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On a "hard-boiled" night like this, I have an inexplicable urge to drink. All men have a thirst which only alcohol can cure.

Kozenigata Heiji
Qotd


He is 'Hard-boiled' police detective who does not live up to the expectation of his 'competent-looking face'.

Background

Kozenigata is an orphan, who lost his parents and home at a young age to a band of murderous thieves looking for quick money. The sole survivor, he vowed to spend his life hunting down thieves as scum and murderers.

However, in the midst of his younger career he came upon a different kind of thief, Chougorou, whose habit of never harming innocents and giving all his money to the poor changed his point of view of thieves. However, he could never catch the robin hood thief, and presumably his continual failure for 10 years is what has lead him to fall into his delusions.

Appearance

  • Height: 183cm
  • Weight: 76kg

An extremely competent looking detective, who has modeled himself after the hardboiled detective stereotype, in particular his appearance is evocative of Hanzo the Razor and Zenigata Heiji/Inspector Zenigata, popular japanese detectives, with bushy eyebrows, dark sunglasses, and strong build.

Personality

Kozenigata has modeled himself based on his beliefs on how a hardboiled detective should think and act, unfortunately to the detriment of his actual detective ability in his older years. He will attempt to uphold the stereotypes of hardboiled fiction even when it is completely incompatible with the current situation, and his own actions. He seems to prefer the nicer aspects of being a detective, namely smoking cigars and heavy drinking, and will always say what he is drinking is Camus (a kind of Cognac) when it's wine or shochu. His love of drinking extends even further, to carrying around a glass of wine and finishing sentences he particularly wishes to embellish as hardboiled with the word "Camus." The more difficult aspects of being a detective he dislikes, and readily admits his general fear in dangerous situation to the point of wetting himself and attempting to run away to the safety of liquor. He does however, enjoy a degree of masochism like a certain Kunoichi, and even ties himself up and enjoys it.

Strength & Abilities

Overall, his delusions of his hardboiled nature consume him completely, for both good and bad:while it does make him somewhat lousy at being a detective, it is also what keeps him on the job and makes him refuse to give up, even after 10 years of failure

It has also given him skills and abilities befitting a hardboiled detective, with his ability to find discarded motorcycles, hurl a coin-string with incredible skill and accuracy, and his own keen intuitions about people's character.

He is also quite skillful with his Jutte.

Relationships

  • Haji ハジ: He has a sidekick by the name of Haji, who in all likelihood has more common sense than Kozenigata.

Story

In the 4 deva of Kabuki District arc, there are rumours that the Okama and Yakuza are going to tear down Otose shop. Heiji was amongst the friend who couldn't stand watching Yorozuya be putted down and helped out.

Trivia

  • Not based on a real life character, but based on a fictional Edo character named Zenigata Heiji 銭形平次, created by Nomura Kodo in 1937. He catches criminals by throwing coins. Both Heijis have a sidekick.
    • The hard-boil detective is based on John Woo film "Hard Boil".
    • The character design is based on Chow Yun-Fat 周潤發 who was the main actor of Hard Boil.
  • Another influence is Hanzo the Razor, a similar jutte using detective, who operated in the Edo period compared to Zenigata. Kozenigata's love of masochism is likely derived from Hanzo, as Hanzo was fond of torturing villains for their crimes, but also torturing himself to make himself tough- a brutal way of making oneself "hard boiled."
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