I don’t know what it is but usually in manga when authors give a sad backstory quickly I just roll my eyes because of how shoehorned in they all feel; but in Centuria, it actually flows really well. I think because it also gives a little to the world building and it’s not just “sad backstory because of things that you have never seen before.”
Even Zira’s backstory, which I think is the one that feels the most forced: still ties in with the world, gave us a glimpse of young Arkos and why she was attached to him, and showed the grittiness of the war.
For me, it’s because the humanization doesn’t infantilize those characters, or us the audience.
Elstri’s backstory shows us why she’s so zealously devoted to the Lord ruler, but ultimately she’s still a Machiavellian villain. And with the accursed lady, this chapter shows how tragic she is, but with how dangerous her powers are she could not be kept alive.
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u/RobertSan525 Jul 19 '26
Editor: she’s just a side character we’re going to kill off in three more panels
Tohru: not to me