Masukuchi seems to inspire one of two emotions in most tam-owners: either powerful
maternal/paternal love, or absolute revulsion. Many people claim that the Maskuchi is their
favourite character because he was the first one they got, or because he's so easy to play with,
or just because. People who don't like him say they dislike him because he's ugly, because he
stays up too late (sleeping from 11:00 pm to 11:00 am), and just because.
There are only a few definite facts about this mysterious character:
It stays up late and sleeps in, it is much "needier" than the other healthy (ie, minimum weight
30 units) characters, and it sometimes turns into the secret character.
Adult-chi Type 3, Generation 1: Masukuchi
Maskuchi (or Masukuchi, or Maskchi) is the resident "bad boy" of tamagotchi. He stays up late,
he sometimes keeps moving after you press the button on the game, and he's selfish... but the
last point isn't really his fault. When a kodomo-chi (teenager) turns into Maskuchi, the
discipline immediately goes down to zero, so of course the Mask's going to have more
"selfish calls" than the other adults.
I have gotten this character twice: once on my Pink and Green tam and once on my clear green tam
(UB Liam). I found them to be unpleasant; they stayed up later than I did, they insolently
wiggled their bums at me, and they always seemed to be ignoring me, never quite looking me in
the eye. It was really quite upsetting, and also a little scary, when they ate things or were
happy or were mad; their heads would flip open, baring all of their teeth!
Rinko, a starry-eyed romantic teenaged girl in Hanjyuku Tamago the Japanese Tamagotchi
Comic, had similar feelings about her tam, Francoise. She came to her best friend, Mika-Chu,
rather upset that her beloved Francoise was so "creepy-looking". "She won't look me in the eyes
anymore, and when she sleeps she rolls the whites of her eyes at me," lamented Rinko, "and when
she's eating she looks so creepy!"
Mika-Chu checked out the professor's notes (by a stunning coincidence, almost identical to the
Tamagotchi Daihyakka entry), which claimed that Maskutchi was "a slightly mean-spirited
adult-chi. He wants to know everyone's secrets, and he hears everything. He's always
staring and watching from out of the shadows, gathering his info. And he's very tight-lipped.
Kinda creepy... (Professor Banzo's note: Take good care of this tam!)."
Mika-Chu (and Tonkitchi's response was: "Maskuchi sounds like a real
jerk. Why the heck would anyone want to take good care of him?"
Rinko's reply? "My tamagotchi may look different on the outside, but within, she's still my
beloved Francoise! I'll always love her, and take good care of her, no matter what she looks
like!"
Several days later, Rinko's shower is interrupted by a shimmery sound. She rushes to Francoise,
fearing the worst, only to discover... the Oyajitchi (Japanese secret character; stereotypical
Japanese middle aged man)! Who, of course, immediately shouts "Sake! I want more sake!
And bring on the pretty girls!"
The Oyajitchi (still named Francoise) goes on to ruin every chance at romance that Rinko has
through his (her?) boorish behavior, and even tries to compete with the new-born Tonmaruchi
that they later discover.
(An aside: As sad as it seems, the death of the tamagotchi craze seems reflected in the comics
as well. Mika-chu gives each of her three best friends a tamagotchi: one gets a Nyoro, another
gets a Tarako, and Rinko gets Francoise. Several issues later, when the Gen 2 tamas are
introduced [supposedly the Prof accidentally hard-boiled a tam-egg until it turned black... then
a "bleached baby" hatched out of the boiled egg. The Prof tried to eat/dissect it, but it was
rescued by Mika-chu], the only girls present are Mika-chu and Rinko. It seems the other two
friends are no longer into tams. As a result, Mika-chu is forced to give the Gen 2 baby to a
mere acquaintance of hers, the tallest girl on the volleyball team.)
Anyhow, when Francoise sees how Rinko fusses over the cute little pointy-headed baby, s/he roars
"Pointy-headed, eh? I'll show you pointy-headed! Umph!" and to Tonkitchi
and the baby's horror, he goes potty on the spot, and puts the dropping on his head.
"Look at me, Rinko! I'm pointy-headed too! See, I'm-" FLUSH!
Adult-chi Type ??: The Secret Character
Fortunately, the US secret character isn't nearly so ill-mannered. Not much information is
available on this curious-looking fella; most people have nick-named him "Bill" after a certain
president, although one Japanese tama book called him "Mike", and others have called him
"Gaijin-chi (Foreigner)" and "Ketou-chi (Japanese epithet for foreigners: literally,
"brownish-haired person")".
He sleeps from 10 pm to 9 am (a refreshing change from the mask) and is supposedly the
longest-lived character. The Mask usually transforms into the Secret Character by age 11 or so.
Although many people believe that you have to take good care of the Mask to get the secret
character, it seems more likely that it's dumb luck.
I have gotten the Secret Character 3 times in a row now: first Glinda (clear green), then
Tigatron (white with black buttons), and then Pewsey Ogg (clear green, about a day after
Tigatron). Each time (or, almost so: see Part 3 Or So of my Virtual Pet
Diary), the discipline went up to 75 or 100% as a maruchi, dropped to 0% as a tamachi,
got back up to 75 or 100%, and dropped back to 0% as a maskchi.
Although oyajitchi became very popular in Japan, entering the lexicon and even becoming one of
the most easily recognized of the tama characters, the overseas reaction to the Secret Character
has been luke-warm at best. Perhaps it's his lack of a name. Or perhaps it's the way he doesn't
face you when playing the game (when playing the game, and when happy, he turns his back on you
and wiggles his posterior). In any case, people just seem less enthusiastic about Mr. Bill, and
most seem to tire of him after a few days. Personally, I prefer the gen2 secret character...
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