the op of jjk season 2 is rife with symbolism. there's one particular motif, however, that foreshadows the trajectory (and tragedy) of gojo and geto's love story.
almost immediately, we see geto running through the rain. the stylistic choice to portray him holding his bag over his head is deliberate, because it emphasizes what he conspicuously doesn’t have but so clearly needs: an umbrella.
gojo, on the other hand, is not operating with the same sense of urgency, seen through him taking his time looking at a cat. gojo has what geto needs, but he's not rushing. their behaviour is incongruous; geto is hurrying to get out of the rain, and gojo remains still, because he’s absolutely not hurrying at all.
the sense of urgency is compounding, seen through geto bouncing his leg. he’s waiting impatiently in the rain, and he's not using his bag to cover up his head anymore. geto knows gojo is coming; that's why he's impatient— because he's waiting for someone who has what he needs that hasn’t shown up yet.
geto needs him, yet gojo doesn’t pick up the pace. this is despite the fact that he needs to because it’s raining and geto doesn’t have an umbrella. we, as the audience, feel geto's impatience and we're urging gojo on, yet he still doesn't go any faster.
sharing an umbrella is an established trope in japan. it’s widely recognized and practiced enough to have its own designated terminology.
gojo is bringing an umbrella for them to share. that's why it’s repeatedly reinforced to the audience that geto doesn't have one. that’s also why the shots cut between them; it highlights what gojo has that geto doesn’t, and in doing so, ties the narrative together through the umbrella.
by the time gojo finally shows up, the sun has come out. gojo lowers the umbrella and smiles sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. contrarily, geto almost seems resigned, like he’s accepted the fact that gojo took too long. they can’t share the umbrella anymore because they missed their chance to use it.
we can see that geto is saying something to gojo when he finally shows up with the umbrella. you know what i would bet actual money it probably was?
Hidden Inventory is Satoru’s memory of his high school days with Suguru, and what had all went wrong.
So why is Suguru the one narrating it??
“Things were busy that summer. Cursed spirits were springing up like maggots.”
“Satoru had become the strongest.”
“I hate monkeys. That’s the true feeling I chose.”
It was all Suguru’s thoughts. But it’s supposed to be Satoru’s perspective?
My theory—Satoru was remembering Suguru telling him his side of the story. At some point during the 10 years Suguru was a curse user, they met and talked. I just don’t believe with how close they were, Satoru never tried getting Suguru back multiple times. He could have found Suguru (because we all know how easy it is for him to sense him) and questioned him more. Suguru could have told him his point of view.
Or, maybe, Satoru imagined what Suguru was thinking. He realized too late Suguru’s spiraling thoughts and now it’s imprinted in his memories, a reminder of how he failed to recognize that he was losing it.
Songs4u by Cuco (2017) is the Most Satosugu Album in Existence...
I wanna be your one and only / If something just ain't right, it will be because you left / I waited way too long to say a thing / Ghost of my past haunts my present / He said I′ll be gone before you know / look at my baby shining eyes / Been searching for a light to guide my soul tonight / The bridge between winter and summer seems like a bummer / I hope that I can catch up to you in the end / Say a thing or talk to me, but don′t try to convince me I should stay / Figured that I'd best be gone if I couldn't find a purpose with my ways / Swear I want to be alone until the day I die as of now / But who knows, maybe you and I will grow old in another life
It's not just the lyrics, it's the hazy, reverberating tones running through the whole album, imparting a dreamlike nostalgia where each moment of recollection bleeds into all the others in a saturated wash of emotion. It flows non-linearly between moments of hopeful infatuation, grief and heartbreak, longing for connection, blossoming affection, memorium for a deep love, and the descent into endless sorrow.
The ache of lost love permeates through every recollection of youthful optimism, and deep-seeded fondness is the unavoidable root of every bit of dulled regret. At moments, the barriers between the longing of the past and the loss of the present seem to blur together, and every unsure, hopeless emotion can be felt at once. It's an endless blue spring, three years of youth, and 10 years passed all at once.
Take a moment to listen through this short album (its runtime is just over 30 mins), and follow along with the condensed lyrics, and accompanying quotes for each song, under the cut.
One and Only
"My best friend did, my one and only."
Girl, I wanna be your one and only
I wanna be more than just a homie
I hope that you wanna get to know me
Baby, hit me up if you get lonely
Show me what you want ′cause I know I want you
I know I'm not confused, my feelings here are true
I hope you think of me the way I think of you
On gloomy days like these, wishing you were next to me
When I′m feeling puzzled, girl, you put me back together
And if never is forever, then let's always be together
If something just ain't right, it will be because you left
So let′s make this life our best, I′ll take care of all the rest
I hope you know you're my desire
I hope you know you′re the one
I hope you know that I think about you when I see the sun
Winter's Ballad
"Just a little tired from the summer heat. It's not a problem."
Due to my frustration
I waited way too long to say a thing
Sure I accept that I was sad, so I guess now it′s not so bad
I lost the memories deep inside my head
Show me that tonight I'm only yours and no one else′s
Too blind to see sometimes that you're the one
Now I see you're everything or just maybe my nothing
They say that nothing lasts forever
My bed was meant for two, and now I′m missing only you
Or was this spot reserved for no one more
My lonely days are here, I don′t think I see you here
I wish that I could sleep until forever
I don't think it′s hard, just to tell me that you love me
But you're far away from here and have my heart
So shoot me with the bow that cupid′s quiver has one more
The last time I might get to fall in love
We Had to End It
"If you want to kill me, kill me. There's meaning in that too."
Me and my lover came to an end
I didn't want that
But I guess she did
Sleepless nights have only begun
Swear I thought she was the one
The girl of my dreams
All my nightmares came to ruin my life
Mercy had no time
And time had no mercy on me
I felt so dumb thinking one day you could be my wife
Never thought you would lie
When you said you loved me
Nothing can bring me back to life
After you left me to die
On a road far away
Love and lies shine so bright
'Cause they both made me blind
And I crashed as I looked away
Ghost of my past haunts my present
As there he welcomed
My agony and pain
He said I′ll be gone before you know
Just finish this song
And you'll be where you belong
Neon Baby
"We're the strongest."
Me and her ′til night, look at my baby shining eyes
Look at her highlight shining brighter than bright skies
Under common hopes, I hope you could get to know
The green lights showed the unknowns
So exploring we should go
Notice maybe
Neon baby
You could sway me
Being wavy
Neon city baby
Neon city baby
Maybe you could sway me
Maybe you could sway me
Neon baby in her neon city
Neon baby in her neon city
I've been looking for you and your absence was made clear
I don′t even know you, but I know I want you here
Pink cars take us far, just if you know who you are
Dressed up like a star, you were staying after dark
Stay for a Bit
"Suguru. --- ---"
"You should at least curse me at the end."
Try to make it right
I wanna make you mine
Let′s hope that things go well tonight
Try to make it right
I wanna make you mine
Let's hope that things go well tonight
Save me a seat next to you
Let′s go out and find
The sky is yours tonight
I know you've been wonderin' where I went
Been searching for a light to guide my soul tonight
The city wants us to know, things we need alright
If maybe you were mine, if maybe you were mine
Hoping my presence would be clear
The question I've been holding is if you wanna go on a date
City lights ignite the path to you
I don′t know if you meant to come my way but I hope you are
Swear its just too real to be true
I can't tell if you′re real
Cause in my dreams I was messin' with you
Night Night is your canvas
Give it many colors
You′re just like no other
You could be my lover
Treasure hunting pleasures
But I've found my treasure
Stay here for awhile
Will you stay for a bit? Or Forever
Lava Lamp
"He was my best friend. But we fought, and it's been like this ever since."
Someone′s out there waiting for me
I have to find her and tell her that I love her
Someone's out there waiting for me
I have to find her and tell her that I love her
You′re a million miles away
The bridge between winter and summer
Seems like a bummer but it's worth the wait
And I know you'll shine the way
With your lava lamp, lava lamp
In the middle of your room
From my window I could see
Bright blue light was shining deep
Like the sea on New Year′s Eve
Wishing you were next to me
Yesterday in L.A.
It was sunny but it rained
In my room (in my room)
When I wrote a song for
If only you′d hold me
And I wasn't one billion miles away
If only you′d hold me
And I wasn't one billion miles away
Rest Easy, I'll See You Again
"I have to catch up"
Did you see who you wanted to see?
Did you say the things you wanted to say?
Or did you sell, and it just went away?
Pull me in, is it just too late?
I′ll never see you again
I hope that I can catch up to you in the end
Lost / Heart
"This is the life I've chosen. All I can do now is give it all I've got."
Help me I′m looking for my heart again
Is it gone
I don't want to wake up to this again
In my mind
Say a thing or talk to me
But don′t try to convince me I should stay
Figured that I'd best be gone
If I couldn't find a purpose with my ways
Don′t apologize
Don′t come and cry
You had your chances right
But instead you left me crying every night
Lost in my thoughts
Losing myself
The weight of pain has sunk me down the drain
Memories inside of me
The tears are running out
Swear I want to be alone
Until the day I die as of now
Never close to feeling comfortable
You find to be so kind
Always left my heart at home
So close, but I found mine
But who knows
Maybe you and I
Will grow old in another life
I've Left My Body and I Don't Want to Come Back
"If you'd like to return to who you once were, go south."
You know (tw for s*icidal themes regarding character, not real person), I think Satoru always knew he was a dead man walking after Suguru died.
We meet him after it’s happened in the first season of JJK. He’s flippant, has no regard for his own safety, and focuses mostly on protecting and nurturing his students. He’s selfless. And yes, it’s out of kindness and the trauma he experienced as a teenager, but I think it’s also because he simply has no reason to care about whether he lives or dies anymore. His goal was to teach the next generation to be strong and smart, to protect their youth.
He’d seen his future with Suguru. I feel like that’s relatable to us—when we’re young, we picture the people we care about most in our lives forever. Going to their weddings, raising our kids to be friends, etc.
It isn’t far-fetched to say Satoru also saw Suguru in his future, by his side. So when that was taken from him, when Suguru died and that became a complete impossibility, Satoru gave up on having a future on his own.
His whole life he was treated like either a weapon or a monster. He got used to it, but he was never allowed to just be a person. He was tired. The one person who understood him and protected his weak points was gone. He was alone.
He only made it a year without Suguru.
And when he went into that fight, I think he knew he was going to lose. He chose December 24th for a reason—to die the same day Suguru did. He knew he’d been on borrowed time.
He was finally able to go all-out in his fight against Sukuna.
And he died with a smile on his face because finally he was set free. No more responsibilities, no more expectations, no more mistreatment. He could be with Suguru, and his duties that he had no choice in assuming were taken from him.
So a few people have talked about how Satoru’s eyes are a place of vulnerability for him (the windows to the soul and whatnot), and one of the reasons why his eyes are always covered is so that everyone around him (and us, the audience) can’t see him in a vulnerable state.
Even when Kenjaku had him ensnared in the Prison Realm, there’s a frame where his eyes are strategically blocked. Same thing happened before he killed Suguru. His eyes were just out of frame. He was breaking on the inside and when he’s really vulnerable, the only one to see it is Suguru.
1. He only gets that way when Suguru is involved
2. He only feels comfortable enough to get that way when Suguru (or even just an echo of him, his body) is around
And I just realized rewatching that scene in Okinawa (S2, Ep3, 7:17 timestamp) when Suguru is telling Satoru about how he knows he hasn’t slept or rested his technique, and that it isn’t good for him, Suguru is meeting his eyes from the side. Not through the glasses. Genuinely looking straight into his eyes.
And just, the expression Satoru has on. It’s so vulnerable.
There’s something so poetic about the fact that the only person he ever lets see him in a vulnerable state is Suguru.
I don’t know how to word it, but I don’t think this is a conscious decision on his part. His walls just come down around Suguru—no, actually, they don’t apply to Suguru at all. He feels no need to defend his weak points against Suguru, because he knows Suguru can see them anyway.
There’s so much love weaved into the very fibers of this dynamic :(
OKAY. I’m an “I love you” truther when it comes to what Satoru said to Suguru as his last words. It would work in both Japanese and English as three syllables. (大好き “daisuki” is what I think it is, but it could still be 愛してる “aishiteru” simply bc both work with Satoru’s lip movement).
But, in spirit of playing devil’s advocate, I have something else that works.
“I’m sorry.”
In Japanese, the way he would have said it for it to fit would have been a very informal way one uses with close friends/family/significant others.
ごめんね “gomenne”.
I watched the scene in the movie back and the lip movement matches so well.
It would work with the context of the light novel, and Suguru’s reaction too. Something that had never been said before, something that made him blush. Satoru never said “I’m sorry”. He would say “my bad” or “you’re not at fault”, but never “I’m sorry.” The weight of him saying that, of him taking the blame for everything that happened in Suguru’s final moments would cause Suguru to get flustered and feel self-conscious.
Oh god. Okay. In Season 2, Episode 3 during that beautiful piano compilation in Okinawa (timestamps 8:05-8:11 for exact reference), Satoru and Suguru are walking through a field of hydrangeas. I know how detailed MAPPA is with flower symbolism so I figured I should look into it. I have no clue if someone already did and said this but I just want to point this out.
According to Japanese legend, there is a story about an emperor who apologized to his beloved with hydrangeas for neglecting her by being so busy with work. As such, hydrangeas have an association with love, sincere emotion, regret, and apology.
Through my SatoSugu meta lense, I believe it symbolizes the regret both of them felt towards not being able to give their relationship more attention. Apology towards each other, for having no choice but to focus on sorcery work instead of the love they have for each other.
