Akio Yabe

Akio Yabe (矢部 明雄 - やべ あきお) is a recurring comic relief and sidekick character appearing in most of the scenarios in Success Mode since his debut in Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 4.

As of eBaseball Powerful Pro Yakyū 2020, he is voice acted by Ikue Ōtani.

Appearance
Yabe is infamously known for his gigantic white coke-bottle glasses and his verbal tic "でやんす" ("Donchaknow?" ), His expressions are rapid and exaggerated. He is obsessed with mecha anime, particularly Gundar Robo.

Yabe has spawned numerous "glasses family" doppelgangers throughout the series, some of which replace him as the sidekick character in certain Success scenarios. The most notable of his "clones" is his American counterpart, Marvin.

Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 4
Yabe appears as a representative of teammate that you can hang out with during free time. Telephoning and spending time with him will increase the teammates' overall opinion on the player character.

Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 5
Yabe becomes the main character's best friend as they are sitting next to each other in class. He gets roped by him into joining Pawafuru High School's baseball club. Similar to the previous game, the player can hang out with Yabe to increase teammates' overall attitude toward the player. However, Yabe himself has his own stats that increase when the main character befriends him. The hangout command this time is also shared by Munemitsu Matsukura and Tomihisa Kamoto from 2nd year onward and Shun Komasaka during the 3rd year.

Jikkyō Powerful Pro Yakyū 6
In Pawafuru University scenario, Yabe meets the main character upon enrollment and gets encouraged by him to join the baseball club in order to attract women' attention. His role is largely unchanged from the previous game

Gameplay
Yabe's primary position is a center fielder. He specializes in run speed. In Special Tag Training, he can help in basic training and dashing. At the higher level of friendship, he provides skill discounts for "Head Sliding" fielder ability and run speed.

Trivia

 * "Yabe" as a surname is a pun on the word "yabai" (やばい) which generally mean "very bad". However, the word can also mean "very good" based on certain contexts and situations.