Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau – 09

「君の選択の、その先が見たい」 (Kimi no sentaku no, sono saki ga mitai)
“I Want To See Where Your Choice Leads”

 

Nibi’s Death & Ouni Unleashed

 

“I now must change these notes to tragic ones;

That brought into this World a world of woe.

Sing, goddess, the grief of Falaina’s son,

And the devastation of his anger,

putting countless pains upon the Empire.“

– Zaiden’s rewording of Paradise Lost IX (John Milton) and The Iliad (Homer)

 

For a brief moment, despite his allegedly inferior Thymia, Nibi stole the show. As he stood to protect his dearest friend, goading on the Empire’s soldiers in a cocksure way, he really emanated a spirit of youth and leadership. To be more exact, it truly felt like he was on a wonderful adventure, the kind that the Bowel Moles had yearned for their entire lives. Only his life was tragically cut short.

Last week, a commenter made an insightful point worth bringing up. The brutality of Hakuji’s sudden demise, cut off during his last words, serves to highlight a cruel world where anyone can die at anytime. Unfortunately, I conceded that the tragedy was lost upon me at the time, on the basis that the execution was somewhat lacking. But when Nibi’s turn finally came to depart from the mortal realm, such a message became wholeheartedly conveyed. It started with a gun shot, followed by an overhanging shock, then the sound of spears being thrusted through flesh. To describe the delivery as visceral would be a vast understatement.

If we consider Thymia to be tied with the manifestation of the human psyche (much like Cantus from Shin Sekai Yori), then it makes sense for Ouni to have gone berserk. If you consider that these kids were orphans who only had each other, the Bowel Moles were a family. Ouni and Nibi were particularly close, to the point where one would lay down his life for the other. He lost a person who helped him through some very dark times, and someone who he could unconditionally love.

Ouni himself remarks upon his own emptiness, teardrops scattering past memories, filled by meaning gained from being with the Bowel Moles. He might have seemed aloof, and he might have seemed the strongest, but at the end of the day, he too was a mere human with his own vulnerabilities.

 

Olivines and Anthropos

 

I have to admit that this vision segment left me confused, due to the sheer volume of previous information left unexplained. There are so many blanks in our knowledge, that it becomes hard to process together these fractured strands. For now, I’ll assume that Olivines occupies a similar role to Neri and Ema in relation to the Nous Anthropos, an intermediary by which communications can be made to humans.

The Kokalo (borrowed from Greek κόκαλο – bone) seems like a sinister item. By purportedly taking Falaina to the next stage, does that mean giving it the ability to harvest emotions like the other Nous? The implication of an ulterior motive is quite scary, especially when Chakuro was tortured, followed by an attempt to lead Lykos astray. But it would be too early to dismiss the possibility that Olivines is genuinely interested in mapping out Chakuro’s self-determined progression, and seeing the outcome of his unpredictable choice. After all, I also want to see where Chakuro’s choice takes him.

 

Concluding Thoughts

 

Though we know that it is possible to take down the remaining eight flagships, by directly targeting the Nous, I’m seriously doubting that Falaina can win out on this battle of attrition. They managed to take down a single one, but at what cost? Not to mention, Falaina possesses the same weakness, with nothing to stop the Empire from pulling off the same trick in a future encounter. Judging by the title name for the next episode, I would guess that a detachment will be sent to seek out people from third party factions, who can help make a stand against the Empire.

While I really enjoy vision sequences in Kujira, I’m also beginning to wonder if they are starting to become overused. As far as I can see, their abstract nature is being used as a crutch, to artificially induce more mystery. I’d say at the moment, there is more intrigue than the show can probably handle. Those of you familiar with Doctor Who might find yourselves familiar with this style of writing. Specifically, the school of Steven Moffat, where promises of mysteries continually overlay each other. After which two possible scenarios ensue – the answer itself is unsatisfactory, or there is no real answer to speak of. And unfortunately, as far as I can tell, it doesn’t look like our mysteries are going to be answered anytime soon.

 

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