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troperrific · 3 months

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/spoilers for ekuoto chapter 69 (nice)/

The Depression arc and the end of the world via plushies have finally arrived. Hopefully Mr. Priest’s corruption arc will actually be interesting for his character and not just about Belphegor trapping everyone into their own lotus-eater machines.

I mean, it would definitely be interesting to see what a “perfect dream” would look like to each character, and how they would each fight off their own temptations, I’d like to have that too, but I’m not sure if we will get that.

If they (Belphegor and Mr. Priest) are really are going to put everyone to sleep, then they’re already robbing the entire world of their agency, but ideally, I’d like Mr. Priest to go further and further (after this arc, maybe?) and really go full “I know better and I’m doing what’s best for everyone” towards the few people he does care about.

Since we’ve spent so long comparing the Demon Lords and Mr. Priest, why not have him full-on undermine the agency of the people he likes? Wouldn’t that be neat?

Because here is the thing. Mr. Priest never really loved the world all that much if at all. He just had a few people he kinda of liked but that was it. After spending time with Imuri, and then his temporary classmates… he sorta began seeing the world and its people as more than Hell itself and mere blobs of flesh all smushed together. But that was too brief, I suppose, to make up for all the horrors awaiting him outside his room.

Belphegor’s proposal for a peaceful world is one where no one interacts with each other; in other words, a world without pain, but also a world without love.

Perhaps this is what will get the world out of Belphegor’s giant baby room, since…

…even at his lowest, mentally and emotionally speaking, Mr. Priest does seem to have a reason to get out of the bed.

I really like how his thoughts go immediately to the fact that Leah and Imuri are calling out to him. Not that he has a meeting to attend, not that he has to prepare for his duties- it’s the individual people he wants to protect that moved him, even for a second, despite him being on the brink of despair. Even if it wasn’t enough to pull him from giving up on the world.

So even if they are eventually going to be a reason to snap him out of Sloth, it would also be neat if they didn’t completely pull him off of his “corruption” arc just yet but were a catalyst to push him further, in a different way.

Speaking of which, I wonder if Belphegor will out Imuri to Mr. Priest in this arc…

And on a side note:

The nuance between the original Japanese and the English translation seem a bit different to me?

Belphegor’s [もういいの] could be translated in a few different ways, but I was under the impression that it was for sure an echo of chapter 68’s title [もういいよ] (translated as “Please no more” in English). So it came off to me as him going more “Had enough?” or “Can we finally go forth (with our promise)?”.

How do I put it…? The second is more arrogant to me, or rather, it’s like Belphegor was just waiting for the confirmation/outcome he expected from the beginning instead of genuinely asking Mr. Priest if he wants to do it. Because in Belphegor’s mind this has been Mr. Priest’s- their- wish since he was a small child.

“See now? How ugly the world is? I told you so, didn’t I? See how I’m your only ally? See?

So can I just end the world already?”

That kind of feeling.

By the way, this doesn’t remove the fact that Belphegor’s care for Mr. Priest is sincere. He does want to help him. Genuinely. But, the added layer that he infantilizes the boy, the arrogance of “knowing him better than himself (except not really)”and how he projects his own feelings and ideas onto him… I prefer that rather than him actually respecting his choices and opinions (he doesn’t. that’s partially why he dismisses the priest’s own feelings for Imuri as mere lust). He’s like an overbearing and over-protective but well-meaning mother, and I like that.

But who knows. I’m not really fluent in Japanese, so I might be wrong.

But what I liked most about this chapter was Mr. Priest’s inner monologue: however heartbreaking it is to see him sink into depression and basically agree with the Demon Lords’ stance on humanity, I really do like the unabashed but rather subtle arrogance underlying these thoughts.

See, the entire time, Mr. Priest thinks about “humans” as separate from him. It’s other people that he protects despite their sins. It’s other people who should control themselves more. It’s other people that can’t control themselves.

(Ungrateful, lowly sinners who’ll never learn)

Surely you can see the irony in his speech, no? This happens after he “lost control”, pulverized Asmodeus to the ground even after she surrendered and destroyed the school. After he “lost control” and succumbed to his lust when he masturbated over Imuri. After he “lost control” and tortured Mammon after he goaded him into a fight.

Even the fact that he still eats (and he’s neither vegan nor vegetarian so he eats meat, so he indirectly benefits from the death of another being) despite not being able to truly starve (stated in chapter 31, I think), thus not needing it to survive, could still be interpreted as sinful, as both the Demon Lords and some exorcists (like Nicholas) work in those excruciating, inflexible extremes.

And right after the monologue he “loses control” and damns the entire world to the whims of Belphegor.

I love how he ignores that the women Asmodeus used to violate him were victims too and how he’s actually blaming them for falling under the demon’s control!!

The part with him being eaten is also so messed up, I love it! Is he blaming the witches, who he is vaguely conscious as victims of the Church? Is he actually going, “oh, maybe they should’ve tried harder to find another way to defy the Church/defend themselves”? Or is he actually blaming Leah for not exorcising Beelzebub that first time? For being “weaker” than him, even though she was battling Mother Rosa (her savior)’s corpse at the time? Even worse, for “losing control”, eating her brother and choosing revenge? Because otherwise he wouldn’t have felt compelled to help her? (<- sick and twisted if it’s Leah he’s blaming!! you were the one who went all “knight championing for the tragic damsel” on her Mr. Priest!! Leah never asked nor wanted you to take on her burdens!!)

I think Mr. Priest is super valid in feeling frustrated and betrayed about protecting a world that seems willfully hopeless and corrupt, when he’s trying so hard, when he’s suffering so much. It’s like all his suffering was for nothing. Wasted energy. Wasted hard-work. (<- this is also Sloth, by the way. Why bother anymore when it doesn’t matter?)

It also makes sense given his tendency to lean towards… individualism (?) when he’s blaming himself (Leah does this a lot too). When I say individualism, I mean… he doesn’t consider structural/societal/ contextual factors when he reflects about his mistakes or condition. So it makes sense that, since he’s at rock bottom, he’s applying this on a global scale to humanity. Generalizing if you will. “If only I had been stronger/If only they tried harder…”

But even if his feelings are valid he is still being arrogant. He has also “lost control”. He has also “sinned”. He’s the same in that regard. Pretending that he is any different is arrogance.

He tortured and beat Asmodeus similarly to how he beat Mammon. Worse, actually. He repeated it. He did not learn.

He often acted as if he was above sexual desire when he never really was. In his eyes, he repeatedly failed to “control himself”. He did not learn.

Extremely funny. Pride truly is right under our noses, looking at us from the horizon.

Well, all these arcs served to slowly show that Mr. Priest has always, always, always been just human after all, a being as fallible and messy as the rest of humanity. Hopefully he’ll learn that it’s not a bad thing.

I’d also argue that, because both Mr. Priest (during inner monologues) and Belphegor (in general) use the pronoun “boku”, that whole monologue could also have come from Belphegor. I don’t think it would largely take away from Mr. Priest’s resentment of the world, nor from the interpretation above, given that Belphegor could be seen as a metaphor for depression/anxiety/intrusive thoughts regarding his role in Mr. Priest’s mind, and the fact that Mr. Priest does seem to agree with the whole argument, as it’s what makes him give in.

I think it could easily be either. Belphegor does have much more of a tendency to blame others for anything that happens to Mr. Priest (even things that Mr. Priest causes or does himself), while Mr. Priest usually blames himself. On the other hand, Mr. Priest has shown himself to be quite judgmental and arrogant at times, and sometimes lacked the self-awareness to admit he’s also guilty of similar “sins”(like lust, regarding viewing others in sexual ways), like in this chapter.

Whichever is the case, it’s very fun to think about.

And before anyone’s reading this thinks I’m bashing Mr. Priest or Belphegor, let me be clear:

I love that my priest boy can be a judgmental and arrogant hypocrite who has incredibly valid feelings of rage about his situation and is justified in wanting to run, and I love that the incel snail is extremely genuine in his protectiveness and affection for the little priest but is just as selfish delusional and perhaps even as manipulative as the other Demon Lords.

Also, on a small note, since Mr. Priest is having second thoughts about whether the world is worthy saving, because it’s full of sinners who never learn (thus they are unworthy victims, potential or actual)… are we going to touch on Mr. Priest’s odd fixation on the ideal of a “good, virtuous victim”?

Because it’s bothered me for a while now. If you don’t know what I mean… well, Mr. Priest has consistently been more drawn to the idea of a “perfect, good victim”. It’s shown during the Raid Chapter, for example, when he the example he brings up while sympathizing with the witches and their oppression by the Church is of “people who never even used magic to defend themselves”. So, extremely passive, not even capable of self-defense, never even did anything wrong, the ideal victim who only suffered and nothing else.

It’s also shown through his dynamics with Imuri, Leviathan and “Aria”. All three women have disguised themselves as victims of possible demon attacks: Leviathan said the boat she was on was attacked by a giant octopus (likely meaning the Kraken, but we know it was her who attacked it), “Aria” staged being threatened by Asmodeus (herself) and Imuri is currently playing the role of needing protection from Satan (her boss who sent her to seduce Mr. Priest). In addition, Leviathan accidentally came across as a victim of sexual abuse due to a careless comment and Asmodeus purposely made Mr. Priest think Aria was a victim of domestic abuse.

Yet, despite the trauma and potential violence lurking… none of the three showed any… “uglier” symptoms, to put it simply. No lashing out, off-putting behavior… just incredibly cute girls who need zero actual attention to their trauma or victimhood. Easy to take care of… in fact, Aria was even the one looking after him. And considering the fact that both Asmodeus and Imuri had/have the intention of seducing him… it gives off the feeling that the idea of a “perfect, virtuous victim” is not only a fantasy, but an appealing (male) fantasy to Mr. Priest (y’know, the sweet and pure damsel in distress). Like, he does have a crush on Imuri and seemed a bit attracted to Aria too. This is in contrast with the only actual (and currently alive) victim of a Demon Lord, Leah (who is more of a deconstruction of the damsel/victim akin to Mr. Priest’s deconstruction of the hero/chosen one archetype. but that’s a whole other post) who he’s comparatively less taken with.

Not saying Mr. Priest is a bad person for this or anything but… it’s a consistent trait of his… maybe he wants (or needs) a “good victim/good person”, because that’s probably worthier fighting for (?) than the foolish, sinful (“bad victims/people”) masses? Even if unconsciously?

I dunno. But that’s a very fascinating trait/pattern I’ve been curious about for a while now. Even more so because Mr. Priest himself doesn’t fit into his own preferred ideal.

But I digress.

Now, as for other details that caught my attention:

Both Mr. Priest and Daniel were sporting some insane eye bags this chapter. It’s not a competition guys!

The contrast between these two scenes is very interesting to me.

In chapter 59, they’re in a professional setting, a meeting with most of the exorcists present. Dante has a more accusatory tone, his “am I right” is more to emphasize what he already knows and chastising. He doesn’t have a high opinion of Daniel, likely sees him as a underhanded and cunning bastard (which he kinda is), and seems to hate his cutthroat ways (valid, Daniel is an asshole) and in turn Daniel retorts in his characteristic cold and blunt tone, impartial and cruel, but honest and logical to a fault. He also doesn’t show any sort of vulnerability or regret when talking to Dante and I like how the dislike seems to be a bit mutual.

Meanwhile, Leah approaches him in his hotel room, it’s more private, a one-on-one conversation. Her expression and phrasing indicate a more pleading tone, almost as if she thought Daniel could change his mind, even though she was in the same reunion as Dante. He was the doctor who oversaw her condition and initial treatment when she’d just been rescued from Beelzebub, so perhaps that’s why she appears to have a better opinion of Daniel’s character, compared to Dante (whereas Daniel seemed to have had a hand in sending all those “meat shields” to help Mother Rosa defeat the Lord of Flies, so perhaps Dante dislikes him for that too).

In return, Daniel allows himself to be more expressive around Leah (whether it’s because of her own soft pleading or because he’s still reminded of her 5 year old self or both), looking rather sad (if not regretful) that “there’s no choice”. He even attempts to comfort her by telling her Marco had volunteered to act as back-up.

Which was very curious to me for a couple of reasons.

It’s stated by Daniel himself that bringing Marco anywhere close to Mr. Priest might cause more trouble than it’s worth due to his fanatic devotion.

But he has Dante, Mikhail, Leah and Barbara at his disposal, all extremely strong and capable exorcists in their own right. Dante and Mikhail were shown to be mostly in charge of searching for the witches whereabouts, and since they have very little time until Walpurgis Night (little more than 2 months), it’s understandable that Daniel would want them to focus solely on that task as much as possible.

The fact that he wasn’t going to send Leah and Barbara surprised me, though, considering their abilities. Leah has zero regard toward her own well-being and life either, so it’s doubtful she would hesitate to fight a Demon Lord with or in Mr. Priest’s place now, when she tried to do just that with Leviathan and Beelzebub, and blamed herself for not being there in time for the Asmodeus fight (File 53). But then it dawned on me:

Leah and Barbara are still in charge of watching over Mr. Priest and Imuri, particularly because no one knows what Satan’s plan is yet. From Daniel’s point of view, losing them as spies at this point would probably really hurt their chances of foiling whatever’s Satan has planned;

Leah is the only other exorcist who can evoke the power of Angels. But it’s a power that has to be used scarcely, due to the huge toll it takes on her body and lifespan. There’s no telling how many more times Leah can use that power before she dies from it. I could see Daniel wanting to reserve that sort of power in case something happens during Walpurgis Night, be it because of Baba Yaga, Satan or whatever. And considering how Leah is, she would use it freely against any Demon Lord, if she thought she had to- so it makes sense that Daniel, knowing her limits and personality, wouldn’t send her (and Barbara) to fight Mammon;

So I guess, Marco was the next best thing. It probably doesn’t hurt that he does actually have experience with fighting Mammon (though this one got door slammed in the end. lol)

Speaking of the poor crow dumbass…

What’s with all the Mammon Fanservice these past few chapters? This is twice we’ve seen him naked… I’m Not Complaining, I just think it’s funny.

It’s also a bit amusing to me how Leah always instinctively shields Imuri with her body even though she actually knows she’s a demon working for Satan.

I mean, one could say since they know nothing about Satan’s plan, that is better that they keep Imuri safe, specially considering Mr. Priest’s growing attachment towards her and his current unstable condition.

But. She did that during Part 3 too, before she saw how Mr. Priest let Imuri comfort him while stomping on Asmodeus (lol).

Maybe she has her own kind of fondness towards Imuri, despite herself. Although, I also think Leah kind of sucks at being as ruthless as she tries to portray herself to be… not to say she can’t be ruthless, but like… so is 90% of the cast, and they’re actually better than her at this… Dante can shoot the love of his life between the eyes… even Mr. Priest could use the dying Golem’s body to hide (and later tear through it, destroying it further) so he could get the upper hand on Beelzebub.

Meanwhile, Leah can’t sacrifice Barbara for the greater good… hesitates to separate Imuri from Mr. Priest (File 53). It’s actually a bit funny… she’s kinda unhinged sure, but she sometimes chokes when trying to be ruthless or dutiful (probably because her original motivations weren’t as… say, selfless as the other exorcists/members of the Church, who fight for the greater good…) in a way other characters would have less of a problem lol.

Hmm…

Closing thoughts… not sure if Marco would reach the others in time but…

BUT.

It would have been very funny to see Marco and Belphegor fighting for the position of number 1 fanboy. Doubt it’s gonna happen though, because now it’s for suffering and horror (and plushies)

Also I was robbed of Belphegor having a gross and/or more symbolically meaningful birth. Although there’s still hope for a flashback!

#troperrific talks #ekuoto tag #make the exorcist fall in love #just my nonsensical ramblings and factually weird takes as usual #but nobody talks about Mr priest more unappealing traits or possible flaws and that’s boring to me #so I gotta do it… it’s what makes him more interesting and appealing to me… I gotta do it

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