Aritake Chikara

The ubiquitous Chikara Aritake is a low-key but extremely talented support player. While he doesn’t have what it takes to be a star, he is essentially a stable guy whose appearance allows you to breathe a sigh of relief. He is a specialist at playing an almost infinite of minor parts, both good and evil, military and civilian, scientist and patient.

Tezuka Osamu himself went so far as to say, “I drew Chikara without really being aware of it,” which seems to indicate that his creator also recognized this stalwart stability. As such, his appearance list reads like an index of Tezuka’s manga works, and he frequently plays two or even three parts in the same story. While this might create some confusion for new readers, his presence is so neutral that he usually just fades, almost unnoticed, into the background.

In Japanese, “chikara arittake” means “every little bit of power”, a strong name for a guy who is as steady as a rock.

(Source: Tezukainenglish)