Don't know how many are celebrating or remembering their fathers this weekend...but Father's Day is this Sunday in the US... I chose Nambu to represent the "father figure" of the team...since RI was a jerk and there aren't any pics of Joe (no living pics), Jun or Jinpei's dads... (I did have a decent pic of Ryu's dad, though...and really, he's kind of a jerk, too)...

Excellent work as usual, Springie! As I read your reason for choosing Nambu as the team's father figure, I was struck by a thought: could one of the series' underlying messages be that dads are jerks?

Interesting thought...now I'm trying to think...are there any examples of good fathers in the series? I can't recall any...they all seem to either have passed or are jerks...

I never thought about that, but it sure goes that way, doesn't it? But to all of those good father's out there - Have a wonderful day!

Originally posted by ElectricWhite Excellent work as usual, Springie! As I read your reason for choosing Nambu as the team's father figure, I was struck by a thought: could one of the series' underlying messages be that dads are jerks?

What about Amanda's father? Right now I don't remember how he turned out, does anyone?

They do seem to be fond of Nambu as a father figure. Today a lot of fathers in the US at least try to be more "Friends" with their kids but it hasn't always been like that there, and it certainly hasn't always been like that elsewhere. Perhaps in some way it's a reflection of the relationships between fathers and sons in Japan at the time, not so much a message. Though how many parent relationships do we really see in the show? We have no idea how well Joe got on with his parents, though they obviously were concerned in that they called his name right before they were shot. We know that Ken's mother was sick for a long time but we have to infer how he felt about her, and Ken obviously had kind of worshipped his father as a kid at the very least (or raised him to worship level after losing him).

I agree with DT! Amanda's father is a really good example. He also cleverly isolated a dangerous guy wandering around her without hurting her emotions.

This is one episode I have to watch again soon...

That's right...Amanda's father...good one! Now I'm trying to think if there were any others...

Kiena(the Andes girl)'s father! He's name was Yupanki or something... He volunteered as a guide for ISO staffs to earn the cost of his daughter's marriage.