Police Inspector Tawashi (a.k.a. Inspector Gumshoe) is a law enforcer and recurring character in the Tetsuwan Atom mythos. Known for his surly demeanor, Inspector Tawashi is a dedicated officer. And he hates robots.

He is similar to Inspector Geta in that both always appear as police investigators, and both are known for their dedication to their job. However, while Geta is known for his honesty and uprightness, Tawashi is most known for his suspicion of people. He is suspicious not only of Tezuka villains such as Ham Egg and Lamp, or of ambiguous characters such as Rock Holmes, but is even critical and untrusting of such figures as Astro Boy. The series which contains most of his appearances is Astro Boy, but he also has notable appearances in such series as The Amazing Three, Black Jack, Lion Books, Unico, and Rainbow Parakeet.

Police Inspector Tawashi is named for his most distinguishing facial feature: the fact that his mustache looks like a scrub brush, or “tawashi” in Japanese.

(Source: Tezuka In English)

Bill Farmer

Characters