Talk:Ken Kaneki/@comment-46.165.229.235-20160809235729/@comment-27247962-20160813104146

/Thumbs up/

I honestly can do this the whole day xD I'm just scraping the top of the barrel here. I completely get you on the 'cathartic' part, the longer my comments become, the more I need to cover and it's a whole work to not get too much off- topic. Your comment was a good way to commence a break regarding this topic, until further info is given by Ishida. But i'll see paragraph by paragraph, if there's something I want to add badly. ^^

regarding the way Kaneki treats the different charactes, Shuu is the character that is treated more or less the same as Eto. There are ofcourse still many differences that can be made, but also quite some similarities. 'Condemning' is too strong of a word, but I used it to clearly make a difference between Kaneki who 'forgives' & Kaneki who holds onto 'blaming' or 'condemning' them for their action by behaving rather prudent around them and I even dare say somewhat aggressive. Just like with Eto, a part of Kaneki understands Shuu and forgives him and accepts him, but there's that other part, that keeps harboring distrust and 'hate' towards those characters, that keeps 'condemning' them.

Shuu as we know might've been Kaneki's first big insight and physical experience with the cruelty of the ghoul world. (Nishiki's arc can be compared with a simple gang-up, which is cruel as well, but more common, The Ghoul Restaurant is a rather eye-opening or closing experience, however lucky you are in getting through it.) Shuu is in my eyes Kaneki's first real catalyst. Shuu brought about a change in Kaneki, that he didn't desire himself and I assume some part of Kaneki still holds a grudge against him for that, even after Shuu became a fairly trusted and devoted partner in crime. His whimsicalness is something worthy of distrust. If Shuu didn't abruptly change his mentality towards Kaneki, he would've been put in the same category as Rize, Yamori, Bin brothers, ... But that fondness saved his life.

That exact same fondness is in my eyes (once again) what saved Eto as well from being put in that category of 'heartless chaosmaniacs'... But this fondness is a double edged sword for Kaneki. It's exactly because he loaths and condemns these characters that Eto and Shuu stay fond of him. It's that active rebelling and refusing to give in to these two characters who are used to being obeyed, that keeps that fondness alive. Kaneki's active rebelling payed off and he now holds superiority in his hand. That fondness for Shuu changed in devotion and loyalty. That fondness for Eto changed in reverence. Kaneki ironically has them dancing in the palm off his hand, but to my personal discontent, Kaneki doesn't use them. He doesn't make them repay their malicious action by acting on his behalf, he just lets them be.

(Which in actuality now that I think about it, might be the best way to hurt both of them. Kaneki is the result of their meddling and now that they kneaded him into such a beautiful result, he denies them the credit and a place beside him.)

And with that I nicely agree with the fact that the story is forced to make Kaneki give them the cold-shoulder, because it would make Eto's & Shuu's critical influence fade behind a layer of misguided joy, when he would simply forgive them. It would become hard to retrace the reasons why certain things went the way they went.

I would really like to hear your interpretation of Arima in a private message, if you don't want to derail about him here. And Eto is indeed not as explored a character as Arima, that's why I hope Ishida will tie some gaps together soon. Because Eto's characters is one of the biggest gems in this series.

(Time to end it once again, eagerly awaiting your reply here or in private :^^)