 The title ""Shadow Hearts"" represented the darker aspects of humans often ignored in fiction but useful in accomplishing real-life tasks.Yuri was directly inspired by "Devilman" protagonist Akira Fudo, and was meant to contrast with the standard JRPG protagonist of the time; he struck a balance between the androgynous norm of Japan and the more muscular builds found in Western games, and his silly and sometimes stupid attitude both represented his purity and set his personality apart from other genre protagonists.A key scene used by Machida to demonstrate his abnormal elements was the opening movie, where Yuri has his arm severed then reattaches it.