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「豚を殺しに」 (Buta wo Koroshi ni)
“To Slaughter a Pig”
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「あわれな役者」 (Awa Rena Yakusha)
“A Poor Player”
Death death death death death.
Suffice it to say, Angelo is one crafty bastard. He’s elevated a simple revenge scheme into something truly sinister. There was doubt from weeks prior whether or not his newfound bond with Nero would alter his ultimate intentions. Had we grown too fond of his original enemy? Was he getting soft?
No. The answer is no.
It seems—as least now—that all along his goal was to ensure an asset in Nero’s friendship. It allowed to put into motion many gears in his diabolical scheme. First and foremost was discovering whether or not Don Orco was the mysterious author of his letter. In discovering that he was not and could provide no further use, he was quickly disposed of in a way which secured an ally in a formidable family.
Quick aside by the way—Fango is a goddamn madman. His character has taken a surprising turn—sharpening in general rationale—while still keeping hold of his signature lunacy. Once that lasagna rolled out for the Don’s former cronies—you knew. Even in his new status of power and respect, Fango refuses to let go of what makes him him. It’ll be nothing but chaotic unpredictability as far as what he’ll do what all of his new power and wealth. Some people harp on the guy’s sheer—perhaps misplaced—insanity amidst the cold, grounded tone of the show, but I don’t see it. He’s not loony to the point of absurdity, I think he’s just the right kind of loose nut to flavor the show a bit. I hope he doesn’t recede into the background as his role transitions from villain to ally.
Back to Angelo doe. I’m surprised to see how ruthlessly he’s willing to manipulate and rip his way through family ties to get what he wants. By staging Ronaldo’s attempted murder in Nero’s blame, the Galassias send a foreboding omen. This is misunderstood by Nero as a threat on his own life. He now knows that these guys are serious, and that his brother is actually willing to kill him—much to Angelo’s pleasure. This allows for the complete dismantling of Nero’s family structure, as ties are broken and relationships are utterly shattered. There’s no going back to the way things were.
Angelo is doing to Nero tenfold what he did for him. He’s completely destroying Nero’s family. Obviously familial themes run deep into the show’s DNA—it’s a crime family show for Christ’s sake. Despite whatever malintent they may harbor, every individual in the show is part of some kind family structure which his existence and personality is tied to. Except Angelo. He had that taken away from him and now he’s alone. He identified and capitalized Frate’s crippling insecurities in order to drive him towards madness—towards the same kind of isolation he feels. At that point, Frate relied on Ronaldo for a somewhat abusive sense of validation—to a clearly unhealthy point. Frate emotionally abandoned his own family to do so, and once Ronaldo was out of the picture, there was no one left. He was drugged out and alone. This is what happens when we are without our family ties. At the heart of it, isolation is madness.
Now, at the end of it all, with his family in complete shambles, Nero is alone. Until Angelo steps in to cash in his chips—his cemented friendship with Nero. By providing a familial lifeline of sorts, Angelo now has substantial power over Nero. A crafty bugger, the man is.
One thing though, I believe the show could have done a better job of building emotional tension. A lot of it got across fine enough, but in particular, I think Frate’s character could have been better developed—especially because so much of the plot hinged on him. More could have been said to flesh out his crippling insecurities that go all the way back to his childhood with Nero. Show more of the brotherhood that Nero is losing, but also the roots of the guy’s problems. I felt like I could’ve better offered more sympathy for the guy if I just better understood him. Same goes for his sister—in order to convey her as a greater sense of pathos and heartbreak. That way, we could also get a better sense of Nero’s loss. Now understandably, the writers probably had material like this in mind, but just had to cut it out because of time constraints. A shame, but the final product is still quality.
Author’s Note: Severe apologies for the late double-post. Some personal things happened to me in the past few weeks that seriously put me out of commission—but now I’ve recovered a bit and am fully committed to being punctual again. Thank you all for your patience.
Epilogue:
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My latest favorite anime character, Angelo :).
It’s not often the MC of an anime is the bad guy (Death Note, Code Geass), but usually when they are, I ended up liking them. It’s a break to me where most MC are always the good guys. Although shows like 91 Days are the kind that makes me anxious whether it’s popular or not in Japan, because Japan today likes only Idol & Moe mostly. Thankfully though, The Japanese kinda likes it too. Although I’m not hoping for a new season (pretty sure they want to wrap it up in 1 season), It’s a good feeling to know the main audience of one of your favorite anime agrees on your opinion about it.
It’s only sad that the thing such protagonists have in common is they tend to die at the end… x_x
Except I don’t see him as The Bad Guy. I see him as the Angel of Vengeance. He is dishing out vengeance (and justice, even) on thieving, murdering thugs. Nero is no angel. As a teenager, he willingly shot Avilio/Angelo’s father to death. I don’t remember who specifically shot the mother and little brother, but these are evil, violent criminals. No mercy was shown to Angelo’s family.
Angelo is dispensing justice for murder to murderers. Execution. And it’s poetic in that he destroys the family FIRST, so they suffer what he suffered in having his family taken in a violent event.
Payback is a beautiful thing. I hope Angelo survives and he and his pal head to the US or a peaceful town, leaving the thug life behind. I hope against expectation that he gets a happy ending. A chance to say, “It is done. I have avenged my family. The hell with this crap town,” and goes off into a gorgeous future where he can have a family.
I suspect tragic will be the ending. But, well, a gal can hope.
I actually stand up and cheer when Ronaldo and Frate dies.
Much more Ronaldo than Frate for me since, early on, Frate seemed like a good kid and was clearly being emotionally manipulated by Ronaldo with Ronaldo making himself out to be a father/brother figure, sort of like Palpatine with Anakin in Star Wars, constantly praising Frate and making it seem like he and the Galessias were the only ones on Frate’s side which made him more willing to do what he thought would please them.
Doesn’t excuse the things Frate actually does, but at least I feel sympathy for him, unlike Ronaldo.
I cheered, too. Frate got only the smallest bit of sympathy. He enjoyed planning and insisting and smirking at his brother’s death a bit too much for me to cut him slack. Envy is not a good enough reason to kill your brother, who actually cares some for you. Papa having favorites is not a good enough reason to betray blood kin. Nope. Frate deserved his misery and death.
And Nero deserves his when (if?) it comes.
i have this theory though that Frate is actually Angelo’s dead brother who didn’t really “die” but was rescued, and adopted by the Vanetti family. i know … maybe farfetched but i couldn’t help noting the resemblance to angelo’s younger brother.
Both blue eyes and light hair. One has freckles, though. One seems to have straighter, not wavy hair. If the theory is true, this will be a “soul-rocking” moment for Angelo, to have facilitated his brother’s real dying. I wouldn’t want to see that moment. He’s suffered enough. But if it is Flatte=Luce, then a Vanetti killed his brother—twice.
So much dying and killing in the 7th episode.. Only makes me more curious to whats going to happen from here on.
Yup, I didn’t feel much sympathy towards Frate, but I did sympathize with the sister. I actually felt sorry for her, as she was the only one with the right sense of trying to keep her family together and I even rooted for her happiness, but by the end of it, she also suffered losing her mind. Just goes to further show how much diabolical Angelo is. I’m really starting to have second thoughts about the guy.