| Shibara Minoru | |
|---|---|
[[ |250px]] | |
| Name | Shibara Minoru |
| Japanese | 柴原 ミノル |
| Romaji | Shibara Minoru |
| General Information | |
| First Appearance | Roots of A (Nine Darts) |
| Age | undefined |
| Occupation | Part-timer |
| Major Relationships | None |
| Abilities | Playing darts, Strong will |
| Image Gallery | |
Shibara Minoru was the main character of the Roots of A short, Nine Darts. He makes no other appearances.
Appearance & Personality[]
Minoru seems to fit right in as a part-timer, with black greasy hair and an unshaven chin giving him the appearance that he personifies. Minoru has a gambling habit, and extraordinarily bad luck, leading to his being perpetually in between jobs. He frequently tries to use his ability at the game of darts to get a job, knowing full well that they won't take him just because he's good at the game. He has a truly caring heart that can stand up for what he believes in, even if the odds are stacked against him.
History[]
After finding a job cleaning up at a concentration facility called Green Mountain Starlight Park, he discovers that everyone there is infected by Green Disease, an illness that turns ones' face and hair green, makes them exceptionally weak, and blurs their vision. Upon further research, Minoru is shocked to discover that the disease is not only curable, but the rate of infection is extremely low. The head is merely using them for cheap labor in order to manufacture illegal goods to sell for much higher than they are worth. He is caught researching this, and as punishment is sent to what they call the Garden of Punishment.
The Garden itself is a very small courtyard with walls too high to climb out of. There is a single apricot tree hanging over the walls, but it is too high to get to without perfect throwing accuracy. A boy infected with Green Disease named Kisaragi Kyo manages to shoot one down with a rock through the window of the courtyard, as thanks to Minoru for helping him avoid punishment. He says that he developed that skill from having been put in the Garden so frequently. Minoru asks Kyo if he has ever played darts, to which he responds negatively. Minoru pulls out a dartboard and some darts and manages to score 100 using three darts, much to his pleasure. Kyo manages to top his score at 180.
Minoru challenges the director of the Facility, Saikawa Shigeo, to a darts game called 501. Shigeo wins in 17 moves, which Minoru applauds. He then suggests that if a patient with Green Disease could do that, it would prove the issue of their eyesight to be false, and therefore the rest of their symptoms. He begs for Shigeo to allow Kyo to challenge all 20 of the employees to a game, and if he wins, the facility is to be shut down. Shigeo smugly agrees to this, knowing that he has ways to make Kyo lose no matter what.
On the day of the challenge, Kyo succeeds up to the final round, where Shigeo putts an apple in Minoru's mouth and tells Kyo to hit the apple. Minoru tells him that it's okay; he is confident that Kyo can do it, and become a professional dart player. Kyo succeeds, and the facility is forced to free its slaves.
An indefinite time later, Minoru is still in between jobs, but when he hears that Kyo thanked him for his championship on international television, he states that he can now call himself human, from the heart.
Etymology[]
- Shibara means "brush, firewood" (柴) (shi) and "field, plain" (原) (hara/bara).
- Minoru is written in katakana (ミノル), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (実), it could possibly mean "fruit, good result, truth".