(MASSIVE SPOILERS) Symbolism of Sunny’s Suicide Explained
This one’s been a long time coming. In this post I will be discussing the symbolism behind Sunny’s chosen methods of suicide. Obvious TWs may apply.
The knife is the weapon of a killer.
This is a surprisingly recent trope tracing back to the horrifying scene from Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) that gripped US audiences. This connection to the “Movie Killer” trope is made literal, when Sunny interacts with the “Jackson Poster” in HOBBEEZ, and is clearly shaken by it.
Accident or not, Sunny has internalized himself as a killer. But this is just the surface, the meaning of his knife goes much deeper than movie tropes.
It baffles me how almost no one ever talks about the ‘real world’ inspiration for Omori’s Knife in Headspace.
And no, its not the Steak Knife he uses to eat the now infamous microwave steak.
Although the Steak Knife does have a thin layer of meaning.
In game, its description reads “Good for cutting meat.” And later, the final boss of Headspace says “You are nothing but meat, so please let me eat kill you.” Indicating that a part of Sunny has become existentially nihilistic. The boss in question is a allegory for Headspace and depression, so it stands to reason that Headspace is literally trying to devour Sunny using the steak knife.
I’d also like to briefly mention the irresponsibility of Sunny’s mother here. How she continues to give her son a food that literally puts a knife in his hands. It represents her inaction, by giving her son his favorite food, she means well. But well is not good enough. By killing himself with the steak knife, it makes her negligently culpable for his death.
But no, the Steak Knife is NOT the true inspiration rather,
The ‘Real World’ inspiration for Omori’s knife can be found only in the Memory Lane sequence by interacting with the cutting board in Sunny’s House:
Sunny initially thought nothing bad could ever happen to Mari, and that she was a constant source of happiness. Her knife proved both not to be true. And in that moment the knife forever became associated with Mari’s victimization.
Therefore, the knife is not only a symbol of Sunny’s status as the victimizer but also Mari’s victimization.
It only makes sense that Sunny would use this symbol to take his own life, but even further, there still other elements that I feel are often over looked.
Sunny’s death is a Seppuku
Seppuku is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment practiced by Japanese people before and during the Shōwa period to restore honor for themselves or for their families.
For reference, this would not be the only reference to Japanese culture in the game. For example, the watermelon item chest gimmick is based on the Japanese summertime tradition of Suikawari. And the gateway that serves as a symbol of Faraway Town is also likely inspired by the Torii, the Japanese gateway to the afterlife. Spirit Mari even references the lake gateway as the inspiration for the curtains she leaves through.
Suikawari pictured on the Left; Torii pictured on the Right.
It’s implied from the banzai tree owned by Sunny’s dad that he is likely of Japanese descent, and so this method of suicide could be seen as a way for him to atone for his dishonorable actions within his cultural heritage.
By stabbing himself with the knife, Sunny is atoning for his sins using a tool that represent his status as a victimizer.
As far as in-game reason is concerned, convenience may be the deciding factor here. Omori simply wanted to kill Sunny as quickly as possible, and found the rooftop to be the easiest method available.
However, there is non-diegetic, metagame symbolism packed into this death. That needs to be dissected. Sunny’s death here can be read two ways, I’ll start with the more recognized.
Sunny dies the same way Mari does.
Mari died by falling down the stairs, and so its only fitting that he die the same way. By falling. It’s revenge pure and simple. It doesn’t even need to be elaborated. Something that is over looked however, is the second reading:
Sunny’s head is in the clouds.
And no, that is not a tasteless pun. The game continues to reference, clouds as a metaphor for Sunny’s dreaming. Particularly in Black Space. There’s an area called Cloud walkway, that serves as one of the many metaphors for Headspace in Black Space 2. But the more obvious one, is the “Bluecloud” found in the Disco Area. It’s blue since that’s the games code for sadness.
“Follow the cloud!” it says, as it leads the player in circles. Symbolizing how Sunny is following and endless dream. All of this is to say,
In the Bad Ending, Sunny doesn’t just step off the building, he’s stepping into the clouds. Leaving this realm, and into a place where he’ll be playing forever.
