Hi, this is Wisty.

If you haven't played through the game Goodbye to Yuu yet, I would suggest to at least get one-two playthroughs in before reading this as there may be details and spoilers in here.

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Yuu is a rabbit. Space and rabbit may seem weird, but the most noticeable correlation between the two was the Moon Rabbit folklore. In East Asia, the dark markings on the near side of the moon can be interpreted as a rabbit with a mortar. The Moon Rabbit was also known as the Jade Rabbit in Chinese culture, which was where Yuu's name actually comes from: 玉兔. I would have named them Yue (月), but it felt too on the nose.

To continue with that in mind, the Lunar Space Academy was originally named Chang's Space Academy where Yuu would reside in sector E. This was a play on the Chinese Moon goddess's name, Chang'e. I later took it out since the editor mentioned that since it's just a place and not followed up on in the game, we should keep it broad. We stuck with it being a school on the moon to continue the idea of said folklore.

In other Asian folklores, I also took ideas from various stories that have rabbits in them. One story in the Buddhist Jataka tales talked of four animals' resolve to practice charity on the day of the full moon. Those four animals were a monkey, an otter, a jackal, and... you guessed it! A rabbit.  There's also a Japanese story with similarities where the rabbit's companions were a fox and monkey instead. These five animals were added into the game as characters. The items they give to Yuu were also related to the stories.

Did you know that if you played all the mini games, but you didn't pick any items and instead left for the moon, there's a secret ending? This was also a callback to Buddhist story of virtue. Since the rabbit is believed to be a Bodhisattva who offered itself as a meal in the tale, Yuu is driven by compassion to see to and help those around them. To also leave without material goods means Yuu's attachment to the folks around them wasn't physical, but moral. I personally wouldn't think too hard on this since neither endings are considered "bad," but it was a nice touch on ideas I had while working on the game.

The race in the forest is actually based off of the ancient story of the Eastern Zodiac "The Great Race" where the Jade Emperor declared that the years on the calendar would be named after each animal in the order they reached him. To reach him, the animals would have to cross a river. Rabbit was the fourth to reach the Jade Emperor. In different tales, they were known for their wits to either jump from one stone to another, climb on a log, or create a raft to cross the river.

The cat in the story doesn't really have a story behind them, but their connection to the rabbit is more broad. In Vietnam, the Rabbit zodiac years was replaced by the Cat. There's no exact reason for this other than it is what it is. At first I had the story play out that Yuu was a bully to the cat NPC, but it felt really silly, rude, and especially out of place. Instead, the little mini game is Yuu helping them out fight against a bully. The mallet that they bring up is based on the Moon Rabbit story.

A small note worth mentioning is that the ending is pretty much up in the air of who's talking and/or thinking. It's all up for interpretation. Consider the ambiguity as a space to think.

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I think that's all the little tidbits in the game! If you're curious about any decisions or concepts in the game, feel free to comment.

Thank you for reading.

Wisty