{"id":62835,"date":"2026-03-12T18:53:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T09:53:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=62835"},"modified":"2026-03-12T18:53:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T09:53:46","slug":"resident-evil-requiem-fan-theory-proposing-leon-and-sherry-are-married-based-on-use-of-pronouns-in-japanese-versions-dialogue-debunked-by-japanese-speakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/resident-evil-requiem-fan-theory-proposing-leon-and-sherry-are-married-based-on-use-of-pronouns-in-japanese-versions-dialogue-debunked-by-japanese-speakers\/","title":{"rendered":"Resident Evil Requiem fan theory proposing Leon and Sherry are married based on use of pronouns in Japanese version\u2019s dialogue debunked by Japanese speakers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Resident Evil Requiem, <\/strong>the long-awaited 9th mainline entry in Capcom\u2019s horror series,<\/strong> finally hit the stores on February 27, to positive reception from both fans and critics. Riding on the online hype surrounding the comeback of now 50-year-old \u201chot uncle\u201d Leon Kennedy, some overseas fans on X noticed a bit of dialogue in the Japanese version of the game that might indicate who Leon\u2019s canonical spouse is. However, in an interesting turn of events, this theory was soon completely debunked by Japanese speakers and domestic fans of the game, who explained that the line doesn\u2019t actually hold much weight in Japanese.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note that this article contains spoilers for the game\u2019s ending.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To provide some context to how all this started, as you progress in Resident Evil Requiem, you get to unlock character concept art \u2013 and in one artwork of Leon, you can see both his T-virus-infected left hand, and his healthy left hand, on which he is wearing a ring. Furthermore, one scene in the ending shows Leon making a motion through which he hints at wearing a ring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As wearing a ring on the ring finger of your left hand typically suggests that you are married, this led many to speculate that Leon had married somewhere between the events of previous Resident Evil installments and Requiem. While these are merely hints at Leon\u2019s private life, fans have been feverishly theorizing about who might be the lucky spouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Leon<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Against this background, some overseas fans have noticed that, in the Japanese version of the game, Sherry addresses Leon with the 2nd person pronoun \u3042\u306a\u305f (anata), leading them to speculate that she may be Leon\u2019s wife. And indeed, \u201canata\u201d is a word that wives sometimes use to call their husbands, especially in Japanese television dramas, which became the basis for this theory. However, it is also a common pronoun that simply means \u201cyou\u201d in most contexts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Requiem, Shery usually calls Leon by his name, and the only instance she calls him \u201canata\u201d is in the phrase \u3042\u3042 \u826f\u304b\u3063\u305f \u3042\u306a\u305f\u304c\u7121\u4e8b\u3067<\/em> (\u201cAh, I\u2019m glad you\u2019re safe\u201d). From the perspective of a Japanese speaker, her use of the word \u201canata\u201d doesn\u2019t particularly evoke any deeper meaning in this case. After one X user, who is a student of Japanese, called the theory \u201cabsurd,\u201d other Japanese Resident Evil fans started joining in on the discourse to debunk the theory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Japanese student over here, this is fucking shit pic.twitter.com\/U16oPoBeUo<\/a><\/p>— livi ; cleon server (@nobilehugs) March 10, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>