Yatterman 1977 Character Biography: Ai-chan / Yatterman-2

Ai Kaminari (Janet in the Spanish and Italian dubs), better known as Ai-chan or Yatterman-2, is the heroine of this second iteration of the Time Bokan series. The 12 year old daughter of renowned electrician Gorozou, she fights together with her boyfriend Gan-chan to defeat the Dorombo gang at every turn.

She helped Gan-chan with completing Yatter-Wan, and shortly afterwards the two decided to become the heroic Yatterman to combat evil. It isn’t long until they’re actually out doing so, when they discover that the notorious Dorombo gang are searching for fragments of the mysterious Dokuro Stone.

Ai-chan’s normal appearance is in a yellow jumpsuit with a purple leotard underneath, and a stylish red cap with an overall heart motif. When she’s Yatterman-2, she turns her clothing inside out to fit her superhero identity. Her jumpsuit is now white (or light pink depending on the episode) and her cap red with the Yatterman insignia displayed on it, and she dons an additional purple mask and gloves.

At times she’ll display traits similar to Junko such as being passive and caring of others, and can be sensitive to personal remarks. Unlike her predecessor though, Ai-chan can be a bit mischievous and is a much more active fighter that can defeat crooks with little effort. Having a courageous, noble heart, she strives to protect the innocent and even help those that seek redemption, though she doesn’t cut the Dorombo gang any slack, especially after Doronjo starts eyeing her boyfriend.

Whenever evildoers get in her way, Ai-chan attacks with her Shibire Stick (aka Paralyzing Stick, Electric Stick in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom), a retractable rod that shocks anyone on the receiving end. It can also delfect projectiles and block all sorts of weapons, including swords. With both her and Gan-chan having equal yet distinct fighting skills, Ai-chan alone is capable of wiping the floor with most anyone who dares to fight her.

Roughly thirteen years after the events of the original series, Ai-chan is happily married to Gan-chan and the two are having a romantic honeymoon, almost completely ignoring Omochama’s warnings about the Dorombo gang’s return until the last minute. She and her new husband are definitely quick to respond to later events when the Dorombo gang attempt to challenge the Yatterman twice and seek out magical tulips for their boss.

After missing the initial roster Ai-chan finally made it into Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, replacing Hakushon Daimou. Though she has the smallest amount of health out of all the characters, even lower than Gan-chan’s, her lightning quick attacks can make her a formidable fighter. That’s not taking her supers into account which involve conjuring a heart-shaped spark, calling upon Omochama to fight alongside her, and unleashing Yatter-Pelican and his surprise mechas on the hapless opponent.

Her ending has her, Gan-chan, and Yatter-Wan encounter the Dorombo gang for their hundredth anniversary (which would be 2077?), in which the latter call upon the other bad trios from the various Time Bokan series. They’re all promptly defeated when Ai-chan shocks them all with her Shibrie Stick mid-speech.

Yatterman 1977 Character Biography: Boyacky

Boyacky Butsukusa (alternatively spelt Boyakki, often called Boyayan by Tonzura) is the 25 year old man responsible for the various inventions and mechas used by the Dorombo gang. “Pochittona”, the onomatopoeia uttered by Boyacky whenever he presses a button, has become a big part of Japanese pop culture.

His wildest dream is to be admired by high school girls, and to use the Dokuro Stone’s supposed fortune to afford plastic surgery to make this a reality. He’s also a bit more perverted than his predecessor Grocky, and is always trying to make some sort of advance on Doronjo. Ultimately, he really does want a consensual, mutual relationship with anyone willing to return his feelings.

Some of Grocky’s aspects like his doormat personality and eccentric quirks were toned down with Boyacky, although he enjoys crossdressing whenever he’s given the chance. In stark contrast to his predecessor, Boyacky tends to run his mouth off and make snarky remarks at everyone except Tonzura. And while he usually views himself quite highly, Boyacky even does this to himself via the gag robots that pop out of the mechas’ cockpit.

On account of being the smartest of the trio, Boyacky can be somewhat knowledgeable about the locations the Dorombo gang are sent to. He’s also 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.

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.

After the Dorombo gang parted ways, Boyacky married his high school sweetheart Ohana and opened up a successful noodle shop in Kokubunji (apparently being taught by Ippatsuman’s Kosuinen), and according to Heisei Time Bokan they had a daughter together named Happy.

Doronjo and Tonzura meet up with him for the first time in 14 years when they stopped by to ask him about entering a race against the other Time Bokan trios for the leading role in a OVA. Conflicted between reuniting with the gang again or keeping his current, peaceful lifestyle, Boyacky initially turned down the offer.

When Marjo’s gang snares the Dorombo gang’s Daidokoron (Kitchen Mecha) in a trap with Doronjo and Tonzura inside Boyacky decides to assist his friends and help them win the race. He then resumes his usual role in the OVA itself, being able to locate the Tatsunoko Kingdom due to a prior meeting with the Gatchaman at his noodle shop and attack said kingdom and the Yatterman with his magnum opus, a mecha capable of evolving from a little girl, to a high school girl (his favorite form), and finally a elderly woman.

Boyacky’s activities afterwards kicked off the plot of Heisei Time Bokan, having spent his time gambling at Las Vegas. When he winds up winning a huge sum of money as a result it is essentially used as funds for the Dorombo gang’s well intentioned “social reform” that ultimately went nowhere. Boyacky’s personal life didn’t affect subsequent stints with the Dorombo gang though, and he had a blast each and every time.

Yatterman 1977 Character Biography: Omochama

Omochama (also known as Omotchama, Robbie Robbie in Italy) is a small dice shaped robot created by Gan-chan to serve as the mascot for his father’s toyshop. His proper role is that of the sidekick to Gan-chan and Ai-chan when they’re the Yatterman and he is also the announcer for the title of every episode in addition to the previews for the next episode.

As with the rest of the Yatterman cast and their predecessors, Omochama has some of Chorobo’s quirks, such as being somewhat childish and even cheeky at times. He is dedicated to fighting crime and can be very supportive of both Gan-chan and Ai-chan when they need it, though he can find some of their antics questionable and teases about the romance between them. He prominently has the verbal tic of adding “koron” to the end of his sentences, and as such every episode title ends with “koron” because he announces them.

While lacking much in terms of gadgets, Omochama has a propeller that allows him to fly and can retract his head and limbs into his body. His face consists of three cogs, two grey ones for eyes and a red one for his mouth. He can easily be knocked back by the simplest of blows, best shown during the Yattermans’ victory pose where the Yatter-Mecha makes him fall over nearly every time. He is also powered by batteries which need to be recharged every now and then, although this only appears to affect his propeller.

Omochama was initially the one who discovered the Dorombo gang’s hunt for the Dokuro Stone, and usually spies on their activites afterwards with or without Gan-chan and Ai-chan. A couple of times Omochama actually exposed the Dorombo gang’s scams, though most of these scams were harmless like a magic show and Omochama’s sabotaging actually endangers the trio’s lives.

By the time there were three established Yatter-Mechas, Omochama would be rolled like a dice in a cup to determine which one would be deployed, with one and two for Yatter-Wan (later Yatter-King), three and four for Yatter-Pelican, and five and six for Yatter-Ankou.

From the 58th episode up to the 80th, just before a fight with the Dorombo gang, Omochama would pick a mecha by conducting a game of Musical Chairs with the Janken Trio, robot girls who represent the Yatter-mechas via janken symbols (or rock-paper-scissors). Gu-ko (rock) for Yatter-Panda, Choki-ko (scissors) for Yatter-Dozilla, and Pa-ko (paper) for Yatter-Bull. The one that wins has the mecha they represent called out into action.

Over the following ten episodes afterwards, Omochama would deploy a small robot known as the Miai Duck (or Matchmaking Duck) that walked on a string of paths that led to three doors displaying the Yatter-Mechas. Again, the path the duck followed determined which mecha was being sent out. For the last few episodes this was dropped entirely, and the Yatterman would use whatever mecha (mostly Yatter-Yokuzuna).

Omochama appears in the second episode of the Royal Revival OVA, where as usual he overhears the Dorombo gang’s plans and sets out to inform the newly-wed Yatterman. However, they’re too lovestruck to notice and it takes a while before they finally take off. His troubles don’t end there, as later on Jun the Swan falls on top on him due to the Yattermans’ brief lovesick daze.

Omochama also cameos in the various Banpresto games, as an enemy in the shoot-em-up games and again spying on the Dorombo gang’s activites in Bokan GoGoGo!. This time the Yatterman are all ears and even spread the word to the other Time Bokan heroes since thier respective villains are involved.

In all versions of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Omochama can be found in the background of the Yatterman’s Workshop, cheering on the fighting and chasing off a spying Odate Buta. In Ultimate All-Stars, he can be summoned by Ai-chan/Yatterman-2 to assist in attacking her opponent for a brief time. If he’s still out when Ai-chan wins the match, he’ll do the Yatterman’s typical victory pose.