History Characters / IchiTheKiller

* SiblingMurder: Apparently they had an older triplet but killed him in an argument over who was strongest. [[Spoiler: When Jiro is killed by Ichi, Saburo is furious because he always wanted to be the one to kill Jiro to prove he was the ultimate brother. It's implied Jiro felt the same way towards Saburo.]]

* ExtremityExtremist: His most powerful weapons (and most well developed muscles) are his legs, which he uses for most of the fights shown in the manga. He even customizes his boots to make a weapon for his dominant leg. By contrast, his punches are ''profoundly'' average compared to his kicks. When his punch strength is gaged by an arcade game, his score is significantly below a retired kickboxer's.

* CharlesAtlasSuperPower: Jiro has nearly inhuman strength, especially his grip. He can [[{{Gorn}}pulverize a breast with one punch]] and can tear an arm off with his bare hands. He's the one who gave Kakihara his GlasgowGrin... with his ''thumbs''.

* ExtremityExtremist: His most powerful weapons (and most well developed muscles) are his legs, which he uses for most of the fights shown in the manga. He even customizes his boots to make a weapon for his dominant leg.

* DeadpanSnarker: He just as sarcastic as he is sadistic.

* [[spoiler: FakeMemories]]: [[spoiler: It's implied throughout the manga given Jijii's better memory of Ichi's past than Ichi himself, but Jijii would manipulate Ichi's memories and Ichi's imagination would expand and fill in details after being prompted, to the point that it's unclear how the events actually happened or if the events even happened at all, and this would be his tactic when killing; associating his memories with his targets.]]

* AlmightyJanitor: Has unbelievable [[CharlesAtlasSuperPower lower body strength]] and has spent quite some time practicing karate, yet he remains a white belt; this of course by his own choice due to his low self-esteem, Ichi thinks he doesn't deserve anything better than a beginner belt.

* ProfessionalKiller: A low-ranking hitman.

* ThereCanBeOnlyOne: Being CreepyTwins aren't enough for Jiro and Saburo. Their manga background shows that they were originally in a group of triplets, all of them monsters who wondered who was the one their father's ''sperm'' had blessed the most, so they have been trying to top each other in the "most heinous actions" scale, where the winner apparently kills the others. The third brother, their elder Ichiro, never made it to the main storyline... because his younger brothers murdered him. Ichi didn't give the remaining two siblings the time to finish their competition.
* TwinBanter: It starts out as normal sibling banter, and often devolves into a furious competition that frequently ends up with those around the twins being harmed.

* CoDragons: They are Kakihara's most trusted enforcers, and before Ichi can finally face Kakihara, he has to kill both of them.

* ChekhovsGunman: While most of his panel time is just talking to Ichi, Takeshi is instrumental to [[spoiler:Kaneko discovering the identity of the hitman tearing through the apartment complex]].

* SinisterSwitchblade: [[spoiler:He uses a switchblade as Jijii's assassin.]]
* TykeBomb: He [[spoiler:ends up as Jijii's new assassin.]]

The Killer of the title. Ichi is a 22-year-old man-child who lives by himself in a big house. A childlike loner, he gets bullied around by almost everyone he meets and reacts by apologizing. He spends his days working at a metal factory and going to the red-light district. At night, he is a deadly assassin. Whenever pushed to the brink emotionally and past the DespairEventHorizon, he becomes a monster capable of tearing men to shreds. At first, he only kills when his mysterious guardian Jijii orders him to.

* AlmightyJanitor: Has unbelievable [[CharlesAtlasSuperPower lower body strength]] and has spent quite some time practicing karate, yet he remains a white belt; this of course by his own choice due low self-esteem, Ichi thinks he doesn't deserve anything better than a beginner belt.
* AntiHero: An extreme example of an UnscrupulousHero at best, since he only kills under the orders of Jijii and his victims are usually the Yakuza or [[AssholeVictim bullies]] who [[BullyingtheDragon pick on him]]. That being said, he is the closest thing this [[CrapsackWorld setting]] has to a hero, and the most sympathetic.

* BewareTheQuietOnes: He won't bother you as long as you don't set off his high school memories...but if you do, may God have mercy on your soul.

* BlackAndWhiteInsanity: Ichi has a strong sense of justice tied to using his strength to overcome his weaknesses, but when he gets into killing mood his attitude changes. Everyone who has nothing to do with his trauma is okay at the moment, but anyone who is are bullies who must be destroyed.
* CharacterDevelopment: [[spoiler:At the very end of the manga, although we don't get to see much of it, Ichi seems to have become more sociable and able to speak with girls normally, as seen in the hostess club; but he maintains his freaky smile and killer impulse]].

* [[spoiler: FakeMemories]]: [[spoiler: It's implied throughout the manga given Jijii's better memory of Ichi's past than Ichi himself, but Jiiji would manipulate Ichi's memories and Ichi's imagination would expand and fill in details after being prompted, to the point that it's unclear how the events actually happened or if the events even happened at all, and this would be his tactic when killing; associating his memories with his targets.]]

* TheUnSmile: His creepy nervous "smile". [[spoiler:By the epilogue, he's managed to make a real one.]]

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: It's hard not to feel bad for this guy, especially since he knows he's insane and wants to be normal.

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler: He has his penis, arm and three of his fingers sliced off by Ichi as well, as all of his teeth knocked out by him and then falls to his death by pigeon crapping on his index finger. While that is a rather brutal fate, Kakihara himself was so subhuman, that there's hardly anyone who would shed a tear for such a despicable monster.]]

* TooKinkyToTorture: That is until [[spoiler:Ichi slices his [[GroinAttack cock in half.]]]]

* AdaptationalBackstoryChange: [[spoiler:In the film, he's a former cop, whose goal is to eradicate the Yakuza from the city. Not so much in the manga, where he's got no professional ties of note.]]
* TheChessmaster: He's behind everything that went on in the series, wrapping entire gangs under his little finger with ease. Everything goes according to his plans, as he escapes the story with very few loose ends and [[spoiler:Shinjuku a little bit safer.]]
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: He betrayed almost every member of his own little gang of excommunated gangsters. [[spoiler: He even went on to get Karen killed to wrap up all of his loose ends.]]

* MindRape: What he did to Ichi. No one deserves to have these horrendous "memories" implanted in them. [[spoiler: In the final chapter when Ichi runs into Takeshi, Takeshi has no memory of Ichi; implying Jijii is using the same tactics on Takeshi.]]

* ObfuscatingStupidity: He's a sharp old man, but to make his plan work he portrayed himself as a feeble and ignorant elder to take the Anjou Clan off his trail.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Both continuities reveal that he starts his war on the mob apartment complex because [[spoiler: he's trying to make Shinjuku safer by force. If that means he has to use criminals and groom kids into monsters, then so be it.]]

* AddledAddict: [[spoiler: What ultimately leads to his end was his addiction to cocaine. He enters withdrawal after being cooped up in a hotel room with no drugs, and tells his dealer, who's being used by Kakihara, the address of their gang's hideout to get his fix.]]

* MagicPlasticSurgery: [[spoiler:He got plastic surgery done on his face after being excommunicated from the Anjou clan so he could stay in Shinjuku, when Kakihara's gang catches him, all the members say he doesn't look anything like how he used to.]]
* TheMole: Inoue used to be part of the Anjou clan. Before being excommunicated, he used this connection to plant bugs throughout the Yakuza Mansion so Jijii and his gang could listen in and spy.

* EtTuBrute: Ichi has this reaction once they learn which sides of the conflict they're on, [[spoiler:resulting in Kaneko getting killed]]. Ichi likens him to a boy in high school who was friendly with him outside of bullying incidents, where he'd only join in so he wouldn't get killed himself.

* IfIDoNotReturn: He asks Ichi to look after Takeshi in case anything happens to him. [[spoiler: Ichi doesn't understand what he means until he realizes Kaneko is one of his targets that he has to kill.]]

* ThereCanBeOnlyOne: Being CreepyTwins aren't enough for Jiro and Saburo. Their manga background shows that they were originally in a group of triplets, all of them monsters who wondered who was the one their father's ''sperm'' had blessed the most, so they have been trying to top each other in the "most heinous actions" scale, where the winner apparently kills the others. The third brother, their elder Ichiro, never made it to the main storyline...because his younger brothers murdered him. Ichi didn't give the remaining two siblings the time to finish their competition.

* PetTheDog: Consoling the poor abused prostitute, and even giving her money so she can have her nose fixed. They even have a romantic moment and he promises to kill her abusive pimp for her...that ends badly.
* PsychopathicManchild: Ichi IS one of the top examples of this trope. Jijii's manipulations ensure that he's constantly back in his state of mind as a bullied teen, and beyond that he doesn't comprehend concepts like rape. He also gets along well with kids and can understand their mindsets.
* RetiredBadass: [[spoiler:The epilogue reveals that spending a year in Shinjuku made Ichi lose most of his killing edge, so Jijii let him go. While he's still monstrously strong he doesn't seem near the wreck he was three years prior.]]

Arguably the VillainProtagonist of this story. A Yakuza mobster who is equal parts sadist and masochist, he loves both receiving pain and dishing it out. He cuts, burns and pierces his body, and has twin friends who engage in S&M with him. His story begins when he finds out his boss and lover, Anjo, has gone missing. Kakihara is intrigued and goes in pursuit of Anjo's killer, but along the way takes over the gang. He eventually decides that Anjo's killer - Ichi - is the ultimate sadist he's been searching for.

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:He has his penis and arm sliced off by Ichi as well as all his teeth knocked out by him and then falls to his death. While that is a rather brutal fate, Kakihara himself was so subhuman that there's hardly anyone who would shed a tear for such a despicable monster.]]

* DragonAscendant: He was once a high ranked enforcer until his boss was killed and spends the manga taking over his gang and trying to get revenge.
* GlasgowGrin: Kakihara has one given to him by Jiro and Saburo back in the day, held together by piercings. He's also fond of giving the Glasgow Grin to other people. He takes the piercings out to [[spoiler:swallow people's hands when they try to punch him in the face]], and at one point has them torn out, which doesn't faze him at all.

* TooKinkyToTorture: That is until [[spoiler:Ichi slices his [[GroinAttack cock in half]]]].

Ichi's guardian, who has turned the man-child into an unstoppable killer through MindRape and brainwashing. A mysterious old man who has dedicated his entire life to balance out the good and evil in the city-- well, rather, the greater evil and the lesser evil.


* AdaptationalBackstoryChange: [[spoiler:In the film, he's a former cop whose goal is to eradicate the Yakuza from the city. Not so much in the manga, where he's got no professional ties of note.]]
* TheChessmaster: He's behind everything that went on in the series, wrapping entire gangs under his little finger with ease. Everything goes according to his plans, as he escapes the story with very few loose ends and [[spoiler:Shinjuku a little bit safer]].
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: He betrayed almost every member of his own little gang. [[spoiler:He even went on to get Karen killed to wrap up all of his loose ends.]]

* OldMaster: Subverted; after he breaks Takayama's neck with one hand, he reveals that that he's in his 30's but had plastic surgery to make him look older. On the other hand, he might be an old man and lying. Jijii isn't exactly known for his honesty.

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Both continuities reveal that he starts his war on the mob apartment complex because [[spoiler:he's trying to make Shinjuku safer by force. If that means he has to use criminals and groom kids into monsters, then so be it.]]
* WolfInSheepsClothing: He often uses his plain and oafish looks to fool his victims, often throwing them off his tail.

* NoOneSeesTheBoss: He, Ryou, and Inoue have never met Ichi, only cleaning up after him. [[spoiler: Noboru is the only one who meets Ichi, but since Ichi has never met him and Jijii used his master manipulation abilities, he has Ichi off Noboru.]]

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: It's no secret that Miyu adores Ryou, however, he seems to just be using her to make money. [[spoiler: When they're both abducted by Kakihara, Ryou reveals he really does care about her and his final words are telling her sorry.]]

* LovableSexManiac: His main source of income is he's a pimp, having about twenty or so girls under his belt, one being his girlfriend. [[spoiler: He reveals he does this as a means to love girls that find themselves incapable of being loved.]]

* TooKinkyToTorture: That is untll [[spoiler:Ichi slices his [[GroinAttack cock in half]]]].

* PetTheDog: Consoling the poor abused prostitute, and even giving her money so she can have her nose fixed. They even have a romantic moment and he promises to kill her abusive pimp for her...that ends badly.

--> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/ShinpachiTsuji (Japanese)

* AdaptationalBackstoryChnge: [[spoiler:In the film, he's a former cop whose goal is to eradicate the Yakuza from the city. Not so much in the manga, where he's got no professional ties of note.]]

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:He has his penis and arm sliced off by Ichi and then falls to his death. While that is a rather brutal fate, Kakihara himself was so subhuman that there's hardly anyone who would shed a tear for such a despicable monster.]]

--> '''Voiced by:''' Creator/ShinpaciTsuji (Japanese)

* HateSink: He is, without a doubt, the most disgusting and vile example of this trope ever written.

* KickChick: Rare gender inversion. His most powerful weapons (and most well developed muscles) are his legs, which he uses for most of the fights shown in the manga. He even customizes his boots to make a weapon for his dominant leg.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: His original backstory bills him as a kid who'd get bullied wherever he went, nd along the way manipulated into becoming a killer. His altered memories give him a worse backstory.

%%* DarkAndTroubledPast

--> '''Portrayed by:''' Creator/ShinyaTsukamoto
The self-appointed superhero of Shinjuku and Ichi's guardian, who has turned the man-child into an unstoppable killer through MindRape and brainwashing. A mysterious old man who has dedicated his entire life to balance out the good and evil in the city-- well, rather, the greater evil and the lesser evil.

* CowboyCop: [[spoiler:In the film, he's a former cop whose goal is to eradicate the Yakuza from the city. Not so much in the manga, where he's got no professional ties of note.]]

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Both continuities reveal that he starts his war on the mob apartment complex because [[spoiler:he's trying to make Shinjuku safer by force. If that means he has to use criminals and groom kids into monsters, then so be it, as long as the streets are a little safer.]]

* [[ThoseTwoGuys Those Three Guys]]

* AddledAddict: [[spoiler: What ultimately leads to his end was his addiction to cocaine. He enters withdrawal after being cooped up in a hotel room with no drugs, and tells his provider, who's being used by Kakihara, the address of their gang's hideout to get his fix.]]
* [[ThoseTwoGuys Those Three Guys]]

* TheMole: Inoue used to be part of the Anjou clan before being excommunicated, he used this connection to plant bugs throughout the Yakuza Mansion so Jijii and his gang could listen in and spy.

* AssholeVictim: Both are killed by Ichi. Jiro had his necked snapped from Ichi's kick, and Saburo had the top of his head slashed off by Ichi's bladed shoes.
* BadassInANiceSuit: In shiny white business suits, no less.

* CoDragons: They are Kakihara's most trusted enforcers and before Ichi can finally [[spoiler:face Kakihara he has to kill both of them.]]

* ThemeNaming: Together with their late brother, Ichiro. Ichiro, Jiro and Saburo means "First Son", "Second Son" and "Third Son".

* TwinTelepathy: One can detect when the other [[spoiler: has been killed.]] They used to be ''triplets''.

%%* UnwittingPawn: In the end.

* AntiHero: An extreme example of an UnscrupulousHero at best, since he only kills under the orders of Jijii and his victims are usually the Yakuza or [[AssholeVictim bullies]] who [[BullyingtheDragon pick on him]]. That being said, he is the only character closest to the hero in this [[CrapsackWorld setting]], and the most sympathetic.

%%* {{Bishonen}}