...

Choujin X Chapter 9 Analysis – Money And Deception

A new character and a brand new mystery. Choujin X Chapter 9 touches upon the existence of different criminal organizations and baseball. How will these events affect our heroes?

I think we can jump right into the discussion without wasting time on the intro, don’t you think? Ishida-sensei is taking his time with the releases so can’t expect the same old “Chapter drop in a 4-5 day time period”. Nevertheless, it’ll change from October onwards.

Chapter 8 concluded with Ely and Tokio discussing their hopes and dreams, as well as the entrance of a new group of villains, ready to clean up the mess that Nari made. We still have to hear the full story about Tokio’s dream… (check out our Chapter 8 Analysis!)

Choujin X Chapter 9 introduces a bunch of new characters and one of them is pretty interesting. What is his agenda and how will his meeting with our main characters go about once they know the truth?

Read on as I continue my review of Tokyo Ghoul’s sister series by Analyzing Choujin X Chapter 9!

Enter Tezuya Shiozaki, Tsuru High third-year

Choujin X Chapter 9 Analysis: Tezuya Shiozaki
Tezuya Shiozaki

There’s a lot of talk about baseball in this Chapter. The sudden mentions of the popular American sport baffled me at first glance. At the time, I had no prior knowledge of the game and thought “well that’s not a good start”.

As I re-read it 2-3 times, a lot of good insights came into my mind, which I will lay it down for you guys, the readers.

High speed Sinker

The octopus Choujin called Richard was the person who first talked about Tezuya.

Actually, did you know he was hinted at even in Chapter 8? Yes, the radio Azuma used spoke about the pitcher.

0008 003 1

It seems Tezuya was a former member of the baseball team of Tsuru High, the same school Tokio and Azuma go to. Richard describes him as an ace pitcher who is known for his “high-speed sinker”

According to the MLB website, the sinker is a pitch with a strong downward movement that is known for causing ground balls. It’s one of the faster pitches thrown and, when effective, induces some of the weakest contact off opposing batters’ bats.

Basically, the pitcher throws the balls which follows a downward trajectory towards the pad or the feet of the hitter.

two seam fastball pitch diagram
Sinker illustration

At high speed, the ball sinks or drops from a high position (the pitcher’s hand) to a low position. Tezuya is well-known for striking out hitters one at a time with this strategy. Ishida knows his baseball well. Note the word “sinker” as you read on.

When asked about the ace pitcher’s current condition, Richard revealed that he had turned into a Choujin in the middle of the Koshien Tournament.

Notice how the first panel of the Chapter is filled with Syringes. Here’s what I think:

What if Tezuya was injected before the tournament began and he used his Choujin power for the first time in that match? (1)

Periodical Evaluation with Sato

Here’s another new character with significance. A pleasant young man with a good-looking face. Pretty sure he’d be famous amongst the female Choujins.

Ichiro Sato is the right-hand man of Hoshi Sandaq, the instructor at Yamato Mori. And he takes Tezuya to another room for a chat.

Simon says (pun intended) Tezuya WAS a student at Tsuru high. So either he dropped out of school completely or moved to a new one.

The whole conversation between Sato and Tezuya Shiozaki is sus. Big sus. I’ve reached the following conclusions regarding the two individuals.

  • Shiozaki is a Class B registrant.
  • He’s lying throughout the conversation
  • The evaluation is sort of like an indirect interrogation to get info out of the former ace pitcher.

As for my reasons:

  • Recollect from Chapter 8 that only Choujins with a registration/licence are allowed to use their powers legally. Sato asked “have you used your powers?”
    • This indicates that Shiozaki has the permit to use his power.
    • But because Sato thinks he hasn’t use them often, I reckon he’s a class B.
    • Or he could be in the same position as Tokio and Ely – learning how to use his powers effectively.
  • “Not much has changed” My ass! He clearly says he’s not interested in baseball anymore. That IS a big change.
    • And the tapping of his foot indicated two things – either he’s impatient and wants to end the talk quickly or he tried using his power but failed. I suspect the former.
    • He also says he hasn’t used his power. Which is clearly a lie as we read more into the Chapter.
  • Sato’s expression when he says “I see” gives me the feeling he knows Shiozaki is lying and up to no good.
    • He’s an evaluator. So he can observe things closely and reach to certain conclusions.
    • That’s why he probably summoned Shiozaki to see whether his hunch is right.

Shiozaki feeling uneasy around Sato further makes me suspect that he was indeed lying. “I can’t stand the guy” he says.

The former pitcher then runs into Tokio in the bus stand. Tokio’s first impression of the guy might change when he finds out the truth…

The Rabbit Robbers

There’s one thing in common between Ely and Shiozaki – both are attracted to money.

But the main difference is, one is earning through legal means and the other illegally. One wants to live a luxurious life while the others steals to survive the next day.

Tezuya Shiozaki, the former ace pitcher, seems to be living in a poor environment with two baby brothers under his care.

I guess he doesn’t have any other choice but to join a group of masked thugs as a Choujin to earn his livelihood.

Speaking of the thugs, their masks seem familiar…

Yes. I thought I’ve seen them somewhere. Touka and Ayato too wear Rabbit masks to cover their identity. In fact, Touka is called “The Rabbit” and Ayato “Black Rabbit”.

The rabbit mask bearers in Choujin X and Tokyo Ghoul
Top – the rabbit masked robbers Shiozaki is part of
Bottom – Touka (left) and Ayato (right) wearing rabbit masks

Maybe Uta makes a cameo appearance in Choujin X as the Choujin mask maker.

It also reminds me of those goat-masked bikers in Chapter 2. I guess they too hide their identities to do their dirty work.

Tokio woke up the next morning to the news of a bank robbery.

According to the reporter, a huge hole was discovered in the vault floor. The police suspect the usage of a drill to create that hole.

I suspect it has to do with Shiozaki’s Choujin power (2).

Stealing a Goga Gola from a vending machine

“Goga Gola” This made me chuckle a bit.

The next time we see the former Tsuru High student is towards the end of the Chapter where he walks in Minami city. The same city in which he and his rabbit buddies stole money from a bank.

He looks at the dog Shikigami Ume let out. By looking at the “zing”, I reckon it’s surcharged with electric current and gives a shock to anyone who touches it.

It’s clear that he doesn’t want to live the life he’s livin’ right now. It’s like out of necessity. Let’s see what his backstory is all about…

Now comes the interesting part.

He tries to buy a drink from a vending machine. “Cash not accepted, only card” Yay. Hooray for digitization! (In case it’s not obvious, that was sarcastic).

Shiozaki looks around, tosses a coin. The next thing we see is the road underneath the vending machine breaking, “sinking” the machine down.

Now, recollect point (1). When a human gets the power of a Choujin via injections, their desire at that time influences what type of Choujin they become. Example: Tokio. This was also Azuma’s opinion in Chapter 3..

It’s pretty evident that his new power has to do something with baseball. He along with the rabbit thugs spoke about baseball. He just lied when he said he isn’t interested anymore.

Point (2) – the hole in the vault floor is similar to the hole on the road. Then there’s the fact about him being a high-speed sinker. Combining these points, I think Tezuya Shiozaki has the power to “sink” an object by making them heavy or make other objects sink by another.

In other words, how heavy or light an object depends on the gravitational effects around that object. I suspect his Choujin power has to do with manipulating gravity.

Being a high-speed sinker, I think it’d fit him well.

Now let’s turn our attention to the two baddies.

Wanted criminals – Richard and Umezawa

Choujin X Chapter 9 Analysis: Richard and Ririka Umezawa
Choujin X Chapter 9 formally introduces Richard and Ririka Umezawa

Sato explains that both have a bounty on their heads for their atrocious activities.

Umezawa, involved in a number of crimes, is a Shikigami/paper-cutout Choujin. Richard aka Richardo is a tentacle Choujin (heh. Tentacle. Hehehehe).

A bodyguard for criminals (the word criminal is pretty vague here), he betrayed his earlier group called Tagokoro and killed all of its members. What a madlad!

Tagokoro is a large crime organization in Yamato. Hmmm… interesting. So just like Tokyo Ghoul, there are different Choujin organizations.

Also, Richard knows a lot about Tsuru high and its students. And about baseball. Was he a former student and a baseball player?

Anyway, that’s all we got about them in Choujin X Chapter 9. Now let’s move on to Tokio and Ely.

Tell me, do you dream?

Before that, can I just say how adorable Momoma is?

Choujin X Chapter 9 Analysis: Momoma sleeping

Best girl in the making. Sleeping while teaching a class. Reminds me of Kazuho Miyauchi aka Kazu-nee aka Renge-chan’s oldest sister.

Choujin X Chapter 9 Analysis: Momoma and Ely sleeping

Awwww look at the cuties sleepin’ away. Not only they’re adorable as heck but they’re also my spirit animals.

Recollects all the times I’ve slept while class was going on.
Gets overwhelmed with the big number
Brain overload. Restart. Restart.

Erh erm… anyway, Ely talks to her grandpa and lets him know how things are coming along.

“Uh-huh. I’m putting in the effort” Don’t lie Ely. We saw you snoozing.

Seems she won’t stay long in Yamato Prefecture. Why does something tell me an external force will make her stay longer than expected?

Apart from wanting money for herself, she wants to see others around her happy. Seems noble enough. Wonder she’s the kind of person who picks up coins on the street…

Now the discussion about dreams continues. Tokio feels guilty about not having a dream. And Ely says it’s okay saying it out aloud.

The vulture-like Choujin says he decided to be open about not having a dream and while livin’ his life, he hopes to find out along the way.

To be honest, this is very relatable. Many of us don’t have a clue about what our ultimate goal in life is. We just go with the flow. See what others do and follow suit. It’s like walking with blindfolds on, having no idea when you’ll slam into a post.

Even so, we can’t sit idly and sleep all day. Our minds and bodies demand some kind of action. To fulfil the demands of the body, we get lost without looking at the inside…

Heavy stuff isn’t it? That’s what I love about psychological scenarios in Animanga. Makes you stop in your tracks and observe your life. And life decisions. Self-reflection is the most important activity one must do. That’s what differentiates us from the animals…

Final Thoughts

Choujin X Chapter 9 is a mix of Slice of Life and mystery. This is part one of Sinker called Grounder Boy. We’ll find more about Shiozaki in part two.

We see Tokio and Ely going about with their studies, Azuma’s baseball match. And the mystery surrounding the new character Tezuya Shiozaki. Fans are curious about what his power could be. I suppose we shall find out in Chapter 10…

The Chapter ended with Tokio and Ely looking at a nervous and sweaty Shiozaki. The fear of being found out is pretty apparent. I guess he’d either tell them to “mum’s the word” or reveal his backstory.

And I’m a sucker for backstories so, give me backstory please. Thank you.

The more I read Choujin X, the more I realize how light-hearted it is compared to Tokyo Ghoul. And I’m digging it! Can’t wait to see how Ishida takes this to new heights.

So what do you think of Choujin X Chapter 9? Let me know in the comments below!

Related posts

Leave a Comment