Am I the only one who thought that Daijin was supposed to represent Suzume’s mother? I’ve read around and haven’t seen anybody bring that up yet, so maybe I’m completely wrong, but that’s how I interpreted Daijin.
Suzume’s mother was said to have disappeared, and I thought it was implied that maybe her mother either disappeared into the Ever After or, how I saw it…became the Keystone. There had to be some narrative significance to why her mother disappeared as opposed to dying.
(*Edit: I also understand that her mother disappearing is representative of the thousands of Japanese citizens who also disappeared during natural disasters like the 2011 tsunami. I’m saying that I also don’t think the movie explicitly shows her death because it keeps her fate open-ended.)
And Suzume longing for her mother, might have lured her into freeing the Daijin.
It explains why the Daijin had so much desire to be loved by Suzume, and to want to be her cat. Maybe Daijin didn’t retain Suzume’s mother’s memories…but perhaps Daijin still felt a strong mother’s urge to reconnect with her daughter, even at the expense of Souta.
It explains why Daijin becomes so hurt specifically when Suzume says she hates Daijin. And why Daijin’s health directly correlates to how much care Suzume expresses towards it. Daijin being Suzume’s mother also explains why Daijin had so much attention for Suzume specifically of all people, and why Daijin was so intent on leading Suzume back to her old home.
It explains why on multiple occasions Daijin protected Suzume from falling, because a mother would have an instinctive urge to protect their children.
It also explains why Daijin reacted so ferociously during the scene where the aunt spat that she saw Suzume as a burden. Maybe it triggered a motherly response to see her daughter spurned so, especially by someone who was supposed to be her mother figure.
Edit 2: This also explains why Suzume is able to even see the Ever After and the worms in the first place. Her mother might have even also be a Closer herself, which would give Suzume the ability to be a Closer too. (This could also explain why Souta’s grandfather recognized Daijin—maybe they were Closers acquainted with each other)
But yes, I interpreted Daijin being free and turning Souta into the keystone as Daijin yearning to reconnect with Suzume, even at the expense of Souta…I think maybe Suzume’s mother might have lost most of her memories or even some of her mortal inhibitions that would prevent her from sacrificing Souta after years of being a Keystone…but her motherly instincts to reconnect with and protect Suzume remained. But much like Suzume’s aunt, Daijin realize that it needs to let Suzume go and grow into her own person. Daijin recognizes this when it sees Suzume’s devotion to Souta, and it’s why right after that moment, Daijin changes its mind and allows itself to become the Keystone again.
I felt like the movie was heavily implying throughout the movie that young Suzume met her mother in the Ever After…but the big reveal was that it was her older self instead.
And the purpose of this reveal was perhaps to show that we shouldn’t dwell on the past, and, as Suzume so emotionally put it, she realized she already had everything she needed since the beginning, just herself.
And that’s also how I rationalized why the film never explicitly states that Daijin was Suzume’s mother, because it also doesn’t want us dwelling on that fact. Like Suzume, we should be able to get closure without knowing what actually happened to her mother.
Daijin becoming the keystone again was, in my opinion, a way of Suzume letting go of her past. And to me this makes the most sense if Daijin was somehow Suzume’s mother. By letting Daijin become the keystone, Suzume is no longer looking for her mother and letting her mother go to rest.
Edit 3: my personal theory is that maybe the disaster of 2011 was when another Keystone somehow escaped, and then Suzume’s mother maybe sacrificed herself to become a Keystone. I think it’s important that the film made it a big reveal that anybody, even humans, could become Keystones. And I think Suzume’s mother became one herself to prevent further disaster…but a combination of perhaps maternal instinct to over protect (paralleling Suzume’s aunt) and Suzume’s grief and adolescent angst…led to Suzume temporarily undoing that sacrifice. But after her journey, Suzume becomes more confident in herself and the people she meets in her current life instead of dwelling on the past. And Daijin, realizing Suzume’s independence, feels at peace letting Suzume go and becomes the keystone again.
Edit 4: as for how the Keystone appeared in southwestern japan if the Mother is from northeastern japan…my internal rationalization for this is that Daijin simply followed Suzume. Which would make sense if daijin is Suzume’s mother. And idk, the film never says it’s impossible for something to be a keystone in different locations—we also saw the black cat traveling around while being a Keystone!
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Did anyone else think that? Or am I misinterpreting things???
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Another thought I had was…I thought this film was extremely Studio Ghibli inspired, and that there were many intentionally direct references:
* There was a social media post saying the cat reminded them of “Whisper of the Heart”.
* I felt Chika’s outfit looked a LOT like Chihiro’s pink outfit in Spirited away
* The first abandoned town was said to be an abandoned bathhouse district, much like the abandoned bathhouse district of Spirited Away.
* **The song playing on the radio, Rouge no Dengon, is literally from Kiki’s Delivery Service.**
* Is Souta supposed to look like Howl lol. Also having a door where you can talk to your talk to your younger self has to have been inspired by Howl’s Moving Castle!
* The scene where Suzume falls through the sky while clinging onto the transformed Sadaijin reminded me a lot of Chihiro riding on Haku in Spirited Away.
This theory shouldn’t be strange because Makoto Shinkai clearly attempted a Studio Ghibli inspired romp before with Children Who Chase Lost Voices…but I’m glad that this movie turned out so much better–at least it did, in my opinion. I really, really liked this movie…but I hope I didn’t misinterpret it, because I haven’t read anyone else sharing these theories so I hope I’m not alone in my thoughts!
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