Kurosawa is a freaking leader, in the way he made sure everything was going to go okay like he was reading off a checklist, in the way he checked that Akane was okay with a smile and set her up with bodyguards, and the way he made the special elite force. It was fun. I especially liked how Kurosawa pulled in two random residentially challenged people and coined them two of the strongest here purely due to their calmness. It's not a bad reason it was just a funny one, especially seeing their shock. "U-us too?". Also, it's always nice to see a protagonist think directly back to their previous experiences to make a decision based off of them. There's a few moments like that in Kaiji which I like a lot.
I also think perhaps Nakane has been thinking about this upcoming battle because he knows the bike gang. It wouldn't be much of a surprise if they know him well too. Seeing their initial interactions when they notice him should be interesting. The bike gang leaders design is cool too, and I can't wait for when his mask totally gets knocked off. This should be good...
I actually put a ton of thinking in what the core message of Kurosawa is this chapter. It's hard to place. As Kurosawa said it his life has no 'coherent plot', it's not as clear structurally or thematically as stories are normally written. Yet, I don't think anyone could deny that it's focused on what it means to live versus what it means to stay alive, the ways we can act to feel fulfilled. It's constantly noted on how everyone feels like they're being dragged down by the world, how they all feel empty. Whether it's every person in that restaurant, or all the people on the street. If they haven't given up their hopes and dreams then they're delinquents fighting against the adults who represent what it means to fall into monotony. But even the adults that preach that you should give up like Toku still cannot do that. So, I think this manga is largely about how to confront a world that seems to make you always feel insignificant, which scares you into walking through the abyss that Kurosawa spoke about accepting underachieving until the moment you regret it as you are on your deathbed.
Kurosawa was on his deathbed, he thought he was going to die and he didn't even think of his own memories. He thought of shallow pop stars. In a gut reaction to get control back to his life he felt the need to fight back against the people who made him feel so low. Yet when he fought with Nakane he found out, to fight, to live rather than stay alive doesn't mean anything if it's in a meaningless encounter. Why would he put his life up for something so insignificant. Yet, despite that he learned what it meant to fight back. He learned how to swing so to speak and he gained confidence. So even though the most hedonistic version of being alive is something he wouldn't willing do ever again he found something meaningful in that. He later found things he thought were worth fighting for, such as someone who knows and respects the true him like Nakane. He fought for responsibility like when he Takashi went to fight those bullies. He fought for himself against the attackers by taking on the challenge head first. He fought for manliness and protecting the weak. These are ideals that he himself values and on top of that he learned that even the samurai known for going into battle recklessly to die, wants to stay alive. They use armor.
With all this in mind I guess right now my reading on Kurosawa is that in life, rather than falling into monotony you need to guide yourself with the things you personally value and when those things call you to action you cannot run away from them. If you run and avoid that conflict then you will be wandering in that abyss until you reach your deathbed and you realize it wasn't a dream. So we as humans both need to embrace our desire of staying alive but we cannot fear death, we need to give our all when it comes to the things we value and when things confront us, however, we have to face them to the best of our ability. Like Nakane once said, death and life are connected. To try and retain our life by staying alive when it goes against what it means to 'live', what it means to be human, is the worst thing you could do and that's what everyone in this manga fights with.
At least, that's my reading right now, upon further thought, upon more reading, maybe rereading, it could change but with a story this fluid relatively to other stories it's not so easy to be confident in these ideas. However, the more I read and the more I think the more I tend like Kurosawa more and more. |