Character Relationship Map: Vital

Characters

• Hiroshi Takagi (played by Tadanobu Asano) — protagonist

  Protagonist suffering from amnesia after a fatal car accident involving his girlfriend. He returns to medical school, where he discovers he is dissecting his deceased girlfriend's cadaver. This revela...

• Ryoko Ooyama (played by Nami Tsukamoto) — supporting

  Hiroshi's deceased girlfriend who died in the car accident that caused his amnesia. Her body is used as a medical cadaver for dissection, serving as the central catalyst for Hiroshi's memory recovery...

• Hiroshi's Mother (played by Lily) — supporting
• Mrs. Ooyama (played by Hana Kino) — supporting
• Hiroshi's Father (played by Kazuyoshi Kushida) — supporting
• Mr. Ooyama (played by Jun Kunimura) — supporting

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Hiroshi's Mother → Hiroshi Takagi (mother)
• Hiroshi's Father → Hiroshi Takagi (father)
• Mr. Ooyama → Ryoko Ooyama (Family Father And Daughter) — Mr. Ooyama's grief is evident in his anger at the prospect of Hiroshi dissecting his daughter's body.

  The plot identifies Mr. Ooyama as one of Ryoko's parents, who confirm that she chose to donate her body to science.

• Mrs. Ooyama → Ryoko Ooyama (Family Mother And Daughter) — Mrs. Ooyama shares information about Ryoko's life with Hiroshi after her death.

  Mrs. Ooyama speaks about her daughter Ryoko and explains that Ryoko had been troubled before the crash.

• Hiroshi Takagi → Ryoko Ooyama (Romantic Deceased Girlfriend) — Ryoko's death and the discovery that her body is on Hiroshi's dissection table drive his effort to recover his memories and confront their past.

  The character profile identifies Ryoko as Hiroshi's deceased girlfriend. The plot says Hiroshi recalls being with her and learns she died in the same...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Hiroshi Takagi → Mrs. Ooyama (Social Grieving Family Connection) — Her account gives Hiroshi context for Ryoko's life beyond the accident and informs his understanding of her.

  Mrs. Ooyama tells Hiroshi that Ryoko had become troubled long before the crash.

• Hiroshi Takagi → Mr. Ooyama (Conflict Blame And Resentment) — Mr. Ooyama's anger over Hiroshi's role in the crash makes the dissection a personal source of conflict.

  Mr. Ooyama is furious at the thought of Hiroshi dissecting Ryoko and blames him for her death.

Story Analysis

An amnesiac medical student confronts grief and the uncertain boundary between memory and reality while studying the body of his deceased girlfriend.

Plot Progression

1. Waking Without a Past — After the crash, Hiroshi wakes with damaged memory and relies on his family to learn what happened. He returns to medical college and tries to reconstruct his identity through study.
2. The Unknown Donor — Hiroshi resumes training and is assigned a young woman's body for dissection. As he studies the cadaver, vivid images of Ryoko begin to intrude, leaving him unsure whether they are memories or dreams.
3. A Body and a Lost Love — Hiroshi discovers that the cadaver is Ryoko, who died in the same crash. Her parents confirm her donation, while Mr. Ooyama's anger makes Hiroshi's work more painful and contested.
4. Understanding and Letting Go — As memories return, Mrs. Ooyama reveals that Ryoko had been troubled before the accident. Hiroshi persists with the dissection, apologizes to Ryoko, and faces the limits of what memory can tell him.
5. The Final Farewell — The four-month dissection program ends, and the students restore the donated bodies for burial. Hiroshi and the others pay their last respects as Ryoko's body is taken away.