thinking about Gil basically calling Zanka a natural talent. Like she sees that he's capable of genuinely insane feats while calling himself "average" and goes "you think THATS something the AVERAGE person can do?" and then (rightfully) makes the assumption that he must not work very hard to achieve those things (ie, if he thinks incredible things are average, he must be insanely above average).
Compare this with how Zanka makes similar assumptions about others he deems "natural talents".
Hyo. She had no formal training yet beat every Hell Guard student easily, including him. He assumes it's because shes naturally gifted.... why? We know shes had a very hard life, she grew up in poverty in an implied very dangerous circumstance. What about that doesnt imply that she learned to operate at that level? Zanka doesnt see her life before she beat him, so assumes she didnt work hard to get to where shes at. He assigns her the role of a natural.
Jabber. We as the audience know literally nothing about his backstory but I refuse to believe he's had it easy. Zanka assumes that Jabber is naturally gifted and also didnt work hard but HOW can he know that? He knows nothing about Jabber's life??
Even Rudo, Zanka calls him a natural because he was able to use his vital instrument "instantly" and is a very skilled fighter. We as the audience know that Rudo has been building these skills up on the sphere his whole life because of the horrible circumstances he's had to endure (i imagine Hyo's circumstances were loosely similar) and Rudo had a very sharp learning curve with his vital instrument.
Yknow who else activated their vital instrument unnaturally quickly? ...Zanka did. He's literally considered an expert on them because of his ability to figure out how they work and how they mesh with their giver. Yknow who else is deemed a natural talent by others despite having worked very hard to get where he is??? Zanka!!
Basically this is all just in service of the theory that Zanka's mindset is holding him AND his Lovely Assistaff back.
BUT ALSO, not only is his mindset holding him back, but its also blatantly at odds with everything we know about the philosphy of Gachiakuta. No one is a "natural". no one is "born better". everyone has value and worth, and can work hard to achieve their goals.
Zanka's idealised version of a "natural talent" isnt just making him doubt himself, its blatantly just not a real thing that exists. At least not from my understanding of the way gachiakuta treats it's characters & vital instruments.
Gil's thoughts on Zanka say a lot more about his world view than we think. Namely, that it's flawed and actively working against him.
I think once Zanka recognises that and discards the idea of a "natural talent", he will be able to reach his full potential.
dailybridgerton
turnnoffyourmind
tangentwithtanner
discoholicmusic
origamiaround
