Gear 5 Foreshadowing/Analysis

"I love you." // "I hate you so much..."

How one clip in the new season 3 trailer significantly changes Animaniacs canon

As I was replaying the new Animaniacs trailer for the 100th time in my head, I realized there's one clip that has big ramifications on how I previously viewed Animaniacs canon. How can one clip change canon before the episode's even out? I know it sounds clickbaity, but I think it's warranted. The clip in question is this:

Now, to most fans of Animaniacs, this might not look out of the ordinary at all. After all, this is far from the first time they've seen the tower depicted this way- for decades, in fan fiction and fan art, this is exactly how it's been described and shown when it comes to stories about the Warners being locked in the tower. To my knowledge, though, through all Animaniacs animated media, this is the first time it's ever been officially shown like this.*

*It was shown somewhat close to this in reboot episode 1, but that was after no one had been living in it for 22 years.

What do I mean by "like this"? Previously in the show, whenever we got a look at the interior of the tower, it's always looked something along the lines of this:

It's fully furnished, packed to the brim with all the fun activities the Warners could ever need. It has rollercoasters, basketball hoops, a TV, and, importantly, a kitchen, bathroom, and comfy beds. (We'll assume Yakko chooses to sleep in a ball pit.) It's a veritable wonderland that any kid would be overjoyed to play in. I always assumed it was shown this way to soften the blow for kids who thought too much about the Warners' backstory- sure, they were locked in a tower for 60 years, but it couldn't have been that bad. Look at all the fun stuff they have in there!

When reading and writing tower-related angst, where the tower is depicted as a barren prison, I had always done it with the understanding that it wasn't really like that. Sure, we played it up for angst, but in reality, in canon, the Warners were more or less fine in there. They played games, rode roller coasters, had a good time. I was even gonna make an entire analysis post about what the Warners' time in the tower was really like. Anything else would be just a bit too dark, wouldn't it?

But no. It really was like that. According to the clip in the trailer, when the Warners are locked in the tower, they get all their fun stuff taken away. It really does become empty, barren, and dark. There's no rollercoasters. There's no TV. There's not a kitchen, a bathroom, or a warm bed to sleep in. There don't appear to be any windows, except maybe one prison-barred window at the top. It doesn't even look like they get rations of food. When they're locked in the tower, they sit in shadowy darkness, with absolutely nothing to entertain themselves except each other.

For

sixty

years.

And that's canon.

i world love to hear your opinion 🙂

what if tsukasa exploded with anger and told hanako that he did all this to make him hate him and remove his seal because he doesn't want to stay and continue with his brother and that he would rather disappear 😔

How will hanako react and what will he do ???

I got carried away sorry 😅

PLEASE THAT'S WHAT I WANT!!!!!!

Tsukasa, speak openly about what you are feeling clearly!!!

Despite that, I wonder how Hanako would react, he's the one who needs to open up, and if he didn't do that even when Tsukasa was about to die, I wonder what would make Hanako honest.

He doesn't talk about his feelings, not even to Nene, she has to read between the lines.

I wonder what it will take to make Hanako finally say what he truly feels.

Hanako would probably find a way out of this situation without responding directly to what Tsukasa said.

I wonder what happened with Tsukasa in this timeline? Why is the hole on his face? Why are his shorts and feet BLOODY?

right?? peak tbhk giving us more questions than answers lol I’m so excited to find out!!

I’m personally still operating under the assumption that the clock keepers changed something in 1968, which is when amane was trying to use the clock to mess with time in some mysterious way, so maybe they let him change in a way he was previously unable to? or in a different way than he did originally?

what seems to be true right now:

1. amane did not die when he was four

2. tsukasa still made some sort of deal with the god

so, operating under the assumption that something changed in 1968, whatever was changed then was after tsukasa made the deal to save amane’s life.

the backwards letters in tsukasa’s speech bubbles also imply to me he is way more god-influenced than the tsukasa we met in the red house arc!! this could be because kou and nene never went there to convince him to go back in this timeline?

but there’s something interesting you mentioned!! which is tsukasa’s appearance is very different here!!

he seems to be wearing the same shirt, but his suspenders and socks are gone, and his clothes are dirty. original red house tsukasa seems unscathed despite all his time there.

I think his clothes could be covered in blood, but they could also be covered in ash? maybe he was pushed back into the fire he set? why has the red house/the god stopped taking care of him? why is he in the school and not the red house? why was tsukasa originally spat back out somewhere in town and not on the property of the red house itself?

I definitely think amane got the clock to work and is responsible for this—I find adult amane incredibly suspicious!!

the watch he gave tsuchigomori is stopped, like the clock keepers clock originally was

and it’s incredibly suspicious he was talking to students about the tsukasa rumor with a reassuring smile on his face. this is hanako after all!! his calm, reassuring smiles are historically often untrustworthy!! (also in all honesty this is kind of a hope… I love when amane goes off on his own moral compass being a little unhinged)

the clock keepers specifically sent hanako back when he was feeling rejected by tsukasa and claiming tsukasa was an imposter, not his brother. maybe this is the future that happens when amane acts on that feeling, rather than how conflicted and forlorn we see him feeling about tsukasa in the original 1968.

it’s devastating, but I love the possibility that a past made through a boy’s grief and sense of rejection and pain has led to something like this… a more worn down, more haunted tsukasa.

is this who tsukasa becomes when amane doesn’t believe in him?

(honestly kind of hoping it’s something else though, bc it’s almost too sad to think of amane not believing in tsukasa, to the point of sending him back there…)

all of the panels with Dazai with a cold from the BSD Anthology 🥰 him being perfectly normal with a 39.8°C fever is so very Dazai of him...

Shanks' Savior Complex

A few months ago, I posted a joke tweet about Shanks’ savior complex and Buggy’s inferiority complex. While Buggy’s feelings of inadequacy are pretty obvious in the source material, Shanks is constantly evading serious analysis because of how little he appears in the manga and how nebulous those few appearances are. So, naturally, I was met with a lot of confusion. (What do you mean by ‘savior complex?’ Why Shanks specifically?) I thought I’d address all that now in one comprehensive, all-inclusive post.

Before I dive in, please note just a few things:

A SAVIOR COMPLEX is a pattern of unconscious behaviors. It is associated most often with self-sacrificial people – those who help others even at the cost of their own personal well-being, mental or physical.

Within the field of psychology, ‘complexes’ are just constructs. My goal is not to diagnose. Rather, this post is a conceptual analysis using the idea of a “savior complex” to better explore Shanks as a character.

Now that all that’s out of the way, let me begin!

For a character who is so significant in the grand scheme, Shanks is remarkably absent for the better part of One Piece. Really. He is so nonexistent, actually, that the first chapter of the manga is probably the most we’ve ever seen from him uninterrupted. This is for good reason, though; Shanks is the catalyst for Luffy’s entire journey. He owes a lot to Shanks: his devil fruit, his life, and even his dream, to an extent. Luffy learned a lot about being a captain from Shanks, and much of his advice – like picking and choosing your battles, for example – Luffy puts to good use later down the line.

So, considering his role as Luffy’s mentor, it’s fitting that Shanks’ character is defined by RESPONSIBILITY. He’s goofy, sure, but don’t let that devil-may-care attitude fool you – Shanks is a knowledgeable pirate, grounded by the weight he carries. His dialogue and actions throughout the first chapter reflect this. When Luffy demands to be taken out to sea, Shanks refuses, claiming he is too young. While the rest of his crew wax poetic about the freedom and joy of being a pirate, Shanks is the one bringing them back down to reality, telling them not to fill Luffy’s head with “crazy ideas.”

Those who know him best seem to agree. “The captain’s just doing what’s best for everyone,” Beckman states. “The safety of the entire crew and ship rests on his shoulders.”

Although Shanks is realistic, he is not a pessimist, and he certainly still values dreams. Let’s not forget: Shanks entrusted Luffy with Roger’s hat. Not only that, he asks Luffy to give it back when Luffy has become a great pirate – not if. Of course Shanks has hope for the future and the new generation. He's just also experienced enough to know the dangers and horrors of the current world, and curbs his own expectations as a result. Yet again, Beckman reinforces this when he talks to Luffy.

The future needs a strong foundation. Anything is possible, including what Luffy wants to achieve, but there are necessary sacrifices to make dreams a reality.

I believe Shanks sees himself as one of those necessary sacrifices.

Oda may not have envisioned Shanks losing an arm in the original draft of the story, but this decision sets a precedent going forward, for both Shanks as a character and the series at large. Sacrifice is at the core of One Piece’s identity; previously, I’ve discussed its emotional significance as an act of love. But sacrifice also serves as the foundation for the new generation. Corazón’s sacrifice, for example, enabled Law to outlive him and change the future. Toki and Oden’s sacrifices enabled their children and the Nine Red Scabbards to change the future. Queen Otohime, Fisher Tiger, Shimotsuki Yasuie… although these characters died without ever seeing the future they hoped for, their sacrifices are the foundation upon which their successors enact change.

And who do we also see facilitating the changing world, ensuring the “new age” succeeds?

Shanks.

Whenever Shanks reappears in the manga, it is usually on the precipice of a dangerous conflict, or at exactly the perfect moment to intervene in said conflict. Take Shanks visiting Whitebeard, for example; here, he attempts to navigate the growing tension between Ace and Blackbeard, which eventually results in the war at Marineford. Although he fails at convincing Whitebeard to stop Ace’s revenge quest, it’s clear that Shanks has a vested interest in balancing the current forces at play, including marines and pirates.

At Marineford, not only does Shanks intervene to stop the war, but he saves Koby, a member of the new generation who will undoubtedly change the future on the marines' side of things. His words also reflect my point about sacrifice as a foundation for change. As he stops Akainu, he praises Koby for putting his life on the line: “The seconds of courage you bet your life on creating, for good or bad, have just now greatly changed the fate of the world!”

This aspect of his character remains consistent in Film Red, too. Even though he has grown to love Uta as a daughter, Shanks still encourages her to stay behind because her singing brings happiness to a world where "peace and equality don't exist." Afterwards, when Uta causes the massacre on Elegia, Shanks shoulders all the blame, effectively hiding the truth to protect her. He sacrifices his own connection with his daughter for what he believes is the greater good. Note that Shanks’ own personal feelings on that decision are never explored or discussed; obviously, Shanks loved his daughter, and it's safe to assume he didn't want to leave her. But he set aside his own happiness and made the hard choice anyway. (Sound familiar? The "savior complex" alarm bells should be ringing in your head.)

Even as an emperor, Shanks sacrifices his own strength, influence, and reputation. His fleet is “notoriously weak.” The pirates within it even admit that they never would have survived this long without Shanks protecting them. This fleet is another responsibility weighing Shanks down, and yet he takes on that burden anyway for their sake. 

We don’t have the full context behind Shanks’ decision at Loguetown either, but it’s likely that his refusal to go Laughtale right away ties back to responsibility, too. We know whatever Roger said to Shanks the day their crew disbanded rendered him to tears. (Did Roger’s answer to his question change his mind?) We also know he regards Luffy as Roger’s successor, and claims Luffy acts just like he did as a kid. (Shanks "crowning" Luffy with Roger's hat also parallels Shanks' moment with Roger visually, placing them in similar roles.)

Given this, it’s possible that Shanks believed he could take on Roger’s legacy, but later realized he would not be the one to change the world. Roger might have even tasked him with finding the “true” successor, who will “turn the world upside down.” (Shanks’ fixation with the “new age” would also make sense in that case.) This is all speculation, but I thought I’d throw it out there anyway, because if this were true, Shanks would have sacrificed his own dream for the sake of the world. (Very fitting!)

But how does Shanks feel about his role in the bigger picture? The short answer: we don’t know, and I think that’s purposeful. Oda consistently draws Shanks looking wistful and resigned when it comes to his choices; although he has severed relationships and damaged his body, not once has he expressed resentment, anger, or sorrow. In fact, he's usually smiling.

Shanks also has his own monologue where he discusses the act of crying.

If you apply his advice to his own character journey, it raises a lot of questions. Does Shanks view his current sacrificial actions as “overcoming” his own tears from back then? Is that why we so rarely see him cry now? Considering how reserved Shanks is in expressing negative emotions, I think it’s possible. His emotional restraint could also be seen as “saving face” for the sake of others – something I’ve discussed before. That is my own interpretation, though, so take it with a grain of salt. 

Speculation aside, Shanks has shown time and time again that he prioritizes the future over his own life. His dedication to/fixation with the "new age," his role as a mentor, how he believes in putting his life on the line and "overcoming" negative emotions... these indicate a pattern of behaviors seen in those with savior complexes. Even if it's at the cost of his own mental/physical well-being, Shanks plans to facilitate the world as Luffy changes it.

Is the "new age" his dream, or did he sacrifice his real dream for the sake of the new age? Does that dream even matter to him, anymore? The reasoning for Shanks' motives is still unknown, but the answer must lie in whatever mysterious question he asked Roger – otherwise, why hide the context for his massive turnabout at Loguetown? Once the curtain is drawn back on that moment, I think we will begin to see Shanks in a new light.

spiraling about the framing here… the way tsukasa is specifically positioned with these two marks so visibly on display, one so temporary it’s drawn like it’s already fading deeming him guilty and the other so solid and near-permanent deeming him the most important and beloved thing in hanako’s life… the way the guilty mark is on his hand marking what he does (if we take hands to represent actions) as making him guilty but the mark of love, which as we know from sumire could be anywhere on his body, is right on tsukasa’s face... the way love is so much stronger than guilt and blame

it reminds me so much of:

I know we don’t have confirmation that he’s talking about tsukasa here, but even if it’s just thematically, the faded guilty stamp and the permanent yorishiro seal are so reminiscent of amane defending this person unrelentingly, never budging, and paying little to no mind to tsuchigomori’s condemnations of this person’s actions. the faded stamp and bold seal contrasting so heavily to say “actions are so fleeting and always changing but love is unwavering.” amane protects this person despite what they’ve done to him. amane kills tsukasa and tsukasa comes back marked as the pinnacle of hanako’s love. actions and guilt and blame are so complicated in tbhk, but love always endures. and it’s all shown so succinctly in this one image of tsukasa this chapter

Hey hey hey! I'm not sure if no one has mentioned this, but I haven't personally seen this kind of thing, so here you go just my random ideas regarding the twins.

What drives me so crazy is the fact that in chapter 81, Tsukasa says after Yashiro returns, " Nene-chan and I are the same! ". I know that Tsukasa probably said that because Nene said he liked Amane, but for some reason I want to believe that there's more to that phrase than just sympathy for Amane. For example: In chapter 15, after Tsukasa's first appearance, Hanako emotionally pins Nane to the floor, but after a couple of seconds, he gets scared and recoils, apologizing. And for some reason, it seemed to me that by pinning Nene to the floor, Hanako felt that he was in the same position that he was in when he killed Tsukasa, which is why he was so scared and depressed.

Those are two little moments that I noticed, and in fact, after that I started to think that maybe the incident and the reason for killing Tsukasa would be revealed directly through Hanako and Nene's interactions, and Idk why, but it just inspired me.

Also, before I get it out of my head. When Amane gets sick, Tsukasa turns to the monster under their house, sacrificing the beasts to get what he wants. The monster or demon, whatever, acts just like Hanako-san, and I'd venture to guess that it was the very first form of Hanako-san even before the ghosts became more human (in terms of something along the lines of the devils that were in the village in the no.6 mystery arc), but my main association was that Tsukasa also begins to adopt the trappings of the no.7 mystery. He also offers to grant Amane his wishes, just as the creature under his house offered to grant Tsukasa's wishes, and it seems to me that if Amane wasn't meant to become the no.7 mystery, then Tsukasa was originally destined to become the no.7 mystery, while Amane committing suicide inadvertently ascribed such a fate to himself? Also, Tsukasa disappeared for an indefinite period of time on Amane's birthday, so I think the fact that he's been living and raised in a circle of baddies for a while could also explain his behavior now.

That's all I wanted to say for sure now. If it was inappropriate, just ignore it, pls.

This phrase from Tsukasa is a mystery to many people. I've seen some people saying that Tsukasa compared himself to Nene because he also loved him "romantically" - when they talked a lot about the theory of the abuse that Hanako suffered from his brother. (one of the old hypotheses)

Hanako is a very emotional boy, despite not saying how he feels he shows it a lot (even against his will) and that's exactly what happened. Hanako killed Tsukasa in that position (apparently) so when Tsukasa reappeared for the first time on the roof, Amane reacted desperately, he was sweating cold, his eyes were petrified, he swallowed hard and started crying. This boy was panicking, I wanted to hear his thoughts at that moment.

He remained motionless and didn't react when Tsukasa appeared, Yashiro threw herself forward to defend Hanako, when Tsukasa left Hanako finally reacted. He didn't see Yashiro there, he saw Tsukasa. Then he pulled her hard and threw her against the ground thinking it was Tsukasa. When Yashiro talks to him, Hanako realizes that she wasn't his younger brother, so he apologizes and leaves.

Apparently, Hanako hadn't seen Tsukasa in a long time, so when he reappeared he simply panicked. He didn't expect and didn't want to meet Tsukasa again, he killed his younger brother, and what does he do when he meets him again? Attacks in the same way as the first time. The problem is that he was so shocked that he didn't react immediately, he reacted later. If he had had an instant reaction, he would have thrown Tsukasa against the ground and they probably would have spoken, although Hanako made this sudden movement, he didn't attack using the knife, he kept looking at Yashiro (imagining it to be Tsukasa) while crying.

So you're right, Hanako reacted that way thinking it was Tsukasa (this just shows us how traumatized he is, because every time he meets Tsukasa he's still in shock, even if it's not the same as the first time he finds him again) Even Kou noticed this.

So let's compare.

Interesting, isn't it? Another interesting thing about this position is that Hanako uses it frequently with Yashiro, did you notice?

If you pay attention to this scene in chapter 39, you will notice that he did the same thing

So we return to Tsukasa's phrase "we are equal" this phrase was not thrown around for nothing. I've seen some people saying that Nene would have the same ending as Tsukasa because they two are really similar. Tsukasa and Yashiro have a very similar behavior pattern in some ways, so this sentence scares me a little. What if Hanako who loved his little brother so much and killed him, did the same for the girl he loves so much? The big question is, why?

So you suspecting that interactions between Yashiro and Hanako might reveal why he killed his younger brother makes sense. The problem is that if you really follow this path, it means that Yashiro will have the same ending as Tsukasa (maybe?)

WOOOOOOOOW I LIKE THIS HYPOTHESIS SO HARD XD

What if Tsukasa was the one who was supposed to become Hanako-san? This is perfect. We don't know what the creature looks like, even if it doesn't have a human appearance, generally it should have a shape, but it seems it doesn't. That's because she was inside Tsukasa, and apparently she also lives inside Amane.

There is a bond between the three, we know that the twins were ordinary humans, and the creature beneath the house (and the abyss) is seen as a God, as it grants wishes. But let's talk about Hanako-san from the legends.

The legend of Hanako-san has several stories about how she died and how she appears when summoned. I did a little research on this, although this legend is very similar to the legend that exists here in my country (almost identical) I noticed that some things could match your theory.

Let's skip the details that you already know about Hanako-san, so they say she could have died from taking her own life, from murder, a bomb, or from being sexually abused before she died.

Taking your own life fits with Hanako-kun's story, ok, let's continue, of all the ways it can be invoked, there is one that matches your hypothesis.

"Hanako-san, after being summoned, can respond with a hoarse voice, as if she were possessed by a demon, because in fact it is not a girl, but a supernatural person who tries to deceive you with the voice of a child, and she says "I'm here" and when you open the door you are faced with a monstrous creature"

If we combine these two parts of the legend "he took his own life" and "whoever opens the door is a demon" this theory makes sense. Hanako-san is a legend that changes over the years, so I can't know for sure if this is the most popular version (because I found many, many)

And the wishes, Hanako-san doesn't grant wishes in any version. The authors are intelligent, and they wouldn't use the legend for nothing to make it easier to predict hahaha

But don't worry, JSHK is like that, you fit a piece here and realize that it doesn't fit right with other pieces of the story. Remember that we are dealing with temporal paradox so this is common.

The twins' connection with Hanako-san is mysterious. It's true that it's possible that other supernaturals could take the 7 Mysteries' place by defeating them, but no one talks about the original Hanako-san. Kou already knew that it wasn't a girl and he also doesn't say if there was another one before Amane. He is from a family of exorcists, even if he wasn't born at the time, family members would mention it, right?

So we have Hanako-san and the God under the house. Are they the same creature? It's a possibility. But if Amane took Tsukasa's place, why does the legend of Hanako-san as a girl still exist? Amane has lived with this creature since he was 4 years old, if he had become Hanako-san from the legends, it wouldn't be Hanako-san, it would be Hanako-kun. Yashiro is surprised to discover that Hanako-san is a boy, which means that the information does not match.

But calm down, don't rule out the hypothesis yet, what if God used someone else? A girl, Hanako-san, and then for some reason Amane took her place?

This is very interesting.

We don't know if Tsukasa would be Hanako-san, the only thing we know is that he was going to stay in the red house and he only came back when he found out about his tragic future, so why would he become Hanako-san? He did not intend to return.

So even if Amane stayed alive and became an adult, Tsukasa wouldn't come back. He said that, he said he knew how to go back but he didn't want to. He only came back because Kou and Nene said that Amane was going to kill him in the future.

Tsukasa was in the red house with the creature and other supernaturals for 6 months, then he returned home. (These 6 months were outside the house, we don't know how time moves inside the red house)

So Tsukasa was missing for six months after his and Amane's anniversary before deciding to return.

Hanako-san probably has a more direct connection with Amane than with Tsukasa. We don't know the relationship Amane has with the creature, your hypothesis remains valid because of this point.

What if the God is Hanako-san and Amane joined him and became Hanako-kun for some specific purpose (because he grants wishes like the creature, I mean, almost) We don't really know how Amane grants wishes, he and Tsukasa don't seem to use the same method as God. The creature magically does what you want instantly and charges a life for it.

Not the twins, they do it on their own, and there is not always the possibility of them being able to do it (even using supernatural abilities). What they ask for in return is random, meaning they don't ask for anyone's life.

You remembered Aoi, didn't you? Yashiro's wished to extend her life, that power is not in Amane's hands, but who can accomplish this? God, of course, which is why Aoi is used as a sacrifice.

It's no wonder that number 6 was doing the same ritual that he did in the village that sacrificed young girls, they sacrificed directly to God. Amane accompanied Aoi on the train, he wanted to take her to the other side since number 6 couldn't.

So Amane asked God to fulfill Yashiro's wish (it's a hypothesis)

It's very interesting to think about the possibility of the God being Hanako-san, but we still need more information to be able to better fit this theory. We know that mysteries change with rumors, so this could have happened to Hanako-san too, but don't you find it curious that the rumor about Hanako is that he is a girl and even though he has this rumor he is still a boy?

Because you know, when a rumor changes, the supernatural is forced to change, whether it's their personality or appearance. Why was it different with Hanako? Why didn't he become a girl?

It's an interesting question.

So, I think your theory is very good! I really liked it and I will remember it! For now it's difficult to fit her into the story now, but we don't know in the future! Never discard a hypothesis until it is proven to be invalid. Let's wait for more information to arrive before we can draw more conclusions.

I'm still going to evaluate your theory further, so I may develop it better in the future and talk about it again. If you find more evidence in the future, you can share it with me if you want :3

I hope you liked it, thanks for the aks!