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Harman and Kun Lan are like gods so they always come back after they die.
The Smiths are dead now.
There are multiple Harmans and Kun Lans so Iwazaru is probably a different Kun Lan.
For Travis Strikes Again, you could see that as an alternate timeline, because it doesn't fit in with killer7's at all.
The other Smiths were killed by the Black Smiles which apparently eradicates them completely. That said, there is a mention of an "OVERDRIVE Mask de Smith" in the book I linked, so... make of that what you will.
Mizaru and Kikazaru are kind of unknowns.
'Clears things up' would be the complete opposite.
He killed them in the hotel because, well, he was an out of control serial killer, apparently. Emir was trained at Coburn Elementary School to be an assassin and has the codename EAGLE (or ELBOW) so he was a special government/powers-that-be project, but he went loose.
Agreed. There's a now defunct website that acts as a small database of some surprisingly insightful (some, less so) essays on the game. Less on clarifying the plot, more on examining the themes. The ones about the nature of Linda Vermillion and the symbolism of the ascending order in which Emir assassinates the actual killer7 were especially fascinating.
https://archive.kontek.net/killer7.3dactionplanet.gamespy.com/file7.htm
Emir Parkreiner is (rather, was) a Japanese spy. Presumably he is an agent of the more "conservative" political party of Japan that wishes to use the Yakumo document to enforce their ideological and totalitarian regime across the planet - world domination, to cut a long story short. The Liberal Party are the mainstream political body that advocates world peace and the dismantling of nuclear weaponry.
We find out from Mills that there are over 10 million Japanese spies all over the world in covert yet powerful institutions and positions. We also find out that Coburn Elementary School was essentially infiltrated by these spies. Emir was one of these spies. Their objective was essentially political espionage and subterfuge - to rig elections in favor of their own ideological preferences.
The entire game (plot wise, at least) can be adequately summed up as the struggle between East and West. Emir/Garcian best embodies this struggle by far.
As far as what happened to him, well one of the best clues is in the chess game scene between Old Harman and Kun Lan. Kun tells a story about a man who had the world at his fingertips but basically went crazy and turned into a sociopath or psychopath. I do not know how much of this really relates because there was talk of acquiring an MBA and brutally murdering his incestuous mother, but I believe the anecdote corresponds to Emir. Trauma in his life turned him into a monster.
Snapping under the pressure I think the most logical interpretation is that Emir, perhaps acting as some sort of Japanese sleeper agent, went to the Union Hotel and single handedly assassinated the actual killer7. Reaching the roof, he felt regret for what he had done, and attempted suicide.
But he failed, and lived. This is where things get complicated.
My theory is that Emir acquired what is sometimes referenced in the game as a Third Eye. We see our first major clue of this when Garcian goes to Coburn and opens up a safe and, I believe, sees a corpse. Then a bloody slit opens across his forehead. This wound symbolically represents the Third Eye, but is also a more literal callback to his failed suicide attempt (presumably the gun in his mouth caused an exit wound in his forehead where the Eye would rest).
Through some sort of divine intervention, Garcian acquired the power of interacting with Remnant Psyches and absorbing the abilities of the killer7. In my opinion, the killer7 are actually dead. What we see in gameplay and some cutscenes is Garcian manifesting their bodies and personalities.
What's very important to note, and these are mostly actual gameplay mechanics, is that Garcian can only switch between "personas" through the use of certain electronics. At the beginning of every stage (except for Lion), it begins with Garcian AND a security camera. This is because Garcian is the only one left alive. It explains why he's the only one who receives phone calls and assignments from Mills, who is effectively the middleman between the US government and the "killer7". I believe that the US government is using the "killer7" as their own private force, manipulating Garcian to their own advantage. Maintaining the lie that the killer7 is still alive gives them flexing ability, so to speak, and not revealing the traumatic truth allows Garcian to live in his psychological bubble and continue working as a "cleaner".
More evidence includes the fact that you only get a game over when Garcian dies. There's no game over when anyone else dies because, well, they're already dead. They're effectively just powers, ghosts, whatever that become inactive for a period of time.
Back to electronics. I'm still working through this but I believe that ISZK, a large company brand that owns televisions (including the ones you use to switch characters) and the theme park is one prevalent example of Japanese espionage within the United States. What seems like a regular company as harmless as, let's say, Sony or Nintendo are really engaging in covert operations. I think ISZK essentially deals in brainwashing. It explains why Garcian has such an affinity for these machines (why he needs them to switch personas). It's like his subconscious is reacting with its prior Japanese influence, despite being an official "black ops" hitman for the US government. It also ties into one of the major themes of the game, digital media being used for misinformation, political agendas and borderline brainwashing (which is not only reminiscent of MGS2 but is a legitimate concern as political propaganda was rampant during the Cold War, and arguably still is now).
To try to summarize, Suda51 has a major theme in a lot of his older games: Kill The Past. It means working through past trauma, confronting it, and then transcending it through your own individuality and choices is necessary for overcoming major struggles in life. killer7 in a nutshell is the story of Garcian/Emir trying to kill his past.
This is put into play by the soul shells. I believe each soul shell represents a death/assassination carried out by the "new" killer7, the one that is effectively just Garcian Smith, not the "real" one decades earlier that was murdered at the Union Hotel. My biggest proof of this is that in the second trip to the Union Hotel, we acquire a soul shell in the spot of death of each member of the original, "real" killer7. It's Garcian's journey of uncovering his past, being split between East (japanese spy) and West (american hitman). This internal strife causes intense grief at the end of the mission, right before the credits. The moment when he opens up his attache case is when it all finally hits him and he has a breakdown. The acquisition of the soul shells represents Garcian coming one step closer to the truth of both his past and his identity.
Going back to the Third Eye, ever wondered why the killer7 are the only ones who can kill the Heaven Smiles? Because they are the only ones who can SEE them. Why? The Vision Ring. This ring is only equipped by Garcian and it represents his borderline divine power. In a sense, the ring is always on and it is what allows them to see these otherwise invisible enemies. When at Coburn, you lose the ring because it acts as a key to the gymnasium. This is why you can't see the Black Smiles, or any of the residual smiles on Battleship Island (the factory of the Heaven Smiles, essentially). You can even check your inventory during the Lion misison and the Vision Ring will be gone, which explains why you can't scan them.
I've probably missed a few details but I hope this helps with understanding Emir/Garcian and the nature of the actual members of killer7. I'd like to go into a lot of detail into Garcian's Trailerhouse, Battleship Island, and how the two are somehow connected at the end of the game, but I haven't quite figured it out yet. I think they are both somehow symbolic of Garcian's subconscious but I'm not sure. I also think this game is a lot more philosophically legitimate than some people let on, because all the themes about laughter and insanity make me think that Suda read some of Bataille's work. He has a line that reads "Laughter is more divine and in essence more elusive than tears" which is eerily similar to the epigraphs that end most missions in the game, like "The day he stops smiling is the day we remember his laughter" and etc.
I can't seem to find anything in the book that contradicts it either, of course holbert may be wrong or lying but by that logic we might as well throw out any information the game gives us
Fans have been in unison for years against reading Hand in Killer7. It contradicts several facts given by the game itself and cannot be trusted.
Also, if you think contradiction invalidates something, I have bad news for you about killer7 itself. The difference between "truth and facts" is incredibly key to all of Suda's work, and Hand in killer7 especially.
There is a lot I disagree with in this comment but I'll try to tackle it all.
"No it doesn't, you just read that it does." I am not in the minority here; I am in the majority. The general consensus for over a decade has been that Hand in Killer 7 is a book that does more harm than good. It offers some useful insight into secondary characters and the political backstory of the universe but that's about it. It doesn't answer questions about the plot as far as the actual events/missions that take place in the game are concerned. It is more an in-depth synopsis, and a rather shoddy one at that, no thanks to the sketchy and unreliable translation. My bet is that Capcom released the book in an effort to make the game more accessible to audiences (and you can bet that methodology is antithetical to Suda's modus operandi). If you wanted to know where Kun Lan was born or that Kevin was gay or any other irrelevant factoid then you're good. If you want to know why Linda describes herself as "a protector of the country" or why Kun Lan's face is beneath Iwazaru's mask or what the rings and soul shells represent then you're completely out of luck. Hand in killer7 cares about questions of the nature of "Who, What, Where" but it rarely cares about questions of the nature of HOW or WHY.
"Hand in killer7 contradicts itself a lot, but the game less so." Well, not really. I suppose this is debateable but if you follow the logic that Emir is Garcian, and not that Garcian "absorbed" Emir then it really does mess with the game a whole ton. The part about Garcian being born in Miami can be taken literally or it can just be the US cover story Garcian was fed to be kept in the dark and continue working as a hitman. Or it can just be the incorrect interpretation of some Capcom employee. I don't know.
"You seem pretty convinced of this though, so feel free to keep repeating stuff you read on GameFAQs instead of actually reading the authors' work." This is presumptuous. I've been playing the game since it first came out over a decade ago and have been working through my own ideas, and yes, as well as several sources of people who offer a more coherent and convincing take on the game. And "the author's work" isn't some grandiose appeal to authority. Suda did not write Hand in killer 7, which means that whoever wrote this book has a guess that is as good as mine as far as what the game is "actually about."
"The difference between "truth and facts" is incredibly key to all of Suda's work" Yes, obviously. I would imagine that anyone who plays his games figures this out pretty soon enough. I don't see how this contradicts my arguments though? Because A, I'm not convinced an imperfect translation was apart of Suda's plan or has anything to do with the themes of the game, and B this only means that interpretation is the best avenue we have to use, not some definitive bible that acts like it gives all the answers to all the questions the game poses (which it obviously doesn't). All Hand in killer7 offers are facts (arguably) but not truth. It doesn't even try to explain what's actually going on in the game's sequence of events itself, at least not to any impressive degree. This goes for a literal interpretation of facts under a guide of rational explanation, or the more supernatural/surreal/spiritual/metaphysical symbolism and thematic devices the game employs. The idea that Hand in Killer7 will help people "understand" the game better is still a weak argument imo.
If online opinion pieces offer more convincing interpretations than this official document, well, I don't have to point out what kind of intellectual void this implies on the part of Capcom executives then, do I?
Also, yeah, of course Hik7 doesn't give you the answers, because it's not a book of answers, it's a work in itself. Just as you have to put killer7 together yourself, you have to put Hik7 together yourself, and you have to put both of them together yourself. Ignoring Hik7 because it doesn't "explain" things is like ignoring Fire Walk With Me when analyzing Twin Peaks. It's another part of the work that you have to sort out for yourself and analyze just the same.
I suggest looking into the book not because it will explain the story, but rather because it's even more material to work with.
The timeline lists Emir living in the 40s/50s because that's the person whose paper were found in Coburn. (Even Holbert comments on how it makes no sense time-wise in the tapes)
There is a precedent in another one of Suda's game, the silver case, of children being raised into mental copies of the legendary killer, Kamui Uehara. Therefore you get multiple Kamui Ueharas running around at different points in the timeline. It's not out of the realm of possibility, that two people named Emir Parkreiner exist through history, especially if one is simply registered under the personal data of the first one
I used to completely disregard the timeline provided in HiK7, until the interview was translated and I noticed that Suda mentioned how the timeline places the events in order, but wether or not they are true should be viewed with suspicion.
Which got me thinking on details such as, when the Smith Syndicate is killed in-game, the timeline simply says that they were defeated by some entity and Garcian revived the bodies. Which makes me believe it is an extension of Garcian's delusion rather than the reality of the events that happened on that date. What makes it hard to picture it as an extension of Garcian's delusion / propaganda is the format, since it makes no sense. If the game had been completed as initially intended, we may have seen those scenes take place and later get a revelation as per why they weren't real.
(Such as emir killing the smith syndicate as a grown man in his memory, only to be revealed he did so as a child.)
There are a few internal contradictions (such as Fukushima being listed as both alive and dead) but that just goes with the type of narrative; Ayame Shimohira is listed as both alive and dead in the 25th ward to the point where I somehow missed she was dead the first time I played through it.
There are more troubling contradictions with the game itself, such as Fukushima having employed Harman Smith in the past but not recognizing him at all in-game, and the Killer7 incident that happened in the hotel union being in reference to the murder of the Union7 in the 50s rather than the deaths of the Smiths, which happened in France instead of the US. I blame things like these on gameplans being changed around and details not matching up. However the book itself acknowledges it in the Jaco Reports by stating that the Killer7 incident is such a urban legend, facts and fiction are getting mixed up.
There's other stuff like the multifoliate persona phoenomenon working in a completely different way from book to game (as in, the book states remnant psyches are personae that were rejected by Harman when he tried to absorb them. In-game, you meet remnant psyches of bosses you never tried to absorb at all.) but that can easily be explained away as in-universe propaganda.
While I do agree that HiK7 is not the end all be all of canon (and it escapes me why some people take it as overriding the actual game for some reason, I don't really agree with you that the fanbase at large ignores it, on the contrary in my experience people I interact with will defer to the book first and the game last because the information is presented in a more 'factual' and lwss abstract way) and I also agree that the meaning of the game can be extrapolated without outside sources, it is still an interesting read that can get you thinking about things in a different way.
By the way, the book was indeed written by suda, along with masahi ooka who also wrote scenarios for TSC, the 25th ward and travis strikes again plus a variety of books on other suda games, and masahiro yuuki who wrote a scenario for the 25th ward and a bunch of other stuff I didn't really care about. It is in the vein of the original syndrome truth files, so I doubt it was an arbitrary decision from capcom to publish it especially considering it was self-published by GHM
Maybe this is just my assumption, but I always thought that the game was just simplifying how this is presented. Rather than actually playing out a "failed absorption" scene, either the individual becomes a persona or compatible, or they become a remnant psyche if not. (And nobody you kill in the game is compatible.) So that never read as any kind of contradiction to me, just a simplified way of presenting it (or the entire "rejection/acceptance" process plays out metaphysically and we wouldn't even see it); I would assume the phenomenon still works roughly the same way.