First, read this post that explains the family of Cerberus and how that will most likely relate to the four friends of Macaca Icol who are represented by the symbols above.
Inside Enjin's first real name we find the hidden chimera which is as scrambled as Orthrus' name inside Fu's last name. It's the -raikima part of Endoareiraikima. In Japanese, chimera is pronounced and written as kimaira - which fits perfectly with raikima.
The next thing that was probably visible to everyone even if you don't know any Japanese or Greek mythology, is the -leo in Enjin's fourth name. Of course, that's means lion, the body and head of the Chimera, so I was immediately suspecting even more animals to be hidden in those names. And look, here they are, perfectly fitting the Chimera:
fourth name: Leotrago -> -trago = tragos as in goat, the Chimera's second head
fifth name: Sphidi -> -fidi = fidi as in snake, the Chimera's tail
The -s (or -su) in Sphidi is probably a joke about snakes making sssss sounds. Leotrago is together because they're both heads. That Enjin even has six full names also resembles the Chimera because its an amalgamation of many different animals, which got more and more over the centuries and depictions. The chimera part is also in his first name, the one that was most likely given to him by his parents if it isn't his last name altogether.
So what does this mean? It means that Enjin has a second backstory. One that connects him to the distant past just like Rudo and Fu. It means that there is an old jinki somewhere on par with the Watchman series that would belong to him like Hii belongs to Fu. It means that there could be bad blood between the Surebrecs and Endoareilychimas which is why Enjin looked so grim when he heard Rudo's last name for the first time.
It just means even more Enjin in the future which is heaven for all the Enjin fans.
Now with the mangaka getting her well-deserved rest (Get well soon Kei Urana!), I have the time to write down some more of my thoughts and (crack) theories about Gachiakuta until now. Expect A LOT of speculation.
Spoiler wall for potential spoilers. TLDR at the end.
First Name
The name Rudo means “love”, just like Amo.
Fun fact: if you reverse Rudo, you get something close to odur/odour. Since scent is more closely associated with Amo, I found this interesting, even if it it was just a coincidence and not a narrative connection.
But the most striking discovery appears when looking at Rudo’s family tree.
If you’re familiar with the Philosopher’s Stone, you know it is created through four main alchemical stages:
Nigredo (blackening)
Albedo (whitening)
Citrinitas (yellowing)
Rubedo (reddening)
There are sometimes intermediate phases as well, such as Cauda Pavonis between Nigredo and Albedo.
Now look at the family names:
Canis and Ca-uda Pavon-is
Alto and Al-be-do
Rudo and Ru-be-do
Each name mirrors the first and last syllables of these alchemical stages — and they even appear in ascending order.
Is Rudo’s family (symbolically) 'evolving'?
The Rubedo stage is described as the moment when the alchemist integrates the results of earlier stages into a unified self before reentering the world. That sounds remarkably similar to what Rudo does with 3R: he creates a “Thought” and manifests it into a Vital instrument in the real world. It’s integration, transformation, and return.
That parallel feels deliberate.
Copper and other metals
In an earlier post, I noted that Rudo and Amo’s shared meaning of “love” connects them to Venus/Aphrodite, who is symbolically tied to copper. As noted before; Tamsy’s name may reference Tamra, an ancient type of copper. The Watchmen series symbol contains the alchemic symbol of silver, while two other symbols also contain alchemic symbols of gold and copper.
I would also not be halfway to a conspiracy theorist if I did not note that the philosopher's stone was meant to be used to transmute ordinary materials into metals like gold and silver. Also, that gold can very easily be attributed to Citrinitas, silver to Albedo/Nigredo(oxidation) and copper to Rubedo.
Last Name: Surebrec
Rudo’s last name, Surebrec, is Cerberus spelled backwards.
Cerberus is famously the three-headed guard dog of the underworld in Greek mythology. But there’s more beneath the surface.
Cerberus is one of the many offspring of Typhon, a monstrous titan made of multiple animal parts. This is especially interesting considering Zodyl Typhon’s ability to manifest different animal parts.
Other offspring of Typhon include:
Orthrus, a two-headed dog — possibly mirrored in Fu Orostor and his dual personality.
The Hydra, which in some versions also guarded an entrance to Hades in Lerna.
Dogs, guardianship, and the underworld form a consistent symbolic thread.
Additionally, as noted before, I connected the Watchmen series symbol — particularly its association with silver and the number three — to the triple goddess archetype (Hecate, Selene, Artemis). These goddesses are also linked to protection, thresholds, the underworld, and dogs.
Theory Time
Originally, I thought the symbols next to the Watchmen Series on the Heritage mural represented the different eras of humanity in Greek mythology.
However, since it was confirmed that the symbols instead represent the four friends, I’d like to adjust that theory:
Perhaps the symbols represent each friend’s vision for how the world should function.
Those visions clashed, and the resulting ideological split formed the factions we now see.
Possibly:
One friend led their people into the Sphere, representing something like a “Golden Age” — humans living in abundance and ignorance.
Another created the Hell Guard.
Another led the group that could be Zodyl’s ancestors.
Another became the origin of Rudo’s family.
And the fifth person Macaca Icol created Canvas Town.
And Rudo?
He is connected to almost all of them.
His family created the Watchmen Series, which enables travel to the Sphere.
He is a Cleaner, who are connected to Canvas and the Hellguard
He comes from the Sphere
You could argue that Zodyl has a connection
Yet he is an outsider to all these groups.
But that alienation may be his greatest strength.
Because he stands between all factions, he sees what others cannot. He could cross the divide between 5 ideologies. And perhaps that is exactly what his ancestor wanted his descendants to 'evolve' towards. And perhaps that is why he created the Watchmen Series, in which every item is meant to blur lines and better understand people/things. He is not just the protagonist; he is a catalyst for change.
Yet what kind of change that will be, we will have to see.
TLDR; Rudo's family is 'evolving', and it points that the end product aka Rudo is meant to unite the divides in the world.
Tiktok is a real minefield in terms of avoiding spoilers on Gachiakuta, since somehow 90% of manga readers (and like 100% of Tamzy fans) on there want to spoil the hell out of the story for every anime watcher… I have sadly (or not sadly?) fallen victim to these spoilers and found out that beautiful Tamzy is the angel and Regto‘s murderer. But I’m somehow glad I have this information because through this I am able to understand a theory I saw somewhere.
I finished the Gachiakuta anime with the last episode being aired and now I’m reading the manga to refresh my memory a little. I’ve gotten to the point where they meet Amo for the first time and she tells her life story, which includes two angels that come to her home in the tower.
Now this made me remember the theory someone made of Regto possibly being the second angel.
And it makes so much sense to me rn…
As we also know from the manga AND the anime, Regto somehow got his hands on two pieces of the watchman series:
Rudo’s gloves
The book
Characters need a piece of the watchman series to cross the border between the sphere and the ground alive and pass by the watchman. I’m not sure if it’s a theory too or if it’s confirmed but all the times someone crossed the border and survived they had a piece of the watchman series with them/close to them. That’s most likely why rudo and the cleaners with him survived falling over the border and noerde (who fell before them) didn’t.
So we can assume that the two angels needed at least one item of the series on them when crossing. And as far as I’m caught up to the anime/manga, Tamzy isn’t yet confirmed to have owned a piece of the watchman series. (I’ve just seen a panel about him possibly stealing Amo‘s boots?). Which makes the second angel (Regto) the one that had to carry/own the item while crossing the border. And based on previous information we know that Regto must have had the book on him at the time, since he gave Rudo his gloves more than one month in advance of getting murdered.
In Amo‘s story we also get to know that she saw two people crossing the border as angels when she witnessed it the first time, but later only one of them (Tamzy) came back. This makes it pretty obvious that the second angel (Regto) stayed up in the sphere - or in his case died. But as far as I know, Tamzy didn‘t own a piece of the watchman series at that time, which makes the conclusion pretty obvious: he took Regto‘s book and used it to pass the watchman on his way down. The fact that he took the book is also canon, since in the first chapter of the manga, Rudo bumps into Tamzy, and the book falls to the ground (that‘s where the picture of the book above came from). Sadly, in the anime this is different and Rudo bumps into the officers instead of Tamzy and then runs home to see Tamzy there, standing over Regto (so we never see the book falling).
Then, at the end of Amo‘s story, she says that the angel came back maybe one month prior to the current situation in her home. Enjin mentions that around that time, Rudo came to the ground too. Through this we know, that Regto was killed shortly before that time too, which then explains why only one of the angels returned to the ground.
Now, this whole thing makes me wonder how Regto got his hands on the watchman series in the first place. We get to know in the last episode of season 1 (chapter 87 in the manga) that the watchman series was most likely created by Canis Surebrec on the ground. So how does a man (or any person) on the sphere get their hands on a part when they would have to get down on the ground alive first (which technically isn‘t possible since they would get killed if they don‘t have an item). And there only seems to be a few possible ways of explaining how the gloves and the book got up to the sphere in the first place:
A previous owner of an item from the watchman series came to the sphere and passed on his item there (probably someone from Canis Surebrec‘s family, since Rudo is related to Canis and lived on the sphere).
Regto is actually the one that came from the ground and brought it up.
Very absurd but: The sphere was once part of the ground and that‘s how people got up there (including parts of the Surebrec family and some items of the watchman series)
Another question that I got through this whole thing is: Which of the two angels had the ability to fly?
My first guess was that Tamzy was the one with the power, but what if that power is connected to the book in a way? We know that a jinki can be passed down through generations (just like in Canvas Town or with the watchman series) so it could be possible that Tamzy could use the power, since Regto died. Another thing that I‘ve heard somewhere is that Tamzy has two jinkis. Toukshin and the wings?
And also, are the other two paintings on the ceiling of the Canvas Town entrance (where Canis Surebrec and Macaca Icol‘s symbols are depicted) also parts of series/jinkis that get passed down through generations? If yes, who owns them and what object(s) belong to the collections?
I honestly don‘t know anymore… The more I think about this whole thing the more questions pop up in my head. So I will be continuing with reading the manga online (since I only have the books 1 - 10 and that‘s about as far as the anime also covers the story). Maybe i will be back with more questions, maybe I will be back with answers.
Theory on a part of the Watchman series being a tattoo
...Enjin's tattoo.
Now this theory is highly speculative and might fit more into a canon divergent fanfic. But hear me out:
first, canonically, we haven't seen Enjin without his shirt. The drawing above is of course true (I guess) but as long as we don't see these patterns on page, Urana could still decide to change them.
or what could also happen is that the complete details of the tattoos were never revealed in the first place to avoid spoilers.
I'm talking specifically about Enjin's highly unusual belly button stomach tattoo. It already has the general dimensions of the Super Friends symbols, but specifically it has the three circles of the Watchman series in it.
In a canonical reveal of that tattoo, the triangle might also be present.
For my theory, though, that doesn't need to happen immediately. The emergence of the triangle could also come later if the colours of it are hidden for example
the most important part of my theory comes with the assumption that Gob, the previous spellcaster, was the person who tattooed Enjin and that Macaca Icol, the first spellcaster, drew the same tattoo on Canis Surebrec.
besides the gloves, the coat, the boots etc, this tattoo could also be part of the Watchman series - but an immaterial one.
One only the current spellcaster can bring back into existence.
in effect this would mean that people like Zodyl would never manage to reassemble the entire Watchman series without also being the one chosen by the spellcaster to receive the tattoo.
Enjin would be the only person on ground and sphere with the ability to wield the entire series.
but this circumstance gets more complicated as we have a new spellcaster now who should be able to bring back this tattoo as well.
a spellcaster btw, who was just salivating at the mouth to tattoo Rudo before Enjin stopped that
the most important question we have on this is why Enjin never showed signs of having the power of the watchman series. Answer: he was already a giver with his own jinki. This could suppress the tattoo's power (until umbreaker breaks).
would the information broker know of this? Not if the existence of the tattoo was only between Canis and Macaca and it never came up since then because no one came close to reassembling the watchman series.
what would happen if this became known? Zodyl might abduct Remlin to get the tattoo himself or he might abduct Enjin to use its powers remotely. In the worst case, Enjin might've to die for Remlin's new tattoo to take effect.
Alternatively to all of this, Enjin's stomach tattoo might be a regular one with one of the symbols of one of the other friends, marking him as a descendent of them the same as Rudo. But this theory that came to me in the middle of last night is more exciting :D
Rudo's last name is cerberus written backwards and pronounced as if it were an english word. The same is true for Macaca Icol's name too. Their name is Loci aka Loki backwards.
So I thought, the other friends of Icol probably follow the same naming pattern. With Cerberus in mind I wrote down religious and mythological figures that have something to do with hell and the underworld or are just widely known. One of these names could be Enjin's surname going by how he looks when Rudo's last name is revealed.
These are from the top of my head + 5 min of looking it up. There are many more options to go with if we leave hell. Nido could be somewhere. An Asudem would be nice. If Enjin is really related to one of the other 3 friends, then we might find out the names of those friends first before we ever get the confirmation that Enjin is part of one of them.
Alternatively, the name gets revealed and we get an ominous shot of Enjin in the next panel.
When starting a new battle series, I always look out if the powers they show are reality defying, like in this case. It looks like a big man can easily be encased in mud which will then take a form that's slimmer than the man himself. In other words, the inside of the mud has bigger dimensions than it should have.
Later we go to Canvas Town where we get the extreme reality-defying powers of the spellcaster. In this mini-arc we get a better example of this power escalation than mud lady though: Rudo's ability on Gris' hamsa, so we're not completely surprised with Gob's, Remlin's and Macaca Icol's powers and the invisible wall that doesn't let people with bad intentions into the town.
everyone keeps talking about the animals themes of the characters, but i'm yet to see someone talk about macaca icol. their first name literally means "monkey" in portuguese (female monkey, to be more exact).
so, both macaca and canis are named based on animals, makes me wonder if macaca's unnamed friends also follow the same theme.
