Masakazu Togo

Masakazu Togo
Masakazu Togo
Age	16
Birthday	October 21st (Libra)
Relations	Haruna Togo (Younger Sister)
Class	2-D
Gender	Male
Blood Type	AB
Hair	Black
Eyes	Black
First Appearance (Anime)	Episode 21
Seiyuu	Yasumoto Hiroki
English	Travis Willingham

Masakazu Togo (東郷 雅一, Tōgō Masakazu) is the class representative of Class 2-D. He often challenges Class 2-C and has issued two challenges, including one during the Sports Festival and one during the Cultural Festival. Usually seen hanging out with Harry MacKenzie, he is level-headed and athletic. Togo usually takes the spotlight away from his rival Hanai when he enters the room and has an irritating habit (for Hanai at least) of stealing Hanai's words from his mouth. Despite his pompousness, Togo displays a strong ability to work with all kinds of people, uniting Harima, Imadori, and the Tsukamoto sisters into an 'outlaw' basketball team.

Personality

Togo is very fond of grand speeches and dramatic gestures, and very often tells stories of his experiences in various exotic locations in the world, such as the Rocky Mountains, Niagara Falls, or New York. The manga sidebars, however, inform the reader every time that Togo has never actually visited North America. It would seem then, that Togo just enjoys hearing himself talk and spinning grand tales. Togo sometimes drops Italian words into his sentences and his trading card identifies him as a fan of Italian actor Giuliano Gemma, star of several Westerns and action movies. This has earned him the derisive nickname "Macaroni". It's unclear whether Togo is of Italian heritage, is interested in Italian culture, or simply makes reference to the country in an effort to sound more cosmopolitan. Chapter 79 indicates that he has recently returned from a foreign country, though it doesn't say which. His appearance is often followed by the US national anthem because he also has the tendency to (subtly) refer to himself as an American, or at the very least, hinting that he lived in the US when he was younger.

Relationships

Family

Haruna Togo

Togo has a younger sister who is in the same grade as Yakumo and visited her house once (in manga chapter 187). Haruna mentions that she always fights with her older brother.

Rivals

Haruki Hanai

As dominant male personalities and as the class representatives of their respective classes, Hanai and Togo have a natural rivalry.

Best Friends

Harry MacKenzie

Harry and Togo are almost always seen together, often playing chess at WAS Burger, and with the exception of Lala, they seem to be the most serious about their class's rivalry with 2-C. Harry becomes annoyed when Togo refers to him with terms like "partner".

Love Interests

Tenma Tsukamoto

While Tenma is traded for Lala, Togo makes an effort to teach her how to create clay pottery (possibly due to his unrivalled passion for most things), which Tenma, initially, fails at. This hints at his possible affection for her. This is further supported in Volume 16 of the manga while discussing their job prospects, he mentions that his ambition is to be an astronaut and to have a space marriage, in which his bride resembles Tenma. This causes Harima to suspect that Togo might be his new rival (for Tenma's love). But nothing comes from this as it is obvious Tenma only thinks of and treats him as a close friend.

Quote

• "Are you ready to take on Togo Masakazu, the guy the Americans used to call the Big Bowl of Texas?" - Togo during the Basketball Arc

Etymology

• The name Masakazu means "elegant, graceful" (雅) (masa) and "one" (一) (kazu).
• Masakazu's surname Togo means "east" (東) (to) and "township, hometown, village, native place, district" (郷) (go).

Trivia

• Hiroki Yasumoto (Togo's seiyuu) also does the voice of Koriyama.
• Together with Harry MacKenzie and Lala Gonzalez, they formed a trio of Gundam references:
  • Harry as Char Aznable/Quattro
  • Togo as Anavel Gato
  • Lala as Lalah Sune