FZFW:John Tanaka (Anime)

This article is about the Anime Universe John Tanaka. For the Main Universe character with the same name, see John Tanaka.

John Tanaka is the pilot of the Wonder Wasp, and is also the Director of the Galaxy Police.

Personality

Despite his high rank within the Galaxy Police, Director John Tanaka is cowardly, prone to hysteria and lacks any actual skills befitting of someone in his position. Regardless of this, Tanaka goes to great lengths to at least appear as if he is in control and focused on his job, no matter how much he is inwardly panicking. He spends most of his time complaining about work while issuing out orders, mostly serving as a middleman between his superiors, such as the Galaxy Police Chief, and the rest of the Mobile Task Force.

Despite his deep and constant fear of losing his job, Tanaka is not above shirking his duties for personal agendas, such as defying orders to stay put after Pico's assassination attempt on him in order to attend a concert by Kate Alen, whom Tanaka had fallen deeply in love with.

History

F-Zero Farukon Densetsu (Anime)

Pre-2201

John Tanaka was appointed as the Director of the Galaxy Police at some point, and would oversee the operations of the Mobile Task Force.

2201

During Lap 1 - Legendary Start, John Tanaka had a brief discussion with Jody Summer and Dr. Stewart, questioning the earlier revival of Ryu Suzaku.

In Lap 7, he was called to the Galaxy Police Chief's office to discuss with the Chief and Mr. Robert, the President of the Catherine Consortium, about the disappearance of his daughter, Dream. Tanaka initially assumed that he was called for discussion pertaining to the missing F-Zero pilots and was relieved after assuming he wouldn't have anything to do with it. Mr. Robert then called Tanaka out on his seemingly carefree stance on the equally serious situation. Tanaka then claimed he was only kidding.

2202

After Pico's attempt on Tanaka's life during Lap 15, the Director was not allowed to leave the confines of his office. However, due to his immense infatuation with Kate Alen, he shipped himself to Port Town just to see her performance, all while unknowingly being pursued by Pico again. Tanaka was captured at some point, leaving the other Task Force members to come to his rescue. He was later commended for his apparent efforts of figuring out what Dark Million had been planning, despite the fact it had not been his original intention to begin with. He also did not make a lasting impression on Kate, who even questioned who he was.

During Lap 24, John Tanaka had to remind Ryu Suzaku to keep his 'temper' in check when it came to allowing Octoman to walk free, in order to avoid further conflict with the Takorans. However, as part of the race, John Tanaka attempted to take first place, only to end up crashing with the other pilots, allowing Octoman to win by a stroke of luck.

Alongside the other Mobile Task Force members, John Tanaka was part of the final battle against Dark Million during Lap 51.

F-Zero GP Legend (GBA game)

File:FZGPLJohnTanaka.png

In the F-Zero GBA game, John Tanaka is a playable character with his machine, the Wonder Wasp. He is not featured in the story mode.

F-Zero Climax

F-Zero Climax Pilot Profile
John Tanaka (JP): 銀河警察本部長。 ジョディら高機動小隊の責任者。一見、温厚で思りょ深いしんしを演じているが、内心は気が弱く、決断力に欠けている。 連邦からの命令とジョディらの勝手な行動にふり回され、右往左往している。
(DeepL Translation): Director of the Galaxy Police. He is also in charge of the Mobile Task Force, which includes Jody. At first glance, he appears to be a gentle and thoughtful person, but he is actually timid and incapable of making decisions on his own. He is torn between orders from the Federation as well as the actions of Jody and the others.

Gallery

• AnimeJohnTanakaEyecatch.png

  Anime eyecatch.

• FZGPLJohnTanaka.png

  GP Legend sprite.

• FZCJohnTanaka.png

  Climax sprite.

• Vlcsnap-00216.png

  A reference sheet of John Tanaka from the Falcon Densetsu DVD.

• Vlcsnap-00217.png
• Vlcsnap-00218.png

Trivia

• Unlike his Main Universe counterpart who is infatuated with the Main Universe Jody Summer, the Anime Universe John Tanaka is infatuated with the Anime Universe Kate Alen. The Anime Universe Tanaka is also in a much higher position, being the Galaxy Police Director as opposed to his Main Universe counterpart merely being a mechanic for the Galactic Space Federation.
• During one of Bart's F-Zero Classroom segments, he notes that Tanaka's position as Galaxy Police Director is often a subject of debate. He suggests that Tanaka achieved this position by either attending a prestigious school (an assumption that Bart immediately retracts due to Tanaka's lack of a certain skill) or sucking up to his superiors.
  • During Lap 50, Tanaka claims that he was a student of the Galactic University, but Jack calls him a liar.