I was thinking the other day in the wee hours of the night about Mashima’s 4 main Protagonists- Haru Glory, Natsu Dragneel, Shiki Granbell, and Yakuto. Specifically how different they are from each other. and yet I think they all have the same sort of mindset. At least Yakuto, Natus, and Shiki– Haru’s a “Good Boy.” I do think that they’d all get along and be friends, but…………. Haru’s a very clear “outlier” in the group. It’s been a while since I’ve read Rave Master, and in case you haven’t noticed- my Memory. Is. TRA~SH. But from my recollection: Haru didn’t have any moments of outright threatening people who hurt their friends. At least not as directly as the other 3 have. He wanted payback on Lucia for what he did to Elie; he refused to believe that Musica was dead when they had that Underwater Adventure(Go Read It) and it made him act out; he gave into a darker power the first chance he got to face Lucia; he lashed out in rage after seeing Branch again. Moments where his Rage gets the better of him, but not “We Will Literally Fight The World If It Becomes Our Enemy” like Natsu and Shiki.
I have a whole topic about this, but I just wanted to get this out of the way. Also I didn’t have a way to open the post…… Though as you can already see, this is going to be another month of me talking about narrative/story choices I like. As it has been in previous months. Not to say that that’s a bad thing(I don’t think), but it’s starting to become something of a gag. Then again; this series is still in the single digits, so there’s not much for me to say at the moment on where the story is headed and the potential power progression for the characters. I think we might be able to start phasing that out when it comes to the double digits, or- more accurately– we’ll have enough content to where I can stop that. 2 and a half volumes by then. Speaking of, we should be getting the cover for Volume 2 at some point in the near future. Monthlies usually have about 4 chapters per volume, so chapters 5-8 should be getting compiled into a Tankoban about now.
Another thing we’ll be talking about: Yakuto’s “hunger” and a few different sports series. You’ll see in a little bit. Right now, I think I’ve put off talking about this chapter long enough. Let’s Begin. Dead Rock Chapter 9: “You Can’t Have My Prey.” I have an anecdote for all of you about the title of this post, but we’ll talk about that later………….
Overview
Picking Up From The Last Chapter(In More Ways Than One): Hien has arrived to repay a “debt” to Yakuto. He repaid it by saving him from Cougar– now he’s here on a personal matter. BACKSTORY: Cougar used to serve under Hien during his youth in Level 306 of the Demon Realm– in Fenrir Fort. Hien(Age 6) is fixated on becoming stronger, at the exclusion of things like friends. But Cougar can’t help but notice The Ladies serving at Fenrir Fort. He asks the obsessive Hien to go and “wingman” for him with one of them, promising to help him get stronger if he does a good job. But his plan Backfires To High Heaven because Hien’s the “Too Cool” type. “Accidental Rizz” I’ve heard it called. So despite his age- every made in this fortress falls for him. Drove Cougar MAD, and he would eventually come to resent Hien. And Hien doesn’t even really register it. But he CAN tell that Zelecia is Chako because she “smells the same.”
In whatever case; Cougar takes this chance to enact Article 3: “You May Kill Whoever You Don’t Like.” He heats up his fist, and Hien counters with his ice. But Cougar’s heat is higher than that. Hien tells Yakuto and Zel to leave, wanting to surpass Cougar on his own. Cougar’s Good With That, but Yakuto’s got some stake in this battle, too. This is THE Top Student At Dead Rock Academy- he possess the status, reputation, Authority that Yakuto needs to get closer to God. Whoever defeats him- gets all of that. And Yakuto wants it All for Himself. Hien is taken aback by Yakuto’s proclamation, while Zelecia is still worried about Frey. Yakuto sees in the book they grabbed to locate her that’s she’s Up And At Em- getting ready to turn Jack into a Roasted Pumpkin. Oh, and Hani’s still putting himself back together. But with the assurance that his friends are okay- he’s focused on taking everything from Cougar.
But, uh………….. it doesn’t go very well, just like before Hien got here. Hien doesn’t think Yakuto can win here, so Zelecia asks him if he(referring to Hien) could win. Hien says that Cougar’s even stronger now here than he was at Fenrir Fort. FLASHBACK: Cougar comes to tell Hien that he’s going to join Dead Rock Academy in hopes of becoming popular with women by becoming a Demon King. This sparks an idea in Hien: People in other levels of the Demon Realm say the Eternal Winter in Level 306 is the fault of the Fenrir’s. He wants to become a Demon King strong enough to end this eternal winter, and change people’s opinion of the Fenrir. Back in The Present: Yakuto’s face down in the dirt. Hien yells for him to give up, but Yakuto just gets back up again, vowing to win- if he can’t win here, then he might as well give up on facing God.
He goes back in– and gets knocked back, but not down. His determination is enough to remind Cougar and Hien of the last words that were said before Cougar left the fort: Cougar tells Hien what he needs to be Stronger- “A Heart That Won’t Give Up.” And in the end– that’s what let’s Yakuto win the battle; he knocks Cougar into a bookshelf. And though Cougar could probably keep going, he ultimately concedes, knowing he’ll never actually win against him. He claims Hien has made a “Friend Who’s Really Something.” But you remember that Gigantic Eye on the ceiling of the Library. Vice Principal Bren of The Four Demon Teachers Is Watching Them Through That, wondering if these kids are there looking for God’s weakness…………….. Dead Rock Chapter 9 END!! “Friends” might be a strong word, but then so is “ally” or even “acquaintance.” “Classmates-” but not for much longer if Hien’s mind isn’t changed………..
REVIEW
Looking at Zelecia’s character profile, you see that she’s listed as having both Black Wizard and Yatagarasu roots. Don’t know if this is just Mashima trolling or if he’s trying to tell us that she’s an example of someone with multiple roots. I don’t know if he has any plans to explore that idea, but I just felt that it’s worth mentioning. Something else about her: This chapter does expose her “priorities.” Yakuto’s, too, I think. They were trying to make sure Frey was safe first and foremost. She actually looked upset with Yakuto for prioritizing this battle rather than going to save her. While Yakuto already had confirmation that she was awake and alright, letting him focus on his current objective of facing God. They value their friends first and foremost, and then their mission. Not unlike other Mashima characters from past works, but not to their extent. I brought up Haru’s moments of anger, but there’s also Shiki and Natsu’s actions when it comes to the people they care about. In THEIR cases, their care tends to get the better of them. Yakuto seems to be able to keep his head on straight in comparison- at least so far.
Though that gets into the topic of Mashima’s Favorite theme: “Friendship.” THIS series………. doesn’t seem like it’ll tackle that idea. Even the panel in which Hien says “Don’t Want Any” in regards to having friends- that’s the type of thing that would have had a panel unto itself; a whole panel lingering on the idea of him not having any friends. Not here, though; he said it and we moved on to him wanting to get stronger. And NOW we know why. He’s trying to clear………… well, probably more his name than that of his family; I don’t know how he feels about them. But his flashback made it clear that he was something of a “prince-“ raised by the staff in charge of cleaning rather than his parents. Either way, really, he doesn’t want the reputation of plunging Level 306 into Fimbulwinter. And to get the power to stop it– he must become a Demon King. It’s not that he doesn’t believe Yakuto’s story- it’s that he doesn’t have the time to care. He’s got his own storyline going on; there’s no time to be wrapped up in someone else’s “Revenge” story. Especially when it’s actively getting in his way.
But this chapter has now put Yakuto and Hien in a rather curious position. Having defeated Cougar on nothing but his Determination; Yakuto is– now more than ever- vulnerable- down to only his right Dragon Arm and currently beaten to h#ll and back by Cougar, he’s probably at his weakest. That status he fought so hard to grab- he might lose it just as fast. Because as I said: Hien has his own story to think about. Yakuto said that Cougar was the top student at Dead Rock- the one most likely to graduate and become a Demon King. And now that’s Yakuto. What will Hien do? Is he the “honorable type” who won’t attack a wounded enemy? Or is his ambition as high as Yakuto’s? Ah, but then Yakuto wouldn’t sacrifice his friends for the sake of the mission……….. so far. It all comes down to the trait that Yakuto put on displayed in this month’s chapter: “Hunger-” the unstoppable desire to grasp what you want, and the ability to follow through on it.
It’s something I’ve noticed in a lot of Sports series…………… he said like he’s seen 10. I’ve only seen 3, and haven’t finished a single one: Haikyuu!!, Blue Lock, and Kuroko No Basket. Like all 3. And all of them feature a main character that has this……… Insatiable Desire to be better- to the point where it becomes almost detrimental to their teams at times. In the case of “Blue Lock,” that’s kind of the point, but with Haikyuu(HUGE SPOILERS UP AHEAD), I got up to a point in which Hinata- the main character- started trying to work on his own, independent of his rival/partner, Kageyama. Because he felt like he only mattered on the court– that people only ever took him seriously- when he’s on the court with Kageyama. That won’t always be the case, and he didn’t want people looking down on him. So he warned everyone going forward that he was going to start keeping his eyes open when he jumps, rather than close them. PROBLEM: It’s only BECAUSE his eyes are closed that the opponent could never tell where the ball was going to land. His “hunger” to be able to stand on his own messed up a solid plan that scored a lot of points for their team. And yet still- he wanted to be stronger on his own.
I think that this trait might be something exclusive to Yakuto; I can’t recall the other 3 having a very strong “Desire” like this- they’ Strongest Desire is the one to protect their friends. For Shiki and Haru, fighting is just the way that they have to do that. Though Natsu also enjoys combat. And yet I don’t think Yakuto is a “Battle Fiend” like that; I feel like it was more about becoming the Top Student instead of winning. Comparing these 4 is always so fascinating; all 3 of them are different from each other, and yet I feel like their core values would align. They’d all be Friends, but I think they might be wary of Yakuto.
I also wrote in my notes that Yakuto winning this fight might give him some kind of “pull” with Hien; defeating the strongest person he knew other than God himself is probably a good start at getting this guy to your side. Hien………… he strikes me as the type to respect someone’s strength if nothing else; the type who may not like you, but knows better than to cross you without a guarantee that he’ll win. Though that’s not to be confused with “Cowardice-“ he’ll fight with his all, confidently. But now he’s seen what Yakuto is made of POST Power Drainage. He now knows that- if his first attack isn’t the one that kills him- he won’t win. Does this make him an “Ally,” or does what? I don’t think so. But I do think that he’s going to stay out of Yakuto’s way from now on. Not an ally, but not an enemy; not even “standing by God’s side” like he said he would. He just has to become a Demon King before Yakuto is able to challenge God. Will this lead to a deal with Yakuto that he has to become a Demon King first? That’d certainly extend the series, and I think Yakuto would rather have peace with Hien than be at odds. Plus he has to get rid of all God’s minions before he challenges him.
Though this chapter now also makes the Vice-Fre@kin’-Principal aware of Yakuto and Zelecia’s goal. I imagine God now has all eyes on Yakuto now that he knows that Yakuto is a Black Dragon. So Bren finding him here is likely no coincidence. Neither is Lilith taking most of his power. Something about the Black Dragons is making God wary. Maybe their clan has some sort of power that can kill him? I’m sure it’s connected to God’s weakness somehow…………. though that’s assuming that they can even get that book between Hien and Bren………….
Conclusion
Oh man that fizzled out right at the end. But at the time of my writing this(Saturday, March 9th, 2024, 2:38 pm), I’m just kind of tired. Still reeling from the death of Akira Toriyama, but also a loss in my family. Not the “Best” time in my life, honestly. But………… I’m gonna keep on goin’. I’ll cry a bit, then get back up and keep moving forward. Until next time, everyone- Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, and tell your loved ones how much they mean to you. Life’s too short, so live everyday like it’s your last. ‘Til next time………………
