The Story of Sekiro ► The Legend of Fountainhead Palace

[@VaatiVidya]

This video looks better than any other series I have on YT thanks to the cinematic wizardry of "TheParryGod", whose channel you should absolutely check out: kzbin.info I'm realising that my videos can become far better when you collaborate with others who have their own strengths :) Commissioning him to hunt down footage has also made it possible for me to maintain uploads while also being a first time father, and I'm super thankful to him for that. Give him some love

[@alexberta5195]

VaatiVidya Vaati, did you know that the start of the Abyss Watchers theme is very similar to the Artorias theme? Its structure is almost completely similar.

[@scammerjammer7384]

I'm looking for some similarities in the "Journey of the west" for sekiro lore and symbolism.

[@theoneandonlyjs19]

Congratulations on becoming a dad - as scary as that is exciting. Their bedtime stories are going to be the envy of all the other kids!

[@scammerjammer7384]

@@theoneandonlyjs19 I do the same thing with my nephews. Surely they don't understand it, but it does get them bored really quick.

[@OneEyedWilliam]

Congrats man! Loved the vid as always!

[@Macr0Ange11]

It feels like there was a whole second game's worth of content that Genichiro was playing while Wolf was doing his thing.

[@happyaccident874]

if only we got a genichiro dlc....

[@thraxxxionmourne1708]

@@happyaccident874 no we need a tomoe dlc

[@DylanJo123]

@@thraxxxionmourne1708 man, i would my left nut for the opportunity to fight tomoe. She almost killed Isshin, it would have been quite the boss fight

[@kadinwisniewski6928]

Yeah honestly I was a little disappointed at how he just disappeared for almost the entire game after he was set up as the primary antagonist

[@__bepis____bepis__308]

DON’T SAY STUFF LIKE THAT

[@senseweaver01]

Honestly, I never even noticed that Divine Dragon was wounded, I was too amazed by the spectacle...

[@ShadowShinigami5]

Same tbh

[@avataraarow]

Same I feel really silly for not having seen that

[@scottiecurrie7927]

I'm lucky that I noticed. Didnt think they would go into it though

[@ronanelliott9709]

I noticed. Didn't know what it meant, only knew that "Wow, that detail is sick AF"

[@rayyanel-nafaty4227]

Same with me bro. I was in complete awe of genious the boss fight, I didn't notice jack shit lol

[@samb123078]

I figured the divine dragon was missing it’s arm because Tomoe brought a branch to Ashina. That branch was the Sakura tree in Ashina.

[@s.m.m.3889]

Yes, i thought the same way

[@egw53072]

That is a very interesting theory!

[@AxisChurchDevotee]

Wasn't Owl the one who tore off the branch making him responsible for the Divine Dragon missing its arm

[@Pariah502]

@@AxisChurchDevotee he tore off a branch of the tree in Ashina, making it wither and die. the Ashina sakura tree is gone (It had been planted at the Old Grave idol)

[@Molotov_Milkshake]

Owl did it and that is canon.

[@blakedoubrava1149]

Listeneing to the dragon wound theory I'm reminded of David Eddings take on gods. "They are perfect beings, never ment to be wounded and so they lack the ability to heal."

[@Resolute89]

god its been so long since I've heard the name David Eddings. Redemption of Althalus was my shit when I was a kid.

[@michaelcreech8957]

thats an odd take

[@fareezkhairi7211]

What's a god if he can't heal himself?

[@andrewames247]

@@fareezkhairi7211 Just men, as the Norse gods were. Granted, they were kept youthful by the Apples of Idunn, but they were neither immortal nor invulnerable; nor did they have flawless character, but truly human failings.

[@andyghkfilm2287]

@@fareezkhairi7211 what is a god that needs to heal, in the first place?

[@Carnagevenomtoxin]

It just dawned on me that lore about the great serpent foreshadowed what the palace nobles do to people that ascend to their realm. There was a marriage ritual that requires you to get into an palanquin to be devoured by the serpent. So when it's claimed that there is a marriage ceremony to get to the divine realm it should come to no surprise what happens to those that undergo the ritual.

[@lanz622]

So that's why there was a palanquin in the first apparition of the Great Serpent

[@chosenundead5009]

Well when I first heard about the fountain head Palace marriage I knew it wasn't all that nice charity in sekiro sengouko era

[@Neo2266.]

At least the Monks are cool, fuck the nobles

[@thanasismakkas4639]

13:45 Sekiro also has a wound in his chest after being stabbed from the owl back at the hirata

[@davidhong1934]

It has been theorized that the fight against the dragon was all in Wolf's head. He saw a reflection of his own immortal pact, as well as the sorrows it brought about on both Ashina and himself.

[@bigdaddy9807]

@@davidhong1934 wrong, we meet Mr Merchant boy and he acknowledged seeing you at the palace prior!

[@weaboo101]

Daddy Bolas where's the merchant guy?

[@knightenchanter7908]

@@weaboo101 Right before the Esshin miniboss. It's after the Flame Barrel prosthetic area. It's in the area that has a shortcut which connects to the Hirata Estate path sculpture idol.

[@mr.kingdice9127]

@@davidhong1934 wait, but what about the dragon tears?? Those are physical tears Sekiro holds in his hands. And also Kuro drank them.

[@Gucc111]

Rope puns really tie this video together. Thank you Vaati!

[@Kamamura2]

Punsmiths today have to thread lightly.

[@randomnstoned966]

Weyyyy 👏🏻🤣

[@人間のゴミ-u1k]

Could you knot?

[@randomnstoned966]

@@人間のゴミ-u1k im a-frayed knot 🤣

[@mac1bc]

Pull yourselves together now!

[@ignazjoergensen4408]

“Not everyone can stick through these heavy long episodes“, man you could do a 1+ hour compilation of these five episodes and I'd still watch every moment! :D

[@creeprnsidelink]

Same, I have a love for long videos that focus heavily on lore or other things for games. I will also watch these kinds of videos again just because they are so entertaining and relaxing to me.

[@kazune414]

What I find super fascinating is the implication of impurity, I'm a religious anthropology major with specialization on Shinto and one of the biggest Concepts in Shintoism is the idea of what is pure and what is impure, one of the things that is heavily associated with the impure are dead things such as corpses. So there's really some fascinating implications to the fact that there are all of these corpses of the great carps lying around in what is supposedly a holy and sacred place.

[@UlfMTG]

I mean, the "sacred" waters are largely seen as a taint or curse in the game, that people wish to get rid of, that corrupts. So it makes sense

[@ThatOldWarthog]

Likewise the fact that the infestation of immortality is represented by centipedes, which are seen as living manifestations of kegare in Shinto (and referenced as such in Bloodborne). Really, Miyazaki seems fascinated with the motif of purity becoming tainted due to greed or ambition (The reveal of Gwyn's responsibility for the perversion of dark in DS3, the misuse of the Old Blood in Bloodborne, and now the tainting of divine water in Sekiro by the greed of the Fountainhead denizens)

[@JLucas_RS]

@@ThatOldWarthog Also, the Deep in Dark Souls 3.

[@Reshapable]

I realize you may only have partial expertise (or potentially none, its hardly a small field) in this thought I had, but since I was looking to ask it without direction anyways you seem a better than average target. I'm wondering if the idea of the Sakura tree representing in shorter terms "beauty in brevity" and the cyclical nature of life and its subsequent perversion being tied to the pursuit of eternity, of persistent and unchanging beauty, and that the source of this perversion coming from the west is not perhaps referencing real world religion, specifically the coming of christianity to Japan. Christianity has little specific reverence for the ephemeral or cycles of nature, at least to the extent I recall from my upbringing. The highest values are on the eternal, the forever after, the undying. Am I reaching here or are there some good comparisons to be made? Because it seems from my limited understanding that eastern religions encourage making peace with impermanence (specifically one's own) and western one's could be read as instruction manuals for one's eventual immortality. For some reason it was all I could think about during that segment of the video.

[@kazune414]

@@Reshapable As for the idea of Eastern religions having a fundamentally different View of the nature of impermanence and change and death and what comes after is partially true. However it is also based on a lot of cultural misunderstandings and unfortunately a legacy of what is functionally orientalism with all the negative connotations thereof. It's really not very intellectually helpful or productive to see all Eastern religions as totally 100% about making peace with the idea of impertinence although I can definitely see why so many people have that interpretation. A lot of people have this idea that Eastern religions are inherently more comfortable with the idea of impertinence and change simply because Buddhism has had such a profound effect on all other forms of Eastern religion, again mostly due to a tendency for East Asian cultures for religious syncretism. That being said although there was a general idea of embracing the nature of impertinence among Buddhists what that actually meant could vary wildly between different sects. We in the west have this tendency to look at Buddhism as a completely unified vaguely religious philosophy when it has multiple sects and branches much like Christianity, Islam or Judaism. Incidentally we also have a tendency to see a straight one to one relationship between Jesus and the Siddhartha Buddha as both being equivalent, seeing both as Messianic and westerners also have a habit a thinking that there's only one Buddha( a misunderstanding that is perpetuated both by the English voice actors in this game and vaati himself). In Japan even though religious syncretism kept a lot of the fighting between different religious groups we see in the west about Theology and cosmology at Bay there was definitely still fights between different groups a religious individuals for political reasons or over matters of orthopraxy. There's a famous saying that I can't quite recall that points out how the different levels of Japanese Society were influenced by different branches of Buddhism with some being followers of Shingon, others Zen and others Tendai. During the Heian period which as I mentioned in my other reply was characterized by a massive amount of Chinese influence on Japanese culture there was constant political fighting between practitioners of esoteric Buddhism and the Taoist basd Onmyodo astrologers for influence over the Imperial courts. Now as for what Japanese people actually believe in terms of death mortality and impermanent nature of existence that's a bit more complicated. as I've mentioned multiple times religion in Japan for centuries was functionally hodgepodge of native Shinto, ainu and other local shamanistic beliefs that were mixed in with Taoist religion, Taoist philosophy( these to are related but VERY different things) Chinese folk religion and about six or seven different branches of Buddhism mostly belonging to the Mahayana lineage of Buddhist thought. So as you can imagine their understanding of the nature of life and death can be really nuanced and REALLY complicated, to such a point that the metaphor of the Sakura blossoms representing the transient nature of all things although beautiful is really inadequate in fully conveying the total breadth and complexity of the Japanese understanding of impertinence and change.

[@brendanscott893]

I think you missed a huge reference to Zen Buddhism in Sekiro. The dragon comes from the west(most likely China from its style) and a major person in this story, although not spoken much about is Dogen. The Dogen in early Japan went to china, learned Zen Buddhism there and brought it back to Japan.

[@nikodemossowski4621]

It might be a reference of zen buddhism and taoism alike, since taoism has a fairly interesting relationship to lightning/thunder. but both kinda fit as something that started to move aside the past rites [classic buddhism and shinto represented by the buddha and the serpent god]

[@theAbsoluteSyndicate]

@@eurologic Lmfao snake like dragons originated from China which is directly West. You should learn your culture and geography before you post stupid shit and attempt to culture wash.

[@Bdubbs93]

@@theAbsoluteSyndicate talk about being butthurt. Calm down and go touch grass

[@danielchiaszehann9141]

@@eurologic Korea culture most likely with China

[@hanzoY248]

@@nikodemossowski4621 zen Buddhism is Taoism and Buddhism in one.

[@temperance3825]

Just before I was heading to sleep! Vaati bed-time story? Hell yeah.

[@johnnyfunke2482]

C- Moon seems passive aggressive really

[@temperance3825]

@@johnnyfunke2482 Hell no, lol. Was genuinely happy that he uploaded just as I was heading to bed, made for a great video, like always. :D

[@anonymous-l8c7x]

@13:02 why the dragon is missing an arm: "Flowers of the Everblossom that bloomed in an old memory. Grafted by Takeru, who took the branch from the Divine Realm as a parting relic." - Aromatic Flower description

[@drewbles22]

17:51 I like how using the blade is very similar to using the paint brush in Okami (older game)

[@SandWhale0]

Now that you say it... Damn :D

[@hisholiness4537]

Woah holy shit

[@cuanchulainn]

Okami attacking like Okami... :')

[@morganpriest7726]

“And with this strike... I paint your death!”- me, right now.

[@robk5437]

I think it's ridiculous we did not get any more DLC. As much as I love the Boss Rush. Getting DLC would have been so nice for this game. This game is absolutely incredible. I think it's the greatest game ever made

[@De_La_Evo]

I agree, but hopes to a... shadows die thrice?

[@noamias4897]

Agreed. And we likely won't get a sequel either for a long time, which is also sad. As first Elden Ring needs to come out, then they will probably make Bloodborne 2 or something similar to it

[@ashikjaman1940]

@@noamias4897 tbh a Bloodborne 2 would make it very easy to wait for a Sekiro 2

[@levicurtis6669]

I remember hearing there's gonna be an anime, and it might come through there

[@johnisplayingbreathofthewi1007]

Do you think that the missing arm of the divine dragon could be the tree brought back from the divine realm?

[@appleorchardkai5428]

That was my thought process

[@neetishyadav8553]

nah it was just a sakura tree from fountainhead since every sakura there is eternal

[@johnisplayingbreathofthewi1007]

@@neetishyadav8553 Well, yes I agree there. The dragon is connected to the trees though, and we only know of one that was taken from the divine realm. The hole left behind the graves is pretty large too, meaning it was a massive tree.

[@neetishyadav8553]

@@johnisplayingbreathofthewi1007 guess we will never know

[@johnisplayingbreathofthewi1007]

@@neetishyadav8553 probably correct there lol

[@Krunschy]

The mention of losing half life with Yashariku's sugar being tied to the loss of twin at birth gave me chills. Thank you for these amazing videos. They savor all the outstanding world building that went into this game, which sadly remains unnoticed in most playthroughs.

[@extremelyboredtatsumaki.495]

Vaati went full meme mode at the beginning. Seems Kos has granted him eyes. . .

[@tacioob2337]

Cleanse our minds of beastly idiocy 😩

[@davidhong1934]

Some say Kosm

[@colebetts3864]

wyattthealchemist why?

[@colebetts3864]

wyattthealchemist I thought he liked bloodborne

[@dennisleonardo2992]

@@colebetts3864 He does like bloodborne but out of the three main franchises of fromsoftware(actually 4 there is demon souls but noone really cares about that) his favourite is clearly dark souls which pretty much made his channel, then sekiro and then bloodborne. The problem with bloodborne lies in its origins. From didn't made bloodborne because they wanted at first. Sony offered them a *lot* of money for a PS4 exclusive dark souls title. They didn't want to restrict dark souls 3 to ps4 so they did a "souls-like" game exclusive to ps4 which was bloodborne. In the end Sony gave them so much money for the development of bloodborne that most of it was of such a high quality that miyazaki did a standalone mastercrafted piece of lovecraftian art which was also video game technically great. Then from had enough money to develop dark souls 3 without any sponsorships. Although dark souls got more creative work, bloodborne got Sony's developmental money so they both compete for the best fromsoftware franchise even though bloodborne is a standalone. Sekiro is kind of the really good and really out-of-character arc in fromsoft-history which noone expected but everyone still loved.

[@dc4296]

other Souls Lore chanels have theorized that the divine dragon's wounds represent the branch that Takeru cut off, the one that became the Ashina everblossom

[@ThatDudeCalled]

That's my thinking too!

[@prithviraj5661]

That dosent explain the wound on the chest though.

[@Seproc]

@@prithviraj5661 a year comment but, tomoe fought the divine dragon with the black blade so it left a scar, but unable to get the tears because it required the red blade so she cut off an arm instead and went to ashina with takeru and cultivated that arm to ashinas everblossom in the hopes of usiny it to return to the divine realm when they acquite the red blade, but when owl took the branch of the ashina everblossom, it withered. So the only option takeru and tomoe had was to purify themselves to remove immortality and then perish.

[@mr.fatman.]

"Kuro 2.0 has it" that made me laugh so much and i don't even know why

[@Hellion6325]

Same lol I think it was the delivery, coupled with the fact that the rest of the video until that point has been rather somber and serious

[@PlatypusAfro]

I feel like the central theme of this game is 'Duty', to one's family, destiny or country. I'd love to know why there are so many adopted children too since it's oddly common (Emma, Wolf, Genichiro).

[@patrykhaber2565]

There are also characters who works similarly as "adopted" ones like Gyoubu Oniwa who after being defeated by Isshing was "adopted" by him and was a very loyal soldier to Genichiro.

[@PlatypusAfro]

Oh hey you're right, I never even noticed that one!

[@Sorain1]

The adoptions demonstrate the filial duty has nothing to do with blood. At least that's my interpretation.

[@Error0101]

Because this was the Sengoku era and war orphans were just everywhere ripe for the trainin- er taking.

[@genghiskhan6809]

I got that the main theme of this game is accepting one’s boundaries and limitations and then making peace with them. A theme that also existed in SoulsBorne nut was more emphasized here in Sekiro whereas SoulsBorne moreso dealt in the virtue of perseverance, humility and cunning.

[@velvetcrowe5548]

Sekiro is the one fromsoft game that absolutely needs a dlc.

[@HaoNguyen-ut9pj]

and they won't make a DLC for such a time, because From Software are busy now. So sad :(

[@XxT0kY0DrfTstYlExX]

rather have another bloodborne dlc tbh haha

[@michaelhenry3234]

Ikr. Either a dlc or a sequel.

[@duongphuocdat6840]

Elden ring is next

[@Mikeyscotterson]

@@XxT0kY0DrfTstYlExX bloodborne was my first souls game and after playing them all, its still my fav

[@AeionEX]

"and I am Yao Queen of the bridge.. and there ain't nothing you girls can do abo"- immortality severed

[@GmodPlusWoW]

I too remember Mulan. Arguably, she's my favourite Disney princess.

[@richardmiller797]

😂

[@DirtyMike124x]

The wounds on the Divine Dragon may also have come from Tomoe attempting to extract the tears without the Red Blade come to think of it... Maybe getting so frustrated after having already beaten the Dragon into submission and being unable to get what she so desperately needed and had worked so hard to acquire. Thinking it’d be a matter of making the dragon try, that huge cut, and severing a limb, definitely are major wounds... that chest one seems potentially reminiscent of brutalization especially. Also, even though the wounds on the Dragon are hugeee, Tomoe wielded lightning like Sekiro was able to for the fight, and would have been able to totally dish out those big ole wounds. The parallel between Sekiro and Kuro is for sure something I’d wager is intentional but knowing the context behind the blades and Tomoe’s attempts to do what Sekiro managed to do would, I can’t help but be left thinking that Tomoe beat the shit out of that Dragon trying to make that bastard cry. Thanks for the video man! I totally learned even more Sekiro lore and I’ve been around since the first trailer. Haha the weekend following the American midnight release was something a lot of us will never forget! Fucking Snake Eyes, Genichiro, Lady Butterfly, Guardian Ape, MOTHERFUCKING Isshin the Sword Saint... So brutal. Sekiro is one of 2019’s gaming highlights. What a refreshing experience.

[@DerAykac]

Zulli just released a clip on the dragons appearance. It shows some details that are all very much tree-like. The image of a tree struck by lightning appeared in my head when thinking about the wound in its chest

[@absoluteterrorfield]

"not many of you are still listening at this point in the video" me, barely listening: wut

[@mike46ification]

He’s back 😍😍😍😍 I hope your family is doing well keep thriving brother I will always be here to watch your videos

[@ArtistocrArt]

What "He" represents, strategic zoom.. That was perfect

[@davidhong1934]

0:13

[@Xarazel]

hes got wood...literally

[@Nightksa1995]

no one: Vaati: this giant robe creature DABBED us onto the clift...

[@davidhong1934]

Also Vaatividya: This ethereal rope creature is also male

[@Darko807]

It's funny I said that yesterday on my second playthrough and now vaati did it too xD

[@keener9563]

Well, he is not wrong though.

[@Rootbeeroverseer]

I was listening. I appreciate that this game had a more obvious story but still managed to have the classic FromSoft lore building.

[@Phantosification]

"The first thing we noticed..." Then shows a thing I never noticed.

[@jacksmythe2187]

I love the video, but I had a different theory as to the dragon's injury. I think it was caused by Owl's theft of the Everblossom branch, which reflected onto the dragon. The Dragon is called 'of the Everblossom', making me think the Everblossom is its manifestation in the mortal world and connection to the lands of Ashina. The Aromatic Branch is said to have been plucked from the Everblossom by Owl (and further it is said to have reminded Takeru of his home in the Palace), as part of his plot to gain immortality. The tree's loss of a branch translated into a loss of an arm, and possibly the sickness of the dragon, as open wounds like that on a tree can cause rot and decay. It would be fitting for Owl's ruthless quest for eternity to have poisoned the very source of the immortality he wants to exploit, and would show how even the Dragon is affected by stagnation, able to sicken but not die. tl;dr, I think Owl stole a branch from the Everblossom, the Dragon's anchor/physical form, which translated into a lost arm

[@joshdumont4928]

That's just makes zero sense though, since the tree dies after the branch is plucked, the dragon would have died too, and as you see in the palace there are many ever blossom trees, and there are more branches than there are limbs on the dragon... and also by your theory a child could kill the dragon by plucking branches off the tree...

[@lawrencemolinaro6791]

Josh Dumont i saw another comment that said it may have been the branch that tomoe took from the tree in fountainhead. She then planted it in Ashina, and that was the tree owl stole from.

[@AliJ23]

Vaati story time! Children, gather around, and listen.

[@Ryhn00]

As part of "the few listening to the last part of the video" I must say this, even though my mind may wonder off due to the heavy lore, I still love each and every video and more over appreciate 100% every effort you put in making these videos for the community. This community is extremely lucky to have a content creator such as yourself even though many of us (including me sometimes) underestimate every you do for us. So let this serve as a reminder, as I can only speak for myself, I am grateful for every minute of you videos, never stop being awesome.

[@luiscoll8220]

Great video, I really loved sekiro even though many of my friends who only focus on games with multiplayer criticized me for buying it. I tell you I got it not because of the traditional Japanese theme or if it was made by fromsoft, I got it because I wanted to hear and watch a good story. That's what I got from sekiro, a long beautiful difficult and interactive story.

[@nhatthang1199]

Lucius Salander sekiro have a really good combat too.

[@zenseizen374]

Games like this with a full-on story mode are heavily underrated, simply because they don't have multiplayer. We need to bring the plot games back :T

[@Descro382]

Self building is just as important as team building

[@kaidothedrunkard]

Considering how games like Halo Infinite turned out I question if they have any braincells left at this point.

[@janvijo]

You should undoubtedly be proud of your work in general. Thanks for yet another masterpiece

[@BongsAblaze]

Vaati if you’re reading this I really appreciate you for these videos. It was nice to have you in the background while I went back and got the platinum after playing Elden Ring. Can’t wait for those videos! Thank you for all the work and lore you always give us.

[@danherondraws]

nah man, this series was a joy to watch. You're right that not many tried to dig deeper considering just how much the game handed to them, so thank you for bringing the lore for more people to discover

[@baraka490]

You are the ONLY channel that I will watch for story on sekiro. You're dark souls lore made it easier for my friend and I to get into the series. We stared with bloodborne and worked to sekiro, dark souls remastered, then 3.

[@SwashBuccaneer]

Love all the lore videos and it makes me appreciate all the subtle and deep things Miyazaki puts in his games.

[@bosnieizzpunik6175]

Imagine making the best lore videos on youtube. Imagine beeing Vaati. Thanks for the great stuff! A lot of fun to watch and definately keeps you locked onto the screen until the video is (sadly) over!

[@kemonngo3106]

It’s 3 am and I was gonna go to sleep but Vaati posted so here I am

[@doinkboinkly2153]

I see someone else lives on the east coast

[@Bobobo-bo-bo-bobobo]

This game is easily becoming my favorite FromSoft game. From the gameplay, to the beautiful environment, to the super deep lore.

[@Skapes11238]

Im glad you took the time to break it down into 5 sections, very well done series. Look forward to more content from you.

[@molo414]

My friend you can be unbelievably proud of this series. Obviously after 5 years you have moved on the bigger and better things but still. The amount of research you must have done and the depth that you went into to create this series is astounding. And the way you tell the story along with the cinematics was fantastic. I enjoyed it very much and I wish there could have been more.

[@TanukiG]

I’m glad you liked the series so much, Vaati. I know I loved it a lot, so thank you for all of your hard work.

[@blasuqar]

Something to note about Fountainhead and the water: the waters of the Palace fill those who drink it with rage, ashes are said in an item description to symbolize wrath, and ashes fall on Ashina, more, those who become Shura can be afflicted with the flames of hatred (you see that Sekiro's arm burns when he becomes Shura, and the sculptor became a vassal for the flames of hatred after/as a consequence of how he is related to Shura). Don't know, but it seems to me that rage is falling on Ashina from the Fountainhead Palace, was wandering where it came from. From the wounding of the Dragon/the stealing of the branch of the Sakura? Anybody has Something to explain this? I would love to see a DLC on the flames of hatred and this rage, there is a nice stuff to explore here.

[@kolacek_on]

This was a very well-made series, Vaati. Thank you for taking us on this journey!

[@entropy444]

Part of my excitement for new fremsoft games comes from the fact you'll be there to piece the lore together in an engaging way.

[@JohnPeacekeeper]

Dude. I was just thinking five minutes ago: "I wonder when Vaati will upload the next Sekiro thing?"

[@canaldecasta]

In Spanish it almost sounds as you said Yao ate a niño, a children. That was pretty metal.

[@lukaerd6258]

Corrupted monk looks the type that would eat kids.

[@Hotarubi-dono]

That's exactly what I thought!

[@pyrefly7575]

Pense lo mismo hahah

[@grantpodue39]

Dude this series is amazing, I love lore and History from games, as a history major I enjoy this so much your videos on this was amazing nice work

[@Umiedo]

Awesome series, you can never get too lore heavy! Also, there’s a pretty cool foreshadowing of the mortal blades on sekiros back; two pieces of rope forming a red and black cross.

[@arkaelius]

Wow, great pun Vaati. Way to put a knot in this relationship.

[@bigg8074]

Loved the vid but one thing bothers me. The lady at the top of fountainhead didn’t seem dead to me, she seemed unconscious! when I checked her out with the spyglass you can clearly see she’s breathing

[@davidhong1934]

It has been theorized that she's Tomoe

[@pyrefly7575]

@@Lubble- okami are not all carp like , maybe she never consumed the waters or maybe just started consuming it not so long ago since she is kinda blue but still has human form

[@yeyeyeye8342]

perhaps she is the vessel that carried the dragon to japan

[@noamias4897]

@@yeyeyeye8342 I like that theory actually. Makes me wonder where she's from and why she left

[@dopples9004]

It’s 2 am and I was about to go to sleep. Help I’ve started binging lore videos now.

[@philliph.p.1985]

Man there is so much beautiful art in this game towards the end there was the partition you sneak behind at the start of fountain head and that alone, something almost no one will see, is just gorgeous.

[@lordsakai3450]

Lady Tomoe should have a DLC, she seems an interesting character.

[@trivuu9241]

“I know not everyone can stick through these long episodes”. I’ve always had the impression that people come here because of the long episodes. You have an amazing voice and you put so much care and effort into these videos making them an absolute joy to watch. I’d watch 50-60 minutes videos like this.

[@Trypophobic]

Vaati, your rope dude explanation makes a lot of sense, but even then I was totally expecting a serpent to take you to the divine realm. There was all that talk about becoming the serpent's bride in the palanquin, then suddenly rope boi descends. Feels like I got trolled lol.

[@UlfMTG]

to be honest I think his rope dude explanation was pretty lacking. It's pretty obvious that the rope is meant to simbolize a sacred or important thing, but there are MANY other japanese folklore that mention the "straw doll" specifically, such as the 'Ushi no toki mairi' in which a straw doll is nailed to a tree using a stake or nail (notice the straw man in game as a stake going through it too)

[@hotpenguin607]

maybe the Sakura Dragon kicked the Great Serpent out so ppl started marrying to the dragon instead of the serpent

[@maximdoesacro6772]

Having you explain this all meant so much to me! And your story telling quality makes it so delightful ☺️

[@Amit-id2zx]

A series well done. Absolute gem of a game. Thank you for doing it immense justice!

[@loganvain3]

This series is incredible, it revealed so much more to me than I got just from playing through Sekiro. It's inspired me to play through the game again with a new found appreciation for the depth of the lore that's so easy to miss. Thank you for all of the amazing content Vaati, we all love and appreciate it

[@acrab6527]

I figure the dragon lost it's arm when someone cut off a branch, and transplanted it in Ashina. The other everblossom tree, that's gone as of the game taking place.

[@NikulayBeyatris]

Not many have stayed this long, but I'm here telling you that I've watched and listened deeply to your videos. I just wanna let you know that I appreciate your effort in making this series. I love your work, I love Sekiro. Thank you.

[@fraser1614]

I just thought about the devine dragon and the theory of its arm being cut off to mirror Sekiro, wouldn't it make sense that the gash in the chest is from when Owl back stabbed us with his massive sword which served as our first resurrection?

[@joshuacurrey4722]

Thank you for making us apart of the story. Some of us don’t care that much, but because you put so much work into these videos we really care about this story. I haven’t finished the game yet, just need to defeat the demon and final boss, but I read the scroll about the second mortal blade and assumed that Genichiro was getting it. Thank you for explaining its epic lore so that when I go to beat him and the final boss for the first time, I can appreciate it more!!! Love you man

[@Path-of-The-Believer]

This was a beautiful video, I’m glad I finished the game in time for the last episode. Great work 👍

[@lxlADlxl]

From experience I can say that when you hear someone talk about things they love, it's very hard to not feel compelled to hear they speak, but you do go even beyond that on your videos. I am part of the club of fans that try not to spoil anything when a new game/story comes out, so I do experience it all on my pace first, having fun and all, but after that I do long for "Vaati's story time" because the content and production I find are always crazy good. And just like the sakura tree that only blossoms once per year, when a new video comes out, even dabbing straw dolls jokes become gold.

[@12mjk21]

I just realized that the Sakura Dragon is the Japanese version of Seath holding the Japanese version of the Moonlight Greatsword. I was looking for the Moonlight Greatsword when I was playing it and never made that connection lol Edit: now that I think about it, Seath was looking for a way to be immortal, and the Sakura Dragon is the one giving the immortality. CONNECTIONS!

[@TheRezro]

Speaking of that I suggest you check Otogi series. It is for Sekiro, what King's Field is for main Souls games.

[@daikansanchez7674]

I think the missing arm of the Divine Dragon is actually the Aromatic Branch since in its description it says that when Takeru or Tomoe (I don't remember who) cut it from the Everblossom, it (the Everblossom) withered and died. Now the Everblossom that was in Ashina Castle where the Old Grave is (Takeru's and Tomoe's) might have mirrored the Great Sakura Tree in the Fountainhead Palace, which has a has one of its huge branches broken and missing. And since the real name of the Divine Dragon is the Sakura Dragon... That could also mean that the Great Sakura Tree is the physical manifestation of the Divine Dragon in Sekiro's world in the in-between place that the Fountainhead Palace is and, by the same token, the Everblossom (which was a sakura tree) that existed in Ashina Castle could have been the physical manifestation of the Divine Dragon in the lands of Ashina. Thus, harming the Everblossom was the same as harming the Divine Dragon, making him angry and removing his blessing in the lands of Ashina. This is pretty consistent with Japanese Animism where you bring misfortune to a place/area/region by harming the (sacred) physical manifestation of the guardian spirit of the place. Just my hypothesis on the matter.

[@jaycestephenson4362]

I've been waiting for this video before sekiro had even released. Vaati the Niche Nerd's Lord, forever faithful we be.

[@GojiraMaggot666]

Hey, thanks for taking the time to explain it to us man. Sekiro is a beautiful game with lots of question and you’re there to make it clear for us and really wax out the beauty part of the game. Looking forward for Sekiro DLC and your explanation for Elden Ring!

[@SaltedMallows]

Yo I was Gonna Sleep.... BUT then Vaati uploaded !

[@judoshrew]

I'm happy that you are looking beyond the game for information that affects the lore of this game, because I feel that with such a game, deeply rooted in culture, you can only get so far by looking at whats in the game. There is a subtle daoist influence in the game. Daoism has this idea that if you find your way, you can achieve immortality. The way is a union of oneself and universe, becoming one with existence and thus being able to perform tasks perfectly. I think that this fit well with sekiro, which gives you the immortality first, but punishes you and the world for not being in tune with its flow. When you die, it doesn't just punish you, it punishes the world, through dragon rot. One reason to particularly look at daoism for sekiro is that daoist literature spends a lot of time on crippled sages. In confucianism, damaging ones body is considered a sin against one's parents, after all, your body is your parent's gift to you. Its believed that incomplete people can not pass on, and sometimes you see this with like the headless, but in daoism, you can transcend this. By finding the way, you become one with the world, and so you can achieve truer immortality. It might be that the sculptor himself is already dead by this logic, but cannot pass in the same way that the headless cannot pass, as the dilapidated temple is covered in ofuda, japanese sealing talismans that entrap evil spirits. At no point in the game do we see him leave the temple in human form. Regardless on that, I think its likely that those talismans are the only thing keeping him from taking a demonic form. There is a lot more than can be said about confucianism, daoism, and buddhism in sekiro, and I hope you look into them more. Also, i think that priestess by the dragon might be the cradle that brought the dragon to japan. Might be something to look into. See if her priestess clothing match up with any traditional korean designs.

[@zacharycaz2328]

Gotta love how the divine dragon is weak to lightning

[@economicorderqty]

Man, me and my friend wait for a new video about sekiro knowing it's always gonna be good. This was an amazing series.

[@guitargangster66]

Unpopular opinion. I love Sekiro over Elden Ring

[@BlueInferno-g6x]

I agree

[@Gwynbleidd_117]

Is that really so unpopular? Is a vastly superior game mechanically imo. Elden Ring has fun enough combat, traditional souls style with a lot of build crafting. That’s all fine. But imo awkwardly rolling and running patterns around a bosses moves will never hold a candle to standing toe to toe with them clashing swords. Also the fluidity that having a single focused protagonist and weapon move set allowed combat to have. Also I love their Japanese setting in Sekiro so much more even though Elden Rings world is amazing.

[@Hideyourtoes_miyazaki]

Honestly same

[@dalepatrick7372]

I just finished Sekiro. I bounced off of this game 2 times until my friend twisted my arm to play it again and I'm glad he did. I ended up becoming enthralled by the world and characters and I"m really glad you're around to make these videos. I'm sad there likely isn't going to be any DLC expanding on the lore.

[@prismal418]

I think the fight with the dragons never "Happens" its akin to the monkey fight in the temple. You aren't fighting the divine dragon per se but the reflection of the dragon in you. That's why the dragonrot dragons are also in the fight. Like you said it's a reflection of the dragonrot.

[@gregorymyres]

prismal418 they’re all orphans of the war

[@koperfield123]

Beautiful storytelling, scripting, all those details and onpoint in-game scenery and animations editing .. it's just awesome, thanks for all these story videos, I loved to watch them and the amount of work you put into them is astonishing

[@notyou4577]

Me: Sekiro isn't that complicated it is way simpler than Dark Souls Vaati: Okay allow me to pleasantly and calmly highlight just how wrong you are

[@ArtByBritania]

Thank you for doing this Vaati! I beat Sekiro a few weeks after it came out and am now being reminded (by your videos) how amazing playing that game was. I cant imagine replaying it again any time soon because of the difficulty, but I know I will replay it someday!

[@markuscaesar670]

I saw that zoom in at the beginning Vaati you can’t slip past me

[@TheGuitarus]

Vaati, your lore videos add a tremendous amount of flavor to these From games. When I first played Dark Souls shortly after it came out, I was fascinated by it because no other game offered that kind of rewarding challenge that I crave and I had never played Demon Souls at that point. But, it wasn't until I discovered your Prepare to Cry series (specifically the Artorias one) that I fell in love with the game. Thank you for your efforts and your collaboration with the community to enrich these already amazing games by doing what you do. I will be forever grateful.

[@steamhead5417]

Come on FromSoftware, Give us a Tomoe DLC We don't want Vaati to stop the Sekiro Lore Videos

[@zillik4u]

This series was really good. Some of the best content on your channel even. Thanks Vaati!

[@spsproos]

Seeing a video uploaded "one minute ago" on the front page squad?

[@alexmallory1213]

You are phenomenal, Vaati. Please make more videos about Sekiro. This was such a great series!

[@ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣΣΤΑΣΙΝΟΥΛΙΑΣ]

here's an idea for a video, in the of arena of sister friede there is this painting of two black robe wearing people who held two white snakes, maybe there is a connection to sekiro shadows die twice with the things you mentioned on a video called dark souls 3 dlc curiosities of ariandel

[@bbartukoglu]

There really is a unique depth in Vaati’s interpretation of these concepts compared to all the other lore videos I’ve seen. Much appreciated!

[@yellowsaurus4895]

I've said this on one of your other videos but i'm almost positive that those giant worms at the bottom of the lake aren't centipedes. They don't look like the centipedes infesting the monk and other immortal creatures - they look like fully grown precious bait. Furthermore, i don't think the centipedes are caused by drinking the water. There's no evidence directly linking centipedes to the fountainhead. There's also a pretty convincing explanation from another lore channel that states that the centipedes are an allegory for corruption in Shinto (or Buddhist?) philosophy - corruption that occurs from gaining immortality the improper, fast and easy way.

[@varsoonhks3211]

Centipedes are linked with immortality and the dead in Japan--the first because the huge centipedes to live there are so hard to kill and the second because they'll hang out in corpses. There's a ton of Japanese/Shinto myth wrapped up in the land of the dead and those who live there--Izanagi, who created Japan, is famous for drawing back in disgust upon seeing his undead wife, Izanami. Her corruption through undeath, coupled with a troubling countenance, might explain a bit of how centipedes (and, more obviously, maggots) aren't just linked with death and corpses, but also with corruption and a perverse kind of immortality. Also worth looking up is the Ōmukade!

[@liketoplayskarf5865]

4years later I'm back and rewatching sekiro lore lol

[@dragerien2]

Vaati, I have a major question! This being that when you play for the Shura ending, you fight against the bosses, and suddenly when Owl comes back to congratulate you, he's WIELDING the Mortal Blade. Suddenly Owl has it, and then you get it so you have both blades in the Shura ending. My personal theory was that the Shura ending got cut very short and had more planned out before it ended there. Afterall, that would mean that Owl had to get it during your fight and bring it back. Unless Genichiro was incredibly close and Owl beat him incredibly easy, how did he get the blade? It just seemed like there is some sort of skip between the start of the Shura ending and the actual ending.

[@davidhong1934]

Apparently, if you use free-cam, Owl can be seen holding Genichiro's head. The likely explanation is that Genichiro, if he was nearby, heard fighting on the castle and came to investigate. At that point, Owl was there to confront him and, given how Genichiro is actually kind of weak at this point, managed to kill him and take the blade.

[@dylanmcla]

I mean...I think you're needlessly complicating things. He found Genichiro and killed him, possibly with the help of his forces, taking the Black Mortal Blade. Seeing as the next time you would fight Genichiro he only has one health bar, kinda makes it clear Genichiro would be easier for Owl to beat. You know the answer, you just think there's a different one for some reason.

[@nolo2k7]

Loved it, i'm at the final stage of the game and there was so many lore i missed. Thanks a lot to unlock some of the hidden stories we missed while dying constantly.

[@GRIMMDigitalFolklore]

I can't believe the Master of Lore himself mentioned one of my theories in a video, it's an honor.

[@majin13luu35]

Absolutely amazing lore series. I love this game and have always had a fascination for ancient Japan folklore, so when I found your videos it was like a dream come true for a lore geek like me. I sincerely hope that FS plans to make a DLC, and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on all the new stories within. Keep up the great work 👍🏻🐲🏯

[@Breakingbad33]

Sekiro’s my favorite from soft game.

[@claustrophobicmole867]

Valid opinion tbh sekiro is amazing

[@mac1bc]

It's my most frustrating From game lol.

[@Moneyman-33]

mac1bc Same it makes me mad. It doesn’t feel like a game you can learn as much as find cheeses

[@clankymocha]

Well it's a shinobi game You are supposed to cheese your enemies

[@junoglrr9119]

Sekiro is special af... and some people might never touch it ... what a shame

[@Monoclebear]

I am pretty sure that the dead shrine maiden in the little cave right before you fight the divine dragon is Tomoe who tried to reach the dragon to get the tears but failed. If you look at the area, the woman clearly broke through the little fence around just to get closer to that stone, maybe that is even Lord Takerus real grave.

[@brandonwelsh5090]

Anyone else notice the Sakura Dragon looks to be using the moonlight great sword?

[@shinmalphur9214]

doesn't even look remotely close to moonlight sword except for being green

[@brandonwelsh5090]

@@shinmalphur9214 the moon light great sword has taken multiple forms across from software games, it's like the luxo ball or pizza planet truck from Pixar

[@RSBladeglory]

Moonlight Seven-Branched Sword would be a nice DLC weapon. For anybody who doesn't know about the Seven-Branched Sword, I recommend reading about it as it may be important (or at least a reference), especially if there's a sequel.

[@TheRezro]

@@brandonwelsh5090 Not really..

[@shinmalphur9214]

@@brandonwelsh5090 and it doesn't look remotely close to any form the sword has ever had. it more resemles a jade rod than anything else

[@switters8686]

Playing Sekiro in 2024, these videos just need to be included with the game as bonuses. Fantastic job