Takeshi's Castle Cast Key:
~ 'English' Name
~ Real Name
~ Regularly appeared in Japanese episodes X - X
~ More information about the character

~ General Lee
~ Hayato Tani
~ 1 - End
~ The General leads his army of contestants through the games set by Count Takeshi and onto the 'Show Down'. If one of the few contestants the General has left beats Takeshi, he gets what he's always wanted - residence in the castle!

~ Strange People
~ Battlefield Reporters
~ 1 - End
~ There have been several Battlefield Reporters who include: Yanagisawa Shingo, Junji Inagawa and Akira Sakamoto. These lot interview the losing contestants at the games.

~ Count Takeshi
~ Takeshi Kitano
~ 1 - 28 and 55 - End
~ Takeshi is the owner of the castle. He sets up games in the castle's grounds to try and stop the contestants, and the General, from storming the castle and chucking him out! He has lots of guards working for him - in return they get somewhere to live and fish bones for dinner! You'll normally find him in the 'Show Down' where the he must be beaten for the contestants to win.

~ Man with the Papier Mache Head
~ Takeshi Doll
~ 1987 New Year Special - 55
~ When Takeshi wasn't available for filming another guard would put on a big 'Takeshi' head and play the part of the Count!

~ Ollie / Rudolph
~ Saburo Ishikura
~ 1 - 43
~ Saburo was the first of Takeshi's side-kicks. It was his job to think of strategies and new games to stop the General's opposing attack.

~ Takeshi's Sidekick / Sign Writer
~ Higashi Sonomanma
~ 1 - 28 and 44 - End
~ Higashi started off as the leader of the 'Emerald Guards'. In episode 44 he became the second of Takeshi's side-kicks. He would always be found in the golden cart (from episode 44 onwards) in the 'Show Down' - sometimes manning the water cannon or laser gun and sometimes driving.

~ Emerald Guards
~ Defence Troop / Takeshi's Gundan
~ 1 - 28 and 43 - End
~ The 'Emerald Guards' are Takeshi's personal group of highly trained water / laser gun shooters! The first leader of the troop was Higashi Sonomanma, until episode 28. They got a new leader in episode 47 - Omori Utaemon. The other guards in the troop are Matsuo Bannai, Edamame Tsumami, Yurei Yanagi, Rakkyo Ide, Great Gidayu, Dankan, Third Nagasima, 'Rusher' Itamae, Gadarukanaru Taka, Hakase Suidobashi, Sintarou Mizushima and Tadajij Kikuchi. Some appear in other games - for example Ide, Yanagi and Gidayu have been in 'Sumo Rings'.

~ Baldy
~ Strong Kobayashi
~ 1 - End
~ Strong is one of the 'Black Handed, Black Hearted' guards. He will always be in the 'Square / Honeycomb Maze's and is hardly ever found in a game without Kibaji.

~ Tina Turner
~ Kibaji Tankobo
~ 1 - End
~ Kibaji is another of the 'Black Handed, Black Hearted' guards. He's nearly always found in the 'Square / Honeycomb Maze's and is hardly ever found in a game without Strong.

~ Animal
~ Animal / Brad Lesley
~ 72 - End
~ Animal is one of the crazeeeist guards there are! He always gives 100% and doesn't like winners or cheaters. He joined the 'Black Handed, Black Hearted' guard team when he was in the 'Honeycomb Maze'. He also had his own game - 'Animal Bang' ('Home Run').

~ Porker's Cousin / Man in the All-over Purple Body-suit
~ Large Fuji
~ 72 - End
~ Large Fuji first appeared in the 'Honeycomb Maze' in episode 72 - then replaced 'Porker' in 'Sumo Rings'. He also joined as a late 'Emerald Guard'.

~ Blondie
~ Umanosuke Ueda
~ 2 - End
~ Ueda is a strong and scary guard! The first game he was in on the show was 'Square Maze' in episode 2. From then he joined 'Sumo Rings' and 'Grid Iron' as a guard no contestant wanted to come up against. He isn't all fierce though, as we saw in 'Roll the Dice' when he played the part of a teacher.

~ Pink Panzer
~ Makoto Dainenji
~ 1 - ?
~ Makoto is always found in games with Katsuo. If you jump down the wrong hole in 'Final Fall' you've got a 50% chance you'll meet Makoto, in a stupid costume! He's one half of the 'Pink Panzers' who together are rubbish at 'Skittles'!

~ Pink Panzer
~ Katsuo Tokashiki
~ 1 - ?
~ Katsuo is always found in games with Mokoto. If you jump down the wrong hole in 'Final Fall' and you don't meet Makoto, you'll have found Katsuo - who'll be in a stupid costume too! He's the other half of the 'Pink Panzers'.

~ Boxing Monster
~ Yoroi Chuu
~ ? - ?
~ This giant Samurai guards the middle of the 'Knock Knock' walls and is a lookout in 'Final Fall'. He uses three moves to try and stop the contestants - Punch, Kick, and what is called his 'killer move', Body Press. When he first appeared he didn't have a name, so (Craig will like this!) viewers were asked to send a name in on a postcard!!

~ Yellow Peril / Streak of Custard / Captain Japan
~ Jo Michiru
~ 1 - End
~ Jo started off as the commander of the fort in 'Uphill Garden' and 'Avalanche'. He became one of the most regular and popular guards as he appeared in nearly every episode! When Popcorn joined the show he became an honorary 'Rainbow Warrior' and was usually seen in 'Bridge Ball' with them. Jo is probably one of the kindest guards as he helps the contestants more than hindering them, however sometimes he might be mischievous so watch out.

~ Swamp Monster
~ Masanori Okada
~ 1 - End
~ This 'Sea Goblin' loves to push contestants in water! You'll always find him in 'Slip Way' chucking off the contestants that don't reach the goal, occasionally in the 'Honeycomb Maze' - also to push contestants in the water, and 'Sling Swing Fling' where, yet again, he pushes the losers in the water... Well actually more drowns them!!

~ Spud
~ Konishiki Doll
~ 15 - End
~ 'Spud' is a giant Konishiki (Hawaiian Sumo Wrestler) head. He takes part in 'Sumo Rings', usually in the blue ring, and wins about 1% of the time!! His first win was in Japanese episode 45 when he beat a 36 year old housewife! When Spud gets mashed it's impossible for him to get up again on his own!

~ Porker
~ Shinoburyo
~ 13 - ?
~ Porker is the best wrester there is in 'Sumo Rings', so opposite to 'Spud', he only loses about 1% of the time! You'll normally find him in the purple ring, so if that's the colour you pick out of the General's box you might as well give up now!

~ Harry
~ Shin Sugimura
~ 13 - End
~ Shin has to be the second easiest person to beat in 'Sumo Rings' (after 'Spud'). Nearly always in the red ring he will normally give you an easy ticket through to the next game. Sometimes he can be tricky though, using his brain 'cos he 'ain't go no brawn, so you still have to be careful!!

~ Rainbow Warriors
~ Popcorn (Shoichi and Shoji Kinoshita)
~ 1987 New Year Special - End
~ "Amigo, Amigo!" It's Popcorn, the rainbow coloured twins who are always there to entertain. They're experts at cannon-shooting in 'Bridge Ball', and also like to push people down hills for fun (in 'Rice Bowl Down Hill' and 'Toboggoff')!

~ Karaoke Host
~ Oki Bondo
~ 20 - End
~ Oki is the host of 'Karaoke' who introduces the songs. He also likes to dance along with the music that's being played and encourage the audience on the sofa to join in.

~ Dennis / Pocahontas
~ Yousichi Shimada
~ 1987 New Year Special - End
~ 'Dennis' is the counter in 'Blueberry Hill' and sometimes teacher in 'Stuff Diving' and cannon-shooter in 'Bridge Ball'. Although the thing he likes best is cross-dressing!! In 'Wipe Out' you will nearly always find 'Dennis' dressed as 'Pocahontas' - chucking the losers in the drink, after distracting them with his pants! He's also in 'Yellow Brick Road', but this time to congratulate the winners, and no doubt flash his pants!

~ Bunny Girls / Geisha Girls
~ Mina Morishima, Sawada, Harumi Tomikawa, Mika, Mutsumi Yokota
~ 12 - End
~ These ladies always appear in 'Karaoke' and 'Turtle Hurtle', and sometimes in 'The Gauntlet' and 'Roulette' to congratulate the winners and escort them through to the next game.

~ Karaoke Bar Boss
~ Koji Sekiyama
~ 20 - ?
~ Koji was the first boss of the Karaoke bar who decided if the contestants singing was good enough for them to go through to the next game.

~ Karaoke Bar Boss
~ Nobuo Yana
~ ? - ?
~ Nobuo was the boss of the Karaoke bar when Koji wasn't there. As the roll of boss, he also had to decide if the contestants singing was good enough for them to go through to the next game.

~ Karaoke Bar Bouncer
~ Takayuki Yokomizo
~ 20 - ?
~ If the boss decided that a contestant wasn't a good enough singer to go through to the next round, Takayuki would throw them out the door - literally!

~ Honey Monster
~ Jumbo Max
~ 4 - ?
~ The 'Honey Monster' guarded the middle of the 'Knock Knock' walls in the first few times the game was played, until he was replaced with the 'Boxing Monster'. He used his hands to whack the contestants with to try and stop them going any further.

~ Octopussy
~ Rammer
~ 1987 New Year Special - ?
~ Rammer the octopus appeared in Karaoke to squirt the losing contestants with squid ink to shut them up!

~ Genetically Modified Potato
~ Rock
~ ? - ?
~ In 'Dino Ride', the contestants that fell off the dinosaur or hadn't knocked the bat off in the time limit were sprayed with white powder by this Rock!

~ Grandad
~ Kunihiko Katsura
~ ? - ?
~ Kunihiko was the original (Japanese) producer of 'Fu'un Takeshi Jo'. He appeared on screen a few times playing green in 'Sumo Rings'.

~ Bowler
~ Rituko Nakayama
~ 15 - ?
~ Rituko often bowled the ball in the earlier played games of 'Skittles'. She could usually knock down a lot of pins with her straight aims.

~ Pie Chucker
~ Yukata Enatsu
~ ? - ?
~ Yukata was in 'Die or Pie' to throw pies at the unlucky contestant's heads sticking out of the holes. He was spot on with his throws nearly every time, so most contestants got covered in 'cream'.

~ Lady in Yellow
~ Mimi Hagiwara
~ ? - ?
~ Mimi appeared in 'Sumo Rings' once, and fought in the yellow ring.

~ Giant Sumo Doll
~ ?
~ ? - ?
~ This giant Sumo Doll only appeared once, which was in 'Sumo Rings' in a Parents and Kids Special.

~ Spud (II)
~ Dainenji Doll
~ ? - ?
~ This giant Dainenji ('Pink Panzer') head only appeared once, which was in 'Sumo Rings'. He replaced 'Spud' for one episode.

~ Space Aliens
~ Ultra Seven
~ ? - ?
~ These group of seven Japanese super heros appeared in 'Monsters!' in the game 'Boulder Dash'. They were at the top of the hill to roll the boulders down at the monsters coming up the hill. The leader is 'Dennis' and the other six were Ultraman, Ultraman Ace, Ultraman Jack, Ultraman Seven, Ultraman Taro and Ultraman Zophy. Ultraman has also been in a few other episodes, eg: The first Kid's only special and one episode where he replaced the General.

~ Space Alien
~ Ultra Mother
~ ? - ?
~ Ultra Mother also appeared in 'Monsters!', but in the game 'Sumo Rings'.

~ Ghoulies
~ ?
~ ? - ?
~ These silver 'Ghoulies' only appear in the Gauntlet. There are three at the start to try and slow the contestants down, one over the moving floor to push boulders down, and four of them swing 'space hoppers' to try and knock the contestants off.

~ Specific Lee
~ ?
~ ? - ?
~ 'Specific' was on the mountain top in 'Stolen Wellies' and spoke to the General through Semaphore (flag signals)!

~ Mother Lee
~ ?
~ ? - ?
~ 'Mother Lee' appeared in 'Tour of Japan Part 2' where she drove through the wall of the General's house on a battery powered thingy!

~ Corporal Lee
~ ?
~ ? - ?
~ Corporal Lee was only ever in one episode - 'Takeshi on Holiday'. She appeared behind the General when he was out in the rain giving the last of the day's troops a talk.

~ Angry Auntie Janice
~ Kikko Matsuoka
~ ? - ?
~ Kikko is Tani's wife. She was in 'Rebuilding the Castle' where she gave the General a slap for not wanting to eat his noodles!!

~ Corporal Kirsty
~ ?
~ ? - ?
~ 'Kirsty' appeared in a later International special to translate what the General said into another language.

~ Bloke in a Suit / Superman with out the Advertising
~ Chuck Wilson
~ ? - ?
~ Chuck appeared in a couple of the earlier International specials. In the first he was dressed as 'Clarke Kent' and then turned into 'Superman' in 'Dragon Lake'. In the second he wore a red version of the General's outfit.

~ Baseball Batter
~ Bob Horner Doll
~ 52 - ?
~ The Bob Horner Doll was the baseball batter in 'Mud Slide' who always had to miss the ball so the actual game could be played!

~ Osama / Daniel O'Donnell of Beijing
~ Tomio Umezawa
~ ? - ?
~ 'Osama' appeared in 'Karaoke' as an audience member. He was asked to sing, by Oki, as he's the "Daniel O'Donnell of Beijing... Which isn't in Japan anyway, but he's on tour"!!

~ Teacher
~ ?
~ ? - ?
~ This 'teacher' appeared in 'Show of Hands' to read the sums out for the contestants.

~ Fat Woman
~ ?
~ ? - ?
~ This woman appeared in 'Sumo Rings' a few times to play as green. She was a good fighter and often won!

~ Desperate Dan
~ ?
~ ? - ?
~ 'Desperate' appeared in the jacuzzi version of 'Stuff Diving' and in 'Cheeze-Berry Hill' as the counter (replacing 'Dennis the Menace'!). He was also the referee in 'Tug of War'.

~ Pinkie Pirates
~ ?
~ ? - ?
~ These two pirates appeared in the first 'Turtle Hurtle' to chase the contestants and try and knock them off the turtles backs.

~ Downtown Dave
~ ?
~ ? - ?
~ First of the five 'Downtown' guards. 'Dave' was in 'Swimming Pool Wipe Out' on 'Pocahontas'' usual spot, 'Tiger-comb Maze' as one of the 'beasties' to catch the contestants, and was also in 'Prod'.

~ Downtown Dewey
~ ?
~ ? - ?
~ Second of the five 'Downtown Guards'. 'Dewey' was in all the games with 'Dave'. In 'Swimming Pool Wipe Out' he was on the finishing platform to help the contestants off of the surfboard. In the 'Tiger-comb Maze' he was the second 'beastie' to catch the contestants, and he was also in 'Prod'.

~ Twiglet Fairy / Twiggy
~ ?
~ ? - ?
~ Third of the five 'Downtown Guards'. 'Twiggy' appeared in 'Swimming Pool Rice Bowl Down Hill' where he was dressed as a chef. He was also in 'Prod'

~ Robin Hood
~ ?
~ ? - ?
~ Forth of the five 'Downtown Guards'. 'Robin' was in 'Swimming Pool Rice Bowl Down Hill'- also dressed as a chef. He helped 'Twiggy' push the contestants down the hill. In 'Prod' he had a bad time as he got a soaking and then had to battle again!

~ Tiger-Philly
~ ?
~ ? - ?
~ Fifth of the five 'Downtown Guards'. 'Tiger-Philly' only appeared in 'Prod', in which he won once and lost once.