Wonder Wasp (DAD)
In anime
John as one of Dark Million's new recruits
John Tanaka with his madeover machine, the Horrid Hornet, and Jody Summer & Pico
John Tanaka, the mechanic of the Galactic Space Federation, is in the same unit as Jody Summer. Secretly harboring feelings for her, he entered the race to protect her from danger. If, by a stroke of luck, he wins the Grand Prix, he’s even considering proposing.
Initially, this was only out of concern, but F-Zero GX reveals John Tanaka has a romantic interest in Jody.
John Tanaka is also the designer of his own machine, the Wonder Wasp.
In the anime, he is seen to have a more wimpier side despite being the director of the Mobile Task Force, even though he hardly races and has a higher rank than Jody; his only superior seems to be the Commissioner.
Ikran's F-Zero timeline[]
He was first seen at Lightning, as he pleaded Falcon to save Jody inside an exploding powerplant. He began to lose consciousness at times on account of the invasion set by Black Shadow. Although he was relieved Jody was safe. Somehow, he was able to race at the GX Grand Prix, although he had lost against Falcon, Tinsel, Blood and Black.
A year later, he seemed to be at his wimpier side, especially when he always gets paranoid of Jody's and Dr. Stewart's decisions, even taking risks against the Commissioner's orders while reviving Rick from cold sleep. He seemed to have the hots for Kate Alen this time around instead of the captain. He doesn't seem to understand she has an interest in EAD.
He hasn't been highlighted as much, other than his cowardice, until he got himself in trouble from Pico spying on the "top cop." He was desperate on seeing Kate in concert at the Port Town cruise, and Rick, Jody, Lucy and Tinsel had to rescue him and return the stolen data chips. He continues to be lovesick over the songstress, though.
Not much is seen, till the Task Force was captured by Dark Million. He was one of the last people to be awakened, and he seemed to be a promising mechanic along with Clash, enhancing their technology, weaponry, machines and Dark Soldiers. He was seen racing once in his madeover machine, the Horrid Hornet, and re-advancement of the Wonder Wasp, at the Death Wind semifinals cooperating with Pico and Miss Killer. He lost as he was being bombarded by the inclement weather and the triple Booster Fire that Rick, Falcon and Tinsel performed! The impact left him knocked out and was taken to Mute City, only to have Rodney captured. Since he couldn't recover from Stewart's formula, he was relocated to the Cyborg Graduate School for refuge, till he gotten his frontal lobe repaired thanks to Rick's new thermal healing abilities. According to Rodney, who also recovered, his frontal lobe was damaged from Black Shadow's invasion at Lightning; with it repaired, he wasn't his spontaneous, wimpy, emotional self, but more serious like he used to be!
He soon reunited with the Task Force, excepting Stewart, and joined in wholeheartedly to save the universe boarding the Galaxy Runner. By the time Deathborn was defeated, he was impressed of the new recruits: Octoman, Leon, Beastman, and Gomar & Shioh. He still hangs out at his office, even though he has accepted Jody for Stewart or EAD for Kate. He was also invited for Rick and Tinsel's wedding, and he was in charge of security next to the Commissioner.
Trivia[]
- In John's F-Zero GX Pilot Profile, Jody Summer's name is misspelled as "Jody Summers". This may be a minor error on the developer's part.
- John claims (during an interview) that the most important racing tip is fastening your seatbelt.
- In Songstress, Kate Alen, Gordon has mentioned Tanaka as "Tanny," a close friend of his cause they're both fans of Kate, and Tanaka fixes Gordon's parking tickets as the midget gives him concert tickets.