This page contains information about the characters from the Mr. Driller games. Beware that spoilers won't be hidden!
The characters' names will be formatted in this style: English Name/Japanese Name
Susumu Hori
The middle son of the famous Taizo Hori (a.k.a Dig Dug) and Masuyo Toby (a.k.a "Kissy" from Alien Sector) and the main character of Mr Driller. Barely just 15 years old, he has been already entitled with the highest rank of driller in the world. He's actually a really sweet child but he tends to be a little careless.
Tropes:
- Accidental Pervert: Happens early on in Mr. Driller G when he tried to greet Anna with a hello hand gesture, only to accidentally touch Anna's chest when Anna came out the door.
- Art Shift: Susumu looked a lot more chibi-like in the first game before the series went into a consistent art style with 2 onward.
- Badass Adorable: No one but him has enough guts to go digging to the earth's core to stop a Massive Destruction Drill
- Beware the Nice Ones
- Catchphrase: LET'S DRILL!
- Disney Death: In Mr. Driller G.
- The Hero: At the end of the day, he's always the one who saves the day.
- Improbable Age: Just who lets kids dig 2000mts underground these days?
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: Hid dad is Too Dumb to Live and his brother is a Lone wolf with no drilling license. Yet he doesn't seem to be affected by his peculiar family.
- Jack of All Stats: He's the most balanced character of all seven, with basic movement, drilling, and air consumption rate.
- Kid Hero: In the series' canon, he's 14-15 years old.
- Knight in Sour Armor: Those careless undergrounders will never learn.
- Meaningful Name: His name means "Dig Onward" in Japanese.
- Messy Hair: See here.
◊ - Not Allowed to Grow Up: Okay, so his profile says that he was born in 1987 and the first game was released in 2000, it says that he's 14 years old. Either the game's timeline is really messed up or he has just not aged at all since then.
- Older Than They Look: Will you believe that he's only a teenager?
- Real Men Wear Pink: Susumu's trademark suit is colored rose pink and cyan.
- Sibling Team: With Ataru.
- Significant Birth Date: Susumu was born on Hinamatsuri, the Japanese doll festival held on March 3rd.
- Spin-Offspring: He's the son of Dig Dug's main character.
- Super-Deformed: Just look at him.
- Susumu Can Breathe in Space
- What Is This Feeling?: Towards the end of Mr. Driller A's mission mode, Susumu blushes and asks himself "What is this beating on my chest?" when he sees Anna wearing a pretty dress.
Anna Hottenmeyer
Anna is a female driller about Susumu's age that hails from an Elite Driller school in Germany. She's also the second highest driller in the world after Susumu. Which makes her The Rival who wants to steal his title. Despite all of this she seems to have a crush on Susumu.
She tends to be mistaken for a boy, a lot, from both the viewers and the characters themselves.
Tropes:
- Action Girl: She rescues Damsels in Distress◊.
- Beautiful All Along: This is confirmed on the rare times she has worn a puffy dress.
- Chest Insignia: Most drillers tend to have these on their suits.
- Death by Origin Story: She decided to become a driller after her mother died in a cave-in accident.
- Everyone Can See It: In Drill Spirits. All the main cast (except for Susumu of course) knows that Anna has a crush on Susumu, and they even tease her about it!
- Fragile Speedster: The second fastest movement speed of the playable Drillers, third if Keel is counted.
- Goggles Do Nothing: The only human Driller to wear goggles, and they're just for show.
- Lady Looks Like a Dude: Characters tend to mistake her for a boy.
- Moveset Clone: Her stats are the same as Susumu's only with a tad more speed.
- One of the Boys: She does happen to have one female friend though.
- Only Sane Man. She sends to have a more mature air than the rest of the main cast.
- The Rival: Self-proclaimed Susumu's rival.
- Significant Birth Date: Anna was born on Christmas Eve (December 24th).
- Tomboy: It's pretty hard to make her even wear a dress.
- Tsundere: She tends to tease/bother Susumu, but its obviously because she likes him.
Ataru Hori
Ataru is Susumu's big brother. An 18 year old rogue driller with no license who ran away from home after he got in a fight with his father, he now holds a grudge against him, although Taizo seems to be totally clueless about it.
Ataru is the kind of guy who always tries to have a "Cool" air around him.
Tropes:
- Could Say It, But...:Ataru: Hey! Old Man!Taizo: Hmm?Ataru: .............................................. No, it's nothing.Taizo: Wahaha!
- Dark Is Not Evil: Seriously, its hard to tell if he's really a good guy at first glance.
- Fragile Speedster: He has the second fastest movement speed of all the Drillers (only bested by Keel), but at a cost of eating through air faster.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: Dont let the picture above fool you, there are times he shows to be a nice guy, even with his father.
- I Will Show You How It's Done: His quote when highlighted on the character select screen in Drill Spirits.
- Odd Friendship: He becomes friends with an alien rabbit.
- Older Than They Look: He's 17 years old.
- Perpetual Frowner: He rarely makes a smile, with his main profile art in Drill Spirits being an example.
- The Runaway
- Scarf of Asskicking: And it seems to be getting larger with every game.
- Significant Birth Date: Ataru was born on the day of Tanabata (July 7th) which celebrates the once-a-year meeting of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair) across the Milky Way. It's the Asian equivalent to Valentine's Day.
- Stern Chase
- Troubled, but Cute: Even lone wolves tend to feel lonely sometimes.
- Tsurime Eyes
- Verbal Tic: He sometimes tends to add "Feh!" at the beginning of a sentence.
- Walking the Earth: As long as he doesn't return home, he'll keep wandering around earth. Probably doing illegal drilling work.
- Why Did It Have to Be Bats?: He's really. Afraid. Of.
Bats.
Taizo Hori
Taizo Hori, originally the hero from the Dig Dug games, is now the father of 3 children, Masuyo Toby's Ex-husband and the president of the Driller Council. He's already at his forties but by no means is he willing to settle down. For some unknown reason he's despised by his elder son.
For some reason he feels an almost unhealthy love for Egypt, especially for the camels.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Badass: He becomes this in Namco × Capcom.
- Ambiguously Brown: In the Mr Driller universe, at least.
- Anime Hair: Hmm, I think I've seen this before◊.
- Big Eater: Part of his characterization in Drill Spirits. Needless to say, it got dropped in Digging Strike."Cash you say? Does that taste good? I want some too!""Oh, I think I know what your wish is... is "I want to eat as much as I can" isn't?""You should try to eat whenever you can!""Agh! I'm starving! I can't take this anymore, I'm going home!""School? That won't make your stomach full!"
- Big Ol' Eyebrows
- Brought to You by the Letter "S": Is that a "V" or an arrow pointing down?
- Bumbling Dad
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer
- Characterization Marches On: in the first Dig Dug games, he was just a guy in white who killed dragons and other stuff with an air pump, for no apparent reason.
- Cloudcuckoolander
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Seriously, he's old, but in decent shape.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: During the opening cutscene of Digging StrikeTaizo: Susumu is all they ever talk about these days! I'M the first driller and the honorary chairman. I was about his age when I wrapped the Dig Dug incident all by myself! My drilling skills are second to none, and certainly not Susumu!
- Fearless Fool
- Give the Dog a Bone: This happens at the secret ending of Dig Dug: Digging Strike when Taizo finally got the fame he's been seeking for and his son not stealing it this time. Only for his ex to drag him away from it all for bailing on their appointment together.
- Glass Cannon: The blocks he drills through pop faster than with any other character. However he has a higher air consumption rate.
- Glory Seeker: In Dig Dug: Digging Strike, after developing jealousy of his son's recent mass success.
- Henpecked Husband
- Idiot Hero
- Official Couple: With Masuyo.
- Older and Wiser: Whether he has become "wiser" is questionable.
- Older Than They Look: Okay, he's actually the oldest member of the team; he's 46, no less!
- Perpetual Smiler: It's rare to see him with an actual serious face. Dig Dug Digging Strike is a perfect example.
- Plucky Comic Relief: And Ataru is starting to become his potential sidekick on this trope.
- Punny Name: His name is a pun of the phrase "Horitai zo!" which means "I want do dig!" in Japanese.
- Secret Character: In Star Trigon, Taizo is the sole unlockable character.
- Significant Birth Date: Taizo was born on January 1st (the first day of the year); the funny thing about this is that his ex-wife Masuyo was born the day right before, on December 31st (The last day of the year).
- Team Dad
- Too Dumb to Live: Seriously, who mistakes money for food?
- Took a Level in Badass: Dig Dug: Digging Strike completely overhauls Taizo's personality- removing most of the Too Dumb to Live traits he picked up in G and especially Drill Spirits.
- Tunnel King
- Walking the Earth: Especially Egypt.
- When I Was Your Age...: When he was Susumu's age:
Puchi
Puchi is Susumu's best friend and lives with him at his house in Endogawa. He was found by Susumu as a puppy and was nursed back to health. He's a genius dog that can both understand and speak human language. He always brags about how he inherited the ability to find metals underground from his ancestors.
Tropes:
- Amplified Animal Aptitude
- Civilized Animal: He's the more civilized member of the team. Oh the Irony of it all...
- Famous Ancestor: He likes to brag about how he inherited the power to find Dristones from his ancestor Pochi.
- Glacier Waif
- Heroic Dog
- Non-Human Sidekick
- Precious Puppy
- Ridiculously Cute Critter
- Sidekick Creature Nuisance: He loves to call out Susumu's clumsyness.
- Talking Animal
- Team Pet
- Tsundere
- Verbal Tic: He adds "Woof!" at the end of every sentence.
Holinger-Z
- Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka
Holinger-Z is a robot constructed by Dr. Z for the purpose of doing drilling work that otherwise would be too dangerous for a human to do, although he's very clumsy and tends to mess things up. He currently lives with Anna, doing her housework.
Tropes:
- Computer Voice: Literally.
- Didn't Need Those Anyway!/Easily Detachable Robot Parts: When a block falls over him, Holinger-Z's head pops off and extends itself to cover a block's height and is used to suspend the blocks above him to prevent death. A second block will do him in.
- A Mech by Any Other Name
- Mighty Glacier: He's slow, but he can survive being smashed by a block once.
- Mundane Utility
- Robot Buddy: To the entire cast.
- Robot Maid: He does all of Anna's housework and still messes up.
- Servant Race
- Tin-Can Robot
- Transforming Mecha: He retracts his claw-arms and opens up his base to reveal a drill.
Usagi/Rabbit
Usagi is a rabbit-looking alien that originally came from the moon to invade Earth, but his ship crashed down and he was severely injured. He was next found by Ataru and was nursed back to health. He then decided to follow Ataru to observe this planet a little more.
Tropes:
- Alien Among Us
- Alien Animal: He even has his own army of bunnies!
- Badass Adorable
- Crash-Into Hello: Well, Ataru DID watch him crash into land.
- Dub Name Change: He's sometimes called "Rabbit" or "Bunny" in the USA/UK Depending on the Writer.
- Glass Cannon: He can drill both the block in front of him and the two blocks to the side of it, jump upwards 2 blocks like Puchi, and run fast, but he consumes air extremely fast too.
- Hair-Raising Hare: Initially, until Ataru befriends him.
- Head Pet
- I Owe My Life to Ataru
- Killer Rabbit: He shoots lightning from his ears and can freaking float! In fact, he once tried to kill Ataru while he was asleep, but he stopped when he noticed his injuries were bandaged by him.
- Lightning Bruiser
- Monochromatic Eyes
- Moon Rabbit
- Non-Human Sidekick
- Red Eyes, Take Warning
- Secret Character: He's always the unlockable character in all Mr. Driller games, except in the US version of Drill Spirits.
- Spread Shot: Can drill three blocks in front of him in a spread.
- Super-Speed: Runs as fast as Ataru.
- The Stoic
- Starfish Language: "OXOXO"
Keel Sark/Kiiru Saaku
Keel is the leader of the Ankoku/Darkness drillers. His father owned a ninja-themed amusement park that went bankrupt. He's apparently a ninja, or at least he likes to pose as one. He has a tendency to be mean with everyone he knows.
Tropes:
- The Dragon: Keel is Dr. Manhole's right-hand driller.
- Fragile Speedster: He is the fastest Driller, outspeeding even Ataru. Just like the other fast Drillers, his Air depletes very quickly.
- Older Than They Look: He's 16.
- Perpetual Frowner: It's rare to see Keel crack a smile, unless he has the upper hand.
- Punch-Clock Villain: He just does it for the cash.
- Smug Snake: He's not just happy with being a jerk with the heroes, but with his allies too.
- Villain by Default
Kowars/Kowaasu
Kowars is the second member of the Ankoku Drillers, he's an android developed by the Driller Laboratory. He's a gentle giant who somehow ended working for the bad guys. He seems to be a big fan of Taizo.
Tropes:
- Artificial Human: If it wasn't because he lacks ears, it would be hard to tell if he's really an android.
- Gentle Giant: Seriously, how did he end working for the Big Bad?
- Mighty Glacier: Kowars is slow and clunky but makes up for it with his jackhammer during drilling sessions.
- Bad Guy with an "F" in Evil: In Mr Driller G he doesn't even try to stop the heroes when they're searching for the Key to stop the blocks from overflowing.
- Prophet Eyes
- Punch-Clock Villain
- Ridiculously Human Robots
- Spread Shot: Kowars share's Usagi's ability to drill three blocks in a spread- accomplished by using a jackhammer instead of a drill.
- Super-Strength
- Tareme Eyes
Eguri "Tiara" Hatakeyama
Eguri is the third, last and only female member of the Ankoku drillers. Her drill is oddly attached to the end of a whip. She loathes to be called by her real name and introduces herself as Tiara. She's emotionally unstable and is madly in love with Ataru.
Tropes:
- Berserk Button: Being called Eguri.
- Enhanced Archaic Weapon: Her weapon is a whip with a drill at the end, which doubles her reach- allowing her to dig two blocks in a row or drill a block from one tile away.
- Evil Counterpart: To Anna... apparently.
- Impossibly Cool Weapon: It's a drill attached to a whip.
- Kids Are Cruel: She used to be bullied as a kid because of her name.
- Kiai: "Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!"
- Older Than They Look: She's 15 years old, she certainly looks younger.
- Significant Birth Date: Eguri was born on April Fool's Day (April 1st).
- Villainous Crush: She really has a thing for Ataru, but he doesn't seem to return her feelings back.
Dr. Manhole/Manhoru Hakase
The boss of the Ankoku Drillers, Dr. Manhole is an evil scientist who used to be a good guy, but thanks to a series of unfortunate events, he turned evil and now desires to destroy the human race.
Tropes:
- Big Bad: The only one in the entire series.
- Evil Laugh: And a very good one by the way.
- General Failure: Who the hell makes their Doomsday Device run by batteries?!
- Humans Are Bastards: That's basically his motto.
- Joker Immunity: Well, who could possibly catch him if he keeps disappearing like that?
- They Called Me Mad!: "The human race doesn't deserve to exist!"
- Villain Teleportation: Right after his plans are foiled, he just mysteriously disappears.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: All he wanted to do was the good for all humanity, but instead society kicked him in the back for thinking he was actually stealing other people's ideas which he wasn't.
Dr. Z/Zetto Hakase
The main scientist of the Driller Laboratories, also the one who designed Susumu and friends' drills and Holinger Z. He's a very kind and supportive man who's always willing to help the drillers in every way he can.
Tropes:
- Always Someone Better: He seems to have more privileges than his old rival Dr. Manhole.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Well, he designed your main tools!
Masuyo "Kissy" Tobi
Masuyo Toby, originally the heroine of the Baraduke battles, she married and divorced Taizo and now is the mother of 3 children. She's now working as a novelist and raising Susumu's young brother Taiyo. She got the nickname "Kissy" for her tendency to kiss people when she gets drunk.
Tropes:
- Adaptational Badass: Along with Taizo in Namco × Capcom.
- Amicably Divorced: If the secret ending of Digging Strike is any indication.
- Badass Adorable
- In-Series Nickname: Much like Taizo, she got her nickname "Kissy" before she even had a name.
- Kissing Under the Influence: This is basically how she got her nickname "Kissy".
- Meaningful Name: "Tobi Masuyo" means "I can fly" in Japanese.
- Oddly Visible Eyebrows
- Official Couple: With Taizo.
- Older and Wiser
- Older Than They Look
- Ray Gun: Her main weapon for massive damage.
- Retired Badass
- Samus Is a Girl: Yes, this person◊ is a girl.
- Significant Birth Date: Masuyo was born on December 31st (the last day of the year); the funny thing about this is that her ex-husband Taizo was born the day right after, on January 1st (The first day of the year).
- Space Clothes
- Starfish Aliens: Paccets, the small alien creatures she befriended.
- Team Mom
- Yandere
