Chi.: Chikyuu no Undou ni Tsuite - Vol. 8 Ch. 60

[MangaDex]

 

[AngelHQ]

Is it important his name's Rafael? Just need to read the next one I guess.

 

[allahjesusss]

why th did the author write all characters resemble to each other, I cannot identify who is who at this point now

 

[thowawayhooray]

For anyone else confused, I personally believe this final stretch of chapters to be some sort of alternate universe or timeline.

I don’t think my reasoning contains spoilers for future chapters, but I’ll put it in a spoiler block, just in case:

Spoiler: maybe spoilers?

For one thing, this “Rafael” (translated as “Rafal” in the official translation of this chapter btw) looks and dresses the exact same as “Rafal” from chapter 1. I really doubt that the author would create an entirely new character that shares the exact name, looks, and aspirations as the Rafal from chapter 1— it would be far too great of a coincidence and too heavy handed for the audience, so I don’t think this is a new character meant to mirror Rafal from the first arc.

Now, assuming this is actually Rafal, I also don’t think this takes place in the same timeline as previous arcs. It’s pretty clear from the first arc that Rafal dies and has his body burned at the stake. By having Novak present for Rafal’s death and subsequent immolation, the author doesn’t leave much room for Rafal to have survived and escaped. If anything, it would be strange for Rafal to have lived, considering the current death count in the story thus far.

Another thing to note is that up until chapter 59, the official translation has avoided any words alluding to IRL institutions and countries— terms such as Poland, Hungarian, Catholicism, Christianity, Hussites, etc. have all been censored/redacted (it’s only thanks to this TL that I even knew what the uncensored words actually were). At first, I believed this may have done to avoid controversy, but now I believe this translation choice was purposeful and intended from the beginning for this very chapter (and arc), to hint to the reader that these chapters do not take place in the same universe as the previous arcs.

In chapter 59, both the official and this translation explicitly state the exact country (with no redaction!) and year. This is the first time the official translations explicitly states the setting of “Poland”, and the first time both translations mention an explicit year (in Ch 1, both translations say “The 15th Century”). Interestingly, the official translation says “The Kingdom of Poland, 1468”, while this one says “The Kingdom of Poland 1470…”. I’m not sure why the years a different— perhaps the author changed the specific year in the volume release or for the English translation.

Regardless, I believe that all of this combined with older Rafal’s existence suggests that these chapters take place in an alternate universe/timeline, one where Rafal lives (perhaps he is never caught for heresy, or he lies during his renouncement).

Spoiler: ACTUAL ENDING SPOILERS! My thoughts after reading the final chapters:

Finally, the fact that chapter 61 and the ending explicitly allude to figures and works of our current world (with the mentions of Brahmagupta, “Ethel’s true form” AKA Aether theories, the book “Al-Jabr”, Ibn al-Shatir, Albert Brudzewski, and Nicolas Copernicus) makes me believe that this alternative universe is in fact our current universe!

I really hope we get to read more discussion about the ending once the anime ends! I think it’s really neat how many different interpretations are out there.

Anyways, this is very late, but thank you Peckham Translation for the TL!

 

[gabrieml_arj]

For anyone else confused, I personally believe this final stretch of chapters to be some sort of alternate universe or timeline.

I don’t think my reasoning contains spoilers for future chapters, but I’ll put it in a spoiler block, just in case:

Spoiler: maybe spoilers?

For one thing, this “Rafael” (translated as “Rafal” in the official translation of this chapter btw) looks and dresses the exact same as “Rafal” from chapter 1. I really doubt that the author would create an entirely new character that shares the exact name, looks, and aspirations as the Rafal from chapter 1— it would be far too great of a coincidence and too heavy handed for the audience, so I don’t think this is a new character meant to mirror Rafal from the first arc.

Now, assuming this is actually Rafal, I also don’t think this takes place in the same timeline as previous arcs. It’s pretty clear from the first arc that Rafal dies and has his body burned at the stake. By having Novak present for Rafal’s death and subsequent immolation, the author doesn’t leave much room for Rafal to have survived and escaped. If anything, it would be strange for Rafal to have lived, considering the current death count in the story thus far.

Another thing to note is that up until chapter 59, the official translation has avoided any words alluding to IRL institutions and countries— terms such as Poland, Hungarian, Catholicism, Christianity, Hussites, etc. have all been censored/redacted (it’s only thanks to this TL that I even knew what the uncensored words actually were). At first, I believed this may have done to avoid controversy, but now I believe this translation choice was purposeful and intended from the beginning for this very chapter (and arc), to hint to the reader that these chapters do not take place in the same universe as the previous arcs.

In chapter 59, both the official and this translation explicitly state the exact country (with no redaction!) and year. This is the first time the official translations explicitly states the setting of “Poland”, and the first time both translations mention an explicit year (in Ch 1, both translations say “The 15th Century”). Interestingly, the official translation says “The Kingdom of Poland, 1468”, while this one says “The Kingdom of Poland 1470…”. I’m not sure why the years a different— perhaps the author changed the specific year in the volume release or for the English translation.

Regardless, I believe that all of this combined with older Rafal’s existence suggests that these chapters take place in an alternate universe/timeline, one where Rafal lives (perhaps he is never caught for heresy, or he lies during his renouncement).

Spoiler: ACTUAL ENDING SPOILERS! My thoughts after reading the final chapters:

Finally, the fact that chapter 61 and the ending explicitly allude to figures and works of our current world (with the mentions of Brahmagupta, “Ethel’s true form” AKA Aether theories, the book “Al-Jabr”, Ibn al-Shatir, Albert Brudzewski, and Nicolas Copernicus) makes me believe that this alternative universe is in fact our current universe!

I really hope we get to read more discussion about the ending once the anime ends! I think it’s really neat how many different interpretations are out there.

Anyways, this is very late, but thank you Peckham Translation for the TL!

I dont think so, especially because, in the last chapter, the baker recieves Jolenta's letter, in Pottoski's address, cuz he was nominally cited in Rafal's first manuscript that got passed along to Okji and Badeni.
And, Rafal faked his death - Poppy Seeds are good for helping people sleep, they aren't venomous at all - we see him tied to the cross and see the guard trowing the torch, but, after that, we only see the burnt wood, no bones, nothing. So, either he got a pocketknife and freed himself, or Pottoski did it.