A viral thread on X has introduced overseas manga fans to an unusual piece of Japanese comics trivia: a recurring background character who is actually a real person, drawn into panels with his own permission.
The thread began when manga artist sugar (サグアー), creator of “Otaku ni Yasashii Gal ni Watashi wa Naru” (I’m Becoming the Gal Who’s Kind to Otaku), posted that a heavily detailed extra character in her manga was based on a real man named Terukazu Yoshida (吉田輝和), and that he openly allows anyone to insert his likeness into their manga, anime, games, or novels.
Overseas readers who follow the English translation of sugar’s manga were quick to notice. User LameOrk wrote that an over-the-top-designed background character had made them suspect a self-insert by the author, only to find out through sugar’s account that the figure was a real, separate person named Yoshida who they had never heard of before. Another reader, umiuniverse, said they were enjoying the series and hoped for more English readers and an eventual print release.
Commenters debated the best English term for the phenomenon, with user Eigobun suggesting it was the kind of reference that requires background knowledge to catch, comparing it to an “easter egg” or “inside joke.” Sugar agreed that “inside joke” felt like the better fit, given how contained the reference is to fans already in the know.
Yoshida himself joined the conversation on his own account, confirming that he appears across manga, anime, games, and novels despite not personally knowing most of the creators, and often without realizing it himself until told. He said permission requests are not necessary and creators are free to use his likeness in hobby or commercial work, though he appreciates being informed so he can track his own appearances. He also shared an image of a section of his bookshelf dedicated to works he has appeared in, joking that friends unfamiliar with the joke have reacted with visible concern when he shows it off.
Other X users who follow multiple manga series said the reveal helped them understand why a similar-looking background character kept showing up across unrelated titles, with some noting they now recognize his face from other works, including titles referencing Cthulhu Mythos-style series.
Who is Terukazu Yoshida?
Terukazu Yoshida is a Japan-based freelance illustrator and writer who, according to his own social media profile, works across multiple outlets serializing game-related diary illustrations. He has become known within manga fan circles less for his own published work and more for his recurring cameo appearances as a background character, which he permits other artists to use freely across manga, anime, games, and novels.
Yoshida noted that being featured in a work rarely leads to an ongoing friendship with the artist involved, joking that he remains “outside the circle” even as the in-joke spreads, though he said artists who have each drawn him in have sometimes become friendly with one another as a result.
