Yūji Nakamura is Ryu Kawabata's classmate and close associate. They bond over a fanatical passion for anime, especially deformed characters. This extremism drives them to target Yuko Yabe, accusing her of degrading anime art through her handmade copies. They deem her actions worthy of severe punishment, culminating in her murder as retribution for desecrating their cherished art form. After Yabe's disappearance and Kawabata's death, Nakamura becomes a key witness and primary suspect in the murder investigations.