“ | You, the defect, just can't win against my creations. | ” |
Doctor Nousou was a leading research scientist at the Diclonius Research Institute island facility run by Chief Kakuzawa, and probably the world's leading expert on the biology and physiology of Diclonius.
In the manga[]
While he was undeniably brilliant in his field, he was also cold, arrogant, and at times almost as delusional as his employers. Given free rein by the Kakuzawas, he was utterly ruthless and willing to do whatever he felt necessary to gain more knowledge of his subjects, some of whom lived and died under the most nightmarish circumstances imaginable, only to have their spinal columns and other body parts harvested for further examination and experiments after death. In spite of this, he became attached to four of the most viable Mariko clones that he was ordered to create and even gave each one of them a name.
During the assault on the Maple House, Nousou was visibly appalled and angered by the deaths of two of the three clones he brought with him when they were killed or injured in both the lead-up to and during the assault itself. Severely underestimating Lucy and to a lesser extent Nana and even Kouta, the assault team was taken apart, and Nousou was wounded, almost crushed by a falling helicopter. To his shock, Nousou found himself saved by the sacrifice of the clones with him.
Realizing he didn't know whether the clones' loyalty was genuine or not, Nousou, while recovering in the hospital, released Barbara, the remaining clone he brought with him, from his control against the advice of the Agent, who had accompanied him on the raid. Free to speak her mind, Barbara made him brutally aware that not only was she fully aware of everything he did to her and her sisters while in her controlled state, but that she felt nothing but hatred and anger for the way he treated them. In what may have been the only sincere apology of his life, Nousou apologized to Barbara before being decapitated by her.
Personality[]
Nousou was an eccentric scientist. While he possessed the cold demeanor and detachment that isn't uncommon for researchers to develop, especially those in Kakuzawa's employ, he was also very lighthearted about most situations, such as needing the spinal columns of children for research. He was also incredibly arrogant and took great satisfaction in not only incapacitating Nana using the Mariko clones but in taunting her and humiliating her, saying she would be useful for data.
In regards to the Mariko clones, Alicia, Barbara, Cynthia, and Diana, Nousou favored them more than any of the other Diclonii and even held a parental affection toward them. This connection is presumably because, as the most viable of the clones, he viewed them as his personal scientific success since he raised them. He's visibly upset to see them injured or killed, shown first when Cynthia dies, then again when Alicia and Barbara are trying to save them, and Lucy batters Alicia, tearing her body apart, before finally killing her. He even orders the clones to leave him, tears in his eyes, and attack Lucy instead, but the two refuse to drop the helicopter on his trapped body. He tries again to command Barbara to leave him after Alicia's death, but she refuses and instead saves him by shielding him from the rubble of the falling helicopter. Later, Nousou, feeling guilty for his treatment of Barbara and her sisters removes her mind control device in an attempt to talk to the real her. Barbara is not so forgiving of him, however, telling him just how much she hates him for everything he's done to them and decapitates him. Before his death, Nousou finally shows remorse for the way he's treated the Diclonii, though it's not clear if he's merely saying so out of sincerity or in the last chance to appease Barbara before she kills him. Due to his attachment to the clones, it's likely the former.
Oddly, Nousou is almost always shown eating nothing other than Pocky snacks. It's probably this is just part of his eccentric personality, as no one can live solely on such snack foods, although his regular intake of them could explain why he was so high-strung.
Trivia[]
- Nousou's affection for the clones compares to the relationship between Professor Emil Hamilton and Supergirl clone Galatea on the animated series Justice League Unlimited. However, Hamilton always held his 'daughter' in affection, and the parent/child feelings were mutual with Galatea. But as with Mariko's cloning, her creation was an act of betrayal against the threat Hamilton now saw posed by his former friend and ally Superman. Also similar to the clones of Mariko, Galatea likely met her demise trying to take out a target she had grown to despise for her morals, Supergirl.
- He serves as an evil counterpart to Kurama, having a daughter-like relationship with clones from his own biological daughter and their dynamic is like that of a darker take of Nana and Kurama’s relationship. He has even convinced himself that he truly loved and cared for his clones in his own twisted and delusional ways.
- He oddly gave his favored clones Western names instead of Japanese ones. Perhaps they were based on the names of women or girls he knew or he just likes the sound of Western names or languages. They also each have a name that can go into English alphabetical order, so perhaps he also liked the idea of organized alphabetical names.
- Alicia means nobility or of noble nature and originates from the Germanic name, Adalheidis. The Germanic inspiration behind the name seems fitting with the German inspiration behind Elfen Lied. When it comes to the noble part, while not officially a queen, the clone parent Mariko did have queen-like qualities such as oddly lacking rapid aging and was even more powerful than the actual queen of her species (until she wasn’t.)
- Barbara is a feminized version of the Greek word, barbaros, that means “stranger” or “foreigner” which is both equally fitting with how it is a very foreign name in Japan and how Barbara and the other Diclonii feel truly foreign to humans and are considered barbarians by many who hate them. There was even a woman known as Saint Barbara who was martyred by her father.
- Cynthia and Diana are both names given to the Greco-Roman goddess(es) of the moon. With Diana/Artemis also being the goddess of the hunt, fitting with how all the clone sisters were sent on a hunt and how Diclonius tend to hunt humans. She is also sometimes considered a plague goddess and Diclonii spread a virus. The Romanian word for fairy, zână, also is derived from the name Diana. Selene is the other moon goddess who has had Cynthia as an alternate name. One of the animals used to represent Selene is a bull, with the crescent moon on her head being sort of like horns, and Diclonii have bovines as one of their inspirations.
- There is a minor, but slightly mentionable, Mandela Effect where some people have confused Nousou for the Unknown Man or his actions. Some people incorrectly claim that, like the Unknown Man, he was lecherous and assaulted little girls or more specifically his own clones, but while Nousou was psychotic and put them through torture, he never showed any kind of sexual behavior. There have also been people who misremembered him dying differently, like one scenario of all the perfect clone girls having their mind control devices removed and killing Nousou in turn after all he put them through. Officially, only Barbara does this to Nousou and the other girls died with their mind control devices intact.
- In Brynhildr in the Darkness a character named Onodera seems to be based on him. Being a more hot-headed, expressive and aggravated scientist who replaces a more aloof, cold and less expressive scientist with her replacing a man named Chisato Ichijiku like how Nousou replaced Kurama. Chisato had Mako Fujisaki as his experiment he watched, who was a combination of Lucy, Nana and Mariko’s traits and Onodera watched over Hrist (real name Eri) who could have vaguely been based on the Mariko clones as they serve as a sort of replacement for their respective predecessors. She also first sent three other less powerful witches, as one of the various enemies, to go after the protagonists which in a way could probably also be similar to how Nousou sent 3 out of 4 of his clones.
Gallery[]
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