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「Adolf K Weismann」
“It’s not like you’d ever listen to me.”
There are always stubborn people that never listen to anything someone else tells them, and for the Gold King and the Blue King, it’s obviously the Silver King and the Red King respectively. The loose parallel between the two royal pairs is a nice, subtle touch and something that’s almost necessary to add dimension to Kokujouji (Iizuka Shozo) in particular. While one can argue he had the flashback episode to establish his character, he was introduced far too late to be properly fleshed out, so the Gold King needed something to better anchor him to the main story. It’s good that the writers found something to make Kokujouji and Weismann more relatable because I needed something to make me care about them. Other characters have a solid emotional backstory, whether because they’re passionate by nature (e.g. Yata) or they’ve established some sort of empathy by the virtue of their link to other characters (e.g. Mikoto, Munakata).
Weismann is a difficult character to establish rapport with – his role in the story is undeniably intricate plot-wise, but what kind of impact has he made on the audience emotionally? He exists to propel the story forward, but it’s pretty hard to find reasons to root for the guy (setting aside superficial reasons like “he’s the main character” or “because he was framed”). Even when he was “Isana Yashiro” he lacked a genuine interpersonal connection. Case in point: the moment where one person struggles to identify “Shiro” in his memories. It was a poignant moment. At least it should have been.
The problem is that from the beginning, “Isana Yashiro” has been characterized as a person who doesn’t form close connection with others, so any and all effect he has on other people are essentially fleeting at best. Neko’s illusions aren’t a valid excuse since the time “Shiro” spent at Ashinaka Academy are all undoubtedly real… but none of it feels lasting. He’s too much of a satellite character within the school, circling the atmosphere but never really a part of the universe and all that happened inside it. This saps all the dramatic tension from the students – his “friends” – forgetting him and turns what should have been a touching moment into a complete overthought. The issue wasn’t as apparent in previous episodes where the cast was still segregated in their own worlds and the consequences of Neko’s “lie” were restricted to “Shiro”, Kuroh, and Neko herself. But the scope of the story expanded and in the process, revealed the glaring flaw that had been concealed: why root for Shiro at all? I can list reasons, sure, but none of it tells me why I should care. I can comprehend narratively, but emotionally, I’m clocking out until someone else comes on the screen. I pay attention because it’s necessary, not because I actually want to.
Same goes for the “Colorless King”, who does possess some intriguing elements. But he/she/it’s interesting because it’s a necessity: he/she/it is the whole reason the series started. Of course he/she/it would be interesting! What struck me as a little funny though is his/her/its power – it’s been clearly shown by Mikoto at least, and perhaps Munakata, that it’s very easy to overpower the “body snatching ability”. So how does the Colorless King intend to take control of them? At the same time, to boot? Judging by the changing voices, the Seventh King isn’t just a singular entity – it’s possible he/she/it’s composed of multiple identities, which would allow possession of the Red King and the Blue King simultaneously. But it still leaves the issue of how the body snatcher plans to get to that stage. Is he/she/it just going to wait until the two get tired?
All the plot points are interesting – I don’t discredit their entertainment value, and K’s story is worth some merit. I just wish the main character had some emotionally engaging factor, especially since the finale is being set up to showcase some kind of grand gesture from Weismann that will save everyone. Possible deus ex machina aside, I would like it if noble acts had compelling convictions backing it so I can actually feel the moment instead of understanding it as a narrative necessity. With Munakata and Mikoto’s “last fight” to contend with though, I suppose I’ll just have to wait until the finale to see if that missing link can be established properly.
Full-length images: 1, 2, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 27, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38.
Preview
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There are two questions remaining.
1. What happened to the real Isana Yashiro? We saw Colorless possess him before heading off to attack Weissman. Is he inside Kukuri’s body alongside Colorless?
2. Where are the Greens? Yata said “Let’s hope the Greens don’t get involved” which in anime world means ‘The Greens are getting involved.’ They’re the only clan that hasn’t made an appearance.
Unless the real Isana Yashiro is part of the Green clan. Perhaps he’s the Green King himself, which is why Colorless chose him as the vessel to attack Weissman with and why he showed such hostility to Yashiro when he possessed him.
“They’re the only clan that hasn’t made an appearance.”
Did I overlook some scene in which the black clan got involved already?
There is one more clan, but I don’t recall them even getting their color mentioned. But yeah, good point.
“1. What happened to the real Isana Yashiro? We saw Colorless possess him before heading off to attack Weissman. Is he inside Kukuri’s body alongside Colorless?”
You mean the guy who was originally in Isana Yashiro’s body? It’s possible that it was the Colorless King and that it was the Colorless King’s original body.
Can’t be. We got a scene of him possessing Isana’s body as he was leaving from school. The kid looked shocked.
Hmm, I have a different interpretation of everything. I feel that Yashiro actually was good at forming connections with people, but either didn’t realize it, or refused to believe it possible (and “Isana Yashiro” was really just an artificially created persona which was derived from Weismann’s mind, so this issue is really Weismann’s).
So the motivating factor here is the fact that Weismann/Yashiro realizes that he is capable of forming connections with others, and so he now wants to help, where as before he did not.
Also, as far as the Colorless King goes, after seeing that last scene, for some reason, the first thing I thought was that Kukuri wasn’t being possessed, but rather, she is in fact the Colorless King herself, it’s just that she has some crazy split personality thing going on that doesn’t let her take full control of her actions.
I don’t really know why I jumped to this conclusion, but it just seems weird that the Colorless King would spend so much time in one random student’s body when it would be best to switch over to another, unless this is the King’s actual body. And well, there were always some things about Kukuri that didn’t quite match up with me, like the convenient picture she had of Shiro taken half an hour after the murder of Totsuka Tatara.
One single tear.
Better than some of the other episodes.
“Judging by the changing voices, the Seventh King isn’t just a singular entity – it’s possible he/she/it’s composed of multiple identities, which would allow possession of the Red King and the Blue King simultaneously.”
This might be caused by the fact that the Seventh King had kept the memories/experiences/(soul?) of his victims with him, even after letting their bodies go.
https://randomc.net/image/K/K%20-%2012%20-%20Large%2021.jpg They teased us with fanservice. @.@
That’s my main gist for the series. While the writers fared better in developing Weismann’s character in this episode, I don’t really care what happens to him. Even when episodes ago when Weismann was killed, I just thought, “Huh, he died…” I did, though, liked that this episode answered a lot of questions. The whole colorless king what-not, honestly, I don’t give a
s**t… I just watch for the actions sequences…If they keep up with the action scenes next episode (preferably more Saru/Misaki & Mikoto/Munakata action), I’ll give this series a so-so.
Aaaand Yashiro turns around to look at the guy instead
https://randomc.net/image/K/K%20-%2012%20-%20Large%2021.jpg
What a weird show.
I kind of expected Isana being Weismann from episode 6 (because the Weismann in flashback was really, REALLY similar to Isana), but I fail to understand the part about his sister dying and how it affected him. Maybe Neko is actually a semi-reincarnated form of his sister?
Then there is the issue of Anna. Is she just a background character who is supposed to provide goth-loli fanservice?
What a weird show…. I find the story awkward, although I’d say it didn’t fail as hard as Guilty Crown.
I guess we won’t be looking into the Green Clan or the unknown 6th clan anytime soon, huh?
I noticed Weismann addressing the Gold King as Lieutenant, so could this guy be the sixty years later version of this guy?
Yup
Honestly, despite not really caring about the Colorless King, he had a bit of my sympathy at the end when he was talking to himself like he was different people. Rather than think he has multiple personalities, I thought that he was just a lonely individual, so he was acting as if he had vassals looking up to him. I thought his power, unlike the other kings shown thus far, is unable to be shared with anyone, so he cannot have any clansmen. This would bring about jealousy that has fueled his actions up to now. Whatever the reason is, speaking to himself in that way just feels kinda sad. Maybe that’s just me =0\.
I think when the Colorless King takes a body it brings the spirit/personality/whatever with it to the next body as it’s clansman.
Kukuri doujins coming in!
When you watch a show this beautiful like Guilty Crown and K, the common complain is usually the story. I don’t see story as a problem for K. The way I see it the story is articulate, logical, easy to understand. The problem is – this show lacks that certain emotional moment. A good anime, a really good anime can make you feel, can make your body shudder and make you wish for more! When Aerith died it was such a big deal because it mark one of the few times in early gaming that we can truly relate to a character, that we felt as sad, devastated and frustrated like the other characters feel. I remember when I watch Clannad and Ushio died, it was only a few minutes of video on youtube and it wasn’t even complete but when I watch it my body shudders, my heart twisted, my eyes gone teary – it just goes how good a show is to make a first timer to that particular anime become so emotionally attach in just a short amount of time. That is what K lacks – it has the art and story right but for it to go above and beyond an anime must have the ability to make us feel! I hope that they can be more than what are and exceed themselves. That is what I wish.
TQ
Also, a flaw it shares with Guilty Crown is the fact that it made material that was meant for a longer runtime and expected to cover it all in 13 episodes. BAD MOVE.
Really? No one has realized it yet?
Isana Yashirou IS the Colorless King. “Was”, rather. Now he is Weismann… Or Weismann is him…
Isana was Isana and Weismann was Weismann but now Weismann is Isana and Isana is the girl who has been given entirely too many pantsu shots.
The story becomes much better if you consider Kuro to be the main character.
Other than that, I’m glad I’m not the only one who feels like the series lost some of its charm after the grand reveal. Before that, you could still expect some character development, unexpected twists, chemistry between the factions, and so on. But this late in the story, all that’s left is a fight between Weismann and the Colorless King, and that’s it. Sure, the K anime might be just a single part of a great K universe, but I feel like they could’ve picked a better part to be made into animated series.
(How are they supposed to conclude this story with only one episode left…..? )
Also , maybe Im a bit weird , but I kind of did feel an emotional attachment to Shiro’s character. But maybe thats just to do with the fact he is a likeable character .
And I can’t helpm wondering-did the colourless king pick Kukuri’s body randomly , or did he chose it because he knew that Shiro was close to her , for those few days , and would obviously try to save her when he got back to the school…
Maybe it’s just me, but I never got the sense that Shiro failed as a likeable character that I could root for. The scene in this episode where one of his “friends” tried subconsciously to remember him was, to me, exactly what it was intended to be. An emotionally stirring instance.
I’m infinitely pleased that K has been green-lit for a sequel; a full 24 episodes seems like a vastly better time-frame to work in for all the players (the other clans) and plot points to be properly resolved (Who was that person before the Colorless King possessed him to attack Weismann? Is Anna just an albino for the hell of it or is there more to it? What, if anything, will become of Kusanagi and Seri’s relationship, etc.)
This has to be one of my favorite anime in recent years, even with its flaws.