Starmyu and Symbolism in Expression - Ootori Itsuki
I will be doing a series of posts regarding the past few performances in Starmyu so far, so I thought I’d start with one of my favorites, which is Ootori’s! First of all, I recommend @hotarumei‘s post on the character name meanings in the show!
Solo performances in Starmyu are often abstract portrayals of everything that has to do with the character so this series (yes I intend to do one for every solo performance so far) is dedicated to interpreting the symbolism in these scenes.
Ootori’s performance in episode 2 opens with flames engulfing the screen, only to reveal his overwhelmingly audacious kingdom of gold.
The entire place lifts elements directly from Gustav Klimt’s most famous pieces. The best example I can think of being The Tree of Life below:
It’s entirely possible the director just thought Klimt’s aesthetic looked great and decided to adapt it for the show, but it’s worth noting that Klimt was an artist who started as a traditional artist and became controversial during his time for the eroticism of his works. Like many great artists, his work would only become truly appreciated after his death, and would be lauded as being ahead of its time.
All that is sucked into a blackhole and essentially disappears, Ootori is left with himself and what looks like falling stars.
I’m not quite sure how to interpret it other than Ootori willingly sacrificing what he had to attain an even higher level of enlightenment that can only be achieved by losing everything you had.
This scene looks ridiculous but it actually makes a lot of sense! Ootori’s name means male phoenix bird, a mythical creature often tied with death and resurrection but depending on which lore you look at, he can also be seen as as a fallen angel (like in episode 1, he has black wings.)
There’s this duality to Ootori’s character that gradually paints him as a tragic figure constantly trying to free and redeem himself. In this performance, he is more like the Phoenix in Chinese myth, symbolic of the sun and fire.
Here we see him ascend towards the sun. Once he literally becomes one with the sun, he finally gains access to his ‘sword’ (not THAT sword but this sword):
Prior to this episode we had no idea what the sword meant but after episode 5, it all clicks with the narration about the prince who left for a journey and abandoned his love and dreams for the throne. Ootori’s sword is a sabre, but I’m not sure if that’s an important detail.
So far, Ootori is the only character shown with a sword which nearly confirms that if there was anyone destined to have become a king, it would’ve been him.
True to the phoenix lore, Ootori is consumed by the own flames of his passion. He remains incomprehensible to his past peers and while that does lead to his ‘destruction’, the only way he can ever be reborn is rising from his own ashes. The song shows how he sacrifices his old kingdom and fights alone with a motherfucking flaming sword, but it’s all a metaphor for how he decides to channel his talent and ability to rebuild and reform what he lost for something even better.
