YKK Forum

Who is Ayase really?

I am starting to wonder more about who Ayase really is. I found a discrepency between what he says and what he does.

In http://ykk.misago.org/Volume3/89 he presents a letter of reference from Hasseno-sensai, who must be Alpha's owner, as there are very few coincidences in YKK. Since access to the Watergod is restricted and the letter carries so much weight, I can't imagine Hasseno-sensei would have granted it to Ayase capriciously.

In http://ykk.misago.org/Afternoon2002/151 Ayase reveals that he has roots in the area around the cafe from his youth. He knew it well enough to know there had been other buildings, yet he acts vague about 'Owner' when Alpha mentions him.

It is too simplistic to say that he may just not have put two and two together. He had been standing outside the cafe for a period of time until Alpha saw him. He must have passed the mailbox with the name Hasseno written on it. Why would he be vague about Owner to Alpha?

Often it seems to me that the older characters are hiding something from Alpha and the other robots. In her conversation with Kokone, Sensei reveils that Director Alpha carries Sensei's family name, and we know she was important enough to sensei that she wears her pendant. Or, perhaps Director Alpha was the 'Artist' that sensei was referring to and it was she who made the pendant for Sensei. Can someone help me find the chapters where Director Alpha discusses the pendant? I can't remember if anyone ever actually says it was a gift.

Anyways, although they never act suspicious, it seems that no matter how complete they're discussions, the humans are omitting some information.

Ayase knows Hasseno-sensei, and he knows the area of the cafe. Why was he outside for so long? Was he reluctant to enter or was he reminiscing?

I am not suggesting anything malevolent, but it does seem that Alpha's world has been constructed for her with a set of rules that preclude her from knowing things.

- Steven Robinson
Thursday, January 15, 2004

Hi,

http://ykk.misago.org/Volume7/53 "Two Drops of Indigo" is where Director Alpha is asked about her necklace.

I would have to agree that the humans are keeping information from the robots. Like you said, it doesn't seem malevolent. Perhaps they are waiting for the robots to figure something out on their own?

Feels nasty calling them "the robots" :)

- Brad Edwards
Friday, January 16, 2004

Yah, "robot" doesn't quite sound right, even in its original meaning
http://cmp.felk.cvut.cz/projects/actipret/robot.html
but then "semi-biological construct" is a bit clumsy, too ;-)

- The Other Dave
Friday, January 16, 2004

How about "Primarily Non-Organic Life Forms"?

- Thomas Sutton
Saturday, January 17, 2004

Perhaps Ayase was Owner.

- Vega
Tuesday, January 20, 2004

Ayase is a self-portrait of Ashinano-sensei himself. ;-) I can't explain, but I have a strong instinct on this matter.

- Jari Lehtinen
Tuesday, January 20, 2004

Howdy,

My suspicion is that Ayase is a robot as well, perhaps the first A7M2 prototype. If so, he clearly predates Alpha.

Evidence is currently contradictory - he has worn the same kind of earrings as the female robots (even though he doesn't normally), and his ears have the same kind of markings that the robots do.

On the other hand, he grows a beard. The lightning incident with Alpha seems to indicate that Alpha, at least, does not have hair that grows.

This thread has more detailed speculation on Ayase:

http://ykk.misago.org/Forum?cmd=show&id=318&replies=16

Best,

Dave

- dDave
Tuesday, January 20, 2004

I think Jari might have something there. Ashinano might have created Ayase as a way to insert himself into his own story, to travel about and discover things for us.

While it's obvious he knows Owner, in a way, he really is an outsider. He's not a part of Alpha's immediate circle of friends and family. He's merely an aquantance. He's not of Ojisan and Sensei's generation. He wanders in and out as necessary.

I wonder about his offer to have Makki accompany him, though. I would hope that if Makki takes him up on his offer, we see a bit more of him, and by extension, the world of YKK.

- martialstax
Tuesday, January 20, 2004

>>In http://ykk.misago.org/Volume3/89 he presents a letter of reference from Hasseno-sensai, who must be Alpha's owner, as there are very few coincidences in YKK.

Am I confused or isn't the Doctor's last name Hatsuseno too?

-k

- kempis curious
Tuesday, January 20, 2004

Sensei's last name is "Koumiishi", written with the characters for child, ocean, and stone.

- dn
Wednesday, January 21, 2004

[slightly off-topic]

I liked how the anime referred to Alpha and the others: "You're a robot-person, aren't you?" (It *was* the anime, wasn't it?)

Robot person. That describes them rather well, I think.

- Ian Darrow
Monday, January 26, 2004

The manga as well--"roboto no hito". I translated it simply as "robot", since I couldn't think of a phrasing that captured the nuance without sounding clumsy.

It did strike me as a lovely turn of phrase in Japanese. In Japanese, "man" is "otoko no hito" ("male person") and woman is "onna no hito" ("female person"). Alpha's "robot person" is a lovely insight into her thought processes. (It's also quite polite.)

- dn
Tuesday, January 27, 2004

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