Yasuda, Taeko

安田妙子

As Mr. Tsugumo's secretary and Ryoko's confidant, she immediately dislikes and distrusts Kanzaki. She is attractive and intelligent, yet also lonely—and in the Eclipse version, it is suggested that she is becoming insecure about her age. In the manga and OAV, by chance, she spots the magazine article regarding Asran's civil war and the photograph taken by the late Rocky, which features Shin in the background. Taeko's friend identifies the location and concludes that Shin was at Area 88. Taeko also prevents Ryoko from letting Kanzaki place her in a compromising situation to coerce him into buying her stock shares at full price, thereby using the funds to purchase Shin's contract. Taeko appears in all three versions, but is never explicitly identified in the 2004 anime.