Gin to Kin Chapter 108 Discussion

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Oct 10, 2018 3:28 AM

we_are_so_back

Offline

Jan 2013

196

THIS IS A MANGA ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS ANYTHING BEYOND THIS CHAPTER.
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A rather abrupt ending. Shame that the magazine died and took this series with it.

A lot of topics and characters can be seen in FKMT's other works so not all is lost.

Jul 11, 2020 5:42 AM

abystoma2

Offline

Nov 2013

5460

Well, knowing that this got axed because the magazine got changed into a porn one, I expected worse ending, this is still quite okay.

You all need to watch Nami.

Aug 8, 2020 9:48 PM

gfsdfgsdgsdfgs

Offline

Jun 2016

3391

I took a fond interest in the panels of Gin smoking and looking outside a window. That image evoked the sense of leaving everything up to the hands of fate more than anything else. To relish in your success or your demise and to sit back and embrace everything. To then repeat that kind of panel once more after the fact, especially with Gin contemplating his purpose and deciding to leave it up to fate once more, felt evocative of that exact feeling. Gin stated his reasoning to stay in the game was because something gripped his neck and told him that it was his duty to continue winning. We could see Gin’s self-doubt while he watched the race, despite the fact that Kono was crying, Gin knew the result wasn't up to him. I wonder if that was the moment that he had this overwhelming feeling of duty and purpose. An obligation to ride it out until he faces crushing defeat or turns to ashes. Again featuring a godly sense of acceptance in the truest sense of the word.

Like Buraiden Gai, Gin to Kin was supposedly cancelled and therefore ended abruptly. However, I think within the limitations of a sudden ending, something wholly unique and valuable can form. A picture perfect ending like Kurosawa or Ten is amazing, but, to get an ending which is not perfect but rather imperfect and ambiguous, that can be its own kind of strength. It can provoke real and unique feelings, honestly powerful ones, and with that unique thought.

By ending this series as we did, it is melancholic. Morita found individual purpose in chasing after a transcendent world, he fought alongside the man he respects most, and he presumably planned to use his power to help those who needed it. But, after making it far and pledging to become Kin, the counterpart to Gin, he faced a dilemma. One would assume after Kamui that Morita would either embrace committing truly inhumane evil as an inevitable aspect of life, or he would learn to grapple with the unfair society around him and find peace with his empathetic heart. However, what actually occurred was neither of these outcomes. To our knowledge, Morita crumbled at the weight of his sins and gave up, to not reveal a resolved outcome of existing morally in an immoral world, it is a bleak message. Perhaps validation for Gin’s methods or a message that a man like Morita could never exist here after all.

Gin on the other hand is heartbroken. There was no cheesy ending panel of Morita arriving at the door to let us feel content and happy and fill in the ending ourselves! The star crossed lovers may truly never see each other again. After struggling with the loss of his partner, Gin himself reached a state of resolve to continue this lifestyle, rather than changing in my eyes, he has decided to ride out what he’s always believed to the end.

The title of ‘Gin to Kin’ or ‘Silver and Gold’ is thus an idealistic illusion. The title of this series is filled with the hopes and dreams of an early Gin and Morita, a future that was never realized. Rather, this story is a melancholic tale of two men grappling with imperfect outlooks and trying their best to find peace in a way that is true to themselves. I say imperfect because for both Gin and Morita, their method is clumsy and messy and leads to regret. Morita cried while thinking about leaving Gin behind, and Gin struggled to move on without him. Morita could not become Kin, nor could he form a strong enough philosophy to contest the evils of the world. These two men tried their hardest and they made admirable attempts, they found great success and peace, but it wasn’t lasting. This is the feeling I get when I read this imperfect ending. Going alongside the worldview Gin established and Morita may have validated himself, I read a message that the best we can do is try our best and accept whatever fate has in store for us. There is no such thing as perfect, and no promise things will work out. The questions of how to live are now in our hands.

I've expressed some of my conflicted emotions in the past and my experience with this manga has been mixed. I'll touch firstly on the two opposing concepts which draw me in like never before and put me to sleep. I have never read a manga as unique in the directions it takes as Gin to Kin, you never know what you will get next in a spectacular way. However the way this is made possible is by sticking to an episodic formula, making sure Morita starts out at point A and ends at point C. Within the middle sequence of GtK, this made the most engaging part the brief periods from C to A because, unlike the predictable trajectory of the arcs, there was a constant sense of excitement and the unknown. In a sense, I see these spontaneous and unique arcs as masks to give the same ingredients a different flavour. The reason I specify the middle is because the beginning of this manga sets the structure up and the ending rips it apart, but after Aiga all the way through to the moments before Kamui there was an extremely different response between indifference and brief spurts of utter excitement to see where Fukumoto takes us next.

Following this, despite the fact that I ended up really enjoying Gin and Morita’s characters, this really kicked off without reservations at the end of Kamui onwards. Until Kamui, I didn’t particularly care for the supporting characters and while I think Morita was a perfect main character for this kind of story as a relatable everyman badass; the fact that he was so invincible and predictable made me actively root against him. As you can see, his spiral due to actually succeeding with Kamui and realizing who he had become made him feel human again when I had become somewhat irritated otherwise. From there, seeing Morita’s inability to grapple with the underworld and Gin’s acceptance of it, I began to see Gin differently, understand him better, and find him fascinating. And, to stop myself from repeating the first part of this post, it all encapsulated an admirable but imperfect and regretful attempt to find grounding in an unstable world. I only really liked the characters in this light in the last 20% of the manga however which leads to more conflicted feelings of indifference and passion! Again, despite really liking the trajectory of our boys and the uniqueness of the story, I had trouble attaching to Morita and Gin, and I had trouble maintaining attention or attachment in many of the story arcs.

In no way do I think the series is bad, on the contrary at its worst it is somewhat average and at its best especially effective or powerful. I enjoyed it the whole way through and just wanted to voice the negatives that may have stopped me from enjoying it even more and made me feel conflicted. I love this ending, I love some of the ideas that GtK puts forward, I love the wholly unique and free approach to structure, and on a moment to moment basis it’s fun. What else can I ask for?

Jul 23, 2021 4:48 AM

Ashhk

Shalltear

Offline

Apr 2018

33574

That was still really tense for the final horse race but they won, sad that it didn't get a proper end because of the magazine but it's still fine. Good Fukumoto series overall.

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