Towel-Headed Man
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The Towel-Headed Man (THM) is a fictional character in the Ringu series of J-Horror movies. Although the character appears very infrequently, and has one line, his appearance each time in the films is to point out a significant clue to either the other characters or the viewers. He is also affectionately referred to as "Pointy-kun" by fans of the series.
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[edit] Appearances
The THM appears in both the Ringu films and manga.
[edit] Film appearances
[edit] Initial appearance
The first appearance of the THM is during the Cursed Videotape that is prominent throughout the film. His scene comes between the crawling people in pain, and the eye with the kanji for "Sada" in it. In this scene, he is pointing to something offscreen, and the background, most likely water, is moving in an odd pattern. His appearance is accompanied by an eerie metallic squeak, as well as a barely audible message, "Shoumon bakkari shiteru to, boukon ga kuru zo". This line is important in solving the mystery of the video tape, and is said by Sadako's grandmother in the novel, manga, and the TV movie "Ringu: Kanzeban". The phrase tends to be rendered somewhat differently depending upon the translator, but it basically means "If you keep playing in the water, the monster will come [for you]." In the film, it is given the somewhat melodic -- and rather loose -- translation of "Frolic in brine, goblins be thine."
[edit] Second appearance
While staying at her father's house, Reiko Asakawa witnesses the appearance of the THM, who seems to be pointing at something at another room. Following the mysterious messenger's advice, she finds her son, Yoichi watching the Cursed Videotape. She is too late to save her son from the tape instilling its fateful curse, however.
[edit] Third appearance
Near the end of Ringu, it is assumed that the malicious Sadako Yamamura's spirit has been put to rest by Reiko and her ex-husband, Ryuji Takayama. However, just when everything seems to be wrapped up, Sadako appears from Ryuji's television set and claims him as her latest victim. Reiko struggles to figure out what she did that saved her from the same fate, when she notices a reflection in her own television; a man standing in her apartment with a white towel over his head, pointing at the bag in which she has the copy of the Cursed Videotape. Spinning around, Asakawa gasps "Ryuji?", and actually sees him with her own two eyes. Moments later, he is gone, but the lasting impression that he was giving her a clue remains; she lived because she copied the videotape, thus allowing Sadako's curse to spread.
Seeing as how the THM in this instance is wearing the same clothes that Ryuji wore at his death, as well as the fact that Reiko should be able to identify her ex-husband rather well, towel on the head or not, this most likely is indeed Ryuuji himself.
[edit] Fourth appearance
While Ryuji's student (and girlfriend) Mai Takano is researching the strange events surrounding the videotape in Ringu 2, she visits the psychiatric ward where Masami Kurahashi, a friend of Reiko's niece (who had been killed by Sadako), had been staying since becoming psychologically scarred from witnessing Sadako's attack. Mai is shown photos of Masami, where her face is partially obscured by something white. As she is shown more photos of Masami, where they are progressively zoomed out, we can see that the object covering her face is the cloth of the THM. This appearance of the messenger seems to only exist to point out that she carries some of Sadako's curse within her.
[edit] Prequel appearance
Ringu 0, as a prequel to the previous films, deals with the origins of how Sadako Yamamura came to be the devillish antagonist viewers had become familiar with. At one point, there is a slow pan over the sea, with Sadako asking "Mother... whose child am I?" In the corner, the THM points off in the distance.
[edit] Manga appearances
[edit] Ringu (movie tie-in)
In the Ringu movie tie-in manga (released in the U.S. as "the Ring" volume 1), the THM appears again in the videotape, but does not repeat his famous "Shoumon bakkari shiteru to, boukon ga kuru zo" line; this phrase is given to Sadako's grandmother, the originator of the line, who appears immediately after the THM. He again appears at the end of the story, as Ryuuji, to point out the Cursed Videotape to Reiko, as he did in the movie.
[edit] Ringu 2
Released in the U.S. as "the Ring" volume 2, Ringu 2 begins with a short recap of the movie. The THM appears in the video as he does in the movie, between the shambling lost souls, and the blinking "Sada" eye. Despite the fact that the "Shoumon bakkari shiteru to, boukon ga kuru zo" line is not used in this adaptation, Ryuuji does allude to it later on. Also, Ryuuji appears, as he did in the movie and the previous manga, with the towel on his head to point Reiko toward the Cursed Videotape.
Finally, in the photo of Masami, one can somewhat make out the shape of the THM next to her.
[edit] Ringu 0: birthday
The THM makes a brief appearance as Sadako questions her own origins, as he did in the movie. With the sea behind him, the THM points off in the distance. However, he appears much clearer in the manga than he did in the movie.
[edit] Video game appearance
The THM also appears in the Sega Dreamcast game, The Ring: Terror's Realm (known in Japan simply as "The Ring"). However, he only appears within the cursed video, which is lifted directly from the original Japanese film. Thus, his appearance does not deviate from prior media.
[edit] Origins
It is undoubtedly known that at the end of Ringu, Ryuji Takayama is the man with the towel on his head. However, there is evidence that there is more than one man who would fill this position. As he appears on the Cursed Videotape, the THM is likely wearing a light shirt and dark pants, definitely not anything that Ryuji has ever donned in the movie. These clothes, however, echo the wardrobe of Hiroshi Toyama, Sadako's love interest in Ringu 0. However, the THM that appears to point out that Yoichi is watching the videotape appears to be wearing all black; although this scene is seen in black-and-white, so it is entirely possible that he's actually wearing the dark brown garb of Ryuji. Thus, it can be assumed that the following list categorizes which person is the THM at the time:
Hiroshi Toyama
- The Towel-Headed Man on the Cursed Videotape (Ringu)
- The Towel-Headed Man in Sadako's Dream (Ringu 0)
- The Towel-Headed Man in Asakawa's father's house (Ringu)
- The Towel-Headed Man in Asakawa's apartment (Ringu)
That simply leaves the THM on Masami's photos, as it's impossible to tell what clothes he's wearing. So which one is this? Well, it is entirely possible that since Hiroshi's appearances as the THM pointed towards Sadako's origins and Ryuji's were to spread the virus and/or save his son's life, that this is Toyama on the photographs. However, it's just as possible that when Ryuji became the THM, Hiroshi was "fired", leaving Ryuji the sole THM, and the one in the photographs. But then again, between Ringu and Ringu 2, Sadako could have recruited yet another man to fill this role. It has already been seen that those killed become malevolent spirits under Sadako's control, as was demonstrated with Reiko's niece, Tomoko. It is a possibility that both Hiroshi and Ryuji were "employed" willfully (Hiroshi would want to help his lover by giving clues to her existence and origins, and Ryuji would not only want to save his son, but also spread the virus, which is further developed in Rasen, where Ryuji becomes Sadako's partner in world domination). Thus a third man could have had his reasons for helping Sadako, and became the THM seen in Ringu 2.
So if the Cursed Videotape had not even been created at the first time (chronologically) of the THM's appearance, how is it that he appeared, especially if Toyama was still alive? Well, remember that the Ryuuji version appeared in Reiko's father's house prior to his death... there is no real explanation to any of this train of thought, but one theory is that it's related to Sadako's powers of foresight.
It must be also noted of why the THM wears a white cloth upon their head. The cloth could represent the sheet that is pulled up over one's face when they are dead; another thought is because the color white is associated with shi, or death, in Japan. The towel covering the face may also represent the mystery, as their finger points out a clue.
[edit] External links
- The Ringworld - A Ring fansite which covers the novels, movies, manga, and more.
- the Ring AREA - Contains of the cursed videos of the Ring cycle and their scene-by-scene analyses, as well as lots of other useful information.
- Official Ringu Website
| The Ring Cycle |
|---|
| Novels: Ring | Spiral | Loop | Birthday |
| Japanese Films: Ring 0 | Ring | Ring 2 | Rasen |
| American Films: The Ring | Rings | The Ring Two | The Ring 3 |
| Korean Films: The Ring Virus |
| Curses: Samara Morgan | Sadako Yamamura | Eun-Suh Park | The Video | Towel-Headed Man |
| Misc: Anna Morgan | Moesko Island Lighthouse | Hideo Nakata | She Is Here | Koji Suzuki | Terror's Realm |
