Warning: Spoilers for the entire series follow!

Early in the story, the main idea behind the series seems to be that, no matter how many grotesque demons and creatures inhabit the island, humans are still just as dangerous and horrible as the monsters. This is evidenced first by Pan, who easily destroys demons and is known for mutilating other humans. From the outset, he is the most violent, dangerous creature on Cheju. The next example comes from a young girl in Miho’s class. The girl was gang-raped by a group of boys (you begin to notice a pattern here, that the most heinous acts in the series are committed by human beings), only to make a contract with a demon who in turn kills the boys. The girl was justified in her actions, but the point remains that the source of all this trouble for Miho comes from a human action.

Later, John is brought into the picture and faces off against a spirit who denies all that John stands for (John is a devout Christian, and this spirit tries every way to enrage John to the point of screwing up, mostly by insulting John’s religion). In the end, John rises above this and triumphs over the spirit, and his own temptations toward hatred. At the same time, Pan battles a powerful demon who questions why he is protecting Miho, saying “You used to hate humans!” Pan’s answer is not directly seen, though a child who overheard the exchange later quotes Pan as saying “When it comes to money, nothing matters, including hate.” Yet another mention of that word ‘hate’. There are two ways to interpret this scene. For one, we can assume that Pan is being truthful in his answer, and has moved beyond his hatred of humans in an entirely different way than John has risen above his hatred of the blasphemous spirit. But this theory assumes that Pan really does need/want all that money from Miho, which I personally do not believe is true. Another way to interpret the scene is that Pan simply doesn’t feel obligated to explain himself to the demon, and instead gives a quick, cynical remark for an answer (which is fairly likely, given Pan’s attitude). Either way, Pan is moving past, or has already moved past, his hatred of humans, and his defeating this particular demon (who certainly seemed to know him, and could possibly have had some sort of friendship or deal with Pan in the past) was a way to show that.

When the cursed skulls come into play, a lot more themes and ideas are brought in, many that have historical significance and a lot of emotional power. For one, the skulls are revealed to be those of Koreans who died in cruel human experimentation at the hands of Japanese during World War II. Because of this, only Japanese are affected by the toxic gasses, and Koreans are spared. Initially, it seems as if the skulls seek revenge for the wrongs they have suffered. This brings about many themes on grudges and vengeance. However, it is eventually revealed that the skulls only wish for the truth to be told, and the ending pages show them being displayed in a Japanese museum, where Japanese children are being told the truth of their story. Obviously, the skulls are no longer a threat to the Japanese people, because the horrors they endured are no longer a secret kept to protect the Japanese government. We are told that the skulls only wanted “another homeland”.

This is the main plot, the full story of the skulls, what they stood for, and what it means to us as people. They were wronged terribly, and yet, were willing to forgive once the truth was revealed. This same cycle of hatred, grudges, and eventual forgiveness is repeated many times, with different circumstances, between the characters.

The first and most obvious example exists between Kojima, the Japanese interpol agent searching for the skulls, and Miho. Late in the story, Kojima inexplicably snaps and attacks John and Miho, attempting to rape her and injuring both of them. He is stopped by Pan and nearly killed before Aikawa, one of Kojima’s companions, intervenes. Later, Kojima reappears and continues his mission to take the skulls back to Japan to be hidden away forever, never letting the public know the truth. He seems very unapologetic about his earlier actions, until Miho says “You should make amends while you still can. If you don’t, my children may kill yours.” She was referencing to the cycle of hatred that would continue until something stopped it. But when Miho tries to escape from the police, and orders are given to shoot her on sight, Kojima finally tries to make amends for his actions. He first tries to protest the orders, and when that fails, he seeks out Miho on his own, trying to convince her to surrender herself to him so that she won’t be killed. She of course refuses, and when more officers show up and shoot at her, Kojima shields her with his own body, saving her life and losing his own. Because of his sacrifice, Miho seemed willing to forgive him in the end.

Another prime example comes from John, Kiyoichi, and Monk Seinan (the latter two being more of Kojima’s companions). The three of them begin on the wrong foot, with both Kiyoichi and Monk Seinan actually attacking John the first time they meet him (and these were two separate incidents to boot). Monk Seinan is particularly nasty to John, because he is racist against Koreans. In the final battle between John and Monk Seinan, both are suffering bloody, potentially life-threatening blows. John eventually defeats Seinan and has the opportunity to kill Seinan in the same way Seinan has just killed the Korean who had been sending out the skulls (whom John pitied). Instead of killing Seinan, John drops the staff he had been holding and admits that, even though he hated Seinan, he couldn’t bring himself to kill the man. In his own way, John had forgiven Seinan. When the latter gets back up and tries again to kill John, it is Kiyoichi who stops him, knocking Seinan out. In this case, it is Kiyoichi who both accepts John’s “forgiveness” and tries to make amends for what both she and Seinan had done. She gives John the skulls so that he can expose the truth. When later events prevent this from happening, John gives the skulls back to Kiyoichi, telling her to take them back to Japan and, we can assume, to reveal the truth herself. He expresses that he trusts her to take care of them, and she does, as the ending pages show. In this case, it was John and Seinan who experienced most of the hate cycle, and it was John and Kiyoichi who ended that cycle with forgiveness and acceptance.

The final lesson that Island offers comes from Aikawa, who loved Kojima very dearly and was presumably following his lead for that reason alone. Her character stood as an example of someone who was not necessarily involved in the whole Japan versus Korea scenario, but was instead simply trying to protect someone she loved. When she finds Kojima dead (after he sacrificed himself for Miho), she began an incantation that would destroy both their bodies, killing her. Her final words were poignant to say the least: “Before we are Japanese, we are human.” It was a reminder to us all that race is of so little importance, and that we are all just human beings trying to protect something, whether it be a dream, an ideal, or someone we love.

Island was about monsters and hatred and violence, but it was also about forgiveness, love, and the idea that, while humans can be horrible, dangerous creatures, there is none without a good side if you take the time to look.