Martin wrote:It is my belief that the truth of Shenmue underlies the beautiful fecade of asian culture, and 1980s espionage. I believe that my theory explains anomalies/inconsistancies within the game, and it's storyline. You've definitely never heard a Shenmue theory quite like this one, so please open your minds, and consider these things (a closed mind is like a closed fist).
To begin with, let's consider the facts (every good theory starts with the facts). What do we have? A young man (Ryo Hazuki), avenging his fathers' (Iwao Hazuki) death, in 1980s Asia (Japan and China, thus far). Said young man embarks upon an adventure across a whole continent. From his little suburban paradice in a little Yokosuka culdesac, the the lush sweeping landscape of Guilin (thus far). It's an adventure, alright. However, I believe that there is more here than meets the eye.
Now, where do I start? I believe that Iwao was an extremely abusive father, who ruled the Hazuki household with an iron fist, ever since Ryo has known him ("Eat your FUCKING carrots!"), up to the day he was killed. Where do I get this idea from? Well, one look at Ryo should be enough. Any psychiatrist could take one look at Ryo, and tell you that he has some very deep-seated problems, stemming from an extremely troubled childhood (anything from mental, to extreme sexual abuse).
You can see it with the way he interects with the world around him. He clearly sees everything through a child's eyes. His sheer sense of wonder at picking random objects up, and scrutinizing them, is textbook child behavior. His fascination with toys is a more obvious example of this. Collecting capsule toys of SEGA games is something children do, and 18-year-old men do neither of the above.
You can also see it in the way he interects with others. Ryo never seems at ease with strangers, especially members of the opposite sex (even ones that he knows). He is often quite rude (unintentionally), and clearly doesn't know how to communicate, on a first-time basis. You don't just go up to complete strangers, asking "Excuse me, where can I find some sailors around here?". Of course, we all know this, and would go about asking the same question very differently.
However, because of Ryo's troubled upbringing, he lacks communication skills for a person of his age. Where you or I would take time out to introduce ourselves, explain our plight (at least a little), and slowly introduce our question, so that it will not seem so worryingly obscure and random, Ryo happily blurts out all these weird and wonderful inquesitions just as they appear to him in his head. 18 year-olds do not act in this manner.
The juxtaposition of Ryo's 'quest' is also a part of my theory. If Ryo is determined enough not to let the sexual advances of gorgeous women get in the way of his mission (he could have at least kissed Nozomi, with tongues, on several occasions, and Joy asked him to stay at her apartment, obviously for sex), then how can things like arcades, capsule toy machines, arm-wrestling, darts (etc..) so easily distract him? Surely sex would be the top of any 18-year-old males' list? Not Ryo. Everything he does and says bleeds innosense.
What I am leading up to, is that Ryo clearly has the mental age of a child, brought about by severe physical, mental, and possibly even sexual abuse, at the hands of his father, Iwao. Sexual abuse? Notice how, not once, not ever does Ryo change his clothing. It's not because he's lazy, or that he doesn't believe in washing, or even simply that he is a slob. No. Ryo is afraid of nudity, specifically; being naked himself.
This irrational fear obvisouly inhibits his ability to wear fresh clothing everyday, and is (in my view) brought on by the sexual abuse he experianced as a child. He thinks, in that little immature mind of his, that if he never takes his clothes off, then daddy can't come into his room at night and sodomise him, whilst stroking his face and whispering "You're daddy's little boy, aren't you?". He thinks that daddy will never be able to hurt him, ever again, if he doesn't get undressed. Doing so brings it all back.
Next on my 'hit-list' is Ryo's mother. Her 'death' fits in perfectly with my theory. I believe she was possibly murdered by Iwao, or left him for another man. Iwao, being the extremely abusive, and probably sexualy distant man that he was, drove his wife to the brink of dispair. For, how can you maintain a loving relationship with a man who not only physically abuses you, but is also non-existant in the bedroom? She couldn't, and left for China (where she almost certainly came from, judging by her belongings in the basement). Either of the above would fit. I'm in two minds of which is the correct version of events, so I mentioned both possibilities.
Now we must consider Ine-san and Fuku-san. They are like polar opposites, both to each other, and to Ryo. Ine-san is the very image of a broken woman. For many years she has lived under constant fear of the master of the house, and has probably been the victim/witness of many beatings, assaults, and general Hazuki household nastiness. She was no doubt the individual charged with the task of explaining away Ryo's odd behavior and physical injuries to his mother. Ryo pities her, and sees her as a maturnal figure, but a pitiful one. She may have even been a sexual slave of Iwao's, though I doubt this.
From the evidence at hand, I believe Iwao was a closet homosexual, who felt it his duty (long standing tradition) to wed with a beautiful woman, and concieve an heir to his legacy. As such, Iwao felt that the birth of Ryo satisfied this 'need'. However, this invariably led to Iwao taking his sexual frustrations out on Ryo, and much of his anger (resultant from his sexual frustrations) out on his wife, and Ine-san/Ryo, to a lesser extent. At this time in Japan, it was definitely not exceptable for a man of Iwao's status to be gay. Iwao was indeed a monster that society created.
While I'm on the subject, I do not believe that Ryo's mother cared much for Ryo, for she would have either killed Iwao (instead of being killed by him as I stated in possibility 1), or taken him with her (instead of just leaving as I stated in possibility 2). Not that she had always been so flippant about her son. Far from it. She most likely spent much of her time in that household, under constant fear for her very life. Suffering from such conditions, for such a prolonged period of time (we're talking years) wears a person down, eventually to a point where they don't care about anything.
This inevitably leeds to Ryo's mother becoming a heavy drinker. Iwao was a man of exacting ruthlessness. He would never allow something like alcohol to cloud his terrifying judgement whilst at home, to make him appear weak. Ryo's mother, on the other hand, needed an escape, and almost certainly found one in alcohol. Anything to numb the pain. The only thing readily available to a Japanese housewife of this period to fit the bill was of course; Alcohol. This leads to a conclusion, almost without doubt, that (at least in her later years, before she died/left) Ryo's mother was hitting the bottle everyday, and hitting it hard. She probably didn't even know she had a son, by the end.
Back to Fuku-san. Herepresents an anomoly in the Hazuki household. In the game, when speaking of Iwao, Fuku-san is the only one who seems truly sad at his passing. Ine-san seems like an emotionally-scarred, physically fragile woman (potentially from years of beatings), who seems asif she should be upset, not that she actually is (of course she isn't). Ryo seems so distant, and emotionally handicapped, both from a life of physical and mental torture, and from conflicting feeling at his father's demise, of what he should feel, and what he actually does. Fuku-san is the odd one out of the household. Why is this..?
Well, I believe that Fuku-san was never exposed to Iwao's evil side. The latest to join the household, I think that Fuku-san represents Iwao's opportunity to change, to start again. For Iwao wasn't truly evil. He wanted to be a good man. It was too late for Ryo, who he had already sodomised and beaten. He could never have a real father/son relationship with Ryo. He could scare Ryo into pretending (and he often did), but they both knew it was a sham. He could never give Ryo back his innocense. However, Fuku-san joining the house presented an opportunity for Iwao to play 'father' with someone who didn't know any better. With a boy who was very ugly, and posed no attractiveness on any sexual level. Iwao revelled in this newfound relationship.
This can be seen in-game, when Fuku-san is generally appalled at Iwao's death. Iwao was like a father to him. A role which Iwao no-doubt cherished and lived to it's fullest, just to feel normal (if only for a little while). He lovingly refers to him as 'Hazuki-sensei', a statement not to be ignored or under-minded. If this is the case, then shouldn't Ryo hate Fuku-san? No. Ryo sees Fuku-san as the only innocent person in the Hazuki household. He reminds him of how he should have been raised. In these solumb thoughts, Ryo finds comfort, if only a little bit. Fuku-san represents the only remaining ounce of purity in that house, which has not been defiled by it's master, or failed to speak out and end Ryo's suffering (something which Ryo holds contemp for his Ine-san, and in particular, his mother).
Nozomi is also another ingredient in this mix, which perpetuates Ryo's self-torment. For, while Ryo is mentally immature, he does recognise that he should be doing certain things. Things like dating, etc. Nozomi represents a small attemped on his part, to reach out for the life that he should be leading, which is downplayed and eventually ruined by Ryo's own haphazardness in these situations, brought on by mental instability, self-loathing, and general feelings of worthlessness. Ryo is in many ways, the complete negative of his father. Where Iwao definitely had a superiority-complex (brought on by his secret homosexualty, and his attemps to compensate and appear normal), Ryo, by contrast, suffers from an inferiority-complex. This is evident throughout his entire adventure, though becomes less prominent, the further into his quest he gets.
So if all this is true, why does Ryo chase Lan Di? Shouldn't he be relieved at his father's murder, and just live the rest of his life a happy man, finally free from the tirrany of Iwao Hazuki? Well, her's where Ryo's sense of self-loathing, brought on by his confused and under-developed emotions comes in. Firstly, Ryo thinks that, if he avenges his father's death, he will show loyalty to his father's legacy (important in Japanese society). Secondly (more importantly), if Ryo succeeds, he will finally have 'beat' his father. Iwao instilled feelings of self-hate, and worthlessness within Ryo. Completing such a long, dangerous quest will prove to Iwao, and to himself that he is not 'worthless', and can accomplish great things. Doing so would mean that Ryo no longer lives in his father's terrifying shadow. Maybe then, the nightmares, the self-loathinfg, and constant feeling of utter dread will go away. Lan Di is just the key. The treasure at the end of the rainbow, if you will.
As Ryo's journey takes him to Hong Kong and beyond, we see him begin to come out of his shell, the invisible barrier he uses to keep the world at bay, to protect himself. He starts to show feelings of indepenace, and self-worth. In Shenmue II, partakes in things such as gambling, street fighter (for money, not self-defence), etc. Things which his father would never permit. Ryo begins, if only slightly, to rebel against Iwao, against his memory, and what he stood for. The cave sequence near the end of the second game is further evidence of this. Ryo is alone, at night, with a pretty girl. Sure, nothing happens, and Ryo is still obviously battling his demons at this point (otherwise he'd have shagged her), but he is slowly recovering from years of abuse.
Normally, Ryo would never ever allow himself to get into this situation, with an attractive member of the opposite sex. Remember the several occasions where he practically shuns Nozomi, or the time he turns down the opportunity of staying at a gorgeous biker babes' home, in favour of a cold lonely bed, in a unfriendly hotel, run by a shady man obsessed with gambling. This is the first time that Ryo begins to allow nature to take it's course, the first time that he is not outwardly afraid of his feelings towards the opposite sex, or their advances towards him. He is at this point, beginning to understand his feelings of sexual attraction towards women, instead of running away from them.
This (I believe) is brought on by his slowly increasing feelings of independance and self-worth. Also, Shen Hua is not a member of everday society, that which shunned him and cursed him to an eighteen year nightmare. Shen Hua presents no threat to him, only feelings of awe and wonder. She is also innocent, naive, and quite child-like. She reminds him of himself, and he feels very comfortable with her. The cave sequence is the first time his 'shell' truly starts to crack. The first time he really starts to open up to someone.
Which brings me to my theory, in it's ultimate form. My theory ends in one of two possibilities, of which the reader (you) must decide for youselves which you believe in. Given everthything that has been said, Ryo's journey is not to avenge his father at all, but to prove his own worth, and to 'beat' his father. If he succeeds, daddy can never hurt him. Never again. Then the nightmares, the self-loathing, everything. It'll all stop, and Ryo will be able to get on with his life, and grow as a person, and not fear that which cannot hurt him anymore. That is the first, and most immediate possibility.
The second, and more 'out there' possibility, is the one I happen to adhere to, for it provides all the same answers that Actual Theory Possibility 1 does, while answering/addressing some anomolies which 'Possibility 1 does not. I believe, that, all said and true to this point, the entire journey is fake. I believe it is nothing but a dream. I believe Ryo is dreaming his adventure. It would explain how Ryo magically arrives in Hong Kong in less than 10 minutes from finishing Shenmue I, to starting Shenmue II. More importantly, it would explain how he can spontaneously and flawlessly communicate with the chinese-speaking Hong Kong/Kowloon/Guilin populus.
It would in fact, provide a good answer for the whole journey, and it's general surreal quality, and lack of realism. Dreams often become wilder and more strange the further you get into them. I believe the introduction of supernatural occurances is no coinsidence, and it merely the consequence of a dream, taking his natural course. Ryo getting beaten to a pulp by a bunch of punks, then waking up safe and sound on Wong's boat seems very unlikely to me. That, and the event's inconsistancy with the events that transpired at the end of the first game, namely, the 70 man battle. If Ryo can take on and beat 70 men (admittedly with the help of Guizang), then surely a few punks should pose little problem.
Who placed all those planks? Why was that jumbo jet suicidely skimming the tops of the fucking buildings? These strange occurances, and many more (magical mirrors, mystical trees), are (in my opinion) simply the result of a dream taking it's natural course, becoming more obscure as it goes on. Shenmue is merely a dream which Ryo is having. Ryo lives in utter dread of his father, and his dreams are the only place where he can truly be free. Iwao can't take his dreams away from him. The end of Shenmue II (at the point where it is at it's most obscure) seems to be the end of the dream. Everything goes all strange looking, everything stops, the sound fades away. I think these symbolise Ryo slowly drifting out of sleep and into conciousness.
As such, I predict that Shenmue III, if ever released, will start with Ryo opening his eyes, and seeing his father's shadowy figure over him, carressing his face and softly whispering "You're daddy's little boy..". This would also explain why Shenmue III has never been released, and will never be released, as the game/concept becomes to outlandish for SEGA execs to condone, and give the green light to. My theory explains everything. All the inconsistancies, Ryo's lack of character, all the symbolism, everything. Everything. I believe there's not a Shenmue-related question you could pose which my theory couldn't provide a good possible answer to. I don't think you could say that about any other Shenmue theory. Hence the title.
Discuss.
by Who Really Cares? » Thu Sep 13, 2012 5:23 am 
Seriously you are a genius.
