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Kim Kitsuragi
Kim Kitsuragi is a character in the 2019 detective video game Disco Elysium. As a non-playable companion character, he assists the player character in solving a murder that comprises the game's main plot. Kitsuragi is defined by his Asian-inspired culture, private queerness, and calm, stoic personality. He is noted by journalists and academics for his reactions to the player's choices, ranging from deadpan quips to moments of approval and vulnerability. Kitsuragi was designed by the Estonian studio ZA/UM under the direction of Robert Kurvitz. The writer had previously developed the fictional setting for a novel and tabletop role-playing sessions. The team wanted to innovate on typical dialog trees seen in role-playing video games, deciding to only reveal aspects of Kitsuragi's character in specific situations. The studio decided that the character should have a "vaguely French" accent, leading them to cast actor Jullian Champenois for his voice performance. Champenois worked closely with the team to capture the character's nuances, aligning with the game's themes and tone. Kim Kitsuragi received acclaim as a standout character from Disco Elysium. Critics highlighted his subtle responses, moral integrity, and endearing presence, describing how his interactions contributed to the game's most memorable moments. Kitsuragi was celebrated as one of the best video game characters of 2019, with journalists noting his exceptional writing, design, and performance. His portrayal is recognized for reflecting Disco Elysium's themes and offering a nuanced representation of queer and cultural experiences. Appearances
Kim Kitsuragi in Disco Elysium, Day One[1]
Kim Kitsuragi first appeared in the 2019 video game Disco Elysium,[2] with additional voiced dialog featured in the game's 2021 remastered edition, Disco Elysium: Final Cut.[3] Throughout the game, Kitsuragi serves as the non-playable partner to the player-protagonist, Harry Du Bois.[2][4] The story of Disco Elysium centers on an unsolved murder in Martinaise,[2] a neglected district between two different police departments. When both police districts send a detective to investigate, Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi is assigned to partner with the player character.[4] Kitsuragi is depicted with an orange bomber jacket,[5][6] as well as his visible heritage from "Seol", a fictional culture inspired by Korea and Japan.[7] As Du Bois struggles with a hangover and memory loss, Kitsuragi guides him to the murder victim to conduct an autopsy,[8][9] becoming a source of competence and advice.[9] For most of the story, Kitsuragi remains aloof, calm, and stoic.[2][3][10][11][12] On occasion, he expresses approval when the player forms intelligent theories about the murder case.[9] Other times, he responds with deadpan remarks when the player makes mistakes.[13] Aspects of Kitsuragi's character are slowly revealed through numerous optional interactions with the player character.[14] While he can grow annoyed with the player's antics,[15] he sometimes cooperates with the player's more eccentric behaviors and even shows moments of vulnerability.[2] At one point, the player can ask Kitsuragi about his sexuality, and he confirms that he is gay with a witty remark.[16][17][18] Another rare moment occurs where Kitsuragi makes a small error, and the player can decide how to react.[10] When faced with racism directed at Kitsuragi, the player can decide whether to intervene, prompting complex reactions from Kitsuragi.[19][20] The game features many small interactions with Kitsuragi, such as sharing a stolen sandwich, having a dance-off, or simply nodding at each other.[21] At the climax of the game, Kim accompanies the player-character to arrest the murderer.[5] In one of the game's endings, the player can invite Kitsuragi to switch precincts and join Du Bois.[12] In contrast, the player can also lose Kitsuragi's trust or even cause him to be shot and hospitalized.[22][23] ZA/UM has also highlighted Kitsuragi in appearances outside the story,[24] including marketing and merchandise for his signature jacket in 2022,[5][6] and a 2023 "Collage Mode" wherein players can arrange game characters into custom scenes.[24] Concept and creation Kim Kitsuragi was created by the Estonian game studio ZA/UM for Disco Elysium.[2] Most of the team had never made a video game. Lead designer and writer Robert Kurvitz leaned into his tabletop role-playing game experience and the Elysium setting he had first explored in his novel Sacred and Terrible Air.[26][28][29] The team tried to avoid the role-playing video game convention of exploring every option in a dialogue tree, instead designing Kitsuragi to share personal details only in specific situations.[2] Kurvitz tried to expand the game's choices and consequences through small moments of reactivity, "where your coworkers remember every embarrassing thing you said last night when you were drunk".[30] The team decided that Kitsuragi should find the player character amusing and sometimes indulge him against his better judgment. Kurvitz commented that Kitsuragi's willingness to occasionally go against his instincts "gives him a warmth that's so endearing".[2] In comparison to the player character, the writers discussed Kitsuragi's potential attributes and beliefs. While these were not implemented in game, Kurvitz assumed that Kitsuragi would score high in volition, making him resistant to personal questions.[2] Although Kitsuragi was written as attracted to the same gender,[16][17][18] the game did not provide an option for the player-character to kiss him, a decision that writer Justin Keenan felt would heighten the player's desire.[31] Kurvitz saw Kitsuragi as a "systemic metaphor" for the game, commenting that "[w]hat he does for the officer is what Disco Elysium tries its dardnest to do for the player. ... [I]t's not much, but you have me."[30] When selecting an actor to voice the character, ZA/UM decided that a "vaguely French" accent would fit with the fictional city of Revachol.[2] After a four-year search,[2] they discovered actor Jullian Champenois by hiring a voiceover agency, selecting him for his French accent and emotional tone.[32][33] Lead writer Robert Kurvitz felt that the actor embodied their intention for the character, especially "the cool, the deadpan, and the warmth".[2] During recording, ZA/UM guided Champenois through the context of each scene, spending more time on the first day to perfect the character's tone, vocabulary, and intonations.[33] Champenois was coached to lean into his natural speech, leading him to draw upon the "lonely, quiet, and composed" aspects of his personality to find parallels with the character.[33] When the expanded Final Cut added voiced dialog to previously unspoken lines, Champenois became one of the few original voice actors who was not recast.[34] AnalysisAcademics have studied the importance of Kitsuragi's reactions to the player. In Games and Narrative: Theory and Practice, Leanne Taylor-Giles highlights Kitsuragi's reactions during the autopsy sequence for reinforcing his character while giving useful feedback to the player.[35] In the Cyberpsychology Journal of Psychosocial Research, Piotr Klimczyk found many players felt strongly about earning Kitsuragi's approval, noting feelings of personal growth and post-game melancholy.[36] At the 2023 Digital Games Research Association conference, Jon Stone suggested that Kitsuragi's approval serves as a moral anchor for the player, granting them agency to humorously test the game's boundaries with benign violations.[37] Writing for Frontiers in Virtual Reality, Lena Fanya Aeschbach describes how bothering Kitsuragi achieves a distancing effect between the player and the protagonist, offering an alternative to player characters designed for immersion.[38] In the Northern Illinois University College of Law, Evan D. Bernick cites Kitsuragi's reactions as a moral compass in a failing legal system.[39] In Trauma im Computerspiel, Thomas Spies similarly notes Kitsuragi's role as a moral authority and a voice of reason.[40] Kitsuragi is often highlighted as an example of how Disco Elysium approaches its themes and ideological viewpoints.[7][12] Colin Spacetwinks of Waypoint compares the concealed emotions of the game's characters to the guarded political views of the game's authors, making Kitsuragi feel unexpectedly genuine when he says, 'I'd rather not talk about it."[12] In Video Games, Crime, and Control, Edward L. W. Green notes how Kitsuragi's stoicism mirrors other hardboiled detective fiction, which focuses more on personal ethics than ideology or justice.[41] Writing for NME, Georgina Young highlighted Kitsuragi as an example of the game's intelligent approach to social and cultural issues, with his fictional "Seol" heritage particularly relevant to real life.[7] In Critical Theories in Dark Tourism, Florence Smith Nicholls notes how one character's racist assumptions leads them to treat Kitsuragi as a tourist, evoking an ironic contrast between Kitsuragi's knowledge of the city and the protagonist's amnesia.[42] Fraser Brown of PC Gamer noted a moment where the player can attempt to challenge racism directed at Kitsuragi, describing how after "a seemingly throwaway conversation, I reconsidered the relationship between Kim and his forgetful partner, and it grounded me in the world".[19] Madeline Carpou of The Mary Sue also reacted to this sequence as part of "one of the best representations of an Asian immigrant story I've seen in a video game" and an element of the character's overall popularity.[20] Journalist Dmitry King had high praise for Kitsuragi's portrayal of the queer experience, including his subtle reactions to other queer characters in the game.[17] Writing for TheGamer, Jaclyn Blute noted him as one of gaming's best gay characters,[16] while Gab Hernandez further praised him as "one of the most iconic gay characters in video games" because of the "nonchalant" and "mundane" way in which his sexuality is a part of his identity.[18] ReceptionKim Kitsuragi has been frequently praised as an essential part of Disco Elysium and its critical acclaim. Lauren Morton of PC Gamer hailed Kitsuragi as the game's "breakout star", describing how "an empathetic enough detective can manage to uncover brief moments of vulnerability" in the otherwise unflappable character.[2] GamePro's David Molke called Kitsuragi one of his favorite game heroes, highlighting his subtle reactions against the player's antics, while still showing loyalty and patience.[43] Andy Kelly of PC Gamer praised the character's writing and voice performance, offering a "voice of reason" portrayed with "reassuring warmth and an endearing, deadpan cool."[3] Diego Arguello of Inverse also praised Kitsuragi for offering a compelling contrast with the protagonist, "building an unbreakable bond of kindness that persists throughout the story".[44] Cameron Kunzelman of Vice described Kitsuragi's dual role in the protagonist's professional and personal life, explaining that "Kim is written in such a way that I came to feel that I really knew him and why he cared about all of this in the end."[45] Commentators frequently mention the character's popularity and appeal,[46][47][48] with Sam Chandler of Shacknews declaring that "you will either want to marry Kim Kitsuragi or drown your sorrows in tequila."[49] Madeline Carpou from The Mary Sue felt that Kitsuragi was a significant factor in making Disco Elysium one of the best games ever written.[50] Kitsuragi's reactions to the player's choices have been celebrated as "highlights" from the game.[13] Joe DeVader from Nintendo World Report noted purposely annoying Kitsuragi as one of the game's best interactions.[15] PC Gamer's Jody MacGregor highlighted the autopsy sequence, explaining how "[Kitsuragi's] approval is delicious", likening it to an addictive drug.[9] Eric Van Allen of Destructoid praised the moments of "small kindness" shared between Kitsuragi and the protagonist, when the player can simply allow Kitsuragi to correct a minor error without embarrassment.[10] George Foster from RPG Site felt that Kitsuragi was frequently part of his favorite moments from the game.[21] A promotional booth at EGX London 2022 featured a portrait of Kitsuragi, which fans transformed into a tribute decorated with fan mail and fan art of the character.[51] When ZA/UM released a Kitsuragi-themed bomber jacket in 2022, it was praised by Renata Price of Kotaku and Noelle Warner of Destructoid.[5][6] Fans were more critical of the free "Collage Mode" released in 2023, with some suggesting that it allowed fans to contradict Kitsuragi's character, and exploited his popularity to distract from ZA/UM's ongoing litigation against the game's creators.[52][53] AccoladesKitsuragi was nominated as one of the best video game characters of 2019 by Adventure Gamers,[54] as well as Fanbyte.[55] Lillian King of The Blade praised him as their favorite game character of the year, feeling that he was "[e]xceptionally well-written ... bolstered by a myriad of fleeting interactions that let players see into the detective's inner life, rounding out his complexity with the little contradictions that make us all truly, chaotically, human."[14] Rowan Cardosa of TheGamer declared Kitsuragi to be one of gaming's best voiced characters.[11] Kitsuragi has been further praised as "perhaps the finest companion character in a game" by Edwin Evans-Thirlwell of Eurogamer.[1] The character has similarly been called one of the best companions in video games by writers for Comic Book Resources,[56] Vooks,[57] Sirus Gaming,[58] and Shacknews.[59] An editorial panel at PC Gamer ranked Kitsuragi's non-romantic relationship to the player character as one of game's best romances, because "you have to earn Kim's trust, and ... it's something you can waste away, mak[ing] his approval all the more meaningful".[22] The ZA/UM team was surprised by how well-received Kitsuragi was, with Robert Kurvitz stating that they "felt [he was] a real person and our friend."[2] Champenois was similarly surprised as well as flattered by the reception, mentioning that he received a lot of positive comments from fans about his performance.[33] References
Information related to Kim Kitsuragi |
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