Shouya Kurotaki

Neighborhood
The Kurotaki family lives in a quiet residential neighborhood, away from the noisier areas. The streets are narrow, with houses lined up neatly, separated by small spaces where plants sometimes grow or bicycles accumulate.
In the mornings, the dominant sound is that of students walking to school and neighbors opening their businesses. At night, however, everything becomes quieter, broken only by the occasional train passing in the distance or the drone of a late-night car.
It's a place where everyone seems to know each other by sight, but they rarely interact beyond what's necessary.
The Kurotaki home
Shouya's house is modest, two stories, with a simple and functional structure. It's not particularly spacious, but it's well-organized. The entrance has a small space for leaving shoes, always tidy by his mother.
The ground floor includes the main living room, which also serves as the dining room, and the kitchen, where Emiko spends much of her time working on her business. The furniture is simple, slightly worn from age, but well-maintained. There are details that reflect daily life: a television that is rarely turned off completely, papers organized in specific corners, and everyday objects placed with precision.
The bedrooms are on the second floor. Shouya's is small, almost minimalist. It has a single bed, a desk covered in notebooks, loose sheets of paper, and notes about production, and a lamp that's usually left on late. In one corner, his backpack rests, almost always ready for the next day, as if he never quite manages to unpack it completely.
There aren't many decorative elements, but there are signs of his interest: notes stuck on the wall, improvised sketches, and some carefully stored films.

Region: Kantō (関東地方)
Shouya lives in the Kantō region, one of the busiest and most densely populated areas of Japan. It's a place where modernity and a fast-paced routine dominate the everyday landscape. Crowded trains during rush hour, the lights of the buildings, and the constant flow of people are all part of the daily atmosphere.
Here, time seems to move faster than elsewhere. Everything is connected, everything functions, but everything also demands something in return: energy, discipline, and endurance. For someone like Shouya, this region represents both opportunity and exhaustion. It's the place where dreams can begin… but also where they can easily get lost in the noise.
City: Kawasaki (川崎市), Kanagawa
Shouya lives in Kawasaki, a city located between Tokyo and Yokohama. It's a crossroads that blends industrial zones with quieter residential areas. It doesn't have the constant glitz of Tokyo, but it's not completely silent either; it's a functional, practical city where people live without drawing too much attention to themselves.
The streets he usually walks are lined with small shops, supermarkets open late, and train stations that quickly connect to larger areas. It's common to see workers returning home late, with the same weariness etched in his eyes.
Kawasaki has an understated identity: it doesn't seek to stand out, but it maintains much of the region's rhythm. For Shouya, it's a comfortable place in its familiarity, though he sometimes finds it monotonous.

Father: Kurotaki Hiroshi (黒滝 宏), 46 years old
Hiroshi works as an administrator at a logistics company. He is a methodical man, with rigid habits and few words, accustomed to measuring the value of things in terms of stability and constant effort. He is not cold, but he finds it difficult to express affection directly; his way of showing concern is through practical questions or insistent reminders.
His relationship with Shouya is complex. He deeply respects the fact that his son has been working since he was so young, but he doesn't fully understand the world of audiovisual production. For him, it's an uncertain, unstructured environment full of unnecessary risks. He often asks him if it's really worth all the effort for a job where he doesn't seem to be advancing.
However, deep down, Hiroshi sees himself reflected in that quiet perseverance. Although he rarely says so, he feels pride in Shouya for not giving up, even when conditions aren't ideal. His problem isn't a lack of affection, but rather the difficulty in expressing it without turning it into worry.
Mother: Kurotaki Emiko (黒滝恵美子), 43 years old
Emiko runs a small business from home, selling handmade goods. She's more expressive than Hiroshi and has a special sensitivity for noticing the emotional state of others, especially her son. She has always been Shouya's main emotional support, though that doesn't mean she doesn't worry.
She clearly sees the toll his routine takes on him: the dark circles under his eyes, the constant tiredness, the way he sometimes eats listlessly or falls asleep without finishing what he's doing. She often tries to convince him to rest more or not to take on all the work he's given.
Their relationship is close, but not perfect. Shouya tends to downplay his feelings so as not to worry her, which creates a silent distance. Even so, Emiko is the only person with whom he occasionally allows himself to be a little more vulnerable.

However, not all his experiences were motivating. On several occasions, he worked on productions where disorganization and mismanagement fell squarely on the shoulders of people like him. Workdays stretched on without warning, tasks duplicated due to a lack of communication, and contradictory demands were part of the daily routine. There were projects where he barely ate properly or where he had to repeat unnecessary journeys simply because no one wanted to organize things better. At those times, his exhaustion wasn't just physical, but also mental, leading him to question whether this was truly the right path.
Despite everything, Shouya has accumulated experience that few his age possess. He has seen productions built from scratch, how they withstand pressure, and how, sometimes, they crumble due to poor planning. Although his role has been small, he has learned to read the rhythms of a set, to identify errors before they occur, and to understand the importance of every detail, no matter how minor it may seem.
Every project, even the most frustrating ones, has helped shape his idea of ​​the kind of producer he wants to be. Not a distant one who just gives orders, but someone who understands every part of the process because he's experienced it from the ground up.

From the moment he started as a production assistant, Shouya discovered that his work had no clear boundaries. Every project was different, but his role always ended up being the same: filling in any gaps that no one else wanted or could handle. In his first few months, he was involved in low-budget local commercials, mostly ads for regional products and small brands. His job consisted of arriving before everyone else, helping to unload equipment, marking positions with tape on the floor, and making sure the actors had what they needed between takes. Many times he wasn't even on the official crew lists, but he was always one of the last to leave.
One of the first projects that made a strong impression on him was a late-night television drama. It wasn't a large production, but it was organized enough for him to closely observe the actual workflow. He spent entire days running between departments: carrying messages from the director to the technical crew, searching for forgotten props, and getting last-minute food when schedules ran longer than planned. On one occasion, he managed to avert a major delay by improvising a replacement for a key set piece that had gone missing, which gave him a brief sense of ownership, although no one directly acknowledged it as his accomplishment.

Later, she worked as an assistant on the recording of a variety show. That environment was completely different: chaotic, noisy, and constantly changing. She had to adapt to rapid, sometimes contradictory, instructions while managing to-do lists that never seemed to end. She was in charge of coordinating guest movement, preparing basic dressing rooms, and ensuring that deadlines were met as best as possible. There, she learned to think quickly, prioritize under pressure, and accept that, in that type of production, absolute order was nonexistent.
He also had the opportunity to work on a low-budget independent film. This project was especially significant for him because, for the first time, he felt close to what he truly wanted to do. Although his tasks remained basic—transporting equipment, organizing call sheets, assisting the art department—the atmosphere was more intimate, and the crew, while equally demanding, showed greater passion for the project. At times, he could observe how shots were planned or how script changes were discussed. He even overheard conversations about financing and distribution, which further sparked his interest in the role of producer.

Balancing work and studies proved more difficult than he anticipated. He would arrive home late, often without the energy to do his schoolwork. His grades began to fluctuate, and while they weren't disastrous, they did reflect his exhaustion. His parents started to worry, questioning whether it was truly worth the effort for a job that, from their perspective, offered neither stability nor recognition. Shouya, however, never considered quitting. For him, even on the worst days, each day represented an investment in his future.
Over the years, he developed a quiet resilience. He learned to move quickly, to anticipate needs before they were even voiced, to remain useful without drawing too much attention to himself. He also learned something harder: that in that environment, merit wasn't always visible. Even so, there were small moments that reinforced his resolve. Once, a producer noticed his efficiency in resolving a logistical issue and gave him a brief "good job." It wasn't much, but Shouya remembered it for weeks.

It was at sixteen that he finally took the first step. Through a neighbor's acquaintance, he landed a job as an assistant on a small local production. It wasn't a formal or well-defined position; in fact, no one expected much from him. But Shouya arrived with an absolute willingness to learn, even if it meant starting from the very basics. He soon realized that "production assistant" was just a title in his case: in practice, he became the errand boy, carrying light equipment, fetching food, delivering documents, and resolving any minor issues that arose.
At first, every task seemed like an opportunity. He observed carefully, listened to other people's conversations, and memorized work processes. But over time, the routine began to wear him down. He noticed that, despite his constant effort, no one ever stopped to explain anything to him or include him in more important processes. He was useful, yes, but easily replaceable. Even so, he never stopped taking notes in a small notebook he always carried with him, where he jotted down terms, ideas, and impromptu outlines of how he would do things if he were in charge.

Shouya Kurotaki was born in a quiet urban area, into a modest home where expectations were clear but never harshly imposed. His father worked long hours in an administrative office, while his mother ran a small business from home. They didn't grow up surrounded by luxury, but neither did they experience serious hardship; what was abundant, however, was the quiet weariness of the adults. From a young age, Shouya developed a particular sensitivity to this environment: he learned not to ask for too much, to observe before speaking, and to resolve on his own whatever was within his reach.
During his childhood, he didn't particularly excel academically or socially. He was a quiet child who preferred staying home to going out with others. However, he found a kind of unexpected refuge in television. Not in the programs themselves, but in what went on behind the scenes. While other children were entertained by the stories, he wondered how the scenes were put together, who decided what was shown and what wasn't. That curiosity grew over the years, especially when he began watching films more attentively, noticing details that others overlooked: camera changes, lighting, continuity.
At fourteen, he already knew, though he didn't say it out loud, that he wanted to work in production. He didn't dream of being a renowned actor or director; what fascinated him was the entire machine, the invisible coordination that made everything work. However, he didn't know where to begin, and he didn't have anyone to guide him. His parents, while not opposed, considered it an unrealistic idea, so they encouraged him to focus on his studies without taking any premature risks.

Outfit:
His clothes are practical and understated. He usually wears simple shirts or plain T-shirts combined with light jackets or sweatshirts, depending on the weather. He wears dark, comfortable pants with plenty of pockets where he keeps notes, cables, or other small useful items.
She always carries a somewhat worn backpack, full of notebooks, incomplete scripts, water bottles, and other items she's asked to carry. Her shoes are worn from constantly walking back and forth.
Tastes:
She is passionate about film, especially the work behind the scenes: organizing, planning, and directing projects. She enjoys observing how scenes are constructed and how every detail fits together.
She enjoys quiet moments, like drinking coffee while reviewing notes or watching old movies in her limited free time. She also likes to jot down ideas for future projects, though she rarely shares them with anyone.
She greatly values ​​sincere recognition, even the smallest kind.
Dislikes:
He hates being treated as if his work doesn't matter or as if he's invisible. It deeply bothers him when he's burdened with responsibilities that aren't his without explanation.
He doesn't like disorder on sets or a lack of planning, although he often has to deal with it.
He is also bothered by excessive noise when he is trying to concentrate and by people who look down on those who are just starting out.

Name: Shouya Kurotaki (黒滝翔也)
Age: 18 years
Occupation: Production Assistant (mainly responsible for errands, minor logistics, and general on-set support)
Personality:
Shouya is a responsible person, to the point of being overly demanding of himself. He has a very strong work ethic, but also a tendency to take on more than he should, which constantly leaves him exhausted. He is observant and a quick learner, especially by watching how the actual producers work, even though he rarely has the opportunity to participate directly.
He's quiet in work environments, not because he lacks ideas, but because he feels it's not his place to offer his opinion yet. However, in private, he can be surprisingly passionate when talking about film and production.
Despite often not receiving recognition, she maintains a persistent attitude. Her biggest flaw is her difficulty setting boundaries, which allows others to take advantage of her willingness.
Appearance:
She is about 1.73 m tall, with a slender, almost fragile build due to accumulated fatigue. Her hair is black, slightly long and messy, with strands falling over her forehead, as if she never had time to style it properly.
She has dark circles under her eyes that contrast with her fair skin, evidence of long nights spent studying and working. Her eyes are dark and often appear dull, although when something interests her, they shine brightly.
He wears thin-framed glasses, slightly crooked at times, as a result of his hurried pace.