Noboru Kuroda

Noboru Kuroda is a thirteen-year-old boy who harbors a deep sense of nihilism, believing that life is inherently empty and devoid of meaning. This belief is shared with his close-knit group of friends. To him, the world is a landscape of chaos and insignificance, concepts reinforced by his idolization of the sea and its vastness. Despite being a good student and appearing like any other teenager, underneath his exterior lies a dark philosophy. He is convinced of his genius, views death as humanity's ultimate goal, despises authority, and takes pride in his cultivated "hard-heartedness." His perception of the sea as a metaphorical "large iron anchor" symbolizes his resistance to decay and his yearning for answers beyond his terrestrial world.

Noboru's view of Ryuji Tsukazaki as a mythological hero initially stems from Ryuji's life at sea, which represents beauty, glory, danger, perfection, and death—qualities Noboru admires and yearns for. However, when Ryuji decides to give up the sea for a mundane life on land, working in a clothing boutique, Noboru feels betrayed. This decision shatters the heroic image Noboru had constructed, and he sees Ryuji's actions as a fall from grace. In reaction, Noboru, alongside his friends and guided by The Chief, plots to punish Ryuji through a calculated, ritualistic murder.

Ryuji Tsukazaki

Ryuji Tsukazaki, a sailor torn between his love for Fusako Kuroda and the call of the sea, embodies a life of adventure and the allure of the unknown. His existence on the freighter symbolizes a quest for undefined glory, a promise of heroism yet to be realized. His relationship with Fusako marks a turning point where he contemplates leaving the sea to settle down, influenced by the repetitiveness of his voyages and the allure of domestic life. This choice, however, not only disappoints Noboru, who revered him as a hero of the sea, but also signifies Ryuji's resignation to the ordinary.

Ryuji's compromise of choosing love and land over the sea leads to his downfall. While he shares Noboru's passions for beauty, glory, and danger, Ryuji seeks fulfillment through a woman, Fusako, and sexual love. His dreams of glory remain unfulfilled, and this transition from a sailor to a "fallen hero" is cemented when he drinks the poisoned tea offered by Noboru and his friends, leading to his demise.

Fusako Kuroda

Fusako Kuroda, Noboru's mother, is a young widow who owns a fashionable clothing boutique. Her life is marked by loneliness following her husband's death, and she finds solace and hope for a new life in her relationship with Ryuji. Fusako is depicted as a modern, Westernized Japanese woman, characterized by her affinity for Western-style clothing and lifestyle. Her presence fills the void left by her husband, and she yearns for a traditional suburban life with Ryuji, unaware of her son’s and his friends’ dark intentions.

Her relationship with Ryuji unwittingly sets the stage for tragedy. Fusako, representing the author’s critique of the unimaginative middle-class mentality, remains oblivious to Noboru’s nihilism and the impending doom. Her attraction to Ryuji's potential domesticated life inadvertently draws him away from the heroism of the sea, sealing his fate.

The Chief

The Chief serves as the leader and philosophical guide of Noboru’s group of friends. At thirteen, he is a self-proclaimed philosopher, instilling in the boys a doctrine of nihilism and illustrating the world's chaos and inherent meaninglessness. His teachings reflect the author's own views on the lack of sacredness in life. He orchestrates the group's activities, including the dissection of a kitten, which serves as a ritualistic demonstration of life's banality.

It is The Chief who proposes that killing Ryuji would restore him to a heroic status in their eyes and serve as a fitting punishment for abandoning the sea. His strong self-control and disdain for the societal norms empower him to lead the group in committing the ultimate act of murder, one that is both a philosophical statement and a brutal assertion of their beliefs.