4℃ (シド Shido) first appeared in the Steins;Gate visual novel as the opponent and to Faris in the RaiNet AccessBattlers Championship. His real name is Kouichi Suzuki (鈴木 功一 Suzuki Kōichi).
Appearance[]
4℃ is incredibly skinny, to the point of almost being anorexic. His skin is very dark from excessive tanning, typical for rebellious young people like him who are part of Japan’s Gyaruo/Gyaru subculture. His hair is bleached white, and he wears a hat to cover a bald spot.
Personality[]
Similarly to Okabe, his persona makes him appear delusional, but the difference is that 4℃ truly believes what he says, not putting up an act. 4℃ acts like a Chuunibyou believing himself to be powerful and cunning. He is angered easily, for example when he reacts aggressively to Okabe bumping into him in the Steins;Gate: My Darling's Embrace game. He tends to act smug around others as well as treat them as inferior to himself unless it benefits him. Furthermore, 4℃ is extremely selfish and always seems to react in an unfeeling and uncaring way towards others.
4℃ believes himself to have ESPer powers from the goddess Gaia, and is extremely fond of the word “kuro”, meaning “black”. He likes to monologue about his elegant evil black ways he has from Gaia and other nonsense. He also has the catchphrase “Did you know that dry ice burns?” which is incorrect because dry ice is actually very cold, not hot, and he is annoyed whenever Okabe corrects him on this. He also has an embarrassing bald spot on top of his head that is covered by a hat, which Okabe notices the first time they meet when Okabe angers 4℃ and 4℃ attacks him and then 4℃’s hat falls off, revealing his bald spot.
He is the leader of a violent street gang known as the Viral Attackers, and wins RaiNet AccessBattlers tournaments by beating up or intimidating other RaiNet teams into not showing up. He also hates Faris NyanNyan with a passion, as well as hating catgirls and maid cafés. He refers to himself as part of the “New Generation”, making an approving reference to the New Generation Madness serial killings that occurred in Shibuya a year earlier, in 2009 during the events of Chaos;Head, and trying to falsely claim credit for at least some of the serial killings (which he actually had nothing to do with).
Relationships[]
- Main article: 4℃/Relationships
Plot[]
Competition Gone Awry[]
In Chapter 7 of Steins;Gate, which takes place on the world line with divergence 0.409431% of the Alpha Attractor Field, 4℃ is a minor antagonist who defeats Faris NyanNyan at the RaiNet AccessBattlers championship by cheating (specifically having his fellow Viral Attackers shine lasers in her eyes and doing things to distract her so she cannot think).
Okabe time leaps back to before the RaiNet championship happened, and manages to get Faris to accept the sunglasses and earplugs, although she is very difficult. Faris only uses the earplugs but not the sunglasses, though, but wins anyhow with Okabe's help. She talks to Okabe about she was probably lying about being on the verge of remembering what D-Mail she would send, as well as explaining her “Cheshire Break” ability to tell whether other people are lying, tell how they are feeling, and predict their behavior. 4℃ overhears this and has his gang, the Viral Attackers, chase Faris and Okabe, who end up hiding out in the same building where Faris’s maid café MayQueen+Nyan² exists on other world lines. After some Viral Attackers make their way inside and attack, Faris and Okabe manage to escape outside, only to be surrounded by Viral Attackers and have 4℃ show up again, and 4℃ beats Okabe bloody. Faris’s dad Yukitaka Akiha shows up in a limousine, almost plowing straight into the crowd of Viral Attackers, sending the Viral Attackers scattering in fear, but avoids actually hitting anyone with the car, and he rescues Okabe and Faris.
Appearances in Other Media[]
In Steins;Gate: My Darling's Embrace, 4℃ is briefly encountered in the prologue warning Okabe to not enter Faris’ café claiming it sucks and is a waste of time and money. Later in the game in the Faris route, the timeline greatly differs as 4℃ is infamous among the maid café world for using skeevy strategies and scare tactics to monopolize maid cafés around Akihabara.
In Steins;Gate Linear Bounded Phenogram, 4oC with his gang attempt a "dine and dash" and end up taking Luka as a hostage, which ultimately results in Luka being sent to the hospital from the effects of a stun gun. Okabe decides to time leap once again. This time, Luka is saved, and 4oC is caught. But after dialogue with Mr. Braun and Suzuha, Okabe learns that his actions caused 4oC go to jail. It is revealed that 4oC was homeless, and was taking odd-jobs from scalpers to survive. Okabe concludes that 4oC was a victim of society, as people never become bad by their own will.
He is also a minor antagonist in the retro adventure game 8-bit ADV Steins;Gate.
Quotes[]
Trivia[]
- Though 4℃ prides himself on being called 4℃, pronounced “Shido” (シド), as "shi" (死) also means death. Okabe prefers to belittle him by calling him "Yondo", "Yon" being an alternate reading for the number 4 in Japanese.
Etymology[]
- The name Koichi means “achievement, merits, success, honor, credit” (功, kō) and “one” (一, ichi).[1]
- Koichi's surname Suzuki means “small bell, buzzer” (鈴, suzu) and “tree, wood” (木, ki).[2]
Gallery[]
![Graphic from 4℃'s official birthday post in 2023.[3]](/wiki/File:Birthday_2023-06-28_4%C2%B0C.jpg "Birthday 2023-06-28 4°C.jpg (222 KB)")
References[]
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Characters
| ||
|---|---|---|
| Steins;Gate | Rintaro Okabe • Mayuri Shiina • Itaru Hashida • Kurisu Makise • Moeka Kiryu • Luka Urushibara • Faris NyanNyan • Suzuha Amane • John Titor • Shouichi Makise • Yukitaka Akiha • Kuroki • Eisuke Urushibara • 4℃ • Yuugo Tennouji • Nae Tennouji | |
| Steins;Gate 0 | Maho Hiyajo • [Kurisu] • Alexis Leskinen • Judy Reyes • Kagari Shiina • Yuki Amane • Kaede Kurushima • Katsumi Nakase • Shimoyama • Mr. Cateaux | |
| Side Materials | Kayano • Tsuzuri Imamiya • Chikane Akiha • Shinichi Nakase • Lightning-Fast Neidhardt (Cameo and Mentioned) | |