light magic isn't as powerful perhaps?)

ANYWAYS. i just think it's neat :)

[holleighgram]

[sailing-ever-west]

The Vinsmoke men are misogynistic and it's so narratively important even though it's mostly subtext and never outright stated. None of them ever say anything against women specifically, and they don't seem to discriminate as far as who can be warriors, but their actions reek of it nonetheless and I can't stop thinking about it.

On the surface it seems like Sanji gives thought to treating women differently and the Vinsmokes don't, but it's clear through their actions that the only "equality" they're really upholding is that no gender is exempt from abuse and exploitation.

It's like when people say "well if you want equality, women should get drafted into the military too!" When the problem is that no one should be forced to join the military. That's basically exactly what Germa is doing.

Sanji's view of women is frequently flawed and a bit myopic, but he seeks to treat them with kindness and love and respect, whereas the Vinsmokes make no attempt at philosophy about women and just treat them horribly.

The most glaring example is probably Cosette, who they berated for making food they didn't like and then proceeded to beat unconscious solely to shatter her confidence and upset Sanji. And when Sanji is understandably enraged at their horrible abuse, they assume the reason is that he was physically attracted to her and didn't want the object of his attraction damaged (saying they didn't know he Liked her, and if the busted up face wasn't a dealbreaker they could make her Sanji's personal attendant, which also reaaally sounds like code for something else).

Another aspect is that despite having no emotions, the Vinsmoke brothers still seem to experience attraction to women. But it's not love in any sense of the word, just purely physical. They find Nami attractive, even wanting to arrange to keep her around when the Strawhats are captured by Big Mom (ew), and there's that scene of them and Judge in their private room surrounded by mostly drunken unconscious (and rather scantily dressed if I remember correctly) barmaids that were sent to them. Granted, nothing Happens in that scene, but the undertones are gross and we're only shown a small portion of the night. Whatever the case, it's clear that these women were not sent in to be equal, respectable company, but an objectified distraction to pair with alcohol, and were treated as such.

And then there are the internal family dynamics, which I think are the biggest and most important part.

To start, there's Reiju. On the surface she seems like she has the same status as her brothers, a modified Germa weapon capable of performing as her father wants. But whenever Judge talks about being proud of his children, he always emphasizes the triplets. Often he doesn't even mention Reiju, and his attention to the boys' training seems to be much closer than to hers. Her raid suit is also more sexualized, as though that's expected to be part of her arsenal. And of course, there's her name meaning "zero" while the boys are all numbered. She is the eldest, but she survives by being ignored, and it's clear that her father prefers her emotionless brothers. This feels symbolic as well since being emotional is often seen as a feminine trait, portrayed as a weakness. Judge hates weakness. And so he hates emotion, hates women.

But at the root of it all, really, is Sora. Sora who's choices and body and children were stolen from her for an abusive man's ideals about war and domination. We don't really get to know how much choice she had in her marriage, but given Judge's royal status and the fact that they obviously share zero values I think it would have to be a strategic political arrangement at best, and something she got no say in at worst.

The kids are all named in a numbering system, which also reeks of Judge not letting her into the decisions. And, of course, there is the absolutely horrific experience of being forced into prenatal surgery to genetically modify her children against her will, to the point that the only way she could exercise any agency was to poison herself in an attempt to save even one of them. She was literally just a baby-producing machine to Judge and it couldn't be more blatant.

The violent, self-centered, and misogynistic Vinsmoke brothers are born directly from a woman's choice being taken away from her. Kind, selfless, and loving Sanji is born directly from her one act of defiance, and then later saved by his sister's one act of defiance as well (after which, she was programmed to be obedient).

Basically, the Vinsmoke family is built and preserved on the abuse and exploitation of women, and Sanji is the black sheep for many reasons, but I suspect a rather large one is that he's the ultimate antithesis to that.

[dizzybevvie]

Super bad quality meme i made earlier

[thefreshprinceofjunes]

people pointing to one heart as proof s/k is canon is sooooo funny when it seems to be a light only attack

bc like

its been stated consistently throughout the series that you cant just have light. light and dark need to be in balance.

like they literally say 'light!' as the attack starts.

that doesnt seem very balanced to me.

but you know what team attack is?

also, i feel like it being called one heart points even further to it being another s/k red herring.

like, compare that to hearts in tune

love is not being one with someone, or someone else 'completing' you. love is just being with someone. by their side.

and theres also the fact that the attack literally cannot function without the two of them together. they need both wings to fly. whereas the two halves of the combined keyblade can be used on their own

or at least i think they can, anyway. in nightmares end/mirage split we see them used individually to cut the chains before they merge:

plus all the emphasis on the nobodies/replicas/etc being their own people, and growing their own hearts. even tho they were 'content' with being merged with their og selves.

idk, maybe im reading too much into the name. maybe its not that deep. but it still seems kinda weird, with all the emphasis post-kh2 on everyone having their own identities

[seventeenlovesthree]

Character/Relationship Analysis: How Taichi's and Sora's arcs in the late Etemon/early Vamdemon arc are intertwined, how they (in)directly activate each other's Crests and how they're the most important plot drivers/leading figures at this point in the series.

One of my early theories regarding the character line-up in Adventure was how Sora could have potentially been the secondary main character besides Taichi (instead of Yamato). And I still believe that nothing makes that theory more apparent than taking a close look at how the "Crest activation period" frames these two as main plot drivers that are the reason why the group sticks together - and also why they all found their way back together after Taichi's disappearance. So let's break this down, shall we.

As pointed out in the analysis post above, when you just watch the opening of the series without any context, you might assume that Sora is the secondary/female main character anyway, because she (and Piyomon) are basically always coming after Taichi (and Agumon). And if you look at Sora's impact in the series, that isn't even too farfetched - especially when you consider that she is LITERALLY stepping up to be leader in the Etemon arc in the novels while Taichi is in a dark spot, whereas Yamato is later on declared to be "too emotional to be a leader".

That aside, let's dig into the set-up here: In the Etemon arc, Sora's Crest is the last to be found. We do not know a lot about the characters' singular arcs at this point, so watching her worrying about the situation doesn't strike the viewer as too weird yet. While it astonishes her that Taichi is so keen on finding her Crest for her sake (despite knowing how selfless he can be too), Taichi himself doesn't see any reason to falter and reassures her instead. This is important, because these two have known each other for quite a while already; they have been in the same class together since elementary school, are also partners in their football club - thus, Taichi's view on Sora is pretty settled. He is very vocal when it comes to "words of reassurance" towards people he cares about and so he repeatedly mentions how caring and selfless Sora is to him, how she always worries about others first and how she shouldn't doubt herself and her qualities - neither because of her own perception of herself nor because of the lies PicoDevimon had been feeding her. Because Sora's perception of herself is indeed slightly skewed, but we will get to that.

Taichi's road to (re)discovering his personal sense of courage is irrevocably linked to his wish to save Sora; initially, his recklessness had repeatedly caused trouble, not only by letting his own Digimon partner go through a dark evolution, but also because he let one of his longest and best friends get captured by the enemy. He initially promised that they would find her Crest for her - and now he is being humbled once more, threatened by an electrical fence right in front of him that could potentially kill him, punishing for losing his way once again. He is aware that something important was lost, referring to both his "brave heart" - and Sora.

Why is that so important?

Not only is Taichi fulfilling both of his promises in the end - saving Sora himself and personally giving her the Crest they've been looking for -, but this is (in)directly mirrored in Sora's arc as well.

Once Taichi disappears after defeating Etemon, the group starts to search for him - for two whole months, while some of them already start to lose hope and drift apart. Sora realizes that the group is torn on how to proceed, but can't stop herself from wishing to find Taichi. Because, once again, something important was lost, indirectly referring to both Taichi - and the sense of togetherness in the group. One might argue that her leaving the others behind may not look very sensible at first glance - but just like she was the one who enabled Taichi's Crest to glow, her disappearance indirectly has an impact on (almost) everybody else's arcs as well. (Additionally, they would not have learned the meanings of the Crests, if Sora hadn't overheard PicoDevimon talking about them to Vamdemon...)

As a complementary force to Sora, Taichi's return reunites the group bit by bit. It almost feels like they're acting as fairy godparents to everyone else, each in their own way - while Sora is hiding in the shadows, giving everyone advice (Agumon, Mimi) or physical aid (Jyou, Yamato) to protect and guide them in the right direction, Taichi directly tries to pull them out of their corrupted viewpoints (Takeru, Yamato, Mimi, Koushirou rather indirectly), whether through words or actions. It's absolutely no surprise that the scene where Yamato tells Taichi that he was the one who brought them all back together (episode 28) is basically a direct mirror of them all coming together to agree to save Sora (episode 20). Because these two are the glue that keeps it all together.

And so, of course it puzzles Taichi that Sora doesn't want to reveal herself to the group again. Of course it surprises him that the girl, whom they all came together for to rescue, who secretly protected all of them behind the scenes due to her kind heart and selflessness and who never gave up looking for him - once again, doubts herself like that. Not only that, she screams at him, tells him that he has no idea who she really is. That her "love" is a facade, that she has no idea what love even means - that she had lost (or never even possessed) her personal sense of love.

(To go on a small tangent here, their framing is just endlessly interesting to me, because the misunderstanding and miscommunication between them is a red thread that spins throughout the entirety of the series. And it is rather tragic, because throughout it all - they actually never really seem to be drifting apart, but due to their lack of means of communication, they cannot be close for some reason. Whether you think of them as platonic or romantic doesn't even matter, the general idea remains the same: They are on each other's minds, they are incredibly important to one another and never stop feeling that way, consciously or subconsciously. It's why Taichi encourages Sora to be with Yamato, but still goes observing the black spore kids together with her in 02, it's why Sora still feels comfortable being physically close to Taichi in DSB and Tri, it's why she gets upset that he ALWAYS gets her - somewhat - right despite not finding the CORRECT words in OWG and Tri, it's why the connections never vanishes in Kizuna... But they're also both awfully insecure about certain parts of themselves, especially when it comes down to decision-making towards their futures and selves. Since neither of them can be fully open up to each other about that, things kinda feel like they are on hold.)

In the end, Taichi (mirrored by Pyocomon's words below) had been correct to tell Sora not to believe in PicoDevimon's lies, not to give in to her own self-doubts - and eventually, she realizes that, just like her mother, she simply did not want anyone else to get hurt even more.

The way Taichi is framed here, smiling at her with absolute glee and satisfaction marks the end of this arc - while he wasn't directly triggering her Crest to be activated, he still believed in her best qualities just like her Digimon partner did, refusing to let her get corrupted more. And even if the infamous sentence "I want Sora's love too" is more of a light-hearted little throw-away line, it's intriguing to look at the potential implications overall here: Since Taichi's arc of Courage was fueled by his wish to save Sora, since Taichi was the one who eventually gave Sora the Crest of Love, since both their arcs were initially sparked by their wishes to find each other again as they took the others under their wings like proud parents... Let's say, after all this time since Taichi had successfully saved Sora, after all the searching leading up to finally being reunited (after several months in Sora's case), they both must have been incredibly relieved that it had all turned out nicely. To see each other again alive and well.

It started with his Crest - and ended with hers.

Long story short, the Adventure would have stopped rather early if it hadn't been for these two, their bond and loyalty toward each other - and also their sense of leadership.

Last note: Shout-out to the third most important character in this arc - if it hadn't been for Koushirou, Taichi would not have found Sora, may not even have found a way back to the Digital World and they also would not have been able to solve the card riddle to get back home.

[andrewwtca]

Something really sad, and also INCREDIBELY telling, I found in the Ultimanias is how the Destiny Trio's bonds are described. like, Sora and Riku are kind of consistently described as best friends, but when Kairi gets involved, the bond just becomes childhood friends.

Sora: "Though he lived on Destiny Island with his childhood friends, Kairi and Riku..."

Riku: "A young man who cares deeply for his friends and is Sora's best friend and good rival."

Kairi: "A lively girl who possesses a pure heart of light and grew up on the same Destiny Island as Sora and Riku."

I found a translation, as well, of a character correlation diagram and they're the only trio that isn't described as best friends.

I understand that as a whole, their trio is supposed to represent growing up and how your bonds to one another can change - whether that means growing stronger and coming even closer or weakening and becoming distant - but you'll still care about each other. But it still is incredibly heartbreaking to see the main trio's friendship summed up as "they grew up together."

The only place I've so far seen to say different is the Story Before KHIII.

Sora:

Riku (ignore these god-awful screenshots I was literally watching a youtube review to try and read it because I couldn't find it anywhere else. Just trust me, it says 'Sora and Kairi's best friend since childhood'):

Kairi:

Now, I get it that maybe they don't want to use the same language, but it makes the most sense to me to say on Sora's bio to describe them as best friends, especially considering we see HIS bond with Riku and Kairi, but on Riku's? And the fact that Sora is always the 'friendship guy'? (This is just an outlier I wanted to bring up that calls Riku and Kairi best friends, and that's only if you take these translations as 100% faithful, which we have seen time and time again, that they often aren't.)

It almost feels like their friendship is at an all-time low. And don't forget this is the guidebook that leads up to KHIII, which should hypothetically be the peak of their bond, because they're all on the same level (not in terms of Mastery as Riku is the only Master, but in terms of all being Keyblade Wielders), they're all safe, they all have opportunities to tell each other their feelings. This book is a chance to be a celebration of their friendship, of how they overcome and yet?

'Childhood friends.'

I remember, maybe a few weeks ago, there was a question going around on Twitter asking 'if you have to get rid of one trio, which one would it be?' and most people said Destiny Trio and yeah, it's for a very obvious reason! A lot of these same people say that the games just don't do a good job of showcasing their relationship and they're all really good friends with each other, and everyday, it just more and more obvious it's just wistful thinking. This is as close as we can get as a 'word from god.'

And when you look at the game, it's obvious that they're drifting. The last meaningful conversation we had in this group was Sora and Riku in KH2. KH2!!! That was literally 18 years ago (like a few months for them, but that's not the point I'm making)!!! Meanwhile, we got meaningful interactions in both the other trios in KH3 - which, I'll concede, it was because they were separated for long periods of time that they were so meaningful, but if the game wanted to show us Destiny Trio having deep interactions, it could've! Literally, Sora and Kairi sharing a paopu fruit didn't even have a conversation! it was just Kairi inadvertently voicing her (VERY WELL JUSTIFIED) fears that they'll drift away from each other!

The reason Destiny Trio doesn't feel like a trio is because they aren't one! There's Sora and Riku who are homoerotically close, there's Sora and Kairi who have are growing distant, and there's Riku and Kairi who's only meaningful interactions were founded on guilt or Sora.

TL;DR: "Destiny Trio" is slowly turning into "Sora and Riku dating with Kairi constantly left out of the picture"

They really are Destiny Trio because destiny brought them together and that's about it. Destiny can't give them the same drive to save each other as it gave Seasalt and Wayfinders. I mean yeah, they'll physically save each other, but they're so out of touch emotionally with each other. Like Kairi still refuses to process Sora growing up. Riku has never told Kairi about the things he did to try and save her. He's never even told Sora about his jealousy of Sora and Kairi. And god forbid Sora ever tell them about his insecurities!

The apathy towards destiny in Chikai's opening feels like the perfect way to describe what's going on with them. Destiny is there. Destiny brought them together. And that's it. What else is there to care for?

It's also, once again, very telling that this same song then proceeds with very romantic lyrics about making an oath with someONE. Hm. It's almost like even outside the games, on written supplements, we're constantly being told the path the Destiny Trio is on, and we're constantly being shown that every step they're taking is leading them further down it.

Just. OUGH, these kids!!! I need them to stop sacrificing themselves for each other and making these oaths that are all too big for them, and sit down and just TALK. (And please please please let Kairi interact with someone other than these two. Please, it hurts to see her fall away with nowhere to land!!!)

[championashley]

For anyone doubting that Sora got the crown necklace in the meteor shower memory Namine rewrote, think back to this moment in DDD:

the camera lingers for a second, the crown necklace in the center of the frame, which makes sure your eye is drawn directly to it.

(I want to go deeper into how this camera angle is significant for this moment due to Sora's character arc in CoM and the "thank Namine" line, but my school brain is fried right now)

[meiloorun-notthefruit]

Thinking about Sora stocking up on potions and rings and earrings to stay alive in KH1 and not knowing if it’ll be enough to get him through a fight. Multiple fights. Thinking about KH1 Sora literally having a panic button (press triangle) to call for Donald and Goofy for if he needed help/felt overwhelmed. Means they worked out a system- of course they did, cause Goofy taught Sora how to dodge roll and Donald taught him to how to cast fire, before all three of them left Traverse Town for the first time. Thinking about how that option doesn’t exist after KH1, from what I’ve seen. Could be because Sora grew up too fast/grew skilled enough that it wasn’t necessary anymore. He’s got summons. He got keychains. He’s got Strength, Magic, and AP Ups. He’s leveled up. But it could also be because after KH1, Sora has experienced being abandoned, left defenseless and on his own when he wasn’t seen as useful or chosen. He doesn’t think he can really call on them to protect him like that anymore. Maybe he doesn’t even realize that he’s thinking that. Maybe he does. Does Sora ever look at the stock of his supplies, so plentiful, made up of the dropped loot picked up by a desperate boy fighting to live another day. The keyblade and destiny didn’t pick him but he answered the call all the same. He must be tired.

He’s still tired, even after he’s died. He’s all alone again. But this time there might be no possible way back. He has to basically start over. Did he lose his power again… Sora doesn’t know Riku went looking for him; does he expect anybody to come looking for him.

Oh Sora…

[linkspooky]

The Great Man Theory of Choujin X

In Crime and Punishment, the 1866 novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky the main character Raskolnikov schemes to murder and rob an elderly pawnbroker. The reason he wants to murder this pawnbroker is not just because he is in debt, but to prove his theory of mankind. For Raskolnikov, all men are divided into two categories: ordinary and extraordinary. The ordinary man has to live in submission and has no right to transgress the law because he is ordinary. On the contrary, extraordinary men have the right to commit any crime and to transgress the law in any way. We have seen this ethical argument play out again and again in Choujin X in the past few chapters of Choujin X, so I think it's time to take a closer look under the cut.

In Raskolnikov's view extraordinary men are extaordinary they are men who have the gift or talent to alter the world. It is the extraordinary men who forge civilizations to new heights of achievements. Therefore it is the extraordinary man who has the inner right to decide whether to overstep any law or any obstacle that stands in the way of the practical fulfillment of his ideas.

Sato, Tokio's mentor refers to great men of history in a similiar way, as if they were some kind of oppressed class who the laws that protected the masses only hindered.

Choujin, by Sato's viewpoint have the right to transgress the law because the law is made to regulate the masses, that is ordinary humans and not Choujin. By drawing a line between those without superpowers who are in the majority, and those with powers who are in the minority, Sato is dividing humans and Choujin into two separate categories and saying Choujin are inherently superior and have the right to transgress. That he has the right to transgress, because he has a power he was born with.

"I simply hinted that an extaordinary man has the right... that is not the official right, but an inner right to decide in his own conscience to overstep... certain obstacles, and in only case it is essential for the practical fulfillment of his idea (sometimes, perhaps, of benefit to the whole of humanity.) .... I maintain that if the discoveries of Kepler and Newton could not have been made known except by sacrificing the lives of one, a dozen, a hundred or more men, Newton would have had that right, would indeed have been duty-bound to eliminate the dozen or the hundred men for the sake of making his discovery known to all of humanity. But it does not follow from that Newton had a right to murder people right and left and to steal every day in the market. Then, I remember, I maintained in my article that all... well, legislators and leaders of men, such as Lycrugus, Napoleon, and so on were all without exception crimminals [...] in fact many of these benfactors and leaders of humanity were guilty of terrible carnage."

What Raskolnikov is describing here fits the description of the Nietzschian Ubermensch to a T, and in fact it was Crime and Punishment that served as an inspiration for Nietzsche's philosophy.

However, Raskolnikov in the book is far from the Nietzschian ideal. He's described as perpetually gloomy, overly anxious, constantly sick, he's incredibly in debt, barely leaves his house, faints at the drop of a hat. He's no crimminal genius either as when he finally pulls off the crime that he spends the first third of the book plotting he (1) makes a mistake and has to kill a witness, (2) doesn't even rob the pawn broker just grabs a bunch of her stuff and runs (3) takes all the jewlery he took and buries it under a rock and never touches it again.

Clearly, we're working with a crimminal mastermind here.

"A hundred thousand good deeds could be done and helped, on that old woman's money which will be buried in a monastery! Hundreds, thousands, perhaps, might be set on the right path, dozens of families saved from destitution, from ruin, from vice. Kill her, take her money, and with the help of it devote oneself to the service of humanity and the good of all. What do you think, would not one tiny crime be wiped out by thousands of good deeds?"

Raskolnikov's logic is that he will commit one crime and then use the money for the betterment of humanity, only to axe murder a defenseless old lady, a defenseless simpleton, and bury that money under a rock. Perhaps there's a lesson to be learned here.

Charity is just Raskolnikov's justification, his true motive for his crime is to prove his great man theory, and that he's capable of being one of those extraordinary individuals that can change the world by having the werewithal to commit a murder. Raskolnikov wants to divide humanity into superior and inferior, extraordinary and ordinary, and he wants to be in the superior category.

"Thank you, but tell me this. How do you distinguish those extraordinary people from the ordinary ones? Are there signs at their births? I feel there ought to be more exactitude, more external definition. Excuse the natural anxiety of practical law-abiding citizens, but couldn't they adopt a special uniform, for instance, couldn't they wear something, be branded in some way? For you know if confusion arises and a member of one category imagines he belongs to the other, begins 'eliminating obstacles" as you so happily express then..."

In the story the police officer who is hunting Raskolnikov begins easily pointing out the many flaws in Rask's theory of dividing people into two discrete categories. Fortunately for Sato, in Choujin X he has something that is determined for him at birth that he thinks marks him above the laws and restrictions of ordinary people.

Sato's argument is not that they're going to save more people by taking the route that they're doing, but rather because they are born as Choujin they have an inherent superiority to other people that makes it so the rules don't apply ot them. Having superpowers apparently gives you a moral imperative no matter what those powers are.

Before going further onto the scene I want to remind you that Tokyo Ghoul Ishida's previous work is one of the few works that has ever gruesomely depicted what an evil thing torture is onscreen. It leaves permanent scars in both the main character, and everyone the main character goes onto hurt after the fact.

Jack Bauer Syndrome: Hollywood's Depiction of the National Security Law opens like this.

This "ends justify the means" ideology, or "right to transgress for the greater good" is an idea soaked in our culture, it doesn't just show up in Crime and Punishment and Choujin X. After justifying himself this way, Sato then proceeds to do something which is more or less just torture.

After Palma (willingly cooperating I might add) slices both of her arms up to try to raise a witness from the dead, Sato then orders her neck to be cut open so she can continue to bleed more, in spite of Azuma and later Tokio's protests. The only one who seems to call out his ethical higher viewpoint before he starts torturing her is Azuma.

Now, let's say that everything didn't go Sato's way. If Palma just died, or if she'd chaosified and hurt or even killed everyone in the room would Sato have faced any sort of consequence whatsoever? Was he willing to take responsibility if things went wrong? Would have he willingly gone to prison for murdering a person who still has civil rights even if she's currently their prisoner?

I doubt it.

You would think someone with a higher moral imperative, would also hold themselves to that same ethical standard. However, for Sato freedom from restraints under the law also seems to mean freedom from consequences. If Palma had died here, then I doubt Sato would have faced any legal consequences for his actions or have had his power restricted in any way. So, isn't it lucky that everything just happened to work out?

Choujin X seems in part to be deconstructing this very Jack Bauery "It's okay to torture people because that was the only way to stop the ticking bomb and save everyone, and the ends justify the means every single time" kind of logic, with it's discussion of fate, prophecies and Yamato Mori, and Sora Shihouin's role in history.

The bird that Tokio talks to is the first character to put the suggestion that maybe none of the prophecies true, they're only true because people have faith in them because they want to think there's a sure thing in life.

Sora's absolute confidence in her prophecies and the ideas of a pre-determined future, lead her to committ atrocities in the name of averting future disasters she is absolutely sure is going to happen.

What's 200,000 deaths if Sora was averting the millions of dead she saw in her visions?

From a simple, utilitarian trolley problem perspective if you were to ask most people on the street "Would it be okay to sacrifice 200,000 people if it saved ten million" they'd say yes just based on the numbers. Partially because the human mind cannot even comprehend death on that scale.

However, the problem with utilitarianism nothing is definite. The ends do not justify the means if the means themselves are uncertain. It's easy to say it's okay to sacrifice 200,000 for 10,000,000 but there was no saying for sure that ten million were actually going to die.

Sora saw one thing. Mado saw another thing. For all we know they could have both been wrong. There's no indication that Choujin X takes place in a deterministic universe with a fixed future, especially since there are multiple seers having different visions which would imply the opposite of that. That there's not one predetermined fate. Sora went and killed those people on the hypothetical possibility that there MIGHT be a disaster in the future she was trying to avert.

Sora was Jack Bauering all over the continent of Anitise. She had to torture those people, otherwise the bomb was going to go off. That only happens in fiction though, becaues study after study after study shows up torture and abuse in prison does not in fact save the day. For the most part it doesn't even happen under dire circumtsances, it happens because guards, police, and authorities are give too much power under the people they keep imprisoned. It's not an ethically dubious way of attaining information to save the day, it's just a common, everyday, abuse of power.

Sora believes just as Sato does, that having power gave her the inherent right to transgress.

Sato is beginning to more and more hint that the power that Choujins have give them the right to transgress. In a sick way Sora began to mirror Queem in her actions later on in life.

They both became opium addicts. They both fought and fought and fought until they lost the ability to maintain their human form. They both invaded someone else's sovereign territory, instigated a war, and then committed genocide.

Most of all they both believe in their own superiority. While Queem believed in Choujin Supremacy seeing himself as a conqueror and a warlord, Sora has a savior complex, invading foreign territories under the dubious reasoning of "saving them" and committing atrocities that look like modern-day religious crusades.

Why did both of them do what they did?

Because they believed the power they had gave them the right to transgress, and because other people who believed the same went along with their actions and helped them.

[gulava]

The way the original Coded for mobile (the version without cutscenes) is lost media and because of the time it came out, it is not watchable even on Youtube without the cutscene version of scenes playing out...

I have often said both versions of dialogue in COM and Days are relevant. Same case here. Dialogue taken from khwiki.

"But, because of these bugs, I could not complete the restoration. Out of all available memories, I was selected to be a vessel to hold them all together."

In this version of Coded, Data Riku states he's responsible for restoring the journal as he is what holds the memories together. He is what holds Sora's memories together. Maybe it's a small difference to "shield them from corruption" but it's the wording that gives me pause.

Coded shows us that Riku is what holds Sora together. KH3 utilizes "show, don't tell" by telling us otherwise but then showing us the truth.

Sora is told to look for the light in the darkness. He finds Riku.

He is told to go to the person holding him together. He goes to Riku.

It's always been Riku.

[verathena14]

I JUST HAD THE BIGGEST REALIZATION ABOUT SORA'S POD IN CoM/Re:CoM

(this might be a well-known/widely accepted idea but i have never seen anyone talk about it so im very proud of myself for figuring this out)

So it's a lotus, right?

For the longest time, that wasn't anything of note. Just "oh okay cool. nice flower."

BUT THERE'S MORE TO IT THAN THAT. I WAS A FOOL, AN ABSOLUTE BUFFOON, TO THINK THAT NOMURA WOULD DO SOMETHING SO SURFACE-LEVEL.

As we know, Nomura <i>looooves</i> to pull from mythology (see: Riku on the Delphic Tripod in Olympus in KH3, the foretellers being the Seven Deadly Sins, Skuld being one of the Norns, literally the entirety of the KHDR cast -- and now the KHML cast) AND THEN I REALIZED.

In the Odyssey, Odysseus and his crew happen upon an island full of people who have forgotten who they are and where they came from-- and this is because of the LOTUS FLOWERS.

YKNOW, LIKE HOW SORA'S FORGETTING LITERALLY EVERYTHING THE LONGER HE SPENDS IN CASTLE OBLIVION!

But what I really like about this allusion is that Nomura turns it on its head-- the lotus, the pod, instead heals Sora's memory.

And guess who set up the whole plot to mess with Sora's memories? That's right, MARLUXIA. WHOSE WHOLE SHTICK IS **FLOWERS**

GOD, I don't know how I didn't notice this earlier but this whole thing is VERY yummy to me, I am SO normal about it.

[holleighgram]

Inspired by @hollowwhisperings reminding me that Riku may not be entirely human

[fanficmaniatic]

Not to be the over analyzing Cole fan… but am I the only one both surprised and delighted by this shot?

Cole is in the front and center, running, and he looks SO cool! I am rotting for him and everything he does!

Now, I need to admit this is weird. Cole is rarely put in front and center for shots, he is usually in the back, SPECIALLY in running shots, that’s why I have the head cannon that due to his weight/muscle he is not that fast (When compared to the other Ninja) And the show seems to follow this. To be honest I am having a hard time thinking of a running shot when he is front and center that doesn’t belong to Master of The Mountain. Because in there it doesn't matter whether or not he is the fastest, he was the focus character, therefore the focus of the shot goes to him.

And THAT'S what has me so intrigued. Master of the Mountain was Cole’s focus season, his moment to shine, it made sense when he was leading the Upply for him to be front and center... But Now? I am surprised it isn't Nya.

Okey, ignore for a second, the fact that Cole was one of the main 4, ignore the fact that he was the original leader of the team. Dragons risings is a soft reboot. Meaning that while all the other seasons are still relevant, A soft reboot is written in a way someone that has not watched the previous seasons can still jump in and follow along. That's why we have Arin and Sora, new characters that allow the writers to re-explain old concepts without it looking like the characters we grew up with are being idiots.

With this in mind I have to ask... Why is Cole front and center? (And I repeat, he is my absolutely favorite character here) but from the soft reboot perspective... isn't Cole a new character? isn't Cole someone new to the team and therefore new to the plot and narrative? In relationship to the plot and narrative of the soft reboot, Sora is the character we have spent more time with, yet it doesn't make sense for her to be front and center. Sora has not expressed desire to be the leader, and doesn't have the push to lead a team (at least not rn, when we only have her development up to half s1, and the trailer for part 2). Nya on the other hand, she is a character that through Sora's eyes -our POV character in essence- has some sort of authority, we have been with her for longer too. Nya is someone Sora can look up to, learn from, and follow... So it would make sense to have Nya in the front and center... Yet she is not even next Cole.

Notice how not only are both Sora and Nya parallels at the back, not front, they are also blurry... In fact, Cole is the ONLY character in this shot who is not blurry. In addition to being front and center, the animators blur the other characters as Cole runs closer to the camera. Hell, even in the composition, you could draw a clear triangle with the other characters, and Cole is a the peak. He is the focal point, and this ensures the viewer is looking at Cole, but more importantly HIS expression.

His is the only expression that is 1) clear to see, and 2) not showing fear. He is angry, focused... determined.

This bring the actual question of the post... Why use these visual framing devices this way if not to give Narrative focus to Cole?

Could this episode focus on Cole? could we maybe see how he found the formling and the serpentine? notice too how they are next to Cole, and in front of Nya and Sora -aka closer to Cole (Maybe both figurative and literally)-... Could this episode touch on his new team, perhaps show him leading? Because I can't think of another narrative reason as to why they would put so much visual focus of a running scene on Cole.

And you could say "Duh, the episode is of when they find Cole, of curse they are going to focus on him" and You'll be correct, but also you are not getting my point. What I am saying is that, if this level of focus is anything to go by, Cole fans are going to eat, this episode is going to be a meal. Cole is about to kick some mech's ass so bad that bitch is going to go back to the mechanic crying and we as viewers are going to have front row seats to the whole thing.

Cole might be having a focus episode where his leadership skills are shown, where he is being fatherly, where he is showing himself as the responsible rock of the team. THIS is not any focus episode, this is a five start restaurant meal. A buffet.

Anyways... I am trying to keep my hopes low, but I needed to put this out there real quick.