This is a list of characters in the Wangan Midnight franchise.
Feel free to contribute whatever you got!
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The Drivers
Akio Asakura
- 1983 Nissan Fairlady Z/300ZX (Z31) (formerly)1969 Nissan Fairlady Z/240Z "Devil Z" (S30Z) (currently)"Even if it's a devil... I still love it and that's all."
Akio's appearance.
Click here to see Akio's appearance in the anime.
Click here to see the Devil Z.
Akio Asakura is the main protagonist in Wangan Midnight series.
- Ascended Fanboy: One of the early flashbacks when he was looking for something in the junkyard shown the younger Akio seeing a dark-blue Devil Z around his school, with its driver at the time carrying a school girl in the passenger seat.
- Awesome, but Impractical/Fragile Speedster: The Devil Z has an impressive amount of horsepower thanks to its heavily modified, twin-turbocharged L28 inline-six engine while equipped with S30 racing aero parts and a couple of RS Watanabe FS rims. However, it went to a cost of its stability due to being lightweight and extremely powerful, hence why it's viewed to be "possessed".Note Subverted when Akio manages to tame the said 600 HP behemoth of a Fairlady Z later on.
- Bad Boss: In the non-Maximum Tune arcade games, when he shows up as the Final Boss, he quickly defeats Reina Akikawa, his supposed ally, since she is nowhere near fast enough to keep up with him, leaving you to have to beat him alone.
- Came Back Strong: No matter how many times it got totaled (even beyond repair), Akio still refuses to let his Devil Z down and will fully restore it back to its glory. Also, he seems to barely flinch from sustained injuries during crashes despite the previous drivers including Eriko's brother were killed in fatal accidents involving the said Z.
- Celibate Hero: Despite being a Chick Magnet, Akio's rather too interested into street racing and his Devil Z instead.
- Creator Thumbprint: A variation; Michiharu usually doesn't reuse main character cars across his works, but the Devil Z happened to share the same model as Akira's Z (one of the deuteragonist cars) in his previous series Shakotan Boogie. He even attempted to replicate the latter's G-Nose at some point.
- Disc-One Final Boss: In the PlayStation 2 port of Wangan Midnight R before you get the chance to beat Tatsuya Shima with the Devil Z.
- Expy: Akio is basically Koji Watanabe of Shakotan Boogie albeit with less quirky Running Gags. Unlike Akio, Koji was a deuteragonist.
- Final Boss: He is the final boss of the arcade games as the driver of the Devil Z.
- Flunky Boss: In the non-Maximum Tune arcade game, he battles you with Reina Akikawa, who starts with half of her SP meter after you either are ahead of her when the timer runs out or you have drained half of her SP meter when she starts out battling you alone. As he is much faster than Reina, he quickly defeats her, forcing her to drop out when her SP meter quickly drains out. This is not a Dual Boss with Reina since she has only half of her SP meter when he enters the race against you after you either drain half of Reina's SP meter or are ahead of her when time runs out.
- Hero's Classic Car: His Devil Z was over 20 years old when the manga was first serialized, qualifying it as this trope.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: Temporarily in the manga, the Devil Z was fitted with G-Nose kit to improve aerodynamics, before reverting back to its original shape. This was Adapted Out in anime and Maximum Tune games however.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Vehicle-wise, the Devil Z takes some cues from its Real Life counterpart, a Nissan 280ZX Turbo tuned by ABR Hosoki, which was driven by one of the members of the notorious street racing gang, the "Mid Night Club". In the first live-action adaptation of the series, however, the S30Z featured in it is instead tuned by Speed Shop Shinohara, as Masaru Hosoki had denied a request by the film-maker to tune an S30Z for the movie.
- Pretty Boy: He's quite a looker.
- SNK Boss: His Devil Z has a higher top speed than most if not all of the cars that you can choose to drive in the non-Maximum Tune arcade games.
- You Don't Look Like You: A minor example within his outfit. Unlike in the manga and video game adaptations Maximum Tune, Akio's jacket is red in the anime.
Tatsuya Shima
- 1989 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6 "Blackbird" (964)"Don't look away Eriko! Look closely! That is your late brother's S30Z!"
Tatsuya Shima's appearance.
Click here to see Tatsuya's appearance in the anime.
Click here to see the Blackbird.
Tatsuya Shima is a deuteragonist in Wangan Midnight series.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Vehicle-wise and in this case, Sequel Dye-Job. Shima's 911 was repainted silver before giving to Nobu Setoguchi, one of the main protagonists in C1 Runner.
- Disc-One Final Boss: He is one of the racers that you face in the final story race in the Maximum Tune games, but he drops out before the race finishes, leaving Akio as the Final Boss of that race.
- True Final Boss: Meanwhile in the PlayStation 2 port of R, he serves as this as Tatsuya replaces Akio in the final stage if you're driving the Devil Z after beating the latter.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Aside from his Blackbird being very powerful (even after getting upgraded up to 800 HP thanks to Jun Kitami), Tatsuya may have to slow down and give up to prevent pressuring its engine too much or worse, leading to catastrophic failure.
- Legacy Character: He appears in C1 Runner, giving his Porsche to Nobu before leaving overseas
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Tatsuya's known as the "Hand of Wangan", mainly due to him being a skilled driver while behind the wheel of his heavily modified Porsche 911 Turbo AKA "Blackbird".
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Vehicle-wise, Shima's 911 was based on Eiichi Yoshida's 930 Turbo, also known as the "Yoshida Special". In the anime, RAUH-Welt Begriff (RWB), a tuning company that specializes in Porsche 911s and formerly Toyota AE86s, was given credit for Shima's car instead.
- Pimped-Out Car: One of the few examples in the story where this trope is played straight.
- The Rival: To Akio Asakura, even though he rarely appears with the latter.
- Shout-Out: His Porsche was possibly nicknamed after Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, which was the fastest interceptor aircraft at that time.
- The Stoic: Tatsuya's a serious driver when driving and tends to avoid letting his emotions taking him over during a race.
- You Don't Look Like You: In video games until Maximum Tune 5DX+, his Porsche 911 Turbo was replaced with rare, Palette Swaps such as the Gemballa 3.8 RS (Japanese versions of Maximum Tune 1 to 3DX+) due to Electronic Arts owning an exclusive license until it expired in 2016. Also due to licensing issues regarding Gemballa, it got changed into a Nissan Fairlady Z/350Z (Z33) in the overseas releases prior Maximum Tune 4, where it's replaced by Ruf CTR (RCT in 5DX and 5DX+ only), and then the finally the 930-series 911 Turbo S in Maximum Tune 6.
- Appearance-wise, his jacket is completely absent in the anime and video game adaptations.
Reina Akikawa
- 1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R "Reina R" (BNR32)"Who I was looking for? The man called me to the other day."
Reina Akikawa's appearance.
Click here to see Reina's appearance in the anime.
Click here to see the Reina R prior crash.
Click here to see the renewed Reina R after "the Perfect GT-R" arc.
Reina Akikawa is a high-end fashion model, TV personality and a co-host of motoring-focused show titled "Drive Go Go!" along with Koichi Kijima.
- Adaptation Personality Change: In the original manga, Reina is depicted as being a bit clueless when it comes to cars and tuning. For example, during her first encounter with the Devil Z she doesn't recognize what kind of car it is compared to the anime where she recognizes it as being an older 'Z'. This could also stem from the fact her job is different between versions. In the anime, she is a television presenter for a car focused television show whereas in the manga she is only a model.
- Mighty Glacier: Her Nissan Skyline GT-R (BNR32) is relatively fast and easy to drive thanks to its AWD drivetrain, but the said car suffers from understeer mainly due to its weight and wheelbase.Note
- Pre-Final Boss: She is this in the final stage of the non-Maximum Tune arcade game. You first battle her alone. Once you have drained half her SP meter or you are ahead of her when the timer expires, Akio Asakura joins the race with Reina starting with half of her SP meter and the rest starting with full SP meters.
- The Rival: She's formerly this to Akio.
- Took a Level in Badass: Downplayed. While not in the same extent as Akio or Tatsuya, she's gotten more determined and skilled than in her first shot to join in down the Wangan line where the BNR32 loses grip, understeers and crashes into a barrier. Also, Reina along with Akio and Tatsuya were seen decimating the R200 Club during the latter's failed ambush attempt.
- You Don't Look Like You: In the live-action movie, she's seen driving a BNR34 GT-R V-Spec II instead of her usual BNR32.
- Subverted in the original manga and anime adaptation, where her BNR32 has gotten a white paintjob instead of gray while retaining its Enkei Pandem 6666 rims.
Koichi Hiramoto
- 1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R (BNR32)"I'll use everything I have to tune this car into a monster, "a flying dragon"... the BNR32."
Hiramoto's appearance.
Click here to see Hiramoto's appearance in the anime.
Click here to see Hiramoto's BNR32.
Koichi Hiramoto is a hardworking individual who's working at Green Auto Shop for fifteen years and often races with his friend Harada on the Wangan.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After retiring from racing, working at the auto shop and selling his GT-R for 5 million yenNote , he finally reunites with Megumi.
- Heel Realization: While he's keeping up with Akio and Tatsuya at 300 KMH, Hiramoto realizes what he has ever done in order to build "the greatest GT-R" on the Wangan and chosing racing over his own family before letting go on the accelerator and giving up on racing. Even Jun Kitami lampshades this.Jun Kitami: A winner doesn't exist... (There are) people who get off (the Tokyo highway) and people who remain... That's all. You made a good call, Hiramoto.
Harada
- 1983 Nissan Fairlady Z/300ZX (Z31)
Masaki
- 1992 Mazda ɛ̃fini RX-7 Type R (FD3S)
Yamanaka
- 1995 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec (BCNR33)
Keiichiro Aizawa
- 1993 Toyota Supra RZ "Monster Machine" (JZA80)"Time to speed up at once. The scramble mode will blow my engine, if it's fully, open for 30 seconds. It's 700 HP for a moment... but 700 is 700!"
Aizawa's appearance.
Click here to see Aizawa's appearance in the anime.
Click here to see Aizawa's JZA80.
Keiichiro Aizawa is a 19-year old host club worker who joined to finance his racing activities.
- Awesome, but Impractical: While his "Monster Machine" of a Supra RZ had already some impressive 700 horsepower during his first encounter with the Blackbird (albeit driven by Akio at the time), it got ramped up to 800 in addition to suspension upgrades. However, the lack of roll cage and chassis reinforcement in addition to body deformation due to the excessive amount of G-force at high-speed have led the car to become too unstable to keep going (even moreso than the dreaded Devil Z). During the race against Akio and Tatsuya, Jun Kitami felt disturbed by Kei's Fatal Flaw.Jun Kitami: "Kei, that car's already dead. You should be able to hear the cries of its body, it can't even move straight."
- Heroic RRoD: The structural instability inflicted by its weak chassis have caused Keiichiro's Supra RZ to become prone to snap-oversteer when arriving at the Edobashi Junction and Ginza, nearly killing him in the process.Keiichiro: "It's out of control!"
- Strong Family Resemblance: He strongly resembles his late father, Koichi Aizawa AKA "Ultimate Demon Runner", who used to drive a Toyota Celica XX Mk. II (MA61L)Note before being killed by a drunk driver 15 years prior the events of the manga.
Takayuki Kuroki
- 1995 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec (BCNR33)
Kamiya Brothers
- 1998 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution V GSR (CP9A) (Eiji Kamiya)1999 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI GSR (CP9A) (Maki Kamiya)
Makoto Morishita
- 1992 Subaru Impreza WRX STi Version VI (GC8) (formerly)1989 Nissan Fairlady Z/300ZX Version S 2-Seater (GCZ32) (currently)
Yoshiaki Ishida
- 1984 Ferrari Testarossa (F110)"I want to race him one more time. I'll never forget that Z, but when I drive here alone, I don't feel sick anymore."
Yoshiaki Ishida's appearance.
Click here to see Ishida's appearance in the anime.
Click here to see Ishida's Ferrari Testarossa.
Yoshiaki Ishida is a famous photographer in Japan who's unsatisfied with his job until Reina offered him to track down the Akio's Devil Z and challenge him to a race.
- Author Avatar: Ishida's Testarossa was based off Michiharu's (once-owned) Testarossa in real-life.
- Hiding the Handicap: It's revealed that he suffers from Barrett's esophagus
(a serious precancerous condition that will lead to the risk of developing esophageal cancer), which is noticeable that he's seen coughing blood at some point. Thankfully, Tatsuya gave him a operation and allowed the latter to rest in the hospital for a week. - What Happened to the Mouse?: Ishida's never seen again after Akio crashed his Z into a truck while racing against Tatsuya and the former. Meanwhile his Testarossa returns later while being tested by Koichi Hiramoto.
- You Don't Look Like You:
Due to Ferrari's strict policy where they don't allow their cars to appear in most illegal street racing games or having equipped with aftermarket parts, Ishida was Adapted Out from the first two Maximum Tune titles before making a video game debut in 3 and fully returning in 3DX in a Gemballa Avalanche (Japanese version only) or Subaru Alcyone SVX (Overseas only). Then, a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (C6). And finally, a Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4.- Subverted in the live-action adaptation, where he's seen driving a yellow, unmodified 1994 Ferrari F355 Berlineta (F129) instead.
Oki
- 2002 Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A (FD3S)
Gen Gotoh
- 1998 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II (BNR34)
Yuji Kishida
- 1995 Nissan Skyline GT-R (BCNR33)1999 Honda S2000 (AP1)
- In-Series Nickname: His modified S is given the nickname "Zero Fighter for the Roads", due to his obsession with studying the history World War II planes and comparing them to cars.
R 200 Club
- 1995 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec (BCNR33)
Shinji Ogishima
- 1995 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec "RGO Demo Car" (BCNR33)1998 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II "Arise No. 7" (BNR34) (C1 Runner)
- Ascended Extra / Hero Of Anotherstory: He is one of the two main protagonists in the C1 Runner sequel/spinoff.
Koichi Kijima
- 1985 Mazda RX-7 GT-X "Legendary FC" (FC3S)
Supporting Characters
Jun Kitami
- "A winner doesn't exist... (There are) people who get off (the Tokyo highway) and people who remain... That's all."
Jun Kitami's appearance.
Click here to see young Jun Kitami in the manga.
Click here to see Jun Kitami's appearance in the anime.
Jun Kitami, also known as "Devil's Tuner" or "Tuner from Hell" is a retired mechanic, driver and the one who built the Devil Z years prior the events of Wangan Midnight.
- The Dreaded: Kitami is infamous for his dangerous tuning that involves going past the "safe" 600 horsepower mark. Otherwise, the cars will end up becoming unstable and extremely difficult to handle. This is also justified as he used to make part of a team besides Kazuhiko Yamamoto in order to compete against Rotary engine-powered cars that were deemed "invincible" against others with convenient engines back in the day.
- Expy: Basically Jun Nomura from Shakotan Boogie albeit Older and Wiser, and even more troubled. Both even share the same given name (although Nomura's first name is Junichi, and Jun is his nickname there).
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: He earned one, presumably from the fateful day where the Z lost control due to bad weather and crashed, leading to Kitami's early retirement.
- Mythology Gag: The "Select" theme in Maximum Tune 3DX features male vocals based on Jun Kitami's quote mentioned above."There's no winner.""You just give up or keep trying."
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: He's not named "Tuner from Hell" for nothing.
- Silver Fox: Still looks pretty attractive many years later after his retirement from racing.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: In the Maximum Tune games, he occasionally upgrades your vehicle, and from the second game onwards he performs the final tuning steps for your car to give it a maximum possible horsepower of over 800. He always does so with a straight face and some serious words about cars, even if the vehicle he's tuning is a Toyota HiAce van, a Subaru R2 kei-car, or other vehicles that were obviously never designed to reach speeds of over 300 km/h, let alone 340.
Ko-chan
- 1989 Mazda RX-7 GT-Limited (FC3S)
Yuichi Takagi
Kazuhiko Yamamoto
Minor Characters
Eriko Asakura
Eriko's brother
Tomoya
- 1995 Honda Integra Type-R (DC2)1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R "ACE32R" (BNR32)
Gen Sasaki AKA "Gatchan"
- 1990 Toyota Celsior 4.0 V8 (UCF10)
Rikako Ohta
Racer Wannabes
- 1989 Nissan Skyline GT-R (BNR32)1989 Mazda Eunos Roadster (NA6CE) (anime-only)"They think they can just smoke me? This baby's got 450 horsepower."
The Racer wannabes' appearance.
Click here to see their appearance in the anime.
Click here to see their crimson red BNR32.
A duo of racers who tried to challenge Ishida for a race besides Akio.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: The anime has them appear in the first episode's pilot where they ride in an Eunos Roadster (NA) while being overtaken by the speeding Devil Z, before rewinding back 6 months ago. Counts as Early-Bird Cameo in the anime.
- Adaptational Late Appearance: In Maximum Tune games, they appear later in R200 Club arc (2 and 3) and Legendary FC arc (4 and 5), and thus they did not show up to challenge Ishida and Akio, compared to the manga.
- Adapted Out: In Maximum Tune 6, they're omitted in exchange for a chapter where Hayashi takes his RX-7 (FC3S) for a test drive at Mt. Taikan Downhill before going on a deal with Kijima.
- Didn't Think This Through/Oh, Crap!: While showing off their BNR32, they get caught off-guard by a oncoming truck. And to add insult to the injury, the driver ends up snap-oversteering and crash into a barrier, totaling the BNR32 as it gets smoked by others.
- "Get Back Here!" Boss: They function as this in their Maximum Tune appearances until 5DX+.
- One-Shot Character. The duo were only seen racing against Akio and Ishida before their BNR32 gets wrecked thanks to their incompetence.
- Smug Snake: They're shown to be cocky and smug while asking for trouble towards other drivers (pictured above).
- Unskilled, but Strong: Sure, their crimson red Nissan Skyline GT-R (BNR32) is pretty fast, grippy and easy to drive while being very tunable. But that doesn't mean their below average skill level makes them above or par with Akio and Ishida combined.
- This even extends to their Maximum Tune appearances. While a highly skilled player can easily catch up, they start out at a very high distance, meaning that if the player screws up once, they're unlikely to win the race.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Despite their car getting totaled during the accident, their fate remains unknown. It's either likely they survived or died in the process after their failed attempt to outpace Akio and Ishida. Though in the anime pilot (which was set 6 months later after the events of main story), they could have survived the crash, or being the different person altogether.
- You Don't Look Like You: Post 3DX, they later drive in separate Mazda MX-5s, and later on, drive in a white/black Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno and a yellow Mazda RX-7 FD3S Type Bathurst (while serving as a Take That!) respectively.
An-chan/Yasu-san
- 1990 Nissan Diesel Big Thumb"Oh, the luxurious cars are coming, haha! Can't stand them at all, geez..."
An-chan's appearance.
A "Seaside Express" carrier truck driver in which was involved in a accident besides Akio's Devil Z.
- Ascended Extra/Promoted to Playable: He ends up being featured as a prominent driver and playable character in Genki's PlayStation 3 video game.
- Demoted to Extra: In the anime and live-action adaptations, he only makes a small, unknown cameo instead.
- Didn't Think This Through: An-chan attempted to repel Akio, Tatsuya and Ishida out of spite by blocking them off, only for himself and Akio getting their vehicles totaled while the latter's Z is engulfed in flames.An-chan's colleague: An-chan!An-chan (horrified while looking away with head down): That car... is it...
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": An-chan's real name is never revealed aside from also being known as "Yasu-san" (not confused with a R200 Club member Yasuhiko "Night on R" Miki).
- "I Can't Look!" Gesture: He does this by keeping both his head and knees down after getting Akio badly injured in a car crash that could have costed his life.
- One-Shot Character: Just like the racer wannabes, he's never seen again.
- You Don't Look Like You: In the 2007 video game, he's seen driving a 2004 Nissan Diesel/UD Quon while in the 2009 live-action adaptation, he switches to a Isuzu Giga.
C1 Runner-exclusive characters
Nobu Setoguchi
Shinji's best friend who's also working at GT Cars magazine.
- The Lancer: To Shinji, often play as the second fiddle if he's not the main focus.
- Pimped-Out Car: His RX-7 is decently customized compared to other RX-7 drivers.
Eri Shinna
Takahiko Arisu
- 2008 Nissan GT-R (R35)
The owner of ARISE tuning facility.
