• Dafe, Friends and All of Mishima is a comic chronicling the boarding school adventures of high school students in West Africa.
• It was created, illustrated and written by Sean Okwoju. Co-writing credits go to Morakinyo Araoye.

What makes a comic come alive for you? Great storytelling, gorgeous art, intriguing characters or everything? Whatever it is, there’s no denying that interesting and unique characters are usually the glue that keeps you hooked. 

TAG Comics’ Dafe, Friends and All of Mishima series is no exception. The comic chronicles the boarding school adventures of Dafe, who’s just trying to make it through school as best as he can. His adventures however make for good laughs for readers at the expense of Dafe and his friends. 

All the characters in this series are entertaining, but the characters listed below are the creme de la creme. They’re the true standouts. 

In no particular order, here are the most beloved characters.

Osayi

Osayi is a delusional geek who’s got his head wrapped too deep in the comics and anime he consumes. Like the heroes he looks up to and emulates, he has strong conviction, stands by his beliefs, is willing to defend his peers and oddly, like manga perverts, nosebleeds at the sight of pretty women.

Unlike his heroes however, Osayi is unbelievably weak. Combining his delusions of grandeur and heroics and his non-existent strength constantly puts him at odds with others and leaves us with ridiculous and super entertaining stories.

Dafe

Dafe is a regular kid who just wants to get through school without trouble. The universe is however against him. He’s the series’ automatic fall guy. Something happens that isn’t his fault? Lay the blame on him. Takes advice from his peers to avert a situation? He gets it worse than everyone else. Just when he thinks things are worse than ever, his school shows him there’s more. For this character, bad, worse, worst is for noobs. There’s bad, worse, worst and then Dafe. 

It’s not all bad though. The universe sometimes grants him respite and he revels in sweet revenge….some times. 

Ife

Ife is Class Captain and the love of Dafe’s life (if he only had the courage to tell her). She’s a strong willed, no-nosense girl, manipulator, sometimes schemer and the unfortunate endurer of a dorm mate’s unbearable late night conversations. It’s just a matter of time before Ife cracks and goes ballistic on her.

I will never apologize for being a powerful woman because only the strong can survive Mishima Secondary School! And well-behaved women rarely make history, so….

Ife, Class Captain

Night Caller

This character whose name we don’t yet know is a talkative, broke, shameless, demeaning, ignorant, tortuous  chronic liar. She sleeps next to Ife and keeps the poor girl up at night with her late night calls. The only time we see her is at odd hours of the night, talking on the phone with different boys. Pretty much everything she says is a lie unless she’s asking for something. Don’t believe me? 

• She doesn’t poop but only farts about once per week.  
• Her father occasionally flies to the moon as a side gig
• Her father used to be Dangote’s boss and even bought him a car
• She has air conditioning all over her house, including in the loo and outdoors.

You get the picture. 

Mr Principal Sir  

Ah, if it isn’t the famed principal of Mishima School, Mr Principal Sir. He doesn’t appear much in the comic, but each appearance leaves a lasting impression. A man of action whose superpower is the cane and the destruction he wreaks on your behind. He’s not all about the violence though. When’s he’s not in the pages of the story, you’ll find him dropping “wise” quips which are actually veiled threats on TAG Comics social media in his Sip series. 

In his words:

I can be harsh on my students sometimes. People think I  don’t care about their well being but I care very much for them, just like a parent would. That’s why I pray… I always pray for them. That on the day when I catch them, oooooooooooohhh… That day, I pray it will not be their last.

Mr Principal Sir!

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Who Else?

Other loveable characters in Dafe, Friends and all of Mishima include Ms. Oshiomole, the pretty, silent assassin, Mr Macojae, the Hammer of Justice, Omax the gluttonous, Edet, the stingy mama’s boy and Aisosa, the mischievous. 

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Have you read this comic yet? Who’s your favorite character? 

Read Dafe, Friends and all of Mishima on the TAG Comics website. Also check out our thoughts on some other TAG Comics titles including award-winning Danfo and Kpakow.