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humbugghere · 10 months

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Going insane over P:EG - Eva Tsunaka’s imitation「模倣」piece.

Okay, so my previous post seemed to scratch an itch for some of y’all so I figured while I’m working on the big video I should post my other analysis (if you havent seen Diana's btw its here). So I’ll be hitting on Nifast’s _imitation

「模倣」_series again with Eva’s piece, as seen below:

(Credit to Nifast hi Nifast)

Alright let’s start, I’m copypasting this from the google doc as per usual. Prologue spoilers are in this one btw

Introduction

Eva Tsunaka is among the more enigmatic members of the cast, with many of her basic details obscured by the staff, her very own bio referring to her as a “Truly quiet and mysterious figure”, and the enigma that is her behavior in the prologue, Tsunaka has been set up to be this games “black box”, and while her essential characterization is out in the open, her deeper motives and psyche are likely to stay obscured for a while within the story.

However, via the Imitation「模倣」series, we get another glimpse into Eva, with her being given a portrait in a series of 9 covering the female cast, giving an abstract view into their place in the story.

Unlike my previous essay on Cara, however, this piece has a massive asterisk: Eva is alive. While Cara, Tacticum in death, and the information handed to us being absolute in summing her up, can be analyzed in full, there will be certain aspects of this art that can only be fully digested upon either Eva’s death or upon her survival of the killing game. Eva is a character who strikes me as one who may die incredibly early, or make it into the annals of the killing game.

Regardless, there is no doubt that her presence, in rebutting Wolfgang’s hope in the student's titles, and in the distrust sowed thanks to her talent and nonchalant behaviour, will have a profound impact on the cast, whether or not she may continue to live and act within the story. As it stands, Eva is alive. So while we may not do a true autopsy, we may begin to sterilize our tools and set the scene.

Eva Tsunaka - Within Reality

This section, more than anything, is meant to remind the reader of key moments within the prologue, that both act to define Eva’s character and help inform a calculated analysis of the piece.

The first thing of note is how Eva refers to her talent. After being pressured on how she came to be the Ultimate Liar, she waved such concerns away, simply saying it is what she is.

This use of the word what lines up perfectly with the whole of the Imitation「模倣」series, as each portrait is framed as a response to the question “What are you?”. The response assigned to Eva, being “a lie” again lines up perfectly with her response. All of this is capped off by the end of the art book, which poses a question, almost identical yet strikingly opposite: “Who are you?”.

This question goes unanswered, at least for now. At least for some.

N doing this, we can see a very clear dichotomy between her talent, and her. While Eva has been awarded the title of liar, it is merely what she is - not who she is. It it wholly separate from her identity as a person.

Another thing worth mentioning is the contrast between how Eva handles herself, and how the rest of the cast does. While much of the cast is apprehensive (aside from a few like Cassidy who don’t actively suspect Eva for her talent), Eva is wholly dismissive of their accusations, inviting them to believe whatever they wish to believe. While there is no direct correlation to be drawn, having this part of her in mind will serve us well.

Finally, Eva’s prodding is another key feature of her character. Being the first person to ask the hard-hitting, perhaps harsh questions to characters such as Ingrid and Cassidy about their talents, as well as serving as the principal voice against Wolfgang and Damon in the trial. While she is willing to concede if given a sufficient answer, or hopelessly outnumbers, Eva is still someone who wishes to play an active role in any conversation she has, in order to extract as much information as possible. Again, this is something to keep in mind moving forward.

We can conclude as such that Eva is a single-minded woman, one who is guided by her own questions and observations and is more than willing to disregard any ire she may attract in doing so. While this essay does not discuss her ultimate goals, we may understand the person who has set these goals in the process of doing this analysis.

Eva Tsunaka - Imitation 「模倣」

The portrait of the two Tsunaka’s, henceforth referred to as Black and White, after the colors of their respective hair, is the first one we see within the artbook, and serves as a striking establishment of the mood and rules that define this artbook. By featuring two “versions” of Eva, both that seem to look like her, yet are distinctly not Eva on closer inspection.

This establishes the explicit theme of imitation, as these two figures imitate Eva, but also highlights how these “Imitations” can’t be considered a true reflection of Eva, both in their obvious differences to her design, and the portraits themselves framed as a response to the question “What are you?”.

This question, while tackling many aspects of a person such as creed, nationality, and perhaps characteristics, can never truly capture the cadence of the question “Who are you?”, which directly addresses a person's Identity.

As such, we can establish these portraits serve to outline the public perception of each character, and indeed how this perception latches onto them and molds them in some regards. With this established, we can focus on Tsunaka alone.

The first feature of note is the dichotomy between the two figures, Black and White. While White seems to be wearing Eva’s iconic outfit, Black is not - in fact, the outfit itself seems to be a direct inversion, with Eva wearing a black suit over a white dress shirt, topped off with a bow tie. However, despite this glaring difference, it is Black who has any reference to Eva’s animal motif of a raven, with White’s jacket glaringly lacking the button normally seen.

Not only does this reinforce the idea that neither of these two figures is truly Eva, but it also makes the reader realizes that with their monochromatic hair and the inconsistencies between their designs in regards to being a copy of Eva - the combination - or perhaps reunion - of these two figures is the only way to truly “find” Eva again. Throughout the prologue, it is very obvious that Eva, while being a major force in navigating the strange circumstances of this kidnapping, is still someone who is withholding information. Furthermore, Eva is someone who, despite wishing for the cast to survive, pushes firmly against the idea of open cooperation.

In order to properly elaborate on how the introduction of these dichotomies helps inform our view of Eva, we must look into Black and White properly. What makes them different? For one, the exclusion of crow symbolism, while staying faithful to Eva’s outfit is no coincidence. The animal motifs are consistently a defining part of a character, especially in informing their personality. By stripping this feature from White, it by extension strips Eva of her humanity, which is extenuated by the lack of sheen in her eyes. Together, this makes White seem like nothing more than a model or a doll.

In doing so, this reflects how the cast perceives Eva, being suspicious of her talents and her behavior throughout the prologue and likely throughout the game following the prologue. This objectification of Eva present in white is further supported by the lack of gleam in her eyes as if there wasn’t anything behind them.

As for Black, there are several details to pick up on. For one, Black features Eva’s feather, which demonstrates how this stand-in, to some degree, is a more accurate representation of Eva, the person.

However, this falls apart upon even a surface-level inspection. Black’s outfit is quite literally an inversion of Eva’s usual outfit, with a black suit, white shirt, and a bow tie. This could symbolize the fact that, under her visage in the killing game, Eva is very much different from the stoic cynic we’ve seen.

Furthermore, her hair is notably cut short and not allowed to grow properly in places, in contrast to white long, practically unruly hair. While White’s hair may symbolize the cast's fears that Eva may run wild in the killing game, the short hair may represent Eva’s potential being stumped, perhaps by her own fear to act, perhaps by the pressure of the cast around her… or perhaps by death.

There is also the obvious distinction that Black does have a gleam in its eyes, unlike White, lending credence to the idea that it represents the human part of Eva.

In summary, White represents the image the cast has of Eva, and how their fear and distrust of her strips her of her humanity and personality. Black, however, represents the self-image Eva has of herself, and how it both differs and is ultimately affected by the killing game around her.

Now that we have an understanding of what these two figures represent, we can now answer this analysis’ pivotal question: What is the point of comparing the two figures?

The explicit purpose is simple: It establishes the futility of defining Eva in a black-and-white manner. Her design so far has highlighted this by being a mix of black and white, in particular with her hair, which blends these two colors vivaciously. The separation of the two figures, especially in their monotone hair, symbolizes how both of these views of Eva, both the distrustful one of her classmates and her own self-image, can not truly reflect who she is. Only by understanding both of them, can we truly know who Eva is.

This rebuttal of a black-and-white view of Eva is also supported by the mixture of colors in the figures. White wears a black shirt, Black wears a white one. Both of them carry a part of the other in their designs and ergo their beings, and can be seen looking at each other's halo, used to shed light on the both of them and make them visible in the otherwise pitch-black environment. This simple gesture shows that the two acknowledge each other - showing how over time, it is likely Eva will not just ignore but accept her class's views on her, and the class will recognize that Eva is not merely a suspicious figure, but a person and potential ally in ending this game, in a manner reminiscent of Yinyang.

Furthermore, there is also the introduction of a “wild-card” Color: Red, visible in the bowtie/necktie and headbands. Red is a color with much history behind it, being the color of blood and as such attraction connections to courage, bravery, and sacrifice. On the other hand, it has also represented revenge, danger, domination, and anger. While both neck accessories are visible, Black’s headband is obscured by the light, perhaps showing that Eva does not wish to act on any principle of domination or revenge, despite what the class thinks.

For a final detail, the page after this image, the one directly answering the question “What are you?” The answer “A lie.” is given. This again reinforces that lies, and by extension lying, are not a part of Eva’s identity, both in being a response to a question of What Eva is, as well as the raven’s eye being obscured by the letter “A”, symbolizing how Eva’s talent does nothing but obscure her true nature under a thin visage of perjury.

Eva Tsunaka - Conclusion:

This piece serves to both introduce the concept of the Imitation 「模倣」series, as well as symbolize the conflict between Eva’s perception within her own mind and within the minds of the cast as a whole.

This is done by underlining the flaws within them. The cast’s idea of who Eva is is only a surface-level understanding (with Eva having a rudimentary version of her outfit on) - that practically objectifies her (seen by her glazed-over eyes on the right). Meanwhile, Eva’s self-image is more truthful to her, though still not reflecting her circumstances (as symbolized by the incorrect outfit) and obscuring her deeper behaviors (as seen by the red headband being obscured by her Halo).

Furthermore, by highlighting these flaws, and the differences between these two perceptions of Tsunaka, calls attention to how a genuine understanding of who she is can only be attained by considering both the public perception and self-image of Tsunnaka, as her own self-reflection may result in her cowering from parts of herself that only a neutral crowd would be willing to discuss. However, this same crowd would find it near impossible to truly comprehend her mind - like with anyone.

Indeed, this is something that can be applied to any of the students - the idea that they must make peace with their own self-image and their public persona, to truly understand themselves and each other. This, however, is a central theme of Tsunaka and suggests that her role in the story will be one that, rather than directly inspire change, will force the cast to reflect on their views of her, and in time, their classmates… and themselves.

#Project: Eden's Garden #project edens garden #Project: edens garden #P:EG #project eden's garden #Eva Tsunaka #Tsunaka Eva #Fantheory #Theorycrafting #I really like this game as you can tell #Thispost isover 2000 words long LMAO

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