| Tojo | |
|---|---|
 Tojo in Episode 17. | |
| Aliases | Akihiko Tojo |
| Status | Alive |
| Origin | Japan |
| Affiliations | Koko's Squad Kasper Hekmatyar's bodyguards (former) SR Unit (former) JSDF (former) |
| Occupation | Bodyguard Intelligence officer (former) |
| Weapons | Various |
| Manga debut | Chapter 1 |
| Anime debut | Episode 1 |
| Japanese voice | Hitoshi Yanai (anime) Kazuyuki Okitsu (drama CD) |
| English voice | Christopher Bevins |
Akihiko Tojo (東條秋彦 Tōjō Akihiko?), more commonly known by his last name, Tojo (トージョ Tōjo?), is a former member of the SR Unit and a member of Koko's Squad.
Appearance[]
Tojo is a fair skinned man with short dark hair and light coloured eyes, which are respectively black and light brown in the anime. He is the only other member of the squad to wear glasses other than Wiley. Tojo has worn various standard equipment and uniforms when Koko's Squad has been outfitted with them in addition to various civilian attire. He wears a suit and tie for business meetings.
Personality[]
Possessing a calm demeanor, Tojo rarely gets emotional, which aids him as a negotiator. Yosuke Hinoki has observed that Tojo always tends to make a mistake when he tries to rush something.[1]
Relationships[]
Yosuke and Tojo talk in Episode 8.
Tojo respects Yosuke, his former commander, although he did not let this get in the way of leaving the SR Unit when he felt betrayed that they had resorted to duplicity to conceal their involvement in a black operation in Cuba. After meeting Yosuke again in person in the Bahamas, he reaffirmed his commitment to HCLI despite Yosuke offering him the opportunity to work under him again and become a first class agent. Despite this the two parted on good terms. Tojo did not have any other enduring relationships with the other members other SR Unit, who regarded him as a traitor after he left the unit and began working for Kasper Hekmatyar, although he knew Kurosaka and Kaburagi.
Tojo worked for Kasper and at some point left to work for his sister Koko, which did not damage his relationship with Kasper. She regards him as a key member of the squad and became suspicious after Yosuke attempted to lure him away despite Tojo's refusal. Tojo is attracted to Valmet because of her shapely figure but is at the same time wary of revealing this because of her formidable combat abilities. When asked why he chose to stay with Koko, he claimed that it was because he gets to work with two beautiful women.[2] Despite his best efforts to tutor Jonah in math, the latter is an indifferent student, which Tojo has accepted.
Abilities[]
Intelligence specialist: Tojo is a former intelligence officer and can be seen as often with a laptop as with a gun, functioning as the squad's primary intelligence operative. R, who also came from an intelligence background while he was with the Bersaglieri, notably did not fulfill this role although it aided in his qualifications for joining.
Negotiator: Tojo is also a highly skilled negotiator, as Koko has entrusted him with handling negotiations that she has been unable to participate in herself because her presence was needed elsewhere.
Weapons handling: Like the other members of the squad, Tojo is proficient with a variety of firearms and capable of handling himself in a fight.
History[]
Kurosaka confronts Tojo in a flashback in Episode 18.
Tojo was formerly in the JSDF's Central System Management Unit, serving with an electronic warfare unit in Hokkaido before joining the SR Unit. Like all members of the SR Unit, he was officially declared dead, erasing any ties to his past. He was based in Jakarta where he worked under Yosuke, the commander of the SR Unit. Tojo was involved in a black operation that involved assassinating a military officer in Cuba, during which the true nature of the SR Unit became clear to him when the Cuban agents who had assisted them were betrayed to erase any evidence of their own involvement in the operation. He was so distressed at this realisation that Kurosaka had to kick him on board a waiting boat and spell things out for him. Tojo afterwards resigned from the SR Unit after returning to Jakarta. A chance meeting with Koko's brother Kasper however led to his recruitment 20 minutes after he had left. At some point Tojo began working for Koko.
Plot[]
Fire Hare Arc[]
In the anime Tojo was shown during the opening sequence with the rest of the squad and Minami Amada watching a Hek-GG rocket launch from a naval launch platform.[3] After Jonah joined, Koko threw the door open to the squad's hotel room and introduced him to them before asking for an update. Tojo informed Koko that her shipment of MiG-29 upgrades was still being held up in port and that customs was being uncooperative. He suggested that they resort to bribery, but Koko felt that this would cost too much and decided on direct action.
Gunmetal, Calico Road Arc[]
Tojo meets with Jesensrg in Episode 1.
A few days later, Tojo and Valmet were assigned to negotiate with Stanistaw Jesensrg, the air force colonel who had agreed to purchase 15 Hind Ds from C. K. Kloshkin. On the way over, he informed Valmet about Kloshkin's intelligence background, leading her to worry about Koko. When he suggested that she worry about him instead, he was rebuffed, as Valmet stated that he could take care of himself. During the meeting, Tojo handled the negotiations. After checking in with Koko during her meeting with Kloshkin, he got Jesensrg to cancel the purchase agreement. Tojo's update to Koko was played on speaker by her to Kloshkin just before she had Jonah execute him. In the anime, he along with everyone else, was sickened by Jonah's fried eggs that night.[3]
Pulsar Arc[]
Tojo and Valmet were later sent ahead of the rest of the squad when they delivered some goods to a certain Eastern European country bordering Russia. The fighting that erupted for control of a local pipeline forced them to hide out in a house with the roof destroyed that overlooked a valley where they could see fighting during the night. Tojo pointed out that it would have been futile to attempt to link up with Koko due to the ongoing fighting and took the first watch while Valmet rested, suggesting that they return to the pass in the morning. The following day he and Valmet helped capture the escorts who Pollack had assigned to watch Koko after she led them into a wooded area.
Musica Ex Machina Arc[]
Tojo reacts to Jonah's "about 300" answer in Episode 3.
While in their hotel in Dubai, Tojo attempted to tutor Jonah in math after Koko had noticed that he was lacking in various general education subjects. After Jonah guessed that the answer to a problem was "about 300", Tojo and Koko had a laugh when they recalled how he had earlier responded to Valmet's question back at the airport as to how many wheels three airliners would have.[4] After Jonah discovered that Koko was looking at a list of assassins that headquarters had forwarded her, Tojo noticed that she had information on Orchestra pulled up. When she accepted Valmet's invitation to go shopping, Koko promised Tojo some beer for watching Jonah. Tojo tried to restart the lesson but Jonah claimed that he had to go to the bathroom. However he did not return soon and Tojo found a thank you note taped to the inside of the bathroom door, as Jonah had ditched to follow Koko and Valmet.
After Orchestra attacked Koko and Valmet, Tojo joined the others when Ugo drove them to rendezvous with Lehm and Valmet. Lehm had Valmet switch with Tojo and he used his laptop to track Jonah and Koko's position as he and Lehm headed towards them on foot. They caught up when Orchestra cornered the two in the harbour after the CR-V had been destroyed. After Shisho was shot and killed by Lutz, Lehm and Tojo fired at Chinatsu but she was able to dodge their shots and escape. After the squad was confined to their hotel by the Dubai Police Force, Tojo and Ugo were patrolling on the third night when Chinatsu made her second attempt to assassinate Koko.
Sea Route Arc[]
When Jonah ditched to avoid Mao's tutoring session, the latter went looking for him. Tojo and Wiley told Mao when he asked if they had seen Jonah that he would ditch if he was not interested. Jonah later wandered into the lounge where Lutz, Tojo, Valmet, and R were.[5]
African Golden Butterflies[]
After Somali pirates were spotted bearing down on the Atlas by Valmet, Tojo relocated to the bridge where he tracked the attackers' progress. After he informed Koko that Contact 1, a speedboat, was rapidly approaching, a Denel Oryx and then a second speedboat were spotted.
Trivia[]
- Tojo placed 12th in a character in a poll conducted by Sunday GX which ran from June through September 2012.[6]