Area 88/Characters

Area 88 Itself

 * Abandoned Area: In manga issues that did not make it stateside, Area 88 is temporarily abandoned. After Farina's nuclear weapon goes off near Area 88, the pilots and staff are relocated to a mountain base. Later in the manga, however, it is reoccupied.
 * Setting As a Character
 * Small Secluded World
 * Thirsty Desert: Area 88 is located in the middle of the Asran desert.

Shin Kazama
"Japanese Voice Actors: Kaneto Shiozawa (OVA), Takehito Koyasu (TV series)

English Voice Actor: Chris Patton

Favorite Aircraft: F-8 Crusader, F-20 Tigershark"

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 * The Ace
 * Ace Pilot
 * Action Survivor: Shin became a mercenary against his will and was forced to hone his skills to survive the Asran civil war.
 * Adaptation Dye Job: He has blond hair in the manga and TV series, but brown hair in the OVA.
 * Adventures in Coma Land:
 * Angst: In the early parts of the manga and OVA, Shin is disgusted at being a killer and reluctant to identify as a mercenary. As the story progresses, the horrors of war change him.
 * Badass
 * Berserk Button: Kanzaki, particularly in the manga and OVA.
 * Bishonen
 * Determinator: In the manga and OVA, he is fiercly determined to leave Area 88 alive. He survives multiple jet crashes, bullet wounds, and being stranded in the desert, all so that he can return to Japan.
 * Dissonant Serenity: In the OVA, when confronted by three Paris thugs, Shin just smiles. He remains calm as he snatches a knife from one of the thugs and hurls it into a robber's shoulder. The thugs are completely unnerved.
 * Drowning My Sorrows: The TV series hints that he does this privately. In the manga,
 * Glass Cannon:
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: With Mickey in the OVA and manga.
 * Highly-Conspicuous Uniform: He wears a bright orange flightsuit in the OVA, a blue flightsuit in the TV series, and a red flightsuit in the arcade game. In the desert, he'd stick out like a sore thumb.
 * Kubrick Stare: He gives one to Saki during a bout of temporary psychosis in the manga.
 * Kuudere: In the TV series.
 * Parental Abandonment
 * Peek-a-Bangs
 * Real Men Get Shot: Several times in the manga.
 * Reluctant Warrior
 * Shirtless Scene: Gets a few throughout the manga.
 * Took a Level In Badass: In the OVA. In a flashback, an Asranian recruiter throws Shin to the floor in a Paris bar. Later in the OVA, however, Shin not only unnerves a trio of thugs, but stops a robbery by throwing a knife into a robber's shoulder.
 * Trauma Conga Line
 * What the Hell, Hero?:
 * In all continuities, Shin refrained from contacting the Tsugumos while at Area 88. Since he knew how dangerous Kanzaki was, it was irresponsible of him not to warn the Tsugumos about Kanzaki.
 * What the Hell, Hero?:
 * In all continuities, Shin refrained from contacting the Tsugumos while at Area 88. Since he knew how dangerous Kanzaki was, it was irresponsible of him not to warn the Tsugumos about Kanzaki.



Mickey Simon
"Japanese Voice Actor: Kei Tomiyama (OVA), Tomokazu Seki (TV series)

English Voice Actor: John Swasey

Favorite Aircraft: F-14 Tomcat"

- "Mickey: WHO'S RUNNING AN ELECTRIC SHAVER INSIDE MY SKULL!?"
 * Ace Pilot
 * Affably Evil: Even though he's a mercenary who has no moral qualms about killing for pay or taking part in an ugly war, he's very friendly and talkative.
 * Badass
 * Battle Couple: With Sela in latter issues of the manga that did not make it stateside.
 * Beleaguered Bureaucrat: In the manga, Mickey becomes an executive at his father's company after the Vietnam war. He was initially stressed out, although whether this was due to inexperience or untreated war trauma is unclear.
 * Beta Couple: With Sela.
 * Character Exaggeration: He's bolder and angrier in the TV series than in other adaptations.
 * Consummate Professional: For a soldier of fortune, Mickey has a strong professional code. In the manga, he is loyal to his fellow pilots and politely turns down Rishar's offer to join the anti-government forces.
 * The Cynic: He's very cynical about war and peace in the manga. In a conversation with Shin, he explains that Switzerland, a militarily neutral country, was at one time a source of mercenary troops. In a conversation with Rishar, he claimed that wars are rarely started for specific reasons, and that everyone just blames fate in the end.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper: In the TV series. He punches Makoto Shinjou for taking photographs of an injured pilot in the first episode.
 * Highly-Conspicuous Uniform: He wears a purplish-blue flightsuit in the TV series and an indigo flightsuit in the OVA and arcade game. Needless to say, in the desert he would NOT blend in.
 * The Lancer: To Shin.
 * Lightning Bruiser:
 * Manly Tears: After Nguyen's death in manga that did not make it stateside.
 * Messenger: In the manga, Mickey is briefly captured by anti-government forces, but Rishar sends him back to Area 88 with a message for Saki.
 * Minor Injury Overreaction: In the manga, Mickey is shot down and wakes up in an anti-government base infirmary. He bumped his head during the crash, and is VERY unhappy about his headache.
 * Minor Injury Overreaction: In the manga, Mickey is shot down and wakes up in an anti-government base infirmary. He bumped his head during the crash, and is VERY unhappy about his headache.


 * Muscles Are Meaningless: In the manga, Mickey is surprisingly strong for a slender man.
 * In the manga, Shin and Mickey are taken captive aboard Farina's land carrier. Shin's legs were broken during a jet crash, so Mickey carriers Shin atop his shoulders at length, seemingly without difficulty or discomfort.
 * The One That Got Away: Tracy.
 * Phenotype Stereotype
 * Progressively Prettier: Compare the way he looks in the very first issue of the manga to the way he looks a few issues later. He's noticeably more youthful-looking.
 * He also has a more masculine face and athletic build in the TV series than he does in the manga or OVA.
 * Returning War Vet: After the Vietnam war.
 * Seventies Hair: Pompadour.
 * Shell-Shocked Veteran: Mickey served in the Vietnam war and had great difficulty acclimating to civilian life afterwards.
 * Shirtless Scene: Gets a few of these in the manga. Hot damn.
 * There Are No Therapists: After the Vietnam War, he never got help for his war trauma, making it difficult for him to adjust to civilian life. Not helped by the fact that everyone around him (except Tracy) was oblivious to his trauma.
 * Undying Loyalty: To Shin in the manga. He has come between Shin and death on multiple occassions, both in aerial combat and on the ground. When the Enforcers threatened Shin, Mickey was by Shin's side, ready to defend him. When Shin was shot down by Farina's land carrier, Mickey immediately flew out to look for Shin, getting shot down and taken captive in the process.
 * Wing Man: To Shin and Saki, but he's a formitable pilot in his own right.
 * Undying Loyalty: To Shin in the manga. He has come between Shin and death on multiple occassions, both in aerial combat and on the ground. When the Enforcers threatened Shin, Mickey was by Shin's side, ready to defend him. When Shin was shot down by Farina's land carrier, Mickey immediately flew out to look for Shin, getting shot down and taken captive in the process.
 * Wing Man: To Shin and Saki, but he's a formitable pilot in his own right.

Greg Gates
"Japanese Voice Actors: Takuzo Kamiyama (OVA), Masaya Tatatsuka (TV series)

English Voice Actor: Rob Mungle

Favorite Aircraft: A-10 "Warthog""

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 * Badass Beard
 * Adaptational Attractiveness: Inverted. He's older and heavier in the TV series than in other adaptations.
 * Adaptational Attractiveness: Inverted. He's older and heavier in the TV series than in other adaptations.


 * But Not Too White: For a northern European, he has a very tanned face in the OVA and arcade game.
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Drowning My Sorrows: He does this once in the manga after the deaths of several fellow pilots.
 * Feel No Pain: He sterilizes shrapnel wounds with alcohol, for crying out loud.
 * Hidden Depths: Early in the manga, Greg is shown as a boisterous pilot and occassional Idiot Ball holder. However, he's shown to have a pensive side when he addresses Asranian troops at Area 85, urging the Asranian pilots to let the mercenaries handle the more dangerous missions. He reminds the Asranians that they must stay alive to rebuild Asran after the civil war, whereas mercenaries have no lives to rebuild or homes to return to. He's also shown to have a sensitive side when he grieves over Eric and Campbell's death.
 * Manly Tears: After the deaths of Eric and Campbell in the manga.

McCoy
"Japanese Voice Actors: Iemasa Kayumi (OVA), Chikao Ohtsuka (TV series)

English Voice Actor: Andy McAvin"

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 * Affably Evil: He's an arms dealer who uses underhanded tactics to get his hands on wares. He cares only about money, indifferent to the moral implications of his work. In the OVA, he also sold defective Sidewinders to Boris and tried to sell them to Shin. In spite of this, he's friendly and grandfatherly to the pilots, especially Shin. The manga and OVA show him bringing Shin a case of ramen noodles after a business trip and gathering information on Kanzaki for him.
 * Ambiguously Jewish: He has a large nose and cares only about money, thereby fitting the stereotype.
 * Arms Dealer
 * Cool Old Guy
 * A Grandfather to His Men
 * Honest John's Dealership

Kim
"Japanese Voice Actress: Ryo Hirohashi (TV series)

English Voice Actress: Serena Varghese

Favorite Aircraft: Harrier"

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 * Bishonen
 * Child Soldier: In the manga, he is sixteen years old when he arrives at Area 88.
 * Cross-Dressing Voices: Although Kim is a young man, he is voiced by women in the Japanese and English versions of the TV series.
 * Never Bareheaded: Well, rarely bare-headed. He wears a turban in the TV series and a beret in the manga, at least when not wearing his flight helmet during combat.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: With Sela in manga issues that did not make it stateside.

Jess
"(OAV only)"

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 * Career-Ending Injury: And how!
 * Eye Scream
 * Mercy Kill: Done to him by Shin.

Nguyen Van Chom

 * Ace Pilot: In the Vietnam War and at Area 88.
 * Badass Mustache
 * Blood Knight
 * Freudian Excuse: Thanks to the strife in Vietnam, he was surrounded by blood and violence his entire life. Nguyen was born immediately after his mother was killed by bombs. In the manga, his birth is shown in a flashback in which two horrified Vietnamese women take him from his mangled mother's remains.
 * Good Scars, Evil Scars
 * Jerkass: In the OVA, he repeatedly taunts Shin over Jess' Mercy Kill.
 * Karmic Death: In the OVA, he shoots an enemy pilot who had ejected from his jet. Nguyen dies the same way.
 * Sink the Life Boats: In the manga and OVA, he likes to shoot enemy pilots who have ejected from their jets.
 * The Sociopath
 * Sociopathic Soldier
 * Token Evil Teammate

Hoover Kippenburg
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 * Demoted to Extra: He receives character development in the manga, but only makes a cameo in the TV series.
 * Eyes Always Shut
 * A Father to His Men
 * Foil: To Mario. His maturity and reserve contrast sharply to Mario's immaturity and cockiness.
 * Germanic Depressive: Hoover blames himself for a training exercise back in Europe that killed several pilots. He usually has a serious demeanor, but can also be pleasant as well.
 * Like Father, Like Son / Lineage Comes From the Father: He comes from a family of prominent German fighter pilots, stretching back to World War I.
 * Like Father, Like Son / Lineage Comes From the Father: He comes from a family of prominent German fighter pilots, stretching back to World War I.

Mario
"(Manga only)"


 * Ace Pilot
 * Attention Whore
 * Bishonen
 * Blood Knight
 * Foil: To Shin and Hoover. Mario sees war as something exciting, whereas Shin and Hoover know that war is anything but.
 * Glory Seeker
 * Jerkass: He's a skilled aerobatic pilot, and he never lets anyone forget it.
 * Karmic Death: After bragging endlessly about his aerobatic skill, Mario dies performing an outer loop for which his aerobatic training did not prepare him.
 * Man Child: He acts like a hot-headed, macho teenager.
 * Pride
 * Smug Snake

Sela Bernard
"(Manga only)"

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 * Action Girl
 * Battle Couple: With Mickey.
 * Beta Couple: With Mickey.
 * Flirting Under Fire
 * Haunted Heroine: In manga that did not make it stateside, Sela and Kim stake out an abandoned Area 88. While there, Sela sees a vision of scores of dead pilots.
 * Like an Old Married Couple: She and Kim bicker and tease each other constantly.
 * Like Brother and Sister: She and Kim are often seen together but are not romantically involved.
 * Ms. Fanservice
 * Raven Hair, Ivory Skin
 * The Squadette
 * Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Kitori from the TV series bears a remarkable resemblance to Sela.
 * The Tease: She often play-flirts with Kim, which he finds annoying.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: With Kim.
 * Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Kitori from the TV series bears a remarkable resemblance to Sela.
 * The Tease: She often play-flirts with Kim, which he finds annoying.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: With Kim.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds: With Kim.

Saki Vashtal
"Japanese Voice Actors: Taro Shigaki (OVA), Hiroki Takahashi (TV series)

English Voice Actor: Illich Guardiola

Favorite Aircraft: Kfir"

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 * Badass Long Hair
 * Cultured Badass: He was educated in London and is multilingual.
 * Democracy Is Flawed: He does not think the Asranian people are ready for democracy yet because of the country's poverty and insufficient education system.
 * Halfbreed: Averted. Saki is the son of an Asranian prince and his Greek wife, Soria, who was loved by the Asranian people. Saki has suffered no stigma in Asran because of his mixed heritage.
 * Momma's Boy: He has loving memories of his mother, Soria.
 * My Country, Right or Wrong: In the manga, Saki defends the Asranian monarchy, even though its decisions have left the Asranian people poor and uneducated.
 * Nuclear Weapons Taboo: Subverted hard. In the manga, Saki is so determined to defeat the anti-government forces that he is willing to use nuclear weapons.
 * Personal Horror: In the manga, Saki is slowly losing his eyesight due to an injury.
 * Revenge Before Reason: He participates in the civil war that is tearing his homeland apart partially out of hatred for his father, Prince Abdael.
 * Shadow Discretion Shot: In the manga, when he slices an X-shaped wound into his forehead.
 * Thicker Than Water: He deeply cares for his brother Rishar, even though they're on opposite sides of the civil war.
 * Trauma Conga Line: In the manga.
 * Vetinari Job Security: During a conversation with Mickey in the manga, Saki says that the Asranian people are not ready for democracy, and that the Vashtal royal family must look after the people like a parent.
 * Warrior Prince
 * X Marks the Hero
 * X Marks the Hero

Rishar Vashtal
"(Manga only)"

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 * Bishonen
 * Defector From Decadence: Rishar is an Asranian prince who wants to eradicate the Asranian monarchy and bring democracy to the country.
 * Hair of Gold
 * Like Mother Like Son: Rishar resembles Soria, down to the long blond hair. Saki remarks that Rishar is much more like their mother than their father.
 * Long-Haired Pretty Boy
 * Monochromatic Eyes: No visible sclera.
 * The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: Rishar is all too aware of this. He grieves for the Asranian people because the war has brought they enormous suffering.
 * Royals Who Actually Do Something
 * Thicker Than Water: He speaks warmly of his brother Saki, even though they're on opposite sides of the civil war.
 * Unexpected Successor:
 * Wide Eyed Idealist: Rishar genuinely wants to empower the Asranian people by replacing the monarchy with a democracy. Mickey warns him that the Asranian people may call for his death after the war. Rishar says that he would gladly accept such a fate if it brought comfort to those who suffered.
 * Wide Eyed Idealist: Rishar genuinely wants to empower the Asranian people by replacing the monarchy with a democracy. Mickey warns him that the Asranian people may call for his death after the war. Rishar says that he would gladly accept such a fate if it brought comfort to those who suffered.

King Zak

 * Cool Uncle: In the manga, Zak was a father figure to Saki in his youth.
 * Gonk: In the manga. He's drawn realistically in the OVA, however.
 * Government in Exile: At the end of the OVA, he is forced to flee Asran.
 * King On His Deathbed: Zak received the kingship from his dying father, much to his brother Abdael's chagrin.
 * Noble Fugitive: At the end of the OVA.

Abdael Vashtal

 * Archnemesis Dad: To Saki.
 * Badass Mustache
 * Functional Addict: In the manga, Abdael is a drug addict. Played straight at first, then subverted at the end of the manga, when Abdael stumbles through Asran City in a drug-induced haze.
 * Lean and Mean
 * Love Makes You Evil: See Monster Sob Story below.
 * Monster Sob Story:
 * Offing the Offspring: He tries to have Saki assassinated.

Soria
"(Manga only)"


 * Death By Childbirth: In a heartbreaking childhood flashback, Saki weeps after Soria dies giving birth to Rishar.
 * Easy Amnesia:
 * Hair of Gold
 * Hot Mom
 * Unexpected Successor:
 * Unexpected Successor:

Ryoko Tsugumo
"Japanese Voice Actresses: Sakiko Tamagawa (OVA), Satsuki Yukino (TV series)

English Voice Actress: Hilary Haag"

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 * Dad the Veteran: Her father was a Japanese fighter pilot in World War II.
 * Earn Your Happy Ending:
 * Friend to All Children: In the TV series, she donates to an orphanage and is shown happily playing with the children.
 * In the manga, she adopts Josephine, a French-Japanese orphan.
 * Love Makes You Dumb
 * Love Martyr: In the manga and OVA, Ryoko is willing to endure much hardship to release Shin from servitude.
 * Loving a Shadow: Her love for Shin can be interpreted as this in the manga and OVA.
 * Ms. Fanservice: She gets a nude scene in the OVA and several nude scenes in the manga.
 * Ojou
 * Pimped-Out Dress: She's wearing a stunning wedding dress in the last episode of the TV series.
 * Satellite Character
 * Wide Eyed Idealist: In the manga and OVA, she has very idealistic ideas about love, which she takes to the point of Honor Before Reason. Less so in the TV series.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy: In the manga and OVA, Ryoko seems to think she's in a romance story instead of a war story. She places great faith in the power of love, oblivious to why Shin would be at Area 88 in the first place and how war might have affected him.
 * You Gotta Have Lavender Hair
 * Yamato Nadeshiko: Played straight in the TV series.
 * Deconstructed in the manga. Her love and loyalty to Shin make her an easy target for Kanzaki's manipulation.
 * In the manga, she lacks the maturity and wisdom of the traditional Yamato Nadeshiko, making her a possible subversion of this trope as well.
 * In the manga, she lacks the maturity and wisdom of the traditional Yamato Nadeshiko, making her a possible subversion of this trope as well.

Taeko Yasuda
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 * Christmas Cake: In the manga.
 * Demoted to Extra: Although she had a prominent role in the manga plot, she's far less prominent in the OVA and TV series.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: With Ryoko.
 * Meganekko
 * My Rule Fu Is Stronger Than Yours: In the manga and OVA, she has Kanzaki arrested for tax evasion.
 * Sexy Secretary
 * She Knows Too Much: In the manga, when Taeko uncovers Kanzaki's underhanded dealings, Kanzaki and Julianna try to have her killed.
 * The Smart Gal
 * The Social Expert
 * Sugar and Ice Personality

Satoru Kanzaki
"Japanese Voice Actors: Yoshito Yasuhara (OVA), Hikaru Midorikawa (TV series)

English Voice Actor: Jason Douglas"

- "Kanzaki: I will realize my ambition by stepping on the bodies of the fallen."
 * Ambition Is Evil
 * Beard of Evil: He grows a beard in later issues of the manga that didn't make it stateside.
 * Beneath the Mask: In the manga and OVA, Ryoko learns what kind of person Kanzaki truly is when he
 * In the manga's Kanzaki's private thoughts give readers a glipse into his true nature. For example, after a Yamato plane crashes into Tokyo Bay, Kanzaki visits the victims' grieving family members in a temple. He puts on the appearance of a concerned and humbled company president, but his thoughts show his true ruthlessness.


 * Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: In the manga, he betrays Shin, the Tsugumos,.
 * Devil in Plain Sight: In the manga, Taeko suspects that Kanzaki is involved in dubious activity long before Ryoko and Mr. Tsugumo do.
 * Didn't See That Coming:
 * Evil Former Friend: To Shin.
 * From Nobody to Nightmare: In the manga and OVA, Kanzaki starts as a Yamato Airlines pilot but later
 * General Failure: In the manga and OVA,
 * Green-Eyed Monster: His motivation for many of the things he does.
 * Jerkass
 * Jerkass Has a Point: In the manga. Kanzaki tells Ryoko that her fixation on an absentee Shin is reminiscent of his mother's fixation on his estranged father, which ended in his mother's suicide.
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Neutral Evil: In the manga and OVA.
 * Parental Abandonment / Dark and Troubled Past: His mother committed suicide after his father abandoned her. She drove her car off an embankment with little Kanzaki inside. Kanzaki survived, but the first thing he saw when he emerged from the wreck was his dead mother's body.
 * Pride
 * Silly Rabbit, Romance Is for Kids: In the manga, when Kanzaki delivers a scarpia ultimatum to Ryoko, he tells her that he doesn't believe in love. Later in the manga, he also mocks the idea of love when
 * The Sociopath
 * Soft Spoken Sadist: His voice and appearance are much less ominous in the TV series than in the OVA. In the TV series, he comes across as reserved and completely normal, which makes his villainy all the more frightening.
 * Villainous Crush: On Ryoko. At first, Kanzaki wants a relationship with Ryoko in order to rise up in the Yamato Airlines hierarchy. This is why he proposes a marriage of convenience to her in the TV series. In the manga and OVA, however, his sexual attraction to her is also rooted in sadism, as demonstrated by his Scarpia Ultimatum proposal.
 * In the manga, Kanzaki confesses that Ryoko looks like his mother. Hoooooo-boy.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
 * Soft Spoken Sadist: His voice and appearance are much less ominous in the TV series than in the OVA. In the TV series, he comes across as reserved and completely normal, which makes his villainy all the more frightening.
 * Villainous Crush: On Ryoko. At first, Kanzaki wants a relationship with Ryoko in order to rise up in the Yamato Airlines hierarchy. This is why he proposes a marriage of convenience to her in the TV series. In the manga and OVA, however, his sexual attraction to her is also rooted in sadism, as demonstrated by his Scarpia Ultimatum proposal.
 * In the manga, Kanzaki confesses that Ryoko looks like his mother. Hoooooo-boy.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:

Guisseppe Farina
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 * Affably Evil: He is gracious with guests and captives alike.
 * Arms Dealer
 * The Don
 * Evil Cripple: He is confined to a wheelchair.
 * Evil Old Folks
 * A Glass of Chianti
 * Monochromatic Eyes
 * Mutilation Interrogation: In the manga, Mickey's jet is shot down by Farina's land carrier. As a captive, Farina and his henchmen threaten to cut Mickey's face into a Glasgow Grin if he doesn't provide information on Area 88. Fortunately, it was only a bluff.
 * Tampering With Food and Drink:
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:

Julianna

 * Blondes Are Evil
 * Dark Mistress: To Kanzaki.
 * The Dragon: To Farina, and later Kanzaki.
 * Heel Face Turn: In manga issues that did not make it stateside, Julianna abandons Kanzaki and Project 4 after she discovers
 * Karma Houdini
 * Make It Look Like an Accident: In the manga, when Taeko uncovers the truth about Kanzaki's underhanded dealings, Julianna oversees her attempted assassination. She and her thugs kidnap Taeko, inject her with a small amount of alcohol, and send her car into Tokyo Bay to make it look like a drunk driving accident. Fortunately, Rocky rescues Taeko from drowning.
 * Poison Is Evil:
 * Make It Look Like an Accident: In the manga, when Taeko uncovers the truth about Kanzaki's underhanded dealings, Julianna oversees her attempted assassination. She and her thugs kidnap Taeko, inject her with a small amount of alcohol, and send her car into Tokyo Bay to make it look like a drunk driving accident. Fortunately, Rocky rescues Taeko from drowning.
 * Poison Is Evil:
 * Poison Is Evil:

Mac
"(Manga only)"

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 * Anti-Villain
 * Badass Beard
 * The Dragon: To Kanzaki as part of Project 4.
 * Foil: To Mickey. Mac's life of hardship and heartbreak contrasts sharply to Mickey's former life of wealth.
 * Heartbroken Badass: In manga that did not make it stateside, Mickey is horrified when Mac tells him about his wife and daughter.