Blog for fandom and other personal stuff because I don't want to have too many sites. More active on the STUPID DYING bird app as @kurochiriii (fandom account) or @raharaco (main account, contains ocs).
I finished the second part of Ooe which was finally released last week! I have so many things I want to talk about as I loved the game, so I think it's going to be impossible without mentioning any spoilers. If you want to read a completely spoiler-free post about the game, I've summarized most of the common route in my review of part 1. I also made a general post about the plot of the game and the characters which you can find here, though I wrote it some time ago, so some of the speculations might be a bit outdated now (I do try to keep it up to date, but I don't want to change everything as it's fun to look back at later).
I'll of course put a warning when I'll be talking about any big spoilers, but I will mention the route order and which characters have 18+ content, so if you want to avoid that, it's better to read this later.
The update + recommended route order
After the update on the 19th, all versions of the game were updated to the "complete edition", so if you already own the game, you can just redownload this for free. It's possible to transfer save files to skip the first routes (a guide how to do this is included in the game files), but it also doesn't take too long to just skip through the first 3 routes. Just like part 1, most of the routes only unlock after playing some other routes first, so usually you can just start a new game after finishing one ending and see if a new choice pops up somewhere in the game. The route order for the first 3 routes is Ariake (who has two endings) > Shimbashi > Aomi, and afterwards you can either play Shiodome ending B or Takeshiba's route. After this the route order is Shijoumae > Shiodome ending A > Toyosu > Hinode > Funeno > Daiba. If you want to enter a route, you should select the choice on the right side of the screen. Some choices don't have a silhouette of the character, but the choice to enter their route will still be on the right side. Just like part 1, you might get some other choices in some routes, but most of these don't matter and you can try out all dialogue options. If you're unsure if you missed an ending, you can check the status screen by pressing the camera roll button next to 再開 in the main menu screen. Occasionally an ending wouldn't register for me and I had to go back to replay it once more.
The story of part 2
While part 1 seemed to focus more on the mystery who committed the murders on the island and Oosaki's own backstory, part 2 focuses on the characters who didn't have their own routes in part 1. In most of the new routes you don't really try to find the culprit for any new crimes anymore, as we already saw that in part 1, but I think it's more about trying to understand the characters better, and of course finding out the real reason why they gathered on the island. Almost all of the new routes have 18+ scenes, though Hinode and Toyosu don’t have one. Like mentioned in the initial setting & data collection book, Shiodome has 2 separate routes, which is why the new update mentions it added 8 routes rather than 7 (no secret Shinkiba or Shinagawa route lol). Part 2 also has a new ending song which is really good, so I can’t wait for it to be officially released on Adelta’s Booth page (which is soon I think!). I really liked Takeshiba's route and also Daiba, who does in fact have a route (he used to be promoted as a side-character, though I think this was done on purpose to mess with us lol). There is some information in the game that you'll only learn about through the letters you unlock in-game after finishing every route, but generally I think the plot and the mysteries of the game are not too difficult to understand. One of the latest blog updates also mentions that this isn't a difficult game in which you have to guess the culprit, but a game in which you can find ''various forms of love'' which you definitely do…
Review of each route (beware of spoilers!)
From now on I'll be talking about spoilers for each route! I'm not going to describe everything that happens of course, but it will include some pretty important plot elements. The first route I played was Shiodome's B route, but I didn't know that his other ending was locked, so maybe starting with Takeshiba is a better option!? I really liked how the color green was used in the CGs in this route, and how even the main menu screen temporarily changed after finishing it. The theme of cannibalism returns, as Shiodome ends up eating one of Oosaki's eyes and ears… and Shinagawa and Shinkiba aren't happy at all that Oosaki decides to stay with someone like this. There are a few Kotou no Oni references in this route too which I liked, such as Oosaki's hair partially turning white. Ending A is locked until you finish Takeshiba's and Shijoumae's routes, but ending A is the complete opposite and actually has a much happier ending. I liked how cute Shiodome was in this, wanting to be Oosaki's wife… Two completely different sides of one character.
Takeshiba's route ended up becoming one of my favorites as he's ??? so cute ???. The extra pamplet that comes with the game doesn't rate his appearance very high but I disagree! One of the reasons I was pretty surprised by this route is that he was very violent in most of the first routes, but this doesn't really happen in the new routes. He does try though... but he's not strong enough to attack Oosaki and he gives up... What a clown, I love him. His backstory (the circus, and his mother being a snake lady) reminded me of Suehiro Maruo's Shoujo Tsubaki, which is a reference many other fans have noticed as well, and one of the new illustrations also shows him wearing a shirt which matches the pattern of the dress protagonist Midori wears, so I'm sure that's all on purpose. It also references Dazai's No Longer Human too, as his first name Youzou is the same as the main character in the novel, but he also has a (non blood related) daughter called Shigeko who he tried to care for. I think his character profile mentions that she was eventually adopted by another family, but I hope they'll meet again, as he even learned sign language to communicate with her. I'm not sure if he would be a great father, but it's really sweet to see him try... I loved his scenes with Oosaki in the ending too and I'd love to see more of this pairing!
I was very curious about Shijoumae's route as he usually pairs up with the murderers in other routes and will immediately betray others and lie, which... doesn't stop in his own route! And I love that for him. This route sometimes references a short story called Kaika no Satsujin where Shijoumae's first name also comes from. Shijoumae has a wife called Akiko who is also mentioned in this short story, though in the original story he never marries her and she ends up with another guy called Mitsumura (whose name also returns in the game, but in Ooe he's the psychologist Shijoumae talked to). Akutagawa Ryūnosuke's novel Kappa is also referenced in this route by Shijoumae himself. I really like the dynamic between Shijoumae and his wife Akiko... I think they go long periods without seeing each other and I don't think their marriage is anything romantic, but she still cares about him and sends assassins after those who wish him harm lol. I wonder if that's how he survived all this time because he's such a bad liar. She used to be a war painter, which back then were used by the Japanese government to spread propaganda, so I think she's a good match for Shijoumae, who has also done countless of bad things during the war. This route branches off where you'd normally already be in Ariake's route, so Shijoumae kills him and Oosaki's in despair once again. By the way, Shijoumae's character profile mentions that he will outlive Oosaki and will even watch his final moments, so I'm not sure if he will truly get his justice lol.
The next route is Toyosu's route, which doesn't have an 18+ scene liked I mentioned before, but the writing of this route was really good and it helped me understand the motives he had! This is also the first route in which Oosaki smiles... his smile is beautiful. It's confirmed that Toyosu passes away shortly after his ending so I don't think Oosaki will be spending a lot of time with him anymore, but the moments they had were beautiful. In this route Oosaki's first name "Hiiro" is also revealed, which literally translates to scarlet and has actually been in the first ending song dying breath all this time.
Toyosu's route unlocks Hinode's route, which explains that it was Hinode who kind of hijacked Toyosu's plan to make everyone come to the island, as he's looking for the person who killed Ooe An, who used to work together with his mother. Even thought there's not really any romance in this route, his character profile mentions that he develops feelings for Oosaki later when he's an adult, so I would love to see that some day. I think Hinode never learned who the real killer of Ooe An was, so I wonder if they will tell him the truth one day. The final letter you receive in-game is his mother's letter, which implies she killed An, and then ended her own life afterwards. In a previous blog post I discussed the first names and their references, but I honestly have no idea if Hinode's name ''Riichi'' and his mother's name ''Riko'' are references to anything yet, as they are both pretty common names. I will add this information if I ever find it!
Funeno's route was definitely very different than all the previous routes lol. Some extra information about his was posted on Bluesky, but I also thought it was intentionally designed to make the player a bit uncomfortable and confused. Funeno gets humiliated a lot, and it's also kind of a harem ending which could be a reference to the Anatahan Incident in which all men fight over one woman, though in this case they're not really fighting and they all just share Oosaki lol. Oosaki does get an 18+ scene with Funeno later at least! This route also kind of felt like a comedy route to me because some things that happened were so absurd. I've seen a lot of mixed reactions to this route specifically, but I did enjoy parts of it. Both Funeno's first name and the way he brutally killed his fiance Momoko are references to Dogra Magra, which I've written a bit about in my previous blog post about the character names and their references which I also linked above.
After every ending you finish, you unlock a new letter, of which most seem to be written by Ooe An. I don't really want to spoil every detail of the letters and Daiba's route, but I did enjoy the twist how you shouldn't just believe everything characters say in this game. The final letter also reveals some more information about Hinode's mother (who was the person who turned Ooe An into an actress), and that she tried to do what's best for Hinode. An is usually described in the game as a girl who manipulates men and who lies, so I also don't know which of her letters in the game are true, but Shijoumae wasn't lying (for once) when he said her death was never a suicide at all. Daiba as a route character was really good too and I liked seeing his interactions with Oosaki. I remember reading that everyone in this game was a virgin or at least hasn't slept with a man before, but the 18+ scene with Daiba made it look like this was not his first time with a man at all lol, he was covered in hickeys. I do love it when Oosaki gets jealous though, so this scene was really great.
The title of the game also changes when you finish this route. Normally it's written with the kanji for impurity/filth (穢), but when you finish it, it changes to ''江'' again which means bay and a common kanji used in names for islands. I wonder if it's supposed to symbolize something like Oosaki moving on from his past, or perhaps because the characters admitted their own sins. In the end, most of the characters are still murderers and they might never change, but I did enjoy seeing the different types of relationships Oosaki had with all of these characters, and I'd love to see what kind of content Adelta releases in the future. The after-stories are already confirmed, so I can't wait until these get uploaded.
List of ending names and their meanings
This isn't about the titles of the songs which I've discussed in the part 1 review, but about the titles you can see in the status menu in-game (the little movie scroll icon). I had to look up some of these terms as I’m not familiar with all of them, but I thought it would be fun to write a little bit about this too and I'm curious how this will be translated in the English version.
Ariake's B ending which you unlock first is called 送火 Okuribi, which literally translates to the ''farewell fire''. This is a ceremony held on the last day of Obon to send the returning spirits of ancestors off to the afterlife. I think this could also be a reference to Oosaki killing some of the other attendees before someone burns down the inn. Ariake's other ending, ending A is called 迎火 Mukaebi, which is the complete opposite and translates to ‘’welcome fire’’. This is the ceremony that is held on the first day of Obon to welcome the spirits.
Shimbashi's ending is called 冥界 Meikai which literally translates to ''underworld'', but I think it's also a reference to Shimbashi himself, as the kanji for his first name ''Mei'' is in it. ''Pluto'', the name which he uses for his theater company, is also the god of the underworld in Roman mythology. Aomi's ending is called 挽歌 Banka which is a song or poem written to mourn the death of a person, which might be referencing the death of Aomi's father and his occupation as a music teacher.
Shiodome also has two endings, with the B ending being called 抱擁 Houyou, which means ''embrace''. I'm not sure if this references anything specific, but it is the only ending in which Shiodome tells Oosaki what his grandmother really thought about him (of course we don't know if this was really true, but it is something Oosaki has been looking for). The title for his A ending is 大祓 Ooharai, a Shinto ritual to cleanse people of their sins and impurities. In Shiodome’s case he paid for his sins by going to prison, so I think it could possibly be a reference to that too.
Takeshiba's ending is called 福音 Fukuin which translates to gospel, or the teachings of Christ. This of course references that he at some point turned to Christianity. Shijoumae's ending name on the other hand was a bit more difficult to analyze, as it's called 彼岸 Higan, which can refer to multiple things. The literal meaning is ''the opposite side of a shore of a river or ocean'', so it could be referencing how different Oosaki and Shijoumae's ideologies are, though it can also mean ''reaching nirvana''.
The title of Toyosu's ending is 正体 Shoutai which means ''one's true identity'', of course referencing Toyosu's role in the story, as he is the one who made the plan to gather all of them on the island. Hinode's ending is called 蠱毒 Kodoku which I did have to look up, but it's really interesting! This seems to be some type of ritual in which a large number of venomous insects are put into a jar and made to cannibalize each other, which in some way, is what Hinode has been doing on the island. In almost all of the routes he doesn't directly try to attack anyone, and instead he waits for the other attendees to kill each other.
Funeno's ending is called 習合 Shuugou, another term I had to look up because I haven't seen it before. It seems to be the fusion of different things such as religion, culture etc. and is also used to refer to the fusion of Shinto and Buddhist beliefs. I don't know if I should look too much into this, as Funeno's route is not the most serious, but I'm wondering if could mean that he still stays with Oosaki despite everything Oosaki has been doing with the other attendees (?). Lastly, Daiba's (or Shizuma')s ending is called 椿事 Chinji, which translates to ''an important, yet unexpected event''. This route is of course a lot different than the other routes because Oosaki never ends up going to Ooejima, as he notices Daiba is lying to him and doesn't accept his request, unlike all of the other routes.
I might add some more information later but like always, this post is getting long, so I hoped it was interesting to read!
Ever since posting my spoiler-free review, I've received some questions about theories and references mentioned in the game, so this time I'll be talking about that! That also means that this review will discuss topics that many would consider a spoiler, so make sure to play the game first. When I wrote this review, I had only played part 1, but I've updated it with some part 2 information as well. If you're waiting to play the game in English, it has been confirmed that MangaGamer will be the one localizing it again, though we don't know the release date yet.
Ever since playing Hashihime, I've become really interested in all of the novels referenced in Adelta's games, and I love analyzing the similarities between them. I'm not sure how interesting this is to others, but I tried to add some short summaries of what each novel that's (possibly) referenced in the game is about. Of course these are just theories and we don't have an official list or anything yet.
When this game was announced, it was mentioned that all 9 main characters are named after train stations on the Yurikamome line in Tokyo (the train line most people take if you go to events like Comiket). Other names Oosaki, Shinagawa and Shinkiba are train stations on the Rinkai line, which was not officially confirmed, but very easy to find because both train lines are located in the same area. So far the last names of the side characters in the game also followed this pattern, so there's not much information I can add to this. However, their first names is where things start getting a bit more interesting. When the first names of Funeno and Shiodome were released, fans immediately recognized that their names were references to characters in existing novels. Then while playing part 1, this theory proved to be correct, as some of the other first names could also be linked to existing literature. I created this list while playing the game, but I've seen similar theories on social media such as Twitter (or well, X now) and Weibo too, therefore I think a lot of these could be correct. I will also include the Japanese titles of these works to make it a bit easier to look them up yourself. Of course I don't always remember every detail that happened in these novels, and some I only read very recently, so please correct me if anything is wrong! I'm always happy to learn more.
Ariake Shoutarou (有明勝太郎)
Ariake's first name "Shoutarou" is most likely a reference to Junichiro Tanizaki's "Tojo" (途上). The protagonist is actually called "Katsutarou", which is another way of reading the kanji used to write Ariake's first name. This character has an ex-wife and a current wife, whose names are Fudeko and Kumako. This is only briefly mentioned at the end of Ariake's route, but his wives have the same names. In this novel, Katsutarou tries to kill his first wife Fudeko by purposely exposing her to dangerous situations that negatively impact her health, but he won't directly harm her to make her death look like an accident. The motive and the way he tries to kill her is different than what happens in Ooe, but I think it's definitely the inspiration behind this route. Another connection to Junichiro Tanizaki's works is the name of Ariake’s sister, who's called Naomi (奈緒美) which is a name that appears in “Chijin no Ai” (痴人の愛). Around this time the concept of “Naomiism” was born, which was used to describe a free-spirited devilish, beautiful girl. Sometimes it looks like this term was also used for girls who manipulate men, but it wasn't always used in a negative context. I'm curious if this concept was also used to create Ariake's character, as in of the official blog posts he's described as a "male femme fatale". I'm not sure if this is plot-related or not, but Ariake's ending song also has an audio clip from the play "Cyrano de Bergerac", which doesn't exactly have a happy ending either and both of the characters lose their lives.
Shimbashi Mei (新橋冥)
When I looked for novels which focused on a character called "Mei", I couldn't find much, until I realized the kanji used to write his name is also the first kanji in the Japanese word for Pluto (冥王星), which is also the name of the theater company he works for. In his ending, Shinagawa even tells Oosaki that Shimbashi is Pluto, so it might also be his pseudonym. Pluto is also the cat that appears in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat" and even though the story isn't identical to what happened in his past, there are similar elements. For example, the cat in this story Pluto is often drawn with only one eye, and while Shimbashi does have another eye, he usually hides it with an eyepatch. The unnamed protagonist also ends up killing the cat by hanging it, which is similar to how Shimbashi's brother used to kill animals. Later in the story, the protagonist adopts another cat who resembles Pluto, but because the new cat keeps reminding him of how he killed Pluto, he eventually loses his sanity and tries to kill the new cat as well, but ends up killing his own wife instead who tried to protect the cat. Despite the protagonist trying to hide her body, the police eventually finds her because the cat was trapped in the same wall where the protagonist tried to hide her body, and the sound of the animal scratching the wall gained their attention. Even though the story is a bit different, Shimbashi also got his revenge by murdering his brother, which he doesn't seem to regret much. Shimbashi's ending song is called ルドン (rudon/redon) which is the name of French painter Odilon Redon. The song also mentions his mentor Armand Clavaud, who was a botanist. Clavaud taught Redon many things about flowers, but also introduced him to Buddhism, which shows in Redon's later paintings too. The flowers are an important element in this route as Shimbashi's the person who was leaving flowers on the grave of Oosaki's grandmother, so maybe all of that is also intentional.
Aomi Kaede (青海楓)
This is not necessarily about the name Kaede, but about Takuichi (卓一), Aomi's father who he's impersonating on the island. Takuichi is also the name of the protagonist of Koga Saburo's "Aofuku no Otoko" (青服の男) and his cousin is called Shinzo, who shares the same name as the student who committed suicide in the game, Shinonome Shinzo. In the novel the two of them schedule a meet-up to discuss money Takuichi wanted to borrow, but when he doesn't show up to the meeting, Shinzo later confronts him. In the middle of the confrontation however, Shinzo suffers from a heart attack and passes away. In Ooe their relationship is a bit different, as Takuichi and Shinzo are teacher and student, and Aomi's father passed away shortly after receiving the invitation letter. In the novel Takuichi is alive and impersonates Shinzo in order to get his own inheritance money, though the theme of impersonation is relevant in Ooe too as Aomi pretends to be his father. There's nobody called Kaede in this story, but in the game Aomi mentions his father called him Kaede because he thought his hands resembled a frog's webbed feet (kaeru = frog) so currently I'm unsure if there's any further connections. Aomi's ending song is called Taichourou (対潮楼) which is actually the name of a temple in Fukuyama, a city located in Hiroshima prefecture. I'm not sure if there's any specific reason for this, but it's not too far away from Ookunoshima (also known as bunny island because of its many rabbits), which is one of the locations that was used as inspiration for some of the background art in-game.
Funeno Kureichirou (船野呉一郎)
Hashihime fans might recognize this one as Kureichirou is also the name of one of the most important characters in Yumeno Kyuusaku's "Dogra Magra". Dogra Magra is not one of the easiest stories to understand, as the protagonist's memory is hazy and you never know if the researchers are telling him the truth either, but generally we know that Kureichirou seems to have murdered his cousin (who was also his fiancé). Funeno's crime is revealed at the end of the trial version of Ooe and he killed his sister. So far we haven't really seen much of Funeno in part 1 because he immediately acts strange when he sees Oosaki, probably because he has Daiba's letter and Oosaki introduced himself as "Daiba", so it's a bit hard to analyze his character yet or compare him to Dogra Magra's Kureichirou in my opinion.
Shiodome Michio (汐留道雄)
Just like Funeno, Shiodome's first name was also revealed a long time before the trial version and part 1 of Ooe were released. It references Edogawa Ranpo's "Kotou no Oni" (孤島の鬼) which is not really a secret as it's one of the novels that was mentioned in one of the first blog posts about Ooe and its inspirations. Michio is one of the main characters, who's a gay man who falls in love with the main character Minoura. So far their personalities do not seem that similar, but Kotou no Oni's Michio is adopted by a man called Jogoro, which is also the first name of Shiodome's professor (Tsukishima Jogoro).
Takeshiba Yozo (竹芝葉蔵)
This is one of the new names we learned about in part 1, but since Yozo isn't the most common name ever it's probably referencing Dazai Osamu's "No Longer Human/Ningen Shikkaku” (人間失格). Yozo (or ''Youzou'', it's hard to keep romanization consistent...) is the name of the protagonist. He's a troubled individual who can't relate to other human beings and doesn't understand them. At first he tries to hide these emotions by playing the clown so people laugh at him, but eventually he turns to alcohol and drugs. Takeshiba is a magician who quickly tries to change the topic when things get serious, which matches the theme of playing the clown, but we also know he gets nervous fast and he's also the character who committed some of the most brutal murders in the game so far. I think the story won't be exactly the same, but he definitely seems to share certain personality traits with the main character. He's accused of murdering his family by setting their family home on fire, though in the first part of the game he makes it seem like someone else did it, or if it was some kind of accident. His route also seems to reference Suehiro Maruo's Shoujo Tsubaki, for example him describing his mother as a snake woman, and he's also wearing a yellow shirt with red dots in some of the promotional art, similar to Midori's dress.
Shijoumae Giichirou (市場前義一郎)
Shijoumae's first name could be a reference to Akutagawa Ryunosuke's "Kaika no Satsujin" (開化の殺人) in which the protagonist shares the same name as him. This is a rather strange short story that focuses on a number of suicide notes, written by a doctor who's called Kitabatake Giichirou. He's often described as a man with a rather 'western' appearance because of his beard/moustache, which matches Shijoumae's character design. He was in love with his cousin Akiko (which I guess was not uncommon during this time period) and wanted to marry her, but she married another man called Mitsumura. In the book, Kitabatake was incredibly jealous of him and poisoned him. However, even after this first murder, his cousin started getting close to another man called Honda, who Kitabatake was also jealous of. Initially, he planned to poison him too, but in the end he decided against this and took his own life instead. In Ooe, Shijoumae's wife is also called Akiko and has red eyes, which means her family's also from Ooejima, though she's not confirmed to be Giichirou's cousin like in the original short story.
Toyosu Rouren (豊洲浪蓮)
I was a bit confused when I heard the pronunciation of his name in-game, as it sounded a bit unusual to me, though many fans so far have pointed out that the name sounds similar to ''Lawrence/ローレンス'' who's the antagonist in Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" which is the novel that gets mentioned in-game too. In the novel Lawrence fakes his own death, which reminds me of the boat scene in Ariake's route in which Toyosu drowned, but the whole scene seemed rather sudden to me. For example, he tries to convince the others that nobody else should join him, and the food at the inn also disappeared around this time. After finishing Aomi's route, we know he's lying about his real identity too because no matter what temple they visit, there's no monk with his name, and other characters also suspect him of being the client, which is later revealed to be correct.
Daiba Shizuma (台場静馬)
Another name we've known for a long time is Daiba's first name Shizuma, which is a reference to Yokomizo Seishi's "The Inugami Family/Inugami-ke no Ichizoku" (犬神家の一族). This is another story about impersonation which fits the main theme of Oosaki pretending to be Daiba on the island. There are actually multiple characters in this novel who share the same names as some of the Ooe characters, such as Sukekiyo (佐清) the name of Daiba’s brother who passed away in the boat accident, and Sahei (佐兵衛), Daiba's father Oosaki meets in the common route. The connections between characters in this story get very complicated, but Sahei is the head of the Inugami family who has an illegitimate son called Shizuma, who went missing. He also has a grandson called Sukekiyo, who was disfigured on the battlefield. Similar to Ooe, the story starts with Sahei's death, though in the novel he leaves a suicide note and in Ooe he seems to die rather suddenly after talking to Oosaki. In the novel, it's revealed that Sukekiyo actually passed away some time ago and Shizuma has been pretending to be him. There are also some other shared elements, such as the Shizuma in the novel trying to take revenge for what happened to his mother, and in the game Daiba takes his mother's last name "Hama", and expresses that he doesn't like the Daiba family.
Oosaki and Hinode
This is another update after playing part two, but I'm still a bit unsure about both of them. Oosaki's first name is Hiiro which translates to 'scarlet'. One of the things I can think of is that it's maybe a reference to the Sherlock Holmes series, "A Study in Scarlet" as this is of course also a detective story. As for Hinode, in the pamphlet that came with the game Dostoevsky's book "Crime and Punishment" is mentioned. Even though there's no character named Riichi, there are some elements of the plot that are similar. For example, the eight years he spends together with Oosaki after the main story ends is the same length as Raskolnikov's prison sentence in the book.
Side characters
I haven't looked much into the side characters, but I assume their first names are also references to something. The names of Shinkiba and Shinagawa (Jinza 甚三 and Zakuro 柘榴 ) could be referring to some of the side characters from some of Edogawa Ranpo's works, as there's a short story called ''Zakuro'' (石榴) and there's also a "Jinza" in the novel Ghost Tower (幽霊塔), but I can't exactly find any connections between them and the Ooe characters. For Oosaki I'm guessing his name could also be something related to the Inugami Family too because it is a bit suspicious that he looks almost identical to Daiba, I think they have to be related to each other in some way.
Other literature references
In a previous blog post I wrote in 2022, I mentioned that when Ooe was announced, one of the official blog posts also mentioned works that inspired them to create Ooe. I will include those in this blog post again as the previous one is a bit outdated now.
Of course the main inspiration is Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, as it follows a similar closed-circle murder mystery story on an island. In Ariake's first ending, Oosaki even compares some of the characters in the novel to characters in the game, calling himself Vera for example who murdered for love. Another important connection is that the owner of the island in this novel calls themselves "U.N. Owen", a fake name which basically just stands for ''unknown''. This of course sounds very similar to "Ooe" and the game's official alias is also "Owen" according to the official website. The actress who passed away is called "An Ooe", which also sounds a bit similar to "unknown".
Previously, I mentioned that Shiodome's first name Michio is a reference to Edogawa Ranpo's "Kotou no Oni", another novel that focuses on a murder mystery story, this time about the death of the protagonist's fiancé. As the title of the novel suggests (which translates to "Demon of the Lonely Isle") they also travel to an island, though this one is inhabited by people who all have some kind of deformity. Of course most of the characters in Ooe look pretty normal, but if you've played part 1 you've probably noticed how many characters either suffer from an illness or were born with some kind of physical abnormality, although sometimes it's not really severe. Ariake's has a thyroid disease (Grave's Disease according to his character profile in-game), Shimbashi has strabismus (misalignment of his eyes) and Aomi has webbed fingers which his father made fun of. If we look at the other characters, there is of course Hinode who won't talk and also seems to have difficulty walking, though the reason for this has not been explained yet in-detail. In the full body art, Shijoumae is also drawn with a cane, which might also be linked to something related to his health, but I'm not completely sure about some of the other characters yet.
The same blog post also mentions three incidents which happened in real life, but which all have novel adaptations as well, with the first one being the "Anatahan Incident", or also called the "Queen of Anatahan Incident" (アナタハンの女王事件). This incident focuses on a number of deaths that happened on Anatahan Island, located in the Pacific Ocean. The island became Japanese territory after the First World War and Japanese settlers began living on the island together with natives. Years later near the end of the Second World War, most locals fled after the American military called for Japan's surrender during the war. During this time, some refused to surrender and stayed on the island. Initially, the Japanese people who refused to leave the island were left alone, but things changed when a U.S. Boeing crashed into the island and guns were found inside of the wreckage. Afterwards, these guns became a symbol of power among men on the island, and some of them would kill each over the only woman on the island, Kazuko. After this, it was reported that more men died under "mysterious circumstances", and eventually Kazuko surrendered herself to the U.S. military, as she felt like she was the root of all the problems on the island. Writer Iwasaki Sakae also released a novel based on these incidents, which is just called "Anatahan".
The second incident mentioned is the "Hikarigoke Incident" (ひかりごけ事件), and translates to "Luminous Moss Incident", though the name comes from Takeda Taijun's short story which is based on this incident. The short story is actually just based on rumors rather than factual reports, so there are some differences. The real incident is rather graphic and took place in 1944 in Hokkaido. It was reported that after ending up in a shipwreck, the captain of the ship survived by eating the corpses of his own crew. The captain was later arrested on charges of corpse mutilation, corpse abandonment and murder. Even though he said he didn't kill them, he did admit eating them. This case stood out back then because even though cannibalism had undoubtedly happened before in Japanese history, it was the first time such a case was reported by the newspapers. If we want to link this to what happened in the game, there's of course Shiodome who was accused of corpse mutilation. He also took Funeno's head in the first route, and in this case the captain admitted that he ate the brains of one of the crew members (... as well as their genitalia, so do with that information what you want).
The final incident mentioned in this blog post was the "Mount Hakkoda Disaster" or "Mount Hakkoda Snow Disaster" (八甲田雪中行軍遭難事件) which happened in 1902 when a group of Japanese Imperial Army soldiers got lost in a blizzard on Hakkoda Mountain, located in Aomori. This incident is considered one of the most lethal disasters in history and 199 people lost their lives. After getting stuck in the blizzard, during the next days many soldiers would freeze to death, while others fell down the cliffs during their ascent. This incident also has a novel which translates to "Death Wanderings on Mt. Hakkoda" (八甲田山死の彷徨) by Nitta Jiro, which was also made into a movie "Hakkoda Mountain". Of course, Ooe's story is about an island and not a mountain, but I do understand the similarities about getting stuck somewhere and being unable to leave.
Final thoughts and information from the pamphlet/Cool-B
One thing I was really curious about after playing part 1 were the red eyes, as eye color was a pretty important theme in Hashihime and Uuultra C. In Ooe, all the main characters have red eyes but most of the side characters have black eyes. This did turn out to be relevant as the pamhlet that comes with the full version of the game confirms that descendants of those who lived on Ooejima do all have red eyes, though most ordinary people will just see it as black. It seems like only Daiba's father Sahei and Ariake are able to see this red colour though, so just being a descendant from Ooejima doesn't mean that you can easily spot others whose families are from the same island.
Another thing that was teased long before the game was released was the so called "madness scale" which was published in Cool-B magazine. This scale ranked the characters from 1 to 5 (with 5 being the worst) which gave us some hints about what these characters would be like in their own routes. Aomi and Toyosu are ranked 1, Shimbashi and Funeno 2, Hinode is the only one who's a 3, Takeshiba is 4, and Ariake, Shiodome and Shijoumae all got a 5. Oosaki and Daiba weren't included in this list. I think while looking at this again later, this scale does make a lot of sense now.
Lastly, the letters you unlock in-game are also really interesting to me and even after finishing the full game I still have some questions. I think it's clear that some of the earliest ones were sent by Ooe Ann whose sister married into the Daiba family, but the final ones look like they were sent by Hinode's mother. Anyway, it has been really interesting to read everyone else's theories about the game so far! The creator Kurosawa Rinko is still working on all kinds of Ooe-related projects, so I'm hoping that some answers to the questions I still have will eventually be published in the Q&A which will be part of the supplementary reader. I did submit some questions, but I'm sure others might have submitted the same ones.
Here's a list of my previous blog posts about Ooe! Though I haven't looked at these for some time now so some might be outdated...
Old blog post with general information -> X
Trial version review -> X
Part 1 review -> X
What the hell am I doing? Writing an online letter for you? This is embarrassing, but guess what, I'm still writing it anyway. Maybe I just need to let it out, though I could do so in your chat number. I can't. I can't look at our conversations and the things I said there.
But, I wouldn't lie if the reason I wrote this is for you to see it. Even though I know you've moved on, or you'll never see this, I don't really care.
It's been, what, four years? Crazy I've lived this long. Ever since then, my mind has always been plagued of you like a virus. You were everything for me, and you were everywhere.
Were? Were you? You are here. In the back of my mind, in the emptiness of the hole in my chest.
Perhaps I still haven't moved on. The more I think of you, even including the bad thoughts, I...
... I still doubt if my feelings for you were really love.
I like you? I adore you? I "love" you, but deep down, I knew that I only love the concept of you. I should be grateful to you for immediately cutting contacts because what would've happen if you didn't? You really are smarter than me.
This really is crazy.
Even when things have changed, I can't help but think of you. I don't know what I should do.
I just wish you're in better places now. I'm sorry for the all troubles I've caused in the past.
[Ten Views Of Shonan -Bait-] - Takeshiba Route Short Story
Thank you to Luc for proof-reading the Japanese as always and my dear friend Tiny for proof-reading The British. Additional shout-outs to Melee, Birb, and Chatts for enabling me when I first conceived the idea of translating Takeshiba's Kansai-ben as Cockney.
The following dialect is not pure Cockney because I'd have to provide translation notes for the English (and indeed I've indulged in a few), but spiritually, the cock is there. Aside from being a distinct working class dialect, what better way to capture the spirit of Takeshiba than making his every word a dick joke.
It was a bright and clear Sunday.
In Katase, an ocean breeze was caressing the great white walls of Aqua World. [1]
Towering over the seaside,
the building had opened just this year,
and the smell of fresh concrete still lingered.
Aqua World was an open-air circular structure with a massive pool at its center.
Its waters were a deep blue
as if someone had scooped out a piece of the sea itself.
We were sitting on the uppermost deck.
Shimbashi-san was gripping a pair of binoculars
as he anxiously scanned the crowd.
Shimbashi: “—goodness, are you absolutely sure that man is coming?”
Oosaki: “Without a doubt.”
A few days ago.
A pearl ring belonging to Shimbashi-san’s theater troupe suddenly disappeared.
The members reported seeing an unaffiliated janitor flee from the warehouse—
I was hired to conduct a background check on that man.
During the process, I stumbled across a promising lead.
Oosaki: “The man was known to frequent pawn shops.
It seems he was committing petty thefts here and there to scrape together quick cash for a living.”
Shimbashi: “A seasoned thief, is he?
And of all things, he took the one prop we actually need for the play.”
Oosaki: “Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like the ring’s been pawned yet.”
Shimbashi: “Then it’s still within his possession?”
Oosaki: “Most likely. He was overheard boasting at one of his regular bars about plans to propose to his new lover with it at this weekend’s dolphin show.”
Which meant it would happen today.
Shimbashi: “...I’ve found him!”
Shimbashi-san cried out.
On the opposite side, at the end of the second-floor spectator seating, was a familiar face.
Shimbashi: “I suppose that’s his lover beside him.”
Oosaki: “Where?”
I took the binoculars from Shimbashi-san.
However, I was unable to see whom he was referring to.
Oosaki: “The only person next to him is a man.”
Shimbashi: “Which means that man is his lover, doesn’t it?”
The two of them affectionately linked arms.
A bright ray of sun suddenly struck my eyes,
causing me to lower the binoculars.
Oosaki: “...Were you not surprised?”
Shimbashi: “?”
Oosaki: “By the fact that his lover was another man, I mean…”
Shimbashi: “Why should I be?
It’s not like such relations are uncommon in the theater world,
so there’s no reason for me to harbor prejudice against it.”
Shimbashi-san's true personality always caught me by surprise.
Shimbashi: “More importantly!
It’s egregiously, disgustingly, perniciously hot today!”
Oosaki: “Please bear with it a little longer.
If we can acquire the ring, we’ll be able to catch this thief for good.”
Shimbashi: “I have half a mind to rip them apart right now, but I suppose it would be better to wait.”
Oosaki: “The timing’s the issue…
When do you suppose he’ll take out the ring?”
Shimbashi: “Isn’t it obvious?
He’s evidently waiting for the ring jump.”
The… ring jump?
There were balls and hoops lined up on the stage—
Toys for the dolphins to use.
Catching the light reflecting off the water’s surface,
they sparkled and glittered like jewels.
The most dazzling of these was the ring suspended mid-air.
Shimbashi: “The dolphin’s jump is the highlight of this show.
The second it leaps for that ring,
he’s sure to strike!
I- If it were m- me at least, I’d want…
I’d want to wait for the most beautiful moment to whip out that ring!
Oosaki: “...You’re getting awfully heated about this.”
Shimbashi: “What!? I’ll have you know it’s nothing but righteous anger.”
The fantasies of a dreamer and the indignation of a businessman—
—It seemed Shimbashi-san was unaware of his two conflicting sides.
However, he possessed the insight of a playwright.
With his understanding of the heart,
he could predict what the lovers’ next movements would be.
At any rate, there was nothing that could be done until the show began.
Before long, a cheerful tune began to play.
The sound of the sea dissipated
as the spectators redirected their attention towards the stage.
A person wearing a mascot costume plodded out.
The suit had large black eyes and a pure white body that slightly curved like a boomerang.
What I had initially thought were feet turned out to be a tail and fins.
Was it supposed to be… an anchovy? [2]
Baby Anchovy: “La~dies and ge~ntlemen! Boys and girls~!”
Oosaki: “...Takeshiba-san?”
Shimbashi: “Huh!?”
Oosaki: “That man’s voice, it was Takeshiba-san’s.”
Shimbashi: “Don’t be ridiculous. It couldn’t be.”
Shimbashi-san snorted.
Shimbashi: “This is Aqua World’s dolphin show.
Even if it’s just the opening act,
I hardly think anyone would ask the likes of him to be here.”
Oosaki: “I suppose you have a point…”
I couldn’t think of a way to push back.
However, my attention was now fully focused on the stage rather than the job at hand.
Baby Anchovy: “O—kay, everyone! Welcome to Aqua World Shonan!
Thank you for coming to see Mr. Dolphin!
I’m his good friend, Baby Anchovy!
You might know of Mr. Anchovy, my father!”
A constant buzz polluted the sound of the mic.
Feedback occasionally shrilled through the air.
I felt sorry for thinking it, but the pitiful set reminded me all the more of Takeshiba-san.
Baby Anchovy: “My dolphin friend will be coming out very soon!
But before that,
there’s a couple of things you need to know!
Is everyone listening?”
Children: “Y—es!”
Baby Anchovy: “Wonderful, wonderful~!
First things first!
Mr. Dolphin loves anything that glitters and shines!
He just can’t help putting sparkly objects in his mouth!
That’s why throwing things into the pool is an absolute no-go!
Got it, everyone?”
Children: “We got it!”
Baby Anchovy: “Wonderful, wonderful!
Next up!
Mr. Dolphin can be a rather mischievous fellow!
To my friends in the first row,
I hope you’re prepared to get a little splish-splashed.
If you don’t want your cameras and toys to get wet,
Please keep them in your bag!”
Children cheered and adults applauded to his words.
Baby Anchovy was a master at handling the crowd.
He neither faltered nor rushed,
clearly conveying his message bit-by-bit via his voice and gestures.
You could feel the audience warming up,
new guests gravitating towards the radiant energy that emanated from the stage.
Baby Anchovy: “—It appears my friend is just about ready!
On the count of three,
I need everyone to cheer for Mr. Dolphin and his big brother!
Ack! I completely forgot!
His big brother is a human who is very close to my friend.
Okay, are we ready now?
One, two, three! Hello Mr. Dol—”
“GET OUTTA THERE!”
A male voice boomed through the stadium.
My blood went cold.
—The dolphin pens were located behind the stage and connected to the main pool.
However, the gate separating them remained closed.
Instead, the dolphin leapt over the partition separating the enclosures,
a wall about 3 meters high, and dived into the pool—
It happened in an instant.
Everyone gasped in amazement at the splendid feat they’d just witnessed.
…Then, the reason why that man had yelled earlier finally struck.
The dolphin sprang onstage and clamped down on Baby Anchovy’s side.
Baby Anchovy: “GAAAAHHHHHH!”
Then, sliding across the stage with its remaining momentum,
it shunted him into the water.
The microphone gave one final gurgle as it sank into the pool and died.
Still holding Baby Anchovy tight in its mouth,
the dolphin began to lap the pool as if whipping up a vortex.
Every so often it would breach the water before diving down again.
…What was I watching?
A sweat-drenched man, the dolphin’s caretaker, appeared from backstage.
Registering the scene before him, he froze in astonishment.
However, he quickly regained his bearings
and raised his eyes to face the crowd.
The music switched to an even livelier piece—
Caretaker: “Hello, everyone!
I’m Mr. Dolphin’s big brother!
Welcome to our special summer show ‘Friends of the Sea!’
Now, let the show begin!”
Oosaki: “!?”
Caretaker: “Mr. Dolphin is a carnivore!
That means he loves eating things like squid, octopus, and tender fish!
It’s what makes him so lively and strong!”
Shimbashi: “Oh?”
Oosaki: “This is bad, Shimbashi-san!
We have a crisis on our hands!”
Shimbashi: “Well, I certainly agree that the show is distasteful,
but everyone else seems to be enjoying it enough.
In terms of entertainment, it’s a success, no?”
Oosaki: “...!?”
Bits of laughter began to crop up within the shocked crowd.
The caretaker who had yelled earlier was now clapping his hands to the beat.
Baby Anchovy was still being whipped around at a blinding speed.
This wasn’t a show.
This was… hell.
Of course.
I remember now.
His voice, his gestures, his ridiculously bad luck.
I was now certain Baby Anchovy and Takeshiba-san were one and the same.
As soon as Takeshiba-san was involved, the show was done for.
Suddenly, the dolphin accelerated and launched Baby Anchovy into the air.
He spun rapidly from the centrifugal force, spraying water droplets everywhere.
At that moment.
For some reason.
A memory from a drinking party flashes before my eyes.
Takeshiba: “Oi, Oosaki-kun. They say this shop’s got dolphin meat.”
Oosaki: “You certainly don’t see that every day. Are you going to order it?”
Takeshiba: “Eugh! As if!
That’s proper mingin’!
In the west, they fink them dolphins are the ‘messengers of God’.
Says they’re meant to ferry your soul to the other side.”
Baby Anchovy had finally come to a stop.
By a stroke of luck, he’d gotten stuck in the suspended hoop.
Directly below him, the dolphin poked its head out of the water and squealed with laughter.
…At the very least, I was glad he was safe.
However, even my relief was short-lived.
Shimbashi-san, who was holding onto the binoculars,
suddenly lurched forward in the opposite direction.
Shimbashi: “He’s moving, Detective!
His expression changed!”
Oosaki: “?”
Shimbashi: “That resolve in his eyes…!
I know he’s up to something!
Ah! There! He’s getting down on one knee!!”
Oosaki: “Huh…?”
Shimbashi: “Is that… the ring!?
It is!
He’s taking out the pearl ring!!!”
Oosaki: “That confirms it.
He was planning to propose here.”
Shimbashi: “I’m going!!!”
Shimbashi-san bolted for the stairs.
I redirected my attention back to the pool.
Baby Anchovy was being moved with the hoop still around him.
A pale-faced worker was frantically pulling on its rope.
Caretaker: “Bye-bye, Baby Anchovy!
See you next time—!”
The show went on.
I offered my seat to a nearby spectator
and left the cheers of the crowd behind.
I waited for him by the backdoor of the stadium.
Before long, Takeshiba-san appeared, his shoulders sagging with defeat.
Water still dripped from his wet hair.
Upon seeing me, his eyes widened with surprise.
Takeshiba: “Eh…? Oosaki-kun…?
Oosaki: “I knew it. You were Baby Anchovy.”
Takeshiba: “You… You didn’t see everythin’ that happened earlier, didja?”
The two of us wordlessly left the building.
We decided to drop by Aqualand in the adjoining annex.
Stopping in front of an enormous jellyfish tank, the two of us finally sat down.
Takeshiba: “-Just my luck.
Why’d the two of you ‘ave to come by today of all days.”
Oosaki: “I have questions for you, too.
Why were you on stage?”
Takeshiba-san was usually in Asakusa performing magic shows.
Takeshiba: “Mate of mine in the biz asked.
He threw his back out and couldn’t move.
I felt sorry for the poor fella an’ stepped in.
Oosaki: “I figured it was something like that.”
Takeshiba: “Nahaha, guilty as charged.
I’d never score a spot like that on my own, right?”
The roar of the crowd seemed worlds away.
The bubbling of the water pump filled my ears.
Jellyfish pulsed before us like a sigh.
The atmosphere was so somber that I felt like my heart, too, was drowning.
Oosaki: “...Takeshiba-san. I want you to promise me something.”
Takeshiba: “?”
Oosaki: “...Stop accepting every job that comes your way.”
Takeshiba: “Hnn…”
Troubled, Takeshiba-san closed his eyes.
To anyone else, it would’ve looked like he wasn’t taking things seriously.
Only I knew he was deep in thought.
Oosaki: “I’m not referring to the pay either.
I want you to be somewhere that respects what you do.”
Takeshiba: “Hnngh~”
Oosaki: “...I’m certain there’s a place that will love you for who you are.”
Takeshiba: “Cheers, Oosaki-kun.
I ain’t nothin’ but sixes and sevens, after all.” [3]
I was only a bystander getting worked up on my own account.
However, I couldn’t stand seeing such careless management
or the way Takeshiba-san was willing to sweep everything under the rug…
And yet…
The man himself unexpectedly began to look shy.
Takeshiba: “When I really fink about it though,
I couldn’t never give this sorta lifestyle up.
It just ain’t like me to leave someone in trouble.
If there’s somefin’ I can do, consider me there.”
Oosaki: “...”
Takeshiba: “Rings a bell, dunnit?”
Oosaki: “....”
Takeshiba: “That’s jus’ like you, ain’t it?”
Oosaki: “Even I don’t take on more than I’m capable of.
If I fail, then all my effort would be for nothing.”
Takeshiba: “Ah. So I did cock-up the show then?
Oosaki: “....It was a dire situation from my point of view.
However, in terms of entertainment, I suppose it was a success.”
Takeshiba: “Naha~♡”
Once his damp hair dried, we went back outside.
The sun was setting now, and it was getting cooler.
Unexpectedly, Shimbashi-san was waiting for us.
Shimbashi: “I’ve finally found you, Detective.
Here is your compensation for today.”
Oosaki: “I apologize for allowing the culprit to get away.”
Shimbashi: “Not at all. The ring has been recovered safe and sound.
—There was no way he could’ve escaped in that situation.”
Shimbashi-san took the ring out of his breast pocket before quickly stowing it away again.
Then, he turned to Takeshiba-san with a frigid glare.
Shimbashi: “Now tell me, what are you doing here?”
Takeshiba: “...You… didn’t notice me earlier?”
Shimbashi: “Meaning?”
Takeshiba: “Ah~ Umm~.
Say how ‘bout we get dolphin tonight!?”
Shimbashi: “Sorry?”
Takeshiba: “I’ve gotta bone to pick with them fishy bastards.”
Shimbashi: “What in the world are you talking about?
Dolphins are mammals, aren’t they?”
Takeshiba: “They ain’t fish?”
Shimbashi: “They are most definitely not fish.”
Takeshiba: “No wonder they’re so smart, I never stood a chance…”
Shimbashi: “...Ugh! Put a stop to this nonsense, Detective!”
Takeshiba-san clung onto Shimbashi-san’s arm.
As the two of them became even more entangled, I leisurely trailed behind them.
Humans are terribly complicated creatures.
For every person dazzled by gold and riches,
there is another who would be fully satisfied with a delicious meal.
The thief’s lover was surely the latter.
I still couldn’t consider myself as either.
However, perhaps someday I will.
I wanted to become the kind of person who would value a simple seafood rice bowl
over the shine of a jewel.
For some reason, I felt more alive that way.
Every time I sit down to eat, I’ll envision it.
Baby Anchovy being bitten.
And the smile on the dolphin’s face—
[Ten Views of Shonan -Bait-] 1957. Takeshiba Route [4]
Translation Notes
[1] Although the aquarium's name is Aqua World in the story, there is not actually an Aqua World in Katase. The referenced building is most likely Marine Land located at the Enoshima Aquarium, and the name was changed for copyright/legal reasons.
[2] "Baby Anchovy" is originally "Shirasu-kun." Shirasu are young sardines and anchovies that are cooked and served as a local delicacy in Shonan. Since Takeshiba specifies "anchovy" in this story, that's what I decided to go with.
[3] I couldn't resist throwing in the British-isms here, but what Takeshiba means to say is: "Thank you for your kindness. I ain't nothin' but an idiot, after all."
[4] The name of the story is actually a pun in Japanese. The kanji used is "肴" which means party food served with drinks. However, it is also a homophone for the word "fish" (both pronounced "sakana"). For the English title, I went with "bait" since shirasu can also be translated as "whitebait." However, Takeshiba was truly bait in more ways than one in this story...
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