| “ | "I'm weak, I'm useless, but I'll stay by your side; I'll protect you." | ” |
–Shuya, declaring his intention to protect Noriko Nakagawa | ||
For the novel, please go to Shuya Nanahara (Novel). For the manga, please go to Shuya Nanahara (Manga).
Shuya Nanahara (七原 秋也, Nanahara Shūya) is a major character in Battle Royale and Battle Royale II: Requiem.
Backstory[]
Shuya playing guitar in the orphanage.
Shuya's mother left when he was in 4th grade and on his first day of 7th grade, he came home to find his father dead from hanging. Shuya was put into an orphanage where he met his best friend Yoshitoki Kuninobu. Yoshitoki is the one who taught Shuya how to play the guitar after he quit baseball.
Friends and Enemies[]
He's best friends with Yoshitoki Kuninobu who he met in the orphanage and is friends with Shinji Mimura, Hiroki Sugimura, and Noriko Nakagawa; he trusts them enough that when the game starts, his immediate plan is to meet up with them and come up with a plan. He's mutual friends with Megumi Eto, Keita Iijima, Yutaka Seto, and Takako Chigusa.
Before the Program[]
Before Kitano resigned, Class B decided to take a day off and skip school, Shuya included; he participated in the basketball game against Class A, which Class B won. Shuya decided to go on the class trip; while on the bus, he chatted with Yoshitoki, Noriko, and Megumi; Noriko offered him cookies she made, but he refused. Shuya fell asleep after breathing in a sleeping gas pumped into the bus, but woke up only to be knocked out by an attendant; he was then transported to an island and fitted with an explosive collar.
Shuya cries over Nobu's dead body.
Shuya, along with the rest of the class, woke up in a classroom in the island’s school. Unnerved by the presence of Shogo Kawada and Kazuo Kiriyama, Shuya rushed over to the window to watch a helicopter land in front of the school. Shuya was shocked to see that Kitano had returned. When Kitano asked the class if they knew the BR Act law, Shuya kept quiet, obviously knowing the law, but afraid to say it aloud. Shuya was horrified upon seeing Masao Hayashida's corpse. When Fumiyo Fujiyoshi was killed, Shuya panicked and ran for the door trying to escape before running towards the back of the classroom when the soldiers began firing; When Noriko got hit by a bullet, Shuya rushed to check on her with Yoshitoki and Megumi. When Yoshitoki's collar got activated, Shuya tried to get to him but couldn't before his collar detonated.
When Shuya's name was called, he gave the bus photo to Noriko and told he would wait for her before grabbing his school bag and walking towards the front of the room; he caught his supply bag and ran out of the school.
During the Program[]
When Shuya got outside, he took a second to collect his bearings before hearing a girl call his name. He turns around to find Mayumi Tendo with an arrow in her neck, who dies shortly after; he's then attacked by Yoshio Akamatsu, who killed Mayumi. After knocking Yoshio down with his flashlight, Shuya runs off with Noriko, who has just come out, and they run off into a cave where Shuya dresses the wound to Noriko’s arm and they then agree that they trust each other and they will stick together.
Shuya and Noriko meet Shogo Kawada face to face.
The next day, while walking on a path, the two get ambushed by Tatsumichi Oki, who tries to kill the two but dies when he and Shuya fall down a hill and his ax gets lodged in the top of his head; then Kyoichi Motobuchi starts shooting at them and declares he would survive and get into a good college; Shuya yells at him to stop but he fires at them before getting killed by Shogo. The three then hear yelling from atop a hill; using Noriko's binoculars, they spot Yukiko Kitano and Yumiko Kusaka who're trying to get everyone to gather and discuss things as a group; before anyone can do anything the pair gets gunned down from behind by Kazuo.
Shuya checks on Noriko after she collapses.
Shuya recovering at the lighthouse.
Shuya and Noriko confront Kitano.
Noriko then falls ill and Shuya starts to take her to the island clinic. He and Kawada then treat Noriko at the clinic. Kawada’s father was a doctor so Kawada knows how to treat her. Shuya gets separated from the others shortly after they leave the clinic when Kazuo fires at them. Shuya leads him away from the others but is shot and almost killed. Shuya is saved by Hiroki, who turns up just in time to help him. Hiroki then leaves Shuya with Yukie and the group she has formed in the Lighthouse and goes off to find Kayoko Kotohiki. Yuko Sakaki, who witnessed Oki getting killed with the hatchet and believed that Shuya did it, hears that Shuya is well and tries to poison him with potassium cyanide, which she got for her weapon, but accidentally poisons Yuka Nakagawa instead. This leads to Satomi Noda killing all the girls except Yuko. Shuya tries to break out of the room he was locked up in when he hears the gunshots, but gets let out by Yuko, who tearfully apologizes for forgetting they were her friends before running off. Shuya goes downstairs and is distraught to find his friends dead and rushes to the top of the lighthouse to find Yuko dead from suicide. Kazuo kills Yutaka Seto, Keita Iijima, and Shinji Mimura, but is blinded when Shinji sets off the bomb he wanted to use on the school. Shogo uses this advantage to kill Kazuo by shooting into his collar. Shuya fatally shoots Kitano and the trio escape the island on a fishing trawler; Shogo dies from his injuries and Shuya and Noriko return to their home town to gather their possessions, including the knife Yoshitoki used to stab Kitano, and are last seen running across a street.
Battle Royale II: Requiem[]
In BRII.
Three years after the events of Battle Royale, Shuya becomes the leader of a terrorist organization known as Wild Seven, formed by survivors of previous Battle Royale's. With a massive bombing attack on Tokyo's Shinjuku district, he and his group declare war on the government that brought about BR, and the adults who support it.
When a new group of students raid Wild Seven's base, they fire upon the kids unaware of their predicament. It is until they get close that the members of Wild Seven realize they are kids sent to kill them in a Program similar to previous Battle Royale's. After hearing a handful of collars activate, Shuya immediately orders Maki Souda to activate their EMB device and shut down the collars. He then meets with the surviving students, who argue over his view of the world and consequences of his actions.
While they are all resting, the Island is once again raided, this time by the Anti-Terrorist Attack Team (ATAT). The members of Wild Seven, and even some of the BRII students, manage to fend them off after a long battle. Several ATAT soldiers make it into Shuya's room, where he promptly kills all of them. In the confusion, one of the students, Shiori Kitano, attacks Shuya. However, she is unable to kill him. He takes the gun from her, and allows her to live, all the while unaware of her identity. After the fighting is done, Shuya tells the surviving students to leave with the children while he stays behind with the other Wild Seven members to distract the next wave.
Shuya broadcasts a message to all adults around the world, telling them of his philosophies and his reason for his war upon the adults. After the recording, the base is struck by missiles launched by the U.S. Shuya immediately has his group prepare for battle, and then evacuates the children and the BRII students. The final battle is less promising than the previous, and many of Shuya's comrades fall. In the midst of the attack, Saki Sakurai and Maki demand Shuya to escape and keep fighting while they hold off the soldiers. Reluctantly, Shuya leaves with Shiori and Takuma Aoi. The trio manages to defeat many soldiers alone, but Shiori gets fatally wounded in the process. As she lay dying, she reveals herself to be the daughter of Kitano, the previous administrator of the BR Act Shuya had killed three years ago. Curious about her father's last painting, she asks Shuya about Noriko. Shuya briefly explains Noriko's character before Shiori finally dies in his arms. Together, Shuya and Takuma take one final rush at the soldiers, with the Island being bombarded all around them.
The two survive the bombardment and meet up with the surviving students and Wild Seven children after three months; Shuya is reunited with Noriko, who finally welcomes him home and the pair leave with the children to rebuild Wild Seven.
Etymology[]
- The name Shuya means "autumn" (秋) (shū), and "also" (也) (ya)
- Shuya's surname Nanahara means "seven" (七) (nana), and "meado, field (原) (hara)