I ran out of cellphone data when I got the notification and I was so mad, hahaha. This one was difficult to get through. Sometimes I don't understand why people keep insisting that Sannan does some genuinely bad things even in his route (beyond the obviously morally questionable), but I'll have to bite my tongue here this once and admit that the plan he whipped up by refusing to tell her anything was indeed quite cruel. Sometimes I forget that, because in my head, since he wasn't actually doing anything bad, it's all good - but I'll be the first to admit that the psychological pain he caused her was not by any means small. She really had to face so many horrible things at once that it's heartbreaking to actually think about. It wasn't entirely Sannan's fault, of course, the brunt of it was still Kodou's doing, but it doesn't change that he actively sought to squeeze as much juice as he could out of it at her expense, and after trying to run away, no less (and even if his intentions were good, he does outright admit he decided to draw this out as long as he could do get back at Kodou, which, although may have been done with her in mind too, should have maybe not taken precedence over the suffering he was prolonging). It always upsets me whenever someone wants to off themselves in Hakuouki, and I cannot blame Chizuru for wanting to here. She really did have some of the the worst possible set of circumstances, and I think what makes it worse is the fact that we *know* this could have so easily been legitimate. Sannan is by no means an angel. I get that, and it usually isn't hard for me to stomach it. But at times like these? Sannan falls into the darkness in more than one route, even though it's to different degrees. And while there are many factors involved, I think the fact that he can so readily portray something he clearly has inside him, causing so much damage to someone he cares about, in such a blasè way, even if it is ultimately for a good cause, is still a bit jarring to me. However, there is, of course, the opposite side - the silver lining that Sannan very clearly is looking out for her as closely as he can. He is immediately privy to the fact that she is unwell, managing to potentially stop her from doing anything reckless, and quickly weaponizes her anger as a means to save her life and keep her from despair; in a sort of twisted role reversal to how they were before in the Shinsengumi, something the game itself alludes to. It's a very poetic way for the game to demonstrate the hidden kindness behind Sannan's apparent cruelty. Besides, he has to embody a very delicate balance here, in between trying to be harsh enough to get her to believe he's true about this (and, rather painfully, he has to push as hard as he can to break that faith because he's seen how strong it is), and also being "gentle" enough that he doesn't accidentally imply something truly terrible enough to further break down her spirit. I also really like how much emphasis there is within Sannan's route on him *belonging* somewhere, and how consistent it is throughout every expansion. Here, Chizuru outright thinks it. It might as well be an anthem! The Shinsengumi is his home. ❤
Sannan being manipulative and even psychopathic at times is nothing new though. There are plenty of instances where it shows in the games, even before he took the Ochimizu; in Reimeroku it’s a lot more evident. Not to mention his whole route he went on and on about how easy it was to use Chizuru, practically playing her like a fiddle. He’s a walking red flag, which a lot of people tend to miss.
@@isobelduncan Psychopathic is a stretch. He is definitely manipulative, but there is a very big difference between manipulation as a character trait and psychopathy. Out of curiosity, I went through what he actually fits - and there is very little besides that, with many things outright contradicting it. Even just in broad strokes, the far more poignant criteria of traits such as impulsivity, lack of empathy, and toying with others are much more exemplified by Okita (who I'm in no way villifying), although, to be completely honest, the fact that Okita was so influenced by Sannan (although Okita already showed very clear signs of being troubled owed to his turbulent childhood and subsequent encounters with the Shinsengumi) is a sign that there is something definitely more than a little questionable with Sannan in quite a few ways. That, I will not deny. I think Sannan is a really complicated character, because it is very easy to either completely defend his actions on the basis that he "did them for a good reason", or, on the other end of the spectrum, to take everything he does too much at face value, and believe that he legitimately is as callous as he presents himself to be at times. The thing with him is that he is, at his core, a cunning master of deception - and that also goes for this very character trait itself. He outright revels in his reputation, both due to his character flaws and to accomplish his goals; he walks a very fine line between doing it out of pragmatism and also committing mistakes from a place of genuine self-pity that harms those around him. This is especially evident if you've read any supplementary material that deals more with his perspective (although it can already be gleaned from the game itself). He *wants* to be villified, to a certain degree - and how much of him is real or not is something I'm pretty sure not even he himself knows. I'm not saying he's just a "sad uwu baby", or that he doesn't exhibit some very concerning tendencies to varying degrees, I'm just saying I think he's a bit overly made out to be the odd man out when I think he's simply more overtly playing the role than some. I've actually planned on making a video analyzing Sannan for a really, really long time - but it's such a massive undertaking I'd rather not make any promises.
@@ViktoriaMagreySociopathic maybe then? (I tend to get the two mixed up). My point is his behaviour here shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anyone.
I’ve never liked Sannan (he just creeps me out) but he was really vile here. Though historically he was actually a very kind and good-hearted person. Skilled with a blade, but would've been better as a Buddhist monk or scholar.
Hi, I do my own translations and upload them on my channel. I use recordings from my play throughs of games I own. Although I DO own Reimeiroku, I haven’t played it yet so we’ll see when I get to it. It could take years, honestly.
![[SUB] Hakuouki Tsukikage no Shou 09 - Sannan Route](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/UN2wYlCjf8g/mqdefault.jpg)
![[SUB] Hakuouki Tsukikage no Shou 09 - Sannan Route](/img/tr.png)
![[SUB] Hakuouki Ten'un no Shou 2 - Kazama route](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yfT2MVNZnfM/mqdefault.jpg)
I ran out of cellphone data when I got the notification and I was so mad, hahaha.
This one was difficult to get through. Sometimes I don't understand why people keep insisting that Sannan does some genuinely bad things even in his route (beyond the obviously morally questionable), but I'll have to bite my tongue here this once and admit that the plan he whipped up by refusing to tell her anything was indeed quite cruel. Sometimes I forget that, because in my head, since he wasn't actually doing anything bad, it's all good - but I'll be the first to admit that the psychological pain he caused her was not by any means small. She really had to face so many horrible things at once that it's heartbreaking to actually think about. It wasn't entirely Sannan's fault, of course, the brunt of it was still Kodou's doing, but it doesn't change that he actively sought to squeeze as much juice as he could out of it at her expense, and after trying to run away, no less (and even if his intentions were good, he does outright admit he decided to draw this out as long as he could do get back at Kodou, which, although may have been done with her in mind too, should have maybe not taken precedence over the suffering he was prolonging). It always upsets me whenever someone wants to off themselves in Hakuouki, and I cannot blame Chizuru for wanting to here. She really did have some of the the worst possible set of circumstances, and I think what makes it worse is the fact that we *know* this could have so easily been legitimate.
Sannan is by no means an angel. I get that, and it usually isn't hard for me to stomach it. But at times like these? Sannan falls into the darkness in more than one route, even though it's to different degrees. And while there are many factors involved, I think the fact that he can so readily portray something he clearly has inside him, causing so much damage to someone he cares about, in such a blasè way, even if it is ultimately for a good cause, is still a bit jarring to me. However, there is, of course, the opposite side - the silver lining that Sannan very clearly is looking out for her as closely as he can. He is immediately privy to the fact that she is unwell, managing to potentially stop her from doing anything reckless, and quickly weaponizes her anger as a means to save her life and keep her from despair; in a sort of twisted role reversal to how they were before in the Shinsengumi, something the game itself alludes to. It's a very poetic way for the game to demonstrate the hidden kindness behind Sannan's apparent cruelty. Besides, he has to embody a very delicate balance here, in between trying to be harsh enough to get her to believe he's true about this (and, rather painfully, he has to push as hard as he can to break that faith because he's seen how strong it is), and also being "gentle" enough that he doesn't accidentally imply something truly terrible enough to further break down her spirit.
I also really like how much emphasis there is within Sannan's route on him *belonging* somewhere, and how consistent it is throughout every expansion. Here, Chizuru outright thinks it. It might as well be an anthem! The Shinsengumi is his home. ❤
Sannan being manipulative and even psychopathic at times is nothing new though. There are plenty of instances where it shows in the games, even before he took the Ochimizu; in Reimeroku it’s a lot more evident. Not to mention his whole route he went on and on about how easy it was to use Chizuru, practically playing her like a fiddle. He’s a walking red flag, which a lot of people tend to miss.
@@isobelduncan Psychopathic is a stretch. He is definitely manipulative, but there is a very big difference between manipulation as a character trait and psychopathy. Out of curiosity, I went through what he actually fits - and there is very little besides that, with many things outright contradicting it. Even just in broad strokes, the far more poignant criteria of traits such as impulsivity, lack of empathy, and toying with others are much more exemplified by Okita (who I'm in no way villifying), although, to be completely honest, the fact that Okita was so influenced by Sannan (although Okita already showed very clear signs of being troubled owed to his turbulent childhood and subsequent encounters with the Shinsengumi) is a sign that there is something definitely more than a little questionable with Sannan in quite a few ways. That, I will not deny.
I think Sannan is a really complicated character, because it is very easy to either completely defend his actions on the basis that he "did them for a good reason", or, on the other end of the spectrum, to take everything he does too much at face value, and believe that he legitimately is as callous as he presents himself to be at times. The thing with him is that he is, at his core, a cunning master of deception - and that also goes for this very character trait itself. He outright revels in his reputation, both due to his character flaws and to accomplish his goals; he walks a very fine line between doing it out of pragmatism and also committing mistakes from a place of genuine self-pity that harms those around him. This is especially evident if you've read any supplementary material that deals more with his perspective (although it can already be gleaned from the game itself). He *wants* to be villified, to a certain degree - and how much of him is real or not is something I'm pretty sure not even he himself knows. I'm not saying he's just a "sad uwu baby", or that he doesn't exhibit some very concerning tendencies to varying degrees, I'm just saying I think he's a bit overly made out to be the odd man out when I think he's simply more overtly playing the role than some.
I've actually planned on making a video analyzing Sannan for a really, really long time - but it's such a massive undertaking I'd rather not make any promises.
@@ViktoriaMagreySociopathic maybe then? (I tend to get the two mixed up). My point is his behaviour here shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anyone.
14:30 Maybe this is the reason Sannan is so beloved by my fellow friend who is a hakuouki fan and big fan of Sannan.
I’ve never liked Sannan (he just creeps me out) but he was really vile here. Though historically he was actually a very kind and good-hearted person. Skilled with a blade, but would've been better as a Buddhist monk or scholar.
I totally agree
13:04 This hurt my heart 💔
Hii could you translate Hakuouki Reimeiroku - Okita Souji Epilogue on Otogetranslations channel?
Hi, I do my own translations and upload them on my channel. I use recordings from my play throughs of games I own. Although I DO own Reimeiroku, I haven’t played it yet so we’ll see when I get to it. It could take years, honestly.
@@SaltyNeooh ok thank u! Take your time
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh loveeee
This is new ❤
How so?
皆さん千鶴を泣かせすぎ(T-T)
😮