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“ | Yuma: You may wear the mask of a saint, but it can't hide the crimes you've committed! You are the mastermind behind the global kidnapping case the WDO has been pursuing! People were abducted across the world and turned into food for homunculi at your factory! Makoto: I had no choice. They must eat in order to survive. Besides, I never took innocent people. I gathered criminals with no chance of rehabilitation, and simply accelerated their sentencing. You saw the memo as well. Besides, they were all on death row anyway. |
„ |
~ Makoto as to why he mass kidnapped death row inmates and turned them into food for the homunculi. |
“ | To this city...you are the real evil, detective! If you expose the truth, many people will suffer. I won't let you do that just to satisfy your ego. No matter how hard you try to destroy this peaceful world, I'll fight back using your own brain against you. Homunculi may not be human, but they have the right to live too! I won't let anyone take that away, even if you are Number One of the WDO! | „ |
~ Makoto's delusional declaration that his original counterpart is Kanai Ward's true evil. |
Makoto Kagutsuchi is the main antagonist of the 2023 adventure game Master Detective Archives: Rain Code.
He is the CEO of Amaterasu Corporation, meaning he is the immediate supervisor of Peacekeepers director Yomi Hellsmile, and the homunculus clone of Number One of the World Detective Organization. After he was created by the Unified Government as part of their conspiracy to create an immortal army of homunculi, he escaped into Kanai Ward and took over the city, covering up the disastrous results of Dr. Huesca's homunculus research in the process while the citizens forgot about the tragedy that had occurred and how they replaced themselves with defective homunculi.
How the truth is hidden is not of his concern, being willing to use any means no matter how unethical or immoral to hide this from the citizens. As a result of his misdeeds as the CEO of Amaterasu Corporation and exploitation of Number One's identity, he is the arch-nemesis of Yuma Kokohead, who is the real Number One.
In Japanese, he is voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki, who also voiced Lady Nagant from My Hero Academia and Malva from Pokémon Evolutions. In English, he is voiced by Brandon Winckler, who also voiced Bede from Pokémon: Twilight Wings and Zed from Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny.
Appearance[]
Makoto Kagutsuchi is a thin and short man that stands at 150 cm, or 4ft 11 inches, tall with messy long grey hair that drapes down to his chest.
Makoto wears a purple suit adorned with golden floral patterns with a white undershirt and a blue tie. The buttons on his jacket all have the katakana for the Japanese word for Kanai inscribed on them. He also wears grey platform boots. Makoto wears two plain rings on his left hand, a silver one on his index finger and a gold one on his middle finger.
He is always wearing a white mask that has a stitched-up mouth, nostrils and one eye. This mask's mouth and expression change to match Makoto's. Makoto also has a number of other masks that have a variety of colors and bear slightly different designs such as a yellow mask, a pink mask with blushed cheeks, a purple mask with a piercing gaze, a red angry mask and a white mask with a question mark instead of the normal eye.
Underneath the mask, Makoto bears the same face as Yuma Kokohead, the person he was cloned from. Makoto's face, and by extension, Yuma's face, is fairly small and child-like, Makoto has large eyes with purple iris, a small nose and a large forehead which is fully visible due to Makoto's hair going down the left and right sides of his head.
After fusing with his Mystery Phantom, Makoto's clothes change from his standard suit to a long blue raincoat that stretches down to his knees. Makoto also gains black boots and a black undercoat.
Makoto has a giant form that he can transform into. This giant form is incredibly muscular and stands at over ten times Makoto's normal height. This form also makes Makoto's long hair stand up straight, making it stick up multiple heads worth.
Personality[]
Makoto Kagutsuchi is an extremely affable person. He always speaks in a calm and dignified manner so as to not be seen as rude to anyone, even those he considers to be enemies like Yomi. He is quick to try and make friends with anyone he speaks with. There are instances where Makoto can appear to be rude such as his fight with Yuma where he calls him "simple-minded" and "just an empty shell" but this is only done to push Yuma into battle Makoto as hard as possible.
Makoto has the tendency to act strange and odd, such as making elaborate stories about why he constantly wears a mask and riding in on balloons when coming to rescue Yuma and his friends. This is done to make those around him lower their guard and view Makoto as less of a threat as well as to make himself seem more friendly than he actually is.
Makoto tries to appear as honest and upfront as possible, telling people that are technically true but are actually lies by omission such as telling Yuma that Amaterasu Corporation isn't researching homunculi which is technically true but leaves out the fact that Amaterasu Corporation had created homunculi in the past. There are some things that Makoto says that are factually true in order to get people on his side such as him constantly saying how much he loves Kanai Ward and that everything he has ever done is to protect it.
Due to his vast intelligence, Makoto often burdens himself with all of the world's problems, believing that he, one of the greatest minds in the world, is the only one smart enough to help everyone by finding the perfect solution to a problem. If he can't find said perfect solution, Makoto will find the best alternative, even if the alternative involves murder and deception, Makoto justifies these actions as being for the best, however, Makoto would never harm any innocent person, just criminals that he believes have no chance of ever being rehabilitated such as Fink the Slaughter Artist.
Despite everything, all of Makoto's intellect and eccentric personality are just a shield to hide the pain he feels from burdening himself with all of Kanai Ward's problems. In the end, the mask of his true feelings begins to slip in the end as he asks someone to save him and help Kanai Ward in his stead.
Relationships[]
Enemies[]
Yuma Kokohead[]
Makoto has a complicated relationship with Yuma since he is Yuma's homunculus clone.
Initially, Makoto tried to his hardest to emulate Yuma's original personality back when Yuma was Number One, trying his best to do nothing more than find the perfect solution to any problem that he comes across, however, this changed when Makoto chose to protect Kanai Ward and was unable to find the perfect solution, instead choosing to commit crimes and hide the truth.
When Makoto encountered Yuma for the first time, he was expecting to have a heartfelt moment with his original, however, this didn't happen because Yuma was missing his memories and didn't recognise Makoto as being his homunculus clone. Despite this, Makoto chose to be friendly with Yuma and starts to gain Yuma's trust.
For Makoto's plan, he required Yuma to be killed so Makoto could replace him. To this end, Makoto intentionally antagonized Yuma, repeatedly calling him an empty shell because of his amnesia and making it seem like Makoto let the other Master Detectives be killed and eaten by the zombie-like homunculi.
Despite this, Makoto still valued Yuma wishing to test his resolve and method of protecting Kanai Ward against him. Makoto knew that Yuma was still one of the greatest minds in the world even without his memories and wanted to see if Yuma could come up with a better solution to save Kanai Ward. After Yuma beat Makoto, he trusted Yuma.
Eventually, Makoto would choose to put faith in Yuma's plan of telling the truth to the people Kanai Ward and let them decide the best way to save themselves.
Yomi Hellsmile[]
“ | Yuma: That was the director of the Peacekeepers, wasn't it? You know him? Makoto: Hmm. Our relationship isn't so shallow that he's a mere acquaintance, but I wouldn't call it friendship either... If I must call it something, I'd say he's like a shadow. We all have our own inseparable shadows, right? |
„ |
~ Yuma asking about Makoto's relationship with Yomi Hellsmile. |
Out of everyone in Kanai Ward, Makoto views Yomi as the biggest threat, both to himself and to all of the citizens of Kanai Ward. Since Yomi tried to leak information about the Homunculus Project to the Unified Government for his own profit, Makoto felt obligated to stop him before he caused the Unified Government to cease control over Kanai Ward.
Despite all of this, Makoto doesn't hold any hatred for Yomi. Makoto is always willing to make casual conversation with Yomi, offering him food and is even willing to aid Yomi if it means helping Kanai Ward. After Makoto has Yomi removed from power, instead of killing or even injuring him, Makoto had Yomi taken into custody, treating him with the criminal rights that Yomi would never offer to anyone who he would arrest.
Dr. Huesca[]
Much like Yomi, Makoto views Dr. Huesca as a threat to Kanai Ward's future due to his dealings with the Unified Government.
Even while acting nice about Dr. Huesca, Makoto generally views his personality as less than favorable, that being because Dr. Huesca rarely chooses to listen to anyone and him being generally uncooperative with anyone, even other researchers.
Unlike Yomi, Makoto had Dr. Huesca killed by manipulating Yakou Furio into killing him. Whether Makoto did this because he felt as if he had no other choice, he viewed Dr. Huesca as the greater threat or he simply hated Dr. Huesca more than Yomi for being the homunculus of the man who created the defective homunculi is unknown.
Amaterasu Peacekeeper Officers[]
“ | Any hired security would likely be spies or hitmen. | „ |
~ Makoto about his lack of human security protecting him. |
Since all of the low-ranking Peacekeepers work directly under Yomi, Makoto instinctively doesn't trust them, thinking that if he were to be protected by any of them, Makoto would be killed by them under Yomi's order.
After Yomi is removed from power, Makoto seems to drop this mentality.
Death Row Inmates[]
In order to gain human flesh to serve as food for the homunculi of Kanai Ward, Makoto would use death row inmates as the main ingredient.
Makoto views every criminal he kills as having no chance at rehabilitating into a good person, using it as justification for their deaths and mutilations into food. Makoto would begin to refer to these inmates as ingredients, stripping them of their humanity.
Fink the Slaughter Artist[]
“ | After completing the job... I was told... I "knew too much"... | „ |
~ Fink the Slaughter Artist's undead homunculus about why he was killed. |
Unlike any of Makoto's enemies, aside from Dr. Huesca, Fink the Slaughter Artist is the only one that Makoto had killed. According to the zombie homunculi that is found in the meat bun facility, it was because Fink "knew too much".
This contradicts the fact that Makoto let Yomi live even though he knew far more than Fink and was willing to leak what he knew to the Unified Government. It is likely that Makoto did this to either hide his involvement with Dr. Huesca's death or to kill Fink because he was an assassin who would kill other people in Kanai Ward, viewing Fink in a similar manner to the death row inmates that Makoto views as having no chance at rehabilitation.
It is never implied that Makoto felt bad for killing Fink even though he was one of the homunculi of Kanai Ward.
Allies[]
Homunculi of Kanai Ward[]
“ | Makoto: Take a good look, aren't they pitiable? They're labelled as defective and must continue to live in a land without sun. Yuma: You made them that way! Makoto: To protect them! All of this... Was to protect them. Do you understand how much I've endured for them? I've committed atrocities to keep them fed. If any died, they were swiftly taken to the abandoned village! When anyone asked about the color of their blood, I said it was caused by the rain. This is all for their sake! I did it for them! They're outcasts from this world who can only survive within a cage of rain! |
„ |
~ Makoto's feelings on the homunculi he protects. |
Initially, Makoto was sent to Kanai Ward to get information so the Unified Government, the organization that created Makoto, however, he had a change of because he is also a homunculus, he feels a kinship with every one of the homunculus that exists within Kanai Ward, deciding to turn against the Unified Government to protect them all, or at least as many as he could.
This kinship is what drove Makoto to commit every crime he has ever done, from killing countless death row inmates to be made into food, allowing the Peacekeepers to have as much power as they do so they can easily remove bodies and attempting to kill Yuma, the person he was cloned from to take control of the World Detective Organization so they couldn't investigate Kanai Ward. Makoto took on the burden of all these crimes without ever being asked to or ever expecting anyone to be grateful.
Makoto views all the homunculi as pitiable since there are so many who would wish them to all be killed, them all being trapped in a city with no weather except for rain otherwise they'd become ill and for having to illegally dump their bodies before letting the now zombie-like homunculi wander around the isolated village where they can't escape and harm or be harmed by anyone.
Makoto threw away his old ideology of solving all mysteries and instead chose to create as many as he needed to and commit as many crimes as he needed to so he could keep Kanai Ward safe, completely changing as a person in the process.
Eventually, Yuma would convince Makoto to allow the citizens of Kanai Ward the freedom to choose what should be done to protect them. Once the citizens of Kanai Ward chose to open the borders around Kanai Ward, Makoto would put funding into medication that could be used to allow homunculi to function in the sunlight and allowing them to leave the city.
Master Detectives of the World Detective Agency[]
Just like Yuma, Makoto manipulated the other four Master Detectives into removing Yomi from his position of power. Makoto has a lot of faith in the skills, intelligence and Fortes of the Master Detectives to the point that he knew they could put up some resistance against the Peacekeepers without them being immediately killed by them.
To some extent, Makoto does care for their safety, or at the very least would rather them not be harmed, which is why Makoto used fake bodies instead of killing the Master Detectives in order to give Yuma vital information about the homunculi.
Kurumi Wendy[]
Because of Makoto's extensive knowledge of Kanai Ward and everyone in it, Makoto knows almost everything about Kurumi, including the fact that she is the only informant in all of Kanai Ward.
Since Kurumi is one of Yuma's closest allies, Makoto both trusts her and uses her to his own ends, including throwing her into the isolated village with Yuma as morale support with her safety being guaranteed since the zombie-like homunculi don't eat each other.
After Kurumi passes out from being exposed to sunlight, Makoto chooses to help her by turning the cloud-generating device back on. He does so because of how he wishes to protect all homunculi.
Martina Electro[]
“ | Martina: Makoto stopped the execution order you issued. I am here today thanks to him. | „ |
~ Martina about her loyalty to Makoto. |
Martina and Makoto aren't seen interacting until the end of Chapter 4 where it is revealed that Makoto saved Martina from her planned execution that Yomi tried to enforce onto her.
Because of this, Martina is extremely loyal to Makoto and basically changed her entire outlook to match Makoto's views on criminal rights. Makoto in turn views Martina as an extremely trustworthy individual, even going as far as to try and convince her to stay in the Peacekeepers now that Yomi has been removed from power, Makoto not holding any grudge despite Martina being Yomi's right-hand woman.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Homunculi immortality: As a homunculus clone, Makoto is immortal. Makoto does not age once he has reached his mid-20s and if Makoto were to ever be killed, then his body will automatically revive after 24 hours, however, he will lose most of his mental facilities and essentially become a zombie with a slim chance of him maintaining some of his morality while losing most of his memories.
- Perfect Homunculi biology: On top of every benefit from being a homunculus, Makoto has the benefit of being the only Perfect Homunculi to exist. As a Perfect Homunculi, Makoto doesn't bear the defective homunculi's weakness to sunlight, allowing him to stand out in the sun with no negative effects, effectively making him the only person in Kanai Ward to be active if the cloud-generating device were to fail.
- Genius intelligence: Being the homunculus clone of Number One, the greatest detective at the World Detective Organization, Makoto is naturally a genius. With his intelligence, Makoto is able to effortlessly build inventions and code machines far greater than almost anyone aside from potentially Dr. Huesca, Makoto uses this gift to build the machine that permanently coats Kanai Ward in storm clouds that blocks out the sun and code the AI at his home to only allow those that Makoto wishes to enter his home. Makoto also uses this genius to make elaborate plans, allowing him to manipulate both all of the Master Detectives, including an amnesiac Number One, as well as Yomi Hellsmile, the Director of the Peacekeepers.
- Forensic Forte: Coalescence: Since Makoto is the homunculus clone of Number One, he has access to Number One's Forensic Forte. His Forensic Forte is Coalescence, the ability that allows Makoto to use anyone else's Forte as long as he is holding their hands. Makoto can also copy other abilities such as a person's handwriting or supernatural abilities such as Yuma's Solution Blade.
- Solution Blade: After using his Coalescence Forte on Yuma Kokohead, Makoto was able to enter the Mystery Labyrinth and use his own Solution Blade. The Solution Blade is a blade that allows Makoto to cut through mysteries and launch large words at someone as a harmful projectile.
- Acrobatics & Swordsmanship: In the Mystery Labyrinth, Makoto's natural acrobatic skill and skill with a sword are vastly increased, allowing him to leap tens of meters through the air and easily perform somersaults and flips.
- Telekinesis: While inside the Mystery Labyrinth, Makoto gains the inexplicit ability to telekinetically lift and throw objects,
- Q manipulation: While inside the Mystery Labyrinth, Makoto has the ability to manipulate Qs, small creatures that are made from the Mystery Labyrinth in order to prevent people from solving the mysteries of the Labyrinth. With the Qs, Makoto can merge with the Mystery Phantoms they create to become a human-Mystery Phantom hybrid with this form giving Makoto a raincoat and many supernatural abilities.
- Flight: After fusing with his Mystery Phantom, Makoto is able to casually levitate and fly through with ease, giving Makoto the ability to fight in the air.
- Mystery Phantom duplicates: Makoto can make multiple Mystery Phantoms to aid him in battle. Makoto uses these Mystery Phantoms as a way to swarm his opponent, attack alongside Makoto or even as body shields to protect himself.
- Extra Solution Blades: With the power of the Mystery Phantoms, Makoto is able to generate additional Solution Blades, up to ten at a time, all of which he can telekinetically control with his mind. Makoto is able to use all of these Solution Blades at the same time so he can swing them all at once, use them to make a barrier to block attacks or combine them to make a make-shift drill.
- Giant Mystery Phantom form: If Makoto fuses with multiple Mystery Phantom duplicates, Makoto is able to transform into a giant muscular form. This form is as large as a building and wields a massive Solution Blade. It is defeated shortly after it is shown off so it is unknown if it has any additional abilities.
Quotes[]
Chapter 2: A Silent Curtain Call[]
“ | Hi there, nice to meet you. I sure look suspicious, huh? | „ |
~ Makoto's first line, greeting Yuma in his home. |
Chapter 3: No Longer a Detective[]
“ | Makoto: Oh? If you want to know who I am, does that mean you wish to be friends with me? Yuma: F-Friends? Makoto: Yes. I want to be your friend. How about you? |
„ |
~ Makoto trying to gain Yuma's trust. |
“ | Oh, that's right. I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm sorry, it's been so long since I've built personal relationships that I don't remember the procedure. My name is Makoto Kagutsuchi. Nice to meet you. | „ |
~ Makoto introducing himself by name to Yuma. |
“ | Oh, this? Interested? This is like a family heirloom to me. It has quite a history. It is said my family has demonic blood flowing through us. Normal people who gaze upon my face lose their sanity. That's why I must keep my face hidden, or I can't even hold a normal conversation. So what is this demonic blood, you might ask? I did my own research on the matter. It goes back 500 years. Back then, this land was comprised of over 200 kingdoms, great and small... | „ |
~ Makoto making up an elaborate lie about his mask. |
“ | Yuma: Who... Are you? Makoto: I'm just a man living at the highest point in town. Do you need to know more than that? |
„ |
~ Makoto being vague about his identity. |
“ | Makoto: Even as we speak, a disaster strikes Kanai Ward. You could say Amaterasu Corporation is responsible. For years now, the tragedies occuring in this city are the result of an upset of the power balance within Amaterasu. Yuma: The power balance? Makoto: The company has gotten too big. Each segment has grown independent and now lacks overall cohesion. As a result, the power structure has been completely thrown off balance. Amidst it all, the Peacekeepers took charge. They've imposed strict rules within the company and eliminated anyone who refused to obey. The corporation was on the brink of collapse, but the Peacekeepers managed to regain order. And I'm sure you can easily imagine what happened after that... Right? |
„ |
~ Makoto about the troubles in Kanai Ward created by Amaterasu Corporation. |
“ | They fly the banner of order and force laws only convenient to themselves on the people. Both Amaterasu Corporation and Kanai Ward belong to them now. They do as they please. They can overturn laws on a whim, which permitted bribes to be exchanged at a rampant pace. This is why the city continues to erode away. So much so that this gloomy rain cannot wash it clean. | „ |
~ Makoto about how corrupt the Peacekeepers have control over the city. |
“ | Hello, Yomi. I'll take care of the rest, so you can leave now. | „ |
~ Makoto convincing Yomi to spare the Master Detectives. |
“ | Huh? You want to know why I'm wearing this mask? Well... I was born a prince in a certain nation, but while still young, I was dragged into a revolution... The nation was overthrown and the royal family had their titles stripped away. My family was killed... I was the only one spared. The revolutionaries imprisoned me because they had other plans. I was forced to wear a mask to conceal my face. That mask was designed to never come off. And now, the mask has become my face. | „ |
~ Makoto making up another elaborate lie about his mask. |
Chapter 4: The Imperfect Outsider[]
“ | The only one who will be having Nightmares is you. | „ |
~ Makoto stopping Yomi right before he could kill Yuma and Vivia |
“ | Martina is right. Kanai Ward... Belongs to everyone who lives here. It doesn't belong to you!!! | „ |
~ Makoto confronting Yomi Hellsmile. |
Chapter 5: And There I Was Gone[]
“ | Please be mindful of sudden accidents while on the factory tour. If you are electrocuted, fall from a great height, or are mistaken as food and eaten... You will join your friend in front of you. So please practice caution. | „ |
~ Makoto, while pretending to be an automated announcer, warning Yuma about the hazards of the factory while Desuhiko's "dead body" is in front of him. |
“ | Oh, how tragic... Despite all my warnings, it seems another one of your friends was devoured. No matter how strong they think they are, they're powerless against overwhelming numbers. | „ |
~ Makoto after Yuma finds Halara's "dead body". |
“ | Have you grown tired of the tour yet? Because I sure have. Regardless, you deserve respect. You've lost your home, your friends, and I hear you've even lost your memories. What drives you to keep going to such lengths? Justice? Friendship? Or do you just go whichever way the wind blows? | „ |
~ Makoto confronting Yuma over the intercom, asking why he's still going. |
“ | Exposing the truth doesn't always lead to salvation... You should know that better than anyone. You've learned it full well. | „ |
~ Makoto trying to push Yuma into abandoning his search for the truth. |
“ | Yuma: This is my wish for everyone who has fallen victim, what I'm praying for! Makoto: Prayer is the loneliest activity one can partake in. Even if your friends prayed, none of you would reach another. But please, carry on with your solitary struggle. |
„ |
~ Makoto saying how pointless Yuma's actions are against him. |
“ | We should turn off the alarm before we celebrate our reunion. Aren't you worried about Kurumi's body? Here, lend me a hand. | „ |
~ Makoto manipulating Yuma into turning back on the cloud-generating device as well as giving Makoto the chance to activate his Coalescence Forte. |
“ | I don't owe you any explanation. But you've made it this far, so you deserve something. As you know, Amaterasu's experiment resulted in defective homunculi. Do you know the fatal flaw within all defective homunculi? One is an extreme decrease in intelligence when they're resurrected. In other words, they turn into zombies. They may be immortal, but upon returning from death, they become monsters that seek human flesh. The other fatal flaw... Is sunlight. When defective homunculi encounter sunlight, they become extremely stressed and lose control. They'll return to normal if you block out the sun, but while they're berserk, they lose all reason and memories. To be exact, it's an allergic reaction to ultraviolet rays. If left in this state, they will eventually die. But things will continue to spiral out of control. Once they die, they turn into zombies. In other words, sunlight is the greatest enemy of the defective homunculi. | „ |
~ Makoto telling Yuma all about the defective homunculi. |
“ | Makoto: Without me, Kanai Ward would have never been rebuilt! I used everything at my disposal to cover up the tragedy that took place here. But there was no way for me to fix the entire city on my own. Yuma: Why... Did you do it? Why do such a thing...? Makoto: You want to know why? I did it to protect Kanai Ward, of course. Because I love this city. I'd do anything for it, but you already know that! |
„ |
~ Makoto as to why he covered up the "Blank Week Mystery" and the truth about everyone in Kanai Ward being homunculi. |
“ | Makoto: If all he [Yomi] did was use the Peacekeepers to push his weight around, that would've been fine. But, of all things, he was working with Dr. Huesca, trying to leak homunculus information. If that happened, the Unified Government wouldn't remain silent. Kanai Ward's secrets would be exposed to the world. Still...I couldn't expel him myself; the Peacekeepers had grown too strong in this city. Yuma: You pitted us against the Peacekeepers, and you got what you wanted by eliminating Yomi! Shinigami: So everyone gathering here was all part of that masked guy's plan? Yuma: And because you achieved your goal, you're trying to eliminate us now that we've outlived our usefulness?! |
„ |
~ Makoto telling Yuma why he lured the Master Detectives to Kanai Ward. |
“ | Makoto: There's where you're mistaken... Coalescence isn't Shinigami's power. Yuma: Huh? Makoto: Coalescence is the Forte of the World Detective Organization's Number One. |
„ |
~ Makoto slyly revealing his and Yuma's true identity when Yuma discovers that he used his Coalescence to enter the Mystery Labyrinth. |
“ | You discarded your pride as a detective and made a pact with a death god to go around killing people... You are dangerous. If you are not stopped, you will destroy all of Kanai Ward. That's why I must defeat you! To protect this city! | „ |
~ Makoto hypocritically condemning Yuma for executing criminals and ruining Kanai Ward in the process, despite being responsible of the exact same extremist behavior and the results of committing to it and antagonizing his enemies in the process. |
“ | To eradicate all unsolved mysteries from this world and bring happiness to everyone... As your clone, I want the same thing. And that's why I'll protect everyone in Kanai Ward. These pitiful homunculi didn't ask to be made and neither did I! | „ |
~ Makoto during his final showdown with Yuma. |
“ | This is the real perfect solution... The only difference is... The world hasn't caught up to me yet. The WDO belongs to me... The Unified Government will soon fall into my hands. Or so I believed. But I can only lie to the people of Kanai Ward for so long. We're coming to a tipping point. I know the end will come eventually. But... There's no turning back. What am I... Supposed to do? What else should I sacrifice? What can I do to save everyone? All this time, I've carried this burden alone... I can't... Take it anymore... Somebody... Help me... | „ |
~ Makoto beginning to break down after Yuma defeats him. |
“ | I don't fight to lose. As the real me, you should know that. Only one of us will leave this Mystery Labyrinth... My intention was to review our answers here. It looks like the conclusion has been made. I realised something the first time I came to this city... There was no perfect solution for Kanai Ward's mysteries. There's a great contradiction here. In order to follow through with the perfect solution, I had to commit another crime. I despise unsolved mysteries more than anyone else. And yet I ended up creating even more. The mysteries have consumed me. | „ |
~ Makoto after being defeated by Yuma, lamenting on his actions. |
“ | What's wrong? If you refuse, you will be yielding to me. I'll become death or the devil himself for the sale of Kanai Ward. Now, choose. Either you reap my soul, destroy the Mystery Labyrinth, and expose the truth of Kanai Ward... Or give up and remain here forever... What is your solution?! | „ |
~ Makoto forcing Yuma to choose between killing Makoto or letting himself be killed by the Mystery Labyrinth. |
“ | Makoto: What you're suggesting is no solution. You're just admitting defeat. If you stay here, Kanai Ward's mysteries will never be cleared. Happiness can't thrive wrapped in mystery. Who will save Kanai Ward in the real world? Yuma: You will be there for them. |
„ |
~ Makoto being trusted by Yuma into saving Kanai Ward. |
“ | I've done everything alone until now. Even before coming to this city when I was the WDO's Number One... I've always decided everything on my own to try to reach the perfect solution. We share the same DNA, and yet... You're trusting someone else to find the solution for you? | „ |
~ Makoto being unsure in Yuma's plan to have others help him. |
“ | Hmhm... You've got a good partner. I see... You used to solve everything on your own. But since you lost everything along with your memories... You accepted the help of your partner... And surpassed your former self. Haha, how ironic. Very well... You can count on me. I'll take care of the rest. I'm now going to cancel... My Coalescence... | „ |
~ Makoto praising Yuma before agreeing to his terms and leaving the Mystery Labyrinth. |
Gallery[]
Images[]
Videos[]
Trivia[]
- One of the biggest hints that Makoto is a clone of Yuma is that he is visibly the same height as Yuma, whereas every other character in the game is much taller or shorter than him.
- Makoto's namesake is presumably taken from Makoto Naegi, the main protagonist of the Danganronpa franchise before Makoto's story was released, which is ironic considering their contrasting personalities and moral alignments. While Makoto Naegi is a hero with no corrupting qualities, Makoto Kagutsuchi is a cartoonishly heinous villain with redeeming qualities like being affable and well-intentioned despite said heinousness.
- Makoto's last name, Kagutsuchi, comes from the fire God and patron deity of blacksmiths of the Shinto religion. This name was likely chosen for Makoto for two reasons:
- Makoto being a brilliant inventor is likely a reference to Kagutsuchi being the God of blacksmiths.
- Kagutsuchi is pacified by the water from his sister which is similar to how Makoto uses the artificial rain that he creates to pacify the homunculi of Kanai Ward.
- Before Master Detective Archives: Rain Code was released, all information about Makoto only referred to him as "Masked Man", choosing to not use his real name despite his full name being revealed in the opening of the game.
- Makoto is one of the only major characters in the game not to appear in any of the pre-release 4-koma comedy manga chapters.
- Makoto contrasts his company predecessors from the Danganronpa franchise who also serve as main antagonists, Junko Enoshima, Monaca Towa, Kazuo Tengan, and Tsumugi Shirogane, in many ways, though most predominantly that Makoto is wholly well-intentioned in his villainy even despite the extremes he goes to while the aforementioned villains are driven purely by sadism and a desire to spread despair.
- Makoto openly and successfully falsely befriends the main protagonist and much more convincingly pretends to be an ally to him up to his obvious reveal as the final antagonist, even more than Tsumugi is to Kaede Akamatsu and then Shuichi Saihara, even if for pragmatic reasons, because his position draws no suspicion, unlike how Tsumugi behaves as a false participant of the Killing School Semester, whose behavior is a contradiction to the situation the Ultimate students are trapped in, which causes everyone to avoid her and refuse to actually trust her to keep her mask as one of their allies. Makoto is a CEO who is clearly malicious just from his appearance alone, but his characterization allows him to take advantage of the fact that he has nothing openly suspicious or incredulous about him, which allows him to act as a false ally more convincingly. Tsumugi's blatant sarcasm throughout her attempt at being a killing game participant makes it increasingly obvious that she is deceiving everyone and has a real agenda because of the killing game's rules and general confinement, as well as that she is only a cosplayer, a role that doesn't necessitate the behavior she displays during the story.
- While he is a mastermind, he masterminds the control over a city and allows the citizens to kill each other simply through negligence, rather than intentionally masterminding a game where players are forced into killing each other for personal benefit. The citizens under his command are willingly choosing murder as a direct result of his control over Kanai Ward and as an indirect consequence of it. Even Monaca Towa outright sends Monokuma units out to kill the citizens, a clear contrast to Makoto who only causes many deaths through his refusal to discipline the Peacekeepers and the dystopia he has control over.
- His victims are amnesiac like the killing game participants, those being the defective homunculi and Number One of the World Detective Organization, who has to hide his identity to confront Makoto, but unlike the killing game masterminds, the homunculi were unintentionally given that amnesia by someone besides Makoto and Number One's amnesia was self-inflicted. However, this doesn't stop Makoto from choosing to exploit it for personal gain anyway.
- Makoto has legitimate tragedy in his backstory, making him inconsistent, being a homunculus that was created against his will who has to live with the guilt of causing the creation of Kanai Ward's defective homunculi, prompting him to protect them through extremely unethical, undesired means. The masterminds of the killing games have none of this and only created the games because they wanted to, not using their past to justify their reasoning for creating them.
- A more obvious but subtle aspect is that Makoto has a blatantly villainous appearance, being a short, lean man in purple with a daunting mask, a dissonant and high-pitched voice, and an unnatural hairstyle. The antagonists from Danganronpa all have unsuspecting designs that wouldn't look out of place in a normal environment and wouldn't arouse suspicion from others (Makoto's appearance and voice doing such for the other characters in-universe), including Monaca Towa who looks relatively innocent even with her odd color palette and Kazuo Tengan who still appears like a normal elderly man.
- Despite being the obvious main antagonist of the game due to his appearance and personality, as not only the CEO of Amaterasu Corporation, the main organization antagonizing the detectives, but also as the main culprit the detectives are investigating for their case, Makoto spends his appearances up to Chapter 5 doing nominally "heroic" acts as part of his true plot to oust Yomi Hellsmile from power, like saving Yuma after he washed up on the shore when Yomi destroyed the detective agency, stopping Yomi from attacking him in Chapter 3, helping him enter Amaterasu Corporation HQ in Chapter 4, and stopping Yomi from killing Yuma and Vivia at the end of Chapter 4 by exposing him after distracting him with the Fink the Slaughter Artist incident. All of these are solely steps in his main plan and don't make him actually heroic since they are solely part of his ousting plan, which would involve killing Yuma after success, and in the background, he aided in the Chapter 4 murder himself by introducing Yakou Furio to Fink, so all of these acts are completely superficial on his part.
- During the final battle, the game's protagonist, Yuma Kokohead/Number One, fails to recognize Makoto's blatant abuse of power as CEO of Amaterasu Corporation to cover up The Blank Week Mystery with the cloud machine and coercion of Kanai Ward's residents as a crime, and seems to immediately excuse him for it because of his intentions. It's only when his mass kidnapping in the "Great Global Mystery" case is brought up that Makoto's held accountable.
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Amaterasu Corporation Amaterasu Peacekeepers Others Civilians Others |