#bb analysis

I initially am quite pissed for how short this chapter is, but after rereading for analysis this chapter gives off loads of informations.

Modrivladis: You took everything from me!

Sebastian: I dont even know who you are

"daliance"? "dragged me into the depth of hell"? "i shall use this to remind your body!"? Like, ik and i buy "previous contractor" theory and all logic seems to points to that as far as i can see, but....the wording looks suspiciously....sexy. yeah...

Even bocchan have reached out to the possibilities of this person being a past contractor. Despite sebby saying no, this only stirs up streisand effect to my opinion. This person is goddarn gonna be a past contractor. But for some reason, his "contractor blood" do not have any effect on sebastian. Two possibilities: (1) past/completed contract nullifies and ends relation between contractor and demon, hence no effect (2) bocchan's contract has been taken by faustian as "on going" and priotized over modri's contract. Probably abit of both.

No wait, maybe a third possibility. (3) contract are identified by soul, which modri as a bizzare doll + soul eaten by sebastian, makes his blood be of no difference as a stranger. as always i will give an anology.

The contractor's soul is like one's signature or seal, a prove of identity. All is signed black and white, yes. But talk about the whereabout of said prove...yeah.

The hotel staffs' glance....it unerves me more and more, and rings my bell more too. Their skills and glance just reminds me so much of F.O.L orphanage. In particular, hoffman: theo, hall: artie. Mr rich man's glance is very reminiscent of enraged bd!doll as well.

Also it's comfirmed that sebastian have different faces for each contract, so my previous theory of "sebastian having all the same face all time" is proven wrong. But that makes an even bigger problem: **How did Modri manage to know Sebastian as his past contracted demon If he doesnt even look the same?**

Bocchan: Do you know anyone who happens to have beef with you and are willing to self mutilate to prove a point?

Sebastian: Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?

did jake and elwood miss the orphanage, always go back to it in their minds and reminisce about it during stateville ?? did they see factories in the distance and think of the orphanage ? did they see a shitty little prison chapel and get reminded of sister mary ? did they want to come home, want to revisit the orphanage and be nothing but those two naughty little children again ? did they see an old janitor or a guard with a kind face and think of curtis ? did they wish some nights to go down to the basement and listen to music with him, to learn with him once more ?? what about the band ?

what about their minds and jake's during the court case when elwood got the longer sentence ? did they look over at him, did they feel sad ?? did jake feel guilty even though it wasn't his sentence ? did he overthink it ? what happened in those first few years in stateville ?? did the years end up blurring together and did it become home to them ? did jake and elwood stick together throughout it and did jake write ? was there any suspicion around his death ?? did camille ever find out or is she still looking, is she still out there waiting for him like elwood was when he left stateville ?

of course elwood felt guilty, but was there ever a time where the guilt left and he thought 'i started this, it's only fair i stay in longer' and did he ever forget who he was ?? were there times where he zoned out for weeks on end, maybe for years and one day looked in the mirror and realised he was changing, that time wouldn't stop and he shouldn't be waiting for it ?

did elwood feel at home again in the hospital, getting smacked by mother mary and talking to her in person ?? did it feel like he was a kid again being sent up to her office for setting something on fire or not paying attention, only this time it wasn't something he could apologise for or take back - even though he completed his task and the orphanage closing was years later - did he feel the need to apologise over and over again for what he did ?

and did she ever get overwhelmed ? did she get overwhelmed during the swap from sister to mother, from the little orphanage director in calumet city to the hospital director in chicago ? were there nights she missed curtis and missed the orphanage, missed the children, missed jake and elwood ?? did she ever cry ? did she ever go back to calumet city ?

did she see jake and elwood in buster when he came along, when he got into trouble for the same things and had the same attitude of jake when threatened and the same mannerisms as elwood when left alone ?? is that why she thought elwood would be the best influence to him ? did mother mary hesitate to call the cops because she knew buster was in safe hands and knew this would happen ?? did she chase after them with the others just to see how they were doing, held her tough front to scare them into not getting into that much trouble again ? was she scared she would lose them and they would lose each other ? was mother mary drafting another 'angels have dirty faces' letter when she heard elwood's charges and how far he'd taken everything ?

did mother mary feel the same as elwood in the sense that it was just them, that everything was gone and they only had each other ? was she so quick to yell at elwood because she would've broken down too ?? how she was much more defensive than she was in the first movie. there she was vulnerable and explained everything, told them she was worried and ended up guilt tripping them because she didn't know what else to do. in the second movie, she was harsher and more defensive, angry like elwood was. did she miss the orphanage and calumet city and joliet and curtis and jake an was it hard for her to look at cab and buster because of it ?

Disclaimer, this is solely my personal interpretations of this. Feel free to add your own thoughts and comments too! I will be doing only the parts that stand out to me and not every bit of the song fyi.

You look so sad in your sleep, as if you are having a nightmare. I'm right here, right by your side, and I'm not going anywhere anymore. How do I live without you?

This song to me is so obviously from Sebastian’s POV, Initially I want to say this could be talking about the time in between Season 1 and Season 2, but then again, it could very well talking about both as a whole. The part about looking so sad in your sleep instantly reminds me of the ending credits the song is used in, Ciel asleep, a somber tone implied. The nightmare line can also be referencing Ciel’s night terrors he would get, and possibly still gets. Sebastian is then saying, he is there by Ciel’s side, and is not going anywhere. We then have Ciel laying down, as if he’s been knocked down, the ground he’s on looks to be a chess board. Which is interesting to me, as in Season 1 there was the recurring monologues of Sebastian and Ciel referring to Ciel being the king, the revenge being a game of chess, Sebastian saying he would stay by his side until the end, until the last piece falls. Sebastian saying he would only stay until he’d get his reward, his soul. In direct contrast to season 1 it has now changed to him not wanting to leave at all, that he can’t live without Ciel.

Everyone looks at the sky. They look up, and again look back down, and they lament because they are unable to find that blue sky they once saw in the past.

Now, you could take this part quite literally, however I think in terms of the S1 and S2, Ciel is indeed his name, there is no twin in this case. That being said, as everyone in the kuro fandom probably knows, Ciel means sky in french. Everyone looks at the sky, being that everyone looks at Ciel, some look up at him in hope, ie, Elizabeth or people that have know Ciel for a long time, and they lament and look back down because they can’t see the happy Ciel that was in the past. You could also say it’s Sebastian looking back at the end of S2 and lamenting that he lost his meal, but also how he can never have what Ciel and him used to have. Their perfected morning teas, and carefully crafted meals, he’d never get to do for Ciel again because he’s now a demon.

Switching between being free and being selfish, we have lived this far. Under this night sky without even a single star, unable to see my destination, I simply wander about.

In the context of season 2, Sebastian is torn between being a free demon, as he didn’t have to go through all the effort of getting Ciel’s soul back into his body, and try so hard to make him remember what happened. He could very well be a free demon if he wanted to. But he is also torn between being selfish, between wanting that soul he so desperately craves, of wanting to be the only one who has Ciel’s soul be it in whatever capacity. That same soul was his purpose, his reason for everything. Now, its gone, and without his young master’s soul, without his purpose, he is lost, wandering about. And it reminds me of Red Valentine :’(

There hasn't been anything scary at all, just that there's nothing for me to protect. Be it tomorrow or 10 years from now on, I'm scared of what will happen then.

IMO, here he’s saying that there was nothing that could scare Sebastian, that he thought he wasn’t ever capable of feeling fear. Only for him to realize that he has one fear, and that was losing Ciel, again, there is nothing for him to protect, restating he lost his purpose. Interestingly, you could also ask, why is he saying he’s scared of not protecting Ciel? Isn’t it one of the stipulations of the contract? He just does it because he’s bound by it right? Which brings the topic of not only him being scared of losing Ciel, but now its about Sebastian actively wanting to protect Ciel. The next line then directly saying the likelihood he does lose his little lord, be it now or 10 years from now, he won’t ever want to feel like this/he won’t ever be ready.

This midair space, otherwise known as "you", oh please lock me in. I'm not going anywhere anymore. Please don't go anywhere anymore.

The midair space line is referring to Sebastian and how he’s in a limbo without Ciel. The “you” pointing to Ciel. Our favorite little demon is lost, adrift, and floating aimlessly. But I also interpret it as, Ciel being the surrounding space around Sebastian, his presence enveloping him. Sebastian is now falling, falling for, and falling into, “You” which is Ciel. The plea to be locked in sounds like he’s feeling quite unstable, he lost his usual routine and all familiarity when Ciel’s soul was taken and he’s begging for some semblance of normalcy or permanence again. The ‘I’m not going anywhere’, is interesting, he already said in the beginning that he wasn’t going anywhere, the anymore implies he thought of doing it prior but it could also be a vow to not leave because he has done it before, at the end of S1 in france. But now he’s firmly decided that he is not and will not leave. As well as asking/begging for Ciel not to leave again, be it soul, or like in the end of S1, second guessing the contract, and wanting to “live” without Sebastian by his side.

In the middle of the sky, everyone is locked inside this cage called "freedom". All I need is you by my side, and then in this sky I'll have no more need for wings.

Self explanatory, Sebastian admitting he only needs Ciel by his side, nothing else matters, the wings being Sebastian’s means to freedom. How he gets to said ‘middle of the sky.’ But now that he has Ciel again, he no longer needs said wings, he no longer needs or wants freedom if it’s not without Ciel. He is content with staying grounded and in the now with him. Also to add, Sebastian’s true form is implied to have wings, that being said, it is a part of him, a part of his true form, his identity. He’s now saying he no longer needed his old self and anything the old him wanted. He’s discarding a crucial part of his identity. This new Sebastian only needs ciel, and he’s looking forward into the future with him.

Pat's character growth in the last few episodes has been so commendable. I cant even begin to think how hard it has been to unlearn all the things he has been taught and fed into since his childhood. Challenging ones core values is already hard enough but questioning your value givers that you have grown up idealising takes a hell lot of courage. It must be so hard for Pat to realise that the entire value system he based his personality and had full faith upon is hollow and built up on matchsticks. Doomed to burn.

And not just that but also coming to terms with his sexuality on top of that?!!!!! Insane. He is so strong to accept it in one stride and go yeah I love this person what about it. But the rate at which he makes this transition is crazy and I think most of it is definitely due to how he felt around Pran. As soon as his feelings for Pran became clear. His mind felt how it feels when something is true & how something is supposed to feel right. And I think that comparison is what helped him contrast and compare his thoughts and put a finger on the wrongs.

His parents did put him on a pedestal with a lot of expectations however it was with an arrow to his back so he had no choice but perform his 101%. Not just to maintain his position on the pedestal, but also because too much movement from the pedestal might mean grave consequences for him.

That's why he feels free with Pran as he has no expectations to meet or impress. He can be this carefree witty self around him. His main goal is to make Pran happy and he doesn't have to try hard because that comes naturally to him. He's so strong for putting himself out in a state where he doesn't know the extent of Pran's feelings and there's a chance Pran might not be as brave as him.

Yet he is still doing that because I guess somewhere he wants Pran to feel the same freedom that he feels not just about his sexuality but also from the shackles of his family. Cause I guess even Pat knows that Pran is put on the same pedestal of expectations as him. The only difference is if he has an arrow to his back; Pran has a whole ring of fire waiting to swallow him the moment he as much as stumbles.

Kai’s story in the Russian arc of Bakuten Shoot Beyblade is pretty awesome. It’s dark, dramatic, and emotionally satisfying. We get to see the usually stoic Kai rise to his greatest heights and fall to his farthest low, we see him break, revealing his gentler self, and we see him be put back together again by his friends.

But the whole thing … comes a bit out of nowhere, right?

I think we’re missing two things; some set-up, and some call-backs. First of all, Kai’s grandfather orders Kai to report back to him if he discovers more sacred beasts, and when they meet again in Russia, he says he hasn’t seen Kai since the American finals, but we never saw him there, nor have we had any indication that Kai has contacted him at any point. There should have been a scene or two dedicated to reminding us of Kai’s ongoing mission, especially if they could be used to give us some more insight into Kai’s character progression. Without the voice-overs of the dub, the Japanese anime leaves a lot of interpretation up to the viewer, and we could have used some help.

Secondly, we could have done with some flashbacks to earlier episodes as Kai was rediscovering his past, so that we could more easily follow his inner struggle and see how he ended up in this situation.

Here is what I would have liked to see. In one of the episodes leading up to the finale in China, after the BBA have seen Galman and Galux in action, we have a short scene of Kai making a phone call from their home base.

He’s in the middle of the thing as we join him, standing at the desk, posture straight but head bowed a little. “Yes,” he says, voice low. “And there’s probably more of them in that place.”

He listens to a reply from the other end. His mouth twists; he isn’t entirely pleased by the situation.

“Yes, Sir. I will.”

There’s a click. Kai replaces the receiver. Then Max’s head appears in the doorway behind him.

“Hi, Kai, are you phoning home?”

A quickly stifled jerk tells us that Kai was definitely up to something bad, but when he walks out, past Max and into the sunshine, his expression gives nothing away. “Yes,” he says.

“I wanna do that too! I have so much to tell Dad!” Max gushes.

Kai just walks away.

The next scene like this would come in episode 29, as a stinger towards the end. Instead of cutting straight from the bar to the boat, we cut to Kai, on his own again with another phone. He’s sitting down this time, bent over. We don’t see his eyes.

“Sir,” he says simply. Listens for a moment. “Their security was too tight. I didn’t get a second-” He gets cut off.

Listens again. “Yes, Sir.” A tightening around the mouth tells us he’s upset. “I’ll do better.”

Then we cut to the outside of the boat, with the rest of the BBA standing on the dock. Kai appears at the railing and barks an order for them to get onboard. Takao notes that Kai is extra grumpy today.

The final scene of this nature takes place in Italy, after Takao’s second battle against Giancarlo. Since the last phone call, Kai has seen seven new sacred beasts, four monstrous and strange, the other three bigger than anything he’s seen before, wielded by their bladers with absolute control. It’s definitely something his grandfather will want to hear about.

On the other hand, since the last phone call, Kai has saved his friends from monsters. He has travelled through Europe with them, and felt how, in the absence of adults, he and Rei became the team’s support and protection. He has watched Takao grow as a blader and as a person, pursuing strength with wisdom and determination. Kai has helped him achieve victory against Olivier and Giancarlo. He knows that he is betraying the BBA, even if his grandfather’s plans will never affect them directly.

He picks up the phone. Begins to dial. Then he stops, fingers hovering over the buttons. After a moment, he puts the receiver back down.

“Kai?” Takao is calling from outside. “Come on, Kai, the blimp is waiting!” He sounds excited.

Kai looks at the door with confusion. “Blimp?” Curious, he shoulders his bag and goes to join his friends.

The first scene reminds us that in the middle of everything else going on, Kai has his own agenda, and it spells trouble for the BBA down the line.

The second scene serves both as a reminder of the overarching plot, and as a measurement for how far we’ve come. Kai has had time to warm up to his team; by revealing the secrets of the PPB to his grandfather, he is not only betraying Max, who he has a real soft spot for, but also Emily, who he can’t help but grudgingly like, and he’s beginning to struggle with guilt. The final spoken line implies that Hiwatari senior is not satisfied with Kai’s performance, and luckily for us, his criticism will help to push Kai away from him. Kai is still being a good soldier, but more and more, he’s discovering he doesn’t want to be.

The final scene is the payoff. Kai is bonding with his team, the time away from his grandfather’s domineering presence has allowed him to think for himself, and if his grandfather’s plans come through, it’ll mean all his new friends, infuriating brats though these most recent acquaintances may be, will lose their sacred beasts … Kai doesn’t want to be a part of that anymore.

For a little while, though he’s still grumpy and antisocial and dismissive of his team, Kai is firmly on the right track, and a proper member of the BBA.

Then it all goes to hell.

For the first time in his life, Kai is defeated. Not like his unlucky loss against Takao, no; this time he’s curb-stomped, Suzaku burned away like she was nothing. Like Kai was nothing. Once again, Kai can think of only one thing; power. But he’s not quite broken yet; he gets a second chance, and steps up with confidence and bitter determination. He’s going to show this loud-mouthed Scottish brat who is the better blader, once and for all.

And this is where I believe the foundation for Kai’s betrayal in Russia is laid. Because he doesn’t win. He doesn’t beat Johnny the way he needs to. If it wasn’t for Takao’s advice, Kai could have lost, probably would have lost. Kai forgets that Takao has earned his respect, forgets fondness and friendship; he grabs Takao by the front of his shirt and promises he will pay for what he has done.

It isn’t all undone over night of course; he is still pretty friendly as they enter Russia, taking the lead when the ducklings don’t know where to go, but once he has Black Dranzer there in front of him, promising an end to weakness, an end to the nagging hollowness inside that he thinks can be satisfied if only he achieves perfection, then his loss to Johnny comes back to him, and the memory of his failure pushes him into the darkness where the black phoenix waits.

Ideally, as Kai runs through the abbey rambling to himself about perfection and weakness, he should have had flashbacks to his two battles with Johnny, and even more importantly, once he reveals himself in the tournament and has taken down the PPB and the Byakko clan, drunk on power, he should have turned and pointed into the stands, shouting,

“MCGREGOR! COME DOWN HERE AND FACE ME!”

And the ensuing battle would probably not play out like in my fanfiction-addled mind, so I’ll just stop here, but flipping hell I want that third battle between them so bad I don’t know what to do with myself.

The following is a black butler manga analysis, read at your own risk.

This post is heavily influenced by @一个帅A 's 42000 words analysis on bilibili, please kindly check them out if you will.

"i know they're losing and i paid for my place by the ring/so i can look into their eyes when they're down/i'll be there by their side/i'm losing by their side" makes me think sm abt throughout the movies how jake, elwood, curtis n buster r the losing dogs, the way they can't seem to get a break or get something good, or keep something for a long time- whether it be the orphanage, a parental figure [looking at u buster] or a family. they're always losing. sister mary, cab and mack are betting on losing dogs. they know they're losing, they know the blues brothers can't catch a break, yet they stay with them.

"i'm losing by their side" they lose too, with the battle of the bands, the palace hotel, joliet, the orphanage, but not in the same scale, not in the way that they have to restart their lives over and over and over again like the blues brothers.

"i always want you when i'm finally fine" this lyric reminds me of camille, in the sense that her and jake's relationship would've been very intense, as the both of them are very intense, but not in a good way- in the way where it makes you feel good, but you know it's bad. them deciding to get married and jake running off, camille chasing him and trying to get him back, but trying to kill him, jake on his knees begging her not to, but he still has that little bit of compassion. they both do, but they weren't the right people for each other.