|
Well... after finally reading book 6, I can see why people might not like Kazuki's change so much. While I did enjoy his firmer conviction in book 4, I felt like book 6 did take it a bit too far. Even Kazuki himself is aware of his radical change.
Daiya on the other hand was beautifully written. Back when I only read the first volume, I never would have expected such a complex and complete character along with a circle of relationships that seems to have so much history behind it.
If I ignore Kazuki's side to all this and just look at this volume as Daiya'd personal quest, where he aims to become a hero to save the good and punish the "bad" for lofty, grand ideals, only to realize that he's a flawed human who acted for more personal reasons from the very beginning, it's complete story from start to finish.
As for Kazuki and Maria's relationship... I'm not sure what to make of it. On one hand, I still enjoy what the guy stood for: not just Maria Otonashi as the girl he wants to save, but as a mere boy who believes that what everyone is looking for can be found through less supernatural and more "ordinary" means - or if it can't, it's still possible to find some fragment of happiness left. After all, in the end most "box" users never had their wishes granted from the wish they made in the beginning, but by regular people who reached out to them. Kasumi Mogi never got to win over Kazuki with her box, but she was still able to resolve her feelings that she regretfully couldn't complete because of the motorcycle accident. Daiya's lofty goals to punish the ignorant aside, he simply wanted a way for Kokone to be happy, and in the end all it really took was for both of them to bear their scars and talk to each other again.
In the end, the resolution of each individual character's story just reinforces what Kazuki stands for: the fact that the boxes do not really give them the magical miracle they seek.
However, I can't help but feel like Kazuki's character has taken a downturn. Sure, I could take the fact that he what he did to Kokone as a "counter-theme" to Aya's, where he is willing to accept that the means to reach the end that he desires will never be perfect while Aya is unwilling to compromise or bend any of her principles to get what she wants, which is what led to her defeat. She didn't want to hurt anyone, which made it harder on Daiya to win. She didn't want to sacrifice Kokone, which is what led her to lose Daiya's box...
... but even if Kazuki is "right", he still comes off as very unappealing. Sure, Kazuki's desire for Maria can be seen as a bit of selfishness that Aya lacks, but it comes off obsessive in this volume. Ideally I would want a "hero" or a protagonist of a story to come off as appealing or at least understandable, but in that sense this would be Kazuki's weakest showing yet.
|