[qno2]

Originally Posted by Valkama

One thing that people might consider to be a hint though. In EP3 when Battler starts theorizing about one of the servants is the culprit Beatrice acts really childish with her retaliations and Battler even mentions she looks like she's getting really worried.

Another little hint in regards to both the "personalities =/= human" issue and the "cheap trick" of EP6: the whole deal about Fukuin-children receiving a different name. It's not like Sayo or Yoshida being their "true" names ever really mattered. If anything you could've always seen it as "Kanon the servant is dead, Yoshida is still running wild".

So either that whole mechanism was absolutely pointless (in terms of dealing with red; of course it plays into the topic of "hidden/second personalities") or it served as a hint towards semantic cheating. Something that none of the other characters have, maybe aside Battler (from the perspective of EP4, since his identity had become somewhat questionable back then).

Originally Posted by Valkama

Later Shannon and Kanon both seem to revive with Beatrice's revival which is a bit symbolic.

I've been wondering a bit about EP3. Alright, so both Kanon and Shannon are declared dead pretty early on and the "resurrection" is portrayed as a pretty difficult process, so instantly switching between the two seems out of question - unlike EP6, where both (or at least Shannon) were still alive, depending on where you place the time of Kanon's "death" (duel or inside the closet) - so: who was Yasu in that timeframe during EP3?

Basically, does Yasu turn into Beatrice whenever both of her "human" personas die (the famous "18<X<19") or is she literally "empty"? Doesn't really matter in terms of red, but it interests me concerning her portrayed personality. Personally I'd go for the former but maybe I've overlooked something.

Originally Posted by Valkama

I've been meaning to look back through EP1 and EP2 looking for Shkanon hints I just haven't had the time.

A few examples that come to my mind, I might get details wrong however. We could argue whether c) and e) are even hints or just coincidence, so I'll use a smaller font for them.

a) EP1, Kanon's first appearance, at the end of his encounter with Battler. Something along the lines of 'he says something he couldn't hear himself' or 'wasn't directed at himself'. Of course this hint for Shkanon only makes sense once you consciously look for Shkanon, otherwise it's Kanon just having very faint feelings/emotions/thoughts.

b) EP2 prologue, the obvious choice.

c) the golden butterflies back in EP1 appeared after Shannon received the ring and at Kanon's 'rebellion' (and Shkanontrice's big entrance at the end of course); there are none for the other killings. Does it mean anything? Beats me, but Ryukishi could've easily shown them for the other killings as well, but then it wouldn't be possible for the reader to get the idea that maybe, possibly, Shkanon needs to be present for the 'magic' to happen; of course, towards the end of the game all bets are off anyway. My memory might lie to me though and the butterflies appeared even without Kanons and Shannons presence in EP1.

d) Shkanon having knowledge of previous Gameboards in both EP3 and EP4, and that they generally hold a special role (even in EP2, nobody interacts as much with Beatrice).

e) heck, once you start looking for them, even really small things come up... it's odd how only Shannon and Kanon are just quietly standing in the corner during Kinzo's Last Supper up until the end (and then there's Genji being himself... with the slight difference that he 'dies' in the scene anyway), especially considering Kanons rebellious nature... as if they were "puppets".


Overall I find it hard to differentiate when something becomes a hint or just fits post-hoc into our Shkanon solution. Aside the pony-promise there were few strong leads.