Shoji Kubodera

""Many sad events have transpired, but do not lose heart, and do not give up. If we all support each other during these troubled times, we'll be able to get through this together.""

- Mr. Kubodera

Shoji Kubodera (窪寺 昭二, Kubodera Shoji) was the homeroom teacher of 9th Grade Class 3 at Yomiyama North Middle School in 1998. He and his mother are two of the "Deaths of July."

Personality and Traits
Kubodera is a very confident and calm man who often begins each class by encouraging the students. He seems to view the struggle against the curse as a group effort, believing that if everyone works together, everyone will get through the year. He is also a compassionate individual and a hard worker, caring for his elderly and disabled mother when he is not teaching as a teacher.

However, as his students continue to die from the curse, it becomes evident that the class rules are no longer effective, Kubodera begins to lose his calm veneer... and his sanity.

Appearance


Kubodera was a particularly young man, light-skinned and of average height wearing a white buttoned shirt, a blue tie with white stripes, brown pants, dark brown shoes and wore square yellow-rimmed glasses. He also wears a silver-colored watch when he wears a short t-shirt.

In the manga he has short black hair, black eyes and does not wear glasses.

His age differs between anime and manga - in anime he appears quite young, but his manga counterpart appears to be much older.

Plot
Kubodera made his first appearance in "Rough Sketch", introducing the new transfer student to the rest of the class, clarifying that if everyone supported each other and worked together they could "get through the year in good shape". After that he dedicated himself to his job as a teacher of the course, teaching mainly writing and literature.

Then after the death of a student and a family member of another, he kept his class lively, repeating that if everyone stayed together they could finish the year. In "Build Limbs", after Kouchi was questioned about the Sanae Mizuno incident, Kubodera appears by the door to ask him if he had finished the interrogation, and then indicate to Kouchi that he could go home for the rest of the day, he also clarified that the new female representative of the class had been chosen, but not before reminding her to try to follow "the rules of the class".

Later lamenting over the death of Takabayashi, instructs his class to stay together and not feel bad for all the terrible events that happened, reminding everyone to follow the rules of the class and only then can they overcome it; He also says that Professor Mikami has been supportive despite feeling quite bad because of the constant incidents. To finish giving a literature class.

In "Face to Face", it is appreciated at the beginning explaining to Misaki her role as "the one that does not exist" and that she has all her right to refuse, but that in case she does it while the calamity begins... She also says that this was better to keep it only with Class 3 students and teachers, not including teachers from other classes or family members. Then he appears in Kouichi's dream with Mei, and later, even knowing that 2 students had been absent, he is seen teaching a class that later would become "his last class". The next day he presents himself to the class with a large bag which he hits with the podium to indicate to the class about his presence, during his talk he explains to the class about his attempt to make the class pass the school year, telling that from that moment on, all that happened would be problems that they themselves had to face on their own, and that they had tried to do everything possible to prevent this from happening, saying that it was "useless to talk about this now"; he then took a large kitchen knife out of the bag.

At the beginning in "Sphere Joint", he takes the knife and holds it to his neck while screaming and waving the knife in the air, only to end up stabbing himself in the neck, after which he spits out a bloodstain that falls on Sachiko Nakajima, in all the pain and brutality of the event proceeds to stab himself deeper to end up spraying his entire class with his own blood, to end up falling dead on the ground. After this horrific event, the entire class leaves the classroom horrified and screaming, except for Kouichi and Mei, who observe the corpse, and a few other students who went into shock. Mei tells Kouchi that apparently making 2 non-existent students was "totally useless".

Then it is shown a moment before the suicide where Kubodera walks with Tatsuji Chibiki, explaining to him his fatigue and his doubts about what he should do, only to be shown walking to school with his bag. Chibiki then mentions that the police decided to invest in his house, where they found a rather disturbing event, which was the body of Kubodera's mother, who had apparently been murdered; Later it was believed that the class problems and calamity weighed heavily on Kubodera's mind, and that without any other remedy he had decided to murder his mother and then take his own life in front of his entire class.

Finally in "Body Paint", he appears in Kouichi's nightmare with the other victims, with the knife in the neck and blaming Kouichi for everything that happened, repeating the same phrase "IT IS YOUR FAULT!!".