"Phosphophyllite Did Nothing Wrong" - Houseki no Kuni
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 พ.ย. 2024
- #phosdidnothingwrong #landofthelustrous #housekinokuni
With the manga still on the 10,000 year hiatus, and no season 2 in sight just yet, I thought it may be best to return to the Land of the Lustrous, and take another look at our favorite PTSD victim, Phos. They sure have been through a lot but at least they never did anything bad... did they?
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"Phosphophyllite Did Nothing Wrong" - Houseki no Kuni
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When you step back from it all, Phos just needs to ditch everyone and find new friends
I hope pho’s doesn’t forgive them and damns them to the ocean to turn into glaciers forever
the only true phos friend is cicada
@@anyavillanueva1137 and the slug people 😆
@@Crazygamergal yeah all my hommies are phosu friends cicada and slug gang
Phos is gonna make new friends just like sensei did with the gems
*10000 years later*
Aechmea: pray for us
Human Phos: I missed the part where that's my problem.
~~~*What, gonna cry* xD
I am all for that
However this ends, it’s going to be so satisfying. Either Phos is going to meditate and reach enlightenment during these 10,000 years, transcending all the pain they’ve suffered to reach the true peace they deserve, or they’re going to be petty and stick it to the Lunarians (which now includes the Earth gems), punishing them for their deeds.
YES
I definitely expect him to take revenge on everyone on the moon, and I can't blame him for that. Even Diamond, my once favorite best girl, has fallen from grace and I can now only side with Phos....
and the fact that antarcticite , one of the only one who gave phos a chance and tried to teach them and be their friend , DID come back, and remembered them, but wasnt allowed to see them hurts even more
and the first thing they asked was “ wheres phos “ and that BROKE me
Indeed... She's one of my fav so it's hurt
The only one to ask where phos was too 😭
And it sucks cause you know if Phos could’ve seen Antarc alive again, everything would’ve changed.
@@OnbiionoNina indeed
@@OnbiionoNina ikr
Cinnebar betrayed phos the most even though phos started this whole thing to help cinnabar. That was messed up. Cinnebar literally came up with the idea to spread his pieces and hide them which resulted in him being forgotten for 200 years of suffering.
Cinnebar did all this because the gems started to accept him. He betrayed his only true friend for others that were pretending to be nice to him, to use him as a enemy against phos.
Oh thats fucked actually I hadn't considered that
I have a diff interpritation.
1. It seems like the gems are genuine when reaching out to cinnabar. In the epilougue theyre real friends.
2. Phos never really reached out to cinnabar. He had good intentions, he really tried his best, he thought of the promice often. But he never figured out all cinnabar really wanted was connection. Never asked them to be his partner. They dont hang out except when asking something of each other or making promices.
After phos shattered, cinnabar had just seen what felt like the deranged half light of someone they wanted to love more than they actully did come at their father figure. They knew he was almost unrecognisable. That hed joined enemies on the moon. For all they knew, that wast even phos
Been a while since i read so maybe i misrembered. Just my take. The incredible loneliness of connection so close but so far adds to the series to me. Cinnabars admission to feeling guilt for not missing phos in the ending felt so real. And in the end he really was always alone.
Phos was betrayed in the end by all of them for a supposed "freeing themselves from their human condition"...
Lunarians in general were tired of their "monotonous" pleasure-centric style characterised by their soul condition, and wanted to attain Nirvana. In the end they coerse the others to join their beliefs and ending in a typical mass suicide cult. Obviously this is a gross simplification of things but it's not far from the truth.
The gems had some nasty betrayals for someone who was of their own kin. No surprise if we consider that they only cared for themselves for the most part. Rutile in the end was more worried about being the one to fix padpa than actually fixing her; bort being the ace-centric and authoritarian in the group, plus dia jealousy, trying to justify being the noblest of all gems by being better than bort; ametist twins even got over their reliance on eachother and other pairs who eventually recognised they didn't exactly enjoy eachother....
The top contenders for the betrayals though easily go for cinnabar and cairngorm. Phos for better or for worse, did try to find a way to help cinnabar with the mercury issues (easiest fix: let her gold become amalgamated to cinnabar thus nullify the mercury *wink wink*) yet in the end manages to capitalise on phos misery (even if not on purpose) to finally have the wish granted: to create bonds with the other gems. I mean it's not like phos didn't want to create a bond to begin with but was rejected for the most part but ok... Plus the fact in the very end wasn't troubled for not having phos by his side was very unfair... Cairngorm after the "eye surgery" for me takes the cake for pure selfishness and turning his, her? back to a friend. No matter how brainwashed he has been by the minimal presence of ghost, it doesn't justify this 180º personality flip and complete disregard for phos, and other gems aswell.
I suppose in the end the author wanted to portray to some extent the various traits of human nature and how they spread misery to others. We finally know that phos only wanted to not be alone (look at that cinnabar, self-centered brick *badum tss*, you lot had alot in common) yet never managed to connect in the end with nobody. I just find that this event conclusion leaves a bunch of "beings with human traits" wanting to find redemption of their past and current selves and reach Nirvana.... By screwing up the one being that will allow them to attain emptiness through depection and betrayal and pretend nothing bad ever happened....
@@thefaller01 exactly my thoughts about the characters, very well said 👏
@@thefaller01 and to add, everyone treated phos like garbage, and made it apparently so. Everyone gave up on phos the minute they turned into a slug. Cinnabar, despite being a tsundere, never gave phos the idea of care unless its saving them. Cinnabar secretly hoped phos would solve their problem, and wished for belonging, but they never expressed it. Overall it's lack of communication that led to their fall out. Once phos was built back together with what remained, all they could think or even remember about is everyone LOATHING their existance. That's why everybody was destroyed, its revenge, its vengeance. Phos wanted to be done with it and asked Kongo to pray, so that none of this would happen again, out of pain and suffering, and definitely out of anger.
This series was basically "How to torture a god into existence."
was about to call u out on stealing comments but now I'm just gonna call you out on recycling comments
@@youraveragesinner5474 Not sure what comment you think I stole or recycled, but ok. Was simply my sentiment after reading the series through and being bothered by how they effectively gaslight Phos into their eventual situation.
You're free to be needlessly hostile if that's what makes you happy.
Girl 😭😭😭😭
Here comes Slaanesh! Clench your butthole Bort!
Land of the lustrous is literally just 95 chapters of suffering and pain and I hate it 10/10, 5 stars would recommend
this might seem out of left field but... better than Beserk in my opinion
@@LibraryofAcousticMagic3240 it is.
@@LibraryofAcousticMagic3240As someone who has berserk as my number 1 manga, i agree, the philosophy is so strong in Land of the Lustrous than in Berserk, now I can't get enough of both from Berserk's amazing world building and Land of the Lustrous' beautiful message
Everyone did Phos dirty, but with an exchange for everyone's happiness and peace. Tho I don't know how the author will save Phos, she kinda ded inside after that hell
* they’re
@@Crazygamergal its a fictional character, leave it be and let them call phos whoever they want please
@@FinnishCrystal ugh, let people use correct pronouns on GENDERLESS humanised rocks. By saying excuses like you did people won't learn how to use pronouns correctly.
@@ChocomelJuice Genderless or not, she's a fucking rock.
@@ChocomelJuice you talk as if we didn't go to school for that. My point still stands, a fucking fictional rock doesn't care what it is called
What happened between Phos and Rutile was a little more complicated, and I wouldn’t say that Rutile was betrayed. Phos was told the Lunarians could permanently fix Padpa, and used that to try to convince Rutile to come. They didn’t. But still, because Phos loves Padpa, they took them to the moon to have them fixed. Rutile did lose it after realizing Padpa was taken, but it was because Rutile wanted to be the one to fix Padpa. They were incredibly possessive of Padpa and didn’t want them fixed if Rutile wasn’t the one to fix them. Phos didn’t betray Rutile, Rutile betrayed Padpa. Padpa was so happy to finally be alive again that they became unwaveringly loyal to Phos, the one person who was able to bring them back to life permanently.
Phos betrayed all of the other gems She took padpa from rutile
@@mememaster6748 d-did you not pay attention at all to any of the context of the video, the mangas story, or rutiles story with padpa?
Padpa was also an important gem strategically, as he was on of the few who suspected something was off with sensei and their gem-society in general, so that was a hint for Phos that Padpa would be on the “moon side” once he would know what’s up
Also, i remember one of the reasons phos gave for taking padpa is that they wanted to be separated from rutile for their own good
@@kishmishu not quite, in Phos's post winter dialogue with Cinnabar Cinn outright states ALL of them think something's off with the Lunarian situation and that Adamant was hiding quite a bit from them, but they all also loved him so much they were able to remain unquestionably loyal to Sensei. Padpa turning I believe comes from its unique condition which effectively subjects it to cycles of activation and inactivity almost tantamount to death and rebirth, every time it wakes up the world is a little different and new people inhabit it, only to have been shattered the next time it wakes up. Coupling that with its age as the second oldest Padpa is in a perfect spot to realize how futile their existence and fight against the Lunarians truly is. Funnily enough the only other gem that experiments many instances of death and rebirth is Phos.
phos did nothing wrong, Kongou was overprotective of him, Achmea took advantage of him, all turned against him for their own happiness.Phos sacrificed for everyone and ended up not being happy, the more I watch it, the more I want Phos from chapter 1 to come back.
We all miss Chapter 1 Phos for sure
@@TheDoomerDen when we just watched chapter 1 everyone would want Phos to be less useless, naive and whining but after the Winter arc, when Phos lost his head. When he goes to the moon, I want Phos from chapter 1 to come back
@@nganhuynh1014 What about antarticite she never really betrayed phos infact he was his only friend
@@augustuslunasol10thapostle Antarc doesn't care about Phos, he just does his duty and Antarc only thinks about Kongou. In chapter 95 we see Antarc asking about Phos because before he was taken away by the Lunarians he told Phos Kongou must not be left alone, and he only mentions Phos because he heard that Phos betrayed Kongou and broke him.
I don't actually blame Kongou. He's a machine and he's bound to obedience, so he can never speak against the wishes anyone puts forth. He can only take the initiative to influence things if no one speaks against it. He genuinely loves the gems, and if he didn't then he would have hurt Phos, or not put them back together again.
Houseki no Kuni is the incarnation of the “Mr. Incredible becoming uncanny” meme and I want to die inside.
THIS IS THE REALEST THING IVE READ IN MY ENTIRE LIFE
The people in Phos' life always did them dirty, when they tried making friends they always treated them below the others, amd whenever Phos wanted to help he always lost a peice of themselves in every process, truly a dark buddhisatva
Phos was a victim, not a villain
Except antarc and padparacha (and that young slug girl phos met post head choppy)
except antarc and padpa and the slug ppl they did nothing wrong
They seemed to be the only older people they looked up to, but the sad part is they both were absent through out their suffering, one literally was in a coma and the other was taken away, leaving Phos once again alone, which is hella sad
@@rangoon207 He,
@@filipbabovic8474 The gems are genderless
What infuriates me the most about this is the Earth gems antagonizing phos for siding with the lunarians, but in the end they went to the moon just like phos was trying to do all this time. And yet they abandoned phos all alone?? They don't even recognize phos was right and let her to rot alone .. even after getting all the fruits of her hard work for them
Discusting, selfish, cold hearted gems
THIS OH MY GOD
AND NO ONE FEELS BAD ABOUT NOT TRUSTING PHOS LIKE BRUH---
Jesus... Why so mean??
@@L16htW4rr10r if you were in Phos's shoes wouldn't you feel the same about them?
Gems are assholes
I know this is a comment from a year ago but I still kinda want to add to it
the earth gems well, I would say they were taken to the moon forcefully as they were brought there crushed and without any prior notice
the author might not have shown them adapting to the new situation but still ugh how can they just enjoy their life knowing that phos is suffering so much down there for their own good
and they have always treated phos so badly, calling him useless and all
I seriously can’t bring myself to like most of those characters anymore lol
Phos is going to come back singing
"Fly me to the moon
And let me kick its fucking ass"
LEMME SHOW YOU WHAT I LEARNED IN MAH MOON JIU JITSU CLASS
As he fucking should.
“I’m other words… fuuuck the mooooooon”
@@phlaryx7145 in other words, I’m still salty
Thus comment it underrated🤣
The ultimate irony (at least in the current state of things), phos actually accomplished their goal. The war between Lunarians and the gems is over. They did it but at the cost of their sanity and innocence. And Phos is the only one suffering for it.
Phos was Simply an innocent child, wanting the best for everyone, however, wasn’t guided and went down the wrong path and lost her head, literally and figuratively
Phos isn't a girl btw
@@tacobell1299 ik, but they dont exactly have a gender so i gotta refer to them without making the sentence awkward by saying phos like 5 times
@@rutimo Say whatever you want, In Japanese They refer to eachother as sisters and sometimes "ano-ko" or "that girl" with some exceptions depending on character such as yellow diamond being diamond's big brother
@@utsuro1165 i cant read Japanese so cant read the raws, and the translation group i know of doesn’t mention it in a TL note, that or they did but i didn’t see because i started reading where the anime left off
Thank you for presenting this side. A lot of people say Phos did nothing there in the context that the other gems all deserved to be shattered at the end, but I think Phos is genuinely traumatized and needed help long before it got this bad. I do however think Phos was very wrong with the Rutile situation and shattering innocent gems like Euclase, and encouraging gems like Diamond and Cairngorm to be completely sadistic in the battle at the end. However, Phos (himself without Lapis) I do agree did nothing wrong.
Really glad you enjoyed it, thank you for watching! Yeah I agree, especially since Rutile is one of my other favorites, Phos betraying them I find to be one of their biggest, and most harmful mistakes. I should have added Euclase didn't deserve it either, as they only didn't support Phos due to being vastly outnumbered. (Jade too perhaps? Jade never attacked Phos until it was purely a matter of self defense. They even issue an apology to Phos for not having attempted to understand them better.)
Perhaps in addition to an Aechmea video, I can do a video breaking down the other gems, no pun intended. Phos may be the central focus, but these other characters are far from nobodies too.
@@TheDoomerDen Oh for sure Jade, and I would argue the most of the other younger gems as well! I think it would be awesome to see a breakdown video of the other gems because there are so many Phos videos already. Phos is a really interesting character though, because you can read their situation in so many ways to the point where you get some people saying Phos is the ultimate villain or Phos did absolutely nothing wrong. Appreciate the nuanced take!
Really glad you enjoyed it! I can certainly add it to the video docket then! Thank you again for watching!
an argument against euclase, during the manga they are shown to "help" phos but when phos tries to get sensei to pray and get shattered right after that, euclase does nothing, showing selfishness i guess
i may have gotten things wrong but still.
@@anon_serenade I'd say in Euclase's defense, she does try to get them to reassemble Phos to talk, but Bort immediately shuts down that idea, and Cinnibar is the one to recommend the burial. Only when everyone agrees with Cinnabar and Bort, does Euclase stand down. Likely because the crowd mentality already had her outnumbered.
What really stuck with me was how the prince said they wouldn’t be able to bring all the gems back due to the hardnesses which included pho’s head and antarcite but then they DID bring them all back after he tricked phos. I believe phos’s head might get bought back and maybe antarcite cinnabar or euclase might give it back to them this “fixing”/redeeming phos
That was also probably a way for Aechmea to manipulate Phos ? I remember that while Antarcticite does only harden to a 3 on the mohns scale, but with low enough temperature, Antarcticite crystals can actually freeze up to 7 on the mohs scale
So what I think is that Aechmea can actually bring Antarc back, but for his plan to succeed, he kept that info from phos
i was wondering if maybe Lapis will get Phos' head since Phos still has Lapis' head
@@fae1283 This was actually explained, at first they didn't have the technology to do it because nobody ever really studied this stuff before, but, after a while, they DID advance enough for them to figure out a way to pull it off. It's not that they lied to Phos, it's that they couldn't guarantee that it was possible. But, like a lot of other things resulting from the Gems appearing, the request caused them to re-think what they knew and advance as a society, both scientifically and culturally.
Same for the slugs. At first they thought they had to kill the moon slugs, but then they figured out another way to restore the gems that the slugs had eaten. It's not that they lied, it's that their technology got better. But the big important thing is that Phos was left with the choice, right? They didn't HAVE to do it, but it forced Phos to confront a lot of terrible problems where he would have to make really terrible decisions before they eventually found a better way.
They use the head and plant it to a synthetic phos and once i wake up turn it to a lunarian. They have a baby phos again 😂😂 phos inclusion is strong they can literally make anothe rone of him
@@marka8817 Oh god, I never considered that. What if they managed to re-create every lost part of Phos and used the head to restore some of her memories? So you'd have the original head of Phos with the fake parts seeing the 'original' Phos, which mostly just has the body left.
Which of them would even be the real Phos at that point?
what scene i really like in the entire manga is when phos walks through the hallway of their home and see someone running energicaly through the hallway laughing and happy. phos even says "who's that? what a cutie". then you realize every part of her that lost contains memory, how much phos has lost along the way, she could'nt even recognize her younger self. that felt sad right through the kokoro.
really felt conflicted at the hiatus status of the manga, felt relieve cause we wont see phos continued suffering and felt disastified for wanting the continuation of the story.
Ah yes. The ps5 arc
so much pain. antarc and sensei are probably the only people who actually care about phos at the end of chapter 95.
And Ghost if she still existed or comes back somehow.
how did he care for her when he was the one who schemed that to put her into this loop of pain? they make her suffer for their sake. Selfish af
@@judal1325 no ghost didn't want that to happen. She genuinely if not crazily liked phos if I remember correctly. If cairngorm had never been brought out and it had stayed ghost. I think pretty much none of this would have been able to happen. Tho Aechmea still would have schemed and stuff
@@judal1325 bro what
@@arachbae4777 it reads like he's talking about sensei to me, not about ghost.
I can’t be a phos apologist if they did nothing wrong
Thats like saying "Belka didnt invade their foreign neighbores cause of selfishness"
@@flapflapflapflap That's like saying Osea didn't knowingly swindle Belka out of the Great Lakes' mineral deposits out of imperialist greed. Which directly lead to Belka's economic collapse and the futile attempt to stave off that collapse by selling land to Sapin and FATO and allowing Ustio, Recta, and Gebet to secede. Which in turn led directly to a revanchist counterswing and the rise of the Rald party, and thus the war. In conclusion, as usual, Osea did everything wrong.
@@ReptilianLepton in other words
Belka, Erusea and others are innoce-
Wait how did we went from gems to fictional countries?
The pain caused by becoming human after centuries of isolation and then getting outcasted over and over ate his sanity away, Phos is not bad, hes a good guy, he didnt do anything evil.the gems are just... not human and they couldn't understand or end his suffering.
yep completely agreed.
@@jayrun4341 i hate them they all did phos dirty
@@jayrun4341 especially bort they straight up told phos that he shouldn't exist i hated her ever since
i feel like a few of them could understand it like cinnabar, antarcticite and even padparadscha since they each experience extended periods of isolation. the rest of them most likely are ignorant to it but those gems not helping phos feels like an intentional call to their selfishness.
phos gave up everything for them and even those who should sympathize the most turned their back on him
@@iliketurtles1798not really? Again, they're rocks ffs they don't really "get" any sort of sympathy for others. Sure that being said some are absolute @sses, for example phos, bort and dia, but saying phos did nothing wrong is blaming the wrong person. Just because they're the protagonist doesn't mean they can't be criticized. Phos needs to get a grip on what they did, they lacked all awareness and care about what they caused towards others (except for what happened to anarticite) and even went so far as to wanting to destroy everything. If that's doing nothing wrong, then what is doing something wrong? Can phos actually be considered human if they do no wrong?
I'd actually like to argue that even Euclase and Jade did do "something wrong." Not as egregiously as, say, Bort, but it's extremely telling that those two, who were established authority figures in their own right, made no attempt to change anyone's thoughts on Phos and didn't argue against shattering and burying her. They forgot her like everyone else and made no attempt to help Sensei fix her, even if it was suggested they weren't on board. It was an insightful view into the consequence of passive behavior imo.
Jade also ridiculed Phos on several occasions and Euclase was pretty passive about it. It wasn't until Phos came back to shatter them that Jade said, "I'm sorry for not understanding you." I think that was a genius line that could mean that Jade was genuinely sorry she was too self-centered to realize how much Phos was hurting and trying to help, OR she was only apologizing in an attempt to protect herself. Phos interpreted it as the latter and I don't blame her given her mental state. Phos cared for every gem, even the ones she never met (Red Diamond as an example), and no one understood her attempts to help. Everyone had seemed to accept that fighting Lunarians and being stolen away was the status quo and didn't know how to deal with a baby gem actively seeking change.
Honestly, Jade saying "I'm sorry for not understanding you" always left a bitter taste in my mouth. She only says it after being absolutely bodied by Phos, and about to be crushed. So, the question must arise, if Jade hypothetically was able to beat Phos in that scene, would she even have apologized at all? And I think the answer is she wouldn't have.
@@TheDoomerDen Jade finally saw how absolutely insane Phos had become at this point from all their rejection and trauma. Phos' pain manifested in her monstrous form that bodied Jade but I think Jade apologized because she saw what Phos had become, not because she lost.
@@TheDoomerDen I agree with the above. She tried to sweep everything under the rug, not objecting or even trying to listen to Phos while he was trying to take a more peaceful route. Its only when everything came crumbling down and those she cared for got grinded to dust in front of her that she realized her mistake. She no longer saw the Phos she once looked down on, only a monster she had a hand in creating and for that she felt sorry for.
tbh im just mad at everyone cause they didn't hear him out and treated him like fodder to grant their tranquility. They should've all suffered like phos had to for 10,000 years withstanding the memories, emotions, the loneliness she carried for all of them on their behaif only ever just wanting to be worthy enough of love
It's been a while since I read this manga, but my personal interpretation of Phos and Rutile was never Phos trying to force Rutile to go with them, but misguidedly trying to help Padpa and absolve Rutile of her impossible task. She also knew of Padpa's own resignation to her fate, unwilling to tell Rutile to stop and give up on her, after all. It never quite read as Phos forcing Rutile to go to the moon when they left without her, nor to spite her.
Same here. I kinda figured that Phos had given up on the idea of bringing Rutile to the moon since they were the only ones with an extensive enough knowledge to repair other gems.
The fascinating part is that it’s impossible to tell what Phos’s true intention was, since even Phos doesn’t know for sure. After all, no selfless act is truly selfless due to how our conscience rewards such actions with pleasure, assuaged guilt, etc. It can easily manipulate us into acts that benefit us greatly, but we justify them because they may also benefit someone else a questionable amount - especially when we’re desperate. Nothing is ever pure, that is the harsh truth of reality. Our intentions are a mix of selfish and selfless. It takes a lot of self-awareness to isolate and acknowledge your intentions... I really hope this will be the focus of Phos’s development next during the 10,000 years.
Pho’s holding respect for Rutile is the reason they took Padpa. They saw the long struggle and thought they are helping.
@@cyncynshop Agreed. While as for Rutile I think a part of them are being highly self centered (? Is that the correct word I cannot engl i s h-)
Phos offered help numerous times to help Rutile, they declined
When Phos finally brought Padpa to the moon and helped Padpa, what did Rutile want to do first? Shatter Padpa (aside from shattering Phos)
What because they managed to wake Padpa up and not you? Get ahold of yourself Rutile-
@@fae1283 That is true phos genuinely helped padpa and fucking rutile wanted to shatter padpa
*10000 Years of Agony and Despair Later*
Aechmea: Now, pray for us... set us free.
Human Phos: ... No, I don't think I will.
The best revenge ever
Goodbye you lil shits
>Phos prays for everyone, finally just Princess/Cairn and Aechmea are left
>Phos puts his hands together again, Aechmea watches his "Princess" disappear in light while he remains, and he looks toward Phos with surprise pikachu face
>Phos replies, "Have a pleasant 10,000 years" lmao xd
Ending 1: Proceeds to yeet self off cliff, irrepairably breaking self, leaving Shitmea alone with no option for salvation.
Ending 2: reaches with their own hand into their eyesocket, yanks out Adamant's eye, and yeets it into the ocean, leaving Shitmea with no one to pray for him yet the only other person left is Phos. Does he turn angry as his angry form has been foreshadowed, and break him, leaving himself all alone?
I am on the edge of my seat here this is not a pleasant 10,000 years of hiatus for me. Oh if Cairn could end up alone in that moon doomer shelter I also wouldn't mind.
@@MissusAnon Holding out for this ending
@@MissusAnon i will treat this as canon while the manga is still on hiatus
@@MissusAnon I live for this possibility
In the end I’m biased toward Phos, even when she shattered Cinabar, right after she said that once she made sensei pray and have the lunarians disappear, she would rebuild everyone and they could all be together. Even in her most monstrous state all she truly wanted was for everyone to be happy, even though no one ever really stopped to think about Phos’ happiness.
Phos isn't a girl btw and in the manga they use masculine pronouns for Phos as well as the other gems
@@tacobell1299 theyre stones, of course they dont have genders, but that gives anyone freedom to interpret their pronouns
@@tacobell1299 only fan translations use masculine pronouns, the official versions use gender neutral "they" at the author's request.
Though tbf they aren't real, and they're gems that are very fem coded, and have been referred to as "he" in fan translations for a very long time now. Seems like all pronouns are on the table lol
@@tacobell1299that’s only in the English translation, in the Japanese it’s more ambiguous about what they are
The funny thing is that up until Phos was straight buried and forgotten when she realized her 1 mistake she tried to resolve it peacefully but BORT and ALL HER LITTLE FOLLOWERS (you too euclase) didn't try to give her a chance and see things her way until she literally resolved to grind them to dust and retroactively saved them like she was trying to from the beginning. Aside from antarc, padpa and the admirabilis I hate EVERYONE apart from Phos. Great vid ;D
Thanks for watching! Glad we can all agree this is borts fault, maybe we should bury her for 200 years
@@TheDoomerDen def
But dont u know how much chance they gave Phos?From start to end? Until the worst situation happen.The thing Phos did wrong is trying to believe the moon.
@@KDYinTH-cam bro I don't think u watched the vid or properly paid attention to what was happening in the manga if "trusting the lunarians was her mistake" is your answer to what I just said
@Just Weeaboo Bort has failed to protect the gems because they keep getting taken. Phos found the only way to bring a lot of them back AND stop them from being taken. The only reason that didn’t work... is Bort.
Phos' only issue is that they wouldn't get a job and nobody would help them. If they did, nothing would have gone the way that it did.
I think it’s arguable that such a thing would ever have worked. Phos’ problem is one of fulfillment and belonging. I think that even from the beginning, Phos was fundamentally different and didn’t belong in their society - we’re actually directly told as much. Phos wouldn’t have been satisfied with doing one thing and never changing or growing, and trying to force it would have just kicked the problem down the road.
@@Krikenemp18 Having a job brings both of those things. The issue is that Phos did not have the faith to stick to one thing.
@@jeremybruck5402 Phos did have a job at one point but didn’t stick with it because it wasn’t fulfilling
@@Krikenemp18 It would have been more fulfilling in the long run, given the alternative which is self-annihilation
@@jeremybruck5402 I think Phos needed something that felt 'real' to them, which is something I can relate to. Like it's just not enough to be given a job, even if a useful one, it also has to be the job that you chose, at least in some capacity. While it's true that this can happen retroactively, like at some point down the line you find for yourself the meaning in a given thing, but imo Phos has always been far more ambitious than that sort of thing could be indicated for. Like wanting to fight with a body useless for that purpose is really ambitious (and obviously risky and socially costly). But it's also deeply generous of them in a way to want to serve in that capacity. It's not just out of a desire to look cool to the people who patronize and look down on them, it's that they want to do something that they really think matters, like protecting the people they care about. And knowing that they wind up being the sole one to confront all of the long standing crises and existential issues surrounding them, even though it has made them miserable, imo points to a drive to find meaning beyond what even your society can understand and consequently recognize. For instance the first person that Phos really relates to and that shakes them out of their relative self absorption is Cinnabar, someone even more marginal and forgotten than them. Already that early in the story Phos was completely struck or arrested thinking about what they could do about a problem perhaps only a few other people (Kongo, Rutile, etc) could see, because Phos's desire for meaning or purpose isn't just something for show or to meet external or objective standards, but something they need to be able to recognize themselves even if no one else does. So I think Phos is just naturally way too sensitive to more immediate emotional or social needs (as they see them), along with being too ambitious or too 'big picture', to be satisfied with things like the encyclopedia job, which in a way that I find really fascinating, I think speaks to the character's true generosity. By all appearances it's like a theoretical impossibility that they would ever do something that 'big' (on the level that they want or could even be motivated to try), but they're still genuinely trying to change themselves into what they think their society needs. Their static society was just completely unprepared to handle someone like this and the social change that their very existence would seem to make necessary, and that's ultimately the weakness in their society that Aechmea exploited imo.
With the Manga over, I still think about how phos really is the victim here. Not only of other manipulation for longer than they even remember, but of the concept of time. The toll on their personality and psychology through all of this. And it all started with love.
How was "Have a pleasent 10.000 years" the last thing we saw? She did that on purpose common.
I hope pho’s stays spiteful during that time
@@Gooberwares I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up being kongou 2.0. See gems after a really long time, sculpt gems to look like him, teach gems peace, gets attached to new gems. Forget.
I mean, she did make a point of telling us she ordered na PS5 on Ch. 94 and that it arrived on Ch. 95.
@@Insorainity that’s exactly what I’m hoping that would go
@@Gooberwares She's gonna become functional in 10,000 years and the first thing she does is not pray.
I honestly don't even think Phos is at fault for their trickery of Rutile. Padpa even agreed with Phos when he woke up. He wanted Rutile to be free of him and Padpa didn't want to be woken up in a cycle forever. I think it was still a very bad move considering the consequences but Phos never wanted to endanger anybody.
I also think that it's not just Bort and Aechmea that were at fault. I felt like other than Antarc and Ghost (who everyone seems to forget about), nobody ever was willing to actually care for Phos. Not only that but they saw his destruction and change as, well growth. They were all happy for him, as he slowly just lost a lot of his emotions. The fact that the gems were "Pure" didn't allow them to notice the negative changes in Phos, other than for a few keen ones.
Phos truly did nothing wrong and everything was a matter of circumstance and being pushed towards this eventual dilemma. I just hope when the manga gets off hiatus, Antarc will find a way to help our boy, cuz I don't think he's gonna care for anybody soon enough.
Great video btw!
Couldn't agree more, so glad you enjoyed the video!
From what I got from the paddy rutile situation
Paddy wanted rutile to let them go and move on without them and wait for a better solution down the line
Rutile felt obligated by their partnership to save paddy no matter what the cost otherwise who are they ?
It’s Interesting paddy said “I want rutile to give up on this puzzle of mine “ to phos and not rutile themselves. Most likely cuz rutile would never accept that..
When phos kidnapped paddy behind rutile’s back it was an insult to rutile personally almost to an obsessive degree
What if he forgot about antarc?!?!
They lost most of their body parts and his memories im worried!!!
I feel like the Betrayal of rutile was 100% justified. Rutile didn’t want pada fixed, rutile wanted to fix them. Rutile was selfish and egotistical, wanting to use pada to justify their role as a doctor, not save them.
I think Rutile spent way too long looking at Padpa as a problem to be solved than seeing them as a person, which seems understandable when they're literally unconscious 99% of the time and laying there to be worked on, but it's still totally unacceptable not to see/understand Padpa's autonomy and give priority to it, especially when it's becoming a basis for repeated conflict.
Absolutely agree. Rutile literally throws knives to break padpa and doesn’t care for their well being. Rutile just wants to solve the puzzle.
exactly, which is clearly a problem with Gem society as a whole; we rarely see a Gem that doesn't define themself entirely by their role, and who doesn't mentally fall apart when they can't fulfill it
like Dia literally started self-harming because they felt that they needed to be as good as or better than Bort; this society isn't fucking healthy
really glad to see land of the lustrous is still relevant to this date even when no plan of anime season 2 seems to be at work and this long hiatus is more so each of us fan sharing the pain and wait phos have to go through I suppose.... which really can lead to us into either thinking alot or wanting to stop thinking.... still this is a great work in stating how phos isn't wrong, because by the point phos losing their limbs and pieces, it's not really phos anymore... which is really sad and also further reason to why even the gems on earth no longer trust them....
We gotta get through this content drought somehow. I'm really happy you enjoyed it, thanks for coming by!
I would like to add to this that, something I notice every time I reread this is that throughout their journey, and ESPECIALLY during their time on the moon, almost everyone was constantly degrading, generally looking down upon, further traumatizing, or just straight up ignoring anything phos is trying to accomplish FOR THEM. It wasn't something that started after phos began to change, it was always like that. Phos could *never* be good enough for the rest of the gems, for the people they thought of as their family.
I think that moment when the gems stuck phos into the ground and left them, forgotten, for over 200 years was simply the straw that broke the camels back. Maybe Phos once shared memories with them where they genuinely showed care towards phos, but when it came down to it, phos was really always alone. And notably, as the story progresses it becomes more and more difficult for phos to even recall moments like this as they lose their memories.
After constant efforts to simply *help* everyone, to belong, loosing themselves in the process, until they can no longer even recognize themselves, phos knows nothing anymore? can remember nothing, except the pain and trauma that they suffered, the people who perpetuated that trauma time and time again, and the anger and resentment that is attached to it.
its genuinely heartbreaking that the only person who asks about phos when the gems are reformed is someone who spent some of the least time with phos, and yet still managed to care more than anyone else in phos' life.
Im not saying that some of the things the gems do in reaction to phos isn't understandable at times, but simultaneously, there is a stark difference in the way they are there for phos versus the way they are there for every other gem they know. In a way, how they treat phos and cinnabar from start to our current point mirrors each other very ironically. Whereas phos began as an innocent gem, loved by all of the others, and contrastingly cinnabar was isolated from everyone, we see the gradual shift in their positions. where cinnabar takes that place they once held, finding acceptance and love, phos increasingly spirals further into a monster, isolated by both the earth and moon gems. We've come full circle at this point.
tldr; this manga HURTS and i just want phos to somehow be okay, even though I know this is impossible to truly happen after everything they've gone through.
they could never make me hate you phosphopyllite
Phos is the embodiment of someone who wants to be lazy, but turns out to work the hardest and shoulder the most. Someone who wants to solve a problem, knows she isn't the right person for the job, and yet still gives her all to do it anyway because nobody else will. Nobody, but Adamant, recognizing her effort is also a sad reflection of reality. If you got to the finish all battered and making all sorts of mistakes, few will recognize what you archived. The ones who do recognize it often have struggled and made plenty of mistakes.
I wish Antarcticite was at least allowed to say "thank you" to Phos, I don't think Phos would need anything more than just those two words to be at "peace".
Tbh no one wanted to save the other gems that were captured, they just gave up. Phos was the only one that actually tried to find the pieces and felt to retrieve the pieces.
The reason Houseki no Kuni was such a captivating story for me was that all the characters are so morally grey. Even Prince Aechemea, the person who drove Phos to madness, did it for a good reason. He wanted his people to be freed. At the cost of one life, the release of a whole population of people doesn't seem so bad. He even offers the gems an opportunity to disappear with the culture they grew so accustomed to by turning them into lunarians. The most frustrating thing about this manga is that nobody really did anything wrong. All of this misfortune is just a result of a few people doing what they genuinely thought was best, and I think that realism makes the manga hit way harder than it would have if there was some evil monstrosity that just hated the gems or didn't see them as sapient organisms waiting at the top of the control pyramid. There is nobody you can point fingers at and burn at the stake. The only way a good ending will happen is if Phos manages to move on, but that seems completely impossible. It is an immortal gem creature, there are no natural variations in thought without some outside force acting. Anyways, see you guys once the 10,000 year hiatus is over!
I think something very interesting is also the fact that sensei is broken and Phos finding out:
from the very beginning Phos tries to get a job, something to do, while feeling ostracized for being "useles", it's encouraged by Sensei to find something to be good at, and all of the events of what happened to the character are a direct result of this
to then come back and learn that sensei is a machine that can't do the one thing it's supposed to, it's a weird irony that explains why phos is so hell bent in his anger and why sensei took so much liking to her
Who is the true villain? The author and her Ps5 are true mastermind
lol true
This is what it feels like being around selfish people. You tried your best to help them despite being called a "weak one" and "useless". Once you had enough, they abandoned you just for their desire, leaving you all alone...
But hey we still have rock friends tho :D
Since I didn't see anyone comment about it after scrolling for about a second, I will say it for everyone who didn't.
I will bash Cairngorm with a hammer as many times as necessary. That is, until they've broken in pieces and then some. Post-Ghost's influence Cairngorm is just... awful. I hate them so much.
PS: You have no idea how much I vibe with your avatar. Also, keep up the good work!
That's the spirit! I hope Ghost too comes back in Lunarian form and punches Cairn's jaw off. Someone's gotta do it.
And thanks, glad you like it! More content is in the works as always so I hope you stick around!
Cairngorm also did nothing wrong
Cairngorm is a character where I can say, "I can fully and deeply understand why they are acting this way and it's very interesting but I also want them to be shattered completely."
@@ahorribleterribleperson I could not agree more
I have so many conflicting feelings toward Cairngorm. On the one hand, they’re a backstabbing shallow hypocrite who gladly abandoned Phos for the very guy they warned Phos about and for what? A shallow, vapid existence as a “Princess”? A life as Achmea’s puppet disguised as a journey of self-discovery?
But on the other hand, Cairn can also be seen as another victim of Achmea’s manipulations. He preyed on their identity crisis and how used it to sway them to his side as a way to further hurt and isolate Phos. Plus, something tells me that procedure to remove the last bits of Ghost wasn’t just an eye surgery.
All in all, as much as I want to grind them to dust, feed their dust to the Admirabilis, and run off with their entire wardrobe, I can’t help but pity them for their circumstances. I also hold a bit of hope that the bit about them being very good at acting isn’t just flavor text and that they’ve been playing Achmea this whole time.
Ngl, those final chapters left me wanting Phos to somehow destroy the lunarians including probably every other gem, reading it enraged me cause they were so betrayed and was actually the only one doing something about the situation they were in, just to end up not being taken serious by the others or otherwise seen as a traitor and a dumb kid
Honestly I loved Cairngorm when they were still under ghost's influence, they were such a chill yet strong character who obviously did care for phos(even if it wasn't by choice) Cairngorm after fully removing ghost did drop down my list of favourite characters though ngl ,but a theory that I like is that achmea manipulated them into being who they are today as another chess piece in his game of turning phos human
Edit: great vid btw, HNK is one my top favourite manga it's always nice to see content like this made for and I'm glad I found your channel!!
I absolutely hated what they did with her character. She started off as stern and serious but grew to genuinely care and be concerned about Phos' enough to even help her get to the moon. The complete 180 where she just becomes some happy-go-lucky girl with no concern for her friends felt like a gut punch. I hope that gets addressed later on because Phos suffered for her and all she did was something any of the capable gems could have done if they were willing.
I disagree with the theory that Aechmea manipulated Cairngorm as part of the conspiracy. I think Aechmea genuinely fell in love with Cairngorm (for some reason), and that all of the caring, responsible parts of their personality were Ghost's, evidenced by the fact that their relationship continues past the point where Cairngorm plays any kind of useful role. Cairngorm's inverse redemption arc, where they become a selfish, nasty, needy, piece of work, is so uniquely infuriating and I've never seen anything quite like it before.
I have read up to chapter 99 and I still think that Phos did nothing wrong from a moral perspective. He was the only one that actually had sympathy if you look closely at the characters.
If someone kills another person because they’re sympathetic of them are they wrong
@@Growingcuckoo💀💀
To me the worst thing that happened to phos wasn't being shattered and hidden away, the worst thing was being forgotten.
I dont believe Phos became manipulative when they gained Lapis's head. I think they lost their nativity. Remember Lapis was praised most highly for having an eye for detail. I think that with Pho's head went their blind ability to trust those around them at face value. And with Lapis's new gift Phos was able to see the cracks in others stories and treatments. Addtionally, I think it allowed Phos to see what would effect the gems the most to bring them to their side, but the action of doing so came from Pho's core self and their desire to help and aid others. They wanted their friends happy, even if their methods had to be painful to achieve it
Entirely agreed. Lapis's head just offered a basis for maturation or complication to Phos's life, and so often these two things are essentially the same, and 'necessary' in exactly the same way. The darker side of life exists and isn't really something to be afraid of in and of itself. Which seems strange to say because it can be so easily mishandled, but ignorance of it offers no real alternative, so we're simply forced to learn how to deal with it and manage the complication that it brings to us. Phos's character got more complex and more involved/focused, which at least by base appearances has a more sinister character than their former relative innocence or purity, but Phos's fundamental motives didn't really change. They're still questioning themselves and trying to find an acceptable way forward, it's just they don't have the luxury of being ignorant about a lot of things anymore, a more critical eye will simply notice and find itself getting involved with more problems, just by virtue of having consciousness of them.
I never knew that I could relate to Phos so much until I watched this😭 I’m also glad that I can get a good refresher on what has happened since the hiatus started. Ever since I read chapter 95, it always pissed me off how Phos was done dirty even though they were juste trying to help and that’s something I completely understand
Thanks for watching! I feel you about being pissed off, but I might not worry too much about how Phos was done dirty... After all, I think everyone on the moon just screwed themselves by becoming lunarians. There's a reason they wanted to become nothing, after all. (And I for one can't wait to see Cairn's selfish hypocrisy bite them in the backside finally)
@@TheDoomerDen yes I definitely agree but Phos will be so lonely and that will suck. I hope they can find a purpose or something. Maybe raise new gems from The shore of Nascency or something?
@@slicky3397 Right, though I don't think Phos will be that lonely. It looks like that now yes, but also remember Phos is the last gem on earth, but not the last person. We still have the admirabilis, sensei's brother, and the potential for new gems to be created still.
Personally, I think initially those on the moon will have great lives and Phos will be lonely, but as time goes on I think those roles will reverse, and Phos will find purpose while the new-lunarians seek nothingness. My one hope however, is I really hope Antarc can reunite with Phos in some form.
@@TheDoomerDen that is true. I can’t believe I forgot about the admirabilis lol. You seem to have it really well thought out though and what your saying could actually really happen but we will have to see☺️
If somehow, Phos is sensible after 10,000 years, I sincerely hope they ditch all the other gems.
Phos was as a child, a q neglected one that only was given attention when they seemed more 'powerful'. They reached for help, for answers, and ended up being used and abandoned.
They been a tool to everyone else to reach their goals, and they ended up carrying all the consequences and trauma from it.
Phos deserved better, I hope somehow they see that after 10,000 years of torture.. and not to succumb to whatever those gems try to throw at them.
Personally I feel like it was Lapis Lazuli's fault. She kind of brainwashed Phos and manipulated her for her own goals. Phos was just a misguided gem who needed help. Which no one gave to her. Even after I say that I still feel like Phos had a hand in her own fall. So she's not instant either. I'm just saying that Lapis Lazuli sucks and I hate her.
It's true Lapis has big influence on phos but i dont believe he brainwashed phos. There is scene where Lapis cut his own head and gave it to phos willingly. He make phos smarter and more cunning and manipulative. But it's still phos, and his goal too.
@@hasanafrezsa4608 I agree it's not actually Lapis' fault, smarter Phos was actually more dependable. I think the problem was others like Euclase already knew Lapis manipulative tactics
I actually blame cinnabar. Cinnabar should help phos when Phos talked to Cinnabar about Sensei relationship with Lunarian. cinnabar said a lot of gems already suspicious about sensei but they never bother to think or talk about it. Phos realize how alone he is. Everything is a downhill after this.
I think we can all agree that Bort and Cairngorm need to be shattered asap. I despise all the gems, but those two have a special place in my heart as the most hated.
Come to think of it... I'm actually worried that Phos, after becoming a complete human, can try to kill themselves. That would mean end of suffering in a way they never had, the lunarians won't get to rest and would have to spend who knows how much time again until a similar oportunity happen, the revenge on those Phos considered friends and family... is a really raw ending but it would actually make sense in consideration of how much fucked up shit they been trough. Hope I'm mistaken.
Honestly... i can see Phos praying for them all while taking a death by 10,000 needles approach as revenge. they got what they wanted to bad it isnt exactly what they expected.
@@snintendog I prefer the spiteful approach. Phos waking up, enlightened, and the first thing he does is sit down, meditate, and never pray for eternity.
This is one of the things I find super interesting about the series, Phos IS the good guy, they're trying to end the war and they're doing everything they can to help the people on the moon. The Prince isn't really evil, and neither are the moon people, all they do is to end their suffering so they can finally die. While the Prince is manipulative, at the end of the day, they're right. This was the only way. Phos had to suffer to end all of their suffering, everything they did was out of desperation at their lack of options.
But it's also like, the gems are happy with life as it is. They enjoy being with Sensei, and Praying would end all of that, too. So you still have this scenario where Phos and the Lunarians are right, but they're also the active invaders, framed as malicious and monstrous, while Sensei and the gems are passive, only acting out of self-defense with no negative intentions at all. Sensei doesn't want to lie to everyone or drag things out, this is just the only way he can exist. So the longer things go on for, the more you start to turn against Sensei and his order and the more you start to side with the Prince and Phos, despite them becoming progressively more and more morally black as things go on.
I am so mad at Sensei for just letting them do all of that to Phos. They didn’t even try to stop them.
Sensei is one of the only characters I'm not mad at. Unfortunately, since Kongou is a machine, he has no ability to go against his programming, and while he can make suggestions to the human-fragments, he can't actually disagree with them. He's a victim of Asimov's laws and good design on his creators' part. He's basically stuck in an impossible situation where he can't choose to help Phos, as that would be taking an action to hurt humans. All he is allowed to do is watch, no matter how much it hurts him. Kongou is one of the only blameless characters, along with Phos.
Phos just took a bunch of bad decisions, a very human trait.
Enma is a SOAB
Gosh… this vid hit home for me :,(. But that was a very well done analysis!! It wad definitely observant and insightful. I too agree that Phos did nothing wrong. They were the true victim here. It especially irked me how most of the other gems despised them. I would even say it was emotional abuse.
I couldn't agree more. I'm really glad you enjoyed the video, thanks for coming by!!
Cool video, I enjoy when more people actually talk about the Manga, but I sort of disagree on Phos doing (almost) nothing wrong, and I wanna start by saying that it's kind of the point of the story that basically EVERYONE has done something wrong at some point, even if they had good or altruistic intentions. The main reason I would say Phos did a decent bit of shit wrong, is that despite Achemas machinations and manipulation, and him putting them into stressful or fucked situations, it was still ultimately Phos who made the decisions and choices in those crucial moments that resulted in their "development", from choosing to follow Ventricosus into the Ocean, to "giving" up their arms to the Ice Floes, to half assedly dragging other gems into their schemes to get Sensei to pray, no matter how increasingly desperate or morally reprehensible their plans became, to arguably even all the way back to the beginning with them not writting the damn encyclopedia, but I think thats what makes the character more interesting to me, that they are ultimately a tragic character who tried their very best, but still made MANY bad choices, that resulted them in "doing many things wrong" but the stories written in such a way where, even if those decisions were *mostly* bad or at the very least flawed, you can't really blame Phos, and they did genuinely want to make things better for their comrades, and even made real tangible progress on changing the state of the World, and I really enjoy when a character is put to task for THEIR decisions and everything that brought them to their end point. Now they're stuck on a beach for 10,000 years, to suffer until they finally Pray... or not? we'll see where this goes I'm excited
Thanks for the comment, I do hope you enjoyed the video! I do agree that everyone essentially did something wrong, but I feel I am a bit more forgiving on them since I blame Aechmea more as the one designing things. But I think there are valid points to all sides, which is what makes the story so great.
I think we're all on the edge of our seats for this hiatus to end. There are so many different ways for the story to go from here, and it's exciting to think about them.
@@TheDoomerDen yeah thats fair, this is afterall a story full of morally flawed individuals, and Achemas one of the most extreme of those characters, I just don't particularly like to... almost "undermine" (I don't know if theres a better word) Phos' decisions up to this point with the idea that it was ALL predetermined by Achema, since it was specifically Phos' personality and unique circumstance that led to their development.
And yeah hiatus continues until the eventual continuation of pain and loneliness -also how fucked would it be if the first new gem that Phos finds at the shore is either another Phosphophyllite or Cinnabar?-
@@raizekalos5721 If A Gem That Appeared And it was phosphoyllite/Cinnabar Maybe Phos Will just go Away From them Or Will just stay In that beach Till Phos get The Power. Bc She Dont understand How To Use the powder And If they break Maybe Phos just Will Take Them into The School And Place them In Rutile Things And go back To the beach
I would argue that trying and failing to improve is more admirable than staying the same to avoid making mistakes. That is why Phos is so compelling to me. Phos is the only one who actually changes and seeks improvement. The only thing holding Phos back now is the baggage of all the mistakes made along the way, but some enlightenment will help with that.
I guess I’m not really disagreeing with you, huh? Just another facet to the gem.
I agree!! Just because Phos isn't bad doesn't mean Phos is good. Same as just because someone isn't good doesn't mean they are bad. There isn't a Black and White, it's all just different shades of Gray.
Personally, I think everyone is at fault _and_ not at fault. They did what they think is best for them, and they can't afford to care about the others. (Adamant and the Gems wanting each other to be happy; Ventricosus just wanting to save their sibling; The Lunarians wanting to pass on; etc.)
Of course, these are all just my opinions, and may change in the future.
Despite Enma's(I have a difficult time spelling the guy's other name) manipulation, I will never forgive the Gems for their initial treatment of Phos. It was during Jade's last moments where they finally said that they were sorry for never trying to understand Phos's situation. All I could do was laugh then. They didn't need to understand Phos; not really, if anything it would be harder to force such a connection that isn't there; just not beat the already beaten down horse. Phos was happy go lucky, and a bit of a ditz 70% of the time, but they were painfully aware of their faults and didn't need others pointing it out in order to want to change. Bort is the main contender of this and one of the few reasons why she is my least favored, yet most intriguing character.
Great video! Just discovered this channel, time to watch a bunch of videos.
Edit: upon reading the comments, the fact that almost every character can be faulted is quite amazing. makes for super interesting character dynamics. Ironically one of the most realistic portrayals of the human psyche while being a complete fantasy manga with living gems as characters.
Thank you so much! Hope you enjoy the rest of the channel, and any more to come!
Phos needs therapy, but after Phos, the therapist will need therapy too
This really shows the suffering involved in growing as a person. It’s hard enough within a society where that drive exists within everyone to varying degrees, but it’s even more extreme within a society where you’re the only one with that drive and everyone else resists change like their life depends on it. Phos is the gems’ only hope to change their lot, but the problem is that the gems don’t want it to change despite how much they lament. Trying to force change on those who don’t want it is the hardest thing of all, and that, I believe, was the capital T thing Phos did wrong, from which most of Phos’ suffering stems. I’m expecting and hoping the manga to pick up with Phos eventually meditating during the 10,000 year wait, finally introspecting and reaching enlightenment. While Phos has done a lot of soul-searching throughout the story, I think that has been too focused on the outer world and not enough on the inner world, which is why nothing has worked and only suffering has increased. Phos has only lost sense of self through it all, and needs to gain it back before change will start to become a positive force.
Man, what an absolute masterpiece of a manga this is.
In 11:43
And in the chapter where Obsidian and red beg alex to stop crushing them
I was like
Stfu you have no right to say that you even deserve so much worse just deal with it
JUST LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO MY POOR PHOS!!!!!!
Houseki no Kuni had a massive impact on me. I can say seriously that I was traumatised by the story as I relate horribly with Phos. As a person with high sensibility, I felt Phos distress so intensly it made me dissociate with myself. As I relate to them, Phos needed so much someone to reach for them. To help them and understand them. Sensei tried, at the end, he was the only one who tried. But Phos wasn't able to trust him anymore. Not even Cinnabar lend them a hand. Phos lost the only two person who saw their pain and reach for them ; ghost and Antarc. It was so painfull seing cairngorm abandonned her, Diamond doing the same, at their first occasion of happiness. I feel everyone is so self centered un HnK. Euclase, Phos, sensei and rutil being the exception. (With maybe yellow diamond, padparacha and amethyst. ) They are barely capable of empathie. Empathie was the lacking factor I think. None was given to Phos, so, Phos had none to give either. As if it is empathy that make us human, and different from the gems.
Phos was wrong, did wrong things, but how can I blame them ? They were so lonely, they couldn't do anything else. I wish I could be there for them, tell them it's going to be alright and they are loved. So loved. Well I'm too emotionnal, it just hurt to much, the pain this story has left me. Because it is my fear, to be seen as à monster, to become a monster, when everything I ever wanted was to belong, and do good around me.
I disagree with most of the gems lacking empathy, as we often see them caring for each other when it’s not too inconvenient to them. I think the crux is that nothing is ever truly selfless. There is always something you get back from a well-intentioned act, be that a bit of joy from knowing you helped someone, to feeling less guilty about being selfish. The gems all exhibit this duality, ESPECIALLY Phos, who often struggles to understand their own motivations. Being a moral agent is agonizingly difficult because of these things, which contributes greatly to the Buddhist view on suffering being inherent to existence.
I disagree with you saying Rutile wasn't self-centred. They didn't want Padpa to be fixed, they were simply exercising a saviour complex. If they cared about anyone other than themselves, if they cared about Padpa, who they dedicated their life's work to, then they would have been glad to see Padpa fixed, but they weren't, they still hated Phos despite the fact that what Phos did was objectively the right thing to do.
So I got bored and curious one day and just read all of this manga in like a week. I genuinely can't decide if Phos was right or not. All I know is if Sensei had tried to explain as best he could sooner, things could've gone better. I know its not his fault but dang
I read the whole manga in 2 days,it took me over 10 hours i think
I binged the manga in one day, from noon till evening, and man was it fucked up.
And in the end . She still prays for them
I am still waiting that the part of phos that was given to the worm people will return to him with a core memory or something.
I think the worm people still have a role to play.
The only "real" friend Phos had was Antarc. He couldnt even see him in the end. Damn
and the rocks in last chapters
the rocks made me so sad @@marti2255
not even antarc
@@sashalvy yeah, thats so sad fuck
Another questionably ethical thing Phos did was consider true genocide, but she ultimately chose not to.
Great video! Love how you covered Phos's character and I ultimately think I agree Phos wasn't in the wrong. Would LOVE to see more HnK content in the future as it is currently my favourite manga.
I blame Bort about as much as Achmea, if not more so.
Achmea is trying to end the suffering of a lot of people. And Bort? Bort is just being a stubborn, shortsighted and cruel asshole.
I know the gems probably don't even realize how cruel their actions are, but that doesn't make it much better. Besides if you use that excuse for Bort, you'd have to give Phos the same consideration.
Coming back to this video after almost a year, I think taking Padparadcha "away" from Rutile isn't even a mistake.
It was pretty clear that no matter how much she tried, Rutile would never be able to provide anything beyond temporary fixes for Padparadcha. The Lunarians have a much better chance of succeeding. So what Phos does might seem cruel toward Rutile on the short run, it is the better option in the long run for Rutile and the better option for Padparadcha in general, since she can finally be cured.
And if it wasn't for Bort, it would have almost asuredly worked too, with Pad coming to Earth and showing Rutile that Phos did the right thing, even it it didn't appear like that in the moment.
So sure, Rutile would have lost it's purpose, but would have regained it's friend, which was why it took up that purpose in the first place... but Bort ruined it all in it's ignorance and mistaken conviction of rightousness. Though I guess some blame would also have to be placed on all the gems that just went along with Borts decisions without thinking for themselves.
@@Norbert_Sattler bort was happy with the status quo, she's a battle junkie with the best hardness and she's apathetic, she doesn't care for the gems that gets taken away day by day so i can actually get understand why she does things. best of all we actually see her being a pathetic lunarian in contrast to others gems
The road to hell is paithed with good intentions.
And current phos is the perfect embodiment of that. Sadder still the only reasons phos fails is that her pure heart wants to trust others without question, and that she lacks the complete picture where she is not given the entire truth of the situations.
In the case of phos though, those whom she sacrificed for nether care nor recognize her sacrifice becuase as immortals unless it directly effects them personally/immediately they will be diasociated with it.
My theory towards the final ark of the series is that once moon phos finnished becoming kongo phos rather than sending everyone to the afterlife she sends them all to hell out of spite and revenge
thank you for this video! it helped me understand phos a lot more, i had difficulty seeing the grey side in all of this before. i do hope we get to meet sensei’s sibling soon too, it would add a new perspective that could help explain the world before the comets much better! (and yes. i do want to attack caringorm! thank you for reminding me of my hatred for their horrid self!)
Really glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
The post-hiatus chapters have been some of the best fiction I've ever read. So stunningly painful, yet so beautiful- I'd love to hear your opinion on them and where the story is headed as of chapter 99.
I plan to do a full lotl overview when the series ends!
I was ready to fight tooth and nail for Phos but when you pointed Rutile... Man you're right. That was so wrong of Phos... Poor Rutile.
Honestly (ik some ppl would be against what I'm saying) but I don't think Rutile is 100% that good either. Someone offered help to revive your partner and you declined numerous times and when your partner does wake up what did you do?
Try to shatter them
Of course
Honestly I was glad when Padpa shattered them, beat some sense into Roof tile
Also I don't wanna measure Rutiles grief over Padpa the same as Phos or Yellow Dia. They both lost their partners and (back then) potentiallnever to see them again while Roof tile has them in their infirmary every day for eons
Bort is a pretty self centered character too. Yea they're the main protector of the island but that just asserts how dominant they are. They're by no means innocent. Ppl defending Bort because that they're the oldest and such isn't relevant to me
Also about Cairn, honestly, I have my own theory on them and don't actually hate them (Tho I do miss old cairn)
The gems were so used to familial type love that when romantic type love comes in, as a foreign addictive feeling, cairn can't help themselves. Also keep in mind before detaching from Ghost, they actually had a hard time trying to think for their own. Their thoughts and feelings are all shared with ghost, with ghost being the dominant one. Ghost managed to keep cairn under control as we see before they got shattered.
Cairn is just full of love to me, they got angry when they lost ghost, angry when they lost lapis; one of the gems they were closest with, and even offered to give their head (rip it off their own neck even) to phos when he lost his head the first time. When they first considered to detach from ghost, ghost trying to keep them from detaching from themselves, reminding them who they're under, you can see how much cairn struggled, to the point of shattering to literal tiny pieces and crawled to ask Aechmea to remove ghost and Aechmea having to piece them back together, sorta like trauma?
So yea thats my interpretation of Cairn
Bort made Phos's life worse, if it weren't for his "mohs below 5 are weak and cant handle on their own", she could have been a great fighter
Also fuck Sensei for letting Phos suffer more and fuck Dia for not letting Phos vent out
phos didn't betray rutile by bringing padpa to the moon--she brought padpa there because she thought padpa could be healed there. I don't think she kidnapped padpa solely to manipulate rutile
In case anyone reading this didn’t see, Orange was hiring lots of new CG Artists and animators, the tweet announcing the hiring had a piece of LotL art, and they ended it with something along the lines of “Looking forward 100 years, we will continue to take on the utmost challenges”
Obviously not confirmation of S2, but it feels very damning
phos doing the most for people that don’t even like her is probably one of the realest and most chilling parts of hnk :(
even in the beginning when phos was innocent, the other gems still invalidated and dismissed her. and when phos tried to help them, they betrayed her
just binged the series and manga, this was needed :”)
The manga was beautiful but deeply saddening to me. The gems could have lived out a happy life for eternity. Phos suffered for a long time and wanted to find meaning in her own life, and later wanted to understand the meaning of the existence of the gems as a whole. However, when Phos lost their head and it was replaced with Lapis's it was as if they had their empathy pushed away.
It's tragic to me because Phos was actually getting quite close to uniting the gems together through mutual understanding and developing relationships.
As lapis took over her deceitful nature gradually harmed relationship after relationship. Suddenly she cared about answers more than her own relationships. Warped again and again by time she fell further and further away from her desire to help her first friend, Cinnabar until ultimately Cinnabar found purpose in protecting the gems from Phos.
To me that was the ultimate tragedy. But also I wonder what might happen if someone were to find all those hundreds of fragments of Phos - the original true Phos and was able to unite them?
Wishful thinking I suppose.
Yes innocent, cute, and funny phos. So loved her. Man it's sad to hear that she changed a lot in character. Haruko Ichikawa has done an awesome job. In making this manga.
One thing that always irked me was how two faced nearly everyone was with Phos. Phos got treated like a nuisance or a problem everyone had no choice but to handle gently. Kongo, Diamond, and Antarc were about the only three who took Phos seriously, and Cinnabar being the exception in general.
Then Phos comes back from that one winter with the alloy arms and suddenly everyone adores them like they always thought Phos was special and unique, as if all that stuff they always said about Phos never happened, when it actually did.
So yeah, I don't blame Phos for being broken in more ways than one. This was just one of the earliest signs.
10.000 times. 10.000 bashes to the head. For Cairngorm and for Bort each.
Rutile only used padparadscha to give her validation as a doctor only cared about the confirmation that she would bring her after fixing her up Phos was right for saving padparadscha and freeing her from eternal sleep
Everyone looked down on phos tbh (except antarc) like I want them all to burn tbh.. (except antarc) like omg I can’t explain my hatred for cairngorm tbh.. like omg it just hurts bro like pho deserves the world omg like OMG UGHHHH
I feel like everyone just used Phos for their own gains. It’s very sad how they isolated phos EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. They pushed phos to be the villain. For their own happiness.
The fact that he just wanted peace..
Phos had mental problems since he tried having respect from others gems and tried fight even tho his body cant... irl this is real thing... he strarted to change(body parts) which made his mental state worse and he strated to lose himself... but no one cared at all- no sh** he became like this tho, but in one chapter he got therapist when he was on moon and was rlly better... he only needed a person he trusts... and he would need to talk to them... its just sad that he rlly didnt deserve all this pressure at all... this anime teach us that if you still cant fit into society, rather be yourself and ignore... he even regret that he didnt try to enjoy HIS OWN wishes when he was still innocent gem...(idk it was in one chapter at the end) everyone just used him tho so- no other gem didn even said goodbye before they were prayed away but why would he need to pray for backstabbers who left him alone for 10000 years and use him for selfish reasons? i hope in some new chapters that are again slowly coming will be able to set himself free aswell...
btw srry i use he/him or it for phos!
I LOVE PHOS SO MUCH RAAAHHHHH
They don't even what they used to be. I miss old phos so much.
Phos is honestly the most utterly, boundlessly miserable existence that I could ever even dare to imagine. My brain just can't attempt to comprehend how so much agony can even exist, let alone what it must feel like. *"It's the type of pain that only the sweet, sweet release of death and oblivion can free me from"* - as said by an immortal.
I hope Phos can finally sleep during those 10k years. He deserves at least a few centuries long nap.
Phos did not wish to be nothingness like the others, Gems, Lunarians, Admirallis, they only wanted to be loved; like a toddler who wants their parents to be proud of them. 😭😭😭😭
One important thing worth noting is that even when Phos came back for the final confrontation on Earth, they still had enough sense to state that they would bring everyone back even after grinding them to dust, knowing that this was a thing that was possible to do. It was never their intention to eradicate the gems for good, only to get them out of the way while Phos went for Adamantite.
I think determining whether or not Phos did anything wrong is largely a problem in the framing of the situation. If what the gems on Earth were doing (protecting Adamantite despite them informing the rest of the situation to the best of their ability) was the unquestionably correct moral choice, then things would be a bit more cut and dry. However, Phos had more information to work with than the Earth gems did, knowing the backstory of the humans and them splitting into three, and knowing the full truth of Adamantite being a broken prayer machine that's tethered the Lunarians to the "mortal" plane. So in that regard, you could say that Aechmea and Bort are the ones that really let things get as far off the rails as they did. Bort, as stated in the video, is brash and knows little beyond solving problems with violence and immediate action, and was consistently trying to undermine Phos throughout the entire story.
Aechmea though is one that is, for the most part, unquestionably in the wrong. His underlying motivations are solid: get Adamantite to pray as the humans intended, so the souls could move on like they were supposed to. But he goes too far in most cases; it should have been clear many centuries ago that shattering gems isn't working on Adamantite, and that something is fundamentally broken about them that no shattered gem will fix. In addition, there was really no reason to go even further in grinding the gems to dust, condemning them to a situation in which you'd never be able to bring them back. He goes much farther than he needs to in order to achieve his goals, while Phos is able to stay relatively grounded to their original goal, even in a state of revenge fueled lunacy.
Either way, the kind of story that gets you thinking this hard, and maybe even questioning how your moral compass would guide you in that situation, is unquestionably a masterpiece. I would never take the time to write this much for like 99% of other stories, so this one really is something special.
Cairngorm should've become one with the moon and be shattered into specks of dust.
bro i binged it in one siting just so I could watch this video. Im not okay. Ive been ugly crying since 30 mins. I cant. It hasnt been this bad since to your eternity ep 1.
These tragic tales really speak of how pretty normal human emotions can have devastating effects on the world and Its so important to be vulnerable and honest not only with others but with yourself before things easily get out of hand.
What a good story
Bort being overly aggressive towards Phos isn't such a unique problem in the tragedy of this story. Bort is the strongest of the gems left on Eath, alive for a very long time. They have lost many over the years and, as the strongest, the most important thing on their mind is protecting the others. They themselves are straightforward, so deceit is something inherently evil to them.
The main problem is and was that Phos was the only human character. Their understanding for the deeper conflict was surpassed by none, not even Adamant. Phos was the only one who actually cared. The fact that during her millenia long torture in solitude, all the other gems and lunarians did was party, shows how vain they all were. Phos is the Messiah, Buddha, in this case. They took on the pain and suffering of the world for the sake of the world, and the world abandoned, used and forgot them. Noone actually tried to understand Phos. Not just Bort, everyone.
and in the end of everything he realized that he was always alone...
Phos is my fav character (tied with Antarc), and I seem them as someone with good intentions but never thinking about the long time consequences of their actions and sometimes acting out of pure emotion without considering logic. The most notable example to me is in Chapter 63 when they show the Moon Gems the dust of their former comrades. Alex and Yellow, senior gems who have been shown to still be grieving over the losses of those close to them, straight begin to shatter because of emotional distress. Phos apologizes and promises them that they'll talk to Aechmea about reviving all dusted gems, and Diamond points out they haven't thought about it until just now. While Phos' overall goal is to bring back all of the fallen gems and end the war, I feel like them infiltrating the moon and ESPECIALLY convincing and manipulating other gems to betray Sensei was done out of pure spite. They weren't thinking about purely ending the war and bringing peace when they came back from the moon - Phos just wanted Sensei to suffer. This is still a really well made video though.
Phos has been through too much. Let him rest. He deserves it.
so I started watching this video, got intrigued and caught up with the manga (last time I stopped on chapter 67 or something around there, now I too reached the 10000 year hiatus). Oh boy. What an incredible story and what a great video about it!
Really glad you enjoyed it, thanks a lot for watching!
Phos’s suffering has officially passed the 10,000 year mark in chapter 98 and is just sad. Can’t wait for chapter 99