Akio Asakura
| Japanese Name | Akio Asakura (朝倉 アキオ Asakura Akio?) |
| Car | Nissan Fairlady Z (Z31, Z32 in the live-action movie), later switched to a first generation Nissan Fairlady Z-L (S30) "The Devil Z" (悪魔のZ Akuma no Zetto?) |
| License plate | 横浜 33 て 53-681 |
| voice actor | Shun Oguri, Yuichi Nakamura (film) |
| Age | 18 (before Devil Z burn), 19 |
| Engine | L28, bored and stroked to 3.1 liters (600 hp), twin-turbos, carburators and later RB26DETT 800 hp with F1 Turbine |
| Aero Parts | Nissan Z432R Wing, Nissan S30 Race Car front bumper, Nissan S30 Race Car rear bumper,1969-1973 Tail Lamp |
| Year | 1974 (Devil S30Z) and 1984 (Fairlady Z Z31) |
The main protagonist in the series, Akio is a 19-year old live-alone student who was running in the Wangan with Ma and his friends in his Nissan 300ZX (Z31) when he was easily defeated by the Blackbird. He then found the scrapped body of the blue S30 Z known as the Devil Z in which he bought and restored to good condition. His racing life began since then. He was surprised to learn that the former (and deceased) owner of the Devil Z shares the same name that he has. In the new story arc Wangan Midnight: C1 Runner, the whereabouts of Akio are unknown.
[edit]Tatsuya Shima
| Japanese Name | Shima Tatsuya (島達 也 Shima Tatsuya?) |
| Car | Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6/RUF CTR 'Yellowbird' (964) "Blackbird" (ブラックバード Burakkubādo?) (Wangan Midnight), |
| Engine | Boxer 700HP (964), VQ35DE JGTC spec tuned to 700HP (Z33) |
| Parts | TBK Body Kit (911), black paint (CTR Yellowbird-Blackbird) |
| Age | 27 |
| Year | 1993 (964), 2003 (Z33), 1988 (CTR) |
| voice actor | Shinichiro Miki, Kazuki Katou (film) |
A surgeon by day and a racer by night, this man is the driver of the Porsche 911 dubbed as "Blackbird". He was the one racing with the original owner of the Devil Z when it crashed. A close friend of Eriko, he assumes the role of taking care of her in place of her dead brother. When he met Kitami, he asked him to tune the Blackbird to match the Devil Z. In the beginning of Wangan Midnight: C1 Runner, Tatsuya gave up challenging Akio, for unknown reasons.
[edit]Reina Akikawa
| Japanese Name | Reina Akikawa (秋川 零奈 Akikawa Reina?) |
| Car | Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32, R34 in the movie) later switched to (Zenki) Nissan Skyline GT-R N1 (R32) "Yamamoto R32" |
| Engine | RB26DETT twin turbo tuned to 500 hp |
| Age | 24 |
| Aero parts | NISMO Skirt & rear lip spoiler (N1) |
| Year | 1991 (first color is charcoal) (second color, after Yamamoto Tuning, White) |
| voice actor | Reiko Suhou, Rio Matsumoto (film) |
A magazine model and TV Personality who hosts a motoring show, she does this hectic job and decides to run her gray GT-R on the Wangan nightly. One night, she encountered the Devil Z and the Blackbird having a race and decides to join in but her car spun out and crashed. After this incident, she is content to just follow the other racers without trying to pull into the lead. Her GT-R is tuned by Kazuhiko Yamamoto. As a safety precaution it is fitted with a rollcage and later repainted white to be more visible to other cars. Akio is her primary love interest, and he may also harbor feelings towards Reina.
[edit]Shinji Ogishima
| Japanese Name | Shinji Ogishima (荻島 信二 Ogishima Shinji?) |
| Car | Mazda RX-7 Type RZ (FD3S) |
| Age | Unknown |
| Engine | Mazda 16B Wankel engine with twin turbochargers, approx 400 hp |
| Aero Parts | Carbon fibre bonnet and rear wing |
| Year | 2001 |
Shinji Ogishima is an editor of an automotive magazine, and also a driving specialist, formerly a member of RGO team. He made a debut appearance in the last volumes of the original
Wangan Midnight manga. He became one of the main characters in the
Wangan Midnight: C1 Runner story arc, replacing Akio Asakura. He was known as "FD Master" as he made a debut appearance. Ogishima drives a third generation
Mazda RX-7 (FD3S) and is a skilled driver. He is also a friend to Tatsuya Shima.
[edit]Recurring Racing Characters
[edit]Jun Kitami
Also known as the "Tuner from Hell"
(地獄のチューナー Jigoku no Chūnā?), he is the one that originally tuned the Devil Z and later Black Bird as well. He laughs in the face of danger and will gladly take anything past the "safe" 600BHP mark. Unfortunately, the cars he tunes are so powerful that they are extremely difficult to control, hence his reputation as the "Devil's Tuner." Has a scar on his face, presumably from a past racing incident. Compared to other tuners, he has a few strict requirements: for one, he absolutely hates
fuel injection engines, favoring
carburetor; even when he accepted the offer to tune the BlackBird just to make a car that can challenge Devil Z, he still complained a lot about it. Incidentally, he owns a Bike Shop, and was once a pro racer, racing in
GT back in his younger days.
[edit]Kou Tominaga
Kou Tominaga (富永 コウ Tominaga Kou?) A longtime associate of Jun and nearly as fervent in the pursuit of speed. He got the nickname "The Jet" from his racing days. Tuned the Monstrous
Supra along with Akio Asakura, mainly providing the lightening carbon parts. Before he established his "Tominaga Speed" tuning shop, he was once a tuner working for ZERO with Kijima and Machida.
- Voiced by: Susumu Chiba
| Japanese Name | Masaki (マサキ?) |
| Car | Mazda RX-7 GT Limited, Nissan Fairlady Z 280ZX Turbo(S130), Porsche 928 (Manga); Gemballa RSR/Mazda Eunos Cosmo (Maximum Tune) later switched to aMazda RX-7 Bathurst R Type R FD |
| Age | 30 |
| Aero Parts | Stock (Cosmo & 928), Custom Front bumper, Efini Brake & Logo, BBS Wheels(FD3S),Custom Front Bumper(FC3S),Custom Aero Set(S130) |
| Year | 1985(FC3S), 1990(928), 1982 (S130), 1994 (Cosmo), 2001 (FD3S) |
| Japanese voice actor | Tokuyoshi Kawashima |
Known widely as the King of High Speed before a bad accident 10 years ago while trying to break 300 km/h in an RX-7 FC, he was inspired to go back to street racing when he countered the Devil Z, going as far as to get a new car, a highly tuned RX-7, from his oldest friend Kazuo Ota, a genius tuner who founded the Speed Factory RGO with Masaki long ago. He has a special fondness for rotary engines, and makes up for a lack of raw power with handling ability.
[edit]Koichi Hiramoto
| Japanese Name | Koichi Hiramoto (平本 洸一 Hiramoto Koichi?) |
| Car | Nissan Skyline GT-R V Spec (R32) |
| Year | 1993 |
| Aero Parts | Stock, Nissan lip Spoiler, Enkei Wheel; Nismo LM GT4 Wheels (anime) |
| Age | 28 |
| Japanese voice actor | Daisuke Namikawa |
A hardworking man in the Green Auto Shop for 15 years who often races on the Wangan with his friend Harada until one day, the two encountered Reina's gray GT-R (white in the anime) which makes Hiramoto decide to get his own car, despite his promise to his pregnant wife Megumi that he had put his racing days behind him. When she learns of his decision, she leaves him to go live with her parents because it is better than wondering every night if he'll even come home. After extensive tuning of his GT-R, he challenges both the Devil Z and Blackbird. They run a long race, neck and neck the whole time. Koichi encounters one chance to pull ahead at the risk of his own life, but instead pulls back and drops out, realizing that there are more important things to live for. He then sells his car, giving up racing and returning to his wife who by then gave birth to their child.
| Japanese Name | Harada (原田?) |
| Car | (Chuki)Nissan Fairlady Z (Z31) |
| Year | 1986 |
| Age | 18 |
| Aero Parts | Custom Front Bumper, 50th Anniversary Aero Parts (Not Front Bumper),Wantanabe 8 Spoke White/Black Wheels |
| Japanese voice actor | Tsubasa Yonaga |
Hiramoto's friend and also works in the Green Auto Shop who helped him tune his R32 to race with the Devil Z and the Blackbird on the Wangan. He drives a Nissan Fairlady Z31 in which its engine overheated when he encountered the Blackbird and tried to chase after it.
[edit]Takayuki Kuroki
| Japanese Name | Takayuki Kuroki (黒木 隆之 Kuroki Takayuki?) |
| Car | Nissan Skyline GT-R V Spec (R33) |
| Age | 30 |
| Aero Parts | Nismo 400R Front Bumper & Side Skirt,RAYS Wheel |
| Year | 1997 |
| Japanese voice actor | Akimitsu Takase |
A devoted student of street racing, he spends hours just analyzing his vast storehouse of data and coming up with strategies. He staunchly believes in the superiority of the
Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 and refuses to drive anything else. His intellect is formidable, and he puts his plans into motion with absolute precision and confidence. He's one of the very few drivers who managed to get a clean one-on-one victory over Tatsuya Shima but, when facing Akio, the engine overheated and blew. Also, he is fiercely independent, and not associated with ANY tuners like some of his rivals. He shows up relatively late in the manga and quickly becomes a ubiquitous figure. Formerly a member of the R200 club before they disbanded.
[edit]Kouichi Kijima
| Japanese Name | Koichi Kijima (城島 洸一 Kijima Koichi?) |
| Car | Mazda RX-7 ∞ III (FC3S)/GT Limited "Legendary FC" |
| Year | 1987(GT Limited),1990(Infini III) |
| Aero Parts | Custom Aero Parts,BBS Wheels,GT Wing |
| Age | 24 |
| Japanese voice actor | Jin Horikawa |
- A car enthusiast and writer for numerous famous car publications, also a TV personality, as such, he knows many prominent people. He is Reina's cohost for their motoring showDrive Go Go. He's experienced a tremendous variety of vehicles in his career and knows how to get the most out of each one. Once known as the "Big Mouth Slugger" back in the day, he was both a tuner and a driver who set records at the Tsukuba circuit along with his fellow tuners Ko Tominaga and Machida. Their shop, ZERO, created the legendary FC, which after 5 years of leaving the scene, is restored to its former glory and challenged the Devil Z and Blackbird, which ends in Kijima retiring from the race.
[edit]Keiichiro Aizawa
Keiichiro Aizawa (相沢 圭一郎 Aizawa Keiichiro?) - Car: Toyota Supra RZ/Toyota Supra Twin Turbo (JZA80) "Monster Supra"
- The character who drives the Supra RZ/Supra Twin Turbo, dubbed as the "Monster Machine" (モンスターマシン Monsutā Mashin?) tuned by Kou Tominaga and Akio Asakura. After meeting Devil Z, he decided to chase after him. His desire for racing and his car choice was inspired by his father, who drove a MkII Supra and was killed by a drunk driver. He works in a host club to finance his racing activities.
- Voiced by: Kenichi Suzumura
[edit]Gatchan (Gen Sasaki)
Gen Sasaki (佐々木 元 Sasaki Gen?) A much-maligned character in the manga, fondly known as
Gatchan (ガッちゃん?), which is regarded as a joke in both the arcade game and the manga. His own vehicle, the Toyota Celsior (Lexus LS400) has everything from underbody lighting, to fancy emblems, to dark window tinting. He staunchly refuses to remove the air conditioner, radio, or anything that's normally removed during the lightening process. Although he is a pretty good driver, he gets clobbered every time he goes up against something built to race. Also, he is quite obnoxious, and frequently brags about the incredible upgrades he's made to psych people out. He embarrassed Reina Akikawa when he first met her one night while accompanying Kazuhiko Yamamoto, mistaking her for a call girl.
- Voiced by: Kenji Takahashi
A young friend of Akio who lives with a woman named Kyoko Kitahara known for the quote "I'm a person who disappears...". He works for a tuning shop known as ACE, and he tries (unsuccessfully) to "fix up" Kyoko and his fellow mechanic, Gen Goto. He drives a
Honda Integra Type-R but eventually switches to his tuning shop's project car, the "ACE32R", a modified
Nissan Skyline GT-R R32. He is a timid, insecure character and after trying unsuccessfully to overtake the Devil Z and BlackBird for Wangan superiority, he feels "out of place" and moves away from Tokyo.
[edit]Makoto Morishita
Makoto Morishita (森下 マコト Morishita Makoto?) Another model who was friendly with Reina, she got drawn into street racing after hearing of Reina's exploits. She received a Subaru Impreza WRX from her boyfriend as a gift, but after encountering the Devil Z and failing to keep up with it, she got rid of the car and broke up with her boyfriend, then searched for a better car.
A
touge ace in the manga. Hailing from Hakone, Oki has long been unchallenged on the mountain road... until the Devil Z came along. As such, he's decided to give it a try racing it on Tokyo's highways.
[edit]Eiji Kamiya & Maki Kamiya
Eiji Kamiya (エイジ Kamiya Eiji?) and
Maki Kamiya (マキ Kamiya Maki?) Two brothers from the Kansai region. Eiji's the serious racer, and he's tremendously gifted. Maki has potential but for the moment mainly just tags along. They met Tatsuya Shima and his Blackbird when the latter visited Osaka while looking for a new exhaust pipe. Eiji, inspired by Tatsuya's driving, then decided to visit Tokyo, meeting Rikako Ota in the process.
[edit]Yoshiyaki Ishida
Yoshiaki Ishida (イシダ ヨシアキ Ishida Yoshiaki?) A photographer of Japanese idols. He meets and gets to know Reina, who he happens to share the same passion for racing and aspiration to defeat the Devil Z. He has had his car tuned by Kitami to around 600 hp.
[edit]Ko-chan
Akio's friend who helps him tune the Devil Z before he met Kitami. He owns a local tuner shop with the help of his brother Ma. He is also the one watching over Akio when he tunes the Z.
[edit]Tuning Shops
A shop owned by Kazuo Ota. Infamous in the manga for tuning Masaki's monstrous Mazda RX-7 and a light blue R33
Skyline driven by Kazuo and Yamanaka themselves. Kazuo is familiar with Jun Kitami and scoffs at anyone trying to chase down the Devil Z. His teenage daughter, Rikako, a university student, studies under his wing. She's inexperienced but learning, and she's even developing a taste for actual battling, driving a
Nissan Silvia. She actually started tinkering with engines since she was in middle school by dismantling scrapped engines (and being scolded by her father for it), and eventually she was the one who assembled the engine of the tuning shop's demo car, a pink R33 Skyline. She was also the one responsible for enhancing Eiji Kamiya's
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI along with her father (Eiji then tried to get her to go with him back to Osaka, but she staunchly refused). She even got to tinker with the engine of the Devil Z, going as far as to take it completely apart in the process of tuning it. It is revealed that in ten years, she is slated to inherit RGO from her father. Yamanaka, who challenged the Blackbird also works here and also drives Skyline.
Consists of Jun "
JPP" Sonoda, Ryoichi "
JAPAN" Teizuka, and Yasuo "
CCR" Motoki; a ragtag alliance of speed shop owners who banded together due to their inability to beat anyone alone. Named themselves R200 from the fact that they claimed to be among the first drivers to break the 200 mph speed limit. Yasuo Motoki acts as the leader, Ryoichi Teizuka acts as his crony, and Jun Sonoda, the wisest and best driver, is the "go-to guy". They all drive the
Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 V-spec...and quickly got wiped out by the Blackbird. Since then, they gave up street racing and relegated themselves to mere mechanics.
The group also had minor members and friends, though only Yasuhiko Miki and Takayuki Kuroki (see above) were named. Miki rode as a passenger with Yasuo Motoki during the chase against the Blackbird. After the R200 club disbanded, tension arose between Yasuhiko and the other members (but he remained friendly with Takayuki), and he subsequently disappeared. In
Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune's Outrun mode, and later in the new Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 DX Story Mode, he also drives a
Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 like the other R200 Club members.
Owned by Gen Goto. Tomoya, Kouichi Hiramoto and Harada works here, and they tune the
Nissan Skyline GT-R exclusively, later driven by Tomoya.
Owned by Kou Tominaga. Speciality in ECU Setting and tuned Akio's Z, Tatsuya's Blackbird and Kei's Supra. More of a companion to Kitami's shop than a rival due to the owners' acquaintances with one another.
Owned by Kazuhiko Yamamoto; the shop that specializes in Nissan Skylines. Reina's White GT-R (BNR 32) was tuned there. Kazuhiko Yamamoto drives a
Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II (BNR 34).
A regular bicycle/motorcycle shop owned by Jun Kitami with a large warehouse to tune cars. It is the very shop in which he built Akio's Z and Tatsuya's Blackbird.
The shop that tuned the Legendary FC that Kijima used to create a course record in
Tsukuba. ZERO is famous for tuning boosted up cars and was featured in numerous car magazines for the boosted cars' course record. Some known workers of this shop are Kouichi Kijima, who races the tuned cars, Machida, who tunes the demo cars and Kou Tominaga, who sets up the boost and ECU settings along with Machida.
A rag-tag tuning shop specializing in cars that combine luxury with performance (e.g. the
Toyota Celsior). It is not a serious shop by any means, as it is "owned" by Gen Sasaki.
The shop specializing in bodywork, it was there that the bodies of the Devil Z and Blackbird were worked on. It is owned by Yuichi Takagi, an expert in welding, who actually was among those who helped first build the Devil Z years ago. He worked on the Devil Z again after it was destroyed in a collision, and repaired the body of the Blackbird when it was later involved in an accident. He also worked on the body of the Supra RZ/Monster Machine of Keiichiro Aizawa, as he was a close friend of Keiichiro's late father.
The independent shop owned by Takayuki Kuroki. Originally it had a large staff, but Takayuki eventually dismissed all of them and became the sole worker. The shop exclusively tunes the
Nissan Skyline GT-R. Takayuki suspended the shop when he decided to challenge the Devil Z, putting all his effort to tuning his personal R33.
