Li 11:59

(Long post warning)

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Not sure if the following are sane thoughts or madcap ramblings of someone who just impulsively reread the entirety of Hand Jumper. BUT I really dig the ostensible fish motif!

(This is an arowana; credit to the Smithsonian National Zoo)

Upon first reading Ep.104, I (fishbrained) greatly enjoyed the focus on a majestic silver arowana while Capt. Han was talking to the governor.

I sort of assumed arowana==Godling allusion because of their association with white throughout the comic (the eyes of the Lee family godling are white, the Hongsan Island godling is depicted as a glowy white humanoid sometimes, etc.), and because it’s what the on-screen conversation was about. On reread, I’m rather of the opinion that the silver arowana represents Captain Han.

The red goldfish is a recurring symbol for Sayeon, often highlighting themes of control and/power. When Samin’s instructions to Min are revealed in Ep.56 (Red and White), it’s illustrated by a goldfish in a shattered globe; Sayeon’s ‘free to do as she pleases’. This is seemingly a callback to Samin’s earlier analogy for raising her sister as along the lines of keeping goldfish in a too-small tank (can’t remember the episode, unfortunately). And in one of my favourite moments, Ep.13 (The Butcher), Sayeon expresses her feelings of powerlessness to Ryujin, directly calling herself a small fish in a big pond. There’s a very pretty accompanying visual as she laments how the impact she can have is nonexistent as a peace-card less, giftless low-level Abherrant. Side note, it’s funny to see pre-god complex Sayeon. Oh Sayeon, how you’ve grown…

Taken altogether (quite sure there were more instances than the three I happened to remember haha), the red goldfish is a pretty neat way of expressing certain dynamics in the comic. Who are you beholden to, who controls your world? What is the scope of your impact?

(Long post warning)

__

Not sure if the following are sane thoughts or madcap ramblings of someone who just impulsively reread the entirety of Hand Jumper. BUT I really dig the ostensible fish motif!

(This is an arowana; credit to the Smithsonian National Zoo)

Upon first reading Ep.104, I (fishbrained) greatly enjoyed the focus on a majestic silver arowana while Capt. Han was talking to the governor.

I sort of assumed arowana==Godling allusion because of their association with white throughout the comic (the eyes of the Lee family godling are white, the Hongsan Island godling is depicted as a glowy white humanoid sometimes, etc.), and because it’s what the on-screen conversation was about. On reread, I’m rather of the opinion that the silver arowana represents Captain Han.

The red goldfish is a recurring symbol for Sayeon, often highlighting themes of control and/power. When Samin’s instructions to Min are revealed in Ep.56 (Red and White), it’s illustrated by a goldfish in a shattered globe; Sayeon’s ‘free to do as she pleases’. This is seemingly a callback to Samin’s earlier analogy for raising her sister as along the lines of keeping goldfish in a too-small tank (can’t remember the episode, unfortunately). And in one of my favourite moments, Ep.13 (The Butcher), Sayeon expresses her feelings of powerlessness to Ryujin, directly calling herself a small fish in a big pond. There’s a very pretty accompanying visual as she laments how the impact she can have is nonexistent as a peace-card less, giftless low-level Abherrant. Side note, it’s funny to see pre-god complex Sayeon. Oh Sayeon, how you’ve grown…

Taken altogether (quite sure there were more instances than the three I happened to remember haha), the red goldfish is a pretty neat way of expressing certain dynamics in the comic. Who are you beholden to, who controls your world? What is the scope of your impact?