Overview
Takumi Hashimoto is the protagonist of “Lizard Man.” He is a young researcher at the Miraitech Research Institute in Tokyo whose body begins turning reptilian after an accident in the Reptiloptrion project.
Biography
Takumi works on Miraitech’s fifth floor. After he is caught in the Reptiloptrion Chamber during the activation of the Omega Field, he jokes that he could become a superhero like the Tokyo Five. The joke is part of his office persona as an unflappable wisecracker, though he is already physically ill.
Doctors tell Takumi that he may or may not turn into a lizard and that his brain and nervous system should remain human. His girlfriend, Misaki Yamamoto, arrives at the hospital and urges him to resist the transformation. Takumi promises to do all he can, largely because he fears disappointing her.
For twelve weeks, Takumi undergoes painful attempts to reverse the process. He is subjected to repeated procedures including needle pricks, IVs, surgeries, anti-ionizer ray sessions, and electroshock convulsions. Scales appear on his forearm and chest, and he starts hiding his body from Misaki.
When Miraitech cancels the Reptiloptrion work, Takumi loses his job and is offered a small pension in exchange for monthly medical tracking. His transformation progresses faster than he predicted. His body becomes persistently cold, his gait changes, and he can barely eat anything except raw fish and meat.
Takumi tries to maintain his relationship with Misaki after the project ends. During a night together, he fears impregnating her with a half-lizard fetus and cannot continue. Misaki later leaves a voicemail ending their regular relationship.
After an invitation from Daichi Kurokawa, Takumi attends a dinner in Roppongi with representatives of Kabushiki Kaisha Sentai, who discuss him as a possible member of a Minor Force Sentai. The meeting humiliates him. He cannot tolerate the meal, vomits, and crawls out of the restaurant while patrons scream.
Takumi later reads The Metamorphosis and decides to kill himself by jumping from his apartment tower. He postpones the plan only because he has promised to attend a Miraitech checkup.
At the checkup, Miho Sato finds Takumi dangerously cold and helps him recover. She later arranges a Koto basement apartment adapted to his reptilian physiology. Takumi is last seen moving into that apartment, where Miho tells him to seek meaning as Takumi Hashimoto rather than as a superhero or “Lizard Man.”