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Mutsumi Hojo (北城 睦実, Hōjō Mutsumi) is a character from the fictional anime/manga Sgt. Frog/Keroro Gunso. In the anime he was renamed Saburo (サブロー, Saburō).

Profile

• Name: Mutsumi Hojo
• Age: 14-16 Years
• Relationships:

Wave Buddy of Kururu

Loved by Natsumi Hinata

Rivaled by Giroro (who is in love with Natsumi)

Respected by Natsumi Hinata, Fuyuki Hinata, and Keroro

Has interest in Angol Mois's Alter-ego, Asami

• Race: Human
• Gender: male
• Birthday: Unknown
• Eye Color: blue
• Hair Color: Silver
• Loyalty: Keroro Platoon
• Rank: None, even though has few say in Keroro Platoon's action.
• First Anime Appearance: episode 1
• First Manga Appearance: Volume 2
• Seiyu: Akira Ishida

Mutsumi also appears frequently in the anime Shichi'nin no Nana as the radio DJ "623". Mine Yoshizaki, the mangka of Keroro Gunso, did character draft work on Shichi'nin no Nana - Mutsumi is one of several characters who cameo on the show.

Overview

Mutsumi is a high school student with an I.Q. of 300 and is Kururu's sometime-partner. Mustumi skips class a lot and is rumoured at school to be a member of a gang, though that doesn't seem to affect Natsumi's high opinion of him. He turns out to be a loyal and gentle but solitary guy - if he's aware of Natsumi's crush, he hasn't shown it, though he does take pains to read out her postcards when she sends them in to his radio show. Mutsumi is excellent in sports, academics, poetry, art, and philosophy, which is why he has a hard time fitting in with his classmates, and he hosts a late-night radio station which Natsumi compulsively listens to. He is the least-active main character of the series, but plays a fairly signifact role as Kururu's partner/friend and Natsumi's crush. In the anime, Mutsumi's identity as Kururu's collaborator is at first a secret (though it's quite obvious), whereas in the manga it comes almost immediately to light.

Episode 112 of the anime depicts how Mutsumi and Kururu first met. Kururu was indeed a villain who tried to control the school and was trying to control him first, although Kururu should have known immediately that he wasn't dealing with an average human. Mutsumi could see him all the time but pretended not to, until he saw Kururu using the virtual reality pen and quickly snatched it. Using another reality pen, Kururu created weapons to retrieve his pen from the sly teenager. After a wild chase through the school, Mutsumi realized what the pen was capable of, and used tissues to draw on for self-defense. After a drawn-out battle and a surprising turn of events, Mutsumi saved Kururu's life, and in response the alien gave him the spare pen but turned down the offer of friendship. However, from then on, since they shared the same wavelength, they became occasional partners. Mutsumi's name comes from a Japanese wordplay (Saburo means 326, and Mutsumi means 623).

Relationships

Keroro Platoon

Mutsumi is the least participent human who is aligned with the Keroro platoon, and has made the least appearances. However, this does not mean he is lazy or weak, in fact, quite the contrary. He volunteers on plots that interest him and is a very good comrade when in serious battles. In his appearances, he gives a great deal of support with the help of his virtual reality pen, which can create unimaginably powerful weapons and fascinating objects if he puts his imagination into it and draws it on paper, and with a quick and cunning mind Mutsumi has, this is pretty much the perfect weapon for him. He also maintains good relationships with his comrades with his easygoing nature and is never seen to be completely enraged or angry.

Kururu

Kururu is the first member of the Keroro platoon that Mutsumi has met, but their beginning isn't exactly much for a start of a companionship. Kururu and Mutsumi immediately engage in fight, which after a surprising turn of events, Mutsumi saves Kururu's life while he gives the boy his virtual reality pen in return. Since they're both misunderstood geniuses, they are capable of getting along with each other, and Mutsumi seems to be the only one who is shown to care about Kururu as a true friend. Mutsumi helps Kururu and his comrades on broadcasting-based plots, since Mutsumi is the anonymous (at least in the anime) 623, a popular radio DJ whom Natsumi is a big fan of.

Natsumi

Natsumi has been hinted to have a crush on Saburo ever since the first episode of the anime, but played no further part in some later episodes but his anonymous (at least in the anime) alter-ego is introduced as Natsumi's favorite radio DJ. Then later, in episode 9, he is introduced as the human partner of Kururu, the most secretive and somewhat irritating and sly member of the Keroro Platoon. Ever since then, Natsumi and Saburo have had more closer encounters before, but almost all of them end up as Natsumi being very embarrassed. Saburo thinks of her as a friend and doesn't seem to have other feelings than that, while Natsumi desperately wants to confess to him. Still, they retain a good-natured friendship and (in Natsumi's case), a one-sided love.

In Shichi'nin no Nana

Mutsumi appears for the first time in episode 6 as the late-night radio host "623" (again, a pun on his name, mu (6) tsu (2) mi (3)). It is assumed that his last name is Hojo, as in the Keroro Gunso manga - in the Keroro anime, where his last name is Saburo, his radio callsign is 326 - though it is never explicitly stated. From there onward, Mutsumi's voice is usually featured at least once per episode on Nana's radio, and often just before the ending credits as well, toting a poem written by the DJ. Mutsumi's poems were often seen in the early Keroro stories as well; in the manga, he is a self-titled philosopher with an easygoing nature. Mutsumi met Nana when she came to his radio station, and he appears again in person later in the series.

The most notable difference between the Shichi'nin no Nana and Keroro Gunso versions of Mutsumi is the colour of his hair; in the former, it is an electric blue, and in the latter, a silvery-grey. He seems to be voiced by the same actor in both shows, though in Shichi'nin no Nana his voice is credited as simply "623, by 623."

Trivia

• When Mutsumi first enters the Hinata household, the sequence resembles a scene from the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion where the final Angel, Tabris, attacks NERV HQ - this is present in both the manga and the anime. The anime plays this up as a reference to Mutsumi's seiyuu, Akira Ishida, who played Kaworu Nagisa, who is Tabris' alter ego. In the anime, Beethoven's 9th playing as a BGM, which is Kaworu's theme song and the song that was BGM in the scene they were parodying. He also resembles Kaworu, as he has grey hair and has a similar personality to Kaworu.
• Only a few people know that the famous radio DJ 623 is actually a student who skips classes a lot. Events that involved 623 usually give out postcards with 623's signature but the face of 623 is never showed in these cards.
• 623's radio shows are the best targets for Keroro Platoon to advertise as nearly all the females in Inner Tokyo listen to the shows. But they always fail because of Natsumi, who is a crazy fan of 623.

• Fictional artists
• Fictional philosophers
• Fictional poets
• Fictional radio personalities
• Sgt. Frog
• Japanese anime and manga characters