Nico (ニコ Niko), inmate number 25, is one of the main protagonists of the Nanbaka anime and web manga series. He is an inmate of Nanba Prison where he is held in building thirteen, cell thirteen. Arrested for unwittingly buying and selling drugs in the slums, he is a sickly individual who is dependent on medication for survival.
Appearance[]
Nico is a dark-skinned, childish-looking, and a rather feminine teenage boy of below-average height and weight. He has wild, vivid green hair that reaches down to his waist and dark red eyes with long eyelashes. His right eye is covered in white bandages, with additional bandages wrapped around his neck, right arm, and leg. His ID number, 25, is tattooed on his tongue in black. His nails are bright green.
Nico wears an orange, long-sleeved inmates’ jumpsuit, which is unzipped slightly at the top. He wears plain black shoes and sports a large ball and chain around his right ankle. His ID badge is pinned to the left side of his chest.
Personality[]
Nico has a cheerful, childish personality. He rarely takes things seriously and is enticed by almost everything, displaying his innocence. He is characterized by his love of anime, manga and video games, described as an Otaku, and sees such things as a necessity of the same level of food and medication;[6] this is due to his admiration for the protagonists within these stories, which inspired him to be lively and carefree after having originally had little hope for the future.[7] He is affectionate and cares greatly for his friends, tending to become lonely without them.[8]
Nico is a very sickly individual who is dependent on medication for survival. While he initially hated medicine due to his phobia of the injections needed to take it, he is provided with oral medication in Nanba prison which causes him to greatly enjoy taking his medicine to the point of addiction.[9] However, when it wears off, his cheerful persona disappears and is replaced with a violent, bloodthirsty personality. In this state, he refers to himself in the third person and becomes obsessed with retrieving his medicine, viewing it as his only lifeline.[10]
Background[]
Nico was born and raised in the slums of America where he lived as a homeless person. There, he was used as a test subject for drugs and medication which, among other things, caused him to be unable to limit his own strength and abilities.[11] In addition to this, he was unknowingly used as a courier for illegal drugs and was eventually arrested for it. When he was discovered to be unaware of having illegal drugs used on him, his sentence was lightened though he was still charged for drug abuse. Although he was clean, he was found to have multiple strange illnesses and allergies. He was taken to a medical ward for intensive care; however, he was frightened of the injections used to medicate him and broke out before each treatment in a violent manner. As such, his sentence became a punishment for aggravated escape.[12] In one prison, he met and befriended Jyugo, reuniting with him in Las Vegas when he used up Rock’s food money for a game.[13]
Eventually, Nico’s constant escapes and arrests lead him to be transferred to Nanba Prison. There, he was provided with oral medication rather than injections, diminishing his desire to escape.[14]
Plot[]
The New Year's Tournament Arc[]
Like the rest of cell 13 and the guards, Nico participated in the calligraphy event, although he did not do well at all.
Later, Nico left to get his medication, stating that the doctor would be mad if he forgot. On his way back to the tournament, he spotted Upa floating during meditation. Nico was incredibly surprised, running off to tell Hajime and leaving his medication behind. When he found out that Upa was participating in the top spinning event, he quickly grabbed Hajime and jumped into the arena. He was excited to have a chance to use some of the lines from the list of things he's always wanted to say, as well as get a chance to see Upa up close. He was interested in winning simply so he could get a modern gaming console.
Due to the fact he forgot to take his medicine, he was able to copy moves he had seen Upa and Liang perform. This led to him and Hajime winning the top spinning event.
Building 5 Arc[]
Trivia[]
- His favorite colors are yellow and lime green.
- He's allergic to buckwheat.[15]
- Prior to going to Nanba Prison, he had never played video games.
- He laughs in his sleep.
- His name could be translated as "Second child" due to his status being the youngest of the group (or referring to his alternate personality). "Ni" means "Two" in Japanese and the "Ko" in his name might also be a reference to the five in his number as the Japanese word for five is "Go"(五) and "Go" and "Ko" have similar phonetic symbols in the Japanese language ("Go" being ゴ and "Ko" being コ).
- Prior to meeting Jyugo, he was illiterate.
- He likes medicine and jelly beans.
- He dislikes bitter things and painful things.
- His hobbies are playing video games, reading manga and collecting limited supply merchandise.
References[]
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 37.1
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 11
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 37.1
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 37.1
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 37.1
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 25.5
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 50
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 3
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 11
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 88
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 89
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 11
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 25.5
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 11
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 13