For the manga, please go to Shogo Kawada (Manga). For the film, please go to Shogo Kawada (Film).
Appearance[]
Shogo Kawada (川田 章吾, Kawada Shōgo) is well built and is intimidating to most of the class. Due to this, not many trust him in the game. He is the only student with facial hair, perhaps because he's a year older, and is covered in many scars from the previous class program he won. He has a knife wound above his left eye, as well as gunshot wounds on his back. Shogo has very short hair and is built like a middleweight boxer.
Backstory[]
His father was a doctor who was killed by the government after he protested Shogo's involvement in the program. Shogo learnt some medical skills from him that allowed him to help treat Noriko Nakagawa in the program. He knows how to drive a boat and car and is very resourceful and due to his experience in the Class C program. He smokes, can cook well and is a competent hacker.
Shogo is kind and has a sense of humor once he lets his guard down. He joined Class 3-B a few months before the program but very few people had heard him speak. He is quiet and reserved, which intimidates his classmates. In order to appear tough, Ryuhei Sasagawa tries to intimidate him on his first day, but after exchanging only a few words, Ryuhei runs to Kazuo Kiriyama, crying. While many students assumed there would be a fight between Kazuo and Shogo, nothing ever happened, which leaves the class in relative peace.
Class 3-C Program[]
Shogo's objective in the Class 3-C program was to protect his girlfriend Keiko Onuki. She ran from him after she left the school and he waited for her. Later, he finds Keiko dead, and silently stays with her body for a long time. Shogo killed some of his classmates during the program, though it is undisclosed how many, and was left with physical scars. he was also put in the hospital for over a whole school year that replaced his regular high school.
Friends and Enemies[]
Due to being a transfer student and knowing that the class was going to be forced into the program, Shogo didn't make any attempts to make new friends, nor did he have any real enemies. Because of this, not many of his classmates trusted him due to his large build and scars. Students like Yutaka Seto would refer to Shogo as Shogo-san, which is a title of respect. Because of his previous involvement in the Kobe Class 3-C program he became wary of trusting unfamiliar people.
Class 3-B Program[]
After leaving the classroom, Shogo goes to get supplies at the general store on the island. At some point on the first night, he spots Shinji Mimura in a house, but does not approach him. The next morning, he wanders around the island and then comes to the shrine where he hears a gunshot nearby. He finds Kyoichi Motobuchi holding Shuya Nanahara at gunpoint. Shogo shouted at Kyoichi to stop, but Kyoichi takes a shot at Shogo, who ducks and fires back at Kyoichi's right arm, blowing it right off. Kyoichi uses his remaining arm to retrieve his gun, prompting Shogo to kill Kyoichi by shooting him in the stomach. Following the action, Noriko Nakagawa rejoins Shuya, who explains to Shogo that they are allied. Shogo makes the decision to ally with them, remarking that they make a nice couple.
After explaining to Shuya that he had no choice but to kill Kyoichi, they leave the area. He tends to Noriko's wound using his past medical expertise. He then reveals that he has a way off the island but can only explain when everyone outside of their group is dead, but he isn't against the group getting bigger. Shuya and Noriko agree to this in the hopes of building their group. Shortly after their alliance, their conversation is cut short by the sound of Yumiko Kusaka and Yukiko Kitano using a megaphone to encourage the other classmates to join them. Shogo fires his shotgun into the air in the hopes of deterring them and giving them the chance to escape any assailants, but they persist, resulting in their deaths at the hands of Kazuo Kiriyama. While Shuya and Noriko are shaken by their deaths, Shogo has a pessimistic outlook, believing that their call for peace was always going to end with their inevitable deaths.
Later on, Shogo and Shuya take Noriko to the clinic, as she develops a fever, possibly sepsis. Shogo is uncertain about going to the clinic, but after Shuya threatens to end their alliance, he goes with them. After treating her, he prepares food for the three of them. Later in the night, Hiroki Sugimura approaches the clinic, and Shogo is hesitant to trust him until he checks his body for weapons, and Shuya vouches for him. Hiroki says he cannot stay, as he is trying to find Kayoko Kotohiki. Shogo offers Hiroki a chance to join them later on, whether or not he manages to find Kayoko. In order to find them again, he tells Hiroki that if he makes two fires side by side to listen for the sound of a bird call. He reveals that he has a bird call whistle, which he will play for fifteen seconds every fifteen minutes.
As the clinic is about to become a forbidden zone, the trio leave the clinic, where they are soon ambushed by Kazuo. Shuya acts as a diversion, causing Kazuo to chase after him, giving Shogo the chance to escape with Noriko. Shortly after Shinji blows up the farmhouse, Noriko worries for Shuya's safety. Shogo reassures her by telling her that, despite the fact that he does not believe in superstition, he always believed that he has some kind of sixth sense, and he felt that Shuya was still alive. He then encourages her to get some rest while he takes watch.
Later after the lighthouse massacre, Shuya reunites with Shogo and Noriko again, following Shogo's signal. Later, they see two fires, and Shogo continues using the birdcall, believing it is Hiroki signaling that he is ready to join them. However, the announcement reveals that Hiroki and Kayoko are now dead, and that the only surviving student outside of their alliance is Kazuo. Shogo realizes that they had been giving away their location to Kazuo. While they flee, Noriko gets injured by trip wires that Kazuo set up. Shogo finds a car and ushers his allies in, and as Kazuo finds a minivan, they get into a car chase with their final enemy. Eventually, when neither side can kill each other, the car chase becomes a shootout with the cars being used as a cover.
When Shogo has the advantage, he shoots Kazuo's minivan until he is certain that there is no way that Kazuo could still be alive. Kazuo gets shot and plays dead with his bulletproof vest. He then uses the opportunity of the three celebrating to shoot Shogo. Just as Kazuo is about to shoot Shuya, Noriko kills Kazuo with their final gun. Shogo then goes over to Kazuo's body and pretends to fire the last shot in order to spare Noriko the guilt of killing someone.
Shogo then takes Shuya and Noriko to the mountainside, shrouded in trees, in order to give them a final look at Shiroiwa. He then asks Shuya for his gun, and when he hands it over, Shogo points it at them, claiming that he had been using them in order to make it this far, and now plans to kill them. Two gunshots ring out into the night. He returns to the school, where Kinpatsu Sakamochi escorts him onto the boat.
Sakamochi asks Shogo various questions and explains that the purpose of the program is to keep the citizens of the country too terrified to stand up to the government. As he talks, the sound of a helicopter can be heard over the boat, catching Shogo's attention. Sakamochi then reveals that he believes that Shuya and Noriko are still alive, and that the helicopter is dropping a poisonous gas, ensuring it would kill any surviving people on the island. Shogo drops his facade, becoming visibly distressed, when Shuya and Noriko come in through the door. While Sakamochi is distracted, Shogo takes a sharpened pencil and drives it through his throat.
Shogo then takes Shuya and Noriko to the steering wheel of the ship, giving Shuya directions on how to navigate. Shuya is confused by this, and Shogo explains that he does not think he will be able to accompany Shuya and Noriko to America. He then collapses as a result of the earlier gunshot wound from Kazuo. He asks Shuya and Noriko to continue living their lives, and not to live in pursuit of revenge. As he dies, Shuya places the birdcall in his hand and bursts into tears.
Etymology[]
- The name Shogo means "chapter, section" (章) (shō), and "me, I" (吾) (go)
- Shogo's surname Kawada means "river, stream" (川) (kawa), and "field, rice paddy" (田) (da)
Trivia[]
- The novel is the only version where Shogo does not kill Keiko. In both the film and the manga, he instinctively shoots her when he mistakenly believes she is about to kill him.