In both Space Pirate and Endless Odyssey, Tadashi’s father, Professor Daiba, has been murdered, and Tadashi has been the unfortunate soul to discover the body. As if this would not already be messing with his head, very shortly afterwards a mysterious space pirate appears and issues Tadashi an invitation: ‘If you want to become a real man, board my ship.’ Tadashi, who has already had his young life irrevocably altered by the death of his only remaining parent, must now make a further life-altering decision.

That Tadashi chooses a pirate's life is not unexplainable. With his father dead, he is without family and aimless in the world. Harlock’s world will hardly provide him with the family environment he so desperately needs, but it will provide a focus for Tadashi. And a purpose — that being to hunt down his father’s murderer and avenge his death. Tadashi is obviously not thinking of what will happen once he’s past the retribution phase — living as a pirate is a dangerous thing to do, and there really is no going back once that decision is made. But recklessness is what defines Tadashi, and it appears to be Harlock’s job to refine that recklessness and channel it into something more constructive.

There is a tendency to assume that Harlock will fulfil the role of father in Tadashi’s life, which is far from the reality. Harlock does not have, at any point or in any incarnation, enough emotional energy invested in Tadashi to fill that role. Harlock likes Tadashi and is tolerant and patient, guiding if and when needed, yet he remains distant and remote from the tumult that Tadashi spews forth at every opportunity. More than once the audience has probably wished that Harlock would slap Tadashi down for his disrespectful behaviour, but he stoicly manages to refrain from doing so (okay, well, there was that one time when he did…). Similarly, Tadashi is not a younger version of the good captain, although Miimé once expressed the opinion that had Tadashi been left alone, as Harlock was, he would have become like Harlock. However, it is clear that Tadashi’s personality is diametrically opposed Harlock’s, which makes it difficult for them to develop and sustain a relationship. The Tadashi of Endless Odyssey has difficulty establishing relationships with any of the other characters onboard the Arcadia since his anger constantly hinders his interpersonal skills. Even at his worst Harlock was never that angry and has always been cool, collected and controlled. He may wish to impart some of those skills to Tadashi, but it does seem, at times, to be somewhat of a lost cause.

Tadashi is forever questioning and accusing Harlock, berating him for his inaction, railing against Harlock’s apparently passive nature (misunderstanding patience for passivity), doubting the crew’s abilities. To his credit Harlock ignores this behaviour (although with the occasional amused smirk behind Tadashi’s back) and responds to the whirlwind of accusation that is Tadashi with his usual demeanour of indifference. And let’s face it — if the forces of evil can’t get a reaction out of Harlock, aint nothing little Tadashi can do that will.

Tadashi is young, brash, angry, impatient, edgy and tense. At least this is how he is in Endless Odyssey (where he must be in his late teens). In Space Pirate he is young (his age here is cited as 14), brash, angry, impatient, edgy and tense, but he’s also sad and lonely, eventually transforming into a far less angry person and becoming, finally, a valued member of the Arcadia crew. In Harlock Saga he’s vain and proud and just plain ineffectual, provided for decorative purposes only (though this author does not consider the animated version of Harlock Saga a valid component of the extended Harlock story and fully intends to ignore it).

| Yuki Kei
Kei makes appearances in Space Pirate, SSX, Ginga Tetsudō and Endless Odyssey. She is 16 when she first boards the Arcadia, being rescued by Harlock during a raid on a government vessel. Mature for her years, she chooses to become a member of Harlock’s crew, becoming indispensable in a very short period.

Quick-minded and highly intelligent, Kei spends most of her time on the bridge. She interacts well with the bridge crew, though little is seen of her outside this environment. In Endless Odyssey she is shown as having a vessel and crew of her own, demonstrating her maturity (in her early twenties by now) and capabilities for command. However, as soon as Harlock requires it, she quickly gives up any effort at captaincy and reverts to her Arcadia crewmember status. Career comes last — that’s how much she loves her captain.

Exactly quite how much Kei loves her captain is never quite revealed. She can be caught out giving him long and longing glances, but quite what that means is difficult for the audience to pigeonhole. The most obvious conclusion would be that she has a crush on Harlock, and while that is not beyond the realm of possibility (in fact, it is highly possible given the circumstances — adolescent girl, handsome saviour...) Kei is smart enough to comprehend the reality of the situation. Harlock is a loner and isolated from all emotional engagement. He is also her captain and she his crew. Further, Harlock’s attitude towards Kei is patently one of benefactor and protector. His attitude is brotherly; he cares for her, he wants to help her and keep her safe. Their relationship will never be more than what Harlock is willing and able to provide, and it is almost certain that Kei knows that.

| Miimé
The lone survivor of an alien race from the planet Jura, in the only backstory available (Space Pirate), Miimé was found by Harlock on her devastated planet in his younger days. Miimé has devoted (given, sacrificed) her life to Harlock as repayment, and has been his constant companion ever since.

Harlock’s first mate on board the Arcadia both pre- and post-Tochirō’s death, Yattaran’s technical abilities come close to Tochirō’s, but otherwise he is in no way similar.

Yattaran is a unique and somewhat eccentric personality. He is obsessed with plastic models, reproductions of war machines (aircraft, tanks and boats) from WW2, and spends all his spare time (and a lot of his work time, much to Tadashi’s chagrin) constructing and playing with his creations.

Alternately owned by either Doctor Zero, Harlock or Tochirō (again, depends what series you are watching), Mii-kun is a little cutie who is forever into mischief and thievery. Whoever his owner might be though, Harlock has a special fondness for him and will always look out for him.

Mii-kun (or variations thereof) makes appearances in many of Matsumoto’s manga and anime, and it is no secret that Matsumoto is a cat lover. During early production of Uchū Senkan Yamato, Matsumoto’s beloved cat passed away, and the loss affected him profoundly. He has stated that the cat was his room mate and his best friend, his family, and Matsumoto’s sentiment is fully realised many years later in Hunt for Young Harlock. When the boarding house from hell is collapsing into a time-space rift, Harlock risks his life to save Mii-kun and Tori-san, explaining to Zero (who can't believe Harlock is about to die for his pets) that the animals are his and Tochirō’s family. Aww. Gotta love a cat-loving pirate.

Whoever Tori-san once belonged to, Harlock takes care of him now, and Tori-san really needs taking care of. Emotional and prone to bouts of tears, Tori-san is a melancholy creature whose previous owners have all passed away, and Tori-san is ever bereft on account of it. While he does have some amusing moments (like Mii-kun he is prone to thievery and can be awkwardly clumsy at times), Tori-san is forever wailing over some poor dead or dying soul. Highly intelligent and seeming to understand language and obey complex commands, it is difficult to gauge the extent of Tori-san’s comprehension. He does, however, remain loyal to Harlock, and Harlock has a soft and tender spot for the bird.

Zero often slops about the Arcadia barefoot or in slippers, and has a penchant for saké in large bottles (he can often be seen tussling with Miimé for them), and by rights should be permanently sozzled and paralytic. He must be quite immune to its effects by now, however, as he rarely appears to become hideously drunk. Doctor Zero owns Mii-kun in some incarnations, and the little cat often sits in his pocket or on his shoulder.

| The Arcadia Crew
The crew of the Arcadia is a rotating beast, with crewmembers coming and going as either Harlock's need arises, or as the crewmembers themselves find their places aboard the Arcadia or off her.

Aboard the Arcadia all proceeds according to the individual's free will, with Harlock making very few demands and asking very little of his crew in return for the sanctum to be found on his ship, and it is precisely this attitude that produces such fierce loyalty among his crew. There are members we meet regularly, such as Yattaran and Masu-san (the cook), Dr Zero, Kei and Maji (the engineer), although they, like others, have had either predecessors or later replacements, or been absent for periods of time.

Since Harlock can apparently manage on board Arcadia for long periods without a crew, it begs the question of why he needs one. Harlock does seem to like his crew and he certainly appreciates their value, but he doesn't keep them around for company since he shutters himself away from others both physically and psychologically. And given that Harlock has put his crew off the ship more than once, without adequate explanation, it must make being an Arcadia crewmember quite a tenuous career move. Does Harlock gather a crew as part of his perceived social responsibility? Does he do it to give people a purpose in life, or is it that they simply perform a periodical maintenance function? No doubt Harlock will, at some point, decide to abandon the crew-thing permanently, and at that point he will sail into the dark and we will never see him again.