Hikawa
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| Hikawa | |
| 氷川 | |
Artwork from Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne | |
| Affiliation(s) | Ring of Gaea (Formerly) Assembly of Nihilo |
| Alignment(s) | Shijima |
| Voice Actor(s) | Daisuke Ono (JP) Connor Fogarty (EN) |
Hikawa is a character in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne.
Profile
Publicly the top executive of the company Cybers Communication, and secretly the heretical leader of the Ring of Gaea, Hikawa is a cold and calculating man and is the person responsible for starting the Conception.[1] After the Vortex World is created, he leads the Assembly of Nihilo, an organization that aims to assist him in creating a world that follows the logic of his Reason, Shijima, which he typically describes as a world of stillness or silence, referring to how it will be a world lacking greed and desire. He is commonly called the "Commander" by his demon subordinates.
Game Appearances
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
Hikawa was, initially, the leader of the Ring of Gaea. Eventually, however, he came across the Scripture of Miroku in the Gaeans' library and translated its texts, discovering through them the existence of the Vortex World. Hikawa then used the texts to reconstruct an Amala Drum and decipher its symbols to access the Amala Universe, where he learned about the Conception.[2] As the Conception would allow him to create a world according to his vision, Hikawa prepared to take control of it himself, though he was opposed by some members of the Ring of Gaea and even the Order of Messiah. Planning their demise, he was able to gather them up in Yoyogi Park and wipe them out with his demons, with the event being covered up as a riot that got out of hand.[3] With his opposition gone, all that was left for him was to recruit Yuko Takao into his scheme, a Gaean who shared his desire for a new world and would provide him with a large amount of Magatsuhi,[4] and wait in Shinjuku Medical Center for the Conception to start, having engineered the location to be the only thing that would be safe from the world's destruction.
The Protagonist formally meets Hikawa when he stumbles upon his room in the basement of the Medical Center. Hikawa is irritated that his "silence" has been disrupted, and though he deduces that he is one of Takao's acquaintances, he decides it is too risky to allow him to survive the Conception and summons a Baphomet to kill him. Before any harm can be done to the Protagonist, however, Takao quickly appears to intervene and threatens to stop cooperating with Hikawa if he does not spare him, making Hikawa back down begrudgingly and tell them to leave his room, wishing to enjoy the end of the world in solitude.
After the Conception occurs, Hikawa establishes a group called the Assembly of Nihilo to control the shaping of the new world. Although he is opposed by the Mantra, who soon invade his base to destroy its core, he deceives them by setting up a bait core on the base's surface floors, allowing them to think they have won while he and his troops stay in the hidden lower floors with the true core. The Demi-fiend soon gains access to these floors and confronts Hikawa on the bottom floor, which houses the base's true core. Hikawa is briefly surprised at his appearance but commends him for reaching him, and reveals the purpose of his core is to gather magatsuhi, which he explains is necessary to summon a Demonic Sponsor to create a world following the logic of his Reason, Shijima. Hikawa then activates his Nightmare System, which gives him control over the flow of magatsuhi all around the Vortex World, and targets Ikebukuro, where the Mantra's Headquarters are located, which depletes the demons in the area of their magutsuhi and kills their leader, Gozu-Tennoh, destroying the Mantra in one fell-swoop. Hikawa then turns back to the Demi-fiend and tells him that Yuko Takao plays an important role in the system, though she is in another location. Believing that the Demi-fiend was not meant to have survived the Conception to begin with, Hikawa summons an Ose to kill him while he escapes.
Later, the Demi-fiend frees Yuko Takao at the Obelisk, which shuts down the Nightmare System and allows Takao to leave Hikawa's organization. He soon meets Hikawa again in Ikebukuro, who acts far less hostile toward him. Hikawa explains that he had already gathered enough magatsuhi for creation, so he allowed the Demi-fiend to go to the Obelisk and used it as an opportunity to verify if he truly is the Demi-fiend written about in the Scripture of Miroku, which, after seeing him successfully defeating his subordinates and setting Takao free, he now believes. Wishing to add the Demi-fiend's strength to his cause, Hikawa fully explains Shijima to him. He details how Humanity's greed grew too far out of control in the previous world, comparing their greed to how humans grew too dependent on fire's warmth and ignored its destructive nature. He goes on to say that instead of indulging in selfish desires, humans should serve the collective world and become one with it, not concerning themselves with what is desirable or not. Hikawa believes that, through this, a life of repose would be granted to humanity and asks the Demi-fiend if he agrees that the world should be ruled by serenity. If the Demi-fiend agrees, Hikawa is pleased and says he will ask for his assistance when the time comes. If the Demi-fiend disagrees, Hikawa is disappointed and dismisses him as a mere demon after all. He then parts ways with him, not content to falter until he creates his new world.
Hikawa is encountered once again at the Diet Building, where he and the Assembly of Nihilo are in search of its large quantity of magatsuhi. At the end of the area, the Demi-fiend stumbles across Hikawa arguing with Yuko Takao about the state of the previous world. He criticizes her view of freedom and her actions, asking why she did not try to change the world before if she truly valued freedom and possibility, and questions what she expected to achieve by allowing her students to survive the Conception, wondering if it was because she thought they could change the world unlike her, or if she wanted them to experience the same despair she felt. As she is unable to answer his inquiries, Hikawa tells Takao that she has been unable to conceive her Reason because she has been running away and leaving everything behind. He asks her if she truly believes in freedom, and at that moment, Aradia exits Takao's body. She tells Hikawa that his decision to believe in Shijima is itself a type of freedom, but Hikawa dismisses her presence, as she is powerless to stop him. Aradia leaves right after, leaving Hikawa to comment on how pitiful Takao is for being deceived and abandoned by the false god, and prepares to sacrifice her to summon his Demonic Sponsor. Before he can go through with it, however, Hikawa notices the Demi-fiend's presence and tells him to stand aside, as he has no intention of fighting him. If the Demi-fiend agrees, Hikawa sacrifices Takao without any interruptions. If the Demi-fiend refuses, however, Hikawa summons Samael to get rid of him, though even after Samael is defeated, Hikawa is still able to sacrifice Takao and summon his Demonic Sponsor, Ahriman, whom he merges with. He then sets out to create the world of Shijima.
In the Tower of Kagutsuchi, if the Demi-fiend is not Shijima-aligned, Hikawa, as Ahriman, stops his progress up the tower and attempts to kill him for opposing the coming of Shijima, though after he is defeated, he cannot bring himself to care about creation any longer, and hands the Demi-fiend his stone of treasure, the Earthstone, as he dies. If the Demi-fiend is Shijima-aligned, however, Ahriman will greet him amicably and willingly give him the Earthstone so that he can gain access to Kagutsuchi and create the Kingdom of Shijima. In the Shijima ending, Hikawa appears alongside the Demi-fiend in the transitional space between the Vortex World and the new world's creation. Hikawa proclaims that the prophecy has been fulfilled and that the world will now be cleansed of its greed to enter a state of stillness. Hikawa states that it is the Demi-fiend who will create the new world, that he was merely the baptist who prepared the way for him to become the new creator. He is content with this, looking forward to finally living in a world of silent harmony, and watches on as the Demi-fiend delivers to them their new world.
Audio Drama Appearances
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Novel Appearances
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Trivia
- According to the official website's description, Hikawa caused the Conception because he was disappointed with a world where war never ends.[5] However, Kazuma Kaneko claimed that Hikawa had no disappointments about the world.[6]
Nomenclature
The name 氷川 Hikawa consists of two kanji, the first meaning "ice" and the second meaning "river".
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 English
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Hikawa | |
 Japanese
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氷川 | Hikawa |
 Korean
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히카와 | |
Gallery
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Artwork of the Assembly of Nihilo from Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne -
Artwork from Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne -
Artwork from Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster -
Render from Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne -
Card N-004 from Shin Megami Tensei Card Game: Nocturne Ver. -
Hikawa, Chiaki Tachibana, the Demi-fiend, and Isamu Nitta in Card N-146 "Those Who Live Idealistically" from Shin Megami Tensei Card Game: Nocturne Ver. -
Card N-307 "Worried Hikawa" from Shin Megami Tensei Card Game: Nocturne Ver. Part 2
References
- ↑ "To most people, Hikawa is the chief technical officer of the giant Cybers Communication coporation. In truth, hes the leader of the Gaea cult, a religious organizaion that searches for a truth which transcends the teachings of all other religions. The Conception and the destruction of the world were brought about by Hikawas mad desire for purity." Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Official Guidebook (2004). Published by DoubleJump. English. page 375. ISBN-13: 0-9741700-4-6.
- ↑ "Lady in Black: Fate is drawn to a strong will, it seems. His plot became reality... ...when he uncovered the Scripture of Miroku, buried deep within the cult's library. With the Scripture in his possession, he reconstructed the spinning drum of Amala. By deciphering the symbols on the drum, he gained access to the Amala Universe... and learned of the Conception...the fated destruction of the world." Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniax (PlayStation 2). Developed by Atlus. Published by Atlus. English. Translation by Atlus.
- ↑ "Newscaster: A riot broke out yesterday at Yoyogi Park, regarding the construction of a communications tower. The demonstration got out of hand, and there have been several deaths and injuries reported. Also, Hikawa, the top executive of Cybers Communication, is still missing." Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniax (PlayStation 2). Developed by Atlus. Published by Atlus. English. Translation by Atlus.
- ↑ "Then, Yuko met Hikawa, and got caught up in his religion." Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Official Guidebook (2004). Published by DoubleJump. English. page 376. ISBN-13: 0-9741700-4-6.
- ↑ "愚かな争いを続けるこの世界に失望し、この世に終末が訪れると予言した書物『ミロク経典』に基づき、東京受胎を引き起こす一因を作った張本人。" 真・女神転生III NOCTURNE HD REMASTER - 公式サイト. Retrieved September 17, 2026. .
- ↑ "氷川としては、世界の新陳代謝が起こることはわかっていあるので、それを起こす役目は自分なのだと、曲解してしまったんですね。ですから別に世界に対して不満があったというわけではないんですよ。" Dengeki PlayStation. Published by MediaWorks. Japanese. Vol. 238 Page 167. Cover date May 9·30, 2003.