#shin analysis

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Spoilers for the whole game of YTTD,be warned

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Hello everyone, I wanted to try something new today so here is a full analysis of all the symbolism and meaning behind Shin Tsukimi’s character design.

First of all, before we even get to the design: his name..well.both his names. In Japanese Kanji, Shin (真) means truth, genuineness while Sou (操) can mean manipulate, control. I also saw many people saying that arranging it for “Uso” makes it mean lie. Both of his names are perfect representations of who he is VS who he wants to seem like. The persona he puts on to survive, is a mean-spirited, lying manipulator, while in reality he is a kind, truthful individual who isn't anything like he showed the other participants during the game.

Now let's analyze his color palette using the meaning of color in Japanese culture (disclaimer: I am not Japanese and this is all Google research and is purely for fun, I don't claim anything I say here as the truth going forward. I'm just trying to make fun links and over analyze a character I love).

His hair: Teal

In Japanese tradition, Teal is doesn't have an actual meaning so I'll get straight to the other colors.

His beanie: green

Green is a lucky color in Japan, it symbolizes growth, youthfulness and vitality. This color is found in his beanie, mostly hidden in the back of his head. Something I find interesting is that during chapter 3, when we find Shin passed out on the floor of his bedroom, he doesn't have his beanie on, he doesn't have it and gets into an unlucky situation. I think that's a fun little coincidence (or was it actually on purpose?). Now we could say “Oh but he still has it during his execution so it doesn't really represent luck, but I think it does. He wanted to be voted off to protect Kanna so it might seem unlucky to die, but for him it might have been the best course of action and what he really wanted.

His scarf: red

Red can mean quite a few things, including self-sacrifice and blood. To note that the red is only around his neck. We know that he did try to self-sacrifice, even if he never outright says it/ tells Kanna that sacrificing herself is stupid. No matter the route the meaning works, he'll either self-sacrifice and blood will be shed or someone else (Kanna) will self sacrifice and blood will be shed. No matter what route those themes are directly related to Shin, ‘holding him by the neck’ (get it..because it's his scarf? Haha I'm so funny) yet the decision isn't his in the end.

His jacket: blue

For the color blue I found out that in Kabuki theater, evil characters are marked with blue color. I think that this being one of the most prominent colors is interesting since he is the antagonistic character of the participant group. He is seen as evil by almost everyone there.

Now that most of the important colors are done, onto the meaning of the accessories.

The scarf:

In my simple opinion, I think the scarf is meant to literally represent the cover he puts on as Sou Hiyori. I think this is better explained by looking at his sprites, most of the time when we see his neck (so his scarf is down) it's in the moments where he is more emotional/vulnerable. And when he acts all evil it's then that his scarf covers half of his face, representing the facade being put on even more.

The key necklace:

A key can mean knowledge and success. We know that with the help of his first trial, Shin has a lot of knowledge, but that he keeps said knowledge hidden away, shown by the key being hidden behind his scarf. He has a lot of knowledge as far as the game goes but decides to hide it, for an advantage of simply for safety, since his whole way of surviving is giving up himself and the 0.0% survival rate.