stories from the stars of the sea

Olly's sets a very neutral tone, as if to indicate how he begins as a clean slate. He's shown holding himself (in non-humanized form), but the way his hands are folded (heheh) over each other makes it look almost like a guarded gesture, in the same way one might hold their hands over their heart to show their passion for something. He's being crowned, presumably by the Craftsman, as a parallel to how he was created into the role of a king. And of course, my little experience in translating Japanese lends me the knowledge that the words "origami king" are written where the crown is, as if the crown itself carries the "king identity" that Olly is born to become.

Meanwhile, Olivia's piece is much more emotional, seen clearly from both the vibrant shade of purple used to set the tone, and the pained expression/tears drawn on her face. She's clasping her hands in desperation as she makes her final wish on the crane handed to her by her brother. And speaking of the crane, the wisps of paper surrounding Olly's hands are such a nice touch! Plus the way he's almost translucent to show how he's passing on as he gives Olivia the power of the 1,000 cranes technique ("senbazuru" I think).

When viewed together, the parallels are astounding! The way the top third of both pieces shows them being given something, a crown and a crane. With the game's plot in mind, both items can be synonymous to a burden, they're both symbols of unfortunate events to come, so the visual link works really well. Disregarding the context of the scenes for a second, the way the siblings are characterized in the art seems to also emphasize their overall personality differences, with Olly showing significantly less emotion than Olivia, who's more expressive. Also, Olly seems to be wearing a yellow brooch, while Olivia wears a purple bowtie, further cementing their connection to one another. Overall, the two pieces naturally complement each other, much like Olly and Olivia do.