Ensign Akira Yamamoto(山本明Yamamoto Akira): one of the Black Tiger pilots, recognizable by the shock of hair covering his eyes, Yamamoto has only one appearance in the first season, in which his fighter is shot down just before the Yamato undergoes a major warp speed test. Almost left behind, he is waved into the hangar by Kodai, and is injured in a crash-landing. He has a more significant presence in the second season, as commander of the Cosmo Tigers' second squadron; his plane is also stolen by the space marine Saito, who towers over him. He is killed in the final attack on the Comet Empire when his plane is shot down and crashes. His Japanese name comes from the World War II IJNAS pilot Akira Yamamoto.