>
True, though to me, the reason why I think it's sad is even though Ash might think death would be 'peaceful,' when he finally met Eiji, he sort of finally found something that could let him move forward. Basically his new home. But in the end he couldn't get that either. And it's sad.
Oh for sure. I definitely share the empathetic sadness for the lost time between Eiji and Ash. They were on the way to bridging the gap from their polar opposite lives/upbringings/culture. At the same time, there is a tinge of selfishness on Eiji's part because he knows how much Ash suffered on a nightly basis. >
So... for me, I cried because there were so many emotions going through me at the end that it was overwhelming. I cried in a lot of places. They weren’t all tears of sadness. I was sad for the person who killed Ash because he’s not going to be able to repair the relationship that he lost and the murder only further damages it since Ash and the other boss already worked out their differences.
Ash’s fear of tainting Eiji robbed him of opportunity to heal himself and grow to become the person he wanted to be. However the letter served to show him that there was a possibility for him, that no matter what had transpired, there was someone who saw him as worthy of protecting and saving. He got to believe that the future and life that he’d always wanted was possible even if he never got to live it.
Yea...it kinda comes with their line of work though...Not knowing was necessary to keep them safe, but there was never enough communication that "hey, there's a damn good reason I can't tell you, so you just have to trust my judgement". It ends up in a chain reaction of misunderstandings for sure. So yes, Ash died for nothing in a sense, but to a certain extent it isn't fair for Ash to have to suffer every night for Eiji's sake (this is why he is so hard to wake up since he is waking up from nightmares all the time and only gets into deep sleep once the nightmares pass).
Ash definitely saw the potential from the letter, which is exactly why he is so off guard to not see an enemy take out a knife right in front of him. He got too excited. But just like Blanca says, the fact that Ash could change is a huge difference and essentially the main factor (he can still be human). Ash, per his norm, analyzes the situation and makes the most of it. He dies without any regrets since he probably rationalizes that he was able to overcome what Blanca/the youngest Lee could not do. They both want to, but just can't. >
This story doesn’t take place in Japan. It takes place in NYC, so it’s not meant to be a commentary on loli culture.
Wait, wait, wait. The lack of girls is directly reflecting some sort of bias. I don't know if the mangaka is a male or female, but maybe just they had a moral value to not even imagine a little girl getting raped. But since Asians are astronomically more racists than other cultures (it's not even close but it's spoken in private or only thought most of the time), this series reads of "Hahaha. Look at these despicable Americans raping little boys." Especially if the mangaka is a male. A little more understandable if the mangaka is a female, but there's clearly a purposeful avoidance of involving girls.
If it's a male, then it just reads like a poor attempt to just ignore the widespread nature of a problem. To me, the fact that they were not willing to even include a female reflects the problem it self. If raping a little girl is such a big problem, why does loli culture exist to be acceptable? So typing this out, if it's a female mangaka, then even more so. I'm saying there is a loli culture problem, not that the series is directly saying anything. How the manga plot goes reflects this loli problem. That is the direct connection.>
They specifically have Jessica recognize immediately when Ash is raped while held captive and comment on how long it took her to overcome it.
Hmm...based on the flow of events, I don't think she was raped by the mobster. It doesn't take that long to investigate (they would have gotten killed if it took them half a year to dig up evidence). Sounds like she was an adult though since she was independent when it happened.>
The reason that the scandals are so big is because they’re male prostitutes as opposed to female.
Wouldn't it just be the pedophile aspect then? If it was adult women, unfortunately there are people that don't think any "crime" is being committed. This is a direct reflection of real life politics where people aren't shocked about stuff like Clinton and Monica L. (don't know how to spell her name). I have to think the informed people know it is happening. But I guess I should clarify again that the extreme bias itself is my problem. If even the thought of a little girl getting raped is SUCH a big deal, then why is loli culture not a problem? That is my direct question. The plot itself is speaking to the problem by it's avoidance. Eiji could have been a girl and the threat of it occurring comes up in the series. By making it completely male biased, it is speaking to how we do not view pedophilic crap equally. If it cannot even be thought of anywhere in the plot, why is it OK to fantasize about it happening in real life?
Again, I'm completely going off from discussing the plot of the series, but just the theme of the series and how it relates to real life. Nothing to do with the series/plot.>
Very violent, but always changing series filled with hardships, often not legal hideous things, yet I liked most of the story and both main characters, it was often emotionally intense T.T jokes were rare, but very welcomed sometimes. The ending was inevitable, but I still think, it should have a better one, don't have any specific in mind, but I was a bit dissapointed.... I don't watch something to know automaticly its ending from the start, where's the surprise? Meaning.. nice surrprise, not the other way around Couldn't rate in full rating (8 from 10 maybe a bit less)
Welcome to our community! Would you consider the "happy ending" of Ash surviving and declaring his intent to go to Japan to be a surprise ending? How did you like the twists in the conspiracy and the action to get out of it?