We can confuse 2D pictures, but in real life, how to confuse two different people, especially the eyes belong to Akihito, sensei draws Sudo's eyes in a completely different way and eyelashes. With brainwashing, the good theory is that Asami was the first to hurt Akihito and in the hospital he was weak, in such a state a person can be instilled in anything without violence and torture.
I think so as well. I'd rather go along the lines that Akihito has been brainwashed into thinking HE is Sudou
Same. No idea if it is Akihiko, cuz that would be a crazy short amount of time to get him THAT brain washed, but I also would rather say it's him than it's not him.
I, for one, hate amnesia arcs (I hoped it wouldn't happen here, but apparently it's even worse). It's only boring and annoying to me, since we're back what feels like square 1 or in this case square -1. It's just not really original and I usually skip those arcs. So I hope this issue is solved quicker than when Akihiko was kidnapped by Fei Long. This took like foreverrrr.
Did you get how he could've been kidnapped? One would think that Asami would make sure that he's protected by his men, like noone ever has before!?
Asami's intervention changed Akihito, he was the first to cause him physical and emotional pain, manipulated, imposed himself, I think these memories could take on a different meaning. I hope the new guy is not a secret admirer of Asami, another fan on our head.
He was protected by Fei Long's men, but they were poisoned by whatever gas they used on the hospital staff as well. Sakazaki came for Asami and Sudou, but Asami was already gone or had fled, then he found Akihito, who had just awakened, and took him instead.
I am sure he is the bad guy behind all that. Mark my words ;)
True, yes. I do think that the resemblance in that one frame is coincidental, when in the rest of the chapter he looks EXACTLY like Akihito. His behavior is just so bizarre, even for a brainwashed person. I'm very curious to know how they pulled it off so effortlessly. To have him appear hunched in a chair, as if "off", then suddenly act so happy to see Asami (unlike Peeta in my earlier example who attacked almost immediately upon just seeing Katniss). He calls his name repeatedly, which seems heartfelt, but there's something off even then. Then in the hotel he carries a weird, calm conversation, then proceeds to seduce Asami when he seems him second guessing the situation.
The behavior Akihito is exhibiting while brainwashed is so complex. Effortless shifts of tone and emotion, something that you'd expect of a coherent manipulator. Again, weird. And I'll be stewing over it for almost 4 months. ;___;
Apparently Kirishima and Suo were in Tokyo, the war in Macau affected everyone and suffered losses. Feilong was doing his job, I think rescuing Asami was a priority because Akihito is not a significant figure and not many people are aware of his connection with Asami.
Experienced people are involved in brainwashing, they find weak points and constantly put pressure on them. In fact, it is not so difficult for a person to instill something, especially if he is not confident in himself and is not in a stable physical and emotional state.
To be honest when I saw the chapter header with Akihito on the right and Asami, Fei Long, Mikhail and Alec on the left, I thought that was Sudou on the right until I figured from the text that it wasn't.
But the sizes in the hotel room don't match up. Akihito is on his tip toes and still so small. Sudou is taller and broader. I can't imagine how they would have passed one off for the other and I am sure Asami would always have know.
Therefore I can only hope that it will not still take that direction oO
It is just so strange that Akihito calls Asami "Asami-san", therefore I believe that HE thinks he is Sudou.
Another guy who wants Asami himself? Then the name speaks for itself, again Akihito must fight for love and a prize - Asami. "Horses gallop and gallop in a circle" ...
Conclusion: 1. They need to go each their own way and all their lives to remember each other and think "but everything could have been different"
2. Asami change jobs
3. Akihito seriously study martial arts and proficiency
various weapons
I don't think he wants Asami, more his power or revenge against him. I think he might be the one behind Chernobog. This is just my guessing. But the "everyone falls for Asami" has to stop at one point or it becomes ludicrous oO
Yeah, I wouldn't be so surprised. I don't have an in-depth knowledge on that stuff lol, but if they knew the right buttons to push, then they clearly succeeded. Such that they knew they could allow Akihito to go to a local police station and take it from there. It wasn't a crude brainwashing that would make him lash out immediately at the sight of Asami, see = kill. He appears coherent, and expresses himself without much of a hitch, as if normal.
Using Akihito's very first personal encounter with Asami against him is an obvious one, but that memory was all about abuse, fear, control. There has to be far more to it. How did this person condition him to first react with love, relief, and physical contact? Then calm, coherent conversation about how they both remember certain things but not others. Then Akihito pushes him into sexual intercourse to make Asami vulnerable, and uses a planted knife.
I dread to think that Akihito was sexually tortured/manipulated along with drugs in order to act like this, rather than simple beatings, etc, which would show scars that we don't see.
What is certain is that YA wanted to keep a lot of mystery in this chapter. We don't know if it's Sudou or Aaron who is still alive... And I too think Akihito did not forget everything. He could be just confused after all this time unconscious.
Also, why are you expecting Akihito to appear with scars and injuries after 5 months? That's a very long time. It should be enough for a man to recover from such accident. Especially considering he was hospitalized for over a month and seemed looking quite well when he woke up (comparing to the previous chapter).
The brainwashing can happen without the torture. It's a mind game before being a physical one. He could have been drugged and mentally manipulated by Sudo or whoever for 5 months without being physically harmed. They wanted him to believe they are the good ones and Asami the bad one so there's no point for them to hurt him. They made him think they are his allies. I am not surprised by how healthy he looks in Warsaw. What is weird is the strategy they used to kill Asami. They worked hard on Akihito for 5 months just to throw him like that with a ridiculous strategy! There's more to that for sure...
There's no way Sudou could fool Asami into thinking he's Aki, even with major plastic surgery. Asami knows Aki's body intimately, including his taste, scent, skin texture, moles, etc. and you can't fake that.
As series as their injuries were, it just seemed odd to me lol. But then again I personally haven't had many traumatic injuries (aside from two head wounds early in my childhood; one from a fall, one from an iron gate slammed in my face by a reckless kid in front of me at daycare). All the better that he looks unharmed, I'm sure. Less physical clues, but equally suspicious. Again, I sincerely doubt Sudou is alive (at least, we have no inclination to believe so). If he is, that aggravates me more than anything. He's been a tireless villain in this story for years now, and dying in that ambush he created suits him. Whoever DID do this to Akihito certainly needs to know him well enough to brainwash him like this.
I agree. We've seen enough of Sudo. I hope he died and we'll never see him again. But the way he was shot by Akihito was pretty suspicious. It looked like he wasn't really harmed so I won't be surprised if he reappears :(((
I sure hope not. e_e Just put him in the ground already.
I am sure you have not seen the complete raws and you didnt see that that gorilla sakazaki took Sudo from the hospital along with Akihito and its 100% confirmed that Sudo is alive. Nevertheless this theory about Sudo doing a surgery to look like Akihito is stupid
So I managed to get some if not most of the raws on Instagram, and here are my thoughts.
This chapter, from Akihito's reappearance on is just a total mindfuck. And I know it's intentional lol. We see a brief glimpse of an awake Akihito in his hospital bed before the kidnapping, and someone call to him by name off-screen. Akihito's attention piques at his name, so we can assume from just THAT that he does not have severe amnesia. He may not recall the events of last chapter well, if at all, but he knows who he is. Whether that's all we see of him awake in the hospital I don't know, because I don't know if I got all the raws.
From there, Akihito goes missing for 5 months. We know he was kidnapped by Sakizaki, who is just about as annoying as Sudou at this point, and Chernoborg. After 5 months, in this short chapter, he suddenly reappears in a police station in Warsaw. Seemingly unharmed, everything hunky dory, apart from the emotional reunion between him and Asami. If he was physically tortured, especially while still recovering from traumatic injuries, they did a DAMN good job covering it up. Akihito and Asami go to a hotel, where they talk briefly and Akihito seems "off" at that point. Akihito notices Asami's inner conflict and opts to seduce him out of it. They begin making love on the bed, and Akihito is surprisingly forward during intercourse, choosing to ride him, which of course puts Asami in a more vulnerable position. Akihito pulls a planted knife from under the pillow and threatens to kill Asami then and there, without a second thought, speaking a disturbing manner. In this ONE frame with the knife over his head, Akihito looks eerily like Sudou. Whether that's coincidence or intentional by Yamane-sensei remains to be seen.
In this particular scene, we see no mental lapse by Akihito as he manipulates Asami. No inner struggle from brainwashing. But we can tell something is off with him. His conversation isn't authentic, and he chooses to quickly sway Asami out of said conversation. If this is indeed actually Akihito, the way he's been brainwashed so flawlessly is WEIRD. I mean, I'm more inclined to believe it is him rather than the other big theory circling around. Chernoborg twisted him in his still fragile mental state (waking from a traumatic coma), planted him in the police station as bait, and arranged for them to go to a hotel where he would kill Asami with the one he loves. Makes sense, but it all seems too...I don't know. How was Akihito brainwashed to the point of acting like this and killing Asami without any hesitation? How does he not have a scratch on him at the police station?
This leads into the other theory, that Sudou SOMEHOW survived both being shot by Akihito and the building collapsing on him. It's already a miracle that Asami and Akihito survived their ordeal (plot armor, yes), but Sudou was left IN the building. So hypothetically here, he survives and is recovered presumably by Sakizaki. People think he physically alters himself to resemble Akihito, and plants himself in Warsaw to personally murder Asami once and for all, of course after intercourse, because he's an unfettered psychopath. Interesting theory, especially considering the final frame of the chapter. BUT, how in the world would Sudou recover from even WORSE injuries in only 6 months, undergo reconstructive surgery, and appear to Asami with NO visible scars/wounds? The timing makes no logical sense, which compromises the rest of that theory. He shouldn't be alive at all lol.
All of that said, I'm honestly still not convinced without a doubt that this is indeed Akihito. Basic logic would say yes, and it certainly will make for some of the biggest drama yet, but it all seems too convenient. I don't know. It brings to mind The Hunger Games when Peeta was captured by President Snow and tortured to madness inside the Capitol. Gale and his team later recovered him inside ground zero, while meeting no enemy fire. Peeta later encounters Katniss in the hospital, where he's bruised and emaciated from the torture. Katniss, overcome with emotion, tries to embrace him but Peeta immediately attempts to kill her by suffocating her. Snow planted Peeta to kill his biggest enemy in the cruelest way possible. This is almost a mirror of that, but WHY does Akihito look healthy and well?? Perhaps there's a more advanced means of torture Chernoborg used that didn't involve such things.
And lastly, WHERE HAS FEI LONG BEEN DURING ALL THIS? He's the one that rescued and brought Asami and Akihito to the hospital, and visited them repeatedly. Why is he suddenly MIA?