Doppo’s superpower is that he is an everyman. You probably know someone like Doppo in real life. Dark circles under their eyes, coming home late from work, always nervous around people, and with a deep need to change their lives but hesitating to do so. Doppo represents a familiar way of living in Japanese society. Let’s take a look at the idea of kyouza, overtime, in the Japanese workforce. Japanese office culture often dictates that kohais, the newer employees, stay back, even though they are done with their tasks for the day to wait for their senpais to leave first. This is why we see Doppo getting the last train to return home, or being forced to work overtime on piles of documents, left behind by heartless superiors. This unfortunate situation makes Doppo likable and relatable, having to deal with such a tough working life, where the meaning of the work/life balance is unknown.

Doppo’s only outlet for his repressed emotions is freestyling with Matenro. When cornered he goes on rage mode, and he is truly terrifying and powerful. Doppo turns all his negative, self-defeating thoughts into vitriolic attacks against his opponents. His transformation to, let’s say, Aggretsuko, happens when he is pushed too far or when his friends are under threat.

When he is done, he is quick to apologize, although he just saved the day. Doppo shares a strong bond with Hifumi and Jagurai, the latter being his doctor and confidante. Matenro is a team that accepts their weaknesses and never lie about them, so Doppo fits right into the heart of the team, not despite, but because of his honesty about his struggles. Even though he looks depressed and dejected, he still tries to find meaning through friendship.

Moving on to the last part of why Doppo is the audience’s favorite, we should discuss his relationship with Hifumi. He and Doppo are osananajimi, or childhood friends, a concept we come across in anime, mostly in romantic stories. Not only that, but they are also roommates, with Hifumi doing most of the cooking and cleaning, and being protective of Doppo. How convenient that Hifumi has a secret: even though he is a top host in Shinjuku, outside of work he gets really nervous around women. These details have laid the ground for fans to ship Doppo and Hifumi together, turning this into one of the most popular pairings of HypMic.