The Most Disturbing Relationship in Overwatch

[00:00:00]The dynamic between Mizuki and Shion is easily one of the most extreme developments in Overwatch lore today. A twisted relationship where both of their nightmarish past collide and loop back into each other in a cycle neither of them can truly escape. In this video, we're breaking down both of their stories, uncovering exactly how they became who they are and what this might mean for future stories. This is the most disturbing relationship in Overwatch.

[00:00:30]Let's start by talking about Shion's origins as it is pretty detrimental to understanding why she is the way she is.

[00:00:36]During the Omnic Crisis, Shion gained her sentience in the middle of a battlefield like countless other Omnics after Aurora's awakening. However, she kept fighting not for Anubis but for survival. After weeks of rampaging through the streets of Tokyo, she was eventually overpowered by a group of Yakuza gangsters. Gangsters who would go on to form the Hashimoto clan. Day after day, Shion's existence was purely as an object to be tested against by the Hashimoto. Unbeknownst to her captors, she was secretly studying their techniques and pinpointing their weaknesses. After years of brutal violence and dehumanization, Shion finally saw her chance and slaughtered all four Hashimoto elders, claiming her spot on a new fifth seat where she's been building her own ruthless persona ever since. She would go on to modify the shape and features of her own body, most notably adopting an uncanny human face. A mask of the one thing she believed to be the most cruel. Now, her reputation as a sadist is widely known and with a new found ally in Talon, Shion stands as the matriarch of Japan's most cutthroat Yakuza clan. Now, if we dive into her lore from a psychological perspective, there's some pretty interesting things [music] to note.

[00:01:49]Studies have shown that when a subject feels stripped of their autonomy, they can give in to the all too known cycle of violence, committing serious violent offenses later on in life when compared to their non-abused peers. For Shion, the torture she endured would similarly have warped her coping mechanisms and made her far more prone to becoming a violent captor herself.

[00:02:14]Enter Mizuki, her primary target. Mizuki similarly had a very unfortunate upbringing. His mother inexplicably passed away, which sent his very superstitious and paranoid father in a very drastic downward [music] spiral.

[00:02:29]That combined with alleged mental health issues, it's been heavily implied that he ended up taking his own life. Because of the debts his father left behind to the Hashimoto clan, Mizuki paid the price with his own life. Not through death, but through a life of servitude.

[00:02:45]Shion saw Mizuki as an opportunity to project her own past onto him, subjecting him to the same grueling training she once endured and forcing obedience through threats of violence along the way. Her other captive, Toshiro Yamagami, the Shimada clan's former blacksmith, was also controlled using Mizuki as leverage. If Toshiro failed to meet certain deadlines, Mizuki would pay the price. [music] In one shot, we see Toshiro patching Mizuki's arm up and if you look at Mizuki now, you'll notice that arm is completely gone. Replaced with a cybernetic one.

[00:03:17]Take an educated guess at what happened and you'd most likely be right. But the torture wasn't constant. Shion would occasionally reward Mizuki with praise, creating a weird, almost mother-son dynamic between them. When he survived her punishments, she responded with affection, small comforts, and rare displays of warmth. I think that because she wasn't subjecting him to the same nonstop brutality she'd went through, Shion genuinely believes she'd saved him. In her own warped perspective, she had given Mizuki a much better life than the one she got and to her, that meant he had it good. She also gave him the nickname Obake-kun, loosely translating to shapeshifter, a pointed reminder of Mizuki's guilt over infiltrating the Yokai rebels and lying to them. That name is another way for Shion to keep him psychologically fragile, constantly harping on the shame he already feels.

[00:04:08]In this one interaction, Mizuki is further emotionally discombobulated as she digs deeper into his insecurities.

[00:04:16]>> I hate to think of what misfortune you'll bring your new friends.

[00:04:22]All because you exist.

[00:04:24]>> Shut up.

[00:04:26]>> Poor, poor Obake-kun.

[00:04:29]Once a cursed demon child, always a cursed demon child.

[00:04:34]>> I said, SHUT UP.

[00:04:36]>> Props to Mizuki's voice actor because you can really feel how shaken up by her he is. It shows how far she's gotten under his skin.

[00:04:45]What makes this all that much sadder is that I can almost guarantee that Mizuki has some form of Stockholm Syndrome.

[00:04:51]Even when he would get punished, he would still find some way to sympathize with Shion, making up excuses for her all because he truly believes she loves him. Some of the more recent interactions show how sad this all truly is, even after recent story events.

[00:05:06]Here's a few.

[00:05:07]>> Whatever they told you about me, Mizuki, it isn't true.

[00:05:12]>> No one said anything. I'm just seeing you for what you are.

[00:05:16]>> What I am?

[00:05:17]You mean that what?

[00:05:19]An empty killing machine?

[00:05:20]>> That's I didn't mean I'm sorry.

[00:05:25]>> Is something wrong, Obake-kun? You look nervous.

[00:05:29]>> Why do you care?

[00:05:31]>> I will always care about you. Have I not made that clear?

[00:05:35]>> I You have.

[00:05:39]>> The emotional dependency between the two is extremely odd, and it's a dynamic unlike anything we've seen before. The closest comparison might be the relationship between Moira and Widowmaker, though that felt more like, I guess, maintenance [snorts] of an experiment rather than what we're seeing here. With Shion shifting between the facade of a loving mother and emotional manipulation, her tight grip over Mizuki has been disguised as concern rather than actual comfort. She frequently guilt-trips him into doubting himself, tightening his dependence on her even as he tries to push back.

[00:06:15]However, pushed back Mizuki has. Just enough to begin living his own life outside of her sphere of influence, even claiming a new family of his own in the Yokai Rebels. For the first time, he's experienced real compassion and friendship, taking his first footsteps towards independence. [music] In Facing Demons, we finally see him confront Shion and stand up to her. And while his feelings may not be 100% gone, he understands that what she's done to him is wrong. I do wish his journey had been a bit longer, with maybe even a little backpedaling, kind of like Zuko's arc in Avatar: The Last Airbender. A little more build-up would have made this final stand against her hit even harder. Given how many stories Blizzard has been producing though, it feels like they may be working under tighter constraints. Still, it's a standout character moment. A lot of the recent character [music] development has been pretty good, too, honestly. Arguably some of the best. I really like this interaction between Shion and Sojourn in particular.

[00:07:09]>> That train ride was oh so fun, Vivi.

[00:07:13]Next time, we should fight to the death.

[00:07:16]>> I don't have time to ruin your plans again, but I'm sure my agents would love the chance.

[00:07:21]>> Your agents? No. That won't have the same spark.

[00:07:26]>> Seeing how easily obsessive Shion becomes with other people has been very entertaining. It's giving Majima and Kiryu. I'm very interested to see where the story goes next, especially with Genji and Hanzo finally reuniting. I'm hoping Hanzo becomes more relevant to the main cast, maybe even officially joining Overwatch. Either way, we'll have to see how it all plays out as this season goes on. But yeah, just wanted to highlight Mizuki and Shion in a quick little lore video. Anyways, stay safe, stay sly.

[00:07:53]Goodbye.

[00:07:56]>> [music]