This is a list of characters that appear in Tomorrow's Joe and its adaptations.
Characters Tange Gym Joe Yabuki Voiced by: Teruhiko Aoi, Kei Tomiyama (Pilot Film), Yoshito Yasuhara (Radio Drama) Live-Action Film: Shōji Ishibashi (1970), Tomohisa Yamashita (2011) , nicknamed , is the protagonist of the story and an OPBF Champion and 4th in the World Ranking. He is known for his long bangs and for always wearing a worn-out beige coat and a red flat cap. Not long after birth he found himself in many orphanages and facilities. However, he quickly grew tired of the boring life and frequently escaped, eventually finding his way to the Doya Town the story takes place in. Joe is rude and quick to fight, but he can also be very frivolous at times. Because of his rough upbringing he is a delinquent who likes his solitude, but he later grows to appreciate his new friends and rivals. He is not very good at understanding women, and essentially only treats them nice out of giri. As a result of Rikiishi's death, he temporarily suffers from yips and cannot hit people in the temple, but he later overcomes this. This allows him to move past the loss of Rikiishi. He is a bantamweight and his specialties include the cross counter and the No Guard stance. He has extraordinary punching strength, fortitude, and fighting spirit, often standing up after taking killer blows and has been known to counter cross-counters (a double-cross), possessing a raw, natural talent for the sport. He has even countered double crosses with a triple-cross, implying he has high-level technical abilities. Following his fight with Rikiishi, he begins to better develop his guarding. During his fight with José, he even unconsciously uses José's own corkscrew punch against him. Near the end of the manga, more and more hints build up implying that he is becoming punch-drunk, a condition that is confirmed right before his fight with José. On several occasions it is hinted that he is aiming for the world championship not for his own sake, but for Rikiishi's, since he died fighting Joe and was considered a future world contender. His fate is uncertain, with some saying he died in the final panel of the comic, after José wins the match, but a pathologist, named Masahiko Ueno, said he had to have been alive in the final panel to be sitting upright. Danpei Tange Voiced by: Jūkei Fujioka, Takeshi Aono (Boxing Mania Video Game), Akira Nagoya (Pilot Film), Haruhiko Saitō (Radio Drama) Live-Action Film: Ryūtarō Tatsumi (1970), Teruyuki Kagawa (2011) is Joe's boxing coach. He was formerly a boxer as well, but retired after losing his left eye. Afterwards he becomes a coach, but as shown in a flashback in episode 2, he was a harsh trainer who fell from grace after his last student threw a fight for money. He then becomes an unemployed drunkard who only changes his ways after meeting Joe. After seeing Joe's potential, he decides to bet everything on him, believing that Joe can become an extraordinary boxer. He teaches him in the form of individual tips called "For the Sake of Tomorrow" (明日のために ashita no tame ni). After Joe and Nishi are released from the juvenile detention center he takes them on as his only two trainees, he also allows them to live with him in his small shack under a bridge, which he converts into the . After Joe becomes a success, many other rookie boxers sign with Danpei, allowing him to start a proper gym, but keeps the old shack intact due to nostalgia.
Kanichi Nishi Voiced by: Toku Nishio, Jirō Daruma (Tomorrow's Joe 2), Shiro Kishibe (Film), Daisuke Gōri (Boxing Mania Video Game) Live-Action Film: Masaaki Yamamoto (1970), Katsuya (2011) , referred to as , is Joe's sparring partner. Joe initially meets him in the retention center where he is first introduced as the ruthless leader of his cell and commands the other inmates to pin down Joe, stuff a wet rag in his mouth and take turns jumping on him from the top of the bunkbeds. He and Joe meet again on the boat ride to the juvenile detention center, but this time Nishi is scared of what will happen to the two of them, and is shown to be terrified of the other inmates at first unlike Joe, who is not intimidated by them even as they are both attacked on their first night. Nishi's softer side is shown in the juvenile detention center as he and Joe become friends and he takes up boxing during the juvenile detention centre tournament, after he and Joe are released they both become training partners coached by Danpei and they live in his shack under a bridge, which is converted into a humble boxing club, they also both work together at the Hayashi family grocery store. Despite initially being portrayed as a thug, he is revealed to have a soft personality and is known for often crying at things, but overall he is friendly and polite to everyone. Unlike Joe, Nishi has only mediocre success as a boxer, not helped by him being a heavyweight, which there are few of on the Asian boxing circuit. While he briefly has more success as a Middleweight, he has trouble keeping his weight down, and is eventually forced to retire after a hand injury. He soon finds far more success co-coaching Joe, and also discovers that he has a talent for retail work helping with the Hayashi's store. This eventually leads to him marrying their daughter Noriko, and settling down as a conventional family man.
Shiraki Gym Yōko Shiraki Voiced by: Kazuko Nishizawa, Masako Ebisu (ep. 34~44), Emi Tanaka (Tomorrow's Joe 2), Fumi Dan (Film), Hiroko Ushida (Aoi Honō) Live-Action Film: Yōko Takagi (1970), Karina (2011) is the head of the Shiraki Gym. Originally introduced as a wealthy girl from outside the slums, Joe first meets her when he and the slumtown kids scam her. She is eventually revealed to be the daughter of a wealthy former boxer and gym owner, and becomes heavily involved in the affairs of the Shiraki Gym. By the end of the series, she realizes she has fallen in love with Joe, and begs him not to risk his life fighting José Mendoza, to no avail. Just before his death, Joe gives her his boxing gloves as a keepsake.
Tōru Rikiishi Voiced by: Shūsei Nakamura, Toshiyuki Hosokawa (Film), Hideyuki Hori (Boxing Mania Video Game), Kōji Shimizu (Radio Drama) Live-Action Film: Seiichirō Kameishi (1970), Yūsuke Iseya (2011) is Joe's most personal and significant boxing rival. The two first meet in the juvenile detention center, he was a boxer but was sentenced to the juvenile detention center because he punched an audience member half to death after they said that the match was rigged in Rikiishi's favor, enraging him. Joe challenges Rikiishi without knowing he was once a professional boxer and manages to punch him in the face once before Rikiishi knocks him out in one punch. He is quintessential in motivating Joe to start taking boxing seriously, even if his only reason is to beat Rikiishi in a rematch. Rikiishi is widely considered to be one of the most promising rookie boxers in the world, but his career is tragically cut short, as he dies immediately after his and Joe's rematch from his injuries and the toll his extreme weight loss training took on his body. Mikinosuke Shiraki Voiced by: Kei Wada, Tamio Ōki (Tomorrow's Joe 2) Live-Action Film: Bontarō Miake (1970), Masahiko Tsugawa (2011) is a former boxer who is now a wealthy businessman and founder of the Shiraki Gym. He immediately spots the pure talent of Rikiishi while observing him fighting in a boxing tournament in the juvenile detention center, and recruits him once Rikiishi is released, building the entire gym around Rikiishi's career. After Rikiishi's untimely death, he intends to shut the gym down but instead leaves it to his grand-daughter at her request.
Rivals Wolf Kanagushi Voiced by: Osamu Katō, Rokurō Naya (Tomorrow's Joe 2) Live-Action Film: Speedy Hayase (1970), Mitsuki Koga (2011) was an up-and-coming bantamweight boxer. In order to get recognition quickly, Joe targeted the bantamweight rookie champion. Wolf was a confident and brash fighter who was easily provoked by Joe into a fist fight, ending in a double knockout. This news eventually led to the public demanding a match between them, which Wolf lost. He eventually became a thug who got defeated due to his weak jaw, and later borrowed money from Joe after rekindling their friendship. By the end of the series he finally pays it back and supports Joe for his last match, actively cheering. Tiger Ozaki Voiced by: Shōzō Iizuka, Hiroya Ishimaru (Tomorrow's Joe 2) was the bantamweight champion. Called a 'lidardlike' man by Joe, he rarely spoke, but was very cunning in diagnosing Joe's weakpoint after the fight against Rikiishi. Tiger made sure to fight Joe early in the latter's career after his traumatizing fight with Rikiishi so that he could take him on when he had the highest chance to win. Though he did using these tactics, he was eventually knocked out in seconds by Carlos. Carlos Rivera Voiced by: Taichirō Hirokawa, Ryūsei Nakao (Tomorrow's Joe 2), Joe Yamanaka (Film) is the former 6th Rank WBC Bantamweight fighter. He became known as the "beltless champion" due to having incredible skill at boxing but not actually holding a world title, it was believed that the world champion was too scared of losing their title to challenge him. He is shown to have great instinct when it comes to boxing, as he identifies Joe as an excellent boxer despite Joe not holding a title, his punches are so fast that he is able to hit his opponent in the face with his elbow without anyone seeing. He is very energetic and theatrical, often shamelessly hitting on women in the audience after the fight is due to start, which only endears him to the crowd as a womanizer. He was born in the slums of Venezuela and had a similar childhood to Joe, he is also shown dressing up as Santa Claus and giving presents to the children in the slums while he was in Japan, where he and Joe become friends. He and Joe fight to a draw in a match in which he was forced to use a technique where he tenses up all the muscles in his body at once in order to deliver punches faster than the eye can see, after this he returned to America where he finally had his chance to challenge the world champion, José Mendoza. He lost the fight due to the strain on his body from his fight with Joe, he was then hospitalized where it became clear that he had suffered serious motor neuron damage and brain damage and would not be able to fight again, Joe becomes consumed by even more guilt when he hears of this. Kim Yong-bi Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto (Tomorrow's Joe 2)