Karneval - 6

"Wings of Morning Light"

Is it just me, or have the last two episodes of Karneval been distinctly… purple?

We only have one mention of tea parties this week as the drama surrounding Yotaka’s death unfolds. Tsubame, having lost both her elder sister and her twin brother, is utterly broken, and Gareki is no better off. Nai too is struggling to understand the pain of her loss, but most of the guilt for the action seems to come from both Gareki and Yogi. Gareki, of course, feels at fault for having abandoned the twins in the first place, and though Tsubame later learns that his intentions were good, this doesn’t change the fact that he left. Yogi, however, is in the position of having to come to terms with his job and the implications of being a member of Circus. Though he’s been aware of all the people they’ve been killing after they become Varuga (beluuuuugaaaa) at the hands of Kafka, this is probably one of the first instances where he came to know the victim personally before seeing him killed before his eyes. Though Circus may call it “putting the victims to rest”, they’re essentially murdering for the sake of simplifying their problem, one they have no real alternative to fix yet.

In the meantime, a different division of Circus arrives as backup, led by the somewhat unpleasant Tsukitachi (Yusa Kouji), a seemingly cheerful man who doesn’t rub all that well with Hirato. He seems to know a bit more about Gareki’s past, mentioning that his presence on the ship he washed out from is an ironic twist of fate, whatever he means by that. What is apparent is that Tsukitachi and Haruto know much more about Kafka and Gareki’s past than they’re ready to divulge, and that Gareki may turn out to be just as valuable as Nai in the long run.

In the despair that follows, Tsubame chooses to go with Circus after declaring that she has no one left; her grandfather is in the hospital with no memory of her, her siblings are dead, and Gareki left her behind. Though essentially giving her life to become a test subject, her original intention of doing so for the sake of throwing her life away changes once she realizes that Gareki left and involved himself in shady business for the sake of paying her grandfather’s hospital bills. The man who transformed her brother may be dead, and Hirato may have been the one who struck the final blow, but her life now possesses purpose; as a test subject, she has the potential to help Circus uncover more about the Varuga than was previously known. The action may be the same, but the intention is not, and sometimes that makes a world of difference.