Revisiting Ichiro from "Nerima Daikon Brothers"
So, it's pretty obvious that Ichiro is meant to be a parody of all those calm, gentlemanly bishounen types that anime so loves (he even works at a host club). But the more I think about it, the more I wonder if he's not meant to be a parody of shallow pretty characters who look hot but whose personality is completely blank.
The thing is, Ichiro's obviously appealing traits (he looks really cute, he's super sweet, etc.) are so over-blown that they don't appeal at all out of universe. And looking back, Ichiro is probably the Nerima Daikon Brother I remember with the least acuity. In fact, I don't remember that much about Ichiro at all, other than the fact that he's cute and long-suffering and gets his rocks off of fondling a panda bear (also, he's voiced by Chris Patton). You'd think he'd be some sort of only sane man, with his calm and cool disposition, but the role of the only sane man actually belongs to Hideki, not him. The only thing about him that REALLY endeared him specifically to me is the fact that he's a woobie. Now, this is not to say that his personality is completely blank--he does eventually come into his own as a character, but only fairly late in the series, and he still never really gains the ability to steal the spotlight that Mako and especially Hideki possess. He also seems like he'd be the hardest to discuss without mentioning at least one of the other characters. Of the three, he seems to be the most defined by his relationship to other characters, rather than by any part of his own personality.
The thing is, Ichiro's obviously appealing traits (he looks really cute, he's super sweet, etc.) are so over-blown that they don't appeal at all out of universe. And looking back, Ichiro is probably the Nerima Daikon Brother I remember with the least acuity. In fact, I don't remember that much about Ichiro at all, other than the fact that he's cute and long-suffering and gets his rocks off of fondling a panda bear (also, he's voiced by Chris Patton). You'd think he'd be some sort of only sane man, with his calm and cool disposition, but the role of the only sane man actually belongs to Hideki, not him. The only thing about him that REALLY endeared him specifically to me is the fact that he's a woobie. Now, this is not to say that his personality is completely blank--he does eventually come into his own as a character, but only fairly late in the series, and he still never really gains the ability to steal the spotlight that Mako and especially Hideki possess. He also seems like he'd be the hardest to discuss without mentioning at least one of the other characters. Of the three, he seems to be the most defined by his relationship to other characters, rather than by any part of his own personality.