Shinsuke



Shinsuke is forced to steal to support himself and his mother. He first appears bumping into Fuu on the street, and it is later revealed that he picked her pocket. His next victim happens to be the head of a band of drug smugglers, yielding a packet of opium powder.

History
A well-meaning but naive young man who tries to pay for his sick mother's medicine by pickpocketing. He picks Fuu's pocket, and later steals a packet of opium from a drug-dealer and attempts to have a connection sell it for him. Unfortunately the friend gives his name to the drug dealers after a torturous interrogation. Fuu tracks down Shinsuke at the same time the drug dealers catch up with him, rousing the attention of the police, and leaving him with no alternative but to take Fuu hostage in a nearby house. Fuu helps him escape the building because his situation with his mother reminds Fuu of her own situation with hers. Shinsuke tries to escape, but is killed shortly after, leaving behind his mother, who although not being told, had already suspected the activities he was involved in, and is sure that he met his tragic end.

Trivia

 * His character and predicament are similar to Roco Bonnaro from Session 8 of "Cowboy Bebop", the most highly regarded anime Shinichiro Watanabe helmed.


 * This was not exactly the most upbeat or joyous of episodes. In fact, it’s rather emotionally harsh to sit through, especially given Shinsuke’s conflict. We get the sense that’s he’s far from a bad person; he’s just a confused kid stuck in absolutely awful circumstances. That’s an unfortunate part of life, both fictional and real: sometimes otherwise good people have to force themselves into doing bad things because life doesn’t give them much of a choice. It really sucks that in the end, Shinsuke could do nothing to help his mother and potentially ended up making the situation worse by getting killed, ensuring that she would receive no assistance from anyone. It’s phenomenal how the show manages to, in just one episode, create a more dramatically involving and emotional tale than most series can in an entire season or story arc.