You're Under Arrest/Characters
The cast for You're Under Arrest! is actually fairly compact, comprising of a few major characters backed with recurring extras despite being a relatively long-running series. Below is a list of characters with regular appearances.
Main Characters
Natsumi Tsujimoto
Voiced by: Sakiko Tamagawa
One of the two protagonists of the series, Natsumi is a police officer stationed in the Traffic Section of Bokutou Police Station. A friendly, fun-loving and easy-going person, Natsumi is also a very passionate officer who takes her work seriously and can be rather brash and impulsive when it comes to apprehending criminals, relying mainly on her instincts and near-superhuman strength to get herself through difficult situations. Her methods, while occasionally getting her into trouble with her superiors, serve as a foil and actually complement that of her partner Miyuki, leading many to describe her partnership with Miyuki as the "Super Combo".
While Natsumi is shown to be infatuated with older men (such as the Section Chief or Inspector Tokuno), her attention shifted to Shouji Toukairin in the anime adaptation after his appearance, more or less making him her Love Interest for the rest of the series.
- Action Girl
- Big Damn Heroes: Pulls off several, usually with the help of Miyuki.
- Big Eater: So much so that when she was temporarily transferred out of Bokutou Station, the station cafeteria ended up with too much leftovers as the operators had gotten too used of her ordering extra servings!
- Hyperactive Metabolism: It's implied that her eating habits are the source of her immense strength. And in one episode when the station adapted changes that included a light eating menu, Natsumi suffered withdrawal syndromes.
- Biker Babe: Is among the best biker depicted in the series, and she often put her expert handling skills to good use in chasing traffic offenders, usually by cornering them with the help of Miyuki.
- Bottle Fairy: Likes drinking a bit too much, and is one of the contributing factor of her being chronically late for work.
- Calling Your Attacks: Is prone to this, especially in response to Strike Man's attacks.
- Cool Bike: Her Honda Motocompo.
- Cowboy Cop: Shows shades of this, due to her brashness, although she is still generally rule-abiding.
- Cute Bruiser: People who do not know her are often shocked when she displays her near-superhuman level of strength, and it never fails to impress those who already know.
- Drives Like Crazy: While she is an expert biker, she tends to drive a car as if it is a motorcycle, leading to rather hilarious situations, to say the least.
- Effortless Amazonian Lift: Is very much capable of this.
- Fair Cop
- Heavy Sleeper: Is notoriously difficult to wake up, and is the major reason why she is almost always late for work.
- Heterosexual Life Partners: With Miyuki.
- Hot-Blooded
- Large Ham
- Lovely Angels: With Miyuki.
- Meet Cute: Her first meeting with her new partner results in Miyuki pulling her over for reckless driving.
- No Indoor Voice: Especially in the dubs.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Miyuki's blue.
- Running Gag: Her chronic tardiness. To the point when she realized in one occasion that she actually ran out of excuses for being late for work!
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Tomboy to Miyuki's girly girl.
Miyuki Kobayakawa
Voiced by: Akiko Hiramatsu
The other protagonist of the series, Miyuki is also a police officer stationed in the Traffic Section of Bokutou Station. Unlike her partner Natsumi, Miyuki is a calm, collected and mild-tempered person, although she is also equally passionate about her work as Natsumi. Not as strong as Natsumi, Miyuki prefers to use her intellects to solve cases. An expert in anything mechanical or electronic, she is the one who drives and maintains the patrol car which the duo uses. Coupled with her excellent planning skills, she forms a great partnership with Natsumi.
Miyuki is the first major character in the series to have a definite Love Interest, with her fellow colleague Ken Nakajima, although any romantic progress between the two of them is very slow due to their shy personalities.
- Action Girl
- Badass Driver: Is more or less the best driver in the series, and consistently make use of her handling skills, augmented by her special customizations, to maneuver her patrol car in ways that shock unwitting traffic offenders.
- Berserk Button: Never ever harm her car (or steal from her for that matter).
- Beware the Nice Ones: While Natsumi generally appears fiercer than Miyuki, even she admits that Miyuki is the scarier of the two.
- Big Damn Heroes: Pulls off several, usually with the help of Natsumi.
- By-The-Book Cop: While she is usually a stickler for rules and regulations, she occasionally allows herself to bend some of them to get her job done.
- Her mentality is such that in one occasion when her superior forbade her to continue working on a particular case, she prepared a resignation letter so that she can continue to work on the said case.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Despite it being common knowledge among her friends and colleagues, she still find it difficult to express her love to Ken.
- Cool Car: Miyuki and Natsumi's Honda Today mini-patrol car, which Miyuki retrofitted with a larger (and then re-bored) dual-overhead-cam engine, a turbocharger and a nitrous-oxide booster.
- There were stock turbo Todays (distinguished by the air intakes on the hood), but they were still limited to 660 cc displacement to comply with the kei car regs. And they definitely didn't have overpressure meters.
- Fair Cop
- Feminine Women Can Cook: Is depicted as an excellent cook.
- Heroic BSOD: Is prone to these because she does not like change. She will often snap out of it when inspiration hits though.
- Heterosexual Life Partners: With Natsumi.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: During times when she needs to display force, she will tend to make use of her vast collection of airsoft guns, of which she is excellent in handling with (such as shooting at a moving vehicle while she is driving).
- Interdisciplinary Sleuth: Although she is technically a traffic cop, her vast knowledge and excellent operation planning skills is highly valued by her superiors, who occasionally assign her to handle cases outside her usual job scope.
- Lovely Angels: With Natsumi.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Natsumi's red.
- Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Girly girl to Natsumi's tomboy.
- Tranquil Fury: Tends to be in this state whenever she gets angry.
- Twice Shy: With Ken.
- Why Did It Have to Be: Is deathly afraid of ghosts, monsters, and other unexplained phenomena in general.
- Wrench Wench: Is one of the best mechanic in the series, and is responsible for the maintenance and customisation of not only the mini-patrol car which she and Natsumi uses, but also Natsumi's Motocompo.
- Her abilities also extend to electronic devices and can often be seen tinkering on various gadgets in her free time.
- You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Usually it appears more black with a bluish tint though.
Officers of Bokutou Station Traffic Section
Ken Nakajima
Voiced by: Bin Shimada
A motorcycle patrol officer stationed in Bokutou Station Traffic Section, Ken is one of the best biker in the series, which enables him to stop most traffic offenders single-handedly. Strong, tough and handsome, he is popular among his colleagues in the Traffic Section and is good friends with most of them, especially with Miyuki, of which he has romantic feelings with. However, like Miyuki, he is extremely shy when it comes to expressing feelings and thus their romance progresses at a very slow pace.
Ken is the only major character in the series whose family members make a regular appearance.
- A Day in the Limelight: Receives a few, usually in conjunction with his father and step-mother.
- Badass Biker: Badass enough to earn himself the moniker "White Hawk of Bokutou".
- Butt Monkey
- By-The-Book Cop: Takes rules and regulations seriously.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Often blames himself for his incorrigible shyness.
- Covert Pervert: While he is portrayed as relatively pure-hearted, he is not averse to indulging in fantasies occasionally, especially when it involves Miyuki.
- Fair Cop
- Gentle Giant
- Interrupted Declaration of Love: In times when he finally mustered the courage to declare his love to Miyuki, something will invariably ruin his plans.
- Red Baron: See above.
- Twice Shy: With Miyuki.
Yoriko Nikaidou
Voiced by: Etsuko Kozakura
Originally a dispatcher who is later assigned as a patrol officer with Aoi as her partner, Yoriko is an incorrigible gossip who likes to poke her nose in anything that happens in Bokutou Station, although her tendency to misinterpret events often lead to embarrassment and complications. As if to complement her habits, she is excellent in gathering data which turns out to be useful in cracking several cases. A cheerful but nonetheless clumsy person, Yoriko is not as active in chasing criminals like Natsumi or Miyuki, focusing instead on providing community service, though her extraordinary luck sometimes get her involved in cases which she normally avoids.
- A Day in the Limelight: Receives a number throughout the series, which usually displays her incredible luck.
- Cute Clumsy Girl
- Fair Cop: Interestingly, she seem to be able to attract middle-aged perverts and teenagers only, much to her dismay.
- The Fool: Is notorious for being extremely lucky at times, especially on how she became top of her cohort during her days in the Metropolitan Police Department Academy.
- Gossipy Hens: Is the primary gossip-monger in the series, and is often Bound and Gagged by her fellow colleagues if she takes her gossip too far (or gets it wrong, for that matter)
- Knowledge Broker: Though she mainly uses her data-gathering abilities for gossip purposes.
- The Load: Her luck can turn against her as well, leading her to situations which she is unable to handle and becoming a liability instead.
- Meganekko
- Scary Shiny Glasses: Is prone to this whenever she is up to something devious.
Futaba Aoi
Voiced by: Rica Matsumoto
A police officer who is transferred to Bokutou Station during the start of the 1st season of the anime adaptation, Aoi is depicted as a male officer who had crossdressed as part of an undercover operation and ended up "going native", although as the series progresses, it is heavily implied that she is transgender and not simply a crossdresser. Due to her past experiences, she excels in undercover operations, although being in the Traffic Section, her abilities are rarely employed. An extremely feminine person, Aoi also excels in many traditionally feminine skills, such as flower-arrangement and cooking, which led Natsumi and Yoriko to comment that she is more feminine than them. She becomes fast friends with her fellow colleagues after they got over their initial confusion over her gender identity, especially with Yoriko who she is partnered with.
In the anime adaptation, Aoi is depicted as an accomplished basketball player during her high school days and frequently employs her skills whenever she gets into action in the field.
- A Day in the Limelight: Receives a few throughout the series, usually centering on her gender identity, either for laughs or for drama.
- Attractive Bent Gender: So much so that she often steals the spotlight whenever she is in a group outing with the rest of the girls.
- Beware the Nice Ones
- Fair Cop
- Feminine Women Can Cook: Her skill even impresses Miyuki.
- Let's Get Dangerous: Is usually so docile that makes people forget that she is still biologically male, which makes her displays of combat prowess during dire situations awesome.
- Stupid Sexy Flanders: Is prone on inducing this.
- Transsexualism: Heavily implied to be one.
- Unsettling Gender Reveal: Practically every male who meets her falls into this one.
- Wholesome Crossdresser
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Fits practically all attributes of this trope.
Section Chief
Voiced by: Issei Masamune
The section chief of Bokutou Station Traffic Section, addressed simply by his title Kachou, is the direct superior of the protagonists in the series. A calm and gallant person, the Chief is fairly lenient of his subordinates and is willing to let them do as they please, so long as they do not neglect their duties as police officers. He is very proud of them and places great faith in their capabilities and is in return well-liked and respected by them.
- A Day in the Limelight: Receives very few when compared to Yoriko or Aoi, though.
- Cool Old Guy
- Da Chief
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Is only addressed by his title. Which is his real name, only in different kanji.
- Older Than They Look: Despite being about fifty, he looks as if he is still in his mid-thirties.
- Punny Name: In the 2nd season, it is revealed his name is actually Kachou, albeit written with different kanji.
- Reasonable Authority Figure
Other Officers
Saori Saga
Voiced by: Sakura Tange (1st season), Mayumi Iizuka (2nd season onwards)
Initially a disaffected high school student with no clear direction in life, Saori became inspired by Natsumi and Miyuki after a chance encounter with them and aspired to be a police officer thereafter. She succeeded and joined the Traffic Section in Bokutou Station during the start of the 2nd season. An energetic and enthusiastic person, Saori was initially disappointed when the Traffic Section did not live up to her expectations, although she quickly got over that when she realised that police officers are still humans after all and that their work is indeed generally mundane. Nevertheless, she remains very serious about her work and looks up upon Natsumi and Miyuki as her role models.
Saori was transferred out of Bokutou Station by the 3rd season (Full Throttle), and is currently working with the anti-cyber crime unit in Jouhoku Station.
- Ascended Extra: From a high school student who appears infrequently in the 1st season to a police officer with regular appearances in the 2nd season.
- By-The-Book Cop
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose In Life: Initially during her introduction in the series. She got better with the help of Natsumi and Miyuki.
- Fair Cop
- Genki Girl: Remains so throughout the series.
- Naive Newcomer
- Put on a Bus: She did make a guest appearance in Full Throttle, though.
Shouji Toukairin
Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki
A mountain rescue specialist from Toyama Police Department, Shouji is a senior police officer who made his first appearance late in the 1st season when he got involved in the Tokyo Tower incident and was later temporarily assigned to Bokutou Station as a rescue instructor. A handsome and laid-back person, he had a friendly rivalry with Natsumi once it became apparent that he is the only person capable of surpassing her in terms of strength and appetite, which eventually blossomed into love.
His passion for mountain climbing and the nature of his work meant that he is often on the move, although he will provide useful assistance whenever he is in or around Bokutou Station.
- A Day in the Limelight: Tends to hog the limelight during his appearances.
- The Ace: The reason why Natsumi initially disliked him.
- Big Eater: Which often results in eating competitions with Natsumi.
- Canon Foreigner: Only appears in the anime adaptation.
- Commuting on a Bus: Appears in barely a quarter of all episodes, though he will always provide some form of assistance whenever he appears, inadvertently or otherwise.
- Fair Cop
- Friend to All Living Things: Is excellent at handling and taming animals.
- Tohoku Regional Accent: Toyama isn't really in Tohoku[1], but it was later revealed that Tokairin himself is from Akita, which is.
- Trademark Favourite Food: Bananas.
Inspector Tokuno
Voiced by: Ikuya Sawaki
A senior detective stationed in the Criminal Investigation Section of Bokutou Station, Inspector Tokuno is good friends with the section chief of the Traffic Section and will often stop by the Traffic Section, either to visit the chief or to request for logistical assistance in whatever cases he is handling at the moment. Like the chief, Inspector Tokuno recognizes the capabilities of Natsumi and Miyuki and is generally willing to allow them to participate in cracking his ongoing cases.
He is the only police officer in Bokutou Station known to be married.
- Big Damn Heroes: Pulls off one when he saves Miyuki and Ken from a knife maniac.
- Cool Old Guy
- Eyes Always Shut
- Only One Name
- Reasonable Authority Figure
- Recurring Character
Takao Arizuka
Voiced by: Takeshi Watabe
An officer from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters in charge of conducting inspections in every station under its jurisdiction, Senior Superintendent Arizuka is feared by station chiefs and their subordinates alike for the thoroughness of his inspections, which earned him the nickname "King of Hades". In reality however, he proves to be willing to overlook minor infractions of regulations among police officers as long as they display actual performance. In particular, he became impressed by Bokutou Station after witnessing the performance of its officers and would occasionally recommend it to handle cases which are usually outside its jurisdiction.
- Da Chief
- Internal Affairs: Of the more sympathetic variety.
- Reasonable Authority Figure
- Recurring Character
- Red Baron: King of Hades.
- Scary Shiny Glasses
Kaoruko Kinoshita
Voiced by: Yoshiko Sakakibara
Another officer from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters, Assistant Inspector Kinoshita usually appears in Bokutou Station to relay information on cases or orders from the headquarters. Like Senior Superintendent Arizuka, she appears as a cold and no-nonsense officer who adheres strongly to rules and regulations, although it is just simply her way of taking her work seriously and she is sincerely concerned about the well-being of the officers under her.
- By-The-Book Cop
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Her demeanor noticeably mellowed after several interactions with Bokutou Station.
- Fair Cop: Is mentioned to have participated in a Color Guard Parade during her younger days before.
- Reasonable Authority Figure
- Recurring Character
Civilians
Daimaru Nakajima
Voiced by: Takeshi Aono
The father of Ken, Daimaru is a motorcycle enthusiast who still regularly rides his bike with great skill despite being in his mid-sixties. During the 1st season, he moved to Tokyo to open a motorcycle shop and to stay closer to Ken. When he first met Natsumi and Miyuki, he initially thought Natsumi was Ken's Love Interest until he realized that Miyuki was the better choice. As a widower, he met Sena Wakabayashi during one of his biking trips and became romantically involved with her and eventually married her.
He currently runs a motorcycle shop named "Zapper" with Sena in Sumida Ward where Bokutou Station is located.
- Badass Biker: Is the person responsible for teaching Ken his motorcycle skills, after all.
- Cool Old Guy
- May-December Romance: There is over a forty year age difference between him and Sena.
- Recurring Character
Sena Nakajima, née Wakabayashi
Voiced by: Hiroko Konishi (1st season), Fumiko Orikasa (2nd season onwards)
A car enthusiast who enjoys driving along coastal highways, Sena met Daimaru in one of such trips and became attracted to him and eventually marrying him. She is genuinely concerned about the well-being of her step-son Ken and had strove to make a good impression with him during their initial meeting. She quickly detected the relationship between Ken and Miyuki and will often attempt to further their relationship.
She currently runs the "Zapper" motorcycle shop with Daimaru.
- Cool Car: Her Lotus Super Seven.
- Hot Mom: Technically.
- May-December Romance: She is even younger than Ken!
- Recurring Character
"Fox" Monk
Voiced by: Kinryu Arimoto
A former police officer turned Shinto priest[2], he manages a shrine in Sumida Ward and still keep in contact with the officers in Bokutou Station, offering friendly advice or assistance when needed. Incidentally, he is the uncle of the Traffic Section Chief.
- Badass Driver: Is probably the only driver in the series who managed to out-maneuver Miyuki.
- Cool Car: His Mini.
- Cool Old Guy
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Is only addressed as Oshou-san, or Mister Monk. Even "Fox" is just a codename he adopts.
- Eyes Always Shut
- No Name Given
- Recurring Extra
Strike Man
Voiced by: Hideyuki Hori
A costumed self-proclaimed defender of justice, Strike Man often loiter around Sumida Ward, using baseball-related items to exact his brand of "justice" against (generally) minor violators of law, such as humiliating people who litter on streets or deflating tires of illegally parked vehicles. The police in Bokutou Station generally sees him as a nuisance as he tends to obstruct their duties. He has a certain fixation with Natsumi after she repeatedly "defeated" him by deflecting his baseball attacks, and calls her "Home-Run Woman" as a result.
- Calling Your Attacks
- Dramatic Wind: Parodied in one of his appearances, where the wind is generated by a mini electric fan.
- Giver of Lame Names: His attacks are prone to have ridiculously complicated names that even he himself cannot remember.
- I Have the High Ground: One of his favorite poses.
- Improbable Weapon User: His arsenal gets more and more bizarre with each appearance, climaxing with spiked baseballs.
- Knight Templar: Of a very goofy sort.
- Large Ham
- No Name Given: His true identity is never revealed.
- Recurring Extra
- Something Person
- Stop Helping Me!: A constant receiver of this sentiment, mostly because his vigilante activity does just as much harm or worse than it's intended to help.
- The Nicknamer: Calls practically everyone by a nickname of some sort.
- Unknown Rival: To Natsumi; she just views him as a nuisance.
- Vigilante Man: Saw himself as such, though the rest of the cast just views him as a nuisance.
Scooter Lady
Voiced by: Kujira
A middle-aged lady who is often seen riding a 50cc motor scooter, the Scooter Lady is obsessed with sales and discounts and will use every means to reach her desired stores, even if it means flouting every traffic regulation in the book, much to the annoyance of the officers in the Traffic Section, who calls her "Bokutou's specialty".
- The Determinator: Even arrest will not stop her for long.
- "I Am" Song: Sings a version during her introductory episode.
- No Name Given
- Recurring Extra
- Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: Defends her actions by claiming that having a riding licence is sufficient enough.
- Verbal Tic: Often ends sentences with zamasu (a variation of desu which connotes a condescending attitude) or zamasu yo.