Largo

File:Largo.gif

First seen in strip 1.

File:Color-Largo.jpg

Largo, who came with Piro to Tokyo, is one of the two main male characters of the comic. He seems to be around 21-23, as his consumption of alcohol clearly isn't new. He is a hardcore gamer with a special affinity for first-person shooters, fighting games, role-playing and even text-based computer games. He is highly skilled with computers, both hardware and software.

Largo manages to thrive in Japan even though he can't speak Japanese and occasionally needs to rely on Piro for assistance. Largo himself speaks in a combination of standard English and L33tsp33k, often filled with metaphorical gaming references which, to the uninitiated, appear to be little more than "crazy talk". His speech patterns can also be remarkably difficult to translate.

Through sheer luck, Largo began teaching English at Shiritsu Daitou High School, and was briefly employed by the Tokyo Police Cataclysm Division. He was later fired when he failed to control the fanboy mob outside of Megagamers. In his short time as an officer, he maxed out the no limit credit card that was also his i.d.

Largo seems to have difficulty separating fantasy from reality. It should be noted, however, that his fantasy view of the world often has a grain of truth to it; upon seeing a crowd of "zombies" outside Megagamers, he decided that Erika was once an undead leader who had abandoned the position—not far from the truth if you substitute "idol" for "undead leader" and "fanboy" for "zombie". It may be fairly conjectured that his current difficulties with reality stretch all the way back to college, where his addiction to Neverquest resulted in his eventual withdrawal.

With respect to food choices, Largo is known to have a taste for instant ramen and milk as Fred commented in book 1: yes that is milk. no that isn't cereal. It's instant ramen. He can also be seen, quite frequently, either drinking or looking for beer.

Memorable Quotes

"j0" - Strip 9

"I gotta stop watching those late night Japanese TV shows." - Strip 53

"Hey dude. She's pretty soft for a Sony." - to Piro

"I don't play games that aren't worth playing." - to Erika

"If one of us isn't secure, neither of us is." - to Piro

Technological Prowess

Throughout the story, Largo has demonstrated a unique level of skill with a wide variety of technology, both pre-existing and of his own manufacture. Most of his skills revolve in some way around computers, but he is also known for his ability to manufacture Ph34rb0ts.

In Chapter 4 Largo built a Beowulf cluster using beer for cooling and breakfast cereals to insulate components. Largo prefers to do his construction and maintanence naked in order to reduce static. So firmly does he believe in his methods that, when he encouraged Erika to build a system of her own, one of the instructions he gave her was to strip down just as he normally does. (Interestingly, although Erika is initially reluctant to do so, he somehow seems to have converted her to his way of thinking.)

Somewhat earlier, in Chapter 3, Largo placed cardboard Ph34rb0ts at every manhole in Tokyo, believing them to be respawn points. The Ph34rb0ts returned once again in Chapter 8 both inside and in front of MegaGamers under the control of an integrated system Largo designed to challenge incoming customers.

Recently, Largo appears to have shown his technical prowess when assessing what was wrong with Ping after the EMP blast from Ed and Miho's battle outside of Shiritsu Daitou High School.

Physical Traits

Largo's approach to life leaves him extremely prone to injury. He has so far been hit by a bus, had his right arm broken twice and his left arm once, suffered severe paper cup related injuries, gone dumpster-diving by accident, had his leg broken and sustained various cuts and bruises from headslamming the screen of Mosh Mosh Revolution.

Largo seems to have a high (though not unlimited) degree of tolerance to alcohol. He rarely seems to be impaired by his extreme fondness for b33r. Due to his athletic outbursts, he may have more muscle tissue and a higher metabolism, allowing him to burn the alcohol for fuel faster.

Involvement by Chapter

Chapter 6

Largo gets hellishly drunk after Erika tells him she doesn't want him in her life. He covers the upstairs room with empty beer cans, then comes downstairs with an armload of beer cans and challenges Piro to fighting games. Piro comments that this is "the worst he has seen Largo." When he sits down next to Piro, he breaks Piro's glasses by accident.

When Piro leaves with Ping, he follows them, unarmed, to the Cave of Evil, where he knows that Miho hangs out. Piro and Ping go to a seperate room to listen to the radio show Kimiko is supposed to be on, leaving Largo alone with Miho. When the story returns to Largo, he is drinking straight from a bottle of alcohol. Miho then proceeds to play mind games on Largo until an angry Piro comes and stops her, yelling at her for messing with Largo when he is so drunk he can't even stand, then asking her if she knew what Largo had been through that day or why he had tried to drink himself senseless. When they leave, Miho is in tears, with Ping comforting her. Largo believes that he as had his blood sucked out and runs away when he starts seeing everyone as evil. He runs away after Nanasawa appears to help Piro carry Largo home. He calms down when she catches him, but he unfortunately throws up on her. This is, as noted by Piro, the worst state Largo has ever been. We have yet to see if Largo will return to this state in the future.

Chapter 8

In the latest strips, Erika asks him to help Piro with the shop and to cheer him up. After some dialog with Miho and Ping, they go downstairs. Largo accuses Piro of letting "teh 3v1L in", to which Piro says that Largo left the door open. Seeing how 90 percent of the floor space is cardboard boxes, Largo plans to set it all on fire, with Piro going for the trapdoor and him diving out the window. One of them might survive. Maybe. While Piro and Miho continue to talk about Ping's changes, Largo just hides behind all of the cardboard boxes with only his hair showing.

When Piro leaves to confront Miho, Largo makes the store a consumer-level, cardboard box, death trap. With the word PH34R pasted everywhere, his cardboard sentinels and cardboard booby traps all at his command, the store is becoming very popular. Junpei comes to retrieve Great Teacher Largo and easily defeats the traps. Largo is impressed, but says that they were consumer grade level, not ninj4 grade. He then leaves to teach, leaving poor Yanagasawa, the store's owner, to run the system.

At school, Largo begins his lesson by instructing the students to remove their clothes for the sake of static safety. Although this excites the boys, a number of girls including Junko object, which eventually leads to Largo permitting them to proceed in gym clothes. Meanwhile, Miho managed to get Largo to admit that "there is a woman [he is] attracted to."

After class, Largo returned to MegaGamers and began conducting research on EDS error codes in an attempt to understand what had happened to Ping at the school. He managed to explain the trouble to Piro, but due to his inability to speak Japanese, his explanation is initially unintelligible to Ping.

With Ping taken care of, Largo takes a phone call while Piro and Kimiko take a moment for themselves. Their respite is short lived, however, as Largo, responding to what Erika had said, consults Piro for advice. After listening to Kimiko's plea, although he doesn't understand her, Largo eventually decides to go visit Erika in her apartment, exactly as Piro had suggested. His eventual visit is not without a twist, however, as he arrives at Erika's door carrying computer components, somewhat to Erika's dismay. His initial reaction to her eventually prompts a bit of teasing from Erika as she responds to his apparent distress over her synthetic fiber clothing.

Later, as they test out her system by playing an FPS game, Erika decided to make the first move. Largo, however, was quite unprepared and innocent to an aggressive woman's charms. He bailed and then went home to the apartment above MegaGamers. Although he was about to disturb Piro and Kimiko as they slept through the night in their clothes while they were laying on cardboard boxes, he thought better of it, sat down and stared at them until morning, unmoving, after which he constructed a computer to IM to Piro his problem.

Relations with other characters

Piro

Largo is friends with Piro, but sees him as a foolish man who doesn't understand the danger he's in and who can't hold his beer. Despite this, he considers Piro a brother and a comrade in arms, and is willing to risk his life for him if need be. First Shown Together: Strip 1.

Junpei

Largo is the master and Junpei is his apprentice, learning the "way of l33t". Seems fairly impressed by his ninja skills, but not unduly so. Junpei always comes to bring him to his classes he needs to teach. Junpei is also protective of l33t master. First Shown Together: Strip 10.

Erika

The nature of Largo's relationship with Erika is nebulous; early in the comic he seemed to see her as a random hot girl, but later he ended up protecting her from a fanboy horde. After she yells at him, he gets hellishly drunk. They reconcile in chapter 7. Some fans believe they will ultimately end up in a romantic relationship, a view that has been somewhat borne out by the events in Strip 921, when Largo admits his attraction for 'a woman'. Most people assume that he means Erika. Further evidence for this comes late on in Chapter 8, and particularly the cliffhanger in Strip 965. First Shown Together: Strip 23.

Ping

Largo sees Ping as a machine which can occasionally malfunction and try to kill him. (This is primarily because she has done so, 141) First Shown Together: Strip 105.

Miho

Largo believes Miho to be an evil "zombie queen" who can force people to serve her. He always calles her teh 3VlL and is convinced that she is the source of all 3v1L in Tokyo. First Shown Together: Strip 99.

Boo

Largo's assigned conscience. Despite not succeeding too well at his job, the two get along very well. Largo usually ends up drinking a beer after his "talks" with Boo. First Shown Together: Strip 90.

Kimiko

Their relationship is limited due to the fact that she speaks little English and he speaks no Japanese. Still Largo's have given his drunken approval of her when giving Piro a pep talk. Also Kimiko approves of Largo dating Erika. He let Kimiko "talk" him into action, despite his lack of understanding her Japanese. First Shown Together: Strip 28.

Yuki

When first introduced, he somehow recognizes her as an 'untested power'. Largo later saves her life. He recognizes her as a magic girl and they teamed up to battle the zombies. First Shown Together: Strip 94.

L33t D00d

Largo saved his life early in the comic, and L33t D00d later returns the favor by giving him guidance in his bouts at the 1 Yen Arcade. First Shown Together: Strip 9.

Junko

One of "Great Teacher Largo's" students in his english class, who is skeptical about his instructional skills. After being yelled at by Erika, Largo gets hellishly drunk. The following day, still depressed, he stumbles upon Junko when she was with an old man, possibly the principal of the school. She ends up getting him back to his normal self by having him play a video game, similar to "Guilty Gear", at the 1 Yen Arcade. First Shown Together: Strip 338

Dom

Their relationship is one of the most extreme. They are both each other's friend and nemesis. Allied operations include playing Endgames and fighting zombies. Enemy operations include blackmailing for airfare and fighting to control/protect Erika. Largo's dirt on Dom & Ed remains a mystery. Recent opposition is due to Dom serving the interests of the Sega Corporation. This often conflicts with Largo's moral need to protect the good and fight evil. They clearly have a history that runs deep. First Shown Together: Strip 2.

Ed

Largo's relation to Ed is similar to his relationship with Dom, but not as extreme. This could be due to the fact that Ed primary objective is to destroy Ping and Miho. Largo sees no reason to protect a PS2 doll and wants Miho's evil to be exterminated. Therefore their current interests are not conflicting. Allied operations include playing Endgames. Enemy operations include blackmailing for airfare. Largo's dirt on Dom & Ed remains a mystery. They clearly have a history. First Strip Together: Strip 3.