Shinra Manager

神羅課長 (Shinra Kachō?)

> ...hoodlums again.
>
> Shinra Manager

**Shinra Manager** is a minor non-player character in *Final Fantasy VII*, created by planner Motomu Toriyama. He works for the Shinra Electric Power Company. He also appears in *Final Fantasy VII Remake*.

## Profile

### Appearance

The manager is young man with slicked back black hair. In the original version he wears a burgundy suit with two buttons at the front, a white shirt, black shoes and a purple tie. In the *Remake*, he wears a basic black salaryman's suit with a red tie.

### Personality

The Shinra Manager is a middle manager in a big corporation, and wants to believe the company creed of people working in unison to improve the world. He fears Avalanche, but believes Shinra will be able to quell the terrorists. He detests people he deems "riff-raff", but appears more scared of them than anything. When Barret Wallace complains about Shinra aboard a train, the manager cowers and complains about the kind of crowd that one has to commute with in the last train. In the *Remake*, he debates with Barret about Shinra's merits and tries to look tough in front of his colleagues.

## Story

 File:Shinra manager ffvii.png
Avalanche first meets him in the train on the way back to Sector 7 from the successful bombing mission. When Barret drives the other passengers out of the car, the Shinra Manager complains about riff-raff always being present in the last train. The scene is extended in *Final Fantasy VII Remake*, where the manager wants to look tough in front of his co-workers when Barret intimidates them, and quotes the Shinra creed to him in an attempt to defend the company. In the slums' train station, the manager complains about Barret's outburst and embellishes the events by claiming he had put him in his place.

The manager is met again the next morning when Avalanche board the train to go to their next mission. He again complains about having to share the car with them. Barret catches on to his mutterings and threatens him while the Shinra Manager obstinately refuses to give up his seat, until Tifa intervenes.

Shinra Manager (or a similar character that shares his model; specifics are generally unclear in dummied content) is seen in a dummied cutscene in the Honey Bee Inn. The whole reception area of the Honey Bee Inn was removed to the game's full release, so the Shinra Manager can never be found there in the game's retail version.

During the party's venture into the Shinra Headquarters to save Aerith, if the player chooses to barge in through the front door, they ride an elevator to the upper floors that stops in random floors. Usually, the elevator stopping initiates a battle, but sometimes, a person who appears to be the Shinra Manager tries to get on the elevator. When he realizes AVALANCHE is on board, he makes an excuse and runs off.

 File:ShinraManager-SisterRay-ffvii.png
The Shinra Manager is later seen in Junon during Rufus's parade. He is hiding in his room because he does not want to go to work that day. The Shinra Manager follows President Rufus to Costa del Sol, where he can be spoken to at the ship docks and will declare his frustration against the Shinra company he had been holding inside.

The manager can be encountered again in his apartment in Junon following the attack by Sapphire Weapon where he will explain he came to transport the Sister Ray to from Junon but the company ordered him to remain in Junon (possibly out of his conflict of interests with his superiors). He muses that if Weapon ended up killing upper management he would be the only remaining highest-ranking manager, and would, therefore, be the current Shinra president. This remains his dialogue until the end of the game, where after the events with Diamond Weapon and the Raid on Midgar much of the upper management are killed.

## Behind the scenes

 File:Honey bee reception.png
The Shinra Manager appears in a dummied scene at the deleted Honey Bee Inn lobby, where he was queuing up waiting to enter.

In the Japanese version of the original game, Shinra Manager's speaker line changes with his two comments in Junon. When speaking of the Sister Ray he is referred to as the *Madokiwa* Shinra Manager (まどきわ神羅課長, Madokiwa Shinra Kachō?), which refers to the concept of madogiwa-zoku (窓際族?, lit. window-seat tribe), where long-serving employees who are no longer useful or have become a burden, instead of being made redundant, are given fewer and less or unimportant responsibilities to idle their way until retirement. When speaking of Weapon killing upper management he is referred to as the *Moetsuki* Shinra Manager (もえつき神羅課長, Moetsuki Shinra Kachō?), which alludes to the concept of Moetsuki Shōkōgun (燃え尽き症候群?, lit. burnout syndrome)—the idea of occupational burnout.

## Gallery

Shinra Middle Manager boasting from FFVII Remake.jpg*Final Fantasy VII Remake*Shinra Middle Manager on the train from FFVII Remake.jpgShinra Middle Manager on the train.Shinra Middle Manager final scene from FFVII Remake.jpgShinra Middle Manager talks to Tifa.
## References

1. ↑ Introducing the FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE development team (Accessed: November 25, 2019) at Square Enix Games

ru:Менеджер Шинра