Yeah, it’s interesting and something I’ve been contemplating lately, along with just the larger picture of how individuals consume and engage with media.

I read an article that suggested people who like spoilers tend to have personalities that maintain distance to emotional connections with characters, and I almost laughed because of how inaccurate that is at least for me. Maybe it’s true for some people (reddit anyone?) but definitely not a one-size-fits-all. Emotional connections to the characters are why I read/watch stories;. Entirely. I don’t care about plot--even if it’s stupid, as for example some of GOT’s plotting in season 7 was, if it has a character payoff I don’t care. That’s just me as a person, though.

(2/2) And so, based on how I interpreted the info we have (reddit AMA, interviews), I can only imagine the amount of last minute rewriting so they could make animating :RE possible while still trying to have original content. The more I dig into it, the fact that it managed to still have a lot of good despite all the production issues it seems to have had on many levels is actually something that I’m still impressed by. I really wish we could’ve seen them go fully original, honestly.

Yes, the original director for both Season 1 and Root A was definitely a person with vision even working with extremely limited scope. 

There are actually some scenes tat I feel like are done a bit better in Root A. For example, the Hide and Kaneki talk at the end is phenomenal, as well as the first scene in the final episode which sows Kaneki remembering Anteiku even as his current aged self. 

The contrast in watching it fade away.

Then the disappearance of all of Anteiku and the contrast that is shown now that it has been mostly abandoned by everyone who was once there.

All of this told with imagery rather than with words. 

As I said also, Hide and Kankei’s talk at the last episode of Root A is phenomenal and does a lot to save the season thematically. One we have the callbacks to the original manga that are used for a benefit rather than simply copy pasting the scene because it happened in the manga. Hide referencing that it’s had to make coffee, as a metaphor for how Yoshimura used it, that it’s difficult for certain individuals to grow depending on their circumstances, and in contrast to ow Kaneki is standing right in front of him as Shironeki, a much changed version of is original friend. 

“It’s hard to make coffee” is just a metaphor for, “It’s hard to grow and change as a person” and Hide says this while Kaneki is confronted and reunited with at the same time his childhood friend who he is explicitly trying to hide his changes from.

Kaneki trying to hide his ghoul side from Hide, even when it’s completely obvious is shown to us and not told, and Hide’s response with an exapserated sigh actually tells a lot.

I’ve also always read this as a basically the only fleshed out version of the sewer scene we’re ever going to get. First is the confrontation that Hide knew all along.

Second the fact that Hide and Kaneki don’t actually just automatically go back to talking to each other like old buddies in this scene. Hide even remarks that he can’t get through to Kaneki just by talking to him like he always has after so much has changed.

Acceptance of showing his ghoul side in front of Hide comes, when Hide explains the good things that Kaneki has done in front of him as a ghoul. Once again shown to us the audience. 

Not only that, but Hide also finally admits to his own feelings of loneliness and his own misgivings about the relationship. Something that only ever gets hinted about in the manga and never really elaborated on.

Not only does Hide have a motivation of his own but it also reflects Kaneki’s. Hide says that he felt left behind when Kaneki found a new place to belong and started to hide things from him, so all on his own he tried to do whatever he could in order to still be useful to Kaneki. At the end though he realized it was too little too late to accomplish anything entirely on his own. Notice how Hide’s reflection is being shown in the scene as well. Reflections are a motife used since the original anime opening of season one to both hide and reveal the hidden sides of characters.

Hide confronts Kaneki with his flaw, but he also suffers from the same flaw showing where the conflict came for the both of them. Kaneki went off on his own, Hide tried to help him on his own, but at no point did they ever work together.

However, as the light finally coms on between them not only does it reveal their true intentions finally but it also reveals the tragic fact that it is too late. 

They both wanted the same thing in the end, but went in the opposite direction to reach it.  It’s because of that the light drains out in the scene. 

Oh absolutely agreed. I think Kenny will get his fair share of theme songs since he’s such a highlight in the Uprising arc. Both his character, what he does and so on. I’m over 80% certain we’ll get a theme for him.

As for TRH, SAME! It’s one of the first Sawano songs I ever heard, actually, and it’s been on my main playlist for a little over 3 years now. Still alive and kicking. And I completely agree. Chapter 82 is going to be an emotional mess especially around the second half when shit gets real, and a TRH rearrange is just what we need. Even if it’s just the original song, I’LL TAKE IT. We didn’t hear it in S2 sadly, but we did hear Call Your Name during the Yumikuri mountain scene. I hope we hear the track again. I agree completely lmfao

I agree it’s definitely a possibility, adding a load more tension to the whole thing and giving us a proper sendoff for next week. Though in all honesty, I do have issues with it too.

What’s so great about chapter 46 is that it’s just one long, big verbal confrontation. Basically uninterrupted character drama with heavy future consequences, one big sequence that keeps you hooked from beginning to end. If we were to include the arrival of the SC, we’d also have to include the timeskip between 46 and 47--which are supposedly a couple of hours. When Eren wakes up, it’s a few hours until sundown, but once 47 kicks in we’re down to 1 (Ymir’s done regenerating at that point, and Eren made major progress on that front too).

I've got the feeling it could start playing when Hannes rescues Eren and Mikasa and during the despair buildup before Mikasa thanks Eren

Also possible!

Oof, theres some big ones there…

6. What fictional place would you like to visit?

27. Who’s your go-to band or artist when you don’t know who or what to listen to?More than band, it’s usually specific songs, but these days I’m still hooked on the Ping Pong Girls OST…

48. What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with no preparation?I love market trends of the video game industry, and always try to follow the most recent fads and popular opinions.  I love discussing the history and analytic predictions.

59. What piece of entertainment do you wish you could erase from your mind, only to experience it for the first time again?The shock value of Gakkou Gurashi (School-Live!) is sort of lost once you see it coming.  Going into that show completely blind is the best way to watch it.  (Its still good, but that first time is an emotional freight train)

70. What movie title best describes your life?Lost in Translation

91. When was the last time you changed your opinion or belief about something major?I’ve made a pretty big 180 in philosophy in the last 10 years or so, but most recent…  since driving regularly i’ve realized how wasteful cars are.  Every time i get stuck in traffic, I can’t help but feel guilty sitting alone in this big, metal box thats just belching carbon to just creep along at 5 mph.  Not just me, but every other car around me.  Cars are a vital need in order to function in modern society, but are not being used properly.  Automotive transportation needs a drastic change.  (also pickups need to be gotten rid of entirely.  No one ‘needs’ a pickup)

20. Are you usually early or late?Lori: I’m usually late but SOMETIMES I TRY TO BE EARLYAsa: Actually, Lori is Renko so she is always late. I am usually on time or early, I think.

60. If all jobs had the same pay rate and hours, what job would you want to have?Lori: Is being a NEET a job?Asa: NO IT’S BY DEFINITION NOTLori: *transcribes*Asa: I would really like to work from home. Ironically what I’m trying to do (the only problem IS insufficient hours and pay) is transcription. Please stop stealing my job.

100. What’s something you will never do again?Lori: Put up with toxic people.Asa: Give up on something I care about.

This is a fun scenario to think about! I agree in that Saiharadefinitely wouldn’t be nearly the risk-taker or gambler that Battler becomeslater on. Both because of his personality and his job as a much more orthodoxdetective, Saihara is very careful. And that means that he’s less willing togamble and take risks than Battler, but it also gives him a degree ofcool-headedness and gentler understanding that I feel Battler lacks early on aswell.

The anon who asked me if I felt Saihara shared any similaritieswith Willard really struck on a good point, I think. It’s hard to know exactlywhat kind of game Willard would have been able to come up with if he had beenan actual meta-piece who was playing with Beato, rather than someone Bernbrought in and gave theatergoing authority to, but I suspect it would have beensomething very gentle and very close to Beato’s heart.

What’s more, Willard’s understanding of the ways in whichtruth could hurt people was itself the reason he was able to understand Beatoso well. If a character like him had been the “recipient” of her love letter,the game probably would’ve been able to end with her still alive, rather than…well,what happened in the end with Battler, since he didn’t understand until it wasmuch too late.

I’d be interested in seeing Saihara weave a game of his own thatwas meant to “understand the heart” before time was up. It would even beinteresting to see Saihara come up with a game that parallels the whole “Oumalives AU” that I’ve discussed before. Saihara is clearly very well aware of howand when to accept gentle lies over a harsher truth while still understandingthe whole story—his acceptance of Ouma and Momota’s plan and his attempt to goalong with it at the very, very end of the Chapter 5 trial is proof of that. Sohe clearly isn’t afraid to lie and weave a story of his own if it’s for thesake of protecting an important truth.