Goro Takemura
| Goro Takemura | |
|---|---|
| |
| Type | Main Character |
| Affiliation | Arasaka |
Goro Takemura is the former personal bodyguard of Saburo Arasaka. He failed to stop his master's murder at Konpeki Plaza, and he lost his place at Arasaka when he tried to expose the killer. He is a stoic man of honour, fiercely loyal to the Arasaka family, and badly out of place on the streets of Night City. To bring Yorinobu Arasaka to justice, he works with V, the merc who saw the murder happen.
Biography
Early Life
Takemura was born in Chiba-11, a Japanese slum with the highest murder rate in the country. His father worked in a kitchen all his life, and his grandmother told him stories about yokai, the spirits of Japanese folklore. Arasaka transports sometimes came to the district to pick children for the corporation's army. Takemura and other boys washed their shirts in a filthy canal, because they believed only the cleanest children would be chosen.
Arasaka did choose him, and he compares that day to winning the lottery. In the army he rose to the special forces and was sent to the Arasaka academy, where he finished top of his class. Saburo Arasaka later picked him as his personal bodyguard from among the corporation's most skilled and loyal soldiers. The post came with rare cyberware, including an artificial skeleton. Takemura also trained the cyberninja Sandayu Oda, who now guards Hanako Arasaka.
Konpeki Plaza
Takemura comes with Saburo to Konpeki Plaza, where the old man wants to confront his son Yorinobu about the stolen Relic. Moments before Takemura would have found V and Jackie hiding in the suite, Saburo orders him out. In the quarrel that follows, Yorinobu strangles his father and tells the guards that Saburo was poisoned. He then orders the shaken Takemura to find the killers.
Takemura tracks down Dexter DeShawn, who has just shot V and dumped the body in a landfill. He kills Dex and pulls V out, but Yorinobu's assassins attack them as they leave. Badly hurt, Takemura tells V to call for help, and Delamain carries them both to Viktor Vektor. The Relic in V's head keeps V alive, and it also carries the mind of Johnny Silverhand.
Hunting the Truth
Hunted by Arasaka himself, Takemura makes V an offer: help him prove that Yorinobu killed his father, and his allies will help remove the Relic. He sends V after Evelyn Parker and Anders Hellman, and he questions Hellman once V has captured him. He then arranges a meeting with Oda, hoping to reach Hanako, but Oda refuses to listen.
Takemura learns that Hanako will appear at the Arasaka parade in Japantown. With V he prepares the plan: they test a virus on the parade cameras and plant it in Hanako's float at the Arasaka Industrial Park. During the parade, V clears the snipers and defeats Oda, and Takemura boards the float. When Hanako tries to flee, he shoots her with a tranquilizer and carries her away.
At his hideout in an old apartment block, Hanako secretly calls for help, and Arasaka storms the building. Adam Smasher takes Hanako away, the floor gives way under V, and Takemura is left fighting alone. V can run, or go back to save him.
Goro Takemura Map
The map shows the places of the story of Goro Takemura: Konpeki Plaza, Arasaka Tower, Arasaka Industrial Park and Tom's Diner.
Goro Takemura map location:
Map credit by Map Genie.
Personality
Takemura believes in honour, duty and the traditional values of Japan. He sincerely thinks that serving Arasaka serves the greater good, and he looks down on the chaos and crime of Night City. He is a keen cook who hates takeaway food and talks often about real cooking. He struggles with modern technology, and his stiff manners make him an easy target for Johnny's jokes.
Beneath the formal surface he is a lonely and loyal man. He slowly comes to respect V, and he sends V awkward messages and a selfie as their partnership grows. His sense of honour makes some of the choices of the final act hard for him.
Relationships
Saburo Arasaka was his master, and Takemura worshipped him. Yorinobu Arasaka is the man he wants to bring to justice, and Hanako Arasaka is the one person he hopes will listen. Sandayu Oda is his former student, and Takemura asks V to spare him. Johnny Silverhand despises everything Takemura stands for, and the two trade barbs whenever they meet. With V he grows from a reluctant ally into a friend.
Jobs
Takemura appears in The Heist and the second act jobs Playing for Time, Down on the Street, Gimme Danger, Play It Safe and Search and Destroy. Down on the Street and Gimme Danger prepare the parade, and Play It Safe is the parade itself. If he survives Search and Destroy, his story continues in Nocturne Op55N1, Last Caress and Totalimmortal, and ends in Where is My Mind?. In Phantom Liberty he returns in Things Done Changed.
| Name | Type |
|---|---|
| The Heist | Main Job |
| Playing for Time | Main Job |
| Automatic Love | Main Job |
| Life During Wartime | Main Job |
| Down on the Street | Main Job |
| Gimme Danger | Main Job |
| Play It Safe | Main Job |
| Search and Destroy | Main Job |
| Nocturne Op55N1 | Main Job |
| Last Caress | Main Job |
| Things Done Changed | Main Job |
| Totalimmortal | Main Job |
| Where is My Mind? | Main Job |
Endings
If V saves him at the hideout, Takemura joins the Arasaka ending path. With Anders Hellman he meets V at Misty's Esoterica, and together they rescue Hanako from Yorinobu's men at the Arasaka estate. At Arasaka Tower, Takemura learns that Saburo lives on as an engram, and he fights at V's side against Adam Smasher. He stays outside Yorinobu's office as a last service, fearing he would kill the man if he went in.
Later he visits V on the Arasaka Orbital Station. He has been sent away to Japan, and he tells V that the cure has failed. On Hanako's behalf he offers V a place in the Secure Your Soul programme. If V refuses and returns to Earth, he is visibly shaken. If V accepts, he invites V to visit him in Japan and promises a meal of real food.
In other endings he leaves V a bitter last message, wishing the merc to burn in hell for siding against Arasaka. In the Phantom Liberty ending with Solomon Reed, Hanako's coup fails, she is killed, and Yorinobu blames Takemura for her death. Takemura becomes a fugitive once more and later sends V a bitter message of congratulation.
Notes
Takemura's life depends on a choice in Search and Destroy: going back to help him in the fight at the hideout keeps him alive.
In Down on the Street, an old man outside Wakako's Den can mistake Takemura for the comedian Hideshi Hino. Posters of Hideshi Hino can be found across Night City, and the story of the look-alike continues in the Phantom Liberty job You Know My Name.
All Main Characters