If you’ve ever seen Drillimation’s mascot character Susumu Takajima or even played any of the Chuhou Joutai games, you may notice he wields not one, but two sword-like weapons with green blades in both of his hands. They are actually machetes, and their blades are made of diamond, giving him the ability to cut through anything, including steel and iron. But did you know they were originally SPASDOT property?
How did Susumu Takajima get his machetes?
When Susumu Takajima first joined the Kozanese Royal Defense Force in 2003 at the age of thirteen, one of his first missions was to help the military capture a criminal. This criminal, who was heavily armed and extremely dangerous, meant the then-13-year-old novice had to train extensively on how to evade large amounts of danmaku. From the start, he had to rely on the good-old blaster that the force had to give him.
When it came time to carry the mission out, Driller was able to get past the defenses and take down every Crimsonite that was found in a mini-base in Kozankyo. After all of the Crimsonites were defeated, Driller was able to take back some treasure the Crimsonites had and make it his own. Among one of those treasures happened to be a bladed weapon that was intended to be made for Hearthcliffe, but Driller got his hands on them as soon as it was supposed to go to Hearthcliffe. There happened to be not one, but TWO of them. The second one was likely intended to be a backup in case the first one broke.
With Driller acquiring both, he needed more training from the KRDF on how to use them and become a swordsman. It would make him one of the most unique members of the force – being the first and only double swordsman, even though they were machetes and not actual swords.
In an RPG context, this would greatly enhance Susumu Takajima’s physical attack power, but he would lose the ability to use a shield. That doesn’t stop him from wearing body or head armor, and he can still use an accessory. In battle, he would gain the ability to double attack and deal double damage without consuming any MP.
Driller’s machetes have now become a staple of the series, appearing in not only promotional artwork but occasionally in cutscenes.
Drillimation Systems 