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Keiichi Nakagawa's manga appearance.

Keiichi Nakagawa (中川 圭一, Nakagawa Keiichi) is one of the main characters from the long-running Japanese manga and anime series Kochikame by Osamu Akimoto. He is appointed as Patrol Officer in the Kameari Kouen-Mae Police Box, and is known for his extreme wealth, as well as iconic yellow-coloured uniform.

Appearance[]

Nakagawa is portrayed as the good-looking rich boy, acting as a male counterpart to his colleague Reiko. He has sideswept brown hair that reaches his neck at the back, and dark blue eyes in the anime series. In the manga series, he is typically depicted as having no prominent iris, making his eye colour appear to be black as a result.

In stark contrast to other police officers in the series (with the exception of Reiko), Nakagawa wears an expensive yellow uniform that was specially designed for him by Pierre-Cardin which includes pants and a coat that covers his white undershirt. In the manga series, his uniform is depicted with pinstripe designs on all pieces of clothing, including his matching hat (which is never worn in the anime).

His tie in the manga series is known to change in design and style between different stories. Within the anime, however, his tie remains in the same pattern throughout each episode. The tie is coloured red with a couple of black diagonal stripes.

Like other characters in the series, the uniform design is prone to change depending on the season in which the episode takes place. In summer months, he wears a short-sleeved rendition of the uniform which requires no undershirt or tie. This is the case for his uniform in both the manga and anime series.

Personality[]

Very even-tempered and co-operative in character, Nakagawa is portrayed as the epitome of an ideal worker who shows commitment and effort in his job, much to the satisfaction of Bucho, while working at the Police Box. Like Reiko, he is often finding himself having to argue with Ryotsu over controversial or potentially dangerous schemes, which never work in influencing the latter to stop.

Like Reiko, he is a mix of both Japanese and French, and has undergone high-class education prior to working in the Police Box. He shows ample intelligence in topics mainly concerning business and finance, as his father is the CEO of the Nakagawa Corporation. He is heir to an extremely large brand that encompasses various markets in the business sector, and is the primary reason behind his extreme wealth. His common mode of transport is via his bright red Ferrari.

A humorous note regarding Nakagawa's wealth would be his ability to order a variety of inane things, such as ice from Fiji, and have it quickly delivered (usually by helicopter) to wherever he so desires.

Due to his wealth, Nakagawa lives in his family's mansion, though it would be better to describe it as an extravagant palace, filled with inane luxuries and teaming with servants ready to do Nakagawa's bidding. It has been seen multiple times to be a popular party venue, with both the influential and wealthy in attendance. Due to his family being extremely busy, it would appear that Nakagawa is the sole resident of his estate.

Nakagawa has shown bouts of sadness regarding the fact that he is almost never in touch with his family due to their extremely busy work schedules, and has at least once gone onto the verge of insanity after experiencing many failed attempts to reunite with his father, which is explored in an anime episode of its own.

Nakagawa is occasionally depicted to have an insane alto-eager side to him that only appears in circumstances where he encounters consecutive failures or heavy bouts of alcohol; although rare, this line of behavior is what adds the extra quirk to his otherwise 'too-normal' personality that he always conveys.

Relationships[]

Family[]

Sayuri[]

Nakagawa is only able to meet his mother every set number of years, given her extremely hectic schedule as a singer and pianist. 

Ichiro Nakagawa[]

The fact that Nakagawa's father is the CEO behind the massive Nakagawa Corporation means that he is literally almost never able to visit his son. He has been successful, however, in fixing sessions to meet his heir every few years for sessions that are limited by time in mere minutes for a rushed meal and (often unfruitful) chat.

Younger sister[]

As is the case with both of his parents, Nakagawa is rarely ever able to meet his younger sister, who is a successful but relentlessly busy fashion model.

Colleagues[]

Kankichi Ryotsu[]

Nakagawa maintains a steady friendship with Ryotsu, both at in and outside of work. He is often offering his own opinions and advice in situations where Ryotsu addresses a particular problem or topic of interest. At times where Ryotsu's statements are perceived as wrong or inappropriate, Nakagawa will provide corrections or common sense to alleviate the former's misunderstandings.

He often ends up having to discourage Ryotsu from engaging in potentially dangerous or pointless activities. Despite his efforts and pleas, Ryotsu almost never listens and goes ahead with his own plans instead.

There are occasions where he asks for the help of his employees from the Nakagawa Corporation to aid Ryotsu in materialistic aspects of his more appropriate schemes.

Reiko Katherine Akimoto[]

Reiko acts as the female counterpart to Nakagawa, and both are strikingly similar in character as well as personality, with the exception of gender differences.

Nakagawa and Reiko tend to offer the same sorts of advice to other characters in the show in very similar fashions, and given their very similar home background and mannerisms. Both are a mix of Japanese and French parents, extremely wealthy and specially skilled in a range of talents. 

Daijiro Ohara (Bucho)[]

Nakagawa is consistently on good terms with Bucho, given his supreme dedication to his job at the Police Box. However, he is always ending up having to break to him the news behind Ryotsu's constant misbehavior and occasional absences.

Katsushika Police HQ[]

Komachi Ono and Naoko Seisho[]

Tsutenkaku Tower[]

Haru Midou[]

Trivia[]

  • Along with Ryoutsu, Nakagawa is one of the only few characters to have debuted since the first serialized chapter released in 1976, and continues to make prominent appearances on a weekly basis ever since. This makes him one of the most widely-known and familiar characters in Kochikame, with Ryotsu and Reiko.
  • Female Japanese singer Ami Onuki of the J-Pop duo Puffy briefly starred in a chapter on a date with Nakagawa. This followed a guest-star letter she wrote which was published at the end of volume 104, where she says -- rather embarrassingly -- that Nakagawa has always been her favourite character, and she wished to be shown together with him. Her appearance garnered surprise from Reiko and jealousy from Ryotsu.
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