History Characters / Kurohime

* BeautyMark: She has two, one under the outside corner of each eye. [[spoiler:In keeping with the tragic life that this implies in most Japanese media, Kurohime has suffered immensely in her lifetime, growing up alone in a war-torn era that probably resulted in the deaths of everyone close to her as a child, and enduring great physical and emotional anguish to achieve her goals, only to fail miserably at the end of her first life and get split apart and effectively reincarnated against her will. As Himeko, this trend continues: she falls in love with Zero despite her curse and is only able to admit her love for him shortly before he dies, then loses most of her memories of him. She is later forced to kill one of her closest allies, realizes that she abandoned Zero ''twice'' at the lowest points of his life, and nearly dies for good trying to save Zero from the worst parts of himself.]]

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: With a [[MulticoloredHair black tuft]]. [[spoiler:That bit of black showing up in Rei's hair after the Death God is purged from Rei is the proof that "Zero" was Rei all along.]]

* BadassBeard: Genbu's spirit form sports a long, white WizardBeard.

* BrokenBird: [[spoiler:The original Kurohime's backstory isn't elaborated on, but it's implied that she was orphaned as a result of the wars and saw her fair share of bloodshed and killing as she grew up. After that, to amass the power to meet the gods and kill them, she killed ''a lot'' of people and ate their souls for strength, then ultimately betrayed her most loyal followers and the rest of the world in order to shift focus away from the contest of the gods. By the time Ouka and Sword meet Kurohime in the Past Arc, she hasn't yet begun her final push toward reaching and killing the gods, but is otherwise weighed down by the lives she's taken and the monstrous things she's done. Even after being reincarnated as Himeko, there are shades of this that return to her life, especially after Zero has died and she faces more and more difficult challenges to bring him back to life.]]

* HandCannon: Senryuu, her magic gun of choice, does extreme damage even without normal bullets.

* ByronicHero: [[spoiler:She fits this mold pretty much perfectly: she's amazingly charismatic and powerful, but also extremely standoffish and distant from people with very rare exceptions. While she has the capability to be quite compassionate and does occasionally show that compassion to others, she also staunchly refuses to compromise on her goals or the methods she uses to accomplish them, no matter how much suffering it causes herself or other people, which ultimately leads to her death.]]

* HandicappedBadass: While her arm she lost ''DID'' grow back after the battle, losing it didn't slow her down in the least.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: [[spoiler:Her real personality is much more subdued and less cruel than her reputation suggests. When her backstory is revealed by Shirohime, it becomes evident that while she was ruthless, she still had enough compassion for the very young and for people that suffered under war; she allows a young Ouka to stab her and leave without repercussion and mourns a baby that dies during the construction of her tower to heaven. Her later conversations with an adult Ouka during the Past Arc bear this out, as she demonstrates that she is perfectly aware of how cruel she is and how much she ''hates'' the fact that she has to be to meet her goals. There's also the fact that she rescued, renamed, and gave a bit of maternal comfort to a nearly suicidal Rei.]]
* OrphansOrdeal:[[spoiler:Very heavily implied in her backstory, though not outright stated; the first time we see a young Kurohime, she is wet-eyed in front of covered-up bodies, and her parents are nowhere to be seen.]]

* StealthMentor: To [[spoiler: Ouka in the Past Arc, albeit indirectly--by taking Ouka along with her into her battles and letting Ouka witness the price and the pain Kurohime goes through to fight, Kurohime basically proves to Ouka that chasing vengeance will only turn Ouka into another Kurohime.]]

* WouldNotHurtAChild: [[spoiler:Her refusal to hurt young!Ouka when Ouka stabs her and her tears for an infant mortality during the building of her tower both indicate that Kurohime thinks of children as precious; this is unfortunately used against her when Darkray takes that infant's soul as a human shield during their battle 10 years before the start of the series, which allows him to get in a fatal attack with Sword.]]

* LackOfEmpathy: Having her ability to love cursed out of her [[spoiler:and being the incarnation of one person's single-minded hatred for gods]] has completely screwed her up emotionally. Traveling with Zero eventually helps her regain it, and by the end of the manga she's become a kind-hearted young woman.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: In the first arc, as a result of losing her ability to love, she can't recall just why she hates the gods. [[spoiler:It doesn't help that she's only half of the original Kurohime, either; Shirohime kept all their original memories. Later on, Zero's death forms a psychological block on her full power, and though she no longer needs to feel love to transform into Kurohime, doing so and maintaining her uncursed form erases more memories of him in order to "heal the wound" in her heart caused by his death. This only gets worse when Dark Zero himself removes the majority of her memories himself after his revival; after that incident, pretty much all of the memories she's made from the start of the series involving him are outright gone, leaving only a strong love for him.]]
* LaserGuidedKarma: A metric-fuck-ton of it from her pre-curse life. [[spoiler:Her original self killed countless people in her quest to become a god, and the price was losing her power, being forced into a child's body, and being stripped of her memories on top of losing her ability to love AND half her personality to boot. Worse yet, not long after fully realizing love after being selfish and self-absorbed for so long, the man she loves sacrifices himself to protect her and he dies in front of her very eyes.]]

* NayTheist: Though she doesn't quite remember what happened to get her cursed, Kurohime still hates the gods with a passion. When she gets a chance to fight one in her un-cursed form, she [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beats him to death with her bare hands, laughing and grinning as she rips him apart.]] [[spoiler:This is due to being the original Kurohime's personified hatred of gods and instinctively remembering that even with her memories goene.]]

* PowerAtAPrice: [[spoiler:After killing Darkray and losing Zero, the only way for her to use her full power as Kurohime is to give up memories of Zero, since his death is a psychological block on her power; the longer she stays transformed, the more memories of him she loses to fuel her transformation. Once Dark Zero removes almost all her memories himself, this boosts her power by a lot, but effectively soft-locks her out of becoming Kurohime again (at least, by herself) until the very end of the manga.]]

* BadassNormal: Keeps abreast of Kurohime thanks to his incredibly itchy trigger fingers; he is capable of drawing and firing his four guns both rapidly and accruately.

* ButtMonkey: Amusing things happen to Onimaru. Often. This includes getting branded by Kurohime, getting beat up by Himeko whenever she breaks her curse long enough to regain her power, [[spoiler:getting turned into Tsucchi,]] and generally finding himself in a whole lot of trouble.

* HeroicWillpower: [[spoiler:He resists becoming a snake thanks to this, but turns into a weird mini snake thing instead.]]

* ThePeepingTom: He wanted to be a god so he could peep at girls.
* TheSmartGuy: He knows a lot of what's going on due to following Himeko around. [[spoiler:Too bad he can't talk by the time he does.]]

* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Ultimately, she serves as one during the climax of the story in order to complete the Ultimate Sword in Yamatohime's place. By the time she does so, she's been one of the longest surviving member of Kurohime's group of friends from the early parts of the story, and the closest one that hasn't become her enemy.]]

* VitriolicBestBuds: Develops this relationship with Kurohime over time, bickering freely with her at a moment's notice. Despite that, though, they truly become friends, enough so that [[spoiler:Asura goes back in time and sacrifices herself to make the Ultimate Sword when Kurohime initially refuses to sacrifice Asura to it.]]

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:She dies to protect Kurohime and Zero once Onimaru (as Tsucchi) reminds her of the true meaning of compassion and determination that she lost when she became a goddess.]]

* PowerNullifier: Is the one responsible for doing this to Kurohime, sealing her into Himeko's form.

* ArtifactOfDoom: [[spoiler:What actually turned him into the Grim Reaper: a large one-eyed skull shaped core. His death to Kurohime caused the core to leave his body, and Yashahime takes possession of it and uses it to turn Zero into the Grim Reaper instead.]]

* DirtyCoward: [[spoiler:Proves himself as this twice over, first by trying to hold Zero's soul hostage when he fights Kurohime, then begging Yashahime to revive him.]]

* AmazonBrigade: The Death Angels are an all-female group, and she's the one in charge of them. They're her closest friends and TrueCompanions. [[spoiler:She creates and personally leads a second example of this with the Kurohime Punishment Squad.]]

* AvengingTheVillain: [[spoiler:This is what motivates her to continue her grudge against Kurohime after the Death Angel Squad and Darkray both die when Kurohime decides to pick a fight with Darkray.]]

* BrokenBird: [[spoiler:Kurohime's war against the gods brings a much more personal stake to Sword's dislike of Kurohime when it results in Darkray and the rest of the Death Angel Squad all dying in a fight with Kurohime. The trauma from this loss, coupled with Sword's projected resentment of Shirohime onto Kurohime, has left her with both a deep desire for revenge against Kurohime and a broken heart.]]

* ClingyJealousGirl: She strongly disliks how much attention Darkray spent on Shirohime. Shirohime implies that this jealousy is part of why Sword hates Kurohime so much:

* TrueCompanions: The Death Angels [[spoiler:and the Kurohime Punishment Squad]] are this for her.

* ComplexityAddiction: It's pointed out over and over that Yashahime could kill almost anyone who's appeared in the manga so far. Yet when faced with the prospect of [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim doing just that to Kurohime,]] she has to devise some sort of scheme and draw it out, which ends with Kurohime either escaping or getting stronger. [[spoiler:Amusingly enough, the one time she decides to just kill Kurohime would have ended with her ''OWN'' death, if it wasn't for the fact that [[NighInvulnerability she just]] [[DeTerminator doesn't die.]]]]

* TheDreaded: With the exception of Igudo (who might not HAVE emotions), the other gods and supernatural creatures react with fear when and wherever she shows up, if not [[TheFriendNobodyLikes complete disdain.]] [[spoiler: The surviving gods quickly write off her death and move on to another galaxy rather than avenge her.]]

* EvilIsPetty: It's usually not petty to want to exact vengeance for the death of one's beloved. However, Yashahime takes it to new levels; she deliberately tortures Kurohime by beating her bloody and reveling in her pain. [[spoiler:It gets even worse: Yashahime turns Zero into the God of Death just to torment Kurohime for getting the love she never had, and before that she killed a depowered Darkray herself simply because he became too pathetic to live in her eyes.]]

* HoistByHerOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Yashahime captures Yamatohime in her weakened state and links her powers with her own, becoming the planet itself and beginning to evolve into a High God. Because of this, though, Yashahime is now bound to the planet like Yamatohime was, meaning that if the planet goes, so does Yashahime. Once Yamatohime sacrifices herself to bring Himeko back to life as Kurohime, Kurohime uses the Ultimate Sword to split the ENTIRE PLANET IN HALF, killing Yashahime permanently.]]

* ItsAllAboutMe: Initially, she comes into the plot because Ghandara was killed. [[spoiler:But eventually, her revenge against Kurohime becomes more about satisfying her own desire to kill Kurohime for killing Darkray. Even with TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt going on, her main motivation is "get enough power to kill Kurohime for killing Darkray."]]

* SelectiveObliviousness: She seems to be completely incapable of thinking that the Death God is not in love with her despite saying herself that the Death God cares for no one, which would logically include her.

* YamatoNadeshiko: She looks the part with the kimono and katana and sometimes even acts the part with a polite and calm demeanor, but she's actually a cruel and jealous bitch.
* {{Yandere}}: Not necessarily a most triumphant example, but very much textbook; anyone that tries to steal Darkray's attention from her is an obstacle she intends to kill and remove. [[spoiler:Her tendency to psychologically torture Himeko only increases after Yashahime turns Zero into the new Death God; her hatred of Kurohime becomes a twisted reflection of her jealousy that Zero is still thinking of her even as a Death God.]]

* DiedInYourArmsTonight: [[spoiler:How she chooses to die once she's made up with Asura.]]

* JerkAss: Is generally cold and unfriendly, but is exceptionally so to Asura, referring to her as "it", and factually explains to Kurohime [[spoiler:that Asura is meant to be Yamatohime's substitute sacrifice to create the Ultimate Sword. There are shades of JerkassFacade here, as it's implied and later outright stated that she treated Asura this way to try and lessen the pain of Asura's sacrifice, and she did at least care enough to make sure Asura had (iron) toys to play with as a child.]]

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[spoiler:The other reason for her HeroicSacrifice above: knowing that there was nothing to be gained by trying to conserve her power anymore once Yashahime merged with the planet, she decieds to gamble everything on Kurohime one last time instead, giving up the planet as a lost cause int he process.]]

Barahime returns as a member of the Punishment Squad, completely stealing the body of her previous host
to fight this time around. See Barahime's folder in the Other Witches section above.

* {{Forgiveness}}: [[spoiler:She ultimately decides to forgive Kurohime for killing her father, though only after realizing [[RageAgainstTheHeavens the karmic burden that Kurohime is shouldering by way of how she's trying to unite the world]] as well as Korohime's own immense self-hatred.]]

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Ouka eventually gives up on her grudge against Kurohime after teaming up with her and Sword to kill the goddess Venus. As Ouka sees it, nothing they could do to Kurohime could be worse than what she's already suffering through.]]

* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler: When Ouka tries to save her father from dying in the past, he attacks her, mistaking her for an enemy, and her witch-beast kills him in her defense. In front of her younger self's eyes.]]

* YouKilledMyFather: To Kurohime. [[spoiler: The second time around, Ouka's witch-beast does it instead when her father attacks her, mistaking her for an enemy. It's implied by the narration that this is a result of [[YouCantFightFate his death being fated and predetermined.]]]]

* EyepatchOfPower: [[spoiler:When he reappears in the present-day.]]

* WaifProphet: Her role in the story when she's intrduced, and the source of her fame. [[spoiler:She warns Kurohime that she'll have to choose between Zero and Rei, as one of them will die very soon, and she's right. She also does this when she reappears as a young woman in the final chapters of the series, predicting Kurohime's ultimate victory.]]

* PeepingTom: He wanted to be a god so he could peep at girls.

* HairDecorations: She wears two ornaments in her sidelocks of hair. [[spoiler:When she's grown older, [[ExpositoryHairstyleChange they're gone.]]]]

* BrokenBird: [[spoiler:The original Kurohime's backstory isn't elaborated on, but it's implied that she was orphaned as a result of the wars and saw her fair share of bloodshed and killing as she grew up. After that, to amass the power to meet the gods and kill them, she killed ''a lot'' of people and ate their souls for strength, then ultimately betrayed her most loyal followers and the rest of the world in order to shift focus away from the contest of the gods. By the time Ouka and Sword meet Kurohime in the Past Arc, she hasn't yet begun her final push toward reaching and killing the gods, but is otherwise weighed down by the lives she's taken and the monstrous things she's done. Even after being reincarnated as Himeko, she gradually reaches this point again, especially after Zero has died and she faces more and more difficult challenges to bring him back to life.]]

* ByronicHero: [[spoiler:She fits this mold very well; while she has the capability to be quite compassionate and does occasionally show that compassion to others, she also staunchly refuses to compromise on her goals or the methods she uses to accomplish them, no matter how much suffering it causes herself or other people; it ultimately leads to her death.]]

* DeathOfPersonality: [[spoiler:When she is split into her hatred and her compassion, the original Kurohime effectively dies right then and there, as both halves are missing too much of the other to really represent the whole woman anymore.]]

* BlackMagicianGirl: Bratty and snide, much like the trope requires, but lacking the power to back it up initially. As she gets stronger, she resembles the trope much better.

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: In the first arc, as a result of losing her ability to love, she can't recall just why she hates the gods. [[spoiler:It doesn't help that she's only half of the original Kurohime, either; Shirohime kept all their original memories. Later on, Zero's death forms a psychological block on her full power, and though she no longer needs to feel love to transform into Kurohime, doing so and maintaining her uncursed form erases more memories of him in order to "heal the wound" in her heart caused by his death. This only gets worse when Dark Zero himself removes the majority of her memories himself after his revival; after that incident, it's ambiguous how much she remembers except for her single-minded love of Zero but at the very least most if not all of the memories she's made from the start of the series involving him are outright gone.]]

* PowerAtAPrice: [[spoiler:After killing Darkray and losing Zero, the only way for her to use her full power as Kurohime is to give up memories of Zero, since his death is a psychological block on her power. The longer she stays transformed, the more memories of him she loses; once Dark Zero removes almost all her memories himself, this effectively soft-locks her out of becoming Kurohime again (at least, by herself) until the very end of the manga.]]

* DefrostingIceQueen: Her opinion of humans raises over the course of the series, to the point she is willing to risk her life saving one. [[spoiler:She reverts a bit while Kurohime is time-traveling, becoming a flaming ball of hatred due to her unresolved issues with her past, but Kurohime's refusal to kill Asura and finish the Ultimate Sword finishes the process.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:She convinces Seiryuu to send her consciousness back in time, then willingly moves herself to take the bullet that Kurohime refused to shoot at her, getting absorbed into the Yamato Senryuuto and completing the Ultimate Blade.]]

* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Ultimately, she serves as one during the climax of the story in order to complete the Ultimate Sword in Yamatohime's place; by the time she does so, she's been the longest surviving member of Kurohime's group of friends, and one of her closest ones left.]]

* TheBerserker: [[spoiler:After becoming a vampire-werewolf-angel hybrid, she gains access to a powerful transformation that completely removes all her self-control in exchange.]]

* BrokenBird: [[spoiler:Kurohime's war against the gods brings a much more personal stake to Sword's dislike of Kurohime when it results in Darkray and the rest of the Death Angel Squad all dying. The trauma, coupled with Sword's projected resentment of Shirohime onto Kurohime, has left her with both a deep desire for revenge against Kurohime and a broken heart.]]

* ItsPersonal: Though Sword already disliked Kurohime for defying the will of the gods and constantly resurrecting dead people, [[spoiler:it becomes much more serious for her after Darkray and the rest of the Death Angel Squad all die due to Kurohime's fight with Darkray. She forms the Kurohime Punishment Squad explicitly to make sure Kurohime pays for the deaths of Darkray and the Death Angel Squad.]]
* LoveMartyr: To Darkray. She's completely devoted to him, but he doesn't give a damn about her. [[spoiler:In fact, he nearly killed her along with the other Death Angels when Kurohime started *really* going all out against him.]]

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: [[spoiler:The Kurohime Punishment Squad]] tends to refer to her as Captain or Commander, and most other characters address her primarily as "Sword", but her "real" name (only revealed in [[AllThereInTheManual author's notes]]) is Reikahime.

* [[JerkassGod Jerkass Goddess]]: Yashahime is completely incapable of compassion or mercy. All she cares about is the Death God and her own power.

!!!! Characters from the manga Manga/{{Kurohime}}. Per wiki policy, trope names are not in spoilers, and there may be spoilers for characters' individual plotlines in their summaries. Read at your own risk.

* JerkassGod: He doesn't give a damn about his subordinates, or anyone in particular beyond himself.

[[folder:Saika and Aika]]
Two lovers who are the final members of the Kurohime Punishment Squad. Saika was once an accomplice of Onimaru.

* ButtMonkey: Saika has been subjected to a number of humiliations over the course of the series; Kurohime defeats him handily, and then Aika castrates him because he's been cheating on her with other women.]]

* ClingyJealousGirl: Despite knowing Saika wasn't genuinely interested in Kurohime, Aika castrates him and joins the Squad to kill Kurohime.
* DisabledLoveInterest: Aika is blind. She was often accosted and attacked because of it, but compensated with her magic power. Saika counts this as a plus since she will love him even as he grows old, unlike most of the other women that he's attracted.

* EarlyBirdCameo: Saika appears in the early chapters as an accomplice of Onimaru that attempts to get Himeko to fall in love with him. He fails miserably.
* GroinAttack: As a result of his cavorting with Kurohime (nothing happened) and her jealous nature, Aika takes Saika's [[IsThatWhatTheyreCallingItNow "most precious thing"]] from him, and won't return it until Kurohime is killed.
* HandicappedBadass: Aika. Being blind doesn't affect the fact that she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself in a fight.
* HotWitch: Aika can fire magic bullets.

* {{Tsundere}}: Aika is normally rather polite and well-behaved. However, she won't tolerate any cheating and her response to the "other woman" is to kill her.

!Past Arc Characters
[[folder:Rei]]
A young, angry boy from the past, and Zero's older twin brother.

* WouldHurtAChild: Nearly shoots Aohime *twice* when he thinks he won't be able to get away with her, even if in both situations he winds up not doing it.

* HairDecorations: She wears two ornaments in her sidelocks of hair. [[spoiler:[[ExpositoryHairstyleChange When she's grown older, they're gone.]]]]

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: In the first arc, as a result of losing her ability to love, she can't recall just why she hates the gods. [[spoiler:It doesn't help that she's only half of the original Kurohime, either; Shirohime kept all their original memories. Later on, Zero's death forms a psychological block on her full power, and forcing herself to use her full power erases more memories of him in oder to "heal" the wond. This only gets worse when Dark Zero himself removes the majority of her memories; by the end, it's ambiguous how much she remembers except for her single-minded love of Zero.]]

* AntiVillain: For all that she can be relatively ruthless when she's on the job, she only takes things personally when her comrades are put at risk or when someone interferes in her job. Kurohime doing the latter is what drew her ire. [[spoiler:This continued interference from Kurohime leads to a sequence of events that got all the other Death Angels and Darkray himself killed.]]
* AvengingTheVillain: This is what motivates her to continue her grudge against Himeko [[spoiler:after the Death Angel Squad dies]].

* BrokenBird: [[spoiler:Losing her close comrades because of Darkray (which in turn only happened because Kurohime insisted on making war against the gods) has left her with both a deep desire for revenge against Kurohime and a broken heart.]]

* ClingyJealousGirl: She was very attached to her boss and strongly disliked how much attention Darkray spent on Shirohime. Shirohime implies that this jealousy is part of why Sword hates Kurohime so much:

* DarkIsNotEvil: With the exception of going after Kurohime (who did provoke her) she never seemed interested in doing anything other than her job.

* ItsPersonal: Though Sword already disliked Kurohime for defying the will of the gods and constantly resurrecting dead people, it becomes much more serious [[spoiler:after Darkray and the rest of the Death Angel Squad all die due to Kurohime's fight with Darkray]].
* LoveMartyr: To Darkray. She was completely devoted to him, but he didn't give a damn about her.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:For Sword, since Darkray kills the entire squad to counter their unwilling involvement in Kurohime's DoppelgangerSpin. They transfer all their life force to Sword so that she can live, and die as a result.]]

* BrokenBird: [[spoiler:The original Kurohime's backstory isn't elaborated on, but it's implied that she was orphaned as a result of the wars and saw her fair share of bloodshed and killing as she grew up. After that, to amass the power to meet the gods and kill them, she killed ''a lot'' of people and ate their souls for strength, then ultimately betrayed her most loyal followers and the rest of the world in order to shift focus away from the contest of the gods and onto her. By the time Ouka and Sword meet Kurohime in the Past Arc, she hasn't yet begun her final push toward reaching and killing the gods, but is otherwise weighed down by the lives she's taken and the monstrous things she's done. Even after being reincarnated as Himeko, she has shades of this, especially after Zero has died and she faces more and more difficult challenges to bring him back to life.]]

* KnowWhenToFoldEm: [[The other reason for her HeroicSacrifice above: knowing that there was nothing to be gained by trying to conserve her power anymore once Yashahime merged with the planet, she decieds to gamble everything on Kurohime one last time.]]

* BlowYouAway: Seiryuu's control over the wind amounts to this. [[spoiler: Actually, from what he says, his power, TimeStandsStill, also encompasses void.]]

* TimeStandsStill: [[spoiler:This is how Seiryuu uses wind and air, which explains his powers as the Sea Dragon; by stilling it, he stops time, and can in fact reverse time by reversing the flow of air.]]

* TheGunslinger: A skilled sniper, witch and generally capable of handling other guns.

* RedemptionEarnsLife:[[spoiler:He's revived after Yashahime is defeated, via the White God Tree.]]

* SheIsAllGrownUp: [[spoiler:She reappears as a young woman in the final chapters of the series, predicting Kurohime's ultimate victory.]]
* WaifProphet: Her role in the story, for the most part. [[spoiler:She warns Kurohime that she'll have to choose between Zero and Rei, as one of them will die very soon, and she's right.]]

* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:Dan's HeroicSacrifice enables her to get away from the Bullet Blade Brigade and the Majura Clan, and it's implied on the last page of the sidestory that she settled down somewhere and had two children.]]

* HairDecorations: She wears two ornaments in her sidelocks of hair. [[spoiler:[[ExpositoryHairstyleChange When she's grown older and had children, they're gone.]]]]

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* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:She's more than happy to die for all she's done, after she's accomplished her mission. This is part of why Sword and Ouka gradually lose interest in taking revenge against her.]]

* PoweredByAForsakenChild: [[spoiler: The Black God Tree bound to her. It feeds on the rage and hatred of the people she's killed; her guilt over taking their lives and her need to make their deaths worth something is her primary motivation to fight.]]

* StealthMentor: To [[spoiler: Ouka in the Past Arc, albeit indirectly--by taking Ouka along with her into her battles, Kurohime demonstrates to Ouka what will happen if Ouka lets her hatred for Kurohime consume her.]]

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: [[spoiler:She's heartbroken that her abandonment of Zero in the Past Arc has resulted in him spurning her love. With a little help from Sword, Onimaru reminds her that that isn't important--if she cares about him, then she needs to save him, and that's all that matters.]]

* IHaveManyNames: She's generally just called "Hime" as a nickname, but is known as Himeko (initial cursed form), Momohime (second cursed form, during the Yamato Arc), and Himekojo (third cursed form, during the Past Arc). Generally speaking, though, she asserts that her true name is Kurohime unless she has a reason to hide her identity.

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: In the first arc, as a result of losing her ability to love, she can't recall just why she hates the gods. [[spoiler:It doesn't help that she's only half of the original Kurohime, either; Shirohime kept all their original memories. Later on, Zero's death forms a psychological block on her full power, and the more times she has to fight with her full power as Kurohime, the more amnesia she inflicts on herself. This only gets worse when Dark Zero himself removes the majority of her memories; by the end, it's ambigious how much she remembers except for her single-minded love of Zero.]]
* LaserGuidedKarma: A metric-fuck-ton of it. [[spoiler:Her original self killed countless people in her quest to become a god, and the price was being cursed into a child's body and being stripped of her memories and half of her very personality on top of losing her ability to love. Worse yet, not long after fully realizing love, the man she loves sacrifices himself to protect her and he dies in front of her very eyes.]]

* NayTheist: Though she doesn't quite remember what happened to get her cursed, Himeko still hates the gods with a passion. When she gets a chance to fight one in her un-cursed form, she [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown beats him to death with her bare hands, laughing and grinning ferally as she rips him apart.]] [[spoiler:This is due to being the original Kurohime's personified hatred of gods.]]

* PowerAtAPrice: [[spoiler:After killing Darkray and losing Zero, the only way for her to use her full power as Kurohime is to give up memories of Zero, since his death is a psychological block on her power. The longer she stays transformed, the more memories she loses; once Dark Zero removes almost all her memories himself, this effectively soft-locks her out of becoming Kurohime again (at least, by herself) until the very end of the manga.]]
* ThePowerOfLove: The only way to even temporarily break the curse, and what ultimately breaks it permanently at the climax of the first arc, when she fully accepts that she does love Zero. [[spoiler:Also, she only agrees to help Asura and free Princess Yamato if, and only if, Princess Yamato resurrects Zero.]]

* TakeOverTheWorld: [[spoiler: Decides to do this as the new Death God. In an interesting parallel to the original Kurohime, the world-takeover part is more a side goal--he would honestly prefer to completely destroy it.]]

* ButtMonkey: Amusing things happen to Onimaru. Often. This includes getting branded by Kurohime, getting beat up by Himeko, [[spoiler:getting turned into Tsucchi]], and generally finding himself in a whole lot of trouble.

* ActionGirl: Easily one of the better fighters on Team Kurohime despite her small size.

* BecauseDestinySaysSo: [[spoiler: Her fate is to complete the Ultimate Sword by sacrificing herself to the Yamato Senryuutou. She's not pleased with being born to die and keeps her resentment about it bottled up until she literally can't contain it anymore and loses control of her powers. After her mother apologizes to her with a FinalFirstHug and [[ThePowerOfFriendship Kurohime chooses to die instead of shooting Asura]], Asura realizes that she was the only one thinking of herself as "merely" a substitute for Yamatohime, and willingly chooses to embrace her fate instead of running from it.]]
* BrokenBird: [[spoiler:She was born as a substitute for Yamatohime's sacrifice--should it be needed--and was raised being perfectly aware of this. She lived in an iron cage for the majority of her childhood, with similarly-fashioned toys, so that she wouldn't burn anything else down. Her own mother raised her coldly, unwilling to bond with a half-human daughter that was meant to die, and outright told a young Asura the purpose of her birth and the sacrifice she would be called on to make. That, combined with her own knowledge that humans were created to weaken the spirits and subjugate the planet, explains a lot of her bitterness when she's introduced.]]
* DefrostingIceQueen: Her opinion of humans raises over the course of the series, to the point she is willing to risk her life saving one. [[spoiler:She reverts a bit while Kurohime is time-traveling, becoming a flaming ball of hatred, but Kurohime's refusal to kill Asura and finish the Ultimate Sword finishes the process.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:She convinces Seiryuu to send her consciousness back in time and willingly moves herself to take the bullet that Kurohime refused to shoot at her, completing the Ultimate Blade.]]

* ObiWanMoment: She spends a little time calmly comforting Sara, the little girl she made friends with, and assuring her that she'll live on as a spirit, [[spoiler:before sending her consciousness back in time to her old body for her HeroicSacrifice.]]
* PlayingWithFire: In her true form, she can fling fire around, and actively burns hotly enough to scorch flesh.

* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Ultimately, she serves as one during the climax of the story in order to complete the Ultimate Sword in Yamatohime's place. An added wrinkle to this is the fact that she has always been aware that she would play this role for Yamatohime, and it is only because Kurohime refused to do it at first that she calms down enough to go through with it.]]
* TheLancer: Her eventual role in Himeko's group, acting as the cynical, sharper foil to Himeko's optimism.

* AntiVillain: For all that she can be relatively ruthless when she's on the job, she only takes things personally when her comrades are put at risk or when someone interferes in her job. Kurohime doing the latter is what drew her ire. [[spoiler:This continued interference leads to a sequence of events that got all the other Death Angels and Darkray himself killed.]]

* BrokenBird: [[spoiler:Losing her close comrades because of Darkray has left her with both a deep desire for revenge against Kurohime and a broken heart.]]

* ClingyJealousGirl: She was very attached to her boss and strongly disliked how much Darkray seemed to dote on Shirohime. Shirohime implies that this jealousy is part of why Sword hates Kurohime so much:
--> '''Shirohime:''' In reality, you wanted to kill me instead...It must be hard on Kurohime...who became a sacrifice for you jealous heart to vent on.

* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:Has some of these moments with both past and present Kurohime separately during the Past and Final Arcas, realizing that they have mutual enemies to destroy or defend their loved ones against.]]

* ItsPersonal: Though Sword already disliked Himeko for several reasons to begin with, it becomes much more serious [[spoiler:after Darkray and the rest of the Death Angel Squad all die]].

* SleepModeSize: [[spoiler:After Darkray's death, she can't maintain her normal size and appearance, shrinking her to a FunSize child form. Once she turns into a vampire, ingesting blood allows her to grow to full size..]]

* TurnTheOtherCheek: [[spoiler:Admits that she will NEVER truly forgive Kurohime for everything that happened between them, but decides that if they should somehow meet in another life, they will try to get along.]]

[[folder:Yukionna and Yukiotoko]]

* SleepModeSize: Their bodies are mostly hard-impacted snow, so after Kurohime melted them using [[PlayingWithFire Asura,]] they take the form of small children. They can FusionDance to take on a teenaged form of whoever's in control.

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: She's deeply in love with the Death God (and quite literally that, uncaring of the actual person behind the title). Unlike everyone else, [[SelectiveObliviousness she hasn't realized it yet.]]

* ClingyJealousGirl: She is single-mindedly fixated on Darkray and hates the idea that anyone else might feel attachment to him. Darkray once had to tell Sword not to look back at Yashahime after he declined an invitation to spend time with her, as she '''would have killed Sword on the spot''' just for being next to Darkray.

* TheDreaded: With the exception of Igudo (who might not HAVE emotions), the other gods and supernatural creatures react with fear when and wherever she shows up.[[spoiler: The surviving gods quickly write off her death and move on to another galaxy rather than avenge her.]]

** She one stabbed herself to keep her from killing Kurohime and then later claimed that the resulting scar is Kurohime's fault.
** Claimed that the [[GrimReaper God of Death]] isn't supposed to be concerned about anything or anyone, then blushed because he asked if her wounds had healed.

* OhCrap:[[spoiler:When she realizes that, yes, Kurohime really IS going to [[EarthShatteringKaboom ''SLICE THE ENTIRE WORLD IN HALF'']] and [[ShootTheDog no]], [[ShutUpHannibal she will ''NOT'' be talked out of it]].]]

The son of the shogun of Oedo. Decides to assist Hime and Asura in their quest to free the Spirit Kings after they save him from mermaids. Also in love with Hime.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: He really likes Himeko, but she's attached to Zero too tightly to really consider it.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:He uses the last of the Spirit King jewels and his lifeforce to save Himeko from Dark Zero and Yashahime.]]

* PowerDyesYourHair: The Spirit King Jewels dye his hair white [[spoiler:It's closer to DiseaseBleach, though, given that he's dying to power the Jewels.]]

* JerkAss: Is generally cold and unfriendly, but is exceptionally so to Asura, referring to her as "it" and factually explaining to Kurohime [[spoiler:that Asura is meant to be Yamatohime's substitute sacrifice to create the Ultimate Sword. There are shades of JerkassFacade here, as it's implied and later outright stated that she treated Asura this way to try and lessen the pain of Asura's sacrifice, and she did at least care enough to make sure Asura had (iron) toys to play with as a child.]]
* LivingOnBorrowedTime: [[spoiler:Giving birth to Asura basically immolated her; the only thing still keeping her alive is Yamatohime's blessing, given that Yamatohime was the one that made it possible to give birth to Asura in the first place. Once she goes to make her peace with Asura, that runs out, and she dies.]]

* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Yamatohime. Though she's chained up, the spirit the gods are the most afraid of escaping is Yamatohime, and it seems everyone on her side defers to her.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Yamatohime gives the last of her power and life to resurrect Kurohime for the last time, since at that point Yashahime had succeeded in taking over the planet and [[KnowWhenToFoldEm there was nothing to be gained by holding onto it anymore]].]]

* {{BFS}}: His sword is taller than him.
* MightyGlacier: His armor's heavy enough that once it rusts with him in it, he can't move. However, once it's oiled up, he's lumbering but terrifyingly tough and powerful for a human soldier.

* ActionDad: Where he effectively lands thanks to accepting Aohime's title of "father".

* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Dan becomes so protective of Aohime because of her unconditional kindness to him.

* BloodKnight: Of sorts; in his own words, he really only lived to fight until he met Aohime, and largely thought of himself as a weapon that only lived to take orders.
* DiedStandingUp: [[spoiler:He props himself up using his gun as a cane, and gives one [[GoOutWithASmile last smile and some gentle words]] to Aohime before dying.]]

* FamilyOfChoice: What Aohime ultimately winds up being to him when all's said and done, which he acknowledges out loud to her face.

* MadeOfIron: He takes an absurd amount of punishment both when he retrieves Aohime and [[spoiler:when he fights off the Bullet Blade Brigade members sent to retrieve her.]]

* PapaWolf: [[spoiler:He finds himself moved into saving Aohime when he hears her calling out for him after being thrown in a tube and experimented on repeatedly, killing a good chunk of the Bullet Blade Brigade soldiers sent to retrieve her.]]

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler:After seeing Aohime get thrown into a tank and hearing about how she was experimented on by his own side--compounded by her still calling out for him, her "father", while contained in said tank--Dan breaks her out and runs off with her.]]

* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:Dan's HeroicSacrifice enables her to get away from the Bullet Blade Brigade and the Majura Clan, and it is implied she settled down somewhere and had two children, a boy and a girl.]]
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Aohime herself is not exceptionally violent if unprovoked, but she ''will not hesitate'' to do whatever it takes to protect Dan; she summoned a witch beast to kill a dragon attacking her and Dan without even hesitating, demonstrates a willingness to fire on anyone that seems like a remote threat to Dan, [[spoiler:actively tries to fight alongside him when the Bullet Blade Brigade targets the both of them, and she kills Dan's killer herself from above]].

* MoralityPet: Serves as one to Dan, due to how she's single-mindedly devoted to him and how willing she is to protect him. [[spoiler:This is what eventually spurs him to flee with her.]]
* SheIsAllGrownUp: [[spoiler:By the time she has kids, she's become an adult, still as gentle and kind as she was when Dan was alive.]]

* TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler: Dan's gun serves as one for her; in her new home some indeterminate amount of time later, she's hung it up above her fireplace in memory of him.]]

* PluckyGirl: She, Himeko, and Kurohime are NotSoDifferent in this regard; no matter what they go through, they refuse to ever give up.

A rough soldier from the Bullet Blade Brigade. He is sent on a mission against the Majura Clan to recover their latest weapon.

* BadassNormal: He has no magic skills to speak of but has held his own on multiple battlefields with his gun and armor, [[spoiler:and ultimately decimated the Bullet Blade Brigade forces that came after him to reclaim Aohime with a broken arm and 'none' of that armor.]]

* DiedStandingUp: [[spoiler:He props himself up using his sword as a cane, and gives one [[GoOutWithASmile last smile and some gentle words to Aohime before dying.]]]]

* LightningBruiser: His armor helps facilitate this, as it lets him rocket down and attack people, but even without it, he's incredibly fast and quite strong, capable of moving incredibly fast and jumping incredibly high in addition to cleaving through people.
* LoveRedeems: Aohime's unwavering love and attachment to him changed him from a brutal, business-minded soldier to a man determined to protect the only family he had.

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: After seeing Aohime get thrown into a tank and experimented on by his own side, Dan eventually breaks her out and runs off with her.
* StabTheScorpion: When it looks like he's going to kill Aohime for a second time, Dan actually shoots an enemy behind her with his last bullet.
* WouldHurtAChild: Nearly shoots Aohime *twice* when he thinks he won't be able to get away with her.

A young girl born from a Black God Tree. She is the Majura Clan's "weapon" that Dan's mission centered on.

* ArtificialHuman: She was basically created as a pure magic weapon by the Majura Clan and grew out of a Black God Tree; her artificial nature shows again when she's put in a tank by the Bullet Blade Brigade's doctors and more Black God Tree branches grow around her. She also has mental conditioning protocols that made her imprint on the first person she saw, and a failsafe that would kill her if her imprinted person died.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Aohime herself is not exceptionally violent if unprovoked, but she ''will not hesitate'' to do whatever it takes to protect Dan; she shot an enemy aerial unit out of the sky with a witch bullet when he couldn't move, demonstrates a willingness to fire on anyone that seems like a remote threat to Dan, [[spoiler:and kills Dan's killer herself]].

* FamilyOfChoice: Mental conditioning aside, this is how she views Dan, calling him father unfailingly [[spoiler:even after he's died and her mental conditioning is broken.]]
* LivingWeapon: She was designed as one, and is capable of using witch dances and firing magic bullets.
* MoralityPet: Serves as one to Dan, due to how she's single-mindedly devoted to him and how willing she is to protect him. This is what eventually spurs him to flee with her.

* TogetherInDeath: She states multiple times that she wouldn't mind dying as long as she's with Dan.

* UndyingLoyalty: To Dan, as a result of being programmed to imprint on the first person she saw when she came out of the bamboo. [[spoiler:When Dan dies, his final assertion to her that they're a family and that he wants her to live for herself breaks the failsafe, but she still loves him and thinks of him as her father all the same.]]

* BecauseDestinySaysSo: [[spoiler: Her fate is to complete the Ultimate Sword by sacrificing herself to the Yamato Senryuutou. She's not pleased with being born to die and keeps her resentment about it bottled up until she literally can't contain it anymore and loses control of her powers. After her mother apologizes to her and [[ThePowerOfFriendship Kurohime chooses to die instead of shooting Asura]], Asura realizes that she was the only one thinking of herself as "merely" a substitute for Yamatohime, and willingly chooses to embrace her fate instead of running from it.]]
* BrokenBird: [[spoiler:She was born as a substitute for Yamatohime's sacrifice--should it be needed--and was raised being perfectly aware of this. She lived in an iron cage for the majority of her childhood, with similarly-fashioned toys, so that she wouldn't burn anything else down. Her own mother raised her coldly, unwilling to bond with a non-human daughter that was meant to die. Needless to say, the severe emotional isolation did no favors for her feelings toward humanity.]]

* HalfHumanHybrid: [[spoiler:According to her mother, Asura is actually a human "blessed" with the power of Yamatohime. This is why she can serve as Yamatohime's sacrifice for the Yamato Senryuuto in Yamatohime's place, completing the Ultimate Sword without killing Yamatohime.]]
* MultiArmedAndDangerous: Much like her namesake, her true form has six arms.
* ObiWanMoment: She spends a little time calmly comforting Sara, the little girl she made friends with, [[spoiler:before sending her consciousness back in time to her old body for her HeroicSacrifice.]]

* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Ultimately, she serves as one during the climax of the story in order to complete the Ultimate Sword. An added wrinkle to this is the fact that she has always been aware that she would play this role for Yamatohime, and it is only because Kurohime refused to do it at first that she calms down enough to go through with it.]]

[[folder:Himiko, The Village Elder]]

* BecauseDestinySaysSo: [[spoiler: Her fate is to complete the Ultimate Sword by sacrificing herself to the Yamato Senryuutou. She's not pleased with being born to die and keeps her resentment about it bottled up until she literally can't contain it anymore and loses control of her powers. Thanks to her mother's apology and some deep reflection on her own thoughts, she comes to realize that [[ThePowerOfFrienship Kurohime cared too much about her to willingly kill her, seeing her as far more than just some tool]], and willingly chooses to embrace her fate instead of running from it.]]
* BrokenBird: [[spoiler:She was born as a substitute for Yamatohime's sacrifice--should it be needed--and was raised being perfectly aware of this. She lived in a heat-proof cage for the majority of her childhood, with similarly-fashioned toys. Her own mother raised her coldly, unwilling to bond with a daughter that was meant to die, which left Asura emotionally isolated. Needless to say, this did no favors for her feelings toward humanity.]]
* DefrostingIceQueen: Her opinion of humans raises over the course of the series, to the point she is willing to risk her life saving one. [[spoiler: It did drop again for a short time, but she was able to reconcile her views once she got a hold of herself again.]]

* UnstoppableRage: [[spoiler:After TakingTheBullet for an innocent little girl named Sara and fighting against undead warriors from hell during Kurohime's time travel trip, her resentment towards her own fate and her hatred of humanity's complicity in current events drive her into a berserk state where she attacks friend and foe indiscriminately.]]

* HazyFeelTurn: [[spoiler:Effectively works her way into one of these as the manga nears its conclusion. She doesn't "forgive" Himeko per se, but ultimately she quits holding her grudge in such high priority since Kurohime living will help solve the more ''[[ApocalypseWow IMMEDIATE]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt problems]]'' at the moment.]]

* BeautifulAllAlong: Yukio--he initially appears to be very yeti-like, but actually looks like a handsome man when using his full power.

* ImplacableMan: for the sake of her vengeance and spite, she will endure literally anything without stopping; she's very, very bad at staying down for more than a few moments at any given time.

* RussianRoulette: Basically the way her predictions work. Her gun has two bullets in it; one will let the person see the future if they're shot with it (and leave them unharmed), but the other will kill them.

[[folder:Marco Bolo]]

* MeaningfulName: Himeko means "young princess" or "child princess". Her second alias, Momohime, is a play off of [[Literature/{Momotaro} Momotarō the Peach Boy]], since she arrived in a village via a peach on the river.

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: In the first arc, as a result of losing her ability to love, she can't recall just why she hates the gods. [[spoiler:It doesn't help that she's only half of the original Kurohime, either; Shirohime kept all their original memories. Later on, Zero's death forms a psychological block on her full power, and the more times she has to fight with her full power as Kurohime, the more amnesia she inflicts on herself. This only gets worse when Dark Zero himself removes the majority of her memories; by the end, it's ambigious how much she remembers except for her single-minded love of Zero]]

* ObiWanMoment: Has one of these

[[folder:Yuki and Yukio]]

* BrokenBird: O-yuki had a lot of trouble with making friends in the past due to the strength of her powers, and is very bitter about it.

* TheFourGods: Their namesakes and mythological bases. Yamatohime is a slight variant; she represents Suzaku in the group despite not using the name.

* ThePhoenix: Yamatohime's motif, due to being associated with both fire and life.

* WouldNotHurtAChild: [[spoiler:Her refusal to hurt young!Ouka when Ouka stabs her and her tears for an infant mortality during the building of her tower both indicate that Kurohime thinks of children as precious; this is unfortunately used against her when Darkray takes that infant's soul as a human shield during their battle 10 years before the start of the series, which allows him to get in an attack with Sword.]]

* CameBackWrong: [[spoiler:She lets herself dissolve in the Sanzu River during the last chapter to prove that she truly loves Rei, but when she does so her Black God Tree eats her soul and turns her into a gnarled, wood-shaped skeleton for one last attack against Yashahime and quickly crumbles after that.]]

* IHaveManyNames: She's generally just called "Hime" as a nickname, but is known as Himeko (initial cursed form), Momohime (second cursed form, during the Yamato Arc), and Himekojo (third cursed form, during the Past Arc). Generally speaking, though, she believes and states that she is Kurohime unless she has a reason to hide her identity.

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: In the first arc, as a result of losing her ability to love, she can't recall just why she hates the gods. [[spoiler:It doesn't help that she's only half of the original Kurohime, either; Shirohime kept all their original memories. Later on, Zero's death forms a psychological block on her full power, and the more times she has to fight with her full power as Kurohime, the more amnesia she inflicts on herself. This only gets worse when Dark Zero himself removes all but one of her memories.]]

* MeaningfulName: Himeko means "young princess" or "child princess". Her second alias, Momohime, is a play off of [[Literature/Momotaro Momotarō the Peach Boy]], since she arrived in a village via a peach on the river.

* DeathOfIdentity: [[spoiler:When she is split into her hatred and her compassion, the original Kurohime effectively dies right then and there, as both halves are missing too much of the other to really represent the whole woman anymore.]]

The most powerful witch of all time. Well-known for her power, beauty and cruelty, she emerged during an era of war to be the sole person capable of meeting the challenge of the gods to become a god herself, gathering the power of several factions to do so. However, she disappeared once the tower to reach the gods was complete, only for a young girl named Himeko to appear 10 years later, claiming to be Kurohime under a curse from the gods that removed her ability to love and sealed her power. When that curse is relaxed, Himeko indeed transforms into Kurohime, complete with overwhelming magical power.

!!! Tropes that apply to both her cursed and un-cursed selves:

* AbsoluteCleavage: Quite a few of her outfits that she wears over the course of the manga, both as her original and reincarnated selves, expose a good bit of her chest.

* BeautyMark: She has two, one under the outside corner of each eye. [[spoiler:In keeping with the tragic life that this implies in most Japanese media, Kurohime has suffered immensely in her lifetime, growing up alone in a war-torn era that probably resulted in the deaths of everyone close to her as a child, and enduring great physical and emotional anguish to achieve her goals, only to fail miserably at the end of her first life and get split apart and effectively reincarnated against her will. As Himeko, this trend continues: she falls in love with Zero despite her curse and is only able to admit her love for him shortly before he dies, then loses most of her memories of him. She is later forced to kill one of her closest allies, realizes that she abandoned Zero ''twice'' at the loweest points of his life, and nearly dies for good trying to save Zero from the worst parts of himself.]]

* BrokenBird: [[spoiler:The original Kurohime's backstory isn't elaborated on, but it's implied that she was orphaned as a result of the wars and saw her fair share of bloodshed and killing as she grew up. After that, to amass the power to meet the gods and kill them, she killed ''a lot'' of people and ate their souls for strength, then ultimately betrayed her most loyal followers and the rest of the world in order to shift focus away from the contest of the gods and onto her. By the time Ouka and Sword meet Kurohime in the Past Arc, she hasn't yet begun her final push toward reaching and killing the gods, but is otherwise weighed down by the lives she's taken and the monstrous things she's done. Even as Himeko she has shades of this, especially after Zero has died and the heartbreak from it continues to drive many of her decisions and she has to weigh the risks of trading memories of him to get the power to fight.]]

!!! Tropes that apply to the uncursed Kurohime:

* PhysicalGod: [[spoiler:Once she met and attempted to fight the gods 10 years before the story started, she was split into two separate aspects of herself as punishment for her defiance; her kindness and love for people became the goddess Shirohime, while her rage and hatred for the gods is cursed into Himeko's childlike form. While Shirohime isn't *quite* Kurohime (and thus has her own set of tropes), she does contain all of the original Kurohime's memories and as such is effectively Kurohime given a god's power.]]

!!! Tropes that apply to the cursed Kurohime/Himeko:

* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:Happens to her a few times. The first time is involuntary, as Kandata reverses time so that she can try to save Zero and Rei after Rei becomes a Death God. The second time, it's a side effect of Asura's scheme to complete the Ultimate Sword, as Seiryuu's time reversal prevents the event that got Himeko killed. The third and final time occurs after Himeko commits suicide in Zero's arms, but she comes back as a walking Black God Tree skeleton until she's properly revived by Yamatohime.]]

* BoyishShortHair: In her younger cursed forms, in contrast to the long hair of her un-cursed self.

* CameBackStrong: [[spoiler:Yamatohime sacrifices her life to restore Himeko to normal after Himeko's suicide via Sanzu River in the final chapters. Not only does this turn her back into Kurohime, but it purifies the Black God Tree into a White God Tree, allowing it to revive all the people whose souls she'd trapped in it.]]
* CameBackWrong: [[spoiler:Her revival after her suicide mentioned above? She's basically a walking Black God Tree skeleton when she comes back, gnarled wood shaped vaguely like a person.]]
* CharacterDevelopment: Hints of it start to show up when Zero shoots himself to appease a couple of angry ghosts--she transforms into Kurohime, ''punches him in the face'', and cries a little as she tells him off for needlessly harming himself (though she frames it as him needing her permission to die). Shortly after that, she realizes that she really and truly does love Zero, because he refused to abandon her even at her worst, which gives her the power to break the curse herself ''and'' dispel it for good. [[spoiler:Zero's death in front of her very eyes only continues this, as it forces her to become self-reliant and actively seek her own way back into power to revive him.]] These events lead to her developing an upbeat, hotblooded, and kind personality that's the literal opposite of her BrattyHalfPint behavior [[spoiler:and markedly different from the original Kurohime's dour, reserved nature.]]
* CuteBruiser: When she finally gets enough of her powers back, she maintains a cuter and lighter personality than she did as Kurohime, but is no less capable of handing her enemies a beatdown if they get in her way, with her bare hands if need be via the Hulk Bullet.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler:She suffers one to try and get Dark Zero back to normal, dissolving in the waters of the Sanzu in order to reach him.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:Yamatohime's power purifies the Black God Tree and those absorbed within it, Himeko returnes to her form as Kurohime for good to permanently resurrect those souls, Zero returns to normal, and the human race lives to see a few more billion years. This comes at the expense of the planet, Yamatohime...and Yashahime. Win some, lose the rest.]]
* FusionDance: Does this occasionally to avoid [[spoiler:losing her last memory of Zero after he removed them from her as Dark Zero.]]

* GunAndSword: As Kurohime, Himeko can wield the Black God Tree as a sword while also using Senryuu.

* IHaveManyNames: Aside from being called Himeko or Kurohime, she's also been called Hime, Himekojo, and Momohime. Generally speaking, though, she thinks of and addresses herself as Kurohime.

* LackOfEmpathy: Having her ability to love cursed out of her [[spoiler:and being the incarnation of one person's single-minded hatred for gods]] has completely screwed her up emotionally. Traveling with Zero eventually helps her regain it, and by the end of the manga she's become a kind and empathetic young woman.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: In the first arc, as a result of losing her ability to love, she can't recall just why she hates the gods. [[spoiler:It doesn't help that she's only half of the original Kurohime, either; Shirohime appears to have kept all their original memories. Later on, Zero's death forms a psychological block on her full power, and the more times she has to fight with her full power as Kurohime, the more amnesia she inflicts on herself. This only gets worse when Dark Zero himself removes all but one of her memories.]]

* MeaningfulName: Himeko means "young princess" or "child princess."

* RedStringOfFate: Zero believes in this. [[spoiler:He thinks it's his embodied by his scarf, and he's so attached to it because Himeko gave it to him in the first place, even though he doesn't know she did until she admits that she was the Himekojo that he knew in the past.]]
* ReincarnationRomance: [[spoiler:Has one with Himeko in the last chapter of the manga, where he's reborn as a woman and she's reborn as a man.]]
* SatelliteLoveInterest: Lampshaded in comic by Himeko herself when she realizes that next to his being in love with her and her with him, she knows nothing about him.

[[folder:Asura]]
A fire spirit trying to rescue her master. Has contempt for gods and humans.

* BecauseDestinySaysSo: [[spoiler: Her fate is to complete Yamato Senryuuto by sacrifing herself to it. She's not pleased with being born to die and keeps her resentment bottled up about it until she literally can't contain it anymore and loses control. Thanks to ThePowerOfFriendship and her mother's apology, she comes to realize that she was the only one that assumed no one cared about her as more than a sacrifice, and willingly chooses to embrace her fate instead of running from it.]]

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:She convinces the Spirit Kings to send her consciousness back in time and willingly moves herself to take the bullet that Himeko refused to shoot at her, completing the Ultimate Blade.]]
* HalfHumanHybrid: [[spoiler:According to her mother, the elder priestess of Asura's village, Asura is actually a human "blessed" with the power of Yamatohime. This is why she can serve as Yamatohime's sacrifice for the Yamato Senryuuto in Yamatohime's place, completing the Ultimate Sword without killing Yamatohime.]]

* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Ultimately, she serves as one during the climax of the story in order to complete the Ultimate Sword. An added wrinkle to this is the fact that she has always been aware that she would play this role for Yamatohime, and it takes her a while to stop being bitter about it.]]

* UnstoppableRage: [[spoiler:After TakingTheBullet for an innocent little girl named Sara, her resentment towards her own fate and humanity drive her into a berserk state where she attacks friend and foe indiscriminately.]]

[[folder:Onimaru]]
The former leader of the Onimaru Brigade and Kurohime's former [[TheDragon second-in-command.]] At some point, he was betrayed by her, and branded with the kanji for "dog" on his back; he swore vengeance on her shortly afterward, but despite his grievances with her, he's still unable to resist her beauty. [[spoiler:Sword attempted to turn him into a snake minion to kill Kurohime, but his willpower enabled him to resist the change, causing him to turn into Tsucchi, a small, mute, lizard-like...thing that accompanies Himeko for most of the rest of the manga.]]

* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:All his time spent off screen after the Past Arc was him helping Kandata find people for the Sea Dragon ark.]]
* ButtMonkey: Amusing things happen to Onimaru. Often. This includes getting branded by Kurohime, getting beat up by Himeko, [[spoiler:getting turned into Tsucchi]], and generally finding himself in a whole lot of trouble.
* FakeUltimateHero: He took the credit for defeating a powerful member of the dangerous Mate Clan and destroying the fearsome Lion Castle 10 years before the start of the story. [[spoiler:However, it turns out that Himeko and the Kurohime Punishment Squad were the real heroes, he just unintentionally cribbed their credit.]]
* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: He does this for Himeko in Chapter 78 [[spoiler:after Sword changes him back into his true form, telling her to stop despairing about Zero and fight to save him instead.]]
* HeroicWillpower: Resists becoming a snake thanks to this, but [[spoiler:turns into a weird mini snake thing instead.]]
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Though it takes him a while, he eventually lets go of his remaining resentment toward Himeko, and cedes her to Zero, [[spoiler:encouraging her to save Zero from himself as proof of her love for him.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Though he can be rough-mannered and brash, he always looks out for his men, and his experiences traveling with Himeko [[spoiler:as Tsucchi]] soften him some more. He eventually becomes one of her biggest supporters as a result of seeing her growth from the woman that abandoned him.
* PeepingTom: He wanted to be a god so he could peep at girls.
* TheSmartGuy: He knows a lot of what's going on due to following Himeko around. [[spoiler:Too bad he can't talk by the time he does.]]
* TeamPet: [[spoiler:Takes on this role when he's turned into Tsucchi.]]
* WhatTheHellHero: Points out to Shirohime that she has strayed from her path of helping humans, and that in turn she's stagnated and lost her own sense of willpower since becoming a goddess. [[spoiler:After he regains human form, he does this again for Himeko.]]
[[/folder]]

!Other Witches
[[folder:Barahime]]
An old rival of Kurohime's. Initially, Himeko and Zero seek her out for help breaking Himeko's curse, but they instead get into a fierce fight with her, as Kurohime stole her youth 50 years ago.
----

[[folder:Himiko]]
[[/folder]]

* LiteralSplitPersonality: [[spoiler:Of the original Kurohime. She's the embodiment of that Kurohime's kindness and love toward humans.]]

* PowerNullifier: Can act as one to Kurohime, forcing her to take up Himeko's form once again.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Most of the time he's referred to by title, and more rarely as Darkray. However, Yashahime addresses him as "Master Durint" [[spoiler:shortly before killing him.]]

* TallDarkAndSnarky: He has a very gothic, well-groomed style him and tends to be condescendingly smug when talking to his subordinates and enemies alike.

* ClingyJealousGirl: She was very attached to her boss and strongly disliked Shirohime's closeness with Darkray. Shirohime implies that this jealousy is part of why Sword hates Kurohime so much:

* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:Has some of these moments with Himeko and Kurohime separately during the Past Arc and the Final Arc, realizing that they have mutual enemies to destroy or defend their loved ones against.]]

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Effectively works her way into one of these as the manga nears its conclusion. She doesn't "forgive" Himeko per se, but ultimately she quits holding her grudge in such high priority since Kurohime living will help solve the more ''[[ApocalypseWow IMMEDIATE]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt problems]]'' at the moment.]]

* OurAngelsAreDifferent: She's a Death Angel, responsible for serving Darkray, that has bat-like wings and can turn into a sword. [[spoiler:She later hybridizes herself with the powers of a vampire and a werewolf, retaining her original powers and combining her inherited strengths into a powerful berserker form.]]
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: [[spoiler:The Kurohime Punishment Squad]] tends to refer to her as Captain or Commander, but (potentially non-canon) author's notes refer to her as "Reikahime".

* PowerDyesYourHair: Her dark-colored hair becomes pure white [[spoiler:once she hybridizes herself with a werewolf]].
* SleepModeSize: [[spoiler:After becoming a vampire, she can't maintain her normal size and appearance without blood, and often is found in a FunSize child form.]]

* TurnTheOtherCheek: [[spoiler:Admits that she will NEVER truly forgive Himeko for what she has done to her (both as Kurohime and Himeko), but decides that if they should somehow meet in another life, they will try to get along.]]

The High Goddess of earth and Darkray's obssesive, creepy stalker.

* DishingOutDirt: Her primary domain is the earth, and anything related to it, including wood and trees.

* EvilGloating: She likes to indulge in this a lot, especially when she has Himeko on the back foot.

!Kurohime Punishment Squad
A group that's gathered up to enact punishment against Kurohime for wrongs she dealt them in the past.

[[folder:The Leader]]
After Zero's death and the subsequent loss of her team to Darkray, Sword gathers up the members of--and becomes leader of--the Kurohime Punishment Squad to take revenge on Kurohime. See Sword's folder in the God Clan section above.

[[folder:The Rival]]
Barahime returns as a member of the Punishment Squad, completely stealing the body of her previous host
to fight this time around. See Barahime's folder in the Other Witches section above.

[[folder:Ouka]]
A member of the Kurohime Punishment Squad. She desires to take Kurohime's place as the world's most powerful witch.
----
* BalefulPolymorph: [[spoiler:Past!Kurohime turns her into a kimono for a brief time, after defeating her in a magical gun duel.]]
* BrokenBird: Due to the loss of her father as a child, Ouka is cold and standoffish, even to her allies, and is the person that is the most opposed to letting go of her grudge against Kurohime next to Sword herself.
* ColdSniper: Can shoot with a level of precision that Kurohime flatly admits she can't match. [[spoiler:It impresses past!Kurohime as well.]]
* EarlyBirdCameo: [[spoiler:Ouka appears during the first arc before being introduced in the second. When Shirohime explains Kurohime's motivations, Ouka is shown attempting to stab and kill Kurohime for killing her father, and it's implied that Kurohime recognized Ouka's OrphanOrdeal due to her own DarkAndTroubledPast.]]
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:In the final chapter, the souls in the Black God Tree are all purified and resurrected, including Ouka's father.]]
* {{Forgiveness}}: [[spoiler:She ultimately decides to forgive Kurohime for killing her father, though only after realizing [[RageAgainstTheHeavens the karmic burden that Kurohime is shouldering by way of how she's trying to unite the world]] as well as Korohime's own immense self-hatred.]]
* TheGunslinger: A skilled sniper, witch and generally capable of handling other guns.
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Ouka eventually gives up on her grudge against Kurohime after teaming up with her and Sword to kill the goddess Venus. As Ouka sees it, nothing they could do to Kurohime could be worse than what she's already suffering through.]]
* HotWitch: She's able to create and use magic bullets, and is an attractive young woman.
* OrphanOrdeal: [[spoiler:Kurohime killed her father when she was a child, and she wants revenge.]]
* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler: When Ouka tries to save her father from dying in the past, he attacks her, mistaking her for an enemy, and her witch-beast kills him in her defense. In front of her younger self's eyes.]]
* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Her hair is literally blue with dark tips.
* YouKilledMyFather: To Kurohime. [[spoiler: The second time around, Ouka's witch-beast does it instead when her father attacks her, mistaking her for an enemy. It's implied by the narration that this is a result of [[YouCantFightFate his death being fated and predetermined.]]]]

[[folder:Saika and Aika]]
Two lovers who are the final members of the Kurohime Punishment Squad. Saika was once an accomplice of Onimaru.
----
* {{Bishounen}}: Saika is portrayed this way, and has women swooning over him with his good looks.
* ButtMonkey: Saika has been subjected to a number of humiliations over the course of the series; Kurohime defeats him handily, and then Aika castrates him because he's been cheating on her with other women.]]
* TheCasanova: Saika has a well-earned reputation as a playboy, and often gets the attention of women wherever he goes. Unfortunately, he forgot his girlfriend is a ClingyJealousGirl.
* ClingyJealousGirl: Despite knowing Saika wasn't genuinely interested in Kurohime, Aika castrates him and joins the Squad to kill Kurohime.
* DisabledLoveInterest: Aika is blind. She was often accosted and attacked because of it, but compensated with her magic power. Saika counts this as a plus since she will love him even as he grows old, unlike most of the other women that he's attracted.
* DudeLooksLikeALady: At first glance, it's easy to mistake Saika for a woman.
* EarlyBirdCameo: Saika appears in the early chapters as an accomplice of Onimaru that attempts to get Himeko to fall in love with him. He fails miserably.
* GroinAttack: As a result of his cavorting with Kurohime (nothing happened) and her jealous nature, Aika takes Saika's [[IsThatWhatTheyreCallingItNow "most precious thing"]] from him, and won't return it until Kurohime is killed.
* HandicappedBadass: Aika. Being blind doesn't affect the fact that she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself in a fight.
* HotWitch: Aika can fire magic bullets.
* LoveRedeems: Ultimately, Saika becomes a better person by sincerely falling in love with Aika. For a given value of better, anyway.
* OneWingedAngel: Apparently all Death Gods must be male, as the Mate Clan decides to turn Saika into a {{Shinigami}} in the Past Arc. Kurohime and co. manage to turn him back though.
* {{Tsundere}}: Aika is normally rather polite and well-behaved. However, she won't tolerate any cheating and her response to the "other woman" is to kill her.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Saika disappears from the story entirely after the failed attempt to turn him into a Death God.

!Past Arc Characters
[[folder:Rei]]
A young, angry boy from the past, and Zero's older twin brother.

* DefrostingIceKing: Spends most of the Journey To The Past arc warming up to Hime. [[spoiler: [[LoveRealization Then falling for her.]]]]
* {{Determinator}}: He's willing to put up with a huge amount of abuse for his goal: [[spoiler: Killing Doc.]]
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Rei kills himself when he realizes that Zero was trying to get him to run away, not abandon him, during an invansion. Zero [[HeroicSacrifice has Hime resurrect him so that he can sacrifice his body and soul]] to keep the shinigami from possessing the barely living Rei again.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Believing that RedemptionEqualsDeath, he tries to kill himself as penance for killing Zero.]]
* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler: Saw his mother die at an early age and swore he would have his vengeance.]] Is [[{{Jerkass}} angry and bitter]] as a result.
* HalfIdenticalTwins: [[spoiler:With Zero, which helps sell the TwinSwitch a lot more effectively once it happens.]]
* HiddenDepths: He seems like just a grouchy kid, but he has a surprisingly cynical worldview [[spoiler:and obscene amounts of hatred in his heart.]]
* JerkassWoobie: He's a gigantic brat and a general pain in the ass, but it's clear that this is the product of his rough life, his mother's death, and Doc's abuse.
* LoveEpiphany: [[spoiler:He falls in love with Hime over the course of the Past Arc, despite his resistance to her at first.]]
* LoveHurts: [[spoiler: And though the two of them get their happy ending, it takes a lot of fighting and misunderstanding for them to reach that point, all of it kicked off by the fact that Himeko was forced to abandon Rei at the end of the Past Arc.]]
* MeaningfulName: "Rei," which means "soul." [[spoiler: However, Rei can also mean "zero", which is a nice bit of foreshadowing.]]
* MySiblingWillLiveThroughMe: [[spoiler:He chooses to honor Zero's memory by taking on his name and personality.]]
* OlderThanHeLooks: Rei is actually older than Zero, but all of the psychological trauma he's been through stunted his growth.
* PleaseDontLeaveMe: [[spoiler:He begs his mother's revived soul to stay with him and Zero, but instead, she flings herself into a chasm so that he and Zero don't have to see the Death Angel squad tear her body apart. Later, when Hime returns to bring him his iconic scarf, he begs her to stay with him, but she sadly declines, given that she was only able allowed to travel back in time one last time. [[WhatTheHellHero He brings it up]] the next time [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice he sees her.]]]]
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:Realizes that past!Zero, in the last moments of his life, was trying to direct Rei from danger, not ask for his help. [[DrivenToSuicide He then shoots himself through the stomach]] when he realizes [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he left his younger brother to die for no reason.]]]]
* SealedEvilInACan: [[spoiler:A piece of the Mate Clan's artificial Death God attached itself to his body. His anger [[OneWingedAngel eventually released it not just once, but twice,]] and both times someone he loved (first, his mother's revived soul, then Zero's) had to die in his place in order to make sure that Rei didn't destroy the world right then and there.]]
* TakeUpMySword: [[spoiler:To honor his brother's death and all he stood for, Rei resolves to become the new Zero.]]
* TraumaCongaLine: Whoo, boy, Rei's been through it. Dead mother, abuse from his foster father, [[spoiler:indirectly getting his mother killed again, lost his brother via HeroicSacrifice directly because of his recklessness and rage, and being unwillingly abandoned for over 10 years by the girl he fell in love with]]...
* TroubledButCute: Even as a child, he's fairly cute, but he's dealing with a ''lot'' of emotional baggage.
* TwinSwitch: [[spoiler:What effectively happens when Rei decides to take up Zero's name.]]
* YouKilledMyFather: Killing [[spoiler: Doc]] is the only thing that keeps him going.

[[folder: Doc]]
Zero and Rei's foster father, after their mother died. The greedy leader of the Wolf Brigade.

* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:After he is killed, he becomes Kandata, the ferryman of the Styx, to try and figure out why Rei spared him. In the process, he makes up for his misdeeds by helping out Himeko and the others, not only by giving Zero the means to rescue Kurohime from the Sanzu River, but also by turning back time to let Himeko get a second shot at saving Rei and saving almost all the humans Himeko met on her journeys in the present day.]]
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:Made an ark out of his and the Sea Dragon's bones to help save the last living humans.]]
* EarlyBirdCameo: [[spoiler: Every time Kandata appears prior to Doc's introduction in the Past arc, we're seeing Doc.]]
* {{Greed}}: His motive for just about everything he does. If it makes him money or gets him power, he's on it.
* KarmicDeath: He is killed by one of his foster sons for being a monstrous father. No, not [[spoiler:Rei. Raida.]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:After death, it finally hits him how horrible a person he was, especially when Rei admits to him (as Kandata) that as horrible as Doc was, there was still something likable in him.]]
* ThePowerOfLove: [[spoiler:Himeko cites this as the reason why Rei spared him. Even as horrible as he was, he was still counted as a father figure to Rei, if only because Rei and Zero never KNEW their REAL father.]] Yup, Doc won simply by default.
* RedemptionEarnsLife:[[spoiler:He's revived after Yashahime is defeated, via the White God Tree.]]

[[folder:Raida]]
A member of the Wolf Brigade alongside Doc, Rei and Zero.

* BadassNormal: He has no powers, just natural strength and his gun-hammer, but still manages to kick incredible amounts of ass when he fights.
* BigBrotherMentor: Acts as one of these to Rei and Zero.
* EyepatchOfPower: [[spoiler:When he reappears in the present-day.]]
* TheGunslinger: He uses regular guns in addition to his gunhammer.
* InTheHood: He's wearing a hood when he leaves Doc and the Wolf Brigade behind.
* MrFanservice: He's tall, muscular, and wears an outfit that shows off those attributes well. [[spoiler:Ten years later, he's grizzled, with a beard and missing an eye, but still hot.]]
* UglyGuysHotDaughter: Doc is short and generally unattrative. Raida is tall, well-built, and handsome.

!The Spirit Kings
[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The four kings of the spirits]], scattered across the land of Yamato. By enslaving them and harnessing their powers, the gods became all powerful. They are Yamatohime, Genbu, Byakko and Seiryuu.

[[folder:General Tropes]]
* BenevolentBoss: All of the Spirit Kings react favorably to Asura, another younger spirit, and her forthright nature.
* {{BFG}}: As they join their powers into [[HandCannon Senryuu]], it gets even '''BIGGER.'''
* ElementalPowers: Each King is associated with a different element: fire and life for Yamatohime, water, ice, and mist for Genbu, earth and metals for Byakko, and wind [[spoiler:space, and time]] for Seiryuu.
* HumansAreBastards: [[spoiler:The humans corrupting the land and polluting it hurts the Spirit Kings like hell, and they all dislike humans because of it save perhaps Yamatohime.]]
* LifeEnergy: Collectively, they ''are'' the world's life energy, especially Yamatohime. [[spoiler:If she dies or is subsumed, the planet goes with her.]]
* KingInTheMountain: Literally in two cases (Yamatohime and Byakko are both sealed inside of mountains), and one where he kind of ''[[TurtleIsland is]]'' the mountain (Genbu).
* PetTheDog: All four eventually come to Himeko's aid in different ways, acknowledging the depth of her feelings for Zero and wanting to support her, sometimes even before they realize what she's up to. Genbu actually doubles his moment by also helping out for the sake of Asura.
* SealedGoodInACan: All four Kings serve as this to the planet at large, as their lives sustain it.
* SecretTestOfCharacter: They each put Himeko through one of these in order to test if she's worthy of taking their power. She passes all of them.
* TheFourGods: Their namesakes and mythological bases. Yamatohime is a slight variant; she represents Suzaku in the group despite not using the name.

[[folder:Yamatohime]]
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Yamatohime. Though she's chained up, the spirit the gods are the most afraid of escaping is Yamatohime, and it seems everyone on her side defers to her.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Yamatohime gives the last of her power and life to resurrect Kurohime for the last time, since at that point Yashahime had succeeded in taking over the planet and [[KnowWhenToFoldEm there was nothing to be gained by holding onto it anymore]].]]
* ThePhoenix: Yamatohime's motif, due to being associated with both fire and life.
* PlayingWithFire: Yamatohime's associated element is flame.
* SleepModeSize: [[spoiler:As a result of sealing her powers even further and Yashahime's encroachment on the planet, Yamatohime shrinks into a child-like form.]]

[[folder:Genbu]]
* BadassBeard: Genbu's spirit form sports a long, white WizardBeard.
* GrumpyOldMan: Genbu's personality, due to the fickleness of humans and his general distrust of them.
* AnIcePerson: When Kurohime manifests Genbu in Senryuu, she shoots ice dragons.
* InstantArmor: Genbu's bullets can also be used to manifest thick, scaled armor. Not even Yashahime can pierce his shell.
* MakingASplash: Genbu has control over water in all its form, including regular water and mist.
* TurtleIsland: Genbu is very literally an island-sized turtle.

[[folder:Byakko]]
* {{Bishounen}}: Byakko's spiritual form is a tall, fit, and well-muscled man.
* DishingOutDirt: Byakko grants control over earth, but especially powerful steel, once he's incarnated into Senryuu.
* PantheraAwesome: Byakko's chosen physical form is a tiger.
* ThisIsADrill: When Kurohime manifests Byakko in Senryuu, she shoots drill bullets.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Seiryuu]]
* BlowYouAway: Seiryuu's control over the wind amounts to this. [[spoiler: Actually, from what he says, his power, TimeStandsStill, also encompasses void.]]
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Seiryuu's oddly goofy for a fountain of wind power, speaking relatively casually and otherwise acting very unlike a deity.
* EarlyBirdCameo: [[spoiler:The Sea Dragon that allows time travel is the physical incarnation of Seiryuu.]]
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: [[spoiler:The Sea Dragon that he first appears as is more like a giant whale than a dragon.]]
* PowerGivesYouWings: Seiryuu sports a pair on his spirtual form as [[spoiler:the miniaturized Sea Dragon.]]
* SleepModeSize: [[spoiler:His spirit body is way smaller than his physical form as the Sea Dragon.]]
* TimeStandsStill: [[spoiler:This is how Seiryuu uses wind and air, which explains his powers as the Sea Dragon; by stilling it, he stops time, and can in fact reverse time by reversing the flow of air.]]
[[/folder]]

!!!! Characters from the manga Manga/{{Kurohime}}. Please be aware that there are unmarked spoilers in these examples.

[[folder:Main Characters]]
!! Kurohime
The most powerful witch of all time. Well-known for her power, beauty and cruelty, she disappeared years before the start of the story, in the middle of a quest to meet the challenge of the gods and become a god herself; she disappeared 10 years before the start of the story, having ascended to meet the gods themselves.

[[spoiler:In reality, Kurohime's real goal was to become a god and kill the rest of them, due to their cruelty and callousness towards humans and the years of warring that gods' contest gaused, with the incidental effect of making herself a villain so that humans would stop fighting to become gods themselves. Her disappearance is the result of her separation and reincarnation/deification by the gods.]]

* BeautyMark: She has two, one under the outside corner of each eye. [[spoiler:In keeping with the tragic life that this implies in most Japanese media, Kurohime has suffered immensely in her lifetime, growing up alone in a war-torn era that probably resulted in the deaths of everyone close to her as a child, and enduring great physical and emotional anguish to achieve her goals, only to fail miserably at the end of her first life.]]
* BoobsOfSteel: Her bust size matches the ridiculous amount of magical power she has at hand.
* BrokenBird: [[spoiler:Her backstory before becoming Kurohime isn't much elaborated on, but it's implied that she was orphaned as a result of the wars and saw her fair share of bloodshed and killing as she grew up. After that, to amass the power to meet the gods and kill them, she killed ''a lot'' of people and ate their souls for strength, then ultimately betrayed her most loyal followers and the rest of the world in order to shift focus away from the contest of the gods and onto her. By the time Ouka and Sword meet Kurohime in the past, she hasn't done the last part yet but is otherwise weighed down by the lives she's taken and the monstrous things she's done.]]
* DarkActionGirl: By her own admission, she's "a witch right out of a fairy tale," and won't hesitate to get her hands dirty to kill her opponents.
* DarkIsNotEvil: [[spoiler:She's earned her bad reputation, but a lot of what she's done is focused on trying to free humanity from the yoke of the gods.]]
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:She's more than happy to die for all she's done, after she's accomplished her mission. This is part of why Sword and Ouka gradually lose interest in taking revenge against her.]]

* ClothingDamage: In her fight against [[spoiler:Ouka]], she loses a good chunk of her outfit. It doesn't bother her a bit.
* GodhoodSeeker: Initially thought to be her goal. [[spoiler:It's not, at least not in the way that people think it is, but it happens anyway.]]

* HandicappedBadass: While her arm she lost ''DID'' grow back after the battle, losing it didn't slow her down in the least.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: [[spoiler:Her real personality is much more subdued and less cruel than appearances suggest. When her backstory is revealed by Shirohime, it becomes evident that while she was ruthless, she still had enough compassion for the very young and for people that suffered under war; she allows a young Ouka to stab her and leave without repercussion and mourns a baby that dies during the construction of her tower to heaven. Her later conversations with an adult Ouka during the Past Arc bear this out, as she demonstrates that she is perfectly aware of how cruel she is and how much she ''hates'' the fact that she has to be to meet her goals. There's also the fact that she rescued, renamed, and gave a bit of maternal comfort to a nearly suicidal Rei.]]
* HotWitch: She has repeatedly been called the most beautiful witch in the world.

* {{Jerkass}}: She's arrogant, cold, and merciless, especially to her opponents. [[spoiler:This turns out to be a JerkassFacade, as implied under HiddenHeartOfGold above.]]

* MsFanservice: She dresses to accentuate her good looks 24-7-365.
* NayTheist: She knows the gods exist, and [[spoiler:is all too happy to remind them that they're not immortal.]]
* PhysicalGod: [[spoiler:Became this 10 years before the start of the story, when her battle against the gods ends in failure. She's split in half, and her compassion and kindness are deified as Shirohime while the castoffs of her negative emotions are turned into Himeko.]]
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: [[spoiler: The Black God Tree bound to her. It feeds on the rage and hatred of the people she's killed; her guilt over taking their lives and her need to make their deaths worth something is her primary motivation to fight.]]
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: [[spoiler:She cites the gods' cruelty as the primary reason that she's fighting to become one--so that she can kill all of them.]]

!! Himeko
TheHero of the story, a little girl who meets Zero while running away from bandits. She claims to be Kurohime, cursed by the gods into her current form and unable to feel love for others; when she feels love, she transforms into Kurohime, complete with immense magical power. [[spoiler:While this is true, it's more accurate to say that she's actually the "leftovers" from the deification of Kurohime into Shirohime, namely all of Kurohime's hatred and rage directed at the gods.]]

* AbsoluteCleavage: Her second outfit as Kurohime, as well as a few others that she wears over the course of the manga, expose a good bit of her chest.
* ActionGirl: As she gains more power, she demonstrates a marked increase in self-reliance; by the end of the story, she's capable of fighting Yashahime almost toe-to-toe without her power as Kurohime.

* BeautyMark: Like Kurohime, she has two, one under the outside corner of each eye. Aside from being obvious proof that she really is Kurohime like she claims, [[spoiler:they act as {{Foreshadowing}} for the many difficulties in her life, for the same reason as her previous existence as Kurohime--she falls in love with Zero and is only able to admit her love for him shortly before he dies, then loses most of her memories of him. She is later forced to kill one of her closest allies, realizes that she abandoned Zero ''twice'' at the loweest points of his life, and nearly dies for good trying to save Zero from the worst parts of himself.]]

* BoyishShortHair: In her first cursed form, in contrast to the long hair of her un-cursed self.

* HealingShiv: She has access to a healing bullet and often uses it in her battles.
* TheHero: Though it starts as a secondary role, she moves to primary hero [[spoiler:after Zero dies.]]
* IcyBlueEyes: Her eyes are this color, the same as her older, un-cursed form.
* IHaveManyNames: Aside from being called Himeko or Kurohime, she's also been called Hime, Himekojo, and Momohime.

* LaserGuidedKarma: A metric-fuck-ton of it. She killed countless people in her quest to become a god, and the price was being cursed into a child's body [[spoiler:and being stripped of her memories and half of her very personality]] on top of losing her ability to love. Worse yet, [[spoiler:not long after fully realizing love, the man she loves sacrifices himself to protect her and he dies in front of her very eyes.]]

* PowerAtAPrice: [[spoiler:After killing Darkray and losing Zero, the only way for her to use her full power as Kurohime is to give up memories of Zero, since his death is a psychological block on her power. The longer she stays transformed, the more memories she loses; once Dark Zero removes almost all her memories himself, this effectively soft-locks her out of becoming Kurohime again until the very end of the manga.]]
* ThePowerOfLove: The only way to even temporarily break the curse, and what ultimately breaks it permanently at the climax of the first arc, when she fully accepts that she does love Zero. [[spoiler:Also, she only agrees to help Asura if Princess Yamato resurrects Zero.]]
* ShootTheDog: [[spoiler:Despite not wanting to, Himeko, after regaining her form as Kurohime, ultimately ends the world by using the Ultimate Sword to split it in half, with Yashahime still bound to it.]]

* SmallGirlBigGun: As the smallest Himeko, Senryuu's size as compared to her

!! Zero
A good-hearted young man with fast hands and a strong sense of idealism and justice. Kurohime saved his life as a child, and he dedicated himself to fighting for justice afterwards; he meets Himeko being chased by Onimaru, and upon breaking her curse (temporarily) for the first time, he devotes himself to staying by her side.

[[spoiler:He dies pushing Himeko out of the Sanzu River, breaking her heart and starting her on the road to becoming a better person. The goddess Yashahime resurrects him as the new Death God, Dark Zero, whereupon he reveals that he always had "a darkness in his heart". Himeko goes to the past to learn more about this darkness, and meets Zero and his older brother Rei. A series of events nearly leads to Rei becoming a Death God not once, but twice; during the second incident, Zero sacrifices his life to save Rei from this fate...which eventually reveals that the Zero Himeko knows is in fact ''Rei''.]]

* DeadPersonImpersonation: [[spoiler:Has been doing one of his younger brother Zero for the entirety of the manga, due to intense regret over how his own actions resulted in the real Zero's death.]]

* GenderBender: [[spoiler:Was reincarnated as a woman on the new planet many milion years after the end of the manga.]]

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Makes one to get Himeko out of the Sanzu River, pushing her to shore as the waters boil him down to his skeleton. His past self makes another one to save his older brother Rei--except that as it turns out, since the Zero the readers know is actually Rei...]]

* ReincarnationRomance: [[spoiler:Has one with Himeko in the last chapter of the manga, where he's reborn as a princess and she's reborn as a male gunslinger.]]

* TroubledButCute: [[spoiler:Considering that he's really Rei, his life has been a total shitshow--his mother was killed by the man that "adopted" him and his younger brother after the fact and physically abused him. Then, his mother sacrificed her soul to restore him to normal after that foster father attempted to use his Death God infection to his advantage. After that, his brother died to save his life from the Death God infection ''again'', and the one person left that unconditionally loved him wound up abandoning him twice in short order, albeit against her will.]]

!! Asura
A fire spirit trying to rescue her master. Has contempt for gods and humans, though the former more than the latter.

[[folder:Onimaru Brigade]]
!! Onimaru

[[folder:Other Witches]]
!!Barahime
An old rival of Kurohime's. Initially, Himeko and Zero seek her out for help breaking Himeko's curse, but they instead get into a fierce fight with her, as Kurohime stole her youth 50 years ago. [[spoiler:After her first defeat, she repossesses her original host, Yuuka, and becomes the second member of the Kurohime Punishment Squad.]]

* GrandTheftMe: She pulls this on Yuuka two times; the first time was 50 years before the start of the story, after Kurohime steals her youth. [[spoiler:The second is so that she can avenge her defeat in the early chapters of the story, but on a far more complete level to the point that she can use Yuuka's body to fire magic bullets.]]

* KickTheDog: Before Kurohime stole her youth, she had no compunctions luring people to her to steal their youth. On top of that, she used Yuuka's body to prepare for her revenge on Kurohime, devouring the youth of anyone that got close to Yuuka for 50 years. [[spoiler:And she goes right back to stealing bodies as soon as Sword gives her the chance for revenge against Kurohime, this time actively controlling Yuuka's body completely and possessing child!Zero as a HumanShield during her fight with Himeko.]]

* PoweredByAForsakenChild: She used Yuuka's beauty to lure unsuspecting men to her cottage to drain their lifeforce and fuel her [[ImmortalityImmorality immortality.]]

!! Yuuka
A young woman that Himeko and Zero run into in the woods. Later on, she and Hime become good friends.
* CuteWitch: [[spoiler:Once she gains magic she falls into this category, having a gentle nature and keeping Barahime's rose motifs.]]
* DistressedDamsel: She was held hostage by Barahime for 50 years, and everyone that got near her eventually had their lives stolen away to fuel Barahime's life force. [[spoiler:She's subjected to a round 2 after the Punishment Squad is formed, which lasts until Himeko kills Barahime.]]
* GreenThumb: [[spoiler:Gains plant-based magic because Barahime possessed her for 50 years.]]
* NiceGirl: She's polite and kind to everyone she meets.
* RapunzelHair: Her hair is long enough to reach near to the ground, even with some of it bound into long braids.
* RedOniBlueOni: She's the blue to Himeko's red; Yuuka is calm, pleasant and gentle to Himeko's brash selfishness and higher energy.
* {{Sidekick}}: She served as Himeko's in the Journey To The Past arc, doubling as TheConscience.
* TouchedByVorlons: [[spoiler:Gains the ability to shoot magic bullets as a result of Barahime's repeated possessions.]]

!! Kashihime

!! The Kyo-Kyo Witch

!! Himiko

[[folder:Yamato Characters]]
!! Kazuma
The son of the shogun of Oedo. Decides to assist Hime and Asura in their quest to free the Spirit Kings after they save him from mermaids. Also in love with Hime.

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: He really likes Himeko, but she's attached to Zero too tightly to really consider it.
* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler:After being absorbed by the Black God Tree, Himeko, restored to her full power as Kurohime after destroying Yashahime, revives him.]]
* BadassNormal: Pray you are never on the other end of his sword.
* BigGood: The remains of the forces of Oedo, plus Yuki, Yukio and Asura [[spoiler: before she loses it]] are under his command so he qualifies.
* TheChewToy: In short order, he [[spoiler:loses his father, his kingdom, and his life to protect everything he cares about.]]
* TheChick: He's easily the most awed by the things happening around him, and while he has some fighting ability it doesn't measure up to the rest of the team.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:He uses the last of the Spirit King jewels and his lifeforce to save Himeko from Dark Zero and Yashahime.]]
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: He knows he has no chance with Himeko, but does his best to assist her cause.
* JamesBondage: He's first introduced as a captive of a group of mermaids.
* PowerAtAPrice: [[spoiler:The gems he keeps on him drain his lifeforce for their power.]]
* PowerDyesYourHair: The Spirit King Jewels dye his hair white [[spoiler:It's closer to DiseaseBleach, though, given that he's dying to power the Jewels.]]
* ReplacementGoldfish: He looks and behaves a lot like Zero. It's implied that should Kurohime lose her final memories of Zero that she could fall for Kazuma.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: When shit hits the fan in Oedo, he and his family fly into action.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: To Zero, but he eventually becomes his own character.
* WarriorPrince: The prince of Oedo, and a skilled fighter and strategist to boot.
* YouAreInCommandNow: And he does fairly well, [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt considering the situation.]]

!! Kazushi
Kazuma's little sister.

!! Himiko, The Village Elder

[[folder:God Clan Members]]

!! Shirohime
The goddess of Love and Kindness that bears a remarkable resemblance to Kurohime. [[spoiler:She's the "positive" half of the original Kurohime, embodying all of her positive feelings toward humanity.]]
* HelplessGoodSide: Played with. In terms of magical power, she and Himeko (in her Kurohime form) are roughly even. However, lacking [[spoiler:the aggression from her darker half, Himeko]], her personality doesn't quite follow through.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:She dies to protect Himeko and Zero once Onimaru (as Tsucchi) reminds her of the true meaning of compassion and determination that she lost when she became a goddess.]]
* LiteralSplitPersonality: [[spoiler:Of the original Kurohime. She's everything good and positive about the original Kurohime, which is the reason why Himeko initially can't feel anything but negative emotions.]]

* PowerNullifier: Can act as one to Himeko, sealing her ability to become Kurohime.

!! Darkray
The GrimReaper and High God. Colossal asshole. [[spoiler:Thanks to Yashahime's vengeance fetish, he is eventually permanently killed and Zero is forced to replace hi.]]

* ArtifactOfDoom: [[spoiler:This is truly what the God Of Death is: a large one-eyed skull shaped core that when placed in someone's soul turns them into the GrimReaper.]]

* PetTheDog: It seems even Darkray would think twice about leaving someone to [[spoiler:[[AxCrazy Yashahime.]]]]

!! Sword
The leader of the Death Angels and TheDragon to Darkray. [[spoiler:After Zero's death and the subsequent loss of her team to Darkray, she becomes leader of the Kurohime Punishment Squad.]]

!! The Death Angel Squad
A group of five angels that serve Darkray. Their names are Axe, Mace, Hammer, Dagger and Lance. Their captain was Sword.

!!Yuki and Yukio
A pair of snow gods from Mt. Oosore who decide to tag along on Himeko's quest.

!! Yashahime
The High Goddess of earth and Darkray's psychotic stalker.

* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Unlike everyone else, [[SelectiveObliviousness she hasn't realized it yet.]]

* DishingOutDirt: Her primary domain is the earth, and anything related to it.

* EvilIsPetty: It's usually not petty to want to exact vengeance for the death of one's beloved. However, Yasha [[IdiotBall could have easily saved Darkray]] and while the other gods want Kurohime dead for more pragmatic reasons, she rarely gets beyond "Kill Darkray's [[{{Hypocrite}} murderer]]." Even [[BrokenPedestal her reason for killing Darkray]] is petty.

* {{Hypocrite}}: She has:
** Killed Darkray--whom she claims to be madly in love with--while holding the MacGuffin that would save his life. Why? [[BrokenPedestal Seeing his soul in such a wretched state breaks her cool perception of him.]] Her grudge against Kurohime derives almost entirely from the fact that Kurohime murdered him in the first place.
** Stabbed herself to keep her from killing Kurohime and then claiming the resulting scar is Kurohime's fault.
** Claimed that the [[GrimReaper God of Death]] isn't supposed to be concerned about anything or anyone, then blushing because he asked if her wounds had healed.

* ItsAllAboutMe: Initially, she comes into the plot because Ghandara was killed. But eventually, her revenge against Kurohime becomes more about satisfying her own desire to kill Kurohime for killing Darkray. Even with TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt going on, her main motivation is "get enough power to kill Kurohime for killing Darkray."

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:She wants to become one with the planet and use its power for her own goals. Ultimately, she does. [[EarthShatteringKaboom Just in time to get split in half with the rest of the planet when Kurohime swings the Ultimate Sword at it.]]]]

* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: Yashahime loves to do to this to her enemies, but especially Himeko, oftentimes by stabbing her when she's already weakened or otherwise mocking her.

* LightIsNotGood: She dresses in all white, but is the most sadistic antagonist in the series by far.

* WhiteHairBlackHeart: She has white hair and at first seems like a really angry AntiVillain before revealing herself to be [[TheSociopath the most evil creature in the manga.]]

[[folder:Kurohime Punishment Squad]]

A group that's gathered up to enact punishment against Kurohime for wrongs she dealt them in the past. [[spoiler:Their leader is Sword, former head of the Death Angel Squad.]]

!! Ouka

* BrokenBird: Due to the loss of her father as a child, Ouka is cold and standoffish, even to her allies, and is the person that is the most opposed to letting go of her grudge against Kurohime.
* ColdSniper: Can shoot with a level of precision that Himeko flatly admits she can't match. [[spoiler:It impresses past!Kurohime as well.]]

!! Saika and Aika

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Saika disappears from the series after the failed attempt to turn him into a Death God.

[[folder:Past Arc Characters]]
!! Rei
A young, angry boy from the past. [[spoiler: Zero's older twin brother.]]

!!Doc

!!Raida

[[folder:The Spirit Kings]]
[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The four kings of spirits.]] By enslaving them and harnessing their powers, the gods became all powerful. They are [[TheFourGods Yamatohime, Genbu, Byakko and Seiryuu.]]

!! General tropes

!! Yamatohime

!! Genbu

!! Byakko

!! Seiryuu

----

* AntiVillain: For all that she can be relatively ruthless when she's on the job, she only takes things personally when her comrades are put at risk or when someone interferes in her job. Kurohime doing the latter is what drew her ire, especially because it led to a sequence of events [[spoiler:that got all the other Death Angels and Darkray himself killed.]]

--> Shirohime: In reality, you wanted to kill me instead...It must be hard on Kurohime...who became a sacrifice for you jealous heart to vent on.

* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:Has several with Himeko during the Past Arc and the Final Arc, realizing that they have mutual enemies to destroy or defend their loved ones against.]]

* ItsPersonal: Though Sword already disliked Kurohime to begin with due to interfering with her work, it becomes a much more personal grievance [[spoiler:once the rest of the Death Angel Squad dies as a result of Kurohime picking a fight with Darkray]].

* OurAngelsAreDifferent: She's a Death Angel, responsible for serving Darkray, that has bat-like wings and can turn into a sword. [[spoiler:She later hybridizes herself with the powers of a vampire and a werewolf.]]

* TurnTheOtherCheek: [[spoiler:Admits that she will NEVER truly forgive Kurohime for what she has done but decides that if they should somehow meet in another life, they will try to get along.]]

!!!! Characters from the manga Manga/{{Kurohime}}.

The most powerful witch of all time. Well-known for her power, beauty and cruelty, she disappeared years before the start of the story, in the middle of a quest to meet the challenge of the gods and become a god herself. The last time anyone saw her was when she rescued a young boy named Zero from bandits, ten years before the start of the story.

[[spoiler:Her real goal was to become a god and kill the rest of them, due to their cruelty and callousness towards humans, with the incidental effect of making herself a villain so that humans would stop fighting to become gods themselves. Her disappearance is the result of her deification by the gods.]]