Tommy's Page!

	Name	Tadashi Daiba/Tommy Hairball
	Occupation	Arcadia Crew Member
	Age	Probably 14
	Planet	Earth
	Race	Human
	Uniform	Black & Blue, with skull & crossbones.
	Famous Line	"That's not a person, it's a woman!"
	Family	Professor Hairball, the Astronomer, was his father.
	Interests	Revenge
	Strong Points	Youth and determination

 Okay, we'll eventually get to the root of the infamous name, but first i'd like to say i few things about the boy otherwise known as Tadashi Daiba.

 The son of an important scientist, Tadashi had lost his mother in an accident long ago. When the Zetons arrived to Earth, they put into action their cold war tactics. Undermining the Earth by making sure there would be little or no resistence to their invasion, the Zetons secretly eliminated anyone who might pose a threat to their secrecy. That included scientists and astronomers. Professor Hairball was not immune to their influence. He knew that they were coming, and suspected that they might already be here. He presented his calculations to the Earth's president and was ridiculed. 
Frustrated, he went back to his laboratory where he and his son analysed the mysteryous Black Sphere's origin. Their research produced a "laser tape" with the origin of the Zeton threat. Taking the laser-tape to be decoded, Professor Hairball ran into a Zeton who was observing the preceding from a secluded spot. He pleaded with her not to hurt him, but was shot in spite of his "please, don't kill me, you are so beautiful" line.

 Tommy ran to his father's aid, only to find the Professor dead, the Zeton towering over Professor Hairball's body. The Zeton aimed at Tommy, but was immediately killed by Harlock, who'd arrived just in time. Tommy, still in shock, watched as the Zeton burned to death, like paper. Harlock tried to calm the boy down, but Tommy wasn't sure that Harlock wasn't a Zeton. 

TOMMY:"How do i know you're not one of them?"
HARLOCK:"Do i look like a beautiful woman, Tommy?"

 Unconvinced, Tommy refuses to go with Harlock. Later, as he sees the Arcadia float down in front of him, he sees Harlock standing to greet him and realises that it really was Harlock.

 Tommy is impressed with the Arcadia, but the crew is a disappointment to him at first, since nobody seems to be doing anything. Rocky plays with model kits, Robot T31 is obviously "useless" and the rest of the crew just kinda lounge about. He is impressed with Meeme (called "Nova" here, but as a Star Blazers fan i refuse to call her that), though, since she can guzzle down a whole bottle of Sake in one gulp. His first impression of the crew dissipates as soon as action is required. The Arcadians promptly attend to their duties and prove to be reliable warriors, who will protect their home at all cost.

 Tommy is incredibly similar to Harlock, and also, bears a resemblance to Windstar, the main character of Leiji Matsumoto's only giant robot show, Danguard Ace. Although his name is really Tadashi, he is unrelated to Tadashi Monono, of Endless Orbit SSX, and to the Tadashi on the american Captain Harlock comic book.

 Also, it is important to understand the symbolism of the "boy and mentor" theme...often it has been said that Leiji Matsumoto includes himself in his stories, not as Harlock, but as the boy who is chosen to fare away with him aboard the Arcadia. The Sea of Stars is really the universe of Matsumoto's imagination.
When we see Tadashi Daiba boarding the Arcadia, leaving all he once knew behind, we follow, beginning a journey into this fantastic realm. It is a realm where a boy is never alone, rather, surrounded by those he loves, his mentor, allies, father figures, mother figures and all the siblings and friends he never had. The adventures within the Sea of Stars perpetuate the symbolism of the "hero's journey" concept. In pursuing his goal, he outgrows it. Like Tetsuro Hoshino, Tadashi's quest brings him a sensation of growth, achievement and realisation that by far surpass his original objective of revenge. Tetsuro, in his quest for a mechanical body, is looking for that hard shell that will encase his true being, and therefore make him as cold and hard as the criminals he wishes to exact his revenge upon. What he finds, through his journeys with Maetel, and encounters with Harlock, Tochiro, and the multitude of friends he makes thoughout the long course of Galaxy Express 999, is the warmth and tenderness of the fragile human body and soul. Something the Mechanicals have since given up. 

Likewise, Tadashi's feelings of hatred and revenge are lessened through the run of Space Pirate as he learns his lessons from his comrades. As examples to follow, we see Harlock's leadership to learn from, Meeme's empathy, Rocky's "laid-back-ness", and even, to a certain degree, T31's ingratiating sense of humour. He learns the importance of sacrifice, and leaps onto Zoll's space ship to keep the invader from escaping, and risks his life to sace Carrie (Keiko). 

Okay, now for the whole "Hairball" issue. I've been told that "*nobody* likes those hairball names" and that my use of those names make me look like a teenager with a free school account who has just discovered the dubbed Ranma 1/2 tapes. Look, this is America, and i used the american names. I know that, because a dubbing engineer at ZIV was being a smart-ass, we now have these weird names to deal with, but what the heck! And then there's "Captain Harlock and the Queen of 1000 years", released in the US by Harmony Gold...THAT was a disrespect. the series are unrelated, but they've done it anyway...sigh..BTW, Tadashi's name on that one is "Terry". I like Tommy Hairball better. :)

 It's true, though, that it's very hard for me to watch him say the immortal line "Only it wasn't a person, it was a woman!" with a straight face.

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