WEBMASTER’S DESCRIPTION:

Natsumi’s as straight as an arrow and can’t stand anybody who isn’t, and she’s unbelievably powerful. But she’s also got a huge spot for just about anybody, and she’s easily moved to tears. Her greatest strength is her unusual breaking technique, for which she relies on her uncommon strength. It’s helped over many a tough hurdle. She can’t get up in the morning - and she’s got an appetite that’d embarass a Sumo wrestler, which kind of makes you wonder how she keeps that figure…

(from the Taiho Shichauzo Artbook)

PERSONAL DESCRIPTION:

A person with an unyielding spirit, Natsumi is a friendly, fun-loving, easy-going policewoman who carries a passion for her work. Quite brash and impatient at times, Natsumi is a woman born with a thirst for adventure, ready to spring into action when the situation calls for it. She has the tendency to act before thinking, relying on her instincts most of the time, and although her methods may lead her into trouble sometimes, she always finds a way to get out of whatever situation she had landed herself into. Else, if she could not escape, then she somehow finds a way to make anything fun and exciting. Of course, all her vigor and energy has to come from somewhere, and Natsumi gets plenty of it from keeping fit with her indoor gym equipment (which usually leaves Miyuki’s apartment awfully messy), getting plenty of sleep (up to the extent that she was named the "Queen of Tardiness"), and eating plenty (tons) of food.

Natsumi had earned the nickname "Herculean Gorilla Woman" from her incredible strength (although having that nickname doesn’t necessarily mean that she likes it). She can carry almost anything and break almost anything using only her bare hands, making her well suited for close-range combat. Dangerous she may be with such strength, however, Natsumi does put it to good use when it is needed, the most common of which would be her "Foot Brakes", where Natsumi adds to "Today’s" breaking power by lending a helping foot or two. Plus, as an athlete, she also uses her strength as an advantage, especially when hitting the baseballs that Strike Otoko pitches at her, thus her earning yet another (unwanted) nickname, "Home-Run Woman".

Although there’s not much to be said about her driving skills on vehicles with four wheels - except perhaps the survival note to get off the streets when she’s behind the steering wheel - Natsumi is the best woman motorcycle driver in the station. She can handle almost any two-wheeled vehicle in all sizes, and considering her incredible strength and driving technique, Natsumi can perform almost any maneuver she wishes to make on a motorcycle as if it was a flimsy little pedal-bike.

Being a highly sociable woman with a somewhat wild streak, Natsumi has the tendency to go all out and party all night long, thus resulting to the occasional hang-over that she frequently suffers from during the worst possible moments. Her conditions of drunken stupor usually leads her to awkward situations, especially since she usually forgets what she had done, and it would take a huge amount of effort on her behalf to correct the blunders that she could not remember doing but had committed.

Natsumi’s character dictates that she is a person whose actions can be easily controlled by rising emotions, especially if the source had come from her friends, her pride, or from the unfortunate. Being blunt and to the point, she’s not afraid to tell the world what she thinks or how she feels, and is frustrated whenever somebody behaves the opposite way, which is why she has the tendency to meddle in other people’s affairs. When it comes to her love life, however, she is quite fickle, never settling for one man at any given time.

That is, until Senior Police Officer Toukairin Shouji came into her life. A rival, a threat to her reputation as Bokuto’s strongest officer, an admirable person - she had debated upon these thoughts and had finally come to the realization that he was the man she truly loved. And despite the fact that Shouji is not always there in Tokyo with her, she always loyally waited for his return, never quite chasing after other men ever since.

(Note: In the manga, Toukairin Shouji is non-existent, and it is well implied that Natsumi is deeply infatuated with the chief up until the end of the series.)

EDO ERA CHARACTER:

As it is usually Natsumi’s fault why the Taiho Shichauzo cast are brought to the Edo Era, it would only be natural that Natsumi is more commonly portrayed as a jitte (metal truncheon) wielding, highly devoted okappiki (semi-official detective).

CHARACTER DESIGN:

Natsumi’s character design had not changed much over the course of the series. The changes in her design had come with Kosuke Fujishima’s improvement in terms of artwork (especially with the hair, which "softened" in time), and what is perhaps the most notable difference from her original haircut was that shortly after the beginning of the series the hair to the left of her forehead had been parted from what was once a straight cut. The color of her eyes had also changed from green to brown near the end of the manga.

As for her anime design, Natsumi’s looks were based from her last design in the manga (except that her eyes were lavender instead of brown), and any or all changes made afterwards were the result of how the animators had done their work. Later in the series, however, her lavender eyes had turned brown in the movie, and eventually to a bright green in the second season, which is what she continued to sport all the way into the third season.

Natsumi’s Character Designs: Manga | Anime

INTRODUCTION TO TPD:
TOKYO POLICEWOMAN DUO NO. 1

In the album Taiho Shichauzo: Only One, there was an eight minute interview between Natsumi and Miyuki, where one character questioned another for four minutes each. For some odd reason, both women had wanted to be anonymous and would rather be referred to as TPD No. 1 or 2, but to make matters easier and less confusing, No. 1 is actually Natsumi and No. 2 is Miyuki. The result is a rather interesting and amusing conversation that allows the listener to learn more about both characters.

(Please note that my Japanese is awfully sketchy, and the information that I will be giving may or may not be correct. Some parts of this translation was made with help from “Taiho Shichauzo” in Mi-Ke’s Room)

The following took place during Miyuki’s interview of Natsumi:

• After Miyuki began the program, Natsumi basically handled the rest on her own, mentioning her bloodtype (O) and her zodiac sign (Leo). She claims that she keeps herself in good shape, and this is so because her hobbies are all sports-related (i.e., she loves playing any kind of sport just as much as she loves watching them).
• She goes on, saying that she rides bicycles when she has time. She also wants to challenge herself by attending a triathlon someday, and admits that she would like to improve her swimming a little.
• Her favorite food is good white rice - she could go up to three servings if it’s lathered with a certain kind of paste (Gourmet rice, perhaps?).
• Just to add on that, she said that she’s sad that the restaurant that once served all-you-can-eat roast beef 3 times a week all day is now only holding that promo during lunchtime.
• Natsumi also adds that there is virtually nothing that she couldn’t eat. She emphasizes this by saying that if something fell on the ground, if she manages to pick it up within 3 seconds, she still eats it.
• And the she eventually admits that she’s a huge glutton.
• Natsumi proudly says that she can fold a ten yen coin into half twice with only her thumb and index finger.
• After speaking by herself for more than half the presentation, she finally coerces Miyuki to speak. At this point, Natsumi mentioned something about a "Arutejibakkubu reeker", but I have no idea what she meant. (sweatdrop)
• Anyway, going back, Miyuki asks if she’s afraid of anything, to which Natsumi answered "manju". Natsumi then proudly brags that she’s not afraid of anything else.
• Miyuki asked what her favorite subjects were. Natsumi answered that she likes physical education and cooking practice.
• In the follow-up question that followed, Natsumi then said that she hated math, physics, and chemistry.
• Miyuki then asked the following "What ifs":
       - If Natsumi won Y10,000
         = Natsumi’s going to consume it in one evening by going to a karaoke bar.
       - If Natsumi won Y100,000
         = Natsumi’s going to spend it all on karaoke by staying in the karaoke box for a week.
       - If Natsumi won Y100,000,000
         = Natsumi’s going to buy her own karaoke box.
• After that series of questions, Miyuki abruptly ends the interview, and though Natsumi wanted to say more, Miyuki refused.