Minor characters of Megatokyo

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In Megatokyo, many characters and groups exist outside what makes up the bulk of the main plot. Notably, Fred Gallagher has stated before that he does not believe in "minor characters," and that the characters depicted in Megatokyo are all main characters in their own lives, but he understands that he "can't follow every rabbit down every hole." [1]

Below are some of the characters with smaller parts in Megatokyo's overall story than others, as well as the various groups to have surfaced thus far.

In Megatokyo, Japanese names are written in Japanese order, with the family name before the given name. The first feature of Megatokyo (a filler art day, referred to as a "dead piro day") which revealed a character's full name had aforementioned character's name written in Western order [2] (given name before the family name). The first time a full Japanese name was mentioned in the actual comic, it was written with Japanese order.

Contents

[edit] Tokyo Police Cataclysm Division

The "Tokyo Police Cataclysm Division" is a division of the Tokyo police force that monitors and ensures that riots, monster attacks, zombie hordes and other large disasters occur in an easy and manageable fashion. It is also responsible for scheduling said disasters. They use multiple high tech weapons, including such things as giant robots, orbiting laser satellites and giant lizards, though they often sport conventional weaponry.

Largo was once a member of the Tokyo Police Cataclysm division, until he was fired for failing to stop a horde of fanboys from swarming a store.

[edit] Sonoda Masamichi

Yuki's father, he is an often encountered employee of the Tokyo Police Cataclysm Division. Masamichi speaks fluent English and Japanese. He is related to Erika's past, as she was engaged to his brother Sonoda Hitoshi.

[edit] Sonoda Yuuji

Yuki's brother. He enjoys anime and video games (including eroges), and is a casual fan of Hayasaka Erika. He was one of the first people to confirm her presence at Megagamers, but did so only out of curiosity.

[edit] Sonoda Meimi

Yuki's mother. She is a retired magical girl, probably inspired by Meimi Haneoka, the title character in the anime Saint Tail.

She appears to watch over Erika in the way Junpei does Largo. Although she is not shown performing as impossible feats as Junpei often is (e.g. jumping out of an exploding airship), she is clearly a force to be reckoned with. In their first main encounter (strip 684) she not only surprises him, but picks his pocket without his noticing.

She takes a contract to neutralize Largo (he is apparently viewed as a threat to the balance of Japan[3]), after Junpei turns it down. When asked why, she responds "I have my reasons. As a mother, as a friend, and as a mentor." She is a mother to Yuki and a friend to Erika, but the "mentor" reference has never been explained.

[edit] Hayasaka Erika Fan Club (AKA "The Fanboy Horde")

A number of people obsessed with Hayasaka Erika, or at least her former persona as an idol (singer) and voice actress (seiyū). The club rediscovers her whereabouts during the comic's story (the GPS coordinates of her workplace were posted anonymously on a bulletin board, likely by Dom), long after her sudden (and complete) disappearance from the public eye. This then led to the entire club as well as hundreds of other fans swarming the Megagamers store in order to get a glimpse of their idol and have her sign some memorabilia for them. This huge mob was then referred to by Largo as well as members of the Megatokyo Forums as "The Fanboy Horde" or simply as "The Horde".

[edit] Rent-a-Zilla

Massive lizard hired by Junpei and the TPCD on occasion, paid in pork rinds (on an hourly rate).

Contrary to what some may think, the giant creature that goes on drunken rampages in Megatokyo is technically not a Rent-a-Zilla, but a relative of the giant turtle Gamera known as Gameru. According to Inspector Sonodoa, he'd shown great promise early on, but later became an alcoholic and a bully.

[edit] Ph34rbots

Robots built by Largo out of parts salvaged from dumpsters, as well as the TPCD's own stealthy wall-mounted phones and soda dispensers that he co-opted. They are used for protecting Megagamers and its surroundings, or guarding the "spawn points" (sewer gratings). These have now been left around the city, as seen in one filler art day later on in the series.

[edit] L33T d00d

Strange raver-esque person who appears occasionally - usually when Largo is playing arcade games - and gives advice in L33t, which is invariably translated into erudite language (i.e. "1'm4 0wnz0r j00" becomes "I shall defeat thee"). He owes Largo a debt of gratitude for saving his life (see this strip). He has an apparent heart or blood condition that requires him to take medication, and can send him into state of collapse if unattended. Because he needs help taking his pills in such an emergency, Largo has become a valuable ally as one of the few people that can understand him.

[edit] Mami and Kurabayashi Asako

High school students and friends of Yuki's. They think she has a crush on Piro and they may be right. They use Yuki's possible attraction to Piro as an excuse to tease her. Asako is very energetic, loves teddy bears, and can be extremely annoying when she wants to get information out of Yuki. Mami is the more focused of the two.

[edit] Ibara Junko

The "angry schoolgirl" in Largo's class. She can speak English fluently and is usually the one who has something to say when Largo does something outrageous in his role as "teacher." She is one of the few students who can see through his cool façade. At one point, she helps Largo try to disperse the fanboy horde that threatens Erika. Junko is involved in enjo kōsai, and is terrified at the thought of her parents discovering her activities.

[edit] Tsubasa

A friend of Piro's from the Internet, Piro and Largo bunk with him when they wind up in Japan. He acquired Ping through unclear means in chapter 0; he said he had invested in the project, but Ed's actions would seem to suggest he wasn't supposed to take her. Later, he leaves Japan to "follow his heart" in America, leaving Ping in the care of Piro and Largo. Tsubasa is the comic's incarnation of Keishi Tada, Fred Gallagher's friend and primary consultant on all things Japanese. He writes the Japanese translation of Megatokyo. The character was written out of the story after Tada requested it, but recently he reappeared in strip 745 [4] via an instant message chat.

[edit] Yanagisawa

The manager of the MegaGamers store where Piro and Erika work. He is a heavy smoker and somewhat cynical, having had regular contact with the many fanboys that come into the store. He knows Erika's past, clearly cares about her, and is just as cowed by her as anyone else.

[edit] Watanabe Matsui

The producer of "Sight", the game in which Kimiko has her possible breakout voice acting role. He initially had reservations about hiring Kimiko because her interpretation of her character was different from the one he had planned, but he later becomes convinced of her talent. Despite this, she has been an extreme source of frustration, which culminated in her quitting her role after a fiasco at Anna Miller's. As a producer, he is very conscious of his budget and of public relations issues.

[edit] Ryoya Sayuri

The character designer of "Sight". It was she who convinced Matsui to hire Kimiko for the role of Kotone, arguing that her interpretation of the character made the game deeper than it would be otherwise. Sometimes her ideas conflict with Matsui's, and he usually respects her judgment (but not without grumbling). She also occasionally gives Kimiko advice on dealing with fame and relationships. Kimiko had her draw and sign a sketch of Kotone, as a gift to Piro.

[edit] Kobayashi

Despite appearing in the backgrounds of several comics, looking at Yuki in the foreground, he went unnoticed by most readers until he had his first line; he did not interact with any other characters until comic 945, where he was thrust into the foreground. He attends Yuki's school and was one of the first people to discover that Yuki was a magical girl. His name was revealed on March 6, 2007, in an extra chapter 8 page written for Megatokyo book 5.

Megatokyo by Fred Gallagher
Major Characters | Groups and Minor Characters | Alternate Universes and Omake Theater