Hump Day Husbandos: Tatsuru Miyazumi (Salaryman’s Club)

It’s official, ladies, gentlemen and everyone in-between, I’ve discovered my newest obsession in sports anime. It’s been a long time since any sports anime has captivated me to the same degree as Kuroko’s Basketball — Haikyuu! just never quite clicked with me. So with today’s Hump Day Husbando, I’ll be covering Tatsuru Miyazumi, one of my primary reasons for my enjoyment of Salaryman’s Club, before going deeper into the show once its final episode wraps up.

For now, I NEED to let out all my feelings about this adorable hunk sooner rather than later. (Stand back, everyone – Ed.) Thanks for listening to all the gushing — or better yet, get to watching Tatsuru in all his glory on Crunchyroll!

Who is Tatsuru Miyazumi?

So, about Tatsuru Miyazumi. He makes up one half of the main team in the show, alongside lead character Mikoto Shiratori, a downtrodden and pessimistic young man who was recently fired from his position at Mitsuhoshi Banking for losing a match as part of the work badminton team.

Tatsuru reignites Mikoto’s passion for the sport when they’re buddied up in his new workplace and badminton team at Sunlight Beverage after they offer him a position. Through Tatsuru’s vocal support, unrelenting encouragement and hands-on approach, his compassion towards Mikoto is always apparent. It’s all highly effective in slowly but surely winning over Mikoto’s respect and admiration.

Tatsuru is a very persevering, unapologetically optimistic, and undeniably good man who single-handedly makes you want to cheer for Sunlight Beverage’s badminton team. He fully represents the main appeal of Salaryman’s Club and, as an older character at the age of 32, he stands out in the world of anime. Even during a later plotline concerning his health, he puts Sunlight Beverage and the badminton team before himself, and it’s just one of many examples of how the show demonstrates what a beautiful human being he is.

Why we love Tatsuru Miyazumi

Tatsuru is absolutely the whole package. He’s extremely endearing, wants the best for everyone around him, puts in the work for the happiness of others, and is entirely, impressively selfless. At the same time, he has his own quirks that exacerbate all his sweet qualities, such as being quick to hit the bottle for any and all celebratory excuses — but remains as dopey and overly friendly even without booze being in his system.

He quite honestly has no faults, being an excellent salesman, wonderfully supportive sports partner and member of the team. He’s also a a dependable higher-up in his job role, and one who is always more than happy to help everyone and anyone, be it customer or colleague. How much more perfect can a guy possibly get?

While he can seem to be too laid-back or zany for his own good at times, he never misses an opportunity to be assertive and serious when the time calls for it — such as when clashing with villainous corporate heads, or the “bad boy” badminton rival team members, especially if cruel words are aimed at anyone but himself.

Obviously I’m dedicating a paragraph to outlining where we’ve previously heard his voice actor, because that’s always a winning factor to any of our favourite characters. Shinichiro Miki emphasises Tatsuru’s warm and endearing factors ten-fold for his voice work of him. You’ll have previously heard him in numerous otomes including Bad Apple Wars as Mr. Bucket and 7’scarlet as Yuzuki Murakumo, but easily his most well-known role is as Hakuoki’s main love interest Hijikata Toshizo. His roles elsewhere in anime include Kisuke Urahara from Bleach, Roy Mustang from Full Metal Alchemist, and Sir Nighteye from My Hero Academia.

Why you’ll love Tatsuru Miyazumi

Tatsuru is the persistent sunshine and feel-good character of Salaryman’s Club, even with the entire show being pretty easy-going and wholesome — aside perhaps from the latest episode’s cliffhanger. The show simply wouldn’t be the same if Tatsuru wasn’t in it, and we can see just how invaluable he is to it throughout the 12 episodes.

As soon as we meet him, it’s easy to assume he’s completely undependable, since he’s flat-out drunk and blacked out in a playground; he then goes on to tie Mikoto’s tie in the most unconventional fashion, truly making for a memorable if not altogether positive impression on his new workplace and colleagues.

But then he manages to block a knife attack in the following episode with a rash full-body shove to protect Mikoto, and does everything in his power to support him as they build a bond; Mikoto ends up genuinely trusting him for all the effort he’s gone through in winning him over and showing his seriousness and worthiness in playing as his partner.

Tatsuru goes on to not only show Mikoto the ropes of the company’s procedures and what’s to be expected of a team member, but he also takes note of his past trauma. He knows just what to say and how to tackle it for the sake of restoring Mikoto’s talent in and passion for the sport, and helping him to overcome a massive limitation of his. All this solidifies their compatibility with one another, while showing us just how perceptive and caring Tatsuru is from the earliest stages of the show.

Tatsuru is what I would call this anime’s pride and joy of a character. He quite simply has the most infectious personality ever – he’s warm, caring, supportive, passionate, and is probably the most wholesome badminton-playing salaryman to have ever graced our TV screens. It’s just a shame I can’t put a ring on it – maybe don’t tell the fiancé I said that. (Your secret’s safe with us – Ed.)

^{Disclosure: Some links in this article may be affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on them. This is at no additional cost to you and helps support Rice Digital!}