A Selfless Man in a Selfish World - The Importance of Kim Kitsuragi in Disco Elysium

A character analysis of Kim Kitsuragi, with a focus on his selfless nature and how he inspires Harry to be a better person through the example he sets for him.

Huge thanks to Paul Looney for allowing me to use his fan song "God, Please" for this video! You can check out all of his music at the link below:

[FlamingLily]

"The Lieutenant trusts you." As a lieutenant, he trusts you as an officer.
"Kim *truly* trusts you." As a person, as a confidant, as a workmate, and dare I say it, a friend, he really, truly trusts you.

[itsagreyarea]

Something I noticed as well is Kim's jacket in martianase not many people wear that bright of clothing most of the people (not including Harry's clothing options) wear pretty muted colors even Harry himself wears a dark green jacket. Kim however wears a bright orange bomber jacket which stands out in the darkness. I might be over analyzing this but it might be to represent that in Harry's journey Kim is a bright spot, someone he can rely on

[BrotatoPotato]

Genuinely felt bad when Kim sounded annoyed by me. Kim's the best companion character I've ever seen. He truly is awesome.

[l.l]

man is not a bro.


he's THE bro

[Darkmage]

He is the rarest thing in a broken world: A good honest cop. And despite your failings, he sees your worth....provided you aren't beyond redemption.

[asneakylawngnome]

I always viewed Kim’s portrait as, you worded it, a bright spot. He has a white circle behind him, as he’s the only light he has left in the darkness. Kinda like a Dolores Dei painting.

[isisnoreija]

I really really love Kim! His soft voice (which makes it all the more impactful when he sounds angry or annoyed) even with the French accent (which I usually don’t like that much) makes the superb character writing perfect. I need a Kim in my real life

[atakji_art]

after playing it myself I got OBSESSED with Kim Kitsuragi. He's just such a great character, he's charming without speaking too much, sarcastic but helpful and supportive, very factual but cares deeply about other's wellbeing. It feels like he's the only one in this game who's not obsessed with one thing (except for maybe solving the case), thus having a clear mind and even tho he has his own opinions, feelings, it's secondary when talking to Harry. I think at one point he even says "It doesn't matter what I think." which can feel very supportive but also distant. Even if I remember incorrectly, it feels like something he would say, but it's his way to express his support no matter the topic

[pdd]

A student of mine said I reminded him of the Kitsuragi character, so naturally I had to look this up. I had no idea this virtual universe existed. This has me pondering...

[RandomPerson-xijv]

I wonder. He had a previous partner called Eyes that from what the game hints died in duty. Maybe when he saw Harry get shot that triggered something within him

[DrNiradino]

There's a moment during tribunal, where Kim makes an impossible shot. It's well established throughout the game that Kim isn't good at shooting to the point that he need to bribe to pass his shooting evaluations. Shot he takes is downright impossible, being a small eyeslid in an impenetrable armor. Moreover, this shot saves the day, taking down the main threat behind Mercenaries and preventing "hornets from getting into beehive".
It's a downright Deus Ex Machina moment, which wis any other character would've felt cheap. Yet for Kim it doesn't. Through the goodness of his character, his patience, his support he more then earns this miracle.
Trully, there was no better written companion in any RPG.

[c-r]

Been playing rpgs for 30 years, he's my favorite supporting character in all that time. Incredible implementation, somehow works with all play styles. A springboard and a safety net in an things.

[АлександрГаврилов-пз]

Kim is an unattainable ideal to whom we must aspire

[PadelbootStudios]

Having Kim as a positive influence was very well done by the devs. During my first playthrough I was trying to get into the harbour. Using Cuno's place didn't work, then I got to measurehead. Now I intended to learn his racist nonsense, so I can beat him with fact and logic (tm). That is... until the voices in Harrys head told me Kim was worried. Suddenly the plan changed. I just couldn't bring myself to dissapoint Kim like this, even if it made the investigation harder. I was pleasant and polite to Kim from the get-go, but this was the moment I truly realized how much I was willing to work in the game to get his approval and do right by him. It certainly helps that Kim is incredibly patient and understanding, no matter how much of a mess Harry is.
Eventually I got into the harbour after Kim went to sleep... by stripping my pants and shoes and succeeding the jump that way. Surprised him the next by walking straight to Evrart with a card I... borrowed.

It takes serious skill to write a character like this as it hasn't to convince Harry, it has to convince the players. Seeing how much love Kim gets: They succeeded greatly.

[deadWu]

Kim it's a powerful being, capable of inducing others to snap their own necks, just by repeatedly nodding.

[joeschmoe]

I once took psychedelic drugs in front of him and let him know, and he replied: "Good for you."

[moliza]

Kim is excellent companion all crpg fans wished for. Such an amazing calming mentor and character

[BarakZero]

I was somewhat touched, too, when I saw that he really trusted me, i had done what i could to achieve that, because from very early on in the game i liked him so much. It just felt so good to have him at my side. One of the most memorable videogame characters of all time for me.
Great Video, thanks for that.

[finalfursonavii]

my take on Kim, is that him being considered only the selfless and reliable partner is like a shackle on his true self

a darker edge is that Kim is caught up in the ideology of the coalition which he works for as RCM... throughout the game, he feels the need to hide who he is, what he is passionate about and how he really feels behind a veneer of professionalism...

id say it goes two ways with positive influence, because the chaotic nature of Harry encourages him to open up and be a little more proud of his own passions and eccentricities... it allows him to become more than a reliable and selfless partner, but also his own person.

[woolly]

Actually Kim still strongly recommends you if you solved multiple difficult cases and proved to be the best detective even when you aren`t sober.