Tatsuya Shima, known as Blackbird to most people, is a secondary main character in Wangan Midnight. He drives a 911 Turbo in the manga, anime, and Japanese version of the Maximum Tune games including all localizations of WMMT4, and the 350Z in the English version of the games, sans Maximum Tune 4. Shima is Akio's rival and a respected surgeon, hence why he rarely appears with Akio.
In the Hanshin Expressway arc of the manga, he sensed that he is losing, caused him to lose the will to race. Jun Kitami instead invited him to Osaka, where Kitami says that there is a man that Shima must meet.
Car
- Porsche 911 Turbo (964) (Anime/Manga/Movie, WMMT6)
- Gemballa 3.8 RS/Nissan Fairlady Z (350Z) (WMMT1-WMMT3DX+)
- RUF CTR (WMMT4-WMMT5)
- RUF RCT (WMMT5DX-WMMT5DX+)
Leitmotif
- Black Pain (Wangan Midnight anime)
- Blackbird's Theme (Wangan Midnight R)
- Destination Blackout (Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune/Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 2)
- Black Pressure (Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3/3DX/3DX+)
- Get you Cornered (Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3/3DX/3DX+)
- No Turning Back (Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 4/Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 5 International version/Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 5DX)
Behind the Scenes
Portrayal
In the Wangan Midnight anime, Tatsuya Shima is voiced by Shinichiro Miki, who is also known as the voice of Takumi Fujiwara of Initial D, another Kodansha manga. In the live-action movie, he is portrayed by Kazuki Kato, who is also known as Daisuke Kazama/Kamen Rider Drake in Kamen Rider Kabuto.
Car
His car, dubbed the Blackbird in the anime/manga/game (Porsche 911 Turbo in anime/manga or Nissan 350Z in video game, in exception of Japanese releases of WMMT where he drives a Porsche 911-based Gemballa and a RUF CTR in the PS3 version of Wangan Midnight) is Devil Z's arch rival. The Porsche/RUF version of the Blackbird is tuned to 700hp, along with an aero kit.
A real-life version of the car actually exists, known as the Yoshida Specials 911, and is owned by a car salesman who aspired to be a doctor. It ran an uprated and stroked 3.6 liter Porsche flat-six engine from a later 911, which produced well over 700 hp. On one occasion, the real-life counterpart managed to maintain 350 km/h for 15 minutes on the Wangan. Michiharu Kusunoki, the creator of Wangan Midnight, once owned a black 911 (an older 930 instead of 964), which he gave away to be modified for use in the 1991 live-action film, only to found it to be a difficult car to drive once returned. He then sold it to a friend, who extensively modified the car and fitted a single turbo from a 1980s Formula 1, theoretically enabling it to reach 400 km/h on the right gearing.
Photos
.jpg "Shima Tatsuya (Wangan Midnight PS3).jpg (16 KB)")
