Seeds of Anxiety* - Vol. 3 Ch. 87 - #087 Companion Doll

[MangaDex]

 

[Voyvoy_]

Hello! I would like to help as a typesetter for the group!

 

[Skullkrusher]

This is the same apartment as Chapter 84...

 

[Arexty]

This is the same apartment as Chapter 84...

No dateline was given at the end this time so it's also possible (although not likely) it's the same guy who visited it as a boy then (2009). The doll's head at the end also appeared at the end of chapter 82.

 

[fennec]

So this ties to at least two other chapters, 82 (Peeping Tom) and 84... Those are both in Sapporo City, with 84 being 2009 and 82 being 2012. Wonder if it's the same building or street.

This makes the second time I know of with stories being connected. I wonder if there's a secret overarching story to this series, too, like with PTSD Radio... May need to go through this and start noting down the dates/locations of all the chapters.

 

[77BLc9JwJGpLVARkamJx]

Chug chug chug chug

 

[Arexty]

So this ties to at least two other chapters, 82 (Peeping Tom) and 84... Those are both in Sapporo City, with 84 being 2009 and 82 being 2012. Wonder if it's the same building or street.

This makes the second time I know of with stories being connected. I wonder if there's a secret overarching story to this series, too, like with PTSD Radio... May need to go through this and start noting down the dates/locations of all the chapters.

I'm not sure if it has meaning but apart from Sapporo, another recurrent location in both this and in Seeds of Anxiety + is Suginami Ward within the Tokyo Metropolis.

 

[3141592653589]

No dateline was given at the end this time so it's also possible (although not likely) it's the same guy who visited it as a boy then (2009). The doll's head at the end also appeared at the end of chapter 82.

On top of the other tie-ins, the face the salaryman is making when he's telling the doll to drink is very similar to the face the guy in chapter 39 makes when he's talking to the detective.

That chapter's noted as happening in an unnamed prefecture in 1990, though, so it could just be a scary face the author likes to draw to show people as being possessed or influenced by something unnatural.

 

[average_beastars_enjoyer]

 

[fennec]

I'm not sure if it has meaning but apart from Sapporo, another recurrent location in both this and in Seeds of Anxiety + is Suginami Ward within the Tokyo Metropolis.

Welp. I actually went ahead and made a Google spreadsheet noting every single chapter's location and year. So, here we go! Still have to fill in chapter titles, but... eh. Note, I used "XX" to note basically "nationwide" areas, and "??" for unknown. Also, I have zero idea where Ishiyama is.

Some interesting takeaways: Most of the series takes place in Tokyo and Hokkaido, with a particular focus on Sapporo and the Suginami Wards. 28 are in Hokkaido for sure, with four more (Yamahana and the Chuou Line Overpass) being maybe Hokkaido. (There's a Chuou Ward in Tokyo, so that could go either way I think?) 25 are in the greater Tokyo area, with 14 specifically in Suginami Ward. Otherwise, most locations appear at least twice...

Except Kouchi City, which is the only city that's specified from a totally unconnected prefecture. Like seriously, just feels out of place. Even Saitama and Kanagawa, the other one-shots, are just listing the prefectures instead of cities?? I dunno, feels weirdly specific.

Meanwhile: there's 13 chapters set in 1998. 8 are set in 2013, so that's the next most common year. The earliest year is 1970, but not much happens in that (it's a kid who says he sees ghosts when he closes his eyes). However, 1975 is from Chapter 30, which ties into Chapter 7 of the very original series. (On that note, I think "Doutou" is the name for the east side of Hokkaido rather than a specific city.)

And then there's the year 2020... Two stories use it. And 67, "Venom Drinker", features a mask that grins when bad things happen. So it could be a reference to some nebulous event... Or it could be a reference to Covid in 2020. The old man mentions an earthquake, and the first story with the mask was in 2011, so that could've been the 2011 earthquake/tsunami. And this volume seems to have been published near the start of Covid, so... it's possible.

Anyways, the spreadsheet has the dates/locations listed. Anyone who wants to use this to analyze for connections, be my guest! I set it so anyone can edit it, so feel free to add notes.

 

[Arexty]

Welp. I actually went ahead and made a Google spreadsheet noting every single chapter's location and year. So, here we go! Still have to fill in chapter titles, but... eh. Note, I used "XX" to note basically "nationwide" areas, and "??" for unknown. Also, I have zero idea where Ishiyama is.

Some interesting takeaways: Most of the series takes place in Tokyo and Hokkaido, with a particular focus on Sapporo and the Suginami Wards. 28 are in Hokkaido for sure, with four more (Yamahana and the Chuou Line Overpass) being maybe Hokkaido. (There's a Chuou Ward in Tokyo, so that could go either way I think?) 25 are in the greater Tokyo area, with 14 specifically in Suginami Ward. Otherwise, most locations appear at least twice...

Except Kouchi City, which is the only city that's specified from a totally unconnected prefecture. Like seriously, just feels out of place. Even Saitama and Kanagawa, the other one-shots, are just listing the prefectures instead of cities?? I dunno, feels weirdly specific.

Meanwhile: there's 13 chapters set in 1998. 8 are set in 2013, so that's the next most common year. The earliest year is 1970, but not much happens in that (it's a kid who says he sees ghosts when he closes his eyes). However, 1975 is from Chapter 30, which ties into Chapter 7 of the very original series. (On that note, I think "Doutou" is the name for the east side of Hokkaido rather than a specific city.)

And then there's the year 2020... Two stories use it. And 67, "Venom Drinker", features a mask that grins when bad things happen. So it could be a reference to some nebulous event... Or it could be a reference to Covid in 2020. The old man mentions an earthquake, and the first story with the mask was in 2011, so that could've been the 2011 earthquake/tsunami. And this volume seems to have been published near the start of Covid, so... it's possible.

Anyways, the spreadsheet has the dates/locations listed. Anyone who wants to use this to analyze for connections, be my guest! I set it so anyone can edit it, so feel free to add notes.

Wow, amazing work! The possible connection to the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake & Tsunami is interesting. Sorting the entries by location I noted that the string of incidents in Suginami Ward seemed to occur largely during the 90s into the early 2000s, while those in Sapporo happened in the late 2000s through the 2010s. Could some of these phenomena shift geographically over decades, or cycle between periods of dormancy and activity like volcanoes?

 

[fennec]

Wow, amazing work! The possible connection to the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake & Tsunami is interesting. Sorting the entries by location I noted that the string of incidents in Suginami Ward seemed to occur largely during the 90s into the early 2000s, while those in Sapporo happened in the late 2000s through the 2010s. Could some of these phenomena shift geographically over decades, or cycle between periods of dormancy and activity like volcanoes?

Ooh, that's an interesting thought. Though the earliest ones seem to be in Hokkaido as a whole, not just Sapporo. So it died down for a bit in Hokkaido, moved to the Tokyo area, then returned and centered in Sapporo City.

If there IS some force that moves around, Kouchi City still stands out as having only one incident. Saitama and Kanagawa are in the same boat, but they directly neighbor Tokyo. Wakayama also stands out since it's similarly removed from the rest.

 

[lichtadler]

Welp. I actually went ahead and made a Google spreadsheet noting every single chapter's location and year. So, here we go! Still have to fill in chapter titles, but... eh. Note, I used "XX" to note basically "nationwide" areas, and "??" for unknown. Also, I have zero idea where Ishiyama is.

Some interesting takeaways: Most of the series takes place in Tokyo and Hokkaido, with a particular focus on Sapporo and the Suginami Wards. 28 are in Hokkaido for sure, with four more (Yamahana and the Chuou Line Overpass) being maybe Hokkaido. (There's a Chuou Ward in Tokyo, so that could go either way I think?) 25 are in the greater Tokyo area, with 14 specifically in Suginami Ward. Otherwise, most locations appear at least twice...

Except Kouchi City, which is the only city that's specified from a totally unconnected prefecture. Like seriously, just feels out of place. Even Saitama and Kanagawa, the other one-shots, are just listing the prefectures instead of cities?? I dunno, feels weirdly specific.

Meanwhile: there's 13 chapters set in 1998. 8 are set in 2013, so that's the next most common year. The earliest year is 1970, but not much happens in that (it's a kid who says he sees ghosts when he closes his eyes). However, 1975 is from Chapter 30, which ties into Chapter 7 of the very original series. (On that note, I think "Doutou" is the name for the east side of Hokkaido rather than a specific city.)

And then there's the year 2020... Two stories use it. And 67, "Venom Drinker", features a mask that grins when bad things happen. So it could be a reference to some nebulous event... Or it could be a reference to Covid in 2020. The old man mentions an earthquake, and the first story with the mask was in 2011, so that could've been the 2011 earthquake/tsunami. And this volume seems to have been published near the start of Covid, so... it's possible.

Anyways, the spreadsheet has the dates/locations listed. Anyone who wants to use this to analyze for connections, be my guest! I set it so anyone can edit it, so feel free to add notes.

Great jobs done! I would like to supplement one thing. Ishiyama Avenue is likely refering the so called 石山通(いしやまどおり/Ishiyama-dori), which is a road connecting the Chūō/Central Ward and Minami/South Ward in City Sapporo. Thus you can combine the story relating to Ishiyama-dori to the location Sapporo or Hokkaido.

 

[fennec]

Great jobs done! I would like to supplement one thing. Ishiyama Avenue is likely refering the so called 石山通(いしやまどおり/Ishiyama-dori), which is a road connecting the Chūō/Central Ward and Minami/South Ward in City Sapporo. Thus you can combine the story relating to Ishiyama-dori to the location Sapporo or Hokkaido.

Thank you very much! I updated the sheet with that.

 

[Ghost_Shogun]

Could some of these phenomena shift geographically over decades, or cycle between periods of dormancy and activity like volcanoes?

Though the earliest ones seem to be in Hokkaido as a whole, not just Sapporo. So it died down for a bit in Hokkaido, moved to the Tokyo area, then returned and centered in Sapporo City.

If there IS some force that moves around...

I happen to be an expert on this subject.
What I'm about to say is merely conjecture, but I have two names to mention:
Nurarihyon and Kankandara.

Nurarihyon, the supreme commander of the youkais, starting alone, will travel throughout Japan to gather subordinates, until becoming an unstoppable force.

Kankandara, the shrine maiden who was devoured and then took control over a giant snake, whose curse is so strong that it needs a special and regular ritual to be appeased. And the box that seals her curse, must be moved between mountains and forests, maybe to maaintain the secret, maybe to preventing it from spreading.

Kankandara is more relevant to the subject than Nurarihyon, but I wanted to mention both as examples of supernatural/cursed entities that move or are moved from place to place.
As a general behavior of ghosts and curses, they tend to gather around stronger ghosts/curses, hence why "haunted spots" usually have multiple entities.
All that said, it's possible that some "Curse/Calamity God" that lived around Hokkaido, moved to Tokyo for whatever reason, and then went back, and obviously, where they reside, the supernatural activity increases.

Just offering a perspective, whoever may read this, feel free to treat this [Wall of Text] as simple gibberish.

 

[fennec]

I happen to be an expert on this subject.
What I'm about to say is merely conjecture, but I have two names to mention:
Nurarihyon and Kankandara.

Nurarihyon, the supreme commander of the youkais, starting alone, will travel throughout Japan to gather subordinates, until becoming an unstoppable force.

Kankandara, the shrine maiden who was devoured and then took control over a giant snake, whose curse is so strong that it needs a special and regular ritual to be appeased. And the box that seals her curse, must be moved between mountains and forests, maybe to maaintain the secret, maybe to preventing it from spreading.

Kankandara is more relevant to the subject than Nurarihyon, but I wanted to mention both as examples of supernatural/cursed entities that move or are moved from place to place.
As a general behavior of ghosts and curses, they tend to gather around stronger ghosts/curses, hence why "haunted spots" usually have multiple entities.
All that said, it's possible that some "Curse/Calamity God" that lived around Hokkaido, moved to Tokyo for whatever reason, and then went back, and obviously, where they reside, the supernatural activity increases.

Just offering a perspective, whoever may read this, feel free to treat this [Wall of Text] as simple gibberish.

I've heard of Nurarihyon before, but this is the first I've heard of Kankandara. That one sounds similar to what was going on in PTSD Radio, with the curse of the god of hair being tied to a box of hair if I remember right. So I could see something similar happening in this series, too.

 

[Ghost_Shogun]

I've heard of Nurarihyon before, but this is the first I've heard of Kankandara. That one sounds similar to what was going on in PTSD Radio, with the curse of the god of hair being tied to a box of hair if I remember right. So I could see something similar happening in this series, too.

I really have to finish Kouishou Radio, or in fact, I have to start over, because although I remember the hair god, I don't remember the presence of a box related to it.
Also, because of the connection of hair and box, it makes me think of the Kotoribako, since its curse utilizes bits and pieces or humans (finders, nails, teeth, organs, and of course, hair).
Also², in case you wanna read Kankandara's story:
https://www.kowabana.net/2018/05/25/kankandara/

 

[fennec]

I really have to finish Kouishou Radio, or in fact, I have to start over, because although I remember the hair god, I don't remember the presence of a box related to it.
Also, because of the connection of hair and box, it makes me think of the Kotoribako, since its curse utilizes bits and pieces or humans (finders, nails, teeth, organs, and of course, hair).
Also², in case you wanna read Kankandara's story:
https://www.kowabana.net/2018/05/25/kankandara/

Thanks for the link! I discovered that blog fairly recently, so I'll add that post to my reading list!

For now, quick summary of what I recall from PTSD Radio with some light speculation on my part:

Spoiler: PTSD Radio Spoilers and Speculation

There was a ritual that involved putting the hair of dead people in a box and burying it, so the god of hair can guide their souls (Chapter 15). One was buried beneath a dosojin statue (the same one seen throughout the series, which was how I clocked onto the fact everything takes place in the same city), and unearthed in Chapter 9 which spurred some trouble for the boys and forced them to go to an exorcist.

A soldier also got a bunch of cut hair from a hair salon, to give to the family of a comrade who died in war. (Chapters 19/20) Best I can tell, the God of Hair likely went after everyone whose hair was used in that (look for any chapter with a 4X.XX frequency). And in more recent times, it might be going after people who disturbed the dosojin statue(s). At the very least, something happened to displease it...

I left a comment on the main comment thread reiterating my revelation, and it lists a bunch of connected chapters if you want a quick starting point. The frequencies all seem to pertain to time periods, so looking at chapters in the same range is also good for putting together connections!

 

[Ghost_Shogun]

Thanks for the link! I discovered that blog fairly recently, so I'll add that post to my reading list!

For now, quick summary of what I recall from PTSD Radio with some light speculation on my part:

Spoiler: PTSD Radio Spoilers and Speculation

There was a ritual that involved putting the hair of dead people in a box and burying it, so the god of hair can guide their souls (Chapter 15). One was buried beneath a dosojin statue (the same one seen throughout the series, which was how I clocked onto the fact everything takes place in the same city), and unearthed in Chapter 9 which spurred some trouble for the boys and forced them to go to an exorcist.

A soldier also got a bunch of cut hair from a hair salon, to give to the family of a comrade who died in war. (Chapters 19/20) Best I can tell, the God of Hair likely went after everyone whose hair was used in that (look for any chapter with a 4X.XX frequency). And in more recent times, it might be going after people who disturbed the dosojin statue(s). At the very least, something happened to displease it...

I left a comment on the main comment thread reiterating my revelation, and it lists a bunch of connected chapters if you want a quick starting point. The frequencies all seem to pertain to time periods, so looking at chapters in the same range is also good for putting together connections!

Thank you for the insight. Whenever I go reread it, I'll be sure to check out that comment.