#george karizaki analysis

[scoups4lyfe]

George Karizaki and the Tragic Clown Paradox

(aka) The George Karizaki Dilemma — My George Character Analysis

WARNING: This essay goes into dark topics such as child abuse, trauma, and many other touchy and sensitive topics. Read at your own risk, basically. Also contains spoilers up to episode 48 of Revice. 

Warning, again—sensitive topics ahead. 

big thanks to @alpona for inspiring me to actually write and post this.

My Interpretation of the Inner Demon Reveal 

Vulnerability is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as: “​​the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally.” George Karizaki is a character that uses humor to disguise vulnerability. On the surface he comes off as more of an unbothered-genius, or mad scientist archetype. He works on what he likes, moral or not, all with an infuriating cocky-smile on his face. But humor isn’t the only thing George uses to hide his vulnerabilities, the very mask of ‘mad scientist,’ or a ‘villain’ caricature/persona is one of the other substantial ways George disguises his own traumas, fears, and pains. At the heart of it all, George cannot be analyzed without being placed in the “Tragic Clown Paradox.” Or— the ‘sad clown paradox’ as wikipedia calls it. 

Wikipedia defines said paradox as: “The contradictory association between comedy and mental disorders such as depression and anxiety.” 

More specifically, the link between humor and trauma. The paradox here, of course, being the fact that clowns—who are associated with laughter, fun, etc.—are actually the saddest or perhaps loneliest individuals in the room.  

This analysis seeks to examine George Karizaki as a character: how he’s being presented, his type of humor, and most importantly—how it all relates to his trauma. 

First on the list of analysis then, is the clown archetype and why I think George fits particularly well into it, and what that might mean for the character. In the article “The Great Comedians: Personality & Other Factors,” Samuel S. Janus states:

 “The world of theatre has always found meaningfully symbolic the alternate faces of comedy and tragedy. Historically, court jesters were tragicomic figures— the embodiment of the bittersweet of life. Among the oppressed, the role of social critic has been the comedian's forte. Freud indicated that humor is a release for anxiety, to quote Abe burrows: ‘The comedian must practice his comedy in order to avoid destroying himself.’ Jack Carter, another leading humanist, says: ‘the funny part, the laughter, is given to the audience, but the comedian is left with the bitter dregs.’ Comedy has been described by a leading theologian as: ‘The ability to laugh at one’s own tragedy.’”  

This is a particularly powerful section looking at the role of the tragicomic—the jester, the clown; and just how entwined with tragedy said comic is. Now, examining George’s portrayal in the show, fifty-one seconds into the first episode of Revice we are introduced to George first via his voice-over explanation about the Giff stamp. Then he brings up the idea of fighting demons with demons and with a snap of his fingers he brings up Daiji’s profile. Here we see George as a confident scientist. He obviously has a plan and knows what he’s doing. All, as stated previously, with a cocky-smile on his face. 

At Daiji’s coronation he cuts off Hiromi and pushes him humorously out of the way, saying he’s ‘taking too long.’ (This is notably also the first episode where we hear mention of his father and/or his father’s scientific legacy.) During the entire attack at the coronation, George is shown to be one of the only people not panicking. He’s rational and level-headed, even warning Hiromi not to try using the vistamp because it would be too strong for him. But then refusing to intervene or do anything more, letting Hiromi go through (and fail) at transforming. Simply stating: “See?” when things go wrong. This—from the standpoint of the audience, is also quite humorous. 

George takes on this theatrical jester archetype throughout the entirety of the series, sarcastically commenting on the sidelines as things take place within the central plotline. Like with Hiromi’s failed henshin. In “Fools are Everywhere” Beatrice Otto takes notice that ‘It is the nature of jesters to speak their minds when the mood takes them, regardless of the consequences.” In fiction, and real life, jesters employ a variety of skills. Such as storytelling. In fact, the modern term derives from gestour, or jestour, Anglo-Norman (French) meaning ‘storyteller’ or ‘minstrel.’ (Wikipedia) Jesters have a privilege of mocking/stating the truth to those in power (King) and being able to get away with it. George Karizaki is shown (like in episode 1) to mock, narrate, or comment on a situational folly or irony—again, such as Hiromi’s failed transformation. 

There are, of course, other notable instances of George’s jester antics—such as in episode 2, when Hiromi is informed he’s been demoted. Stating: “Your disgraceful failures to protect our Vistamp research labs AND inauguration ceremony have led you here.” So truthful and mean that you, as the audience, can’t help but feel bad and be amused. But instead of ending it there, George puts on that mocking smile of his and says in English, “Don’t mind, Hiromi.” 

George, like most jesters, are passive commentators rather than active forces within the narrative. They spectate. In fact, the most active thing George does is create vistamps to be used, which is barely, if ever, shown on screen. Yet somehow George still manages to manipulate and dictate main storyline events. Often working as the catalyst for something to happen in the episode. Such as when he gives Daiji a henshin device, or when he sticks a tracker on something stolen from their base in episode 14/15. 

Moving on to his sense of humor, George’s humor is a mix between self-enhancing humor that: “Involves a generally humorous outlook on life, a tendency to be frequently amused by the incongruities of life, and to maintain a humorous perspective even in the face of adversity,” (Like George at the coronation in episode 1), and Aggressive Humor which “relates to the use of sarcasm, teasing, ridicule, derision, ‘put down’ or disparagement humor.” Both are used to enhance the self, and the second is used to enhance the self at the expense of others, specifically. 

In Scott Kaufman’s and Aaron Kozbelt’s study, “The Tears of a Clown: Understanding Comedy Writers” they look at these types of humors and found self-enhancing humor to be positively correlated with social support and optimism, suggesting an optimistic outlook on life is closely linked to using humor for coping, perspective taking, and emotional regulation. On the other hand, they found aggressive humor to be positively correlated with self-report measures of hostility and aggression. We have seen George employ both kinds of humor throughout the show. Especially aggressive humor. This shows that George, as a person, is someone who uses comedy to cope and emotionally regulate himself, aka: He builds himself up by taking others down. I stated at the beginning that George uses humor to hide vulnerability, and to give himself a sense of control. As George—though it might not be obvious at first glance—is someone who hates loss of control, as it puts him in a vulnerable position and reminds him of his past trauma, which I’ll get to in a minute. 

Above is a video of George putting on his Villain persona in response to Hiromi lashing out at him

Janus states that, “there appears to be an awareness on the part of the audience of the relationship between humor and anxiety. Consequently it would be reasonable to assume some awareness of the fact that comedians are very anxious and often depressed people. (...) Humor, then, can be seen to be especially applicable in situations in which the individual feels himself to be powerless.” 

Power, powerlessness, control, and lack of, are all important elements of George Karizaki’s character and the clown mask he uses to cope with his past and his present. In Janus' study on the relationship between humor and anxiety,  he found that the early lives of all the subjects were marked by suffering, isolation, and feelings of deprivation; and I quote:

“Humor offered a relief from their sufferings and a defense against inescapable panic and anxiety. The presence of these same needs and ears almost universally accounts for the success of these particular individuals as humorists. The fact that humor is a language of protest to mitigate their anxiety and permits them to function. (...) It is felt that comedians are able to convert their rage from physical to verbal assault and that for many their comic routines are a form of acting out. (...) They (comedians) are keenly sensitive people who have an uncanny perception of the needs and fears of their audience.” 

Losing his father at such a young age and with no information about a mother, other than the mention of her not being around/gone, I think it is safe to assume George grew up an orphan without parental role models in his life. But not having parents is not George’s only trauma. 

(And here’s where my take becomes hot ….lol) 

George was forcibly given his father’s inner-demon as a child. This is obviously a metaphor for the passing down of generational trauma. It is also a form of child abuse. If we examine the facts, which are: (1) the father inserted his demon into George’s body without his consent, (2) this hereby violates George’s sense of self/his bodily autonomy, (3) as stated above, it’s child abuse. You don’t use a kid as an experiment and violate his control over his own body and not have that qualify as child abuse. George had to have been about 4-5 years of age at the time. That’s messed up. Though he might not recognize it subconsciously, this is another reason George hates lacking control. 

He’s already had things taken from him (i.e his parents) and things done to him (inner demon) all outside of his control. Then he had to grow up in that environment of deprivation and abandonment, where all he had left was his father’s inner demon and a legacy to live up to. This is also why Geeorge has the tendency to mask as a villain when confronted/put into an uncomfortable situation. It’s self-protection. “People lash out so that they can reject before they get rejected or abandoned. It is a way for the person to feel more in control, which makes them feel safer.” (‘Why do people lash out’ by Dr. Monocle Borschel) Some people with trauma lash out because they go into fight or flight mode when they feel threatened. 

To George—being vulnerable is putting himself out to be exploited. So he masks behind aggressive humor and villainy instead. 

Now, onto George Karizaki’s dilemma. 

One of the ways the George inner-demon reveal can be read (aka the way I read it) is as a metaphor for CSA. (Child Sexual Abuse.) How the scene is shown, the translation, and the fact that George’s bodily autonomy is being violated by his father, is why I came to this conclusion. This would also further explain George’s unusual sexual-coded interest in older men/father figures/authority figures. Victims can seek out the same type of abusers in order to have “control” over their own situation this time around, ergo “winning.” Though it never quite does work out that way. Either way, basically, if George is flirting/making the advances, then he has the control. 

All throughout the show George is usually the one to initiate physical contact with others, not the other way around. And when it is the other way around? George has never once reacted positively, instead forcibly removing the hand/touch from his body. 

Of course, this might’ve just been the actor being silly/doing something he finds amusing, for when he does things like flirting with the Igarashi father in episode 8 at the hot springs. But it still shouldn’t be ruled out imo. 

One of my first questions at George's inner-demon reveal was: “How does this differentiate from the intergenerational trauma passed down to Ikki from his own father?” Ikki’s situation (mostly with Vail) is often seen as a physically and emotionally abusive relationship. Ikki literally uses himself as a shield to protect his other siblings from his father’s inner demon. Vice, Ikki’s own inner-demon, is modeled after Vail, his father’s demon. Vail caused Vice to be created. I could wax poetic on this forever. But in examination and comparison to George’s situation, I found that the difference was in the actions the fathers took. Genta failed to protect his family from his inner-demon and hurt them, both physically and emotionally. But, George? George’s sense of bodily autonomy is being violated. His father, in fear of losing his son, decides to do something to his body that can never be undone; and he does it in his sleep. All without George knowing or realizing what’s going on. 

The entire situation reads to me as CSA. 

That’s the difference in the traumas being passed down; because unfortunately, it is a common fact for victims of CSA to become perpetrators of it when they’re older. Once again it’s about revisiting the trauma but from the winner’s side. Which is a disgusting thought process/reasoning, but that is the underlying motive. Now, was his father abused that way? As the audience, we can’t be sure. We know from separate Revice releases that the father, Masumi, worked as a scientist in a position lacking power—but that’s all we really know about his side of the story. The only thing that hints at it being like that is the knowledge of this being an intergenerational trauma being passed down from father to son. Literally, the same inner demon. Plus, the fact that it is being passed down from body to body. 

This is George’s essential dilemma—how he should view his father who was a good dad in most aspects up until the inner-demon insertion, and abandonment.

This is why George states that it would be easier to forgive his father if he were really dead.

The entire scenario does nothing but fill George with turmoil. How can he reconcile these two facts?  The good and loving memories versus the abandonment and bodily autonomy violation. The bad things should make his father irredeemable, unforgivable, evil. But he was still George’s father. One who gave him a majority of good memories when he was around. The situation here isn’t black or white but a complex gray area. 

Even Chic, George’s inner demon, shows aspects of this: George and his father’s love for science (good)—but twisted into something ugly, and, humor—George’s way of coping. A perfect mix of the trauma and how it both drives George/causes him to react a certain way (masking, etc.). That’s what Chic represents. A trauma inherited from his father.   

So, George Karizaki is a “tragic clown paradox” because of this gray situation he finds himself trapped within. It’s a lose-lose. The jester’s met his match. Humor finally wasn’t enough to mask his pain. So George did the next best thing: he became the villain. (Juuga) 

A few things to note now that we’re coming to the end of my essay: (1) this situation reminds me of two other things—Perks of Being a Wallflower (Charlie), and Eliot’s situation in Mr. Robot. In BOTH cases (spoiler) the MC has been a victim of CSA by someone close and very dear to their heart. In Perks it’s by Charlie’s favorite person—his aunt, and in Mr. Robot it’s by Eliot’s father. Both Charlie and Eliot repressed these memories and went on remembering their abusers as people they really loved and who really loved them. Yet, once they remember what happened to them…sh*t hits the fans. Here’s a clip from Perks of the scene where Charlie remembers/finds out what happened: 

WARNING: The videos below might be triggering, watch at your own caution.

Here’s a clip for when Eliot finds out: 

In both, finding out had (obviously) detrimental effects on them. But even before that, their trauma is shown subconsciously. For Eliot, his personality split in order to protect himself. For Charlie, his depression and suicidal ideation. The same can be said for when George finds out. George literally slowly loses his mind, with the catalyst of his father dying adding to previous stress, and instead tries to destroy his father’s legacy by attacking his friends. All so that he can feel more in-control. All so he can feel he has power over his father. So yeah, Charlie and Eliot’s stories reminded me a lot of George’s, which only strengthened my previous assumption of his inner-demon metaphor being about CSA trauma. 

Other things to note: (2) George uses touch to manipulate others, often initiating contact when trying to get someone to do something. Such as an arm over shoulder. For George, this can show that to him, touch equals power and control. Especially over others. (3) I think this is one of the reasons why George works out a lot. He worked out enough so that if someone touches him, he can physically remove the touch himself. No more letting others have control over his body without his consent. 

[alpona]

Revice character analysis *Incomplete*

( this isn't even half of what I was supposed to write, it's a totally incomplete analysis, I started writing but never got the chance to finish properly. It's been sitting on my notes, but finally with some courage, and inspiration from @scoups4lyfe , I'm posting this.)

George Karizaki:

starting with my favourite, yes I'm biased. First, let's just celebrate the fact that I even HAVE a favorite this time? Because despite popular belief, I don't always give out 'fav' title in every season. Even when said seasons are very good and full of good characters.

... But looks like I don't have to write a thing. someone already did a breakdown, of the main question, of Juuga arc. Who? Oh no, not just any random fan.

The actor himself, Hamao Noritaka. He wrote it all! Explained everything!!

When you don't write breakdowns for years, and only come back to find out actors themselves took up the job. 🙄🤣

This actor is a fan himself, and truely so. Well, Nori-chan (yes, I'm using this name) Mainly explained why George went berserk in 47-48, I have something more to say. But He pointed out some things I didn't think of either. Makes sense, as my main clues are from actor's subtle expressions, of course the actor himself should know better!

So at first glance, George Karizaki is... Pure entertainment 🤣. Yep. End of discussion.

He's insufferable, a manchild, pain to work with, also incredibly lonely. In a chill mode most of the time, always having fun, but also uses this persona as coping mechanism.

Has no idea how to deal with serious emotions.

Wants to appear to be in Control, not showing weakness. Tries to act cool and unattached.

...........

Relationship with father:

Goerge clearly had a sweet relationship with his father in his childhood, loved and respected him, masumi was also such a nice and encouraging father. Crystal clear from flashbacks.

Also from the very 1st episode, before any flashback, we see how George looks up to Masumi, and still misses him. Yes, the scene of fenix ceremony. When George was talking about visstamp history, after saying "my father made those..." There was a little pause, then he said 'but he died' with very faint, bittersweet expression.

He also regularly attends Masumi's death memorial, as seen in ep 21/22?

So yah, he respects and misses his father, but came to accept and live with it for all these years. But then eeeverything crashes.

And isn't it funny how he figured this all out in the background ? Unlike main characters typically in such situations, he didn't get a grand revealation like 'whaaat! Daddy you're aliiive!!' he pieced together clues, investigated, and came to this conclusion by himself.

Without any emotional support to handle this grave situation.

Even before knowing the fact about inner demon transfer thingy, I saw a bit of 44 when George refuses to visit his father. Thought of another simple psychological state.

Denial. forced detachment.

He lost his father once, it was definitely sad enough then, plus at such young age. Definitely came to adjust and accept this loss over the years, as normal.

But to find out he's actually alive and then lose him soon AGAIN? For 2nd time? 'I'd rather not care, I'd rather not feel.' tried to deny, and not care, to not feel hurt again.

This idea wasn't exactly true, but still not totally invalid. SO many factors and emotions played roles in this case, ultimately resulting in the breakdown.

Ep 28. Scene- first time facing his father,

"Why didn't you tell me you're alive?" Then his father kept talking about defeating Giff, the world, etc.

But in that moment, with every step George kun took, he couldn't hear the 'world' or giff or whatever. His mind was filled with resentment,

'I'm facing you after ALL this time, and you keep talking about missions, you're not even explaining yourself, I have So many questions, and yet everything else comes first to you, before me? just answer my obvious simple question! How could you? How could you?!!Why? Whywhywhy...'

Masumi was dying, and made it his life's goal to redeem himself of the vail incident, spent his last moments engrossed in it too. Very logical and understable, but to George? It hurt.

'Why couldn't you focus on ME, our time more, and a bit less on the world' , as illogical as it sounds. Also resentment about all the mistakes Kari-chan papa did before, they're separated in the 1st place because of those, and had to spend the entire time fixing those.

He felt abandoned, and used.

Juuga arc:

why didn't it happen sooner and longer??! Lol.

Going berserk and totally unhinged (and suuuper cool! )

Was, in simple words, Goerge's strange way of dealing with grief. Dude has no idea how to deal with such emotions.

Despite everything, did you notice how incredibly lonely this guy is? How he barely deals with serious, real emotions?

Now, a big problem here is that I'm missing some info right here, the summer movie takes place right at this time, so might be missing some important piece of info. Also chic, his father's transferred demon , we barely know any info about that. chic is a villain in the movie, released from George. So gimme info!!

If George's behaviour was indeed influenced by chic, that would change some explanation.. but right now I'm describing things mostly without this effect.

I might have to update this part after the movie comes out.

(*later Update: Summer movie came out, and no, no explanation on this whatsoever. A surprising lack of, I'd say. Chic was one of the main villains there, but George didn't even have a proper talk! Chic is definitely interesting, everything demanded a proper face off or conversation at least, between these 2! Like come on!

And the movie doesn't even transition well from chimera special, I mean George's mood is nothing like in chimera. He's not supposed to be the usual peppy Kari-chan, he was already unhinged in chimera special!)

Someone from FB noted that transfer of Masumi's demon gave George 'imposter syndrome'. It happens in real life, when you doubt your own achievements as someone else's influence.

If all this time he had the part of his father, not sure how much chic influenced him, so everything he did, achieved, invented, was it his own doing, or was it just because of his father? Who am I? He thought he's been controlled, as clear from the lines "in the end I've been dancing in daddy's palm" and "he transferred his demon to control me".

Character development -

Why you became kinda nice later, George- kun? 😝

He slowly started caring for the igarashis, particularly, Daiji's wellbeing. The change seemed sudden at ep 26, when he was genuinely concerned about daiji vs kagerou situation.

But the reason is, from 25, after learning about the igarashi secret and his father's involvement in this whole thing, experimenting on Genta was the reason why the fam, the siblings are in this mess. So that... Kinda gave him a sense of responsibility and guilt? (From This guy, yes!) That's the point when he visibly became more caring. Probably.

......…..

(more observations, theory and questions coming up next!)

[flaim-ita]

let's go reiwa Era 📸 - relationships with main Decade crew (character of choice - Aruto Hiden maybe 1 HC after Ark 1?)

You said Character of my choice - 4 Main Riders for 4 members of the Decade crew. Set in my Canon so Natsumi is AR Gaim and a Man of Beginnings Level Overlord.

There’s a familiar shatter around Decade’s actions during the fight that inevitably occurs when two Riders meet. A rogue idiot with black market ZAIA tech, luckily, but still. Aruto notes with the machine like analysis in Zero-One the way Decade’s hand shakes slightly, nefore the fight.

“Thank you for the help,” he says after. Still used to being on his own. Decade pauses.

“Those are rare words,” he says.

“Why?” Aruto asks.

“I am one of the most dangerous men alive,” Decade says calmly. “I used to fight it. Now I…”

He trails off, hesitant as if not sure of his next words.

“Then you’re in good company,” Aruto replies. “I may or may not have nearly caused a race war.”

“How the—”

“Public figures have public feelings.”

“Ah.” Decade considers him. “Who saved your soul?”

Aruto thinks Decade is looking into his, right now. Still, it’s impossible to deny his presence.

“My partner,” he says. “Izu. I held onto her memory. I fixed things. And I have her back, now.”

Decade hmms.

“Good,” he says. “Congrats on the reunion being so soon.”

Aruto doesn’t know what to do with that.

——•——

She’s browsing the book shelves and Touma wouldn’t blink were it not for the fact that the Wonder World now tied to his soul screamed about her. Which is curious. Usually it’s a whisper, because everyone has a story to tell.

This is screaming.

She turns. Their eyes meet. One of hers flashes red, for a moment, her hair blonde. She’s a goddess, he understands. A fusion of two impossibly dangerous powers. She knows he holds the key now, too.

“Kamen Rider?” She asks. He blinks.

“You too?” He asks, and she nods. Like Kento, several powers bathe her. Several stories. “Why are you here?”

“We recently… got custody of a struggling young boy,” she says. “I’m looking for books. Stories that’ll help. It always comes back to stories. And choosing fate.”

She’s fought destiny and won, he suddenly knows. Just like himself.

“I have a set of children’s books I’ve made,” he says. “There’s one about a duck who was supposed to be a villain…”

He knows she understands, too.

——•——

Onodera Yuusuke smiles like a man used to being used and utterly uncaring about it. Ikki doesn’t know how to feel about that. Makes him want to help, but the only foe right now is George fanboying over the poor man.

“You’re the rare Kuuga of another World,” George says. Yuusuke laughs.

“Maybe here on World of Heroes,” he says.

“No, you’re—”

Yuusuke’s eyes widen, and Ikki steps in.

“Welcome here at the bathhouse,” he says, interrupting whatever George was set to reveal. Yuusuke smiles.

“Thank you,” he says. “You’re a nice… person.” Oh right, Natsumi is his wife. Natsumi from the group chat Vice dumped him in. “Deserving of the legacy.”

“Thank you,” Ikki replies. “I’m always happy to help.”

Yuusuke’s smile softens.

“Reminds me of my husband,” he says. “Even if now, at 33 years old, he still won’t admit it.”

“Ikki’s the best though,” Vice says. “Obviously.”

“He sounds interesting,” Ikki says.

Yuusuke nods.

“You use our power, it just so happens,” he says. “Lion is my brother’s Kuuga, but Megalodon is Tsukasa.”

“Hey! Our first win!” Vice exclaims.

“Oh, really?” Yuusuke asks. “That’s nice. I was Tsukasa’s.”

——•——

Vice swipes at the Rolling Vistamp in the blue Rider’s hand.

“Hey!” They say, “you can’t take that! Even the viewers will be on my side, if you take that!”

Karizaki is taking PHOTOS, of course, because he sucks, and Sakura and Daiji aren’t here because this was an AMBUSH.

The blue Rider hmms.

“I did take it, though,” he says. “And if I remember correctly, you alone can’t transform without it.”

Vice growls, pulling out Rex and their Driver.

“I can try,” they say. But the transformation makes it half way before blowing them off their feet.

“Vice, calm down,” Ikki says.

“Absolutely not!” Vice says. “I won’t let him have Ikki!”

“Oh,” the Rider says. “This has a person in it?”

“No!” Vice says, “well, yes. Kind of? I can’t possibly get Ikki back without it.”

The blue Ride looks between the stamp, and Vice, and he sighs.

“Fine,” he says. “I understand a treasure like that.” He tosses it back to Vice. “Got anything good to trade?”

Vice pauses. Do they?

“And why should I even give you one?” They ask.

“Because I came here for a treasure,” the blue Rider responds.

“Vice,” Ikki says. “Give him Kangaroo.”

Vice laughs. Ikki can be wonderfully crafty sometimes.

“Long as you don’t go making demons, here,” they say. “This is a special stamp.”

“Fine, fine,” the blue Rider says. Catching it when tossed. “Tell Natsumelon I said hi, by the way.”

And then he leaves. Oh. Oh that’s the thief, Daiki, isn’t he? Vice has had some fun conversations with the guy on HeroGetter. He’s so much more annoying in person.

“From you?” Ikki teases. Oh. They said that out loud.

“I’m the best,” Vice replies calmly. “Well, besides you. So of course I’m not annoying!”

Would like a different voice actor, though.

[scoups4lyfe]

can someone send me their George Karizaki essay

I want to look at y'all thoughts on that clown before I post my essay :].....cause my analysis is a hot take LOL

[scoups4lyfe]

What did Hana tell you, George? Please don't do something you'll regret?!!!!! now look at what you've done?

Scoups, I know someone who doesn't really like George, they feel like he's been forgiven for all his shadiness all too quickly for their taste, don't get me wrong, I agree with that sentiment, but I'm eh to him :p

Honestly though—he didn’t even wait that long before going to see his father. Imagine he waited like 30 minutes before making his way over there. (Too bad it was 30 minutes too late.) 

It just makes it all the more tragic because it shows that George put everything—EVERYTHING— bad that his father has done to him on the backburner, sucked it up, and went to see him before he died one last time. He likely had things he wanted to say, but ESP. things that he wanted to hear. 

But he couldn’t do it right away because his emotions were still too high, so he built himself up to go see him; but when he did, it was too late. And it was only a few minutes, too. 

(Now onto the other part of this ask :D ) 

I don’t think George has been forgiven for his shadiness too quickly at all tbh.

Though I can see how it comes across that way.

My logic really just revolves around George’s Igarashi SIMP card. Episode 13 was the first time he actually admired someone —Ikki, and episode 18 the first time he apologized to someone—also Ikki. 

Everyone else was pretty much “whatever” to him, but when it comes to the shadiness, let’s examine: 

(1) Gave a fked up Daiji the driver ← → It ended up working out in the end.

(And Ikki was lied to about it so who knows how much they know about that, other than Daiji.) 

(2) Everything he did to Hiromi ← → Showed (in the episode where Hiromi got shot off a cliff) that he at least wanted Hiromi to hate him / blame him / leave his position (and thereby not have to fight anymore).

He also apologized to the Igarashi’s for being soooo….shady as sh*t LOL, like ten episodes later. 

I know I stated this before but George (much like his own father, RIP) has a tendency to rely on masks when he’s vulnerable.

In particular, the mask that gives him the most control —which for him, is being a villain. AKA — The shady scientist with loose to no morals. 

George does this even when it feeds into the negative perception of himself because he feels a general lack of control from his circumstances, so at least he can be in-control of how people view him

(as by being an a$$hole). 

It’s a trauma response.

George never had any control over his life, that’s why he’s such a little prick.

(Not that this excuses him BEING a little prick <333. Fr turned Hiromi into a granddaddy.) 

 In the beginning we see him working for Akaishi and this can be for many reasons but most likely Akaishi was taking advantage of a vulnerable George and getting him to “take up his father’s legacy” mixed with George’s inner demon actually being his father’s.

We’ve seen Akaishi do his cult propaganda on people in similar situations; Oltecca —(abusive household, made to feel like a freak, Akaishi called him a genius and ‘special’ boy instead of treating him like how everyone else did)  and 

Daiji —isolated and out of control because of “killing” his inner demon. Can’t see right from wrong, becomes obsessed with “doing the right thing” and makes that his identity, driving him to an identity crisis 🤝🤝 Akaishi seeks him out after beating him and convinces him that siding with Giff is “the right thing.” 

Time and time again we’ve seen that bastard a$$ sea-faring mfer manipulate people in vulnerable states into doing insanely bad things. 

Likewise, in episode 26 —we saw just how little of control George had in Fenix, because when he objected to giving Kagerou the stamp, Akaishi grabbed him by the collar.  

Even when he helped Oltecca jack up the DEMONS driver, he was being held hostage, mixed with his father’s demon / ‘legacy’ (literally the last thing Masumi worked on before he ‘died’)

PLUS

being vulnerable = George going extra hard into his “bastard personality.”

It’s what he falls back on, time and time again. 

We saw him do it just before his father died, he put all of himself into his science

(he’s a ‘shady scientist,’ remember?)

and he likened his father to a “frail old man” or something like that. 

He did this because again, it plays into that villain persona he falls back on when he’s vulnerable, and—

(2) because by calling his dad that, it separates his father into a different category, now he’s a “frail old man” instead of his “father.”

This is another way George handles trauma —by distancing himself from it / the people. 

Right. 

Anyways, we haven’t actually seen George be truly super shady-shady. We’ve seen him be a manipulative, secretive liar.  We’ve seen his reactions to confrontation (laughter, going full villain bastard), we’ve seen him be ruthless (Hiromi), and we’ve seen him consistently distance himself from others. 

Ikki was always his exception. 

Like, we can’t forget the actual good George did as well —creating the drivers, helping with upgrades, making it so Hana doesn’t die, apologizing to Ikki and worrying about his overall health, trying to help himself in the fight but deciding instead to help others fight instead; apologizing to Hiromi and not expecting forgiveness, etc. etc. etc. 

I think the bad he’s shown is far outclassed by his neutrality and then the good acts he’s done to make up for being an evil bastard. 

Besides, Ikki forgives too easily because he doesn’t care about his own well-being, and he needs to use George in order to have power / keep transforming, ergo it makes sense that he stayed amiable with George even after the whole Hiromi situation, and then once George apologized Ikki was instant to forgive because that’s a pretty big thing for George to do, and in Ikki’s experience, he’s only done that when he’s been genuine. 

Daiji forgave him because he really just wanted to pick a fight with Akaishi LOL!!!! 

And Sakura wasn’t really too deep into the gossip / the drama, so she was never close enough with George to feel really slighted by what he did to Hiromi. At least not enough to condemn him completely for it. 

And the Igarashi’s just LOVE pushing things under the rug and pretending it's all okay hahahahaha, so their forgiveness came off very natural to me. 

ANYWAYS — I love George’s character <333 because I’ve always wanted to put him in a little soda bottle and shake it up like a maraca; Or  to put him into a little jar to study like a bug. 

[alpona]

George Karizaki character analysis:

Observations:

1. It's just my hypothesis, maybe they wanted to do something like this at first - George is most of the time being goofy, but he has a rare 'serious face/expression' mode, whenever that shows up, that's something! ikki + vice gets  'things are about to get serious' mode seeing it.

I'm only saying this based on saber finale and ep 23. The expression ikki gave when George took glasses off and made the serious face.

2. George does seem to have 'modes' or, acts. There are some scenes where he clearly morphs to his 'smug face' from a serious/worried/concerned one. For example, while talking to Olteca in 24 n 25. Certainly put up a 'dont really care' act with hiromi while handing him mass produced demons driver.

3. More like a fact. George, as an actual villain, would be a force to reckon with. (not talking about Juuga the ultimate rider here. Yah Juuga may not be that powerful compared to many riders from other seasons, but that wasn't even his real goal)

Because he's got knowledge. He's a fanboy, and the twisted kind, plus super genius, knows way more than possible about other riders, so making a rider system which can counter any other rider's power is very possible for him, he's the perfect guy for that. George really is capable of creating the ultimate rider.

As Nori-chan stated, 'even among the characters seen so far, George is a yabai character!'

Imagine a special movie where he's just out murdering every rider for real and not even the strongest attacks work. Clock up? Nah, countered. And imagine him doing this while having fun!!

4. George's color. I kept thinking yellow...

(also used yellow on my notes. Where's yellow here, Tumblr?)  Maybe cuz Juuga is black n golden... But then it should be golden... Or maybe his yellow glasses... Or him fitting perfectly whenever he wore yellow, even though it only happened once or twice? Dude pretty much wears every color. I can't even figure out how my brain associated yellow with this character.

But! this has been confirmed officially, direct from Nori-chans words! Only recently (10.9.22) watched the 50x45 special stage show, which actually took place wayyy before Juuga's debut, even before George henshined to demons,

And Nori-chan clearly said "my color is yellow" on stage (so the audience can use that color in their glowstick)

[scoups4lyfe]

been thinking abt chic's reasoning for doing all this and hm... this is rough, sorry for that. ok so first off, chic embodies mad scientist, no care for who gets hurt and no care for his allies as long as he can get a result things that both daddy karizaki and george had. and i think chic is like that is... maybe once again loopibg back around george's abandonment who is he as the demon coming from a noah scientist and who is he coming from the son of that scientist that he abandoned?

there is something so fascinating ant chic specifically allying himself w/ azuma and how that relates to daddy karizaki's mission and george helping the igarashi.

and! there's something fascinating abt daddy karizaki's failing health and george being helpless against and to azuma deteriorating and chic going hey, i know how to help you qnd... something something daddy karizaki and azuma's purpose is abt giff and how that kills him and oops george is caught in the crossfire for both something idk idl

YooooooooooooooooooooOoOoOoOoOOoO

The whole “Chic trying to help Azuma with failing health” Vs George’s “unable to help his father’s failing health” really SMACKED

I see what you’re seeing and will def be thinking about this as I write my analysis for George

[scoups4lyfe]

YO????

Well. Even if she iS a traitor or something, I like her.

Cause she's right y'know. Daiji may have fused with Kagerou (somewhat) but he still has this binary view of black and white, good and bad, right and wrong.

Things are never that simple.

I mean, I don't think that'll be EASY for him, considering this binary POV of life was one of the reasons he started to hate himself to begin with.

If he's not doing 'good' then he's bad. + The negative emotions, thoughts, and feelings? Dude probably thought he was evil incarnate.

Probably cried in his bed at night when he was like 11 yrs old, because he couldn't understand why he can't be like everyone else. Why he had to be different -- both useless AND evil.

BUT! It is a fact homeboy needs to get into his head.

Sidenote: But, with "Things are never that simple" I honestly think that's why George's full past hasn't been totally revealed yet, even tho he's so central to the plot.

Because he's a character of complexity. Someone walking the line between good and evil, right and wrong.

Like is George truly evil and wrong if he was raised by a megalomaniac cultist psychopath that has him under strict orders?

Idk maybe the reason George is such a fking fREAK whenever he's not at Fenix ('This water's dELICIous') might be because he was locked up by the director since he was a child? So he couldn't make friends or socialize like a normal person.

I'm gonna laugh and then spontaneously combust on the spot if they make George's strange Water-taste saying equivalent to Tamaki's "Smileee".

Like, could you imagine?? Just flashbacks to a completely fvcked childhood and then BAM. Revice showing the reason why George says that sh*t LOL!!!

/end of Sidenote, whOOPS /

DAIJI LOL

HAHAHAAHAHAA

HE DEFLATED SO QUICKLY

OOOooOooOOhhhhh

He was making that face cause it was

b i t t er

LOL HHAHAHAHA I-

[scoups4lyfe]

wot the fxcK

……

✨Don’t do drugs kids ✨

…..welp

. I’m glad George caught onto his senses right quick. That’s a real fkingn slippery slope

And. Lmao, the drug addiction allusion is OFF THE CHARTS here y’all.

(Guess you can sub out ‘drug’ here for ‘addiction’ 💀💀. Ppl addicted to food be actin exactly like this around a slice of cake or a plate of fries. Just sayin 🤷‍♂️)

This just reminds me of the big ol ??? that I have regarding Vail. Like Vail’s obv Genta’s inner-demon. He even said that Papa-San was his true partner so

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And yet….SO many ppl have used Vail’s power. Hmmm I guess maybe the separation here is DEMONS vs VAIL.

Only Junpei/Papa-San can transform into Kamen Rider Vail. While Kamen Rider Demons been passed around to everyone and their brother :’D

[scoups4lyfe]

:x (George.....)

man when he turns around here to look Daiji in the face, George's expression is just. Very vulnerable.

Like before he settles with the expressions on the pic above --a kinda apologetic-speechless look, George literally (like 2 seconds before):

I'd say "George looks like he's giving away some kind of precious secret about himself"

but I guess? Technically he is.

Obviously-

George is not someone that's used to trusting or relying on others, much less sharing his actual thoughts and feelings with them. So this split second where he's actually honest for once, his facial expression exudes this vulnerability because he doesn't know how the Igarashi's will react.

George knows what he did was fked up and wrong. He's admitting to it and owning up to it, but that doesn't mean they'll forgive him. And George knows that too.

That's why he can't look at them when admits that he was under strict orders. Because in the end, that doesn't really excuse his role in drastically shortening Hiromi's life.

AND this admission also means that George is taking that extra step and trusting others for once. Now they know the one that ordered this was the Director.

Essentially this is his version of "a cry for help"

yeah wow

He breaks my heart.

W A I T-

Y'ALL

HIS SOCKS ARE OUT

!!!!!

[scoups4lyfe]

Your breakdown theory of George is Amazing to read, thank you- I love them so much.

A thought came to me: Maybe George's rider obsession came from a need to unconsciously trying to distract himself from the abuse, who knows

Hahah thnx <33. ‧・*＊♡♡〜٩(｡・‧̫・｡)۶〜♡

I have a weird obsession with George because I always want to know wtf is wrong with him. (LOL)

I always had this theory that George had an obsession with riders because he needed their strength. Y'know? Kind of like a child wanting a hero to come save them.

That and the only George lore we reallllly knew was that in episode 1 George said his father was dead (and since we have never heard of his mother --- I wondered if perhaps the father dying placed George in the hands of some freaks. Seems perhaps I was right. Or not, I guess time will tell.)

but yeah 10/10 Agree with this thought.

[scoups4lyfe]

Feel like for this is the first time, or at the very least the most that, George really shows things are out of his control and him showing genuine concern and being a part of actions he is very much *not* okay with.

haha :3....

I always suspected (Head-canoned LOL) that George was rlly under a tight leash.

So this doesn't rlly come as that much of a surprise to me;;;.

It does SUPER suck tho because he's gotten too attached to the Igarashi's to just maintain his nonchalant composure.

I still remember when he told Hiromi that the demons driver was never /meant/ for him. (Which made me wonder who ACTUALLY decided Hiromi should have it. George? Or the higher ups? Davy- JONES???)

See. It's so hard to peg George because he fluctuates on a scale of 'wow this bastard did all of this purposefully for his own entertainment' to 'okay so he's DOES care and he actually HAS a conscience.....:(( what....'

and you never really know which is real?

Or WHY exactly he fluctuates on this scale. Like what is he rlly after? Why is he DOING this??

But now that we know more about,,,,hmmm,,, the lore of the universe?? I guess?

I keep obsessing over what happened when Dr. Karizaki got fking EXPLODED. Cause a baby George existed prior to the explosion, old enough ( at LEAST 4) to remember his dad.

And....what about George's mom? All we kno (as of ep 26) is that she is either not in the picture, dead as dust, or both. But if she died -- when? If she died before the explosion, then George was essentially orphaned.

AND if there's an orphaned 4-year-old baby scientist genius-- son of the genius head scientist whom just went down in flames---

-- around a bunch of scientist losers fighting each other and splitting into separate factions....(starting fking CULTS)

....honestly I don't think its too crazy to think one of the other scientists would've picked up guardianship of George? Idk I'm betting on Davy-Jones being George's surrogate father.

His "My little boy genius" line to Olteca ?

(other than making me seize with every red flag in the book almost killing me right there on the spot)

....was so interesting to me. Cause Olteca wasn't like a child-child when that mfer picked him up off the streets? So it just seems....demeaning and sleazy seeing him call or treat Olteca like that. (And it IS.)

But, if he raised George? Another 'little boy genius'? I guess /then/ it would make a lot more sense why he defers to such a fking WEIRD a$$ nickname. He was probably used to saying it to George.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And then George's behavior would also make a lot more sense. He works at Fenix because his surrogate dad wanted / groomed (hate this word) him to follow in his biological dad's footsteps. He acts like a morally dubious bastard because he was raised by an evil bastard.

He lets the Director tell him what to do -- because the director has controlled him his entire life

So rn he's essentially between a rock and hard place.

He can't show dissent or a strong disagree-ing opinion -- because idk, tbh the Director rlly does give the vibe of someone that would get physically abusive real quick? Idk. Dude has used physical touch TWICE now to exert control over two people

The first being when he grabbed Olteca's face; and the second being when he grabbed George's arm/shoulder and physically moved him around

(George shut his mouth immediately and threw the stamp over)

a n y w a ys

this headcanon is sooooo compelling to me LOL. If canon is like 'nah fam we got 'insert twist I never saw coming' I'll be like 'yeah okay' (writes a fanfic au) LOL