User blog:AustinDR/Takada (EP)

Another example of how an EP is done, this time on my most recent candidate, Takada.

What's the work?
The work is Region. Region is a horror manga written by Fujisama Yuki. The manga concerns Chief Togakushi, a widowed engineer who is called to inspect a new wind farm that is about to go into operation. Along with his lovestruck co-worker Asagiri, the two follow a guide into the basement to check on the generators. When they arrive, to their horror, they see that colonies of rats had taken roost there. And they're starving. Eventually, the rats escape, plunging Japan into a panic. Togakushi has two children -- Kanon a young girl who was broken by the death of her mother -- and Ryuuto, a young boy obsessed with bugs. Togakushi must race against the clock to save his children from Mother Nature's wrath.

Who is he?
Takada is Ryuuto's fourth grade teacher who condones the bullying his students do on Ryuuto. For the most part, Takada is a sleazy Gonk of a man who tries to save his ass when the plagues start to go down.

What has he done?
When a power outage causes all of the electricity in Tokyo to malfunction due to the rats, the school district sent a message, advising the teachers to remain with their students until their parents arrive. Irritated by this, Takada wordlessly blames Ryuuto for this since Ryuuto was adamant about caring for the insects that he was assigned to raise. Takada contemplates on making the bullying worse for Ryuuto, or raping him. At that point, Takada hatches a plan: if something were to happen to the students under his watch, he would ultimately not be held accountable. And so, Takada demands his class to go into a corner of the classroom, and close their eyes. With them blindingly obeying, Takada goes to the door, and quickly scrambles into a closet. Waves of rats erupt into the room, and they immediately tear the children apart.

With the coast clear, Takada escapes the school, and pretends to be in deep morning for his students whilst in the presence of the media. However, he realizes that Ryuuto survived the encounter with the rats. Fearing that he would tell the authorities about what he had done, Takada traces him down to a shelter. Alone with Ryuuto, Takada pretends to be a loving teacher towards him by offering him a rice ball. Unbeknownst to Ryuuto, the rice ball was laced with rat poison. With just one bite, Ryuuto would die instantaneously. Unfortunately for him, Kizaki -- another teacher of the school -- interrupts this. The group realize that rats were going to arrive to the building in search of food, thus causing them to run to the roof of the building. Takada then attempts to barricade the door to prevent others from coming in, thus condemning them to become rat food.

Takada meets up with Chief Togakushi and Asagiri around the time that the children returned home to leave a message warning their father about the government's plan of spraying poison all over Japan to kill the rats. When asked about his children, Takada lies in order to cover for himself. Togakushi attempts to find his children when ants began to attack the shelter they were in, but Takada fibs again saying that his children were eaten by the rats. However, Togakushi reunites with his children, and they all return to their home.

With the weather worsening, Takada takes the car and drives off, leaving Togakushi, Asagiri, and the two children at the mercy of the weather. Without any warning, a flash flood manifests, sweeping the car away with Takada inside of it. The manga then ends with Takada stranded, with wharf roaches climbing up the car. Wharf roaches tend to be scavengers that eat dead fish, but since there is a large colony of them....

Freudian Excuse? Mitigating factors?
None. Takada, simply put, is an asshole. He is a SadistTeacher who condones bullying, and even contemplates on making life even more difficult for said student just because he stayed longer than he would've liked. That's not even getting into Takada thinking about raping the young boy while the power was out. Takada cares not one bit about any of his students in general, with him leaving them to a painful death being the primary indicator. While I get that he was scared for his own life (I mean getting eaten alive isn't a good way to go), this man is indifferent to subjecting people to the same fate as long as he can preserve his own life.

For anything else...he does have moments where he has a humorous moment or two. For instance, him perving out on Asagiri and other women, and his rant to the wharf roaches that he was the superior being. However, these are just moments that don't detract from the earlier scenes which are played seriously.

Heinous standard
Worst human in story. There are also other antagonists that pop up here and there in the story, but they don't have any time to make a lasting impression as they're quickly reduced to animal chow the moment they're introduced.

Conclusion
Unsure, but I'll leave it to you guys.