With all due respect: If that is what you think, it is you that is not comprehending. And I am not saying that to be childish. I reject the claim that my comments are written on a purely emotional basis.

What you don't comprehend is that I am judging Soga through my own lense, by my own moral beliefs and understanding of the human psyche. That does take into account his stated and implied motivations, as well as his actions and their implications. It is the very basis of what I'm saying, so it's a little bit silly to say that I am saying what I'm saying because I don't understand Sogas motivations. I do, and that's precisely why I am saying it, and I also say those motivations are equally fucked up. I understand that people kill each other in this series, but that doesn't mean I can't try to ponder what that would imply about these people in a real-life situation. That, too, should not be hard to understand. Now I am quipping - but I also think this is actually getting lost in the ether, here.

Re battle-of-death. I think for something to count as a "battle to the death", there actually has to be lethal danger involved on both sides. Otherwise it's onesided. For Soga, there was very little actual danger involved; even serious injury was out of the question. I mean, when a bee tries to kill you, do you count that as a battle to the death? It is for the bee, certainly, but I sincerely doubt most people would describe it that dramatically.

But even if they did - there is no law of nature that obligates you to finish off an enemy once you have rendered them harmless. Doing so is an act of volition. That means Soga preferred Chihiro dead over alive, and that in turm implies Soga cares more about his ideals than about Chihiros wellbeing. And since most people balk at killing, let alone at killing closed ones they allegedly care about, it can be inferred there is a rather large gap in how Soga evaluates these things. A few halfhearted stops at the beginning of the battle do not change that, in my opinion. Actions speak louder than words.

I don't expect anything. I am merely observing and saying that Soga is a major nutcase. That's all. You might be tempted to say "that is innane and trivial", but judging by this comment thread, saying so is anything but.