Yuichiro Takiguchi

Yuichiro Takiguchi (滝口優一郎 "Takiguchi Yūichirō") is a character in the novel "Battle Royale", and the film and manga of the same name. In the film he was played by Junichi Naitou.

Takiguchi has O-type blood

Pre-Program

Yuichiro Takiguchi is one of the class of third-year students at the fictional Shiroiwa Junior High School. He was quite a short boy, who looked slightly younger than his age. He was a big anime fan, and many of his classmates thought of him as an otaku. He had been close friends with Tadakatsu Hatagami since primary school. In manga, we can see in some flashbacks that he was friends with Yoshio Akamatsu and Keita Iijima. He found it very easy to sympathise with people — for example, he did not believe that Mitsuko Souma was an evil person, but that she must have some deep seated reason for acting the way she does. He also had a slight crush on Mitsuko.

During the Program

Yuichiro's issued weapon in the novel was an aluminium baseball bat. In the manga version, he is issued with a Smith & Wesson Model 29(629) with performance center, but swaps weapons with Tadakatsu. He manages to meet up with his friend Tadakatsu, and they choose to travel together. When Mitsuko creeps up on Tadakatsu, intending to kill him, Yuichiro interrupted her. The two of them took Mitsuko hostage, Tadakatsu refusing to trust her. While Tadakatsu sleeps, Yuichiro releases her from the ropes tying her hands, and the two of them chat.

Later on, Mitsuko tries to kill Tadakatsu after seducing him. Tadakatsu puts up a fight, and chases Mitsuko with his gun. Yuichiro steps in her way to protect her, and is shot twice in the stomach. As he dies, Mitsuko kisses him, then shoots him three more times to put him out of his misery.

Throughout the whole story, Yuichiro is the only person Mitsuko shows compassion for, and the only person whose death upsets her.

In the manga, after stabbing Tadakatsu, Mitsuko proceeds to fondle Yuichiro's genitals, unzips his trousers, and begins to perform oral sex on him, before essentially raping the helpless boy. During his death throes he screams for her to stop; Mitsuko carries on regardless, convinced that she can take away his pain, even though his gunshot wounds are visibly aggravated. Mitsuko misinterprets his protests as insulting, then stabs him in the face. Mitsuko is angered by Yuichiro's death, as, from her point of view, he was "taking her trust." In Mitsuko's mind, he broke his promise by dying.

In the film, it is implied that Mitsuko lures both Yuichiro and Tadakatsu to their deaths with the promise of sex. After stabbing the two to death, Mitsuko is seen getting dressed and leaving behind their naked corpses.