[SPOILERS] Clarification on Door 2’s Plot Twist

Overview

…specifically on the scene with the famished merchant and the Beast. I’ve come across quite a few people who were confused by that scene in hindsight.Obviously, don’t read this unless you have COMPLETED DOOR 2

Visual Red Herring

We all knew how it went: hungry merchant came knocking on the door -> Yukimasa let him stay -> Yukimasa got triggered by his knife at the dining table and murdered him in cold blood with his katana

What’s confusing is when that particular merchant showed up, he had the exact same sprite as Yukimasa, which makes no sense at all in hindsight. This is actually not the case; rather, it’s a clever visual trick played on the reader by the author — it’s called a VISUAL novel after all

It’s important to note that the only characters to have a dialogue portrait in the early parts of Door 2 are the Maid and Yukimasa/Bestia; that other merchant’s artwork is shown only once in the entire door—in the CG below getting sliced up :/

One can easily mistake the Yukimasa sprite (see below) that briefly appeared onscreen in the previous scene as the merchant he murders here (see above), which is exactly what the VN wanted you to think. It serves as both a red herring to hide the big plot twist of Door 2 AND subtle foreshadowing/characterization for Yukimasa.

Let me explain:

His human sprite (Yukimasa) briefly shows up in that scene due to him seeing a fellow human being (the famished merchant) for the first time since he was exiled from the village, causing his dormant memories of his human self to resurface. (This line of reasoning also implies something about the nature of the Maid)

He even wears a troubled/confused expression here after seeing the merchant:

“Nani?! I’m not a literal beast?”

That doubt is quickly suppressed as he reverts back to the Bestia sprite immediately afterwards:

Remember, the first half of this Door is presented as how Yukimasa perceives himself. This visual sequence displays Yukimasa’s constant rejection of his own humanity, which is a prevailing theme throughout the rest of the tale. And you got a glimpse of it here likely without even realizing it. Pretty cool, eh?

Here is the full scene
*Credit goes to the original uploader; just using it here for reference.

Addendum: The Beast’s Language

Remember all those “xxxxxxx”s in Bestia/Yukimasa’s dialogue that was supposedly some kind of bestial language? Turns out it was just him speaking Japanese, albeit in a very incoherent way. Self-deprecating racism much? XD