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opalspring · 11 months ago

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Kotoko's justice and her motivations theory

While Kotoko is still pretty mysterious, there are some parts in Milgram that could hint at her inner workings and why she does the things she does. Here mostly content from her mvs will be discussed. Be careful as this theory discusses sensitive topics.

CW: discussion of kidnapping and SA

The wolf imagery and its possible multiple meanings

Before Deep Cover came out, one theory regarding the wolves in Harrow is that they represented Kotoko’s allies in her actions.

Now that it’s out, it seems more likely Kotoko was acting entirely alone for her actions (so more of a lone wolf image rather than hunting with a pack).

Kotoko has strong ties with both regular wolves and also werewolves, with distinct symbolism for each.

Jacques Roulet was the name of a French man who was accused of being a werewolf in the late XVIth century (source: https://www.historydefined.net/the-french-werewolf-panic/).

The wolf imagery seems to be associated with Kotoko’s sense of justice and her preference for working alone, unlike the werewolf imagery that represents her excesses of violence (imo). This is seen mostly in Harrow, featuring wolves and an overall positive view of Kotoko, then in DC which has her more questionable sides and the whole werewolf image.

Still, I feel like there’s more to the wolves regarding Kotoko’s case.

This article (https://www.psychologies.com/Therapies/Psychanalyse/Dictionnaire-des-reves/Loup) talks about some of the symbolisms of wolves, including violence, aggressivity, etc. This is psychoanalysis so take it with a grain of salt though.

One passage that struck me in particular was this one:

“Most of the time, in dreams, the wolf is a representation of a masculine sexual predator. Like in fairy tales, the wolf is an amateur of fresh meat (Little Red riding hood). Its presence in dreams can signify that the dreamer was exposed to disturbing sexual behaviors, abusive or pedophilic.” (translation)

This is what I think could be the hidden symbolism of the wolf in Kotoko’s mvs: maybe she was sexually abused as a child and developed her vigilante persona/obsession with punishing criminals as a coping mechanism to her trauma.

This part of Kotoko’s past might be hinted at with the flashbacks she gets at two points in Harrow, as she could be the little girl with the pink shirt we see (though this is still just a theory).

I feel like she’d need a very strong reason to go the lengths she goes for her hunt of criminals, unlike someone like Fuuta who also hates injustice, but takes much “lazier” actions for his beliefs for example.

In my opinion, wolves for Kotoko represent both her determination to hunt criminals, and werewolves her childhood trauma and her tendencies for violence depending on the scene/situation.

The wolf (both childhood trauma reminder and a representation of her violence here imo) haunting Kotoko. She also became the aggressor she hates so much like a lot of people pointed out, though in her case it's physical violence.

Kotoko doesn’t understand why she’s still not satisfied after dealing with all the criminals on her list and beating up the guilty prisoners. It could be because her trauma is still occupying her thoughts.

Many people have theorized that the girl with a pink shirt in Harrow could be Kotoko as a child. I completely agree with this, and it could be that Kotoko beat up Takao (the child kidnapper) to the point he died, because the orange dress girl’s situation reminded her so much of her past that she lost all control and killed him in the emotion (unlike the guy in the alley who she just beat up (iirc)).

Kotoko’s flashbacks while killing Takao (the car incident seems to have had an effect on her too).

A detail that’s a little strange is how the man in Kotoko’s flashback looks exactly the same as Takao (he’s even in the same outfit). It’s strange because Deep Cover confirms he’s 24 at the time Kotoko kills him, so he couldn’t be an adult if he was the one who hurt Kotoko as a child. Maybe she sees him as a stand-in for the person who traumatized her in the past?

As a side note, I think both the girl in a dress and the one in a pink shirt are Kotoko in the flashback. Maybe she changed clothes if she was kept captive for multiple days, and the floorboards look identical in both frames.

Some lyrics from Harrow that could refer to Kotoko’s past are these ones imo:

-I’ll teach you the pain you caused

→ as in the pain she suffered herself, hence why she feels like she has to punish criminals

- Becoming light-headed again, it all becomes crazy

The normalcy sought for, Fading away, Everytime death comes

The soul moves forward

and

Newly born “HARROW” “HARROW”

It’s ok to dislike, right?

Losing it, losing it, What should I hope for

Goodnight “HARROW” “HARROW”

Laugh and I can get to like myself

→ this could highlight how Kotoko constantly has something on her mind which makes her day to day life difficult (and that punishing criminals helps with it somewhat)

Kotoko’s self-hatred

If the theory about Kotoko’s childhood trauma is true, I feel like it could explain her general aggressiveness and dissatisfaction with life. Some lines in her mvs hint at her disliking herself too (“Feeding on food so I don’t burn out” etc).

“The feeling of being "cut-off" from peers and "emotional numbness" are both results of CSA and highly inhibit proper social functioning.” (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_sexual_abuse)

(Since wikipedia isn’t always super reliable and I’m not an expert on the subject feel free to correct me if this is incorrect.)

Of course there are other explanations for this kind of behavior, but this info could potentially explain some things about Kotoko.

One thing is how Kotoko keeps her distance from the other prisoners in Milgram and isn’t really close with anybody, not even Kazui for example, who has the same hobby as her (training).

Other prisoners try to get to know her in timeline conversations , but she always stays placid and cuts the conversation short.

Mahiru: Hey, Kotoko-chan. There’s something that’s really been bugging me, so do you mind if I ask?

……how do you style yourself so well? Have you always dressed like that? But it also looks like something you’d wear for training. Do you play sport? Ah, or maybe some kind of martial arts?

Kotoko: ……you really are carefree. Everyone in here is a “murderer” right?

Is this really the time to be asking questions like that?

(tl by Rochisama)

Mikoto: Hey, hey, Koto-chan.

I’ve been thinking this ever since I first heard your name, but...

Don’t you think the names “Mikoto” and “Kotoko” kinda sound like siblings?

Kotoko: No.

Mikoto: Don’t say that!

Let’s get along well from here on as the Koto-Koto combo!

Kotoko: I’m not doing that.

(tl by Rochisama)

She could also just have an aloof personality by nature, but still wanted to point this out.

During Deep Cover, I feel like Kotoko’s diss on the other prisoners is mostly meant to show her own self-hatred rather than her dislike of the other prisoners (though this is definitely true as well).

It’s perfectly normal for someone to dislike some people, or a specific kind of people (like how she mentions disliking Mikoto because he’s loud). However, Kotoko goes well over all that and goes on a rant about each prisoner and their supposed faults in her eyes. In my opinion, it’s very strange that Kotoko dislikes All the other prisoners without exception, and to that degree.

Like said earlier, I think Kotoko’s obsession with justice and punishing “evildoers”, including people like Yuno, is not so much her caring about justice but a way for her to cope with her childhood trauma (Fuuta and his justice-seeking is also similar imo, though in his case my theory is that he was bullied in the past).

We see her beat up multiple people throughout Milgram, but so far her only confirmed victim is Takao. With the emphasis on her flashbacks when thinking about him in Harrow, Kotoko could have killed him instead of beating him up like said above, as his crimes were directly linked to her past experiences, and she couldn’t bring herself to stop before killing him.

I think Kotoko doesn’t really care about the other prisoners cases’ specifics in the end, she might be just searching for an excuse to prove to herself that she’s one of the “strong ones” who protect the weak, like she mentions to Es in her second vd and in a distorted line in one of the trailers:

“From the beginning I've never asked for your understanding! My actions, one by one, are bringing earth closer to peace. Useless Weaklings should just shut up and let me protect them!" (tl by milgram_en)

As in, she’s trying to prove all that to herself most and foremost.

Why does Kotoko look so restless here? Of course she’s happy to rescue the girl, but why is she sweating so hard and grabbing the girl by the collar? In my opinion, this could be because she’s still shaken up from Takao’s killing (in the sense that she just killed the equivalent of the person who hurt her as a child, if we go with that theory). Maybe Kotoko sees herself in the orange dress girl, and she wishes someone had been there to save her too when it happened to her in the past.

It could be why she instinctively pushes the girl away (?) when she hugs her (though later in the mv we see they get along).

Another detail in Deep Cover that’s pretty interesting is the last line in the lyrics:

“They’re still here, still here, it grates me”

From the previous lines it’s implied she’s talking about the other prisoners, more specifically the innocent ones in T1. So they get on her nerves because they were incorrectly judged and couldn’t be punished by her (imo).

The Japanese line however is a lot more vague:

“ほら残ってさ　残ってさ　鬱雑いね”

The line means the same thing, except the subject isn’t made clear. So a literal translation could be like “X is still here, X is still here, it grates me”

The English translations are official so maybe I’m overthinking this, but maybe Kotoko could be talking about her thoughts here? This is a reach, but “X” might refer to flashbacks of her childhood trauma, especially if we go along with the theory that the wolf at the end of DC= Kotoko’s trauma personified. This is just speculation though.

I feel like the subject in the last line being the wolf/Kotoko’s trauma could explain why she looks so distressed here, despite just having finished insulting the prisoners.

Plus, the next frame shows Kotoko’s chess piece being covered in blood/marked guilty like the other prisoners’. Imo this shows both Kotoko’s realization that she went too far with her “justice”, and that even after enacting it, she’s still not satisfied (because the real cause of her justice-seeking could be her trauma).

#can't wait to see Ktk's reaction to her verdict in T3 #angry at her for beating up other prisoners but it's interesting to think about what could have led her to get her mindset #though it's hard to know for sure #milgram #milgram theory

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