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"Look into my empty eye sockets like open doors."

Ritsu Minami (南律 Minami Ritsu) is the principal at Seven Voices Academy in Goura. He sits on the Septimal Moon council, despite telling Ritsuka Aoyagi that he did not. He raised and trained Soubi Agatsuma, and his influence on Soubi still remains many years later.

Ritsu was shown in the early volumes, including volume 1, but he wasn't introduced as a full and important character until later in the series.

Personality[]

As a child[]

During the flashback chapters, Ritsu is shown at fifteen with the Sagan sisters. Ritsu is described as egotistical, and it's shown in these chapters that Ritsu doesn't necessarily care about other people. He prefers to work alone, instead of with Nagisa and Sagan and frequently argues and disrespects both girls, as well as Akio Sugou.

Ritsu appears to be very entitled during these chapters and gets angry at Akio when she states that she doesn't want a romantic relationship with him. Ritsu also sees himself as strong and an adult, even though he's only fifteen.

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Ritsu in his office

As an adult[]

Later, Ritsu's personality becomes more solidified. He still doesn't seem to care much about anyone, with the exception being Akio's son, Soubi Agatsuma. He sees nothing wrong with his treatment of Soubi, though he gets angry at Seimei's treatment of him. Extras state that the one thing Ritsu regrets is giving Soubi away to Seimei. Ritsu was manipulative and abusive to Soubi, and led him to believe that the abuse was normal and necessary.

Ritsu is still incredibly egotistical and doesn't appear to care about others' feelings. He seems to enjoy power and only care about himself and succeeding.

Background[]

Flashback chapters[]

In chapters 126 and 127, Ritsu is shown as a fifteen year-old Sacrifice who is paired with Sanae Sagan, who is thirteen and shares the name 'Endless'. He was close with both Sanae and Nagisa Sagan, though the chapters show him purposefully isolating himself from the other students. He even refuses to be on the same team as Nagisa and Sanae in the biology club because he wanted to work on pinning butterflies by himself. He's described through narration as an 'egotistical prince' and doesn't seem as though he works well with others. He also knew both Nagisa and Sanae since before elementary school.

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Fifteen year-old Ritsu

During the occurrence of the flashback chapters, Ritsu fell in love with Akio Sugou, who was twenty-two and a provisional teacher at Seven Voices when Ritsu was fifteen. She gave him attention and complimented his butterfly pinning skills and told him that she wouldn't forget his name. Even though he constantly disrespected her by refusing to refer to her as a teacher and superior to him, he still fell for her and eventually confessed to her. Akio rejected him by saying that teachers and students shouldn't be in relationships and told him that he should cherish Sanae instead. Ritsu became angry and argued with her about it before giving up.

Later, Ritsu meets Sanae and Nagisa at the pond outside of the school. Sanae sends her sister away and drops her facade of always being sweet, calling Akio an old hag and insulting RItsu for falling in love with her. She reveals that she has stolen Akio's engagement ring. She taunts Ritsu with it, provoking Ritsu to insult her and yell at her, calling her 'the worst'. Sanae drops the ring and Ritsu walks away, leaving Sanae alone in the pond. Due to not being able to swim, Sanae drowns that night. Ritsu's reaction to it isn't shown.

Raising Soubi[]

Fourteen years before the start of the series, Akio and her husband died, leaving behind a six

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Soubi and Ritsu meeting for the first time

year-old child named Soubi Agatsuma. It's unclear whether or not Soubi was left to Ritsu by Akio, but Ritsu arrives at the hospital and insults Soubi for crying over his parents' deaths before telling him that he would take him in. Soon afterwards, Ritsu brings Soubi to his parents' gave site and tells Soubi to get in the hole, leading Soubi to develop a fear of the dark and graves, which he tells Ritsuka Aoyagi about as an adult. Ritsu continues to mock and insult Soubi in this scene, telling him to stop crying.

Later, Ritsu brings Soubi to Goura and tries to put Soubi to bed. Soubi tells him that he's afraid of the dark and asks Ritsu to read him a story, to which Ritsu reponds by telling him no and hitting Soubi hard enough to almost make him fall off the bed. Soubi then tries to sleep with Ritsu and asks Ritsu to tell him about his mother and father. Ritsu refuses and then demands Soubi to tell him about his

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Ritsu talking to a six year-old Soubi at his parents' grave site

mother, during which Ritsu holds Soubi's face and comments about how much Soubi and Akio look alike.

From here on out, Ritsu raised Soubi and tried to make him into the perfect and best Fighter. He frequently beat and whipped him, as well as giving him private lessons. He led Soubi to believe that he would make Soubi into his own FIghter, but instead gave Soubi away when he was seventeen to Seimei Aoyagi, which Soubi saw as abandoning him. Ritsu also instigated a sexual relationship with Soubi from a young age, and raped him when he was still a child, something that even Nagisa was upset about. Ritsu raised Soubi to become the best Fighter, and Soubi was the top in the school because of his training.

Pre-Goura[]

Before Soubi takes Ritsuka Aoyagi to Goura, there are scenes with Ritsu. At this point, Ritsu is at least 35 years old and has given Soubi away to Seimei Aoyagi. He's the principal of Seven Voices Academy and a psychologist, as evidenced by a drama CD, where Ritsu gives a lecture and calls himself 'doctor'.

Ritsu is in charge of sending units out to make contact with Ritsuka Aoyagi, and seems unsurprised

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Ritsu in Wisdom Resurrection

when Soubi beats them. Nagisa Sagan also sends out units (specifically, the Zero series) to beat Soubi in order to win her own competition against Ritsu. Ritsu deduces at one point that Nagisa isn't fighting fairly when Nagisa shows him Soubi's earrings, and demands that she play on an even playing field, since Soubi had taken both Zero girls on at once without a partner.

Ritsu is also shown again when Ritsuka starts playing Wisdom Resurrection and meets with Nana Saotome. Nana then later reports back to Ritsu, saying that she has made contact with Ritsuka. Ritsu shows up in the next Wisdom Resurrection scene, along with Nagisa. They both deny any affiliation with Septimal Moon, though they are both members of the council and are confirmed to be later on.

When in Wisdom Resurrection, Soubi types on the keyboard for Ritsuka. When Ritsu asks about him, Soubi makes a cold and blunt response to him without Ritsuka's permission.

Goura[]

When Soubi and Ritsuka go to Goura and arrive at Seven Voices Academy, Ritsu is interrupted from taking care of school issues and told that Soubi Agatsuma has arrived at the Academy with Ritsuka Aoyagi. He's shocked to learn this and immediately allows Soubi and Ritsuka access. During their visit, a scheduled game of battle royale begins, wherein the students battle each other for practice. Ritsuka and Soubi are separated and while walking the halls, Soubi runs into Ritsu.

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Ritsu grabbing Soubi

Soubi is very cold towards him, and Ritsu calls him cute and reminds Soubi that he's much younger than him. At one point, Ritsu grabs Soubi by the arm and forces him close to him, and Soubi does not fight back against him, and instead finds a way out by telling Ritsu that he has to go look for Ritsuka.

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Ritsu in the hospital

An intruder then gets into the school and Ritsu finds Seimei Aoyagi in the school's hallway. A heated argument transpires between them, in which Ritsu insults and chastizes him for his treatment of Soubi. Ritsu picks Seimei up by the collar and when he lets him go, Seimei attacks him.

Seimei then gouges Ritsu's eyes out with a knife and uses the blood to paint a message on the wall for Ritsuka.

After that night, Ritsu is shown in the hospital with bandages around where his eyes would be. Ritsuka visits him in the hospital, but Soubi does not.

Relationships[]

Soubi Agatsuma[]

Ritsu raised Soubi from the time he was six until he was seventeen, at which point he gave him away to Seimei Aoyagi. After being given to Seimei, Seimei asks Soubi if he loves Ritsu, to which Soubi responds that he doesn't know. As a child, Soubi was heavily abused emotionally, physically, and sexually by Ritsu, which Soubi partially perceives as normal. Ritsu taught Soubi to only obey one person and taught him about the effects of pain. Soubi was also the top student at Seven Voices Academy while he was there, and graduated at seventeen instead of eighteen. Ritsu tells Soubi at one point that Seimei specifically chose him.

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Soubi talking about his childhood with Ritsu

As an adult, Soubi's relationship with Ritsu is very strained. Ritsu still reaches out to him and tells him that he should visit, even asking about him during Wisdom Resurrection while Ritsuka is playing. Soubi seems to want nothing to do with Ritsu and appears to avoid him and the topic of him at any chance he gets. He tells Ritsuka that Ritsu is a despicable person when Ritsuka questions him about a message Soubi sent in Wisdom Resurrection when he was typing for Ritsuka. He also sees Ritsu as having abandoned him when giving him away to Seimei.

Ritsu still seems to enjoy having power over Soubi. He raised Soubi to be the best Fighter in the school, and his lessons still resonate with Soubi. However, whenever Ritsuka Aoyagi asks about Ritsu, Soubi gives vague answers and quickly changes the subject. At Goura, Ritsu grabs Soubi's arm and forces him closer to Soubi. Soubi, who has been shown to react with physical violence towards others, does not fight back against Ritsu.

Ritsu also tells Soubi when he was younger that the only reason he took him in was because he looked like his mother. Ritsu frequently makes comments about this, including on the day after he took Soubi's ears.

Soubi and Ritsu share a lot of similarities. Ritsuka Aoyagi comments to Ritsu that Soubi and Ritsu sound and talk a lot alike. They also look similar and dress similarly. Some of their actions mirror each other, as well.

Nagisa Sagan[]

Nagisa appears to have some degree of romantic feelings towards Ritsu, but Ritsu does not return them. Nagisa created a competition between her and Ritsu, one that seems one-sided. Her goal is to create a Sentouki better than Ritsu's Soubi. As a result, she creates the Zero series.

Nagisa was childhood friends with Ritsu and her sister, Sanae Sagan and was the last person to see Sanae alive. Nagisa does seem to partially blame him for her death.

Nagisa is the one to take care of Ritsu after Seimei's attack.

Sanae Sagan[]

Sanae and Ritsu had a strained relationship. They were a bonded pair, sharing the name 'Endless', but Ritsu didn't seem to care much for her due to his desire to not be around others and her manipulative personality. He argued with her quite a bit and got upset when she stole Akio's ring, and said that she was 'the worst'.

He also made Sanae jealous by falling in love with Akio Sugou, prompting her to steal the ring in the first place.

Akio Sugou[]

Akio was Ritsu's first love. He fell in love with her when she was teaching as a provisional teacher at Seven Voices Academy. She, however, rejected him on the basis that she was his teacher and much older than he was. Ritsu argued with her over this and also disrespected her by refusing to refer to her as a teacher.

It's unknown what their relationship was like afterwards, but while speaking to Soubi, Ritsu states that his mother was horrible and despicable. Ritsu also claimed that Akio hadn't disciplined Soubi enough when Soubi was upset after his parents' death. He constantly compares Soubi to his mother, and says that the reason he took him in is because he looked like Akio.

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Ritsu's confrontation with Seimei

Currently, Ritsu still seems somewhat obsessed about Akio.

Seimei Aoyagi[]

Seimei sat on the Septimal Moon council, as well, up until he faked his death and started his attack on the rest of Septimal Moon. Ritsu stated that the one thing he regrets is giving Soubi to Seimei, and he hates the way Seimei treated Soubi. This leads to a confrontation between them during the Goura arc, which results in Seimei carving out Ritsu's eyes with a knife.

Trivia[]

  • Fans speculated that Soubi's mother was Ritsu's Fighter, but this was later dispelled by chapters 126 and 127, where's it's shown that Nagisa's sister was his Fighter.
  • Ritsu refers to Akio as 'Chouko' when speaking to Soubi.
  • It's not shown how Ritsu reacted to Sanae's death. He only ever mentions her once in the manga to Soubi, when Soubi asks him to make him Ritsu's Fighter.
  • In an extra, Ritsu took ten year-old Soubi to a hospital hours away, where Soubi meets the 7 year-old Seimei.
  • Ritsu's hobby is butterflies' collection.
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