General Trivia
Many of the characters here in the
Hungry Hearts Diner series share similarities with each other, and although they don't all qualify as
expies, they should be mentioned here for now (Warning: some spoilers may be left unmarked):
- Dr. Mondo from Star-Crossed Souls and Neo and Chuckles the comedian from Moonlit Memories are clearly two different characters, but they both have tragically lost loved ones during World War II on both fronts (Mondo being the Sole Survivor of his starving fireteam in the Pacific theater while Chuckles' sister also died of malnutrition when she was 9 while fleeing back to Japan).
- Additionally, they both first have eating disorders in their main story arc which Grandma has noticed (Mondo being a Big Eater and Chuckles inverting it), possibly due to their PTSD. In the end, they both move on from their grief towards a better future (or try to in the case of the former): a humble riceball reminds Dr. Mondo of how much his comrades valued and sacrificed to protect him (as the medic), while Chuckles, after making Rika laugh and being reminded of his lost sister decides to turn over a new leaf by celebrating his (and his sister's) birthday for the first time in ages.
- Mondo would finally move on after having a visit from an apparition, his deceased comrade Furrows.
- Rika gets Divergent Character Evolution from Pigtails in the first game, who are both initially standoffish Perpetual Frowners (but are just shy underneath their exterior) and share their problems with their fathers. What makes Rika an Expy from Pigtails is that the former's problems are a bit more... complicated.
- To make it short, Pigtail's story is that her relationship with her mother has been at a low ever since her father left. After discovering that her father had an affair and another child, she decides to return home and start repairing her relationship with her mother.
- Rika's story starts with her moving into her cousin Mabo's home after her mother died, and while it took some time for her to get used to it, Rika and Mabo would eventually become friends over the course of the game. Her relationship with her father Mr. Zeni is strained at best, not helping that he starts becoming a customer at Grandma's diner.
- Missy would later join in the similarity for Rika and Pigtails. While she doesn't have the grumpy personalities of her predecessors, she does have a rather estranged relationship with her parents, not helped that she was abandoned by her mother at a young age. She is also much older. Her Fatal Flaw, which is her pride and stubbornness infuriated Grandma so much that by using Reverse Psychology to call Missy out, it becomes the only moment where Grandma gets ''really'' angry. Thankfully, Missy chose to reconcile with her mother and meet her new stepfather for the first time, as well as return back to the diner.
- Scarlett, Sapphire, and Catherine might look the same, being rather cheery and flirtatious women with a questionable job. However, Sapphire's character arc later takes a left turn after she is revealed to be transgender, while Catherine is really Naughty by Night because of her real identity Fudeko.
- Serina is also part of the club, with the difference being that she's only just a singer. She shares more similarities with Scarlett since she also has a son she dearly misses.
- The character Slick has two decomposite expies; the less-than-honorable traits became Cassanova, while his looks and the more honorable Yakuza traits ended up with Grimm.
- He would later get two more in Memories: the conman, also named Slick, and the ruffian JD, who is actually a younger Hiro before he became a Police Officer.
- The soul-reaping Grimm also had two similar characters in the third game in the form of the mischievous kitsune Kit and possibly the more benevolent Furrows.
- It is possible that Grimm himself is a gray counterpart to Mr. Jizo, who is believed to be the spirit from a statue.
- Kino also joins the school girl squad, but she shares more similarities to Rika from the second game. Like Rika, Kino has been estranged from her father since the lost of a family member. Her father, Professor Toki, is also a customer like Mr. Zeni was.
- Speaking of Toki, he and Zeni alike because the reason for their neglect is that they're working on something to deal with the loss. The difference is how: Zeni wants to recreate the taste of his wife's curry to preserve her memory, Toki wants to make his daughter forget about her brother to move on.
