Mockman said:
I dunno. First Ryuuji was really stupid to participate in the dragon 'coming of age' ritual, without knowing anything about it. Especially since the idea came from Sapphi (I love Rose's justification -- 'All the dragons our age are doing it'). And especially since given his knowledge and experience, he really should know better. And especially, especially since he has access to people who know better -- Bianca and the Society. This was really dumb and he deserves abuse for that. Eriko too. She even suggested speaking to Maruga and they let Rose talk them out of it. And her blaming Sapphi was standard responsibility avoidance procedure. Hypno-girl said:
The two has been living together for a while now a nothing happened and they also believed it to be nothing more than a formality. Eriko basically thought she knew everything the Society knew about dragons since she has access to their top secret archives about lost precious and dragons but Bianca showed us that there was nothing about this ritual of age in the archives.
Rose is always hugging Ryuuji, who would seriously expected such a reaction from only a kiss on her hand if not a watcher that expect the plot to moves, you can't blame the character for this.
I'll have to watch the episode again, but... I think I can.
A formality for what? And Rose didn't think it was a formality. She thought it was the most important thing in the world.
My point isn't that they would have gotten the answers to all their questions. If things were that easy, there wouldn't be a show. My point is that they went ahead and did something with disastrous consequences without a second thought, and without availing themselves of any of the resources that were uniquely available to him. And they let Rose talk them out of speaking with Maruga.
As I mentioned, making mistakes is a normal human activity (and non-human too). But this was a stupid, disastrous mistake.
Regarding her hand -- it's magical. When she fell out of the suitcase in ep.01, who would have thought that she'd use it as a flamethrower, or that the combination of her hand and Ryuuji could defeat as imposing a monster as Onyx. It's not a normal, human hand. Nor is it a toy.
Mockman said:
And remember, Ryuuji tried to attack Onyx during their conversation. If he believed that Onyx was the last hope for Rose, then what would killing him accomplish? That was emotional and childish but you don't seem critical of that. Hypno-girl said:
Yes that was emotional and childish, Ryuuji is a child about 12 year old afterall. He was angered at the truth that Onyx will be able to save her while he can't.
Fifteen, FWIW. But I don't understand how his actions are defensible. If you're angry then everything is reasonable? Not even when you're three.
Mockman said:
Finally, you can only call the decision 'logical' within Onyx's frame of reference. As you said yourself, Onyx has defined two options. Surrender Rose or watch her die. This is the lesser of two evils. But why would you just accept that those are the only two options. Do you really think that he's told Ryuuji the entire truth? This is classic manipulation. We don't know that Rose is dying before him. Something is happening but we don't know what. Ryuuji doesn't know what. Onyx presumably does and he's using that to make up a weak-willed Ryuuji's mind for him. This is both false logic and a false choice. Hypno-girl said:
True but there is no other way and time at their disposition.
As I said when a person you love is dying, you aren't thinking straight to begin with.
They can't contact Maruga easely (Afterall it took 2 week for her to comes to Ryuuji after she found out that Onyx stole something from her), Society cannot help her and the condition she is in could worsen, and even worst, kill her any minute from now.
I don't think Ryuuji faithfully beleive what Onyx said but there was no other choice than the one Onyx had set.
Let me see if I understand this correctly. I take my hypothetical daughter to a strange restaurant to eat. The strange, foreign chef cooks up a special dish, just for her. She gets a stomach ache. The proprietor tells me that she's going to die but he can save her -- but I have to give her to him. And I'll never see her again.
What should I do? Hmmm...
If you let yourself get manipulated into a corner where your two choices are horrible and worse -- you failed. Everything else is an excuse. You're not supposed to wait until you have zero options before you get out of bed. This reinforces my point that Onyx is a skillful manipulator. And I agree with you about Ryuuji not thinking straight. That's a huge problem. And Onyx compounded it by isolating him. Which only makes his inability to think straight even more dangerous.
Mockman said:
And in case you didn't notice, Onyx manipulated Sapphi into her actions too and bugged her during the process. So he knows everything that's going on in Ryuuji's head and the Society's lab, including that the Society can't figure out what to do and that Ryuuji is overwhelmed with despair. And of course, he has a plan and he's presenting it just when Ryuuji is most vulnerable. It looks like he's been very successful in manipulating everybody in the show and apparently, some of the viewers as well. Hypno-girl said:
I don't think so.
Sapphi told Rose about the ritual of age on a whim, not because Onyx planned it.
Onyx went to Maruga's place to steal information about the dragon crisis because he wondered why Ryuuji could harm him and engage with a dragon.
Luck is on Onyx's side.
Onyx makes his own luck.
Sapphi told Rose because she's jealous. She has maturity issues. Kai even told her to her face that she did -- which just made her actions more likely. And before Kai left her alone, what did she tell her? "Onyx is leaving for two days. Stay out of trouble."
Never in history have words such as those ever kept anyone out of trouble.
Onyx had legitimate reasons to leave Sapphi alone. But he needed an opportunity to use the information he ostensibly got from Maruga's place. Sapphi created that opportunity. Onyx doesn't do things because he's curious. He doesn't wonder for the sake of wondering. He's a smart, manipulative megalomaniac with a mission that's more important to him than anything else. They need to start taking him seriously. He takes them seriously, even as he pulls their strings.
And for what it's worth, there are few things more important to adolescents than the appearance of maturity. As Sapphi was prompted to act in order to deny her immaturity, so was Rose. And Sapphi said the same stuff, "That's why you're still a kid." and "I had Onyx do it." and "It means he chose me. That's why I'm Onyx's lover." And when Rose attempted to defend her relationship with Ryuuji, she replied, "That's proof he just thinks of you as a kid." Them's fightin' words. And what did she finish with? "If you don't grow up, someone else will take him from you." Without adult supervision around, it was obvious what was gonna happen next.
What happened when Kai entered the lab. She walked up to Sapphi and plucked an electronic device from her collar. Perhaps someone can enlighten me otherwise but I think it was a bug or tracking device. Onyx did his homework. And he struck while the iron was hot. And he helped his odds by separating Ryuuji from his friends. And everything he said was chosen to increase Ryuuji's instability. Bits of truth mixed with lies. And he appealed to Ryuuji's nature.
Everyone is dancing to his tune. Well, at least Sapphi, Rose and Ryuuji. Perhaps that's enough for him to achieve his ends.
And after all these words, making life-changing decisions while in the pit of despair and depression is unwise. Lacking character and painting yourself into a corner are not excuses for failure. Epic fail or abject failure, Ryuuji deserves to lose Rose. She doesn't deserve the unhappiness she'll feel but that's a different problem.
I look forward to more involvement from Maruga. And I suspect that Sapphi will end up helping them get back together. |