Doppo Kunikida

Doppo Kunikida (国木田 獨歩,) is a member of the Armed Detective Agency. He owns the ability named The Matchless Poet.

Appearance
Kunikida is a tall and slim young man with dirty blonde hair and deep, green-grey eyes. His bangs are parted to the right and he has rather neat, but spiky hair that ends in a long ponytail. He is always seen wearing his glasses.

His attire consists of a beige vest over a black long-sleeved dress shirt, a red ribbon tied into a bow around the collar, beige pants, and plain brown shoes.

After the cannibalism, Kunikida wears a prison uniform due to sentence of child murder which was a frameup by a certain evidence suppressor. After the Armed Detective Agency is framed as terrorists, he suddenly wears a white hood suit and changes into a riot gear with black boots and black gloves, originally belonging to the military police.

As a result to the explosion he made to stop the Hunting Dogs to capture the other agency members, Kunikida becomes amputated on his arms.

Personality
As a member of the Armed Detective Agency, Kunikida is very professional and diligent when it comes to his job because to him, the reputation of the agency takes precedence over anything else. He constantly feels the need to organize, gather, and schedule every bit of detail, which is why he may come off as somewhat too strict and harsh during investigations.

He can also be seen as practical to a fault, as he almost considered abandoning a kidnapped Atsushi Nakajima, because the boy's presence might implicate the Agency. He also once advised Atsushi to give up on the wanted Kyōka Izumi, lest his one-man boat might sink the both of them if he saves her, though he soon encourages him later on when the latter shows resolve to rescue her. Despite this, Kunikida is nonetheless a trustworthy and loyal detective that many in the Agency rely on because of his authoritative capability and responsible nature, hence being deemed as the Agency's next-in-line to becoming its President.

He is almost never seen without his trademark notebook, which he believes to be an "ideal" and guide to life. He utilizes its function for several reasons, such as data-gathering, planning, making the world a better place, and most importantly, a medium for his ability, The Matchless Poet.

While depicting a calm and careful front, Kunikida is also known for his exasperated outbursts, which is primarily caused by his partner, Osamu Dazai, who constantly vex him with his suicidal attempts. However, Kunikida does not genuinely dislike Dazai. He especially acknowledges Dazai's skill and knowledge when first working with him, and he continues to entrust much of the Agency's strategies to Dazai. Similar faith extends to Ranpo Edogawa, as Kunikida actively participates in letting Ranpo believe Super Deduction is a real ability, reverent of Ranpo's detective prowess and its value to the Agency.

He is also uncharacteristically naïve and is prone to easily believe Dazai's lies, including the merit of noose when it comes to improving neck strength and that extreme shouting can cause hemorrhoids, which he later jots down in his notebook for future reference.

Kunikida values human lives, as he strives to save all innocent people during dangerous events in Yokohama. He sticks to this belief after seeing incidents of youth injured or killed in front of him. As a result, Kunikida never thinks of killing his opponents as the only option, constantly to right wrongs without the need for bloodshed. Due to his dedicated compassion to try to protect the city and its people, Ranpo believes he is the strongest and most virtuous person in the Agency. This calm front begins to crack when he is forced to "bend the rules", resulting in a mental breakdown.

Kunikida's mental state continues to deteriorate when being hunted by the Hunting Dogs, losing self-confidence and "the light he always sees on the other side of the mirror". His ideals are challenged by Saigiku Jōno, who calls them "big and lofty as a hot air balloon". He believes that Kunikida's ideals will disappear if his comrades die and he will feel "relief".

Kunikida deeply thinks about this statement, causing him to re-evaluate his ideals drastically, saying that idealistic thought alone won't save lives and that they must choose to be more realistic. By the end, Kunikida makes a self-sacrificial decision, sticking to his desire to keep his comrades alive and telling Tetchō Suehiro that he "won't let anyone ruin his plans" and that he shall let his ideals soar with his "life as fuel".

From then on, Kunikida maintains his steadfast loyalty and faith in the Agency, more so when they reunited partially and fully to take on their formidable adversary together.

Background
Alongside working in the Agency, Kunikida previously worked as an algebra instructor at Shin-Tsuruya Institute twice a week. He paired this with college studies, pursuing a degree in science and mathematics, but he later dropped out to dedicate a full-time profession to the Agency.

Ability
Kunikida's ability, The Matchless Poet (独歩吟客,), allows Kunikida to make objects written on the papers of his notebook come into existence. However, it does not work on objects larger than the notebook. Such objects include wire guns, handguns, grenades, and flashbangs.

He is shown to be able to use pre-written notes as a means for his object summons, which can be especially convenient if one of his hands is bound and incapacitated. Also, he is able to remotely activate his ability, transforming pre-written notes into objects, which come in handy when supporting other members from afar.

Skills

 * Martial Arts: Kunikida is proficient in martial arts, being able to restrain and overthrow people. With this, he also has enhance strength, being able to rip John Steinbeck's vines attached to his arm. Kunikida learn this skill from Fukuzawa to which he stated that he never once win against him. Below are the list of people Kunikida were able to restrain or overthrow due to his martial arts skill:
 * Atsushi Nakajima
 * Ryūrō Hirotsu
 * John Steinbeck
 * Shōsaku Katsura

Appearances
Main=


 * -| BEAST=


 * -| DEAD APPLE=

Quotes

 * "Just what is an 'ideal'? […] If you ask me, the answer is clear. It is a word written on the cover of my notebook. My notebook is omnipotent. It guides me as a principle, as a master, as a prophet. At times, it becomes a weapon and also a key."
 * (To Nobuko Sasaki) "Our calls will not reach the deceased, no matter how much we pray or sob before their graves. Time has stopped for them. All we can do is mourn and believe that we live in a world where it is normal for people to die and for the living to mourn them."
 * (To Atsushi Nakajima about Kyōka Izumi) "I'm not telling you to ignore the plights of the unfortunate. But in the world we live in, such misfortune is prevalent. […] Consider yourself on a one-man boat. If you try to save someone you cannot, it will sink both of you."
 * (To Atsushi Nakajima) "No! We aren't superheroes! I don't know how many times I've wished otherwise, but it just doesn't happen!"
 * (To John Steinbeck) "Oversimplify the battle, and your moves become one-note. Write it down later."
 * (To Aya Koda) "My ideal world is not one where people die before my eyes. Such are my thoughts."
 * (To Shōsaku Katsura) "You're right. I can struggle until I cough up blood, and people will still die. Cruelly and mercilessly, without even a shred of ideals… that is how the world works. But even if the path I seek is a parched desert of thirst and suffering, I will continue to seek my ideals!"
 * (To Shōsaku Katsura) "In the Agency, 'critical condition' is the same thing as bearing no injuries."
 * (To Osamu Dazai) "The hell are you talking about?! 'Finally managed to die'? You’re no longer human! You don't deserve that right! If you really want to die that much, I'll kill you myself!"
 * (To Tetchō Suehiro) "My name is Doppo Kunikida! My ideals will never fall! They will continue to soar using my very life as fuel!"

Etymology

 * The name Doppo means "single/lone" (独) (doku) and "walk" (歩) (ho); "Doppo" (独歩) itself means "self-guided".
 * The name Kunikida means "country" (国) (kuni), "tree" (木) (ki), and "rice field" (田) (ta/da).

Namesake

 * Doppo Kunikida (1871-1908)
 * One of the fathers of Japanese naturalism as well as an author of romantic poetry, Kunikida fully embraces Western philosophy in his life and his writings. The ability The Matchless Poet does not refer to any specific work, but is based on his naturalist writing - a style that emphasizes accurate depiction of details.

Trivia

 * The birth name of the real-life is Tetsuo Kunikida (国木田 貞臣).
 * Kunikida once worked on a side job twice a week by teaching algebra at the Shin-Tsuruya Institute which mirrors the real-life Kunikida who taught mathematics, along with English and history, at the Shin-Tsuruya Institute sometime in 1893.
 * According to Kafka Asagiri's tweet, Kunikida was a college dropout.
 * According to the second official guidebook:
 * He spends his leisure times these days: "As per the handbook, reading and studying, practicing self-improvement."
 * His average bedtime and waking time: "Depending on how busy I am at work, I usually get 7 hours of sleep according to my plan."
 * His recent stomachache: Resumption of normal operations suspended due to the union war and explanation to related parties
 * Kunikida has 58 conditions for an ideal partner, which spans eight pages and 15 topics written on the section titled "Spouse" in his notebook.
 * Kunikida's watch uses specialized equipment to set itself to standard time every morning he wakes up, so the margin of error is always under one second.
 * Kunikida appears to know various, including , , , and.