#ons chapter 148

Hello everyone, as of late, I've been receiving a lot anon questions (aka anon ask) which are very interesting, I thank you anons for sending your questions, it's actually sweet to exchange insights, views, and so on.

This time, due to the question one anon made and because it literally needs a lot of length, I chose to create a post instead of just replying. (Also being comfortable in laptop hehe)

Anyways, first, this is the anon post:

Let's officially begin with the analysis!

While it's true it can be annoying regarding how Mika's current state plays in terms of always doing what Yuu does, there's something we tend to ignore dear anon and readers, what could it be?

Narrative wise speaking, Mika is, like the rest of the characters tied to a tale; he's for sure the most logical of the group and the voice of reason like you mentioned in your post.

However, let's not forget one thing; contrast to the rest of the human characters, Mikaela went through several transitions contrast to the others. If you want to read more about those transitions, here's the post:

Mikaela the human was a boy or a child that deeply valued each single moment and second he spent with the Hyakuya Orphanage kids; he became the brother figure for them and always looked after them even after Yuu joined the Orphanage along the 4 years they spent in the vampire capital.

1. Mikaela walks a path just like the rest of the characters

As readers, we tend to ignore that he too is an adolescent and that just like any other character, he faces mistakes along strong judgement regarding things; this of course leads to him having a clouded insight regarding humans and vampires. What do I mean?

Back when he became a half vampire, he mentioned he went to oversea trips on which he saw horrors regarding the Seraph of the End experiment; this of course gave him a solid insight regarding humanity:

However, even if it's true that the horrors different humans made through that experiment, it's not exactly correct to tag all humanity because many kids and youngsters that exist without ties to the Army, are pretty much like lost lambs.

Because of this, the way his communication goes with the squad turns good but they don't try to engage in deeper talk regarding the whole theme of the resurrection given that it's at the end of the day, something Yuu deeply focuses through the story.

2. The voice of reason that fights against the wall

Let's take an insight when he was a vampire. This of course is visible in one of the posts in the links.

First of all, there were countless times Mikaela warned Yuu about how getting greedy could lead to a path of doom regarding the resurrection, right?

Here's a master post about it but I'll update few images about it: (the post originally was about an anon having an insight whenever there was some biasis regarding Shinoa and what not, however the post focuses on how Mikaela was the very first character to go against the resurrection (and that I pretty much agreed with his insight from the get go).

Mikaela was heavily against it; the squad on the other hand were hesitant and I'd dare to say they too were against it but given that it was Yuu's happiness, they chose to follow him on that journey because they too gave priority to keep Yuu safe from losing control.

But no matter how hard Mikaela tried to convince Yuu to drop it, Yuu ultimately said this:

At this point, Mikaela as a vampire, officially gave up on trying to change Yuu's mind regarding the whole topic of the resurrection:

At this point, Mikaela chooses to follow Yuu not because he's happy but because his words simply won't reach Yuu; so, the only thing he can do is to protect him; to ensure that if the plan were to be something that endangered Yuu, it'd be the time he'd act. Which is something we see in chapter 85-89.

Mikaela fought until his dying breath to keep Yuu safe, but, we're actually avoiding one question. What could it be? Correct.

3. Judgement driven by guilt

Contrast to Yuu who is driven by obsession which is heavily pointed by Mikaela back in chapter 118; Mikaela is driven by guilt.

But, is that guilt good or bad?

Surprisingly, it plays on both sides.

The good side of that guilt is that Mikaela is allowed to think things carefully; if anything, that gives him the insight to avoid the whole resurrection idea a try since he deeply valued the life of the kids and, as a vampire, the only thing that mattered was to ensure the only life remaining left standing which is Yuu. Very independent from how people view them (friends/ship); Mikaela's priority has been that, Yuu's safety and that Yuu manages to live a good life.

However, because he feels guilt which is something Yuu knows very well, that's a resource Yuu exploits very well:

For sure, no one denies Yuu's sadness, however, Yuu ignores a lot what Mikaela feels as well that it goes against the principle of reason Mika carries. This of course is visible too in Chapter 148:

Because of this, because Mika loved the Hyakuya kids he viewed as family, his guilt drives him to cooperate with Yuu against his better judgement.

Before we talk a bit about Yuu, let's touch the next point:

4. Mika's principles

Quoting you anon: "He's his demon ffs, he can literally possess him to forbid him doing anything stupid."

This actually goes with Mika's principles. Even as a vampire, he felt utter disgust for drinking Yuu's blood because he wanted to prove he wouldn't use Yuu like humans did; and this replicates once he becomes his demon given that Yuu did tell him he allowed him to possess him; Mika retorts to this:

Given that Mika views Yuu as his most important family to protect, even if he could possess him, he won't do it precisely because the guilt along the very fact he treasures him, he won't resort to it; the only way he could resort to it was if Yuu were actualy to sacrifice himself, that's a possibility in there.

Now, replying another point and this is given by my best friend:

5. Mika as a demon reflects he's the voice of reason that gave up

Contrast to the "he" who was a vampire; Mika as a demon is fully aware that he cannot be that same guiding voice like his vampire self used to be. Mika can only watch and accept Yuu's path because he no longer believes he can't stop Yuu; Yuu's for sure following a path of destruction way worse than Shikama's; however this is something within narrative point; that's the way his character is designed to be. One that even if his morals are high, something or a force will halt them from ever blooming.

That's why he follows or has a passive role in contrast to his vampire self.

Now, last point

6. Yuu's not the typical protagonist nor follows the typical trope narrative wise speaking

Us as readers tend to get used to the hero saving the day, doing good deeds, saving girls in distress or people in general, having their soulmate with them.

However, Yuu doesn't fall in that role of protagonist; if anything, it starts with that principle only to get stained. However, it's not bad writing per se, rather, it's another insight within narrative that shows that not all protagonists are bound to follow the rules.

Yuu is exactly the opposite of Shinoa; whereas Shinoa came to treasure human life, Yuu has walked away from it; he manipulates, he seeks power, he seeks way more to the point of shattering rules if it means getting what he wants.

And because of this, it's that Mikaela turns into a rather tragic character that is set between the sword and the wall; he's unable to move freely because guilt and the love he holds chain him down even if he knows Yuu's doing wrong.

What do you think dear readers and anons?

Let me know!

Hey anon.

Hmm... I get what you mean regarding the whole "Mika wants to die". If anything, Mika's not really the type for that. One of his desires is that people blame him for the failure of the escape plan; sadly, even if Yuu tells him it's not his fault, Yuu is a close source of the incident. I wonder if someone exterior told him that would he be able to believe it...

But well, let's focus on the second part. Contrast to many characters, Mika is a special case from going as a human, to a half vampire, full vampire and lastly a demon.

You could say depending on the nature, his insight changes a lot.

Let's take first the aspect of half human/half vampire.

Half human/Half vampire

As one, at that point, he had seen the reality of both worlds.

Mika's only drive to keep going was the very fact Yuu was alive and kicking, if anything, his sole goal was to separate him from the demon army due to all the insane experiments humans had conducted for so long.

However, given that he was still half and half, his emotions of regret, sadness, pain, loath, etc.; were still active just like that serenity vampires adquired due to then losing those emotions.

Even as chapters go on, his goal is the same: Save Yuu, take him elsewhere in a quiet zone, and that's it. At that time, he only knew humanity was attempting the Seraph of the End experiment & of course, due to his trips overseas he understood it was a no good.

However, time was running out for him. He struggled and fought the urge to drink blood; he relied on Krul's blood until it wasn't enough.

Vampire Mikaela

Next, is when he fully turns into a vampire after drinking human blood. However, instead of welcoming the change, he actually rejected it.

And I'm not even saying he's in a point of "I don't want to live"; no, he's viewing that his change goes against all things that are supposed to be natural. If anything, Mika clinged to the hope of becoming human once again. But at least during that point of the story, such change was a point of no return.

Furthermore, even back when he was a half vampire, he saw the horror:

This of course only fueled him to reject the whole experiment of the Seraph of the End along how they eventually learnt what it focused on.

In further chapters, when Guren revealed he was going to bring others back, they discusses a lot about the candidates and what not. Ultimately, Yuu was very excited to revive everyone; yet the squad remained with hesitation. Mika on the other hand was fully against it given that

It was true. They didn't know the requirements. They weren't fully aware the stakes for such plan. But Yuu of course pulled the "Akane & the others".

Let's not forget that as a full vampire, the mentality and emotions drastically change. Given that Yuu is still alive, his emotions towards him remain the same because he's "alive" contrast to Akane and the rest of the kids. This of course, doesn't mean he doesn't love them nor means they mean less to him. But rather, he's focusing on what's in front of him. It's like setting on a balance between the living vs the deceased ones. For him, Yuu being alive reflects that even the plan got everyone killed, one managed to live, it means it wasn't for naught.

Even if his vampire nature is dulling his emotions regarding the Hyakuya kids, his rational mind still views them as something precious he lost. It was his family too; he struggles with it, he blames all the time about it; yet because Yuu wants it, he ends up conceiding against his better judgement.

But of course, even his life as a vampire came to an end. And let's point out that he was never happy to become one.

If Mika managed to live for the period of time that flowed within the manga story, it's precisely because there was a source that kept him going, that was of course Yuu. That pushed him to go on, that made him to try and adapt as a vampire yet he was never happy about becoming one.

He ended up accepting he was one, but it was never stated he felt joy. The only thing that he was glad, was the fact that he could protect Yuu with power.

Demon Mikaela. Before & after

Now let's talk about the dream part. Do you remember what are they keypoints that make demons?

Let's look at the Catastrophe LNs and manga.

Demons take the shape when their desires were the purest.

This only means one thing

It means that the dream was the best and purest desire Mika had. For him, those years when he spent time with his family were the best of the world.

At that time, he felt powerful, hence why he adopted the appearance of a kid.

But even before he accepted becoming a demon, he realized all of it was a dream. It wasn't something possible. Even if he wanted to be with his family, to be with the ones he loved, deep down, he wasn't asking to revive them, he knew they died, he understood he lived yet they were killed and for him, allowing Yuu to become a demon meant that he never did his duty properly.

For him, the happiness he felt the most was when he was at that age, spending time with the kids be looked after, cooking, playing, it was pretty much an equivalent to heaven on Earth.

That's why his demon persona couldn't remember but viewed the image, the dream world as something beautiful and worth to protect. Of course that ended up rather quickly given that the 1st needed to capture his soul and sent his right hand for that.

Once he was saved by Yuu and company, he managed to understand Yuu's emotions, the many times Yuu thought about dying.

But now, the final topic. Him seeking to disappear are the same who detect Shinoa's lies... hmm I differ from there.

I believe there's a huge difference between:

"Acknowledging Mika understood he was no longer alive vs Mika saying he wants to disappear".

When Yuu was made to face a harsh decision. A huge dilemma on who to save; for Mikaela at that point, he understood that even if Ferid, Krul, Guren & Mahiru were actors in a huge plot; their battle went against the 1st; the very monster that toyed with their fates. And Guren bringing back humanity was a way to restore all the damage. (At that point he couldn't tell Yuu to leave because he was fully aware the 1st meant bad news).

Even if he was against the resurrection; he knew that Yuu wanted the kids back, however, with that huge decision, he wasn't lying about something.

"He's dead". Back in chapter 89, Asuramaru points it out. Mika died. He vanished from the physical world to become a demon.

But now, even if he's following Yuu, he doesn't entirely have a free will of his own. He's a demon and he's pretty much bound to a contract.

However, on the things he's fully against, is that Yuu sacrifices himself for the angels and the vampires. If anything, he understood well that reviving humanity meant having a safe countermeasure, yet with the angels, that was a different story.

But given that Yuu points out the "I won't be able to bring you back if I don't bring the 1st and the vampires", Mika can't do much about it.

So, while Mika does accept the resurrection of humanity even if it's not a good thing; he's not exactly in favor of bringing the rest back considering that it'd mean that his whole mission of protecting Yuu would be for naught.

Hmm... this is a matter of perspective dear anon. If anything, you can view Yuu as a samaritan; however the world has rules. Just like the real world.

As to why I lean more to Shinoa's squad team, it's not the thought of "she's my fave chara and that's it".

No.... For me it was thanks to my best friend who's giving her best shot in her master degree right now; she actually made me dig deeper and understand a new insight within the story because I actually did quit it once back when dinosaurs appeared. But thanks to her. I started reading it again but from a different insight, from a more literature wise point. What kind of characters are we seeing, what kind of tropes are managed in the story, etc.

But back to the topic. I find it amusing that you bring Mika to the equation considering Mikaeka despite feeling grief, sadness, anger at his own self, loath & hatred towards himself. He knows much better than doing the resurrection is not okay. It's not Shinoa and squad. It goes way back to Mika as a vampire.

Back when the squad learnt about the resurrection, the very 1st one to go against said plan was Mikaela. If anything, I supported his stance from the get go. True, it sounds marvelous to bring back your loved ones back.

However, that goes against pretty much everything. Humans live, they experience, heck, Mika knows the kids had the worst kind of fates; yet humans are bound to die one day. Be it by someone's hand or from old age.

This was in chapter 52 btw, Mika pointed out that the very thought itself was making Yuu greedy, way too much.

Then

Chapter 59; Mika is still trying his best to convince him to not go further, to not lose himself. To value what he has right now.

Then we repeat that in chapter 63.

The reason why the squad at the beginning was going all along was because it was just reviving humanity. Then Guren made certain he had hosts ensuring Kimizuki and Yoichi would jump directly into the equation very independent of Narumi.

Even way before we went this current path

The one who at this point could stick there and still headed on to at the very least bring humanity back because they were basically doing what Guren said... Mika did have a point. Yuu's always avoiding reality, always running away.

And as Mika said. No one can have everything in life. It'd be cool to have everything, but we always end up facing up decisions. We have to take decisions every single day.

You decide one day to have something for breakfast: let's say, you like eating eggs but you also like eating pasta.

Both are delicious, but you can't eat both unless you are ready to face the consequences of overfulling your stomach.

Same applies here. Yuu wants A, B, C & even D as possibilities. The story stands on a philosophical insight of how one must treasure the time we have, the time we spend with others; but it also touches how it's against nihilism, how also people struggle to move forward; how the scars from the past may halt us from walking into the present.

So, for you, Shinoa might be the antagonist. However, her role from the get go has been the protagonist. Of course, what kind of "protagonist" she is differs a lot from the kind of "protagonist" Yuu is. And if you have doubts. The Catastrophe highlighted that.

If we talk about her not connecting, that'd be quite the opposite. She started to connect with people thanks to her squad. When she chose to save Mika back then, the consequence of her actions lead for Narumi's squad members to die. She felt bad, guilty about it, but at that time she had made her choice.

Yoichi upon learning the massive stakes of bringing everyone back to life or attempting even would mean to see someone burning for eternity. And as much as he loves his sister or the image he created of her; he'd rather let go than taking away the chance of those who live in the present for that wish. That's not being selfish, it's been conscious.

Kimizuki at first glance may seem like a quick change but in fact, it isn't. If anything, he's a realistic character. But given that he didn't want to let go of his past; Mirai who had a chance due to Kimizuki actually listening or being conscious, she was able to appear and was able to tell him to move on, to treasure his new family.

Kimizuki is the closest one to be a mirror or reflection of Yuu; however, he is the path Yuu chose to walk away from.

As for Guren, Mahiru and Ferid. They were facing a petty God who played with endless humans lives. I mean, who was the one to choose which empires rose and fell? Who was the one who ensured endless kids were cruelly and brutaly experimented on?

But hey. Let's remember chapter 114:

That was not under Rigr's plan. If anything, all of it was orchestrated by the 1st progenitor. The very character that pretty much toyed with his experiments.

And regardless of that, Yuu wants to bring back the 1st progenitor? Even Mika was against it.

But given that Yuu always pulls the "it won't bring you back" card. Mika doesn't have much option to voice around.

Sooo... very independent that I consider Yuu's portrayal as an unusual protagonist which I commend, I like changes. It doesn't mean that the reader side if me agrees with his whole plan. If anything, it goes against the very core and philosophy of the story.

Who knows.

And it's fine whichever side you support anon 😅 I mean, we all have our faves and what not, it's a story we grew up with in a way.

Regarding your thoughts it's a possibility at the end of the day. We don't know 100% what Kagami will pull out in the remaining chapters.

I can only say next chapter will be the final battle for Rigr Stafford, but of course, it's not the last battle against the Squad and Yuu together.

I think, Shinoa's very aware of the tricks Yuu can pull so it'll be up to her to fill the title of Squad Leader. Her mission after all, is to protect them and lead them to victory.

However, there's one thing I discussed with my bestie over other another social platform. And you're welcome to join along whoever reads this because I think there are many interesting questions or puzzle pieces left.

Very independent of "who" wins, the question remains:

What'll happen to the active demons?"

We so far saw the closure of Guren's squad in chapter 147

That was all death flag needed.

Same concept applied to the vampires that were bound to become demons (even if one met an end with Shinoa, the other with Rigr & the remaining with Ferid) and this of course was in chapters 143, 146, 147, 150.

This too was Ferid's courtain call.

Ultimately, all of them become demons but then, what about the remaining active ones such as:

Kiseki-O & Gekkouin

Tenjiryuu

And Mikaela

True, Yuu has claimed that he'll save everyone, however, the 1st mentioned something and this is considering his spells are set on stone; they've been analyzed but not modified:

So far, that's almost done.

Soo the question remains. If Yuu were to bring back angels, progenitors and humans alike, how would you remove the curse the demons are set on; the 1st made certain that the demons would remain as that for eternity with no will; thus meaning they'll become hollow.

Hmm... well, while I understand your frustration dear anon, and of course, whenever we discuss here I tend to divide myself on the writer of this acc vs the fan that goes to whine to her bestie 😅 (yeah... I'm roasting myself...haha....just that she's a great person to talk with & trust).

But moving on to the topic.

As I've been thinking, the purpose of making the angel Mikaela a real angel instead of an artifitial being is due to all the light stored in the Sinful Keys.

Yesterday as I talked with this user on twitter, I actually gave some thought about an interesting question or statement they made. "The angels target humans".

I pondered on the "why". Considering those angels are "seraphs" in reality, but artifitial ones. Not pure ones like the ones in heaven. However, why is it that even the angels that appear inside Yuu don't attack him?

The best answer I reached is that; given that the angels recognize "light" and even if the Seraphs are Artifitially made under endless experimentation; you could say they send the same kind of "wavelength" like the real deal.

Since the sinful keys store massive amounts of "light" inside them; reviving the angel Mikaela as a real angel would infuse him with all that light stored

BUT, there's an issue. Where's the corpse? We have no clue where the corpse is. Even if they were to resurrect him, a body would be needed; unless, as Mika stated once and feared. Reviving Mikaela could mean Yuu losing his current body along affecting part of his memories.

Now, regarding the resurrection in general; the reason why Guren only aimed to revive humans is because for sure, angels are no longer part of their world (yes Guren did know the truth about Yuu and Mika); but more over, is because of the level of punishment.

Yuu being the redirection of said punishment would have worked because they'd have sent a wavelength in case Paradise realized and maybe, instead of having Guren burn for eternity, he'd pretty much just become an immortal.

However, Yuu's literally aiming to revive angels which is a heavier load in contrast to what the 1st attempted.

Even Mika is not fond of such massive stake considering that it's extremely risky:

True, the angel Mikaela was powerful, way more powerful, but precisely because of that, the punishment and stake will be higher.

So yes, even if he's thinking, even if there's a plan, the gamble he's taking is just too big.

And now, the issue about him killing Yoichi and Kimizuki:

As you said, Yuu's taking their lives lightly. Yes, he's set on a goal of reviving everyone but success or failure at the end of the day mean nothing considering his line is this:

While it's true those lines are way before he recovers his memories; he's still set on if we fail we get to die together issue.

The reason why the 1st got punished in the 1st place is precisely because of this:

I'm not going to deny that the severity God has in the story is strong, way too strong. However, I understand the point regarding having gratitute towards life.

If anything, Shikama spent his time focusing on his research to even care about the time he could have spent with his subjects. Only when they started perishing, he started becoming more obssessed about them leaving.

So yes, Yuu's wish alone is admirable to bring everyone back, however, given that he's afraid of facing reality, he doesn't understand why his father was punished or rather he views the actions of his father as noble, he's taking everything for granted.