/ic/ - Artwork/Critique

How strict is Japanese copyright in-regards to characters clearly inspired from somewhere while not being a satirical parody? I know Japan doesn't care about parodies, but in this case my character is serious.

There is a very niche character (who uses a real world name) from a series (it's from a Nintendo franchise which has me worried) whose namesake, family origins, and namesake I want to pay homage to, but to be different enough to clearly say that the person isn't the Nintendo character. Namesake especially I plan on changing the kanji so that it's pronounced differently.