Hereâs a hot take: OurCiel didnât inherit asthma. Â
And as we all know, OC was extremely sickthe next morning and couldnât go on the boating trip. Honey might have been in the milk, but Iâm betting there was something else in the milk. A lot of poisons are sweet, and are only lethal in certain amounts.Â
And then, fast forward to much laterâ Â
Why wouldnât he be coughing and unspeakably ill in such deplorable, utterly filthy conditions? Heâs a sickly child, after all. With an Aunt who is a doctor with the best care he could have had he was often sick at home. After all the abuse he was subjected to in such a terrible place for MONTHSâ no coughing? Nothing?Â
This is the first thing RCiel says to his brother. He scolds him for being outside in the rain and delivers this line. Theory: Real Ciel was hiding some dark, dark turmoil as a small child. From everyone, even his own family, his twin, and his dear butler. Likely he had a serious case of munchausen by proxy.
While RC may or may not be the mastermind behind everything, he had problems well before he became a bizarre doll.Â
While OC was later shown having asthma attacks, it very well could have been asthma induced by the poisons he was subjected to as a small child, between the ages of five, to ten.  If he was indeed poisoned for five years it surely had some effect on his health and lungsâ but it would not be as predictable and as simple to treat as an ordinary case of naturally inherited asthma.Â
Just a little note from someone with asthma.
If your asthma is acting up, milk is the last thing you want to drink. It can trigger a really bad asthma attack. Iâve had it happen to me before.
More DBS Movie news. Toriyama very heavily involved, had the story written since June of 2017, the story is described as a âSpace Operaâ and reportedly pretty lore-heavy.
William T. Spears. Itâs so easy to write him off as a bland, one-note character. Heâs that strict boss that no one actually wants to be around. He has little personality beyond being cold and demanding. Heâs stiff and emotionless.
But is that true?
Ever since I started taking a deeper look at William, I canât help but feel thereâs so much more to him â something that lurks just beneath the granite like surface. Itâs something that Iâve written about in the past, and Iâve scoured every piece of the manga looking for that one little clue or hint to the truth about William. Now, Iâve decided to tackle Williamâs character song, Shinigami no Kintai Kanri or Discipline of Diligence of the Death Gods. Here is one version of the English translation that I found online:
***
On Monday I reap souls.
On Tuesday I hold a meeting of the management team.
On Wednesday I summon the dispatched death gods.
On Thursday I wear a pure-white shirt.
On Friday I select a good necktie.
On Saturday I watch cinematic records.
These flawless rules must be quietly obeyed daily.
I wonât allow even a brief hair-sized disturbance.
I discipline the foolish death gods and keep all the death records,
as the dust-free soundless library freezes solid.
After Iâve strictly finished my work, and have only loneliness to unravel,
my firmly darkly bitterly clinging memories grow low and distant.
On Monday there is a depressing rain.
On Tuesday I scold the rule-violators.
On Wednesday I kick Grell Sutcliff.
On Thursday I work overtime.
On Friday I retrieve souls.
On Saturday I hunt those demon eyesores.
I decline all the annoyingly incomplete applications,
but the piles of problems waiting for me are extremely unpleasant.
The endlessly pointless work and the stupid mistakes made by others
will disrupt the balance of the aesthetics of the glass walls and ceiling.
These unforgivable deviations, this imbalance caused by laziness,
and my schedule crumbled, ripped, torn, and soiled⊠Iâll have to work overtime again today.
I complete the difficult tasks and restore the order of hard steel.
I embrace closely my cool-headed rationality in mistâs shadow.
Iâll take down purgatoryâs wall if there should ever be one,
even if I might end up losing my arms, my voice, and my nails.
That delicate clockâs hands are playing music in the stillness;
if only that clock is the god governing the entirety of my heartâŠ
Iâll kill lives without hesitation. Grant, weave, and praise
the balance and hope of all, in this dark world where even words glaciate,
grievously.
***
As I read through this song, and discussed it with intoâtheâabyss, another image began to emerge. To me, I see a lonely struggling man thatâs clinging on as best he can, but slowly losing hope and perhaps even a sense of self. Please allow me to dissect this song a bit deeper to show you what I mean. Letâs start with the first part.
***
On Monday I reap souls.
On Tuesday I hold a meeting of the management team.
On Wednesday I summon the dispatched death gods.
On Thursday I wear a pure-white shirt.
On Friday I select a good necktie.
On Saturday I watch cinematic records.
These flawless rules must be quietly obeyed daily.
I wonât allow even a brief hair-sized disturbance.
***
This is definitely someone with a plan or schedule in mind. He has everything laid out exactly as he plans to proceed, and heâs paying attention to both what needs to be done as well as appearance. He has a meeting scheduled, but heâs also wearing a pure white shirt and choosing a good necktie. It appears the aim is to look the part as well as perform it. He wonât allow for any deviations. Itâs also interesting to note thereâs a certain purity as itâs a white shirt and the rules are flawless. While this part of the song doesnât sound particularly happy or cheerful, William does seem to have things under control.
***
I discipline the foolish death gods and keep all the death records,
as the dust-free soundless library freezes solid.
After Iâve strictly finished my work, and have only loneliness to unravel,
my firmly darkly bitterly clinging memories grow low and distant.
***
Now, thereâs a bit of a transition. Initially, William was singing only about a schedule, the things he had planned to do each day â which was strictly work. Here we see the first sad, depressing imagery. First, he has do discipline the foolish shinigami and keep all the death records. That doesnât sound too bad, but the next three lines have a definite change in tone. The library is dust free and is freezing solid. Thatâs a strange image. Why would a library freeze solid? Is it because itâs a cold, emotionless place or has become frozen in time somehow? Also, while William is strictly doing his work, doing precisely what seems to be expected of him, but his only reward is loneliness. That last line is perhaps the most telling of that part. He is âbitterâ memories that are growing low and distant. What memories are these? Perhaps these are his memories of being human. Since the memories are growing distant, maybe he is forgetting, or trying to forget, his own humanity.
***
On Monday there is a depressing rain.
On Tuesday I scold the rule-violators.
On Wednesday I kick Grell Sutcliff.
On Thursday I work overtime.
On Friday I retrieve souls.
On Saturday I hunt those demon eyesores.
***
At first glance, this looks to be just more of a schedule, but thereâs no way that one for schedule for rain or know with certainty they are going to be scolding someone on a certain day. Also, the rain on Monday is depressing. For someone who displays so little emotion, heâs using a lot of emotional adjectives. This almost reads like someone whoâs still trying to schedule everything, still clinging to this order, but itâs slowly slipping as there is simply things that canât be planned. He even already knows heâs going to have overtime.
***
I decline all the annoyingly incomplete applications,
but the piles of problems waiting for me are extremely unpleasant.
***
William is still a perfectionist. He wonât accept any paperwork that isnât done correctly, yet he knows that this is only adding more work for him. Despite him being seen as someone who doesnât mind, he finds all of this work, in his own words, unpleasant. He could turn a blind eye and save himself some work, but he doesnât or perhaps feels he canât for some reason.
***
The endlessly pointless work and the stupid mistakes made by others
will disrupt the balance of the aesthetics of the glass walls and ceiling.
These unforgivable deviations, this imbalance caused by laziness,
and my schedule crumbled, ripped, torn, and soiled⊠Iâll have to work overtime again today.
***
Williamâs work is endless, but itâs not his fault. Heâs responsible for the mistakes and failings of others. Heâs desperately trying to control something that is uncontrollable. The schedule heâs work so hard to build up and maintain has been destroyed. At the same time, the second line might paint a slightly different picture as he talks of glass walls and ceiling. Is William saying that heâs living in a âglass house?â Is he blaming others for mistakes he sees in himself? He talks about an imbalance caused by laziness. Does he consider himself lazy? Despite him saying that these problems are caused by mistakes made my others, perhaps heâs blaming himself and taking more personal ownership of the mistakes then heâs openly admitting.
Thereâs also the possibility that these glass walls represent walls or a shield that William has built around himself. Although heâs trying to protect himself, the walls are still very breakable and, being glass, cause William to feel that heâs exposed. Heâs put up a front that he has no feelings, yet some of the lyrics of this song shows that he does and can feel. Perhaps William is afraid that others are aware he isnât as cold as he tries to portray.
***
I complete the difficult tasks and restore the order of hard steel.
I embrace closely my cool-headed rationality in mistâs shadow.
Iâll take down purgatoryâs wall if there should ever be one,
even if I might end up losing my arms, my voice, and my nails.
***
Although he feels that he canât get ahead because of the endless paperwork, heâs determined to push ahead. Itâs all about order for William. Heâs stuck in all this chaos, and heâs determined to order. Heâs rational even if the world around him as unsubstantial as mist. Even if destroys him, heâs going to move forward.
The line about purgatory is also of interest to me. When I first read the line, I thought William was basically saying heâd take on even Hell in order to succeed. However, being a shinigami, a human who has died but is now being punished in a sort of limbo, actually fits the idea of purgatory. Maybe William isnât saying heâll take on Hell, but heâll face this existence and heâs going to keep pushing forward in hopes of an escape, even if it destroys his body.
***
That delicate clockâs hands are playing music in the stillness;
if only that clock is the god governing the entirety of my heartâŠ
Iâll kill lives without hesitation. Grant, weave, and praise
the balance and hope of all, in this dark world where even words glaciate,
grievously.
***
Time is the major image in this final part. The clock is music, but it doesnât govern his heart. (And thereâs a part about his heart and emotions again.) At the same time, in this dark world ever words âglaciate.â We have the movement of time, yet even the words are frozen. While the two ideas seem contradictory, it makes sense that William is very aware of time as heâs counting down his âsentence.â He likes to hear the ticking of the clock and to know that time as passing, yet in this dark world time seems endless â or frozen. Still, William is determined. Heâll kill without hesitation, or so he says. Heâs willing to do whatever â grant, weave, or praise.
This is my analysis of Williamâs character song. I see a man whoâs trapped. Heâs been an impossible job of trying to bring order to chaos, but heâs trying. Heâs sealed up emotions, but he still has feelings. Heâs isolated and alone â as frozen up emotionally as the realm is frozen in time. Despite all this, heâs determined and heâll keep trying.
This completely says everything about him. Iâve thought some of these things for quite awhile, but I hadnât even heard of this song. He truly does sound pained and trapped.:(
Quick:
what are a few adjectives to describe William?
Cold. Â Distant. Â Detached.
Emotionless.
It
certainly seems that wayâŠ.but this manga has a way of playing with our
expectations. Â Because Lizzy is just a
cute little anime girl who could never defend herself, right? Â Mey-Rin is just a clumsy maid. Â Undertaker is just a harmless, but eccentric
old man. Â I could go on. Â So then, what does this mean for cold,
distant, emotionless dispatch supervisor William T. Spears?
Following
that above logic, then: thereâs perhaps more to Will than he lets on.
It
took me a little while to think of all this; and much credit goes to @eviltwintheory , whose extensive conversations helped us both to see William in
a different light.
Hereâs
a few things about William that might reveal some hidden depth:
A reaper, alone?
In
the Circus arc, he is shown perched on a roof, looking down at the Circus
troupe, reflecting on the situation at hand; he is no longer the comic relief
tightrope walker; donning his usual black suit and gloves, he has now become a
lone observer of a group of people whose souls he has to judge. Â With such gravity and seriousness, he
reflects on the situation at hand, which is about to come to intensify into
tragedyâa tragedy he knows is coming beforehand.
How
would it feel to live with a group of people whose time and cause of death you
knew ahead of time, and whose souls you had to collect when they died violent
deaths?
He
also likely witnessed the children in the Kelvin manor being burned to
death. Â Itâs easy to miss, but he hides
himself from view as Sebastian and Ciel arrive:
In
the next scene, he is still on the roof, waiting for backup to arrive. Â He was likely there the whole time.
What
would it be like to witness the death of a group of imprisoned childrenâwhose
death was caused by a demon under the orders of a traumatized thirteen-year-old
boyâknowing full well there was nothing you could to do stop such a tragedy?
While
many, if not all, reapers face situation, what would this be like for
someone who is painfully aware of their situation?
He
also seems to be alone amongst his own coworkers; in his character song, he
longs to live up to a perfect ideal; he craves an impossible sense of order in
a hopeless, cold world, and under the weight of his own memories and
shortcomings, he has nothing to comfort himself but his own loneliness:
He
is plagued by memories, unable to let go, and he has nothing to keep him
company other than his own solitary ruminations. Â Perhaps he is so detached, so unable to reach
out to anyone, that he thinks he deserves his own loneliness.
The
Cover for Chapter 27 also shows that William is prone to solitary contemplation:
Yana
drew him, sitting alone, going through the To-Die book with the caption:
âTo think and think, to ponder and ponder.
However, I cannot finish on time.â
What is there to ponder and think about, exactly? Â As Will says himself, isnât a reaperâs job to
collect souls and nothing more?
She
couldâve easily drawn him stressed out and complaining about overtime, but
instead we get a lonely, contemplative image suggesting a quiet, inner
struggle.
The
Lectures About Emotion
William
is prone to lecturing subordinates about how emotions should never be a part of
the job. Â The timing of these lectures
is, however, often quite curious.
Right
after Will witnesses the death of the children at the Kelvin manor, Ronald
arrives and says how it would be easier to be at the Phantomhive manor instead. Â William says that is unfortunate, then
launches in a lecture about how a reaper should focus on the task at hand and
leave emotions out of the job.
The
interesting thing is that Ronald isnât particularly emotional here. Â So who, then, is the lecture really intended
for? Â Could it be, that after witnessing
such an awful scene, William himself was affected by what happened, and that
lecture was more of a reminder to himself?
Perhaps
William is more sensitive than he lets onâand his cold, detached demeanor is a
way for him to distance himself from the nature of his work. Â Otherwiseâit might be too much to bear.
His
other lecture about emotions comes right on the heels of William recalling a
traumatic experience during his early days as a reaper. Â He had almost âdiedâ while collecting Thomas
Wallisâs soul; which seemed to be an emotional experience for him. Â In light of this, his lecture on judging
souls without emotion and without incident is rather telling. Â Though this happens in the reaper OVA, it
does seem in keeping with Will in manga canon.
The
B Student
Also
in the reaper OVA, it is revealed that by-the-rules William is no perfect
student, but instead is a straight B-student.
Given that he seems rather perfectionist, could it be frustrating (and perhaps
depressing) to continuously fall short of his ideal goal? Â I get the sense that he is rather hard on
himself; though he is harsh to his subordinates, he very well may be the
harshest with himself. Â The lyrics in his
character song about longing for an impossible goal further illuminate this.
Upholder of shinigami ethics
William
seems to strive to embody the ideal grim reaper: solemn, dignified,
serious. Â Dealing with a demon offends
him to his core; it is likely he deeply believes in these ethics and doctrines
quite passionately. Â When someone
violates these ethics, be it demon or shinigami, it therefore might wound him
quite personally. Â He takes the
principles of his job to heartâand that could set him up for bitterness and
frustration when reality turns out to be less than ideal.
Nervous
habits
The
character guide implies that Willâs constant glasses adjusting is something of
a nervous habit. Â What does he have to be
nervous about, I wonder?
He
also can barely tolerate being within 50 feet of Sebastian during the Circus
arcâwhereas other reapers donât seem that bothered by Sebastian. Â Is this just a fussy little quirk of hisâor is
there more to his hatred for demons?
He
also doesnât take kindly to having his behavior pointed out to him, if his
reaction to Ciel laughing at him is any indication:Â
Stuck
in a hopeless situation?
He
has a temper, that much is certain, and he always seems under pressure by some
sort of higher-up. Â He also seems to have
little control over his situation, given that the personnel department chooses
who accompanies him. Â Shepherding Grell
and Ronald while having to do his own work is also quite the responsibility,
too.
He
might very well be middle managementâforever stuck between his subordinates and
the higher upsâdealing with pressure on both ends, and stuck in a situation
that is often beyond his grasp. Â He
nonetheless does what he is supposed to do, but his situation could be quite
frustrating to him, especially since he seems to crave order and control over
his life.
Therefore:
All
these little clues are like tiny windows into Williamâs character: he may seem so
cold and distant to be almost unknowable, but perhaps these little glimpses all
add up when taken together. Â It may very
well be that his nervous habits, wistful longing about loneliness and order,
and perfectionism all result in a man who possesses much hidden depth.
Whether it is uncovered, however, remains to be seen.
But
in the meantime, try to look at William T. Spears a little bit more closely,
and you might notice something beneath the surfaceâŠ
YESSSS, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. This is exactly how I read William. You just canât take him at face value. (Or any of Yanaâs characters really.)
And this is why I love Kuroshitsuji so much. Especially the reapers. There is much depth and hidden mystery to the characters. It’s really fascinating. There truly is so much more to the characters and story than meets the eye.
A post made by @redladydeath the other day about Grell and William showing emotions made me really think about all the Shinigami and their emotions. When I started considering the matter, the Shinigami we see the most often do seem to have some issues.
Grell:
Grell is easily the most emotional of the Shinigami. In fact, itâs rare to see her calm and quiet. Even when sheâs alone, sheâs complaining or displaying a talent for innuendos. Even after killing Madam Red, she took the time to lecture the corpse.
But itâs not always clear about how genuine Grellâs emotions are most of the time. Everything is so over the top. It seems as if most of what we see is an act or at least an exaggeration.
William:
On the surface, William seems like Grellâs exact opposite. Heâs not overly emotional at all. In fact, he almost acts as if he doesnât feel. The only emotions heâs really displayed much is the occasional annoyance or anger.
This isnât to say he doesnât feel. He makes a speech about how itâs pointless to bring emotions to their work, but itâs seems odd to say such a thing unless you do feel.
I think he does feel, but he tries to hide the fact he has these emotions. In fact, heâs more like Grell then he first appears. Both are hiding deeper emotions but doing it in exactly opposite ways. Grell exaggerates every little thing in order to hide what sheâs truly feeling, while William pretends to feel very little.
Ronald:
On the surface, Ronald seems the most easy going of the three. He likes to have fun and flirt. His emotions donât seem exaggerated nor is he hiding the fact he feels. At the same time, he can casually flirt with a woman he knows is about to die.
I donât think Ronaldâs actually cold-hearted, but that does seem a bit crude. This leads me to another possibility. Ronaldâs smile and easy nature could be his method of hiding his deeper emotions. He might be doing the exact thing as Grell and William but in his own way.
It seems possible that this is a common problem for Shinigami. They were human and still have some of the same emotions. However, feeling too much when your job is collecting souls and watching people die could drive you insane. Many Shinigami would have to come up with defense mechanisms, which is what is happening with Grell, William, and Ronald.
Undertaker was a Shinigami for what we assume was a long time. The way heâs always searching for laughter could have actually been the method that he learned to cope. Also, like the others, his actual emotions can be hard to read.
Whatâs interesting to me, however, is that the only Shinigami we know that has deserted, is the only one weâve seen openly cry.
Thoughts?
So slightly jacking this post to add thoughts:
Okay I know a lot of people would argue using musical canon is iffy but Yana has adhered to literally every other bit of musical canon as far as the ârulesâ of shinigami apply. Theres a line in Shinigami Haken that actually somewhat addresses this. As They are going through their rules this line comes up-
Number 5! We work coldly without even a smile.
The fact that this is an actual rule not just a habit of theirs, is curious. Also looking at musical canon this is probably predominantly to avoid risk of Thorns, which is something that hasnât been exactly touched upon in the Manga. In short The Thorns are contracted when a soul destined to die becomes vengeful and fight against the reaper and eventually will kill them, it wasnât named but shown in the Tale of the Shinigami William OVA, and in TMBDitW Alan is stated to have been sympathetic to the souls he reaped and allowed them to attack him.Â
That being said I highly doubt this is the ONLY reason for the rule but it could be a reason.Â
With how much Undertaker is lingering on those amulets, with his experiments of trying to reanimate the dead, he might of cared ALOT about some people he had to reap.
Heres where things get real interesting. There is no known cure for the thorns. Theres only the rumor of collecting 1000 pure souls (collecting not reaping there is a distinctive difference). Even in TMBDitW we dont know if it would work since Eric only reached 999.Â
Grell got reprimanded for killing a few people not on the list. Eric was going to be not just eliminated but any and all record of his existence was going to be wiped out.
Now Im not saying that Undertaker cares way too much about (some) mortal lives, developed the thorns, and went rogue trying to cure himself so he can continue trying to find a way to save those he loved⊠but Yana choosing the point of time to bring Eric and Alans death into manga canon seemed fishy to me and im totally saying undertakerÂ
In the Kuroverse there are a plethora of Grim Reaper characters, with at least 9 distinct Grim Reaper personalities all meddling with the human world. But why would Yana Toboso bother to include so many Grim Reapers? Surely one or two could get the single job they all do (reaping souls so you can see backstory) done? (like Scotland Yard with its 2 members)
A characteristic the Grim Reapers share is boredom (like the Undertaker, William, Ludger) or a longing for innovation in their monotonous jobs, and lives (Grell, Ronald, Sasha, Othello).
Sashaâs reaction goes to show how boring and unchanging the Grim Reaper world is. The Grim Reaper institution as complained about by many, is a strict and rigid society.
And when you want to start a revolution, you need multiple people to make an impact. So the Undertaker could be helping them in a revolution to change the way their society is run, bringing attention to his work to give them a shock or bribe with the reanimated corpses that seem to be causing trouble for them, so that the world of the Grim Reapers is ultimately reformed, allowing more innovation and individuality, and better working conditions, and help for those who are sick
(A reference to the Musical âthe most beautiful death in the worldâ, in which Alan and Eric leave the Grim Reaper department because Alanâs rare illnesses requires a sacrifice of one thousand souls to be cured).
Why does William hate overtime so much anyways. What are the hobbies he does outside of work? Not organising a revolution group I hopeâŠ
(In the official translation, the words to piss him off are âIâve always been part of the anti- overtime school to begin withâ) I see him as the mostly likely candidate for the leader because why act like such a goody-two-shoes, punishing everyone for breaking rules he knows off by heart, when he clearly hates his job, and doesnât want to be there doing it for a second longer than he has too?
Basically every character introduced by Yana Toboso plays a further role somewhere down the track (and if they donât, they die), so Iâm pondering the role of the abundance of Grim Reaper characters.
We know basically NOTHING about the supernatural elements of the Kuroverse, especially the home worlds and societies of demons and Grim Reapers, so I donât really have any hard evidence for or against this Shinigami uprising theory, itâs just food for thought.
đ„ There is beauty in destructionđ„ 