| This article is about RED HANDS. You may be looking for the skill or the charm. |
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Are you lost? Not to worry. The red hands know the way back.  |
| — A SCRIBBLE talking about the RED HANDS to OMORI. |
RED HANDS, sometimes internally referred to as HANDS-KUN, are a group of recurring motifs and NPCs in OMORI. They primarily reside within the surroundings of WHITE SPACE and the outer layers of BLACK SPACE.
PROFILE[]
APPEARANCE[]
RED HANDS are disembodied red hands that constantly appear to be moving in straight horizontal and vertical lines. They often move at rapid speeds and are capable of warping individuals on their own accord. RED HANDS also occasionally group up with other hands of their own, and usually shown slithering away as they vanish upon close contact.
The ones commonly encountered throughout the game have a cartoonish rubber design. Their overall form is likely based on the RED HAND toy that can be bought from HOBBEEZ's gacha machine in the REAL WORLD. However, the ones discovered through eldritch areas such as RED SPACE have a more realistic, distorted appearance in contrast.
PERSONALITY[]
RED HANDS don't seem to possess any type of personality, as they only appear to move around mindlessly. They also appear to be controlled by OMORI himself, as shown when the latter commands them to restrain BASIL in RED SPACE.
STORY[]
BOTH ROUTES[]
RED HANDS mostly appear in WHITE SPACE whenever OMORI ventures beyond the surroundings of his room. Coming into contact with a RED HAND will warp OMORI back to his starting place. Note that when getting close to a RED HAND prompts them to chase after OMORI at high speeds. They later show up occasionally in BLACK SPACE. Only after exploring each area inside the doors and getting the key inside each one, some RED HANDS manifest themselves and serve as the only way out most of the time, bringing OMORI back to the main area.
SUNNY ROUTE[]
After witnessing BASIL being absorbed by his SOMETHING in the CHURCH OF SOMETHING, OMORI enters the dark entity and finds himself in a pitch-black room with red light illuminating from the glass door. From there, BASIL attempts to tell OMORI something again, only to be dragged further into the darkness by multiple RED HANDS. OMORI goes through the glass door and enters RED SPACE, an eldritch location filled with multiple RED HANDS.
He eventually finds BASIL restrained by four RED HANDS. Knowing that the latter has learned too much about the truth regarding MARI's death, OMORI commands the hands to lower BASIL and stabs him to silence him. OMORI then walks over BASIL's corpse and sits on his THRONE OF HANDS surrounded by RED HANDS of varying sizes, seemingly left untouched and in-control.
OMORI later uses the RED HANDS against SUNNY during their climactic battle.
OMORI ROUTE[]
The RED HANDS appear around OMORI's throne room in RED SPACE after SUNNY was forced to stumble there. After OMORI helps SUNNY, rescues BASIL, and resets HEADSPACE once more, a single RED HAND can be found blocking the white door in WHITE SPACE.
Interacting with the lone RED HAND will grant OMORI the deadly RED HANDS skill. Unlocking the skill is needed for OMORI to open the door and step out of WHITE SPACE. A few RED HANDS also reappear as brief visions within three BLACK SPACE 2 locations: LOST FOREST 1, LOOPING FOREST and CLOUD WALKWAY.
GALLERY[]
IN-GAME[]
ARTWORK[]
TRIVIA[]
- The RED HANDS in WHITE SPACE are referred to as HANDS-KUN in the game's data.
- The hands are seen in many places in OMORI. They are seen in OMORI'S SKETCHBOOK as well as on some of the promotional posters. The hand imagery and symbolism is very present in key horror scenes, such as before battling the first SOMETHING on the stairwell, and at the end of BLACK SPACE.
- After stabbing BASIL, OMORI sits on a throne of hands with them surrounding everything else. This may have something to do with how he pushed MARI down the stairs, as his own hands effectively became a murder weapon in that moment.
- The hands are similar to those that appear in the 2008 puzzle platformer Eversion. Eversion, notably, is a horror game that presents itself as lighthearted and child-friendly, similarly to OMORI. The red hands in Eversion will also attack the player if they venture too close.
- The RED HANDS' role is similar to that of the Toriningen from Yume Nikki, in which both creatures can chase down and warp the player character to other areas upon close contact.
- The only difference is that the ones in WHITE SPACE simply take OMORI back to the center hub, whereas in BLACK SPACE they only do so after OMORI collects a key in one of the rooms.
- The RED HANDS may be a reference to the Japanese Akateko yōkai which is described to be red hands of a child descending from a tree, usually accompanied by a young woman.
- They could be also referencing the phrases "caught red-handed" and "blood on your hands." Both of these phrases originate from the idea of a murderer having their victim's blood on their hands, which matches up with SUNNY causing MARI's death.
- According to an early development art, the RED HANDS were originally planned to be fightable enemies instead of just roaming obstacles in the final game's release.