hontou ni Stripey Insists Sisters Cry Oniichan Now

Twin sister's Cryin' identity crisis in the Yuri Triangle

I'm still megas confused about whether Shuri is really Shuri or Yukari. Some viewers might think that it's pretty clear; I will attempt to show that it is not. Others might mark down the show due to their confusion; I think the mystery is an enjoyable one. Some may not care either way; I think it is an important development for the plot and two major supporting characters.

Some of my tl;dr thoughts on the twins identity conundrum as I watched (and rewatched) Episodes 6 and 7:

I trawled the Asura Cryin' entries in AnimeNano but it seems that only Aroduc had any kind of sustained discussion of the issue. I shared his contention, based on Eps 5 and 6, that:

Shuri is in fact her twin sister, Yukari, while Shuri appears to be Susigihara’s projection and the core of her Asura Machine, Shirogane.

In Episode 5, I reasoned that the Yukari personality emerged involuntarily due to amnesia. As such, it's unlikely to be some kind of act. I had thought that Shuri's gasp of 'Shuri-nee-san...' during her confrontation with Shirogane (and where she revealed she had become a burial doll herself) was solid proof that Shuri was really Yukari.

But having seen Ep 7, I'm not sure anymore. If she was deluded and was being consistent in her delusion, that's what she would say, isn't it? Likewise, Aroduc also retreated from his earlier view:

You [eureka moment as to why Chihiro has gone with "Yoh" instead] thinks she saved Yukari, Shuri thinks that she’s Yukari, but neither of them has yet to make a compelling case for me to care one way or the other about who is who.

But he goes on, in his inimitably grumpy old curmudgeon way, to say that he doesn't give a hoot either way:

Maybe the real Shuri ate babies and that’s why it’s important that everybody wants to make sure that they are/saved Yukari.

At the very least, the whole issue of whether Shuri (based on how Tomo, the main chara, addresses her) is Shuri or Yukari has poisoned her relationship with Yoh.

Obviously the issue still rankles after three years.

Three years since the sweet-bitter reunion in the church via a flashback in Ep 7. The roots of the confusion can be traced back even further.

In an earlier flashback, when the twins talked to Yoh about Yukari's acting career, we were shown how the twins liked to switch places. And that Yoh was able to tell them apart.

It's also quite clear that Yukari has, to say the least, a huge crush on Yoh. Excuse me if all this stuff about livin' together doesn't sound oh so romantic. And a euphemism like how Mai and Sayuri went overseas to study together. Or how Anna Karauchi wanted to elope with Izumi Sawatari to the Netherlands.

But from the letter, in Ep 6, it seems that Shuri had a severe case of Oneesama Akogare too. As Yoh said teasingly: 'Shuri was so cute in middle school.' If the Rocket Girl Shuri that we know and love is indeed Yukari, not only would she resent Yoh for taking away her twin sister when she made her into a burial doll, there's also another angle where she felt Yoh had chosen to be Shuri rather than Yukari. And then rubbed salt into the wound by refusing to acknowledge it. Gah, it tastes bitter.

My mind steamed somewhat though at this scene. If Shuri was really Yukari, why would she be embarrassed by a letter written by Shuri to Yoh? Again, the consistent delusion hypothesis comes in. Or it could be that Yukari would be mortified on behalf of Shuri for having something so embarrassing come to light especially since Shuri had worked hard to show herself as not having the hots for Yoh (and supporting Yukari's obvious hawts for the blonde, blue-eyed bishie girl).

The above scene in Ep 7 just threw my conclusions up into the air again. Yoh's Projection Being is wearing the same clothes (pointed out by The Phantom in Aroduc's Ep 7 comment thread) as the characteristically soft-spoken and mild-mannered Yukari from the airpot and flight.

But there's a catch. In fact there's two. Or three. First, as we've seen from Misao, projection beings can change their clothes. Second, Yoh cannot actually talk to his projection being. There's no way even for the handler to tell for sure. (Third point later.)

Third point is also related to the inconclusiveness of clothes. Yoh found the twins. She first checked Shuri who has no pulse. And then Yukari moaned - indicating that she was still alive. Yoh then used her trunk to make Yukari into a burial doll. Therefore Yukari is in Shirogane and Shuri is really a deluded Shuri for thinking that she is Yukari.

??????? The one who wakes up at the base of the big shiny tree, called by the projection being of Natsume Tomoharu's enigmatic elder brother Naotaka (who looks and sounds like Takatsuki Kanade - another mystery!) and then subsequently saved by the Royal Dark Society (with the incorporation of those awesome missile arms and legs) is dressed like Yukari - who was supposed to have been incorporated into Shirogane (though this could have been a production error or oversight). DUN. So Rocket Girl Shuri really is Yukari just like she claimed she was?

The hypothesis I'm using now to try and reconcile all these conflicting observations is: Shuri and Yukari had already switched and were acting as the other sister at the airport. Maybe something that Shuri suggested to help to calm Yukari's nervousness prior to her big meeting with the foreign director, as we've seen, it's a favourite game of the two and something that helps boost Yukari's acting professionalism. Later on the plane, 'Shuri' observed that Yoh wasn't herself and was desperately trying to act normal. Aside from her glumness, I'm guessing that the giveaway was that, with the death of her father weighing on her, Yoh was unable to see through the sisters' double act. Which was then picked up as a sign of Yoh not being her good ole self. Something that comes to have consequences in the aftermath of the crash and then painfully revisited in the church. Makes sense? So based on this I'm going to stick my neck out to say that Shuri is really Yukari. Also guessing that, at some point, this will become clear, Yoh will realize she was mistaken and this will have plot consequences, like changing sides or letting the protagonists get away or something. I hope.

I'm probably reading too much into all of this. But, hey, luring me to indulge all this speculation is one of the reasons why I'm enjoying this series.

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And a note on Misao, still my favourite chara of this series:

Misao, the real companion of Justice in this series.

Man, there's just something so cool about how Misao fades out and into Kurogane.

Misao poke Tomo FTW.

Related posts:

1. Shuri arc stabilizes Asura Cryin'
2. Favourite anime twin sisters
3. Asura Cryin EX016