While Tsukihime has two characters named Shiki Tohno, those are not the only Shikis. While Kara no Kyoukai has its own two Shikis, the further sequels to Tsukihime would increase this count. Tsukihime PLUS DISC introduced a doppelganger for Shiki which was pretending to be him. At the end of the story introducing this Shiki, the doppelganger is killed and we’re introduced to Shiki’s design for the first time.
However, it’s the second Shiki that we’re here to discuss today. This Shiki, known as Shiki Nanaya, comes from Kagetsu Tohya. Once again, he’s a doppelganger of Shiki, but this time there’s more to him. Kagetsu Tohya takes place within Shiki’s dreams, and those dreams are what manifest Shiki Nanaya. This version of Shiki is much more closely tied to the Shiki he knows. Unlike SHIKI from Tsukihime or the fake Shiki from Tsukihime PLUS DISC, this Shiki is more like a clone, with the twist being that he manifests as Shiki’s lost memories. As a kid, Shiki’s adoptive father wiped his memory and implanted him with the memories of SHIKI, finding it amusing to do that to the child of the family trying to eradicate him. Even after learning of this, Shiki doesn’t recover those memories. It’s only in Kagetsu Tohya, when they manifest as Shiki Nanaya, that they become relevant again.
In Kagetsu Tohya, Shiki Nanaya is little more than a footnote. It’s a story focused on Len primarily, and while Shiki Nanaya is certainly there, he’s not a major focus. He would have to wait until Melty Blood to get any time to shine. The original game had a cast of 12 characters, as well as an additional four alternate versions. Shiki Nanaya worked perfectly as this alternate version of Shiki. As a part of the Melty Blood cast, he would recieve proper development and characterization, such as a subplot featuring White Len.
It’s more than just that, however. The release of Melty Blood: Actress Again and Melty Blood: Actress Again Current Code signaled the temporary end for Melty Blood, as the devs moved onto new projects, but the game didn’t disappear. An incredibly devoted group of players stuck around the game, developing a niche subculture around the game. A subculture which, over the years, became infamous. Memes and jokes about its popularity, like players having to play in bathrooms, are the way that many people first became familiar with Melty Blood in some way or another. This memeification of Melty Blood continued as the years from AACC’s release stretched on.
Melty Blood didn’t simply languish, though. This dedicated fandom grew and grew, and many people involved had no connection to Tsukihime whatsoever, simply appreciating Melty Blood as a game. At this same time, Tsukihime was gaining a bigger and bigger fandom, especially as the game’s remake began to approach. Both of these blew up during the pandemic in concert with Neko Arc, a chibi version of Arcueid, becoming a major meme completely disconnected from Tsukihime or Melty Blood. This dragged many people into the games. But as the fandom blew up in this era of growth, there was a distinct tone to it. The humor of the fandom had always been there, but with Neko Arc becoming the new face of the game, it was taken further. Memes became a major part of Melty Blood fandom, and the highest among them was Shiki Nanaya.
But before talking about the memes that developed around Shiki, it’s worth taking a moment to stop and talk about what he’s like in terms of gameplay. As befitting a character originally made to be an alternate, his moves and playstyle are similar to Shiki, but he has a more aggressive edge. Shiki Nanaya is often seen as a low skill character, one who can reward bad play due to generous mechanics, and as such, a character often picked by new, inexperienced, or simply just bad players. This further gives Shiki Nanaya a reputation as a character that players will groan about if they have to play against when playing online. It’s seen as not being a real match of skill compared to other characters. Thus, an abundance of memes about this supposed lack of skill. One such meme is “I don’t even play this game,” signaling just how inexperienced people view Shiki Nanaya as being.
And thus, “wifi is fine if you’re close to the router.” In fighting games, when playing online, latency and connection are important, as each frame matters. Thus, the best connection is desired, from both players. Wired connections are considered not only the ideal, but the only acceptable form of connection. Wifi’s latency is simply too slow in comparison. Playing on wifi is sin to a fighting game player. Thus, Shiki Nanaya players have a reputation as frequently playing on wifi, either for being new and not knowing better, or just being bad at the game. The meme mocks the attitude that wifi is acceptable and uses the face of bad play in Melty Blood to spread this message. But even when not taking the message into account, people found a banal humor in this meme and in tying it to Shiki Nanaya.
And the popularity of the meme would only grow this memeification around Shiki Nanaya, and lead to further development of dozens of other memes around him, each more inscrutible than the last. Shiki Nanaya didn’t even make it into the latest Melty Blood game, and yet his popularity has only grown since its release, to the point that, for many, he’s the face of the game.
This development from small tidbit in a larger story to large-scale meme mirrors what happened to Neko Arc. Does it show the priorities of modern Melty Blood and Tsukihime fans? Perhaps it’s a sign of how humor and parody can travel faster than genuine thoughts and expressions. Either way, the lessons to take from this is that wifi is not okay, even if you’re close to the router.
Ostensibly Extant 