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How to do anti-heros right
May. 17th, 2014 05:41 pmSo, I've just caught up with Kuroshitsuji, which meant that of course I had to go back and re-read Lizzy kicking zombie ass with swords, because that is the best scene in the entire manga, bar none. Elizabeth + swords = <3 4evar. Lizzy rocks the world so hard.
This, however, led, as such things do, to re-reading more arcs, and now I also need to squeal a bit over Ciel and Sebastian. Because every arc makes it clear that they are truly two of a kind, ruthless and manipulative, and basically very bad people. Ciel is seriously broken, and Sebastian seriously doesn't care, he just loves Ciel's response. Which is essentially: kill them all, burn the bodies, and sow the ground with salt. And perhaps uranium for good measure. I love that they are not good people, I love how viciously Ciel uses Sebastian, and how enchanted Sebastian is with Ciel's cold-bloodedness, I love how they spend so much time sniping sarcastically at each other and then share one of those smiles. The smile that says they will play the entire world like their personal violin, and they love doing it.
And yet.
And yet, there are still those moments of mercy woven through Ciel's manipulation and violence. Half the time, they're part and parcel of the manipulation and violence; they serve Ciel's own ends. But it's also genuine. That's the part that makes Ciel such a consistently interesting character. In this, Sebastian is the stand-in for the reader, fascinated by the contradictions of humanity.
That said, though, Lizzy is still the very best of all.
This, however, led, as such things do, to re-reading more arcs, and now I also need to squeal a bit over Ciel and Sebastian. Because every arc makes it clear that they are truly two of a kind, ruthless and manipulative, and basically very bad people. Ciel is seriously broken, and Sebastian seriously doesn't care, he just loves Ciel's response. Which is essentially: kill them all, burn the bodies, and sow the ground with salt. And perhaps uranium for good measure. I love that they are not good people, I love how viciously Ciel uses Sebastian, and how enchanted Sebastian is with Ciel's cold-bloodedness, I love how they spend so much time sniping sarcastically at each other and then share one of those smiles. The smile that says they will play the entire world like their personal violin, and they love doing it.
And yet.
And yet, there are still those moments of mercy woven through Ciel's manipulation and violence. Half the time, they're part and parcel of the manipulation and violence; they serve Ciel's own ends. But it's also genuine. That's the part that makes Ciel such a consistently interesting character. In this, Sebastian is the stand-in for the reader, fascinated by the contradictions of humanity.
That said, though, Lizzy is still the very best of all.
