Hello again.
I've been waiting until the third part of this was done, brilliant work as always, before passing any comments and I'll start with a general observation: You tend to focus a lot on what's contained within the narrative and the cinematic sequences without much focus on the gameplay itself even where it supports your points.
For example: when deconstructing the character of Holly Summers, after identifying the character's connection with death there was no comment on how in battle what could effectively be considered her signature move is to bury the player alive. I understand given the time constraints that you can't cover all the elements that exists within the source material but this seemed particularly egregious as an observation that heavily supports your theories.
This is also relevant when considering the battle with Shinobu; it is worthy of note that up until this point in the game the bosses haven't been especially challenging - their attacks have been well telegraphed and their patterns easy to learn, furthermore the player can attack at any time they're not actively required to dodge an attack from the boss. By contrast, Shinobu's attacks are fast, versatile, and she ruthlessly punishes any attempt by the player to deal damage while she's not already locked into a combo. It is my belief that this has a link with his decision to spare her life at the end of the battle; the element of doubt is over which is cause and which is effect.
One interpretation is that it hints at the point Holly makes - that at this point in the narrative Travis is unable to kill a woman. The sudden leap in difficulty therefore is caused by Travis himself and his unwillingness to fight Shinobu. The cinematic after the battle then shows him giving the rationale that he wants to fight her again later when she's stronger as a retrospective justification he's using to explain an action that Travis himself doesn't understand. (I'm sure I've heard this explanation somewhere before, wish I could remember where to give due credit, oh well - unknown source, not my own work)
The alternative is that Travis chooses to spare Shinobu for the reason he stated, and that this decision is influenced by how she proved to be the greatest challenge he has experienced so far. This doesn't necessarily hold water as well as the last explanation though, as there has been only sketchy hints that Travis gets a thrill out of being challenged. That he gets a thrill out of victory and conquest is not in doubt, but it's left ambiguous whether he likes these victories to be difficult or effortless. He says many times that he wants to BE the best, I'm not aware of any points that he says he wants to FIGHT the best. The fact that he's killing all the other assassins seems pointedly anti-competitive.
Your decision to skip Letz Shake also struck me as bizarre. True, the player doesn't fight him, but that's kind of the point, the whole sequence is one of denied satisfaction. Travis is denied his kill, the player is denied the boss battle, Letz Shake himself never gets to use his massive... piece of equipment. His name is in and of itself an open challenge that never gets answered, and this is without even looking at how the character behaves.
As a last point, I would call into question your summary that Suda51's jibes at the expense of the player are good-natured. The reason for this is the way the message of the material is conveyed. Accepting your statement that the game's main message is that of there being no meaning or justification in death; and that the decision to fast-forward the game's closing sequences, as well as leaving the plot riddled with holes by the twist that removes what flimsy justification Travis had for his killing spree, the game doesn't seem to credit the player with the capability to make their own decision on this important message.
You highlighted the issue with people in general not questioning the media they consume, what is this game doing if not encouraging the same? It removes the context from the events, using the plot holes and fast-forwarded conclusion to remove any rationale for the violence and killing. This stops the player from weighing any of it on its own merits, removing the chance to formulate their own, informed decision and forcing them instead to accept the game's evaluation. In my opinion this is not the work of someone who is encouraging discussion, this is someone who is dictating a conclusion to it.
Very much enjoying watching your videos, also looking forward to Majora's Mask.
PS. A theory for Speed Buster (note that I have never played this part of the game and only have your summary and that of others in this thread to go on) I would suggest that she represents the inevitability and finality of death. She begins by demonstrating this to Travis by killing his mentor. As has already been identified, she is the oldest member of the cast and so the closest to death, and is garbed as if in mourning. Lastly, she is overweight, hinting at physical frailty, and is reliant on a cumbersome piece of equipment to fight rather than her own skill. I don't think the phallic imagery of the cannon is relevant to the character as an individual, but is more a continuation with the linking of violence with gratification communicated in the most basic manner that has been an ongoing theme throughout the game.
Tying in my point about combat mechanics being relevant, in the battle itself Travis becomes the representation of death in this enactment. Speed Buster is immobile (or so I've heard), relying on being able to gun Travis down before he reaches her; this is symbolic of how we all do as much as we can to resist death but cannot move away from it or avoid it and - much like a player who can retry as many times as they have patience for - it gets us all in the end. (normally I'd be hesitant to use a player's respawn mechanic as symbolism of anything but 'No More Heroes' leans on the fourth wall so much I figured it was relevant) This is emphasised by the final cinematic of the encounter in which Travis executes Speed Buster with no further resistance.
That said, this is highly based on an interpretation that places meaning in death, which the game actively calls the observer out on, so make of it what you will.
