In episode 1, the yakuza boss drove off after saying that if Denji runs, he will kill him and sell his organs. He wasn't "left to do whatever he wants" because they can easily find him, at least that is what both Denji and the yakuza believe. Even after he got Pochita, both parties still believed this to be true.Originally Posted by fireheart
Peace.
So someone could have still contacted the government.
"She's the only non-loli girl in the show, your honor!" will be my defense in court
Someone being? We weren't shown anyone to be in contact with the younger Denji other than the yakuza. The burial and the grave may as well have been handled by the yakuza to make sure they can trick Denji into paying his dad's debt, which he isn't legally liable to do. Denji didn't go to school, so he has no friends or teachers to reach out to. Basically, Denji is an uneducated, dumb recluse who only knows his dad and the yakuza as authority figures, so he believed them.
Peace.
We don't really know anything about his dad and his involvement with the yakuza.
For all we know, his dad was a transient under the yakuza's thumb just like he is. A homeless person's kid might not even be in the system in the first place. In which case, the government might not even know there's a kid that needed to be taken into custody.
Well I exaggerated but I didn't mean it in a he could have run away, if my posts haven't been clear I never blamed Denji for his situation nor do I blame him not trying to get out of it and I do find it believable that he doesn't run away. One of the things I liked in the first episode is seeing glimpses of his frustration and resignation that this is his life, it made him very humane to me.
But in my mind if a criminal organization took a kid they wouldn't just tell him to get the money rather they'd put him to work maybe by have him smuggling or sell his body (not literally) or something. Instead we see them tell him to get the money and leave him to his own devices, regardless of how easy he is to find it felt weird to me. I mean it's not completely unbelievable hence why I added "maybe, I don't know" but in my imagination of organized crime it just doesn't make sense for them to not put him to work. Yes he found work as a devil hunter afterwards but he found that not them.
I see this as us being in agreement, with the things Mfauli has brought up there is a blank in the show so far in regards to how it was possible for this to happen and we're both filling it up with conjectures. It might be as you said or it might also have been one of the situations I mentioned but the show hasn't given us anything and will probably never adress this but that doesn't mean there isn't a blank.
Thinking about it a bit there's bound to be a big bad guy in the show like every other show, so it might just be that Makina is aware of it and think that having Denji on her side increases their chances of winning same with Power. Though there's no information of this and just going of what I'd expect from a shounen show. I don't remember why Gojo was so quick to accept Yuuji in Jujutsu Kaisen or if they even talked about it, but surmise it's probably similar reasons.
Last edited by fireheart; Thu, 10-20-2022 at 05:07 AM.
You are here alone again
In your sweet insanity
All too calm, you hide yourself from reality
Do you call it solitude? Do you call it liberty?
When all the world turns away to leave you lonely
Had episode 2 shown us some crazy fantasy world, I wouldn't have bothered thinking about Denji's past anymore. Instead, we got to see realistic, modern day Japan PLUS that one fantasy element. So that exacerbated my negative reaction to how Denji could possibly have ended up the way he did.
"She's the only non-loli girl in the show, your honor!" will be my defense in court
Actually, the show hasn't shown us any shit worth thinking about in that regard.
We know nothing about the society they live in.
In the first place, they are recruiting unstable demon-like beings to fight demons (fire with fire), they might as well recruit kids fighting demons if they have the ability to do so, for all we know.
I don't know/can't remember if it was mentioned how old Power and Denji are for example... or if anyone even cares about that.
At this point we/you are still assuming everything is "normal" aside from demons walking around.
Last edited by KrayZ33; Thu, 10-20-2022 at 07:49 AM.
Ok, we know nothing, but I'm wrong. Gotcha.
...
"She's the only non-loli girl in the show, your honor!" will be my defense in court
Seems like you didn't understand anything at all, actually, if that's what you got out of that. Lol.
....
Mod: Please keep it civil, thank you.
Last edited by David75; Thu, 10-20-2022 at 08:55 AM.
That's not true though, the show has clearly shown that society is built on our regular modern society simply by the fact that a lot of what we'd expect from a modern society exists. While we haven't seen how society differs from what we expect from a modern society that doesn't mean Mfaulis points are moot, though I still disagree with some of his points.
Anyway on to how I interpret his point, hopefully we all agree that we don't expect there to be things that we(I) expect in a modern society like insurance regardless if they show/talk about it or not in a show like Attack on Titan, Naruto or One Piece. I do expect it to exists in shows like Jujutsu Kaisen, Bleach, FSN because the base world is obviously a modern world Japan. This usually doesn't matter but in this case the main protagonists whole background basically hinges on the fact that there's either no records in any governmental institute of him or they didn't care about him. I would again like to point out this isn't an issue for me but I can see that Mfauli has a point in this regard at least, though I probably added to his argument.
You are here alone again
In your sweet insanity
All too calm, you hide yourself from reality
Do you call it solitude? Do you call it liberty?
When all the world turns away to leave you lonely
I have no idea why you think in a world, where death is around every corner as is shown by the existence of devils on the streets, society would behave and work the same as in a country where you can life in peace and not fear for your life every second.
Does the police have special powers?
Does the goverment enact special laws?
Are kids taken care for normally or are orphans used by the state to fight demons for example?
How old is Denji. At what age are people allowed to work for the goverment? (In real life and in this show)
What else?
I could turn that list 100 pages long. Again - we/you are just assuming everything is the same, when there isn't much yet to suggest either side of the coin.
Denji is literally a death-row convict that can only life if he is willing to fight demons.
His rights as a human being were taken away from him right before our eyes and you are telling me society is the same?
Actually yes, even more so. In a world with so much chaos for the world and death around every corner to look so much like our own I expect the government to have a pretty good handle on things so that it doesn't fall to anarchy/ruin. I could ask instead why you don't think the government would have things together when it looks like society is pretty well functioning minus the devils.
I have no idea if the police have special powers, they might and it's within reason imo since there could be either former devil hunters who transferred or someone that made a contract with a devil.
The government probably has special laws in accordance to devils, but that only means the only difference you can say right now is devils and the impact they have on society. In fact it'd probably be an even bigger issue in this world to take care of all the orphans because of the devils.
I have no idea if orphans are regularly used or not but again based on what's shown nothing indicates that this isn't based on modern Japan and with that as the baseline I expect there to be some kind of care for orphans. Why don't you expect there to be?
No idea how old Denji is, I suspect he's a teenager simply because it's anime. Better question would be asking about Aki instead since he's obviously more of a norm while Denji is obviously more of an exception.
Regarding Denji literally being a death-row convict, yes I still think society is largely the same. Simply because what you're describing is still just devils and their potential impact to how our society would change.
I don't expect it to be exactly the same if that's what you're thinking since obviously the public existence of devils changes things. But it's within reason to expect it to be mostly the same minus what you're able to imagine from something like devils existing.
Yuuji from Jujutsu Kaisen and Denji has a lot in common in terms of circumstances, they're both part human part curse/devil and they're both being monitored and both on death row etc etc.
However Yuujis backstory and circumstances isn't dependent on the government being incompetent.
You're currently coming at me as if the fact that I expect the government to not be a totally incompetent to be such a controversial opinion and that it's stupid to even entertain that it might manage something so basic as child protection for orphans in a world where there's probably more orphans in first world countries compared to in reality.
Last edited by fireheart; Thu, 10-20-2022 at 09:12 AM.
You are here alone again
In your sweet insanity
All too calm, you hide yourself from reality
Do you call it solitude? Do you call it liberty?
When all the world turns away to leave you lonely
my point is not that all this couldn't be just a normal town or country like today, my point is that it's not decisively so and that we know and have, so far, seen very little happening about that kind of worldbuildig
Because devils exist and they are exeptionally dangerous and you need people to fight them willingly?I have no idea if orphans are regularly used or not but again based on what's shown nothing indicates that this isn't based on modern Japan and with that as the baseline I expect there to be some kind of care for orphans. Why don't you expect there to be?
But yeah, the point is that we don't know. For some reason a kid without a family gets to be the buddy of another kid without a family that now both fight Devils for different reasons. That could hint at something or couls simply be a fluke.
So would be a goverment no longer prioritizing compulsory education, especially when they are Yakuza. Either way, Denji not going to school is irregular in in that universe. It's just a matter of how they've done it. Considering even in Germany, where it's actually *illegal* not to send your kid to school, kids being homeschooled illegaly here is already a point to be made that this itself could be one such case, considering the enviroment he grew up in.Regarding Denji literally being a death-row convict, yes I still think society is largely the same. Simply because what you're describing is still just devils and their potential impact to how our society would change.
And just about everything else is unknown other that people go to work and that people still live in cities and that the goverment is keeping things in order more or less.The government probably has special laws in accordance to devils, but that only means the only difference you can say right now is devils and the impact they have on society. In fact it'd probably be an even bigger issue in this world to take care of all the orphans because of the devils.
Considering that Devils are also part of the school curriculum already means it has an impact on education as well, obviously it does, but it just doesn't mean that nothing negative could have possibly happened in that regard.
I'm no expert on homeschooling but who's to say this wasn't "done" here.
Afaik Japan doesn't allow this or it's basically non existent for japanese children, not for foreign children though as they are not required to send their kids to school. Depending on the country, sometimes there aren't even any checks regarding education, or even worse, you don't even have to tell the goverment that you are homeschooling your kids.
You could obviously spin this further and further but that's not the point.
The point is that assuming everything is normal or the same even though we have hardly any background information about anything, especially not in the first episode, which looked like the whole world is a desolate place with hardly anyone around (which itself is saying something as well btw.), is a one sided point of view.
And even in this episode the scenes didn't feel like Japan to me at all, at least not the same Japan I see in other anime.
The very old-schoolish western goverment building being the weirdest one of it all.
I'm getting cold-war vibes more so than I'm getting Japan in 2020 vibes.
Right now, I can't even tell if we've seen an electronical device... I might have missed it though.
At first I thought it was weird that someone in this day and age would use a telephone booth to call in an emergency.... but then I saw on youtube that these things actually ARE used for exactly that, calling in emergencies during earthquakes and stuff like that.
Yet at the same time, there are zeppelins flying above. I've never even seen one in real life flying.
And btw:
Try to find a living person in that scene (not my picture, rewatch it Episode 1 - 15:19)
Does this look like a normal town to you in that scene?
Last edited by KrayZ33; Thu, 10-20-2022 at 10:52 AM.
Jujutsu Kaisen is different to this.
That episode has the Lawful Good fraction looking for a demonic presence. They run into the main character who is a teenager with a Grandpa who taught him right and has friends. That teenager got caught up in the supernatural shit. He gets immediately evaluated by his caretaker, and the MC demonstrates that he (kind of) has full control over going berserk because he shuts down his inner demon at will. The caretaker also takes the MC in because they are confident that they'll beat the shit out of it if it runs berserk anyway. They're also using the MC as a tracker/magnet/vault for related supernatural shit. The MC's drive is established quite early on as aiming to dispel his unfortunate supernatural circumstance.
This show is about a guy who owns a demonic pet, lives in a shack, and has been influenced by yukuza into paying his dad's debt with no apparent external help at all. He tells us in these last two episodes that when he does meet people they are repulsed by his unkempt state. He turned into a supernatural fusion being and killed a bunch of things. Now a caretaker with unclear motives takes him in. The MC's drive is jam-on-bread and boobs.
Both shows have an MC that encounters the supernatural, becomes tied up with it and joins an apparently lawful-good agency for reasons. Denji's "less ideal circumstances" vs Yuuji's makes sense given the difference in their premise.
Last edited by Buffalobiian; Thu, 10-20-2022 at 10:44 AM.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
I hadn't thought about if I've seen an electronic device, computers or smartphones and if these things are nonexistent it makes it a lot more believable for me that no one knew about Denji/government not doing anything.
Spoiler?
I actually googled it since you said it gave you cold-war vibes and the story takes place in the 90s so it makes more sense to me that they missed taking care of him. Anyway I stand corrected, you were right with your observation and it's not actually weird anymore.
They have a lot of surface level similarities, if you check deeper obviously there's going to be differences but it doesn't make my statement that they're both part human part curse/devil and they're both being monitored and both on death row any less true.
You are here alone again
In your sweet insanity
All too calm, you hide yourself from reality
Do you call it solitude? Do you call it liberty?
When all the world turns away to leave you lonely
The similarities you listed in the above is true. Also both are MAPPA shows.
I was specifically replying to this bit, and hence why I broke down character motivations and circumstances being the differentiating factor going forward:
Thinking about it a bit there's bound to be a big bad guy in the show like every other show, so it might just be that Makina is aware of it and think that having Denji on her side increases their chances of winning same with Power. Though there's no information of this and just going of what I'd expect from a shounen show. I don't remember why Gojo was so quick to accept Yuuji in Jujutsu Kaisen or if they even talked about it, but surmise it's probably similar reasons.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
And yet your and others' first reaction to MY interpretation was "you're wrong".
What you should have reacted with instead: "Hm, maybe, but this is what I think: blablalbla".
Why must it always be worded as an attack against me? Really sucks, sorry.
"She's the only non-loli girl in the show, your honor!" will be my defense in court
Maybe you should just actually read what you have written and what I have written. Maybe then you would actually understand that I didn't even say "you are wrong". I said completely different things.
Again, stop it with your "I'm a victim"-lyre.
Just read the stuff again, your stuff too. Point me to the moment I said "you are wrong" and when you found it, rewatch the scene and think again as to why asking the question "why didn't he stay in the trash bin?" is wrong.
Last edited by KrayZ33; Thu, 10-20-2022 at 01:25 PM.
Thanks for clarifying what you were replying to, while I do agree I'm not sure how much the main characters individual differences will play out in terms of Gojo/Makina. Though I still lean towards Makina just using both Denji and Power for their strength but didn't want to dismiss the idea that she and Gojo could have had the same reasons.
You are here alone again
In your sweet insanity
All too calm, you hide yourself from reality
Do you call it solitude? Do you call it liberty?
When all the world turns away to leave you lonely
There is a blank, but even with that blank in place, I still wouldn't describe his situation as "unbelievable" or "unrealistic". Not when there are real-world examples that can account for his situation.
I'd say the biggest difference between Jujutsu Kaisen and this is that the monsters in this are public knowledge. Which is a single difference that would have an ENORMOUS impact on the setting.
There's a huge difference between a secret organization hunting secret monsters. And everyone knowing there's monsters and people know about the department that hunts them.
JK is Men In Black. CM is Ghostbusters.
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