About

Karl

He’s a cartoonist, a teacher and an all around nice guy! Karl enjoys living in Japan but tends to “sweat the small stuff” quite a bit. He wanted to live in Japan to experience the fascinating culture, learn Japanese and hopefully get inspired to draw a new comic. However, things are not as easy for a black man in Japan as he thought they would be!

J

Karl’s best friend for many years who is a fan of everything Japanese. He’s a confident guy that likes to call things as he sees them. J is a martial artist, loves Manga and Anime and even studied Japanese. It kills him that he wasn’t chosen by the E.L.F. Program to teach English in Japan but he’s trying to live through Karl’s experiences.

Tanuki

A Japanese raccoon spirit with a bad attitude that seems to haunt Karl. No one knows much about him yet. Is he real or just a figment of Karl’s imagination?

Miki

Miki works for the Board of Education in Shimamoto cho and was assigned to help Karl adjust to living in Japan. She’s one of the few people at the B.O.E office that can speak English well, which is probably why they picked her to help Karl. She’s kindhearted and means well but her blunt comments can shock Karl because they’re not characteristic of a typical Japanese person.

Hachiro

Hachiro teaches in the town next door but he comes by to help Karl every now and then. He’s proud of being a geek almost as much as he is of being a Japanese-American. Even though he loves Japan, he gets easily frustrated with Japanese people who think he looks Japanese so he can’t be a real American.

Sato Sensei

Sato Sensei is Karl’s English co-teacher and a proud Japanese citizen. She has a passion for teaching and loves to practice her English anywhere and in any way she can. Karl thinks that she’s a little odd. Sato Sensei thinks that Karl is a little odd. They make a great team!