Overview |
- This page is for the character. For the bosses, see Sho Minamimoto (Enemy) or Sho Minamimoto (Taboo)
- "Tradition? Tradition is garbage! CRUNCH! I'll add it to the heap! This is my Game. And I only allow two things. Flawless calculations... and beauty!"
- — Sho Minamimoto on the second game, Joshua, Day 1
Sho Minamimoto (南師 猩 Minamimoto Shō) is the secondary antagonist in The World Ends with You and a main character in NEO: The World Ends with You. In the first game, he was a Reaper Officer, but in the sequel, he becomes a Player and joins the Wicked Twisters.
Appearance[]
In The World Ends with You, Minamimoto is a tall tan-skinned young man with grey-brown spiky hair and amber eyes. At the beginning of the game, he wears a black short-sleeved coat with an undone belt and yellow buttons, ripped grey jeans, black platform boots, a black and grey cap with two silver buttons on the front, a red bandanna, a silver necklace, an earring on his right ear, and three bracelets on his right wrist. As a result of his experimentation with Taboo Noise, Minamimoto has taboo markings covering his left hand, as well as some on his cheeks which resemble whiskers. After his revival in Week 3, his appearance changes. The Taboo markings have continued to grow over his body, now covering more of his arms and face, and forming a pattern on his torso, which is revealed by his now-tattered coat. His open coat also reveals that his jeans are fastened with a belt - the buckle is the icon for his Noise form, Leo Cantus. As the Taboo spreads further, Sho's hair begins spiking up. His clothes can be collected as Gatito threads: Pi-Face's Coat, Pi-Face's Jeans, Pi-Face's Cap, and Pi-Face's Bandanna.
In NEO: The World Ends with You, Minamimoto wears a black hoodie with a white zipper under a long, dark gray coat with a reptilian pattern - the reptile pattern is a reference to Megumi Kitaniji; the pattern used for Minamimoto is that of a crocodile, while Kitaniji's was from a python. He wears grey sweatpants with the strings untied and hanging low. He wears black laced platform boots; while some art (seen left) appears to depict him wearing a red sock on one leg with his other boot having a red inside, these are the colored tips of the boots' tongues as seen in his model,[2] other art,[3] and his Bring Arts figure.[4] Minamimoto retains his necklace from The World Ends with You, and also wears a tattered black cap obscured by his hood. His cap appears to be different from his signature cap from the first game due to its lack of studs on the brim. Notably, he doesn't have any Taboo markings on his person, aside from the whisker-like markings on his cheeks.
He coincidentally looks almost exactly like Elegant Strategy character Lord Tomonami, making Nagi Usui obsess over him.
Personality[]
- "An 18-year-old whose cruelty is second only to his intelligence. His reputation as a Reaper has gained him notoriety in spades--along with a prestigious promotion within the Reapers' ranks."
- — TWEWY’s Defunct Official Website
At 18, Sho Minamimoto is the youngest Game Master of the Reapers in Shibuya and the second Game Master Neku battles. It is revealed that he excels in all areas of leadership except one: cooperation with others. He is described as not being a "social animal" who needs space to be alone and is known to be as cruel as he is unpredictable. Everyone else finds it very difficult if not downright impossible to understand his way of thinking. Sanae Hanekoma even specifically decided to aid Sho to further his own plans, because the Reaper is so unpredictable in his intentions and actions and very difficult to track to the source.
More of an eccentric mathematician than a brawler, Sho loves to speak in mathematical terms and cannot refrain from making a calculation or from telling a math joke during conversation, to the point of obsession. He is mostly known for steamrolling conversations onto the subject of math and then walking away, leaving people confused. He even uses it for bad language, like "son of a binomial" and sometimes appearing to use his favored word "zetta" in place of a swear word. He is also very loud and shouts whenever announcing his opinions, not helped by him possessing a megaphone.
Arrogant and willing to show it in whatever way necessary, he ceaselessly tries to prove his value and his strength. He has a strange habit of gathering together junk heaps when playing the part of Game Master, claiming that they are a precisely calculated form of art. This can be viewed as performance art reflecting his views that "The world is garbage" and lacks any beauty. He often proclaims that only he himself and his beauty matters, being incredibly self-centered and having no concern for anything or anyone but his own interests. Though he has never given a detailed explanation for his motives, he is determined to erase the current Composer and become the next one, treating the idea as his ultimate goal in the confines of the UG.
Most other Reapers tend to find his way of running the Game as a Game Master frustrating, as he prefers to do his own thing with no explanation or any given direction to others. His strange way of thinking is also shown in the way he doesn't seem to care in the slightest or pay any attention to the fact that Neku (falsely) accuses him of murdering him. During Week 2 he would occasionally pop up and follow Neku and Joshua around, and Joshua tries to claim he just might have a thing for Neku as the reason, though in reality he is keeping a close eye on his target.
In the parallel universe of Another Day, Sho Minamimoto is known as Dr. Pin and is seemingly the son of the Tin Pin founder Ken Doi. Sho is far less cruel to Neku and his companions. He gives them advice on their quest to reclaim their pins and offers them his own exclusive custom Pin for them to use (which Ken Doi was quick to point was easily destroyable). Minamimoto later rejoins the group after making a new Slammer for Shuto "Shooter" Dan.
In The Animation, he is even more chaotic and sadistic than his game counterpart, making Players attack each other with a promise of false salvation and even attack his fellow Reapers, seemingly for no reason other than his own amusement as he just watches and laughs. He also mocks and looks down on Yodai Higashizawa for his loyal speeches to their superiors, calling him a suck-up with open disdain and making fun of his appearance. The way he shows up late for the meeting and widely sits down further shows his disregard for others.
NEO: The World Ends with You[]
- "I couldn't care less which plane you exist on. That's your problem to solve. The only parameters that matter to me are the rules of the Reapers' Game. Anything else is a colossal waste of my time."
- — Minamimoto to Rindo and Fret
Three years later under the new Reapers' Game run by the Shinjuku Reapers, Minamimoto is less outgoing and arrogant (though he can still be condescending to those weaker than him) but still uncooperative and enigmatic. While he still occasionally pulls out his megaphone, he is generally more calm and quiet in comparison to his past self, focusing more on quietly planning and observing (though it should be noted that he is deliberately trying to keep low profile and seems to avoid meeting Reapers who might recognize him).
He describes himself as "not following the Associative Property like other Players" and moves in and out of the Wicked Twisters throughout Week 1. While he helps them in their pursuit of survival in the Game, he declares that they have different goals and alludes to his ulterior motives beyond the Wicked Twisters. He can often be aloof to their problems or questions, considering them a waste of his time and not worthy of his attention. He also has no qualms about attacking or even erasing other teams and enjoys using his scary appearance to intimidate them. He seems uncomfortable with the way Nagi Usui fawns over him, making an uncharacteristically quick exit in the middle of one of his soliloquies the first time he notices it and later mostly seeming to ignore her, unless he's telling her to focus during battle.
At times, his advice and even compliments towards the Twisters seem sincere, like when he compliments Fret with a smile. However, he later abandons them and bluntly says he can finally ditch them as he has no further use for the Twisters. Further still, Neku, now capable of analyzing Souls, believes he has changed for the better and it's implied he has become a little less self-centered, though still mostly only caring about his own goals and helping others only if it benefits him. His Machiavellian mindset towards people and objectives remains constant from the first Game.
Notably, one of the insults Sho used in The World Ends with You was yoctogram, ten to the negative twenty-fourth power. In NEO: The World Ends with You, he uses zeptogram, ten to the negative twenty-first power. As well as being larger than a yoctogram, Minamimoto is more optimistic about his definition - while he acknowledges that a zeptogram is so infinitesimal that it almost converges with zero, it's not precisely zero. While he believes that people have more value to the world and to himself than he did in years prior, he still believes said value to be almost entirely insignificant. While he attacks the Twisters, it is stated that the several Soul Pulvis he absorbed made him unable to control himself, and he is later shown saving Koki Kariya and Coco Atarashi. He, of course, has no interest in following Coco's or anyone else's orders. He gives the Twisters some advice on how to defeat the Soul Pulvis, but refuses to give them full answers.
Story[]
The World Ends with You[]
Background[]
Much of Minamimoto's history is a mystery, although he was almost certainly a survivor of a Reapers' Game who won and chose to become a Reaper. At some point, he began to lust after the Composer's position for unclear reasons, most of which are likely his own personal ambitions.
At the start of Week 2 in The World Ends With You, Sanae Hanekoma, a Fallen Angel, taught Minamimoto how to refine Taboo Noise. This was Hanekoma's backup plan to ensure Shibuya's survival in case the Composer did not change his mind.
While seeking to become the new Composer for quite some time, prior to the start of the story, Minamimoto was made aware of Joshua's form in the RG by Hanekoma. Minamimoto believed that the Composer would be vulnerable in the Realground and was hoping to kill Joshua, but was unaware that the Composer retained some of his supernatural powers in the RG, unlike the ambitious Reaper. Minamimoto found and pursued Joshua in the RG Shibuya, eventually facing off in the Udagawa Back Streets, where Neku was admiring one of CAT's murals. Joshua shot at Minamimoto, barely missing, possibly grazing his shoulder. Minamimoto retaliated with a repeated fire, but Joshua stopped the bullets in midair and dropped them to the ground, prompting Minamimoto to flee back to the UG.
Week 2[]
Sho Minamimoto is selected as Game Master for Week 2, though he has little regard for the rules of the Game. For most of Week 2, he does not issue missions or report to the Conductor. He also begins creating Taboo Noise, erasing Reapers and Players alike. He personally meets Neku and Joshua on several occasions, mostly in order to insult them and taunt them about his intentions towards the latter of the two. Each time Sho approaches, Neku receives a severe headache for reasons unknown; it is thought that because Sho and Joshua were both present when Neku was killed, seeing them both in the same place stresses his mind and puts it on the brink of remembering what happened to him. However, since Joshua has taken this memory, he cannot recover it on his own, and is stuck with just a headache.
In his first meeting with Joshua and Neku, Minamimoto expresses surprise at one of the Players' presences and says that this brings him one iteration closer to his desired result. Although Neku believes this refers to him in some way (due to Joshua's speculation), it is later revealed as due to his recognition of Joshua (the Composer) as a Player, meaning that on Day 7, Sho could get a second chance to erase Joshua.
After Minamimoto is defeated by Neku and Joshua on the final day of Week 2, he releases a powerful Level i Flare psych, which was supposed to erase himself, Neku, and Joshua, but Joshua shoves Neku off of the Pork City building before the explosion could make contact and pretends to sacrifice himself in said explosion, while in actuality he escapes to an alternate reality to conclude the Week.
Week 3[]
Minamimoto returns partway through the third week. He emerges from a Taboo Noise refinery sigil in a new body with far greater powers, claiming it "surpasses the Composer's" at the end of Beat, Day 4. Later on during the Week, he makes his way to the Shibuya River to challenge the Composer. After a brief encounter with Neku and Beat, he is sent ahead by Mitsuki Konishi.
After Neku and Beat defeat the Game Master, they find Minamimoto further along the tunnel, crushed under a car and a soda machine, presumably by Joshua, apparently incapacitated. It should be noted that all previously seen Players, Reapers, and Noise disappear entirely upon being "killed" (erased), whereas Sho's physical body remained, leading to the conclusion that he was just knocked out (though it should also be noted that he would have to have been erased before the start of A New Day).
Later, it is revealed that in the RG before the game even started, it was in fact Joshua who killed Neku in search of a Proxy, and that Minamimoto's target had been Joshua the whole time. Joshua explains that Minamimoto was obsessed with taking over his position as Composer and had somehow discovered what his Realground self looked like even though he had suppressed his vibe to prevent this very possibility. Joshua also comments that the only reason he kept Minamimoto around was because he found Minamimoto entertaining and a strong factor in heating up the Game, but was ultimately forced to "retire him early" this time because he "overheated."
It is also revealed in the Secret Reports after the game is completed that Minamimoto's Taboo Noise experiments were secretly aided by Hanekoma. The Taboo Noise Refinery Sigil that was to revive Sho upon his death was flawed, and would not have worked had Hanekoma not gone to Udagawa and fixed it.
This Day Ends with You![]
In the alternate universe of This Day Ends with You!, Sho is known as "Dr. Pin," and seems to be the apprentice and son of ramen chef and former Tin Pin founder Ken Doi. This Sho appears much less malicious than his counterpart, and freely gives advice to Shooter, Neku, and company. Though the pins he develops are rather lacking, he does create a new Launcher for Shooter, taking on the ragged appearance of his Taboo form in the process, noting that he must have had some difficulty while creating the Omega Launcher.
A New Day[]
Sho does not appear in A New Day until the very end, when Coco Atarashi uses a new Refinery Sigil to revive Minamimoto again with the intention of making him Neku's partner in a new Reapers' Game. However this, as well as Minamimoto's actions between the three-year gap of the events of The World Ends with You and NEO: The World Ends with You, is left unclear.
NEO: The World Ends with You[]
- "He calculates every possible future using his own unique formulas and acts in accordance with the values he discovers, but he remains a mystery to all around him. He seems to have his sights set on something greater than Rindo and the gang."
- — Minamimoto's character profile
Minamimoto returns as a Player in NEO: The World Ends with You as a member of the Wicked Twisters.
Week 1[]
Minamimoto first appears on the first day when Rindo and Fret get overwhelmed by Noise. He erases them all and berates Rindo and Fret for their poor fighting, saying they have a one zeptopercent chance of surviving, if that. He explains to Fret that a zeptopercent is so infinitesimally close to zero that the two points almost converge, but not precisely. He tells them the Game's 142,857 (Rindo looks this up and finds it's a cyclic number) then announces that they have to follow his lead if they want to be part of the remainder. At Shibuya Hikarie, Minamimoto learns that pins are no longer restricted by psych level and any Player can use any pin, much to his seeming annoyance with the rules change. He helps Rindo and Fret defeat Drum 'n' Stinger, and then leaves.
Minamimoto returns on Day 2 after Rindo and Fret talk with Kubo. He states that he's not working toward the same goals as the Wicked Twisters, but will help them along the way. When Rindo and Fret ask what happens if they win, Minamimoto is apathetic and says he only cares about the rules of the Reapers' Game, telling them to ask the Game Master Shiba or one of his Reapers. Minamimoto realizes Fret's power to awaken memories and ponders what awakens this. He defeats Go-Go Beringei with Rindo and Fret, and tells them to grab the pin afterwards to count their victory before leaving - however, the pin is instead taken by Kanon Tachibana, claiming the points for the Variabeauties.
At the start of Day 3, Minamimoto instructs Rindo and Fret to skip the day's mission in order to recruit a supposedly strong player who is rumoured to carry a variety of psych pins. He continued to observe his team members from afar, but became interested in Rindo's strange actions due to the latter awakening to his Replay ability in an attempt to recruit Nagi Usui. After Rindo helped Nagi obtain an Elegant Strategy collector's pin, Minamimoto appears to the team and confirmed that Nagi is the player they have been searching for. He suspects Nagi may have a unique psych ability drawn from her player pin as well and wondered what ability it could be, but decided to leave as soon as the girl begins to become infatuated with him due to his likeness to the character Lord Tononami from the Elegant Strategy game she plays.
Minamimoto appears before Rindo and the Wicked Twisters on Day 4 and learns that they will be playing a game given by Kaichi "Susukichi" Susuki rather than following the main mission in hopes of the Ruinbringers rewarding them with enough points to escape last place. Minamimoto gives no advice to the team on the matter, but mutters to himself: "Are these zeptograms the ones that'll finally bring you out of hiding?" It is unknown exactly to whom he was referring with these words, but it in all likelihood was a reference to the Composer.
When the Day 5 mission is announced, Minamimoto advises Rindo's group that in order to take advantage of the increased points reward they get for currently being in last place, they will need to sabotage the other players to keep the points to themselves. Minamimoto already calculated the likelihood of the Deep Rivers Society interfering with them in large numbers at the end of the day, so he hinted to Rindo that he will have to 'rewrite' the outcome that will happen, testing to see if Rindo can actually go back in time.
After witnessing Rindo using his Replay ability to make choices deviating from his predictions and sabotaging the planned backup group for Fuya Kawahara's DRS team to win the battle, Minamimoto caught sight of some strange birds flying into the sky and smirked. Minamimoto was later confronted alone by Shoka Sakurane about being an unofficial Player in the game and asked what he plans to get out of helping the Wicked Twisters. Minamimoto replied that he will tell his secrets if Shoka tells her own, threatening her with his Taboo Noise powers before the Reaper gave up on questioning him further.
During the the Scramble Slam turf war event on Day 6, while Fret and Nagi wonder about Rindo's unique psych ability after talking to Kanon Tachibana, Minamimoto steps in and informs them of Rindo's ability to travel through time and its limited usage based on his observations. Minamimoto then mutters to himself that he will need to put the Replay power through an experiment to confirm his suspicions on it. He continues to assist the Wicked Twisters in taking victory in the Scramble Slam throughout the day, even bluntly telling them to eliminate all of their rivals (except the Ruinbringers, who did not participate) in their surprise final showdown in Udagawa.
On Day 7, Minamimoto expresses his disinterest in the final mission of hide-and-seek with Susukichi for the Twisters to win the Game, so he leaves the task to Rindo and his friends. By the time the Wicked Twisters have their showdown at the Expressway Underpass, Minamimoto is nowhere to be found and they were left to face off against Susukichi by themselves, with disastrous results. Rindo turns back time and calls out Minamimoto for hiding in Shibuya Hikarie, demanding his reason for being absent. Minamimoto evades the question by claiming that since Rindo is time-traveling to change their fate, Sho wouldn't know what happened in that timeline.
Minamimoto decides to test his hypothesis on Rindo's powers by participating in the fight this time, not holding back against Susukichi. Even after Minamimoto and Wicked Twisters win the fight, Susukichi is still standing. He uses the rest of his strength in an attempt to defeat Rindo, but is blocked by a mysterious masked man in black clothes, who quickly disappears. Soon after Shiba Miyakaze declares the Ruinbringers' victory due to the interference of the masked man, Minamimoto captures and absorbs one of the strange birds. Having obtained what he wanted, Sho declares to his team members that their partnership ends here and leaves the team, who would not see him for quite some time.
Week 3[]
On Day 4, after Rindo successfully thwarts Tanzo Kubo's trap using his Replay ability, Sho arrives and knocks out Kubo before he can act any further against the Wicked Twisters. While Fret and Nagi are happy to see him, Shoka and Daisukenojo 'Beat' Bito are shocked and cautious of him. Shoka warns the team of Minamimoto's nature as an ex-Reaper. Beat explains his history with Sho in the Game he played three years ago and finds it hard to believe that Minamimoto was helping the Twisters in Week 1.
While the team discusses their thoughts to why he appeared, Minamimoto attracts the attention of the strange birds that appeared after the most recent Replay. As Minamimoto absorbs them, he reveals that the birds are Noise produced from Rindo's time traveling, drawn to the differentials of the previous and current present time at a degree of interdimensionality. After determining their point of origin being Rindo's Reaper Pin, Mimamimoto loses control of the Noise he absorbed and transforms into Leo Cantus Armo, attacking the Wicked Twisters.
Proving too much for the team to handle, an injured Beat tries to help Rindo and his friends escape by using the last of his strength to hold back the berserk Leo Cantus. Just before Beat takes the final blow, Neku Sakuraba arrives and purges Minamimoto of the Noise he absorbed, reverting him back to normal. Once Minamimoto recovers, he admits that he did not foresee Neku's arrival and needs to recalculate. After analyzing how his plans and actions could not change the certain projected Inversion of Shibuya and contemplating over whether such a change to the timeline is even possible, Sho warns Rindo that his Replay ability and pin were not meant to be wielded by a mere Player. When Neku asks Sho what was he is planning to use the power for, Minamimoto replies, "to approach infinity", adding that he will need more power if he wants to avoid getting 'crunched'. Neku asks if Minamimoto knows of someone more powerful that they should watch out for. Sho confirms the possibility and tells them to find the answers themselves, and then leaves.
In the second Replay of Day 7, Kariya and the Wicked Twisters struggle to fend off the mass of Plague Noise on Cat Street until Minamimoto arrives and single-handledly wipes out the Noise with his renewed strength. Neku asks Minamimoto for his help in saving Shibuya, successfully convincing him that it would be to his benefit to protect the city he is aiming to take over from facing erasure. Minamimoto then tells Rindo that he knows the Player is using the Replay ability again and that the "trash" of Soul Pulvis created from his time traveling was too much to handle. Having concluded that the Noise in Rindo's pin were produced by displaced cognitive energy of Souls lost to time, Minamimoto advises the group that they will need to awaken the consciousness of Shibuya's living before using their cognitive energy to overwrite the energy of the lost Souls and reduce the Noise. As Minamimoto turns to leave the group to find the solution themselves, Kariya expresses his surprise at Minamimoto being the kind of person to give out advice, to which he retorts that he is only interested in helping himself before walking away. Kariya laughs at how he is a real character, but admits he can't complain so long as he is on their side.
During the plan to reawaken Shibuya, Minamimoto rescues his benefactor Coco from being cornered by a Plague Noise. He greets her with '07734' (which, when inputted in a calculator and flipped upside down, resembles "hello"), leaving her disgusted and annoyed at this number wordplay.
In the epilogue, Minamimoto is seen conversing with Coco, Kariya, and Uzuki Yashiro. Kariya admits he looks forward to Sho rejoining the Reapers, but Minamimoto refuses the idea, as he is more interested in a different problem. He tells the group that he did not factor in the Shinjuku Reapers helping in the end, but that their efforts revealed a new gleam in the turn of events: the Composer's involvement. Minamimoto then decides to leave to 'run some figures', to which Uzuki wonders if he really is still trying to become the next Composer.
It is assumed that Minamimoto was referring to Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu as the aforementioned Composer and that he is calculating another solution to take him out again. However, considering the Secret Reports which reveals that a different Composer had a hand involved in the final battle, it's possible that Minamimoto was talking about someone else. If this is the case, what he plans to do with this knowledge remains unknown.
Party in the 'Buya[]
In Another Day, Minamimoto is introduced to Rindo and his friends at the Statue of Hachiko by Hishima when they agree to participate in the Reapers' Romp. Hishima tells Minamimoto that he has found a team for the "big fella" to join. Minamimoto forces himself into Rindo's group, saying that he's not on their team; they're on his. After this, the player can speak to Hishima and switch Minamimoto (or whoever is currently not in the party) out for another team member.
At the Expressway Underpass, the team can encounter a Minamimoto in the overworld. Speaking to him reveals that it is indeed another Sho. The two challenge each other and the gang faces off with the other Minamimoto's Noise form, Felidae Cantus.
It is revealed that Minamimoto used the influence of the Soul Pulvis Noise he captured from Week 1 Day 7 to enter the Party in the 'Buya universe, which explains his absence from Week 2 and until Week 3, Day 4.
In Another Day's secret ending, Minamimoto attends the Shibuyapalooza music festival. He mentions that he is finally back to his "true value", suggesting that throughout NEO, his goal was to return to his former strength. He says that he is now ready to come after the Composer.
Relationships[]
Joshua[]
Joshua and Minamimoto seem to think of each other as challenging, interesting, and entertaining obstacles rather than as objects of detestation. Before the Reapers' Game of The World Ends with You, Minamimoto knew of Joshua's identity as the Composer and was able to recognize Joshua in his Realground form, having been supplied the information from the Fallen Angel. After failing to kill the Composer, Minamimoto fled into the Underground, realizing he was outmatched. The only reason Joshua leaves Minamimoto alive is because he "really knew how to heat up a Game" and finds him amusing. During the second week as the Game Master, Minamimoto had extensive interactions with Neku and Joshua, repeatedly following (and mocking) them after missions. At one point, Minamimoto saved Joshua from Taboo noise (only because he wanted to defeat Joshua personally on the last day). On the final day of the Game, Minamimoto is ironically crushed by one of his "art projects" thanks to Joshua's intervention.
Neku Sakuraba[]
Minamimoto has little regard for Neku and mostly sees him as background noise in the face of his true goal, which is defeating Joshua and becoming the Composer. Neku is more or less as bewildered at Minamimoto as everyone else seems to be. As of NEO, they seem to have gained more of an understanding for each other.
Minamimoto and Joshua's chase ended up in the Udagawa Back Streets, where Neku was admiring one of CAT's murals. There, he completely ignored Neku, as his target was Joshua (Neku believed on Week 2, Day 7 that Minamimoto was the one who killed him, since his memory ended at the point where Minamimoto fired in Neku's direction at Joshua).
At the end of A New Day, Coco intended for Neku and Minamimoto to be partnered up with each other for a new Reapers' Game, though this notably did not occur due to Joshua's intervention with sending Neku to now cleansed Shinjuku.
In Week 3, Day 4 of NEO: The World Ends with You, Neku returns to Shibuya just in time to save Beat from being crunched by Minamimoto transformed into Leo Cantus Armo. On the final day, he is able to convince Minamimoto to help with saving Shibuya, knowing how much he seeks the position of Composer.
Their banter during battle shows that the two have developed a bit of camaraderie since the first game, though Neku still sometimes finds Minamimoto to be uncooperative, much to the latter's amusement.
Mitsuki Konishi[]
Konishi and Minamimoto reciprocally hold little respect for each other as people, only appreciating the other's position as it can benefit themselves. Konishi dislikes Sho's blasé attitude and disregard for the processes of the Reaper's Game, and Sho only sees Konishi as a stepping stone on his journey to the top. At some point, Sho had met Konishi and nicknamed her the "Iron Frostiness". During a meeting in Week 1, Sho mocks the rules and the meeting (as well as the Game Master and their boss, the Conductor) and Konishi chastises him for his mocking attitude, though Konishi is impressed by Minamimoto's genius. However, Sho only sees her as a tool in his quest for power, threatening to turn her into "Shibuya River sludge" if she does not allow him past a wall later in the Game. On the Final Day, Konishi and Minamimoto agree that if Sho became Composer, Konishi would become the new Conductor. In exchange, Konishi allows him to travel further into the Shibuya River.
Megumi Kitaniji[]
Kitanji and Minamimoto have, at the very least, an understanding. Kitanji adopts a laissez-faire attitude about allowing Minamimoto to run the game without missions during Week 2. Minamimoto calls Kitanji "Megs", to which Kitanji shows no signs of anger (though in the non-canonical manga, he is less than pleased).
Daisukenojo "Beat" Bito[]
Beat sees Minamimoto as a dangerous adversary and is wary of his nature and abilities. At most, Minamimoto finds Beat's attitude towards him amusing, and finds his abilities a little bit above insignificant. During his first Game, Beat refers to Minamimoto by nicknames such as "Pi Face" and "Tabooty". In NEO, Beat is shocked to hear that Minamimoto was helping the Wicked Twisters during Week 1 because of how ruthless he was during Beat's first Game. Their banter during battle further suggests Beat's distrust and adversarial disposition towards Sho, though they also encourage each other rather teasingly.
Uzuki Yashiro[]
As someone who strives to move up in the bureaucracy of the Reaper's Game herself, Uzuki is resentful of Minamimoto and how he is allowed to be a Game Master despite not following the established rules and processes. Conversely, Minamimoto barely seems to acknowledge Uzuki's existence. During Week 2 of the first game, Uzuki expresses frustration at Minamimoto's neglect to follow the rules of the Reaper's Game and his command for the Reapers to stand by. When she learns Sho has created Taboo Noise, she reports this illegal act to her higher-ups. In NEO, Uzuki is offended when Minamimoto calls the Shibuya Reapers garbage Reapers.
Koki Kariya[]
Kariya seems to have a certain fondness for how Minamimoto switches things up and marches to the beat of his own drum, as Kariya also has a tendency to bend the rules for his own benefit. However, as with Uzuki, Minamimoto rarely takes note of Kariya. During Week 2 of the first game, Kariya says he enjoys Sho's unconventional take on the Game because it means he has less work to do. On Week 3 of NEO after Sho gives the Twisters advice on the strategy to overcome the Noise created by Replay, Kariya remarks that Minamimoto doesn't seem like the type of person to give out free advice. Minamimoto defensively claims that he is only helping himself by helping them, to which Kariya implies disbelief by calling him "a real character". At the end of NEO, Kariya says he looks forward to Minamimoto rejoining the Shibuya Reapers, but Minamimoto rejects the notion.
Shuto Dan (Another Day)[]
In the Another Day storyline, Sho is a much more friendly individual (and is believed to be Ken Doi's son). Shooter refers to Sho as Dr. Pin. While early on he sought to join Shooter's "Tin Pin spirits," Dr. Pin assisted the group by offering a pin he created (later proven to be a dud) and at the climax of the storyline, he assisted them by creating and handing over the recently developed Slammer Omega (at the cost of looking like his Taboo form in the main game). Shooter looks up to Sho as he believes that Sho is Dr. Pin. As such, Shooter goes to him whenever he needs advice. Sho also gives him Slammer Omega after Shooter's old Slammer breaks.
Coco Atarashi[]
At the very end of A New Day, Coco revives Minamimoto with the intention of partnering him up with Neku in a new Reapers' Game, stating that Neku will need a "zetta-strong" partner. In NEO: The World Ends with You, on Week 3, Day 7, Minamimoto saves Coco from a Plague Noise that nearly attacked her and she affectionately calls him "Mini-moto". In response, he simply says "zero-seven-seven-three-four" and goes off on his own, leaving Coco disgusted. After the Wicked Twisters defeat the Phoenix Cantus and Minamimoto goes off on his own once again after having a disagreement with the Shibuya Reapers, Coco claims to them that she is his master since she's the one who brought him back to life, and intends to make him repay the favor. They are directly connected to each other on the Social Network.
Rindo Kanade[]
Rindo respects and appreciates Minamimoto for the help he gives to the Wicked Twisters as well as his strength, and refers to him as Mr. Minami. In their battle banter, Rindo is constantly looking for Minamimoto's approval ("Was that okay?"), showing his lack of sureness. Like most others, Rindo gets confused by Minamimoto's math speak, and looks up the terms on his phone to translate and discuss for Fret. However, Rindo doesn't entirely trust Minamimoto, thinking of him as a loose cannon with ulterior motives for helping the Wicked Twisters. When Minamimoto leaves the party at the end of Week 1, Rindo finds it hard to have faith that the Wicked Twisters will succeed.
Minamimoto thinks of Rindo essentially as a test subject to observe the Replay ability and its effects. During Week 1, he remarks on how little of a chance the Twisters have at survival, though this seems to be his way of encouraging them to persevere. He also suggests the Twisters take a more cutthroat approach to the game on Week 1, Day 6, when he tells the group to eliminate the other players. This demonstrates one of the main ways that Sho differs from the main protagonists and their friends: Sho attempts to succeed through complete independence at the cost of others, while the protagonists rely on their relationships. Throughout Week 3, Minamimoto continues to be a benefactor to Rindo and the Twisters, revealing information he has gathered about Replay and the strategy to overcome the Noise created by it.
Tosai "Fret" Furesawa[]
Fret is ecstatic about Minamimoto's help and respects him deeply from the get-go. Their battle banter reflects Fret's desire for his new idol's approval, and how Fret tries his best to impress Sho, as well as Minamimoto reacting both positively ("Golden!") and negatively ("How derivative!") to Fret's efforts to relate to him. Fret continually makes a more genuine attempt than anyone else to befriend Minamimoto, calling him "Mina-man" and attempting (and failing) to mirror Minamimoto's math speak back to him. Minamimoto seems unsure of what to make of Fret's attempts at friendship, and typically outright ignores them, though sometimes they seem to either make him happy or make him cringe.
Nagi Usui[]
Minamimoto's resemblance to Nagi's favorite character and current obsession, Lord Tomonami from Elegant Strategy, causes her to have a hard time separating the two in her mind. She often swoons over Minamimoto, who also happens to be a powerful ally to her, similarly to how Lord Tomonami is presented in EleStra. Nagi's rose-tinted view of Minamimoto seems to dissipate once or twice when Minamimoto does things that she percieves as "out of character" for Lord Tomonami. She becomes almost entirely disillusioned with him when he leaves the Twisters, though she is happy to see him when he returns in Week 3. Minamimoto seems to be understandably put off by Nagi's infatuation with him, and tends to ignore her, or at least that side of her interactions with him. When he does address her behavior towards him, it's usually with reprimands for her to stay focused.
Shoka Sakurane[]
Shoka is aware of Minamimoto's past actions and is accordingly wary of him and his hidden motives. In Week 1 Day 5, she threatens to make it known to the other Reapers that he is participating in the Game as an illegitimate Player, to which he responds with another threat. Sho, as usual, seems to disregard Shoka and is fine with threatening her life if it means he will be able to continue on his quest to become Composer. Though the two have very few interactions during the main story and are never in the party at the same time, it is possible to put them in the same team by switching Sho in during Another Day. Their battle banter implies that Shoka is unimpressed with Sho's bombast ("Give me a break."), and he is equally dismissive of anything she has to say to him ("Fine, for a zeptogram.").
Sanae Hanekoma[]
Though never seen on-screen at the same time, it is stated in the Secret Reports that Sanae Hanekoma is the Fallen Angel whom assisted Minamimoto in his efforts to dethrone the Composer through various means. Those means of course being the shootout at Udagawa, the secrets of Taboo Noise refinery being taught to the Reaper by the Fallen Angel, and the resurrection of said Reaper via the aforementioned Taboo Noise refinery method. These actions imply a significant coordination and cooperation between the two, but these interactions are never shown or hinted at throughout the story. The nature of the dialogue and thus their relationship outside of their collaboration is largely unknown. After Sho's revival during Week 3, he targets Hanekoma's cafe with intentions of extracting information as to the whereabouts of the Composer, to which Hanekoma anticipates this in advance and departs the location before Minamimoto can make contact, albeit allowing him to destroy the shop as a result.
Abilities[]
Minamimoto is able to summon Taboo Noise using a Refinery Sigil. Hanekoma states in early Secret Reports that Minamimoto was taught the techniques to summon Taboo Noise by a "Fallen Angel." It is later revealed that the "Fallen Angel" was in fact Hanekoma himself. Minamimoto uses this ability at the beginning of his battle against Neku and Joshua.
When he enters the battle himself, he transforms into Leo Cantus, his Noise form. Leo Cantus is an anthropomorphic (humanoid) lion. Unlike most Reapers in Noise form, Minamimoto transforms by absorbing Taboo Noise and is treated as one—he exists on only one screen, leaving the other partner to deal with the Taboo Noise he absorbed. Destroying all of the Taboo Noise causes him to revert to normal for a few seconds before he switches screens and repeats the process.
Unlike most Reapers who enter Noise form, Minamimoto's wings shatter prior to the fight with him, suggesting that he is no longer a Reaper. Also of interest, most Reapers only have two wings, while Minamimoto had six, a possible reference to the Seraphim, the highest ranking angels of God. As a Reaper's powers are contained in their wings, it can be assumed from the number and size of his wings that Sho's powers as a Reaper were extremely advanced. After his defeat, Minamimoto is revived through his Taboo Noise refinery sigil, becoming a corrupted version of his former self. The corrupted portions of his skin, especially around his midsection, bears some resemblance to the Leo Noise symbol upon closer inspection. The Leo Noise symbol can also be seen as his belt buckle, similar to Higashizawa. Though he no longer summons Taboo Noise, he is vastly more powerful in this second form and recovers some HP over time.
In both forms, he attacks primarily using energy bursts (with a cry of "Infinity!") and will teleport to evade attacks. Additionally, in his Taboo form, he will teleport when struck or touched at all with the stylus, rendering psychs that require direct stylus contact with the enemy (e.g. Shockwave, Thunderstorm) useless or inaccurate.
Items[]
The World Ends with You[]
The following are all of the Minamimoto-related items that the player can get in the game:
NEO: The World Ends with You[]
Threads[]
There are five Threads that give bonuses when worn by Minamimoto exclusively.
Icon | # | Name | Threads Slot | HP Bonus | ATK Bonus | DEF Bonus | Style | Ability |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
242 | Zippered Shirt | Topwear | 53 | 0 | 131 | 137 | Minamimoto: ATK Boost | |
68 | Black Lily | Topwear | 59 | 0 | 139 | 163 | Minamimoto: DEF Boost | |
56 | Belted Boots | Footwear | 0 | 43 | 61 | 67 | Minamimoto: HP Boost II | |
246 | Asymmetrical Jeans | Bottomwear | 83 | 0 | 107 | 157 | Minamimoto: HP Boost IV | |
136 | Sentiero | Accessory | 66 | 66 | 66 | 199 | Minamimoto: Jackpot |
Food[]
The food that Minamimoto loves are as follows:
The food that Minamimoto likes are as follows:
The food that Minamimoto dislikes are as follows:
Name | Bought From |
---|---|
Cheesy Champion | Justice Burger |
Topsy-Turvy Noodles | Glutton 4 Gluten |
Sinful Noodles | Glutton 4 Gluten |
Grilled Alligator | SBY BBQ |
Triple Triad Plate | SPICY CURRY DON |
Japanified Biryani | SPICY CURRY DON |
Between-Act Bento | Moyai Mart |
Bowl of Oden | Moyai Mart |
Toyosu Seafood Bowl | Donburi Town |
Grand Slam Meat Bowl | Donburi Town |
Green Smoothie | Vegelovers |
Açaí Smoothie | Vegelovers |
Cheesy Corndog | Asia Fantasia |
Spicy Verde Tacos | Tacos y Más Tacos |
Holy Mole Tacos | Tacos y Más Tacos |
Chocomint Shaved Ice | Cutie☆Pies |
Etymology[]
The kanji for Minami-moto Shō translate literally to: South, expert, orangutan.
"Orangutan" is a reference to the monkey on the Chinese Zodiac, which the names of the Reapers were themed after. It also creates a parallel between Minamimoto and Neku, as he is the Game Master for the week heavily focused on Neku and his history, while the first week had Higashizawa for Shiki and the third week had Konishi for Beat. Both Neku and Minamimoto are intelligent and introverted asocial characters, interested in art (graffiti and trash heap sculptures), and Neku has monkey-theming with his preference for the Jupiter of the Monkey brand.
Quotes[]
The World Ends with You[]
- "Cooperation is garbage. Anyway, I'm out. This is subtracting from my arts and crafts time."
- "I said, you're zetta slow! How long does it take to crack a Z-class code, you factoring hectopascals!"
- "Attention, all yoctograms! (It's X 2) DIE!"
- "Damn right! That game was zetta dull! Are you trying to bore me to death? How about a little flair!? Give it some edge! You brain-dead binomials are pathetic!"
- "No comments from the peanut gallery. Your opinions are garbage! CRUNCH! I'll add them to the heap!"
- "This mic is zetta sexy!"
- "Heh heh heh... Zetta fun times."
- "The world's made up of numbers!"
- "This is my latest masterpiece. I call it: "Myself"!"
- "All that matters is MY beauty."
- "Hey, who gives a digit?"
NEO: The World Ends with You[]
- "If those are the best equations you've got, your days are numbered!"
- "You two supposed to be Players? Or are you just a couple pieces of trash that fell off the heap? Heh. Doesn’t matter. If it's the latter, then you're getting compacted with the rest of the pile!"
- "Time for a little quiz: what's the probability of you two surviving the Game? One zeptopercent - if that."
- "Not small - infinitesimal, so close to the zero the two points nearly converge. But not precisely."
- "The Game's 142,857. Factor it out."
- "Hmph. The name's Sho Minamimoto. I don't follow the Associative Property like other Players. No telling what would happen if I integrated myself with a couple of zeptograms like you."
- "Listen up, zeptograms! You wanna be a part of the remainder? Then follow my lead!"
- "...What?! Irrational! Who would make trash pins like these for the least common denominator?"
- "So, did you zeptograms have time to process today's mission?"
- "Don't get the wrong idea: we're solving completely different problems here. But I'll help you subtract some rogue integers."
- "You want to boost your chances of survival, right? Then you either multiply, or face deletion."
- "Beats me. I didn't write the function; I just plug in the numbers. If you want a real answer, try asking the Game Master - or one of his Reapers."
- "How about you go over to those common denominators and jog their memories? That psych of yours should help solve for a variable."
- "Wouldn't pass up a chance to observe an irregular prime. Count me in."
- "My multiplicative property may be impressive compared to standard integers... ...but the Ruinbringers don't play by the rules of rational numbers. Let's just say they're an aggregate function of a higher order. And since you're not interested in getting on their level, I'm done here."
- "There's a high probability. Whaddya say? Should we reduce 'em to zero before they expand?"
- "Heh. The same thing we do to any other garbage we find—CRUNCH!"
- "This certainly defies all probability. The kid might be something special if he's already factored them into the equation." - about Rindo's Replay
- "Any integers belonging to another set are ripe for deletion. We'd better act fast before we're beaten to the punch."
- "Is the sum of the angles in a rhombus 360˚?" - when Rindo asks if they're going to fight the Deep Rivers Society
- "I'll factorize these fools in one millisecond flat!"
- "The girl + her pin = x. The question is: what psych does x represent?" - about Nagi and her Tomonami pin
- "Not if you sync up first. Balance the equations of your bodies and minds, and your power'll increase exponentially. Your points of view might even converge. That you zeptograms have the chance to create a multiplicative function. Otherwise, you're stuck playing with those third-rate Reapers—and who knows what that would entail. Now there's a variable I'd love to solve for..."
- " I'll be checking your answers. And I don't forgive miscalculations."
- "Let's just say I'm an exception to the rules. That's all you three need to know. And not a yoctogram more."
- "Listen, you swaggering sinusoid. You don't belong here, so scram." - To Fuya
- "Something isn't FOILing out right... Did a variable get switched?" - Minamimoto noticing Rindo's Replay
- "Time for a little quiz: at what rate can I erase a floundering fractal like you? 299,792,458 m/s." - to Fuya
- "I detected a few irregular functions this week. Namely on Days 3 and 5. At first I thought my calculations were off. But they weren't. Someone else just messed 'em up by turning back time." - Minamimoto reveals Rindo's Replay to the Wicked Twisters
- "That elephantine ellipsoid must be trying to bore me to death with such a simple problem. I'll leave the calculations to you zeptograms. Find where your vectors achieve absolute convergence!"
- "Any previous calculations got erased the second you revised the equation. No way to solve for that answer now."
- "Trash to the nth power is just more trash. Time to add you to the heap. CRUNCH!!!" - to Susukichi
- "Perfect. I've got all the data I need. I'll be factoring myself out now. Got an unsolved equation calling my name."
- "I got what I came for. Now I can ditch you zeptograms. Our vectors diverge here."
- "Now, converge upon me... Noise beyond measure!"
- "Hnnngh... Reversing the flow of time produces this energy-consuming trash... I've already determined the factor that spurs their multiplication. It seems they're drawn to t differentials. Which suggests a degree of interdimensionality. But then their point of origin must be..." - Minamimoto about Soul Pulvis
- "Can't say I factored you into the equation. Looks like I'll have to recalculate. All the points were set as variables, but the projected future remains unchanged... Is a transformation even possible?" - to Neku
- "Something strange about that power of yours... Same goes for that pin you got there... The cardinality doesn't match the set. That kind of exponential power isn't meant to be wielded by a mere Player." - to Rindo about his Replay
- "Hmph! What's the matter, zeptograms? You having trouble calculating the distortion?" - Minamimoto defeating Plague Noise
- "Zero seven seven three four." - to Coco
- "Heh. The name's Sho Minamimoto. And I'm on nobody's team. You're on my team. Got it, zeptograms!? If you wanna win this, you'll have to fight me for it!" - Minamimoto introducing himself in Party in the 'Buya
- "Your harmonic progression stops here." - to Felidae Cantus
- "Listen up, zeptograms! This guy's a nontrivial opponent. Think you can handle it?" - about Felidae Cantus
- "Gahahahaha! I could do this ad infinitum!" - defeating Felidae Cantus
- "Heh... Finally took out the garbage. I'm back to my true value! Took me long enough... I was a fraction of a femtometer away from getting reduced to zero. But I made it, and I've run all the numbers. Heheh... Shibuya's full of surprises. A soul that grows in power even after it gets erased... You bet your boxplot I want in on that. I'm coming for you, Composer. CRUNCH!" - Minamimoto in Party in the 'Buya's secret ending
- "Hmph." (placing order)
- "I've eaten worse." (eating neutral food)
- "Doesn't taste that bad." (eating loved food)
Vocabulary meanings[]
- "Any tree can drop an apple. I'll drop the freaking moon!"
- Written on a junk heap. Joshua describes it as meaning, "...saying he is better than gravity." They both make a reference to the myth that Isaac Newton founded the basic principle of gravity after an apple dropped from a tree branch above him.
- "Any sound can shake the air. My voice shakes the heart!"
- Written on a junk heap. Joshua describes it as meaning, "...saying he is better than air." It is a reference to the Mach number, in which a sound can create a sonic boom if an object is fast enough. In other words, when an object is faster than sound, it is considered "supersonic."
- "So zetta slow!"
- "Factoring hectopascals!"
- Pascal is a SI unit for pressure and thus, cannot be factored. Literally, he's claiming that the Players are an impossibility.
- "You brain-dead binomials are pathetic!"
- Binomials are one of the simplest kinds of polynomial figures in elementary algebra, after the monomials. By using it as an insult, Sho is basically calling the players basic.
- "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally!"
- A mnemonic for the order of operations: Parenthesis; Exponentials; Multiplication; Division; Addition; Subtraction.
- SOH-CAH-TOA!
- A mnemonic for trigonometric functions: Sine = Opposite/Hypotenuse; Cosine = Adjacent/Hypotenuse; Tangent = Opposite/Adjacent. It is also a play on the Japanese slang "sou ka" for the phrase "sou desu ka," meaning "really...?" or "I see..."
- "Some Old Horses Can Always Hear Their Owner Approaching/Slabs Of Ham, Celery And Horseradish, Tons Of Asparagus"
- Mnemonics for SOH-CAH-TOA. The former is used by Minamimoto upon first meeting Joshua and Neku, which is potentially a subtle way of him noting that he sees through Joshua's disguise and recognizes his former master, i.e. "hearing his owner approaching".
- "Attention, all yoctograms/zeptograms!"
- "Radian"
- The Radian is the standard unit of angular measure, used in many areas of Mathematics, including Trigonometry, which uses the above-mentioned SOH-CAH-TOA. It describes the plane angle subtended by a circular arc as the length of the arc divided by the radius of the arc.
- "FOIL; First, outer, inner, last!"
- FOIL is an acronym for expanding quadratic equations in their factorized form: (x+a)(x+b). It's also a scramble for LIFO, which in turn is an acronym for "last in, first out," a term used both in accounting and computing for describing a method of working with the order the items are produced/arrive and are gone/sold. It could be referred also to this: FOIL is an algorithm used in computer science in the field of artificial intelligence and more specifically in the field of Inductive Logic Programming (ILP) for learning rules of first order logic describing a predicate from a knowledge base and a set of examples, called the training, which may have both examples positive and negative. This algorithm is very similar the coverage algorithm, used to learn rules propositional logic. Literally, he, as the Composer, wants the Players to follow his directions exactly as they are laid out.
- "You fractals have no future! QED. Class is dismissed!"
- A fractal is a geometric figure that is made up of smaller versions of itself.
- Q.E.D. is an initialism of the Latin phrase quod erat demonstrandum, which translates as "which was to be demonstrated" or "as was to be expected." The phrase is traditionally placed in its abbreviated form at the end of a mathematical proof or philosophical argument when what was specified in the enunciation—and in the setting-out—has been exactly restated as the conclusion of the demonstration.
- "The Game's 142,857. Factor it out."
- Minamimoto says this to Rindo and Fret when he first saves them from Noise. Rindo searches the number up on his phone and learns 142,857 is a cyclic number: an integer in which cyclic permutations of the digits are integer multiples. For example, multiplying 142,857 by 2 gives 285714 and multiplying it by 3 gives 428571. The digits remain the same, but with a different offset. This references the never-ending nature of the Reapers' Game under Shinjuku rules and the Ruinbringers constantly repeating the game. Sanae Hanekoma notes Week 1 marks the 104th week, or two years that the game has been repeated, and the rival teams have been stuck playing for at least 30 loops, or seven and a half months.
Minamimoto tells them to "factor it out" - the prime factorization of 142,857 is 33 * 11 * 13 * 37. With the later two factors beeing 13 37, he calls the game lame using leetspeak.
- Minamimoto says this to Rindo and Fret when he first saves them from Noise. Rindo searches the number up on his phone and learns 142,857 is a cyclic number: an integer in which cyclic permutations of the digits are integer multiples. For example, multiplying 142,857 by 2 gives 285714 and multiplying it by 3 gives 428571. The digits remain the same, but with a different offset. This references the never-ending nature of the Reapers' Game under Shinjuku rules and the Ruinbringers constantly repeating the game. Sanae Hanekoma notes Week 1 marks the 104th week, or two years that the game has been repeated, and the rival teams have been stuck playing for at least 30 loops, or seven and a half months.
Battle Quotes[]
NEO: The World Ends with You[]
- "More trash for the heap." (entering battle)
- "Well, you asked for it." (entering battle)
- "I don't have time for uninspiring integers." (entering battle)
- "Perfect calculations... deliver perfect results." (★-rank victory)
- "Time to take out the trash!"
- "Let's accelerate this."
- "Stupid fractal!"
- "Disappear!"
- "CRUUUNCH!"
- "You've got the wrong vector."
- "Fine, I'll integrate."
- "Quod erat demonstrandum!"
- "So zetta annoying!"
- "I miscalculated." (immobilized)
- "So zetta slow!" (dodging)
- "Son of a binomial." (starting battle at low HP)
- "Soh cah toa!" (using support pin)
- "Ad infinitum!" (using support pin)
- "It's crunch time!" (Rindo: "Right...")
- "Such simple equations!" (Rindo: "Uh, sure?")
- "Fine, I'll integrate!" (Rindo: "That'd be great!")
- (Rindo: "Was that okay?") "Could be worse."
- (Rindo: "We're really in sync!") "Perfectly balanced."
- (Rindo: "Whoa, that worked!") "Keep it constant!"
- "Eh. Coulda gone worse." (Fret: "You think so?")
- "Don't miscalculate!” (Fret: "I’ll try not to!”)
- "Follow my lead." '(Fret: "Gotcha!"
- (Fret: "Whaddya think?") "Not bad."
- (Fret: "Nice integration!") "How derivative!"
- (Fret: "Funky Fret and my Mina-man!") "Golden!"
- "On my mark!" (Nagi: "Lord Tomonamiiii!")
- "Brilliant!" (Nagi: "Indeed you are...")
- "Not half bad!" (Nagi: "(loud swooning noises)")
- (Nagi: "(swooning noises)") '"You're an odd function."
- (Nagi: "Many thanks, milord!") "Hey, try not to lose focus."
- (Nagi: "Lord Tomonami...") "Argh!"
- "It's all exponential!" (Beat: "What'd you just call me?!")
- "Try to keep up, would ya?" (Beat: "Right back at ya!")
- "Check your calculations!" (Beat: "Ain't that your job!?")
- (Beat: "I got my eye on you, yo.") "Heh!"
- (Beat: "Guess we gotta work together.") "What, you got a problem with that?"
- (Beat: "Let's do this!") "Since we're adjacent..."
- "Factor it out!" (Shoka: "Excuse me?")
- "Rise over run!" (Shoka: "Who over what?")
- "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" (Shoka: "Gimme a break.")
- (Shoka: "Thanks for the help.") "Makes no difference to me."
- (Shoka: "That must've looked pretty sick.") "Fine for a zeptogram!"
- (Shoka: "Pretty good, don't you think?)" "QED."
- "Hah! Trash!" (Neku: "I'll say!")
- "What a zero matrix!"(Neku: "Good enough for me!")
- "That all you got?" (Neku: "Just getting started!")
- (Neku: "How's that!?") "Huh, nicely integrated."
- (Neku: "Try to cooperate, will you?") "Heh!"
- (Neku: "That factored out nicely.") "As it always should!"
- "Do not underestimate me." (Beat drop at 100%)
- "Converge!" (activating Killer Remix)
- "Just as I calculated." (winning a battle)
- "Ah, naturally." (winning a battle)
- "Change our coordinates. It's that, or get crunched!" (when Go-Go Beringei climbs 104 for the second time)
Non-canon appearances[]
Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance[]
In Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, Sho Minamimoto is an opponent the player faces in the mini-game Flick Rush. He is present in the Tin Pin Tournament along with 777, B.J., and Tenho. His team consists of a Tyranto Rex, Necho Cat, and Sudo Neku. Minamimoto is the final opponent in the Tin Pin Tournament, but he is not actually seen in the game.
The Animation[]
- "A cruel and destructive Reaper with a penchant for calculation. Made a name for himself thanks to his impressive feats."
- — Minamimoto's description in The Animation's official website
Minamimoto's role is akin to the game's, although he is shown as being more watchful over Neku and Joshua. He first appears near the end of The Reapers' Game, arriving 9 minutes and 42 seconds late to an officer meeting at the Dead God's Pad. He jeers at Konishi and a new officer, Yodai Higashizawa.
In Reapers, he uses the first day's mission to reach 104 to gather the Players around his garbage heap. He orders the Players to erase their partners, the winners being spared. Neku fights off Carcinofolk and says that they need to trust their partners instead of trusting Minamimoto's lies. Minamimoto then tells the Players he'll save whoever defeats Kariya, who uses this to erase a large amount with House Rhinos. Later, on Day 2, Joshua and Neku are attacked by Taboo Noise emerging from a garbage heap Minamimoto built between Parco and Modi. In CAT, Joshua uses his phone camera to take a video of Minamimoto stealing Def Märch's microphone at Tipsy Tose Hall. Elsewhere, one of his heaps is summoning Taboo Noise attacking Players and even Reapers like Uzuki.
In Turf, Joshua and Neku watch him draw a Taboo Noise Refinery sigil as he recites a pi mnemonic. He laughs and flies off. Joshua's phone tracker responds to the sigil and Kariya watching from a rooftop recognizes it. At the end of the episode, Uzuki and Kariya make a report to Konishi at Dead God's Pad about the Taboo Noise Refinery, suggesting Minamimoto is behind it due to drawing the unactivated sigil. Konishi rejects it as insufficient evidence. Uzuki admits she doesn't know if she could've survived the Taboo Noise on her own, and she is terrified of losing more Reapers. Konishi acquiesces to the investigation. At the very end of the episode, Minamimoto cackles and enjoys himself on a skyscraper rooftop at night, under the remains of erased Reapers and his Taboo Noise.
In Joshua, he flies down and taunts Neku and Joshua when they finish Day 6's mission, saying that on Day 7 he'll get to be hands-on and solve the calculation he screwed up "that day". At the very top of Pork City, Minamimoto is confused why they found him, but says they saved him the trip for a little "re-enactment". Minamimoto returns some of Neku's memories, making it seem like that after Joshua shot, Minamimoto appeared from behind and killed him. He shatters them into the Imaginary Number Plane, where Joshua notices Taboo Noise flowing into Minamimoto. He realizes Minamimoto used the Noise collecting at Mark City to manufacture Taboo Noise. He transforms into Leo Cantus. Minamimoto explodes into a flare. Joshua pushes Neku off the roof and supposedly sacrifices himself to it.
Hanekoma revives Minamimoto at the end of Rhyme and Beat, approaching his sigil at Udagawa on the night of Day 3. He notices the fundamentals are no good and fixes it. Minamimoto rises from it, roars, and flies away. Minamimoto reflects on his new Taboo body during The Countless Wrongs of Our Day as Neku and Beat run towards the broken Udagawa wall. He mentions his resurrection took longer than expected and he can't get the hang of his body. Later, he gets to Cat Street, destroys the wall, and destroys WildKat. Neku and Beat find the ruins when they get to Cat Street. On their way back, they find Minamimoto at the top of one of his heaps. He says the Composer is responsible for the situation in Shibuya and plans to overthrow them. He thanks Hanekoma for helping resurrect him, and asks Neku and Beat where he is. They fight, but Minamimoto overpowers them and flies away, leaving Neku and Beat's bruised bodies on the pavement. On Day 6, he tears down the Shibuya River barrier with a heavy punch. Neku and Beat see the red and black lightning thundering from it at the Scramble Crossing.
In The Hour of Reckoning, Minamimoto sits on a pile of debris before the Shibuya River wall, telling Neku and Beat they're stuck by a barrier that only Konishi can take down. Beat insults her for hiding in the River, but Minamimoto points out she's been with them the whole time - Konishi reveals herself from Beat's shadow. Minamimoto demands Konishi to remove the barrier, and she relents on the condition he makes her Conductor after he becomes Composer. Konishi explains that a free spirit like Minamimoto will be the best at surviving the chaos. Minamimoto accepts, she takes down the barrier, and Minamimoto declares he'll become the Composer before disappearing. Later, Shiki notices someone in the distance, being Sho Minamimoto pinned to the ground via blue glowing spears of light.
In It's a Wonderful World, Joshua says he got rid of Minamimoto because he kept interfering with his plans. He gives Neku back the last memories he'd been withholding. Neku's memories start from when Minamimoto fired behind him - however, Joshua reveals he wasn't trying to shoot Neku but him, who stopped the bullets using his powers as Composer. Minamimoto kept shooting as Joshua simply stopped them. Joshua raises his gun at Minamimoto, and he runs away. He then shoots Neku dead and drops him a Player Pin. As they watch the optimal Shibuya at the end of the episode, Joshua asks Hanekoma why he fixed Minamimoto's Taboo Refinery sigil. Hanekoma explained he hoped Minamimoto could save Shibuya if Kitaniji lost. He accepted the stigma of falling from grace in the hope to let Shibuya survive. Joshua wonders if Hanekoma's words of encouragement to Neku, Joshua starting the Game with Kitaniji, Hanekoma teaching Minamimoto Taboo, and Neku interacting with other Players were all necessary for Shibuya's salvation. Hanekoma agrees.
Trivia[]
- His clothing in the original game is actually an outfit owned by Tetsuya Nomura.[4]
- Sho is dubbed "Pi-Face" by Neku and Beat and is called that on several occasions. Fittingly enough, Sho's HP in his regular form is 3141 (the first four digits of Pi), and his Taboo form has 5926 HP (the next four digits of Pi). Sho is also called the "Grim Heaper" by Neku, a play on Sho's Reaper status and the garbage piles he builds during Week Two.
- His attack against Joshua at the end of Week 2 is referred to as a Level i Flare. The i is in italics, referring to imaginary unit i. In the Final Fantasy games, there is a spell called Level x Flare which casts a specific spell on characters with a level at a multiple of x. As i is equal to the square root of -1, it is a factor of 1, which is a factor in all real numbers; and because i is the most basic imaginary number, it is also a factor of all imaginary numbers. In Final Fantasy terms, a Level i Flare would target a creature with any level, real or imaginary, in any area/plane possible. The Regular "Flare" Spell is generally one of the strongest spells in the games it appears in, inflicting huge amounts of non-elemental damage to the target. In the Secret Reports, this is expanded on, in which the Composer is only limited by his or her imagination.
- To put it more simply, i is a non-real number. You can interpret this as the psych being "unreal." It can also be interpreted as imaginary since power comes from Imagination in this game.
- Minamimoto is often associated with the song Transformation. It plays during many of his entrances and during all of his boss fights. The only exception is his boss fight on the DS version of The World Ends with You which has Someday playing.
- According to Tetsuya Nomura, Shibuya Reapers have a hidden kanji in their names that relate to the Chinese zodiac and represent their Noise forms. In Sho's case, one of the radicals in Sho (犭) and one of the kanji in Minamimoto (師 moto) can be combined (犭師) to form the Japanese kanji for lion (獅). Note that a lion is not part of the Eastern Zodiac, unlike every other Reaper (who doesn't rebel against the hierarchy).
- In his Leo Cantus Armo form, the white markings on his face form a mask with tusks and a longer snout, making his head greatly resemble a wild boar. He also does charging attacks in this state. The Shinjuku Reapers have Noise forms based off of the Hanafuda card suits such as the deer, crane, iris flower, and butterfly, and so Leo Cantus Armo's boar-like elements may be based on giving Minamimoto a Hanafuda card suit, using the boar from the bush clover (July) suit. This may be based on a pun, as lion (shishi) is phonetically similar to wild boar (ino-shishi), although written using different kanji (獅 vs. 猪). Unlike lion, Minamimoto cannot rearrange the radicals in his name to spell boar. This may further tie into the description of Leo Cantus Armo as a "berserk" state, with the Soul Pulvis armor forming a grey "muzzle" over his mouth, indicating that he is not in control of himself, but at the mercy of the Soul Pulvis unleashed by agents from Shinjuku.
- In the first game, Sho uses Pork City as his hiding place (an alias for Mark City).
- Interestingly, while the lion isn't part of the Chinese Zodiac, Leo is a lion that is part of the Western Zodiac, perhaps suggesting that Sho's rebellion included switching to a separate zodiac system (though the two are entirely unrelated), or deliberately choosing from outside of the Chinese Zodiac.
- Minamimoto is the only one of all the antagonists in The World Ends with You to have four threads that the player could obtain: his cap, coat, jeans, and bandanna.
- In Neku's death scene, Minamimoto is shot in the right arm by Joshua. In Minamimoto's sprite where he holds a megaphone, he is incidentally holding it in his left hand, the non-affected one.
- In Joshua, Day 4, Minamimoto swaps his megaphone for Def Märch's microphone. In Joshua, Day 7, Def Märch started using his megaphone in their shows. Why Minamimoto seems to have the same megaphone in NEO: The World Ends with You that he originally gave away is unknown.
- He may have taken it back after 777's erasure in the original game.
- Minamimoto has proved to be a fan-favorite and his quote "So zetta slow!" has become an internet meme.
- In Japanese, Minamimoto uses math related mnemonics. Almost all of these mnemonics were localized as his famous SOH-CAH-TOA phrases, these puns (in order of appearance) are the following.
- "ひといおひといおいひといごろてね (Hitoyo Hitoyomi Hitomi Goro)" in english, "Every night things seem to go better than planned" a japanese mnemonic for the square root of 2, however, this line of dialogue is said when he finds that Joshua is playing the game, if interpreted with it's second meaning, interpreting it with its second meaning and in the context in which it was said, it can be deduced that Minamimoto is happy to have another key piece for his "desired solution.
- "身一つ世一つ生くに無意味いわくなく身ふみや読む似ろよさんざん闇になく(Mi hitotsu yo hitotsu iku ni mu-imi iwakunaku mi fumiya yomu niro yo san zan yami ni naku)" in english "A person is one; the world is one:to live this way, it's meaningless, one says, and cries,"step on it, will ya!" then reads be the same! Crying uncontrollably in the dark" this is close to being an ungrammatical nonsense, however, its a phrase created for "Piphilology" to remember some digits of pi in japanese, Sho says this while he's drawing the Taboo Sigil in Udagawa Backstreets.
- "富士山麓オーム啼く(Fuji San roku ni Oomonaku)" in english, "In the base of Mt. Fuji, a parrot cries" its a japanese mnemonic for the square root of 5.
- "人並みにおごれや(Hito-nami ni ogoreya)" in english, "Treat me as if you do to other people", its a japanese mnemonic for the square root of 3.
- According to the director of NEO regarding the cast's food preferences, since Minamimoto is an intellectual with a penchant for science and mathematics, he likes sweet things to keep his brain active.[5] He seems to love the taste of fruit, cream and berries. It is also noticeable that of the 17 possible foods that will give him tasty bonuses, none of them contain meat. While he is not a vegetarian/vegan, this implies he does not find meat that appetizing and he is the only character who lacks a tasty bonus from meat.
- IN NEO, before its first patch (and also in the demo), Minamimoto can be seen with an angry look on his face in his portrait while entering a battle. After the patch, he is now smiling.
References[]
- ↑ NEO: The World Ends with You: Official Guidebook + Setting Documents Collection (新すばらしきこのせかい公式ガイドブック+設定資料集 Shin Subarashiki Kono Sekai Kōshiki Gaidobukku + Settei Shiryōshū) exclusively released in Japan, July 2021.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ [3]
- ↑ https://www.khinsider.com/news/Interview-with-Nomura-Kando-and-Ito-from-NEO-TWEWY-Official-Guidebook-18613
Characters in The World Ends with You |
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Neku Sakuraba • Shiki Misaki • Beat • Joshua • Rhyme • Sota Honjo • Nao
777 • BJ • Coco Atarashi • Koki Kariya • Megumi Kitaniji • Mitsuki Konishi • Sho Minamimoto • Tenho • Uzuki Yashiro • Yodai Higashizawa
Shopkeepers Aily Ueno • Akira Yoshii • Anna Aoi • Ayu Hamaguchi • Banzai Ayanokoji • Fumi Gotoda • Fumiko Nishimura • Hideki Kikuchi • Hikaru Koike • HT Masuoka • Jun Odajima • Keiichi Okada • Ken Doi • Kyo • Makoto Miki • Masanori Ito • May Kurokawa • Mie Suzuki • Miki Kosaka • Nana Majima • Princess K • Rayca Hoshi • Rikako Toda • Sanae Hanekoma • Shigemi Konno • Shigemori Iwata • Shinta Iwata • Tadafumi Sato • Tak Kimura • Tatsuya Omura • Tsubasa • Yoji Iwata • Yosh Ishino • Yumi Sheena • Yuu Narumi
Other Characters Ai • CAT • Eiji Oji • Eri • Futoshi • Itaru Yokoyamada • Ken Doi • Makoto Miki • Mina • Mr. Mew • Neku's best friend • Pin Prof • Sanae Hanekoma • Shrimp • Shuto Dan • Tsugumi Matsunae • Wizard of Slam • Vice Wizard of Slam
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