The big twist is that the answer to the mystery is the first conclusion you likely jumped to when hearing of the situation, and we went along the whole manga trying to find ANY other answer than the obvious one. I feel bad, now.
I have a very strong feeling could be projecting/could be wrong. Two things: - The wish being to make a friend. - The storm. Mozuku was planning to kill herself (the storm) if she didn't make a friend. She made one just in time, but still too late. For Mozuku, everything was too little too late. Like you said someone was planning on doing something but didn't. Also, why the Little Mermaid? Imo, it's not just because of the father, but the story about being disappearing and finding a soul. IMO Mozuku (before the storm) was testing to see if she would be missed, to make her path to the storm (death) easier. We don't see anything from her perspective, just a facde of happiness.
@@noodlepoodle3582 Oh thank you! Wasn't expecting people to notice my comment so this was a sweet surprise. Looking back, I realise how my brain went to the "other" perspective, which i think can be really hard for people to do. Considering we only see what we see etc.
It occurs to me that the "candy bullets" also refer to the passive condemnation of the neighbours. In the end, they all claim they were about to do something. But clearly, that is just a hazy fantasy. A vague supposed plan they had no actual intent to act on. This kind of candy "someone should do something" or "I was totally about to do something" did not help against the bullet of abuse. It feels like a pretty clear statement of "only bullet actions - seeing the actual realities and actually acting on it - can save someone from this kind of situation". I also love the subplot of the brother. The way he guides Nagisa, and does so in part through candy - scenarios far away or hypothetical in nature - is a great contrast to Umino. While she used candy to escape and close her eyes to reality, he uses candy to understand, explain and delve more deeply into reality. Also fun fact! Did you know that Stockholm Syndrome is getting increasingly debunked these days? The situation that inspired the term was strongly misrepresented by the journalist who coined it. Basically, the police and the journalist kept handling the hostage situation at that bank horribly badly. But the robbers were extremely accommodating and did not do any harm to anyone even when doing so could have increased their chances at getting away unarrested. The hostages were later outraged about both the absolute amateur hour by the police and the articles twisting the situation. And everyone else just went "oh this can only be explained by brainwashing" when no, the police just actually endangered the hostages during the situation. But here's the truly tragic thing: Something like Stockholm Syndrome is not necessary to explain the behavior. One absolutely heartbreaking thing is that children are preprogrammed to try even harder to cling to and appease their parents the more neglect and abuse they experience, at least for most of their pre-puberty years. It's similar to the baby brainhacking - a survival instinct. It's possible for a child to refocus the familial bond to other adults than the biological parents, but that necessitates for those other adults to exist and make the child feel safe. Many formerly thus abused children, once in a loving home, suddenly start acting out. It's a sign of recovery - they stop trying to appease at all costs because they begin to feel more secure in the love of their caregiver. Can be a really explosive process, but tends to eventually peter out into a harmonious familial bond.
Parent-child relations are complicated. My best friend was physically abused by her biological father and emotionally neglected by her narcissistic mother and stepdad. And yet, even after cutting ties with them once she moved out, she did eventually reconnect with them so that her children wouldn't grow up without their maternal grandparents. But recently her father's partner did something unforgivable that I won't mention, but her father refuses to break off the relationship, so last week she let it all out towards him, from the childhood abuse to now standing by someone who committed a heinous crime. And still, STILL, she called me afterwards saying how bad she felt. It also felt really good to finally let him have it, but she hated how bad it felt at the same time. I can't relate to it because I am lucky enough to have loving and caring parents, but I do get that it's different to cut off ties with your parents than with anyone else in the world. You feel emotionally obligated to stick with them, whether they deserve it or not. It's terrible.
Children are preprogrammed to try and overcome parental abuse with love. It's... seriously heartbreaking, but likely a survival mechanism. Children who got abused by their parents have been observed to actually cling even harder to them and try desperately to appease them at all costs even as toddlers, because children literally can't survive on their own. Not that they know that... all they know is that it HURTS and must be their fault somehow. This is also why kids are so quick to blame themselves for divorces and stuff. The good news is that children can shift this bond over to other adults if they find better caregivers, which can enable them to recover and develop resilience. This is why teachers and play dates are so incredibly important. Both provides children with alternative models for caregivers and additional people to develop a parental bond with, hopefully a healthy one.
man the reveal of not that Mozuku was murdered by her father but having the whole town essentially move on and see her as nothing but putting the trash away to keep the dignity of the town is extremely morbid but tragic as it really dives into the human condition. one of the biggest quotes from One Piece "a man dies, when he's forgotten" as for this case, the whole town will move on and forget her, I really hope you get to read Angels of Death, that series along with Made in Abyss is one of my favorite stories of all time
A few notes from what i gathered while reading rhis manga. Perhaps mozuku could predict the "storm" becausw her father's beatings were becoming more violent or more frequent. I have a feeling that he might even straight up told her that he planned to do something to her in a certian time. Also! Mermaids in media often have very tragic lives. And tragic love stories, so seems appropriate that mozuku used a mermaid fantasy to describe herself as. After rereading this story i thought what if she wanted to make a close friend so she had someone who would see what was happening to her? Like a cry for help disguised as a fantasy? Her father made it seem like she never had any closw friends before so nagisa would be the first one. But unfortunately while nagisa did become her friend shw realized the situation mokuzu was in too late.
My headcanon is that either 1. Mozuku was literally just right about the storm by coincidence. She didn't know - she just pointed at a randon date and it just happened to be right. Or 2. The much more tragic option... she already planned on confronting her father on that date when she named it and expected to be beaten or even killed. Which would make the rest of the story even more painful. Because it would mean that Mizuku still spun candy in her final days - her candy now becoming that she would escape with Nagisa. Perhaps even a fantasy conjured entirely to pacify Nagisa, create some final beautiful memories, or make sure Nagiss wouldn't stop her from confronting her father. She never meant the weather storm, she was always referring to her father. The second one is especially likely if she knew that domestic abusers become exponentially more likely to kill their victims when the victim is about to leave them. If you're ever in an abusive relationship, don't tell your partner that you'll leave them. Get quietly away and only break up from afar once you're safe if you contact them at all.
Concerning Mozuku's dad threatening to sue Nagisa for defamation, that's such an unfortunate fact that you get sued if you let people know that someone is an abuser. It happened to a woman who let it be known her ex beat her and he won a defamation suit against her because it dishonored him, which, if someone is an abuser, is something they deserve.
That reveal was depressing, I knew it was going there, but still got me. Really enjoy your channel, I've bought a bunch of manga after discovering it. Really enjoy your takes.
I’m not sure if I would call that a prediction. While that is something a victim may perceive in escalation of violence or known patterns of behaviour, in my opinion it was just a reaction to a new catalyst in this situation. No one was doing anything, but as soon as the girls do something for themselves, the consequences are dire.
In the first part when you were shown the bruises for the first time. My mind directly went to S,A. Something from an episode of Law and Order svu. And of course I wasn’t wrong. Make one think what that says about me. But has always explored all the depths and nuances of the dark things in our world and others. Love your videos. Love from Sweden.👍
Here's some fridge horror that's been rattling around in my brain to add to things (don't know if it needs to be said, but SPOILERS!!) Mokuzu's father made her walk home with the machete that he eventually dismembers her with. I mean bad enough that he was buying it to dismember her pet dog he had killed. But now the knowledge that that scene is so eerie because she's walking home with her own murder weapon is going to keep me up tonight. But thank you for the video I would be utterly lost on the cultural context without it.
"Hydra by the way of Breadtube" never would I thought I would have heard that phrase and after a little research, WOW you are right, even their freaking flag... I have to admit, the hope of a supernatural aspect is what initially interested me after your first episode. Even though this did not turn out I found myself locked into binging the entire run. I hate to say it but I think Mokuzu is the one who did the rabbits, and was maybe a not so well handled 'the abused internally normalizes the behavior to survive and becomes an abuser, not out of sadism, but out of social maladjustment.' Though that does not really explain the beatdown she gives later, I feel that Sakuraba needed a 'breaking point' for Mokuzu's first (and only?) real bullet but it wasn't executed as well as it could have. As for the rain prediction, I feel it is the same as the rabbit vs mermaid story: inexpertly handled foreshadowing. More there for the increased reveal impact than for sequential story cohesion. As always, thank you Mr. Owl for introducing me to another chill inducing, gripping title that I would never have found on my own.
I think that's the fun part of it - the fact that you really do suspect something supernatural might be happening, but that's...kind of the point. It's easy to overlook the obvious when the obvious is horrific.
I've become a fast fan of yours and have been just binging your videos in the last 2 weeks! I just read this and then came back to watch your deep dive! This was such an excellent deep dive and I really appreciated the insight you could provide regarding school culture in rural Japan, that absolutely helped my understanding of some things that happened in the story I was confused about. I don't know what this says about me, but this is the minutiae I got stuck on: Pochi and Mokuzu were both mentioned to have been cut into 4 pieces. Obviously the head is 1, but I cannot get out of my mind where a body would be intuitively cut to make 3 more pieces. And maybe that's not supposed to be questioned? Is there some deeper meaning there? Maybe the translation I read was erroneous? Additionally, isn't 4 considered to be an unlucky number in Japan? I just think about how in anime I don't even see sandwiches cut into 4 and now I'm trying to figure out how a body could be. What is my life.
I love this Manga. The way it switches between subtle metaphor and being brutally straight created incredible emotional impact for me. When Mokuzus body wasn't immediately shown I was sure the scene of them going up the mountain was setting up for the body not being there and it being left to the readers imagination if she was murdered or truly turned into foam. Afterall the last time she was challenged about telling a ridiculous story it turned out to be true and the storm did happen like she predicted. Only for her brutally chopped up body to be revealed as common sense would've made you expect. It was the biggest gut punch I've ever had in a story.
Well, you asked for thoughts? I hope it's alright that I have some. Not any negative ones, but I grew up in a smaller city in a conservative Canadian province which is definitely very different from Japan, but I feel like I recognized some aspects of the story in the stories of people I grew up with or even things I experienced myself to lesser degrees. obviously I myself didn't experience anything as extreme as the actual contents of the manga, but fiction is often made by condensing many stories into one and exaggerating it to make a point. I think Stockholm Syndrome in itself is probably an interesting topic to discuss, but the lack of study into it and the ways it's been disproved or undermined through various ways makes the theory shaky. The situation in Stockholm, Sweden where it got its name undermines it because the hostages were so against the police and on the side of the hostage takers because the police acted with hostility and recklessness with their lives, making the hostages afraid more of the police than the armed robbers who ended up, as studies eventually showed, to be working harder to de-escalate the situation than the police. Media and Police then spun the story that the hostages had some sort of delusion where they had more affection for their captors than their rescuers, when in reality their rescuers were being more threatening to the hostages than the captors were, but it would be bad publicity for the police to reveal that information so they had to discredit the witnesses. That isn't to say there is no proof of cases where people will grow to empathize or relate to their captors, mostly I just feel that common knowledge of Stockholm Syndrome is either simplified or misunderstood. And I think probably it's a different situation of mental conditioning taking place that honestly it would be unethical to study so there's just not enough information available to actually come to any solid conclusions. That being said, I don't think Stockholm Syndrome and Parental Abuse qualify in the same category. Your parents are supposed to protect and love you, that's expected of them. That's one of the first things a child is supposed to learn. And when that's not true, it fundamentally breaks the reality a child lives in. While you make a lot of points about Japan being reluctant to act in the case of domestic abuse, the same really can be said about a lot of the world. I'm sure that there are ways that Japan is different, but there's very much an attitude of 'it's not my business' 'I can't be sure' 'I don't want to get involved' 'It's really a shame' 'someone else will do something' etc. A lot of stuff in the manga feels accurate in a way that the kids are the ones to notice and act first, but they're powerless in the grand scheme of things. Half the time growing up the kids knew about horrific stuff going on in each other's houses, and we were all exhausted about the apathy of adults who didn't want to/couldn't get involved. We came up with grand plans about running away which always fell through before we actually got to act on them for some reason or another. Abuse is hard to prove in court or to the police, and if you call them over something chances are they might not even show up in certain areas, so the idea of 'calling the police' or getting help from authorities is just kind of a joke. The other option is getting in so much trouble yourself you get taken away, but it's an awkward tightrope to walk because you might just get in enough trouble you get sent home and that's just making your life worse. I feel like Mokuzu's behaviour makes sense in the context of someone lashing out, raised in a household of violence, crying out for help. She has to push things to a breaking point, make things big enough, bad enough, noticeable enough, for people to intervene in her life. Otherwise she just goes home to her father again, and again, and again. But if she becomes enough of a problem and pushes other people to a breaking point, then someone has to act, and she's just a kid. She isn't developed or smart enough to know what she needs them to do, she just needs them to do something. Anything. And at this point mostly she just knows how to provoke people, and create a bubble of escapism around herself due to the fact that her reality is so fractured. Her candy is a form of dissociation, because she's learned in a way that no one is coming to save her. The 'predicting October 3rd' wasn't likely a prediction, but an Ultimatum. She was hitting her breaking point, and in some way Nagisa had given her a bit of hope and strength, which was both good and ultimately damning. When Mokuzu said she was going in to stand up to her father one last time, I felt my blood run cold and I knew exactly what was about to happen. One of the main reasons a lot of people are afraid of intervening in domestic abuse is because if you don't have a good exit strategy, an intervention that doesn't remove the victim from the abuser immediately puts the victim in more danger than they were in previously. Attempting to leave your partner or get a divorce in spousal abuse cases is the most likely time for murder to occur and why you want to have someone with you when you do it. Parental abuse tend to lash out in cases like when their child announces an intent to move out, date or get married. Even if they frequently declare their child to be worthless, or that they dislike the child, or that the child is a burden, they get extremely possessive. The child is an extension of themselves and an attempt to leave or exert their own will is an insult to the parent. If the parent is already proven to be violent, an increased lashing out of violence is not unlikely. Mokuzu "belonged" to her father, to behave in such a way that not only showed independence but resentment and that he would no longer own her? It was so extremely dangerous for her to do that alone. But Nagisa, for all her maturity and grounding in reality had no way of knowing just how dangerous, there's no reason for her to have experienced such a malignant narcissist. The unfortunate reality of Mokuzu's father being a wealthy celebrity is that while the adults should have acted in her defense a long time ago, it's uncertain if it would have been effective. It's difficult to definitely prove abuse without the victim's testimony and even then when it's "he said, she said" the person with the most compelling testimony wins. we've made headway in taking faith in victim testimony, and the idiosyncrasies of trauma that effects victim testimonies which have previously biased trials or even just reporting of crimes, but a lot of times attempting to report abuse in a clumsy way can make abuse worse because it does nothing but aggravate the abuser into worse abuse, since the agencies that are supposed to protect the vulnerable are very poorly equipped to handle the situation. I think this manga is a really good depiction of how so many people can feel paralyzed by the fact that there simply is not adequate support for abused children in a lot of places as parents and guardians have so much power over them. Adding to it the commentary of wealth disparity and the way people with money and celebrity status can simply move away from a scandal or in Japan sue for slander or libel even if something is true but said in a disparaging way, it put Mokuzu in a position where her father was nearly untouchable by the much poorer country folk. They saw what was happening, but acting would require having enough evidence for an open and shut case or he could destroy them and just take Mokuzu back and move away. Most of the adults knew this, so it almost took the 'candy' of youth to have that whimsy to just run away. and if they'd just run away they might have made it. I apologize for the length, it's a really fascinating story and it hit me in... something thoughtful. I think it's very complicated and interesting, and terrifying specifically for the realism it tackles. I don't think it's so specific to Japan as one might think, but I know there are many aspects to it that are culturally specific. It definitely resonates though. Thank you for sharing this manga with a wider audience, I'm glad to know about it. It feels like a really important story.
I like how you said that her storm prediction was an ultimatum. Like, “help me or else this thing _will_ happen.” Weather storms may have signs, but they can be unpredictable in their timing. The only sure thing about storms is that they do come. Perhaps she was wanting to have some semblance of control by deciding when exactly the next “storm” was coming.
@@Alexden96Channel ultimatums are familiar territory, she just seems to be using her fairytale “candy” language to express it. The version that’s more realistic is “if you don’t do something to help me by X I’m going to die” or something similar. A desperate child tired of her cries of help being ignored, hits her limit and puts a due date on it. Unfortunately she’s talking to another child who doesn’t have the ability to save her either. So the ultimatum just has an effect of scaring and confusing the other girl. I don’t know if it’s necessarily common, but I’ve seen it a handful of times. Usually though, in real life something manages to extend the timeline enough over and over that eventually people get help or situations change, thankfully.
@@seeminglyseph yeah as an adult, I saw major blaring red flags with her returning to her father and then seeing the suitcase he drags out. If I were her same age though, I wouldn’t know any better and just let her confront him. It’s a horrible culmination of everyone’s fantasies
Yeah I often end up seeing the same apathy in the adults around me too. Sometimes they make it seem like I’m fussing over nothing but when I hear about something even states away I feel horrified. To adults it seems like the only thing that matters is work and your family, everything else comes second. But at least that’s my take.
I've been on the edge of my seat waiting for this next part!! I love how it ended. You're set up to believe in this fantasy, but it all comes crashing down.
Im actually gonna stop the video at 4:20 (its a coincidence I actually did pause it righ there) and go binge this manga before the big reveal. If it is what i think it is, ill be crying in my room for the next week
If anyone here enjoyed the story I strongly recommend reading Adabana if you can. The art and themes were absolutely amazing. I will say it has a bit more of a slightly hopeful ending than this manga.
Your analysis of the themes and subtext in this manga was, as usual, on point. I wouldn't argue with much of anything. In reference to what you said in the first video on it, you're absolutely right that a piece of media does NOT need to be gory or "shocking" to be dark... Sometimes the addition of those elements can ruin the eerie, foreboding and dark feeling a manga like this masterpiece elicits. This is not the darkest I've seen by any stretch of the imagination, but it was fantastic and tear jerking regardless. Good takes.
I was really holding hope that it was yet another fake out of some kind even after she had been waiting for over an hour. But the exact moment I saw the suitcase I gasped and just, shut down. I read the rest of the story in a trance until seeing the water bottle got me actually crying.
Left off at 45:36 bc I have to do something’s (ofc it’s when u say to quit if u have to lol) but I WILL be finishing this video! God this story wrecked me
ok so frankly, I honestly can't tell which of the two killed the rabbits. I don't doubt mokuzu bc "oh she'd never!" because I hate that view, mokuzu shouldn't have to be what ppl think is the 'perfect victim' for people to feel bad. You explained mokuzu being the killer so I'd like to explain why i'm still suspicious of the boy(sorry cant remember his name rn); first of all, nagisa found him saying stuff like "there's no head" right outside of the hutch, which is a pretty red flag because why would he be over there? you can't tell there's anything wrong from the outside, and he seemingly doesn't go there usually. Also it's totally possible he planted the head imo, I mean his hands were all bloody and he was holding the body. It almost feels like a coverup to me to go on and on abt the head so he doesnt have to explain anything to the teachers. I mean, it was also crazy convenient when he suddenly snapped out of it and started accusing mokuzu. I personally theorize the reason he framed Mokuzu was because she essentially rejected him by running off with nagisa, and it's very obvious mokuzu cares about nagisa so maybe that peeved him off to pick the rabbits?? IDK if what i've said made sense so ill come back and reread this comment later lol
a fantastic vidio as always I've been watching you for over a year and I love every vidio I've seen keep it up I have a question: Do you know the horror manga Shibatarian?
This is terrifying because it's real. Thousands of children are beaten to death by their parents. Nothing is done in time, and only after the child is gone do the authorities act
I’m very late but I do have 2 big questions that I don’t understand if anybody could help me? 1.How did Nagisa randomly bring up Mokuzu’s dog being killed by her father and it actually ended up being true?(seems like a insane coincidence) 2.If Mokuzu basically set up the rabbit situation with Nagisa’s friend and Mokuzu was the one that killed the rabbits and framed him why did she lash out on him and beat him with the broom when he tried to apologize knowing she purposely provoked him to get that outcome?(Also why did he come back holding one of the rabbits in his hand?)
@@frightrankerthanks for the quick reply,I just went a read a bit of the manga and seen that Nagisa seen a doghouse outside Mokuzu’s house prior; It makes sense now.
First i posted about using Vaush but... HOLY FUCK WHAT THE FUCK IS THE FINAL PART OF THIS MANGA?! Edit: I prefer to read Made in the Abyss 100 times over this again. I think. I'm not sober. But this made me get really, REALLY depressed with the ending. Owl, if you're reading this, i would say this isn't an overall horror manga, it may have some horror aspects on the later parts but, it's kind whimsical on the first parts, which makes the later parts way, WAY worse. I seriously would make a way more harsh review, because the horror twist at the end, is pretty predicable but, it doesn't have any good setup. It juts happens and you are left feeling fucked up. Personally, the ending actually disappointed me for being exactly what we thought it would be on the first part, without any kind of payoff or pathos over the happenigs. It's end up on the style of story that, i personally am tired of, of "horrible things happening because YES and in the end there's nothing to do about it" Like, it's fiction, and fiction should at least give us something. Something horrible. Something happy. Something evil or good. But something. This ending feels empty.
@@frightranker Damn. I'll be honest, after the ending of this one, i just needed i shower and a hug from my partner and some wine, whom thankfully is coming to me right now xD Btw LOVE your channel! Last few days you presented me to more horror mangas that i never had heard off in the last 5, to 10 years! You and the Owl family are amazing
@@frightranker Huh. Not what I expected. Guess not enough manholes in this one. Joking aside, this manga is really disturbing one, and I guess it's gonna live rent free in my brain for a while. As expected, it is not available in my language, which is a shame, but maybe one day when I'll be sitting on a bit more cash I will order it online.
She still killed those rabbits and ruined that boy’s life. Even if they have escaped, I think she would eventually have turned out like her father anyway.
God, that’s just an awful mindset. These are middle schoolers, generously putting them in the age range of probably 12-14. That is absolutely more than enough time to have a massive turnaround in both mindset and behavior. This is a traumatized, abused child who is indeed lashing out violently, and lying, and probably extremely disassociated. She is harming and killing animals, yes. It’s troubling, yes. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that she isn’t going to change. To heal, and to better herself. Especially with the possible support system she’d have gained through Nagisa, small though it may be. Especially especially, if the moves being made by the teacher had eventually been successful. If her dad didn’t kill her, if they’d run away together, even if they’d not made it far and come back, there absolutely could have been redemption.
That would be the case in Utopian world. Unfortunately she would most likely become her father. To link this to current world problems, just look at what the Israelis are doing in Palestine. Exactly what they suffered at the hands of the germans. Never count on society to redeem itself @@takumihijirihara1354
Thanks 👍👍👍
My pleasure!
The big twist is that the answer to the mystery is the first conclusion you likely jumped to when hearing of the situation, and we went along the whole manga trying to find ANY other answer than the obvious one.
I feel bad, now.
I have a very strong feeling could be projecting/could be wrong.
Two things:
- The wish being to make a friend.
- The storm.
Mozuku was planning to kill herself (the storm) if she didn't make a friend. She made one just in time, but still too late. For Mozuku, everything was too little too late. Like you said someone was planning on doing something but didn't.
Also, why the Little Mermaid? Imo, it's not just because of the father, but the story about being disappearing and finding a soul.
IMO Mozuku (before the storm) was testing to see if she would be missed, to make her path to the storm (death) easier.
We don't see anything from her perspective, just a facde of happiness.
That makes so much sense! Thanks for sharing your interpretation, I think it works really well in the context of the story
@@noodlepoodle3582 Oh thank you! Wasn't expecting people to notice my comment so this was a sweet surprise.
Looking back, I realise how my brain went to the "other" perspective, which i think can be really hard for people to do. Considering we only see what we see etc.
It occurs to me that the "candy bullets" also refer to the passive condemnation of the neighbours.
In the end, they all claim they were about to do something. But clearly, that is just a hazy fantasy. A vague supposed plan they had no actual intent to act on. This kind of candy "someone should do something" or "I was totally about to do something" did not help against the bullet of abuse. It feels like a pretty clear statement of "only bullet actions - seeing the actual realities and actually acting on it - can save someone from this kind of situation".
I also love the subplot of the brother. The way he guides Nagisa, and does so in part through candy - scenarios far away or hypothetical in nature - is a great contrast to Umino. While she used candy to escape and close her eyes to reality, he uses candy to understand, explain and delve more deeply into reality.
Also fun fact! Did you know that Stockholm Syndrome is getting increasingly debunked these days?
The situation that inspired the term was strongly misrepresented by the journalist who coined it. Basically, the police and the journalist kept handling the hostage situation at that bank horribly badly. But the robbers were extremely accommodating and did not do any harm to anyone even when doing so could have increased their chances at getting away unarrested.
The hostages were later outraged about both the absolute amateur hour by the police and the articles twisting the situation. And everyone else just went "oh this can only be explained by brainwashing" when no, the police just actually endangered the hostages during the situation.
But here's the truly tragic thing: Something like Stockholm Syndrome is not necessary to explain the behavior. One absolutely heartbreaking thing is that children are preprogrammed to try even harder to cling to and appease their parents the more neglect and abuse they experience, at least for most of their pre-puberty years. It's similar to the baby brainhacking - a survival instinct. It's possible for a child to refocus the familial bond to other adults than the biological parents, but that necessitates for those other adults to exist and make the child feel safe.
Many formerly thus abused children, once in a loving home, suddenly start acting out. It's a sign of recovery - they stop trying to appease at all costs because they begin to feel more secure in the love of their caregiver. Can be a really explosive process, but tends to eventually peter out into a harmonious familial bond.
That panel of the rabbits was nearly as bad as any single frame of animation from the 1978 children's classic 'Watership Down'.
Yeah, that movie was rough, and then my apparently masochistic self just had to read the book after could understand the the underlying themes
Trauma flashback unlocked
Parent-child relations are complicated. My best friend was physically abused by her biological father and emotionally neglected by her narcissistic mother and stepdad. And yet, even after cutting ties with them once she moved out, she did eventually reconnect with them so that her children wouldn't grow up without their maternal grandparents. But recently her father's partner did something unforgivable that I won't mention, but her father refuses to break off the relationship, so last week she let it all out towards him, from the childhood abuse to now standing by someone who committed a heinous crime.
And still, STILL, she called me afterwards saying how bad she felt. It also felt really good to finally let him have it, but she hated how bad it felt at the same time.
I can't relate to it because I am lucky enough to have loving and caring parents, but I do get that it's different to cut off ties with your parents than with anyone else in the world. You feel emotionally obligated to stick with them, whether they deserve it or not. It's terrible.
Children are preprogrammed to try and overcome parental abuse with love. It's... seriously heartbreaking, but likely a survival mechanism. Children who got abused by their parents have been observed to actually cling even harder to them and try desperately to appease them at all costs even as toddlers, because children literally can't survive on their own. Not that they know that... all they know is that it HURTS and must be their fault somehow.
This is also why kids are so quick to blame themselves for divorces and stuff.
The good news is that children can shift this bond over to other adults if they find better caregivers, which can enable them to recover and develop resilience. This is why teachers and play dates are so incredibly important. Both provides children with alternative models for caregivers and additional people to develop a parental bond with, hopefully a healthy one.
man the reveal of not that Mozuku was murdered by her father but having the whole town essentially move on and see her as nothing but putting the trash away to keep the dignity of the town is extremely morbid but tragic as it really dives into the human condition. one of the biggest quotes from One Piece "a man dies, when he's forgotten" as for this case, the whole town will move on and forget her, I really hope you get to read Angels of Death, that series along with Made in Abyss is one of my favorite stories of all time
This manga has stuck with me ever since I read it, very dark in ways you don't really see, the "disappearing" act had me on the edge
A few notes from what i gathered while reading rhis manga. Perhaps mozuku could predict the "storm" becausw her father's beatings were becoming more violent or more frequent. I have a feeling that he might even straight up told her that he planned to do something to her in a certian time. Also! Mermaids in media often have very tragic lives. And tragic love stories, so seems appropriate that mozuku used a mermaid fantasy to describe herself as. After rereading this story i thought what if she wanted to make a close friend so she had someone who would see what was happening to her? Like a cry for help disguised as a fantasy? Her father made it seem like she never had any closw friends before so nagisa would be the first one. But unfortunately while nagisa did become her friend shw realized the situation mokuzu was in too late.
My headcanon is that either
1. Mozuku was literally just right about the storm by coincidence. She didn't know - she just pointed at a randon date and it just happened to be right. Or
2. The much more tragic option... she already planned on confronting her father on that date when she named it and expected to be beaten or even killed. Which would make the rest of the story even more painful. Because it would mean that Mizuku still spun candy in her final days - her candy now becoming that she would escape with Nagisa. Perhaps even a fantasy conjured entirely to pacify Nagisa, create some final beautiful memories, or make sure Nagiss wouldn't stop her from confronting her father.
She never meant the weather storm, she was always referring to her father.
The second one is especially likely if she knew that domestic abusers become exponentially more likely to kill their victims when the victim is about to leave them. If you're ever in an abusive relationship, don't tell your partner that you'll leave them. Get quietly away and only break up from afar once you're safe if you contact them at all.
Concerning Mozuku's dad threatening to sue Nagisa for defamation, that's such an unfortunate fact that you get sued if you let people know that someone is an abuser. It happened to a woman who let it be known her ex beat her and he won a defamation suit against her because it dishonored him, which, if someone is an abuser, is something they deserve.
That reveal was depressing, I knew it was going there, but still got me. Really enjoy your channel, I've bought a bunch of manga after discovering it. Really enjoy your takes.
I’m not sure if I would call that a prediction. While that is something a victim may perceive in escalation of violence or known patterns of behaviour, in my opinion it was just a reaction to a new catalyst in this situation.
No one was doing anything, but as soon as the girls do something for themselves, the consequences are dire.
In the first part when you were shown the bruises for the first time. My mind directly went to S,A. Something from an episode of Law and Order svu. And of course I wasn’t wrong.
Make one think what that says about me. But has always explored all the depths and nuances of the dark things in our world and others.
Love your videos. Love from Sweden.👍
Here's some fridge horror that's been rattling around in my brain to add to things (don't know if it needs to be said, but SPOILERS!!) Mokuzu's father made her walk home with the machete that he eventually dismembers her with. I mean bad enough that he was buying it to dismember her pet dog he had killed. But now the knowledge that that scene is so eerie because she's walking home with her own murder weapon is going to keep me up tonight. But thank you for the video I would be utterly lost on the cultural context without it.
God I know it’s believable especially for the ages of the protagonists but I was SCREAMING for Mokuzu not to confront her father
The Lisa theme over the reveal hits so hard, there is something so tragic about that track, and laying over that part just hit so strong.
"Hydra by the way of Breadtube" never would I thought I would have heard that phrase and after a little research, WOW you are right, even their freaking flag...
I have to admit, the hope of a supernatural aspect is what initially interested me after your first episode. Even though this did not turn out I found myself locked into binging the entire run.
I hate to say it but I think Mokuzu is the one who did the rabbits, and was maybe a not so well handled 'the abused internally normalizes the behavior to survive and becomes an abuser, not out of sadism, but out of social maladjustment.' Though that does not really explain the beatdown she gives later, I feel that Sakuraba needed a 'breaking point' for Mokuzu's first (and only?) real bullet but it wasn't executed as well as it could have.
As for the rain prediction, I feel it is the same as the rabbit vs mermaid story: inexpertly handled foreshadowing. More there for the increased reveal impact than for sequential story cohesion.
As always, thank you Mr. Owl for introducing me to another chill inducing, gripping title that I would never have found on my own.
I think that's the fun part of it - the fact that you really do suspect something supernatural might be happening, but that's...kind of the point. It's easy to overlook the obvious when the obvious is horrific.
@@frightranker I hadn't made that connection and wow you just gave me like an hour of thinking to do.
I've become a fast fan of yours and have been just binging your videos in the last 2 weeks!
I just read this and then came back to watch your deep dive! This was such an excellent deep dive and I really appreciated the insight you could provide regarding school culture in rural Japan, that absolutely helped my understanding of some things that happened in the story I was confused about.
I don't know what this says about me, but this is the minutiae I got stuck on:
Pochi and Mokuzu were both mentioned to have been cut into 4 pieces. Obviously the head is 1, but I cannot get out of my mind where a body would be intuitively cut to make 3 more pieces. And maybe that's not supposed to be questioned? Is there some deeper meaning there? Maybe the translation I read was erroneous? Additionally, isn't 4 considered to be an unlucky number in Japan? I just think about how in anime I don't even see sandwiches cut into 4 and now I'm trying to figure out how a body could be. What is my life.
Well spotted! It could be a coincidence, but 4 can be read as 'shi', which means death. It's considered an extremely unlucky number.
@@frightranker Oh! That I did NOT know! Very interesting indeed.
I love this Manga. The way it switches between subtle metaphor and being brutally straight created incredible emotional impact for me. When Mokuzus body wasn't immediately shown I was sure the scene of them going up the mountain was setting up for the body not being there and it being left to the readers imagination if she was murdered or truly turned into foam. Afterall the last time she was challenged about telling a ridiculous story it turned out to be true and the storm did happen like she predicted. Only for her brutally chopped up body to be revealed as common sense would've made you expect. It was the biggest gut punch I've ever had in a story.
Head canon: A JOJO travels into this story and prevents her death.
Well, you asked for thoughts? I hope it's alright that I have some. Not any negative ones, but I grew up in a smaller city in a conservative Canadian province which is definitely very different from Japan, but I feel like I recognized some aspects of the story in the stories of people I grew up with or even things I experienced myself to lesser degrees. obviously I myself didn't experience anything as extreme as the actual contents of the manga, but fiction is often made by condensing many stories into one and exaggerating it to make a point.
I think Stockholm Syndrome in itself is probably an interesting topic to discuss, but the lack of study into it and the ways it's been disproved or undermined through various ways makes the theory shaky. The situation in Stockholm, Sweden where it got its name undermines it because the hostages were so against the police and on the side of the hostage takers because the police acted with hostility and recklessness with their lives, making the hostages afraid more of the police than the armed robbers who ended up, as studies eventually showed, to be working harder to de-escalate the situation than the police. Media and Police then spun the story that the hostages had some sort of delusion where they had more affection for their captors than their rescuers, when in reality their rescuers were being more threatening to the hostages than the captors were, but it would be bad publicity for the police to reveal that information so they had to discredit the witnesses. That isn't to say there is no proof of cases where people will grow to empathize or relate to their captors, mostly I just feel that common knowledge of Stockholm Syndrome is either simplified or misunderstood. And I think probably it's a different situation of mental conditioning taking place that honestly it would be unethical to study so there's just not enough information available to actually come to any solid conclusions.
That being said, I don't think Stockholm Syndrome and Parental Abuse qualify in the same category. Your parents are supposed to protect and love you, that's expected of them. That's one of the first things a child is supposed to learn. And when that's not true, it fundamentally breaks the reality a child lives in. While you make a lot of points about Japan being reluctant to act in the case of domestic abuse, the same really can be said about a lot of the world. I'm sure that there are ways that Japan is different, but there's very much an attitude of 'it's not my business' 'I can't be sure' 'I don't want to get involved' 'It's really a shame' 'someone else will do something' etc. A lot of stuff in the manga feels accurate in a way that the kids are the ones to notice and act first, but they're powerless in the grand scheme of things. Half the time growing up the kids knew about horrific stuff going on in each other's houses, and we were all exhausted about the apathy of adults who didn't want to/couldn't get involved. We came up with grand plans about running away which always fell through before we actually got to act on them for some reason or another. Abuse is hard to prove in court or to the police, and if you call them over something chances are they might not even show up in certain areas, so the idea of 'calling the police' or getting help from authorities is just kind of a joke. The other option is getting in so much trouble yourself you get taken away, but it's an awkward tightrope to walk because you might just get in enough trouble you get sent home and that's just making your life worse. I feel like Mokuzu's behaviour makes sense in the context of someone lashing out, raised in a household of violence, crying out for help. She has to push things to a breaking point, make things big enough, bad enough, noticeable enough, for people to intervene in her life. Otherwise she just goes home to her father again, and again, and again. But if she becomes enough of a problem and pushes other people to a breaking point, then someone has to act, and she's just a kid. She isn't developed or smart enough to know what she needs them to do, she just needs them to do something. Anything. And at this point mostly she just knows how to provoke people, and create a bubble of escapism around herself due to the fact that her reality is so fractured. Her candy is a form of dissociation, because she's learned in a way that no one is coming to save her.
The 'predicting October 3rd' wasn't likely a prediction, but an Ultimatum. She was hitting her breaking point, and in some way Nagisa had given her a bit of hope and strength, which was both good and ultimately damning. When Mokuzu said she was going in to stand up to her father one last time, I felt my blood run cold and I knew exactly what was about to happen. One of the main reasons a lot of people are afraid of intervening in domestic abuse is because if you don't have a good exit strategy, an intervention that doesn't remove the victim from the abuser immediately puts the victim in more danger than they were in previously. Attempting to leave your partner or get a divorce in spousal abuse cases is the most likely time for murder to occur and why you want to have someone with you when you do it. Parental abuse tend to lash out in cases like when their child announces an intent to move out, date or get married. Even if they frequently declare their child to be worthless, or that they dislike the child, or that the child is a burden, they get extremely possessive. The child is an extension of themselves and an attempt to leave or exert their own will is an insult to the parent. If the parent is already proven to be violent, an increased lashing out of violence is not unlikely. Mokuzu "belonged" to her father, to behave in such a way that not only showed independence but resentment and that he would no longer own her? It was so extremely dangerous for her to do that alone. But Nagisa, for all her maturity and grounding in reality had no way of knowing just how dangerous, there's no reason for her to have experienced such a malignant narcissist.
The unfortunate reality of Mokuzu's father being a wealthy celebrity is that while the adults should have acted in her defense a long time ago, it's uncertain if it would have been effective. It's difficult to definitely prove abuse without the victim's testimony and even then when it's "he said, she said" the person with the most compelling testimony wins. we've made headway in taking faith in victim testimony, and the idiosyncrasies of trauma that effects victim testimonies which have previously biased trials or even just reporting of crimes, but a lot of times attempting to report abuse in a clumsy way can make abuse worse because it does nothing but aggravate the abuser into worse abuse, since the agencies that are supposed to protect the vulnerable are very poorly equipped to handle the situation. I think this manga is a really good depiction of how so many people can feel paralyzed by the fact that there simply is not adequate support for abused children in a lot of places as parents and guardians have so much power over them. Adding to it the commentary of wealth disparity and the way people with money and celebrity status can simply move away from a scandal or in Japan sue for slander or libel even if something is true but said in a disparaging way, it put Mokuzu in a position where her father was nearly untouchable by the much poorer country folk. They saw what was happening, but acting would require having enough evidence for an open and shut case or he could destroy them and just take Mokuzu back and move away. Most of the adults knew this, so it almost took the 'candy' of youth to have that whimsy to just run away. and if they'd just run away they might have made it.
I apologize for the length, it's a really fascinating story and it hit me in... something thoughtful. I think it's very complicated and interesting, and terrifying specifically for the realism it tackles. I don't think it's so specific to Japan as one might think, but I know there are many aspects to it that are culturally specific. It definitely resonates though. Thank you for sharing this manga with a wider audience, I'm glad to know about it. It feels like a really important story.
I like how you said that her storm prediction was an ultimatum. Like, “help me or else this thing _will_ happen.” Weather storms may have signs, but they can be unpredictable in their timing. The only sure thing about storms is that they do come. Perhaps she was wanting to have some semblance of control by deciding when exactly the next “storm” was coming.
@@Alexden96Channel ultimatums are familiar territory, she just seems to be using her fairytale “candy” language to express it. The version that’s more realistic is “if you don’t do something to help me by X I’m going to die” or something similar. A desperate child tired of her cries of help being ignored, hits her limit and puts a due date on it.
Unfortunately she’s talking to another child who doesn’t have the ability to save her either. So the ultimatum just has an effect of scaring and confusing the other girl. I don’t know if it’s necessarily common, but I’ve seen it a handful of times. Usually though, in real life something manages to extend the timeline enough over and over that eventually people get help or situations change, thankfully.
@@seeminglyseph yeah as an adult, I saw major blaring red flags with her returning to her father and then seeing the suitcase he drags out. If I were her same age though, I wouldn’t know any better and just let her confront him.
It’s a horrible culmination of everyone’s fantasies
Yeah I often end up seeing the same apathy in the adults around me too. Sometimes they make it seem like I’m fussing over nothing but when I hear about something even states away I feel horrified. To adults it seems like the only thing that matters is work and your family, everything else comes second. But at least that’s my take.
I've been on the edge of my seat waiting for this next part!!
I love how it ended. You're set up to believe in this fantasy, but it all comes crashing down.
i read this manga because of the first video and it has stuck in my head since then. i love little hidden gems like this. have a nice day
Im actually gonna stop the video at 4:20 (its a coincidence I actually did pause it righ there) and go binge this manga before the big reveal. If it is what i think it is, ill be crying in my room for the next week
the jump scare sound effect took my hearing away
It shouldn't have been *that* loud. Exactly 2 db over speaking volume.
The more i hear about japan, the more glad i am that i can appreciate their media from another country...
It has it's faults, like most places, but there's a LOT to like too.
If anyone here enjoyed the story I strongly recommend reading Adabana if you can. The art and themes were absolutely amazing. I will say it has a bit more of a slightly hopeful ending than this manga.
Your analysis of the themes and subtext in this manga was, as usual, on point. I wouldn't argue with much of anything. In reference to what you said in the first video on it, you're absolutely right that a piece of media does NOT need to be gory or "shocking" to be dark... Sometimes the addition of those elements can ruin the eerie, foreboding and dark feeling a manga like this masterpiece elicits. This is not the darkest I've seen by any stretch of the imagination, but it was fantastic and tear jerking regardless. Good takes.
I was really holding hope that it was yet another fake out of some kind even after she had been waiting for over an hour. But the exact moment I saw the suitcase I gasped and just, shut down. I read the rest of the story in a trance until seeing the water bottle got me actually crying.
Yay ive been waiting this since watching the first part!!!
This was such a great analysis! Thank you.
As soon as I saw the suitcase, I knew. Fuck, that's rough.
Oh, that’s a *devastating* ending..
But man im glad I found your channel, your content is great!!!!!
Left off at 45:36 bc I have to do something’s (ofc it’s when u say to quit if u have to lol) but I WILL be finishing this video! God this story wrecked me
ok so frankly, I honestly can't tell which of the two killed the rabbits. I don't doubt mokuzu bc "oh she'd never!" because I hate that view, mokuzu shouldn't have to be what ppl think is the 'perfect victim' for people to feel bad. You explained mokuzu being the killer so I'd like to explain why i'm still suspicious of the boy(sorry cant remember his name rn); first of all, nagisa found him saying stuff like "there's no head" right outside of the hutch, which is a pretty red flag because why would he be over there? you can't tell there's anything wrong from the outside, and he seemingly doesn't go there usually. Also it's totally possible he planted the head imo, I mean his hands were all bloody and he was holding the body. It almost feels like a coverup to me to go on and on abt the head so he doesnt have to explain anything to the teachers. I mean, it was also crazy convenient when he suddenly snapped out of it and started accusing mokuzu. I personally theorize the reason he framed Mokuzu was because she essentially rejected him by running off with nagisa, and it's very obvious mokuzu cares about nagisa so maybe that peeved him off to pick the rabbits?? IDK if what i've said made sense so ill come back and reread this comment later lol
a fantastic vidio as always I've been watching you for over a year and I love every vidio I've seen keep it up
I have a question: Do you know the horror manga Shibatarian?
I do not!
@@frightranker The idea is very interesting and I like the art style
This is terrifying because it's real. Thousands of children are beaten to death by their parents. Nothing is done in time, and only after the child is gone do the authorities act
If anyone has seen Erased, I think this could have a fantastic anime adaptation with that general ambiance and energy
What did you do to my heart? :(
I can't stop thinking about my save of Nightmare Reaper, which is the final level. That save is 18 months old. I need to finish that game.
SUCH a good game.
The real horror was the reality we encountered along the way 😔
The rabbits 🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇 are a symbol of fertility......wait that makes......uuuuuuuu
It gives aku no hana vibes
26:48 and the parallels just keep coming holy shit😢
Shit at least aku no Hana has a relatively happy ending
I’m very late but I do have 2 big questions that I don’t understand if anybody could help me?
1.How did Nagisa randomly bring up Mokuzu’s dog being killed by her father and it actually ended up being true?(seems like a insane coincidence)
2.If Mokuzu basically set up the rabbit situation with Nagisa’s friend and Mokuzu was the one that killed the rabbits and framed him why did she lash out on him and beat him with the broom when he tried to apologize knowing she purposely provoked him to get that outcome?(Also why did he come back holding one of the rabbits in his hand?)
1. I honestly forget, this may make more sense in the whole manga rather than my video.
2. I'd assume this is what her father would do to her.
@@frightrankerthanks for the quick reply,I just went a read a bit of the manga and seen that Nagisa seen a doghouse outside Mokuzu’s house prior; It makes sense now.
"Hydra by way of breadtube" 😂
background music?
It's a mix of Diablo IV and Silent Hill afair.
@@frightranker cheers mate, it really makes the Mokuzu bits creepier, love your stuff
First i posted about using Vaush but...
HOLY FUCK WHAT THE FUCK IS THE FINAL PART OF THIS MANGA?!
Edit: I prefer to read Made in the Abyss 100 times over this again.
I think.
I'm not sober.
But this made me get really, REALLY depressed with the ending.
Owl, if you're reading this, i would say this isn't an overall horror manga, it may have some horror aspects on the later parts but, it's kind whimsical on the first parts, which makes the later parts way, WAY worse.
I seriously would make a way more harsh review, because the horror twist at the end, is pretty predicable but, it doesn't have any good setup.
It juts happens and you are left feeling fucked up.
Personally, the ending actually disappointed me for being exactly what we thought it would be on the first part, without any kind of payoff or pathos over the happenigs.
It's end up on the style of story that, i personally am tired of, of "horrible things happening because YES and in the end there's nothing to do about it"
Like, it's fiction, and fiction should at least give us something.
Something horrible.
Something happy.
Something evil or good.
But something.
This ending feels empty.
Yeah, it's...bleak. That's the best word I can use. Probably the second bleakest after the end of the Umineko manga.
@@frightranker Damn.
I'll be honest, after the ending of this one, i just needed i shower and a hug from my partner and some wine, whom thankfully is coming to me right now xD
Btw LOVE your channel! Last few days you presented me to more horror mangas that i never had heard off in the last 5, to 10 years!
You and the Owl family are amazing
@@SetArk Thanks mate.
SOUTH AFRICA MENTION
Immense critique of Japanese society. I wonder in how many prefectures it's banned.
Zero - media critical of Japan generally doesn't get whacked unless it's talking about very specific topics (Unit 731).
@@frightranker Huh. Not what I expected. Guess not enough manholes in this one. Joking aside, this manga is really disturbing one, and I guess it's gonna live rent free in my brain for a while. As expected, it is not available in my language, which is a shame, but maybe one day when I'll be sitting on a bit more cash I will order it online.
Love your videos
Damn man
She still killed those rabbits and ruined that boy’s life. Even if they have escaped, I think she would eventually have turned out like her father anyway.
God, that’s just an awful mindset. These are middle schoolers, generously putting them in the age range of probably 12-14. That is absolutely more than enough time to have a massive turnaround in both mindset and behavior. This is a traumatized, abused child who is indeed lashing out violently, and lying, and probably extremely disassociated. She is harming and killing animals, yes. It’s troubling, yes. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that she isn’t going to change. To heal, and to better herself. Especially with the possible support system she’d have gained through Nagisa, small though it may be. Especially especially, if the moves being made by the teacher had eventually been successful. If her dad didn’t kill her, if they’d run away together, even if they’d not made it far and come back, there absolutely could have been redemption.
That would be the case in Utopian world.
Unfortunately she would most likely become her father.
To link this to current world problems, just look at what the Israelis are doing in Palestine. Exactly what they suffered at the hands of the germans.
Never count on society to redeem itself
@@takumihijirihara1354
Why don't you just read the freaking manga!!! It's so annoying how you analyze every sentence!!! 😡
Why are you on a channel about analysis complaining about analysis?