Usotsuki Satsuki wa Shi ga Mieru - Vol. 8 Ch. 71 - Rejection

[Beltaro]

So my speculation/interpretation of events:

Seo did set up the explosion, which is why Satsuki saw the bodies randomly appear and disappear a day early. She was testing if Satsuki could see, which then confirmed for her it would work. However, Seo doesn't want the explosion to go off. She was only using it to force Prez to take action. Her whole villain monologue this chapter is straight up ordering Satsuki to run off and defuse the bomb, making no attempt to stop her.

This is of course where everybody's best friend Komachi comes in. Komachi was kindly asked to blow up the classroom, so she's going to be extra thoughtful and ensure it goes off. Cue Satsuki's absolute mindbreak and we're back at chapter 1, where she abandons her principles and admits Komachi needed to die.

I don't think this is the final message of the manga though. It's been consistent about painting even the lightest or darkest characters as slightly grey, while solidifying how death doesn't resolve anything. Satsuki's altruism doesn't come from desiring justice for all; at its core she merely wants to spare herself the trauma of seeing someone die again. Akira's dad is a horrible asshole, but he was said to be a good father that grew hopeless when his wife abandoned him. Painting Prez as pure evil and deserving death would essentially be the word of god contradicting Satsuki's entire philosophy, so it's fine he just wanted to protect Sayoko in his own twisted way.

But I strongly disagree that Prez was redeemed; he admits he was a hypocrite who never cared about saving others. His murders were a continued attempt to justify his self-righteousness, spurred on by Sayoko who seems to have some sociopathic tendencies and took pleasure in watching Michiru die. Just because Sayoko tells us Prez did nothing wrong doesn't mean it's true. Just because Satsuki, in her lowest hour, starts to entertain the idea he was right doesn't make it true. His baseless theories about fate demanding deaths were a coping mechanism. His concern for Satsuki was primarily motivated by getting her to admit his philosophy was correct, which would likely be a great comfort to him considering what a moral paragon he recognized her as.

Prez was horribly misguided at best and a relentless psycho at worst. Either way, he made his own monster in Seo and paid the price.

Seo is a complicated case and I'm sure we'll get some flashbacks with her before long, but she couldn't have been faking amnesia from the very beginning solely to get back at Prez. She almost certainly didn't know then that Prez was her would-be killer or that they could see deaths, so it'd be a massive stretch for her to instantly decide Satsuki was her key to killing him. She might be a monster regardless, but at this point she's retaliating against someone who attempted to murder her 3 times. I think her thoughts at the start of last chapter are the truth: she tried to be good and gave up when everyone denied her the chance. Right now she's either reveling in the rush of emotions or simply trying to burn the bridge with Satsuki to ashes so she won't pity her. The jury remains out.

Also it's important to note Kai's premonitory corpse didn't disappear until 3 pages into this chapter. Which means his death wasn't set in stone yet. Theoretically, Satsuki could have saved him. She was just too blindsided by betrayal to act. Maybe it was even her crisis of conscience that eliminated the possibility of getting him help in time. A bit self-fulfilling.

 

[Ninoren]

Literally ignoring all her rambling of 'I don't want anyone to die' in every Panel, what baffles me more is the fact that she said the Prez was 'worried' about Satsuki, when he just tried multiple times to kill her/people around her 🤨

 

[Bananimal]

Satsuki is still the worst MC ever. Like why tf do you Care so much about the prez surviving? He is literally the worst murderer in the whole school, but guess its important to have him survive so you Can feel like a hero saving the people he tried to kill🤦🏼‍♂️
Prez deserved death, same with blond girl

Or, yanno, have him arrested. Like she was trying to. She's not trying to just let murderers murder, she tried to deal with this serial killer the way a normal person would.

It's weird to kill people, yo.

 

[Guyincognitus]

This is so fucking unserious lmao

 

[zokoi19]

wait what? So she was acting as though she lost her memory? I sure hope that's just a lie because I find that stupidly convenient to paint this whole thing black/white.

Also, still can't find it in myself to care about prez. He can bleed out and die for all I care.

 

[Piamette]

Just because Sayoko tells us Prez did nothing wrong doesn't mean it's true. Just because Satsuki, in her lowest hour, starts to entertain the idea he was right doesn't make it true. His baseless theories about fate demanding deaths were a coping mechanism.

I find it disappointing that people take these dialogues/monologues as not just the truth (you can argue or think in favor of something as earnestly as you want and still be thoroughly mistaken; or, just imagine, lying to others is an option), but also as what Ryouko considers the truth ("wow, he's trying to redeem Prez!"). IMO, it's basically posting with an empty head, disregarding the whole context and just forming opinions based solely on the panel right in front of you.

 

[TakeiDaloui]

Satsuki not wanting to think anymore... Oh that is not good. She's been getting into a better place but when her classmate died, she became extra cautious about any cause of death. Then Akira got into her accident that she blames herself for. And now this? She might just check out, going and saving people without much care for how it looks, what she does, so long as the corpse she sees vanishes safely.

 

[Itsn]

I wonder if this is going to come together or the author forgot what they wrote at the start of the last chapter

 

[WolfenLady]

Is this manga gonna turn from "Satsuki can see death" to "Satsuki bringer of death"? Be sure to tune in next week for the new chapter 😂

 

[KoriCongo]

"Kai-san was always worried for you!"

Bitch, please! He put Satsuki through anaphylactic shock! He killed Michinaga just to make a point, she wasn't even gonna come to school without him! The fuck kind of sympathy he ever had with Satsuki other than "WE ARE QUITE ALIKE, YOU AND I" bullshit?

God, Vice Prez...

 

[SleepyDemon]

Delicious vice prez tears. Mmm, yummy.

Anyways, the first page of the previous chapter contradicts a number of Seo's words and actions here. The amnesia indeed seems to have been an act but the desire to return to a fresh slate and start anew was real.

After that wholesome smile on page 11 following her telling Satsuki to get to the classroom and take care of the explosion, I can't help but feel that this is her twisted way of thanking Satsuki for their brief period of real friendship amidst the attempts on her life and the abuse from other classmates.

She did something that Satsuki decidedly cannot (use a knife to stab prez with the intention to kill) to end a threat.

She alerts Satsuki of the explosion she set up and has her leave to prevent it. Maybe it's simply to add one to the killcount but I can't help but think that someone who wanted to guarantee a bomb would go off would want to avoid introducing elements that could stop it. And if Satsuki does stop it, there's the satisfaction of saving many along with possibly being acknowledged.

She chooses some deliberately hurtful words here which wouldn't be strange if pushing Satsuki away was the goal. Perhaps it's to spare her from being associated with a murderer alongside with some guilt of how she treated her in the past. Sacrificing a budding friendship to ensure self-destruction (getting arrested).

But uh...the explosion stuff aside, that room containing Seo and the vice prez still seems plenty dangerous considering emotions between the two parties are running high and the murder weapon is STILL unsecured.

 

[Angoldd]

Seo still doesn't make sense. I think we're missing some info.

 

[Arexty]

Thanks for the TL. Nice to see Satsuki inherited her dad's Bitch Slap ability.
Also I don't think her leaving the Vice Prez and Seo alone together in the same room, minutes after the latter killed the former's lover and also tried to kill her is such a hot idea..

 

[Piamette]

She chooses some deliberately hurtful words here which wouldn't be strange if pushing Satsuki away was the goal. Perhaps it's to spare her from being associated with a murderer alongside with some guilt of how she treated her in the past. Sacrificing a budding friendship to ensure self-destruction (getting arrested).

But uh...the explosion stuff aside, that room containing Seo and the vice prez still seems plenty dangerous considering emotions between the two parties are running high and the murder weapon is STILL unsecured.

You're onto something. I'd just like to add that I don't think she plans on getting arrested or facing any consequence.
Firstly, she's killed not just anybody, but the Students' Council Prez during a school festival. It doesn't make her crime any more or less grave, but it adds pressure to seeing her punished, and ASAP. And it was not an accident murder, out of self-defense, but planned out with Komachi. And while planning a crime, you obviously have to think of a way out.
But how? There are eye witnesses, she's bloodied, and they're not in the first floor, so jumping out of the window is also ruled out. In theory, there's no way she's escaping... alive.
And here comes the second point. She has faked memory loss, and it's basically granted that she's done so in order to escape her former wicked self, and failed to convince anybody but Satsuki (and if anyone says "but she told Satsuki she lied about all that," that will simply make you as dense as Satsuki, who can't tell convenient lies from truths). Now, Chapter 26 onwards heavily implies that she's suicidal and had decided to gas herself to get away from it all, as if the mask she'd chosen to wear had been smothering her from inside. She has faked memory loss; meaning her suicidal tendencies have not been resolved; in fact, they have only been strengthened, after all that has happened.
She may have indeed sacrificed a budding friendship to ensure self-destruction, but not by facing the consequences of her actions, but by getting away from it all. Possibly killing Sayo as well, as she's been part of it all, before severing her own arteries, or maybe they'll just kill each other off, as Vice Prez has never been right in the head to begin with.
In fact, I think Chapter 1 refers to this exact event. Only three bodies present, with some inconsistencies (Satsuki's bloodied shoes and socks, (alleged) Seo's wrong hair color), but I wouldn't lose sleep over these.

 

[Shinkutsuki]

Thanks for the chapter

 

[GuiltyNubbins]

Satsuki antihero arc?

 

[StormSen]

Twist: Seo tricked Prez into trying to kill her! Evil! (Please forget about the multiple times that Prez has already tried to kill Seo even when she didn't do that.) (Also, let's pretend that Prez couldn't have found a way to remove the bomb w/o killing Seo.)

The author's idiot attempts at a moral dilemma is just making Seo look good.

 

[Satsuki-Nada]

I'll definitely die if I go to that school

 

[Dzimitory92]

Still glad that the prez is dead.

 

[popo53414]

so she hates herself enough for her past and decided to not redeem herself and stay bad.