Nope. I had my eye on him as well. It was Chehkov's gun and I KNEW there was a reason for it.
Which is why I thought Ichi wasn't an NPC. I'm glad I was proven right.
You're not alone. The moment I saw that guy on a panel I was so sure he has to be involved.
Chehkov's gun?
Crap, mispelled it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov's_gun
"Chekhov's gun is a dramatic principle that requires every element in a narrative to be irreplaceable, with anything else removed."
"Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there."
— Anton Chekhov[3][4]
Oh interesting, thanks :')
AH! So I wasn't delusional when sometimes in the first chapters, some kind of dark-haired guy/silhouette with a computer appeared when they were in the real world! Am I the only one who noticed him?!