Ichiko Yagura
矢倉市子
Middle School student / female / 14
(actress: Erina Moribayashi)
A person from 19 years ago (1986), and second year middle school student who was on board the ferry Bright Win that ran aground on the shore of Yamijima. The side story "Mystery of the Bright Win" published on the official website tells the story of what happened to Ichiko Yagura when she was alive, and the game tells the story of Ichiko after death (after falling into the red sea in chapter four).
Reawakening in the Bright Win's freight room, Ichiko is unable to clearly remember the tragedy that occurred on the boat and regains consciousness in a state of confusion. Learning through visions that Shibito are patrolling the odd-seeming boat, Ichiko feels "another consciousness" awaken within her along with her previous memories, and is frightened and confused. "Something is strange, and that something is me, something terrible inside me..." Amidst the fear and despair, Ichiko is in turmoil. Why is she alive, even though she should have died when she fell into the sea? Why did she kill Shigeru Fujita? Gradually her mind as that of Ichiko Yagura begins to collapse, and as her terror reaches a peak - Ichiko awakens as a "Simulacrum".
After awakening Ichiko (Simulacrum ver.) becomes in a sense the game's strongest enemy. Unlike Yamibito and Yamirei she possesses a resistance to light, and appears to simply brush off any attacks. She shares Otoshigo's want to return to being one with Mother again, but perhaps since she is a "downgraded copy" of an Offshoot a brutal mindset begins to take hold within. Her image is a coquettish one of a girl in school uniform holding a machine gun, and Simulacrum Ichiko is shown as a character whose cruelness and madness stands out above the Shibito or Yamibito. Also, the reason Simulacrum Ichiko is so fixated on the bracelet she was clinging onto (archive [No.077] Vermilion Bracelet) and why it acts as a key to remembering her human life is also revealed in the side story. This level's set-up, made deeper by understanding the several pieces of foreshadowing, can be said to be one of the Siren series' charms.
In the game, the Simulacrum falls to earth along with the collapse of the pylon and her body finally begins to fall apart, morphing into an eyeball, ultimately being retaken by Otoshigo.
"The Mystery of the Bright Win"
Due to a "warp in dimensions" on Yamijima, the grounded ferry and Simulacrum Ichiko are taken from "19 years ago" and trapped in the Reflected World. For further details, see the side story.
Final moments of the human Ichiko
Having breathed her last in 0:00 "Simulacrum", the drowned Ichiko moves closer to Otoshigo. Perhaps the real Ichiko's corpse drifts away somewhere...
A being superior to the Shibito
The Shiryo, Simulacrum and Otoshigo were all once the same being. The reason the Shibito Tsuneo Ohta, who attacks Fujita and Ichiko, flees is that he senses Otoshigo's "will" in Ichiko.
Simulacrum Ichiko's true form
A huge eyeball (?) appears on the Simulacrum's face as her body begins to fall apart. Ichiko is a "monster", a mutated version of one of Otoshigo's eyes.
Past
Born on 10 May 1972
1986 - Shiro at the bottom of the sea run Bright Win aground. Amidst tragedy caused by rampaging Offshoot, Ichiko falls into the red sea
Other World
0:00 - Ichiko's drowned corpse floats through sea. Imitating Mother's Offshoots, Shiryo create beneath the sea create Simulacrum of Otoshigo. Simulacrum becomes trapped in Reflected World Yamijima along with red tsunami
1:00 - Awakens in hold of grounded ferry
2:00 - Sleeps for a while in Mikami house with Fujita
4:00 - Woken by Fujita, head for fort ruins
5:00 - Other self awakens, stabbing Fujita in the chest with knife. Coming back to herself, Ichiko's sobs and screams echo in the darkness
Return of the Dove
6:00 - Siren. Human consciousness returning, Ichiko clings to Fujita and sobs
8:00 - Ichiko walks with faltering steps and a blank expression. Otoshigo's consciousness and her memories from when she was human switch back and forth
13:00 - Escapes from Yamibito
14:00 - Misawa's death; meets up with Nagai
14:00 - Trapped by Yamibito, awakens as a Simulacrum amidst extreme situation
22:00 - Talking of resent and affection for Mother, Ichiko completely awakens as Simulacrum. Falls from collapsing Spider's Thread, body begins to fall apart
23:00 - Taken over by Otoshigo
Ichiko Yagura in Each Level
"Loss" (1:20:19 / Bright Win / Freight Room)
Due to becoming stuck in a warp in spacetime, Ichiko (Simulacrum) "infiltrates" the World of Nothingness in which Mother lives. However, Ichiko herself is not yet aware of what she truly is. This level also displays the possibilities of parallel worlds - Ichiko being found and killed by Yuri (objective 1), and Ichiko being protected by Fujita (objective 2). It is a level of great interest.
"Lone Shadow" (8:50:32 / Yamijima / Shiofurihama)
In Ichiko's vague memories is engraved a fear that when Noriko let go of her hand she did it on purpose, and due to this becomes fixated on their matching bracelets, symbols of their friendship. The reason this item is the key to remembering her human memories is because she is so attached to it. Perhaps this is also because she is too young to notice what is going on between Nakajima and Noriko.
"Rescue" (14:25:29 / Yamijima Gold Co. Housing / C-102)
Half-awakened (as a Simulacrum, part of Otoshigo), Ichiko has already lost any sense of herself. Despite Nagai's desperate efforts, her terror at being kidnapped by a Type-A Yamibito causes her to break down and fully awaken as a Simulacrum. Her state of mind already resembles that of Otoshigo, and she hardly remembers anything of being human. The girl continues intently removing the obstacles that appear before her.
Ichiko Yagura Q&A
Q: What kind of girl was Ichiko in life, the Ichiko who doesn't appear in-game?
A: She was a totally average "curry-loving" middle school girl. She isn't loud and showy, but is playful around friends, although she is quiet around people she doesn't know. She had faint, first love-like feeling towards Nakajima (though she is young enough not to have realised that her friend is in a relationship with him). She was a good, family-oriented girl with above average grades, with quite good reflexes and as such was a regular in the girls singles at tennis club... Kameishino Middle School is a high-level school in the area that gives undivided attention to its younger members' club activities upon entering the third year in order to prepare for entrance exams.
Q: In 22:00 "Mad Laughter" she seems to compete with Itsuki and Ikuko to reach the top of the pylon (Spider's Thread), but why is this?
A: Since her true goal is to become one with Mother, she wants to arrive at the place Mother is trying to reach before anyone else does.
Ichiko Yagura - character archive
Since Ichiko is a girl from the past (19 years ago), if you examine the archives related to her you will notice that the words used have an oldness to them. To give an example, written at the end of the complicated origami letter that was popular amongst middle school girls at the time ([No.040] School Uniform-Shaped Letter) is "on za mayuge", which refers to having a fringe cut so that it is above the eyebrows (having brown hair used to be a sign of being a delinquent, and as such it was common for school to ban flashy hairstyles). It's a rollcall of words that are no longer in use.
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