History Headscratchers / Okami

*** ...[[IncrediblyLamePun she's a hot dog?]]

** Amaterasu is a God incarnated into a normal-sized wolf (or wolf statue). Ninetails is a kitsune, a nine-tailed spirit fox, which would make him/her capable of much more than just increasing its size. Also, the game developers probably wanted that boss-feeling for you to be the [[IncrediblyLamePun underdog]]

** Actually this troper is not confused about it anymore... [[spoiler: In ''Okamiden'' you get to see the rest of the punishment he had to suffer. After (or before, not really sure abocut this...) he received Nechku and Lechku's attack, he got frozen in the Ice Room to almost death and after Chibiterasu unfroze him, he couldn't even stand up, after that we get to remember that he protects Nagi from the falling rock in the Moon Cave and faints from the strike and [[{{RasputinianDeath}} FINALLY]] he protects Chibi, Ishaku, Nagi, Nami and Mr. Grapefruit from [[{{TheChessmaster}} Akuro's]] attack! After ALL THAT is that he finally dies.]]
* In the first battle against Nechku/Lechku (can't remember which), it bugged me how the battle can be won just by bringing up the paintbrush [[spoiler: allowing Shiranui to endlessly attack using her Celestial Brush attacks.]] Also, how come Ammy can't learn those abilities despite [[spoiler: her and Shiranui essentially being the same being]]?

* Ammy supposedly [[spoiler: gains all of the abilities she used to have as Shiranui thanks to prayer.]] How is it that Shiranui has those abilities, when no one even recognizes her in the time she defeated Orochi? Frankly, [[{{Headscratchers/Headscratchers}} it just bugs me]].
** They didn't recognize her in wolf form. One can suppose the people of that time only knew Amaterasu as a beautiful woman (said to be her real form by that blind monk spirit). As to why she took the form of a wolf, maybe it was so that she wouldn't draw Orochi's attention. Also, [[spoiler: it's not only prayer that boosts her power, but belief; the people used to worship the gods with far more devotion in those days, and that probably was enough to keep her power high.]]

*** Himiko isn't praying ''to'' Amaterasu to ''ask'' for Amaterasu's safety. She's praying ''in Ammy's name'' to offer her own devotion, so that her faith empowers the goddess. It's the same as at the [[spoiler:end of the game, where everyone prays ''for'' Amaterasu]].

*** But that was after seeing it [[spoiler: in Rao's body]].
** [[spoiler:Ninetails was pretending to be the Dark Lord. After all, the Dark Lord is Yami.]]
* Why did Amaterasu [[spoiler:give the Fox Rods to Fake Rao]]? Waka later says she knew what [[spoiler:Queen Himiko's]] fate was. But it seemed like Amaterasu didn't know what was going on when she handed them over, or that Rao [[spoiler:had been impersonated by Ninetails]]. It's hard to know what is going on in Amaterasu's head, I guess.

** Because there's a gigantic demon fox on the loose that can disguise itself as almost anyone or anything. She probably put those obstacles up as tests, that she believed only the ''real'' Amaterasu would be able to get around. [[spoiler:It didn't work, but still.]]

* After Ammy helps Susano dice up Orochi, a cloud of miasma erupts from his corpse and floats off in four directions. Supposedly, the miasma empowers Crimson Helm, Blight, Ninetails, and Lechku and Nechku... but Ninetails' dialogue and the [[spoiler: fact that the real Rao's now nothing but a skeleton in a tattered kimono]] suggests it's been around a lot longer than a few days. And Crimson Helm was supposedly Orochi's fire-head grafted to an undead centaur... thingy, no? He/it's the boss you fight right after Orochi, and the people have evidently been plagued by him/it for some time. How's all this work?

* A minor Headscratcher, but why did Ninetails [[spoiler: have to cover its eye with hair while it was pretending to be Rao?]] Supposedly, it's to hide its actual lack of one, but couldn't it just claim that it was attacked by demons[[spoiler: (as the real Rao was before her death)]] and lost an eye?

* If the idea behind your divine weapons is that they judge and banish evil, then how come they can hurt [[spoiler: Nagi]]?
** For that matter, how was [[spoiler: Ninetails, a powerful demon possessing Rao's body]] capable of carrying Prayer Slips?
** Nobody's totally perfect, which may just explain why your weapons can hurt [[spoiler: Nagi]]. [[FridgeBrilliance It also explains how a regular mortal has such high health - he almost totally pure, but just not quite.]]
* Just what was the point of "locating" Oni Island? From your first conversation with Himiko, it sounds like you would need to know the location of the island well before it actually appears there, because the preparations would take a long time. And yet, mere minutes after Himiko tells you the location, you're standing on the island. And Oni Island only shifts position once per day at sunset, so they should've been able to figure out where it was 24 hours before it changed location just by using their eyes. Why did Himiko need to spend weeks praying and then [[spoiler:die, sealing her soul in the crystal ball]] when they could've just asked the merchant at North Ryoshima Coast where it was, or, you know, just looked themselves? Following that logic, what's the big rush in getting to the island? Couldn't they have just hung out near the ocean at sunset every night, see where the island appeared, and when it appeared in a place close enough to get to, just do the Water Dragon thing and have a full 24 hours until it shifts?

*** Because of the relationship between actual brothers? [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement This is not really the place to be discussing serious, real-world religions.]]

** It's mentioned occasionally that gods need mortals to help them carry out prophecies. It's entirely possible that if Shiranui had tried, she still wouldn't have been able to beat Orochi without Nagi's finishing blows at the end. Also, notice that Nagi cuts off Orochi's heads directly, something that even Amaterasu can't do wielding a glaive or using Power Slash – it's possible that because Shiranui is using Divine Instruments, which merely judge and reflect, she can't do PHYSICAL damage to Orochi, who is powerful enough (on the verge of Godhood!) that he's managed to make a physical form that can exist once his evil essence has been depleted. So, Nagi was necessary for the finishing blow, but Shiranui (or Amaterasu, depending on how you think the timespan really is) needed to wear down the spiritual power first. This would also explain why imps and the like never really show gore, since it's just their evil essence being worn down and they just aren't powerful enough to exist without one, and why the Divine Instruments can't really hurt human beings all that well. They're just too rooted in the physical realm for the spiritually-inclined gods to be able to do that

** OddJobGods. In Shinto there's a god for '''everything'''.

* Blight is a demon of sickness, which isn't necessarily from Japan, The dozen-times impaled swordsman does count however.

** It's mentioned occasionally that gods need mortals to help them carry out prophecies. It's entirely possible that if Shiranui had tried, she still wouldn't have been able to beat Orochi without Nagi's finishing blows at the end. Also, notice that Nagi cuts off Orochi's heads directly, something that even Amaterasu can't do wielding a glaive or using Power Slash – it's possible that because Shiranui is using Divine Instruments, which merely judge and reflect, she can't do PHYSICAL damage to Orochi, who is powerful enough (on the verge of Godhood!) that he's managed to make a physical form that can exist once his evil essence has been depleted. So, Nagi was necessary for the finishing blow, but Shiranui (or Amaterasu, depending on how you think the timespan really is) needed to wear down the spiritual power first. This would also explain why imps and the like never really show gore, since it's just their evil essence being worn down and they just aren't powerful enough to exist without one, and why the Divine Instruments can't really hurt human beings all that well. They're just too rooted in the physical realm for the spiritually-inclined gods to be able to do that much.
* The amount of plot holes in the Ninetails part of the game (more specifically her actions and evil plots) is staggering!

a. Why disguise as Rao? You have absolutely no way to get the fox rods back from the Water Dragon and no one to manipulate to get them for you! You need them to get through her barrier around her castle do you not? Did she somehow know about Amaterasu\'s coming years before she arrived?

b. Why try to get Ammy eaten by the Water Dragon if you need her to get the Fox Rods? Could you just have asked Ammy to get purposefully eaten like Otohime later asked?

c. Just what will Himiko do if she finds the island? Why is it such a big dea if she finds it, why go through so much trouble to kill her Ninetailsl? the barrier around the island can only be broken by a Water Dragon. And Himiko didnt know before that Otohime can do it so......

a. Why disguise as Rao? You have absolutely no way to get the fox rods back from the Water Dragon and no one to manipulate to get them for you! did she somehow know about Amaterasu\'s coming years before she arrived?

a. Why disguise as Rao to gain the trust of the people if you cant even get inside Himiko\'s castle with the barrier and have absolutely no way to get the fox rods back from the Water Dragon? did she somehow know about Amaterasu\'s coming years before she arrived?

c. Just what will Himiko do if she finds the island? Why is it such a big dea if she finds it, why go through so much trouble to kill her Ninetailsl? the barrier around the island can only be broken by a Water Dragon. And she didnt know before that Otohime can do it so......

*** Because of the relationship between actual brothers? [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement This is not really the place to be discussing serious, real-world religions.]]

* Why didn't Shiranui do anything against Orochi? It's actually Ammy from the present who travels back in time 100 years and defeats True Orochi. It's made clear that Ammy is a severly depowered form of Shiranui, yet she was still able to defeat Orochi who was at the peak of his power. Given that Shiranui is way stronger than Ammy, defeating True Orochi would have been an utter cakewalk for her. So why did Shiranui never fight him? She pretty much let him ran rampant for 100 years killing innocents left and right and pretty much making life miserable for everyone. In fact Orochi would have become a god after consuming his 100th maiden had Ammy not intervened. What's more, Shiranui is stated to have come to Kamiki every year when the time of the sacrifice drew near and observed the village, yet still never felt the need to do anything. Seriously, what was Shiranui thinking?!

* Why didn't Shiranui do anything against Orochi? It's actually Ammy from the present who travels back in time 100 years and defeats True Orochi. It's made clear that Ammy is a severly depowered form of Shiranui, yet she was still able to defeat Orochi who was at the peak of his power. Given that Shiranui is way stronger than Ammy, defeating True Orochi would have been an utter cakewalk for her. So why did Shiranui never fight him? She pretty much let him ran rampant for 100 years killing innocents left and right and pretty much making life miserable for everyone. In fact Orochi would have become a god after consuming his 100th maiden had Ammy not intervened. Seriously, what was Shiranui thinking?!

*** Like [[Cloudcult Cloud Cult]] says in their song "Time Machine Invention", which is about life, "there's a reason God is doG backwards; we must chase the tail".

** Actually this troper is not confused about it anymore... [[spoiler: In ''Okamiden'' you get to see the rest of the punishment he had to suffer. After (or before, not really sure about this...) he received Nechku and Lechku's attack, he got frozen in the Ice Room to almost death and after Chibiterasu unfroze him, he couldn't even stand up, after that we get to remember that he protects Nagi from the falling rock in the Moon Cave and faints from the strike and [[{{RasputinianDeath}} FINALLY]] he protects Chibi, Ishaku, Nagi, Nami and Mr. Grapefruit from [[{{TheChessmaster}} Akuro's]] attack! After ALL THAT is that he finally dies.]]

*** Like [[Cloud Cult Cloud Cult]] says in their song "Time Machine Invention", which is about life, "there's a reason God is doG backwards; we must chase the tail".

*** Like [[CloudCult]] says in their song "Time Machine Invention", which is about life, "there's a reason God is doG backwards; we must chase the tail".