sábado, 9 de mayo de 2020
Watching this anime has been a delightful experience. It's also encouraging to watch a production originated from a South Korean Manhwa -I would love to see a Chilean manga being animated by a Japanese studio. To have the plot written by non-Japanese is exciting. Anyway, today I want to talk about Rachel because I have been obsessed with her for the last two episodes. In fact, I learned while I was writing this entry that manga readers strongly disagree with each other about the very nature of the relationship between Rachel and Baam. People also hate her. Today, after watching the sixth episode, I have to talk a bit about her.
Rachel is an enigmatic character. Forcefully implanting her so early in the storyline was brilliant. It's like playing Mario Bross and learning in the second castle that Peach is right there, but she gives a fuck about you. Yes, the whole concept of the Tower of God is interesting, but this ongoing conflict between Rachel and Baam has become the driving force for the last episodes. I want to learn more about her, like her goals and motivations behind her behavior. She is not only an immaterial-idealized princess goal that Baam has to rescue. Hell no. She is the very origin of this drama, as I said, the driving force of this shithole drama.
"Why did Rachel leave you and climb the Tower alone? And I wonder why she took care of you for so long. It seems odd." Khun said.
These are the questions that everyone may be doing by now. We don't know much so far. The narration has restricted our knowledge to Baam's perspective, which is very naive. Baam keeps a very idealized picture of Rachel. That's why the first interaction between Khun and Rachel was so dramatic. Khun, on the other side, has severe issues with trusting others. Khun's problems were openly addressed in the second test before his encounter with Rachel. Having Khun trying to protect Baam from even approaching Rachel was great.
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| I cannot stop wondering about this flashback -just before Baam blacked out in episode 5. It seems that...it was Baam who rescued Rachel?? |
First, the scene when Baam sees Rachel for the first time has enormous metaphoric value. That was not a mere encounter. Bam was trapped in the dark until Rachel appeared. Baam doesn't solely love her; it's deeper than love. Rachel is the rising sun in Baam's universe. Baam's mere existence, under his own perspective, starts with Rachel. She is his first memory, which makes me think that in Baam's standpoint, Rachel is God.
I'm saying this because without reading the Manga, I can certainly tell that we are going to witness several reckless and dumb decisions from Baam. Indeed, he literally just sacrificed himself in the last episode for someone who, at that time, only looked like Rachel.
If you think about that, it's plot hole because Baam did not know that she was, in fact, Rachel -those were Baam's words to Khun. If Baam final goal is to save Rachel, why would he risk everything for someone that "looks like" Rachel. While it's possible that he got a better looked at Rachel at that time, I don't think so. After waking up, he seems to believe that this Rachel is not the person that he is looking for.
Don't you think that this is interesting? The fact that Baam cannot recognize the real Rachel makes me believe that he has idealized her to the point that Baam's image of Rachel does not longer fit the real Rachel.
"Baam was a very lonely boy. When I told him I was climbing the Tower, he asked me not to go with tears running down his face. But I abandoned him." Rachel said.
Maybe Baam does acknowledge the fact that Rachel kinda betrayed him when she abandoned him. I would love to see these points addressed in the next episodes.
Second, Rachel may be a far deeper character than we expect. During the brief moments during the special event, Rachel was openly struggling with her feelings. Shame was the main sensation on her face.
Then, in the sixth episode, the emotional distress that Rachel was suffering was quite evident. She spent most of her time inside her room eating chocolate -I had to laugh sometimes, it was like she just broke up with her boyfriend.
There is so much in the prior interactions between Baam and Rachel. Rachel seems to really care for Baam. She was his everything. While we only have Baam's standpoint, it's a fact that Rache was continually taking care of him and teaching him daily lessons that keep saving Baam's ass during the trials. Was that intended? I don't think so because Rachel was surprised by Baam's presence inside the Tower, but who knows.
In multiple flashbacks, Rachel tells Baam about her dreams and why she must leave him and climb the Tower. She is not merely abandoning him. This is an apology; she is telling Baam that there is no option for her but leaving. When you try so hard to justify your future way of action means that you care for that person and that you are sorry for any resulting harm. It's like breaking up with someone that you appreciate, but you don't longer love.
Third, maybe Rachel had to abandon herself to reach the top. Again, perhaps we are being just tricked by Baam's naive perspective, but Rachel seems to be a completely different person after entering the Tower. Her prior behavior is different, including her interactions with Baam. That is undeniable.
"Don't tell Baam about me." Rachel said
"You want me to lie to him? Tell him you're not Rachel"
"Yes."
"Even though Bam wants to be with you?"
"We can't be together," Rachel responded, "that's the problem. If we're together, we'll become each other's weaknesses. A burden."
To finish, I'm very excited about learning more about Rachel and her interactions with Baam. The fact of having her at the beginning of the storyline is super exciting and a driving conflict. Rachel seems to be a character struggling with her past and foreseeable decisions that she may need to take shortly. She knows it. Let's see what this character brings in the following episodes.
PD: If you liked this entry, you may want this one about Infinite Dendrogram http://ignisfatuusgate.blogspot.com/2020/03/infinite-dendrogram-lets-get-closer-to.html
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