/jp/ - Otaku Culture

Anyway, now that we're finally getting some good Ciconia discussion going, I guess I could share my attempt to make sense of the various layers of meta in Ciconia. I've identified about 5 possible layers. Without further ado:

0. The physical world. Due to AR shenanigans and false memories it's unclear how much of Ciconia actually takes place here. The game boards are Umineko's equivalents for this layer.

1. Virtual reality. Where most of Ciconia happens. According to a popular theory, the Three Kings exist purely on this layer, having completely different physical forms. The game board fantasy scenes are Umineko's equivalents.

2. Character subconscious. This is where "Evil" Miyao, Keropoyo and inactive CPP alters live. It's possible Seshat also mostly lives on this layer. The fantasy scenes outside of game boards (e.g. Ange summoning the stakes) are Umineko's equivalents for this layer.

3. Mad Scientist Underground. These scenes are set up to seem like they happen in the physical world, but various clues point to the scenes being meta. The Umineko equivalent would be Purgatorio, the realm where the souls of the dead attempt to achieve peace in order to move on to the Golden Land.

4. Meat Factory. The relationship of this layer to the other layers is uncertain. However, if the VR theory is correct, this would be the highest layer, and equivalent to Umineko's Rokkenjima Prime.

Some theories place the Three Kings on layer 3 instead of layer 1 (i.e. they are a meta representation of an urban myth or something like that).

Lastly, here's the clues for Underworld scenes being meta:
1. Vier's character tips directly state that she is dead, not that she faked her death.
2. It would be extremely difficult to fake one's death in a world with cheap DNA testing.
3. If you read the narration carefully, it repeatedly states that this is a "land of the dead" "outside of the game board", the "land of those who are no longer human" etc. This has to be hinting at something.