Shogo Ushiyama

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Shogo "Usshi" Ushiyama (牛山尚吾 Ushiyama Shōgo) is a fictional character from Satoshi Kon's animated psychological thriller, Paranoia Agent.

He is featured prominently in episode 2 and makes brief cameo appearances in later episodes. Shogo is a chubby kid, and as Yuichi "Ichi" Taira describes him, "He's a country bumpkin whose only redeeming quality is his academics. And he's terrible at sports because he's a sweat covered fatty." He is a new student who recently moved from the countryside. Shogo is a seemingly unnassuming and caring boy. However, despite his kind nature, he is into bizarre circumstances due to the increasing paranoia of Yuichi.

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[edit] Story

Shogo is a new student at school and is running for class president against Ichi. Ichi believes that Shogo is conspiring against him, as much of the school has been bullying him lately and accusing him of being the Lil Slugger (due to them having many physical similarities). Without any real proof, Ichi accuses Shougo of being the one who spread the rumors. However, Shogo is really a kind-hearted kid who only wants to better his self-esteem, as he himself was bullied at one time. Although he is Ichi's competitor for class president, he holds no apparent ill will towards him, and even seems interested in being friends with Ichi. Despite Ichi physically bullying and threatening Shogo, Shogo repeatedly comes to Ichi's defense and claims that the bullying Ichi is receiving isn't right. Although many would perhaps be touched by this, Ichi has been so used to being practically handed his popularity that he is unable to see Shogo's kindness for what it is, and assumes that it is foul play, an attempt to better his own image at Ichi's expense.

Later, Shogo walks Ichi home. Shogo reveals to Ichi that he moved to the new school because he was bullied, and that he doesn't want to do that to someone else. Enraged, Ichi once again misinterprets this act of understanding as an insult, telling Shougo, "Don't you even think we're similar!!" He wishes for Shonen Bat to clobber Shogo so he can catch him and take the credit. Shogo is struck down shortly after. However, Lil'Slugger is too fast and Ichi cannot catch up. Ichi is only blamed and picked on even more, as many knew his hatred for Shogo. Although Shougo survives, he is hospitalized. Ichi is shortly after knocked out by Lil Slugger himself.

It is later revealed that the boy who injures Shogo is actually not the real Lil Slugger, but an impostor. This explains how Shogo, a relatively harmless and mentally stable person, was attacked. Maniwa realizes this when questioning him. Although all the others had some kind of overbearing stress before the attack, Shogo didn't.

Shogo and Ichi show up for brief cameos later on in the series. In Episode 6, Ichi runs past Taeko seemingly in a panic, and Shogo runs after him, seemingly having fun. This probably symbolizes Ichi running from either his own guilt or his continued paranoia, and Shogo, not knowing any better, is playing along as if it were some kind of simple game. This small scene is never explained, however.

Shogo's fate after that is uncertain, although it is shown that like Ichi and almost all of Tokyo, Shogo has sadly seemingly fallen into the "Maromi mania" by the last episodes. How deeply and whether or not Shogo will ever finally become friends which Ichi, however, remains ambiguous, like many of the plotlines in the series.

[edit] Symbolism and Character Analysis

Kon has a tendency to jab at the modern culture of Japan, and this is no exception. To many, Shogo is Ichi's perfect antithesis. Despite his past bullying problems and his dumpy, chubby frame, Shogo seems determined to make friends, even with those who are mean to him. This earns him popularity, which Ichi can't understand because Ichi has never truly had any friends and has lived a shallow life. Many believe Shogo is Kon's social statement about who the real "good kids" are and how not giving in to the shallow popularity and false friendships that Ichi embraced can make one a better person.

[edit] The Significance of the Palm Tree

In Episode 2, Shogo carries a palm tree replica when he walks with Ichi. There are many possible explanations for this. One possible idea is that palm trees represent victory in Japan and many other places. Some think it could mean Shogo's victory over Ichi. Others claim that the palm tree is also a symbol for the phrase "an island of a man", which is a way of describing one who follows his or her heart. Some also claim it could merely just be his class president prize, although its symbolism seems a little too blatant to take with a grain of salt.

The palm tree appears before Ichi is attacked, as well as shortly before Lil' Slugger attacks Tokyo as the blob. People believe the significance of this to be either two things: either the palm tree represents both Shogo himself and his honest nature or it symbolizes Ichi trying to pull another victory out of the surrounding circumstances. In other words, he is still stuck in his own self-delusion when a living nightmare takes hold of Tokyo.

Another possible meaning for the palm tree, is a reference to a play on words in an old Japanese phrase. In Japanese, there are three different kanji for the sound "Ki". They mean "spirit", "feeling", and "tree." The phrase "ki o motsu" means "to keep one's spirits up" or "to be positive." However, a play on these words can also mean "to hold a tree."

There is also another possible play on words, "Ki ni yotte uo o motomu", which means "climbing a tree to catch a fish." This phrase is a way of describing when one is trying to achieve an objective using the wrong method, in this case Shogo trying to make friends with Ichi by identifying with his dilemma. Yuichi's family name, Taira, has the word "fish" in it.

[edit] Name Meaning

The "Ushi" part of Shogo's last name, Ushiyama, means "cow." Many of the series' characters have names which allude to something. Although there is the obvious allusion to Shogo's weight, in Japan and many other parts of Asia the cow is something of a revered animal. As in India, in Japan the cow is often associated with good fortune. For a long time in Japan, eating cows was actually scoffed at in many places and in some provinces it even was outlawed. The cow is also depicted in Japanese mythology as having the qualities of purity and honesty. In the Zodiac, the cow or ox is often associated with timidness and passiveness, but also a positive outlook and honesty.

Paranoia Agent
Characters
Shougo Ushiyama | Mitsuhiro Maniwa | Misae Ikari | Tsukiko Sagi | Maromi | Lil' Slugger
Episodes
"Enter Lil' Slugger" | "The Golden Shoes" | "Double Lips" | "A Man's Path" | "The Holy Warrior" | "Fear of a Direct Hit" | "MHz" | "Happy Family Planning" | "ETC" | "Mellow Maromi" | "Entry Forbidden" | "Radar Man" | "Final Episode"
Other
Paranoia Agent Original Soundtrack | Satoshi Kon | Susumu Hirasawa