Tamao, Ome
Also known as 大目タマオ (Ome Tamao)
Hello, My Name (in English) is…
In Japanese, the characters oh (大) means “big” and meh (目) means “eyes”. So Tamao’s name means “Big Eyes” Tamao – a product of his large glasses and an equivalent to the term “Four-Eyes” in English.
Distinguishing Features
Tamao is an earnest young lad who is usually easy to spot by his round head, and slightly surprised expression – enhanced by his large (and presumably) thick glasses.
Status: Secondary Star (★★)
Tamao is a very typical boy. Given his appearance and large glasses, he’s often the target for a bit of bullying – usually at the hands of Shibugaki – however, despite that he still has a certain self-confidence. Not nearly as adroit as his good pal, Kenichi, can fall victim to his own desires and sometimes overestimates his abilities and bravery. However, in the end, he is a true friend and will go out of his way to help his classmates. As such, he appears almost exclusively in the slightly nerdy, but still quite capable friend role.
Notable Roles
Tamo, made his first appearance in Ambassador Atom (1951), and even though he appeared alongside the much more established, Kenichi, he is more or less the star of the show. However, even though in the original version of the Astro Boy (1952-68) chapter “Astro’s Parents“ it is Tamao who is the one who feels sorry for his robot friend and pleads with Dr. Ochanomizu to create a Mother and Father for Astro Boy – the scene was later rewritten by Tezuka and the role handed over to Kenichi instead. Although he is staunchly grounded as part of the Astro Boy (1952-68) cast, he also made an appearance in The Strange Boy (1961). Also, in the Black Jack (1973-83) chapter “You Did It!” he, Kenichi, and Shibugaki are all reunited and appear to lend support to their classmate, Astro Boy, who is on trial.
Manga Appearances
If you spot an appearance not already listed, please let us know in the comments section below!
1951
Ambassador Atom as “Tamao”
1952
Astro Boy (“Astro’s Parents“) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“Gas People“) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“Frankenstein“) as “Tamao”
1953
Astro Boy (“Red Cat”) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“Sea Serpent Island”) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“Flying Skyscraper”) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“Mission to Mars”) as “Tamao”
1954
Astro Boy (“The Coral Reef Adventure”) as “Tamao”
1955
Astro Boy (“Electro”) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“Gernica”) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“Youth Gas”) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“Yellow Horse”) as “Tamao”
1956
Astro Boy (“Shootout In The Alps”) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“Atlas”) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“The Midoro Swamp”) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“Robot Bombs”) as “Tamao”
1957
Astro Boy (“The Mysterious Ball”) as “Tamao”
1958
Astro Boy (“Fortress of the Centaurs”) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“Count Bat”) as “Tamao”
1959
Astro Boy (“Secret of the Egyptian Conspirators”) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“Subterranen Tank”) as “Tamao”
1960
Astro Boy (“Space Snow Leopard”) as “Tamao”
1961
Astro Boy (“The White-Hot Being”) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“Plant People”) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“The Hot Dog Corps”) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“The Third Magician”) as “Tamao”
The Strange Boy
1962
Astro Boy (“Space Parasites”) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“Robot Land”) as “Tamao”
1964
Astro Boy (“The Brain Swap”) as “Tamao”
1965
Astro Boy (“Blue Knight”) as “Tamao”
1966
Astro Boy (“Ti-tan”) as “Tamao”
1967
Astro Boy (“Zoloman’s Jewels”) as “Tamao”
Astro Boy (“Beginning of the Contradiction”) as “Tamao”
1974
Black Jack (“Leaf Buds”) as “a classmate”
Black Jack (“Teacher and Pupil”) as “a classmate”
1975
Black Jack (“You Did It!”) as “a classmate”
1978
Black Jack (“Move, Solomon!”) as “a classmate”
1981
Astro Boy (“Space Doll”) as “Tamao”
1982
Dari the Robot Nurse
1986
Atom Cat (“Atom the Orphan”) as “Tamao”
1987
Atom Cat (“Atom the Artist”) as “Tamao”
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