Responses
i think that's because in brutal, we see dan's version of redemption in order to meet his first love again in heaven (as he mentions in brutal)
before that, his psychopathy was being taken out through manipulating others to satisfy his sadism that is until his first love died
towards the end of trace, we definitely see brutal dan make an appearance which means he kept up with his "karma gaining" acts until the case finds its closure
I know Brutal and Trace have the same author but for me I’m going to have to distinguish both works because it doesn’t really fit in with what we know about Dan in Brutal. I feel like Brutal is a stand alone manga and Trace is another despite it having Dan in it. I see a vague vision of what the author was trying to do but I don’t think it’s being executed well in Trace. This could just be the copium and delusion talking but I don’t see the rational or reasoning of Dans actions in this manga.
It feels forced if I’m being honest, Trace’s story is trying really hard to paint Dan as a scumbag and just as awful as all his past victims. Granted Dan in Brutal isn’t exactly a saint or someone with redeemable qualities but we understood why he does what he does which makes him likable to an extent. His “good deeds” have a justification in Brutal that’s why we could overlook and agree with what he does. So with that I’m going to see both Brutal and Trace as standalone works just with the same characters.