Akane wasn't kept alive through 999 by some 'Deus Ex Machina'. She was literally Schrödinger's cat. Simultaneously both alive and dead, until Junpei either succeeds or fails the incinerator puzzle 9 years in the future. Young Akane didn't have a 'cunning' side. She wasn't deliberately acting cute to make Junpei drop his guard. She was _remembering_ what she had seen her future self do when she was watching through Junpei's eyes, and trying to repeat it. She couldn't be sure what dialogue was relevant to inspiring Junpei to save her, so she had to reproduce everything exactly how she remembered seeing it. Similarly, Akane didn't _choose_ to kill the Ninth Man. She had _seen_ the Ninth's Man's death through Junpei's eyes. She knew he had to die, at that moment, or she would die in the incinerator. Everything we see in 999 was a casual loop: Akane was not the source of any of the puzzles on the ship, she was merely recreating what she had seen Junpei solve, to create that experience for him.
I think the Shrödingers cat metaphor is also extremely intentional in the game. We don’t really know how she just phased out of the room until the final segment from her perspective, the one where her and Junpei save a cat from being killed by a group of children. Literally saving a cat from its death at the very last moment, like Junpei would do for her 9 years later. It’s also a big part of the philosophy and themes of VLR with its alternate timelines and game. So yeah, really beautiful writing from this series as always
she wasn't willing to kill people to save herself, she was just willing to let people think she was willing to kill them to save herself. the people who actually died though, those weren't to save herself at all, that was just for revenge. and sure, while ace's was the hand on the trigger for each of them, akane (and, perhaps to some extent, aoi) was the one aiming the gun.
@@gorimbaud She manipulated Ace into killing them. She knew what he was like through seeing many possible timelines and what buttons she could push to make him do so.
one of my favorite small things about akane is the fact that, given the circumstances in which it happens and what we know of her sense of humor, the Elevator Conversation in 999 was in retrospect _absolutely_ just her fucking with junpei for the hell of it
the thing about akane is that she's actually really funny, and a lot of the jokes she makes are absolutely just to fuck with the people around her. one of my favorites is in the engine room when santa starts telling junpei about his dead sister, and akane _immediately_ starts making jokes about her. definitely a scene that's funnier the second time, but god, akane's funny in a kind of mean way.
I think what made me love Akane so much is how completely and utterly she caught me off guard. Going into 999 blind, I fully believed she was going to be the sweet but ultimately forgettable love interest for Junpei, and I could NOT have been more wrong. I love her so much for that
I actually really liked seeing Akane in a non-puppet master role, and I ultimately appreciated how Zero Time Dilemma handled both her and Junpei. Seeing Akane in a setting where she had much less control than usual meant we got see her in a more vulnerable state, get behind the façade she had carefully crafted to both serve her aims and protect herself. It both revealed new things about her (like her religiosity) and brought both her simultaneously pure and innocent side AND her manipulative, ultra-pragmatic side out in full view. Though I will agree that her exaggerated rabbit-obsession was something of a case of Flanderization (ZTD sometimes really suffered from a lack of restraint, also seen with the overuse of the Blue Bird Lamentation song). On the other hand, while I've long viewed Zero III as a Discount Monokuma, your video did give me somewhat more appreciation for him, by bringing up the importance of his rabbit design.
That's fair and I can understand that opinion! I also feel the same where I've never been too keen on Zero III. Yet, once I learned about his ties to Akane and played through VLR again with my friend, he wasn't so bad, especially because he's not constantly in your face.
@KayJulers Zero III isn't so bad since he basically disappears entirely after the second chromatic doors. His dialogue is very front heavy so he kinda fades to the background when the plot gets going.
Zero Time Dilemma is a huge mess, but the ending that leads into Virtue's Last Reward, where Akane realizes that she failed, and mid-breakdown she denies herself the time to grieve and immediately starts planning how to fix it, that ending broke me and single-handedly justified the game existing.
Realizing after the credits roll that timeline still exists, where nothing got better and everyone in vlr was now fated to live the 45 years of tragedy that befell them fucking destroyed me. Despite the fact that the player characters succeeded, I somehow felt like we failed.
@@MiutheMage well, if it still comes to pass despite your succeeding, then it LITERALLY is a "Mission Failed Successfully" scenario. but look on the bright side, those next 45 years are going to be hell, but at least it confirms that there is an end to it.
@@MiutheMage I think something a lot of people forget is every timeline is real. He one were clover kills people with an axe, dio blows the place up sky high, the world is doomed, the world is saved. None are more real then the others. Which to me has always been one of the most important parts to zero/akane’s plan.
@@RandomPerson28337 I mean she does it all to save herself, get revenge on men who caused trauma/intended on murdering children, and intends to save the world in the future, I'd say that's pretty badass and rooting for her isn't that bad
@@Donirexian why would i root for a sociopath that has little regard for human life. Everything she did was out of selfish reasons and at the end of the day she doesnt care who she steps on to get what she wants. You really going support a person like that?
As I once put it to a friend of mine, who I was trying to encourage to play through 999, on the surface Junpei and Akane seem like a typical set of anime romantic partners. But then... by the end of the game, it becomes apparent that neither one is quite that.
That's not a bad way to sell it! I've luckily been able to convince about 5 friends to play through 999 (and they've all really enjoyed it!), but I'm always thinking about the best way to get them interested. Normally, I just give the quick premise and say it's better going in knowing as little as possible, but I like your angle!
@@polocatfanI mean why? They WANT to be together but their circumstances kept them apart. It wouldn’t make sense for no realities to have them together as it wouldn’t make sense for no reality to not have together
I think the Anthropic Principle chapter of Zero Time Dilemma perfectly showcases the tragedy of Akane's existence: She has to suffer through thousands of timelines (most of which probably from the dice game) just to get at one good ending at the end of ZTD. In the words of Delta: Life was simply unfair.
Thankfully, after they get rid of the mystery terrorist, she and Junpei can FINALLY enjoy themselves. Just imagine all the wholesome psychic stuff they can do like flirting via their mindlink and stuff. Or using some of the remaining Cradle Pharmaceutical investment money on their honeymoon.
I actually have a theory that the religious fanatic is actually one of the Myrmidons. It's a bit involved, but one piece of evidence I'll give for now is that Uchikoshi said, "Zero Time Dilemma will have you seeing Dio in a whole new light," and I don't think the reveal of the original Left being Phi's half-brother is quite what he had in mind...
@@EpicPaul64 Right, so Left isn't even related to Phi since she (and other versions of herself) were raised separately. One was raised by scientists and the current Phi was raised by that one.
I sincerely hope that everyone gets therapy after they catch the mystery terrorist. Akane has been through so much that she began to blend into countless timelines. After the end of the world is FINALLY prevented, she needs to be able to just enjoy her one single timeline and just exist as a person for a bit. I just want her, Junpei, Aoi, and everyone else to have a great life after being forced by the omniverse to solve timeloop after timeloop. She deserves a comfortable life with Junpei where they can communicate through the morphogenetic field for casual conversation and wholesomeness, not defying death.
What I love about akane is how complex she is, she ostracised the entirety of 999 and put a lot of people in danger yet she never intended to harm junpei and the others because she never put a bomb inside them except ace and 9, she even makes an entire facility in space in order to save human kind with her life on the line, a lot of people give her flack for behaviour in ZTD but honestly imo she acts pretty tame for the most part considering how much trauma she went through
Wait wait wait when did it say that she never put a bomb in Junpei and the others? Like, in a what if scenario if they failed they wouldn't die just Ace and 9?
Say what you will about Zero Time Dilemma, but Akane using back to the future to explain time travel parallel dimension theories is burned into my brain
Specifically her pointing out the stuff that movie does wrong, that bit will forever stay with me because it was the first time I heard my biggest gripe with the movie put into words.
I remember reading something like a fanfiction or maybe AU back in the day about 999. It took place in an alternate ending where Junpei needed to die for his memories to go to another timeline, but it ended up going wrong, really wrong, and Akane ended up holding a Knife to Junpei, her hands trembling and reluctance on her face. She wouldn't explain why, but she told Junpei that he needed to die. Of course there was a back and forth where Junpei tryed to talk her out of it. But then Akane goes silent for a bit before screaming out that she wished more than anything in the world that she didn't have to, that she would rather take her own life than ever have to take anyone elses. She wished that they both lived in a world where they could live together without any worries, just a peaceful and happy life. But that no matter how much they both wanted to live in a world like that together, it wasn't the one they were in. And it was because that they were in this world, that they both didn't get to have a happy ending. Junpei though, walked forward to her unflinchingly. He said he refused to accept that, no matter what world they were in, as long as they were both together anything would be possible. Junpei has a touching speech that makes you think she'll give up as tears stream down her face. But right in the middle of Junpei's speech, as he talks about them leaving the death game together, Akane stabs him in the chest. Junpei slowly dies in Akane's arms, dumb founded, as she cries her heart out, paralleling the timeline where Junpei holds the dieing Akane in his arms. She keeps apologizing again and again for everything she has done, will do, and could have done to him, him barely understanding any of it. Finally saying how much Junpei must hate her, before stating how she hates herself more than anyone else in the world, or any world. Hate for all of the horrible twisted things she knows she's willing and capable of doing. She's seen all of it, every single unforgivable act. She hates herself more than anyone else ever possibly could, and how much she wishes she were someone else, anyone else. But it's because of who she is, the person she knows she is, that she has to do all this, there is no alternative for her, that's why she hates herself more than anyone else. But Junpei, as the light starts to leave his eyes, puts his bloodied and to Akane's face and tells her that he could never hate her, or any version of her. No matter what she ever did to him he would always... And Junpei's hand falls to his side as both he and Akane vanish from the world.
Both Lucahjin and ProZD recently started walkthroughs of VLR, Joseph Anderson finished the series like half a year ago. It feels like a renaissance of ZE content for the first time since ZTD’s release.
I clicked on this video expecting her to get grilled, only to find myself being pleasantly surprised it's a character analysis video. This series means a lot to me, and I'm happy I watched this. I even learned a few things that I didn't pick up on whilst I played it.
It's so rewarding to finally see Akane have a happy life in the end of ZTD. I played the other games right before ZTD released, so I get to see through the stories one after the other.
She's not a heroine. She's closer to an antihero or maybe a villain. You can't judge her by heroine standards because (by the end) we know she isn't one.
oooooh, the enneagram explains so much about character similarities, I've always looked at the characters and felt a lot of them fit the same archetypes as the other games, knowing that they actually did makes a lot of sense
I like how I just yesterday watched all your videos about ZE and now you releasing new video about it. What a timing. Great job on other videos, they were awesome!
This series is seriously special. If there's one series I wish I could experience for the first time all over again, it's this one. 999 and VLR are honestly impeccable when it comes to writing.
It's kinda nuts how I was just recently recommended your ZE videos and literally just finished watching all of them today, and now you upload a brand new ZE video. I wasn't expecting this at all!
Glad I could offer a pleasant surprise! It's funny because I had planned an Akane analysis back in 2019 after the original 999 video, but I knew I wanted to cover the three games first before diving into specific characters. 4 years later and here we are.
Thank you so much for this video!!! This is what I’ve been looking for since I marathoned all of zero escape earlier this year. She’s such a complex character
See what I love about KayJulers as a TH-camr is that I can see a video title and so wildly disagree in my head right away, but after 30 minutes of well thought, articulated points- I think about things in a way I hadn't previously. Good job.
Absolutely love this video! I thoroughly recommend looking up the ztd art book and finding the scan of the pre-decision game story. It not only explains more of other's in the cast but akane as well! Thank you for making this brilliant video from a fellow akane fan.
This was a cool and interesting video with great insight into Akane's character. It also confirms a theory I have regarding Uchikoshi's other work, Nirvana Initiative. The character of Tokiko Shigure is a parallel to Akane. In fact I feel like Tokiko is what Akane would be if Akane didn't have stable relationships with her brother or Junpei. In NI Tokiko is a manipulative and mysterious, random fact spewing, crazy person who has insane almost convoluted plans. Tokiko is also detached from the world and besides her ideology has little care for the world.
wonderful video!!! akane is my fav character ever, and this video just made me so happy, you really did her justice! also i LOVE the music choices you used, they set the mood for each section really well!!
Akane, through trying to save a single life, many timelines were ruined, many people died and were manipulated, she knew what she was doing, she took eveything in consideration, atleast mostly...and yet it doesnt matter, because she lived in the singular good timeline, until the sequels
0:59 7:53 Peacemaker becomes the observer 8:35 Guard down from a peacemaker 9:35 Fever 16:08 Mastermind pretend peacemaker 20:20 Akane Life 22:34 Fire 24:43 America 25:09 Puppetmaster
I know this is spesifically about Akane, but I just wanted to say having finished Zero Time Dilemma today just how wild these characters are to stop, often right in the middle of a life threatening situation to discuss philosophy or tangential theoretical dilemmas. I don't know if it happened more in Zero Time Dilemma or the presentation of that game caused it to stand out more than it did during the previous escape room exploration, but it's seriously wild that these characters are actually dying and yet need to give a lengthy explanation on all the different probability calculations going into what's happening. Okay, with that rant over, I've loved being able to binge your videos on the topic, some really amazing deep dives into this series who's narrative is really mindbending.
I can't go past 999 for the sake of spoilers but man, that game was something else way back when I played it on the DS so being able to experience it again on the PS4 and play it was a great experience but to think about how deeply Akane's story runs is crazy to me. I gotta find the time to play the other two games.
Kayjulers, I can’t say enough about how amazing your content is! You bring so much joy, warmth, and authenticity to every single video, and it truly shows how much you care about your audience. Your creativity and storytelling keep me coming back for more, and I love how you always manage to make even the simplest moments feel special and engaging. You have this incredible ability to connect with people and build a sense of community that feels so genuine. Watching your videos feels like chatting with a friend who understands and uplifts, and it always brightens my day. Thank you for putting so much heart into everything you do and for being such an inspiration. Keep shining, because the positivity and passion you bring to your content mean more than you know!
Imagine being kidnapped and forced to play a killing game only to save her own life, and get forced to participate again years later because she threatens to kill your son. Junpei spended a lot of time of his life searching for her and she just hid. He would have gladly helped.
If there is anything Zero Escape teached me, is that you can use characters like Akane as perfect examples to understand if someone has a relevant opinion or not. Anyone calling her a "villain" needs to get out of middle school or read something that's not basic bitch in character writing. She is like the "living" example of how people, forced to take actions of questionable morality and result, will act in many different ways. A "villain" isn't someone forced into an experiment where she might die and through her child brain tries to survive.
When I first played 999 ten years ago and understood the twist I decided to stop playing rather than complete the final puzzle. I didn't want to fulfill the time loop that would allow her to exist in the first place.
Akane is simply a person. She moves toward godhood as she understands the steps necessary to continue her own existence, but she never stops feeling the emotional toll those steps take upon her. She is the worst heroine *because* she is the best heroine: She is the female lead any of us would be under the given circumstances.
I was genuinely convinced ZTD was some weird parallel universe and Akane looked and acted differently because it was a parallel universe timeline Akane along with Junpei. And all of this would be part of some big twist at the end. But then the game ended and color me surprised to learn that was not the case.
Fantastic video! It's been a long time since Zero Escape finished, but this video did a wonderful job at reminding me just how amazing a character Akane is.. when the series was active (as active as it could be) I regularly thought she was one of the best characters I'd ever seen and yeah, this video gave me memories of those moments in 999 and VLR that still hit so hard. I miss her :') sometimes I still wish we could get a ZTD remake which is just a little more fleshed out, with the solid presentation of the Somnium Files games... oh well
I feel the same way. I would love to see someone take ZTD and somehow convert it into a game with the same presentation as the rest of the series, but I could get down with the Somnium Files route, too. A conversion wouldn't fix every issue, but I do think it would do wonders.
yeah Somnium Files isnt the highest-budget game or anything, but thinking about how ZTD could have had animation and character models like that just a few years later.. it stings a little. It's also just ironic that the most recent ZE entry is the one I think would benefit most from a remake. maybe someday.
In 999 June/Akane is a very good written heroine if you play on 3ds especially. Cause on PC they cut out scene June and Junpei on hill with doll and put this scene in the end. In 3ds I loved June character at the end and it was very sad ending. In PC version there wasn't any June story at all until the end.
Your video was very interesting, I especially liked how it flowed between different aspects of Akane as a character. That being said, it has not altered my opinion on her in any way. BURN THE WITCH!
I didn't like how in the 3rd game they tried to waifu her and make her seem innocent. I adored how morally gray she was in the first game and how cruel she was in the second game. I don't think she is purely "evil" by the 2nd game and agree that she is complex. But is clearly in the wrong and needs to be stopped. I don't know, the 2nd game really felt like it was building up to going against her in some way, but the 3rd game really dropped the ball on it. I know it had to drop a lot of plot points due to development issues, but I just felt uneasy with how they handled her in the 3rd game while adoring her in the 1st and 2nd game.
I mean psychopath will always be psycho no matter how things are. The whole point of us seeing Akane in ZTD is that this is the only time in her life since her life/death in the incinerator that she is not in control of the situation. Her morphogenetic field she gain after her time on the titanic grant her the ability to see the future and other timeline event. She can use those knowledge to manipulate things such as asking her brother to buy stocks from Cradle Pharmaceutical to earn big money when they became big company to enrich themselves and gain funds for their nonary game. But in ZTD, she can't control anything. The outcome, plan, action and even the life of her loved one. She can't do anything about them at all. It was here that her personality clash. On one side her June personality, which was her true self that Junpei came to love. And her Zero personality, manipulative, cold and pragmatic.
Honestly I disagree, having watched back VLR's true ending didn't set up anything but Sigma and Phi possibly teaming up with Akane in the next game. Although her methods were incredibly in the grey area. With the stakes going on with the fate of the world and how we were able to see the results of something like radical 6. Having the requirements of needing people to go through a death game to save the world doesn't elicit a 'this is wrong and needs to be stopped' reaction from me. It's more of 'things are dire and regardless of the means certain actions to be done'. Which I think ZTD showed her character really well. We got back some of the 999 June that would still pop in some jokes or some wikipedia information out of her ass in the most inconvenient times, meanwhile when the VLR timeline occurs she immediately goes into action. Whether those actions are morally okay, she does it because she knows she needs to. Yet we got to see the one side of her being vulnerable which I appreciated.
@@ImArchiie yeah its all manner of opinion. I can see them try to retain her personality. But a lot of of it was the cat is out of the bag for her. So for the story to play her like that, idk it just didn't give me that impact compared to her other 2 counterparts. I guess its just the weakest of the three, for me.
@@cloudy4lockharty Completely fair, ZTD isn't exactly beloved for how it handles previous characters especially with how unprepared they all seem at some points. Just wish we could see more of VLR Akane since we didn't get as much time with her then.
I find it funny that fan's assessments of the characters ennegram types are COMPLETELY different to the ones Uchi intended. Personality database says Seven is a 9 and Akane is a 5 (which IMO fits a lot better)
I know this video isn't going to do well because Zero Escape isn't a well-known franchise and you probably knew that too. But I am very grateful that despite that you have created this gem about one of the most underrated games in history
I really don't like the third game, and part of that is Akane. Her going nuts after Junpei died (when he got dismembered) felt out of character to me because of how she always put her goals first. It felt strange that she'd compromise everything that she'd worked towards, no matter how much she cared for Junpei. I suppose it makes sense though with the amount of pressure on her at that time. Because even if this is part of her plan, even if it's something she's seen and planned for, this is probably one of the first times since she made it out of the first Nonary Game that she's not in control. She has a result she wants, and knows she'll get there, but there's a lot of suffering in between and a reconciliation to be had between her past and future.
Initially I thought she was inspired after Yubiseiharukana from Ever17 which was Uchikoshi's previous work. She was also a victim in the original event and the mastermind in the replicated event which was years later after the original event. The reason she made the replicated event was also similar, to save a person important to her (who was also in the original event with her) as well as revenge on the masterminds responsible for the original event.
If it truly was uchikoshi’s intention to make the worse heroine then uhh… he failed. Akane is An amazing heroine who was basically put into circumstances that forced her to manipulate her lover or others but we see deep down that she truly doesn’t want to hurt them, in 999 she only put the bombs in Ace and 9’s bracelets, but to make sure she survived, she HAD to do this, which I genuinely can’t fault her. Surviving something and punishing bad people is correct and her younger self was basically just making events she foreseen happen to make sure it happens. She’s still a bad person but a complex and amazing heroine. Like if someone like the main villain of Danganronpa was the main heroine then we could say he succeded
so glad to see another zero escape video from you! this was a great analysis. also, have you played the somnium files games and/or plan to make any videos on them? they're amazing and i wish more people would talk about them
3:06 Can someone explain me why every character (except Akane) is not in the same number of the eneagram as they were assigned to in the first nonary game? Till I saw that graph I was actually sure that their watchnumber made totally sense to their character😂
It's loosely mentioned at some points that some characters were given specific numbers in order to manipulate the game (Junpei having 1 and Santa and Akane "having" 3 and 6). Therefore, I think the personality and game numbers are different for the sake of the narrative.
The writer for this series (and others like Somnium) has a tendency to write the plot twist and the conclusion first, then write backwards from there. On many points it is enjoyable to follow, but some of the twists seem a little too fantastical and farfetched when you attempt to line it all up. When I played 999 so many years ago, I think that particular game was the easiest to follow out of its series. And I still get a mental pretzel trying to rationalize "multi-verse" branching supposedly affecting a single-branch (since typically the single branch would just be another of many and there shouldn't be any mind-shuffling), but it's fiction and we can just watch the show.
While Akane definetly can kill someone if she wants, i think that she uses killing just as a last resort kinda of situation. In 999 if think that the bombs was actually Santa's/Aoi's part of the plan, he feel's more "unhinged" and more likely to plan a murder for revenge. In VLR, while Akane had everybody infected, she also had the antidote available for everyone, and the killings came more from Dio anyway, so even if she knows that death is inevitable, she still tries to have a way out for everyone. And in ZTD, Akane killed Carlos with the chainsaw out of blind rage, considering her situation is easy to see that, she's not in control this time so she can't be fully herself, and she even deeply regrets right after she sees what she has done. It's evident in her character when in the mini AB game in ZTD, she immediately thinks of SHIFTING (again it's a last resort they have), Akane knows that in doing so she's actively throwing other versions to die. If she's was like Delta and couldn't SHIFT either and just have the ability to see the other timelines i would feel more bad for her, but i know she can, anyway the point is that she's still very conflicted because she's fine when it's her idea to sacrifice other versions of them (as a last resort), but right after that Junpei kinda has the same idea just executed differently, she gets all pissed off because she had to see him "die", and it just gets worse when they see it was pointless. So she's fine with death but only when it's a last option situation. The only bad part in all of this is that when SHIFTing, Akane doesn't mind much that she's essentially killing other versions of themselves, Imagine right before the room explodes the other Akane that was fine just arrives there, would she understand? I can totally see an "Akaneverse" all pissed at eachother if they could meet.
i don't think it's the case that she doesn't care. she knows and understands the consequences of killing someone fully but places her own biases and thoughts aside for a more objective conclusion. even if it does bother her, it's not something that would be more important than fulfilling a goal or mission. you can feel guilty about killing someone (or yourself) and know you have to go through with it anyway.
it's also the case that akane is right. there were multiple different ways of handling things better but junpei rushed right in. while his hand was forced, there definitely were other ways of doing what he needed and he chose the worst option. it's not his fault, inherently, but it makes sense she'd be upset.
I totally agree with the bombs being more of Aoi's plan. He's the more emotional of the two of them (his little speech about heat in Door 3 speaks to that; bro's not as good of an actor), so I could see him being more interested in revenge. Akane is much more focused on the end goal, with emotionalism being largely removed from her actions. If emotionalism wasn't removed, I doubt she could've brought her brother into a plot where he was bound to die in at least two timelines. (And just imagine that, really. Akane probably knew Clover was going to kill her and Aoi in the Axe ending, and yet she was able to keep up her act till the end. Imagine the guts it takes to look at your brother knowing he'll die, knowing you'll die, and keep playing the role of 'childhood friend')
Gonna be honest I hadn't heard the quote the title is based on so when I first saw this pop up in my recommended I thought it was a hate video. but instead good vid
Loved the video, Akane being my favorite character coming out of the series. One point I love about Akane is putting her character in contrast to Zero 2nd where their characters and motives are very similar.
For some reason I thought this video would be about how bad akane is as a character when I saw it in my recommendations... I really didn't put enough attention to the wording of the title !
I was kind of afraid some people might get the wrong idea that I hate her as a character from the title, but after talking with some friends we figured with the context from the opening quote followed by my gushing that it would be fine haha
I think among ZTD's many problems, it was a huge mistake for Uchi to hand off C-team to another writer, and I'm still baffled that it shook out that way. Akane was his baby, and I don't think anyone else could envision her character like Uchi does
Wait Uchikoshi DIDN'T write the story? is there an article or statement on his twitter stating this? This is news to me, and would explain while some things felt off about the plot and pacing.
I think at first I was annoyed that Akane kept coming back, but the whole story definitely won me over. I just had...issues with some of the plot points and twists in ZTD
I wish I could watch this, but I have to finish VLR (nowhere close) and ZTD. Nonetheless, 999 is fantastic and I really enjoyed Akane. Very compelling.
Akane is one of my favorite characters of all time, but GOD, did ZTD try its very best to make me question my love for her. It is such a disastrous portrayal of her character that I wipe it out from my mind every time I think of her.
Akane wasn't kept alive through 999 by some 'Deus Ex Machina'. She was literally Schrödinger's cat. Simultaneously both alive and dead, until Junpei either succeeds or fails the incinerator puzzle 9 years in the future.
Young Akane didn't have a 'cunning' side. She wasn't deliberately acting cute to make Junpei drop his guard. She was _remembering_ what she had seen her future self do when she was watching through Junpei's eyes, and trying to repeat it. She couldn't be sure what dialogue was relevant to inspiring Junpei to save her, so she had to reproduce everything exactly how she remembered seeing it. Similarly, Akane didn't _choose_ to kill the Ninth Man. She had _seen_ the Ninth's Man's death through Junpei's eyes. She knew he had to die, at that moment, or she would die in the incinerator. Everything we see in 999 was a casual loop: Akane was not the source of any of the puzzles on the ship, she was merely recreating what she had seen Junpei solve, to create that experience for him.
in which, in a way. I think I agree with Junpei in Last Reward did mentioned: She just....no longer the person he once knew.
what
minor correction: causal loop, not casual.
Not the Cat but rather a Bootstrap Paradox.
I think the Shrödingers cat metaphor is also extremely intentional in the game. We don’t really know how she just phased out of the room until the final segment from her perspective, the one where her and Junpei save a cat from being killed by a group of children. Literally saving a cat from its death at the very last moment, like Junpei would do for her 9 years later.
It’s also a big part of the philosophy and themes of VLR with its alternate timelines and game. So yeah, really beautiful writing from this series as always
Akane in 999 was willing to kill people to save herself, Selfish, but not SUPER evil, Akane in VLR and ZTD was trying to SAVE THE ENTIRE WORLD.
she wasn't willing to kill people to save herself, she was just willing to let people think she was willing to kill them to save herself. the people who actually died though, those weren't to save herself at all, that was just for revenge. and sure, while ace's was the hand on the trigger for each of them, akane (and, perhaps to some extent, aoi) was the one aiming the gun.
@@gorimbaud she was willing to kill bad people. You know this because she does kill bad people.
The missing Crypter.
@@gorimbaud She manipulated Ace into killing them. She knew what he was like through seeing many possible timelines and what buttons she could push to make him do so.
@@ThanhTriet600 yes, that's what i said
one of my favorite small things about akane is the fact that, given the circumstances in which it happens and what we know of her sense of humor, the Elevator Conversation in 999 was in retrospect _absolutely_ just her fucking with junpei for the hell of it
the thing about akane is that she's actually really funny, and a lot of the jokes she makes are absolutely just to fuck with the people around her. one of my favorites is in the engine room when santa starts telling junpei about his dead sister, and akane _immediately_ starts making jokes about her. definitely a scene that's funnier the second time, but god, akane's funny in a kind of mean way.
also her actively setting off a nuclear bomb in ZTD to have junpei’s response be “i forgot you were like that” is another great example of this
I think what made me love Akane so much is how completely and utterly she caught me off guard. Going into 999 blind, I fully believed she was going to be the sweet but ultimately forgettable love interest for Junpei, and I could NOT have been more wrong. I love her so much for that
I actually really liked seeing Akane in a non-puppet master role, and I ultimately appreciated how Zero Time Dilemma handled both her and Junpei. Seeing Akane in a setting where she had much less control than usual meant we got see her in a more vulnerable state, get behind the façade she had carefully crafted to both serve her aims and protect herself. It both revealed new things about her (like her religiosity) and brought both her simultaneously pure and innocent side AND her manipulative, ultra-pragmatic side out in full view. Though I will agree that her exaggerated rabbit-obsession was something of a case of Flanderization (ZTD sometimes really suffered from a lack of restraint, also seen with the overuse of the Blue Bird Lamentation song). On the other hand, while I've long viewed Zero III as a Discount Monokuma, your video did give me somewhat more appreciation for him, by bringing up the importance of his rabbit design.
That's fair and I can understand that opinion! I also feel the same where I've never been too keen on Zero III. Yet, once I learned about his ties to Akane and played through VLR again with my friend, he wasn't so bad, especially because he's not constantly in your face.
@KayJulers Zero III isn't so bad since he basically disappears entirely after the second chromatic doors. His dialogue is very front heavy so he kinda fades to the background when the plot gets going.
Honeslty the overuse of blue bird lamentation never hit me. Because the song got time every single time
Zero Time Dilemma is a huge mess, but the ending that leads into Virtue's Last Reward, where Akane realizes that she failed, and mid-breakdown she denies herself the time to grieve and immediately starts planning how to fix it, that ending broke me and single-handedly justified the game existing.
Realizing after the credits roll that timeline still exists, where nothing got better and everyone in vlr was now fated to live the 45 years of tragedy that befell them fucking destroyed me. Despite the fact that the player characters succeeded, I somehow felt like we failed.
@@MiutheMage well, if it still comes to pass despite your succeeding, then it LITERALLY is a "Mission Failed Successfully" scenario. but look on the bright side, those next 45 years are going to be hell, but at least it confirms that there is an end to it.
@@MiutheMage I think something a lot of people forget is every timeline is real. He one were clover kills people with an axe, dio blows the place up sky high, the world is doomed, the world is saved. None are more real then the others. Which to me has always been one of the most important parts to zero/akane’s plan.
The Aliens device legit pissed me off.
ZTD died so Somnium could live LETSFLY
For all the people she had hand in killing, and for all the war crimes she has committed i still find myself rooting for her.
Your sick
@@RandomPerson28337 lol
@@RandomPerson28337 I mean she does it all to save herself, get revenge on men who caused trauma/intended on murdering children, and intends to save the world in the future, I'd say that's pretty badass and rooting for her isn't that bad
@@Donirexian why would i root for a sociopath that has little regard for human life. Everything she did was out of selfish reasons and at the end of the day she doesnt care who she steps on to get what she wants. You really going support a person like that?
@@RandomPerson28337 Yes. 6 Billion Lives are a very potent moral argument
As I once put it to a friend of mine, who I was trying to encourage to play through 999, on the surface Junpei and Akane seem like a typical set of anime romantic partners.
But then... by the end of the game, it becomes apparent that neither one is quite that.
That's not a bad way to sell it! I've luckily been able to convince about 5 friends to play through 999 (and they've all really enjoyed it!), but I'm always thinking about the best way to get them interested. Normally, I just give the quick premise and say it's better going in knowing as little as possible, but I like your angle!
yeah i'm still a bit annoyed that
SPOILER:
the third game had them end up together.
@@polocatfanI mean why? They WANT to be together but their circumstances kept them apart. It wouldn’t make sense for no realities to have them together as it wouldn’t make sense for no reality to not have together
I think the Anthropic Principle chapter of Zero Time Dilemma perfectly showcases the tragedy of Akane's existence: She has to suffer through thousands of timelines (most of which probably from the dice game) just to get at one good ending at the end of ZTD. In the words of Delta: Life was simply unfair.
Thankfully, after they get rid of the mystery terrorist, she and Junpei can FINALLY enjoy themselves.
Just imagine all the wholesome psychic stuff they can do like flirting via their mindlink and stuff. Or using some of the remaining Cradle Pharmaceutical investment money on their honeymoon.
I actually have a theory that the religious fanatic is actually one of the Myrmidons. It's a bit involved, but one piece of evidence I'll give for now is that Uchikoshi said, "Zero Time Dilemma will have you seeing Dio in a whole new light," and I don't think the reveal of the original Left being Phi's half-brother is quite what he had in mind...
@@EpicPaul64 They are full siblings since they share the same two parents. (Not to mention that they are twins.)
@@michaelcarlton1484, I think you're confusing Delta with Left, as Left was the son of Delta's foster parents. Delta and Phi are the twins.
@@EpicPaul64 Right, so Left isn't even related to Phi since she (and other versions of herself) were raised separately. One was raised by scientists and the current Phi was raised by that one.
I sincerely hope that everyone gets therapy after they catch the mystery terrorist. Akane has been through so much that she began to blend into countless timelines. After the end of the world is FINALLY prevented, she needs to be able to just enjoy her one single timeline and just exist as a person for a bit.
I just want her, Junpei, Aoi, and everyone else to have a great life after being forced by the omniverse to solve timeloop after timeloop.
She deserves a comfortable life with Junpei where they can communicate through the morphogenetic field for casual conversation and wholesomeness, not defying death.
Someone needs to write an afterstory lol
What I love about akane is how complex she is, she ostracised the entirety of 999 and put a lot of people in danger yet she never intended to harm junpei and the others because she never put a bomb inside them except ace and 9, she even makes an entire facility in space in order to save human kind with her life on the line, a lot of people give her flack for behaviour in ZTD but honestly imo she acts pretty tame for the most part considering how much trauma she went through
Wait wait wait when did it say that she never put a bomb in Junpei and the others?
Like, in a what if scenario if they failed they wouldn't die just Ace and 9?
@@RetroNerdyGamer yup in the true ending junpei says that there never where chips in his bracelet indicating the same for everybody else
@@rachadlendar4918 Ahhh I have to replay it! It's been a while and I forgot that lil detail.
I play it once got axed in the head by number4 girl then never play it again.
I'd like to believe she behaves that way in the third game because she's not in control anymore.
Say what you will about Zero Time Dilemma, but Akane using back to the future to explain time travel parallel dimension theories is burned into my brain
Specifically her pointing out the stuff that movie does wrong, that bit will forever stay with me because it was the first time I heard my biggest gripe with the movie put into words.
Akane is easily one of the most interesting video game characters IMO! Always glad to see more Zero escape content!
I remember reading something like a fanfiction or maybe AU back in the day about 999.
It took place in an alternate ending where Junpei needed to die for his memories to go to another timeline, but it ended up going wrong, really wrong, and Akane ended up holding a Knife to Junpei, her hands trembling and reluctance on her face.
She wouldn't explain why, but she told Junpei that he needed to die.
Of course there was a back and forth where Junpei tryed to talk her out of it.
But then Akane goes silent for a bit before screaming out that she wished more than anything in the world that she didn't have to, that she would rather take her own life than ever have to take anyone elses.
She wished that they both lived in a world where they could live together without any worries, just a peaceful and happy life.
But that no matter how much they both wanted to live in a world like that together, it wasn't the one they were in.
And it was because that they were in this world, that they both didn't get to have a happy ending.
Junpei though, walked forward to her unflinchingly.
He said he refused to accept that, no matter what world they were in, as long as they were both together anything would be possible.
Junpei has a touching speech that makes you think she'll give up as tears stream down her face.
But right in the middle of Junpei's speech, as he talks about them leaving the death game together, Akane stabs him in the chest.
Junpei slowly dies in Akane's arms, dumb founded, as she cries her heart out, paralleling the timeline where Junpei holds the dieing Akane in his arms.
She keeps apologizing again and again for everything she has done, will do, and could have done to him, him barely understanding any of it.
Finally saying how much Junpei must hate her, before stating how she hates herself more than anyone else in the world, or any world.
Hate for all of the horrible twisted things she knows she's willing and capable of doing. She's seen all of it, every single unforgivable act.
She hates herself more than anyone else ever possibly could, and how much she wishes she were someone else, anyone else.
But it's because of who she is, the person she knows she is, that she has to do all this, there is no alternative for her, that's why she hates herself more than anyone else.
But Junpei, as the light starts to leave his eyes, puts his bloodied and to Akane's face and tells her that he could never hate her, or any version of her.
No matter what she ever did to him he would always...
And Junpei's hand falls to his side as both he and Akane vanish from the world.
I'm surprised no one asked you what the fic was! Do you happen to still remember the name cause what you wrote was amazing! 🤩
please, man, what's the title? is it on ao3?
I NEED TO KNOW PLEEEEEEASE
If you ever find the fic again, please share the name and the author so we can cry our eyes out :)
let's hug each other and cry all together :')
i was just recently wanting to see more zero escape content and my wish was granted
Both Lucahjin and ProZD recently started walkthroughs of VLR, Joseph Anderson finished the series like half a year ago. It feels like a renaissance of ZE content for the first time since ZTD’s release.
I clicked on this video expecting her to get grilled, only to find myself being pleasantly surprised it's a character analysis video. This series means a lot to me, and I'm happy I watched this. I even learned a few things that I didn't pick up on whilst I played it.
Man 999’s artstyle is so good. Makes the characters pop.
It's so rewarding to finally see Akane have a happy life in the end of ZTD. I played the other games right before ZTD released, so I get to see through the stories one after the other.
She's not a heroine. She's closer to an antihero or maybe a villain. You can't judge her by heroine standards because (by the end) we know she isn't one.
The term is often used to refer to female leads, albeit loosely. I can see why that can create confusion though.
Akane is definitely a favorite of mine as well, I just love how REAL she feels, if that makes sense. Absolutely incredible analysis!
oooooh, the enneagram explains so much about character similarities, I've always looked at the characters and felt a lot of them fit the same archetypes as the other games, knowing that they actually did makes a lot of sense
Ironically half of them doesn't have the enneagram Uchikoshi based them off
I like how I just yesterday watched all your videos about ZE and now you releasing new video about it. What a timing. Great job on other videos, they were awesome!
I just got done watching them like a couple days ago. Strange
@@momentaryretrospect5967 same here xD
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed them and I finally got back to the series after so long.
Akane did nothing wrong.
Yeah! She made sure to retcon the timelines enough to be mostly innocent! 😂
You can't blame her for what a single solitary snail did
Well she did a lot of things wrong, but those were in different timelines... So I guess they're "Schrodinger's Wrongs?"
I was hoping I'd find someone with this take in the comments I haven't even watched the video yet XD
Akane did EVERYTHING wrong! Thankfully, Akane never did anything wrong!
*Multiverse joke*
This series is seriously special. If there's one series I wish I could experience for the first time all over again, it's this one. 999 and VLR are honestly impeccable when it comes to writing.
It's kinda nuts how I was just recently recommended your ZE videos and literally just finished watching all of them today, and now you upload a brand new ZE video. I wasn't expecting this at all!
Glad I could offer a pleasant surprise! It's funny because I had planned an Akane analysis back in 2019 after the original 999 video, but I knew I wanted to cover the three games first before diving into specific characters. 4 years later and here we are.
I was just thinking the same thing for me! The algorithm is predicting creators next upload now.
This happens to me all the time lol
Thank you so much for this video!!! This is what I’ve been looking for since I marathoned all of zero escape earlier this year. She’s such a complex character
Of course, glad you enjoyed! She's one of the best.
Akane has been a rollercoaster character for me, but in the end I ended up loving her design and development
See what I love about KayJulers as a TH-camr is that I can see a video title and so wildly disagree in my head right away, but after 30 minutes of well thought, articulated points- I think about things in a way I hadn't previously. Good job.
That's very kind of you and I appreciate you taking the time to watch the videos and hear me out. Thanks!
Absolutely love this video! I thoroughly recommend looking up the ztd art book and finding the scan of the pre-decision game story. It not only explains more of other's in the cast but akane as well! Thank you for making this brilliant video from a fellow akane fan.
This was a cool and interesting video with great insight into Akane's character. It also confirms a theory I have regarding Uchikoshi's other work, Nirvana Initiative. The character of Tokiko Shigure is a parallel to Akane. In fact I feel like Tokiko is what Akane would be if Akane didn't have stable relationships with her brother or Junpei. In NI Tokiko is a manipulative and mysterious, random fact spewing, crazy person who has insane almost convoluted plans. Tokiko is also detached from the world and besides her ideology has little care for the world.
wonderful video!!! akane is my fav character ever, and this video just made me so happy, you really did her justice! also i LOVE the music choices you used, they set the mood for each section really well!!
Thank you so much! I try my best to pick a song that best fits the moment or tone, and I'm glad I was able to do her justice!
in tears, this was an amazing video. Please, Please! Keep this fandom alive, and make more videos
yes!!! i've been wanting more zero escape analysis from you, your past ze videos are SO good
That's very kind of you! Thank you!
yessss love to see a new zero escape vid from you
I misread the title as “Creating the World’s Worst Headline” and thought, well today is a fitting day for this to be recommended to me.
This video is fantastic! I hope to see more content like this from this series! Akane is my favorite character so thank you!
Akane, through trying to save a single life, many timelines were ruined, many people died and were manipulated, she knew what she was doing, she took eveything in consideration, atleast mostly...and yet it doesnt matter, because she lived in the singular good timeline, until the sequels
This video did a great job of summarizing Akane. I love all of your Zero Escape videos and hope to see more in the future.
I just played the trilogy over the last 3 weeks after finding your video about 999. And then you upload this the weekend I finish. Great timing buddy
0:59
7:53 Peacemaker becomes the observer
8:35 Guard down from a peacemaker
9:35 Fever
16:08 Mastermind pretend peacemaker
20:20 Akane Life
22:34 Fire
24:43 America
25:09 Puppetmaster
I wasn’t expecting a zero escape video but I’m pleasantly surprised.
i needed this analysis. happy you did it when so many other people with their essays didn't
I know this is spesifically about Akane, but I just wanted to say having finished Zero Time Dilemma today just how wild these characters are to stop, often right in the middle of a life threatening situation to discuss philosophy or tangential theoretical dilemmas. I don't know if it happened more in Zero Time Dilemma or the presentation of that game caused it to stand out more than it did during the previous escape room exploration, but it's seriously wild that these characters are actually dying and yet need to give a lengthy explanation on all the different probability calculations going into what's happening.
Okay, with that rant over, I've loved being able to binge your videos on the topic, some really amazing deep dives into this series who's narrative is really mindbending.
fantastic video! i have so many thoughts on akane and this gave me even more to chew on. thanks for the vid!
I can't go past 999 for the sake of spoilers but man, that game was something else way back when I played it on the DS so being able to experience it again on the PS4 and play it was a great experience but to think about how deeply Akane's story runs is crazy to me. I gotta find the time to play the other two games.
Another banger.
Another banger from KayJulers TH-cam.
Thank you, dude. Love ya!
Kayjulers, I can’t say enough about how amazing your content is! You bring so much joy, warmth, and authenticity to every single video, and it truly shows how much you care about your audience. Your creativity and storytelling keep me coming back for more, and I love how you always manage to make even the simplest moments feel special and engaging. You have this incredible ability to connect with people and build a sense of community that feels so genuine. Watching your videos feels like chatting with a friend who understands and uplifts, and it always brightens my day. Thank you for putting so much heart into everything you do and for being such an inspiration. Keep shining, because the positivity and passion you bring to your content mean more than you know!
Me, 999 firsts run: "Oh, look, the bland chick romantic interest of the MC who he has to rescue to have a happy ending"
Imagine being kidnapped and forced to play a killing game only to save her own life, and get forced to participate again years later because she threatens to kill your son. Junpei spended a lot of time of his life searching for her and she just hid. He would have gladly helped.
If there is anything Zero Escape teached me, is that you can use characters like Akane as perfect examples to understand if someone has a relevant opinion or not.
Anyone calling her a "villain" needs to get out of middle school or read something that's not basic bitch in character writing.
She is like the "living" example of how people, forced to take actions of questionable morality and result, will act in many different ways.
A "villain" isn't someone forced into an experiment where she might die and through her child brain tries to survive.
When I first played 999 ten years ago and understood the twist I decided to stop playing rather than complete the final puzzle. I didn't want to fulfill the time loop that would allow her to exist in the first place.
Akane is simply a person. She moves toward godhood as she understands the steps necessary to continue her own existence, but she never stops feeling the emotional toll those steps take upon her. She is the worst heroine *because* she is the best heroine: She is the female lead any of us would be under the given circumstances.
I was genuinely convinced ZTD was some weird parallel universe and Akane looked and acted differently because it was a parallel universe timeline Akane along with Junpei. And all of this would be part of some big twist at the end. But then the game ended and color me surprised to learn that was not the case.
At first I thought I got the wrong torrent
Wow I thought there wasn't gonna be another zero escape video from you but you knocked it out of the park maybe do one on Junpei next?
Fantastic video! It's been a long time since Zero Escape finished, but this video did a wonderful job at reminding me just how amazing a character Akane is.. when the series was active (as active as it could be) I regularly thought she was one of the best characters I'd ever seen and yeah, this video gave me memories of those moments in 999 and VLR that still hit so hard. I miss her :')
sometimes I still wish we could get a ZTD remake which is just a little more fleshed out, with the solid presentation of the Somnium Files games... oh well
I feel the same way. I would love to see someone take ZTD and somehow convert it into a game with the same presentation as the rest of the series, but I could get down with the Somnium Files route, too. A conversion wouldn't fix every issue, but I do think it would do wonders.
yeah Somnium Files isnt the highest-budget game or anything, but thinking about how ZTD could have had animation and character models like that just a few years later.. it stings a little.
It's also just ironic that the most recent ZE entry is the one I think would benefit most from a remake. maybe someday.
In 999 June/Akane is a very good written heroine if you play on 3ds especially. Cause on PC they cut out scene June and Junpei on hill with doll and put this scene in the end. In 3ds I loved June character at the end and it was very sad ending. In PC version there wasn't any June story at all until the end.
I kind-of want to read the paper you've written, honestly. Can I pay for & buy a copy in an official capacity?
What a fantastic video. Thank you.
Hey, thanks for watching!
Your video was very interesting, I especially liked how it flowed between different aspects of Akane as a character. That being said, it has not altered my opinion on her in any way. BURN THE WITCH!
I didn't like how in the 3rd game they tried to waifu her and make her seem innocent. I adored how morally gray she was in the first game and how cruel she was in the second game. I don't think she is purely "evil" by the 2nd game and agree that she is complex. But is clearly in the wrong and needs to be stopped. I don't know, the 2nd game really felt like it was building up to going against her in some way, but the 3rd game really dropped the ball on it. I know it had to drop a lot of plot points due to development issues, but I just felt uneasy with how they handled her in the 3rd game while adoring her in the 1st and 2nd game.
absolutelly agree
I mean psychopath will always be psycho no matter how things are.
The whole point of us seeing Akane in ZTD is that this is the only time in her life since her life/death in the incinerator that she is not in control of the situation.
Her morphogenetic field she gain after her time on the titanic grant her the ability to see the future and other timeline event.
She can use those knowledge to manipulate things such as asking her brother to buy stocks from Cradle Pharmaceutical to earn big money when they became big company to enrich themselves and gain funds for their nonary game.
But in ZTD, she can't control anything. The outcome, plan, action and even the life of her loved one. She can't do anything about them at all.
It was here that her personality clash. On one side her June personality, which was her true self that Junpei came to love. And her Zero personality, manipulative, cold and pragmatic.
Honestly I disagree, having watched back VLR's true ending didn't set up anything but Sigma and Phi possibly teaming up with Akane in the next game. Although her methods were incredibly in the grey area. With the stakes going on with the fate of the world and how we were able to see the results of something like radical 6. Having the requirements of needing people to go through a death game to save the world doesn't elicit a 'this is wrong and needs to be stopped' reaction from me. It's more of 'things are dire and regardless of the means certain actions to be done'. Which I think ZTD showed her character really well. We got back some of the 999 June that would still pop in some jokes or some wikipedia information out of her ass in the most inconvenient times, meanwhile when the VLR timeline occurs she immediately goes into action. Whether those actions are morally okay, she does it because she knows she needs to. Yet we got to see the one side of her being vulnerable which I appreciated.
@@ImArchiie yeah its all manner of opinion. I can see them try to retain her personality. But a lot of of it was the cat is out of the bag for her. So for the story to play her like that, idk it just didn't give me that impact compared to her other 2 counterparts. I guess its just the weakest of the three, for me.
@@cloudy4lockharty Completely fair, ZTD isn't exactly beloved for how it handles previous characters especially with how unprepared they all seem at some points. Just wish we could see more of VLR Akane since we didn't get as much time with her then.
She is one of my favorite female characters in video games
I find it funny that fan's assessments of the characters ennegram types are COMPLETELY different to the ones Uchi intended. Personality database says Seven is a 9 and Akane is a 5 (which IMO fits a lot better)
"Who the f--? Oh, it's Kay. All right, let's hear this." XD
Just found your channel and I love the personality you give the videos already, Good Job!
I know this video isn't going to do well because Zero Escape isn't a well-known franchise and you probably knew that too. But I am very grateful that despite that you have created this gem about one of the most underrated games in history
Thank you so much for this.
I really don't like the third game, and part of that is Akane. Her going nuts after Junpei died (when he got dismembered) felt out of character to me because of how she always put her goals first. It felt strange that she'd compromise everything that she'd worked towards, no matter how much she cared for Junpei. I suppose it makes sense though with the amount of pressure on her at that time. Because even if this is part of her plan, even if it's something she's seen and planned for, this is probably one of the first times since she made it out of the first Nonary Game that she's not in control. She has a result she wants, and knows she'll get there, but there's a lot of suffering in between and a reconciliation to be had between her past and future.
Initially I thought she was inspired after Yubiseiharukana from Ever17 which was Uchikoshi's previous work. She was also a victim in the original event and the mastermind in the replicated event which was years later after the original event. The reason she made the replicated event was also similar, to save a person important to her (who was also in the original event with her) as well as revenge on the masterminds responsible for the original event.
Great video essay honestly 👍
If it truly was uchikoshi’s intention to make the worse heroine then uhh… he failed. Akane is An amazing heroine who was basically put into circumstances that forced her to manipulate her lover or others but we see deep down that she truly doesn’t want to hurt them, in 999 she only put the bombs in Ace and 9’s bracelets, but to make sure she survived, she HAD to do this, which I genuinely can’t fault her. Surviving something and punishing bad people is correct and her younger self was basically just making events she foreseen happen to make sure it happens. She’s still a bad person but a complex and amazing heroine.
Like if someone like the main villain of Danganronpa was the main heroine then we could say he succeded
so glad to see another zero escape video from you! this was a great analysis. also, have you played the somnium files games and/or plan to make any videos on them? they're amazing and i wish more people would talk about them
Not yet unfortunately, but those two games alongside Paranormasight are near the top of my backlog!
I seriously need to play these games again. I look back on them so fondly but I've forgotten a lot of the details
I freaking love this series!!
Hold on. That's the neighborhood song from Toy Story 2 for the PS1 at 8:58.
I did not expect that lol
A quick note, Aoi is actually pronounced Ow-ee. Great video all the same!
Akane: I didn’t choose the zero life, the zero life chose me
3:06 Can someone explain me why every character (except Akane) is not in the same number of the eneagram as they were assigned to in the first nonary game?
Till I saw that graph I was actually sure that their watchnumber made totally sense to their character😂
It's loosely mentioned at some points that some characters were given specific numbers in order to manipulate the game (Junpei having 1 and Santa and Akane "having" 3 and 6). Therefore, I think the personality and game numbers are different for the sake of the narrative.
The writer for this series (and others like Somnium) has a tendency to write the plot twist and the conclusion first, then write backwards from there. On many points it is enjoyable to follow, but some of the twists seem a little too fantastical and farfetched when you attempt to line it all up. When I played 999 so many years ago, I think that particular game was the easiest to follow out of its series.
And I still get a mental pretzel trying to rationalize "multi-verse" branching supposedly affecting a single-branch (since typically the single branch would just be another of many and there shouldn't be any mind-shuffling), but it's fiction and we can just watch the show.
While Akane definetly can kill someone if she wants, i think that she uses killing just as a last resort kinda of situation.
In 999 if think that the bombs was actually Santa's/Aoi's part of the plan, he feel's more "unhinged" and more likely to plan a murder for revenge.
In VLR, while Akane had everybody infected, she also had the antidote available for everyone, and the killings came more from Dio anyway, so even if she knows that death is inevitable, she still tries to have a way out for everyone.
And in ZTD, Akane killed Carlos with the chainsaw out of blind rage, considering her situation is easy to see that, she's not in control this time so she can't be fully herself, and she even deeply regrets right after she sees what she has done.
It's evident in her character when in the mini AB game in ZTD, she immediately thinks of SHIFTING (again it's a last resort they have), Akane knows that in doing so she's actively throwing other versions to die.
If she's was like Delta and couldn't SHIFT either and just have the ability to see the other timelines i would feel more bad for her, but i know she can, anyway the point is that she's still very conflicted because she's fine when it's her idea to sacrifice other versions of them (as a last resort), but right after that Junpei kinda has the same idea just executed differently, she gets all pissed off because she had to see him "die", and it just gets worse when they see it was pointless. So she's fine with death but only when it's a last option situation.
The only bad part in all of this is that when SHIFTing, Akane doesn't mind much that she's essentially killing other versions of themselves, Imagine right before the room explodes the other Akane that was fine just arrives there, would she understand?
I can totally see an "Akaneverse" all pissed at eachother if they could meet.
i don't think it's the case that she doesn't care. she knows and understands the consequences of killing someone fully but places her own biases and thoughts aside for a more objective conclusion. even if it does bother her, it's not something that would be more important than fulfilling a goal or mission. you can feel guilty about killing someone (or yourself) and know you have to go through with it anyway.
it's also the case that akane is right. there were multiple different ways of handling things better but junpei rushed right in. while his hand was forced, there definitely were other ways of doing what he needed and he chose the worst option. it's not his fault, inherently, but it makes sense she'd be upset.
I totally agree with the bombs being more of Aoi's plan. He's the more emotional of the two of them (his little speech about heat in Door 3 speaks to that; bro's not as good of an actor), so I could see him being more interested in revenge.
Akane is much more focused on the end goal, with emotionalism being largely removed from her actions. If emotionalism wasn't removed, I doubt she could've brought her brother into a plot where he was bound to die in at least two timelines.
(And just imagine that, really. Akane probably knew Clover was going to kill her and Aoi in the Axe ending, and yet she was able to keep up her act till the end. Imagine the guts it takes to look at your brother knowing he'll die, knowing you'll die, and keep playing the role of 'childhood friend')
Highly enjoyed the video even though I had zero previous knowledge 😅
Hey, I appreciate it lol. Thanks for watching!
Gonna be honest I hadn't heard the quote the title is based on so when I first saw this pop up in my recommended I thought it was a hate video. but instead good vid
I like to imagine her thoughts during the Payoff 2 of ZTD to be, "damn this old guy really just outdid me at everything I ever tried to do".
If you DO ever get that thesis published, I think it would be a fantastic read.
Amazing video, I’ve subbed ❤
I see ZE and I have to click, very excited.
Loved the video, Akane being my favorite character coming out of the series.
One point I love about Akane is putting her character in contrast to Zero 2nd where their characters and motives are very similar.
1:57 you're saying her motives are... complex?
Shes willing to kill herself for own interest
Gives me Yuno Gasai vibes❤
Holy shit I didn't even know that about her fevers. 😮
For some reason I thought this video would be about how bad akane is as a character when I saw it in my recommendations...
I really didn't put enough attention to the wording of the title !
I was kind of afraid some people might get the wrong idea that I hate her as a character from the title, but after talking with some friends we figured with the context from the opening quote followed by my gushing that it would be fine haha
I think among ZTD's many problems, it was a huge mistake for Uchi to hand off C-team to another writer, and I'm still baffled that it shook out that way. Akane was his baby, and I don't think anyone else could envision her character like Uchi does
Wait Uchikoshi DIDN'T write the story? is there an article or statement on his twitter stating this? This is news to me, and would explain while some things felt off about the plot and pacing.
um when i first. read . the tutle. i didn't read the e. and i was so confused. "huh when did they get a breaking bad crossover" help
Poor Man Rika Furude
One of my favorite characters of all time
I think at first I was annoyed that Akane kept coming back, but the whole story definitely won me over. I just had...issues with some of the plot points and twists in ZTD
Kotaro: I wanted to create the worst heroine.
Kratos: You succeeded
SHOOT. Wanna watch this video but I haven't played the Zero Escape games. Brb once I finish them
Ayyye, I hope you enjoy the series!
Beware of the 🐌
another zero escape video, WE WIN!
Amazing video
I wish I could watch this, but I have to finish VLR (nowhere close) and ZTD.
Nonetheless, 999 is fantastic and I really enjoyed Akane. Very compelling.
Akane is one of my favorite characters of all time, but GOD, did ZTD try its very best to make me question my love for her. It is such a disastrous portrayal of her character that I wipe it out from my mind every time I think of her.