exitvoid: application
player.
NAME/HANDLE: laura
PERSONAL JOURNAL: momentarily
ARE YOU 16 OR OVER?: yes.
CONTACT: e-mail: pink.sherlock[at]gmail.com, thefairground (AIM), styloroc (plurk).
OTHER CHARACTERS: inquisire
character.
CHARACTER NAME: Real name: Tomoo Manaka, assumed identity: Ryou Naruse
SERIES: WIKI: Maō (EN), DRAMA WIKI: Maou (EN), 魔王 (JP). I have a character history written out, if you'd like - or a timeline.
CANON POINT: The very beginning of episode six, just after the talk with Ikehata
AGE: 28, although he'll claim he's 27 if asked (Ryou would still be 27; Tomoo is 28).
APPEARANCE:
Naruse is small. He stands at about 166cm (5'4) without shoes, and I'd say that his weight is somewhere between 46 and 48kg (101 and 105lbs)*, and his figure is rather balanced as an overall, although if he were to gain weight, it would be quite easy to describe him as having a 'stocky' build. He takes a fair amount of pride in his appearance as he's very aware of how much one's appearance plays into how they're perceived by others, and he's particularly fond of ensuring that he comes across as professional as possible. As much as is possible, he wears suits ― being that I'm entirely oblivious with regards to the quality of suits, all I can say is that they look smart, modern and expensive.
His hair, of course, is kept its natural black, although the style isn't what one would describe as unfashionable. He evidently takes care of his hair, and it seems to have a lot of natural volume. His eyes are brown, and he's fairly tanned ― considering his occupation. He has quite round, expressive features.
*He does look thin, and at the time of filming, the actor admitted his weight was 'in the forties', although quite to what extent is unknown. My estimation with regards to his weight is due to the fact that the actor's weight tends to be reported as being between 49kg and about 51kg with regularity, and his weight loss during the series was noticed and remarked upon by his bandmates.
PREVIOUS GAME HISTORY: N/A
PERSONALITY:
When one first meets 'Ryou Naruse', their impression is likely to be that of a polite, well-spoken man, entirely aware of social standing, graces, and how one should conduct themselves. This impression certainly wouldn't be wrong, not as such ― after all, he has spent the better part of the last eleven years perfecting the façade, and the question of where it starts and where it ends is one that is raised within the series, and whilst Naruse remains quite adamant that it is, in fact, a mask, his doubts and new-found, as well as unexpected, guilt, regret and doubts with regards to his actions as the series progresses implies that he is not as different to the 'Ryou Naruse' he presents to the public as he would like to be, and perhaps more importantly, tries to be.
The guilt and regret he comes to experience are a direct result of his own actions. When Sora is bullied at playschool, she takes refuge at Shiori's café and Shiori, aware of Sora's fondness for Naruse, asks him to come over and help calm her. He does so, and is visibly shocked by Sora's state, having been unable to imagine that such an event would occur as a result of his actions.
The second example would be Shiori herself: as she develops into something of a romantic interest, Naruse seems surprised by his own feelings for her. He grows to care about Shiori before promptly brushing her off and ignoring her feelings entirely, focussing instead, of course, on himself and his revenge ― he even goes so far as to wonder how someone like himself could be deserving of love.
Furthermore, he also cares greatly about Makiko Naruse, the real Ryou's sister, who he has visited weekly since Ryou's death. Despite being blind and primarily wheelchair bound, Makiko reveals at a later point that she had always known that he wasn't really Ryou but despite that, she considered him her brother anyway. Because of this, she had no desire to ask him about what it was he was doing; she cared for about him, and he for her, and that was what mattered as he had given her the desire to live again. The realisation that there are people who currently do and would continue to care about him comes as a shock; Naruse has spent that much time isolating himself from others and the world and working up to his revenge, that he is entirely unable to see outside of it.
While it's not something elaborated on in the series, the booklet accompanying the boxset mentions that on the day that Naoto was declared innocent, Ryou decided that he should start working towards his 'grand' plan for revenge. (SOURCE: 11年前の7月4日、それは直人に｢正当防衛で無罪｣の判決が出た日――。その日こそ、領が復讐を決意し、壮大な計画に向け働き始めた日なのです。) Therefore, it can be assumed that even during the time that he was homeless, it was something he thought about often, despite the fact that flashbacks of his time with Ryou seems to show him as genuinely happy and cheerful. Because of Naruse's remaining loyalty to Ryou, the fact that he keeps a photo of them together (in one episode, after visiting Makiko, he makes a comment to it about how well Makiko is doing), and the friendship shown in the flashbacks along with Naruse's general demeanour at the time, I think that Ryou acted as something of a grounding influence on him. Thus, his 'important people' could be summed as: deceased family, deceased friend, fake sister and a woman he grows close to only because of the way he intended on using her in his revenge.
In public, he is, as mentioned, exceptionally polite. Outside of the office and in social situations, he tends towards the personal pronoun '僕 (boku)', as opposed to the '私 (watashi)' he uses whilst at work. His choice of personal pronoun is a stark contrast to that of Naoto Serizawa, who opts for '俺 (ore)' regardless of situation, a pronoun which is regarded as far more brusque and masculine than 'boku'. Indeed, it could even be said that rather than being the opposite of the person that he, Tomoo Manaka is, 'Ryou Naruse' was created to be the opposite of Naoto Serizawa. For example, when the Serizawa's family lawyer is killed, Naoto reacts emotionally ― as one might expect ― whilst Naruse takes pains to be as calm and logical in return as he can. It's a motif that is repeated frequently throughout the series.
As a lawyer, Naruse is highly respected and renowned; the media dub him '(the) angelic lawyer' in reflection of both the way he conducts himself and the way in which he approaches his legal work. He goes to great lengths to defend the poor, the weak, and those shunned by society, often without pay from the clients themselves (or on occasion, for a lesser fee). An example of this would be when he defends Tae Shinitani after the death of Yousuke Ishimoto. Whilst it's not shown in the series whether or not she pays him for his services, she is deep in debt and struggling with paying her rent, amongst other things, and Naruse pays the three months rent she owes on her flat. However, unlike ― presumably ― his past acts of such kindness, in this case he did have an ulterior motive as he had, unbeknownst to Tae, manipulated her into killing Yousuke and ensuring she was found 'not guilty' of murder, and guilty only of acting in self-defence was a vital part of his revenge plan.
In accordance with his manipulative nature, Naruse is quite observant, meticulous, patient and, unsurprisingly, considering how he has spent the past eleven years, obsessive. His apartment, for example, contains a room that has been turned into a dark room with the sole purpose of developing and subsequently enshrining photographs he's taken of the Serizawa family and their associates, whilst he has also taken great care to know what it is they are up to and with whom, with the ultimate aim of manipulating events and people to his own advantage and their downfall.
A good example of his tendency towards being meticulous and a perfectionist, is his use of the name 'Amano Makoto'. Written as '雨野真実' ― which would be more commonly read as 'ame no shinjitsu', and certainly not as a name, has furigana written above it indicating it should be read as 'amano makoto'. The former reading indicates a meaning of 'the truth within the rain', whilst the latter is an anagram of 'Tomoo Manaka' and can also be understood to mean 'divine truth' or 'divine reality' (天の真). It is therefore more than clear that Naruse took deliberate pains with the name and its meaning; the rain refers to the rain that was falling on the day when Naoto's trial reached its conclusion and the truth was covered up.
Despite his outwardly caring appearance and ability to instil trust, Naruse is remarkably lacking in an ability to empathise with others ― he views the world in a very black and white manner, perhaps somewhat surprisingly considering his prowess as a defence attorney. For example, after Tae Shinitani's name is cleared after the death of Yousuke Ishimoto, Naruse imagined that Tae would be able to continue her life as it had been previously, without the weight of Yousuke's death weighing down upon her. However, Tae states otherwise, saying that although she's grateful to Naruse and thankful that the charges were cleared, at the end of the day, she still killed someone. She's still a murderer. This revelation clearly surprises Naruse, and as such, it's easy to assume that this is the first time that he's encountered anyone who's said as much, and with the manner in which he sets up and subsequently clears each murder ("lawful self-defence", a mirror of Naoto Serizawa's case), it's clear that it's not something he had ever considered.
It's worth noting that whilst this reflects Naruse's remarkably self-centred nature, it also reflects the manner in which he views his own crimes up to that point ― that is, without a sense of guilt. Whilst he's aware that his actions are very much immoral and wrong ― his deliberate allusions of himself to the Devil show just to what extent Naruse is aware of this ― he had no sense of guilt, regret, or remorse until it's pointed out in the case of Tae, and later Shiori Sakita, that there is collateral damage, as it were. I believe that this ultimately speaks volumes of Naruse's perception of the world and of people and their action in general.
Coming back to the issue of self-centredness, Naruse suffers from this greatly; whilst he believes the case surrounding his brother's death was grossly mishandled and he wishes for 'justice', his actions are ultimately very selfish and entirely for himself. His attachment to his family certainly isn't in any doubt as it's evident time and time again that he cares for them deeply, he's also wholly incapable of moving on, or even of allowing himself to move on. He sets himself up to be the 'Devil' and very much appears to relish finally being able to enact his revenge at first, however it soon becomes clear that he's not as incapable of caring as he expected himself to be. As something of an aside, it's perhaps interesting to note that whilst being a defence attorney was central to his revenge, it was also the occupation his younger brother, Hideo, desired ― and for similar reasons, if considered in an abstract sense. Hideo planned on using the money being an attorney would bring to help his family out of their (implied) poor social class, whilst Naruse uses it to find a rather flawed idea of justice for them.
Of course, one can't overlook the fact that everything Naruse has succeeded at becoming has been the result of a particularly impressive degree of motivation and drive. After being forced to drop out of high school and becoming homeless, Naruse nevertheless managed to successfully pass the high school (or gain the equivalent to graduating), as well as pass the bar examination based solely on his own studying and intelligence. These facts appear to be common knowledge, with the media latching onto them and promoting them, it would seem, as part of his appeal as the 'angelic lawyer', despite Naruse's desire to keep 'his' private life private.
Ultimately, it should go without saying that he lies. A lot. Constantly, even ― and that he's very good at it. Naruse's interactions with a lot of, albeit not all people have an edge of insincerity to them. Despite his rather general dislike for himself and what he feels he's had to become and do, he's supremely confident in himself and his abilities which seems to translate into a rather general air of disinterest and, at times, disdain for others ― which he is, of course, skilled at hiding, rather unsurprisingly considering his overwhelmingly successful career thus far. However, he is constantly on the lookout for how others might be of use to him and as such, he's very fond of giving advice, even if it hasn't been asked for.
Naruse Ryou: Are you giving up? Mr. Kasai is still continuing with his silence. As it stands, you'll ― unfortunately be allowing an innocent friend to become a murderer.
Serizawa Naoto: ―Please! The one at fault is me, all of it is because of ...me. I beg you― Stop punishing those around me! Please! Kasai― I want to help Kasai! What― What should I do to save him?
Naruse: Is it okay? Even if the truth pierces your heart?
Serizawa: It doesn't matter if I can save him.
Naruse: When someone wishes to protect those important to them, they hide the truth. The person who understands that the best is surely ...you? I look forward to it. To seeing the choice you make when you know the truth.
With regards to his opinion of himself, Naruse seems startlingly self-aware in some cases, and distinctly not in others. He dislikes himself and cares more for his deceased family than he'll ever care for himself, and his revenge has been the only thing he's considered living for over the past ten years. He ultimately believes that it's too late for him to become a better person and that it's impossible for him to deviate from the path he finds himself on, despite what others might say or think and he urges Naoto to 'hurry and catch the killer'.
Naruse Ryou: These last eleven years, I have lived thinking only of the Serizawa family. Thank you ― for remaining the same and for living healthily. For not falling into ruin. For sacrificing others...
Serizawa Eisaku: You――! (He laughs in surprise.)
Loosely tied into this, Naruse's a control freak. He loves directing events, scenarios and, of course, people, and he hates it when things go wrong or deviate from his expectations. Once, when visiting Makiko, she comments on how she tricked 'him' once when they were children, leading him to always removing the seeds from watermelon before he could eat it. Naruse is visibly flustered by this before recalling a conversation he had with Ryou about the same matter, and responding accordingly to Makiko. Despite the light hearted tone with which he answers her, his expression reflects his distaste at being caught on the back foot.
Linked with his supreme self-confidence and arrogance, Naruse can be exceptionally smug, although he tries to take pains for people not to see that side of him. He finds a great deal of enjoyment in leading Naoto on and directing the series of deaths and the subsequent murder inquiries. Although it's from a point later than that which I'm taking him from, I believe it's a fair example of to what extent Naruse's confidence stretches with regards to his ability to read people and a situation. In both cases, all parties involved know (or discover) Naruse's true identity and realise the part he's been playing with regards to the recent deaths.
He's judgemental, petty, rather childish and, ultimately, a very flawed individual. Despite the numerous traits that exemplify his poor character, what lies on the surface ― politeness, friendliness, a willingness to listen and act for others when they can't or won't act for themselves ― is as much a part of him as everything else, even if it was originally born as a falsehood.
ABILITIES:
HE HAS NO SPECIAL ABILITIES. However-:
Naruse is an incredibly gifted ― "genius" ― lawyer. It's mentioned in canon that he has a tendency to win cases that other lawyers might consider unwinnable, although this is partly due to the fact that doesn't appear to be remotely motivated by financial gain. Alongside this, he's shown to have a wide range of knowledge, particularly with regards to material that relates to Catholicism, and he's intelligent in and of himself. For example, based on Tomoo's age, it would not have been necessary for him to have gone to university to become a lawyer. Based on his familial situation and backed up by the OHP, he studied by himself and passed the University Entrance Qualification Examination (as an alternate to high school graduation) after graduating junior high. He failed to finish high school. With this, he subsequently passed the bar examination with self study. ("学歴は中卒ながら、大検を経て独学で司法試験に合格した異色の経歴を持つ天才").
ALSO:
► Lying. And he's very, very good at it. I mean, he has lived the last eleven years under a false identity and no-one's been any the wiser, and he's been particularly smooth at lying to Naoto's face about everything.
► Manipulating. See: the entire series. This is linked with his rather impressive ability of reading people and situations, but he's very good at working out what people want and how he can work that to his ultimate advantage. He also uses it to make people like Naoto feel bad about many, many things whilst not letting on that he knows anything.
► Being very, very patient. He spent a good ten, eleven years planning his revenge before setting it into motion. He is very patient.
► Stalking. Alternatively, being sneaky, but yes. He is ... quite good at following people and taking photographs of them without being noticed. He's also quite good at noticing when he's being followed, but that's by-the-by.
POSSESSIONS:
Clothing: Black suit (black trousers and jacket, brand: Wakita), black belt, black shoes, white shirt with grey pinstripes (brand: Ozie), watch, black/silver/purple tie.
Mobile phone: au KDDI, Sony Ericsson W62S, ブラックｘローズ.
See: Front ・ Back
CD-R: Clear plastic case, white disc.
samples.
JOURNAL ENTRY SAMPLE:
[When the webcam is turned on, it's focussed on a man ― Japanese, one might assume, but definitely East Asian ― in his late-twenties, slightly dishevelled, slightly wet, slightly cold and definitely less than happy. His suit, despite its current condition, retains a look of expense and for the observant, there's a small badge pinned to his lapel ― a gold sunflower ― that would identify him as an attorney to those familiar with it.
After a moment's consideration, he reaches into a pocket and withdraws a card ― soggy, of course. He appears to study it for a moment, holding it between slender fingers with well-manicured nails before turning it round, allowing the camera a brief shot of its face: pink, beautifully decorated hand-drawn art, although some of the ink has run and smudged. The image, however, identifies it as a tarot card. The Tower.
Placing it down, he returns his gaze to the camera. Pleasant. Polite.]
I received this in the post shortly before ― [He pauses, gaze flickering to the side momentarily, his expression reflecting his vague discomfort with the situation for a second.] ― finding myself here.
Tragedy. Misfortune. A fall.
[A wry smile plays at his lips. He's aware they're unrelated; he knows why he received the card, he knows who it was from. That conversation had passed. If he's uneasy ― which he is ― he's taking great care to show it as little as possible.] I hadn't expected it to be quite so literal.
My name is Ryou Naruse. If possible, I'd quite like any information about my present situation. It's not quite Tōkyō, after all, and my phone is too water damaged to work.
[Quick hesitation; he's not sure to what extent this is real and he's not entirely sure of what to say. He bobs his head quickly ― polite.] Thank you.
THIRD-PERSON SAMPLE:
NAME/HANDLE: laura
PERSONAL JOURNAL: momentarily
ARE YOU 16 OR OVER?: yes.
CONTACT: e-mail: pink.sherlock[at]gmail.com, thefairground (AIM), styloroc (plurk).
OTHER CHARACTERS: inquisire
character.
CHARACTER NAME: Real name: Tomoo Manaka, assumed identity: Ryou Naruse
SERIES: WIKI: Maō (EN), DRAMA WIKI: Maou (EN), 魔王 (JP). I have a character history written out, if you'd like - or a timeline.
CANON POINT: The very beginning of episode six, just after the talk with Ikehata
AGE: 28, although he'll claim he's 27 if asked (Ryou would still be 27; Tomoo is 28).
APPEARANCE:
Naruse is small. He stands at about 166cm (5'4) without shoes, and I'd say that his weight is somewhere between 46 and 48kg (101 and 105lbs)*, and his figure is rather balanced as an overall, although if he were to gain weight, it would be quite easy to describe him as having a 'stocky' build. He takes a fair amount of pride in his appearance as he's very aware of how much one's appearance plays into how they're perceived by others, and he's particularly fond of ensuring that he comes across as professional as possible. As much as is possible, he wears suits ― being that I'm entirely oblivious with regards to the quality of suits, all I can say is that they look smart, modern and expensive.
His hair, of course, is kept its natural black, although the style isn't what one would describe as unfashionable. He evidently takes care of his hair, and it seems to have a lot of natural volume. His eyes are brown, and he's fairly tanned ― considering his occupation. He has quite round, expressive features.
*He does look thin, and at the time of filming, the actor admitted his weight was 'in the forties', although quite to what extent is unknown. My estimation with regards to his weight is due to the fact that the actor's weight tends to be reported as being between 49kg and about 51kg with regularity, and his weight loss during the series was noticed and remarked upon by his bandmates.
PREVIOUS GAME HISTORY: N/A
PERSONALITY:
When one first meets 'Ryou Naruse', their impression is likely to be that of a polite, well-spoken man, entirely aware of social standing, graces, and how one should conduct themselves. This impression certainly wouldn't be wrong, not as such ― after all, he has spent the better part of the last eleven years perfecting the façade, and the question of where it starts and where it ends is one that is raised within the series, and whilst Naruse remains quite adamant that it is, in fact, a mask, his doubts and new-found, as well as unexpected, guilt, regret and doubts with regards to his actions as the series progresses implies that he is not as different to the 'Ryou Naruse' he presents to the public as he would like to be, and perhaps more importantly, tries to be.
The guilt and regret he comes to experience are a direct result of his own actions. When Sora is bullied at playschool, she takes refuge at Shiori's café and Shiori, aware of Sora's fondness for Naruse, asks him to come over and help calm her. He does so, and is visibly shocked by Sora's state, having been unable to imagine that such an event would occur as a result of his actions.
The second example would be Shiori herself: as she develops into something of a romantic interest, Naruse seems surprised by his own feelings for her. He grows to care about Shiori before promptly brushing her off and ignoring her feelings entirely, focussing instead, of course, on himself and his revenge ― he even goes so far as to wonder how someone like himself could be deserving of love.
Furthermore, he also cares greatly about Makiko Naruse, the real Ryou's sister, who he has visited weekly since Ryou's death. Despite being blind and primarily wheelchair bound, Makiko reveals at a later point that she had always known that he wasn't really Ryou but despite that, she considered him her brother anyway. Because of this, she had no desire to ask him about what it was he was doing; she cared for about him, and he for her, and that was what mattered as he had given her the desire to live again. The realisation that there are people who currently do and would continue to care about him comes as a shock; Naruse has spent that much time isolating himself from others and the world and working up to his revenge, that he is entirely unable to see outside of it.
While it's not something elaborated on in the series, the booklet accompanying the boxset mentions that on the day that Naoto was declared innocent, Ryou decided that he should start working towards his 'grand' plan for revenge. (SOURCE: 11年前の7月4日、それは直人に｢正当防衛で無罪｣の判決が出た日――。その日こそ、領が復讐を決意し、壮大な計画に向け働き始めた日なのです。) Therefore, it can be assumed that even during the time that he was homeless, it was something he thought about often, despite the fact that flashbacks of his time with Ryou seems to show him as genuinely happy and cheerful. Because of Naruse's remaining loyalty to Ryou, the fact that he keeps a photo of them together (in one episode, after visiting Makiko, he makes a comment to it about how well Makiko is doing), and the friendship shown in the flashbacks along with Naruse's general demeanour at the time, I think that Ryou acted as something of a grounding influence on him. Thus, his 'important people' could be summed as: deceased family, deceased friend, fake sister and a woman he grows close to only because of the way he intended on using her in his revenge.
In public, he is, as mentioned, exceptionally polite. Outside of the office and in social situations, he tends towards the personal pronoun '僕 (boku)', as opposed to the '私 (watashi)' he uses whilst at work. His choice of personal pronoun is a stark contrast to that of Naoto Serizawa, who opts for '俺 (ore)' regardless of situation, a pronoun which is regarded as far more brusque and masculine than 'boku'. Indeed, it could even be said that rather than being the opposite of the person that he, Tomoo Manaka is, 'Ryou Naruse' was created to be the opposite of Naoto Serizawa. For example, when the Serizawa's family lawyer is killed, Naoto reacts emotionally ― as one might expect ― whilst Naruse takes pains to be as calm and logical in return as he can. It's a motif that is repeated frequently throughout the series.
As a lawyer, Naruse is highly respected and renowned; the media dub him '(the) angelic lawyer' in reflection of both the way he conducts himself and the way in which he approaches his legal work. He goes to great lengths to defend the poor, the weak, and those shunned by society, often without pay from the clients themselves (or on occasion, for a lesser fee). An example of this would be when he defends Tae Shinitani after the death of Yousuke Ishimoto. Whilst it's not shown in the series whether or not she pays him for his services, she is deep in debt and struggling with paying her rent, amongst other things, and Naruse pays the three months rent she owes on her flat. However, unlike ― presumably ― his past acts of such kindness, in this case he did have an ulterior motive as he had, unbeknownst to Tae, manipulated her into killing Yousuke and ensuring she was found 'not guilty' of murder, and guilty only of acting in self-defence was a vital part of his revenge plan.
In accordance with his manipulative nature, Naruse is quite observant, meticulous, patient and, unsurprisingly, considering how he has spent the past eleven years, obsessive. His apartment, for example, contains a room that has been turned into a dark room with the sole purpose of developing and subsequently enshrining photographs he's taken of the Serizawa family and their associates, whilst he has also taken great care to know what it is they are up to and with whom, with the ultimate aim of manipulating events and people to his own advantage and their downfall.
A good example of his tendency towards being meticulous and a perfectionist, is his use of the name 'Amano Makoto'. Written as '雨野真実' ― which would be more commonly read as 'ame no shinjitsu', and certainly not as a name, has furigana written above it indicating it should be read as 'amano makoto'. The former reading indicates a meaning of 'the truth within the rain', whilst the latter is an anagram of 'Tomoo Manaka' and can also be understood to mean 'divine truth' or 'divine reality' (天の真). It is therefore more than clear that Naruse took deliberate pains with the name and its meaning; the rain refers to the rain that was falling on the day when Naoto's trial reached its conclusion and the truth was covered up.
Despite his outwardly caring appearance and ability to instil trust, Naruse is remarkably lacking in an ability to empathise with others ― he views the world in a very black and white manner, perhaps somewhat surprisingly considering his prowess as a defence attorney. For example, after Tae Shinitani's name is cleared after the death of Yousuke Ishimoto, Naruse imagined that Tae would be able to continue her life as it had been previously, without the weight of Yousuke's death weighing down upon her. However, Tae states otherwise, saying that although she's grateful to Naruse and thankful that the charges were cleared, at the end of the day, she still killed someone. She's still a murderer. This revelation clearly surprises Naruse, and as such, it's easy to assume that this is the first time that he's encountered anyone who's said as much, and with the manner in which he sets up and subsequently clears each murder ("lawful self-defence", a mirror of Naoto Serizawa's case), it's clear that it's not something he had ever considered.
It's worth noting that whilst this reflects Naruse's remarkably self-centred nature, it also reflects the manner in which he views his own crimes up to that point ― that is, without a sense of guilt. Whilst he's aware that his actions are very much immoral and wrong ― his deliberate allusions of himself to the Devil show just to what extent Naruse is aware of this ― he had no sense of guilt, regret, or remorse until it's pointed out in the case of Tae, and later Shiori Sakita, that there is collateral damage, as it were. I believe that this ultimately speaks volumes of Naruse's perception of the world and of people and their action in general.
Coming back to the issue of self-centredness, Naruse suffers from this greatly; whilst he believes the case surrounding his brother's death was grossly mishandled and he wishes for 'justice', his actions are ultimately very selfish and entirely for himself. His attachment to his family certainly isn't in any doubt as it's evident time and time again that he cares for them deeply, he's also wholly incapable of moving on, or even of allowing himself to move on. He sets himself up to be the 'Devil' and very much appears to relish finally being able to enact his revenge at first, however it soon becomes clear that he's not as incapable of caring as he expected himself to be. As something of an aside, it's perhaps interesting to note that whilst being a defence attorney was central to his revenge, it was also the occupation his younger brother, Hideo, desired ― and for similar reasons, if considered in an abstract sense. Hideo planned on using the money being an attorney would bring to help his family out of their (implied) poor social class, whilst Naruse uses it to find a rather flawed idea of justice for them.
Of course, one can't overlook the fact that everything Naruse has succeeded at becoming has been the result of a particularly impressive degree of motivation and drive. After being forced to drop out of high school and becoming homeless, Naruse nevertheless managed to successfully pass the high school (or gain the equivalent to graduating), as well as pass the bar examination based solely on his own studying and intelligence. These facts appear to be common knowledge, with the media latching onto them and promoting them, it would seem, as part of his appeal as the 'angelic lawyer', despite Naruse's desire to keep 'his' private life private.
Ultimately, it should go without saying that he lies. A lot. Constantly, even ― and that he's very good at it. Naruse's interactions with a lot of, albeit not all people have an edge of insincerity to them. Despite his rather general dislike for himself and what he feels he's had to become and do, he's supremely confident in himself and his abilities which seems to translate into a rather general air of disinterest and, at times, disdain for others ― which he is, of course, skilled at hiding, rather unsurprisingly considering his overwhelmingly successful career thus far. However, he is constantly on the lookout for how others might be of use to him and as such, he's very fond of giving advice, even if it hasn't been asked for.
Naruse Ryou: Are you giving up? Mr. Kasai is still continuing with his silence. As it stands, you'll ― unfortunately be allowing an innocent friend to become a murderer.
Serizawa Naoto: ―Please! The one at fault is me, all of it is because of ...me. I beg you― Stop punishing those around me! Please! Kasai― I want to help Kasai! What― What should I do to save him?
Naruse: Is it okay? Even if the truth pierces your heart?
Serizawa: It doesn't matter if I can save him.
Naruse: When someone wishes to protect those important to them, they hide the truth. The person who understands that the best is surely ...you? I look forward to it. To seeing the choice you make when you know the truth.
With regards to his opinion of himself, Naruse seems startlingly self-aware in some cases, and distinctly not in others. He dislikes himself and cares more for his deceased family than he'll ever care for himself, and his revenge has been the only thing he's considered living for over the past ten years. He ultimately believes that it's too late for him to become a better person and that it's impossible for him to deviate from the path he finds himself on, despite what others might say or think and he urges Naoto to 'hurry and catch the killer'.
Naruse Ryou: These last eleven years, I have lived thinking only of the Serizawa family. Thank you ― for remaining the same and for living healthily. For not falling into ruin. For sacrificing others...
Serizawa Eisaku: You――! (He laughs in surprise.)
Loosely tied into this, Naruse's a control freak. He loves directing events, scenarios and, of course, people, and he hates it when things go wrong or deviate from his expectations. Once, when visiting Makiko, she comments on how she tricked 'him' once when they were children, leading him to always removing the seeds from watermelon before he could eat it. Naruse is visibly flustered by this before recalling a conversation he had with Ryou about the same matter, and responding accordingly to Makiko. Despite the light hearted tone with which he answers her, his expression reflects his distaste at being caught on the back foot.
Linked with his supreme self-confidence and arrogance, Naruse can be exceptionally smug, although he tries to take pains for people not to see that side of him. He finds a great deal of enjoyment in leading Naoto on and directing the series of deaths and the subsequent murder inquiries. Although it's from a point later than that which I'm taking him from, I believe it's a fair example of to what extent Naruse's confidence stretches with regards to his ability to read people and a situation. In both cases, all parties involved know (or discover) Naruse's true identity and realise the part he's been playing with regards to the recent deaths.
He's judgemental, petty, rather childish and, ultimately, a very flawed individual. Despite the numerous traits that exemplify his poor character, what lies on the surface ― politeness, friendliness, a willingness to listen and act for others when they can't or won't act for themselves ― is as much a part of him as everything else, even if it was originally born as a falsehood.
ABILITIES:
HE HAS NO SPECIAL ABILITIES. However-:
Naruse is an incredibly gifted ― "genius" ― lawyer. It's mentioned in canon that he has a tendency to win cases that other lawyers might consider unwinnable, although this is partly due to the fact that doesn't appear to be remotely motivated by financial gain. Alongside this, he's shown to have a wide range of knowledge, particularly with regards to material that relates to Catholicism, and he's intelligent in and of himself. For example, based on Tomoo's age, it would not have been necessary for him to have gone to university to become a lawyer. Based on his familial situation and backed up by the OHP, he studied by himself and passed the University Entrance Qualification Examination (as an alternate to high school graduation) after graduating junior high. He failed to finish high school. With this, he subsequently passed the bar examination with self study. ("学歴は中卒ながら、大検を経て独学で司法試験に合格した異色の経歴を持つ天才").
ALSO:
► Lying. And he's very, very good at it. I mean, he has lived the last eleven years under a false identity and no-one's been any the wiser, and he's been particularly smooth at lying to Naoto's face about everything.
► Manipulating. See: the entire series. This is linked with his rather impressive ability of reading people and situations, but he's very good at working out what people want and how he can work that to his ultimate advantage. He also uses it to make people like Naoto feel bad about many, many things whilst not letting on that he knows anything.
► Being very, very patient. He spent a good ten, eleven years planning his revenge before setting it into motion. He is very patient.
► Stalking. Alternatively, being sneaky, but yes. He is ... quite good at following people and taking photographs of them without being noticed. He's also quite good at noticing when he's being followed, but that's by-the-by.
POSSESSIONS:
Clothing: Black suit (black trousers and jacket, brand: Wakita), black belt, black shoes, white shirt with grey pinstripes (brand: Ozie), watch, black/silver/purple tie.
Mobile phone: au KDDI, Sony Ericsson W62S, ブラックｘローズ.
See: Front ・ Back
CD-R: Clear plastic case, white disc.
samples.
JOURNAL ENTRY SAMPLE:
[When the webcam is turned on, it's focussed on a man ― Japanese, one might assume, but definitely East Asian ― in his late-twenties, slightly dishevelled, slightly wet, slightly cold and definitely less than happy. His suit, despite its current condition, retains a look of expense and for the observant, there's a small badge pinned to his lapel ― a gold sunflower ― that would identify him as an attorney to those familiar with it.
After a moment's consideration, he reaches into a pocket and withdraws a card ― soggy, of course. He appears to study it for a moment, holding it between slender fingers with well-manicured nails before turning it round, allowing the camera a brief shot of its face: pink, beautifully decorated hand-drawn art, although some of the ink has run and smudged. The image, however, identifies it as a tarot card. The Tower.
Placing it down, he returns his gaze to the camera. Pleasant. Polite.]
I received this in the post shortly before ― [He pauses, gaze flickering to the side momentarily, his expression reflecting his vague discomfort with the situation for a second.] ― finding myself here.
Tragedy. Misfortune. A fall.
[A wry smile plays at his lips. He's aware they're unrelated; he knows why he received the card, he knows who it was from. That conversation had passed. If he's uneasy ― which he is ― he's taking great care to show it as little as possible.] I hadn't expected it to be quite so literal.
My name is Ryou Naruse. If possible, I'd quite like any information about my present situation. It's not quite Tōkyō, after all, and my phone is too water damaged to work.
[Quick hesitation; he's not sure to what extent this is real and he's not entirely sure of what to say. He bobs his head quickly ― polite.] Thank you.
THIRD-PERSON SAMPLE: