SPEC Theories. Or, Pieces Has Lost The Plot
Alright. It's time to come clean. I am obsessed with SPEC. I have not been so into a show since...Trick and Life. That's the scale we're on, people.
I've fanmixed it. I've vidded it. I'm Tumblring it. I've accumulated the magazine, the visual guide and the whatever-this-is ("Official Dismantling", with full-page, detailed photos of the sets and each episode's title sequence and all the little things you miss when it aired and oh, Japan, you complete me with your fifteen million pieces of merchandise for one drama). I'll probably buy the DVDs, despite no English subtitles.
And I just finished my second full rewatch. Holy moly, me-oh-my. I was talking to theonlytwin about it, and I - just - I have theories, everyone. So many theories! And questions.
(MAJOR SPOILERS WILL BE UNDER THE CUT.)
THINGS I BELIEVE
+ Sebumi and Toma are the inevitable OTP of OTPness.
If your serial killer boyfriend believes it, then. Well. Plus:
and
Come on. I also suspect that Reizei's "I can see a bright future for both of you" means something, too.
+ There's more to Nonomura than meets the eye. If you've watched Keizoku, this is plain as day, and also they never really give an answer to why he requested Toma and Sebumi. Bad plotting, maybe, but does he know why Shimura was "gotten to"? (Geez, "Things I Believe" still works it's way into "Things I Have No Fucking Clue About")
+ I really loved Mirei's character progression, and think she'll be a big player in the SP and film (hopefully, anyway). I also suspect there may have been something going on with her and Sebumi that was cut short by the Shimura's shooting, or at the least, a mutual crush.
+ Sebumi's paper bag and Toma's suitcase - typical of director Tsutsumi Yukihiko, who likes to throw meaningless objects into the mix to make a character three dimensional. Two reasons why: 1 - aesthetically, it anchors a character through a particularly detailed plot and, 2 - because it's a really obvious metaphor. So obvious that I think you're meant to dismiss it. In this case, Toma and Sebumi have baggage. Lots of it. Neither of them are seen with their bags in flashbacks, and it's only when Nonomura gives Sebumi a new paper bag with the guns in it and when Sebumi picks up Toma's suitcase instinctively that you realise that the most obvious metaphors are often the most poignant. (See also: ten years of Trick canon)
+ Toma didn't sow her hand on at the end (although I thought so at first). The stitch marks aren't fresh and are a mostly healed wound, and I think the blunt end of the cast wasn't the stump but a protective case so she doesn't bang it/use it while it's healing/to throw us off the scent. She is, however, a badass for constructing a gun that can fire the way it did, so even if she didn't sow that sucker back on, she got it to move with the power of her goddamn mind. Beatrix Kiddo + Toma Saya = BAMFs.
THINGS I HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE ABOUT
+ Chii and Toma's relationship. Was it all built on lies? Obviously, but. Did he fabricate everything, or just the emotions? Like, did he make up their dates/the proposal etc, or did he just fabricate her falling for him and being in love with him and the events actually happened? This falls in with the question of much did she actually know - she is obviously uncomfortable around him in the hospital, but is that because she can sense he's a creeper? (probably)
+ Why are Sebumi's teeth numbered? This really bugged me.
+ Was Shimura being worked by Unit Zero? Is that what they mean by him being "gotten to"? Or was it all just about Mirei/Sebumi/Toma?
+ Speaking of which. Unit Zero. That makes no fucking sense. How many Tsudas are there? Are they implying Tsuda/Chii is a thousand years old/has been around for a freakin' long time? The scene with the old chess guy and the creepy twins lends to this, as does a lot of Sebumi's conversations with not-Chii!Tsuda. And does this mean "Tsuda" as a figurehead is a concept, and that the "Tsuda" persona (soul?) is thousands of years old? Does it take on a body (in this case, Chii's body) and can then change its face (into the Tsuda face)? AND "TSUDA" SOUNDS LIKE "PSEUDO(NYM)" GUYS MY BRAIN IS BREAKING
+ It's obvious SPECs are memory-related or trigged, building on where Chii said he could have potentially erased Mirei's SPEC if he'd wanted to. This lends to the (discounted-in-real-life-but-is-canon) theory that 90% of our brain is "asleep", and that a traumatic event (Mirei's brother's shooting, the plane crash) is often the key for a person's SPEC to be awoken.
What does this mean for Toma, though? We are never really ever specifically told she has a SPEC, rather we're shown/told she's obscenely gifted in terms of her IQ and her ability to process information. Is this a SPEC or just a high IQ? (I feel like this is where Keizoku and SPEC meet, as Shibata has the same ability to process information like Toma.) She does eat ten times more than most people, so this could be because her brain works more than others and she needs to replenish it? Like Satori and needing to sleep. Hmmm.
+ Is she spiritually/supernaturally connected to Ninomae? When Shimura was finally killed by the trumpet guys, she rubs the back of her ear:
Which makes me think she worked everything out a long time ago and Chii's been removing her memories, and she has been letting him because she always knew she would work it out/had faith in her brain/knew Sebumi and Unsolved Crimes would help in the end.
+ Come to think of it, why wasn't she on the plane that killed her parents? Did that actually happen, or did Tsuda/Chii orchestrate the whole thing, as he knew what the future was and what the Toma kids' SPEC potentials were?
+ Or: is the whole thing dependant on Toma, full-stop?
As in, she's the orchestrator manipulating the manipulative? GUYS.
+ I feel like the scene in the final episode where Chii makes a big deal about the Hayabusa spacecraft calculations is important. Maybe her SPEC is taking other people's talents? Or it's just pointing out her exceptionally good memory? I feel like the fact it was about what time and date it was in the spacecraft means something, too. I don't know, man. I DON'T KNOW.
Which leads to...
+ Did Toma stop time? Or did another Tsuda, the one at the dumpling stand?
And finally:
+ WHO ARE THE TRUMPET GUYS?! WHAT DID NONOMURA SEE WHEN PRAYING OVER NINOMAE? WHY WAS THE DUMPLING SHOP GUY THE TINMAN AT THE END?! WHAT IS GOING ON?!
I'm thinking too hard about this, but I JUST CAN'T LEAVE IT.
Guys. Throw some theories at me before I whip out the Dawson crying gif.
I've fanmixed it. I've vidded it. I'm Tumblring it. I've accumulated the magazine, the visual guide and the whatever-this-is ("Official Dismantling", with full-page, detailed photos of the sets and each episode's title sequence and all the little things you miss when it aired and oh, Japan, you complete me with your fifteen million pieces of merchandise for one drama). I'll probably buy the DVDs, despite no English subtitles.
And I just finished my second full rewatch. Holy moly, me-oh-my. I was talking to theonlytwin about it, and I - just - I have theories, everyone. So many theories! And questions.
(MAJOR SPOILERS WILL BE UNDER THE CUT.)
THINGS I BELIEVE
+ Sebumi and Toma are the inevitable OTP of OTPness.
If your serial killer boyfriend believes it, then. Well. Plus:
and
Come on. I also suspect that Reizei's "I can see a bright future for both of you" means something, too.
+ There's more to Nonomura than meets the eye. If you've watched Keizoku, this is plain as day, and also they never really give an answer to why he requested Toma and Sebumi. Bad plotting, maybe, but does he know why Shimura was "gotten to"? (Geez, "Things I Believe" still works it's way into "Things I Have No Fucking Clue About")
+ I really loved Mirei's character progression, and think she'll be a big player in the SP and film (hopefully, anyway). I also suspect there may have been something going on with her and Sebumi that was cut short by the Shimura's shooting, or at the least, a mutual crush.
+ Sebumi's paper bag and Toma's suitcase - typical of director Tsutsumi Yukihiko, who likes to throw meaningless objects into the mix to make a character three dimensional. Two reasons why: 1 - aesthetically, it anchors a character through a particularly detailed plot and, 2 - because it's a really obvious metaphor. So obvious that I think you're meant to dismiss it. In this case, Toma and Sebumi have baggage. Lots of it. Neither of them are seen with their bags in flashbacks, and it's only when Nonomura gives Sebumi a new paper bag with the guns in it and when Sebumi picks up Toma's suitcase instinctively that you realise that the most obvious metaphors are often the most poignant. (See also: ten years of Trick canon)
+ Toma didn't sow her hand on at the end (although I thought so at first). The stitch marks aren't fresh and are a mostly healed wound, and I think the blunt end of the cast wasn't the stump but a protective case so she doesn't bang it/use it while it's healing/to throw us off the scent. She is, however, a badass for constructing a gun that can fire the way it did, so even if she didn't sow that sucker back on, she got it to move with the power of her goddamn mind. Beatrix Kiddo + Toma Saya = BAMFs.
THINGS I HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE ABOUT
+ Chii and Toma's relationship. Was it all built on lies? Obviously, but. Did he fabricate everything, or just the emotions? Like, did he make up their dates/the proposal etc, or did he just fabricate her falling for him and being in love with him and the events actually happened? This falls in with the question of much did she actually know - she is obviously uncomfortable around him in the hospital, but is that because she can sense he's a creeper? (probably)
+ Why are Sebumi's teeth numbered? This really bugged me.
+ Was Shimura being worked by Unit Zero? Is that what they mean by him being "gotten to"? Or was it all just about Mirei/Sebumi/Toma?
+ Speaking of which. Unit Zero. That makes no fucking sense. How many Tsudas are there? Are they implying Tsuda/Chii is a thousand years old/has been around for a freakin' long time? The scene with the old chess guy and the creepy twins lends to this, as does a lot of Sebumi's conversations with not-Chii!Tsuda. And does this mean "Tsuda" as a figurehead is a concept, and that the "Tsuda" persona (soul?) is thousands of years old? Does it take on a body (in this case, Chii's body) and can then change its face (into the Tsuda face)? AND "TSUDA" SOUNDS LIKE "PSEUDO(NYM)" GUYS MY BRAIN IS BREAKING
+ It's obvious SPECs are memory-related or trigged, building on where Chii said he could have potentially erased Mirei's SPEC if he'd wanted to. This lends to the (discounted-in-real-life-but-is-canon) theory that 90% of our brain is "asleep", and that a traumatic event (Mirei's brother's shooting, the plane crash) is often the key for a person's SPEC to be awoken.
What does this mean for Toma, though? We are never really ever specifically told she has a SPEC, rather we're shown/told she's obscenely gifted in terms of her IQ and her ability to process information. Is this a SPEC or just a high IQ? (I feel like this is where Keizoku and SPEC meet, as Shibata has the same ability to process information like Toma.) She does eat ten times more than most people, so this could be because her brain works more than others and she needs to replenish it? Like Satori and needing to sleep. Hmmm.
+ Is she spiritually/supernaturally connected to Ninomae? When Shimura was finally killed by the trumpet guys, she rubs the back of her ear:
Which makes me think she worked everything out a long time ago and Chii's been removing her memories, and she has been letting him because she always knew she would work it out/had faith in her brain/knew Sebumi and Unsolved Crimes would help in the end.
+ Come to think of it, why wasn't she on the plane that killed her parents? Did that actually happen, or did Tsuda/Chii orchestrate the whole thing, as he knew what the future was and what the Toma kids' SPEC potentials were?
+ Or: is the whole thing dependant on Toma, full-stop?
As in, she's the orchestrator manipulating the manipulative? GUYS.
+ I feel like the scene in the final episode where Chii makes a big deal about the Hayabusa spacecraft calculations is important. Maybe her SPEC is taking other people's talents? Or it's just pointing out her exceptionally good memory? I feel like the fact it was about what time and date it was in the spacecraft means something, too. I don't know, man. I DON'T KNOW.
Which leads to...
+ Did Toma stop time? Or did another Tsuda, the one at the dumpling stand?
And finally:
+ WHO ARE THE TRUMPET GUYS?! WHAT DID NONOMURA SEE WHEN PRAYING OVER NINOMAE? WHY WAS THE DUMPLING SHOP GUY THE TINMAN AT THE END?! WHAT IS GOING ON?!
I'm thinking too hard about this, but I JUST CAN'T LEAVE IT.
Guys. Throw some theories at me before I whip out the Dawson crying gif.