Yamashita Kazuo (山下 一夫, Yamashita Kazuo; "Kazuo Yamashita") is a man who formerly worked in the Nogi Publishing Second Sales Department. He ended up becoming the manager of Tokita Ohma for the Kengan matches and was later dragged into becoming Kengan Association member so that Ohma could gain a spot in the Kengan Annihilation Tournament. He is currently the CEO of Yamashita Trading Co. a liaison company of the Kengan Association.
Appearance
Yamashita Kazuo is an average-looking middle-aged man with a small unassuming frame and a generally underwhelming presence. He has mostly black hair with the sides greyed, light facial hair and he wears glasses.
Personality
Yamashita Kazuo starts as a timid, average person who is pushed around by the manager in his company and by other people in general. However, due to constantly being exposed to Ohma's blood lust and other fighters in the Kengan world, he started to lose his fear of ordinary people such as his manager and even to thugs who threaten to kill him.
During the Kengan Annihilation Tournament, Yamashita becomes more overtly brave such as when he threatened Kure Erioh to protect his son (even if his leg was still shaking violently).[3] He respects Ohma more than anybody, due to fighter's strength and will. Even after being told by Nogi to make Ohma give up fighting in the tournament, Yamashita refused because he respected Ohma's will to fight more than anybody and because Ohma was like his ancestor who refused to escape death.
Plot
Kengan Ashura
By chance. Kazuo witnesses a fight between Tokita Ohma and Komada. He later has sex with a prostitute.[4]
The next day, Hiroshi criticize Kazuo. Then Futoshi said to Kazuo that Nogi want to talk private with Kazuo at Nogi Incorporated. Nogi informs Kazuo of the underground Kengan matches and makes him Tokita Ohma's manager.[5]
Kazuo goes to Ohma living place, then watched Ohma against Ivan.[6]
At Ohma's first Kengan match against Rihito, Kazuo was present alongside Kaede Akiyama and Nogi, and watched as Ohma competently defeated Rihito.[7] After that match, Ohma invite Kazuo to go to eat with Kaede.[8]
Kengan Omega
Two years later, he is still head of Yamashita Trading Co. He meets Koga, who is looking for Ohma. He takes Koga to a match between Johnny Waters and Imai Cosmo. He tells Koga he isn't ready for the Kengan matches, but recruits him as a fighters apprentice. He goes to a meeting with Nogi about Purgatory.
Power & Abilities
While he has no combat capability himself, Yamashita is surprisingly extremely observant in regards to fighting. From a list of more than a hundred fighters, he managed to correctly guess the five fighters that would pass the Kengan Annihilation Tournament preliminaries.[9][10] He also was able to instinctively discern the pattern in Katahara Metsudo's lottery machine (which spun very fast in a slow motion), which gave him first pick in the tournament position.[11] In the tournament, Kazuo is always the first person to points out the abnormal of the battle between the fighters that nobody notice before him, mostly due to his eyesight. This extraordinary kinetic eyesight appears to have been inherited from his ancestor, Yamashita Ichinoshin.
Notes & Trivia
- He has a wife and two sons.[1] However, his wife left him 10 years before the story began.[12]
- Yamashita had been employed at Nogi Publishing for 34 years.[12]
- He enjoys watching martial arts and living a peaceful life.[2]
- Yamshita's motto is, "Good can come out of misfortune".[2]
- Kazuo and Ken are good friends and go out drinking together often, however when they get drunk they spiral out of control.[13]
- Nogi has said that Yamashita is much like his ancestor.[14]
- Yamashita has many self-proclaimed epithets including: Kazzy the Raging Rook,[15] Kazzy the Fish (in the water),[16] Kazzy the Fisher (with a fishing rod),[16] Kazzy the Cold-Sensitive[17], Kazzy the Broadaxe Pitcher[18] and Kazzy the Swift.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chapter 1
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Yamashita Kazuo's profile
- ↑ Chapter 136
- ↑ Chapter 1
- ↑ Chapter 2
- ↑ Chapter 3
- ↑ Chapter 7
- ↑ Chapter 8
- ↑ Chapter 27
- ↑ Chapter 28
- ↑ Chapter 42
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Chapter 3
- ↑ 4-koma: The Other Main Character Who Didn't Show Up In The End
- ↑ Chapter 219
- ↑ Chapter 31
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Chapter 118
- ↑ 4-koma: Winter's Here
- ↑ 4-koma: Baseball
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