Roasting "Apple Black Origins: The Spectrum and the Spectre" Chapters 2-4
BREAKING NEWS: Opal has vitiligo and white hair now
Chapter 2: Spectre Freed.
Opening line:
Reagus probably considered himself a good man.
Well, does he or not? You’re the narrator, dipshit. If You don’t know if he considered himself a good man, how the fuck am I supposed to know? Tell me he has conflicting feelings, tell me he wishes he could consider himself a good man. All of this mush-mouth hesitation is making me fucking insane.
So we do learn that Reagus, a former doctor, has a terminally ill wife and daughteru, and this has lead to some bad life choices. The text explains:
Driven by an insatiable desire to save his family, Reagus delved into more questionable and unconventional means in his quest for a cure. He explored the realms of forbidden knowledge, crossing ethical boundaries that he had once sworn to uphold. His desperation led him to secret societies, enigmatic texts, and mysterious elixirs to pursue a remedy that could heal his wife and daughter.
I’m guessing this is the kind of kooky experimental science you’d see in Fullemetal Alchemist and not Breaking Bad (finally we know where something falls on the cottagecore to trailerpark spectrum). But I’m hazy on what he did wrong. Are we talking outright human experimentation, or did he test a new shampoo on his flying monkey?
A paragraph later, we get the point hammered home again: “The guilt he carried for not being able to find a cure within the boundaries of conventional medicine haunted him daily.”
And, look- I don’t know dick about shit when it comes to grammar. But that sentence feels wrong. There has to be a better way to say that. And why even say it? I got your point, the dude feels bad, c’mon, wrap it up while we’re young, there’s a line out the door for the confessional booth.
Alright, before I get too caught up in this dog-awful sentence structures, let me bulletpoint summarize this chapter:
We meet Gideon (Codename: Blink Spectre) and Reagus (Codename: Father Nature)
They’re part of the 13 Ghosts, a super elite squad that does.. stuff
Their leader is Black Maria, who’s described as “Type A” but she’s constantly lashing out and yelling, so, there’s that.
The 13 Ghosts are actually being mind controlled
Gideon and Reagus joined the 13 Ghosts with hopes of changing the world? I think?
The Onyx, a rival gang, attacks the 13 Ghosts. Maria wants their leader alive, Gideon and Reagus don’t. They let him live, but with Serious damage
Gideon and Reagus go in a temple and find the Lock of Dreams, which is a pretty powerful MacGuffin
Btw, Willow was in a wooden box the whole time???? And they pry her open
Willow has no idea what’s going on (me neither LOL) but Gideon promises to tell her “everything”.
They tell Willow to give up on Hogwarts, it’s too corrupt and she wouldn’t fit in
Meanwhile, Gideon and Reagus play a game of Nuori, “a strategic board game akin to chess but with its unique set of rules and complexities”.
So I’m assuming all of the stuff with the 13 Ghosts makes sense to guys who read the manga, but goddamn this chapter was rough lol. Also, I thought this was a flashback, but it turns out Willow was tucked away in a box, Nezuko-style.
Btw, Gideon and Reagus feel like the same character (while I was writing this I accidentally called them “Blink and Spectre” because my mind melded them into the same character, so, my bad if find/replace missed one). They’re both oldheads with deep regrets over not being a better husband/father. One has a dead wife and kid, the other’s wife is just distant. I can’t remember which one’s which, but I do think it’s huh-larious that we’re now 3 for 3 in making every male character a Husband who’s a Good Guy, with Regrets. Is this reparations for all of the shonen manga where the only chick was either a girlfriend or a mom?
Also I need to talk about Nuori, the Chess-like strategy game. Because it’s written exactly like Chess. So I’m wondering, alright, level with me, exactly why can’t they just play Chess?
Okay, what’s cool about 3gatsu no Lion is you don’t need to know shoji to understand that anime, but knowing shoji will upgrade your appreciation for the narrative. Inversely, if a character’s reputation is an artistic genius, the story will often go out of its way to obscure their paintings (I call this the “Unseen Legacy” trope, because I couldn’t find a legit Tv tropes entry for this). Everyone around them in-universe can hype them up as being brilliant, and your mind will fill in the blanks. This is because if you actually see their painting, there’s a chance you’ll react with, “Oh, that doesn’t look that great,” and the entire narrative crumbles.
So I’m trying to think of exactly why these characters are playing a game similar to Chess, but not exactly Chess. This isn’t, say, Yugioh or No Game No Life, where our high-IQ puzzle master has crafted a new game to test their opponent’s critical thinking. No, these characters are pretty much just playing chess, making Chess metaphors, and any differences between Chess and Nuori outside of their name goes unmentioned.
I searched “Nuori” so you can see what I mean:
Now, you may notice - Nuori does return in chapter 11. But we’re not learning its rules, we just learn some asshole has a wand in the shape of a Nuori piece.
So it makes even less sense that they’d use a made-up game! If you say your wand is in the shape of a bishop or the queen, that’s an immediate visual. If your OC’s are too special for chess and too high-IQ for tic-tac-toe, you can say they’re playing chaturanga— a game from 6th century India that’s said to be the common ancestor of chess, shoji, and a whole lotta other chess-like games.
The rules of chaturanga aren’t completely known to historians, and it has a kickass elephant piece- so if your characters are playing chaturanga, you can make your cool chess metaphors, you can give your guy a distinct wand inspired by the game, you seem Very Cultured for knowing what this is, and you don’t have to go into detail about how it’s played since there’s no one who can say you’re doing it “wrong”.
But what did we get instead? A new game, that’s vaguely Chess-like… but I have no idea how it’s played, so we can’t even get into how Reagus and Gideon’s gameplay mirrors their IRL stratergery techniques.
(Btw, does chess even exist in their world? Does nuori have the same roots as chess/shoji and, this being an alternate world, nuori is the result of a unique evolutionary trajectory? Why can these characters openly reference rumplestilskin, but playing chess is too far???)
This comes off as someone who’s too dumb to know about chess, writing chess. Which is why I brought up the “unseen legacy” trope- I’m weirdly reminded of that technique here. I just don’t understand why they’re doing it. Chess is a little more objective than painting, and you’re not going to ruin any sort of narrative illusion if you see people playing it. The only reason to obscure this game and not discuss their strategy is if you yourself don’t know how to write it. In which case, why even have them play it at all? Dude, it’s fine if you can’t play chess, I can’t either, but I make up for it by being really, really funny (people are laughing at me, not with me, but you take what you can when you’re too dumb for chess).
Chapter 3: Hollow
Opening Line:
The relentless tick of the wall clock reverberated through the room, each sound amplifying the unbearable ache in Harlem’s heart.
Harlem, aka Willow and Opal’s mom, sure is worried that Willow is missing. Suddenly, Pappa Wantmore (Uzoh Olaocha) shows up. Harlem and Uzoh bicker since Uzoh isn’t around. Uzoh learns Willow’s missing and he dashes off, determined to find her.
Btw, this book keeps insisting you know Pappa and Mamma Wantmore’s actual names. We can’t just call them pa and ma. Even when Willow thinks back to her mom in chapter 1, we’re told “She recalled a piece of familial wisdom from Harlem, her mother.” I get it, we want to give our characters some agency other than being The Mom, so we’re going to address her by her name. It’s a nice sentiment, but Harlem hasn’t done much other than being a mom.
We cut back to Willow and Gideon, who are setting out for adventure. Willow isn’t so sure about this, considering the whole, y’know, kidnapping thing. But she thinks Gideon is most likely a good guy since he’s such good friends with Reagus. This is the fastest and flimsiest I’ve ever seen an abuser graced with forgiveness.
Gideon and Reagus are pretty damn similar, so it doesn’t say much that they’re both so friendly with each other. If Reagus was the homeless guy under the bridge who has a reputation for flinging his own shit and Gideon showed him unwavering forgiveness, even after today’s freshly-flung shit landed squarely in his latte, that would speak a little more to his character.
It’d be cool if Willow decided Gideon is legit since he plays nuori instead of chess. Then the sudden introduction of nuori would serve a purpose other than “we’re a special fantasy world without chess.”
Look- I don’t care about art being morally pure. I know I make that point a lot, but I want to be sure anyone overly concerned about keeping a strictly “ethical” media diet buzzes off. So when I cringe at Willow forgiving her kidnapper, it’s more from the angle of “wow, this is narratively clumsy” and less “that’s heckin problematique, Yikes.”
But with that in mind: This surprise kidnapping takes a very groomer-y turn. I don’t know how else to describe what I’m looking at here. It feels like grooming. Here’s some of the main points they hit in their conversation:
Reagus tells Willow that Gideon can unlock the full potential of her wand
In this tough-guy world, it’s best you’re prepared. Since Gideon wasn’t prepared, that’s why his daughteru died, and he wishes she was still around so he could teach her (bizarre thing to bring up to someone you just kidnapped, but, sure)
Gideon says to Willow that she’ll be safer with him than she would at Hogwarts
And, actually, it’s better she drops out of Hogwarts all together since that place is so full of corruption
Gideon and Willow both have golden wands, passed down from their fathers, which means they have sooo much in common
C’mon. This shit is weird. At least with romance stories that have a kidnapping element (I’m thinking Beauty and the Beast or Ancient Magus Bride), we can see the greater metaphorical wish fulfillment. It can range from “what if the guy I’m arranged-married with, eventually, turned sweet” to “what if I didn’t have to worry about romance, and was put on the fast-track to love without thinking about it.”
Gideon’s “appeal” is he’s the lesser of two evils. Willow doesn’t have much of a choice but to accept him, since she’s already been kidnapped. And really - if this was going for a romance angle, I would understand, metaphorically, what they’re trying to say here. But they clearly aren’t. This is more of a (surrogate) father/daughter relationship, and, yes, this does make the whole thing weirder. The notion of “You can trust me, I’d be a good dad” doesn’t make him feel trustworthy. It makes him feel like a predator.
If Gideon was age downed to be Boyfriend Age and the two had an instant spark, that’s stronger motivation for Willow to be on board: she thinks this guy’s cute, so sure, she’ll drop out of Hogwarts for him. It’s still a bit shaky, but in that instance Willow would have a drop more agency in this decision. I’d also understand her motivation, even if it’s stupid and hormone-driven. Instead we’re hit with “well, this guy who’s roughly dad-shaped said Hogwarts is bad, so I’m dropping out and going on an adventure with him” like, broooo! So many red flags!!!
Unfortunately, this segment has pretty okay writing, y’know, from a technical standpoint. Gideon’s still in the process of undoing his brainwashing from the 13 Ghosts, he still feels “more machine than man”. We see him slightly regain his personhood, but he’s still emotionally held back. Being around Willow, who reminds him of his daughteru, helps him feel more alive and recapture some of his humanity.
I said before that this book had a problem of presenting wildly contradictory information—stuff that makes sense conceptually, but it’s presented so clumsily that it felt like a mood whiplash. This is the first time where we were able to see strong depths of emotion presented so smoothly. Too bad its in the chapter about grooming, lol.
I would speculate that maybe this chapter was punched up with a second draft so it felt a little less molster-y, but we’re treated to New contradictory information! Willow speculates that her Dad “left us because my sister’s and my skin got worse as we got older”. And a little later, they say it again: “The shared skin condition with her sister.”
Uh… no one’s mentioned Opal has vitiligo until now, what the fuck? If she has it, it’s nowhere visible, so thanks for making me the pervert and wondering where it’s hidden.
It’s also news that Dad walked out because of your vitiligo. Here’s what they said back in chapter 1:
But as she grew older, the absence of his physical presence began to weigh heavily on her heart. She longed for a father-daughter relationship beyond the tales and legends, where she could feel his guiding hand and hear his words of wisdom. The memories of his sporadic visits, filled with fleeting moments of tenderness and warmth, were cherished fragments of her past. Willow couldn’t help but wonder about his choices, the paths he had walked, and the reasons that had led him to venture far from their family. She yearned to understand the man behind the legend, to unravel the mysteries of his heart and mind. In her heart, there was a profound desire to bridge the gap that had grown between them, to share the experiences and moments that father and daughter should have cherished together. While undeniably awe-inspiring, his legacy served as a bittersweet reminder of the fatherly love she had missed, a passion she had craved all her life.
If he’s hittin the bricks because of your skin condition, why didn’t you say it then???
Anyway, Willow says that her dad used to tell her stories about Pargon Forest, so that’s where Gideon and Willow decide to go. Even here, when Willow’s taking some initiative, it’s pretty much a hunch, and it’s only because of something her dad said. You’d think with the cover art featuring the protagonist mean-mugging the camera, she’d have a little more agency in this story, lmaooo!!!
Chapter 4: Ambush
Opening line:
The air hung heavy with an unspoken tension as Gideon and Willow made their way deeper into the Pargon Forest.
So Gideon and Willow are going through the spooky forest, when they suddenly find poachers trying to capture a unicorn. Gideon sees this as a springboard for a Teachable Moment- he’s going to give her a summary of Eden’s political landscape. And basically, the guys running the show are corrupt, so there’s rebels, who “share a common hatred for the current rulers of Eden, a sentiment borne from years of oppression and loss.”
But the thing is-okay, stay with me here, this is gonna get complicated for anyone without a polisci degree- some of the Rebels, although they’re justified in their anger, take things Too Far.
I hope you can hear my sarcasm through the text. You’d think Willow would’ve picked up on these broader political happenings, like, I don’t know if her trailer shack/magic toadstool gets CNN, but this is the most middle-of-the-road, ho-hum political take.
This is a magic world, so I want to know how magic factors into this: is magic exclusive to those in power? Do the rebels have a secret stash of the ultra-powerful magical Black fruits?? If there’s nothing fantastical at play, you’ve just served me a dumbed down summary of BLM versus da guberment.
Anyway, some mean ol’ poachers are trying to capture a unicorn, and Willow takes this personally.
A vivid flashback transported her to a time when she fiercely defended her younger sister from the cruel taunts of bullies who singled them out for the unique splotches of lighter tones decorating their skin. The echoes of hurtful words and mocking laughter resurfaced, and Willow felt the weight of the past press upon her. Just as she and her sister had been unfairly targeted for their unique appearance, the Pegasus she and Gideon had just freed faced a similar plight. Its ethereal beauty, embodied in the delicate, sought-after horn made it a target for exploitation. Willow’s heart ached with a profound empathy, a shared understanding of the injustice that comes with being prized or persecuted solely based on appearance.
“I think I’ll call you Jupiter.” Willow whispered through a bittersweet smile. The Pegasus snorted agreeing to the name before taking flight. Its wings cutting through the air, Willow reflected on her connection with the mystical creature. Their shared vulnerability of being singled out for something beyond one’s control forged a bond between Willow and the Pegasus, both victims of a world that often failed to recognize the inherent value beneath the surface.
This book keeps making this point- this is something I can’t control, I was born this way, how awful is it that I’m singled out for something I can’t help, etc etc. I get the angst (really) but… like… It shouldn’t matter if you can control it or not. It’s shitty you’re getting bullied. Who cares if the bullies are singling you out for something you “can’t control.” This implies a distinction between justified and unjustified bullying.
I’m about to deliver something more nuanced than the political system of Eden and the rebel forces, so I’ll try to keep it simple: I like Lady Gaga, but I do not like the messaging in the song “Born This Way”.
When I hear this song, I have to reassure myself with the usual 5-point process:
Songs aren’t literal, they’re poetry
The general vibe of the song is “I am who I am”
Lady Gaga is very cool, and will never hurt me, and that Joker sequel is gonna be sick
Ignore the lyrics, the actual song slaps
This isn’t meant to be a hardline stance on nature vs. nurture
And yet…
I don’t like it. I know positing that being queer could ever be a choice or based in environment can be deeply offensive, so, uh, I guess you’ll have to get offended. I’m not interested in taking a hardline stance on this issue: I’m saying it shouldn’t matter if it’s nature or nurture.
This opinion comes with privilege, since for a long time there was the pervasive narrative of “pray the gay away.” Homosexuality was seen as a “lifestyle” choice based in sin. Framing gay as genetic is as much a diffusion of responsibility as it is an extension of compassion. My opinion that “born this way Bad” is dismissive if we’re approaching from that angle. I’ll give you that.
If you, yourself, feel you were born this way, if you were told "pray the gay away”— I’m legitimately not trying to single you out or saying you’re wrong. You’re not. I don’t want you to feel attacked. I’m only here to invalidate the experience of SaturdayAM fans.
And with all of those qualifiers on the table: The “Born this way” mindset, when taken to its extreme, invalidates these people:
People who awaken to their sexuality later in life
People who identify a certain way as a trauma response
Guys who suck dick but only because it’s actually pretty funny
If that’s a little too convoluted (since I’m railing against a well-intentioned pop slogan that has a decent enough footing in reality), let’s turn to the HIV/AIDS crisis: formerly seen as a “gay” disease only affecting drug/sex addicts. Should we only extend empathy for HIV patients who contracted it prenatally? What about those who got the disease from a bad blood transfusion? How many partners does someone need to have before they’ve contracted aids the “bad” way?
There’s all sorts of hypotheticals about “good” and “bad” HIV/AIDS patients, but it’s all the same disease. In theory, how someone contracted it shouldn’t matter. Anyone with HIV/AIDS is deserving of compassion, and it’s better we leave the victim blaming at the door.
Anyway, vitiligo and being a unicorn are 100% something you can’t control. But this book’s insistence on “We can’t help it, why are we being bullied when we can’t help it” like, bro, kindly shut the Fuck! up about Born This Way. If you didn’t have vitiligo, your bullies would make fun of you for being poor or having shitty clothes. That’s what bullies do. Do you think if you weren’t born with vitiligo, they’d be totally cool with you and let you sit at their lunch table?
And, Obviously, if you have vitiligo, you’ve definitely had to deal with some shit. If you didn’t have vitiligo, you’d have an easier time socializing and existing in this world. My long-winded point: dwelling on how your bullies just don’t understand you can’t help it is incredibly petty and narrow-minded.
But I shouldn’t expect them to think this through when they couldn’t even proofread basic character information.
Remember back in chapter 3, we learn that Opal has vitiligo? I was imagining it must be a little splotch on her elbow. Yet the bullies, being bullies, zeroed in on this, despite it being genuinely nbd. Because, well, look at her:
Here’s what we learn in a flashback:
Opal was perched alone on a swing, her delicate figure appearing even more fragile as she gazed downwards. A group of older children, known as the school bullies, approached with intent. Their leader, a boy taller than the rest with a cruel smirk, zeroed in on Opal, mocking her for the unique patterns on her skin and her distinct white hair, attributes that made her stand out in a crowd. From a distance, Willow’s protective instincts flared with indignation. This day was etched in her memory—the day she defended her sister. In the dream, she relived that courageous moment, walking up to the bullies with resolute steps, her heart pounding but her voice unwavering. “Leave her alone,” Willow commanded, positioning herself in front of Opal, shielding her from the bullies’ cruel words. Taken aback by her assertiveness, the bullies turned their ridicule towards Willow. “And what about you? Going to run and tattle?” The leader sneered, stepping menacingly closer to Willow. Unflinching, Willow met his gaze with a steely resolve. “You won’t hurt her,” she declared, her voice imbued with a bravery that surpassed her youth. “We’re not intimidated by you.” The bullies’ laughter, their bravado diminishing under Willow’s steadfast stare. After a tense standoff, they retreated, offering weak excuses as they left. Opal, lifting her gaze to Willow, expressed silent gratitude and deep admiration. Willow responded by draping a comforting arm around her, a protective act that conveyed more than words ever could.
Given this new information, it seems Opal’s vitiligo isn’t a tiny patch. I’m inclined to believe it’s the subject of ridicule because it’s so noticeable, like Willow’s vitiligo.
But there’s a bigger story here: Opal has white hair??? When did that happen???? Did she start dying it orange later on??? Does it turn orange when she activates her quirk and scowls down da haterz???? Can an Apple Black fan fill me in???? Because what— I do not say this lightly— the fuck.
This is either a huge error they didn’t catch, or WhytManga is even more hands-off with this book than we realize.
Or…
The third option unfolds: Opal is now being retconned into having super special vitiligo for extra diversity points.
This won’t be the first Opal-related retconning. I know I said last post I wouldn’t get into it, I swear I wouldn’t get into it, but I guess I’m getting into it! That wasn’t even me trying to be a tease or do a bit, at the time I didn’t think Opal Wantmore lore would be so relevant. But foolish, foolish me. Opal is the Poochie of the Apple Black universe, and not just because everyone needs to ask “Where’s Opal?” when she’s not on screen. But her true claim to the Poochie crown is the fact that she was pretty clumsily and abruptly retconned into the story, and everyone’s chugging along as if she’d been there the whole time.
Now please note, I haven’t witnessed this firsthand, since Saturday AM puts a hefty and confusing price tag on their back issues. Earlier versions of Apple Black are being memory hole’d pretty hard, and I don’t know if I’d be throwing away $36 just to get the “updated” version of Apple Black.
According to my insider sources of unfortunate SatAM fans, if you read Apple Black since day 1, Opal wasn’t around until much later. When she showed up, the cast acted like she’s always been there. Meanwhile, Whyt tweaked the content in the tankobon releases- so Opal’s now showing up in chapter 2 and immediately part of The Gang. He then carried on with new chapters as if she’d been a character the whole time.
I know that’s a pretty wild claim, but check this out:
Opal wasn’t in any of the early character popularity polls (the most recent on Whyt’s Deviantart dated at 2017, note the year in the lower right corner)
…and the earliest appearance of Opal on his Deviantart, dated in 2019:
Now when we go to the accompanying YouTube speedpaint, we learn that this is a “new character” set to debut in the middle of volume 3 (but we’re also reassured that Whyt had her planned from the beginning! don’t worry! He totally knows what he’s doing!). He then shares that her “current character design is actually influenced by my babes character design, some of you know what I'm talking about, wink wink.” My interpretation: this is his gf’s character, and she strongarmed him into rewriting his entire manga so their daughteru Opal was given a bigger role in the school play.
Anyway, not saying this as a “gotcha,” (I’m sure Whyt, the very cool very tough guy that he is, has plenty of reasons why she didn’t debut in volume 3). I’m saying this as proof that Opal was abruptly retconned, since if you pick up Apple Black Volume 1 off of a shelf, she’ll show up in chapter 2.
I know this revelation is a solid place to end this segment, but one more nitpick before we move on. Let me back up to the section where we learn Opal now has vitiligo… this sentence, specifically:
A group of older children, known as the school bullies, approached with intent.
They’re “known as the school bullies”? They’re not the school bullies, they’re known as the school bullies? Is that how this gang is addressed when they get together at Applebees? Will the staff, happy to see their regulars, greet them with “Hey, School Bullies! Get in here, there’s a deal on boneless wings today!”
Shit like this makes me think this book is adding extra fluff to stretch their word count.