the following theory was written by "mai x":
"It goes without saying but Yuno’s MV is far easier to decode than
Haruka’s. I’m sure everyone’s figured out that her ‘murder’ refers to her
abortions.
A little cultural context before this interpretation. 『援助交際』 (enjo kousai) is
compensated dating, specifically when older men give money/gifts to younger
women for dates and ‘other’ services. YouTube, please have mercy. It’s most
commonly practised by high school girls and some businesses have been formed
around the concept of ‘dating’ these high schoolers. I’m certain this is what
Yuno is partaking in. The practice is not limited to Japan, but the term itself
is Japanese.
There’ll be some paraphrasing since the official translator likely went with
certain word/sentence choices to replicate her honeyed way of speaking into
English.
0:00 The scene opens with the balloon, one similar to Yuno’s skin tone. Although
technically filled with air, it’s ‘empty’. This represents her abdomen/uterus.
0:06 Her starting expression is forlorn, but when she looks at us, she smiles.
We’re in the viewpoint of a client for this scene. The shifting of her
expression is constant throughout the MV and implies that this line of work
doesn’t make her happy. She might believe that material goods can compensate for
her loneliness/sadness.
0:23 She’s on the train, likely on the way to school. Her words at this point
can be interpreted in two ways. Either, it’s what she tells her clients or it’s
a reiteration of a client’s words. The latter is more likely. “This is a little
weird. I’m not used to this kinda thing. Don’t tell anyone that I’m interested
in you, okay?” implies that this person has a reputation to uphold. At least one
of her clients is probably someone of high status (e.g. an executive) or someone
who’s meant to be respected (e.g. a teacher). Enjo kousai is shamed, but it’s
not uncommon for ‘respectable’ figures to partake in it. Not to mention, Yuno
herself doesn’t view authority figures highly. Also, air pods? Really? What a
flex.
0:29 She averts her gaze from her phone to the viewer. One of her clients likely
spotted Yuno and tried to communicate with her. “Why are you here? It’s a bit
annoying. I can’t smile normally anymore because of you” are her inner thoughts
aimed towards him. She obviously wouldn’t voice them. In the MV, when Yuno is
with a client, she is shown smiling, but since this is outside of her designated
time slots, she doesn’t bother.
Yuno then looks down at her phone, scrolls up and sees a new notification. The
client probably sent her that to get her attention. Her bothered expression is
shown in the phone’s reflection.
There are also 4 larger ‘profiles pics’ on the app she uses. Those 4 are
probably her clients.
0:39 It’s natural to assume that the person in front of her is another client,
but judging from how the hands are drawn, this is likely one of Yuno’s peers.
She probably asked Yuno if she was alright and Yuno brushed her off with an
awkward smile. Yuno either doesn’t want her to know or is giving a knowing smile
that her friend can relate to her.
0:45 “Wasn’t tomorrow my day off? Oh well, I guess it doesn’t matter.” She views
it as a job and can find it tiresome. The three hearts represent Yuno’s heart,
her current client’s, and the foetus’. Her less profitable clients are
represented by outlines, whereas the more profitable ones have filled hearts,
implying that she puts more effort into her dates with them. The line in the
backdrop likely represents an umbilical cord.
We see 4 depictions of Yuno, which showcase her clients’ preferences. It’s more
confusing to explain them using timestamps, so I’ll describe what can be
inferred from each client.
Client 1 (yellow top): A less profitable client. He probably likes an outgoing
and adventurous character. Her clothes are casual and their date spots aren’t
fancy—the park and karaoke. Idk why they chose to display Hachikou’s statue? My
guess is that how he waited 9 years for his owner parallels with how mothers
wait 9 months for their baby to be delivered. Possibly. In the karaoke scene,
it’s clear that Yuno doesn’t view him highly. There’s 『虫』 written on a heart in
the background, meaning ‘insect’. Might be what she calls him behind his back.
If the red shape is meant to resemble the womb, however, it implies that she
thinks of the foetus as a pest. The blue/brown oval on the left-hand side might
represent her fertilised egg at the 4 cell stage.
Client 2 (school uniform): He’s probably the least profitable client. Might be
roughly the same age as her since he doesn’t seem to mind being seen with a
highschooler. Either that or he’s into her uniform. He buys cheap gifts like
plushies and (overpriced) novelty drinks. Judging by what he gives her, this
client is probably into the ‘cuteness factor’. The juxtaposition between the
drinks could represent the two sides of Yuno; her saccharine side is for her
clients, while the plain and bitter/sour side is for herself/her true friends.
Client 3 (shoulderless dress): A high-income client. He takes her to the Tokyo
Skytree and treats her to fancy restaurant overlooking the Tokyo tower. Notice
how the formatting of her text is different. It implies that she speaks to him
in a more elegant manner. He’s also aware that she’s a minor (in Japan)
considering how she has a champagne glass full of water.
Client 4 (plaid top): Might be the most profitable client. He takes her to an
amusement park (Nagashima Spa Land, I think, but feel free to correct me) and
his car is lush af. The pigtails and cloud-like speech bubbles give away that
he’s into the 『ぶりっ子』(burikko) character; a Western equivalent would be the
airhead/baby girl, I guess. It’s slightly more over the top tho.
The “I want to meet you as many times as possible” can be both her words or her
clients.
0:58 Her balloon is filled with smaller balloons, representing the composition
of the foetus. The red balloon represents its heart.
1:00 The stairs represent the double helix structure of her DNA. The gifts, bags
and shoes scattered on the staircase could represent the nucleobases. Those
coloured balloons represent the nuclei fusion of the male and female gamete,
while the white balloons in the background represent sperm cells.
『好きと好きがリンクする』(‘Love’ and ‘love’ links us together) The reason why ‘love/like’ is
repeated twice is probably because they’re not referring to the same type of
love, i.e. Yuno’s clients like her, but Yuno only likes the material goods they
provide her. This ties in with Es’ line 『何かが足りないんだ』(something isn’t enough).
Yuno wants more gifts/money. Her clients want more of her. Her relationships are
transactional.
When Yuno says that she’s alone and that the warmth starts fading, she’s
referring to temperature 『温度』. This could refer to how she no longer gets hot
flashes/night sweats (usually happens within the first/second trimester) once
she’s had the abortion.
Whereas the ‘warmth’ she reloads is ‘kindness’/’gentleness’ 『優しさ』. Her sweet
persona is an act.
1:13 The 『ふーふー』 (fu, fu) is the sound of Yuno breathing in and out. It can
either be interpreted as her being in pain or sighing relief when she finally
aborts the foetus. It’s also the sound of her inflating her balloon, which
represents the swelling of her uterus/ abdominal bloating. ‘Am I a bad girl?’
and ‘What would you like to do? Tell me’ are examples of Yuno when she
sweet-talks her clients.
1:26 “What kind of ‘me’ do you like?” is Yuno asking her clients about their
preferences. And how she responds to “I want to be like that, but it’s probably
impossible” suggests that she still wants to be true to herself sometimes. Those
three shots of her imply how she chats to clients, sends them provocative photos
and eventually sleeps with them, but none of these actions makes her happy. When
she lowers her phone, there appears to be a baby bump.
I think those are Daisies on Yuno’s phone case. In Celtic mythology, they were
associated with the death of a child, especially in childbirth, and God would
sprinkle the Earth with them to support the grieving parents.
In her room, you can see a plushie. It’s a hermit crab, I think. If so, it
implies how Yuno changes her character for her clients similar to how hermit
crabs change their shells. (Keep the STD jokes at bay.) The poster in her room
could be a reference to the (1931) “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”, which would also
highlight her changes in character. It’s extremely vague tho, so it’s only a
hunch.
1:38 『噛み合って、与えあって』(Getting along and giving things) refers to their
transactional agreement. It’s translated as ‘play-biting’ because 『噛む』means to
bite. The official translation likely wanted to emphasise the physical aspect of
her relationships.
1:43 “B mode” is written on her bag. Otherwise known as 2D-mode, it refers to
the ultrasound, which can be used to produce an image of the foetus in the womb.
1:50 These lyrics could be a dialogue between Yuno and her client. What she was
trying to ‘find’ was ‘protection’, but he doesn’t want to use it and tells
‘endless lies’. Although irritated, she continues putting on a front, which is
“reloading the gentleness”.
2:04 She finds out that she ‘messed up’ and got pregnant. When talking to a
client, her voice is more high-pitched, and her phrases are ‘sweeter’/’more
feminine’. However, in this case, and during the cut in the interviews, her
voice is lower and her way of speaking is ‘rougher’. Just emphasises that it’s
all a facade.
2:09 One strand has more masculine items e.g. the brown briefcases and shoes,
while Yuno’s is more feminine. The two merge to form new DNA and, alongside
Yuno’s giggles/sighs, this implies that she’s currently ‘servicing’ her clients.
2:26 We’re in the viewpoint of the foetus exiting Yuno’s body.
2:29 The balloon bursts, which symbolises the foetus leaving her womb in pieces.
All 4 Yunos have an apathetic look on their face as they carry a filled balloon.
This suggests that all 4 of her clients have impregnated her at some point.
2:43 She falls, which could’ve caused the miscarriage. It’s likely that she
tried to self-induce her abortions, rather than go to a clinic. It costs money
and she probably wanted to terminate it before anyone found out. There’s an
alternative to this, explained at (2:57).
2:55 The balloon overlapping with her pupil and light in her eyes creates an
image of an egg being fertilised.
2:57 The staircase breaks and her balloon is empty again; it was a successful
abortion. Although the lyrics are the same as before, the change in translation
to “Are we over?” might imply that it’s a client talking this time, asking her
what he should do and if he can still see her. If that’s the case, she probably
made them pay for medication or clinical visits. If it’s still Yuno talking,
she’s trying to seek advice and find a way for them to stay rather than letting
them spend on another girl.
3:11 The three staircases, representing DNA, are no longer a vibrant blue, but
grey. They represent her dead foetuses, the most recent one being the closest to
her.
Some extras to add: Yuno’s horoscope is Virgo, represented by ‘the virgin’. The
irony. Her name is spelt with the characters 『優』(gentleness, superiority and
acting) and 『乃』 (which can denote possession).
As for forgiving her or not forgiving her, she says in the CD that she doesn’t
really care what the verdict is. So, do as you please? I’ve lost count how many
times I’ve looped this song. The chorus is way too catchy for its own good."
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