“I… killed Amon…”
Impression
It really was an understated, yet momentous occasion to see Haise don his ghoul mask once more – and Shirazu even said that ‘Sassan really looks like a ghoul’. The unfortunate thing for the investigation is that anyone fodder-level, like the kind souls who helped out Shirazu and Saiko, end up running after seeing what must have become a very famous mask during the months where he ran around destroying ghoul restaurants and opposing Aogiri. They all know who he is, and are terrified. It’s not really a case of mistaken identity, like when Yamori’s mask was used to create trouble – Haise really is Kaneki. In this series, masks have symbolic significance towards identity, and a famous mask either means it’s that ghoul, or the worse alternative – that the famous ghoul was killed by someone even more powerful, which means that the soon-to-be victim is in even more trouble. I’m so glad Haise didn’t decide to mention the name ‘Amon Koutarou’ to Special-Class Ui – as he is First-Class Sasaki, he may very well have come across the name in official records, but Amon is supposed to be dead, and Centipede killed him. And Ui knows that Centipede is Haise. If Haise says a name with such a strong connection to him, Ui will certainly become even more paranoid than he already is. I’m sure he’ll end up asking Donato, who’ll give him the next piece of the puzzle now that Haise is aware of his foster son’s name. Akira is also on the hunt, having recently been repeatedly getting Saiko to tell her about the ‘hero’ who saved her – a full Amon appearance is drawing near!
All that stuff about the long-term versus the short-term was really interesting. I’m sure there are many conflicting opinions within the CCG on this – I’m sure an early-chapter Amon would have said that all ghouls need to be killed because they’re evil and deserve death. Late-chapter Amon would have been more conflicted, and who knows how current Amon thinks. It doesn’t really matter for Arima because ghoul killing doesn’t even involve breaking a sweat for him, while I have a feeling Ui is the sort to agree with early-chapter Amon, even though officially he had other reasons for rejecting Operation Mask. Saiko is right, though – the assumption that leaving the ghoul alone results in one casualty a month is simply wrong, and I say that even for ghouls who are the ‘good guys’. One a month is what they need to survive, but they’ll obviously eat more than that – they’re surely physically fitter and healthier if they eat more. And to people like Rize, humans taste irresistibly good! We won’t get enough nutrition if we eat a single meal a day, but we’ll survive – likewise, for ghouls their kagune isn’t going to grow any bigger on the bare minimum. At any rate, the ghouls that do survive like that are the ones least likely to have any information on the composition of Aogiri.
In other news, Eto will become Kanae’s god. Uh… okay. Did Eto just manage to convert Kanae to her cause and get her to betray Tsukiyama, whom he’s idolised throughout this entire manga? Or at least, we think he’s idolised him – see, here’s the thing. I don’t know whether to take this as proper character development for Kanae, who’ll become a more conflicted character if this – because everything Eto said to him could just have easily been her fucking around. I can totally see that happening, too. If the Clowns manipulate people indirectly and from afar, Eto does so directly and up-close – there was that ‘advice’ she gave to Hinami as Takatsuki back in the original manga too, and now Hinami is with Aogiri. Also, does anyone know why her kagune can talk? Is that… normal? Something for kakujas? Or is it a split personality, not unlike what child Kaneki currently is to Haise? Will Kaneki end up inhabiting Haise’s kagune?