Yumiko Yasukawa (安川 ユミ子 Yasukawa Yumiko) is the secondary protagonist (and the secondary deuteragonist) of the Time Patrol Bon franchise. She along with Ream Stream and Bon Namihira made cameo appearances in Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan 2016 and Little Mystic Super-express.[1]
Background[]
- Main article: Bon Namihira and Ream Stream
Yumiko was created to replace Ream Stream and Buyoyon to restart the manga with the part 2 due to the suspension of Monthly Shōnen World,[2] and she had been mingled with Yōko Shiraki for differing extents in both the 1989 and the 2024 anime adaptations, where Yoko in the manga was gradually replaced by Yumiko and resulted in Yoko's eventual retreat from the plot.[1] Additionally, the 2024 anime was intended to promote her over Ream Stream due to female staffs' favoritism of Yumiko over Ream where those staffs including the writer Yūko Kakihara have never read Time Patrol Bon before.[1][3]
Appearance[]
Yumiko's design in the 2016 film is the most consistent with the manga.
In all of the manga and anime adaptations, Yumiko was noted for her good-looking. Ironically, of all her anime appearances, aside from her Time Patrol uniform, her design in Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan 2016 is the most loyal to the manga. Her uniform in the manga differs from that of Ream Stream.
In the 1989 anime, Yumiko was generally designed after Yoko Shiraki, and was subtly taller than Bon despite her being either the same age or a junior to Bon. This is presumably because they were young teens although it is also possible that they are technically the same age but Yumiko didn't turn 14 years old at the time of events. She also wears a differently designed uniform from the manga. As the 1989 anime was co-produced along with Kiteretsu Encyclopedia by Gallop, this incarnation of Yumiko bears Kiteretsu Encyclopedia (and the 1979 anime of Doraemon) - esque design in general. She also wears a differently designed Time Patrol uniform from the manga although it is based on the second and third parts of the manga.
In the 2024 anime, Yumiko has hair style and coloration that are rather intermediate between Yoko and Yumiko in the manga with some remembrances to her Yoko-based hair style in the 1989 anime. She has Amber eyes and Brown hair. Her hairstyle is quite different from manga version.
In the manga, she somewhat resembles Ream when she untangles her hair.
Personality[]
Yumiko in the 2024 anime being unfazed by Yanagisawa's horror story on the contrary to Yoko Shiraki.
In the manga and the 2024 anime, she is a renowned and popular student for her appearance, excellences in academic and physical capabilities, and cheerfulness. These characteristics are in contrast to Bon in many ways.
Notably in the manga and the 1989 anime, Yumiko has been noted for her cleverness, strong-will, bravery, and stubbornness, and can be blunt and impudent on occasions to object against senior agents such as Bon and Gayler (especially Bon). Her attitude towards Bon in their first manga encounter was also because of her distrust of a stranger (Bon). Her contention without hesitation, even against senior agents, is also due to her sense of justice to speak up for what she believes correct, such as Louis Stream's treatment. She is also clever, and used her cleverness to enroll to Time Patrol.
However, she also suffers the duty of Time Patrol agents akin to Ream and Bon that they are not allowed to freely interfere fates of individuals to save them from tragedies.
In the season 1 of the 2024 anime, she is depicted to be more modest and ladylike than her previous incarnations although she is also calm to be not scared by Yanagisawa's horror story.
Skills and Abilities[]
Yumiko has been noted to be excellent both in academic and physical capabilities.
Relationships[]
Bon Namihira[]
An example of anime-only interactions between Bon and Yumiko in the 2024 anime. While their interactions were increased in this anime adaptation, interactions between Bon and Ream Stream were instead decreased from the manga in the Netflix series, possibly due to preferences of the above mentioned female staffs.[1][3]
When Yumiko in the manga was beheaded by a samurai instead of her rescue target in the 17th episode Heike no Ochiudo, Bon resurrected her by rewinding the time.
In the 1989 anime, Bon calls Yumiko as "Yumiko" while in the 2024 anime he calls her "Yumi-chan". She occasionally acts strictly towards Bon, and sometimes remonstrates Bon regarding his actions and carelessness. Bon was saved by Yumiko many times thanks to her capability. However, Yumiko and Bon have violated the rules in every version :manga, 1989 anime, and 2024 anime. At first, she was immature and troubled Bon. (Bon has also troubled Ream.)
In the 2024 anime, Yumiko calls Bon as "Namihira-san" in the early days. She began to call him "Bon" or "Senpai" in later episodes. This indicates that Yumiko became very friendly towards Bon through a lot of missions.
("Senpai" means "Boss" in English, but "Senpai" sometimes sounds very sweet in Japan. Although Bon and Yumiko are both Grade 8, Yumiko calls Bon as "Senpai" when they work together. It can be inferred that she trusts Bon, even though he makes mistakes often.)
She listened to Bon's excuse calmly when he was unexpectedly in her room in EP13. Bon and Yumiko cooperated and overcome a number of hardships.
Bon regards Yumiko as an excellent agent, and Yumiko thinks that Bon is clumsy but very reliable in times of emergency. Even Buyoyon says that they are good team. Relationship between Bon and Yumiko is pretty close compared to manga version. They say what they are thinking directly, even if it is a bit harsh. She has become more emotional. This is probably because Yūko Kakihara, one of the writers of the 2024 anime, wanted to depict Yumiko as attractive heroine.
Yoko Shiraki[]
Yumiko and Yoko had never met directly until the 2024 anime.
In the 2024 anime, they are friends since before.
Ream Stream[]
In the manga, Ream and Yumiko had never met directly while Yumiko had accidentally witnessed Bon's training by Ream.
In the 1989 and 2024 anime adaptations and the 2016 film, Ream and Yumiko eventually became fellow agents. In the 1989 anime, Yumiko contributed in saving Louis Stream after the event of Leviathan.
Buyoyon[]
Buyoyon and Yumiko had never directly met in the manga unlike 1989 and 2024 anime adaptations in which they became one of partners along with Bon.
Tetsuo Shiraishi and Yanagisawa[]
In the 1989 anime in which Yumiko was completely replaced with Yoko and the latter and Yanagisawa didn't appear in the anime, Yumiko occasionally scolds Tetsuo for needlessly mocking Bon.
In the 2024 anime, Tetsuo and Yanagisawa were flurried with Yumiko's presence due to her good-looking and charm and popularity. She was also unfazed by Yanagisawa's horror story.
Yumiko and Yoko and others[]
In the manga and the 1989 anime, Yumiko replaced both Ream Stream (and Buyoyon) and Yoko Shiraki for for differing extents, possibly due to the sudden cancellation of the part 1, repeated hiatuses of part 2 and 3, and the eventual cancellation of the manga itself. Yumiko's first appearance in the franchise was from the part 2 after (intended to be temporal) retreats of Ream and Buyoyon.
Through the franchise, Yumiko Yasukawa and Yoko Shiraki have been constantly mingled for differing extents, and as the manga, since part 2, was irregularly released and ended in the cancellation due to Fujiko F. Fujio's health issues and death, the actual background of Yoko's gradual disappearance by the replacement with Yumiko is unclear.
In the manga, Yumiko was originally depicted as a complete stranger to Bon from a different school until Bon engaged in a mission to save her life, and Yoko is instead a close, neighborhood friend of Bon. However as Yumiko became a notable figure for the plot, Yoko was eventually replaced by Yumiko.
While the 2024 anime is more loyal to the manga to introduce Yoko as a classmate of Bon, Yumiko was instead changed to a student from another class of Bon's school, and Yoko and Yumiko are friends since before.
In the 1989 anime, Yumiko was completely mingled with Yoko; Yumiko in the 1989 anime has a design reminiscent of Yōko, and Yōko is originally Bon's classmate in the manga instead of Yumiko. In this incarnation, Yumiko calls Bon by name without any honorific title while she in the 2024 anime calls him "Namihira-san" akin to Yoko in the manga and the 2024 anime.
In the 2024 anime, Yumiko has hair style and coloration that are rather intermediate between Yoko and Yumiko in the manga. This adaptation also depicted Yumiko with more modest personality than in the manga and the 1989 anime, somewhat resembling Yoko's characteristics in the early manga.
Trivia[]
Yumiko's name confirmed in the 2016 film.
- Yumiko's birthyear and the time settings differ throughout the franchise; born in 1966 (1st episode in 1979) in the manga, born in 1975 (1st episode in 1988) in the 1989 anime, and unverified in the 2024 anime.
- In the manga and the 1989 anime, Yumiko's backgrounds to become a Time Patrol officer differ greatly.
- In the manga, Bon saved her on a mission as she was about to be stabbed to death in a slasher incident, however as Bon forgot to activate a Forgetter and Yumiko eventually knew the existence of the organization. Bon was concerned about her disclosure of the confidential Time Patrol, and Yumiko replied that she may reveal to someone unless she becomes an officer. Therefore Bon made an entreaty to Gayler that he wants an assistant.
- In the 1989 anime, Yumiko accidentally witnessed Bon in Time Patrol's uniform and his Time Boat, and she erroneously activated the Time Boat and did a time trip. There, Yumiko and Bon and Ream coincidentally encountered. Bon called Gayler, and Yumiko promoted herself to Gayler to become an officer.
- Ream, Bon and Yumiko's names in Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan 2016 were not clarified until when the film was aired on TV in Japan, and Ream's name was also confirmed in a video game.
- Bon, Ream and Yumiko are among few characters in the entire Fujiko works that have went through both actual deaths and resurrections respectively. All of their (actual) deaths were to replace rescue targets, and they have also fatally wounded instead of other animals or people.
- In the 2024 anime, which was aimed to promote Yumiko over Ream Stream by Yūko Kakihara and other young female staffs,[1][3] Yumiko was not actually beheaded as Bon managed to rescue her.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Shogakukan, July 17, 2024, Fライフ増刊 T・P本, pp.18-19, pp.90-91, pp.104-105, ASIN: B0D4SXKF47
- ↑ Nobuyuki Ukita, October 25, 2011, "About Pokonyan and T.P.Bon, Fujiko F. Fujio Complete Work: Pokonyan, p.356, Shogakukan, ISBN:978-4091434746
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Netflixシリーズ「T・Pぼん」安藤真裕監督インタビュー【後編】