Wekapipo

"One step ! It seems that I am one step 'ahead' of you."

- Wekapipo

Wekapipo (ウェカピポ) is a character featured in Steel Ball Run. He was introduced as an enemy to the protagonists, but later became an ally.

Appearance
Wekapipo is most notable for his bizarre haircut, which consists of a series of shaved gridlines and squares of short hair. He enters the story sporting a mustache, which he later shaves off.

Personality
Wekapipo is a remarkably stern and serious individual, focusing on whatever goal he has and tolerating little the hijinks of Magent Magent.

During his youth, Wekapipo was entirely devoted to his sister having gone out of his way to force a divorce after learning that her husband beat her. The (false) news of her death made him seemingly depressed and he has since then had a bleak outlook of life.

Wekapipo is a cold and somber man, being constantly focused on an objective and coldly working towards it. During a fight, he's been noted to pay attention to the strengths and weaknesses of his enemy and methodically suppress each of their advantages. Wekapipo does not tolerate his partner distracting him from their mission and repeatedly tells him to stop fooling around, be it chit-chatting or gloating in a fight. Having the sole ambition of obtaining a comfortable life, he wouldn't hesitate to betray Funny Valentine nor prepare to work against Gyro Zeppeli, aiming to join the winning side.

Wekapipo possesses an honorable side, being respectful of the prowess of the Zeppeli Family's Spin and acts accordingly. Moreover he agreed to temporarily help Gyro and Johnny after they revealed that the Zeppelis have been taking care of his sister. Upon being defeated, he tried to kill himself in order to escape the dishonor a loss would bring him before Valentine, although he implied that he would die for it at Valentine's hands nonetheless.

History
When Wekapipo was younger, his sister married one of his friends, who, unfortunately, would abuse her after the marriage. This leads him to challenge her husband for his sister's honor, of which they both do so with their steel balls. Wekapipo won, but due to the high status of the man he killed, he was sentenced to exile.

Steel Ball Run
Later in his life, he is hired by Funny Valentine, who promised him and his family security in the United States, to attack Johnny and Gyro, and partnered with Magent Magent. However, after losing, he began to side with Johnny and Gyro during the attack on Steven Steel, after Gyro reveals that his sister was actually alive.

While guarding Steven Steel, Magent Magent ambushes Wekapipo under orders from the President. His fight with his former partner ends with Magent Magent wrapping himself with dynamite and trying to blow Wekapipo up, but the impact sends him into a river, where he hopelessly awaits rescue from Diego Brando. In another dimension, Johnny was shot by Wekapipo in one of the many outcomes of a situation where Johnny is shot (some of the local kids assumed it was either Wekapipo or Diego Brando). However, it turned out to be a result of a dimension hop since Wekapipo thought he was shooting someone else.

He fights against the President with Diego, finding serenity in making an enemy of America. After attempting to confront the president. Johnny is revealed to be alive as he was recuperating in the sewers while being guided by Diego's Scary Monsters. Then, Diego is pulled into another dimension to fuse with his parallel self & to split into nothingness. Wekapipo meets his end after being tricked by Diego into coming in contact with himself from another universe, causing both to merge and be split into thousands of cubes, but in turn, saving Diego from that very fate.

Wrecking Ball
Wekapipo possesses another type of steel ball called Wrecking Ball (レッキング・ボール(壊れゆく鉄球)). The Wrecking Ball is primarily used by the imperial guard serving the royal family of Naples. Smaller balls called satellites are attached to the ball that can separate and strike on their own. Even if the satellites do not hit their target, the shockwaves caused by the satellite will induce Hidarihanmi Shitchō (左半身失調), causing the victim to lose all sense of feeling in his or her left side. This sensation is caused by a large stroke or hemorrhage affecting the part of the brain that controls balance & coordination.

All-Star Battle (PS3)
Wekapipo appears as a random support character in Campaign mode. By using a portion of the player's energy gauge, Wekapipo uses his Wrecking Ball to disable the HH gauge of whoever the player fights next.