"Forge ahead without fear. I would like for you to enjoy your adventure."
The end of destiny.... What happens once you have fulfilled your duty? In this episode, Faputa was abandoned by purpose and relegated to free will, consigned to carving out her own path, making her own decisions, left to carry the burden of determining her own future. This is the lonely, solemn weight of life without a cause. Faputa's struggle in this episode is an expression of ambiguity in purpose and future -- compounded for emphasis by her infinite, immortal life.
We also see a big plot point fulfilled, when the villagers come full circle and supply themselves as food to Faputa. This is a full, equal repayment and resolution to the debt to Irumyuui that they incurred by eating her children. This also speaks to the overarching theme of fate and destiny in this episode: the villagers' destiny was to sacrifice their lives, which had been sustained by Irumyuui's children, to in turn sustain Irumyuui's final child, or "youngest sister" as the souls of her brethren put it. And lastly, it speaks to this episode's name: Value. The villagers have always seen Faputa as the embodiment of value, so in a way, it makes sense that they would trade their lesser-value bodies to restore something of infinite value. What a bargain!
This may be an unpopular direction to go here, but I'd even say that the themes of destiny and purpose in this episode are a metaphor, an illustration, of faith, worship, and religion. Faith, worship, religion, purpose, and destiny are closely intertwined concepts. They all relate to what you are living your life for -- aka what you value.
As for the villagers' value, faith, and purpose, Irumyuui became the god of the Ganja - in other words, the thing they valued above all else - when they gave their lives to her as atonement for their sins against her, and she became their village, the literal foundation of their new hollow lives. And if Irumyuui was their god, she was also their queen, and that makes Faputa the daughter of their god, and their princess: royalty. Faputa was the treasure of the villagers' lives as hollows: she was both the daughter of their god and of infinite value to their god, and thus she was of infinite value to them, as established in previous episodes. And in the end, they were willing to give everything they were for her sake, which is what true worship means. They saw helping her accomplish her will as their greatest desire and honor.
As for Faputa's value, faith, and purpose, she was essentially reborn in this episode. She cannot die, but was denied the ability to fulfill her duty, exercise her value, and she came close to death. And importantly, in that moment she asked the purpose of an immortal life when its goal cannot be accomplished. She was then regenerated, clearly with the help of the bodily sacrifices of the villagers, who became a part of her. This physical regeneration represented a corresponding reconfiguration of her values and purpose. The villagers who sacrificed themselves for her did so understanding and hoping that she would go forward and embrace her new destiny, which she can and must decide for herself. Before her rebirth, under the duty she was born into, Faputa's god was her mother, and her duty, purpose, and worship, given by her mother, were to fulfill her mother's wrath and avenge her siblings. After coming to a point where she could no longer fulfill that purpose, Faputa was reborn into a new mission, and purpose, one she chooses for herself. Since there is no longer a higher authority or purpose over her, she is now her own god. It remains to be seen what purpose she chooses for herself -- I look forward to seeing it, hopefully next episode.
To take this unpopular direction even further and bring it back home, notice that when Belaf tells Faputa to forge ahead without fear, it almost sounds like he's speaking to us. Our world is becoming less religious and more godless - in the West for sure, and perhaps in Japan as well. But if you look again, gods and religion are not truly going away - at least in the west, each person is instead encouraged to be their own god. The object of peoples' worship is their own desires, their purpose is themselves rather than something beyond themselves. We have released ourselves from external purpose, from the idea of objective truth, from the external religions of our ancestors, and we now, like Faputa, feel the weight of defining our own values and truths, making a way for ourselves, writing our own religions. And thus, Belaf's words to Faputa resonate with us as well: "Forge ahead without fear. I would like for you to enjoy your adventure." Through Belaf, the author is gently encouraging us in our journeys forward in life. What value are you seeking, adventurer? |