Character Analysis Archive

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Author: u/Genprey

Previous: Kaede's Big Overgrowth

Related reading: Touka's World

Finally reaching our first Magius leader, Nemu is probably one of the most difficult characters to analyze. Her design is simple enough, but as I dug into her background and references associated with her, I ended up reading a lot of obscure books. This would normally be pretty easy, except said books are written in Japanese, leaving me to rely on Google Translate. If there's one fact that I gathered from this, it's that I am not, infact, smarter than a 5th grader.

Personal Struggle aside, Nemu's appearance is actually what you'd expect of her character. Starting with her attire, Nemu sports a scholar's cap that most of us are probably familiar with already. When worn by to-be graduates, this cap represents reaching a higher understanding or academic prowess, while it is custom to move the tassel of the cap to the right side of your hat, which represents mastery and the movement from student to graduate. These were also worn by scholars of old, and although the meaning behind the attire is more or less the same, they stressed the superiority and intelligence of each individual. Nemu is, of course, a highly-intelligent girl, especially when it comes to literature. Infact, most of her appearance is designed to give Nemu the appearance of a scholar, up until we get down to one really strange choice in aesthetic: the ball and chain that is locked around her leg.

Each of the Magius leaders sports something that is related to confinement/prisons, and in this case, a ball/chain was a popular tool that was placed on a convict's foot to prevent them from running away. It is also an idiom that refers to a burdensome situation or task that often leads to a person becoming strained and exhausted. From what we've seen of Nemu, her powers and abilities take a huge toll on her, to the point where she becomes inconsolable and requires lots of rest before her body can function again. Similarly, it also references to confinement within her hospital.

This is just about the easiest part of the analysis. Headed into my first struggle is Nemu's transformation sequence, which absolutely bodied me as someone who doesn't know a lick of Japanese. Calling in the support of a friend, however, it seems that Nemu writes out the phrase "Devil's Advocate" with her finger. To "play the Devil's Advocate" is to argue in favor of something that you do not necessarily agree with for the purposes of validating your opinion from an objective viewpoint. Despite both being geniuses, Touka and Nemu tend to butt heads a lot, with Nemu pretty much keeping Touka anchored down by questioning or objecting to certain things she says. A good example of this is this scene in the anime where Nemu objects against Touka quantifying the odds of her and Ui becoming friends. For that, Nemu comes off as a bit sassy, but she's also filling in for the very thing Touka originally is rather short on: objectivity or the ability to accept your mistakes and flaws to become a better person. Even Touka admits that Nemu is respectable because she's much calmer/better at considering a current situation than herself.

Midway through her MSS, Nemu ponders why our main cast is going against the goals of the Wings of Magius, before being jolted by her condition. During this, Nemu states that she feels "empty" and from there, she debates with herself about the cause of this emptiness. On one hand, there's the unconscious doubt inside of Nemu that questions the cost of her wish and the sacrificial methods used by the Magius, but on the other, Nemu compares unknowingly becoming a magical girl to signing a contract before reading any agreements and concludes that the emptiness she feels with her goal of freeing magical girls is unfounded, as that has become her duty. Despite all this, Nemu still questions her feelings, even going as far as asking some Feathers how they felt about becoming magical girls/joining the Magius. It wouldn't be until the death of a White Feather where Nemu would finally conclude that her emptiness was the result of a world that, despite the efforts and sacrifices of magical girls, never recognized them.

As mentioned earlier, Nemu is a very talented and intelligent girl, much like how Touka is also intelligent and Alina is extremely skilled at her craft. Something to note is that it's one thing to be talented at something, but another to know how you want to wield that talent. For that, Alina, Touka, and Nemu all express particular motives for using their talents.

While at the hospital with Ui and Touka, we see that Nemu turns down an offer to become a professional writer, even though doing so would cover the costs for her health expenses. Nemu states her reason as becoming a professional would place a wedge between she and her fans, and for that, we can tell that Nemu wants to use her talents to get closer to her fans. Rewinding back to the start of Nemu's MSS, this aligns with a lot of her motivations as the group were deciding on their headquarters. Rather than build one individual base per leader, Nemu wished to build a hotel-like center, where everyone is together and even witches are regarded as their "customers". She settles on referring to this home as "Fendt Hope", which, as Touka thankfully helped me out with, roughly means "to gather hope". Now I'm not sure if this was intentional or not, but Tsukuyo would mistake this as "feint" hope, which, as she and Nemu mention, might be a bit of foreshadowing/imply the Wings of Magius as "false" or "fleeting" hope.

One more thing worth mentioning in this conversation is how Nemu refers to adding on facilities to the Magius base as "writing a sequel". Looking from the perspective of an author, standalone books are separate from other works, while sequels, instead, connect stories together, adding on characters and experiences as the writer keeps the project going. Given all this and her inner thoughts, we now know that Nemu desires closeness, both with her friends and family. She avoids any concept that implies disconnection, favoring, instead, those that would bring everyone together with her.

Nemu ultimately desires to be loved, which stems from the distance between her parents and brother. It should be noted that this is a far different case than Sana, whose family rejected and ostracized her; despite what Touka assumed after Nemu's mother and brother visited them in the hospital, Nemu's parents do care for and love her, and although her brother is stand-offish, that's more of a result of he and Nemu never having the opportunity to become acquainted with each other.

As put in her personal Memoria:

What was I hoping for? What did I want? A newly released novel? An out-of-print book that sounded interesting? New clothes for a change of image? No, no, no. Those are all wrong. I just want to be told I'm loved. It's so close and yet so far. That is all I want.

Although appreciated, the material things that Nemu's parents give her are no substitute for their love and attention. This heavy affects Nemu, and even though it's easy to forget this fact because of how intelligent and mature she is, Nemu is still a kid. Missing a basic need will naturally cause her to seek it elsewhere, hence some of the motivations we see within the Magius and as an author. In the illustration, we see a stack of books and a pair of folded pajamas along a distant path that leads to the silhouette of Nemu and what is likely her mother. Nemu might enjoy books and new outfits, but what she really desires is located far away from such things.

Nemu's Doppel is Pennen Nenemu, which is described as such:

The Doppel of Dying Wishes. Its form is a deathwatch beetle. The master of this emotion will sacrifice everything she has. This terrifying Doppel uses both of its bug-headed hands to devour the stories of the world. It can then use its ridiculous power to materialize these stories into the real world. It is said its power comes from its weakening master, and that as she gets weaker, the Doppel get stronger. However since it uses all of its power to materialize the stories it eats it doesn't pack a physical punch, some even believe it wouldn't stand a chance against a direct hit from a Witch.

I'll go ahead and admit that this Doppel gave me more trouble than pretty much any girl I've done so far. After a lot of digging and, eventually, searching using Japanese, I was led to "The Biography of Penenem(?)" a book written by Kenji Miyazawa. If I'm understanding the story correctly...which I'm not 100% on given how broken the translation was, the story follows "Nenem", a character who had lost his father, followed by his mother. Forced to gain independence, Nenem would be forced to complete difficult tasks to support himself and his sister that, while eventually being a source of satisfaction, would often exhaust Nenem. Nemu, of course, shares a similar name with this character/her doppel, and both are put into situations where they have to cope with being separated from their parents.

I don't want to stay too long on that story, as I'm really not confident that I understand it with the language barrier, so I'll move on to Nenem's appearance, which takes the form of a Deathwatch Beetle. These beetles aren't actually deadly to us, but their names come from a superstition that they appeared before those who are sickly or on the verge of death, often being heard by caretakers of such patients. What makes these beetles distinct is their habit of chewing through wood and clicking their teeth inside that object in order to attract mates. The sound is probably not very scary to us, but those without knowledge of these beetles are more likely to associate the sound with the death of a sickly loved one since nights caring for them tend to be quiet enough to hear their chatter. In the description of this Doppel, it is said that Nenem gets stronger as its user gets closer to death, and that might be referencing the superstition of Deathwatch Beetles appearing before those close to death.

Beetles, as a whole, are usually associated with hardwork and confidently working toward goals one perceives as the right thing to do. As an additional note, Deathwatch Beetles are completely helpless, and their main line of defense is playing dead.

Moving on to the elephant in the room: what is with Nemu, Touka, and Iroha hanging by their hair when they summon their Doppel? I'm not 100% sure of this, but I do know that hair is often depicted as a source of power for witches. In Rapunzel, we know the witch to keep Rapunzel stored in a tower so she can use her locks of hair as a form of rejuvenation, while those accused of being witches during the Salem Witch Trials had their hair braided to restrict their powers or shaved off/disposed of completely. With this, we can understand that hair is a significant source of power/magic for witches, but that then begs the question of why only these girls are depicted as hanging by their Wicked Weave? Hopefully I'll have an answer for that by the time I get to Iroha.

Looking closely at Nenem's palms, they appear similar to that of eyes. Having our eyes placed in our palms would allow us a wider/more simultaneous field of vision, but at the cost of other actions that require the use of our hands. Holding objects would risk harming the sensitive organs, while grasping or closing our hands would blind us completely. This Doppel's power is that of creating and manifesting stories, but could this ability be considered a mere distraction that blinds Nemu from what she truly seeks?

It also resembles that of a Hamsa, which are talismans depicted with eyes in the center of a palm. These relics are said to ward off ailments, and if one were to reveal these palms to aggressors while slightly spreading their fingers apart, they would curse and blind any aggressors that threaten them. In addition to inflicting charm, Nemu's Doppel is also able to curse and blind its enemies.

Observing Nenem more, we can notice that it has a beak-like mouth and a coat of feathers that resemble those of an owl's. In the empty spot where its eyes should be is a swinging pendulum. Owls are regarded as extremely intelligent birds who hold knowledge of the paranormal, but also viewed as messengers of death, similar to how Deathwatch Beetles were associated with the inevitable passing of a sickly, loved one. When moving, pendulums represent the passage of time, usually leading up to one's death. As per nature of this Doppel, it is empowered as Nemu weakens over time. Given that, each of these signs are a foreboding reminder of the toll it takes on its master.

To my knowledge, this Doppel is referred to the "Last Testament" on JP and "Dying Wishes" on NA. Both cases refer to one's final requests before death, with a Last Testament most referring to a person's Will that they leave before they pass away. Nemu uses this power as a means to achieve her desire and the goals of the Magius, showing her willingness to sacrifice even chunks of her life if it means fulfilling these wishes.

As one final note, the shadow running beneath Nemu's chair in the Memoria "Three Geniuses" is decorated with writing. It runs parallel to that of the shadows cast by both Touka and Alina.