WDKY features several Original Characters, none of whom end up having “starring roles.”
However, they were all created for a purpose, and now you know why…
Characters are listed in order of appearance (by Chapter).
Sergeant Konami – The police officer who calls Téa to inform her of the Gardners’ deaths. Konami is the name of the company that produces all the “Yu-Gi-Oh!” games, including the trading card game and the console games.
First appearance in Chapter 1 – “This Was Me ”
Mr. Takahashi – Téa’s Science (Chemistry) teacher, and an homage to the creator of “Yu-Gi-Oh!,” Kazuki Takahashi.
First appearance in Chapter 3 – “Call It A Personal Favor”
Mrs. Higurashi – Téa’s Home Economics teacher, and a reference to Kagome Higurashi’s mother from the anime/manga “Inuyasha.”
First appearance in Chapter 3 – “Call It A Personal Favor”
Mr. Kinomoto – Téa’s History teacher, and named after the father of Sakura Kinomoto, aka Cardcaptor Sakura, from the CLAMP anime and manga of the same name.
First appearance in Chapter 3 – “Call It A Personal Favor”
Miss Ninomiya – Téa’s Japanese Literature teacher, and a reference to the buxom, age-changing
teacher of the same name from Ranma 1/2.
First appearance in Chapter 3 – “Call It A Personal Favor”
Ms. Misao – Téa’s gym teacher and a reference to the nurse from Miwa Ueda’s popular manga series, “Peach Girl.”
First appearance in Chapter 3 – “Call It A Personal Favor”
Why not Mr. Karita (from Battle 50, and the arc when Bakura first appeared)? Because female students typically have a female teacher for Phys. Ed., and males have a male teacher. Plus we can assume that Karita doesn’t necessarily teach every single year of students, even if he is still working at Domino after Bakura put his soul into a Monster World piece…
Mr. Furuhata – Téa’s Trigonometry teacher, and a slight homage to Motoki Furuhata, the arcade manager in the hit anime and manga “Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon.”
First appearance in Chapter 1 – “This Was Me” (unnamed).
First NAMED appearance in Chapter 3 – “Call It A Personal Favor.”
Jacques Mode – A famous French fashion designer. “Mode” is the French word for “Fashion.”
Jacques is pronounced like “Jack,” but with a more pronounced ‘q’ sound instead of a ‘k’ sound.
First appearance in Chapter 4 – “Carry On Dancing”
Elise – One of Jacques Mode’s female assistants. She wears glasses.
First appearance in Chapter 4 – “Carry On Dancing”
Marie – The other female assistant of Jacques Mode.
First appearance in Chapter 4 – “Carry On Dancing”
Theodore Iwana/Laroque – Mr. Gardner’s former legal assistant/paralegal. He was also responsible for the Gardners’ deaths, having been coerced by the Big Five to plant a grenade in their car. Theodore means “a gift of God,” while Iwana and Laroque are both names (Japanese
and French, respectively), that mean “stone” or “rock.” This is due to Theodore’s forcing himself NOT to care about Eric and Elizabeth; he selfishly blunts the truth away from him, and causes their demise.
First appearance in Chapter 4 – “Carry On Dancing”
First NAMED appearance in Chapter 9 – “Boy Season”
Ms. Kodaku – A pun on the name ‘Kodak.’ Kodak is a photography company, and PR, or public relations, is the division that of KaibaCorp that Ms. Kodaku heads. I figured PR people would have to deal with the press and photographers a lot, so…
First appearance in Chapter 4 – “Carry On Dancing”
Mr. Eba – Téa’s English teacher, and the name of the male lead in the manga “Wild Act.”
First appearance in Chapter 4 – “Carry On Dancing”
Mr. Kobiyashi – the Vice President and second-in-command to Seto Kaiba himself in the hierarchy of KaibaCorp. His position as such lasts only until Mokuba turns 13, and he assumes his place as Seto’s Vice President. Mokuba says that he’s a very funny, very interesting man.
First appearance in Chapter 4 – “Carry On Dancing”
Mariko Toriyama – Head of inter-company relations at Sony. Mariko is a common girl’s name in
Japan, while Toriyama is the name of a website where people go to obtain scanlations of various manga series that are not yet available in English.
First appearance in Chapter 4 – “Carry On Dancing”
Ono Shueisha – A representative officer from Nintendo, the gaming corporation. His family
name “Shuiesha” is also the name of the publishers that distribute Weekly Shonen Jump, the magazine that featured “Yu-Gi-Oh!” for its entire run.
First appearance in Chapter 4 – “Carry On Dancing”
Frederick Janson – The American head of Industrial Illusions, and Maximillion’s VP. After Pegasus’s “death,” he took over the reigns of the wildly successful company responsible
for the creation of Duel Monsters, but he also keeps in mind that Yugi holds 60% of the shares in the company and is the one Pegasus named as his successor.
First appearance in Chapter 4 – “Carry On Dancing”
Kyuuji Sajizawa – A junior reporter for the Evening Star tabloid newspaper. The one who’s
name is on the byline for the interview/article with Téa, re: the Ball.
First appearance in Chapter 5 – “Dwelling”
Hojo Shiro – The editor-in-chief of the Evening Star. His given name (Hojo) is written with the characters for “fire” and “boil/seethe,” while his surname “Shiro” uses the kanji character for “white.” This is related to his temperment, and how he is both calm and angry when Kaiba
shows up in his offices.
First appearance in Chapter 5 – “Dwelling”
Chieko Sagusa – Téa’s new classmate; a transfer from New York City’s “Degas Ballet Academy.”
Her name (written with specific kanji) is roughly translated to “Child of Wisdom and Grace.” Her surname (Sagusa) with the kanji I selected, translates to “Different Pastures.” I chose both of these meanings to represent her character; she is an intelligent and interesting young girl, in tune with her surroundings, but true to her own heart, above all else. She speaks very proper Japanese, using very little slang, and also speaks perfect English.
First appearance in Chapter 6 – “Cooking With a Kaiba”
Audrey Banks – One of the Elizabeth Gardner’s former co-workers; Audrey was also employed at the Crump Financial Firm. Audrey means “noble strength,” a name I chose because Audrey’s actions in Chapter 9 required a lot of strength, and Audrey, though a minor character, has that. Banks is a silly reference to where she works– a financial firm.
First appearance in Chapter 9 – “Boy Season”
Michael Hearst – One of Eric “Rick” Gardner’s co-workers at The Johnson Firm, which consisted of many high-powered lawyers and attorneys. He, like Audrey, was familiar with both Eric and Elizabeth, as well as Téa Gardner. The name “Michael” means “one who is like God; honorable.” Again, his actions in Chapter 9 required a lot of inner strength and honor; Michael has that. “Hearst” is English, meaning “Dweller from near the sign of the Hart.” A Hart is an adult male red stag, which are very proud, noble creatures.
First appearance in Chapter 9 – “Boy Season”
Odagiri – One of the many gang members Joey is familiar with at the DV8 club. He’s only 15, and goes to the same junior high as Serenity, in a different city near Tokyo/Domino. he is known to have an older sister who attends Domino High, though she’s not in Joey’s class. When he is first introduced, he is accompanied by ‘Cigs’ (in sunglasses) and ‘Oil Head.’ His name is inspired
by Asuka Odaigiri from the hit Miki Aihara manga “Hot Gimmick.”
First appearance in Chapter 10 – “Separation, and then…”
The Chibas – The newlyweds that moved into the old Gardner family home. They’re a reference
to Usagi and Mamoru Chiba from “Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon,” of course, and Usagi’s unborn child is Chibiusa.
First appearance in Chapter 11 – “All That I Need”
Shunsuke and Akane – Two third-year (senior) students at Domino High; the President and Vice-President respectively, of the Drama Club. Shunsuke is very over-dramatic and flamboyant,
while Akane is a bit hot-headed, but not as excitable as her companion. Shunsuke is an entirely original character, while Akane is loosely based off Akane Tendo from Rumiko Takahashi’s hit series, “Ranma 1/2.”
First appearance in Chapter 15 – “Bah, Humbug!”
Hiroshi – A quiet meager, first-year student at Domino High. He’s also a new member to the Drama Club, and is, in fact, the one to suggest to Shunsuke and Akane that they ask his English teacher, Miss Ninomiya, for story suggestions to be converted into potential scripts for their play. He ends up playing as homeless caroling boy in Téa’s remake of Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol,” modernized as “A Modern Christmas Carol,” and starring almost the
whole Yu-Gi-Oh gang. His name is based off a minor character from Rumiko Takahashi’s
“Ranma 1/2.”
First appearance in Chapter 15 – “Bah, Humbug!”
Enkur – Not really an original character; it’s the historical name I made up for Anubis, the Big Bad of the movie!arc (Chapters 22-24). Enkur (the original holder of the name, not the character) may have been the Sumerian Lord of the Underworld, which I thought was fitting, considering Anubis (the Egyptian God) was the original God of the Underworld, before Osiris took over.
Anubis (the god) eventually became known as the Egyptian god of mummification, presiding over the rituals and ceremonies of death and the weighing of the heart. However, the media often portrays him as a “dark god,” and I sort of stuck to that (bad) stereotyping for the sake of fitting the movie into WDKY.
First appearance in Chapter 24 – “A Perfect Victory”
Hadad – An Akkadian name. Hadad (the original bearer of the name, not the character) was the Semitic god of Thunder, also called Ba’al. In the WDKYverse, he is Enkur’s only friend, though he retains a superior position class-wise. Hadad’s fate is unknown, though it is presumed he died in the sandstorms that overtook the Akkadian army.
First appearance in Chapter 24 – “A Perfect Victory”
Katsuro Hiroma – Seto’s cousin and Chieko’s fiancé. His given name, “Katsuro,” means “Victory,” while Hiroma is the family name I chose for Seto and Mokuba’s biological parents, meaning “Wide space.” (Truth is, I liked the sound of the surname “Hiroma,” and just recently discovered its meaning).
First appearance in Chapter # – “?”