“Monster rats are human”
This was meant to be the major twist at the end, but it’s strongly hinted at throughout the show. From episode 3 when the false minoshiro suggests that humans without Power survived into the present day, I figured that monster rats, a humanoid sentient race, must be connected somehow. By the time this fact was confirmed in the last episode, it was hardly a surprise. However, this isn’t inherently a bad thing. If all the value in the twist is the surprise, then it’s not really serving the story. It’s just cheap shock value. As it became increasingly obvious that the Monster Rats were some sort of branch of humanity, it created a level of dramatic irony where most of the characters were acting unaware that they were killing humans without repercussions. It did raise some practical questions (such as “how exactly does the death of shame work? Is it based on appearance, a biological marker, psychological conditioning, or some combination of these factors?”). That said, it was a well executed element of the story, even if it might have benefitted from being “revealed” earlier.
“Squealer did nothing wrong”
Yeah this is partly a meme, but I felt it was important to address. Squealer was a revolutionary, and from a narrative perspective, it’s understandable that he felt justified in using any means necessary to overthrow his human oppressors. From a moral and ethical perspective though, Squealer did everything wrong. Almost every single action that Squealer took could be considered a
war crime. “Intentional murder of innocent people?” He led indiscriminate raids on human villages which resulted in the slaughter of countless innocent bystanders. “Torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments?” I’d say tying people up in cocoons and hanging them from hospital windows would qualify as this along with “taking of hostages.” The list goes on, and that’s NOT to say that the humans did nothing wrong either. Their means of combat also consisted of several immoral war crimes and atrocities. Ultimately this whole narrative device is the most allegorical, although it’s not one where either side can be considered morally in the clear. Associating the actions of either side with any real world events should be considered in context, especially coming from a nation that was
guilty of some truly horrific things. That said, this meme should be killed, along with
“Hitler did nothing wrong.” There’s no benefit to making such blanket statements other than making bad jokes, inciting division, or trolling.
“The subconscious and the conscious mind”
Shun’s most dramatic scene comes at the end of episode 10 when he reveals himself to be what the show calls a “Karmic demon” a person unable to control their Power leaking out of their subconscious. The idea of manifesting human subconscious desire into an allegorical demon was a great device with interesting implications, but I felt like it was never explored again. Shun was literally erased from the memories of the cast and referred to only as “that kid we forgot about,” but for the most part his revelations from the first part of the show were completely disregarded. I felt like they set up a very interesting question, whether or not our conscious mind or our subconscious desires are really in control of our person. While this theme was touched upon perhaps tangentially through things like Saki and Maria’s relationship, Karmic Demons as a device disappeared from the story which was disappointing.
“From the New World”
Finally, let’s talk about the ending. There were several options for the ending that could have been explored, but what the writers chose was perhaps the most optimistic. In the face of all the tragedy and loss, our protagonists take their discovery of the truth and decide to try and change the world for the better. They overcome the destruction of their entire worldview to try and rebuild the world right. That, umm,
sounds familiar. I wasn’t by any means disappointed with the ending. I think it’s an important message to share that even if communities have done wrong, even committed atrocious crimes against humanity, that individuals with a conscience can lead them back towards what is good. For example, Squealer's punishment of eternal torture was unjustifyable, and Saki in her own conscience acted to rectify that. It may be a small action on the scale of a war resulting in massive destruction and slaughter, but it was the right thing to do. If there’s any lesson that can be elicited from Shinsekai Yori, this is in my opinion the most important one.
