tashka sashka

She nan until I baka

Sorry, not sorry - I just remembered that I love Nanbaka :D

I love the entire cast of characters of the series, I don't particularly hate or dislike any of them, BUT I am really only suspicious of Uno for some reason. (INCLUDES ENDING SPOILERS)

I don't know exactly what makes Uno so suspicious to begin with - is the the fact that out of the main four we know the least about Uno? Is it the fact that I wasn't surprised about him killing Jyugo? Is it the fact that his tattoos remind me of a certain lightning man? Is it the fact that I am suspicious about what he hides behind his armbands? Is it because we don't really know his motives? Is it the mysterious anniversary illustration the author posted?

We know the overall details of Rock's and Nico's lives, and now we even know about Jyugo (the experiment baby). Rock was a rich kid in the US who was some sort of rebel, and years later he's not too fond of his previous status in life, and he can also see ghosts. V can even verify part of Rock's story, so Rock's not suspicious to me. Nico was just an exploited child in the US, who was experimented on, and who ran away from doctors who used needles and medicines. That boy does not seem to be the type to really hide his past either, he's like some sort of open book. The only big secret they hide is the murder thing and even then, for Rock and Nico it seems that the threat of imprisonment and later their friendship with Jyugo kept them in line. And it was surprising to think that those two would hurt Jyugo. And if you think about it, Rock and Nico's motivations to escape prison are the most tied to Jyugo. Rock's love for food came from his desire to share delicious meals with his close friends because of his time with Jyugo when they met. While Nico's fear of needles/medicine was his main motivation, he was also influenced by his time with Jyugo and his new desire to explore the world of Japanese media.

On the other hand, Uno is like a blank slate. We know he was in the underground gambling scene and that he's still a womanizer and hopeless guy, but those are pretty surface area things. His ability to read people is suspicious but it can be explained by his gambling addiction. We also know that Uno's THE most protective of Jyugo, and he's always looking out for Jyugo in more ways than just physically. Even knowing that they were lying to Jyugo, Uno still initiated the promise to help Jyugo gain his own motivation and to start a new life in Japan once they can leave prison. He was also the most angry at Hajime hurting Jyugo, even directly confronting Hajime who they have historically been scared of the most. It's strange to some degree, but that may just be the fact that I became suspicious of him since the chapter when we saw their morning routines. The author made a conscious decision to NOT show Uno's bare arms (them being covered with a black armband) and for some reason he's just been suspicious to me since then. We also don't know the origin of his tattoos either, and while they might not mean anything, they remind me of Mushashi's tattoos. Mushashi's tattoos ended up meaning something (related to his time in other prisons and when he met Ikkaku), so I think perhaps Uno's tattoos could also have some sort of meaning. There's something in this mess of details... at least I hope so.

Again, we know nothing of Uno's past. And that paired with his strong desire to protect Jyugo, it makes me wonder what is truly Uno's motivation. Then on top of all that, the anniversary art! The author posted it somewhere, and it's this ominous portrait of Uno wearing a suit with his hair down. He looks very serious, but he's usually a cheery guy so it's just so out of character to me. Uno is also always in his prison outfit with his hair in a ponytail, so seeing him in a suit with his hair down is strange too. It's like a depiction of the opposite of what we know of Uno. I like the art, but it just leaves me wondering what the intentions of the art were. Was it something the author just wanted to draw for the anniversary (it was the 11th anniversary) or was it a hint at who Uno truly is? Like I can't help but think that Uno has been holding back a lot about who he truly is.

Someone also had a theory that Uno was possibly a soldier at some point and in my mind I didn't question it, I was like "Yeah, he seems the type." Like clockwork, I repeat my feelings of suspicion against Uno. I also wasn't surprised by the idea of Uno killing Jyugo, even knowing of how protective Uno was of Jyugo. I get the feeling that Jyugo was in some way betrayed by Uno, which would be in-character for Uno (a sneaky bastard) and would explain why Uno may be the most protective (out of guilt perhaps). I see Nico and Rock accidentally causing or being part of the events that killed Jyugo, but Uno seems like possibly the only active player in Jyugo's demise (from my POV in which I interpret all of Uno's actions with suspicion).

chapter 340 drives me crazy on this bc after c13 confirms that they'll go to japan if they win the butoukai, uno says this–

highly likely that they know some amount of japanese already bc we see them reading signs often enough, and uno just wants to perfect it.

BUT. in the same chapter. slightly above. this happens–

it's a pun that ONLY works in japanese.

not something to think too hard abt obvs the world bends for the sake of a harmless joke. but i had fun coming up with in-universe explanations for this. such as—

They're speaking english here and c13 genuinely has no idea why jyugo is suddenly talking about grapes

Nanba prison has developed an insane melting pot dialect unique to this island, of all the majority languages here

THE LOCKED TOMB PERSONALITY QUIZ OF ALL TIME

TOOK US A WHOLE YEAR TO MAKE

INTRIGUING AND ORIGINAL QUESTIONS

SHITTY DRAWINGS AT THE END

DETAILED RESULTS DESCRIPTIONS