#when it comes to the narrative and Mikoto's actions and the way he is around him

[roloko-karlstein]

Me: *sees Mikoto and Totsuka standing together* mmmmm good shit soulmates and boyfriends

People in charge of merchandising: lol pairs Mikoto with Munakata in the badge set

Me: FUCK OFF

[sanjuno]

how do you reckon things would change if Obito and Kakashi remembered their past lives as Izuna and Kanna? (And have you given a past incarnation of Rin in the Warring Era?)

… @deverickracoma you mean, like in canon? Huhhhh…

Well first off before Rin was Nohara Rin she was Senju Touka. Which makes this situation super fun because both Izuna and Kanna died before Hashirama strong armed Konoha into existence and Touka only went along with it because Her Stupid Little Cousins Need Some Common Sense. XP

In her lives as both as Touka and as Rin she holds the single (1) braincell for this Disaster Trio.

So Izuna dies via Tobirama’s sword. And then Kanna kinda… revenge rampages with Madara until the critical angst threshold is reached as Kanna just… explodes both theirself and the battlefield. 

There’s a whole lot of background stuff behind the suicide run such as Kanna’s Hatake side suffering from mate-loss depression and their Uchiha side suffering from Makengyou Madness and also Really Bad post-partum depression compounding it and yeah. Unfortunately Madara is just as wrecked from Izuna’s death so he can’t really support Kanna and it all goes to shit because we all know canon is a shitshow.

But anyway Touka is there to see Izuna die and she is well aware that Tobirama has just made a horrible decision driven by unacknowledged jealously and overzealous paranoia. Then Touka barely manages to save Tobirama’s pasty ass from the screaming revenge demon that she later learns was Izuna’s wife. And then Touka stands witness as Hashirama forces peace at sword point.

So Touka is just there like, “Oh for fucks sake we’re all going to die horribly.”

And, of course, Touka was right everything is horrible and everything hurts. 

Only now it’s plot-twist time and Touka, who was investigating certain questionable sources about the ongoing breakdown of social order in Konoha gets killed by Zetsu in order to cause even more tension against the Uchiha in Konoha and hey guess what? Yeah, that’s right Rin remembers the creepy plant-demon thing gloating about stealing Uchiha Madara (aka the only one vaguely strong enough to combat Kaguya at that time given he had naturally manifested the Rinnegan) for his own use before Zetsu killed her in a suspiciously ambiguous manner.

Shit.

Fuck.

Four year old Nohara Rin has a vendetta and the ability to kill a grown man. 

So obviously given that the Plant Demon is trying to kill off the Uchiha using shadowy assassinations and rumour mongering the Plant Demon is afraid of the Uchiha. Ergo the Uchiha are a threat to the Plant Demon otherwise it would confront the Uchiha more openly.

So.

Rin therefore needs to make super-duper ride-or-die best friends forever with at least one (1) Uchiha. And then, on the first day at the Academy, Rin runs into an absolute dork wearing Madara’s face.

Ah. Says Rin, channelling canon!Madara. That One. That’s The One I Need For My Plan To Succeed.

Cue the Rin and Obito Bonding Moment ™ that will repeat as a flashback every time their history is at any point mentioned in the narrative.

As for Obito, well… when he was Izuna he loved his Clan but then when he was reborn he read the Clan Histories from after his death and the public history of Konoha and Obito knows his Clan are a bunch of fucking traitors who stabbed his big brother in the back and that’s why Obito is both disgusted by the Uchiha and overprotective of the Clan’s reputation because Madara still loved their Clan even after they turned on him.

I may include Obito unearthing Madara’s private journals from a hidden cubby in the Naka Shrine that only Izuna would have known to look for. Just for the sake of an extra knife and also so that Obito can find proof of Zetsu’s sabotaging his brother’s mental health. 

Obito is more than a little weepy and sentimental over the fact that Madara honoured Izuna’s last request to the point Madara destroyed himself and his connection to the Clan. Obito can’t blame Madara for giving in when Hashirama forced peace to try and protect the few loyal Clan members who remained. Obito decides to protect Konoha and the Uchiha because he won’t let Madara’s last wish go unfulfilled but he’s going to become the fucking Hokage and tear out all the Senju-inflicted rot infecting his Big Brother’s Dream.

Obito is openly disdainful of the Clan Elders and the only people he even vaguely respects is the Head Family. Mostly because Mikoto is descended from Izuna’s daughter and even though Izayoi married “Tobirama’s student Kagami” she was still his baby girl and Mikoto is his great-grand daughter and he loves her because she’s his family.

Mikoto, Obito, and Shisui are all descendants of Kagami and Izayoi’s kids so they’re second-third cousins. Obito spends a lot of time pondering the overlap of self-care and I-love-my-grandbabies. It’s a fun little exercise in existentialism.

In the meantime Kakashi is still a little shit-disturber of the highest order. Kanna was taught all the fun Uchiha Clan Skills as Izuna’s wife and now Kakashi has learned all the fun Hatake Clan Skills from Sakumo and the little bastard is even more terrifying than canon. Kakashi is more gender-fluid than agender the way Kanna was though which is a fun new flavour of dysphoria-through-reincarnation that I’ll probably enjoy exploring.

Now, this does mean that Kakashi starts wearing his mask before Sakumo gets scapegoated which is a minor yet still significant change from Kakashi’s canon characterization-and-motivations.

So Kakashi blitzes their way through the Academy in like, 6 months because Kakashi has negative chill and an understandably paranoid focus on keeping their dad alive this time around. The only people Kakashi respects are the Military Police and their Dad everyone else can perish. Minato is A Constant Despair because he cannot control this sassy hell child Sakumo-sempai pls tell your son to l i s t e n t o m e.

Sakumo-sempai goes “LOL nope” because Sakumo is also a troll but is better at hiding it than Kakashi is.

So Rin and Obito are BFFs then Kakashi rips through their class like ground lightning and the sparring scene happens but the kickback of Uchiha-memories manifesting as body action means the spar is a familiar dance and so Obito is like “OMG K a n n a” and cue Obito stalking Kakashi like a schoolgirl with an obsessive crush and no concept of personal boundaries.

Enough shenanigans occur to 1. make Team Minato a cohesive and functional thing instead of a train wreck, and 2. keep Sakumo alive because Kakashi recognizes their Dad’s suicidal tendencies for what they are and so they set their ninken up as watchdogs to make sure Sakumo doesn’t do anything stupid. Because Kakashi’s biggest regret is leaving Madara and Izayoi to suffer grief without them and they refuse to let that sort of despair take away anyone they care about again.

So now Team Minato is bonding, and they are friends, and they are all slowly coming to the realization that they all remember their previous lives. So they start to share information and gradually piece together where Zetsu’s influence has been applied as they try to figure out what the Plant Demon’s endgame is.

Which means that Team Minato is 100% more paranoid about mission intelligence than they were in canon and also Rin more than ready to gut the Iwa-nin who tries to kidnap her during the Kannabi Bridge Mission so that’s fun. Team Minato has also made a point system for rooting out moles, spies, and traitors to hand over to T&I. 

Sarutobi had a lovely headache when the knowledge that Sakumo’s mission had been sabotaged “accidentally” got leaked. (Kakashi had given the old man more than enough time to fix the rumour mill so it’s on Sarutobi’s own head that he didn’t take action before Kakashi did.)

Also Team Chaos Gremlins Minato manages to charm Orochimaru over to their camp via one of Obito’s rage fuelled rants about dismantling the hypocritical indoctrination of the institutionalized status quo. Specifically, the fact that the Hokage is supposed to be a public service position voted on by the people who only really has complete executive power during war time. Instead of a unilateral dictator chosen by the previous Hokage’s undisguised bias and favouritism.

Also because they’re all proof of the reincarnation cycle existing. Orochimaru is living his best life especially when Team Minato trash talks the other two Sannin. 

Rin is the Most Offended by Tsunade fucking off and abandoning her responsibilities. Tsunade basically inherited all of Hashirama’s worst traits without any obvious redeeming qualities to balance it out. Because, let’s be honest, the only reason Hashirama got any level of respect is because he was Over Powered to the point of ridiculousness and because Tobirama plus Mito were in charge of his public image.

Kakashi and Obito are both hyper-loyal so having Jiraiya decide to just not come back during wartime and for Tsunade to abandon her responsibilities as a healer and Clan Head has destroyed any possible respect they might have had.

Obviously Orochimaru is the best Sannin so he’s the one they’re going to make friends with. Also they drag Orochimaru back to the Hatake Clan House to commiserate with Sakumo about being the target of a Village wide smear campaign. Which strengthens both Orochimaru and Sakumo’s spirits enough to resist their Bad Endings from canon.

All of this basically allows Team Minato to have the leverage to track down Zetsu’s creeper cave and they find Madara trapped and blinded and leashed to the Gedo Mezo, and Obito nearly has a world-destroying breakdown. Rin stands guard while Obito and Kakashi have a tearful reunion with Madara and there’s a lot of dramatic apologizing and sobbing.

They all know that they can’t leave Madara here with Zetsu, but detaching him means he’s going to die. Eventually Madara makes the decision himself to break the connection because he refuses to be used as a hostage against his little brother. So Madara tells Obito where his eyes are (which means that the Ame trio are going to get kidnapped by Team Minato eventually) plus a run-down of all the subversive plots Zetsu has had a hand in, and then Madara outright smashes the statue.

Normally nothing would be able to destroy the Gedo Mezo given that it’s basically the fossilized corpse of a god but Madara is currently part of it which means that the statue’s defences don’t realize Madara is a threat. So, statue goes boom, the cave starts to collapse, and Team Minato runs away with Madara’s body so they can give him a respectful burial.

Zetsu has approximately ten thousand aneurysms in the space of one (1) second.

From here the kickback really starts to pile up because Obito now makes a habit of dropping in on newborn Uchiha to check and see if Madara’s been reborn yet. Which means that Sasuke has a really invested older cousin hanging around to take Itachi’s place when Itachi make dumb decisions.

Rin is grumpy because basically every Clan who joined Konoha had a bunch of Senju marry into their Clan so finding Hashirama’s reincarnation is basically impossible. (And then, of course, Naruto is born and Rin faceplams 1000 times because of fucking course.)

Kakashi is laughing at both of them. Right up until they take command of Team 7 and notice a hated familiar chakra under the skin of a pink haired little girl. (All three members of Team Minato nearly die laughing because Tobirama is a pink haired little girly girl heeeeee~)

Anyway aside from all the family drama Team Minato also manages to dispose of Danzo and exposes his “plot against the Hokage”, boosting Sakumo’s public image to the point he gets named as the Fourth, fixing the stigma Orochimaru faced despite being the only loyal member of the Sannin, and basically terrorizing Konoha with Political Activism.

Zetsu probably goes a bit around the bend thanks the Team Minato destroying all his hopes and dreams plans. Also they keep putting the pressure on and exposing Zetsu’s schemes and eventually that gains enough momentum that the other Villages are taking a good hard look at shit that’s going down and hey wait w h a t t h e f u c k …

Obito eventually takes over as the Fifth Hokage and tears apart the corrupt government systems like a Tasmanian Devil going through a rotting carcass because Big Brother’s Dream Will Become A Reality B E L I E V E I T !

The End. XP

[gascon-en-exil]

I Liked Fates Before It Was Cool!: The Opening

Prologue

Here begins my run of Fates, in which I react to things that I believe merit either praise or criticism and that hopefully haven’t been thoroughly picked over yet hundreds of times by everyone else in the fandom. I’ll be doing each route in the sequence I used last time, with gameplay details to follow as they come up. To answer @damoselcastel, I’ll be doing an all-male run, and it does indeed suck that the game screws this over a bit at the very beginning by forcing me to take Felicia over Jakob first. Breeding will come when I feel like it, more to have extra chapters to play through than anything.

Prologue

In what I assume will continue to be a series trend going forward, all of the 3DS FEs open somewhat in the abstract, including a flash forward to a future event. Fates’s particular take is both the most surreal and the least dependent on shock value, as the events it depicts are only several chapters away rather than near endgame. Azura picks up her Lady of the Lake associations right from the start, there’s a very early glimpse at what will be eventually revealed to be Valla, and Ryoma and Xander and Xander’s ludicrously acrobatic horse square off to set up this setting’s central conflict. The chapter proper is (fittingly) dreamlike, with surreal music and a high-energy scenario that begins in medias res and doesn’t entirely follow the normal rhythms of FE combat. I have absolutely no idea how this would come across to a newcomer to the series - I got my hand held through Lyn Normal Mode, cut me some slack - but I imagine it would be disorienting.

Chapter 1

That’s apparently official concept art of Nohr. Reasonable worldbuilding, what’s that?

The in-game presentation starts off rather less absurd. Hell, if it weren’t for the ominous castle rooftop setting of Xander’s training session one could almost find Corrin’s slice-of-life interactions with their servants and their Nohrian family quaint. Xander is just a drama queen like that. This fight calls back to Path of Radiance and New Mystery, which also start off with training sessions against significantly more powerful named characters. For Birthright it also forms a narrative bookend, but I’ll get to that in due time. I have Feelings about the presentation of Xander...and not just because he’s my husbando either.

I like that Corrin’s retainers are domestics first and combatants second unlike those of the other royals, because it stresses that they’ve been isolated in a non-combat role during their upbringing, their exposure to Nohr’s allegedly spartan military culture limited to sparring with Gunter and Xander. I have no idea how that would be enough for them to survive when they evidently live in Mordor, but then Nohr is the source of the most consistently sloppy worldbuilding in Fates so at least we get that established right away.

Oh, and Lilith is here. There’s never a point anywhere in this game where Lilith’s character is competently handled, so I have a tendency to forget she exists unless she’s on-screen. Here she’s just an unassuming stable girl with an unusual design, and Elise makes an incestuous insinuation in her direction that’s only funny if you played the appropriate DLC. 

Chapter 2

Structural contrast with the towering Hoshidan royal palace aside, I don’t entirely get how Krakenberg works. A dragon did it?

Anyway, Corrin gets an under-explained and clearly evil magical sword from his shamelessly homicidal father only to balk at the thought of killing anyone with it. Leo salvaging this faux pas isn’t the silliest example of Corrin not understanding the basic concept of lying - it’s presumably easier to fake someone’s death with magic than with a giant sword - but it’s definitely up there. The Nohrian royals on the other hand have no trouble with such things based on their traumatic but mostly implied experiences at court. Important to note that everyone here up to and including the prisoners of war calls out Corrin for their sheltered worldview; their development from here on out really is dependent on the player’s choice of route. I vastly prefer this approach to Awakening’s for explaining why the Avatar is such a relatively blank slate - almost no amnesia necessary this time.

And while they appear in most chapters, I want to praise Dragon Veins here for being a really cool concept that doesn’t get as much love as it should. Draconic or otherwise superhuman bloodlines in FE are usually expressed in gameplay with the ability to wield certain legendary weapons, and while that also makes an appearance in Fates Dragon Veins represent more dramatically visible utility. They really make a difference in some chapters, and I’d like to see them reuse the concept in future games where it would be a logical addition (which would be most of them since humans with dragon blood pop up all over this series).

Chapter 3

I chose this image because I want everyone to appreciate as I do that Hans dresses like the world’s most tasteless leatherman. A harness and straps that show off all the wrong bits, and it’s in purple. Not even the overall weirdly fetishistic look of this game’s berserkers can excuse that.

But aside from that, Hans sucks. Iago also sucks. Less characters than plot devices that pop up whenever there’s a need for someone to act completely despicable to move the conflict along, there’s no way to spin them in a way that sounds like they contribute anything positive to the narrative. Case in point: in this chapter Hans single-handedly reignites hostilities between Nohr and Hoshido by Leeroy Jenkins-ing his way through the chapter and later (possibly) killing Gunter, with the only interesting caveat that he claims to have done so at Garon’s behest. And sure, Garon is also flat over-the-top villainy incarnate, but he at least has gravitas and a master playing a long game that arguably succeeds in two of the routes. Hans and Iago are just two more in the line of FE villains with flat motivations and personalities who lack even the good grace to be attractive, but unlike Desaix and Darin and Chagall and others like them they stick around in the story long after they’ve worn out their welcome. Did Nohr really need not one but three flat antagonists in its ranks around for most of the game?

I haven’t even gotten into the first appearance of Camilla’s...issues surrounding Corrin or whatever the dimension-hopping hell Lilith pulls with her invocations to presumably deceased dragon “gods” now that she reveals her true form. This is really the first chapter to offer a hint of how disjointed and frequently contrived Fates’s stories are going to end up, saved only by the very end when Rinkah puts this game’s new blunt weapon category to its logical use. Not like the game wants us to feel bad for Corrin....

Chapter 4

...because Hoshido is paradise. And also Takumi.

Everyone knows the story, both as it’s explicitly told and as can be read through the lines. The writers weren’t afraid to let their biases show, the localizers and the Western fandom did a fair amount to mitigate that with some bias of our own, and the final product is one big mess that fails to make logical sense in-universe and teeters on the edge of real-world two-way racism. Here we’re introduced to Castle Shirasagi, glimmering and verdant and awash in cherry blossoms, as well as Azura, Corrin’s foil in Stockholm Syndrome. But it’s all good, because Mikoto is tranquil and peace-loving and enforces her tranquility through a plot contrivance magical barrier that is just one of many examples in Fates of magic not working the way it does in the rest of the series (or at least I can’t think of anything else like this, correct me if I’m wrong). We don’t learn just why Nohr is so hellbent on invading Hoshido that they’d resort to summoning soulless monsters to do so until much later (and only in Birthright of all routes!). For now they just sound like unprovoked aggressors, and the Hoshidan royals Corrin’s true and loving family.

However, what I really wanted to bring up for this chapter is how oddly it’s structured, such that it never fails to throw me off a bit. It opens in an unnamed Fire Tribe village in a snowy area of Hoshido, which might I mention is the only point in the game we see anything of the Fire Tribe other than Rinkah herself. Considering all the time we spend in multiple routes with the Wind and Ice Tribes, that lack of detail strikes me as peculiar. Kaze then brings Corrin to the Hoshidan palace where Ryoma and Mikoto reveal the truth, then it’s immediately back to the snowy north to rescue Hinoka and Sakura from Faceless before returning to the palace to meet Azura. Was there any reason the Faceless fight couldn’t have happened before Corrin left the village, and the reveal and trip to Shirasagi left for after the chapter map and partially in response to Hinoka’s OOC crying fit?

I also hate maps where high-powered NPCs go around stealing kills. Kaze barely got to see any action this chapter, poor guy.

Chapter 5

Props to this manakete design, which is unlike anything else in the series and manages to work in elements of Anankos and Corrin’s weird outfit. No props to the scripting of the thing, as after this chapter Corrin may as well not even be a mankete except for gameplay purposes (which are minimal anyway unless you need them to tank something). You’d think learning that you can turn into a dragon would leave more of an impact on...anyone really, but nope. I guess it technically becomes relevant again in Kana’s paralogue, but that’s as tangential and ultimately irrelevant as everything else involving the kids.

There’s a lot else going on in this chapter, but I’m sorry to say that neither Mikoto’s death nor the obliteration of a large chunk of Hoshido’s capital lands as powerfully as they were meant to considering Corrin and the audience have spent all of 1.5 chapters with these people. This isn’t anything like Elbert or Greil’s death scene or even remake!Rudolf’s for that matter - at least that one came with a shocking twist that was responded to appropriately. It’s hard to even appreciate these events from the perspectives of the Hoshidan royals because they’re still pretty new characters in the player’s mind, though with the hindsight of Conquest I can maybe sympathize with Takumi here at the beginning of his downward spiral.

Corrin also picks up their legendary sword in a way that feels extremely random. I guess the Yato was inside the statue that got blown up? Weird place to keep a divine peace-bringing relic, that’s all I’m saying.

Branch of Fate

Despite some early warning signs and a few slight missteps, I’m happy to say that this story moment works. It’s a good thing that it does too, as this is the defining moment of FE14 in everything from its marketing to its game design to its core themes. The setup is rushed and tense and allows only Corrin, i.e. the intended player self-insert, full knowledge of the weight of the choice put before them, as none of the other royals are aware that they are all in a way family to the person they’re now abruptly forcing to pick a side. Familial connections (biological or otherwise) may not be a narrative hook that grabs me personally, but nonetheless this scene sticks with you. There is no easy choice, and the consequences of any of them immediately define the direction of the story.

This is not to say that all three of the iterations of Chapter 6 that follow succeed equally well, but that’s for other posts...including the next one, which will kick off Birthright.

Next time: Birthright Chapter 6 - 11

[linkspooky]

Urie 400%

Souced to the TG Calender translation project here: (x)

Urie Kuki has been foreshadowed several times in omake, and in the manga itself that he’s going to acquire a kakuja, or otherwise swelling of his muscles (to a hulk like state). This state form dubbed Urie 400% was first drawn by Saiko in volume four, and has since shown up as a running gag in Omake. Generally though, if something is mentioned more than once, no matter how silly it may seem it can count as foreshadowing. 

TG: RE volume 4 Omakes by Makyun

While the theory that Urie is going to develop a kakuja, or at least turn full ghoul has been around for awhile, I want to elaborate on how effectively the manga has foreshadowed it, and also how this is going to tie into Urie’s character arc. Starting with the first appearance, Urie 400% showed up immediately after two important events in the manga.

Part 1 Character

Tokyo Ghoul Re: 29 to seek a nest, page 8

The first being Urie’s breakdown in the auction after his frame 4 surgery. This scene not only parallels Kaneki’s breakdown as he awakens his Kakuja down to positioning, it also clues us in to both characters. Kakuja are purely freudian in nature, they’re characters being overwhelmed by their repressed urges, when they break out it’s pure Id. Which is why they are associated with mental stability or instability, the only characters shown controlling Kakuja for periods of time are the stable and surrounded by friends Yoshimura Kuzen, and the very self controlled and directed Eto Yoshimura. 

Tokyo Ghoul 101, page 6

If this is a breakdown if Id (I desire) then what do each of them desire in this case. From the ramblings it’s rather obvious to decode. “Me, me, me, me, me, me” and “Me? Myself? I....I, I, I.” This has been interpreted in the past of a confusion of idenitty, especially since Kaneki is elaborated on in the next few chapters of unstably flipping between his gentleness and his viciousness with little cohesion between both. I’m going to put forward a new interpretation though, it’s actually referring to their selfishness. After all usually when a preson thinks “Me, me, me” it’s in the context of being selfish.

Both boys are rambling about their selfish desires. For Urie, it’s for strength, and to “Feel Good”, and Kaneki as well wants strength to “Protect everyone.” Both of these are selfish desires meant to alleviate the boys insecurities. Both of them further break down later, Urie says that he “Hates everything,” to Mutsuki out of frustration and Kaneki realizes he’s not protecting anybody but rather being violent. 

Both of these boys have very selfish and nasty desires that are highly repressed, that come out when they feel a rush of their ghoul powers. This is because Urie was deliberately made to parallel Kaneki. If all of the original Q’s are a cross section of Kaneki, Shirazu his want to improve, Urie his struggle, Mutsuki his hypocrisy, and Saiko his innocence (I’ll elaborate more on Mutsuki and Saiko in a different Meta but to prove my point for now, Mutsuki is someone who has a gentle nature and then flips to enjoy killing, while Saiko tries to stay out of conflicts entirely, or acts like her usual self in the middle of them to a fault.)

The tragic element of Kaneki’s struggle is that it’s futile. At the end of the Kanou arc, he asks himself over and over again, “Why?” what is he accomplishing through all this struggle. The correct answer is nothing, as Touka points out to him and Kaneki accepts at the end of his journey at Tokyo Ghoul. None of his actions were protecting Anteiku, he suffered so much and gained so much strength to basically exhaust himself running in circles. He didn’t accomplish his goal of protecting Anteiku, because it was never about Anteiku in the first place, it was about fulfilling his own selfish need for security. 

Tokyo Ghoul 107, Page 6

Tokyo Ghoul Re: Chapter 140, page 6

It’s why Kaneki is the central character in a tragedy. He does not change enough, and in time, and in the end succumbs to his flaw. Urie is the embodiment of that part of him, but somehow turned up even more. Urie’s entire being is running himself in circles, and repressing what he really wants to achieve and conflating it with strength. Even his manner of speaking, and being drawn reflects this. Urie often speaks with parenthesis that leave out his true thoughts or finish the rest of his sentences in his head (because he’s kind of a tool). He’s also drawn mouthless even in critical moments, because Urie often does not say what he truly means. 

Chapter 95, AM (MS) Page 18

Even in this panel in particular, Urie is masking the word (slaughter) with the much more business like exterminate employed by the CCG. Because the word slaughter, implies he wants to beat Amon up in a bloody rampage for hurting Mutsuki rather than carrying out his duties as an investigator. 

The second manifestation of Urie’s struggles comes in his foiling to the character Takeomi. As pointed out Here (x) by Coromoor, this foiling is continued up until this day with Urie being unnerved by Takeomi getting married, and also trying to imitate his stellar feats but failing against Donato. We’ll get to Donato later, but to focus on what Urie wants out of this rivalry. His reasons for hating Takeomi are for the actions of his father, he feels a deep resentment that Urie told his squad to leave without him, and the squad members left. He sees Bujin as somebody who got to grow up in a presumably happy childhood with a father, at the cost of him losing his own father. It might have a deeper root even than that though.

Chapter 9, Inherited Feelings, Page 10

Urie wants acknowledgement for his pain as a really basic desire. Let’s talk about narratives for a moment, from a narrative perspective, Kuroiwa saw the loss of his comrade, but a noble one. As Mikoto Urie himself chose to sacrifice himself for the rest of his squad. Kuroiwa saw the right thing to do in this situation was to take down owl, as that was what Mikoto Urie had sacrificed himself trying to accomplish. In Kuroiwa’s perspective, the matter begins and ends with owl.

Chapter 61, the ENT page 3

Owl dying however, would not make Urie feel better. What he felt was not the noble sacrifice of a comrade but the loss of his father. The narrative that Kuroiwa sees, is shallow and does not account for Urie’s emotions. Which seems to be the main flaw of the Kuroiwas in general, so masculine they are actually completely comfortable in their masculinity and seem generally oblivious to circumstances especially emotional ones. Urie suffered a great emotional loss that was never acknowledged, and because of that he continually feels unsatisfied and directs those emotions at Iwao and Bujin. If he can’t have their ackonwledgement, he wants them to suffer the same negative emotions that he did then, he wants to surpass them, he wants to bury them.

 Tokyo Ghoul RE: Inherited Feelings  Chapter 9, page 9 

Chapter 32, Eat and Run, page 9

What Iwao sees in this scene, is the son of a former comrade now accomplishing what Mikoto would have wanted him. He is becoming a full fledged investigator in his own right, even without his father around. Therefore he gives him the same acknowledgement of congratulations he gave his own son. This is not what Urie sees, or what Urie wants, ashe sees the man who left his father to die continuing to act like it was nothing, and therefore his pain is nothing. 

Chapter 104, Sudden Death, Page 6

As I’ve said before, Kuroiwa tends not to understand others or be blinded by his own traditionalism. This is even shown in the cap above where both Aura and Kuroiwa seem to care more about how Akira’s parents would feel about her current situation then Akira herself. Even though Akira’s own narrative has always been about failing to live up to the expectations of her parents, a mother of which she never met, and a father who unconsciously nurtured and expectation of her to be like that mother, and trying to eventually break free from that. 

This is not a favorable position, especially since the two adults here are oblivious. They mourn the deaths of a Washuu, who has sent them to meaningless deaths for the sake of securing their own bloodline within the next panel. However, this is the position that Urie aspires to. His ultimate goal, is to reach where the Kuroiwas are, to be so secure in their position, power, and masculinity they don’t have to question anything. 

Now while his means of accomplishing that has become different over the course of his development, I will argue that that basic desire (I want to feel secure) has not changed at all. Now, the majority of Urie’s character development is quite obvious, and has been summarized elsewhere so rather than talking about how he has changed, I will elaborate on how despite all of that change he’s remained the same in character . The key word of the day is Sisyphean, a lot of effort but with no development. A pointless struggle. You push the boulder all the way up to the top of the hill and it rolls to the bottom. 

The events that are happening in the manga, deliberately call back to what was set up all within the first ten chapters for Urie. Chapter 3 was when Donato was first introduced. This conversation shows the way that Urie sees the world, in terms of credit and achievement. His means of getting what he wants (To feel secure, acknowledgement) are through climbing the rigid system of merit set up by the CCG. He also remarks on his preference to work alone. 

Tokyo Ghoul Re: Chapter 8 Bell, Pages 6, 8

While Urie has grown significantly to be more aware of others, and even value them he as not once broken free from the framework surrounding him. Even when he is trying to encourage others, or when trying to speak sincerely he always sees it through the lens of rank and accomplishment. 

We see this again,

Chapter 26, Ah. Page 4

Again.

Chapter 32, Eat and Run, page 8

Again.

Chapter 55, Alice & Amp, page 8

Again. 

Chapter 59, Kneel Page 13

Again.

Chapter 64: A Devouring Gut, page 6

And Again.

Chapter 106: A Hopeless Course, Page 17

Urie refuses to let go of this framework of advancing through the system of the CCG and earning what he wants in that way. The second thing established in this chapter, Urie prefers to work alone. Which we also see him reminded of. 

Chapter 57, Regretting Smile, Page 10

Chapter 98, Old School, Page 10

Chapter 108, Eternity, Page 15

He charges in alone against Amon in the end whent he battle turns unfavorable extremely recklessly, and he tells Higemaru to fall back against Donato while he serves as a distraction. It’s especially poignant from a sins of the fathers perspective, as Urie is exactly mad at Kuroiwa for that same reason, yet here he is repeating the habit of telling others to stand down while he handles everything alone. The only thing that has changed is his motivation. Which ties into Donato, and is the real reason he’s fighting him.

Urie is this sequel :RE manga’s equivalent of Amon Koutarou. The two of them both ascribe to rank and advancement, and hunt ghouls to sovle their own issues and insecurities that have a basis in their father. The most important similiarity between the two of them though, is that what Urie wants right now but what he’s failing to realize is the same realization Amon failed to make. 

The two of them only want to fight to protect their friends. However, they are too tied into the logic and system of the CCG that neither of them can realize it, and therefore neither of them can achieve what it is they want. They are, as characters, stalled. 

Tokyo Ghoul Re: 97 Body Alone, 21

Tokyo Ghoul 134, Page 14

Amazing how Urie thinks the exact same words that Amon did, a moment before slaughtering him. Despite being so similiar though, Urie was never going to come to an understanding to Amon. Because Amon was a ghoul.

Part 2 Body Development

Finally we’re getting back to the second thing that happened before the first Urie 400% comic arrived. Urie got crunk. 

Chapter 37 Dead Secret, Page 6

Urie has specifically, been concentrating all of his RC cells into his muscles since receiving the frame 4 operation. After repeatedly releasing his frames again and again, the results of this are obvious Urie is about to cross a point of no return. Rather than recap his slow development into a ghoul over the course of the manga though, as that’s been covered elsewhere let’s touch on the foreshadowing of why exactly it is important.

Chapter 6: A Bad Gamble for the Possessed, Page 1

First off, there is an unwritten horror about the Quinx surgery. Unlike Kanou’s half ghoul surgery which forces its patients to effectively become ghouls, thus having to struggle with the same problems that ghouls do, an unquenchable hunger, a horrifying body. The Quinx are allowed to use the abilities of ghouls without having to suffer the same way ghouls do. Therefore no Quinx has any significant sympathy for ghouls, and is effectively an emotionless weapon against them. Even Shirazu and Saiko, who questioned there role in fighting ghouls never actually did anything about it. Saiko was even handed an oppurtunity on a golden platter, and basically made no decision on how to react to Amon until she was forced to fight.

The horrifying thing of Urie’s slow transformation is not that he is becoming a ghoul (half the characters in the manga are ghouls anyway, everybody’s a ghoul now), but rather his attitude towards ghouls. He has no sympathy for them at all, and the image he has in his head of ghouls, as killers without remorse that need to be exterminated - is Urie all that different?

There has been foreshadowing about Urie turning into a ghoul from the start of the manga, and most of it has to do with ironies present in his attitude. 

Chapter 2, The Neglected Helm and the Fearful Serpent, Page 22

Chapter 8, Agent 8 Page 5

Early on it’s set up that not only should investigators who lose control of their kagune be exterminated, but that Urie might just be a shitty bastard worse than a ghoul. 

He repeatedly denies ghouls their humanity. Here is Urie giving a speech about how important it is to have the bodies of the dead. In the next few chapters he’s shown using a quinque made of a dead guardian who was so important to Eto, his deaths is one of the many reasons for her revolution.

Chapter 58 Playfully Faint, Page 12

Chapter 16, Heavy Steps, Page 16

Here is Urie comparing ghouls to whales. “Take a good long look, at their own cruelty.” Interesting Urie. 

Until we reach the current showdown. Urie is against Donato, and look at his revulsion for Donato’s actions. 

Chapter 108 Eternity, Page 16

Yes, to Urie killing children is disgusting. Unless they are ghoul children who were imprisoned for saving your mentor, and then are going to be executed by being put into a blender. 

Chapter 59 Kneel, Page 17

Perhaps Donato is worse than Urie and deserves to be imprisoned because he enjoys bloodshed. He kills and devours others who are weaker than him for the sake of his own personal enjoyment. 

Chapter 27, Calling out to Within, Page 8

Chatper 46, C page 16

Then perhaps it’s because ghouls kagunes are too powerful, and they themselves mess with a power they cannot control. Urie even remarks something along those lines when he sees Amon’s Kakuja go out of control.

Chapter 98, Old School, Page 5

Except whose been shown steadily trying to master his own power with reckless ambition.

Chapter 27, Calling out to Within, Page 8

Who has been foreshadowed to develop into a Kakuja?

Who has been compared with centipede Kaneki at his literal worst point?

Chapter 107, Page 6

Urie has been able to get away all this time not sympathizing with ghouls at all because he is a human. No matter how much progress he’s made, he’s stayed stagnant on this point. That is why, he is most likely going to turn into a horrifying kakuja like monster comparable to Amon, especially since all of his kagune currently are in his muscles. 

The important part will not be the transformation though, but after. When Urie becomes irreversibly a ghoul, he’ll finally be treated the way they are. There’s a reason that in the one calendar page he shares with Matsuri, Matsuri is drawn as Van Hellsing, while he is drawn as Dracula, the antagonist and monster of the novel.

Tokyo Ghoul Calendar, translation done here by Michi. (x)

Urie has been able to be the protagonist in his own story of development for quite some time. However, perhaps that was not the true role he was meant to play. Soon, he might even feel what it is like to be an antagonist.