Toraichi Tamiya (田宮 寅一 Tamiya Toraichi) is one of the co-directors of the NIT Motor Club along with Hikozaemon Otaki, and a major supporting character in the series. Befitting his hulking appearance, Tamiya is overbearing and demanding, often forcing his own work on Keiichi Morisato. They eventually pass leadership of the group on to him after graduation.
Appearance[]
Tamiya is a large, hulking man with a tanned skin tone, very short dark hair, large lips and small eyes. He has a thick set square jaw, wide forehead, no visible eyebrows, and a tiny mustache, making him appear ill-tempered and tough. In most of his appearances, Tamiya wears loose-fitting pants, boots, and a sleeveless white shirt revealing his rather bulky and muscular physique.
Personality[]
Like Hikozaemon Otaki (Tamiya's best friend), Tamiya is extremely loud and brash, his crude behavior and pushiness acting as a major deterrent to possible club members during their yearly recruiting. Although they act as the co-directors of the Auto Club, the oddball duo often shows signs of laziness and irresponsibility, and will often push their work off on other club members such as Keiichi Morisato and Sora Hasegawa. As co-director of the NIT Auto Club, Tamiya shares his fellow members' love of motorcycles and cars, and racing their vehicles.
Throughout the manga, Tamiya's dialogue is rife with deliberately misspelled words, such as "da" instead of "the", reflecting his brutish manner of speaking and lack of smarts.
History[]
Tamiya has been a member of the NIT Motor Club for quite some time, having personally known its founder, Chihiro Fujimi. Hikozaemon Otaki and Tamiya had a crush on her, but she rejected them both.
Synopsis[]
Introduction Arc[]
Tamiya and Hikozaemon Otaki leave the men's dormitory one night, forcing Keiichi Morisato to stay behind and take their phone calls. Upon their return, they find him with the Goddess Belldandy and mistake the situation as a breach of the no-girls rule in their living quarters, subsequently throwing them out on the streets without so much as a second thought.
When the duo return to the NIT Campus for class, Otaki enthusiastically greets them. Tamiya asks Belldandy for her address, causing Keiichi to become defensive, but they explain that they only wanted to send his stuff to their new residence. The Motor Club members then drag them along to Professor Kakuta's class, much to Keiichi's disdain, as he is supposed to be in another lecture. Several male students see Belldandy among the group and follow them to get a better glimpse at her. Professor Kakuta then enters his room top begin the lecture and questions whether Belldandy is a new student, only to receive a chorus of support from the rest of the class. Due to his own class cutting, Professor Ozawa (Kakuta's rival) becomes bitter and investigates the classroom to find his entire class present. Ozawa does not recognize Belldandy and wonders if his rival placed her in his class to attract students. Intending to expose her as a fake student to the staff and students, Ozawa prepares to inspect the data himself.
Otaki catches wind of his plan and tells Keiichi and the others, to which Tamiya replies that he never gives up. Keiichi and the Motor Club directors hack the system and upload a program to halt Ozawa's search, but the rogue professor chooses to search the paper records instead. Belldandy feels bad for him and suggests they stop foiling his plans, but Keiichi responds by saying they've gone too far to give up so soon, much to the agreement of his friends. That night Ozawa falls asleep on the desk while looking through another series or records. Belldandy sneaks into the room and puts a blanket over his shoulders, whispering an apology as she magically conjures some false documents for her enrollment.
Later on, Keiichi turns up at the dorm with Belldandy to help Otaki find the right clothing for his date with Satoko Yamano. Tamiya sees that Keiichi has brought Belldandy back into the men-only house and encites the other residents into an angry mob, the group literally tossing him out a second time.
Family Problems Arc[]
Their first day back at Nekomi Tech, Keiichi Morisato and Belldandy attend the "Freshman Welcome Event" where Hikozaemon Otaki and Tamiya appear are trying to recruit more members for the Auto Club. Although they want to attract new members by holding an exhibition race, the club doesn't have the money to afford a working vehicle. Keiichi becomes exasperated knowing they want donations, noting that he never would have joined last year if he knew they were members. He prepares to surrender a small amount, but the duo holds him down and confiscates his wallet, taking his monthly budget as their club funds. Otaki tries to remedy the situation by telling Keiichi about an easy part-time job, sending him the art room to accept the position. As the couple head to their destination, Keiichi assumes Belldandy did not intervene because she knew this would happen, although it turns out she was equally taken by surprise. It is revealed that Sayoko Mishima manipulated Otaki and Tamiya into taking Keiichi's money, so that he would be forced to accept her job request.
During their first meeting of the semester, Tamiya announces to the Auto Club that they plan on competing in a race against the Ushikubo University Motorcycle Club. He then presents them with a Honda Supercub as the motorcycle they will be using in the race, pleasantly surprising Keiichi and the others, while Belldandy comments on the vehicle's cuteness. Tamiya then explains the specs and background of the Honda Supercub to his club members, claiming that in honor of the motorcycle's great history, this year will be an All-Cub race. He then announces that Belldandy will be their Team Girl. While she initially remains ignorant of what it means, Tamiya intends to hand her over the opposing team if the other school wins. Keiichi becomes angered by this, but before Tamiya can explain further, they are interrupted by a man riding a motorcycle. The visitor then comments one of the lack of consensus among the members of the Nekomi Tech Auto Club. Tamiya explains that their unwanted guest is Etsushi Ohtaki, the president of the Ushikubo Motorcycle Club who is known for always getting what he wants. Etsushi eyes Belldandy and correctly guesses that she is the prize he was promised, mentioning that she will become their Team Girl if Ushikubo University wins the race. Keiichi is horrified by the thought, only to learn that Tamiya and Etsushi made the bet when they started a drunken argument over motorcycle parts. Keiichi realizes they were set up and calls Tamiya and idiot, but his reactions only entertain their visitor. Etsushi laughs at the NIT Auto Club's members and dismisses them as a bunch of losers.
On the day of the race, Belldandy turns up wearing a sporty racing outfit, earning the unwanted admiration of the Ushikubo Motorcycle Club. Tamiya then explains to the racers that they need to start by pulling a marble from the box in his hands and go to the registration desk of the same color. While Keiichi remains uncertain of why they need to do this, he learns that the color will determine the class the person will race in, each class having different conditions for the contestants. Keiichi draws the red marble, designating him for the "Ultimate Class", a race where the Honda Supercub he rides may be customized in any way, with only a few exceptions. The Auto Club participates in a series of races where the point totals earned in each round will determine the champion. Otaki leads Keiichi to his motorcycle, but the latter is unable to even see the Supercub parts. He becomes horrified that they only used the front rim and brakes, but Otaki claims that the frame couldn't hold the engine otherwise and shrugs off the problem, assuring him that he only needs the brakes after the race is over. Knowing that their team is behind and this race will decide the winner, Keiichi heads to the starting line.
Belldandy wishes Keiichi good luck, but panics when she senses Keiichi's "unlucky star". She focuses a prayer to bring forth the lucky star of the man she loves, proclaiming her affection for Keiichi and allowing him to win the race. Tamiya then asks Otaki if he remembered to install the safety wire, but his friend claims to have skipped the step to shave an ounce off the motorcycle's overall weight. Otaki claim that he should be fine so long as someone balanced the crank, but Tamiya angrily replies that it was his job to do so. They win the competition, but the bike gives out and the drag chute Otaki installed turns out to have been a joke, much to Belldandy's horror and Tamiya's amusement. Keiichi emerges from the crash both unscathed and victorious.
At the beginning of summer vacation, the Auto Club heads to Katagai Beach for a four-day training session and are soon joined by Sayoko and the Art Club. Tamiya explains that the Art Club members wanted to use the Auto Club as their subject matter, having agreed to it due to the fact that a cooperative effort between the two groups would mean more girls to hang out with. Later that night, Keiichi is shown in his room lamenting a misunderstanding that took place with Belldandy earlier that day. He decides to find her and clear up the misunderstanding, but Otaki hands him the guidebook for their trip, which states clearly that male students cannot visit the girls after a certain time. Keichi tries to convince him to look the other way, but Tamiya and the others force him to go on a 100 kilometer buggy tour with them. They ride all night across the sand dunes, turning up in an exhausted state the next day. Keiichi plans to talk to Belldandy again, only to discover that they have planned another trip. He begins to dread she will return home without him if he can't clear things up, but his attempts to speak to her at dinner fail due to the antics of his Auto Club friends. Tamiya and Otaki then drag him upstairs by the arms to spend all night drinking.
On New Year's Eve, he shows up at the temple alongside Megumi Morisato, Sayoko, Otaki and Satoko Yamano to celebrate, during which Urd prompts them into playing a game of "Life Suguroku Special", claiming that the predictions listed in the spaces on the game board will happen in real life. As they play through the game, the fortunes come true, albeit not always in the way most people would expect. When Keiichi's prediction claims he will sweep snow outside wearing only a T-Shirt and pants, the Auto Club directors force him to comply, with Tamiya pointing out Keiichi's lack of muscle mass and calling him a wimp. During his turn, Tamiya lands on a bad space on the board and it forced to return to the starting space, much to his annoyance. Despite Urd cheating, Belldandy wins the game and save Keiichi from his punishment predictions.
With another semester winding down, Keiichi prepares to take his last exam for Professor Ozawa's class. Feeling bad that he still has one exam left, Otaki and Tamiya decide to cheer him up with a party. The entire Auto Club turns up at the temple later that night with booze, during which a drunk Otaki forces into a dress and wig. Although Belldandy tries to create a copy of Keiichi to distract them, Urd and the Auto Club walk in in the middle of the plan and are all too drunk to realize that there shouldn't be two of Keiichi. While Otaki and Tamiya take the copy and force it to crossdress, Urd grabs the real Keiichi and subjects him to her own antics. At some point, the crowd passes out drunk on the temple floor, although Keiichi wakes up in time to salvage his exam, despite having no time to study the previous night.
New Rivals Arc[]
At the beginning of the new semester, the Auto Club has Urd and Belldandy wear flashy outfits while performing on stage to attract new recruits for the Auto Club, their efforts grabbing the focus of a large number of male students. During the exhibition, Toshiyuki Aoshima (Sayoko Mishima's cousin) passes by, asking whether recruits will have the privilege of dating Belldandy. Tamiya interrupts the conversation before she can answer, boldly proclaiming that anyone who joins will have that chance. Keiichi Morisato panics and tries to tell everyone that he is lying, but is stopped by Tamiya. The next day at the Auto Club's hangout, Keiichi and Belldandy expect to see several new members due to the Freshman they recruited the previous day, but discover that they had all quit. When he questions what happened, Tamiya claims that someone told them that Belldandy and Urd were already taken by Keiichi, which killed their motivation for joining. Belldandy laments that the lunch she made for Aoshima will go to waste, but Tamiya gobbles it down to prove otherwise, Otaki getting upset that he's not sharing. Aoshima walks into the room and apologizes for being late, asking Belldandy if she brought his lunch as promised. She points the her left as Tamiya and Hikozaemon Otaki polish it off, claiming he just missed it. Tamiya welcomes Aoshima with a bone-crushing hug, horrifying Keiichi as he remembers receiving the same treatment during his initiation. A girl walks in behind him, but Keiichi warns her to run while she can. Although ten more people actually show up, half of them leave after receiving Tamiya's welcome, leaving only five new members.
During another day at the NIT Campus, Tamiya announces to the Auto Club that they will be competing in an endurance race to determine who ranks highest among the college circuit. On the day of the race, Urd and Megumi Morisato appear to cheer for Keiichi, the former threatening him not to lose the race. Tamiya issues the same threat, claiming that the club's entire budget for the year is at stake. One the day of the big race, Keiichi asks Tamiya how he spent all of the budget for the year, only to learn that the new team jumpsuits, jackets, and vehicles were all part of his shopping spree. After Keiichi manages to qualify their team for the final rounds during one of the preliminary races, Tamiya is seen cheering for him alongside Belldandy. As the final rounds approach, he claims that the future of the club is at stake, but Keiichi remains less enthusiastic knowing that the hulking man had already wasted their budget. The club director prepares to do his victory dance, but is stopped by an irritated Keiichi. After the competition is over, Keiichi finds out that their prize money will be withheld until they deduct the cost of the food and drink consumed by the rest of the Auto Club during the festivities, making him wonder just how much they managed to eat.
Trivia[]
- The name Toraichi means "tiger" (虎) (tora) and "one" (一) (ichi).
- Toraichi's surname Tamiya means "field" (田) (ta) and "temple, shrine, palace" (宮) (miya).