If you read the original version of this, and decide to read this new...ish version anyway, I would have to commend and thank you. I didn’t think my rambling would reach anyone but let’s enjoy Camu together because I love talking about him. My goal with this is about the same, I just feel like I’ve better organized my thoughts and maybe even found new conclusions to make.
Beginning with our first impression of Camu, around chapters 6 ~ 8 of the main story which is dedicated to him and Kamui, I’m not gonna deny it—he’s a bit of an ass. He’s very focused on asserting dominance and taking control of Kamui’s body, the guy that has been established to be the sweet and friendly one in this cast of mostly serious characters. And if Kamui’s interlude was done beforehand, it doesn’t help either that Kamui has shown to be very afraid of this “other self”, and it’s become this kind of determination to beat this “other self”.
However, around chapter 8, that’s when it’s revealed that Camu hasn’t entirely been against Kamui. He’s been protecting Kamui from the infection that Roland so kindly gave him all the way back in chapter 3 (in the mansion fight with the butler). He also occasionally praises Kamui for holding out this long against the Punishing Virus, and Kamui reluctantly returns the praise by admitting that Camu had been helping a lot.
And then, when we get to the climactic fight of chapter 8, there are some words from Camu that make it worth re-interpreting what he said before. Brief disclaimer from here, asterisks are gonna mean I borrowed quotes from the CN text (courtesy of Jaysan009 and the wiki) because I felt that Global changed the tone of it.
“Words alone can’t prove anything, look at what you are now! Only absolute power is the guarantee of protecting yourself and protecting everyone.”*
When Gray Ravens intervene, what’s Camu’s reaction?
“For you… They really did this for you.”*
Camu’s quite shocked that outsiders believed that Kamui wasn’t fully corrupted by the Punishing and came to his aid. He’s also further shocked that Kamui has grown to accept him instead of trying to push him away. That’s when Camu backs down and acknowledges that he was wrong in his judgement.
“…Today, you finally understand the key to the problem… Forget it… You know your weakness. [And you] also have companions who value you. You have proved to me very well that the current you are enough to fulfill your promise to protect everyone. …I lost this battle.”*
So despite appearances or initial behavior, Camu is not so prideful that he can never admit his mistakes. In fact, he was actually quite worried about Kamui. He emphasized phrases like “protect yourself” or “I’m stronger than you” because, since Kamui’s interlude, he came to believe that Kamui was too soft. He believed that if Kamui can’t keep himself alive, then he himself has to do it. It’s backhanded because well, he didn’t exactly communicate this properly and he was so bullheaded in doing things his way that he didn’t stop to consider Kamui’s actual feelings.
It’s also worth noting two other things. Camu has… for lack of better words, strong feelings when it comes to camaraderie as he’s used “everyone” several times—but that will be better elaborated later in this. As for the other, you could almost say that Camu was relieved that Kamui came to accept him as another half. I think this would also be better elaborated later, but anyways, I do like chapters 6 ~ 8 a lot because of these two.
Camu gets a brief cameo in chapter 12. Kamui straight up mentions that it’s thanks to Camu that his consciousness is kept intact despite the Punishing Virus—even Lamia, the one who specializes in using a lot of it, is surprised by how those two can withstand it.
Then comes Camu’s actual introductory story arc, Grand Blue.
Because of Roland, Kamui’s existence is threatened to be wiped out in exchange for his body being given to Camu’s control. However, because Camu refused Roland’s invitation into the Ascension Network, he becomes a Compositor (though in Global, they were called Transcendants and now uh… I think… Uniframe? I can’t keep up).
Camu’s first words when he wakes up in Kamui’s body is actually endearing now that I look back on it.
“Where has Kamui gone? Why can’t I talk to him?”
If you read Camu’s profile later, you see that the two actually frequently talked after the events of chapter 8, though it was mostly Kamui catching him up on the day’s events.
Back to Grand Blue, when Camu is told what happened, he immediately refuses Asimov’s suggestion.
“I don’t want to go back to Babylonia and let the gloomy scientist (shortened on my end) put me on the operating table. It seems that I have only one choice.”*
He specifically mentions an “operating table”, which… yeah, Camu does not like hospital or medical-related things or being near them. This is something that gets elaborated on later.
Anyways, we manage a compromise. Camu is given his own body to chase down Roland while Kamui’s body is given to Asimov for emergency repair. Although Camu is very touchy about the idea of having other people connect to his consciousness, he reluctantly agrees to cooperate with us, but he repeats to us over and over that it’s only until Kamui’s safety is guaranteed. You could also make the assumption that the only reason he’s willing to work with our group specifically is because Kamui talked about us beforehand.
But anyways, we can already see that he’s getting better at showing that he cares a lot, even if it’s indirectly since Kamui himself is MIA at the moment.
“To make sure Kamui’s safe. Our interests are aligned, temporarily. You owe me one for this.”
There’s also a comment that Camu makes to Lamia.
“I still want to control things in life with my own hands. Let others decide their own life, forgive me for being insensitive!”*
Although he says something similar in Global, it’s the “still want to” that the Chinese script has that makes it interesting to me. There’s also the fact that, in the way he addresses Lamia, it can be interpreted that Camu sees it as her looking down on him. Anyways, you already know this is something I’m leaving for later.
While Grand Blue does emphasize Camu’s priority is Kamui and that he’s distant from us, there is a particular moment that shows he is actually a kinder person than he gives himself credit for.
“Unable to tolerate the noisy information from the channel, they could only temporarily stabilize their bodies. Even if Camu realized Gabriel’s goal and his resistance to this experience, he had already been a step behind. —You were caught by Gabriel.”*
Despite everything, Camu still tried to help us here. Arguably, Kamui’s safety has yet to be assured, but he’s also in Asimov’s hands at the moment. Even though we don’t know our clear place in Camu’s judgement, he was remarkably proactive.
And then, with Grand Blue being wrapped up, we’re treated to a scene where Nanami and Sophia get Camu a change of clothes. This scene was particularly funny to me for several reasons. Sophia hints that Nanami managed to convince Camu, someway somehow, to put on the outfit and we are presumably the first person who gets to see this. As Nanami tries to keep this method secret, the following line makes you wonder if we’re somehow involved with the convincing process. I might be projecting with that one.
“Immediately, as if realizing something, Camu turned and left.”*
“He seems angry.” (Sophia)*
…
“Maybe it was a misjudgement caused by the impact of too much information, but you always think Camu’s expression is a bit strange.”*
It’s an interesting choice to use “strange”, because if he really was angry, I’m certain the narration would have specifically chose to say that. Instead, I think it’s safe to assume that Camu was either feeling awkward in the situation or, as the following dialogue goes, he was just too deep in contemplation to properly say anything.
Though, to add on to this scene with Hassan and as we can see from others, Camu is quite reasonable. Anger is not usually his immediate reaction.
“You don’t need to be so guarded against me, I don’t want to be your enemy.”*
As Hassan is proposing cooperation with Camu, there is a line he drops in both Chinese and Global.
“However, you will not have the right to question the whereabouts and results (I’ll assume this meant status) of Gray Raven and Kamui.”*
Camu’s concern with Kamui is expected by this point, but it’s certainly something that Hassan brings up Gray Raven too. He accepts Hassan’s offer of cooperation and then we run into Kamui again, who’s perfectly fine and dandy now. When told about Camu’s disappearance, this is Kamui’s comment.
“If he doesn’t like this atmosphere, it’s natural he would find a place to hide...”*
So, as said before, anger—and by extension, confrontation—is not always his immediate reaction.
And as I look back on the final conversation with Camu (to end Grand Blue’s storyline), I think it’s actually an interesting parallel for his affection story. He begins with a bluff, that he’s going to be joining the Ascendants’ side because of his new status as a Compositor. I think our initial reaction is what confuses him—regardless if we simply go with it or ask “why”, we’re not immediately chasing him off or anything like that. And then, we’re given this from Camu.
“Sure enough, as Kamui said, you are a weird and funny guy.”*
Unexpectedly, Camu gave a thoughtful expression.* (Global says a similar enough line, I just think the way the Chinese script phrases it was a bit kinder because it comes off as a pleasant surprise.)
I don’t think I talked much about the RPG event much, if at all in my previous essay, but because it’s my favorite side story I’m going to now.
Legend of the Executioner starts with Kamui convincing us to play an RPG with him. When it’s revealed that Camu was interested in trying it out too, it is then revealed that he had been rewatching the game’s opening cutscene over and over. It’s oddly endearing to me that this guy is willing to wait for everyone else to join instead of rushing off to do content on his own.
To our luck, take it as you will, we split into teams and we are specifically paired with Camu, Vera, and Karenina. Funnily enough, the situation quickly devolves when Vera and Karenina start arguing, and it’s Camu who tries to get them to stop because the commotion is drawing enemies. Because it’s a competition to reach the end of the game first, you could say that he’s simply being practical and he just wants to win.
In a more comedic light, Camu’s sense of teamwork is still a work in progress. If we try to reason that “teammates are important in RPGs” to Vera, who joked about leaving us behind, this is Camu’s response.
“Teammate? You, or the other two useless Constructs?”*
When we find an important NPC, “Hassan” tries to explain the plot of this RPG, but Camu rushes the dialogue with the argument it’s very cliched anyway. He does listen though when well, it’s deemed necessary. He’s the one who explains that, according to Celica, Liv being a designated NPC and “kidnapped” is a bit weird. The conversation gets wrapped up with a funny remark that, although he (and our other teammates) agree to save Liv, they’re so focused on winning the game that the atmosphere feels off.
In the following part, Camu then immediately puts “Hassan” under suspicion and refers to other games that he saw Kamui playing—so yes, he pays attention more than you’d think. He’s so practical in explaining the game, such as how they can’t attack “Hassan” anyway because no HP bar showed up, that the feeling of immersion for the story is… well… lost.
Along the way, we learn more little tidbits about Camu. He doesn’t like doing side quests because they tended to be repetitive, while Kamui was more than fine with doing them. And if it wasn’t clear before that he is very very practical, he came up with a “method” of dealing with traps which is just… run through while chugging HP potions.
We’re given two options. If we were to comment that Camu always refers to Kamui, he gets embarrassed—in my opinion.
“Camu is always talking about Kamui.”*
“Well… not really, it’s just that the topic about games were basically inherited from his memories!”*
Or, if we were to ask who’s a better player, Camu’s obviously assured of himself.
“You can tell at a glance that I won’t lose to any idiot no matter what.”*
And then, from the other team’s perspective (Lucia, Lee, and Kamui), we find out that Vera and her team have been taking healing potions from the NPCs. Despite this though, Kamui does make a passing remark where he’s certain Camu would help Liv if she really was kidnapped by “Hassan”. And when we return to our original perspective, Camu is the one who comments on Vera’s behavior.
“No. We’re no different from robbers now.”
So yeah, taking the potions was definitely not his idea, in case there was any doubt to be had about it.
There’s also the fact that later, after we and Karenina join the other team temporarily, we find out that Vera and Camu set fire to a village. Karenina is suspicious of Vera’s intentions, and by extension Camu’s as she doesn’t know him very well. It’s Kamui’s remark following that also dispels further doubt about the kind of person Camu is.
“Hmm… but Camu would never do unnecessary things like that.”
“I thought he was as evil as Vera.”
“He’s just antisocial. But he would never burn a village down just because he joined the King’s side. I mean, it wasn’t a part of your quest, right?”
“Unnecessary… Kamui knows Camu the best. If he says so… perhaps burning the village down was for another objective.” (Lucia)
We continue on, and that’s when Camu’s method of blasting through trapped areas is revealed to the other team via Karenina. Kamui immediately figures out who thought of it.
“Wait! This is the wrong way to play the game. It was probably Camu’s idea! But I must say it again. This is the wrong way to play!”
“Camu said he thought of it while watching you play.” (Us)
“But I never invented this method. I knew I was clumsy at certain games, but the fun of games comes from challening the traps with skill.”
Right after, Kamui accidentally sets off a trap on his own, to which Lee and Lucia can only sympathize a little with Camu’s line of thinking.
Closer to the end of this RPG, you’re given a small demonstration that Camu can be quite sneaky when the situation calls for it. It’s admitted by Vera herself that Camu was the one who suggested betraying “Hassan”. It was also his plan to pretend to have a majority of the “secret treasures” that we’ve been collecting throughout the game, which heavily relied on our cooperation to make sure that the lie doesn’t get exposed. Think of that what you will, especially since we’re not that close yet.
One last thing I wanted to bring up from this RPG is that, even Lee acknowledges how closely Camu observes Kamui. When Kamui comments on how no one explained Vera and Camu’s lie, it’s Lee who answers.
“You are an unexpected factor. Luckily, Camu knows your moves, otherwise the plan will be all messed up.”
“I also didn’t expect him to know me so well either.”
Even we are given the option to agree.
Okay, one last actual thing because this interaction was just funny and it’s nice to see that Camu’s at a point where he can exchange these kinds of jabs.
“Just stay in Kamui’s team. You’re (us and Karenina) nothing but liabilities.”
“How dare you call me a liability!? You arrogant, dark, narcissistic piece of ----!” (Karenina)
“What?!”
“Hah…” (Kamui)
“What are you laughing at, Kamui?!”
Anyways, now I’ll move onto the interlude.
The first episode starts with Camu training with his mentor, Maozhen, and it takes place before he’s turned into a Construct. To me, it is worth noting how different he looks in this flashback compared to the frame that he has now. He’s so innocent looking—with the neater hair and without the scratches on his face, the mismatched eyes, the dark hood—even when his expressions are pretty much the same.
There’s something interesting about Maozhen’s advice to Camu.
“If you want to live, you need to be calm in all situations and not let your rage consume you.”
As a human, Camu is comparably more brash, or maybe boisterous. His attitude is a little closer to what you’d see in a young protagonist for shonen media whereas in present time, he’s reserved with his energy if given space for himself. His fighting style is also still the same—aggressively swing the greatsword and hope for a chance at close combat.
Maozhen then suggests that he try to find work in Kurono because it’s his best chance for survival.
“Call it whatever you like. So? Will you starve to death on this block or become a Kurono soldier?”
I say “young shonen protagonist” because Camu’s answer to this question is a definite yes and he hopes to climb to a higher position than Maozhen, something you usually see in master-pupil relationships. He’s also not entirely naive since he knows that his mentor is being oddly cryptic and reminicent (bringing up how long they’ve started training together), but it’s not like he has much choice and trusts in his mentor anyway. When Camu visits Kurono, he’s immediately suspicious of the trial that he and many other people his age are about to be subjected to. Instead of simply accepting that they were “chosen ones” and all they had to do now was a simple serum test, he’s the one to ask.
The first part concludes with Camu falling into a coma from the injection, though he faintly overhears the scientists’ conversations and only knows that he’s a survivor that “passed” the test.
Moving onto the next part, it’s essentially Camu’s daily routine as a Kurono soldier. He and the other survivors were put into a squad together, and it’s clear that they’re quite close. He’s able to freely banter with his companions and they discuss whatever worries they have—which happens to be the vagrants that they were forced to fight. Camu acknowledges that said vagrants will suffer without supplies, but he’s forced to be practical and there wasn’t any other option. (This is the same guy who, in current time, will accept a straight-up muzzle if it really does help contain the Punishing in his body.)
The third episode shows one of Camu’s companions dying of mysterious causes. It’s not the first time that it’s happened, and they only know that their special serum has a chance of fixing it. If it wasn’t clear, Camu’s clearly frustrated when he has to deliver his companion’s body to Kurono and he’s still not given clear answers that he knows that the other workers have.
“Camu notices that the guards are on high alert—not because of the contractual obligations, but a sort of instinctive reaction. With every step Camu takes towards the guard, he takes one step back and clutches his weapon tighter. It was the same when they took in the body. Those people seemed disproportionately nervous, as if Camu was handing over an explosive.”
“Tell me what you know.”
“Clenching his fist, Camu marches towards the guards, who immediately open fire without bothering to issue a warning according to the rules.”
…
“Camu knew that he could not cause a conflict here, so he could only give up questioning and retreat, and finally fled the city amidst gunfire.”*
The fourth part, the beginning of the heartwrench, is where Kurono betrays Camu and his teammates. Because they see no progress in the special serum, they try to silently wipe out his entire squad. It sucks because Camu, and presumably his companions, had nothing. All they had was their humanity and their lives to offer. Kurono—and by extension the world for letting people like them exist—preyed on it and tossed it aside just as easily. It really doesn’t help that it started with Camu being excited and happy that his mentor was finally talking to him again, but even through all this, he instinctively knows there’s something wrong.
“Although master said that I could become a senior officer, there is always a strange feeling in my heart. And those planes are just like surveillance cameras.”*
One of Camu’s first reactions when Kurono begins bombing his squad is to question what they did.
“What did he do wrong? What did the others do wrong? Why does this have to happen?”
It’s not a very big mystery why Camu is so bitter and cynical in the present time, or why he emphasized the “protecting yourself and everyone” to Kamui in his arc at the beginning of the main story. When it dawns on him and his companions that they’ll die soon, they grit their teeth and decide to at least get revenge for being treated this way. There was nothing left that they could protect before they realized it. It’s also why Camu struggled to put any trust in others at first because he and his companions were betrayed on such a huge scale.
If you think back to Maozhen’s advice, it’s almost a slap in the face at this point. All Camu has is his anger now. Still, it does say something about Maozhen himself that he continues to talk to Camu as a mentor and even before they have their last fight, there’s some sort of regret he has.
“I said, don’t be distracted when fighting.”
Kurono and Maozhen’s betrayal is probably why Camu’s rather iffy when it comes to authority figures. That’s something that’s touched on in both his affection stories and his voicelines, but also previously in the main story sections. He very much doesn’t want to be talked down at.
This moment also solidifies that Camu is very “individual over the group”. It doesn’t matter if Kurono could contribute good to the war against the Punishing. Maozhen tries to justify that the inhumane experiments might come to help others, even if he himself was hurt as one of said sacrifices. Camu argues that he can’t understand because he can’t just put aside that pain and anger, but he knows that the Punishing is just a convenient excuse for Kurono’s actions.
“All I know is that we were lied to. The virus is not what wants to kill us… you are!”
…
“No need to blame it on the virus or call yourself a savior of humans. Even without the pandemic, I know you people would still do what you did for your own benefit! Someone who abandons others easily are not qualified to talk about saving the world!”
Maozhen ends up giving his own body so that Camu can survive the subsequent explosion of the Kurono field base long enough to be turned into a Construct, and it leaves him with mixed feelings. His mentor was a significant driving force of his life. Maozhen hurt him deeply but still, in a way, forced him to continue living on despite the hatred they both held for the world. (As a side note, I am wondering just how much of Maozhen’s own feelings led him to agree with Kurono’s methods and hurt others the same way he was in his own past.)
However, Camu also has a strength that I don’t think Maozhen quite had. During his reconstruction surgery, he acknowledges that his current state of mind is too volatile. So instead, he wants a chance to learn, not necessarily from scratch but in spite of what he just went through.
“Create a personality that doesn’t deliberately remember complicated things, and can always give others courage…”*
…
“If you survive, just let me see your way of survival. Please teach me… how to love this world, Kamui.”*
Kamui’s answer to this is given in a separate story actually. In a conversation with Wanshi, he says straight up that he loves the world by protecting the people around him. Although Kamui is inspired by the memories Camu had before Kurono’s betrayal and Camu is already protective, I think it’s a sweet reminder for Camu of what should be done.
Now! Onto Camu’s affection stories! Because I love them and him a lot too!
It starts with us doing a practice mission with him. Already, you can kind of get the gist that he’s feeling awkward having to work in a group setting, though it’s more apparent now since Kamui’s not in immediate danger. At the same time, you can already see that he’s very careful about how he carries himself. Considering he has several voicelines where he brings up the risk of being near Compositors, you can assume this partially applies here too.
We’re also reminded that again, Camu really does not like medical-related things, but he’s reasonable enough to accept an injection from Liv with little fuss because it’s necessary for the situation.
Then, we’re given an interesting interaction as he’s sent off solo. If we try to connect to the Gray Ravens on our terminal once Camu detects the special target, he immediately brushes it off.
“It hasn’t come to that point yet. I can handle it.”*
He dismisses it as him not enjoying having to cooperate with other people, but I think this moment should be kept in mind because he chose to say “I can handle it”. Rather than, for example making a jab at the others, he makes a comment of self-confidence.
It’s also worth noting that Camu’s very tense this entire practice mission. You would think he’d feel better taking it out on the Corrupted, but that’s not quite the case here.
When facing the simulated Roland, he gets agitated that we try to tell him to retreat.
“Shut up! I have a very clear idea of how far I can…!”*
The practice mission ends up failing because we’re unable to handle how much power Camu had and get a bit of a repercussion in the form of a nosebleed. Lee then tells us, if we ask, that Camu left to wait outside of the room while we pick ourselves up. It is deliberately stated we find him “gloomy” while sitting on a bench nearby, specifically with hands folded over his lap.
“For some reason, I thought of a student waiting at the door of the principal’s office, waiting for punishment.”*
Camu could have gone back to his room, or well, anywhere else. Interpret it as you will but there is enough care that he decided to stick around and the fact he seemed to feel kind of guilty for what happened. Why else would they use that specific imagery? I think he really does feel a bit lonely and he really did want for this to work, that he’s willing to set aside his general disdain for opening up—as in, sharing his consciousness. He adamantly refuses our suggestion to keep trying because he’s already convinced himself that future attempts would only lead in failure again.
But, when we wait for him in the training room the next day, it seems he managed to convince himself to hold out some hope and shows up anyway. Again, I think that’s a special strength of his. Despite everything, he’ll try, though he takes a moment to remind us of Asimov’s warning.
This next attempt turns out to be a success, and Camu’s genuinely surprised—maybe relieved even that there really is a chance, but I could be stretching it. Also, if you needed any more proof that Camu is very observant, he will notice that we’re dodging the subject of him and Kamui or he will instead be surprised that we talk about it directly to him.
“No need to be careful with me like I’m a child, it looks stupid.”*
The situation escalates soon after though and a group of three other soldiers call Camu a Corrupted. Considering that Kurono tried to kill him for getting infected by their own special serum and Camu especially wants to differentiate himself from the Corrupted for that reason, it’s obvious that it was going to turn into an all-out brawl.
“Who are you calling a Corrupted? Don’t compare me to those lowly things!”*
Also, I never saw the original script until the making of this essay, I need to drop this awesome phrase from Camu.
“If that filthy mouth can’t utter decent language, do you want me to help you fix it?”*
He technically uses an idiom involving a dog, but for the sake of making sense this is the alternative translation. Ahem, anyways… some security guards have to break up the fight. To this day, I’m still clutching my heart at the fact that at the very end, Camu protected us from getting decked (again). He also deliberately takes the full blame on himself (and technically the other party), explaining to the security guards that he didn’t want us to get disciplined for it. He interrupts if we try to speak up and take responsibility!! It doesn’t help either that there’s a certain expression Camu makes as he’s being taken away, but the writers chose not to describe it. That’s even more painful for my heart!!
Let it be known that Camu is a considerate man (in his own ways) even for someone who is still a stranger to him!!
The next day, Kamui calls us and asks to help find Camu—even explicitly saying that he believes it’s best if we’re the one to talk to Camu. He knows hahaha.
“Well, I don’t know if Commandant can understand this, but I have a very certain feeling… maybe it’s because of the feeling that Commandant usually gives me! I think it would be much easier if you, the Commandant, came forward.”*
That means it’s time for a heart-to-heart, and we eventually find Camu. However, he tries to brush us off at first, and he uses a specific word that made me think.
“I already said I was tired. Gray Raven Commandant, listen up, I have nothing to do with you except for combat. You don’t understand anything at all, so you have no position to stand here and say such sanctimonious words.”*
“Sanctimonious”. In certain context, it’s “making a show of being morally better, especially in a hypocritical manner”. You could either switch it for “pompous” or “preachy”, or “holier-than-thou”, whichever words ring better for you. But, I think it’s clear that Camu is distancing himself from us out of fear that we’re going to end up acting like Maozhen. When he realizes we’re not walking away anytime soon, that’s when he goes into a full-blown rant.
“This world is disgusting. Babylonia, the Punishing, and this world are all essentially the same dirty things. I am who I am. I will not change because of a few nice words from you, because I know this world better than you do. This world is not worth it. Even if there is no Punishing, there will be something else that will corrupt this world. If possible, I hope everything will die, the world will be destroyed, and everything will start from scratch. If I knew nothing and never experienced anything, maybe I would be like Kamui. But I’m not. So don’t waste your words and energy. I don’t want to listen to those talks about love and justice. To me, they are just stupid, selfish and self-righteous.”*
“…”
“I don’t want to be responsible for my power. I have no obligation nor willingness to ‘save’ this world that disgusts me. I stay here only because I have decided to do so temporarily. No matter how much energy you put into me, it will just be a waste of time.”*
There is a funny option where eventually, we respond with a “thank you” for protecting us during yesterday’s fight with the other soldiers. I just wanted to bring it up because I don’t usually mess around with dialogue choices and I didn’t realize this branch of conversation until again, I decided to read the original script for the first time.
If you go with the “I understand” route, you do end up apologizing for projecting your own expectations onto him.
Regardless, Camu’s exasperated with our lack of reaction. He’s already expected something harsh, like a scolding or something for what he’s said, but the last line…
“Shouldn’t you think that I’m a terrible monster and want to stay away from me?”*
Camu’s interlude weighs heavy on him in more ways than one besides the trust issues. I’m saying this again, I think he really does feel lonely, and hear me out as I explain my line of thought.
He brings up Kamui again with his rant that I had just quoted. He’s not entirely wrong, Kamui is literally based off of the memories Camu had before being betrayed. Still, this doesn’t erase Camu’s own hatred and pain. It makes you wonder if he subconsciously holds Kamui on a pedestal because he thinks people would find Kamui’s mindset and personality easier to be with. Why do I say this? Because, Camu is surprised that we’re not budging, that we’re still willing to accept him for himself. Last time Camu was called a “monster”—or more specifically, compared to a Corrupted, it was by his own master swinging a sword at him.
We can accept the “what could have been” AND the broken part that was originally hidden away.
After the explanation on our part, we go get takoyaki together, which is where he admits he likes food in general. The following conversation just cements what we said earlier, that we really do care about what Camu himself thinks.
“ ‘Like’… What’s wrong? I don’t know why, but this word just came out.”*
“No, I just feel relieved to hear you say that.”*
“Huh? You’re too strange, what’s so reassuring about this...”*
And Camu seems to bring himself to really believe it this time.
The fourth episode of the affection story is mostly confirming that we want to continue working together, both to Hassan and Camu himself. We have the option of joking with Camu, and it leads to Camu getting embarrassed (and angry) that he immediately fell for it.
But, there’s a line that I wanted to bring up, and for it to be kept in mind when we reach the sixth part of the affection story.
“Anyway, you can’t find anyone more powerful than me!”*
It’s a sentiment that pops up several times, and I’ll elaborate later. Afterwards, Camu even makes a comment that’s very reminiscent of how he treated Kamui.
“If you have time to be providing therapy, you might as well improve your mediocre fighting skills.”*
That one, I’m not sure if he means “skills” in general or if he actually meant “fighting skills” specifically. I’m generally winging this and I simply went with the latter since he has shown to care a lot about self-defense and protection in general, not just in main story.
Part five begins with us wrapping up another practice mission, and it’s been going a lot more smoothly now that we’re getting used to working together. Even Camu has gotten comfortable enough to exchange more banter with us, like his own impression of Kamui.
“ ‘That felt really good’— You don’t want to hear me say this, do you?”*
“It’s really bad.”*
“Camu grinned, as if this was something worth being happy about.”*
When he asks if he’ll be able to join the frontlines with the other Constructs, we’re given the option to guess in agreement. Once we do, he takes it rather proudly, which is quite a jump from the beginning of his affection story—I’m quite proud of his progress.
“Of course, it’s great to work with me.”*
“Camu raised his chin, and pride reflected in his dark pupils.”*
Let him be confident!! He’s so cute!! Especially because we’re allowed to pat his head right after, even if he gives us a look that is very elaborately described.
“Then his face twisted into a complicated expression like he swallowed lemon slices soaked in sea salt and tequila, as if he didn’t know whether to punch you or say ‘thank you’ politely.”*
As we both attend a meeting though, it’s revealed that Camu really just isn’t good at showing the right expressions. He’s uneasy at the thought of attending this meeting and, if you pay attention to when he asks for head pats in the dorm, he just mumbles “how terrible” probably because he hasn’t thought of what to actually say.
If we try to apologize though for the inconvenience, that’s when Camu shows another moment of consideration in his way.
“Why are you apologizing? Can’t you retain a little dignity as a commandant? Don’t let me hear your apologies again in the future.”*
In this meeting, we run into one of the soldiers that Camu fought in the second episode. Said soldier ends up insulting us for not taking responsibility for the incident—not that Camu would have really let us. Camu gets angry on our behalf though, but again, he’s a reasonable man. He knows he shouldn’t start a fight with many more eyes already watching him and he begrudgingly apologizes in our stead.
Camu then continues by, as he calls it, disgusting the soldier with… um… well, very sincere words. He calls it something like a bluff but I have some of my doubts about that.
“I will absolutely obey any orders from my commandant. As long as my commandant says to go east, I will never go west. Man, I wonder if your commandant wants you to fight with a Corrupted during the briefing? If I were you, I would just shut up. After all, if the commandant wasn’t with me, I couldn’t say what I would do to someone who was alone.”*
Brief note, it’s kind of an exasperated sigh and I just stuck “man” because that’s how I generally use the word myself when I speak Chinese.
He does mean it that he’s not fond of words like “commandant”. Camu adamantly dislikes authority figures but, because of his attachment to us and we’ve proven ourselves to be the exception to what he knows, he wants another way of referring to us comfortably.
Camu then comments about our hand and how he’s not used to body temperatures.
“…It’s really hot. Unlike other things that generate heat, it’s also soft. So this is how it feels to have a body now. Even though I was once human, I can only remember really cold… horrible feelings in the sea of consciousness. Being strong now lets me feel more at ease. But still… it’s the first time in a long while that I felt a human body.”*
It probably feels like an exaggeration to say that our hands were “really hot”, but it’s most likely to emphasize just how isolated he felt in Kamui’s consciousness.
The opening to Camu’s sixth affection episode is further emphasis that he’s gradually warming up to things—whether it’s the routine of showing up for training or our presence.
“Although the training hasn’t started at all, he couldn’t help thinking about what to eat after… It’s stupid to plan ahead for something that hasn’t happened yet. In Camu’s view, bad things happen anyway. But his footsteps became lighter… This feeling wasn’t so bad. It’s okay to be a bit stupid, right?”*
However, Camu ends up walking in on our conversation midway with Asimov, and I think this episode cements another important interpretation of his character. He is led to believe that we’re ending our partnership with him officially.
“Whatever happens, everything can’t get any worse. I have nothing to lose. I couldn’t be more comfortable like this. With this thought in mind, I stepped forward, knowing that my sea of consciousness was empty, no matter who it was, even if it was Kamui telling me what to do. In such a chaotic state, a voice came out of my mouth that didn’t seem to belong to me.”*
Camu is immediately reminded of his interlude and is putting himself back into that moment. Believing that he’s going to be reassigned, he stubbornly insists that he refuses to work with anyone else. If we try to interject to clarify, this is his response.
“I am not waiting for a moment! I hate waiting, I hate being passive, I hate being pushed away! Where is your sense of responsibility as a commandant? You brought me here, told me to do such stupid things without permission, and then you just plan to leave me here! Are you going to leave me to someone else! You who pushed gifts to me without authorization, you who took me to train, you who foolishly stood up for me. The very person who taught me that “liking things” is a reassuring thing, and reached their hand to me. Barging into my life and planning to leave me without courtesy—this behavior is worse than that of my master!”*
He follows this up with an action that, admittedly, breaks my heart a little.
“Laughing in anger, Camu hugged his arms and took a haughty defensive stance.”*
Despite his anger and trying to look like he's above it all, he is very much hurt. Because he really wanted to be wanted by someone who wouldn’t abuse their own power on him and genuinely wants the best for him—you could arguably say as equals, as much as you can anyway with a commandant-Construct pairing. We do end up clearing this misunderstanding and reassure Camu that we don’t intend on abandoning him.
Moving onto the voicelines and miscellaneous lines, this will be how I summarize this… long-winded piece.
So, for starters, Camu is the type to show his care by checking on others’ physical well-being—basically making sure that we don’t get hurt, it’s what he’s most used to doing since his time as a human. In main story, he tends to distance himself in case of spreading Punishing infection but he’s very attentive to injuries in case they’re no longer manageable (ex. Chrome in Imprisoned Sight).
“Even without the Punishing, something else would have corrupted the world. So remember not to stray too far away from me, or I won’t be able to protect you.”*
“If you want to daydream, go somewhere else. Even with the serum, staying here is not good for your health.”*
“Kurono is an organization that… if possible… I hope you never get involved with.”
“How about doing combat training with me before you go out into battle? I’m really unhappy with the way you are now.”*
"Hey! Show me that serum! ... Yeah, it's safe. Go ahead and jab it."
He’s also very iffy when it comes to authority figures or dealing with obvious power imbalances, but he’s reasonable and actually pretty nice when you just treat him like a normal guy.
“To me, words like ‘commandant’ are annoying. So, before the next battle, think about what I should call you. Do you understand?”*
“My ‘dear friend’… sure enough, that’s weird too. Anyway, let’s start today’s battle.”*
“Well, that’s not a bad choice. Thank you.”*
My point is, Camu’s not always the angry man that only knows how to break things, even if he says it himself sometimes.
