「結び重ねる」

There are actually some stuff that can get lost in translation in Scarlet Nexus which are not necessary to know but could add more into your appreciation of the game.

The catchphrase for the game is 「結び重ねる、超脳力と絆」 which when translated is more or less “interweaving brain powers and bonds” but there are a couple of wordplays here:

Let’s start with the more obvious pun here, which is 超脳力. It is read in the same way as 超能力 which means “extrasensory/psychic abilities”, but the 能 (talent) part is replaced with 脳 (brain).

The second one has something to do with the first phrase of the catchphrase 「結び重ねる」 which means “interweaving”, with all the red strings motif going on in Scarlet Nexus (the game title is actually just a fancy way of saying that) too. In the game world/lore, character names are written in katakana instead of kanji and don’t really follow Japanese name conventions (i.e. Yuito Sumeragi instead of Sumeragi Yuito, last names that are not Japanese for some characters), but they, along with other things in the game, are obviously based on Japanese. Let me explain in the subsequent points.

One of the ways to write Yuito’s name is 結糸, though this is rather uncommon for boys (it looks kind of feminine as a name), so we can also go with 結人 which is the more common one. Either way, the first kanji in these names 結 makes up the 結び in 「結び重ねる」. Also, 結糸 as a name means roughly “connected threads”.

Phonetically, Kasane obviously refers to 重ねる which is read as “kasaneru” and means “overlapping” by itself.

I really went in without any expectations, this is honest, because I really didn’t know what to expect either, but now I’m highly invested. I just wish it wasn’t so... obscure? Overlooked? I’m not sure lol but in some ways it’s better I guess because it’s more peaceful for me to enjoy this way.