Assassin’s Pride introduces: the pocket tie

Why

Okay, I’ve already done my sarcastic mockery of Assassin’s Pride but I feel compelled to dive into this bit of madness again. The image above fascinates me. Why why why would anyone wear a necktie in their chest pocket like that?

An English-language Google search brought up nothing except for sales for ties with matching pocket squares. A Japanese-language Google search brought up nothing …except for sales for ties with matching pocket squares. A few Twitter and Yahoo Answer threads suggest that drunks, teenagers, and aging, burned-out salarymen might wear their ties in their pockets to keep them clean while slurping noodles or something. Whatever, but then the same respondents in those threads just recommended buying a tie pin because why would anyone wear a necktie in their chest pocket like that?

Anyway, this isn’t about real life. Yeah, remember your high school language arts classes? This case of worse-than-YA fiction requires some serious, deep-dive literary analysis. What could it mean? What does it symbolize? Why is… the tie… …in the… pocket?

Alas, I am stumped. But I will not stop questioning!

I need to know. Why? Why did the animators work to include that specific image of a necktie tucked into a chest pocket when the rest of the episode suffered from such an astounding drop in quality (check out Melida’s hands)? To cover-up a shameful accident elsewhere in Kufa’s outfit? Or again, to distract from the terrible animation quality? That stiff reference pose, his tightened buttocks — though I see no stain, no shameful drip…

I need to know. Why? What secrets to Kufa’s enigmatic character did the director seek to code in that phallic tip of the tie dipping into a yonic, yawning pocket? Does Kufa mean it as a lancanthrope mating ritual, signalling a male in full heat? The way he looks at Melida, his blank eyes pasted on his face. Purple. Royalty. Wealth. Fertility. The tie points down, and to his heart! Heartseeker. Does his tie have a name? Heartseeker.

I need to know. Why? Do the writers intend some subtle hint at Kufa’s characterization, using the tie to recall Kufa’s status as a badass assassin and touch the fastidious, sensitive, dandy in his heart (remember, the tie points down, to his heart)? Heartseeker. Heart. Purple. Blood. So precise in combat, could Kufa stand to dirty his tie? He always wears those gloves too. Hypochondria? No, fingerprints — if he chooses to strangle the girl. She couldn’t resist, with those undrawn hands.

I need to know.

I need to know.

Why is Assassin’s Pride like this?

(My serious theory: it’s some kind of animation shortcut. The entire 5th episode is of far lower visual quality than the earlier episodes in the series. For example, in the same image, see Kufa’s odd reference-pose stance, Melida’s club-hands, and both characters’ oddly proportioned faces. Animators often use tricks like Kufa’s gloves to reduce the complexity of a character drawing (classic example, Mickey Mouse’s gloves) and hide errors forced by time constraints (again, see Melida’s awful hands). The tie probably works to same way: tucked in to avoid showing its movement as Kufa bends down to talk to Melida)