Character Information
NAME: Kouji Tonou
SERIES: Saya no Uta
CANON POINT: Bad End of game
AGE: Mid-twenties
GENDER: male
ORIENTATION: Heterosexual
PERSONALITY:
In his outward appearances, Kouji is a calm and rational man. If anything, he seems like an amiable guy who's only fault is being a little quiet. He's generally tolerant and casual, with a steady demeanor that might be considered mature for a young man of his age. While many college-age men are concentrating on picking up women or achieving great things (usually by showing off), Kouji seems more withdrawn to his own devices. He's lacking a lot of the ambition and high spirits commonly associated with an attractive guy from a good university. Although he remains amiable enough, his heart seems to be only half-involved in any excitement around him.
Beneath the pleasant surface, Kouji is deeply scarred by a series of insane events that killed those around him. He lost his best friend, Fuminori, to insanity, and two more--including his girlfriend--to his best friend. At first, thinking his friend had murdered them, Kouji tried to pursue him. In trying to find out the truth, he learned that Fuminori was harboring a secret lover... which turned out to be a monster taken straight out of Lovecraft's works. He and a doctor from the university killed the monster, which lead Fuminori to commit a gruesome suicide in front of his best friend. Because of this, and the realization that all of the "crack talk" he'd been hearing was actually true, Kouji became a dry, bitter survivor. He covers his bitterness with cigarettes and casual wit--an echo of his former, high-spirited and friendly personality--and even holds calm conversations with his hallucinations.
Despite what has happened to him, Kouji is settled into a routine and continuing to live. He knows that the insanity might get worse, particularly if the world does, but for the meantime, he seems prepared to keep going. For now, he has control over his condition, and despite being traumatized, he isn't giving up. He even tells the hallucination of the dead doctor that she managed to live for years as a paranoid, but successful neurosurgeon, implying that he should be able to do the same. He knows the truth about the horror-filled world that he lives in, but that isn't enough to make him give in immediately. In fact, he's become tolerant of many shocks, simply because he has had such a massive one jar him. He believes in being prepared for anything, which includes death if things go too far, but he also clings to the Pyrrhic victory of having made it through the struggle to maintain normalcy.
BACKGROUND:
For most of his life, Kouji was normal. He went to a good college, made friends, and dated regularly. During his college years, his best friend Fuminori lost his family in a tragic accident. Fuminori himself was terribly injured and had to have a risky operation to save his life. That ended normal life for everyone close to him. After the operation, Fuminori began to see everything in an altered state of reality and viewed those around him as monsters. Unfortunately for everyone, this made him receptive toward a very real monster, whom he fell in love with. Kouji tried to find out what was going on with Fuminori, but by the time he discovered the truth--in a Lovecraftian sense of the word--it was too late. Kouji survived, but because of the horrors he encountered, he suffers from his own delusions. Reality is not safe or secure to him anymore, and the endless possibilities are daunting to his reason.
OTHER NOTES:
He smokes heavily--he can apparently finish a new pack of cigarettes in only half a night--and tends to treat most oddities as commonplace when he's not overly stressed--including some mild hallucinations that are triggered by tension. Even then, he remains unconcerned about them, accepting his unstable mental state. He does normally take medication to help him, as well, which could contribute to his apparent objectivity toward everything. Since he exhibits signs of emotional numbness, nightmares, and hallucinations, he probably has a diagnosis for PTSD (after losing his girlfriend, his best friend, and their mutual friend under "mysterious circumstances," with his best friend suspected of murdering the other two), or schizophrenia. I've decided to put him on a combination of Lexapro (an antidepressant) and Minipress (prazosin for PTSD-related nightmares), but in canon it is never specifically stated what he takes.
SERIES: Saya no Uta
CANON POINT: Bad End of game
AGE: Mid-twenties
GENDER: male
ORIENTATION: Heterosexual
PERSONALITY:
In his outward appearances, Kouji is a calm and rational man. If anything, he seems like an amiable guy who's only fault is being a little quiet. He's generally tolerant and casual, with a steady demeanor that might be considered mature for a young man of his age. While many college-age men are concentrating on picking up women or achieving great things (usually by showing off), Kouji seems more withdrawn to his own devices. He's lacking a lot of the ambition and high spirits commonly associated with an attractive guy from a good university. Although he remains amiable enough, his heart seems to be only half-involved in any excitement around him.
Beneath the pleasant surface, Kouji is deeply scarred by a series of insane events that killed those around him. He lost his best friend, Fuminori, to insanity, and two more--including his girlfriend--to his best friend. At first, thinking his friend had murdered them, Kouji tried to pursue him. In trying to find out the truth, he learned that Fuminori was harboring a secret lover... which turned out to be a monster taken straight out of Lovecraft's works. He and a doctor from the university killed the monster, which lead Fuminori to commit a gruesome suicide in front of his best friend. Because of this, and the realization that all of the "crack talk" he'd been hearing was actually true, Kouji became a dry, bitter survivor. He covers his bitterness with cigarettes and casual wit--an echo of his former, high-spirited and friendly personality--and even holds calm conversations with his hallucinations.
Despite what has happened to him, Kouji is settled into a routine and continuing to live. He knows that the insanity might get worse, particularly if the world does, but for the meantime, he seems prepared to keep going. For now, he has control over his condition, and despite being traumatized, he isn't giving up. He even tells the hallucination of the dead doctor that she managed to live for years as a paranoid, but successful neurosurgeon, implying that he should be able to do the same. He knows the truth about the horror-filled world that he lives in, but that isn't enough to make him give in immediately. In fact, he's become tolerant of many shocks, simply because he has had such a massive one jar him. He believes in being prepared for anything, which includes death if things go too far, but he also clings to the Pyrrhic victory of having made it through the struggle to maintain normalcy.
BACKGROUND:
For most of his life, Kouji was normal. He went to a good college, made friends, and dated regularly. During his college years, his best friend Fuminori lost his family in a tragic accident. Fuminori himself was terribly injured and had to have a risky operation to save his life. That ended normal life for everyone close to him. After the operation, Fuminori began to see everything in an altered state of reality and viewed those around him as monsters. Unfortunately for everyone, this made him receptive toward a very real monster, whom he fell in love with. Kouji tried to find out what was going on with Fuminori, but by the time he discovered the truth--in a Lovecraftian sense of the word--it was too late. Kouji survived, but because of the horrors he encountered, he suffers from his own delusions. Reality is not safe or secure to him anymore, and the endless possibilities are daunting to his reason.
OTHER NOTES:
He smokes heavily--he can apparently finish a new pack of cigarettes in only half a night--and tends to treat most oddities as commonplace when he's not overly stressed--including some mild hallucinations that are triggered by tension. Even then, he remains unconcerned about them, accepting his unstable mental state. He does normally take medication to help him, as well, which could contribute to his apparent objectivity toward everything. Since he exhibits signs of emotional numbness, nightmares, and hallucinations, he probably has a diagnosis for PTSD (after losing his girlfriend, his best friend, and their mutual friend under "mysterious circumstances," with his best friend suspected of murdering the other two), or schizophrenia. I've decided to put him on a combination of Lexapro (an antidepressant) and Minipress (prazosin for PTSD-related nightmares), but in canon it is never specifically stated what he takes.