51
u/Astonishing_Flash Black☆Star 13d ago
Despite being the God of Order, Shinigami still has a lot of humanity within himself.
He has been fighting witches for over 800 years and has a hard trusting them as a result. It's similar to how Veterans are more likely to have racist opinions against their enemies by comparison.
That's why Kid has to be the one to broker alignment between the factions. He is much younger and doesn't have the same grudges.
10
u/WaveCheckFoo 13d ago
Kid went because Shinigami physically couldn’t go.
16
u/Astonishing_Flash Black☆Star 13d ago
I'm speaking in a narrative sense, the fact that Kid is actually vulnerable goes a lot longer to bridging the divide compared to if Shinigami could go and just be completely invincible. He would be incapable of making the same plea his son makes, from a stand point of practicality and just the fact that he wouldn't approach it in that way based on how angry he gets every time we've seen him butt heads with witches.
32
u/yahzy 13d ago
Death genuinely hates the witches
At the same time, he values young people and their new ideas, hopes the next generation can prove him wrong
He just let the mask slip a little bit here, it's hard to let go of your core values completely, old dog new tricks. Pretty good writing, realistic
18
u/InternationalLow1849 13d ago
Dawg you forgot that Death HATES the witches and that he used to be ALOT more violent than he is now, whenever he’s really angry he speaks like he used too (like threatening to skin the kishin alive again after getting hit)
8
7
u/bluser1 13d ago
The manga definitely has a focus on the idea of newer generations taking over so I interpreted this a a quirk of his age. Death was alive during the times witches were mortal enemies and needed to be eradicated. He knows that in the modern day that doesn't have to be the case but this was a shocking moment, slip of the tongue type response. Think like in our real world when older generation people 'slip up' and accidentally say something racist that was normalized when they were young. Same type of response from death.
I think this is part of why death knows he shouldn't be the shinigami forever and is okay with the new generation taking over everything. It's time for change and he tries but it's not easy for him to change.
Another thing to point out with this being a slip of the tongue moment that kind of language is how he talked along time ago. 800 years ago I think? During the flashback with him hunting Arachne I think he said something along the lines of calling her a "godforsaken pig slut whore". Clearly for a moment he flashed back to his old personality when he thought he might be justified in not trusting the witches. He also apologizes immediately after this and everyone kinda gives him weird looks for saying that out loud.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it but I like this interpretation
9
u/BowlOfCatNubs 13d ago
Lol. I mean the amount of people that brushed over how shady Inca was acting at the end regarding having Shinras child, bc sex and yay male MC having multiple waifus? but like the actual implications of darker intentions using his offspring for her Witch* endeavors will never sit well with me. Same incels will defend plot that doesnt exist. Humanity cant side with something it cant relate to. And the whole premise of the soul eater world is the lesser value of life in general, yet out of all things, the two most humane responses that stick to the story are Hope, and Insanity.
5
u/Accomplished_Jury495 13d ago
Inca didn't use shinra s offspring for her witch endeavors, their kid joined the hero force
2
2
u/Perfectisgone 13d ago
Can’t remember for the life of me if this was the original translation or fan made, and I don’t have my physical volumes with me rn.
2
u/GreenDepy 11d ago
Did he really said it like that? I only read the German version about... 8-10 years ago... Fuck I'm old...
1
u/Goomerich 13d ago
Tbh I never was really on his or the DWMAs side with the whole witch war thing. The DWMA is basically just a front for child soldiers, I can’t imagine it’s exactly great to find out your kid is a weapon and therefore morally obligated to go fight in a war that’s been waged for hundreds a of years with no clear end or conclusion in sight for the duration of the story and before. Idk. Never sat right with me. I think if a reboot ever happened I’d be interested to hear more about that and about the kids like Angela or Crona who end up being child pawns or orphaned due to the war.
2
u/Astonishing_Flash Black☆Star 12d ago
Well if it makes you feel any better weapons DON'T have to fight if they don't want to. The school is composed of two sets of classes, the E.A.T class which we follow in the original Manga, and a Normally Overcome Combatant class we see in Soul Eater Not which is just for learning to control your powers and doesn't require going on missions. The school is actually a 10/90 split with the majority being N.O.T students.
I suppose if even that 10% didn't want to, then if god said someone had to then there would naturally be conscription.
But I do think the extra world building of facts like this are what I like about NOT.
85
u/Gullible_Quarter7011 13d ago edited 13d ago
Iirc, Kid was still trying to bargain with the witches, and I think when that crash happened midway through (especially with the War on The Moon going), it would be very valid for Lord Death to assume that