The character known only as Boy is one of the two central figures in the 1985 original video animation. He is a nameless, solitary figure who wanders through a desolate, gothic world. He is a young man, noticeably taller than the girl he encounters, which suggests he is older than her, possibly a young adult. His appearance is defined by a dark, militaristic cloak that resembles the garb of the statuesque fishermen populating the ruined city, hinting at a possible connection to them. He carries a large, high-tech weapon shaped like a cross over his shoulder, and his hands are bandaged. He first appears disembarking from a convoy of futuristic military vehicles, observing a vast, eye-like sphere adorned with praying statues as it descends into the sea.

The Boy is quiet, introspective, and distinctly apathetic, embodying a sense of nihilistic wanderlust. His personality contrasts sharply with the girl’s unwavering devotion to her egg. Where she is driven by hope and faith, he is consumed by doubt and a loss of purpose. He speaks of memory and existence, pondering whether he, the girl, and the world they inhabit are merely phantoms in the minds of people who no longer exist. He appears to have experienced a profound crisis of faith, which drives his actions throughout the story. This is most clearly illustrated when he recounts a modified version of the biblical tale of Noah’s Ark; in his version, the dove never returns to the ark, leading the passengers to forget their mission and their identities, suggesting a world abandoned by God.

The Boy’s primary motivation remains ambiguous, but his actions drive the film’s central conflict. He seems compelled to question the girl’s belief, repeatedly asking what is inside her precious egg and suggesting they break it to find out. His journey appears to be one of testing or even shattering faith, perhaps as a result of his own lost beliefs. In his role in the story, he acts as a catalyst. Upon meeting the girl, he initially frightens her but later earns her trust by returning the egg she had forgotten, advising her to keep precious things inside her or lose them. Despite this moment of tenderness, he ultimately betrays that trust. While she sleeps, he takes her egg and smashes it with his cross-shaped weapon, an act that leads directly to her despair and subsequent death.

His key relationship is exclusively with the girl. Their bond is a brief and tragic alliance between two opposites: one who protects her faith and one who has lost his. For a time, he follows her, listens to her, and even protects her from the commotion of the fishermen hunting the shadows of giant fish. However, their worldviews are incompatible. His inability to accept her unquestioning faith culminates in his destructive act. After shattering the egg, he leaves her, walking away alone as she awakens to discover the fragments.

The Boy undergoes little to no positive development; instead, he remains a static figure of doubt and destruction. The act of smashing the egg solidifies his role as the antagonist of the girl’s hope. By the end of the film, after the girl has fallen into a ravine and been transformed, the Boy is seen standing on a vast shore littered with white feathers. He watches as the eye-like sphere resurfaces from the ocean, now adorned with a new statue of the girl cradling her egg. He remains on the desolate, overturned, ark-like landmass as the sphere departs, seemingly left behind, trapped in the world he helped to dismantle. His notable abilities are few but significant. He wields the cross-shaped weapon, a tool of destruction he uses to shatter the egg. He also possesses a philosophical and narrative ability, using his version of the Noah’s Ark story to articulate the film’s central theme of a lost or forgotten divinity.