Yoshitoki Kuninobu
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Yoshitoki Kuninobu (国信慶時 Kuninobu Yoshitoki?) is a character in the novel Battle Royale, and the film and manga of the same name. In the film he was played by Yukihiro Kotani. Yoshitoki is nicknamed "Mr. Nobu" and "Nobu."
Yoshitoki has O-type blood.
[edit] Pre-Program
Yoshitoki Kuninobu was one of the class of third-year students at the fictional Shiroiwa Junior High School in the fictional town of Shiroiwa (the novel and manga set the town in Kagawa Prefecture, while the film sets the town in Kanagawa Prefecture).
Yoshitoki was best friends with Shuya Nanahara, and they lived together at the Charity House, a Roman Catholic orphanage run by the kind Ryoko Anno. Yoshitoki was forced to grow up in care because he was an illegitimate child, and neither parent agreed to take responsibility for him.
In the novel and manga, he was very protective of Ms. Ryoko Anno, and the thought of someone harming her was one of the only things that could force a change in his usually peaceful demeanor. One occasion that changed his demeanor was when the Charity House's pet dog, Eddie, died after being hit by a car in front of the orphanage gates. The fourth-grader Yoshitoki chased after the car that hit Eddie. Another occasion happened when Shuya and Yoshitoki were in the eighth grade; A man used the debts of the orphanage to try to woo Ms. Anno. Ms. Anno paid off the debts and rejected the man's advances. The man cursed at Ms. Anno in front of the children, and Shuya had to stop Yoshitoki from attacking the man.
Shuya and Yoshitoki shared many experiences; one one occasion, Shuya and Yoshitoki played in a river, and Shuya rescued Yoshitoki from drowning. Shuya and Yoshitoki also collected grasshoppers and stuffed them in a small box. The boys felt sorry for the grasshoppers when the insects died. On another occasion, the boys fought for the attention of Eddie, the orphanage's dog. On another, two two boys pulled a prank on their school and hid in the attic above the faculty room. The two boys evaded capture and laughed to themselves.
In the film, Yoshitoki stabbed Kitano, his seventh grade teacher, in the buttocks during one day of school. Kitano resigns from his position after the incident.
In all versions, Yoshitoki had a crush on Noriko Nakagawa; this is what prompts Shuya to be so protective of her during the program.
The "Yoshi" in Yoshitoki's given name means "joy"; the same character ("Kei") is in Keiko Onuki's given name. The "Toki" means a time, age, or era. "Kuni" means nation while "Nobu" means "trust."
[edit] During the Program
Yoshitoki never actually takes part in the Program, because he dies during the introduction.
- In the novel, Kinpatsu Sakamochi, the instructor in charge of the program, tells Yoshitoki and Shuya that he raped Ms. Anno when she objected to their inclusion in the program. Yoshitoki is enraged because, to him, the news of Ms. Anno's rape is the same as somebody telling him that his mother has been raped by a sadistic, cruel man. By showing his anger, he is expressing his hatred towards the instructor, thus at the government and thus breaking the law. Yoshitoki tries to attack Sakamochi but is shot by three soldiers: Tokihiko Tahara, Nomura, and Kondo. At this point Yoshitoki is still alive, Noriko and Shuya asks the instructor for help for Yoshitoki; the soldiers then blow out his head, killing him.
- In the film version, Kitano (the Sakamochi character) stabs Yoshitoki in the buttocks with the knife used to kill Fumiyo Fujiyoshi, and Lieutenant Anjo punches Yoshitoki in the face after Yoshitoki is angered by Noriko's bullet wound in the arm. After Yoshitoki wrestles with Kyoichi Motobuchi when Kyoichi complains about not being able to hear the video, Kitano kills Yoshitoki by detonating his collar.
- In the manga, Yonemi Kamon (the manga's version of Sakamochi) shoots Yoshitoki for the same reason as the novel; Yonemi states that he raped Ms. Ryoko. Yoshitoki is shot in the mouth and then the head.
In the extended version of the film, Shuya has a "daydream" while trekking back to Shogo Kawada's hideout to see Noriko. In the daydream, Shuya, at the school gymnasium, sees a ball dribble higher and higher until Yoshitoki, at a ledge, catches the ball. Yoshitoki tells Shuya to take care of Noriko before waving to Shuya.
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