Chiyo and Yuko in the perfect world
The "perfect world" was a term given by Chiyo and later Yuko Tanabe to a realm of their own within the afterlife. It featured Japanese architecture and a sprawling grounds with not a single leaf out of place. The sandy areas, however, were forbidden grounds, as stepping on them would cause one to be dragged down into the depths of the afterlife.
History[]
Chiyo tried to convince Yuko to stay with her in this "perfect world," as her daughter. Yuko, however, would have none of it, as she was a mother herself and was determined to do right by her children, even it meant escaping and returning to the world as a yurei. She lured Chiyo to the forbidden sands, causing her to be dragged down. ("Taizo") She later began plotting to take her child Jirou Tanabe and the son of Chester Nakayama, Henry Nakayama II, down into this world. ("My Perfect World")
In speaking with Chester, she told him that a perfect world awaited him, if only he would look within himself. ("A Sparrow in a Swallow’s Nest")
When Chester visited a past version of Jirou via a cuanderismo ritual, Yuko possessed him, then grabbed Jirou and took him down into the perfect world. ("My Sweet Boy") He was left waiting there for her to bring his brother. ("Into the Afterlife")
Behind the scenes[]
- In the behind the scenes video "Yuko's Hell in Life and Death," Alexander Woo and production designer Jonathan McKinstry stated that Yuko's afterlife seen in the series drew inspiration from Kobayashi's "Kwaidan" and was placed on a stage so that it had a slightly fake and surreal feel, such that the audience would slowly realize there was something not quite right about it.
- Alexander Woo also stated that the perfect world often referred to in the series served as an analogue for the American dream, an idealized existence that is not quite possible.[1]