── This post WILL have spoilers for AI: The Somnium Files - nirvanA Initiative, be mindful when reading.
── This is by no means a complete analysis, so feel free to add on anything we may have missed.
「 Winter Iris - Iris / Hitomi / F: 」
Hope, Faith, Valour — “Brighter days are ahead”
The Winter Irises are the first flowers to show up on the Evaluation tab. This is most likely a nod to the first game where the Winter Iris plays a big role. I think it's safe to assume that here, the Irises are meant to represent the Sagans (and possibly Falco or Date?)
Perhaps somewhat unrelated, but this is the only flower pictured that blooms during/throughout the winter season. Perhaps this is the “Flower that Blooms in Snow” Amame was referring to in her song.
「 Larkspur - Komeji / Shoma / Amame: 」
Lightness, Pure fun, Desire to be humorous, Open heart, Strong love bonds
On the surface, the Larkspur has a lighthearted meaning. "The desire to be humorous" pretty obviously links back to the Endas, but it goes deeper if you take its poisonous qualities into consideration.
Take Amame, for example. On the surface, she's a bright and peppy girl, but at the same time, she is willing to kill when necessary. The statement about the Larkspur being used to ward off evil can also be traced back to Amame if we interpret her killing Uru as warding off evil.
The same principle can be applied to Komeji: On the surface, he is a cheerful comedian trying his best, but that same thing effectively "poisons" his family.
「 Calla Lilies - Chikara: 」
Purity, Sympathy, Beauty, Rebirth
As mentioned, the Calla Lily can mean rebirth and resurrection. The resurrection part in particular draws strong parallels to the belief of the Order of %, which Chikara is naturally a part of.
The theme of rebirth is pretty closely tied to his half-body replacement plan for Jin and his research altogether.
「 Red Roses - Kizuna / Lien: 」
Love, Passion, Romance, Deep feelings, Desire
These flowers are notably the very last ones to appear on the evaluation screen.
The reasons for this choice are pretty obvious, since Kizuna and Lien's storyline mainly revolves around love and romance. A red rose suits that kind of fairytale-like romance perfectly.
Kizuna and Bibi are both represented by roses. This hints at their sisterly bond.
「 White Roses - Mizuki / Bibi: 」
Grace, New beginnings, Purity, Innocence, Eternal loyalty
These flowers are notably the second to last ones that appear on the evaluation screen. Since Bibi's character is revealed relatively late into the game, it'd make sense for the flower representing her to be the same. The roses are also in the center of the screen, which is fitting since Bibi is a protagonist.
Also, the rose's colour matches the colour of Bibi's mask and cloak when she dons her Masked Woman attire.
Going into the symbolic meaning, eternal loyalty is an easy attribute to link to Bibi; she is loyal to her family and loved ones.
Perhaps the symbolism is split in half (lol) here: Bibi gets the grace and eternal loyalty while Mizuki gets the purity and innocence (or at least that is what Bibi wishes, since she tries to shield Mizuki so that she can live a normal life).
The "new beginnings" part is shared between the two of them: after the events of AINI, the two of them have a chance to start anew.
「 Red Spider Lily- Uru: 」
Death, Finality, Afterlife — “Flower of the dead”
They often appear around the time of the autumnal equinox and are often used for funerals (japanese people often use these). It can also represent rebirth in some traditions. These flowers often imply a death is coming.
Obviously, he is dead (and also a murderer)... But that's not all.
"These flowers imply a death is coming" represents his knowledge of the Half Body Killings since, well, he is the one doing the killing.
The red spider lily is poisonous and can lead to death upon ingestion, much like Uru's actions have been fatal to many.
The Japanese common name for Lycoris radiata, higanbana (ヒガンバナ; 彼岸花) literally means "flower of higan". "Higan" is a Buddhist holiday. There are recurring themes of Buddhism within AINI, particularly within Naix, which Uru is a part of.
This flower is called by over 50 other local names in Japan. Not unlike Uru, who has been referred to by many aliases (Uru, Jin, Tearer, Dahlia Boat etc.)
──Other characters this flower could represent: Tokiko, Jin, Ryuki
「 Tulips - Aiba / Tama / Marco / Unknown: 」
Perfection, Deep love, Rebirth - Depends on colours.
Yellow tulips mean happiness, cheerfulness and hope. Red tulips mean love and passion. Blue tulips mean tranquillity, serenity, and inner peace.
The tulips are perhaps the most obvious out of the bunch. The colour coding makes it obvious which flower belongs to whom. The symbolism matches up, too.
Aiba's is cheerfulness and hope; she is arguably the most cheerful AI-Ball out of the ones we know.
Tama's is love and passion... Well, this one is obvious.
Marco's is serenity and inner peace, representing their withdrawn, peaceful nature.
But wait... there's a fourth, white tulip? It's important to note that this one still hasn't bloomed, unlike the other three. This could be foreshadowing for a potential future AI-game with a new AI-Ball. Perhaps the AI-Ball is still being made (or hasn't been made at all) during the events of AINI, which is why it hasn't bloomed and is white. Will the AI-Ball in question be white? Or has it just not "gained its color" yet? I think that rather than the colour being symbolically relevant, the whiteness is just meant to be seen as a blank canvas, full of potential.
「 Hyacinth - Ryuki / Date: 」
Rebirth, Jealousy, A desire for forgiveness, Sorrow
The Hyacinth's symbolism works as well for Date as it does for Ryuki.
This is essentially a retelling of what happened in the Underground Cathedral. Here, Date would be Hyacinthus, Ryuki would be Apollo and Tearer would be Zephyr.
“One day, as Apollo and Hyacinthus played discus, Zephyr grew jealous of the two, and as the discus left Apollo’s hands, Zephyr blew a strong west wind that caused the discus to strike Hyacinthus in the head. Apollo, in his grief realizing he had inadvertently killed his lover, held Hyacinthus as he died, and willed hyacinth flowers to bloom from his blood.”
The "desire for forgiveness" and "sorrow" part is pretty obvious here, especially looking back at Ryuki's Somnium.
The Hyacinth is also a symbol of queer love.
Hyacinths are often associated with spring and rebirth. Date has been "reborn" multiple times in his life: when he discarded his identity of "Hayato Yagyu", then "F", and also the 6 years in which he lost his memory in AINI.
── Other characters this flower could represent: Uru
「 Cyclamen (Hederifolium) - Mama / Pewter: 」
Circle, Lasting feelings, Sincere affection, Femininity, Care
This was the hardest to pin down. On one hand, it could be Mama due to her relation to femininity and her caring, affectionate personality. Also, the "circle" symbolism would represent Marble, since marbles are circular.
It could also be Pewter, since he creates the AI-Balls (circles) and cares for them. The femininity part might be a stretch, but queerness is often associated with femininity, and since he is a queer man, maybe there's something there? This particular symbolism might also just not apply to him, though.
──Other characters this flower could represent: Boss
The pink Sweet William has long conveyed gallantry, gratitude, and affectionate regard; all sentiments Gen holds towards Amame.
Sweet William is a favourite name for lovelorn young men in English folkloric ballads, e.g., "Fair Margaret and Sweet William". Gen is suffering from unrequited love.
The flowers of Sweet William are edible, which is fitting since Gen is a chef.
Sweet William is a species of Dianthus. So is the Carnation, which represents Tokiko. This is symbolic of Gen’s relation to Naix.
──Other characters this flower could represent: Kizuna
「 Carnations - Tokiko: 」
Birth, Death, Love, Rebellion, God, Socialism
We have five carnations here: three red ones and two purple & white (striped) ones. It's interesting to note that the two color groups are split into two sides, almost like they're "split down the middle". This is, of course, a hint back at the HB killings and Tokiko's involvement.
The colours themselves also hold significance:
The red Carnation is the official Mother's Day flower in many countries (including Japan), which links back to Tokiko's motherhood.
The purple and white carnations match Tokiko's colour scheme.
Striped carnations symbolise regret that a love cannot be shared. This is perhaps symbolic of Tokiko's emotional unavailability, especially towards Uru.
In France, the purple carnation is a traditional funeral flower, given in condolence for the death of a loved one. Tokiko is dead.
A red carnation may be worn if one's mother is alive, and a white one if she has died. However, we find there are both red and (partially) white carnations in the vase.
Perhaps this is symbolic of Tokiko's fate in Ryuki's Diverge Route, where she is neither dead nor alive, or of her existence as a character in a simulation in general.
That concludes the flower analysis. There are still things to note:
──The pots are different colours and sizes. I'm unsure if this means anything or if it's purely a stylistic choice.
──There is a different amount of flowers in each pot. Sometimes there are 3, sometimes 4, sometimes 5. I'm unsure what meaning this holds. There are 49-51 flowers in total:
14 - 16(?) winter irises
4 red spider lilies
4 tulips
3 hyacinths
4 calla lilies
5 larkspur
5 carnations
5 white roses
5 red roses
──Some pots gain extra flowers as you unlock more achievements. For example, the Larkspur pot only has 2 flowers at first, but it eventually goes up to 5. The Cyclamen starts off with 1 and goes up to 3. I'm not entirely sure which other flowers this applies to and why. The simplest guess would be that it symbolizes character growth.
──Lastly, what could the context of this scene be? One viable theory could be that these flowers are gifts from Ryuki's friends and acquaintances during his hospital stay. Doesn't the windowsill the pots are placed on remind you of a hospital room?
But that's just a theory.
── What are your thoughts on any of this? We invite everyone to think and theorise together. :)
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