Potato Sprout
It's a little frustrating when major antagonists could be so easily stopped, but no one within the story has the capacity to figure it out. It's like a berserk mecha tethered to a socket, but not one character fighting it thinks "hey, if we could just unplug it..." Stuff like this seriously screws with my suspension of disbelief.
Potato
Not really a spoiler:
[spoiler] Not everyone wants to sacrifice their life. And it is very difficult to make that decision you know. Would YOU do it?]
Potato Sprout
It's a little frustrating when major antagonists could be so easily stopped, but no one within the story has the capacity to figure it out. It's like a berserk mecha tethered to a socket, but not one character fighting it thinks "hey, if we could just unplug it..." Stuff like this seriously screws with my suspension of disbelief.
Well... that's japanese manga for kids for you. The very idea of warfare is something so outrageous that plot is getting ridiculous sometimes. LOTS of focus on skyhigh level of Importance Of Your Own Personal Feelings. Sometimes even personal everything.
I prefer to just disregard these things as cultural moments. Who cares, for instance, if Bible is a pile of nonsence, right?
Potato Spud
It's a little frustrating when major antagonists could be so easily stopped, but no one within the story has the capacity to figure it out. It's like a berserk mecha tethered to a socket, but not one character fighting it thinks "hey, if we could just unplug it..." Stuff like this seriously screws with my suspension of disbelief.
Spoiler
That was my exact reaction when everyone was panicking about the fiend, and how they could do nothing against it, it just can't be stopped!
I was trying to figure out if it was an actual physical impossibility to attack them, or maybe a psychological one from the way they are trained.
But then that girl killed her father by accident, that's when everything flew out the window.
Although, I put on my "let's critique this story from both sides of the discussion without being biased" hat later, and I noticed that it could make sense in the setting presented through the manga.
First, remember that although most of their society resembles our own, there are some basic concepts (to us) that they just can't seem to grasp, and others that are natural to them, but completely alien for us.
Take the yuri thing as an example, they just think it's part of being close friends and bonding, and are shocked when they hear that it was socially engineered into kids as a way to control them.
Now take the "kids as cattle" example. There have certainly been instances of parents torn when their children are sentenced to be executed, but most were fine with the decision. There was even a couple in the first chapters that said "Oh, I don't want another kid", but instead of being in grief, it seemed more like they just didn't want to have to raise yet another one to get it right.
It is later revealed that every one of these things were on purpose in order to make a "better" society, they even let us know that changes are made when something major happens (like deciding to brainwash, judge and murder the kids after the fiend incident).
And now their attitude starts to make sense, because they have been living for 200 years being told that the "fiends" are invincible and murderous, to the point that no one even tries, they just panic and run.
There's just a lot of suspension of disbelief to be done when reading, but the story has made sure to tell us how to do it.
Potato Sprout
"We see in i15 that death feedback won't stop a killing, but instantly punishes it. So, even regular cantus users can kill other cantus users."
I disagree with the practicality of the hypothetical solution to Maria's child inferred by your statement.
The people in Kamisu 66 have been raised in absolute obedience, starting with ignorance but later fear. No one dares break the rules (except the main character and her friends of course) because from childhood to maturity, everyone knows their place. If you read the first chapter of the novel, you'll find that immediately after Saki's cantus awakens, the monk only initiates her rites, the rites are actually a form of permanent hypnotic confusion (sorry for the random info), only after he tricks her into believing that she is hurting or "killing" him. At this point, the Death Feedback begins to work itself inside of Saki's mind and she begins shutting down; Her symptoms include lack of breathing, urge to puke, and nearly fainting which would have eventually lead to death had he continued longer or actually showed her some physical damage. The townspeople purposely test each of their children in this manner to create psychological barriers to limit the potential of cantus. The mental trauma imposed on each of the children is no light matter that makes an emotional scar that lasts a lifetime. The entire reason why the system of utopia is flawed is because no one can overcome that very first fear associated with the use of their cantus, meaning no one can stop Maria's child. She was born believing that she is dissociated from humankind and has no mental barrier hesitating her inherent human tendency to violence. Also, it is implied people's cantus lock up if they are aware of their activities as being homicidal to humans.
"How is it that the author never considered this?"
It is painstakingly obvious that the author has considered this, please refine your statements after you have read a few chapters of the novel to clarify your judgments.
"But then that girl killed her father by accident, that's when everything flew out the window."
As she killed her father, she was under the assumption she was killing a Queer Rat assassin, but in the last panel when she realizes it was her father, it is implied that she will immediately afterward succumb to the Death Feedback and die in the next few moments. It is not a case of the author contradicting his own theoretical process.
"Take the yuri thing as an example, they just think it's part of being close friends and bonding, and are shocked when they hear that it was socially engineered into kids as a way to control them."
Also take note that homosexual relationships are encouraged for another reason, population control. The people of Kamisu 66 are in constant fear that a child may be born without the Death Feedback, a one out thirty thousand chance, due to natural genetic mutation. The town administration outlaws all unauthorized heterosexual relationships, without a pre-approved Birth Permit, to ensure a smaller manageable population with a smaller likelihood to produce a fiend. In the novel it is discussed that girls have monthly health check-ups to find those with sexually promiscuous behavior. Therefore, encouraging homosexual relationships is a logical solution that diverts sexual energy from building up tension.
"So fiends are cantus users that don't have death feedback, and who go on homicidal rampages.that are supposedly unstoppable because of the death feedback of everyone else."
Just to clarify, Maria's child is not actually a fiend, just under the illusion that humans are another species from itself. Although the people in the town refer to it as one, because we have knowledge to the extent of Squealer's involvement we know that it was born with a death feedback, just construed in its host's thought process. However, I do strongly agree with the fact that She is unstoppable because She never was never induced in her cantus initiation rites by the humans.
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