Junta Nakao

Junta Nakao was a member of 9th Grade Class 3 in 1998 and a student at Yomiyama North Middle School. He is one of the "Deaths of July".

Appearance
In the anime, he has short black hair and black eyes. He is fairly tall and broad shouldered. He usually wears the standard school male uniform.

In the manga, Junta is shorter, has longer, bowl-cut hair, and is more rotund.

Personality
In the anime, Junta is perhaps Izumi's closest friend, after Takako. The three are often together, discussing the curse and Izumi's attempts to combat it, though whether Junta is a member like Takako is doubtful. Junta seems to harbor feelings for Izumi, as when Izumi stated she wanted to go to Tokyo for high school, he rightly assumed this was to stay close to Kouichi and angrily glared at him. He seems to be fairly close to Takako as well (perhaps being her only other friend in the anime). This relationship seems more genuine, as Takako was the only member of their group who expressed concern when Junta appeared to be car sick; Izumi was merely sarcastic and used his illness to trick Naoya into riding with Takako so she could be alone with Kouichi.

Junta seems, otherwise, to be a fairly laid back individual, who gets along well with the other boys in his class, even Kouichi, aside from the occasional fits of jealousy toward Kouichi. He and Naoya seem to be fairly friendly, for instance.

In the manga, Junta is described as a loyal retainer of the "Queen Akazawa" and usually accompanies her and her other followers. The rest of the class seems to find this (and him) rather pathetic.

Plot
Junta was present for Kouichi's first day of class, though like the countermeasures group he didn't welcome his new classmate. He was instead speaking with Yumi and Takako near Takako's desk. After Yukari's death, he and Takako spoke to Izumi about the curse. Junta expressed disbelief at the stupidity of the school's administration for putting a new student in their class. Junta often went on breaks with Izumi and Takako, and can be seen talking with them, presumably about the countermeasures.

In "Hair Stand", he went with Kouichi and the others to meet Katsumi Matsunaga, as part of his attempts to help Izumi with the countermeasues. Junta, however, was ill from the beginning, though by the time the group went to the beach to relax, he seemed to have mostly recovered, though he spent most of the day asleep in the shade. When it was time to leave, a sudden gust of wind blew Takako's volley ball into the ocean. Junta volunteered to recover it for his friend, but before he'd gone halfway he began to have trouble swimming. Naoya first noticed their classmate was in danger, and he, Kouichi, and Katsumi rushed into the water to save him. They were, unfortunately, too late, as a passing speedboat struck Junta in the water and eviscerated him. The violence of his death shocked the group, especially Takako, who was devastated by her friend's horrific end. It also shocked Katsumi out of his PTSD, allowing him to remember where he'd hidden his tape regarding the 1983 calamity.

While it was thought the boat killed him (meaning the curse had spread beyond Yomiyama), it was later revealed in "Body Paint" (by Chibiki) that before leaving for the beach, he hit his head on the stairs at home back in Yomiyama, resulting in an aneurysm (hence his car sickness), which burst as he swam after the ball. Junta was dead before the boat hit his body.

Later, he appeared in Kouichi's guilt-driven nightmare. He flopped down in front of a horrified Kouichi and blamed his death on his classmate.

Trivia

 * He sits in class in the second column of desks from the windows, second row from the front, behind Manabu Maejima. To his left is San Watanabe, to his right is Sachiko Nakajima and behind him is Shigeki Yonemura.
 * He is ranked B in Another characters ranking. Another 93.jpg
 * His home address is 1-26 Furuikecho Yomiyama City.
 * His name, Junta, means thickness. This makes his appearance in the manga somewhat more fitting, though it could also apply to his build in the anime.
 * He appears to have a crush on Takako. When he notices her comforting a carsick Junta, Naoya comments that he's trying too hard. Later on, he goes after Takako's ball, which ironically sets in motion his death, and a few episodes later, hers.
 * In the original novel, Nakao's death occurs off page. He is one of the last students to die in the fire at the Sakitani Kinenkan. He dies there in the manga as well. He does not appear in the live action film.
 * Junta is shown to be one of two characters (The other being Takako) to have thoughts and knowledge of Izumi's feelings for Kouichi in the anime.
 * Although not the closest of friends, Junta did call Kouichi by his first name when talking about him and in Kouichi's nightmare, probably to try to get Izumi's attention because she called him that too.

Gallery

 * Main article: Junta Nakao/Image Gallery