Kabukimono, Balladeer, Scaramouche, Wanderer… whatever name he goes by, this character is by far one of my favorites. He has one of the most complete backstories of any character in Genshin Impact. and so many layers of references in every one of his incarnations that I had to go over them one by one.
Stick around to the end for a small bonus theory! 🙂
(Contains content up to version 3.3, Inversion of Genesis, SOME EVANGELION SPOILERS at 9:40)
**PREVIOUS VIDEOS**
The History of Scaramouche: https://youtu.be/mBj7WDsMhvc
Inversion of Genesis Recap & Analysis: https://youtu.be/b69ryANmmgI
**TIMESTAMPS**
0:00 Introduction
2:30 Kabukimono
4:40 Balladeer
9:40 Shouki no Kami
12:00 Wanderer
20:15 Combat & Kit
21:50 Constellations
28:25 Samsara (Theory)
**FUTHER READING & SOURCES**
Zaura: https://twitter.com/emanatingauras
Constellation and Kit Doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18FT-XdoFGFWa9qF_C6SdkEQusjoRLr77JPGK2TUULl8/edit?usp=sharing
Five Kasen: https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/The_Five_Kasen
Kabukimono (historical): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabukimono
Karaginu: https://japanesetraditionalclothingwafuku.wordpress.com/kariginu/
Heian Period: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heian_period
Japanese Historical Hairstyles: https://www.tokyoweekender.com/2018/01/nihongami-japanese-hairstyles-through-the-ages/
Katsugi: http://collection.imamuseum.org/artwork/82236/
Tokugawa Shogunate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokugawa_shogunate
Meiji Restoration: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meiji_Restoration
Kunikuzushi (canon): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breech-loading_swivel_gun
Ghanta: https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/buddhist-ritual-bell-with-five-pronged-vajra-handle-gokorei-unknown/8gHxZZngZmj6zw?hl=en
Tulaytullah’s Rememberance: https://ambr.top/en/archive/weapon/14512/tulaytullahs-remembrance
Vajra and Bell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vajra#Accompanying_bell
Vajra and Bell 2: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-asia/himalayas/tibet/a/thunderbolt-and-bell
Lotus Mandalas: https://www.mandalasforthesoul.com/lotus-mandala/
Bunraku: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F-xtbiTtjQ
Noh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88v-HYGAKMQ
Kabuki: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p1i7ezQAXQ
Belial: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belial
Belial Sigil: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:68-Belial_seal.png
Shugendo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shugend
Ei Character Story: https://ambr.top/en/archive/avatar/10000052/raiden-shogun?mode=story
(note: the wiki’s translation version of her character story is outdated so I am redirecting to ambr.top)
Wanderer: https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Wanderer/Lore
Scaramouche: https://genshin-impact.fandom.com/wiki/Scaramouche
**CREDITS**
Special thanks again to Zaura for her work on Scaramouche’s constellations and kit references!
Meltdown Photo: IAEA Imagebank – https://www.flickr.com/photos/iaea_imagebank/5765324940/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56372031
source
Wow the details of wanderers outfit is so we'll detailed. They really innovate a new outfit.
Please do some more character design analysis ! Love this stuff
Great video as always!
Haiyaa, I Definitely need a video about the Golden Slumber and its Sequel cuz I couldn't understand what Liloupour or whatever's Story… All I could understand is that Gruabad was a place, and King deshret, ceilie, Jinni and Flower goddess are all related in her story…
Why Scaramouche wore women clothing?
Cuz he was a JerryGirl
Opposite of Tomboy or something
Finally. Great vid
I haven't seen Scara scaring the bird away unlike Ei lol
It’s amazing that I didn’t notice some very clear Eva themes during Shouki no Kami boss fight. I think I’ve watched so many anime heavily influenced by Evangelion that it’s almost expected to see its influence somewhere in pop culture. In a game so heavily influenced by anime, I feel this was bound to happen. And it warms my heart.
17:43 congrats on the transition
I was about to rename the little munchkin to Kung Lao from MK (obviously because of the hat) but in light if your research and references to Evangalion, I will now be renaming our little gremlin to Shinji.
Great video…except for one teeny tiny, itsy bitsy, little thing….As a birdwatcher, I take issue with that "Peregrine Falcon" in the video. Clearly it's not. lol That looks like a California Condor. 😛
I don't know if it has any significant meaning, but I found the design choice of putting(what I assume is) black opal on wanderer's hat very interesting. I looked up the meaning of black opal and it represents the "gateway to paradise" and "all positive energy as it creates peace".
What I like about Scara's new design is that the position of his vision being placed where the human heart is located. Which clearly say he now has his divine heart that belongs to him and no one else. Unlike the Electro Gnosis.
Scara having so much lotus motifs makes me wonder if nahida is remaking the trio of gof, rukha and deshret, since she also made alhaitham acting sage and he’s also covered with motifs of the scarlet king
I will note one other thing about the name Peregrinus, which is also how I ended up naming my wanderer Falcon…the name Peregrine literally means "wanderer." I, however, appreciate your elective!
This randomly appeared on my screen but I wasn't expecting this much details! Amazing work !
THAT'S WHY I NAMED HIM SHINJI,THAT'S WHY
One can rllly see how much work goes into ur Videos!!
Every time you post a video i drop everytzhing i am doing and watch it
The fact that his hairstyle was the hime style, makes me think that naming him "babygirl" is actually canon.
about why scara has so many traditionally feminine traits, i always assumed it was because scara was meant to be read as trans, because i think it makes no sense for ei to make a puppet that was supposed to act as her and/or makoto but then not make it female? in that way i think it could represent the person he was ‘meant’ to be and his subsequent development into his own person, going from essentially dressing like a woman in all aspects as the kubukimono because he has no idea who he is yet, to only having a few feminine items as scaramouche because in the end he is still being controlled by the fatui, to wearing men’s clothes as the wanderer because he is now living as his true self.
If I had to guess why he wears women's clothes and has a women's haircut, it might be because him being male was another "mistake" of Ei's. To make up for the fact that she messed up, she gave him female clothes and a haircut so then if he were to take up the place as the "Raiden Shogun," it wouldn't be as questionable. That's just my guess though, but it's not something totally unthinkable as people have been doing that and the opposite of that for years. When someone has a child of the gender they didn't want, they'll raise that child as the opposite gender they were born as and completely change their personality. When they don't confirm to that personality sometimes, they'll rather get lashed out at or just completely disowned from their parents, which is what happened to Scaramouche.
One interesting thing to look at in media that sort of relates to this is Fruits Basket. In the anime and manga, the character, Akito, was born a female. However, as not only the family head but the "God" of the zodiac, her mother and father raised her to be male. She was never allowed to go out wearing women's clothing and, of course, she was given a male name. Even after her father died, she kept presenting herself as a male as she was scared to give reason to disappoint her father. She hated her mother, who resented her very existence and hardly ever spoke to her.
Also, you mentioning the thing around Scarmouche's neck, like that of a carrier pigeon, made me think back to The Journey to the West, particularly the monk character "Xuanzang" or "Tripitaka." He was a wandering Buddhist monk in a town in the East, tasked with making the journey West to obtain the Tripitaka, scriptures of enlightenment written by the Buddha himself, to bring back to his home in the East. Unlike Tripitaka, Scaramouche doesn't have any disciples but is a disciple of Nahida now. Also, his home, Inazuma, is located in the Eastern part of the world whereas Sumeru is in the West. This could be some interesting insight to how, later, he might go back to Inazuma to teach things that he learned in Sumeru to the people of Inazuma.
I always kinda assumed that scaramouch was makotos reincarnation (or replacment made by ei in her grieve) but that was mostly a gut feeling based on vibes so seeing all the actual evidence is shown in the vid is nice
Can't believe ashikai would deadname him smh smh my head
Even if it's not canonical. I still love the headcanon of ftm trans Scara
Crazy how this mf went through all of these complex identities just for hoyo to allow me to name him 2011FordFocus
i love ashikai and i love scaramouche. he's the best written character in the entire game, it's not even a competition. what im trying to say is i loved this video <333
I really love how you use footage of Yanfei and now Faruzan to represent you taking and thinking. Also goddamn I loved Scara before but now?? Oh man. Fav.
I LOVED WATCHING THIS TYSM
So much delicious lore! Thanks for making this. I love the incarnation of Makoto idea. It explains why he woke up.
the way i never noticed he fights like ruin guards
incredible work
subscribed
thank you for this masterpiece
I don't usually watch long videos but this one is so perfect and interesting I had to watch the whole thing
also thank you for pronouncing Nahida's name correctly
This is DEEP as someone who had no idea about anything and just assumed dumb stuff lol, ima give some of my personal interpretations here, a big piece of text incoming!
1. For the name Peregrinus of his constellation, I just assumed it was bc he wanders and in my native language Spanish, "Peregrino" means someone who either goes to visit divine sanctuaries by walking, which may be tied to his path to become a better individual, and the other usage of the word is for someone who just generally travels around through harsh terrain, which COULD be considered as a metaphore for his rough past, and the fact that as Nahida's protector he's the one doing the rough work that she can't do and the one in charge of protecting her. I just related these things on the spot so there's probably a lot to be said.
2. His flower and lotus motif, i assumed it was bc Nahida is the Dendro archon, and Dendro is associated with plants and flowers, and one of Nahida's ascension materials is the Kalpalata Lotus iirc. So i interpreted the whole flower motif as Nahida helping Scara be reborn (having a new identity).
3. The birds are obviously related to freedom and Nahida, i don't believe i need to explain further
That's all I could see for myself, if you can expand on these ideas you can share them in the replies
Ashikai with another scara video 💖
This analysis and video are so well done, thank you!! There are so many hystorical references I didn't know about, genshin really take care of their characters design✨
🖤💙🤍🤍💙🖤
I absolutely fallen in love with him because I was going to skip him but damn those blue aesthetic design just speaks to me. His namecard?? Sheeeshh. Never once regret pulling him with his beautifully matching weapon. Heck everyday I watched other Genshin content then I will log in, feel grateful to have Wanderer in my account! That alone will make my heart flutter inside 🥰
I really like how deep you go with this analysis. I almost feel like Scara is Hoyo’s fav character because of all of the detail and symbolism in his… well everything, lol.
P.S. the use of Persona 5 music is both stylish and appropriate and I love it. Scara reminds me of Akechi from the game and I ended naming him as such. 😄
those "birds" from his sleeves, namecard and kunikuzushi chest piece also have the silhouette of ei's morning glories, the symbol of the minamoto aka genji clan, the first "real" shogun in history hails from there
Literally this just makes me want to grab Ei and Scara and put them in the same room to talk. forever mad we will likely never have this……………
Awesome video as usual! If I may add, I investigated Jizou Bosatsu aka Kṣitigarbha or Dìzàng Pú Sà (the bodhisattva of travelers) and the references of him on Scara a couple of months ago, and I found these interesting things:
1. Jizou uses the same staff with rings as the shugenja, being a traveling monk as well. That staff he uses to open the gates of hell (the fact he's related to hell mythology could be a reference to his incursions to the abyss?). He also has a halo (Scara's hat) and a tear-shaped jewel that can light the darkness and grant wishes (vision?). The jewel is held by his left hand, and Scara's vision is on his left side akin to his heart so maybe as a stretch?
2. Jizou is a patron of childhood, especially diseased or dead children who he protects in hell/purgatory. We can bring it back to being Nahida's protector, but also to the nameless sick child he adopted as family
3. Like you mentioned, he's the patron of travelers, and in Japan his little cute statues are everywhere. His Japanese self wears a haori as well, and a kasa hat (similar to the hangai, and kasa means umbrella so lol)
4. Jizou usually stands or sits on a lotus in a lot of his iconography, as a symbol of his release from rebirth. You've already covered the lotus a lot so yeah
5. Common offerings and decorations to his statues are toys, hats, and relevant clothing like bibs and little knitted hats. The toys usually come from parents with sick or dead children so the buddha can protect them. Scara has just learned how to make dolls (like the one his friend had) as Wanderer in his character stories and has a doll with him all times
6. The litte Japanese statues tend to be baby-faced and child-like in shape as a wink to his role of guardian of childhood. Scara has been made to look eternally youthful, like a doll
7. You already covered this title and the connection to 6 but Lord of the Six Ways/Worlds could also be referenced in Scara's hat and E skill and constellation having 6 points or edges (like his mom but shh)
8. He has a mantra called Mantra of Eliminated Fixed Karma. I mean…
And unrelated to Jizou, I think the birds on his Wanderer outfit (and maybe in the Balladeer's chest ornament) could be swallows but more leaf-shaped. Since they're migratory birds, to me they can symbolize Scara's new freedom and life, and because they are considered to symbolize the arrival of spring and good fortune and positive changes and wanderlust
In regards to his constellation: it might be the fact that he’s a puppet, which can be altered…unlike any other natural occurring being. Or the fact he did attain god-hood for a brief moment.
So basically the whole theory in the end implies that Ei made Wanderer (currently under the name Mississippi) from pieces of her deceased sister😅
As much as I love your videos and scaramussi i sincerely hope we as a community can move on from the emo puppet now 😭
The second Ashikai compared Scara to Shinji I immediatelly thought about that image of Shinji sitting on the chair facing the floor, but with Scaramouche 😂
Pinocchio became a real boy 💀
Ashikai you are so smaart!!
Die Mittsommernacht-Fantasie is such a beautiful piece 🥰
Is it just me or Scaramouche is the closest thing we have to a transgender representative
I named him Shugenja when I pulled him