Chihiro is forced to face his inner darkness in Kagurabachi chapter 53 as he trades blows with Hiruhiko, a member of the sinister Hishaku. Standing alone under the spotlight and covered in blood, we wrangle with the question: is there really much difference between him and the bad guys?

While the last fight at Senkutsuji Temple was all about introducing Samura and simply making him look as cool as possible, Kagurabachi chapter 53 features a fair few more clever action beats. In particular, Hiruhiko uses his paper-based abilities to put Chihiro in an impossible situation: one where he is forced to choose between his own life and possibly taking away those of civilians. This creates a huge amount of tension as he tries to find a way out of this dilemma, but also serves to underscore the main themes of the chapter.

Last week, it just so happened that Chihiro and Hiruhiko crash landed right into the middle of a theater performing a play for a live audience. This very deliberately sets up the question of whether Chihiro is a hero into one of a ‘role’ he must fulfill in the eyes of the audience. Furthermore, Hiruhiko draws a direct parallel between the story on stage and Chihiro’s own contradictory existence as a hero: for as long as he wants to protect people, he must accept that there will be sacrifices. Will he be like Sasuke and hesitate to defeat the enemy, allowing them to get away? Or will he stop at nothing to fulfill his idea of justice, even if people get hurt in the process?

In the end, Chihiro chooses a middle path. Using Nishiki, he strengthens his body to take the blows from Hiruhiko’s paper cranes before pouncing on his enemy: while he won’t pretend to be a hero with the amount of blood on his hands, he won’t let his enemies hurt anyone else but him. If the world wants to call him a monster, then so be it. That’s the role he’s decided to play.

The conclusion of this particular dilemma in Kagurabachi chapter 53 by no means signifies the end of Chihiro’s character development. Rather, the numerous flashbacks to his childhood where Samura warned him not to go down the path of a swordsman clearly sets up his path to redemption. Can Chihiro break the cycle of the past? Or will he end up just like Samura and his father, nothing but tools of destruction?

One of Kagurabachi’s early weaknesses was how ‘complete’ Chihiro felt as a character, already able to take down hordes of enemies with ease thanks to his enchanted blade. It’s therefore more than encouraging to see Kagurabachi chapter 53 introducing a fair amount of conflict into its main character, alongside expanding the main cast to include other archetypes. Somewhat paradoxically, embracing the darkness has made the future of this series that much brighter.

You can read Kagurabachi chapter 53 for free via VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump.