Line #164 Analysis/BlazBlue


1	Some analysis of certain aspects in VideoGame/BlazBlue.
2
3	! Ragna's Beliefs
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5	Ragna, the feared Grim Reaper, has contradictory views on the afterlife. He fears ghosts, implying he at least believes there is life after death. But at the same time he denounces the existence of Hell.
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7	** It's called 'Shinto'.
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9	! Boundary Corruption Counter 101
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11	So with EXTEND, we found another one who can survive passing through the Boundary: Makoto. With that, we can deduce on how the Boundary corrupts, how fast, and what either completely destroys or slows down the corruption. In Makoto's case, we knew she was completely focused on ThePowerOfFriendship, her bonds with Noel and Tsubaki. And that allowed her to survive intact. Thus, we can conclude that the power of bonds are very important. Next up, Hakumen also survived. Considering he's Jin, it's very probable that he survived 'due to sheer will' AND the bonds between him and Tsubaki AND Ragna (yes, Hakumen is less obsessed, but doesn't mean he no longer respects his brother). And possibly, the rest of Six Heroes except Terumi (he still had high opinion on Jubei at least). Then there's Litchi, whose corruption seemingly slowed down. She focused on saving Arakune with ThePowerOfLove, but at one point, she was distracted by giving care on the people on Orient Town. The focus on saving Arakune was her biggest stalling method for the corruption, but when she slowly forgot her purpose and thought she's better off killing him in CT, the corruption acted up and started picking up the pace. However, at her true end, she probably realized that if she lost focus on Arakune, that's the moment the Boundary will catch up to her. Even then, the bonds she shared with the likes of Carl, Taokaka and Bang were also strong enough, that she still tried to remember them despite signing up with NOL, therefore she probably has more chance to survive the corruption.
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13	And then... Lotte Carmine? How did he fail alone while the rest 'succeeded'? Simple. If you recall his sane self, we already know he's an utterly antisocial, glory-seeking scientist. He believed in making the glory for himself only and completely refused to form a bond with Litchi, even if it's just friendship, he considers her utter annoyance. His quest of glory got mirred with how Kokonoe treated her, hitting on his inferiority complex. Thus, when he tapped into the Boundary, he has no focus (his quest for glory became doubtful and unfocused due to his inferiority complex) nor bonds (LonersAreFreaks) to keep his mind occupied, therefore easily corrupted into Arakune. It was only later after he turned into Arakune that he remembered Litchi, which formed a very small bond for him (no matter how late it is), that it enables him to have a periodic sane moment.
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15	Also, it would seem that whether you are fully human or not affect just how easily corruptible are you. True enough, Hakumen and Makoto were able to survive with sheer willpower and focusing on ThePowerOfFriendship. However, Hakumen is on a Susanoo Unit, not his human body of Jin Kisaragi. Makoto is a beastkin. It is probably noted since they seem to specialize in combating the Black Beast, their body possesses something to hold off the Boundary corruption better than any normal humans, so not being corrupted doesn't seem so utterly special to them (but still awesome). On the other hand, Litchi and Lotte were mere humans. Litchi may be able to stave the corruption by focusing on ThePowerOfLove, but her body of a normal human is failing her, therefore at that point, she was receiving symptoms of corruption, but even that still grows slow. On the other hand, Lotte has nothing to focus so strongly, is a human, therefore, his fall and corruption were swift and fatal. Yes, we know, HumansAreFlawed.
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17	...Only not so much, as there are three humans who dared the journey and pretty much emerged intact... physically, that is. Ragna the Bloodedge was pulled in by Nu, who intended to merge with him and become the Black Beast, and yet he came out with his body mostly intact. He did forfeit the Azure Grimoire, however, and his memories disappeared with it, only to return in time for him to [[HeroicSacrifice offer himself up to the Black Beast]] [[SealedEvilInADuel and force it to sleep for a year fighting it from the inside out]]. It's safe to say that he had enough willpower to manage the dive and keep the Boundary from seizing his consciousness, as he would never had remembered otherwise - and even then, he had to keep his focus on Jin and Saya despite a {{BFS}} gouging his chest out. Jin also made the dive, literally, as he went after Ragna in an attempt to save him. Any memory loss he sustained involved his transfer into Susano'o as he became Hakumen. The same willpower that governs the power of order, as well as his strong bond with his brother, allowed him to cross over otherwise in his pre-dive state. That leaves us with Relius Clover, who was dragged in when the Black Beast emerged, only to resurface eighty years later with his memory completely scrambled - it wasn't seized from him during transit, as he spent the next year reassembling it, but he was lacking in some area. His will was strong, to be sure, as he got right back to work once he recovered, but one has to wonder if he truly considers Yuuki Terumi and Shuichiro Ayatsuki friends or merely associates, or his will towards this certain work that requires perfection is just that strong, the same drive that would lead him into turning his family members into Nox Nyctores.
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19	Nu and Terumi both failed to transfer across physically - Nu was torn between any Saya remnants within her personality and her programming to reunite with Ragna and become the Black Beast, which she did. She did have something of a soul, however, as she was transferred into Lambda soon after her failure in ''Calamity Trigger'', and her body reconstructed itself due to its lifelink with Ragna as well. And for his vaunted ego, Terumi is an extracontinuual spectre who went bugfuck nuts after one trip between timelines too many, and he has no "body" to speak of. Kazuma Kval, whose body he took, lacked the will to survive, and Terumi wasn't providing, so Relius had to rebuild it from scratch after his own jump. It is possible Ouroboros drives the user insane, but there's no way to tell since Terumi's completely nutbar already. It does also show why Terumi completely failed and probably in a worse level than even Lotte Carmine, if you refer to the 'Lesson' section below: He was so devoid of friendship, bonds, love and reveling in despair as well as [[ItsAllAboutMe thinking of himself only so highly]], even before his first trip, so much that the Boundary elevates his 'bug fucking nuts' level into some level that is beyond comprehension and turns him into the monster extraordinary we all know..
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21	Lesson of the analysis: While race does have ''some'' influence on one's ability to retard (that is, suppress) the Boundary's influence, if not cease it, the strength of one's [[ThePowerOfFriendship bonds, friendship]] or [[ThePowerOfLove love]], coupled with [[HeroicResolve pure willpower]], has a much stronger influence.
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23	!An attempt to peek inside Makoto's DarkAndTroubledPast.
24	Back in ''Calamity Trigger'', we were introduced to Makoto - on the surface, she gave the appearance of a cheery and whimsical beastkin girl, basically FunPersonified. Throughout ''Continuum Shift'', however, we started to see that not everything was as it appeared: beneath all of that, she was compassionate, determined, wise... and troubled by FantasticRacism. Like with Litchi (though not in the same way), a number of fans only saw what was on the surface and were quick to cry foul, even though the signs point to something else entirely.
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26	The key to thwarting these accusations and understanding the full depth of her character involve understanding her tumultuous origins, and between ''Heart to Heart'', her bad ending in ''Continuum Shift'', and Arakune's Arcade commentary, it's clear what we saw in ''Heart to Heart'' is but a taste of what she's endured. What is written here is a possibility of what that entails, any evidence that she's faced that possibility, a negative result from that possibility, and a corresponding positive result. Grab a hanky before reading...
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28	* '''Verbal and physical abuse''': "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is something we hear a lot as a child. The two work in very different ways - sticks and stones speak louder due to the direct pain induced, but words are harmful in an erosive manner. Both work as developmental deterrents, discouraging a child from growing along a particular path. What differentiates abuse from discipline is that the latter is meant to prevent bad development (delinquent behavior, harmful release of frustration, excessive bursts of violence) while the former can universally stunt development altogether. Racism makes this worse: a prejudiced mind will care not for things like "potential" and "ability" and instead punish a person simply for being outside their desired mindset.\
29	'''Evidence''': Anyone who watches ''Heart to Heart'' automatically knows where this evidence exists - the bullies attack Makoto with words and hands. Even though she returns fire (and mocks Tsubaki in the process), she feels unwanted after everything that transpired.\
30	'''Negative Result''': As stated above, this is a developmental deterrent. Makoto is still quick to verbally retaliate when people mock her race or her humanity (this is her secondary BerserkButton), and her potential was tainted due to regular exposure. This is the "mask" and part of the origin of her "OneOfTheKids" mentality. As a side note, in ''Remix Heart'', it was stated that she disliked studying, but in ''Slight Hope'' she was capable of learning and adapting quickly. She was ''never'' an idiot, but all the abuse discouraged her from cultivating intellect.\
31	'''Positive Result''': If Makoto had the chance to get away from all the abuse (like the time spent with Noel and Tsubaki), she could have the chance to harden herself against all of that. Further, the physical abuse also toughened her on a physical level. Combine the above with interrogation resistance techniques (a compulsory for espionage work - like ''NOL Intelligence''), and she becomes stupidly resilient to mental and physical torment - already from this one section alone, Hazama is completely stripped of all trolling options that do not involve tripping her BerserkButton or using Ouroboros liberally. Relius' probing remains effective, however, as keeping the masked creeper from boring into your soul requires specialized techniques that are not on the Intel curriculum.
32	* '''Financial woes''': A comfortable life can help shelter one from regular abuse, but maintaining it requires money, and that requires serving society. The rates differ from one region to another based on currency and the local standard of life. Racism is also a factor here, as rates can be recalculated in an unfair manner against the prejudiced. Add in a large family, and these rates can spiral out of control.\
33	'''Evidence''': What was the reason Makoto enrolled at the NOL Military Academy again? It was to help provide for her family - and if her gag reel has any truth to it, House Nanaya may be up to its acorns in debt. If her relatives don't have jobs of their own, it falls to her to bring in the bread, so to speak, which puts quite a bit of pressure on her.\
34	'''Negative Result''': Makoto is forced to take on a mercenary mindset when on the job (she does take breaks and some proper vacations, or she would if she had the time), and tries to remain active as much as possible to make ends meet. Undoubtedly, Hazama is milking this for all its worth via pointless tasks and possibly suicide missions (considering what she ''becomes'', is it any surprise?), and he's probably stiffing her on the pay as well. Her DoubleAgent role does provide some benefits and a secondary income, however.\
35	'''Positive Result''': On the other hand, because of this mercenary mindset and her need to get in touch with her friends, she takes her work very seriously - she will take every clue into account, investigate every lead, concoct a plan that allows her to complete her work as quickly as possible, and alter and reconstruct the plan on the fly. This has the side effect of making her a ''nightmare'' to plan against if you don't understand her motives: due to regular contact with Carl, Relius has a better idea how "friendship" works, and planned around her platonic bond with Jin by helping him away from Ronin-gai. This plan failed because, while he left enough wiggle room to catch up to her in case she didn't follow, he was not expecting an encounter with Bang Shishigami, who followed Jin at her request. Terumi, however, thinks friendship is utter bullshit and refuses to understand, leaving the entirety of his backup plan on the chance she would be caught by Relius while he mindraped Tsubaki into oblivion. ''We all know how this turned out.''\
36	'''Addendum''': Further evidence and results have come to light via Amane's Astral - poor families typically only have enough money for food and board, meaning they have to take measures with clothing to at least remain decent, and this usually involves buying smaller clothes at a discounted price. This outfit, no matter the age, leaves her arms and belly bare, but the post-Astral outfit is barefoot as well. While this makes Makoto appear shameless at first, showing off her assets as copiously as a T game will allow, it also keeps her humble, which is why she never acts bigger than she is unlike a number of other individuals. Think of her outfit in the same light as [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Clay residing at the very bottom of the Driftveil Gym]] - a constant, self-inflicted reminder that she started out with nothing.
37	* '''Betrayal''': This is where matters get particularly deep. No matter what woes you may face, you can always count on a friend to help you through them... except when they prove you can't. Betrayal leaves a particularly deep scar, as you never expect a "friend" to turn on you when you need them, and it undermines the trust you have in the rest of your companions. The size of the scar is proportional to the size of the betrayal - the more serious the backstabbing, the harsher its effects on you, and some scars never heal completely. Racism worsens the matter as the "betrayer" will have fewer compunctions against turning on the "betrayed", and in fact may be more prone to manipulating the victim for their own benefit.\
38	'''Evidence''': We haven't actually seen anyone betray Makoto on the level required, but we do have a reliable testimony that suggests at least a heavy betrayal or a number of lesser ones. "You say they're your friends, but you don't trust them. Not really. Deep down, you're merely waiting for the other shoe to drop. In nature, oppressed creatures are known to cozy up to those who are controlling them." What Relius is suggesting is that Makoto, at least on a subconscious level, expects to be betrayed at some point - she has likely been tempered as such due to her past experiences, and facing that is a source of pain she wishes to never again experience.\
39	'''Negative Result''': This is half the "frame" of the jerkass mask - it's hard to make friends when a number of them have all turned on you, especially with racism as a root. She acted like a jerk because she didn't want to make friends for this reason, but she got Noel and Tsubaki anyway, and even then, as Relius notes, she still has some issues with them.\
40	'''Positive Result''': On the other hand, due to being betrayed in multitude, Makoto learned - and quickly - how to judge a person as being trustworthy. Her jerk mask had enough holes in it that a capable observer (like Tsubaki) could tell what she was like underneath, and anyone who could come to understand her despite the facade could work to destroy it from the inside out. Even afterwards, she is a strong judge of character, able to make out who's worth befriending and who isn't in short order - she and Jin got along real well despite his cold front, it took only a few encounters for her to trust Bang [[spoiler:with rescuing Jin in ''Slight Hope'']], and a good philosophical discussion caused her to find Tager trustworthy (he may not trust her, but that may be Kokonoe's programming - that's neither here nor there). On the other hand, she's one of two people (the other being Litchi) who don't trust Hazama ''at all'' with little prior contact with him (just about everyone else learned that he was rotten through firsthand experience) - the big reason she defected from NOL Main Branch is due to learning just ''how'' corrupt of character he truly was.
41	* '''Genocide''': This is the big one. Ethnic cleansing of any level is going to scar its survivors forever, an eternal testament to the depths to which humanity can sink. Whether something small like a lynching or something huge like the Nazi Holocaust, anyone who endures will have their faith in their fellow sapient sorely tested, have to cope with any losses they endure, whether friends ([[SurvivorGuilt Jacob? JACOOOOOOOB!!!]]), family ([[OrphansOrdeal Mommy! Daddy! Don't leave me!!]]), [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking or even belongings (My tote-bag!)]] and drastically change their lives to heal from the resulting trauma. Nothing is ever the same anymore.\
42	'''Evidence''': There is no evidence, to date, that suggests Makoto has faced a genocide aside from the results listed below, but the full extent of those results may be evidence enough. She certainly won't talk on her own (nor should she) until she can be comfortable discussing it, but it may be possible that the "Chrono Phantasma" and "Nemesis Horizon" phenomena may force it out of her anyway.\
43	'''Negative Result''': This is the other half of the "frame" of her jerkass mask - even without traitors in the midst, she may be afraid of making friends only for them to up and die months later, especially if said traitors are involved. A paradox, that - too strong to die alongside her friends, yet too weak to save any of them. Because of this, she may be overprotective of the friends she has (Noel and Tsubaki), and that is slowing down her own recovery.\
44	'''Positive Result''': And yet, that is her drive, her motivation. Having seen so many friends die from race hate and betrayal, she wants to ensure that whatever friends she has left do not share that fate, and to this end, she will strengthen herself and her friends, physically and otherwise, in order to minimize that possibility. Now that she has Noel back with her, that time is going to be put to good use sparring with her and Tager (and possibly Azrael) - if Noel's makeover is any indication, she may have "embraced Makoto's overflowing spirit" after all.
45	* '''Total Results''': "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" - sometimes an amalgamation of issues may cause new problems and new growth to arise. This case is no different.\
46	'''Negative Results''': The whole racism package had completely tainted Makoto's natural childhood, so she demonstrates the "OneOfTheKids" mentality mentioned earlier during the Academy days in order to live out what she never could. While Noel and Tsubaki don't mind it much, and neither does Carl (and after he dropped out, that kid '''''needed''''' a hug from someone), CS!Jin feels that her continued niceness is a sign of stagnation - that she "never graduated". Fortune!Jin found it welcome, however, and it's likely CP!Jin may soften up to her a bit more as well.\
47	'''Positive Results''': There are no extra positive results that come together from all of this, but instead all of it serves as evidence of its own - showing the level of compassion Makoto does, and the sheer potential she possesses, as well as her (initially) hidden desire for friends, despite all the raw crap she endured in one of the worst childhoods in ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' (and that says something when one considers '''Ragna''' and '''Carl''' are the top contenders) would require [[{{Determinator}} an unyielding will]], as anything less would leave one irreparably broken. Like with Ragna, Rachel admitted that this was the trait that endeared her to Makoto in the first place.
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49	And yet, with all of that, one of the things that should keep her from being that horribly {{Narm}}-inducing girl is the fact that no matter how she may develop (and there are many ways, let us tell you), there is always a possibility (or several) that do not allow her to obviate anyone else in the cast. Despite every trait working for and against her, she has no way to destroy Terumi himself, no Azure, Order, or Boundary-severing Nox - and with what she does have, this is something she will never need.
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51	! Yuuki Terumi, [[SatanicArchetype The Lucifer/Satan figure]] of the VideoGame/BlazBlue universe
52	Terumi has shown himself as an utterly self-serving, puppy-beating and -violating prick, added to the fact that he, by the WordOfGod, has no redeeming qualities. His acts, however, leave him very open to be referred to as the Lucifer/Satan figure of the VideoGame/BlazBlue universe, even if Christianity and Catholicism and Bibles weren't a recurring theme of the game (a lot of stories puts up such [[RuleOfSymbolism symbolism]] for RuleOfCool, after all). So, let's take a look at how well Terumi functions as Satan's equal, even if his acts weren't chronologically similar.
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54	!!Names
55	''Yuuki Terumi'' is a fairly safe name, [[note]]''Yuuki'' means courage (although there is another kanji of Yuuki that means [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep "ghost"]]), and ''Terumi'' means ''Beautiful Shine''[[/note]] but his other aliases, such as ''Hazama''[[note]]''Boundary'' or ''Otherworldly''[[/note]], ''Kazuma Kvar''[[note]]''Kvar'' is phonetically very similar to the Germanic word ''Kval'' which means ''Torment'' or ''Torture''[[/note]], ''Dark Susano'o'', and ''The True Evil'', are all more in-line with NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast. However, keep in mind that Satan's original name was supposedly ''Lucifer'', which translates to "Lightbringer," and suddenly the safe name, ''Yuuki Terumi'', turns into a play on how Lucifer's name meant something grand and good, but instead ended up representing something wicked. Another point to bring to mind that the true name of the Devil in Islam is "Iblis," which is derived from the Arabic verbal root "balasa," meaning "he despaired." Therefore, "Iblis" means "''he/it that causes despair''." [[HopeCrusher Now, what exactly is Terumi's goal in life, again?]]
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57	To add some irony, Lucifer is the prince of darkness, while his name translates as "Lightbringer." In the same vein, Yuuki Terumi, whose "Yuuki" meant "courage," promotes despair, an antithesis of courage. On top of that, for someone whose surname means "Beautiful Shine," he ''is'' quite emphatic about the darkness whence he came.
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59	!![[RageAgainstTheHeavens Rebellion Against the Heavens]]
60	At some point, Lucifer led a rebellion in an attempt to take God's throne, but ultimately failed. Unlike Lucifer, however, while Terumi did the same, rebelling against his 'God'-like figure(s) (Takamagahara and Amaterasu), his rebellion has been largely ''successful'', plunging the world of VideoGame/BlazBlue into a state of chaos. And, as shown in Chrono Phantasma, he wants the world to turn into his paradise of "Place where everyone's damned souls kill each other for his own amusement." That... just screams out "To hell with all ''your'' hopes and wishes; I'm going to conquer and reshape the world as ''I'' see fit," just as Lucifer did.
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62	[[spoiler:As of ''Central Fiction'', in spite of bearing the name Susanoo, who's just a Storm God in the Myth/JapaneseMythology, Terumi/Susanoo's reasoning hits closer to what was described before. Terumi is a will that is born out of the formerly soulless Susanoo Unit, which was created as one of the things to serve the Master Unit Amaterasu. Unfortunately, he decided that he got sick of serving Amaterasu and decided to rebel against her, surpass her and eventually create a world in his design: A world where he's the most feared being. Yep, that really is mirroring Lucifer's reasoning for rebelling against God (dislikes being made to serve and instead rebels where he'd stand on the top).]]
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64	!!Banishment to Hell
65	Just like how Lucifer was cast down to Hell after being struck down by Archangel Michael, so was Terumi. When he betrayed the heroes after the Black Beast had been slain, Hakumen took the issue into his own hands and sealed him into the Boundary, at the cost of going there himself.
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67	!!Mannerisms
68	Terumi, as Hazama, disguises himself as a mild-mannered informant of NOL who has a tendency to bring out the worst of the people around him, even with sweet words and [[MetaphoricallyTrue half truths]], without most of those he provokes even noticing. He wouldn't outright state that he was Terumi, {{Troll}} extraordinaire, unless it was the right time--or towards those who knew his identity (such as Rachel). He's incredibly fond of manipulating the more defenseless and unwary sides of humanity and preying on them at their weakest moments (as he did by offering Noel's family prestige in exchange for her joining the Praetorian Guard, or offering to help Litchi save Arakune), spreading temptations and [[DealWithTheDevil Deals with the Devil]]. Well, such practices are also pretty common for Satan/Lucifer, such as taking the guise of normal humans (hello, [[Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei Louis Cypher]]!) and hiding his true intentions, all while manipulating people with [[MetaphoricallyTrue half truths]], {{Stealth Insult}}s, temptations, and empty promises.
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70	!!SevenDeadlySins
71	Terumi, believe it or not, engenders ALL of the SevenDeadlySins, whether he's trying to or not. Sure enough, his worst fault may be {{Pride}}, but his second-biggest transgression, [[ThePowerOfHate Wrath]], doesn't trail far behind. Pride is typically represented by Lucifer, while Satan occasionally represents Wrath. Let's explain how well he fits the deadly sins.
72	* '''{{Pride}}:''' The worst sin of man is one of Terumi's biggest traits, just as it led Lucifer into thinking that he was better than God and deciding to shape the world in his image, culminating in his rebellion. Terumi's pride shows how highly he thinks of himself, automatically condemning everyone else and deciding that his image of the world (that everything the world has to offer--any hope or semblance of happiness--is a lie; the only truth is despair, and everyone should wither and die) ought to be the universally-accepted truth; he's going to shove it down everyone's throats, whether they like it or not. Obviously, no one else agrees with him; only he like thinks like that, but he thinks it's the best thing ever because he thinks so, [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment because he thinks he's the most awesome being ever]]. Also notice that in Japan, he'll shamelessly use the boastful pronoun [[UsefulNotes/JapanesePronouns ore-sama]] when he's in Terumi form to refer to himself. This pronoun is usually reserved for someone who thinks too highly of oneself; while it's not inherently bad, when used in context of Terumi, it shows how highly he values himself. Compounding this, whenever he's in Terumi form, he refers to everyone else with [[UsefulNotes/JapanesePronouns temee]], the lowest, most insulting 'you' pronoun, to indicate just how lowly he thinks of everyone else (and, in English, you can be sure he's going to insert a PrecisionFStrike to whomever he talks to). And notice that when he's in his Unlimited form, he uses quotes to indicate that he HatesBeingTouched--he has such a high self-esteem that he deems mere physical contact disgusting. Pride is also the one thing that led him to eventually murder Nine; he couldn't stand being geased into obedience by Nine, a human, even if it's a witch, so he retaliated by manipulating Trinity's love for his form, Kazuma Kvar, to free himself and backstabbing Nine to exact vengeance and satiate his wounded pride. [[spoiler:After Central Fiction, this is embellished even more within Terumi. See the [[RageAgainstTheHeavens Rebellion Against the Heavens]] section for more details]]
73	* '''Wrath:''' [[OmnicidalManiac Omnicidal mania]] aside, Terumi's wrath serves to emphasize his hubris rather than detract from it--many a time he has gone into fits of murderous rage when his "truth" was called into question, people acted like he isn't the most important being in the universe, or, more recently, when his plans went utterly awry. And even beyond physical harm, he's willing to engage in mental and emotional torment--for ''any'' reason, up to and including pure impulse. Satan is also probably angered by how God casted him down to Hell, and thus lashed out at the sinners who were drawn to him, torturing them to quench his frustration over how his rebellion failed.
74	* '''Sloth:''' Terumi's one truth is despair--to forfeit any attempts at improving upon the world--or even oneself. It isn't enough that Terumi embraces it, but actively attempts to sow it by manipulating world affairs. His ideal "playground" is a bloodsoaked pit where others murder for his amusement, where he doesn't have to lift a finger for the world to fall apart around him and all he does is just watch and gets himself amused at others' suffering. He even espouses sloth on a professional basis - in Carl's bad ending, he tells the lad with a straight face that he is letting his pocket of the Intelligence division rot, and he is rarely, if ever, seen doing Intelligence work. Further expounding the problem, when one of his subordinates proves competent at her work in this division, Terumi orchestrates at least one suicide mission for her to keep her out of his machinations, and when that fails to do its job, rather than understand how she works, he goes straight for murder - "it is easier to stab a man in the back than it is to stare them in the eyes". Ironically, Terumi is snake-themed, while the punishment for Sloth is getting thrown into a pit of snakes...
75	* '''Envy:''' Envy is commonly described as a "[[GreenEyedMonster desire for other people's things]]" - it was never said that these "things" had to be physical. Terumi himself doesn't seem to desire a lot of what the other characters have. However, that's just one half of it; the other half is hatred of others' successes and the desire to ruin it. Ruining others' good fortune is a demonstration of envy, and Terumi is steeped in these acts. His first act is being the "odd man out" of the Six Heroes, who got along with each other rather well, not as much as ultimate TrueCompanions, but still managing to iron out their differences - rather than try to correct himself and fit in, he sought to divide them amongst themselves by exploiting their fault lines and manipulated Trinity Glassfield to that end, exploiting her love for Kazuma Kvar, whose body he inhabits. There would be usually an excuse to 'not better himself', that being Nine geasing him into utter obedience (they were only interested in his knowledge of the Black Beast so they can beat it), but considering why he's the 'odd man out' in the first place, the reason why he was thrown into the Boundary by ''Nine'' no less, was because he was already a rampaging monster and gleefully killed Jubei's brother Tomonori for no reason, his steeping of 'ruining others' fortunes' has been rooted in him since the beginning. In more recent days, he gratuitously tormented two young men who came to be known as Ragna the Bloodedge and Jin Kisaragi, using the latter as a literal vessel to destroy his psyche, abduct their younger sister, murder their aunt, immolate the church they grew up in, and sever the former's arm, and later still, he exploited Jin again, using the seat of his ministerial secretary to drive a bloody wedge into the friendship of Noel Vermillion and Tsubaki Yayoi, both to torment them and to exploit them for his own malicious deeds.
76	** He also has a kink to make one's bad fortune get ''even worse'', such was the fate of Lotte Carmine when he encountered him. Not only he gave him the wrong lead in his attempt to expand on his friend's Boundary research, he went on to, without care, turn him into the abomination called Arakune and overall made him too delusional. When it turns out that said friend, Litchi Faye-Ling, who was much more fortunate, getting the soft spot of Kokonoe, is a pleasant woman that is loved and adored by many, especially in Orient Town, Terumi instead utterly wrecked her good fortune by playing up her guilt in not preventing Lotte to turn into Arakune, and made her leave those who loved and adored her and join his side against her will as he just said he had the cure she sought for both her and Lotte, while in the same time ruining her relationship with Kokonoe [[note]]As Kokonoe was so clouded with hatred towards Terumi, the mere notion of Litchi on Terumi's side made Kokonoe immediately declare Litchi an enemy that is better off dead in her crusade against Terumi[[/note]], pits her against Bang Shishigami, a new friend of hers that she respected while he was heavily infatuated in her (Two birds in one stone, as Bang has tangled with Terumi and lived to tell the tale), all for the 'cure', which in the same time, had her unwittingly quicken a phenomenon called 'Day of Destruction' due to her conflict with Bang, all of which was tormenting enough for Litchi and for Terumi, he might've said he wanted her research, but considering that he could easily steal it since he knew of its existence even if Litchi hid it, it is extremely probable that he was just doing all that to torment her.
77	** On a more minor note, Terumi's primary color is green, and the sin of Envy is associated with that color. Furthermore, the sin of Envy is usually associated with serpents and Terumi himself is snake-themed, and its patron demon Leviathan is usually depicted as a large sea serpent.
78	* '''{{Lust}}:''' People think of lust and interpret it as gratuitous amounts of sex. In reality, lust also covers for any form of physical pleasure - addictions are one such form. In Terumi's case, everything that falls under Wrath and Envy qualifies as Lust, on the premise that he enjoys making others suffer. In one encounter with Hakumen, he said that, even though he needs people to hate him in order to remain manifest, he tortures people the way he does because he enjoys watching them suffer. Likewise, so sundry is his pleasure that at the end of her Arcade run, Makoto explicitly asks Terumi if he gets off to "screwing with other people's lives" and in her Story mode, when Rachel saves her from Hazama's fury, he accuses the vampire of "cockblocking" him. Given how often he resorts to it, "addiction" is a suitable description for these tendencies.
79	** Further expounding the problem, particularly psychotic addicts can be driven to violence when deprived of their "fix" or forced to go through withdrawal. Terumi has been known to lash out against those who seek to resist his torture of them or treat his torture victims, which integrates Lust with Wrath even further. Examples include Rachel, who simultaneously tainted his pride by comparing him disfavorably to Ragna ("I could list his flaws for an eternity, and yet... he is still a very interesting man"), and Ragna himself, who mocked him after he was thrashed upon to Terumi's delight. Most notorious is Makoto, who not only resists most of the trolling and mental warfare he inflicts upon her, but also because she tends to the emotional wounds he inflicts upon her friends, all of whom are his personal favorite stress toys. Many times he is driven to psychosis and homicidal rage due to the overlap between his plans and his euphoria, unto both of which she is a threat.
80	* '''Gluttony:''' Gluttony is the desire for excess - to take more than one's fair share, nourishment or otherwise. As stated elsewhere, Terumi needs others to hate him in order to remain manifest - while Ragna's and/or Kokonoe's hatred alone would be more than enough, he doesn't stop there, instead tormenting everyone and anyone he could possibly reach and figuratively drinking their rage. Furthermore, gluttony could be used to describe Terumi's anger and dissatisfaction at the fact that the world's still alive (if the theme song 'Gluttony Fang' wasn't a tip-off enough).
81	** There is another thing to exemplify his gluttony. Nox Nyctores are made of the souls of people smelted within the Cauldron, all of which were wracked with fear and anguish over their imminent deaths to the Black Beast. These things would make Terumi happy, even if that was used to destroy his misbegotten creation. However, by the end of the Dark War, Nine felt bad for the souls she used to create the Nox Nyctores, so she decided that enough is enough, they served their purpose in the destruction of the Black Beast, and as an apology, she's going release them instead of leaving them trapped with the weapons, by destroying the Nox Nyctores one by one. Terumi would not have that - dismissing those souls would sever them from the agony he craves so dearly. So when he learned that Nine was doing that and his Ouroboros was next in line to be destroyed, Terumi devised the plan using Trinity's love of Kazuma as described in the Pride and Envy entries, and then got Nine killed so he can use Ouroboros to continue sowing misery through the world, drinking long and deep of it to his insatiable heart's content. That the other Nox Nyctores would remain operational is but a side effect.
82	* '''{{Greed}}:''' Greed is more than the desire for money - it is the unjust acquisition, hoarding, and pointless expenditure of political resources, money being one of them. Any money Terumi does not spend on personal care or Intelligence mission budget (or possibly donates to Relius for his own expenditures) remains trapped within his pocket of the Intelligence division, and he clearly has plenty to go around with how he mismanages his own division - pointless missions waste resources and hoard them at the same time (agents sent on these missions are not conducting more productive work), whereas suicide missions like Makoto's trip to Ibukido are much bigger wastes (in destroying the budget money and the agents sent on these missions). It also contributes to inflation, which makes the hoarded money diminish in value over time and works to cripple the economy. In conjunction with Gluttony, he complains about how Intelligence is understaffed despite his mismanagement - more agents means more resources he gets to control, which can invoke a spiral reaction.
83	* Orthodox Christianity also occasionally adds the eighth sin being '''''Despair'''''. This one needs no further explanation, Terumi WORSHIPS despair and considers it the only ideal truth there is, and he's hell bent to ensure that it becomes the accepted norm of the world and everyone experiences it.
84
85	!!Conclusion
86	With all these, we can probably assume that the world of VideoGame/BlazBlue is really in deep trouble. Terumi really matches his credentials with Lucifer and Satan, and instead of being trapped in Hell/Boundary forever, he's set loose, creating an utterly despicable, but extremely powerful enemy. Sure enough, he's got style and flair to appease his fandom, but there is no doubt that if there's a Satan figure of the BB-verse, Terumi is the one. And even if somehow they introduced a greater power above him that is Hades Izanami, it doesn't seem like Terumi is going to be slowed down by even her.
87
88	* Eventually, Terumi is revealed to be [[spoiler:Susanoo. If you think that this is an AdaptationalVillainy, you may be spot on. 'Susanoo' here actually acts more like Lucifer and Satan, with his ultimate goal detailed above being confirmed to be true.]]
89
90	! Yuuki Terumi, TheAntichrist of the VideoGame/BlazBlue universe.
91	We already made comparisons between Terumi and {{Satan}}. But it's just as likely that he would be similar to [[TheAntichrist his herald]] as well, considering that in one of the supplemental materials, he and Relius were using Saya for a vessel of that 'thing', which may also be the Satan stand-in if not Terumi. This is to compare Terumi to the Antichrist.
92
93	!! Goals and Events
94	TheAntichrist is often mentioned to take over Europe as part of his EvilPlan to TakeOverTheWorld. He also is described as the one to kick start the Apocalypse. Now Terumi under the guise of Hazama is the leader of the [=NOL's=] intelligence division. However he and Relius have been implied to be controlling the Imperator's string, making them both [[TheManBehindTheMan the men behind the man]] and the rulers of the NOL, established to be a OneWorldOrder. This is a looser take on because we don't know where the Library started, are they rotten to the core since the beginning or they really used to be a proper and supportive one before shit goes down, however since the goverment involved Europe, Terumi has achived one of his goals (as long as he keeps [[spoiler:Imperator Saya]] under his control.)
95
96	The Antichrist's second goal is to bring TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt so that the forces of evil can win. Terumi has instigated a [[ApocalypseHow/{{Class 1}} Class a]] Apocalypse by making (albeit by accident) the Black Beast, (More on that later) and wants to pull off a [[ApocalypseHow/{{Class 5}} Class 5]] Apocalypse. Therefore he fulfills the criteria of his goals.
97
98	!! The Disguise
99	TheAntichrist is said to disguise himself as either someone benevolent, unimportant or harmless. Then the public at large; either [[NoSuchAgency he and the Intelligence division doesn't exist]] or he is regarded as a good man by member of the Intelligence Division and related NOL branches. This gives Terumi free reign to do whatever he wants with few people knowing. On top of that what we are seeing is not his true form, but that of Kazuma Kvar, a man specifically engineered to be his disguise.
100
101	!! The False Prophet
102	According the Literature/TheBible, The Antichrist is a false prophet that tries to undermine Christianity's Faith and pervert its teachings. Here Terumi tries to undermine his enemies [[ForTheEvulz while forcing everyone to believe Despair as the only truth]], [[OmnicidalManiac as well as destroy the lies (read: everything)]]. He's also in charge of the Intelligence Division of the NOL, meaning that he has people capable of espionage and misinformation and will do so at his command (not that he still won't do it himself, but he ''prefers'' that everyone else would do his dirty work, as detailed in the Sloth section of the Satan comparison, thus relying more on being a ManipulativeBastard).
103
104	!! The embodiment of all Evil
105	Arcording to theologian Bernard [=McGinn=], as Jesus is [[TheParagon the ideal model of humanity]] his opponent at the end of days would be a being of concentrated evil, and there is no better concentration of [[TheSociopath pure]] [[ObviouslyEvil evil]] than Terumi. On top of his {{Omnicidal Mania\|c}}, he also [[BreakTheCutie breaks cuties]], {{Mind Rape}}s on a regular basis, and more often than not [[KickTheDog Kicks The Dog]], and does despicable acts ForTheEvulz. And then [[{{Troll}} revels in taunting their miseries while flaunting his superiority]] as well as fully adhering to the lifestyle of ItsAllAboutMe.
106
107	!!NumberOfTheBeast
108	No discussion on the Antichrist would be complete without the numbers 666 or 616. In this case it is in the {{Invocation}} of his and Ragna's Azure Grimoires. This particual ArtifactOfDoom was invented by Terumi himself and Ragna found it from the remains of the Black Beast (which Terumi also created)
109
110	!!Alternate Interpretations
111	The Antichrist has many different [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation interpretations]].
112
113	* The Man of Sin/Lawlessness: The Antichrist has been equated with The Man of Sin. A figure from 2 Thessalonians 2:3 that's described as one who will be revealed after a falling from Christ's Church and will [[AGodAmI oppose and exhert himself over everything called god and setting himself on his temple]]. Now there are two beings that are as close to God as we can get in the series: The Master Unit Amaterasu and the supercomputer Takamagahara. The latter was personalty taken care of be Terumi himself. He then claims to have its powers after the fact resulting in the end of the [[GroundhogDayLoop Continuum Shifts]] perpetrated by Takamagahara. [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu When you can take out two godlike beings]] you have a reason to think you are above the God. And so Terumi did, (Though he's not calling himself a god...yet), and in fact, all his attitude where he gets pissed off whenever people think he's not the most awesome being in the world, or someone calls bullcrap on his 'truth of despair'... he seems like he DOES really want to be above God to watch men suffer for his personal amusement. On a literal note, Terumi embodies 'all' the SevenDeadlySins AND the additional 'eighth' sin of Despair to boot. (See the above analysis for details)
114	* Being in league with other figures: Rome wasn't built in a day, not was it built by one man. Terumi has other people helping him with his goals. Among them are Relius Clover, [[spoiler: Saya]] and through [[spoiler: her]] the entire NOL. Speaking of which, as mentioned before he has an entire division of espionage under his control, unless your name is Makoto Nanaya.
115	* {{Satan}}: This is explained in the previous analysis.
116
117	!!Conclusion
118	Long story short, Ragna and company better find a way to off the little troll. Because even if he's not Old Nick, he is still in a position where if he succeeds, the entire earth will go down in flames and despair. And nothing would please him more than that.
119

Context Analysis / BlazBlue