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Joe is defined
in the Gatchaman series as a "tragic, troubled loner," and
indeed he seems to be a magnet for disaster. He lives to take revenge on
Gallactor for killing his parents back when he was eight years old. It appears
his father, Giuseppe Asakura, was a high-level leader in Gallactor until he
either ran afoul of organizational politics or developed a conscience and
decided to seek asylum with the ISO. It's unclear what his motives were, but he
was waiting to meet with Dr. Nambu when a Devil Star fatally shot him and his
wife, Katarina. Joe was nearly killed by the Devil Star as well, but was rescued
by Dr. Nambu and later trained for the Kagaku Ninjatai. For a long time, he had
no clear memories of his parents' deaths or Gallactor's motive for their
assassination.
Joe acts as a counterbalance for Ken - impulsive,
impatient and furious when Ken is lucid; stable and sensible when Ken is acting
irresponsibly. Joe is a top-class marksman and acts as chief gunner for the
team. His preferred mode of action is "Shoot it now and improvise the
rest," but he is by no means a cold-blooded murderer. He's good at
hot-wiring his way out of tricky situations. Excels at throwing darts and
knives; every member of the team carries feather shuriken, but use of these
weapons becomes Joe's trademark.
After his painful death at the end of the first series, Joe is transformed into
a cyborg for Gatchaman II and Fighter - something he attempted to keep secret
until Dr. Pandora blew the whistle on him. Since he's nearly indestructible and
believes he is a machine whose only purpose is combat, he tends to throw himself
into dangerous situations before the rest of the Team can be endangered.
 
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