Hello again anons, welcome back for volume 12 of Moto Hagio's A Savage God Reigns. After spending the night together, Ian struggles to come to terms with his feelings for Jeremy. Jeremy seems none too sure about his feelings for Ian either. Meanwhile, friends and lovers wait in the wings...The works of Hagio and her contemporaries ("the '49ers") represented an experimental new direction in girls' and women's manga in terms of both content and style. I hope some anons who might be unfamiliar with these mangaka and their works, or who might generally avoid girls' comics or older manga altogether, will consider reading along and trying something new. You might be surprised.For those who would like to catch up and join in, here are the previous threads:Vol. 1: >>268448441Vol. 2: >>268501695Vol. 3: >>268540638Vol. 4: >>268581029Vol. 5: >>268615427Vol. 6: >>268647910Vol. 7: >>268683142Vol. 8: >>268721319Vol. 9: >>268755228 Vol. 10: >>268782676Vol. 11: >>268822559For the Japanese-speaking anons among us: tinyurl dot com slash 4wj859ppIt's time...
>>268855049That saucy wink
>>268855643>>268855654Well she got over that one quickly.
>>268854262>hello ex i just broke up with, can you give me dating advice on the boy i dumped you for?
>>268853898>I rode in an acquaintance's car along the seaside road from Brighton and past Rye. It was two months with some light rain. White cliffs. Green grasslands. Crumbling ruins. Cold wind. Branches arching over the road. The quaint town of Rye. Chalk cliffs so white they shine. Their beauty is etched in my memory.
>>268855632>>268855654It feels obvious in retrospect, but it was right around here on a reread that I made the connection that Nadia has had a string of bad relationships that always ended with her getting dumped and she became obsessed with her new relationship and grew resentful of Jeremy when he became the object of her partner's affections. Meanwhile, her sister has a childish personality, loves Jeremy and wants him to wait on her hand and foot, sometimes using the threat of her own death to get her way. They're both parallels to two sides of Sandra and her relationship with Jeremy. Through these characters the reader may catch a glimpse Sandra's inner conflict that wasn't shown directly.
>>268854145damn sweden and their anti-telepathy fields
>>268854552>jeremy is away from the sex apartment for a few days and starts making pretty fish instead of needle monstrositiesMakes you think
>>268854665She sees this shit and is like gosh what a sweet sibling relationship
I don't know how this shit's going to turn out so I'm assuming tragically. This is just my take since I don't know any better but I feel like Marjorie is actually good for Jeremy since all she wants is his attention rather than his body like everybody else in London.
>>268859421>he hasn't gotten to the scene where Greg possesses Marjorie's body, Ganon-style
>>268855263Ianbros...
>>268856325Goddamit Ian, try to keep your dick in your pant.
I only meant to give my eyes a quick rest but accidentally fell asleep so I'm just going to do the rest tomorrow if the thread is still here. Here are the corrections I had so far.>>268854466The asterisk is omitting the name of Marjorie's game, a very literal translation would be "Marjorie's Splatter" as in the film genre. I'm too tired to think of an English equivalent.>>268854487"Did you think I'd be scared of caterpillars" should be "Do you think the bug was scared of me?">>268854521"Jeremy do you not like omelettes" should be "Jeremy, your omelettes are too salty." They seem to have mixed up "karai" and "kirai">>268854782"I like you too" should be something like "You're into it too">>268854880Empty bubble was an exclamation mark.>>268855573Second to last panel. Jeremy is just saying he'll behave, not that he's rooming with a rando guy.>>268855734Missing text in the fourth panel by Nadia. "It's strange."
>>268854380>>268854404christ, no wonder Nadia is such a mess
>>268859421It's fun to read speculation from a fresh perspective. Honestly, it's been so long that I can't remember what I thought would happen the first time I read.
>>268859550hagio hire this man
>>268855292now these are the Gregs of all time
I remember Nadia getting a lot of hate back in the day and I defended her at the time because it was clear her mother issues were driving a lot of her neurotic behavior. I still believe that but christ, her behavior is beyond defense sometimes, reading this now. If she directed her resentment more towards her unfaithful boyfriend who treats her like trash that would be one thing, but she's one of the few people who knows Jeremy was molested by his step-dad and that being inconsequential to her because she's bitter he got in the way is hard to stomach.
>>268853844thanks op
>>268854626This whole situation feels like a parallel to when he was staying at school the first few weeks to avoid Greg
>>268856028;_;
>>268855180greg cockblocking yet again
>>268863593didn't notice Jer was starting to put his arms around Ian the first time, no wonder Greg was having a chuckle
>>268855180I wonder what would happen if Jeremy complied with Ian's wishes - reciprocated physically and didn't run. I think Ian would get bored, convince himself he just had a temporary homo episode and move on. He's been given what he wanted so often in his life that part of his attraction to Jeremy is that he can't control him or obtain his love.
>>268864712I think his attraction stems from a few different factors including guilt, lust, sympathy, resentment, and the unfortunate fact that he is similar to his father in many ways. His worst most domineering traits come from this last one, which is something he's going to have to reconcile with sooner or later. Jeremy is also someone who now gravitates towards a risky lifestyle now and that aggravates Ian's controlling behavior further. It's a bit of a match made in hell until one or both of them changes.
>>268855013greg's big moe eyes
>>268865351What do you think about Jeremy's attraction to Ian? Similarly complicated by multiple factors, or is it Ian's similarity to Greg driving it?
>>268866206Ian is someone who knows his crimes and can pass judgement on him, be it punishment or death. I think he's using Ian as an outlet for his guilt and his desire to pay for his crimes because deep down Jeremy thinks he deserves to suffer, so he subconsciously seeks out situations that will harm himself. But the memory of Greg is still haunting him so Ian's similarity to Greg drives him away as much as it draws him in.
>>268855281
>>268856252Unusual paneling here.
>>268854769The powergap between Lorenzo and Greg is so fucking funny. On a reread this is a black comedy.
>>268854096Marjorie just goes straight for the goal, huh
>>268854197The more I think about it, the weirder it is to send a 14 yo kid off to live with her druggie cousin who's still a student. Pascal's not in a position to be a good caretaker even if he were to become more enthusiastic about it and she's not really old enough to take care of herself responsibly either. What doctor decided this was a good idea?
>>268868815the virgin school roleplay vs the chad egg insertion
>>268854292Poor Bell is just watching all this unfold.
>>268854990>>268854996for god's sake, can he contain his horny for 5 minutes
>>268854880Can he go one day without being a brute
>>268866971That definitely fits with what we've seen this volume, especially >>268854996 >>268855180 >>268855195 and >>268855386.
ian stocks can still recover, just buy the dip bros
>>268869913She just wants to cuddle him like a giant teddybear.
>>268866971All this plus Ian is “safe”, so to speak. He knows all his crimes and demons, yet he still refuses to abandon Jeremy like everyone else has. Also keep in mind that Jeremy fell in love with him (in his own words) even before his confession.
>>268854380Do rich people just keep a pile of gifts to unwrap when they get bored?
Probably my fav volume, the bike trip chapters really encapsulate everything sick and sweet in the manga.It just works so well for every character.
>>268854487
>>268855292what is this expression trying to convey
>>268855292
>>268854580ian: heard u were talking shitjer: actually you did not hear a fraction of the shit
>>268855082we are reaching peak homo levels
>>268874822Normal rich people don't, but famous and celebrated ballerinas probably get more gifts than they know what to do with.
>>268854769Jeremyyy just say no. I know it's cause his brain is fucked up but this is like shrugging as you put your hand on a hot stove.
>>268854197Marjorie's brilliant new strategy.
>>268854380Claire evaluates her daughter's boyfriends entirely based on looks.
>>268854228we're just down to a one panel of metonymy to communicate Ian hopping on a bike to put out a fire he started now
>>268854626It's starting to feel like Ian needs to be the one in therapy.
>>268878569Yep. I want to blame his personal failings for all of this, but he does seem to need some help too.
>>268854683>wow every time i mention a traumatic incident, he reactsThis therapist truly earned her degree.
>>268854724Won't somebody think of the kidney pie?
>>268855403That has to be an insane non-sequitur from Jeremy's pov.
>>268875929greg is happy when i ask him to hand me some slices for my grilled cheese
>>268855489This sounds like a really bad idea but when has that ever stopped them
>>268855538I don't know if romantic is the word I'd use for Versailles, it was kinda gaudy from what I remember. Fancy but not the fairytale kind of castle.
Continuing from yesterday.>>268856263The interrobangs were originally text. I'm pretty uncertain on this one but I think he's chastising himself for calling out to him and saying he should just let him listen to the sound of the wind.>>268856343First blank bubble was "hey!" and second blank bubble was ellipses.That's all from this volume, though this is another one where I only checked certain lines, not a full skim.
>>268855850Ian is like 19 and he's already catastrophizing that he's gotten old and wrinkly
>>268856040Way back multiple volumes ago, Dr. Orson said that the way people were able to endure was to love another person, but this scene highlights that the concept of love has been so warped for Jeremy that he can't conceive of it anymore. To him, the act of loving is painful, so he's learned to separate the emotional side from the physical side.
When they say "Battle" they have to mean Bath, right? That's an actual town. Also did anyone notice how Ian stole Jeremy's hat
>>268882826バトル in the raw, this is what came up when I searched it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle,_East_Sussex>did anyone notice how Ian stole Jeremy's hatThe puffballs are missing, but yeah.
Fun thing about rereading Zankoku is that I always come up a conclusion that's different from the last time. Like how in the first time I read it I thought the second half was an unbearable drag, then found it brilliant and compelling upon my first reread, and now I'm rereading with everyone here and I'm finding it an unbearable drag again.
>>268883873My memory of the good parts of the second half are kind of backloaded, we're still deep in the Nadia mines. I really like when the relationship has progressed a little further and it gets more into processing Jeremy's trauma and his daily struggles with living normally.
>>268882826other anon is right, Battle is a real place in Sussex
>>268883873This is my first reread and while I still think it's a drag I now understand that recovery is a drag and think it's appropriate. Special thanks to Greg anon for injecting joy into this.
>>268884223i love the second half because the best gregs are yet to comebut in all seriousness, it has some of the most powerful scenes. i like it as much as the first part in a different way and it's the middle that drags imho
I fell behind while I was away on the weekend, and my sleep schedule has been fixed at last, but now I'm struggling to make myself catch up because this is the part where I lagged the first time I read as well. I've been far more invested in Ian than before though, thanks to everyone's teasing him in threads. Thank you as well to corrections Anon, you've answered quite some questions I had about certain pages.By the way, a historical crime podcast I was listening to had an interesting note about prostitution in the UK. Apparently during the 1920s-40s London was known as the BDSM capital of Europe, and Italian and French prostitutes comment in letters and police interviews that they had never met so many men interested in whipping and being bound with rope until they came to England (yes, those specifically). My first thoughts were "damn, Greg was not an outlier then", but turns out they meant the men wanted to be tied up and whipped until bleeding themselves. The prostitutes complained that they would receive requests not to cut their nails between visits so they could leave claw marks on the man's back and some would not be satisfied until they drew blood.Probably has little bearing on trends in 80s-90s Britain, but goes to show they'd be familiar with the kit when they saw it. It was nothing new.
>>268885169Ganbare, anon. I hope you can catch up, I'm always eager for more to join in on the discussion.>BDSM capital of EuropeThat's an interesting tidbit, even if there's probably no way to accurately measure such a thing. The worst BDSM crimes I remember hearing about happened in England though so must be something in the water there.
>>268854847Pascal is the most victimized character in this manga actually
Storytimes are always interesting to see how perspective differs from anon to anon.I really didn't expect people to dislike Ian and the second half so much, both my fav character and my fav part.
>>268886353I would say he's actually been much better received here than in any of the impressions I saw a decade+ ago. There's been lighthearted joking and empathetic analysis about him at least. Back then, people were furious at him and felt Jeremy's life would be better if he'd just back off. I quit social media before anything beyond this volume came out in English though, so I never saw if opinions on him softened later on.
>>268885169How interesting, didn't know that UK was notorious for the more extreme kink scenes. I would've thought somewhere where nudity and sex would be more welcoming, ie. places where saunas are commonplace, would be where experimentation with sexual fetishes are welcomed. I guess it was wrong to assume that those places create an environment where one could be more extreme in their sexual stuff. It is rather the inverse that is happening here.
>>268887058Yeah, sexual repression tends to be a huge magnifier of freak shit in private ime.
>>268883211>>268884192Huh, learn something new every day.
>>268889217
