Minoru Minorikawa

**Minoru Minorikawa** is a freelance journalist and one of the main protagonists of the game.

## Biography

Minorikawa is a hot blooded freelance journalist who prides himself in his integrity and determination. He is tasked with helping his former mentor Toyama pay off a large debt owed to some local thugs. He has to gather enough articles to write the next issue of a gossip magazine all in one day during the scramble, certainly a daunting task but luckily he's able to find help along the way in multiple people.

## Personality

Minorikawa can come off as rather rude to most people and has a habit of yelling and pointing his finger at them. He can be rather stubborn at times, being insistent on certain points be makes (though most are understandable). When interviewing people, he purposefully asks them questions that will provoke them so that he can get their true answers. Though at least part of this can be attributed to the circumstances he's placed in and the pressure it puts on him. Despite this, he still has a determination to carry out his goal and does his best to complete tasks he's been given. Minorikawa also speaks calmer to those he knows and sometimes even gives important advice to people such as Chiaki. He is overall competent as a journalist.

## Before the Scramble

At around 10:40, Minorikawa is writing an interview piece when a phone call interrupts him. He picks up to find Teruo Toyama, head of Heaven Publishing, on the other line. Minorikawa mentions that he's busy as they talk and as the topic goes to the five-star gossip magazine, he mentions the scratch cards and lottery possibility, resulting in Toyama starting to sob. Confused and irritated, Minorikawa is about to hang up when Toyama says that the only thing left for him to do is die. This spurs Minorikawa to quickly get to Heaven Publishing in order to stop Toyama from taking his own life.

## 11:00 - 12:00

11:00 - 11:05: Minorikawa is speeding down a road on his motorcycle, quickly heading towards Shibuya Station in order to reach Toyama and prevent him from committing suicide. He stops at a red light but once the light turns green, his motorcycle's engine dies and he can't get it to work again. Forced to abandon it, Minorikawa gets off, planning to run the rest of the way before seeing a taxi letting off a passenger. He quickly runs to the taxi to take it.

11:05 - 11:10: Minorikawa asks to get to Shibuya Station quickly and the driver, Hachiro Kimizuka acknowledges this. He then demands to be there in 10 minutes, to which Kimizuka is hesitant about whether it is possible. Minorikawa settles for 15 minutes and remains insistent that he get there by that time, saying that he doesn't have time to waste and that he chose him for this, despite Kimizuka's protests, who ultimately relents and drives the taxi to get to Shibuya Station as fast as possible.

11:15 - 11:25: The taxi reaches Shibuya Station in 10 minutes. Minorikawa asks Kimizuka to go to Heaven Publishing from there, estimating another 5 minutes to reach. As expected, the taxi reaches soon enough around 11:20 and Minorikawa gets out, paying the fare. Kimizuka mentions that he'll come back if he doesn't find other passengers. Minorikawa then runs into the building and up the stairs, going all the way to the top floor where he expects Toyama to be. He finds the door locked and kicks it open, finding Toyama on the verge of hanging a noose around his neck. Minorikawa runs and tackles him away from it, resulting in the two falling. Toyama complains but Minorikawa isn't hearing it, very annoyed at Toyama at this point. He points accusingly towards the noose as Toyama makes excuses and his daughter Hana enters with a rubber gas tubing. More excuses are made for this until Minorikawa finally presses him for an explanation. Toyama explains that there was a way for people to find the winning symbols on the scratch cards of the issue, and word quickly spread, resulting in several people claiming the lottery and Heaven Publishing sinking into debt. Toyama also mentions that if he can't finish the next issue by 8:00 evening, he'll be further in debt with no way out.

11:25 - 11:30: Minorikawa insists that he doesn't have to stop the issue. He asks for the layout and draft proposal, intending to finish the issue himself. Minorikawa remains insistent despite Toyama's disbelief, and he looks over the layout, noting that there are 12 pages yet to be filled in the issue. Nonetheless Minorikawa is confident, stating that he is more than capable of doing the job. When Toyama asks why he's helping, Minorikawa states that he's not doing it for him, but rather for Hana. He then looks at the draft proposal, seeing 7 proposed articles but finding a problem in 3 of them. Realizing the lack of time, Minorikawa decides to cut an article about black organ trafficking, opting to keep "Shibuya NOW" and an article about SOS along with 4 more articles about a fishy diet drink, surveillance cameras, the Wandering Angels troupe, and twins winning a university beauty contest.

11:30 - 11:35: Running simulations in his head, Minorikawa realizes he still wouldn't have enough time, deciding he needs another writer. He calls his freelancer colleagues but they are all busy. He wonders if he should call a novice freelancer, Chiaki Iso, who would likely come to his aid but gets flustered rather easily and isn't good with interviews, or if he should email some other colleagues. Minorikawa decides this is no time for beggars to be choosers and calls her. Chiaki answers, mentioning how she has no work or food, but Minorikawa's mention of work gets her excited. Minorikawa assigns her to the Shibuya NOW piece and asks her to conduct street interviews, a prospect that terrifies her. He reminds her that she isn't in a position to be picky, and asks for 10 interviews with the piece delivered by 6:00. After he hangs up, Toyama mentions that the company he took a loan from will send some debt collectors, and that they require some sort of proof that the next issue will come out if the repayment is to be postponed, thus he asks for Minorikawa to have 6 of the 12 pages filled by 4:00. Minorikawa agrees to this, then looks at a map. The interview with the director of the theater troupe is scheduled for 2:30 and deciding to leave the diet drink article for the scheduled time of 1:00, Minorikawa heads to Endo Electronics in Dogenzaka to get information about the surveillance cameras.

11:35 - 11:50: Minorikawa walks out to see Kimizuka waiting for him. Kimizuka states that he has an instinct for when people need to go places and Minorikawa asks to go to Dogenzaka. He hopes to find more about claims of hidden surveillance cameras installed in the Shibuya shopping districts by Daisuke Endo that have resulted in decreased crime in those areas. Minorikawa soon finds himself at Endo Electronics, getting out of the cab and paying Hachizuka 10,000 yen, telling him to keep the change. He introduces himself by name and states that what Kimizuka has done for him is something he truly values. Minorikawa walks into the store, looking around and noting all the clutter. He calls for the manager and after a few times of this, Daisuke Endo opens the door. Minorikawa asks him for a few minutes of his time even though Endo says he's busy. As they talk, a phone ringing cuts them off. Endo answers it, later telling Minorikawa that he ended up selling a faulty dry ice machine to the Wandering Angels troupe and that he has to notify the customer in order to recall the machine and refund them. He tries calling but no one picks up since they are busy with rehearsing for a performance.

11:50 - 11:55: Minorikawa reiterates his request to talk to Endo, to which he again states he is busy. After a rude comment and Endo trying to shoo him out, Minorikawa threatens to write that Endo Electronics sells defective equipment, noting that it is unlikely Endo will be able to get in contact with them today. Minorikawa makes a deal, asking for 5 minutes in exchange for him telling the Wandering Angels about the machine in Endo's stead. After some hesitation, Endo agrees. Minorikawa asks him about his reasons for setting up the cameras, and Endo states that there were delinquents causing trouble so he set them up to protect his property. He offhandedly mentions that his son made a vigilante squad called SOS to take care of them once, but that he's no longer in the gang. Even though interviewing Endo's son would be fruitless, Minorikawa notes that the vigilante squad is called SOS. As the topic shifts to the ethics of monitoring people without their knowledge, Minorikawa intentionally gets more provocative. Endo states that he does it for the sake of public order in response to his provocations about moral oversights, and shoos him out.

11:55 - 12:00: Having enough material for one article, Minorikawa looks around for a coffee shop to write it in. He gets a call from Chiaki who bemoans that she can't talk to people on the street. Minorikawa insists that she must despite further protests, and repeats his request for her to complete her article and then hangs up before she can object, leaving one more worry for him.

## 12:00 - 1:00

12:00 - 12:05: Minorikawa walks down the streets of Dogenzaka, noting the numerous surveillance cameras and wondering how the people would react to them if they knew. On a whim he points to a man on a bicycle (Yasuda), telling him to stop. Minorikawa states he's doing interviews for the 4 star gossip magazine and even though Yasuda says he's in a hurry, Minorikawa continues on and points out a surveillance camera. He asks him about his feelings, saying that they're taking in everything despite privacy violations. After muttering something, Yasuda states that the cameras have probably helped catch some crooks, to which Minorikawa agrees, but then says that people wouldn't like to be watched in places like their homes. Yasuda points out how extreme an argument it is but Minorikawa simply turns it on him, saying that his opinion of having cameras up to bring down crimes but protect privacy by not installing them in homes is extreme and naive. He further elaborates that as people get used to being watched, they'll let themselves be watched further until their privacy is stolen. Yasuda mocks him, saying that four star gossip relies on scandals and ruining privacy, but Minorikawa simply retorts that he writes first-class pieces since privacy exists only for him to demolish it. A riled up Yasuda protests at the journalistic arrogance and blurts out that he'd rather have surveillance cameras than weird gossip magazines. After an awkward silence, Minorikawa jots down some notes, having got what he wanted by riling up Yasuda. He thanks the man for his cooperation and apologizes for riling him up, then sends him on his way. Minorikawa plans to head to his next interview location and stop at a nearby cafe to work on his copy.

12:05 - 12:10: Minorikawa looks at his map, noting that he doesn't know which floor of Nokane building the sales demo is, but hoping that someone there will tell him the directions. He spots a nearby cafe called Co-labo cafe and heads in, yelling for a coffee and sitting at an open chair. He takes a smoke to go into writing mode and starts typing. A waitress calls him repeatedly, getting louder and slamming the table, refusing to back down even when he tells her to be quiet. When Minorikawa finally looks up at her, she points out that the cafe is a non-smoking cafe. As the customers glare at him, Minorikawa protests that coffee aroma goes best with tobacco aroma but the waitress simply tells him to smoke outside.

12:15 - 12:20: Minorikawa soon finds another cafe called Cafe Lautrec that allows smoking. As he gets into his writing groove and starts typing, he hears a father angrily yelling at his daughter (Shizuo and Rumi) to break up with someone. He looks over to the two arguing and his interest is piqued. However, Minorikawa reminds himself that he needs to finish his article and turns away, drowning out their bickering as he continues writing.

12:20 - 12:30: Minorikawa hears a beeping noise, looking around to see what it is. His eyes settle on a waiter tapping and making the beeping sound to confirm a rather large order coming from a girl with a round figure (Chiri). He tries to get back to typing but then another beeping sound starts, different from the first time. Minorikawa wonders whether to investigate but decides to immerse himself in his writing again and soon he forgets the strange sound.

12:30 - 12:35: Minorikawa watches Chiri eat a large amount of food and then pick up the menu again. He starts to see an article idea forming in his head, realizing that he could write a good article if he took a foodie angle. Minorikawa goes over and asks if she always eats that much, to which Chiri replies in the negative and glares at him. As tension fills the air, he states he's a freelance writer and wants to interview her, complimenting her on maintaining her figure despite eating a lot of food. Chiri immediately smiles and states that the key to dieting is to eat 10 meals a day, splitting food into smaller portions. Keeping his thoughts to himself, Minorikawa asks for more tips, to which she talks about drinking protein and burning hammer. He asks further about burning hammer and Chiri hands him a more detailed map to the sales demo, showing which floor it's on. She then leaves the cafe to get back to work.

12:35 - 12:40: Having got info on the burning hammer sales demo, Minorikawa is now worried about Toyama and decides to check on him. Toyama answers the phone and says he's hiding somewhere near Shoto, saying that he was running from some people who had come to collect the debt. Minorikawa advises him to find some place to hide and lay low for a while. Toyama agrees and hangs up.

12:40 - 12:45: Minorikawa looks at the time, deciding that he has to leave the surveillance article where it is and start heading to the sales demo. As he puts his laptop back into his bag, his cell phone rings. He picks up and Chiaki answers, complaining that people won't stop to talk to her no matter what she does. Minorikawa tells her to calm down multiple times despite her protests, asking her to stay where she is so that he can go there. He leaves money for the coffee and heads out.

12:50 - 1:00: Minorikawa walks into the plaza just outside Shibuya Station, spotting Chiaki crouched and crying in front of a statue with two kids watching her. He asks her why she wanted to be a freelance writer and she replies that she wanted to try her hand in writing, but doesn't want to elaborate further. Minorikawa tells her she's been handed a task and she needs to master it to understand the fundamentals. He snatches her notebook to check her progress and finds that she's only talked to a person in a cat suit. Minorikawa sends Chiaki back to the streets, this time watching what she does. After 1-2 minutes, she comes back, unsuccessful. Minorikawa uses a tennis analogy that Chiaki understands since she was in her high school tennis club, and helps her realize that rallying with an opponent is more fun than rallying with a wall since with the latter, one already knows where the ball will go. Minorikawa tells her to enjoy the rally and make small talk, but Chiaki is unsure if she can do it. He asks if she's enjoying her life and she replies no, then he tells her to use that as a starting point for small talk and interviews. Her confidence restored, Chiaki smiles and goes on the street, grabbing onto a westerner in a hurry (Leland Palmer). The two are soon engaged in a conversation and Minorikawa is pleasantly surprised. He then realizes there are only 5 minutes left until the burning hammer demo and hurries towards Center Gai.

## Behind the Scenes

* Minoru Minorikawa first appeared at 3-Nen B-Gumi Kinpachi Sensei: Densetsu no Kyoudan ni Tate! (3年B組金八先生 伝説の教壇に立て!) .
* Minorikawa's cigarette brand is as much a Gitanes as one of *Machi*'s main characters, foreign soldier Ryuji Takamine.
* Minorikawa's script was originally a follow-up to Keima Amemiya (雨宮 桂馬), One of *Machi* protagonist. In the original idea, Keima Amemiya left the Shibuya Police Department to work as a private detective, similar to Minorikawa. However, the idea was considered too Machi strong to be used in 428, so it was replaced with Minoru Minorikawa.

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 4Gamer×ゲーマガ連動企画第1弾！　今だから話せるサウンドノベル「428 -封鎖された渋谷で-」の秘密を，総監督イシイジロウ氏に直撃！