#the whole show in general is great with making this web of foils that emphasize different sides of the characters in really interesting ways

[angst-and-fajitas]

I could write an ESSAY on how Maddie and Ellen are honestly probably the most important narrative foils in the whole show, philosophically. Like,, Ellen is so well-written, she's so much more than just the protagonist's mom, she's one of the biggest philosophical bulwarks of the whole plot, and specifically the interplay between her and Maddie's growth and the way they go back and forth with each other is fundamental to understanding Maddie as a character, and therefore the plot as a whole. Even Maddie's wildest decisions and most conflicting ideas all start to fall into place when you contextualize them with her relationship with her mother

[juwelenstaat]

inter-chapter meta

an inter-chapter ramble on foils, Phosphophyllite, the seventh treasure, the self, and Ichikawa’s story-telling (and a prediction as to where she’s taking Houseki no Kuni) : all below the cut.

(This is so incredibly a ramble, my apologies in advance.)

I think the narrative of houseki no kuni has finally hit the point where the Buddhist interpretations and influences on the text have surpassed the rich content of the first thirty chapters. Ichikawa has built her story, which, in all honesty, I’m much more comfortable calling a canon, in an incredibly poignant manner. Her idea of story-telling and her manipulation of Western-dominant literary themes, most notably the foil, is simply extraordinary in houseki no kuni. There is a lot of religious symbolism and, more importantly, worldview in houseki no kuni that a lot of the fandom has picked up on. Images of the lotus flower, lotus pod, the seven treasures, the six/seven stars, the role of suffering and of Samsara and change are all prevalent in fandom meta theories by now. However, for Ichikawa’s storytelling, houseki no kuni is dependent most of all on the theory of the self.

Phosphophyllite, of course, is the most obvious illustration of how the perception of the self and how clinging to said perception of the self is the root cause for suffering. Their desire to change through their body parts and through their acquisition of knowledge surpasses any of the other gems, and their ability to accomplish these desires only to be left even more estranged than before perfectly demonstrates Buddhist ideology.

However, Phosphophyllite is not the only showcase of this notion of the self. Ichikawa has made the conscious decision in houseki no kuni to take the task of establishing nearly every character as a foil of multiple other characters. To be honest, it’s astonishing ; very, very few authors dare to attempt this, let alone accomplish this. Ichikawa has a deep-rooted knowledge in how to make an audience ache through large landscapes, minimalist dialogue, and empty panels. This is present in nearly all of her works ; what comes to mind immediately are panels from Insect Song and her short story on lightning (which I’m forgetting the name of). But in houseki no kuni, Ichikawa goes further to integrate every single character into multiple sides of the same die.

The web that is the linking of foils in houseki no kuni allows the reader to understand distinctly the consciousness of being trapped. Lapis Lazuli is a foil of Euclase, of Ghost Quartz and Cairngorm, of Phosphophyllite, and of Alexandrite. Euclase is a foil to Padparadscha, Phosphophyllite, Yellow Diamond, and Lapis Lazuli. Diamond foils Zircon, Bort, Phosphophyllite, Yellow Diamond, and Cinnabar. All of these characters are intensely interconnected in the quality that they all are parallel – but with a key difference.

A good illustration of ‘what makes characters foils in houseki no kuni is found in my absolute favorite pair of Yellow Diamond and Phosphophyllite. The eldest and the youngest gems ; one of the hardest and one of the weakest. And yet, what do they share? They both share a deeply rooted depression over their effect on society, though this stems from opposite angles. Their main source of strength, initially, stems from their speed, and this is also the root of their anxiety for some time. In fact, many of Phosphophyllite’s earlier panels on strength seem to be debunked by Yellow Diamond themself when lamenting the uselessness of their speed in defending others (note how Phosphophyllite wishes to use this new-found speed to defend others and then fails). When Phosphophyllite gains their gold-platinum alloy arms, their speed is reduced to the point where it does not help them at all in saving Antarcticite, and, thus, Yellow Diamond and Phosphophyllite are losing partners for the same exact reasons. It’s further reinforced several times throughout the manga by involving Yellow Diamond and Phosphophyllite as a pair (Yellow finding Phos in the forest, Yellow being the main figure running after Phos when Phos is taken by the Lunarians, Phos speaking to Yellow by the flowers, Yellow putting all of their trust in Phos and, then, losing all of that trust).

It is this writing exactly that allows the reader to fully understand that the sense of self in houseki no kuni is not limited to the bodies of individual characters. Yellow Diamond’s reclusive depression in these late chapters is only showing the audience Phosphophyllite’s own spiritual death. Amethyst, Diamond, Benitoite, and Alexandrite’s success within moon society only serves to enhance how long it’s been since Phosphophyllite was ever considered part of a community. When we see Bort’s long hair gone, we are forcefully reminded that this is no longer Diamond’s partner, that this is no longer Phosphophyllite’s old ‘rival,’ but a direct consequence of every action that’s been taken within the plot.

In Buddhism in the general, the sense of the self is the existence which forces suffering. And while most ‘direct’ Buddhist beliefs rarely have weight when translated into literature, Ichikawa has taken great strides to underline the boundaries of what the self is within her own literature.

Which leads us to the seventh treasure.

Phosphophyllite is, obviously, no longer their pure body but an aggregate of several different minerals and gemstones into a single form. Their sense of self has been questioned repeatedly through the loss of memory and their acquisition of new personalities. I think the next chapter will most certainly show us that Red Diamond is the seventh treasure (although I’m so fucking ready to put on my clown shoes if my fifteen-chapters-old theory fails me). It makes almost perfect sense to have the first gem reunite with one of the last gems : the true elder with the true youth ; foiled by their intense kindness that, for Red Diamond, lasted until death and, for Phosphophyllite, was manipulated into desperation.

Phosphophyllite only has two options anymore. Their first option is to lose everything that once made them Phosphophyllite : to lose the self, and then not suffer anymore. The second option, and one that I think Ichikawa will embrace, is that Phosphophyllite will gain Red Diamond and become that kind gem that they once were. Ichikawa has had no issue returning Phosphophyllite to old locations or old mindsets as a form of plot foil. Her fondness for recurring panels only emphasize how far Phosphophyllite has really gone. If Phosphophyllite lying in the grass tells us how far Phosphophyllite has gone between the grass of chapter 1 and the grass after the moon-earth gem battle, imagine how much the narrative will tell us by having Phosphophyllite once again be cheerful.

As for how this whole thing ends, I’m really expecting Ichikawa to have all of the gems, Lunarians, and Admirabilis taken out by Adamant’s prayer. All of her other works involve the ‘lively’ characters dying and leaving a single, authoritative figure alone to ruminate on all that has transpired. In her short story on lightning, lightning is left alone at the end to ruminate over the death of the boy he had tried to save. In her short story on the young plant girl, the two men are left to ruminate on what they have done to the girl. In Insect Song, the elder brother is left to ruminate on the deaths of all of his siblings. In her short story on the interplanet colony, the robot is left to ruminate on her manipulation of another girl. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if houseki no kuni takes Ichikawa’s favored end and leaves the audience with Adamant alone and ruminating on everything that the gems had gone through on behalf of the other species.