#and neku’s arc in the og twewy was a tough act to follow i mean c’mon. i’m glad they didn’t try to repeat and outdo themselves.

[goldensunset]

ok i actually have something to say here as an endgame conclusive thought. so in the first game the symbolism with neku’s headphones was pretty obvious- they represented how he shut everyone else out and never wanted to listen to them. he put them on at the very beginning and wore them the entire game until he took them off at the very end. showing that his character development was complete.

with rindo… it’s a little more subtle. i mean the way they handled his character development in general, but also specifically the physical representation of his anxiety. it’s the mask, right? totally. i mean it’s confirmed by the creators that that’s the reason it was incorporated into his design. rindo never speaks up for himself and hides who he is. but then many people feel that the symbolism falls flat since he only actually wears it properly over his mouth and nose one time, at the very beginning of the game. (i guess devs didn’t want to go the whole game without showing half the protags’ face, but i think it would have been perfectly fine. and actually super cool too. ah well.)

however! it’s at this moment that the other piece of symbolism becomes apparent: his phone. the guy isn’t always wearing his mask but he IS always holding his phone. in almost all of his sprites. in his 3D character model. from the very beginning of the game. and better yet, a lot of his sprites have him looking so closely at his phone that he’s holding it directly in front of his face. he’s hiding behind it. like it’s a mask.

he never expresses himself out loud in person. he buries himself in his apps and games and only talks to his online friend. he’s got a social media addiction and seeks validation on the internet (feel called out yet?). but now he’s real friends with other people in real life. and better yet, his online friend is right here in person. and now he knows the real her too. (not to say that swallow was a fake persona, but it was only one part of her. online friendships are real and valid but there’s only so much you can claim to know about someone based on your interactions behind a screen. they’re still effectively a stranger.) anyway, rindo doesn’t need to be glued to his phone anymore now that he has a healthier support system in his life.

and much like the last shots of twewy have neku taking off his headphones, here in the last few moments of ntwewy, rindo puts away his phone, ready to get out into the world again. good for him.