Hoodlum

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## Hoodlum

### Aliases

• 日本語 *Chinpira* (チンピラ)
 • English The Punk

## Biographical Information

### Cause of Death

Blood loss due to having his throat cut by Doctor

## Debuts

### Manga Debut

*Akudama Drive Comicalize* Volume 1, Chapter 1

## Other Adaptations

### Stage Actor

Reo Nagatsuma

**The Hoodlum** (チンピラ, *Chinpira*) is a main character in *Akudama Drive*. Due to his petty crimes, he was classified as an Akudama and given a prison sentence of 4 years.

## Background

According to the Execution Division Apprentice's console in Episode 2, the Hoodlum is a criminal imprisoned for theft and blackmail. He was meant to serve for four years, however he escaped when the group of Akudama crashed through the underground prison, freeing him. Overhearing that there will be millions of dollars in line, he becomes interested and runs after them.

## Personality

The Hoodlum is a greedy individual who loves to get involved in crimes for money. He tries to act bold, but ultimately, he's a coward who believes that "if you can't beat them, join them". However, thanks to his weakness, he is able to show great consideration and faith for his comrades. He can be described as a pathological liar. In a surprising turn of events, Hoodlum reveals himself a hint of loyalty to people he grows to care about, this is best seen when he comes to the Brawler's aid despite his fears and initial intent to exclusively use him.

## Appearance

The Hoodlum has a shaggy and pale appearance similar to the stereotypical hoodlum. He dons a red striped purple suit with a yellow collared shirt underneath, light-brown leather shoes and orange-tinted glasses, possibly in an attempt to show off a modicum of wealth and fashion. He has green hair styled and twisted over his head, hazel eyes and thin sideburns. He also has a simple necklace.

## History

### Past

The Hoodlum is an Akudama at Kansai city who was imprisoned for theft and blackmail, having earned a sentence of 4 years.

### Joining the mission

Soon after they had gotten to the station on a mission to rescue the Cutthroat from his execution, a tank ambushed the Doctor, Hacker, Courier, Brawler and Swindler from the Central Elevator Hall, causing the floor to collapse to the underground prison, in which they encountered the Hoodlum. Upon hearing of their mission's ridiculously large reward from the Doctor, he became interested and decided to join them. The highest-ranking Akudama in the city, the Cutthroat, was to be publicly executed that day, which the group managed to interrupt. Having made it to the public execution's location in the underground, while everyone fought, the Hoodlum and Swindler stayed on the side, too afraid to join the fight. Confused by the extravagant melee, the Hoodlum panickedly attempted to question the Swindler, who was in turn confused by his behavior, claiming he should keep it together, being that he was an Akudama. Eventually, the Swindler tried to save the Courier, and for that reason used the Hoodlum as a distraction. The tank identified him as a target, but he jumped away before it could shoot, giving the Courier enough time to destroy it.

In the manga, the Hoodlum had made his first appearance earlier, right as he was getting arrested. Having stolen a wallet, he was ambushed by police robots. He initially attempted to fight them off with a knife, but seeing that one of them was able to shoot the weapon out of his hand, he immediately surrendered and was taken into custody.

### Shinkansen Raid

Once the execution had been successfully interrupted and as everyone was finally safe, the Courier revealed himself to have a different mission: to deliver a strange case to the Cutthroat. The latter gladly opened it, and suddenly bomb necklaces had been installed around all the present Akudama's necks, including the Hoodlum's. A Black Cat that had been rescued by the Swindler began to talk, revealing itself to be a robot controlled by an anonymous mastermind who planned to force the Akudama to participate in a raid at the Shinkansen, a sacred place found in Kansai to test them and see everyone's potential during this first phase of their plan. The mastermind proceeded, as they had completed the first part of their mission, to pay the Hoodlum along with the rest of the group a total of ¥100,000,000 each, sent to their seal e-payment, claiming that if the group successfully raided the Shinkansen they would get a total of ¥1,000,000,000. The mastermind originally did not intend the Hoodlum and Swindler to participate but decided to make them participate as they showed to possess helpful abilities.

Outside the underground station, with the help of the Hacker and Brawler, they successfully stole a flying bus to initiate their plan. Onboard, he properly met fellow Akudama the Brawler, whose recklessness he had been impressed by, and to whom he pretended he had an estimated sentence of 50,000,000 years and was one of the most wanted Akudama, which he believed and was greatly impressed by. Inside the bus, the Cutthroat, revealing a strong liking of anything red, pressed all the red emergency buttons, causing the bus to gain maximum speed and crash on Seven-Star Hotel *Geisha and Dancing Girls*.

Considering the hotel a proper hideout, the Black Cat revealed the details of its plan to the Akudama. The mastermind intended to "steal" cargo from the Kyushu Plant, currently at the Kansai station to be transported to Kanto. As they discussed the plan, two Executioners arrived at their room and began to fight the Akudama. Afraid of the Executioners, the Swindler and Hoodlum hid behind the couch. After the Execution Division Apprentice defeated both the Brawler and Doctor, she found the two behind the couch. The Hoodlum, being discovered as a wanted Akudama whom she described as "just a hoodlum", immediately tried to hide from her, but the Swindler tried to distract her to allow him to run away. The Apprentice was surprised to find out the Swindler had a 0-Year sentence, and the Hoodlum used that as an opportunity to destabilize her, exclaiming that she had tampered with the system and was actually a "Swindler", which the Apprentice believed. Thanks to the Courier's attempt to aim at the Apprentice to distract the Execution Division Master, with whom he was fighting, and as the Brawler and Doctor turned out to be alive, the group successfully escaped the Executioners and hid at the Abandoned Factory. Inside the factory, the Black Cat discussed the plan with the Akudama once again and made the Hoodlum responsible for carrying the machine that would help to disable the barrier located in the top floor of the Shinkansen Station, grouping him with the Brawler and Doctor to push a button located downstairs at the station in order to reach Kanto.

Initiating phase two, the three of them headed to their positions, only to find a barrier blocking their way, keeping them from going any further. The Brawler, however, found a way to use his strength to get around the barrier, allowing the Hoodlum to rush to the button once the barrier was broken, at which point he awkwardly fell, but still suceeded in pushing the button. They then met with the rest of their group and used the elevator to head to the Shinkansen.

Inside the cargo train, the group once again encountered the two Executioners, trying to stop them one last time. At first, the Hoodlum hid away from the fight, observing the Cutthroat and the Brawler from the side and judging their strengths, but seeing the Brawler struggle, he suddenly decided to join in and help him. Having successfully fought them off, the group finally reached the Vault car, at which point the Black Cat disintegrated, leaving behind a key. They used it to open the Vault, in which they found two children, a brother and a sister, as such completing the second phase.

### Expo Park Escape

The Akudama successfully finished the Shinkansen Raid and rescued the two children known as Brother and Sister, who revealed themselves to be the masterminds behind the Black Cat. The siblings made another request to deliver them to Kansai and promised to double the amount of money intended. Without a choice, the Hoodlum followed the rest of the Akudama, although the Hacker managed to get rid of his own bomb necklace and left them in order to head to Kanto on his own.

Outside the Shinkansen, the group stopped and rested at the Abandoned Ward 3, waiting for the rain to stop. As they waited, the Doctor pressed the Brother and Sister to answer her questions, but as they refused, the Swindler requested that she stopped, claiming she was "being a bully". Despite not having intervened earlier, the Brawler with Hoodlum agreed that bullying the kids was wrong and sided with the Swindler. On the next day, the group proceeded to the North Side of the Fortification wall where they encountered the Master one more time. While the Brawler was fighting Master, both him and the Hoodlum got caught in some rubble, after which the latter rushed towards his "bro" in fear he may have died from the attack. The Brawler instantly got back up however, but started to cough blood, making the Hoodlum worry even more. For that reason, he tried to encourage him to stop fighting until he recovered, but the Brawler refused to give up on a good fistfight. The Hoodlum was impressed, and decided to help him out, but he simply got carried around by the Brawler before he threw him towards the Master, at which point he fell unconscious.

When he woke up, he saw the Brawler still fighting with the Master on a Casino building, far away from where he was located. He walked towards their position, but he arrived to the Old Kansai Bridge shortly after the Brawler's death. After staring at the body in silence, in an act of revenge, the Hoodlum stabbed the Apprentice, who had found her Master the same way, in the right eye, beforing returning to the group.

Having returned to the rest of the Akudama he revealed that the Brawler and Master had killed each other and that he himself had stabbed the Apprentice, insinuating that he had killed her. Boarding the elevator, having gotten angry at the Brother for saying the Brawler's death did not matter, he decided to return to him a charm that he had dropped, having secretely snuck in a small tracker. Once they arrived at the Expo Park, the group found a rocket ship, which the children explained they were planning to board to escape the Earth. As they were preparing to leave, the Doctor revealed herself as a traitor, and allowed Executioners to ambush the Akudama.

### The Kansai City Escape

Having successfully escaped the Executioners back at the Expo Park, the Hoodlum hid in a back alley in Kansai city, but the Swindler, who was also located inside the city, was found out, and alerts of him and the other Akudama scattered around. As he worried and thought about what he would have done if his bro was still with him, a citizen appeared behind and, seeing his anxious behavior, offered him drugs to calm him down. Before he could rest and take the drugs, however, the Doctor walked up to him, recognizing him, and revealed to everyone that he was being hunted, causing everyone to tackle him. Trying to escape, he offered the Doctor his help in exchange for hers by revealing he was tracking the Brother. This pleased her, and she forced him to work alongside her.

The Hoodlum and Doctor then spent the night together, the latter initiating sexual intercourse. The Hoodlum later seemed confused, and asked why she had done it, to which she answered that she was only "being true to herself". He listened to her monologue, until she asked him if he viewed her as a woman, which he could not answer to.

Later, initiating their plan, they stole a flying bus to easily crash into Shinkansen, the Brother's current location and destination. The Hoodlum asked himself what he was doing, but continued nonetheless. Crashing into the station, the Doctor and Hoodlum ran into the Apprentice, her Junior, the Courier and the Swindler, and attempted to steal Brother. A manipulated Hoodlum took the Swindler hostage as the Doctor took the Junior hostage, convincing the Apprentice to give her the Brother. In the meantime, however, the Swindler talked to the Hoodlum and tried to make him change sides by reminding him of how he stood up for the Brawler, and how highly the latter thought of him, at which point the Doctor revealed that she had been the one to ensure the Brawler died during his fight against the Master.

### Legacy

Inspired by the Brawler, the Hoodlum started to remember the moments he spent with him and decided to try and keep up his legacy. Sacrificing himself in the process, he stabbed the Doctor in the neck, ultimately ending both their lives. As such, he passed away believing he had followed up on his bro's legacy.

## Relationships

### Brawler

The Hoodlum and Brawler share a brother-like bond. Despite his initial intent to exclusively use the Brawler to his advantage, the Hoodlum grows to care about him and comes to his aid despite his fears.

After the Brawler's death, the Hoodlum feels sad, as a testament to their bond. He immediately attacks the Execution Division Apprentice in order to avenge his friend, and later expresses resentment towards the Brother for his insensitivity to the Brawler's death.

### Doctor

The Hoodlum obeys the Doctor under the simple principle of "if you can't beat them, join them" and works with her in order to gain protection and to avoid getting caught or killed by the Executioners and citizens of Kansai. After finding out that she was the one responsible for the Brawler's death, the Hoodlum kills her in order to avenge his friend.

The Hoodlum and Doctor are shown to have had sexual intercourse, which appears to confuse him, as nothing indicates any form of mutual interest between the two.

## Abilities

**Theft and blackmailing:** According to the Execution Division Apprentice's console, the Hoodlum is a criminal imprisoned for theft and blackmail. He was however found out.

In the manga, the Hoodlum's introduction shows him running away after pickpocketing, only to run into police robots to whom he quickly surrenders, unable to fight them off.

**Fighting:** The Hoodlum has few fighting skills. In the manga, his introduction shows that he carries around a retractable knife, which he opens with ease but is unfortunately no match for police robots. He later takes a hold of one of the Execution Division's energy swords, with which he attacks the Apprentice, injuring her eye.

The Hoodlum usually hides from fights, and notably attempts to befriend whoever he believes to be the strongest fighter around him in order to get them to assure his protection. Upon forming a friendship with the Brawler, however, he finds enough courage within himself to participate by throwing an object on his opponent.

Under the Doctor's wing, he later learns how to use a scalpel to kill by cutting one's throat. He puts his newfound skill to use by efficiently killing her.

**Tracking:** The Hoodlum carries a tracking device with him. He can implant the device on a variety of objects and people, allowing him to keep track of their exact location. He implements the tracking device on the Brother and accesses the information through his cell phone.

## Gallery

Portrait of the **Hoodlum** with and without glasses by Rokurou OgakiThe Hoodlum with the Doctor and Brawler in Episode 3The Hoodlum in Episode 4The Hoodlum getting mad at the Brother in Episode 7The Hoodlum in Episode 9The Hoodlum in Episode 10
## Trivia

* The Hoodlum likes ramen.
* Renta! hosted a popularity poll in December 2020, in which Hoodlum ranked 5th with 1663 votes to his name.
* His japanese name, チンピラ, *Chinpira*, literally translates to "thug".
	+ While Funimation's subtitles use the translation "Hoodlum" to refer to him, officially licensed merch has shown to use the term "Punk" instead.
* In Episode 2, after the Execution Division Apprentice calls the Hoodlum "just a hoodlum", the Swindler, trying to distract her, cries out "run, Mr. Hoodlum!", to which he reacts by asking "Huh? I'm Hoodlum?". This implies that up until this point, this code name had not been used to describe him.

## References

1. ↑ The anime's official profiles currently do not mention the cast's genders. In the original Japanese version of the anime, this character uses masculine pronouns and is hereby assumed to be male.
2. ↑ Portrait of the Hoodlum posted by Rokurou Ogaki on his Twitter
3. ↑ The Punk's character profile (日本語
4. ↑ Renta! popularity poll - December 2020
5. ↑ Product page for AMNIBUS official merch featuring the name "Killer" (2021/03/08)