Kosuke Kurumizawa

Kosuke Kurumizawa
Age	30 (25W)
Nationality	Japanese
Occupation	Bayside TowerLand building administrator Observer Union representative
Affiliation	Union
Status	Digital man
First appearance	#01 new world order (mentioned) #03 boys don't cry

Kosuke Kurumizawa is one of the central characters of The 25th Ward: The Silver Case, playing the role of an antagonist. His agenda and existence is one of the driving plot threads of the game's narrative, and he continues to be a major figure in subsequent releases.

Appearance and Personality

Nearly nothing is known about Kurumizawa's personality before his death. Aside from his profession as an observer he seems to have lead a seemingly average life and had a romantic relationship with Dr. Juvenile. In his current state however Kurumizawa seems to have extensive knowledge of reality, Kamui Uehara and the inner workings of Ward 25. He speaks calm and cryptically but is also seen hostile and aggressive when confronting Mokutaro Shiroyabu.

History

Kurumizawa before his 'death'

Kurumizawa originates from Ward 24, but much about his past has been officially erased. He is first brought up as an unrelated case that Mokutaro Shiroyabu and Hina Sakaki are discussing in #01 new world order. He was the building administrator of the Bayside TowerLand condo, and his body was found mangled beyond recognition with its mouth stuffed with female hair. Only one piece of evidence was even able to confirm the body as his, and no further information was able to be found regarding Kurumizawa's history.

The 25th Ward

Kurumizawa's corpse

He was thought to be just another victim killed by the delivery guys of the Postal Federation for similar petty reasons to the others killed in the building, but this hypothesis is challenged when a bucket containing human flesh in a plastic bag is dropped from a skyscraper. This methodology recalls a similar garbage-dropping incident that led up to the supposed murder of Kurumizawa, and Shinko Kuroyanagi deduces that this is actually a message being sent by Kurumizawa who is still alive. Shiroyabu goes out to investigate the case on his own, and is set up through a series of battles with the Okiai hitmen to engage in combat with the seemingly-living Kurumizawa at the Alternative Batting Center.

Video sent to the HCU

Meanwhile in the 24th Ward, the Heinous Crimes Unit were already aware of Kurumizawa and investigating a murder he committed, which he notified them of in a video clip. However, in the video clip, Kurumizawa appears not as a human but as an anime character; despite this, analysis of the video concludes that the shadows and lighting of the video are not possible to be simulated, and that Kurumizawa must truly look like that. In their investigations, they find another corpse of Kurumizawa's at the Rental Warehouses and contend with video footage and live appearances of Kurumizawa in multiple art styles, and eventually discover that the murder was faked through altering their perception of reality in the first place.

Digital Man

The results of Shiroyabu and Kurumizawa's battle are ambiguous; Shiroyabu claims to have won, but Kuroyanagi accuses him of being a pawn of Kurumizawa. In any case, Shiroyabu definitely attains some of Kurumizawa's abilities after the battle and tries to eliminate Kamui Uehara (and thus acting in favor of the ward's "life").

It is suggested by the characters that Kurumizawa attained this state through becoming an observer who could never be observed. By observing (and defining reality) without being observed (and thus never being defined in reality) Kurumizawa is able to cheat physical reality and live on as a "digital man" within the system of the cities and Kamui Uehara. He chooses not to die, and so he doesn't. Through this, he is able to exist in the "world of the dead" that other apparitions (such as Remnant Psyches) exist in. It is later revealed that Kurumizawa is also the "cursor" through which gameplay actions are performed by the player, and it is also implied that he is the running man controlled on the chapter select screen.

Kurumizawa makes his final appearance confronting Shiroyabu at the Ward 25 City Hall. Shiroyabu discovers the corpse of Mayor Kenichiro Mikoshiba and is unsure whether he, Kurumizawa or the both of them killed the mayor. Kurumizawa taunts Shiroyabu and the two have a disorienting conversation about Shiroyabu's new existence. After their conversation concludes he vaporizes himself into various particles leaving Shiroyabu alone.

Greenout

Kurumizawa appears next in the Greenout segment of Red, Blue, Green. He transports Midori Midorikawa to the "South" and explains that he altered the flow of time around him. He talks to her about the Maitai cocktail, and shifts the topic to that of "jobs" in the sense of an RPG video game. Kurumizawa tells her that in her young unfocused state her skills are useless and that she is letting her emotions control her. Midorikawa claims to him that she merely wants to live in peace and be left alone which Kurumizawa tells her is impossible without honing her skills. He offers her a chance to join his ||Union|| and entices her with stock options and air conditioning. Midorikawa considers his offer but says she needs to finish 'cleaning' first. Before she leaves he formally introduces himself as Union Representative Kosuke Kurumizawa. After her departure he makes a call to Aoyama, he commends him for finding a recruit such as Midorikawa.

Travis Strikes Again

In Travis Strikes Again it is revealed that Kurumizawa was once Dr. Juvenile's boyfriend. Travis finds him living in a partially underwater house in the middle of the ocean, possibly in the ruins of The 25th Ward. Kurumizawa then tells Travis about how Juvenile had a certain mysterious transparency. He wishes he would've known Travis sooner so they could have started a revolution against justice itself, before giving a death ball to Travis and disappearing. Kurumizawa refers to his talk with Travis in the past tense.

Behind the scenes

No More Heroes III

Kurumizawa appears on a poster in Beef Head. Besides this, Uehara is shown holding what looks like 25th Ward UI in his concept art, which we would have to interpret as Kurumizawa. In-game, Kamui flies through the air using similar visual effects. After Kamui's introduction, other characters are also shown moving around using the same effects; it is possible that this is Kurumizawa's unspoken presence and allyship in the game.

Appearances

• The 25th Ward: The Silver Case
• Red, Blue, and Green
• Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes
• No More Heroes III (poster, possible appearance)

Gallery

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  Correctness
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  Matchmaker
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  The Silver Case 2425 art
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  Travis Strikes Again