Ciel Kaminari - Divinity AU (remastered)
So this is a summary and/or deep dive of my last post about him but here it goes.
Basically in here Ciel represents all of him and his forms (well almost) but it is reflected through the eyes of the 3 heads.
So his entire character is neither light nor shadow, as some stories would believe with their morals.
I'm going to be basing his story in Hegelian Dialectics so pls forgive me if i misinterpreted this wrong cuz i don't study much nor am i a philosopher
The Thesis (The Abstract Understanding) refers to a concept held in a fixed, isolated, and rigid definition, assuming it is complete entirely on its own.
This fits Ciel's era as the King of the Amateurs back in Episode 45, his goal here was really just to be like Khrome, unaware of the awful thing he gonna suffer through.
So basically Ciel here feels that he is complete on his own, specifically being arrogant and defeating other amateurs, he is pristine and innocent, yes, but also limited cuz he only feels safe in the Amateur Arena.
And about his goal of being like Khrome, it was an ambition from afar, meaning he only had it while in the safe zone of the Amateur Arena, before the Blader Z incident π
He didn't really feel the pressure of the Pro scene, that's why he got a glimpse of it from his battle with Takumi, but being the stubborn that he is, cuz he thinks that he is complete on his own, he finally has a rematch and finally enters as a pro through Khrome scouting him.
Without the Negative-Rational moment (that's next) he would probably be stuck as an arrogant amateur, a big fish in a small pond, and no character development whatsoever, and ofc no one will like that
So i decided to give that head Shining bright eyes and a smile. The head of the King.
Now I can't draw the actual Blader Z mask or else it'll clash with the other heads so i went for the second best thing, which is his eyes during his encounter with the Dread Dragon in Episode 70. The head of the Puppet.
The Antithesis (The Negative-Rational moment) happens when the simple beginning collides with the real world, causing it to break down, contradict itself, and flip into its exact opposite.
Pretty self-explanatory if you know his story but yea. After being scouted by Khrome he enters the Pro scene, and ofc by definition it's not that sweet, that Amateur now is aware of the horrors
This era is now when the Ciel is contradicted to follow Khrome and forced to wear a mask, copy Jaxon, and become Blader Z, he literally said this himself
"The person he's looking for isn't me..." - Ciel Kaminari, Episode 45: You, Back Then
The internal contradiction happens when the arrogance of finally being by his idol's side is ofc, not because of Ciel, but because he is to mimic Blader X.
Aside from Blader Z you got the pressure of being a Pro apart of Pendragon. Specifically after Khrome left.
Douden Corp. (Pendragon's sponsor) Is expecting both Ciel and Sigrid to be in the same level as Khrome, which ofc Sigrid calls out Ciel that he is getting weaker, contradicting his performance at the Amateur Arena
And at the end, we finally get the normal face, The head of Resolve.
The Synthesis (The Positively Rational) the third and final stage of Hegel's logical process, where opposing concepts are unified into a higher, concrete truth.
Rather than throwing away contradictory ideas, the positively rational moment recognizes that opposites are interdependent components of a larger, unified whole.
This is Ciel's Path of Resolve, where he finally sheds his mask, and finally chooses to walk his own path for himself.
This stage is driven by the German concept Aufhebung (sublation). It simultaneously cancels the isolated nature of the old concepts, preserves their essential truths, and elevates them into a higher category.
Now confusing? Maybe yes, but let's apply:
In Episode 54: Path of Resolve, Quinn reminds him of what his goal was during his amateur days.
And now at the end, Ciel's goal is now to surpass Khrome Ryugu in his own terms
Notice how it's surpassing Khrome, not being like him? The love for Khrome is still there, but he isn't the naive Amateur who thought that, it's Ciel who thought it. Meaning that he canceled the isolated nature and naivety of the past Amateur.
He did also shed the mask of Blader Z, exposing his identity during the title match with him and Robin, but notice how no one allowed him to, he literally just decided to put it down. It may take a bit longer to cancel the isolated nature and suffering of Blader Z but the seed did plant.
Or let's look at Shelter Drake, some may say that it's just an enhancer for Impact Drake, but i wanna frame it positively. (Take this with a grain of salt cuz i don't own beyblades π)
Shelter Drake blends both the components of Obsidian Shell and Impact Drake. And ofc the main variation Ciel uses is a Balance type.
It's similar to sublation, Obsidian Shell has a good defense capability, but defense can be passive, waiting to be out-spun. It also has the attack of the Drake line. Fused into a Balance type that Ciel masters with it, and well it did push him to grow in a short time in Episode 70.
There's also the floating shards cutting off his body, but it does represent the journey of a fragmented sense of self, the shards themselves are both divine light and shadow to represent that everything changes, but change is blind, Ciel's role is to create unique sets of experiences for mortals to survive and grow
Now this is getting quite long, ofc Ciel is my fav character so i will leave it at here - Calli
