Been thinking about the design language of Ogata's hair like he starts the manga bald like every other character in the military and then lets it grow out into an undercut.
It's the perfect visual metaphor for Ogata's true intentions. At first glance, Ogata does not seem to be loyal to any one or anything. He's especially not loyal to Tsurumi considering he grew out his hair beyond the regulatory cut. But he keeps the sides and the back of his head shaved. This showcases that below his more rebellious tendencies, he still has a strong attachment to the military. Additionally, it foreshadows his status as a spy for Central and his twisted sense of devotion towards Tsurumi. But what I find really interesting is the stray lock of hair that's always in his face.
This lock of hair seemingly has no significance to the broader metaphor of Ogata's hair cut. It's a loose end that he subconsciously brushes back into the fold only for it to fall into his face time and time again. However, it could also be tied back to his family situation.
Ogata's childhood flashback reveals that everyone on Tome's side of the family has wild locks of hair in their faces. Ogata's grandparents have multiple as does Tome herself.
Initially I thought the hair lock was just a family trait, like Asirpa inheriting Wilk's eyes or Tanigaki and Inkarmat's daughter having wild hair. Or maybe its a sign that his family members just didn't have the time to make sure their hair was in place.
But then I looked at this panel closer.
Here Tome's hair is perfectly set. Moreover, it's the only scene where she acknowledges Ogata and is at her most lucid. With that in mind, the locks of hair in her face in previous panels take on a new connotation. They could point to inherited mental illness. While her mother has some short hair wisps in her face, it's her father that has the longer locks that resemble Tome and Ogata's hair. (Ogata's grandfather is also the one who taught Ogata to shoot and put a gun in his hands in the first place...)
Looking at Ogata's hair through this lens makes his subconscious need to push his hair lock back in place that much more significant. He does so less out of annoyance that its in his way and more as a form of reassurance almost, that he is right, mentally sound, and on the correct path.
It's not surprising then that when Ogata 2 shows up, he pushes his stray hair out of his face while Ogata has multiple hairs in his face.
It's only as the narrative progresses that Ogata's hair becomes wilder due to the chaos (and the wind) around him, revealing just how mentally unsound he is. It's during these scenes where his hair, just like his sanity, becomes completely untethered from his grasp...
that Ogata resembles Tome the most...
dededos
origamiaround
snowghoul
romaincrisis
izzy806
discoholicmusic
theartofmadeline
