Characters / Yatterman

Team Yatterman

Gan Takada/Yatterman-1

Voiced By: Yoshiko Ohta (1977 series), Hiroyuki Yoshino (2008 series), Eri Kitamura (Tatsunoko vs. Capcom), Marco Joanucci, Alessio Cigliano (IT, 1977 series), Nicola Bartolini Carrassi (IT, Royal Revival OVA), Paolo De Santis (IT, Live-action Film), Jacopo Calatroni (IT, 2008 series)

Played By: Sho Sakurai (Live-action Film)

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• Adaptation Personality Change: The 2008 series gives him more flaws.
  • In the series, he is naive, but not stupid. In the live-action movie, however he is really dumb.
• All Men Are Perverts: Played with. In the 1977 series he's mostly reserved, but becomes more of this in the 2008 series and Royal Revival OVA.
• Affectionate Nickname: "Gan-chan", mostly used by Ai.
• Battle Couple: Ai-chan is his girlfriend and fights together with him.
• Big Eater: In the 2008 series.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Again, in the 2008 series. He can fix a giant robot all by himself given the proper motivation (say, his girlfriend gets kidnapped), but for anything else, he can't be bothered.
• Cannot Spit It Out: He's incapable of telling Ai-chan how he feels about her. And the one time he tries, Yatter-Dragon shows up before he can even get it out.
• Cool Mask: Wears a sleek red domino mask.
• Cross-Dressing Voice: Save for the 2008 series and the Live-Action Adaptation (for obvious reasons), Gan-chan has always been portrayed by female voice actors.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Built most of the mecha that he and Ai use.
• Good Colors, Evil Colors: As Yatterman-1 wears a white costume.
• Happily Married: If the Tatsunoko crossover special is anything to go by, 13 years later, Gan-chan and Ai-chan have gotten married and are enjoying their honeymoon, to the point where it takes them quite a bit to notice that the Doronbo gang are up to no good again.
• The Hero: The principal hero of the show.
• I Call It "Vera": Gan's trusty weapon, "Kendamagic".
• Idiot Hero: In the live-action movie, where he's introduced fighting Doronjo and company over the Skull Stone... only to later have to ask someone what that is.
• Improbable Weapon User: Fights with a kendama, a simple ball-and-hammer toy. On top is a ball attached to a sting with a long reach that can hit hard, entangle foes, and is capable of electrocuting anything that touches the string with the press of a button.
• Kid Hero: He is 13 years old.
• Official Couple: With Ai-chan, his girlfriend.
• Parental Abandonment: He has a father who owns the toy shop Gan and Ai work in, and he was the one to start building Yatterwan in the first place. However, that's all we know about him, as he nor his mother never seem to be around. Gan's father does play a large role in the 2009 animated movie, where it explores Gan's strained relationship with him.
• Twinkle Smile: Tends to do this when he acts more heroic than usual.
• Younger Than They Look: Gan has the body of a 16-17 year old, and in the 2008 series, sounds like he's 20. He's canonically 13. Turned on its head in the Royal Revival OVA, where he looks (and sounds) no older than he did in the 1977 series despite being old enough to get married.

Ai Kaminari/Yatterman-2

Voiced By: Mari Okamoto (1977 series), Shizuka Itō (2008 series), Emiri Katou (Tatsunoko vs. Capcom), Beatrice Margiotti, Antonella Rendina (IT, 1977 series), Elisabetta Spinelli (IT, Royal Revival OVA), Loretta Di Pisa (IT, Live-action Film), Martina Felli (IT, 2008 series)

Played By: Saki Fukuda (Live-action Film)

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• 20% More Awesome: The 2008 series gives her the penchant to give out her feelings in percentages.
• Affectionate Nickname: "Ai-chan", mostly used by Gan.
• Badass Adorable: She's a cutesy 12 year old girl and a skilled superhero.
• Battle Couple: Fights alongside her boyfriend Gan-chan.
• Cannot Spit It Out: Very clearly loves Gan, but can't work up the nerve to tell him or ask him out.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Does not react very well when another girl approaches Gan-chan. Worse when, at one point in the series, Doronjo begins to flirt with him.
• Cool Mask: Her sleek purple domino mask.
• Distaff Counterpart: As Yatterman-2, Ai dresses quite similarly to Gan - however, her outfit is pink, and she fights with an electric rod as opposed to Gan's kendama.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Blonde-haired and extremely sweet.
• Happily Married: If the Tatsunoko crossover special is anything to go by, 13 years later, Gan-chan and Ai-chan have gotten married and are enjoying their honeymoon, to the point where it takes them quite a bit to notice that the Doronbo gang are up to no good again.
• Kid Hero: She is 12 years old.
• Meaningful Name: Her full name, Ai Kaminari, means "love thunder". Her mechanic and Yatterman-2 outfits have a heart motif to them, and she's the more romantic of the pair. She also tends to fight with a Shock Stick.
• Number Obsession: Ai's speech pattern is marked by her speaking in percentages. For example, after being asked to kiss Boyacky while filming a movie, she complains that "this is 100% torture". She also encourages Gan to speak similarly, such as by asking "how free percent" he is going to be later that day.
• Official Couple: With Gan-chan, her boyfriend.
• Opposites Attract: In the 2008 series, she's a hard worker while Gan is rather lazy.
• Shock Stick: Her weapon is the Shibire Stick (aka Paralyzing Stick, Electric Stick in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom), a retractable rod that shocks anyone on the receiving end.
• Pink Means Feminine: When she’s Yatterman-2, her jumpsuit is now white (or light pink depending on the episode).
• Pom-Pom Girl: In few episodes where she cheer during the mini-robots battle with a cheerleader outfit, but without pom-pom.
• The Tease: In the Royal Revival OVA, where she she gladly flaunts her ample behind to Gan.
• Women Are Wiser: At least in the 2008 series, where she becomes the responsible one to Gan's foolishness.
• Wrench Wench: Just as skilled a mechanic as her boyfriend.
• Younger Than They Look: Just like her boyfriend, she's actually 13 despite appearances. She grows into her appearance by the Royal Revival OVA, unlike Gan.

Omotchama

Voiced By: Reiko Katsura (1977 series), Chiaki Takahashi (2008 series, Live-action Film), Giovanni Brusatori, Marco Joanucci (IT, 1977 series), Patrizia Scianca (IT, Royal Revival OVA), Davide Garbolino (IT, Live-action Film), Serena Clerici (IT, 2008 series)

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• Blackmail: Fond of this trope in the 1977 series. It usually threatened Gan and Ai of revealing their status as Yattermen if it wasn't allowed to come along for their latest adventure.
• Inconsistent Spelling: Is it Omotchama or Omochama?
• Punny Name: Its name is a pun on "omocha", or toy.
• Robot Buddy: The Gan Takada's robot. It serves as the mascot of Gan's father's toy shop and is shaped like a large die.
• Verbal Tic: Likes to add "da-koron" to the ends of its sentences. The Anime Sols translation turned it into Omotchama making rolling puns, while the Italian dub of the 2008 series turned it into Omotchama saying the period (or exclamation/interrogative point) at the end of each phrase out loud.

Yatter-wan

Voiced By: Masaru Ikeda (1977 series), Kōichi Yamadera (2008 series), Giovanni Brusatori (IT, 1977 series), Luca Bottale (IT, Royal Revival OVA), Graziano Molteni (IT, Live-action film), Massimo Triggiani (IT, 2008 series)

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• Deus ex Machina: All the time, basically. Yatterwan can produce the "Surprise Robots of the Week" when fed special robot dog food, which just so happen to always being the key to defeating the Skull Trio's mecha.
• He's Back!: In the original series and the film, when he reappears as Yatterking after being destroyed in battle.
• Humongous Mecha: He's a giant robot dog, what else would you expect?
• Robot Dog: He was the former page image, even.
• Inconsistent Spelling: Yatter-wan/Yatterwan/Yatter-ruff. One translation decided to go with the Wan=One pun and call him "Yatter-1".

The Doronbo Gang/Skull Trio

The Trio as Whole

• Breakout Villain: Of the entire Time Bokan franchise. The Doronbo Gang are the main character in the 1993 OVA where they overshadow the other villain groups. More recently they are in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom also and the 40th anniversary anime for the franchise is not only about Yatterman, but has the descendants of the Doronbo as its main focus!
• The Chew Toy: They are continuously victim of every type of Amusing Injuries, both from the heroes and their sadist boss.
• Chromatic Arrangement: Doronjo is Red, Boyakky is Green, and Tonzura is Purple.
• Clothing Damage: They generally suffer this Once an Episode when their plans backfire.
• Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Defied. Besides being sublime cons capable of making a quick buck, they have enough skills among them to become legitimate businessmen, but the wishes they need the stones for can't be purchased with mere money.
• Expy: Of the Skull Gang from first Time Bokan series.
• Iconic Sequel Character: While the heroes Gan and Ai are very well known, the Doronbo are the Terrible Trio in Japan, having multiple Expies across not only the rest of the Time Bokan franchise, but across most Japanese media as well. It goes so deep that even the milestone celebration of Time Bokan in 2015 was made about their descendants in the far future. This despite to be themselves an Expy of the Skull Gang, the original Terrible Trio.
• Inconsistent Spelling: Depending on the source, Doronbo or Drombo. (Or Dorombo.)
• Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: The major example in the anime world.
• Naked People Are Funny: They regularly end up half-naked, especially after an explosion.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: Despite what has been said above, it's not a good idea to take them lightly. They manage to pull out some very big crimes and can even come dangerously close to winning at times. Once they even ripped off a guy's skull when they opened a fake dental clinic WHILE HE WAS ALIVE AND AWAKE!
• Terrible Trio: The trope image. In fact, the template provided by Doronjo, Boyacky and Tonzura (as well as their expies in the Time Bokan series) are the Trope Codifiers for this trope, at least in Japanese media. The trope was in fact originated by them as far as anime is concerned. They are also much more popular than the heroes within the show's fanbase. It helps that they're not really evil, just greedy (and even if they were evil, they're so inept that they could never successfully hurt anyone anyway).
• Villain Song: The Doronbo Skull Gang usually sings while building their new robots. Most well known of these numbers is "Tensai Doronbo", where they sing about how they love crime, are determined to grab the Skull Stones first, and how everybody loves them more. It pops up in the 2008 remake, and even the live-action movie.

Doronjo

Voiced By: Noriko Ohara (1977 series, 2008 series, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom), Emanuela Fallini, Margherita Sestito, Carla Comaschi (IT, 1977 series), Maddalena Vadacca (IT, Royal Revival OVA), Debora Magnaghi (IT, Live-action Film), Beatrice Caggiula (IT, 2008 series)

Played By: Kyoko Fukada (Live-action Film)

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• The Baroness: Her elaborate black leather costume with spiked heels, skull shaped pipe-smoking, and velvet couch-lounging habits make her one of these. She rarely ever gets involved in physical combat, but when she does, there's a touch of dominatrix in there. Best seen in her role as a fighting game character in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom.
• Bathing Beauty: She is often seen taking baths and showers on many occasions, even in the live-action film.
• Boob-Based Gag: In the original series, her breasts were often used for some gags as smacking her goons in the face or when she was wrapped in some rings which cinched her like a corset. A bit less common in the 2008 remake.
• Cool Mask: Her iconic red mask, which despite how often her outfit is destroyed never seems to come off, especially in the 2008 remake where she always wear the mask with every outfit. Early episodes of the 1977 series often featured her without wearing any kind of mask and exposing her face in full view, although this would would end after the first quarter of the series.
• Deuteragonist: Gan and Ai may be the main protagonists, but Doronjo is equally as prominent as them and just as iconic to the franchise as they are.
• The Dragon: She leads the Doronbo Gang on Dokurobei's behalf.
• Good Colors, Evil Colors: Wears red and black.
• Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Her pipe is almost as famous as she is. Averted in the 2008 remake due to standards changing since 1977, her habit of smoking (and losing her clothes) is toned down.
• The Heavy: Every episode has Gan and Ai having to go up against her and her minions.
• Inconsistent Spelling: Depending on the source, Doronjo (at least, according to Tatsunoko vs. Capcom) or Dronio. Oh, and she isn't Doronbo/Dorombo, that's the organization.
• Leg Focus: She has really long legs and her costume emphasize this.
• Modesty Towel: Multiple times she is interrupted during her bath or shower by Dokurobei's call, leaving her to wear only a towel in the meanwhile.
• Ms. Fanservice: The most famous of all the Time Bokan franchise. She is an attractive blonde woman who wear a Stripperiffic outfit and most of the episodes have scenes with her half-naked.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Her actual name's Hiroko Sasegawa, but that's not nearly as iconic as her status as Lady Doronjo.
• Navel Window: Her costume in the 2008 series is a little more skimpy than the original, with a diamond-shaped hole exposing her midriff (something that Majo from the original Time Bokan series also had).
• Old Maid: During the series, her assistants begin to bother Doronjo that she isn't married yet by this age.
  • If the Tatsunoko crossover special is anything to go by, 13 years later, Doronjo got married and became the mother of five children, and she also opened up a bar named "Buchikku Doronbo".
• Pet the Dog: Although she retains previous villain Marjo's traits of being vain, selfish, and impatient, Doronjo is less ruthless and significantly nicer to her subordinates Boyacky and Tonzura, even though their antics can get on nerves. Whereas Marjo treated Walther and Grocky as her personal cronies, Doronjo usually views Tanzura and Boyakky as being her equals.
• Proud Beauty: Very unabashed about her good looks.
• Reluctant Fanservice Girl: She suffers of Clothing Damage more than her two comrades. Indeed the destruction of the Doronbo gang's mecha will result in her clothes being shredded to revealing levels. Sometimes she also asks the viewer not to look.
• Stripperiffic: Not as much as other villainesses, but her outfit still exposes quite a bit.
• Unlimited Wardrobe: Alongside the various disguises she and the others wear during their scams, the 2008 series often shows her wearing multiple different outfits (with matching wigs) while the trio is in their base.
• Villainesses Want Heroes: During the second half of the 1977 series (and in the live action movie) she develops an attraction to Yatterman-1, which is obviously unrequited.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She has a strong dislike of rats, although there is an good reason for the latter. When she was a little girl she came accross a rat that bit down hard on her nose. Because of that traumatic event, she’s absolutely horrified whenever a Yatterman mecha deploys mini-mechas resembling rats or mice.

Tonzura

Voiced By: Kazuya Tatekabe (1977 series, 2008 series, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom), Giorgio del Bene, Alessio Cigliano (IT, 1977 series), Claudio Ridolfo (IT, Royal Revival OVA), Pietro Ubaldi (IT, Live-action Film), Francesco Rizzi (IT, 2008 series)

Played By: Kendo Kobayashi (Live-action Film)

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• The Brute: The dimwitted muscle of the villains.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Wears purple.
• Dumb Muscle: Tonzura was a professional wrestler, but he doesn't ever actually do anything useful besides getting in a fight with the Yattermen.
• Fat and Skinny: He's the "fat" to Boyakky's "skinny", although subverted due to him not actually being fat, his short stature simply does not compliment his top-heavy muscular build.
• First-Name Basis: According to supplementary materials, his surname's Sukatora. We rarely ever hear it, though.
• Gonk: Squat-faced and pig-nosed.
• The Idiot from Osaka: Tonzura speaks with a Kansai dialect, adding to his thuggish nature.
• In-Series Nickname: "Ton-chan", courtesy of Boyakky.
• Inconsistent Spelling: Depending on the source, Tonzler, Tonzra, or Tonzura. According to Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, it's Tonzura, while in the 2009 movie, it's Tonzra.
• Out of Focus: He is the least-focused on member of the trio, with most of the attention split between Doronjo's lead and Boyakky's 4th wall breaks.
• Perma-Stubble: He has stubble covering the entire lower half of his face.
• Undying Loyalty: He also follows Doronjo and Boyacky’s orders without hesitation.
• Verbal Tic: Adds "-mannen" to the ends of his sentences.

Boyakky

Voiced By: Joji Yanami (1977 series, 2008 series, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom), Bruno Cattaneo (IT, 1977 series), Mario Scarabelli (IT, Royal Revival OVA), Luca Bottale (IT, Live-action Film), Luca Ghignone (IT, 2008 series)

Played By: Katsuhisa Namase (Live-action Film)

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• Abhorrent Admirer: He is always trying to make some sort of advance on Doronjo.
• Anti-Villain: Despite his snark and seemingly lecherous ways, Boyakky every now and then shows relunctance towards being a villain, especially in the Royal Revival OVA where he initially straight-up refuses Doronjo's offer to return to villainy after having gotten married and opening a legitimate Noodle shop, only rejoining them in the end due to his dedication to them as friends.
• Big Damn Villain: In the Tatsunoko crossover special where he save his companions from the Skull Gang.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Wears green.
• Complexity Addiction: His biggest flaw is that he tends to overlook details, leaving the gang vulnerable to a mini-mecha attack or in the rare case of an advantage over the Yatterman, no clue how to proceed. Another bad habit of his is putting a self-destruct button in nearly every mecha, which is often bumped into by accident.
• Dastardly Whiplash: Alongside his Expies from the other Time Bokan series, he's the Trope Codifier for Japanese media.
• Deadpan Snarker: In stark contrast to his predecessor, Boyacky tends to run his mouth off and make snarky remarks at everyone except Tonzura.
• Evil Genius: He's the one who designs and builds all of the Doronbo Gang's mecha.
• Fat and Skinny: He's the "skinny" to Tonzura's "fat".
• First-Name Basis: Only ever referred to by his first name. According to supplementary materials, his surname is Butsukusa.
• Gadgeteer Genius: He is responsible for the design of the mechas and controls the various gadgets deployed by them and by himself when he directly combats one of the Yatterman.
• Gonk: Indeed, he wants to use the Dokuro Stone’s supposed fortune to afford plastic surgery.
• Happily Married: If the Tatsunoko crossover special is anything to go by, Boyacky married his high school sweetheart Ohana and opened up a successful noodle shop in Kokubunji. This is referenced at the end of the 2008 series as well, although Ohana herself does not appear.
• Horny Scientist: He don't lose an occasion to grope Doronjo or push her "buttons". He has also an open fetish for high school girls.
• Inconsistent Spelling: Depending on the source, Boyacky, Boyakki or Boyacchi. According to Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, it's Boyacky.
• In-Series Nickname: "Boyayan", courtesy of Tonzura.

Dokurobei

Voiced By: Junpei Takiguchi (1977 series, 2008 series, Live-action Film), Bruno Cattaneo (IT, 1977 series), Orlando Mezzabotta (IT, Royal Revival OVA), Enrico Maggi (IT, Live-action Film), Giovanni Battezzato (IT, 2008 series)

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• Bad Boss: Even when his leads are revealed to be inaccurate, Dokurobei is always quick to punish the Doronbo Gang when they fail. Even in the rare instances the Doronbo Gang succeeds, he will punish them anyway, either because they inadvertantly insult him or simply because he feels like it.
• Big Bad: He is the elusive boss of the Doronbo Gang.
• Dem Bones: Has this as a motif. The body we see him in at the end of the series is even a Meat Puppet for his real body- the Dokuro stone itself, which also happens to take the form of a skull.
• Gonk: His human disguise. A short, fat, buck toothed man with ridiculous glasses and garish clashing-colored clothing.
• Living MacGuffin: He ultimately ends up to be the Dokuro Stone itself.
• Never My Fault: Always blames the Doronbo Gang for not obtaining the Dokuro Stones, even though most of the time it's his leads that turn out to be inaccurate.
• No One Sees the Boss: Not even his henchmen know who he is.
• Non-Action Big Bad: He gives orders regarding the location of the Dokuro Stone to his subordinates in unusual ways, such as through a talking hamburger or the image of a red skull on a TV screen.
• Punny Name: His name comes from the Japanese word for "skull" (dokuro).
• The Reveal: In the last episode of the 70s series, the Doronbo Gang meets Dokurobei for the first time and they discover that it is an android, and the Dokuro Stone is the real Dokurobei: he really was a skull-shaped stone-like alien who flew over the Earth and got broken into pieces. With his powers, he tricked them into believing the completed Dokuro Stone would have revealed the location of a fabulous treasure, when in reality he "just" needed to be reconstructed.
• Self-Destruct Mechanism: Dokurobei's messages to his cronies and the auto-destruct mechanism installed by Boyakki on every mecha he develops, for some reason.
• The Unfought: In the original 70s series Dokurobei simply leaves Earth after the Dokuro Stone is completed.
• Unseen Evil: Gives his orders from afar, leaving the Doronbo Gang with little clue as to what he looks like.
• Verbal Tic: He tends to end his sentences with "Bei".

Odate Buta

Voiced By: Kei Tomiyama (1977 series), Kōichi Yamadera (2008 series), Giovanni Brusatori (IT, 1977 series), Federico Viola (IT, Live-action Film), Massimo Triggiani (IT, 2008 series)

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• Catchphrase: "Even pigs can climb trees when praised."
• Iconic Sequel Character: Introduced for the first time in episode 60, became the whole franchise's mascot in no time.
• Image Song: He gets his personal song.
• Mascot: Odate Buta (literally means flattery/comment pig), the mechanical pig that appears out of nowhere climbing on a metal palm inside the bad guys' mechas, has become a recognizable symbol of the series. As his name implies, he usually appears in the cockpit of the mecha the Doronbo gang pilots. A coconut tree would appear on the front of the cockpit, to which Odate Buta would climb up and make a snarky comment.
  "Even a piggy can climb a tree when praised."
  • The first poster for the live action movie is just a picture of Odate Buta looking out at the viewer. He's so famous in Japan that it's really all you need to get the point across.
• Series Mascot: For the entire Time Bokan franchise.
• Team Pet: The Doronbo Gang's pet robot pig.

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