The Middle Management Chronicle of Tonegawa is a comedy about middle management in a black company, with Kaiji's nemesis, Tonegawa Yukio, as the main character, who appears in the Kaiji series. Tonegawa's boss is Hyodo Kazutaka, the number one emperor of Teiai, a victor who has achieved everything with his own hands. In The Middle Management Chronicle of Tonegawa, he is portrayed comically as a bullying old man who calls Tonegawa on a whim and imposes impossible tasks on him. We would like to introduce Chairman Hyodo, who gives off a different impression than he does in the main Kaiji story.
Chairman Hyodo in the original Kaiji
He is the mastermind behind the life-threatening gambling that Kaiji and his friends are forced to do. He is a cruel, selfish, and personality-destroyed man worthy of being called a tyrant, taking pleasure in the sight of multiple debtors fighting ugly over money and sometimes even losing their lives. He is merciless to losers, even his own subordinates, and is a despicable man who will punish them mercilessly. On the other hand, having risen to the throne of the underworld through sheer ability, he is Kaiji's nemesis and final boss, excelling in all aspects, including insight, competitive spirit, and good fortune.
Shows Kaiji the Difference in Power
After Kaiji defeats Tonegawa with a desperate tactic, he enrages Tonegawa, the No. 2 of Teiai, and mercilessly forces him to perform a burning groan. Kaiji then challenges Hyoudou, the source of all evil, to a gambling match. However, Hyoudou far surpasses Kaiji in gambling, demonstrating the difference in power and winning. Completely crushed, Kaiji resolves to one day defeat Hyoudou.
A tyrant who demands unreasonable demands at every whim...! Power-harassing Grandpa Hyodo...!
Hyoudou is a personality-challenged person who loves watching scum fight ugly and die sobbing in pain...! Naturally, he doesn't feel like he's done anyone any harm. Such a tyrant, Hyodo summons Tonegawa at every opportunity, appearing before him and making unreasonable demands. Naturally, Tonegawa can't defy the chairman and must always keep him happy...! No matter how outrageous his demands, he can't resist them...! If he gets angry, you never know what'll happen...!
All kinds of unreasonable requests
His unreasonable requests are wide-ranging. They start with planning a devilish, life-threatening game in which multiple debtors fight each other ugly. He then suddenly asks Tonegawa if he wants to see a movie, leaving him confused. He then suddenly asks if he wants to do yoga, leaving him confused. He then suddenly calls him in for a psychological test and forces him to eat extremely spicy curry. He even goes so far as to say he feels like his life is in danger, so he should get a body double...! Tonegawa has no choice but to obey...! That's how Tonegawa got to where he is today...!
His temper is like a minefield...! Grandpa Hyodo is like a disaster...!
Hyoudou is basically in a bad mood...! Being in a bad mood is his default, and if he gets even worse than this, punishment is inevitable. Tonegawa, in particular, has no idea when Hyodo is going to lose his temper, so he's always at risk of punishment. It's like running through a minefield, and he's often punished with his cane. In a way, he's the punchline...!
The angle of his eyebrows is a barometer
Even Chairman Hyoudou has a way of discerning his mood: the angle of his eyebrows. It's like a barometer of his mood, and anything over 40 degrees is dangerous...! At this point, it's hopeless...! Anything he says is likely to result in sanctions. Though it's a small advantage, Tonegawa clings to it, and he actually gauges his mood by looking at the angle of his eyebrows, successfully getting his proposal approved.
He's quite old, after all...! He's a grandpa, after all...!
Even Hyodo, the absolute ruler of the underworld, is already quite old. Taking advantage of the fact that it's a spin-off, The Middle Management Blues: Tonegawa emphasizes his grandfatherly nature. While in the original Kaiji, he was portrayed as a monster who never showed any weaknesses, in Tonegawa, his grandfatherly nature is emphasized at every opportunity, and he makes grandpa appeals.
Grandpa Appeal
For example, Chairman Hyoudou shows up at a meeting where Tonegawa and his friends are planning a devilish game. Naturally, Tonegawa and the men in black are flustered, and the meeting doesn't go as planned. Furthermore, Hyoudou seems to be in a bad mood, which makes Tonegawa anxious. However, in reality, he's just feeling sleepy during the meeting and fighting it until he finally can't resist falling asleep. But that can't be helped. The meeting is at 10 o'clock, a time when an old man would be sleepy...! Even if he's Hyoudou, the King of Teiai, he's still an old man...! After all, he's a grandpa...!
Grandpa Appeal 2
Tonegawa, who needs to somehow submit his proposal for the limited-edition rock-paper-scissors game, learns that the chairman is going to Hawaii for ten days. However, if he submits it blindly, there's a high chance that the temperamental Hyodo will just casually reject it. Keeping an eye on Hyodo's eyebrows, which are a barometer of his anger, Tonegawa waits until he's out of the bath, when he's in a relatively good mood, but the chairman has surprisingly applied a face mask. It's actually October now, a time when Grandpa's skin tends to dry out. Grandpa needed some skincare. Tonegawa failed to submit his proposal.
The image is different from the original...!? Tonegawa's Hyodo has a comical feel...!
In the original work, Hyodo is portrayed as a deep-seated monster, but in Tonegawa, he's a more comical character. He starts off as a grandfather, lying on a human tower of black suits while meticulously researching and dissing what seems to be popular among young people these days. While his image may seem different from the original, the monstrous old men who appear in Fukumoto's works are often selfish and childish, so in some ways, it's actually closer to his image. Perhaps Hyodo in Tonegawa is actually more natural.
Summary of Hyodo from The Middle Management Blues: Tonegawa
Hyodo in The Middle Management Blues: Tonegawa is a character that relies heavily on comedy. However, Hyodo has a history of being betrayed by many people in the past, and in the original Kaiji, he appears a little softer when his sons are children, so perhaps his current twisted personality is due to those experiences. Considering this, Hyodo's character in Tonegawa may not be as broken as we might expect.
