Sumio Kodai

Sumio Kodai (コダイ スミオ, Kodai Sumio) is a character in The Silver Case and The 25th Ward: The Silver Case. He is a detective working for the Heinous Crimes Unit.

Appearance and Personality

Sumio, due to the traumatic events of his childhood seems to lives a double life. On the exterior Sumio displays himself as a cool, collected and highly capable police officer. He displays incredible skill in the field and is known to be stubborn and short fused, snapping fiercely at Akira for the smallest of mistakes. Sumio also has a bit of a romantic side, seeing as he allegedly had shared a romance with a suspect and how openly he flirts with Ayame Shimohira. Sumio's interior however tells a different story. Sumio sees himself as nothing but an empty husk, void of anything aside from his desire for revenge against the Yukimura Zaibatsu. In order to bury the grief he feels over The Parade he seemingly killed nearly his entire identity. Despite this he still holds his own morals and desires but this does not quell how truly sad and lonely he feels on a daily basis. Throughout The 25th Ward The Silver Case we get a closer glimpse of his true nature. Ultimately, Sumio's a person in pursuit of justice and what is truly right, by any means necessary, and at any cost to himself or anybody.

History

Sumio, Hiseki and Fuyuki

Sumio was potentially born as one of the eleven Eleki Kids but spent his childhood in the rural industrial town of Mikumo 77. His childhood friends were Hiseki, Fuyuki and Riru Yukimura. He seemingly lived a relatively normal life until The river near Mikumo 77 became gradually polluted by chemicals as a result of the activities of the Yukimura Zaibatsu. The people of Mikumo 77 protested against Yukimura's interference, but as the chemicals began to affect their mental states, they became more paranoid and erratic and their demonstrations grew increasingly violent. These riots became colloquially known as The Parade During the Parade riots, Riru, abandoned by her parents as a "sacrifice", is targeted by townspeople who believe she is a witch. She is taken from her home, raped, and killed by the crowd of rioters. For their efforts to rescue Riru, Sumio and his friends are attacked and disabled; Sumio's ears were stabbed out, rupturing his eardrums and leaving him mostly deaf. In response to the injustice, Sumio and his friends form the Mikumo Boys, vowing revenge on the Yukimura Zaibatsu whose actions had caused the riots. What happened to Sumio after the riots is unknown. As a young man, Sumio Kodai trained at the Central Police Department, keeping his deafness a secret in order to conceal his true motivations and identity. He resorted to bribery to skip his physical and hearing tests, became an expert in lipreading, and made use of accessibility technology invented by Hiseki (i.e. phones that translated incoming messages into Braille).

By 1994 Sumio had successfully been recruited into the Heinous Crimes Unit where is assigned to Unit 2 and met his partner Tetsugoro Kusabi. The two got off to a rough start but soon formed a tight bond despite Kusabi's volatility. Sumio's first case with the HCU was the Power Girl Case which involved a terrorist bomber on the east side of Ward 24. Details on this case are vague but it is known that Sumio shared some sort of romantic relationship with the main suspect. Sumio continued his work with the HCU contributing on the 1998 Gas Kids case as well as other non-specified cases.

The Silver Case

Confronting Ayame

Staking out the Yukimura Estate

Sumio is first mentioned by Kusabi during case#00:Lunatics after he is fired upon by a crazed Ryo Kazan. Chizuru Hachisuka however mentions that Sumio had already left the office for the night. This is shown in the supplemental manga Pre-Lunatics, which shows Sumio awakening from a nap with a "bad feeling" before quickly leaving for a meeting with the Mikumo Boys.

Sumio makes his first physical appearance in case#01:Decoyman alongside Kusabi at [IMM Hospital]] interviewing Kamui Fujiwara's personal doctor Tachibana in the aftermath of the Republic Unit's Destruction. The two detectives learn that Kamui is in a comatose state and is physically and mentally incapable of committing any murders. After interviewing the doctor the two detective come across Akira, one of two surviving members of the Republic Unit. Kusabi attempts to get information from Akira but Sumio quickly interrupts, telling Kusabi that Akira is mute from trauma. Chizuru Hachisuka calls the two detectives notifying them of another murder, they soon depart the hospital taking Akira with them. The body is identified as Yuka Kawai. The following day the detectives hold a meeting regarding the death.

Sumio spends the entirety of case#02:Spectrum on a stakeout with Kusabi of the Yukimura Estate following vague threats, presumably from the Mikumo Boys. The two detectives talk about various topics, including Sumio's attraction to Ayame despite her being a serial killer, Kusabi's money issues as well as complaining about how bored they are. Sumio and Kusabi are both approached by Tokio Morishima and share a quick interaction much to Sumio's annoyance.

Meeting Yukimura

Arrested by Kusabi

Case 4.5 : FACE

Sumio during his time in prison

Sumio is still incarcerated due to the events of case#03 Parade. He meets Sakura Natsume for the first time as she interviews him as part of her training. They share an intense conversation about the nature of crime and darkness of humanity.

Flower, Sun, and Rain

Main article: Sumio Mondo

Sumio Kodai's exact relation to Mondo is unknown but Kodai is referenced sparsely throughout Flower Sun and Rain, namely by Tokio Morishima who refers to him as a homosexual and the lover of Tetsugoro Kusabi.

The 25th Ward: The Silver Case

depression memes

Official profiles

Originally from the industrial city of Mikumo, Sumio was assigned to the Heinous Crimes Unit after graduating from the Central Police Academy. Since then he has served effectively as the backbone of the 24 Wards Police Department. He has a partnership with Kusabi and always likes to get into the heart of an investigation. He has a serious attitude and is above petty disagreements within the department over status and promotion, focusing only on preventing crimes and solving mysteries. His history suggests that he gave up the chance to make a bigger name for himself out of choice, though his real motives remain unclear (Official site profile)

The backbone of the 24 Wards HC Unit, he works investigations together with Kusabi. Not one to conform to nor conflict with the police force, he knows his place and puts all of his focus on crime. (case#1:decoyman profile)

Gallery

The Silver Case

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  Transmitter

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  Placebo

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  First day on the job

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  Decoyman

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  Spectrum

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  Parade

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  Confronting Akira and Kusabi

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  Kamuidrome

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  As seen by Tokio

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  2016 remake art

Case#4.5: Face

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  Sumio talking with Sakura Natsume

The 25th Ward

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  Portrait

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  The wind enters my body

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  Kamui can fuck off

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  Meeting at the Edge of the 24th Ward

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  Meeting with Kuroyanagi