Maysa (anime)

"Remember to get your calcium!"

- Maysa

Maysa, known as Masa (マサ) in the Japan, is a character in the MegaMan NT Warrior anime series. Despite portraying himself as a simple fisherman and salesman who doesn't have a clue about the world of NetNavis and the cyberworld, Maysa is actually a Net Agent under the disguise of "Commander Beef" (ビーフ指令) and is the operator of SharkMan.EXE and a skilled Net Battler, as well as the superior of Sal and Miyu, who are also Net Agents. Maysa's catchphrase is "Take your calcium!" and is constantly reminding Lan Hikari and his friends to eat their fish and stay active.

Although he was a main character in the first season of the anime, Maysa only appears in a single episode of MegaMan NT Warrior Axess before disappearing from the series altogether minus a cameo in Rockman.EXE Beast+, although a parallel world version of him appears in Rockman.EXE Beast.

Overview
Unlike his video game counterpart, who is only an optional boss with no importance to the story in the original Mega Man Battle Network, Maysa has a prominent role in the first season as a Net Agent and boss of Sal and Miyu. Together the three mentor and help Lan Hikari as he battles the World Three under their disguises. As a civilian, Maysa is an eccentric and energetic character who is obsessed with fish and fish facts. He has a bit of a temper when people don't listen to him and looks down on the electronic habits of young people (despite being the operator of SharkMan), often making Lan and his friends work out and eat healthy seafood snacks as a way of trying to make them more proactive.

As Commander Beef, Maysa is a competent, no-nonsense leader who aids Lan in defeating the World Three and supplies him with the knowledge he needs to win. His voice becomes deeper and more confident and he has vast knowledge of the net and its history. In the English dub Maysa speaks with a Southern accent, but loses it when he becomes Commander Beef. It should be noted that this is not a split personality; but rather Maysa as a civilian is a character he plays to throw anyone off of his true nature as Commander Beef, though at times his tendencies as Maysa or Commander Beef sometimes bleeds into the double life of the other.

MegaMan NT Warrior
Maysa is a recurring character in the first part of the anime, where he is an energetic character, and fishseller who sells fish in the market. He pretends that he does not have a NetNavi and that he does not even understand the concepts of NetNavi, Net Battle, or PET, thinking Lan was talking about a real pet, like a dog, upon hearing him speak of PET. However, he understands the importance of the friendship between Navi and operator, as he has a Navi that is only used by him under the alter-ego "Commander Beef" (ビーフ指令). Maysa secretly has a crush on Ms. Mari, which he rivalizes with Higsby.

As Commander Beef, he is the leader of a secret virus busting team which include him, Black Rose (Sal) and Mysteriyu (Miyu). He operates SharkMan, and the two are known to be a good team. He is a role model to Lan Hikari and the two have fought side by side before.

In Episode 5, he catches the kids not doing physical activity and gets them to do intensive exercise and learn fish facts. When the fish in the aquarium escape he helps Lan and co. evade the fish until they are forced into a corner. He then distracts the robot fish, allowing Lan to reach the aquarium. Maysa aids Lan by giving him the ElecSwrd Battle chip and using SharkMan to help MegaMan delete a Jelly virus. After the incident, he is seen staring off into the sunset, wishing the best for Lan.

Maysa participates in the N1 Grand Prix competition, one of his fights being against WhaleMan in Episode 15, where he takes it easy with the opponent to give Lan time to practice, defeating WhaleMan near the end of the time limit. In Episode 17, he and Lan team up and fight against StoneMan and BlasterMan, but SharkMan is disqualified by them. At the end of the episode, Lan figures out that Commander Beef is Maysa and proceeds to tell the rest of the gang. As his cover was almost blown, Miyu in a Maysa costume came riding on Maysa's bike and fools everyone and inadvertently makes Lan look like a fool, despite all the obvious hints at his real personality. In Episode 53, he is out to get a date with Ms. Mari competing as both Commander Beef and Maysa. He also aided Lan and his friends, along with Higsby and Ms. Mari, against the fight with the Life Virus.

MegaMan NT Warrior Axess
Maysa later returns to DenTech City in pursuit Gauss Magnus who was believed to be involved in Dark Chip dealing. Sal and Miyu reveal Commander Beef's true identity to Lan, who then finds out that he, Ms. Mari, and Mr. Higsby were the only people fooled by his disguise. Maysa, Lan and friends team up to free Ms. Mari from Gauss and retain Beef's secret identity. This is Masa’s last true physical appearance in the show, though he makes a cameo in the next episode in his Commander Beef outfit along with Black Rose and Mysteriyu as a stuffed toy that Lan tries to win from a crane game, but he loses it.

Rockman.EXE Beast
Masa is mentioned by Netto.

Rockman.EXE Beast+
A JammingMan masquerades as Masa in episode 25, where it and several others acting like Netto’s friends and family attempt to deceive him.

Masa is turned into cached data by Cache along with the rest of world in the final episode, but is restored by Netto and Rockman, and presumably continues his work as a Net Agent.

Themes
Masa has two theme songs pertaining to him in the Japanese version of the anime. The first, “There Goes the Dashing Masa”, is heard during Masa’s general appearances throughout the show. The second, “Charge! Commander Beef”, is heard when he is in his Commander Beef disguise, often while briefing Saroma and Miyuki on a situation. Both themes were included on Rockman.EXE Sound Navigation 01.

Trivia

 * In the Japanese version if the show, Masa's name is pronounced "Mah-sah". In the English dub, due to the inclusion of a "Y" added to his name, it is pronounced "May-sah".
 * The fish on Masa's apron was colored in pink in the anime, whereas in the games it's white.
 * In the first episode of the anime Maysa reveals that he had a pet dog.
 * The dub changes it to a salmon.