Yoshio Kou
Yoshio Kou (康 芳夫, Kō Yoshio) is the main protagonist of the one-shot Showman of the Century Who Launched Oliver: Yoshio Kou from The Lives of Eccentrics.
Appearance
Yoshio Kou is a middle aged man of average height and build. He has long straight dark hair.
He usually wears either a business suit or casual clothes with a jacket.
Personality
Yoshio Kou is a calm, collected, and confident man. These qualities allow him to use his impressive set of skills to their full extent.
When it comes to his job, Kou doesn't consider money his main priority. Rather than exclusively working with things that are guaranteed to succeed, he often works with risky, yet remarkable, subjects, which require a lot of funding.
Yoshio Kou tends to be quite cynical. He doesn't think highly of the general public, deeming it gullible and easily impressed. He often disregards ethics in his ventures, being willing to deceive the public or realize ideas many would consider morally questionable.
Abilities
Showmanship
History
Showman of the Century Who Launched Oliver: Yoshio Kou
Yoshio Kou was born in 1937 in Tokyo to a Japanese mother and a Chinese father. Despite being discriminated against due to his mixed blood, Kou's forcefulness and sinister gaze ensured that he was never bullied. Growing up during the war, Kou was conflicted about Japan's position in the conflict, and even more so regarding the shift in its culture after the war.
In 1955 in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Kou is confronted by the Korean yakuza, who at the time, controlled the area. Instead of running away like his friend did, Kou strucks a deal with a them to manage their finances and deliver food to local Chinese people. One day, Kou notices a group of people fascinated by what was advertised to be a snake with the head of a woman. Fascinated by the audience's ability to wholeheartedly believe such a boldfaced lie, Kou goes into show business.
Kou begins his new career by partnering with Japanese businessman Akira Jin to bring Russian shows to Japan as a form of money laundering. Kou would go on to promote all types of events, including concerts, festivals, races, hunts for mythical creatures, and boxing matches.
In 1976 Yoshio Kou organizes Oliver's visit to Japan. At the Miami airport Kou demands for Oliver, a chimpanzee at the time presumed to be human, to board the plane like a person, threatening to sue the company for discrimination. Having successfully recieved first class tickets, he flies to Japan with Oliver sitting next to him.
Kou notices Oliver reading an erotic magazine and gets an idea. Kou proposes letting Oliver mate with a live human female live on camera. Though members of the media doubt that any woman would be willing to do so, Kou introduces a 19-year-old unknown talent who is more than willing to bear Oliver's child. As the woman makes a contract with the media, Kou watches on and savors the attention his bizarre idea will elicit.
For the moment, Kou and Oliver arrive at a hotel and book a suite. Oliver's arms and legs are tied, and the broadcast begins. As cameras film her from behind, the woman takes off her clothes and prepares to mount Oliver. Suddenly, Kou bursts into the room and orders the event to be terminated, as tests have concluded that Oliver has 48 chromosomes and is thus a chimpanzee. Oliver breaks free of his arm restraints as the woman is dragged out of the room, despite her pleas to be allowed to continue.
The following day, July 23, 1976, saw the front pages of every newspaper in Japan filled with the revelation of Oliver's true identity. Of course, this had all been Kou's plan from the beginning. Though he would feign disgust at the bizarre experiment in public, Kou privately relished the spectacle of a mere chimpanzee being the single biggest story in the country.
In 1977, Kou makes an exlusive broadcasting contract with NBC for 500 million yen. He would arrange a fight between a Bengal tiger and a karate master in Haiti as it's one of the only places where such a thing would be legal. The show is cancelled at the last minute after animal rights groups contact the country's president. The news shocks Kou, not only due to it's suddenness, but also due to the fact, that they were more concerned for the tiger rather than the man who had to fight it. As a result of the show's cancellation, Kou loses 180 million yen and leaves Haiti in shame.
Kou continued producing public spectacles for some time after Oliver, but by 2002 his role has mostly been superseded by specialized advertising companies, to his irritation. When asked about the profit he has turned from his various ventures in an interview, Kou dismisses the question, stating that money is nothing compared to the thrills it can give birth to.
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