So... what happened to Akira's older sister?
Is it possible to scrape the bottom of this SMT4 storyline that was seemingly forgotten in the sequel? Let's find out 🔎
What do we know of Akira's sister?
In the few times she's mentioned by NPCs, we get the following picture:
-> Akira lived with his older sister in Tokyo 25 years prior to current time, when demons suddenly invaded and attacked the city -> She was taken by the angels as one of the chosen by God to be sent away to a new world, and was stored inside one of the angels' cocoons -> Akira stayed behind and vowed to rescue her
The subject of their ages is a tricky one when we try to conciliate a fan's understanding of the original setting to what the sequel brought to the table; the SMT games commonly have adult NPCs call 18-year-olds by "kids", so someone's interpretation certainly couldn't be very precise beyond just that
The older sister was a minor (under the age of 20 in Japan) when she got kidnapped
Akira was younger than the main trio
Whether SMTIVA changed some aspect to fit in for how they later envisioned Nanashi's character, a normal fan wouldn't be able to tell, as even Nanashi's age itself is considered dubious in-game.
In the Blasted Tokyo segment, Kiyoharu is conveyed as the older of the two, since Akira is the one that uses honorifics.
What is the sister's fate?
The key significance we should take from her character is perfectly summarized in this excerpt written in the Megaten Wiki:
The ensuing fates of Akira and his sister ultimately became tied with the fate of Tokyo, splitting across implied parallel worlds.
In the alternate world where the previous incarnation of Flynn sided with Kenji and decimated all the angels, the sister died alongside the children of the cocoon. Akira became a Demonoid to avenge her, but ultimately didn't have the strenght to push through without the help of others, concluding that he'll join his sister sooner or later.
As seen in SMTIVA's Explosive Epidemic in Mikado DLC, the death of those that assume the role of God's messengers, in obvious beehive parallel, will inevitably lead to the cocoon's doom.
In contrast, in timelines that the angels survive, the implied outcome is that she will live as part of the new civilization that will replace the old.
In the alternate world where Flynn's past life sided with Law, it's hinted through the Ancient One of the Sun DLC that Akira will meet directly with the kidnapped children after being transformed as God's servants. As optimistic as the DLC's ending seemed, there's no chance of a happy reunion happening as long as the angels are in control.
And finally, in the current world where the previous life of Flynn fused with Masakado to form the ceiling (therefore causing a time dilation), it's ultimately left up in the air what kind of person Akira would turn out to be, his deeds as the first ruler of the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado and whether he was able to reunite with his sister at all.
As you can see, in the original SMTIV setting, the information presented regarding the Neutral outcome consisted of hearsay and scattered evidence across the locations. Neither of the siblings' fates are directly shown. A fan's conclusion regarding this subject would be that Akira's life events were paired up simultaneously with his sister's, since no matter the alignment of the world, mentions of the sister he couldn't save stayed in the narrative as if her presence was deliberately set not to be forgotten by the player.
Given the likely scenario where she would've died of old age long before he was able to reach the ceiling, while less tragic than the previous worlds, it'd be nonetheless a bittersweet outcome that would catch a hopeful Akira without warning.
Which is why many expectedly became confused at her character being completely absent in the sequel, even with the amount of spotlight given on Akira's actual thoughts and whereabouts through flashbacks seen from his reincarnated self's perspective.
Or... was she really?
Even before SMTIVA, some fans considered the possibility that the sister, in fact, sneakily showed herself in front of the player as another character and the game just happened to never directly acknowledge it.
As you can imagine, due to the lack of exposition, there wasn't a consensus of which character could most fittingly represent her. And, understandably, things get even harder to speculate in case she happened to be, unbeknownst to the players, an element that was deliberately retconned from the sequel.
Despite the concept of Nanashi following up Akira's actions being such an integral part behind the Bonds ending, the only examples of "previous bonds" depicted in flashbacks are the ones involving Flynn's past life, Masakado, Fujiwara and Skins
Since it's almost impossible to know for sure what were the intentions behind the creative decision to not have her show up and what would even be the hypothetical potential characteristic that denounces someone as representing Akira's sister, we'll set suggestions to see if there's someone that could fit in the shoes better than others from what we were shown and make our own conclusions: ☐ Young female that is/seems older than Nanashi ☐ Sisterly nature ☐ Connected to the Law faction in some way ☐ "Tragic heroine" role that could be linked to this context ☐ Interactions with either Akira or Nanashi that could be linked to this context ☐ Closely resembles Akira and his older sister's relationship ☐ Existed when God's Plan took place and can be identified across multiple iterations (e.g. Flynn's past life also wearing a ponytail, all versions of Akira having a face scar) ☐ Could explain certain plot holes if it were true ☐ Would invoke parallels to SMT1/SMT2 (since the SMT4 duology reuses motifs from those) if it were true
Hikaru
☑ Young female that seems older than Nanashi
1 point. Some people took attention to the fact she wears a high school uniform that is the female version of the Freedom Armor DLC costume available for Flynn (that may or may not have been a hint to what his past life looked like), hence the concept of Akira's sister being of the same age as the Samurai cadets seemed interesting.
The SMTIV World Analyze book also raised a hypothetical scenario when discussing how Lucifer is depicted in myths that might or might not be related to Hikaru:
ルシファーはさまざまな姿で地上に現れると伝えられるが、みずから姿を変える場合と、現実の人間の体を器として乗り移る場合があるという。 Lucifer is said to appear on Earth in various forms, in some cases by changing his appearance, and sometimes by possessing the body of a real human being. page 65
While certainly intriguing... there's nowhere else to go from here.
Regarding older female characters, we can also already cut from consideration Kaga and sidequest-exclusives Minako and Noa as none showed any possible relation to Akira likewise.
Nozomi
☑ Young female that is older than Nanashi ☑/2 She's technically a "big sis" character trope as evidenced by her DDS card title and her being the sermon-giver of the party. That being said, this trait wasn't explored with Nanashi -alone- enough for this dynamic to be considered a recurring thing between them. 1 point and a half. Nozomi does work in a "family" type of dynamic with Nanashi, but it's more centered on their relationship with the Irish deities they're under possession of rather than a potential past life they might've had together.
Goddess of Tokyo
☑ Existed when God's Plan took place and her appearance can be identified across multiple iterations -> Burroughs ☑/2 Her "revived" form seems older than Nanashi, but her child version on the other hand is much younger 1 point and a half. The Goddess of Tokyo is as enigmatic as the sister herself, so there isn't much that we can argument to her favor other than "it would be a feasible connection for the Neutral hero's sister to have".
Isabeau
☑ Young female that is older than Nanashi ☑ Descendant of the cocoon's children ☑/2 Seen as a big sister by Asahi, evidenced by being called "nee-san" in Japanese. However, this dynamic doesn't happen with Nanashi. 2,5 points. There was intrigue over her potential to have more beyond her surface since she was part of the main Samurai cast alongside the trio that had their past lives connected to the central plot, but her sole focus on providing support for Flynn and nothing else continuing even in the sequel evaporated any expectations.
Asahi
☑ Alternates a self-sacrificial role with Nanashi ☑☑ Person that Nanashi grew up with, is the closest to and as the one that expresses desires for Nanashi's protection the most (with the player also being able to retribute) ☑/2 While (apparently) not older and not referred as sisterly in-game, her Japanese VA was specifically instructed to act with her natural voice, with Yamai describing her tone as of a "healing older sister"[source] 3,5 points. For the longest time, I saw Asahi as the one most likely, given how she's the female character with the most screen-time and significance story-wise to Nanashi out of everyone else.
Gabby
☑ Young female that seems older than Nanashi ☑ Existed when God's Plan took place and her appearance can be identified across multiple iterations -> Yuriko ☑ Deeply connected with the Law forces and everything behind-the-scenes of Mikado ☑/2 Although in the religious sense, Gabby is a "Sister" ☑ Gabby was the last person that Akira saw before dying ☑ Could further explain the circumstances behind Akira staying in Mikado despite the time dilation and being labeled a traitor, Yuriko making past Minotaur and Medusa and Mastema not killing Gabriel ☑ It'd be similar to how the Law faction operated in SMT1
Oh sweet Jesus. 6,5 out of 9. If we use the logic that Gabby was using Akira's sister as a vessel, it's reasonable that neither Minotaur or Mastema, as Akira's allies, would kill her out of pact obligations. While Medusa wasn't contracted with Akira herself, she was an obstacle placed by the Ashura-Kai, which was supervisioned, again, by Mastema. I can see why Gabby = brainwashed Akira's sister was such a popular theory in the jpn fanbase.
I'd be convinced... if it wasn't for the fact that neither Gabby or Yuriko were ever hinted in-game or in supplementary materials to have any connection to the sister (or to be using someone's body whatsoever).
To pre-SMTIVA fans' credit, there were good reasons for their suspicion
"Alright, there's no concrete connection anywhere. All you did was try to apply the sister's minimal backstory to several female characters. Have you heard of 'if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail'?"
Sure enough, no matter how far we went in the realm of evidence, all of them involved reaching for straws in some level. Most would consider this discussion unproductive from the start and that the sister simply wasn't meant to be a relevant character in the sequel. After all, Kiyoharu and Kenji don't appear either.
But then... what about these? 👇
The unused content
Shin Megami Tensei Series 25th Anniversary Memorial Book: MegaTen Maniacs, page 168
The concept for the sequel story was developed from an early stage by Kazuyuki Yamai, the director of SMTIV. As indicated by the title 'Ver.2', this is a story draft that has been revised from the initial version. Written about 10 months before the project proposal titled 'Maniacs (provisory)', this draft has the abbreviated working title 'Shin 4G'. The 'G' seems to stand for 'Gaiden' (side story). [...]
Beginning [In the protagonist's dream] Ginza 3-chome intersection. A blurred scene. The Self-Defense Forces have sealed off the city. There are no pedestrians, and the atmosphere is tense. One of the soldiers checks at his watch. It reads "June XX, 2018, △:00". The soldiers' conversation can be heard. "Russia has been hit…" "It was a nuclear missile." "No way…" "China is out of luck, too." "What about America…?" "…Missile detected in our airspace. Targetting Tokyo. Estimated time of impact… it's too late." "All personnel, evacuate to the shelters." A boy (Flynn's past life) can be vaguely seen sitting cross-legged in the middle of the intersection. The soldiers are surprised. "Huh? That boy…" "Where did he come from?" "Hey, it's dangerous to stay there. Let's evacuate together." "Lord Taira Masakado… (Flynn's voice)" The boy mutters this and suddenly commits suicide. The boy used a large sword* to commit seppuku. *Masakado's sword "Hey, what are you doing!?" A Self-Defense Force member turns to the protagonist. "Hurry up and evacuate too, quickly!" The voice of an adult woman standing next to the protagonist says towards him (camera): "Akira… let's go…"
So there WAS supposed to be a woman as part of the 25-year-ago cast? And she almost made it in the sequel? Where did she go!?
Okay, sorry. It might not necessarily be the sister. Still...
Asahi sure was reminding Nanashi of someone from his previous life, but rather than a certain woman, what was on the little punk's mind was our ponytailed guy instead
By the way, there's something else besides this draft.
In the sound files of the Japanese version of SMTIVA, there's an unused scene that is likely meant to be the very moment that Akira's life changes:
The file names are from “X010001” until “X010021”. They're chronologically numbered so these sounds are all part of the same scene
こんにちは Konnichiwa! -> Hello! (used in the afternoon) ふふふ Fufufu -> *laughing* ええと e~to -> Err... はい Hai! -> Yes! はあーっ Haaa -> *tired sigh* 失礼します Shitsurei shimasu -> Excuse me. あの Ano... -> Um... ふーん Fuun -> Hmmm えっ Eh?! -> *surprised* そんな Sonna! -> It can't be! *gasp* *choke* (as if is being hold) アキラ Akira... アキラいやあああ Akira!! Iyaaaaa!! -> Akira!! Noooo!! ふんっ Fun -> *grunt of dismissal* はっHa! -> Hah! ふふふふ Fufufufu -> Hehehe... 神を Kami wo -> In God [incomplete sentence]... アキ...ラ... Aki...ra... うおおおおお Uooooo!!! -> *roaring*
So what might be happening here? The best we can do, once again, is some vague guesswork.
While these all belong to a young female range, there seems to be some distinguishing features among them that could pinpoint towards the existence of three different voices:
a girlish, demure voice
a lethargic voice
a mature, evilish voice
I can't tell if there's a different character or voice actress for each.
Here's my interpretation of the basics of what's happening:
A girl greets someone. Since they're meeting in the afternoon, they're not at school. From the gleeful tone in the beginning, it seems this was before they knew of the demon outbreak. The "excuse me" implies that she's not at her home.
Then, something unusual occurs. A girl then gets caught by something. She calls for Akira's name. Something bad happens to Akira and she screams. Someone with a evil voice laughs and references God. The girl mutters Akira's name one more time before losing consciousness. A strong yell is heard in the end, as if the person doing it is unleashing power.
Considering that SMT4 reuses motifs from SMT1~SMT2, if we were to trace certain parallels... well, here's one of the possible theories we can make:
A girl and Akira walk to Akira's house. The girl greets his family at the entrance. Something seemed odd. The girl excuses herself and enters the house. Then it gets revealed demons took control of the house and killed Akira's parents.
When the demons were about to kill Akira, the girl protects Akira. An angel spectator congratulates the girl for being self-sacrificial and takes her to the cocoon.
There are many variables beyond what I used but in my opinion, the "tragedy happens to the protagonist's family" and "heroine being taken advantage of by the Law forces" motifs should be the most consistent factor from what they intended for this scene.
Behold another potential reason for why many fans were so suspicious of Gabby
While none of the voice clips sounded like any of the established female characters, we can't say for sure if this necessarily means this dialogue wasn't meant for any of them (or if it wasn't their VAs just doing entirely different voices themselves) since this didn't reach the final product, so it could've been just the concept in draft stage.
If there's one thing we can deduce through those pieces of unused material is that the intent to give a deeper disclosure to Akira's past beyond just his involvement with Counter-Demon Force members stayed long enough in the development to have voiced files done for a potential DLC, so hope for extra content in a future re-release of the duology regarding this subject isn't unfounded, at least.
Anyway...
at the end of the day, all I did in this post was to bring together information into some vaguely cohesive pile. By no means it's a direction towards a definitive answer and the story will still be up to how we decide to fill the gaps ourselves. If you're satisfied with this, feel free to skip the rest of this post.
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Now, for those that want to know my take on this subject:
Solely from what we were given by the final product (that may or may not change in a SMTIV re-release), my current stance is:
While Gabby was a strong contender in the original SMTIV era, Asahi ultimately stayed as the most cohesive connection to the sister after SMTIVA, although on a different reasoning.
-> Regardless of whether Akira's older sister and Asahi are related or not, it doesn't change the fact that they both fill similar roles as the characters the Neutral Hero was the most familiar with while also being the main motivators behind his actions.
-> If Asahi is just Asahi, she nevertheless stays as the most story relevant partner for Nanashi regardless of the route, as she can be seen as Nanashi's "main bond" (=Bonds) at the same time as being thought of as "I care for this girl that is unrelated to my past above everything else" (=Massacre).
By the way, this also applies to perspectives that want Nanashi to distance himself from Asahi: if a player wants Nanashi to think of Asahi as an annoying burden, a potential gap exists for his past life's sister to be thought of in the same manner. If the player wants Nanashi to forget Asahi and pick other person, sure, why wouldn't Akira have wanted to forget all the pain he went through by filling his wounded heart with someone else as well? 🤷♀️
[SMT IV/SMTIVA SPOILERS]
What an interesting read
Even if none of the takes are proven to be canon, I still really liked the analysis
I do headcanon that Akira's sister is Asahi's previous incarnation, since both sibling relationships were about protecting each other when Tokyo became a hostile place.
In both cases the sister would sacrifice herself. Asahi near the end in Shesha's sudden attack, and Akira's sister, while there wasn't any mentioned case, the angels chose her to be one of God's children for the new holy land, which heavily implies that she was a selfless and caring person.
Then the brother would promise to rescue her. Eventually Nanashi does in bounds route (can't really say much about massacre route bc I haven't played it yet), and Akira tried to in the different timelines. It is the reason why King Aquila went to Mikado in the first place and why he decided to become a demonoid and become king in the infernal timeline. I do believe that he became a demonoid and wanted to become king to compensate his failure of trying to rescue her from the cocoon (even if he was helpless)
