In the hope that, one day, maybe in a year or two, someone will read NT 14 and join me in discussing it, I shall share my thoughts on it.
New Testament volume 14, eh? Despite how many books came out, the story just keeps getting more interesting and the writing keeps getting more amazing. Despite how many times we witness Kamijou Touma in action, there’s always new things to learn about him.
First off, Kamijou’s newly-established definition of evil:
Evil is created when someone gives up on someone else. It appears when everyone gives up on someone as a lost cause and removes their path to salvation. Once they are cut off from everyone else, they become evil. Just look through history and you’ll understand. What is the difference between a murderer who kills a single person and a great hero who kills one million? It has nothing to do with the person himself. It comes down to whether everyone else accepts him. It’s an issue of majority rule.
~ Othinus - To aru Majutsu no Index New Testament vol. 14
Othinus poited out two things:
1. Kamijou Touma is not a hero who crushes evil. He’s a hero who won’t give up on anyone. Not once did he kill his enemy. Not once did he give up on them. That’s what makes him unique. And that’s why, an additional offensive power would not make him stronger.
2. Kamijou Touma does not carry the burden of the entire world on his own. He doesn’t have to solve every problem or feel responsible for everything.
So as I was reading NT 14, I’ve been wondering what exactly Kamisato Kakeru’s role was. Was he supposed to be an alternative what-if version of Kamijou Touma, just like Aureolus Izzard was back in Volume 2? The author described Aureolus as the “failed version”, the kind of guy Touma might have become if he would have failed to save Index in Volume 1. So what about Kamisato Kakeru? He’s the kind of normal high school boy one could find anywhere. But unlike Kamijou, he clings to the term ‘normal’ and rejects everything that strays from the path of normalcy. He despises his power, those who have granted it to him and basically everything that happened ever since he became the world rejecter. In other words, is he a hero who hates being the protagonist? He will save girls and confront the mightiest foes. He’s in the same position as Touma, yet they are enemies due to how differently they feel about that position. Touma saves anyone who needs to be saved while Kakeru destroys evil. Touma is driven by his sense of justice while Kakeru is driven by the desire for vengeance. Touma is the “Harem accepter” (xD), while Kakeru rejects all the girls’ feelings as unnatural. Touma always aims for the perfect solution while Kakeru only accepts realistic solutions.
So the Kamijou faction is made up of those who were saved in a way they could only hope for while the Kamisato faction consists of girls who gave up hope for a perfect ending and took matters in their own hands?
I just LOVED this volume’s clash of ideals. Kamisato’s view of the world really scared me, but I actually believed he was right for just a short while until Kamijou crushed his reasoning.
As for Kihara Noukan, I really feel bad for him. It’s a damn shame he had to leave the game board so early. Between like and dislike, I definitely liked him. I didn’t expect someone as gentle as him to be so high up in the rankings of academy city. Speaking of which… Aleister is being portrayed way more positively than ever before, isn’t he? I mean, he still sacrificed Noukan for his plan, but he was being… human about it. Ever since NT 13, he’s not being the creepy, inhuman upside-down guy pulling the strings and using friend and foe as pawns in his game. He’s the human, emotion-driven upside-down guy pulling the strings and apologetically using friend and foe in order to accomplish one great goal. And I really really want to know what that goal is.
With Noukan leaving the battle, we can expect Kihara Yuiitsu to join in his stead. She’s aiming to suprass her master. Could it be that Aleister sacrificed Noukan precisely in order to make an even stronger chess piece out of Yuiitsu?
There’s one thing about this volume that I found extremely strange. That is the world rejecter itself. World rejecter attacks by touching touching the target’s shadow with its own. That’s like a simple spell, isn’t it? Kamisato Kakeru can be defeated as easily as any other magician once you figure it out, right? So how could he defeat magic gods with just that? He may have the ultimate attack that can’t be defended against, but shouldn’t evading it be fairly easy? How could someone as inexperienced as Kamisato destroy the power of a veteran like Kamijou? Did they just let the ultimate shield and the ultimate sword collide head on and the shield lost? How could he defend against Kihara Noukan’s attacks? He had lasers. That stuff travels at the speed of light, doesn’t it?
It’s… very weird.
Finally, Kamachi Kazuma-sensei talked about destroying safe zones. So which safe zones will be the next to be destroyed? Perhaps Aleister’s windowless building?
The kind of normal high school boy you can find anywhere is someone who can become a hero at any time if they happen to see someone in need!!!
~ Kamijou Touma - To aru Majutsu no Index New Testament vol. 14
