What if Sigma is The Book?
(Spoilers up until chapter 103 of the manga)
Alright, so I’ve been mulling over this idea since freaking March and I figured I’d finally share it.
I have an alternate idea of Sigma’s origins than what we have been told from Fyodor in the manga, and though it may sound a bit odd, I believe that this would actually make a lot of sense.
This post includes why I believe Sigma may be the actual Book itself that has been transformed into a human.
Why I Think Sigma is The Book
1. Memories
We know Sigma has no memories of his life prior to when he was ‘born’ three years ago. While the explanation that ‘of course he would have no memories, he is a made up person someone wrote into The Book’, does make complete sense, it could also be plausible that the real reason Sigma has no memories, is because The Book (him, before being transformed into a person) was mostly, if not completely blank.
Metaphors about a person’s life being their ‘story’ are made all of the time. Every new experience and thought a person acquires throughout their life is written down chronologically and over time, forms the story of their life.
For Sigma, each of those empty pages in The Book become an emptiness inside of him. A place where memories and experiences should be, but aren’t. He’s a completed book with no content. An adult with no memories.
Dazai actually furthers this ‘storybook’ metaphor during his conversation with Fyodor in volume 18.
“It’s like, he’s a book that starts in the middle.”
(Dazai speaking about Sigma in the official english translation of volume 18)
2. Being Used
Sigma and The Book share a parallel experience of being used by others to further their personal agendas.
Throughout his entire three years of consciousness, Sigma was manipulated by everyone he ever encountered, which is something he is aware of, as he states in this manga panel:
Likewise, The Book is desired for the exact same reasons, to be used by others for their benefit. So far in the story, we have seen multiple people fighting over The Book, as if they have some sort of right to it. As if The Book and the power it holds is up for grabs on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis. People feel entitled to it. And the only thing stopping them is the others who also want The Book.
Sigma is treated in a strikingly similar way to this. He’s treated as an afterthought. As just a vessel his ability can be utilized through at the hands of others. His slavers thought so, and it seems that at least in Sigma’s eyes, Fyodor, Nikolai, and Dazai think of him this way as well.
Even right now, it feels as though Dazai and Fyodor are fighting over Sigma, just like they are fighting over The Book.
Because of this parallel in the narrative, I personally would find it rather fitting if Sigma is actually just The Book transformed into a human, rather than a product of it.
3. Ability
Sigma’s ability allows him to receive the information he most wants to know from his target, and in exchange, give the information his target most wants to know.
This ability is incredibly odd in its nature, as it seems fairly disadvantaged to its user. Few other ability users have such a high drawback to their abilities, abilities typically seem to solely benefit their user.
I also find it quite interesting that the nature of Sigma’s ability works very similarly to how The Book itself operates. This idea of an ‘equal exchange’ where both The Book, and the person who writes in it, need to put in effort in order for reality to change.
During A Sunday Tragedy, the DoA had to use their own means to get the ADA to the building where the hostages were being held. Only then did The Page come into effect, switching the ADA with the terrorists under the white hoods, and altering their memories. It would have been much easier if the magic book teleported the ADA where the DoA needed them, but that’s not how The Book works. An effort made by the person who writes in The Book is one of the conditions that needs to be met in order for The Book to work.
So, this ability of information exchange makes perfect sense if Sigma is the human-form of The book itself. As a human being, Sigma is bound by the laws of nature and physics. Unlike The Book, which has the power to conjure floating casinos from nothing, Sigma in his human-form can only offer what he already has at hand (that being any knowledge he has learned).
4. Volume 18 Manga Cover
The manga cover of volume 18 features Sigma front and centre, one hand on the opened pages of what is most likely ‘The Book’ and the other hand around his right eye.
To me, it almost feels like the hand around his eye is symbolizing that Sigma is the ‘eyes’ of The Book. That he is the link between The Book and the outside world.
Also, the way his hand is placed over the open pages could possibly be read as a protective gesture. Like how one would cover their vital points, or wounds, to protect themselves from harm.
If Sigma is The Book in human form, then this image could be alluding to that. Sigma as a human is able to interact with the world, he can see, hear, and think. The presence of The Book could represent his soul, his heart, and brain. It’s his core he needs to protect.
Atsushi and Sigma
So far, Atsushi has been sought after because he is supposedly the guide to The Book’s location. This ties Atsushi and The Book in a thematic sense.
Atsushi is the main character, and as Sigma seems to be quite important in this arc, so it would make sense to tie his story to the main character.
We already had an interaction between the two of them, where Atsushi was trying to save Sigma from falling off of the Sky Casino. And their brief interaction happens to be one of, if not, the only positive interaction Sigma has ever had with another person, where he had not felt as though he was being manipulated. Yes, Atsushi wanted Sigma to tell him where the page was, but he was very open and honest about that being his goal, he wasn’t trying to trick Sigma into helping him like others have.
If Atsushi and Sigma are going to be brought back together, then I think a reveal that Sigma is actually The Book itself would make a lot of sense. It would verify that whole idea that for some reason, Atsushi’s tiger is perfect for locating The Book. And since both Sigma and The Book are sought after and exploited for their power, having Atsushi stand up for/protect Sigma from this abuse while simultaneously offering him a sense of belonging would help tie up both Sigma’s character arc and the hunt for The Book all at once.
Atsushi feels for Sigma because he sees a bit of himself reflected in him, and since The Book is so important in this series, personifying it through Sigma would be perfect, as it would then extend Atsushi’s sympathies for Sigma to The Book as well.
Right now, Atsushi really doesn’t care about The Book at all. All he wants is to be left alone. He’s only caught up in this whole mess with The Book because people who want it think he can help them get it. He’s an unwilling participant in this whole exchange.
The Book is of interest to Atsushi only because the DoA wants to use it to destroy the world. But Atsushi has no connection to The Book itself past this. He’ll work to keep it away from those who want to use it to protect the world he lives in from changing, but that’s all.
So personally, I think having a reveal that Sigma is The Book would be really cool for Atsushi’s character. He can choose to protect The Book because of his personal connection to Sigma and a desire to protect Sigma from harm and abuse.
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Alright, that’s all I’ve got. Well… Not technically… I’ve been trying to write out this idea for literal months now but for some reason my brain just doesn’t want to?? I’ve cut around 8-9k words from this. I think the reason I’ve struggled so much with this post is because most of the points I make could easily also be supportive of Sigma being born from The Book like cannon suggests. So by supporting the idea that Sigma is The Book, I am also simultaneously providing support that could be interpreted as Sigma being born from The Book.
So I’ve tried to make this post as bare bones as possible, and it’s still a bit iffy. But hey, it’s just a fun idea I thought would make a cool reveal if it turned out to be true.
Anyways as always, please feel free to share your thoughts or ask questions about this theory or any others!
