Roasting Apple Black, Chapter 2 (Part 4)
attempting to decode the prophesy, and bounty system
Wait, let’s see what we can piece together about the bounty system from that infodump page.
“Those familiar with Eli prophecies could recognize the trinity symbol on Sano’s arm” Okay, but I see the symbol everywhere.
Sano’s is a bit stylized, but, uhh… The guards from chapter 1 have a Trinity symbol on their arm.
I think I understand what they’re saying— the prophesy (probably) spoke of a glowing Trinity symbol on a blackened arm (wait, does Sano have vitiligo?). Sano also wears a special sleeve that suppresses his arm/wand’s “impulse levels.”
I forgot where we were fed that info, but here’s a clear shot of Sano’s arm:
This is supplementary reading, but it’s relevant: Whyt has suggested that any personal item can serve as a wand. Whyt illustrates this with the example of Cyclops from X-Men, noting that his visor would qualify as a wand in this universe.
With that thinking, there has to be others with prosthetic arms used as a wand, right? (Side note that real-world prosthetics need to be swapped out and are frequently outgrown. I’m thinking more in the fantasy realm of “cool robot arm”). And given that the Trinity symbol is everywhere, there has to be at least one guy who has a prosthetic arm, and he’s on board with the Trinity, so he gets that symbol on his prothetic arm.
Unless that would just paint him as a target, because that arm would get mistaken for the arm with a bounty. But I’ll get to the economics of the bounty system in a little bit.
Anyway, I don’t know how many people are familiar with the Eli prophecies. We haven’t seen anyone confidently state their belief in the Trinity, despite it being everywhere. Sano is surprised that Opal has read the Eli Prophecies.
I don’t know if we’re supposed to take Sano as an unreliable protagonist (since he grew up in isolation, so what he considers “normal” is going to be maladjusted), or if this is like one of those God’s Not Dead propaganda movies and Faith is at an all-time low!!! and Opal is going to fulfill her role as Perfect Girlfriend because she’s not like other gurls, she reads the Bible.
Anyway, maybe everyone in the amputee community made a pact that they wouldn’t paint that symbol on their arm. Maybe the Eli Prophesies state that their Chosen One’s symbol is slightly different from the standard Trinity symbol, so that’s why Sano stands out.
Except Angelo has that variant symbol, matching Sano’s, on his outfit.
Anyway, about the bounty system.
There’s a bounty on Sano’s arm. In Chapter 1, the bad guy said there’s a bounty on Sano’s head. Are they two separate bounties? I’m asking because I’m not sure, and I know this isn’t an oversight because this book took 10 years to make.
Angelo continues to explain: “Unfortunately, the bounty system operates independently from the capitol.” Okay. So who operates it? Who funds this? Is there a bunch of shady oligarchs calling the shots? So far we’ve only seen shady gang activity in the background. The 13 Ghosts are a religious organization, but the way they operate is functionally identical to the various gangs.
Master Linux is the most corrupt public figure we’ve seen so far (he’s the head of the Youta guild, as described in the LN). He had no problem telling Jino the Bully (a student, and child) that plenty of people bribed their way into the Youta Guild for a chance to steal Willow’s wand.
More from Angelo: “Almost every major sorcerer and powerful item in the land is fair game.”
So if every major sorcerer is fair game (sorry, almost every major sorcerer, we have to leave that wiggle room), how involved are they with the bounty system? Is there a class of magic-wielders more powerful than sorcerer/lord/dark lord?
Maybe that “almost” is doing all of the heavy lifting here, and there’s a super OP, super rich wizard who’s running the bounty system.
But when I stepped away from the world of Apple Black, I unexpectedly found the answer.
I have a friend who likes to humor my mangaka delusions. Sometimes we’ll Play Editor and go to a famiresu and discuss ideas (like a Make-A-Wish kid throwing the first pitch, but much, much sadder). I didn’t have any manga cooking so I brought my exacerbation over the Apple Black bounty system. I was piecing it together Pepe Silvia style, when he stepped in and told me the easiest explanation.
“It’s One Piece.”
What?
“There’s a bounty system in One Piece. Apple Black has a bounty system because One Piece has a bounty system.”
I was so angry, because I knew he was right.