Namatame was definitely in the dark. Best case scenario, Kunino was just influencing his thoughts. He is the representative of despair in Izanami's game, after all. What's more despairing than being completely blind to the strings pulling you along?
Adachi, meanwhile, fully embraced his role as emptiness. He did fuse with his own Shadow during his boss fight, before Ameno took control, so it made sense to me that he would have been in contact with him beforehand.
Yeah, Namatame wasn't necessarilly innocent, but he did have a reason for his actions, and the biggest fault in his plan was that he didn't know about the TV World and how it was actually connected to the murders. When he realized the truth, the guilt drove him to madness and allowed Kunino-sagiri to take over. This also ties into his trait of despair. See, ultimately the traits assigned to Yu, Adachi, and Namatame don't refer to their own traits, but how each of them react to discovering the truth. Yu reacts to the truth with hopefulness, an eagerness to learn more, and an open-mindedness that allows him to accept his flaws and the flaws of others knowing that it's part of who they are. We see this reflected in his teammates whenever they face, reject, and eventually accept their Shadows. Adachi on the other hand reacts to the truth with apathy, because he believes he's seen all there is in the world and has been numbed into an uncaring state by his own experiences, which does allow him to accept himself, but in a way that closes him off from alternatives, growth, and the possibility of change. As for Namatame, well...we've already seen how well he reacts to learning the truth. He jumps to the first conclusion he finds, gets invested in it, and when it proves to be false, he can't help but despair at the idea that everything he had done was pointless, or even worse, caused harm to other people, so he attempts to hold on to the precious fragments of his shattered truth as everything around him burns.
Namatame: You know what they say about "assume." It makes an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me.' Mostly me.
Adachi: I don't give a shit. I don't give a fuck. Now if I gave a shit, then I might just give a fuck, but I don't give a shit...
Yu: Now I face out, I hold out, I reach out to the truth~
Really, though, Namatame might be the most important of the three as far as the game's relation to current events goes. He thought he had the truth, but when he realized he didn't, he doubled down, to everyone's detriment. Being able to accept that a conclusion might be wrong is one of the most important elements of seeking the truth. That's why the scientific method has so many checks in place. And it's also why his dialogue tree, though specific to get through, is also a powerful tool to make sure you've been paying attention. If you didn't learn the lesson from his failings, then you are bound to repeat them. So, thank you, Namatame, for delivering a very relevant lesson that more people really need to hear. (You still hurt Nanako, though, so... Which ankle do you need the least?)
Comment on The Many Quirks of Investigation Teamery
PsychicBeagle on Chapter 24 Tue 20 Nov 2018 03:34AM UTC
Comment Actions
Critical_Warrior on Chapter 24 Tue 20 Nov 2018 04:04PM UTC
Comment Actions
PsychicBeagle on Chapter 24 Tue 20 Nov 2018 05:33PM UTC
Comment Actions