Chujin Ketsukane

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Chujin Ketsukane
Character Information
Relationships	Ceroba Ketsukane (Wife) Kanako Ketsukane (Daughter) Martlet (Apprentice) Axis (Creation)

Chujin Ketsukane is a recurring character in Undertale Yellow. He is the husband of Ceroba, father of Kanako, mentor of Martlet and creator of Axis. He is deceased during the events of the game, only seen during flashbacks and while playing video tapes, but is brought up frequently by characters in the game.

Profile

Appearance

Chujin is a grey, anthropomorphic, fox-like monster. He wears large, circular goggles with green lenses as well as a green kimono.

Personality

Chujin is said to have been a kindhearted and hard-working monster, as well as a good mentor. His philosophy was that even though monsterkind is in a bad spot, being sealed off from the surface, monsters can collectively make the Underground a better place through small acts of kindness. This is reflected in his actions, such as making a heater for Honeydew Resort and teaching Martlet construction without expecting pay.

On the other hand, Chujin believes that humans are dangerous and cannot be trusted. This is largely due to the Snowdin attack in which Kanako was involved, coupled with the knowledge about the war between humans and monsters. Despite this, in his secret VHS tape he laments the fact that one of his creations accidentally ended up killing a human, showing that he doesn't wish death upon them.

Main Story

History

Chujin was once an engineer, like his father. While his father was more traditional, Chujin favored progress. Despite this, Chujin still valued his upbringing. He first met Ceroba after finding her injured in a ditch. He helped her out and she was charmed. They later got married and he built the Ketsukane Mansion to raise their family in, though they only ever had Kanako.

Chujin worked in the Steamworks for a long time, but he was not very successful. He designed Axis to serve as a robotic royal guard. His employee records in the Steamworks show how he tried pitching Axis to Asgore several times, each time failing to impress him due to a mechanical failure. After Axis Model 08 set his flowers ablaze, Asgore dismissed him and requested to not see him again.

Because he did not have the time for a written journal, Chujin began a video journal. In his second tape, he talks about the Snowdin attack. While tending to something away from his daughter, Kanako and a friend she was spending time with encountered the Integrity human, who attacked Kanako's friend and fled to Waterfall. This filled Chujin with rage toward humanity.

In a secret tape found behind his grave, Chujin confesses to how, rather than going to comfort Kanako after the attack, he ordered Axis to apprehend the human. Due to a programming error, Axis killed the human. Chujin obtained their SOUL and hid the evidence.

He continued working on Axis up until he was fired, with Axis Model 014 being his final model. After this incident, Chujin lied to his family and friends by telling them that he had retired. In secrecy, in a bunker he'd built under the kotatsu in his house, he continued researching into a way to combat the threat of humanity.

Despite his struggles in engineering, he was a very talented carpender. During his new research, he mentored Martlet's tinkering endeavors. They met while he was building her balcony, and Chujin helped Martlet realize tinkering is something she enjoys. They built various contraptions together, and among the machines they built was the space heater in Honeydew Resort. When Chujin heard Martlet signed up for the Royal Guard, he wasn't happy about that, warning her that it is a dangerous job.

After years of research into the SOUL, he finally reached a breakthrough. In his fourth VHS tape, he reveals that he (and, by proxy, Kanako) carries a Boss Monster gene. Since Boss Monsters are much stronger than regular monsters, his plan is to turn regular monsters into Boss Monsters by fusing a Boss Monster SOUL and a human SOUL. During his research he experimented on himself and the blue SOUL, but unfortunately his SOUL deteriorated and he was not able to finish his research. His last VHS tape is directed towards Ceroba, requesting from her to carry on his research on an uncorrupted human SOUL and a Boss Monster SOUL other than Kanako's. He informs her of his tapes on his death bed, as seen in a flashback during the Pacifist Route final battle. His soul had been slowly degrading for some time, and he eventually passed away. His grave is built to the northwest of the Ketsukane Mansion.

Neutral Route

Chujin himself does not appear in the Neutral Route, though several monsters and background details throughout the Underground reference him, such as the sticker on the Honeydew Resort space header, Martlet and her journal, Ceroba, Dina, and Starlo's parents. Monsters in the Wild East periodically remark on Chujin and how his and Kanako's absence has affected Ceroba, giving the impression that the two have died. Various notes throughout the Steamworks reference his subpar results, such as a plaque for "You Tried in Engineering."

Pacifist Route

With Ceroba in the Steamworks, she further expands on him when Clover finds these details, remarking that he was hardworking and brilliant and ignoring most details that point towards his ineptitude. Using Chujin's credentials, Ceroba also pulls Clover into an alternate path through the Steamworks. Upon finding a report stating that Chujin was fired, she remarks with sadness that Chujin had never shared these details with her and fury towards Asgore for doubting him. She urges Clover to spare Axis, whom she views as the culmination of Chujin's work, and becomes enraged if they kill him.

In this route, the path to Ketsukane Mansion unlocks after Starlo chases Ceroba to Hotland. In there, Clover and Martlet uncover Chujin's secret bunker containing notes on many people Chujin and the videotapes he recorded. When Clover is alone, they can visit Chujin's gravestone northwest of the house and collect his secret videotape from there.

During the final battle with Ceroba, Clover sees a flashback of Chujin and Ceroba before his death, where Chujin tells Ceroba about his secret bunker and asks her to continue his legacy.

Genocide Route

After destroying Martlet's chestplate during the final battle with her, Clover sees a flashback of the scene Martlet described in her journal, where Martlet tells Chujin she got a job in the Royal Guard and Chujin becomes upset by this. He warns Martlet that humans are dangerous. Additionally, at the beginning of their meeting, she buys him coffee and he is embarassed that she treats him like her boss.

Relationships

Ceroba Ketsukane

Ceroba is Chujin's wife. She was supportive of her husband’s work at the Steamworks, but was unaware of his firing until after he died. She became increasingly devoted to his work and his legacy, sometimes against her better sense. This devotion ultimately led to her experimenting with Kanako against his wishes, and she continues to devote herself to his research afterwards, ultimately leading to her attempting to obtain Clover's SOUL on a Pacifist Route. She is proud of his accomplishments and prone to ignoring his failings. She overall holds him in very high regard.

Kanako Ketsukane

Kanako is Chujin's and Ceroba's daughter. Though Chujin cared for his daughter, he evidently chose to focus on his work and ambitions over her often, best demonstrated when he opted to send Axis after the attacking human rather than comfort his daughter, something he expresses remorse of. Nonetheless, Chujin deeply cared for Kanako. It was fear for his daughter's future that drove him to experiment with Axis and the human SOUL to the degree that he did and his final wish was to ensure that Kanako would not suffer from his work.

Martlet

Chujin was Martlet's mentor, and the two became good friends. Martlet and Chujin would meet up to work on projects and talk, and Martlet held Chujin and his family in very high regard. She is deeply disappointed from the revelations from Chujin's videotapes, admitting that she did not know him as well as she thought she did.

Axis

Axis is Chujin's creation. Chujin held strong hope that Axis would be able to protect monsterkind despite the fact that Axis repeatedly failed, generally due to mechanical errors on Chujin's part. While the two's interactions are never discussed, Axis says that Chujin was always kind to him and that Axis misses him. Axis is never made aware of his death.

Gallery

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  A photograph of Chujin, Ceroba, and Kanako found in the Ketsukane Estate.

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  Chujin as seen in his videotapes.

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  Chujin being given a drink by Martlet.

Trivia

• Chujin's main pose, glasses and gloves in the VHS tapes are together highly reminiscent of Gendo Ikari's from Neon Genesis Evangelion. This might be one Neon Genesis Evangelion reference in Undertale Yellow that Master Sword talked about in the Episode 44 of The Determined Podcast in August 2022.
• Chujin's name may be referring to 主人 (pronounced "shujin"), which means husband.