Character Analysis Archive

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Author: u/Genprey

Previous: The Mirage of Mifuyu

Related reading: Nemu and the Devil's Advocacy

Finally arriving at the leader of the Wings of Magius, Touka is definitely the character a lot of people wanted to put in the timeout corner. This, of course, is by design, and even something simple as Touka's most notable physical characteristics, her color scheme, is meant to evoke strong feelings. While red is the color of aggression, black is often associated with dreadful or foreboding feelings. Put them together, and you get a pretty convincing combination suited for an antagonist.

This leads us right to Touka's transformation sequence, and although we knew her role before becoming playable, it's made pretty clear that Touka appears as a little devil based on the music playing and her "evil" stare she gives. Putting that all aside, Touka's intro uses a lot of parasols, and even though there's not too much going on, overall, this one detail gives a lot of insight into Touka's character.

In a functional sense, parasols are often associated with nobility, hence why we see a lot of high-status characters/people carrying them all over the place. Rather than being used to block the rain like your standard umbrella, parasols are meant to protect the carrier from harsh sunlight. Symbolically, it's the same principle, in that parasols represent a form of protection, but this isn't simply limited to physical threats. In Buddhism, this is a coveted accessory, and one of the 9 symbols of Buddhism, that protects those that hold it from negative emotions and obstacles on their journey toward enlightenment.

Not only this, each piece of a parasol represents an aspect of Buddhism. Touka's, in particular, has 8 points (each marked with a red bow) that represents the Eight Paths that includes:

1. (Top point) Right View, or to know the truth
2. (Top-right point) Right Intention, or to follow the path of the righteous
3. (Right point) Right Speech, or to speak without malice toward others
4. (Bottom-right point) Right Action, or to work for the good of others
5. (Bottom point) Right Livelihood, or to respect the life around you
6. (Bottom-left point) Right Effort, or to ward off evil
7. (Left-point) Right Concentration, or to practice meditation
8. (Top-left point) Right Mindfulness, or the ability to suppress your own negative thoughts

The Eight Paths are significant to Buddhists, as a sort of reference/guide to lead them away from suffering. At this point, you may either be rolling your eyes or choking back a laugh, seeing how Touka basically only follows the top point--while her intentions are...there with the Wings of Magius, it comes at a great sacrifice to those around her. She's known to taunt and berate her enemies, is rather impulsive, and prone to throwing fits. To that, I'll say that it's not uncommon for writers/designers to have their characters represent a twisted form of something that is otherwise good/pure...and fortunately, Touka is a girl-scout compared to a certain nun from another series who fits this description.

The dome of the parasol represents wisdom/the hanging heavens, and is held up by a handle, or "axis". With that in mind, when carried by the holder, they are essentially the "center of the universe".

Continuing on with Touka's transformation, you can notice that there are rays of light above each parasol, most notable when the camera shifts to Touka, herself. This is in line with what we see with her animations, where Touka Mary Poppins her way above a target and attacks, as rays of light shine above her. Light is associated with enlightenment, as well as deities/sacred beings, which gives a pretty good impression on how Touka views herself.

Much like the other Magius leaders, Touka has a physical attribute that is related to confinement/prisons, being a cage-like dress. This is similar in concept to Nemu's ball/chain, but mainly represents the repression of one's ability to achieve goals. Something to keep in mind is that this is antithetical to the images of birds we often see associated with Iroha.

Touka is a very bright girl...put very lightly. Her ability with physical subjects is likely above the average adult, and she barely made it out of riding in a children's car-seat. Similarly, Nemu is also extremely smart, but while Nemu used her talents as a means to bring others in together, Touka is a very selfish girl who primarily uses her abilities for her own benefit. This is seen in Touka's MSS, when her teacher divides her class into groups to help each other with homework. When asked for help by her peer Touka legitimately doesn't grasp the fact that her own intelligence is well above the average person and belittles another student for not having a grasp of division. It gets to the point where Touka gets frustrated with the other girl's lack of understanding until she is finally scolded by her teacher.

Little did Touka know, however, that her classmate is apparently some omniscient being in the form of a little girl, and what made her snap wasn't the lack of understanding she was displaying with division, but what she was saying that referenced Touka:

Classmate, after being asked to write the remainder down: "...The remainder number looks kinda lonely, left by itself on the outside."

Touka: "Well, numbers don't have feelings, so just write the answer."

Classmate: "...Isn't there a way to do it where all the numbers get along together?"

Throughout the rest of this scene, Touka is confused over the other girl's logic and breaks down in rage when she points out that Touka should know how to unite the remainder in her problem with the other numbers, as she is the group leader. To Touka, the "remainder" is expendable and a necessary sacrifice to solve the division problem. Of course, we can match this with the way Touka heads toward her goals, sacrificing other people to rumors, as well turning low-ranking Magius members into brainless warriors and pushing toward killing off all magical girls that go against her plans.

Touka is only a leader by title, and the main thing to take from this is the fact that proficiency is wasted if one is not able to properly utilize it. Again, Touka is a very smart girl, but fails to understand others and is confused when her teacher and father tell her to use her abilities in a way that also helps others. This then leads us to another scene in Touka's MSS after she beats Iroha in a game. After being teased by her sister, Iroha has a few interesting things to say:

Iroha: "...I'm better at games where you have to wait your turn, like Shogi. But if you have to move a character around and fight with them, I panic and mess up."

Something you might notice about Iroha is that she's almost a direct contrast to Touka. While Touka is extremely intelligent and able to set a plan in motion to liberate magical girls, Iroha is very unassuming, especially when you compare her to other main characters in other series. She is definitely not dumb or without talent, rather, Iroha plays well with others and is able to ally herself with friends who can cover her weaknesses. Touka, however, is very impulsive and short-fused. That's not to say of course, that she lacks any merit for leading a group, rather, she's missing a key aspect of a full-fledged leader that can be found in Iroha.

Moving onto Touka's room in the hospital, there are a few things we can recognize, first being a lot of bird cages hanging on the ceiling, but also shelves of teddy bears, which are also present in the opening of Magia Record and around the Magius base. Some of the benefits stuffed bears have for kids who play with them include developing their creativity, but also understanding and social skills, such as when kids treat them as living things. Symbolically, they represent innocence, warmth, and comfort.

Keeping that in mind, Touka is, more or less, a product of her circumstance. When I say this, I'm not justifying her actions as a head of the Wings of Magius, rather, giving a bit of clarity that leads up to them. At the end of her MSS, we see that Touka's reluctance to share her knowledge stems from feelings that she is constantly losing something. This is an extreme way of thinking, but in Touka's defense, she is just a kid who is going through things atypical of her peers...even besides the whole being a magical girl deal. Seeing as how stuffed bears are associated with comfort and are popular to give as gifts, seeing Touka surrounded by them is a bit ironic, given her perspective here. To Touka, her knowledge of the universe is special to her, as it represents freedom outside the walls of her hospital. It's the one thing she has that most others do not, so the thought of "giving that away" honestly disturbs Touka.

There's a rather touching scene at the end of Touka's MSS, but I actually think it'd be more relevant to Iroha's section.

Touka's Doppel is Pennan Nolde, which is described as such:

The Doppel of daydreaming. Its form is a Match Seller. The master of this emotion desires more power even after becoming a Magical Girl, in order to achieve more wishes. This Doppel divides its master's lifespan up into matches, and grants a "What if" wish whenever a match is lit. When the Doppel runs out of matches, the master's life is over. It is very powerful, but similar to the Doppel of Dying Wishes, it mustn't be abused, for it sacrifices one's own lifespan.

In Nemu's section, her doppel absolutely wrecked me, but fortunately, in Touka's case, I think I have a more clear grasp. Nolde is taken from Miyazawa Kenji's novel, Night on the Galactic Railroad, and to best understand this reference, it's best to start with the author, himself. Ontop of being a skilled writer, Miyazawa was a benevolent man who spent a lot of his life dedicating to helping the rural home he lived in. In particular, Miyazawa was very bright when it came to agriculture, and when he wasn't giving advice to his community, he went down to assist others with farming. This is something Miyazawa would commit himself to, even as he was in pain before the moments of his death due to a lung disease.

In a short note left behind, Miyazawa wrote:

In order to live properly and vigorously, each and every person shall follow the dictates of his own individual consciousness of our galaxy

Ability, talent, and proficiency, alone, are not enough to walk down a righteous path, along with those strengths is the need to understand that, in order to avoid despair and pursue true happiness, one must also consider the happiness and well-being of others. This is the lesson Miyazawa taught with some of the main characters (Including, of course, Nolde) in his works. Miyazawa represents a lot of what Touka's peers, father, and teacher saw in her: a prodigious individual with a large amount of talent that was used to the benefit of others.

Pennan Nolde is referred to as a Match Seller, referencing Hans Andersen's The Little Match Girl. This is completely unrelated, but I find this reference to be rather funny, as Fate's interpretation of Hans is a very tiny and cheeky man who is known to have a forked tongue that is used to roast your waifu and keeps another antagonist in check. I can't help but giggle a bit, seeing as he and Nemu would definitely get along.

Back on topic, The Little Match Girl revolves around an impoverished girl who has been forced to sell matches on the street to make money for her poor family. Out of fear of her step-father's abuse, the girl desperately peddles in the winter-struck streets until she makes her way between two houses in an attempt to warm herself. Dying, she begins to see visions of her grandmother following a shooting star, striking matches in order to keep the apparition with her. As the last match fades, so does the girl's life, and she is then carried to heaven by the spirit of her grandmother. This story is very bittersweet, as demonstrated when locals find the girl's body frozen in the alley she slept in, pitying the girl as they passed. However, they do not realize the happiness the girl experienced after seeing a loved one and eventually being carried off by her from a life as a poor girl with a belligerent father. Touka and her Doppel are a very direct reference to this story, with Nolde granting virtually any wish Touka desires, but at the cost of her life.

Compared to a lot of other Doppels, Nolde is a bit different, in that it doesn't necessarily bastardize the wishes and desires of its users. This might be because Touka already outwardly represents a lot of faults, whereas someone like Mayu or Sana's Doppels represent twisted wishes that aren't displayed by the girls, themselves. There are a few other things to note about Touka's Doppel's appearance, but I'm actually going to save that for Iroha's section.

Next up is Kanagi, my personal favorite character of Magia Record. This will be a bit of an interlude before I continue on with the main party (Tsuruno, Felicia, Iroha, Yachiyo) and then go back to the other characters. With Sudachi coming out on JP and a certain 2 other characters being recently revealed, I'm pretty stoked for us to get to that part of the story and reading those girls' stories and any references they may have.