Jin Uzuki´s backstory

Virgil

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May 14, 2021
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Hey everyone, I am new to the forum so if you want to get to know me, just read my thread in the Welcome Area. Anyway a thing that is bothering me since I finished Xenosaga is how Jin´s backstory was omitted from the games. Considering what clues the developers left us (Jin´s grandfather, Vwud Uzuki) it could have been an extremely interesting story. Taking the mirroring between Xenosaga and Xenogears into account (you can read about it at A.C. website "Xenogears and Xenosaga study guide"), it maybe would have been revealed during the last boss fight with Margulis, just like Ramsus backstory was revealed before the last fight against him.

In any case, my version of his backstory goes like that: Jin Uzuki was an extremely rash, reckless and idealistic young men, sort of that straightforward guy that Reyn is. When he was around 19 or 20, his grandfather started to train not only Jin, but also Margulis, who was part of the Military (but secretly working for Ormus), and Jin started to admire him very much due to Margulis´ extraordinary swordsmanship. He was one of the reasons Jin joined the military. Also, Jin has a relationship with the family realian Vwud Uzuki, a realign who gave birth to Shion because her mother couldn't due to her sickness (even though the egg and the semen which became Shion are from her real parents, so Vwud just sort of lent them her womb). Vwud is sort of the type of person Febronia is - caring, motherly, wise etc., but Shion dislikes her because she has troubles with accepting her as a replacement for her mother. This is somewhat realistic as it mirrors the troubles Elly had with accepting her "mother" (her nanny). So Jin joins the army, and one day Margulis, his superior, brings one of the other soldiers, Pellegri, with him to the training of grandfather Ouga Uzuki, though it is unclear which relationship connects them. One day shortly before the training, Shion (6 years old, 2 years prior to the Militant conflict) cries: "You are not my real mother!" and runs away. Ouga tells Jin to follow her, and Jin discovers her at the top of a hill near Febronia´s church. There, she is singing "Greensleeves". Jin stops his ascent, enchanted by her voice. While listening, Cecily and Cathy climb the hill and join Shion. Shion stops her singing and talks with the sisters, who convince her to play with them. Together, they leave in the direction of the church. Jin, relieved with his sister in the company of good friends and on the way to the trustworthy Febronia, descends back to his grandfathers wooden, old-japanese style house. There, he finds only Pellegri, and no trace of Margulis. She says that Margulis is busy today and cannot attend training. Then, she challenges the baffled Jin to a fight. She chooses a Naginata (to mirror the lance which E.S. Issachar carries) and Jin also chooses the same weapon. But Pellegri tells him she wants to fight against him with his characteristic weapon, the Katana. They fight, but Pellegri wins. After that, she proposes a little walk through the nearby bamboo woods. They talk and get to know each other, until they finally reach a stone well, located in the middle of a small clearing, engulfed by high bamboo. There, they sit down and continue talking. The topic shifts to war, and when Jin says something about killing the enemy, Pellegri says that even the enemy surely deserves more respect (similar to what she says to Margulis in Episode 1 about the victims of the Ariadne incident). They also talk about books, and it is revealed that Jin hasn't touched many books in his life, even though Ouga has a book collection in his house as big as a library. Due to that, he isn't quite able to follow Pellegri´s thoughts. In the end, Pellegri asks him wether he believes or not, and he responds by asking back what kind of believe she means. She explains to him that the kind of believe she talks about is faith in a higher being, in a bigger order which connects the universe and determines your fate. A faith which gives strength, consolation and relieve. He says that he never thought about something like that, quite the contrary to his grandfather, who is practicing buddhism. She says that when she was the most desperate, believe saved her from giving up on life. Jin, looking at Pellegri who now has a deeply sad look in her eyes, goes on to ask wether she wants to to talk about this part of her life, but she refuses, shaking her head.

This night, Jin lies engulfed in Vwud arms, strangely melancholic, and Vwud says that he is acting strange today. As if his mind is at a place far away. She already figured that he wandered through the woods with Pellegri, and says that he will never reach her if he couldn't calm his temper. That his character is to harsh and reckless to reach her and that he would have to calm down. But Jin responds that he has no interest in her, and that he loves Vwud.
The next few months, Jin starts to read a lot of books in order to understand Pellegri better and to fuel their conversations which soon reached dead ends because of the gap between their interests and knowledge. Jin´s character starts to change, which will lead to the calm warrior he is in Xenosaga. They continue to meet when Margulis isn't available for training, and slowly a romantic relationship develops between them. They become lovers soon, but Jin is not able to convey his newly developed feelings to Vwud, who, while knowing about their relationship, never confronts Jin.

One day, when Jin comes back to Ouga´s house from the well, where he was thinking about his relationship with Pellegri and Vwud, he finds his grandfathers property burning, and Ouga fighting with Margulis. He attempts to join Ouga in the fight, but his grandfather tells him to save Vwud, who is still in the house. Jin rushes into the wooden building, only to find Pellegri standing in front of a dying Vwud. Jin kneels down and takes Vwud into his arms. Vwud, severly injured, tells Jin to not be mad at Pellegri, for this is what she wanted, before her life fades away. Jin arises from the blood-stained floor and confronts Pellegri. She opens up about her past and how Ormus and Margulis helped her to overcome the grief stemming from the destruction of her homeland, Ariadne. How she joined the military in order to jeopardize the Federation together with Margulis. Then, she goes on to explain how Jin was constantly hurting Vwud by not being able to convey his feelings to her, or to Pellegri. How he completely ignored the pain he caused by not being able to let one of them go. How the thought of him doing something wrong never even crossed his mind, and how that is an evidence for him being incapable of understanding other people's feelings (mirroring what she said in Ep 3). Jin asks her if she wouldn't love her, and she answers that she loves him, but isn't able to be together with a person like him. Jin asks if that is because of Margulis, and she responds that she is not romantically engaged with Margulis, but that she had to decide between her religion (Ormus) and Jin, and that she chose her religion. Then, she says that the next time they meet they will be enemies, and that she is deeply sorry about that. Thus she bids farewell and leaves Jin with the dead Vwud.

Jin follows her outside, where Margulis towers over a dead Ouga. The house is nearly completely burned down by the fire, and the two sword fighters are encircled by burned remains. Jin asks Margulis why he had to do this, and Margulis cynically answers that now the "old fool and his pretentious books" finally vanished from earth. They engage in a short fight which is won by Jin the first time ever. Margulis retreats, following Pellegri, who left before the fight was over.

In the next two years, Jin constantly remembers the words of Vwud concerning his reckless nature, thus starting to develop the calm, down-to-earth attitude he possesses in the three main games, while honoring his dead grandfather by practicing buddhist rituals at his grave and studying the way of the sword.

That's it. I tried to include all the official information there is, while adding deleted scenes like the one with Shion singing (which is not invented by me, but mentioned by the developers themself). I also tried to explain why Jin dislikes (hates?) Margulis so much, sayin things like "I was hoping to never see you again" and stuff. I don't know how close I managed to stick to the characters, and it could very well be that it contradicts the Enneagram of Personality on which the characters are based upon in the main games, but I hope it was an inspiring read and that you enjoy the concept. I would be glad if you could share your own opinion on the topic of Jin Uzuki´s backstory. Maybe you could also voice what deleted scenes you would have liked to be in the original (or what scenes of the DS version you liked best, as they can be considered deleted scenes somehow). I am looking forward to you answers.

Maybe, if there are talented and interested people, we could gather and realize this version of his story as a fan manga. If you are interested, DM me.
 
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Oh wow, very impressive backstory !
Today, I learnt a lot of things, so thank you very much Virgil (y)


BTW, I don’t know if this is really relevant (sorry in advance if it’s not) but I just wanted to say that in the Drama CD (aka Xenosaga Outer File), we can witness a short flashback that happens some time before Shion’s arrival at Vector (when Shion was younger, I mean).

In this scene, Shion tells Jin that she wants to work on Realians maintenance, and that she is thinking about joining Vector.
And Jin tries to deter Shion from those two goals. But he fails, of course.

To be honest, it’s a scene that I don’t like (because of Jin’s attitude), but I thought that maybe it might be considered as part of “Jin’s backstory omitted content”.

Here is the scene if you are interested (at 6:32 if the timestamp doesn't work) :
 
I actually know the scene, but thanks for sharing anyway. Surely there are enough people who don't know about this scene or Outer File (it's not even listed at Wikipedia as far as I know). About the writing in Outer File: I think Outer File was written by Yuichiro Takeda, who collaborated with Takahashi on numerous instances (Xenosaga Anime, 1-2 DS, Xenoblade series), but I guess you know that much already. Even though Takahashi himself stated that Takeda is one of the few people who actually understands him and his ideas, I feel like his writing, even though enjoyable and arguably better than Yonesaka´s one (Ep 2, 3, Missing Year), is rooted too much in typical anime storytelling. For example, I feel like the scene in 1-2 DS when Allen tells Shion about his family and Bormeo university wouldn't have happened like that with only Takahashi at helm because its just so ordinary. It feels like out of a slice of life anime or something. I guess there is a reason Takahashi used the ODM to convey this information, but you can never know...( there are enough "ordinary scenes" in Ep 1, like Captain Matthews obsession with the Seraphim Sisters, but these were likely included because of humor, while said scene in 1-2 DS isn't funny at all. When it comes to serious scenes, it seems to me that Takahashi always keeps the grand picture in mind).Also, in the DS version Shion broke down crying after the Woglinde incident. While having thought about it as more realistic a long time, I came to the conclusion lately that the attitude Shion has in Episode 1 concerning the destruction of the Wogline is far more in character (hiding her feelings etc.). Also, there are enough scenes of Shion breaking down crying, I doubt we need another one (don't get me wrong, I love her)...but for the most part I think he did a good job in 1-2 DS and Outer File, so I don't want to criticize him too harshly (still preferring SorayaSaga/Takahashi). The only times my jar dropped because of good dialogue in Xenosaga, it was always Soraya´s or Takahashi writing, like the "speech about the higher dimension" by Albedo at the end of XS2. It was so high in quality compared to the (not exactly dialogue-heavy) rest of Ep 2 that my mouth stood open. No other "Xeno" writer ever reached that quality for me personally.

I am glad it was a nice experience for you. If you want to take your time, would you tell me what exactly was new for you / did you learn?
 
Surely there are enough people who don't know about this scene or Outer File
Yeah, I find super sad that Outer File is really little known (in the West, at least) :confused:
I hope that my YouTube channel made a lot of persons discover Outer File ! (y)


I came to the conclusion lately that the attitude Shion has in Episode 1 concerning the destruction of the Wogline is far more in character (hiding her feelings etc.)
Interesting point of view (y).
I thought the opposite for a very long time, but I definitely understand.
And besides, I haven’t thought about the “hiding her feelings” thing. Interesting.

Also, in the PS2 version, KOS-MOS just killed Virgil in the previous scene.
This death can maybe explain why Shion is so worried about what terrible things KOS-MOS could do in the future, instead of thinking about all the people who died in the Woglinde and crying because of that.

In the anime however, KOS-MOS didn't kill him, so maybe Shion's mind is more focused on the victims of the Woglinde.
Then we also have the DS version... oh god oh god, so many versions of this scene... 😣



would you tell me what exactly was new for you / did you learn?
Well, errr, almost everything you said basically !
I mean, as far as I remember, I never heard the name of Vwud Uzuki before, and I didn't know that Shion was not born from the womb of her biological mother.

I knew more or less that Margulis and Jin learnt sword techniques from Jin’s grandfather, but I didn’t know any details.
And I didn’t know where this info was coming from.
 
I thought the opposite for a very long time, but I definitely understand.
And besides, I haven’t thought about the “hiding her feelings” thing. Interesting.
My stance concerning that matter stems from the fact that Shion is constantly trying to close her feelings up inside. If you analyse in which situations Shion´s feelings show (i.e. breaking down crying), you could come to the conclusion that it only happens when someone close to Shion / something personal is involved. It also often applies to moments linked to Shion´s past, making her remember. There are many good examples throughout Xenosaga which illustrate that (KOS-MOS killing Virgil - close person KOS-MOS, linked event Kevin´s "death", Cherenkov´s death - "close" person Cherenkov, linked event Miltian Conflict / Accute Neurosis Treatment facility, Cecily and Kathy´s death - close person Cecily and Kathy´, linked event Shion´s childhood). In contrast, Shion doesn´t show her feelings when persons not close to her get hurt, for example when Albedo eradicates the Federation Fleet in Ep 1 by use of Proto Merkabah or the attack on the Woglinde. Of course it is not strange to expect someone breaking down crying after having seen people self-destruct in order to stop otherworldly monsters and one´s boyfriend inventions killing people who help you - but Xenosaga wouldn´t be Xenosaga if it wouldn´t reveal the dark side of humans, and Shion is a character all about trauma and how hiding and closing up your feelings decelerate the healing process. You could even say that Virgil´s "self-righteous crap" thing partly refers to the fact that Shion accuses him of self-destructing the realians while she showed no grief towards the victims of the Woglinde. In my opinion, making Shion cry at that point would be something nearly every other media would have done, because it sounds realistic and understandable, but Xenosaga is not ordinary, and in contrast to other stories its characters are partly based upon trauma and PTSD, which rules doesn´t apply to the thinking of persons who are not affected by these mental deseases. But these are just my thoughts after all, I can´t tell how accurate they are.
I mean, as far as I remember, I never heard the name of Vwud Uzuki before, and I didn't know that Shion was not born from the womb of her biological mother.

I knew more or less that Margulis and Jin learnt sword techniques from Jin’s grandfather, but I didn’t know any details.
And I didn’t know where this info was coming from.
Vwud Uzuki is a name that appeared on a screenshot which shows the realian database of Proto Merkabah. I think it was in an artbook, but I am not sure. I´ll send it in the next post. That someone else than Aoi Uzuki gave birth to Shion is merely a theory based upon said Realian...but I needed content for my backstory, so I used it for inspiration.
The details about Ouga are also invented, except that he is in possession of many books which were read my Shion and Jin, and that Pellegri was trained by him (I think it was mentioned in the Anime during the Enzephalon Dive where Jin and Pellegri met).
Yeah, I find super sad that Outer File is really little known (in the West, at least) :confused:
I hope that my YouTube channel made a lot of persons discover Outer File ! (y)
Your channel is great. I often use it for references (especially when it comes to XS DS) and I am super happy you stored all that Xeno related data on your PC :) I think it really helps a lot of people. Also, I am happy that I was able to enrich your knowledge about the series;)
 
That´s the image
 

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Thank you for your detailed explanations (y)

Your channel is great. I often use it for references (especially when it comes to XS DS) and I am super happy you stored all that Xeno related data on your PC :) I think it really helps a lot of people.

Super appreciated ! :D