On the Motivations of Nagisa Shingetsuâs Father: A Short Analysis
Something that people tend to misconstrue about Nagisaâs father is that he actually wanted his son to have flawless academic performance. In reality, the conditioning to strive for absolute perfection was merely a part of the manipulation (or in more scientific terms, the independent variable) of the experiment he conducted on his son. In Nagisaâs own words:
âMy parents raised me like they were levelling me up in some game⌠They didnât even treat me like a person [âŚ] My father was a teacher at our school, he was a researcher of childrenâs talent. He used his own son to research the growth of a childâs talent. He wanted to see what the growth curve would be like if he pushed a child to the breaking point⌠Isnât that funny? I was the subject of such an amusing experiment.â
So now we have evidence that Dr. (?)* Shingetsu was not placing high expectations on Nagisa because he wanted him to succeed, but rather out of morbid scientific curiosity. Below is an excerpt from the man himself:
âI cannot obtain the result I was expecting with my experiment. I cannot discern whether the environment or the subject himself is the problem. I shall look into the experiment conditions in more detail.
Until now, I have used solely visual observation, but I should erect cameras to watch the subject at all times and discipline the subject when resting longer than allowed.
If I do not obtain any desirable results with the experiment, I will conclude that the problem lies within the subject, and change my experimental target.â
One thing to note is that it is unclear what his desired results are. According to Nagisa, he was apparently researching the growth curve of a childâs academic talent under extreme stressâ however, we should be aware that Nagisa is likely an unreliable narrator due to his conditioned biases**. Although a common interpretation is that Dr. Shingetsu was expecting an increase in Nagisaâs performance, there are two main factors that disprove this:
1. Nagisa states that during the experiment, his father would force him to study for several days straight using intravenous analeptics, threats, and corporal punishment. The exact drug he used is unknown, but it is likely either doxapram, due to it being administered intravenously, or amphetamines, which are noted to have cognitive-enhancing abilities. However, the overuse of analeptic stimulants can cause cardiovascular problems, as does stress and sleep deprivation. In this environment, the likelihood of Nagisa suffering a stroke or heart failure increased considerably. Dr. Shingetsu would definitely have known this.
2. Sleep deprivation and excessive stress are known to negatively impact cognitive function and development. Dr. Shingetsu would also have known this.
This begs the question: why would Dr. Shingetsu subject his son to conditions that could result in health hazards and/or declined performance if he wanted Nagisaâs academic success?
A possible answer is simply that the âdesirable resultsâ were actually a decline in performance. Perhaps Dr. Shingetsu wanted to find the point of absolute burnout where Nagisa would either barely function, or give up completely. Perhaps he was dissatisfied with Nagisaâs resilience to the experimental conditions. In the end, Dr. Shingetsu ultimately reaped the consequences of treating the Nuremburg Code as the Nuremburg Suggestions allowing his hunger for knowledge overpower his morality.
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* Due to the nature of his research, it is most likely that Nagisaâs Father (referred to as Dr. Shingetsu for the sake of brevity) was a psychologist, particularly a developmental psychologist. He also likely held a doctorate degree.
** There are multiple instances of Nagisa being an unreliable narrator. In the referenced scene alone, there are two: one is his implication that Monaca was paralysed by Tokuichi and Haiji, when in reality, she feigned the severity of her injuries. The second is his claim that Junko truly loved the Warriors of Hope.
