Shūichi Yamada

Shūichi Yamada
Name
Japanese	山田秀一
Profile
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Family	Keiko (sister) Mother (manga) Father (rental ver. only)
First Appearance
Manga	Monster Raban (1958)
Anime	Series 1 Episode 5 (1968)
Portrayals
1968 anime	Kiyoshi Komiyama
1985 anime	Yoku Shioya
Other anime	Showtaro Morikubo (Manga Video)

Shūichi Yamada (山田 秀一, Yamada Shūichi) is a human scientist who is part of the Dai-Kaijū Research Team.

In Monster Raban, he was named Ichirō Mizuki (水木 一郎, Mizuki Ichirō) and in the rental manga he is named Ichirō Yamada (山田 一郎, Yamada Ichirō).

Personality

Ichirō Yamada as Dai-Kaijū carrying Nezumi-Otoko.

Both Ichirō Mizuki and Ichirō Yamada are honest, caring, and polite young men unlike Shūichi Yamada. Ichirō Yamada is a dedicated and gifted cetologist, willing to deepen understandings for whales. When he turned into a Dai-Kaijū, he carried Nezumi-Otoko back to Japan on his back. Kitarō noted that his soul remained a shape of human soul even when he turned into a Dai-Kaijū.

Shūichi Yamada is a gifted but instead a very ambitious person, willing to use anyone he can to achieve his goal of discovering the secret of eternal youth. He does not believe in anything unscientific such as yōkai or good-luck charms while in the first anime he disliked supernatural beings/phenomenon but for some extent he knew that science isn't superior and was envy with Kitarō's yōkai abilities. And then he was studying and preparing anti-yōkai poinson against Kitarō prior to the expedition to New Guinea. He strongly objected to Kitarō joining the expedition to New Guinea, considering it a slap in the face to science.

History

Monster Raban

Jirō Ikawa

Ichirō Mizuki is the protagonist of the story, and the role of Shūichi Yamada-esque antagonist was played by Jirō Ikawa (伊川二郎, Ikawa Jirō).

Hakaba Kitarō

Murao Hanaoka

In A Secret Story, Ichirō Yamada is the protagonist of the story, and the role of Shūichi Yamada-esque antagonist was played by Murao Hanaoka (村岡花夫, Hanaoka Murao).

Shonen Magazine/First anime

Yamada is a genius scientist who is part of the Dai-Kaijū Research Team, having developed the theory that the Dai-Kaijū must be over three million years old and therefore will lead them to the secret of immortality. He is chosen for the expedition to New Guinea to research the Dai-Kaijū, although he nearly refuses when he learns Kitarō will be joining. Considering Kitarō's presence a slap in the face to science, Yamada stubbornly refuses to get along with him. When the team finally discovers the location the Dai-Kaijū was photographed a month after they arrived in New Guinea, Yamada and Kitarō are sent to find food. While they are gone, the Dai-Kaijū attacks and destroys the base, killing nearly everyone. The head scientist survives long enough to entrust the sample of the Dai-Kaijū's blood he managed to obtain to Kitarō. Yamada tries to take the sample so he can claim all the glory, but Kitarō refuses to hand it over. After Kitarō is hit with a poisoned spear by one of the natives, Yamada sprinkles the toxic Salamandora Powder on him to neutralize his powers and steals the sample.

A month later, Yamada is lost on the island. He finally finds the ocean and spends the next three months waiting for a ship to pass. When he finally gets noticed by one, he is found by Kitarō, who is now infected with a leprosy-like condition thanks to the poisoned spear and powder. Yamada begs his forgiveness and Kitarō agrees to let it go, but when they are on the ship Yamada decides to get rid of Kitarō once an for all by injecting him with the blood of the Dai-Kaijū, reasoning that a blood transfusion from an incompatible source is fatal to humans so the blood of a different monster should kill Kitarō. Instead, a few days later, Kitarō is transformed into a Dai-Kaijū and jumps off the ship. Yamada is relieved that there is no one to share the glory with now and returns to Japan a hero.

Soon after Yamada returns, a Dai-Kaijū begins attacking Japan. Yamada realizes it is Kitarō after him for revenge and deceives the government into using his Iron Dai-Kaijū to combat him. During the battle, Kitarō saves Yamada's mother and sister Keiko from a falling building and escapes to a nearby island. Not wanting to harm his family, Yamada allows him to escape but comes under fire from the government for wasting their money on the Mecha Dai-Kaijū. He is given another chance, however, and sets out for the island to kill Kitarō and save his family before the island is bombed by the air force. Kitarō wins the second battle but saves Yamada from drowning. After Kitarō saves Yamada and his family from the atomic bombing by hiding them in his mouth and swimming away, his mother and sister convince him that he was wrong about Kitarō all along.

Yamada then gets to work studying the Dai-Kaijū blood and the Salamandra Powder in order to create an antidote to return Kitarō to normal. However, the military decides to destroy the Dai-Kaijū with torpedoes before he can. Though Yamada manages to board the ship transporting the Dai-Kaijū, he is unable to stop the torpedoes. Cursing his own ego for causing everything, Yamada dumps the antidote into the ocean, unaware that it entered Kitarō's wounds and returned his powers to him. Kitarō was able to summon Medama-Oyaji and Nezumi-Otoko, and the two of them work with Yamada to get Kitarō to safety so Yamada can develop a new antidote to fix Kitarō completely. With Kitarō back to normal, Yamada apologizes for all the trouble he has caused.

1985 Anime

After being shown video evidence of Dai-Kaijū, Yamada proposes that the yōkai is a surviving ancestor of a cetacean creature, though his colleagues disagree. His peers hypothesize that Dai-Kaijū's existence could lead to the discovery of extending human lifespans, and Yamada is sent as part of a survey team to New Guinea to gather samples from Dai-Kaijū. When Yamada learns that Kitarō will be joining the expedition, he scoffs at Kitaro's child-like appearance and denounces that idea that yōkai can exist in the age of science. Similarly, when his sister, Keiko, tries to give him a good luck charm before his flight, he refuses to take it. After Kitarō takes the charm to give to Yamada, Keiko reveals that their parents died when they were young. On their flight, Kitarō attempts to give Yamada the charm, but he declines again, despite Kitarō's insistence, leading to Kitarō keeping the charm instead.

1996 Anime

The news caster in GeGeGe no Kitarō: Dai-Kaijū

A news caster resembling Yamada appeared in the GeGeGe no Kitarō: Dai-Kaijū to report the appearance of Dai-Kaijū (Kitarō).

2007 Anime

Yamada's likeness was used for Yoshikawa in episode #34 of the 2007 anime, Yōkai Yokochō's Cruise to Hell.

2018 Anime

The police officer in Nation Founding!? Mabyō's Great Tottori Empire

Yamada's likeness was used for the Sakaiminato police officer in episode 65 of the 2018 series, Nation Founding!? Mabyō's Great Tottori Empire.