Shibaguchi

Shibaguchi
"It feels kind of weird to me, you know? Conversing with a character I created..."
Japanese	柴口
Occupation	Game designer
Status	Never alive
Games	None
Other Appearances	Zero Novel

Shibaguchi is a character in Zero Novel. He is a game designer at Tecmo, and is in charge of the scenario for the game Zero, which Mafuyu Hinasaki has been invited to novelise.

Zero Novel

Shibaguchi is described as a plump and rather unkempt man in his mid-thirties, with a shabby jacket and silver-rimmed glasses. He and Mafuyu meet at the Tecmo offices, where both seem equally shocked at Mafuyu's inexplicable resemblance to a character in the game. Shibaguchi insists that the similarities between the two are a complete coincidence. In response to Mafuyu's questions, Shibaguchi reveals that Himuro Mansion, the setting of the game, was based on a real house near his childhood home. While he and the producer Kitaike were visiting the house to do background research, Shibaguchi spontaneously noted down the character names.

Along with Mafuyu and Ioka, Shibaguchi travels to the real mansion to try and understand what has happened, as Mafuyu's sister, the main character from the game, has mysteriously vanished. Although Shibaguchi claims not to believe in ghosts, he spends the story telling Mafuyu about the strange phenomena he has experienced while working on the game. Wishing to change the subject, Mafuyu questions him about the mansion and rituals that appear in the story, and although Shibaguchi maintains they are completely fictional, Mafuyu notices that he appears briefly confused before answering. As they approach the mansion, Mafuyu begins to suspect that Shibaguchi might be possessed.

Once inside, Shibaguchi starts to shiver uncontrollably. He explains that strange things started happening to him after he visited the mansion, and the scenario for the game simply appeared in his head, as if someone else had put it there. Soon after, Shibaguchi's form begins to change into that of Junsei Takamine. He appears and disappears mysteriously, sometimes seeming annoyed at events that do not match what he wrote in the game. He repeatedly insists that Mafuyu and Miku are merely characters he created, nearly provoking Mafuyu to attack him.

When Mafuyu makes his way to the Hell Gate, where he is supposed to reunite with Miku, Shibaguchi is there, along with Kitaike and Tsukihara. Kitaike reveals that only he, Mafuyu, Miku and Tsukihara (another Tecmo employee) are real. Everything else, including Shibaguchi, is a virtual projection combined with false memories implanted by hypnotism. Shibaguchi reacts angrily to the implication that he is only a character, at which point Tsukihara makes him disappear using her computer. Mafuyu's suspicions are confirmed: all along, Shibaguchi was no more than a puppet, his actions controlled by Kitaike.

Misc. Info

• Shibaguchi's physical appearance is very similar to that of Makoto Shibata, and he has the same role at Tecmo.