I also totally feel disappointed that Ciel is not one person because that seems like an utter copout...I would have accepted it if the Undertaker had indeed resurrected [Our] Ciel's twin for some twisted reason, but I'd rather have this twin NOT be the Real Ciel. The brother could have been older but not named Ciel and our [Ciel] could have just blocked out the memory of a twin brother for his own sanity, like "Demon, I order you to close this memory off from my mind so that the past and my guilt won't blind me from my mission for revenge against those who hurt me" or something.
But yeah, like you said, twins and shit are death sentences for past character development. It renders said character development completely null and void because it's not REAL, or it's not organic and by the character's own hand, it's just *fated* because he's living a lie, and that's lame as shit.
I believe that, he can get a character development from this as he is facing a past that he hasn't deal with yet, just as we saw when he burned the mansion.
This I believe will be a strong mental challenge for ourCiel. He always believed tha what he was before was weak, and people would rather see the "Real Ciel" instead of the weak one. So yes his life has been a lie, and he will now face the consequences
Yes, that point was probably when the mangaka decided to go this route. I remember when he reacted in that manner I said 'yeah...bullshit'. It didn't work with what we knew about the character previously and his development up to that point. That was an excellent arc and his reaction made no sense. It could have made sense if we had Ciel reacting afterwards by being angry at himself and his own reaction, the humanity he failed to eradicate. A committment to gain control. It could have even led into an arc where he consciously sought out ways to desensitize himself.
But that didn't happen.
The thing about Ciel growing as a person is that we have seen this exact same psychological situation before. Where Ciel has had to confront his humanity and reorientate himself to his goals. That has always been the appeal of Ciel, that he is ruthless with his goals. This undermines his entire identity, and I'm sorry to say there's just no coming back from that. No matter what happens now, Ciel will never be Ciel again. There is one slim chance, and that's if he killed his twin coldly and without any emotional backlash. But even then, that would only work if he killed his twin for selfish reasons. If he kills his twin out of mercy, it fails.
If this doesn't pick up I might actually write something up myself so I can put this manga to rest in my mind. It's going to be so strange to not keep an eye out for the next chapter, excitedly click and then think about what's going to happen next.
I get where all of you are coming from but, I feel like this is exactly what had to happen. The twin thing admittedly is a bit overrated but, it also serves as a means for Ciel's humanity to be taken in the very beginning and turns him into the cruel, ruthless Ciel we know and love.
I also think that Ciel's absolute horror when confronted with his twin after all these years serves as a reminder of the fact that Sebastian is a heartless, emotionless demon and that Ciel is a young boy who has been put through too much. It helps us fully understand that Ciel is human and has weakness and emotions. In my opinion, I think the Mangaka developed our view on Ciel and revealed more of who he really is while, simultaneously showing us that he is different from Sebastian.
I also liked the shock of this twist and the fact that the Ciel we know has been living a lie this entire time. I think this helps make all the ruthless crimes he has committed so far more believable for a young boy because, Ciel has been living as his twin and the real him died along with his brother from the beginning. I think it's kind of like a copying mechanism for Ciel.
Of course, all of this is just my theory but, it's the feeling I get while reading this arc. I do think that the Mangaka could have came up with something more original than twins but, I'm going to continue reading to see how the Mangaka continues the story and delves into both Ciel's and Sebastian's past.
I love the series so much that I have hope this arc is going to be as interesting and complex as the others.
How Ciel reacts in this arc is going to make or break this for me.
One of the clever things in this manga is that Ciel DOES represent humanity. We see mirroring of this theme throughout the early manga. The side of humans that we like to ignore.
Sebastian is simple, he's got a goal, power and no limits. But when it comes to doing truly horrific things, that takes humanity. Sebastian is Ciel's tool, but the things he does can only happen with a human driving it. The potential for evil exists in the human mind. Sebastian's only independent act is seduction. This is expected as it's the way he lures his food. But he's impressed by the human capacity for evil, he doesn't drive it. That's Ciel's job.
I understand that the mangaka was trying to communicate that he 'killed his real self'. That's what I hate about it. It's cliche to the point of sickening. It's unimaginative and unneeded. We already had the trauma in Ciel's past and the motivation for him suppressing his empathy with the gang rape and betrayal itself. In addition to that, we had all the events reinforcing his distrust of others throughout the manga.
It is very obvious this wasn't something the mangaka planned all along. If I had to guess where she started crafting this plot twist it would have been around the time Ciel freaked out and had Sebastian burn the mansion. This plot line was out there by this point. Maybe earlier but not by much.
Let's all hope the mangaka handles this terrible plot twist well and makes it into something great. They have had a very shaky run where there have been some truly awful plot lines of late. That concerns me. But for now there's still a smidge of hope.
I get it. It's the same for me.
If Ciel 's reaction displays the true cruelty and evil within humans and doesn't portray him as a weak, sentimental person, it will add to Ciel's character. I still think that this has the makings of a good arc depending on the Mangaka's continuation. I hope we find out more about Ciel's past in this arc and maybe about the Undertaker's involvement with the Phantomhive family. I think this arc will act as a means to delve further into Ciel's family history and it's relations with evil.
I do think that previous arcs have been slight let downs but, I have hope that this arc will pick it back up. I am still an avid fan of Kuroshitsuji though so, I will probably continuing reading and loving biasedly even if the arc is a little disappointing.
My inner fangirl refuses to give up on such an excellent manga! (⌒▽⌒)
I'll be the first to admit this mangaka has led us off some steep cliffs in the past. The last few arcs were kinda 'meh'. But they have a habit of banging out a truly great one on occasion so I stick around.
This might actually be the first that gets me to leave the series.
'Ciel' is not 'Ciel'? 'Ciel' is actually a sweet little puppy dog? Meanwhile you manage to regress his character by linking his current life and choices with sentimentality? Uh...fuck you. That is not what anyone is here for. This is not a 9-year-olds first attempt at fanfiction. A professional has a responsibility to the characters they create. I was hoping this was a con right up until the final flashback. Surely this was just a clone of Ciel made to throw things out of whack? I was anticipating the 'break' where the manipulations hit a crescendo and brought us into a new killer arc. Because there was no way anyone would be stupid enough to take such an epic work in this direction.
It seems I overestimated humanity.
Thank you Toboso-san for many years of enjoyment. Your manga was creative and remains aesthetically beautiful. I will forever cherish the character I knew as 'Ciel' and his duality, the manifestation of his complex personality and of course his relationship with Sebastian. I will finish out this arc because I'm a sucker who still hopes you can turn this into something great. But if you don't, consider this one fans' goodbye, with love.