I don't get the "other than Ryo" stipulation.... there are dozens of characters more interesting
I'm going to list a few, not because they are my favorites necessarily (so hard to choose), but these are just the ones I've happened to think about after not having played the game in some time. Pardon if I misremember some specific names...
Main character faves include Gui Zhang and Master Chen (and Master Chen's man boobs - they even jiggle when he walks!). I also enjoyed the interaction between Ryo and his friends - Nozomi, Naoyuki, Ichiro - they really were quite realistic forces in Ryo's life - the scene where they stop by to visit, for example, and the brief interactions Ryo has with them out and about, just feel really natural. Despite that, they are really auxiliary players in Ryo's life now (even Nozomi) and it's pretty cool how much thought Am2 must have put into the dynamics of Ryo's relationships with his friends and neighbors. I still can't really think of another game since Shenmue in which your sandbox is one town, where almost everyone has their own personality and treats the player in a unique way, based on the relationship they have with him (or her).
There were hordes of interesting NPCs as well:
- Yamato-san (Mei's sister, the one at the harbor lunch stand - is that Yamato-san?) - what a kind, gentle soul.
- I always enjoyed the romance between the guy at the military surplus shop (Kurito?) and the chick who had the flower shop with her father.
- Yamagishi-san and Lui-san were bad ass
- And all of the Bar Yokosuka regulars were really endearing, too. I love how Suzuki/AM2 glamorized the dive bar. MJQ Jazz Bar had that stiff, uppity feeling despite being a cleaner and classier-looking joint. But Bar Yokosuka was homey and warm. Even though it'd be 8 years before stepping foot into a real bar, I preferred to pop into Bar Yokosuka to kill time in the game and unsurprisingly I'm much more apt to hang out in environments like that to this day.
A character I don't care much for:
Chai - I thought his presence in the game was more unrealistic than the last section of Shenmue II. Perhaps it was a result of playing the game post-Lord of the Rings movies, but to me, he seemed too generic a villian and out of place in the slow, realistic world of Shenmue (Chapter 1, anyway). And while actually playing Chapter 2 would have been fun, the mere fact that Chai somehow got on the ship seemed silly, too. I wonder if we are really through with him or if there is more to his story.