Ami Kirio - Tumblr Posts
Hiii I love your Iruma-kun analyses!! And since you're open to questions I wanted to ask, what do you think about Kirio and his relationship with Iruma and his ambitions?
damn, i knew someone would ask this LOL. im going to try my hardest to answer this but full disclosure, i have autism and for me, kiriro is a very difficult character to understand because of his morals (or lack there of?) and personality. For me, it's hard to understand people/characters that don't seem to be fully truthful. He's not a fav of mine (im sorry, i know people like him but i can't fully get into him at this moment. maybe if we see him interact more with baal's group.). So i'll try my best! (also i hope yall are ok with frequent posting, i am currently on winter break from college so i have nothing better to do but hyperfixate on this series lol)
Okay, so I think kirio is deeply in love and lust with iruma. I think it's farily obvious he is deeply interested in seeing iruma's "look of despair" in a attracted way, the manga calls him out for being a pervert about it. For Kiriro, Iruma is one of the first characters (besides his childhood friend of course) to ever really be nice to him. He was a friend to him and even if he wasn't being fully truthful with Iruma (like about his true motivations to getting rid of ranks) he did trust iruma with deeply personal information about himself. I think from there is where the obessesion began. Because then, he started to seeing them as kindred spirits who (similarly) went through deeply traumatic experiences in their childhoods, weaker than most, and similar personalities. For the first time, it was like he was being seen by someone (outside of baal). And I think he grew unheathilty attached to that idea of having someone so like him.
That's why I think wanting Iruma see his friends die in front of him was such a big deal for Kiriro. I said this in a different post, but the six fingers operate under the belief that people will all fall to their more primitive selves with the right push. And i think Kiriro wanted that from iruma. he wanted somone even more like him, so deeply intertwined with his experiences. Kiriro's childhood can not be understated, that shit was fucked up. And in turn that fucked him up. Not to say that he couldn't have become the way he is now without his childhood (yes i know, nature vs nurture), but I think the trauma plays a major role in this. He experienced something his brain wasn't able to understand at the time (friend being really heartbroken about the necklace + blaming himself) and according to him, THAT was when he started to long for despair. From there, he wanted another person he perceives as like him to also experience something fucked up so they'll cast away morals too, there by solidifying Iruma's place with Kiriro. Forever fucked up together
Iruma outright rejects that and Kiriro's whole world view is destroyed. Why was this person he considered an equal, a comrad, denying his "affection." His way of making sure they could be together. Kiriro projected too much of himself onto Iruma and by doing so, ignored the things that made them so different from each other fundamentally. And Iruma did the same thing to Kiriro. But Kiriro can't give up Iruma just like Iruma can't give up Kiriro. They want the other in their life but think about the world too differently. So in order to stay together, they both want the other to change, believe their way of thinking and being is better. In this way, I can understand why people ship them together even if I don't. Sort of like a tragic love
What i find interesting is that Kiriro seems to have found his space. He found the connection he was looking for. He is honestly himself (in all his fucked up glory), jokes about his pervertedness, and seems happy. But he can't get rid of the idea of Iruma coming to him. I mean, I don't blame him. It's poetically beautiful how much Kiriro is unapologetically a demon and Iruma is unapologetically a human. At odds but so alike. I think in his own messed up way, the idea of eating iruma is a way of keeping iruma always with him because he now sees he can't force iruma to bend to his ways. And he wants iruma the only way he thinks he can have him. But in the end, even this would end in tragedy.
There isn't really a happy ending to this i believe where all parties are happy. Because if iruma gets his way, ok cool. but kiriro is (at least by this point) too far gone in his belief about demon origins. Kiriro could never be happy, he would need to supress so much of himself for the sake of iruma. And if kiriro gets his way, ok cool. But now he no longer has iruma as an "enemy." the person he felt most alike and connected to is now gone. And I imagine he would just feel empty about that because shit, now he's truly gone and i have nothing else besides the memories
As for his ambitions, I honestly don't understand them besides the iruma part. It feels very, the world hurt me and now i want to see the world hurt too which has been cultivated with his trauma. sorry i can't discuss that part much but thats as far as my autism will grasp. hope you liked this despite that!
What do you think about all this mess in chapter 365? The existence of hierarchy in the society of demons was not something new, but for me it was somewhere in the background, that is, we know that demons have a ranks system but there were social elevators in it. I am asking you because I am a fan of your analysis of the mairuma universe and I am sincerely interested in hearing your opinion.
Good question!! I actually LOVE the direction the story took for the Scala test because it felt like it was going a little too well ya know? I was excited when they turned to farming because as soon as we learned about the carrots I was like, oh they should start a farm that’s the next idea. But I was like, hmm it feels too easy now doesn’t it. And then BAM fascist. But anyway, this is a great question to talk about since I previously made a post about how one of the overarching theme in the story is fascism and fighting against it through education.
The reason why I love this direction for the story is that up until now, all of the subtle hints towards more seediness and corruption has been in the background. It makes sense narratively speaking that we wouldn’t get hit with it too strongly because we like the main character are slowly learning about the world. Iruma is growing up in a relatively safe environment with him mostly being at his house, school, or a safe area like the shopping district (with some obvious exceptions to this). Iruma, having grown up in the human world, has no reason to assume or believe that there is serious systematic problems going on. Instead, he is slowly becoming exposed to this as he gets older and out into more situations where he can no longer not see it.
The signs have all been there from the start with the ranking system being the first exposure. Especially with the introduction of Kirio. The simple fact that you can get better meals if you are a higher rank in a school lunch speaks volumes to how low ranked demons are treated. Especially since we later see this stays true outside of school with Ameri and Iruma going to a segregated high rank only restaurant. And we see instances of bullying/intolerance when it comes to how students treat each other. The notable moments I remember is how the Azz fan girls treated Iruma at first when they thought he was a low rank compared to when they learned he had a higher one than they originally thought. Or the student’s comments to Kirio since he was a low rank. Or how the girls at the party treated the low rank demon girl.
We also have had the vile police system introduced to us during the Walter Park incident and when we first learned about Narnia. Prisons and the whole system is already fucked up and corrupt in the human world but it’s definitely worse in the demon world. The fact that the prisoners have to constantly give their mana up to the park not to mention the fact that it’s located underneath the park to begin with always felt gross to me. And when we first learn about Narnia, the cards start to come together. Narnia is said to treat any injustice, anything at all, on the same level. And he is shown to be cruel and ruthless in the face of what he considers crime. So if you committed tax fraud, you would probably be considered on the same level of a murderer and treated just the same. How are those even on the same level? But Narnia doesn’t care, he sees it as an opportunity to “maintain order” within the netherworld and uses that as justification for his actions. In the end, he doesn’t care about the demons he’s supposed to protect, rather he cares more about maintaining the strict hierarchy.
Add to that the fascist organization we have in the story that wants to control the netherworld to reshape it into their image. The introduction of Baal and learning about the organization kind of kicked started where the story will lead into. This has always been a story of fighting off bigotry and oppression, but it’s very subtly disguised behind what seems like a typical villain takeover plot. Because it’s subtle, we as the audience only start noticing when the themes become prevalent with the evidence stacking up higher and higher. And with the introduction of Azami, we can no longer not see what the story is trying to convey to the audience.
It’s crafted in a way to keep you unaware until we see Narnia being a full on fascist with his fascist cop buddy Azami. And the reason why it’s so effective is because the themes have always been there, just in the background. If we had all of a sudden had Azami or Narnia doing his little “maintaining order” speech without the small build up, it wouldn’t have fully hit as hard. But now that we have the Many-Ears race, a race literally known for being suppressed and subservient to higher ranks, we now see the cards fall into place. Some people wondered if the Many-Ears have done this to themselves, suppressing themselves when there was no need. But now it’s become clear that no matter how the Many-Ears came to live in this way, it’s clear that it’s not an issue of them doing this to themselves. Not fully at least. They are being used by those in power to keep them submissive to those they benefit the most. And the Many-Ears, believing they have no way of changing the system of powers, internalized and conformed to this idea as well. Being trapped in this mindset benefits the majority rule and keeps the “balance” in order. However, now they can see a better way for themselves. Now, they truly believe they have value and worth outside of being a worker for a strong ranked demon. Thus toppling over the hierarchy established.
Fascism feeds on a strict hierarchy where everyone knows their place. One cannot have fascism without it being built off the backs of those oppressed. And Narnia, being a fascist prick, has one dangerous weapon: power. He is a high rank, works within the demon border patrol, and now has become a 13 crown, one of the most powerful positions in all of the netherworld. He is almost untouchable at this current moment unless you are a fellow 13 crown (and we still don’t know how possible infighting works). The Many-Ears have no way of stopping someone like this and are basically forced to either fall into line or become seriously hurt. And even if they do fall into line, there’s no saying Azami won’t hurt them anyway. That’s the thing with cops, they can decide what goes with very little consequences (can you tell my feelings on cops?). Narnia knows, he uses this as a tool for oppression. If he has leverage, he will use it without a second thought to further his mission of control.
But here’s where education falls into the equation. The Many-Ears are no longer among the uneducated. Before, the oppressive power used their lack of knowledge to support the hierarchy. How will it work out for them if they no longer as unaware as they previously were? Once knowledge is spread, it’s hard to put a lid on it. You can’t go into their brains and erase what they know to be true. And now they are no longer fighting alone. This isn’t an us verse them battle. Fascism wants you to believe you are alone. It wants you to believe you are powerless. It wants you to believe that you are the only one that wants change. Why? Because there’s power in people, in community. No matter what happens in the next few chapters, they have people that care and want to see change too. And luckily for the Many-Ears, they have powerful allies too. One person alone can make change but a community of people can make an even greater change. And that is the reason why I love this story so much 🫶🏽
Sorry for how long this post was, I just saw this question and I’ve been dying to talk about this since the chapter dropped because I LOVE the themes of this story so much. And I love the anti cop mentality of both the main line story and the mafia story 🤭
Same bitch different font
