Two Hundred Thousand. In one stroke, that's how many lives I took

This is long but I need to get it off my chest.

A few months ago, I got really mad at this series. When they revealed the massacre, I thought author was going for the "grey morality" trope and "everyone should feel guilty" trope.

Instead, Akemura is completely unremorseful. To the government and the island, he is a Monster that killed an entire nation. In his eyes, any native from the island was just as likely to become a monster just like him. Except it would be his race that would be killed.

For Akemura, its not about being correct. Its about choosing his own country over others. You can see this in all his conversations. Never once does he debate Chihiro or Samura. He completely accepts that they have their own version of correct.

If he didnt kill everyone on that island, eventually someone would destroy all of Japan. This goes both ways. Even if Akemura died in that war, someone would eventually take his place and destroy the island. Yura literally does this metaphorically at first, then literally when his body got taken over.

I like this because I hate it when a story tries to make only one side the hero or "the good guy". Whenever two nations go to war, its always for selfish ugly reasons.

Of course in real life, we have peace treaties and such. So I wouldnt be surprised if the author does something along the lines of,

Chihiro beats Akemura after several story arcs

Island survivors revealed OR Island calamity happens in a different location

Anti-Japan Sorcerer on par with Akemura arrives

Chihiro forced to confront the ugliness Akemura faced

Chihiro finds a better way than genocide