#project sekai analysis

[analyticalstarz]

In honor of autism awareness month, here's a full comprehensible list as to why I think Rui is autistic, or at the very least, neurodivergent !!!! - 1, For starters, he was ostracized by his classmates for presumably almost a decade (2nd grade - 1st yr of high school), all because he was "different" and nobody around him could properly understand him. This has resulted in him struggling to form and maintain relationships. As stated in his second focus event, Revival My Dream, when he was a kid, Rui had a hard time conversering with his classmates because he felt as if he couldn't connect with them.

He's interested in more niche things, like robotics,

and he was also interested in things that people normally regard as "scary", such as moths;

After he became fond of shows and theater as well and attempted to include his classmates in one he thought of in an attempt to grow closer to them, his idea ultimately backfired since his classmates thought his way of directing was "dangerous", and this is where the ostracization seemed to start.

(translation by Arvon Oven) Being ostracized and shunned is unfortunately a common thing with people who have autism, and as I mentioned previously, Rui was alone for presumably seven years straight, all because he was regarded as "different". - 2, He has "restricted, obsessive interests" that can be seen as hyperfixations/special interests. Ever since he was a child, Rui's been heavily interested in both robotics/inventing and shows. A hyperfixation is described as, "A complete obsession with or absorption into a particular task. The task can be a hobby, a TV show, a subject of interest, or something else. People who hyperfixate may tune out the world around them and ignore important responsibilities, such as eating or sleeping." Rui's interest in shows specifically can be seen as a hyperfixation, as in the first side story of his Unforeseen Keynotes (or Unexpected Happenings according to the English translation) card, Rui was so engrossed in thinking about the next show they'd be doing, he had completely forgotten that Robo-Nene was due for maintenance, and Nene mentions that this wouldn't be the first time he's forgotten to eat or sleep because of how engrossed he gets in his thoughts while thinking about shows.

Nene also mentions in Wonderlands x Showtime's main story that Rui becomes so absorbed in his shows that he "loses sight of everything else", (In the original Japanese version, she says "When it comes to shows, he isn't able to look at his surroundings, so things never work out".)

and also in KAMIKOU FESTIVAL!, where he mentions that his tendency to put shows "at the center of everything" might be a flaw of his;

(translation by Ren) It's also mentioned in A Once-In-A-Lifetime Pandemonium!? that he'll get so absorbed in his thoughts while thinking of shows, he'll completely forget about his surroundings.

(translation by tsukasa’s #3 fan) - 3, He has texture issues, which is also common with people who have autism. It's been mentioned multiple times throughout the course of the game that he detests vegetables, but more specifically cucumbers and things in the cucurbitaceae family (such as watermelon & pumpkin), because they all share the same texture.

He mentions in an area conversation with Nene that he usually only eats at restaurants he's familiar with (he sticks to routine; another thing common with people who have autism), so eating out has never been an issue to him, and he even refused to eat vegetables when they were quite literally stranded on a deserted island and in a life-threatening situation.

- 4, He info-dumps. A lot.

This one is pretty self-explanatory, I think. - 5, He's overly logical and struggles with his emotions. He's had trouble on multiple occasions understanding his emotions, such as in Full Power! Wonder Halloween! where he unconsciously holds himself back after inadvertently injuring Tsukasa with one of his inventions, but he didn't realize that he was even holding himself back until somebody pointed it out, and he didn't realize that he was holding himself back because he was worried, either. Something similar happens in Heat Up! Kamikou High Cheering Squad! where he unconsciously holds himself back because he feared being shunned again, but once again, he didn't realize the reason for him holding himself back until somebody pointed it out for him. In the first side story of his I Can't Afford to Lose *4 card, Rui comes to the Sekai, hoping to talk to somebody to put his mind at ease. As he runs into Meiko and Luka and they ask him what's wrong because he seemed down, Rui says that "I just wanted to think about production, but my feelings got in the way of thinking". He then says "Feelings really are troublesome. / Sometimes, you have to hold them back with all of your might... It'd be nice if someone other than me could manage these troublesome feelings". (In the English translation, he says "Emotions are so complicated and can be so troublesome at times. / There are even times when one becomes completely overwhelmed by them... If only someone else were able to help put a lid on them.") Lastly, I'd like to mention that in Revival My Dream, after Rui asks his mom if he's different from the people around him, she responds by saying that, yes, he is different, but she also says that she was "just like him" as a child, and seeing how autism is caused mainly by genetics, his mom can very well be autistic too.

Okay, that is all!!! Thank you for listening to me yap :3

[cecilia-stars]

I often see Project Sekai players call the self Mafuyu presents when she drops her good-girl act, stoic and emotionless, her "true self". I want everyone to be very aware that she's not exactly being true to herself even when she isn't outright acting. Mafuyu doesn't know who her true self is; in fact, her arc largely revolves around her journey to "find herself" again, and it is far from over. We're currently in the phase where she allows herself to be honest the only way she knows how, but even her honesty is explorative. Those questions she asks Ena that sets her off so much? Or the offhand statements she says that Ena finds rude? That's Mafuyu's attempt to learn what she doesn't know, or question something she took for granted. Ena is so effortlessly genuine that it bothers her someone would even need to think that way; they're very much narrative foils, though I think I'll save that conversation for another time. What I'm trying to say is, Mafuyu's "true self" is one we don't know yet. Even she doesn't know it yet. She's not sure what she likes, not sure what she wants, not sure what to say if she doesn't default to "polite and inoffensive" and it's going to take a long time for her to know any of those things.

It's not that she's incapable of passion. She's just forgotten what it means to be passionate. It's not that she's emotionless. She just doesn't know how to recognize her own emotions after years of shutting them out. Have you seen Mafuyu during her earlier years??? Primarily Guiding A Lost Child To What Lies Beyond? She knew what she wanted, like any child: something as simple as taking a picture with the mascot she liked. Something as simple as laughing and having easy fun, before her own mother took it away from her. Before she learned that "I should listen to everyone around me. I should do what my parents say... Because they want the best for me. Everyone agrees, so it has to be the right decision. Right?"

TL;DR MAFUYU IS IN LIMBO!!! No one knows who her true self really is yet. As players, we embark on her journey of discovery with her. Maybe one day we'll know... Maybe one day she'll know.

[demodraws0606]

What Cyberpunk DeadBoy Means and What it's Potentially Foreshadowing (aka very complicated analysis that makes a lot of sense and could happen depending on how colorpalet is feeling while writing the story)

Now I'm seeing so many people like running around wondering what this event could mean for the future for multiple reasons and like I've made like one post throwing my hat into the ring.

I've been frustrated with people's unwillingness to realise that this comm is prob foreshadowing because this is not the first time Colorpalet has hidden foreshadowing into comms weither subtely or not

Exemple's being :

-Akito's second comm foreshadowing his third event

-Lower's cover art literally foreshadowing what would happen to Mafuyu's phone in her event

-88 vocals being emurui and nenekasa foreshadowing the kind of dynamic the disbandement arc had with nenekasa wanting to move forward with emurui being scared of isolation

-Probably way better exemples that I forgot

I've seen people make Some assumptions which I don't agree with but there is one thing I think is true

There is 100 pourcent gonna be struggle between corporation/reality and WxS.

Purely because that's been WxS's entire theme since the beginning. They constantly bash you over the head with the theme of compromising with reality and the importance of dreams. In fact the pick of Maiki-P is not at all surprising as he basically has the same message WxS has just... well harsher.

The Big thing people have ignored however is by focusing on the lyrics, they've ignored something that's personally to me even more telling and that's the line distribution

We know for a fact colorpalet loves to mess around with line distribution, weither it's to make characters say lines that fit them or to kind of foreshadow their headspace.

Now something Big happens with the line distribution of Cyberpunk Deadboy that i've seen NO ONE notice and that's in the last chorus (that and also Tsukasa's lines which people have pointed out but it works less on it's own which is why I'm gonna analyse his lines afterwards).

This is the only time the chorus is like that, the others have a much more even distribution.

In fact the distribution choice makes it look like the rest of WxS is Talking to Rui.

It's even more evident considering the lines they chose to make WxS sing compared to only just Rui

Emu/Tsukasa/Nene saying kimi (you)

Rui saying boku (i)

Which honestly makes me think this is colorpalet foreshadowing some kind of issue reguarding specifically Rui. Remember Emu's second event ? The story of Rilley whose imagination was crippled by the industry to the point where he didn't really have any artistic vision until Emu's grandpa helped him.

In fact remember how the flashback that showcases that has Rilley working on a film

Now we get to Tsukasa's line which have been pointed out to be kind of sus but it's not just his lines.

Tsukasa refuses to sing with Rui (unless it's a line they all sing together but i consider those exceptions). In fact pretty much everyone has a duo line with each other except those two.

In fact in the section where Rui has duo lines with everybody, Tsukasa is the only one he doesnt sing with and the visuals make it clear that it's something that we're supposed to find strange

And then we of course have Tsukasa's solo lines

Tsukasa is the only one that say "fuzakeruna" outside of Rui (of course ignoring entire group WxS lines) and i've seen some people pointed out how it sounds like he's saying it in response to Rui's lines. Which I agree with.

Then we got his big boy solo lines

These lines will make more sense with my theory/analysis but right now if we go with the idea that WxS in the last chorus were speaking to Rui and Tsukasa in this comm refuses to sing with Rui then this implies those lines are Tsukasa speaking to Rui.

And this is where the insanity begins because people have pointed out a concerning trend with Ruikasa that I know some people use for shipping fuel but for me kinda feels more so like foreshadowing.

IGNORING all the ARG ass weirdness of the Fixer 2dmv, this choice to switch Ruikasa's colors have to mean something in my opinion outside of just wholesome shipping influence especially considering the two songs they do this are less than jovial.

What this kind of color switching signifies to me is that, Ruikasa somehow are/or will switch places.

And with that let me bring back Tsukasa's lines

These lines stand out because Tsukasa before remembering his dreams was extremely shallow only doing things for fame and probably the money that would come with it.

Now if you think about everything I've layed out I think you can gain a pretty clear picture.

Of Rui falling into the trap Rilley did, becoming jaded and losing the true motivation of his dream (or at least starting to have doubts). Becoming stuck with the struggle of managing dreams and reality.

Rui's costume even has a mask which can be a metaphor for his artistic voice and individuality being silenced .

Which now you get into the line distribution where WxS is implied to be talking to Rui.

And you get to Tsukasa, who is refusing to sing with Rui and in fact seems to be arguing with Rui if we really want to overthink it. In fact almost switching their roles from the main story.

Because Tsukasa has grown now and how else to show that growth than to switch Rui and Tsukasa's perspectives/roles.

Now how this would happen really depends since there are multiple ways they can go about it with the time they have.

There is obviously mystery dude dude (who i know now is sakaki) who still gives me bad vibes. However there is actually two way they can make mystery dude trigger this sort of plot :

-Mystery dude is malicious and actively manipulates/confronts Rui to make him rethink his worldview

-Mystery dude isn't malicious but instead is just jaded/has been through a lot of industry bullshit which ends up rubbing off on Rui accidentally

But you can even just not have mystery dude involved with this at all (which i doubt but still) because you know what loose plotpoint is still lingering over WxS, fucking Asahi

Rui still has not talked about Asahi to WxS, in fact Curtain Call ends on an explicit cliffhanger which is never really emotionally concluded (at least in Rui's own events, technically the arc ender did but there are still a lot of loose threads from that arc). Why would Colorpalet make Asahi come back after Rui graduates, they could've just had him disappear into the sunset but instead they hint at his potential comeback.

Unless Rui will be forced to again confront similar feelings he did during Curtain Call this time with possibly an added layer of whatever happens during WxS's freelance arc.

Anyways yeah this is overly complicated but then again colorpalet is not being easy with us so...yeah.

[the-one-that-weeps]

Do you see the vision.

A bit of explaining below the cut:

Dolls: Mafuyu's first ever event revolved around marionettes and being a doll-like person is a core element for her story (e.g: engeki). One of Tsukasa's first mixed events was Hinamtsuri, a doll festival. It revolved around his relationship with the person who matters most to him — his sister. Mafumom is the person that matters more to Mafuyu, and she waters herself down to a doll to appease her.

Birds: Canary and Phoenix events. Birds can be seen as a symbol of opportunity = the opportunity Nene and Tsukasa have to fly high and become famous actors, leaving everything else behind to pursue their career.

Large bodies of water: Mafuyu is associated with confined bodies of water (e.g: empty Sekai lake, her fes card, niigo world link in general, etc.). Nene is associated with open bodies of water: the sea.

Fish: Tsukasa had a fish in his jacket prior to 3rd anniversary. That same fish appears on the WL wandasho boat. Mafuyu has an aquarium with no fish in it, symbolising her emptiness. Nene is associated with the Little Mermaid and aquatic wildlife in general.

[decorabnuy]

i need to talk about this card or else i'm going to explode

Kanade is totally giving Angel of Death vibes with this one. All of the white tones and gentle pose/expression representing the purity of it all, her desire and will to live to save everyone, which is also something that leads to her downfall.

We can see that the entire atmosphere gives the shivers, the landscape around her is destroyed, full of bones. Kanade has a sycthe in her hand and is crying, representing how despite her wanting to save people, this leads to her destroying things around her, since herself doesn't know if her methods of saving others actually works or not, which can lead them to despair. Kanade cries seeing the sight that she never wanted to hurt others, but her saviour complex hurts more than helps.

She feels like she NEEDS to save others to continue in life, to be alive, this is her duty in life, and she can't change this hurtful mindset alone. That is why she is far away from our view, because she doesn't want to be helped, she wants to be far away from others and let herself do her job, even though eventually this will only harm others, especially herself.

I really hope we can touch more on her saviour complex and the way this can be harmful to herself + other characters in long term (both in the story and in the fandom). I'm not saying that Kanade is some sort of villain that wants to hurt others, FAR from it, her entire thing is that she wants to save others, but her way of doing so isn't the best. She always haves the best intentions but she can't think the way she does forever.

I love her character SO SO much and this card is SO beautiful and portrays her struggles and view of herself SO WELL. Colopale is ROCKING with their new cards these days and I'm LOVING IT

[getwonderhoyd]

in tsukasas card i see references to three mythological creatures. the figures behind him are two kasa clones, lefty's shadow has a fox's tail while right's has a tanukis making them shapeshifters. kitsune are often messengers from gods and have a more refined reputation. tanuki are tricksters who love playing pranks on people, reflected in how each of them dress. tanuki also use a leaf to help them transform, which is why the middle kasa holds one. is he a tanuki too? its unclear

the other is the kasa obake, a yokai of an umbrella with one eye. when old belongings are forgotten and left in disrepair, they can transform into yokai. each kasa is holding a broken and torn red parasol iconic of the kasa obake, and only one of his eyes can be seen. even his clones eyes are hidden by the glare of his glasses.

whats unusual about the kasa obake is unlike other yokai, it has little to no basis in eyewitness accounts or folklore and is only seen in art, so it's considered less of a folk legend and more a fictional character. this has interesting implications for tsukasa who is the actor. he has a running history when it comes to identifying as the characters he plays in his cards, and seems to be the only character in this set "playing the part" of a yokai or spirit rather than just being with them. and theres something to be said about tsukasa in a gakuran, just like he wore in middle school, identifying with an object thats been left behind and ignored.

with tsukasa also holding the leaf like a tanuki, treating the kasa clones like completely separate people is not the way to go. lefty is prim and proper, like a textbook student. you could attribute him to the tsukasa who is responsible and reliable, the dependable older brother and troupe leader who wants to take care of everyone and puts their needs before his own. right is messy and confident, the loud, annoying, weird, silly, self absorbed and ego driven tsukasa. hes often reduced to one or the other, but with only one half it doesnt even look like him anymore. both sides are intrinsically him

tsukasa struggles a lot with how he views himself versus what he wants to be, squashing down what he identifies as less desirable traits to fit his ideal. this is most obviously seen in his last focus event, hiding his "ugly" emotions from wxs to maintain his image, but also in kaito, who embodies everything tsukasa hopes to be. theres much more, but tsukasa and identity has been a subtle but constant thematic through line for him. the kasa clones could be how various characters view him, how they often either love him or find him a nuisance. it could be the responsible and brave face he put on for saki and his parents, and now he has the potential to be looked after by someone else if he takes it. it could be the always okay always happy face he shows wxs while he struggles to actually be vulnerable and honest about his problems. it could be a whole host of things

theres so much symbolism in this card and im sure theres stuff i havent even noticed yet

[jasminetea001]

Hona6 card analysis

Mostly about Saki once again…

from what I’ve noticed so far is that Saki is the only one in the classroom while the others are outside like it’s a metaphor of her lacking behind unlike the others, looking straight at “imaginary” pinecones, she is the one with the least imaginary objects and like reality is crashing down on her as we speak, it feels empty but calming and warm. While Shiho is in a bubble of some sort hiding in the playground with stickers of Leo/need’s image colors surrounding her head like she wants to think they’ll be with her forever like it’s all a dream, as we can see in lots of the event trailers she always the one in the lead, she also has the most imaginary objects surrounding her unlike Saki, she’s the biggest dreamer in leo/need while the other is facing reality

one day they will have to face this situation head on

[project-sekai-rambler]

intro post

hello, everyone!

i've started this sideblog to document and verbalize my thoughts and analysis of this game that's come to mean as much to me as it has.

i'll likely be heavily N25-focused, but i have read all of Leo/Need, most of Vivid BAD SQUAD, and i've recently started making my way through MORE MORE JUMP! needless to say, i plan to get through all of the stories eventually, and i may post my thoughts as i go.

i hope at least someone out there will find them interesting!

i've been heavily inspired by both @the-overanalyst and @mizuki-foreshadowing, the latter of whom encouraged me to start this blog in the first place - thank you!