Teruo Tendou

**Tendou Teruo** (天道 照夫, *, *Tendō Teruo**?) is the husband of Akiko Tendou and the father of Akira Tendou.

## Appearance

Teruo is an adult man in his late 40s and early 50s. He is fit and well-built for his age as a result of working as a farmer. He has black hair cut in a practical crew cut, with stern eyes framed with thick eyebrows. He also has sunkissed skin from working under the sun. His face has many lines due to his age.

He dresses in simple everyday clothes consisting of a plain T-shirt, a pair of pants, and a pair of practical boots for working. He often wears a straw hat to protect himself from the heat.

Upon closer inspection, Teruo seems to have gotten thinner, and overall more out of shape. This is because he suffers from a lung illness, which force him to spit blood from time to time. Because he never got his sickness checked, it has gotten worse over time that he is unable to work in the fields for a long time.

## Personality

Teruo is a hardworking and no-nonsense farmer. He may come off as intimidating and unfriendly at first, but he's a kind man at heart. This is shown in several instances, with the most notable where, according to Akiko, when Akira left, Teruo wondered constantly if his son was okay. He also showed to be brave and protective, as he was ready to risk getting zombified if it meant that it would protect his family from danger.

When in a relaxed mood, it was then revealed that Teruo has a belief that "*dreams make a man, a man*", and that without a dream, "*a man is nothing but a jellyfish*". He is also very encouraging in this regard, and readily gives out pieces of advice to his son, in both the past and later in the present. He is also an honest man, who bluntly tells Akira that dreadlocks don't suit him.

## Story

Teruo's voice is first heard in Episode 9. It plays out his responses to Akira's desires to attend a college in Tokyo and then later when Akira reveals that he's starting to work at a production company. He then later tells Akira to find his dream, and quote, "*the biggest one he can*", he shares his beliefs, which Akira, in a moment of teenage angst, internally responds "*like you know anything, you're just... a country farmer*".

He is then mentioned later when Akira, after helping Mr. Kumano build the biggest treehouse ever, tells his group that he "*kinda got a strong urge to see Mom and Dad*." Teruo later makes his official debut when he faces Akira, who then tearfully thanks him for working hard every day to keep putting him in college, to which Teruo replies gruffly and a little unfriendly. He then tells his son that "the world's a mess, think before you act." Before Akira rebutts him, Teruo turns to his son's friends and says that they must have a tough time crossing that dangerous path, and then tells them that they can rest in Gunma for they have a lot of spare rooms. After receiving gratitude from them, Teruo grabs his straw hat and while telling Akiko that he'll leave the rest to her, he tells them he's off to the fields.

Teruo appears again when he tells Akira that he could use his help. While pulling out weeds, his son attempts to make a conversation, but he replies it's been the same as always, their conversation ends awkwardly on Akira's end. Later, Teruo is seen with a strained expression on his face, and opening his hand reveals that he coughed up blood, he muses that he doesn't have much time left, which he quickly hides before Akira can spot it. Akira attempts to ask what's wrong, but Teruo brushes off his concerns, and the two head home together in silence.

On the way they passed Higurashi and his group, with Teruo, noticing that his son is curious about them, tells him that "*those guys came from the city*", with Akira remarking that he knew that guy.

## Etymology

* The name **Teruo** means "light, illuminate, shine, compare, bashful" (照) (**teru**) and "man, husband" (夫) (**o**).
* Teruo's surname **Tendou** means "way of heaven, divine justice" (天道).