Yoichi Terai (寺井 洋一, Terai Youichi) is a male character from the Japanese manga and anime series KochiKame by Osamu Akimoto. He is one of the main characters featured in the Kouen-mae Police Box, and is a Patrol Officer. Terai's name has been changed in the manga series to Young-kan Marui (丸井 ヤング館, Marui Yangu-Kan) since Volume 170, but his name remains as Terai throughout the whole anime series. His birthplace is Hokkaido, and he has two sons.
Appearance[]
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Terai's manga appearance.
Terai appears as a chub middle-aged man with a height similar to Bucho's own. His hair is curly and dark brown in colour, and he has no prominent eye colour other than black. He wears his iconic pair of circular glasses which hide his eyes in the manga (often), but are revealed throughout the course of the anime series.
He wears his uniform in the same fashion as Bucho, which includes a blue suit with white undershirt, blue pants, black tie and black shoes. His sleeves are shortened to T-shirt length in episodes set during summer.
Personality[]
Terai seems to be the character in the Police Box who displays the most 'neutral' personality; he is pretty much down-to-earth, takes on a realistic view on matters at hand and doesn't apparently possess any strange outstanding flaws in personality or appearance (comparable to Ryotsu's level of greed, Nakagawa/Reiko's extreme wealth or Bucho's constant bouts of anger). He is however, sensitive to an extent and at times indecisive when under pressure.
He is considered one of the main characters in the anime, and is shown to be the most 'normal' in his actions and behaviour, such as getting on with his work and engaging in casual conversation with the others in the Police Box. On occasion he has been known to bring in small snacks or items of interest for his colleagues to see.
It is suggested in the manga that he is fond of hobbies including oil painting and calligraphy. Since he travels to the Police Box daily by train, he is also knowledgeable of the rail system and how it operates.
Relationships[]
Police Box colleagues[]
Kankichi Ryotsu[]
As in the case of Nakagawa and Reiko, Terai also ends up having to convince Ryotsu out of engaging in his malicious scams and moneymaking schemes. However, since he is considered more sensitive than the other two, he is sometimes forced into letting Ryotsu do as he wishes out of fear. But on the whole, Terai seems to work fine with Ryotsu.
Keiichi Nakagawa[]
Terai is considerate of the more ethical and understanding nature of Nakagawa; so much so, sometimes, that he addresses him as Nakagawa-kun instead of Nakagawa-san, the former which indicates that he shows a more casual and friendly attitude towards him.
Daijiro Ohara[]
Terai's diligent and hardworking nature earns the trust of Bucho in the series. He is particularly well-known for always having to tell bucho in the manga series Ryotsu's whereabouts when Bucho famously storms into the Police Box at the end panel, following an event which significantly tarnishes his reputation or caused mass destruction.
Trivia[]
- Terai has been mentioned to have a birthday on either 5th May or 2nd March in the manga, but the correct date is not made clear. It is stated to be the 5th May in the anime series, which also happens to be the day of the Boys' Festival (五月の節句, Go-gatsu no Sekku) in Japan.