| “ | If I were the culprit... the factor I would use is... virginity. | ” |
—Kazundo Gouda | ||
Kazundo Gouda (合田一人 Gōda Kazundo) is a fictional character in Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell anime series. He is the primary antagonist of Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG. In the series, Gouda is head of a data manipulation division within the Cabinet Intelligence Service. He initially presents himself and his plans to Section 9 as the means to counter the refugees of Dejima's growing hostility on Japan. However, when a group of ultra-nationalists, The Individual Eleven, threaten the lives of harmless refugees, Gouda becomes a target of suspicion due to his possession of extensive knowledge on the situation.
Gouda's name is difficult to pronounce, as demonstrated by Daisuke Aramaki's mispronunciation of the kanji of his given name as "Hitori" (ひとり). An alternate romanization of his name is "Kazundo."
Later on, it is learned that Gouda created a cyber-brain virus to infect virgins, who then become violent members of The Individual Eleven. After finding enough potential candidates, Gouda chose his "hero" by having the candidates kill each other until one survived. Ending up with the mysterious combat cyborg known as Hideo Kuze, Gouda sent the latter to join the refugees and make them fight back against Japan. This maneuver had set up Gouda's "heroic" plan to create a war between Japan and the refugees, which would serve to convince the people of Japan to change their country with a new self-reliant power structure. However, when Hideo Kuze is revealed to have been acting by himself all along and thwarts Gouda's plans with the help of Major Motoko Kusanagi, Gouda desperately strikes a deal with the American Empire to bomb Dejima Island and earn diplomatic immunity. During his final attempt to escape, he is brutally shot to pieces by the Major.
Background[]
While on a mission, Gouda was involved in an accident and had to have cybernetic parts installed. He was horribly disfigured, but, curiously, chose not to repair his face with easily available cybernetic parts. During a failed training exercise by the Japanese military for its new helicopters, Gouda was dispatched to approach Aramaki with a plan of action to protect the people living in the Refugee Residential District. Gouda later becomes a main suspect in the Individual Eleven case by Section 9. He is the head representative aide of the Strategic Influence Investigatory Committee within Japan's Cabinet Intelligence Service, a position which gives him the power to carry out his plans (see below). In addition, he has a valuable ally in Chief Cabinet Secretary Takakura, who aids Gouda's cause, seemingly to further his own political aspirations.
Personality[]
Gouda's character is much like his face, as he appears polite and well-spoken but seems to have ulterior, warped motives. Manipulative, amoral, and smug; he quickly draws suspicion and hostility from the members of Section 9, particularly Batou. He also acts to make himself appear superior by criticizing others.
Kazundo Gouda is known for his very sophisticated demeanor. However, it is paired with his smugness and arrogance. Before earning his important status, Gouda wasn't special himself. This inferior complex would later turn into an immense delusion of grandeur when he decides to accomplish a self-proclaimed heroic act by returning Japan to its deserved glory according to him.
In the events of 2nd Gig, Gouda has an enormous ego and sees himself as a godlike figure. He creates the Individual Eleven virus, which incorporates many traits of his personality, so he can act through someone who is more competent than him, all while taking credit. Even then, this only gives out hints to his culpability due to such overconfidence.
Also, despite his composed attitude, Gouda is very insecure and can get angry easily. When Batou said that Kuze, thought to be Gouda's pawn, has become more dangerous than Gouda himself, the latter furiously reacts to the Section 9 officer.
Synopsis[]
S.A.C 2nd GIG - The Individual Eleven Events[]
Gouda is the mastermind of the whole Individual Eleven incident. He planned to use the tense issue of Japan's numerous postwar refugees in order to create social imbalance and political upheaval. The rogue helicopter incident in Episode Four is heavily implied to have been helped along by his maneuvering. His extremely convenient knowledge about everything to do with the situation suggests that he had a hand in its cause. It may even have served as "practice" for the bombing of Dejima with the same Jigabachi attack helicopters, given the incidents' similarities, which is noted by several characters including the Major and the Tachikomas.
Part of Gouda's plan is to harness the stand-alone complex social phenomenon in order to produce revolutionaries based on the refugee issue. He made these revolutionaries (the Individual Eleven) by disseminating a fake eleventh essay written by (fictional) writer and philosopher Patrick Sylvestre. This essay, itself titled "The Individual Eleven", contained a cyberbrain virus which forced the reader to conform to a scenario of terrorist actions related to the refugee issue (e.g. murdering cyber-rapper and refugee idol Densetsu, attempting to murder Prime Minister Yoko Kayabuki), followed by mutual suicide at the Selecon Tower. The strongest infected members, of which there were twelve, successfully carried out the scenario, each believing himself to be acting independently and without viral influence.
Gouda anticipated the emergence of one "hero", who - by the rules of the social variation of the stand-alone complex - would go on to further exacerbate the refugee situation. This hero was Hideo Kuze, who disappeared after deciding not to go through with the suicide and resurfaced as a hero of the refugees. In order to stage a revolution, Kuze rallied the refugees to his side in Dejima by virtue of his will and utter belief in his cause (which had existed before his infection with the virus, unbeknownst to Gouda). Using Salami slicing, Kuze obtains enough money to procure weapons-grade plutonium as leverage to secure the independence of Dejima. This process was facilitated by Gouda, who performed such actions as cutting all the power in Nagasaki as a distraction so Kuze could escape the naval blockade there. Gouda also arranged the circumstances so that Kuze would not actually get any plutonium, leaving the refugees with baseless confidence and the military with an excuse to start an all-out war with Dejima.
End of the 2nd GIG[]
Ultimately, Gouda wished to escalate the conflict to the point where public dissatisfaction would destroy the government, allowing him to create a new power structure more to his liking. He doesn't seem to have any personal ambition (though several members of Section 9 suspected him of at least wanting credit for the incident) and claims to be only giving the Japanese people what they want "deep down", which he says is a return to the age of post-WWII rapid growth when the country prospered under the Cold War scheme; this time between American Empire and China (the "81 flag" mentioned by the American submarine commander in the last episode is the symbol for Chinese military). His final goal was to replace Kayabuki with more American Empire-friendly administration and make security alliance, creating Cold War tension in the region and making Japan a "docile consumer" without autonomy. It's been suspected that he collaborated with American Empire from the beginning, as Aramaki implies in the final episode. Gouda almost succeeded, as the Prime Minister was temporarily ousted from office and a coup was underway as Dejima was being assaulted by the JSDF. Fortunately, Kuze, Motoko, and Section 9 (precisely the Tachikomas) turned out to be too unpredictable for Gouda's scenario. Also, even under extreme pressure of being disregarded by the American Empire, Prime Minister Kayabuki refused to get any help from China and acted in accordance with her belief of "National independence through personal independence" and Japan's autonomy, contrary to what Gouda predicted. Thanks to the Tachikomas' sacrifice and Motoko and Kuze's joint efforts to rescue the refugees, the Dejima conflict was halted before the full extent of the damage was done.
Seeing that his plans have failed, Gouda makes an agreement with representatives of the American Empire and hopes to seek asylum with them. When Section 9 arrives to arrest him, he exploits a legal loophole; if he submits a written confession of his crimes to the police, he can leave for a country of his choosing. However, Section 9 exploits a loophole of its own. They possess a note signed by Yoko Kayabuki, which informs them that it would be a major loss for Japan if Gouda's skills were to fall in the hands of a foreign nation, empowering them to do anything necessary to prevent it. Gouda waves them off, believing that they are bluffing. He is then shot in the head and killed by Motoko Kusanagi.
Appearance[]
Kazundo Gouda is mostly recognized for his bald head and scarred face. He's often seen wearing a black suit with matching leather gloves. He sometimes sports a fedora and sunglasses, giving him a sophisticated allure. He also has a trench coat, which he sports with the aforementioned apparel. His right eye is pale blue, while his left is brown. Gouda adopts a composed demeanor and often speaks professionally.
Etymology[]
- The name Kazundo means "one" (一) (kazun) and "person" (人) (to/do).
- Kazundo's surname Gouda means "fit, suit, join, 0.1" (合) (gou) and "field, rice paddy" (田) (ta/da).
Trivia[]
- Gouda loves Print Media. It is hinted that in Gig 2, Episode 6, that he killed Kontan Kanji and his wife as he was spotted carrying a printed newspaper of the deceased man by Togusa.
- Gouda is a virgin, having never had sex before replacing his body with prosthetics, which is made evident in an episode when Batou borrowed Motoko Kusanagi's external memory device to confront him about the Individual Eleven issue. Gouda presents this possible (but factually true) information to Batou as part of an argument concerning the motivations of self-sacrificing activists, who were also linked to being infected with the virus.
- The main antagonist Skullface from Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain resembles Kazundo Gouda in many ways. Hideo Kojima, the creator of the Metal Gear series, is known to be a fan of Ghost in The Shell and has found inspiration in the franchise for many things.
- Gouda can be considered the opposite of Hideo Kuze:
- Gouda prefers realizing plans behind political manipulation. Kuze prefers taking direct action.
- Gouda is a high member of society. Kuze is a fugitive.
- Gouda loves himself very much and thinks he's a kind of a god. Kuze is rather humble and thinks of himself as a man.
- Gouda brutally dies. Kuze "peacefully" dies.
- Gouda enjoys tormenting people. Kuze is quite affable to others.
- Gouda asserts authority. Kuze has people doubting him.
- Gouda is prone to angry outbursts. Kuze never shows much emotion.
| Characters of Ghost in the Shell |
| Public Security Section 9 Motoko Kusanagi |
Daisuke Aramaki |
Batou |
Togusa |
Ishikawa |
Saito |
Pazu |
Boma | |
| Japanese Government and Military Kubota |
Kaoru Yakushima(S.A.C.) |
Prime Minister(S.A.C.) |
Yoko Kayabuki(2nd GIG) | |
| Other Affiliations Puppet Master |
Laughing Man(S.A.C.) |
Hideo Kuze |
Kurutsu(Arise) |
Akira Hose(Arise) | |