Character Index
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In General
Little Gang
Little Gang was a short-lived team who was established for fun and completely made out of rookies and newcomers to street racing. They disbanded sometime after Zero, and none of their members made any subsequent appearance.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: "Lazy Taro" Kazuo Kokubo. Whilst the "lazy" half is clear, the "brilliant" part is a bit harder to see. Per his team mates, he's far too distracted and mellow behind the wheel, but if he actually bothered to go fast, he'd actually be the best driver of the lot. Instead, he just prefers to go at his own pace.
- Choosy Beggar: "Kiss My Bumper" Musashi Takaya's work in a canned food factory would not allow him to normally afford a car. He bought one anyways by dipping into his own and his family's savings, a Nissan Silvia S13 at that. And yet, he still complains over his lacklustre finances.
- The Generic Guy: An entire team of pretty generic folk, especially compared to their fellows.
- Lazy Bum: "Lazy Taro" Kazuo Kokubo. How lazy? So lazy he thinks washing his car is too much of an hassle.
- No Budget: "Kiss My Bumper" could barely afford his S13 to begin with, so it's no surprise he cannot afford any aftermarket parts or tuning of any kind. He tries to make up for it through technique, but he's clearly lacking in that department.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: "Kiss My Bumper" Musashi Takaya and "Talking Headbutt" Naritaro Sada flat-out can't get along with "Lazy Taro" Kazuo Kokubo, the former even calling him a charlatan. Even team leader "Happy And Run" Yoichi Takasu has trouble working with Kokubo due to the latter's non-existant work ethic.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: The team and its' members appear for a fleeting moment, getting no time for any character development before disbanding and disappearing for good.
Knife & Forks
Knife & Forks' logo by the time of Import Tuner Challenge.
Formed by workers of the bistrot-inspired French restaurant "La Libertè", and funded by the restaurant owner and team leader, "Matchless Full Course" Masayuki Miura, Knife & Forks are known for their gentleman-like driving above anything else.- But Not Too Foreign: Pierre Tanaka, apprentice chef at the restaurant, is half-French, half-Japanese.
Black Knights
The Black Knights are a team based out of the C1 Loop team built entirely by its leader, Kyohei Ryusaki, for his own amusement. Rather secretive in their endeavours, all members drive jet-black station wagons with darkened windows.
- Shrouded in Myth: Very little is known about the team. They don't have a goal, a philosophy, or anything that stands out about them. All that's really known for sure are the cars they drive, and that they seem to be a vanity project more than anything else.
- Van in Black: Driving all-black station wagons with darkened windows, they certainly evoke the imagery. Furthermore, the Black Knights are relatively unknown to other teams, which makes certain comparisons hard to avoid...
Galaxy Racers
A Tokyo metropolis intercollegiate automobile club, Galaxy Racers' line-up is composed of students and faculty scattered through-out the many universities of the prefecture
- Promoted to Playable: They're one of fifteen teams the player can join in Street Supremacy.
Departures
The Departures' logo by the time of Import Tuner Challenge.
Brought together as part of a project by a Japanese car magazine, the Departures did not know each other beforehand, and as such always had rather awkward interactions with each other. In spite of that, the team was one of the very few who lasts to this day.- Promoted to Playable: They're one of fifteen teams the player can join in Street Supremacy.
Rhythm Box
Rhythm Box was created by a group of self-described "music-loving scribes", each with their own favorite genre whom they think is superior to others. In spite of that, they're a tight-knit bunch. All members drive station wagons.
Harmonize
With "Looks above all" as their driving philosophy, Harmonize focus on the visual appearance of their cars through body modifications.
Super Speed Wagon
Super Speed Wagon are a team who aims to revolutionize the Tokyo Expressway... by proving the superiority of their station wagons to the world.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: For a team aiming to prove the superiority and speed of station wagons, they have a very self-explicative name.
RATT
A Kanto-based team of kei car drivers, RATT are highly-skilled drivers who normally favour mountain pass racing, but for one reason or another have shown up on the Tokyo Expressway, finding their home in the only area that suits their nimble, low-powered cars: the C1 Loop.
- Caps Lock: The team's name is spelled in all caps, no exceptions.
- Fragile Speedster: They all drive kei cars.
Gesellschaft
Not much information can be found about Gesellschaft, other than their goal seems to be the development of those belonging to the team into highly-skilled highway racers. They have only one thing in common: brightly-colored, expensive sports coupès as their cars of choice.
- Gratuitous German: The team's name, "Gesellschaft", can be translated as "Society" in German.
Queen's Paradise
Queen's Paradise' is made up of men who think of themselves as gifts to womanhood. They merely see racing on the Tokyo Expressway as a great way to pick up girls, and do not care about it beyond that.
- Casanova Wannabe: They race exclusively to impress girls and pick them up. Judging by the fact that they keep at it, their strategy isn't really working out.
CATZ
A team whose membership is open to anyone who has CATZ fog lights installed on their car. As a result, their choice of vehicles is all over the place, as is team cohesion, but their skill level is surprisingly high.
The Road of Justice
The Road of Justice was originally conceived as an hobbyist's team, driving for fun more than anything. Over time, however, they decided to take up the mantles of palading of the Expressway, vowing to cleanse it of all dangerous drivers. Along the way, they developed strong feelings of rivalry towards RINGS.
- Promoted to Playable: They become one of fifteen teams whom the player can join in Street Supremacy.
- Unknown Rival: The Road Of Justice think of themselves as rivals to RINGS. It doesn't appear that sentiment is reciprocated.
Explosion
With a line-up half consisting of sedan drivers and half consisting of sports cars afficionados, Explosion is in a constant state of internal conflict as a twisted form of self-improvement. When their attention turns outwards, however, the team forms a solid, coherent unit, ready to defend themselves from all challengers.
Highway Outlaw
Highway Outlaw are a team entirely made up of gaijin, with a wide variety of nationalities and car models but one thing in common: an aggressive, dangerous driving style befitting their name.
- Aerith and Bob: The real names of team members range from the overwhelmingly common Steve O'Hara and Edward Miller, to the more uncommon Tom Schyster, Eriks Kuimov and Nihael Slum, to the very rare Cain Geitist and Colm Hornell.
- The Determinator: To their credit, once beaten, members of Highway Outlaw will pick themselves up and ask for a rematch until they can finally snag victory from the jaws of defeat.
- Mirroring Factions: To Team Alpha. Both are teams formed entirely by gaijin, both have a reputation for aggressive driving, and both race on the New Belt Line. Moreso, two of their members hail from the same hometown, and their leaders know each other from their previous line of work, to the point that they're friendly with each other.
- Multinational Team: Let's see... two Eastern Europeans note , one Scandinavian note , two Americans note , one Englishman note , and one undetermined note .
- Promoted to Playable: One of fifteen teams the player can join in Street Supremacy.
- Retired Monster: Implied. "Spirit Crusher" and "Pride Killer" used to work for an Eastern European country's secret police. Nowadays, they're a cameraman and a novelist, respectively.
- Secret Police: Team leader "Spirit Crusher" Eriks Kuimov and second-in-command "Pride Killer" Colm Hornell used to be members of one from some unspecified Eastern European country. In particular, the former was a subordinate to the latter, who had to be pretty high up the command chain given his knowledge of Team Alpha members during that period.
- Token Evil Teammate: They're this to the other Tokyo Expressway teams; despite their infamy and reckless driving, they're still allowed to continue racing, and the likes of the Thirteen Devils and the Zodiac will consider beating them enough of an achievement to challenge the player afterwards.
Dry Cruise
Dry Cruise exist to fulfill a very specific goal, that of racing at their own pace, with their own style, without causing trouble for other drivers.
- Meaningful Name: A "dry cruise" is a cruise performed by large ships without any passengers or cargo on-board, be it to run tests, dry dock the ship, or because of excessive dangers in doing otherwise. Dry Cruise prioritize safety in racing, and refuse to let any passengers in their cars during them.
E.R.O.
E.R.O., full name Elysium Road Organization, was founded by a group of drivers who favor larger cars. They attack the Tokyo Expressway's straights by favoring sheer power from larger engines above everything else.
- Fun with Acronyms: As mentioned above, E.R.O. stands for "Elysium Road Organization".
Team Alpha
Composed entirely of US armymen stationed in overseas Japanese bases, Team Alpha have a long history behind it. Team members were thought to be undisciplined, but over the years, they've shown themselves as affable and friendly. In spite of that, they still have a reputation for being "bloodthirsty", with their pride and driving style not helping dismiss those misconceptions.
Thunder Dragoon
A result of the more recent Chinese diaspora, Thunder Dragoon's members are all Chinese citizens residing in Japan. They organize races on Chinese New Year, have a rivalry with Team Alpha, and barely interact with other teams because they show up at different times.
- Asian and Nerdy: "Green Dragon" Lijing Huang fits the trope, an international exchange student who has been driving and tuning cars since he was fifteen. He has become the manager of his own software company by the time of 3.
- Stock Foreign Name: Team members include Lingzhou Chen, team leader Yonghui Wang, and Xingchen Li.
True Ride
Ten years before the events of the series, one of the men who'd go on to become one of the Four Devas helped create the team that'd become True Ride under encouragement from his friends. Vanishing in thin air, the team returned from a long hiatus after the Devas were defeated, with the objective to reclaim their place amongst the fastest teams on the Shutokou.
Unlimited
At one point, "Killing Machine" Shuhei Kitagata decided he had enough. Dissatisfied with his team, SPEED BOX, he jumped ship and created Unlimited, a team with a sole, key principle: no matter what, there had to be "no limits". No limits imposed, no limits that couldn't be broken, no limits that were unsurmountable.
- Promoted to Playable: They're one of fifteen teams the player can join in Street Supremacy.
Fanatic Future
A ragtag group, Fanatic Future is composed of inhabitants of Tokyo's many suburbs, coming from all walks of life and driving all kinds of cars.
Commander
A serious, "hardcore" team of street racers who abhor flashy and reckless behaviour, Commander members gather around a common ideal: to eradicate the Tokyo Expressway of those very same drivers whom they deem menaces.
- He-Man Woman Hater: Perhaps the only team in the entire Tokyo Metropolitan area to have a straight-up ban on women joining, in spite of internal protests at such a policy. Averted by the time of 3, with the ban finally lifted, although no women joined the team by that point.
- We ARE Struggling Together: The team's many strong personalities often cause problems, and rumors of Commander splitting up for good haven't been unheard. Everyone credits team leader "Senna Foot" Ginji Okuma for having managed to keep the team together.
Double Mind
Is there a point in playing dirty if you have no need for it, and are one of the strongest teams of Tokyo? For Double Mind, yes. Less of a team, and more of a highway racing school spearheaded by long-time racer "Yellow Lightning Flash" Noriyuki Shinjo, Double Mind has a double-edged reputation amongst Expressway racers: an overall blindingly fast team, capable of producing some of the best racers around... but also detested for their dirty tactics and uncouth behaviour.
