[[quoteright:188:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/weed-0_4699.PNG]]
[[caption-width-right:188:WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}? Franchise/{{Lassie}}? Pfft. These guys would embarrass them all.]]

A manga/anime action/adventure series by Yoshihiro Takahashi about dogs who follow a rather bushido-esque code of fighting and loyalty. The series has drama, swearing, and gore.

''Ginga Densetsu Weed'' (''Silver Fang Legend: Weed'') is a sequel series to ''Manga/GingaNagareboshiGin'', serialized in ''Weekly Manga Goraku'' from 1999 to 2009. Taking place 10 years after the events of ''Nagareboshi Gin'' (some translations give it as fourteen years, but if you use dog years, then everyone's happy), Weed, the son of Gin, must fight to save the father he's never met from Hougen, a Great Dane that threatens his father's paradise. This series was adapted into an anime in the early 00s, starting to air on Animax in 2005. The manga ended at the total of 60 volumes in 2009.

Popular enough in Scandinavia and Finland to produce a complete series DVD box release. Considering the amount of cursing and blood coming from dogs, America is not likely to see a dub anytime soon. You can dig the fansubs up from somewhere, though.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtThatWas No, Weed isn't]] [[TheStoner what he's smoking.]] Also not to be confused for ''Literature/LegendOfTheGalacticHeroes'' AKA ''Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu''.

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!!Tropes used in the animated adaptation:

* AbusiveParents: Kyōshirō's main motivation for learning how to fight.
* ActionMom: Cross, Lenny ( in the manga ), and Dog Mother: Sacrificed her life to fight the monkeys (in the manga).
* AdaptationalVillainy: Subverted with Hougen's generals Bat, Kite and Buruge. Though, they are villains in both manga and anime, [[spoiler:you don't see much action from them in the manga. When the anime came out, the three generals had been upgraded into badasses by giving mind's eye for Bat while Buruge and Kite become generic villains who fight against the heroes. Kite is also given metal hind legs in the anime.]]
* AdaptationalWimp: Gin, to a degree. In the manga, he eventually makes an effort [[spoiler:to escape his confinement despite his wounds (when being encouraged by the ghosts of Smith and John), to which he ''succeeds'' as well after a hazardous escape. In the anime, he never makes an effort of getting out, but remains a grunting and passive lifeless body for a good 80% of his screentime until he's eventually saved, and even then doesn't make a single effort of walking or even standing on his own, but has to be carried around constantly.]]
* AdaptedOut: This happened to the poor fairly important manga characters from the Kaibutsu arc and the Hougen arc such as Lenny, Daisuke, Hidetoshi, George, Murder S, Kisaragi, Mole, Ron, Jaguar and Shouji Sudou.
* AdaptationDistillation: And ''how''. The anime removed so many characters and plot points of the manga's Kaibutsu and Hougen arc that it's almost only ''half'' of its length. See AdaptedOut above for just how many characters were removed, each with their own detailed character and arc. Notable examples include:
** Shouji Sudou, the retired policeman whose brother and friends Hougen and Genba had brutally murdered before becoming wild dogs. They eventually become a pivotal part of the story, and it's Shouji who [[spoiler:originally kills Hougen at the end.]]
** Not to mention an adult [[spoiler:Daisuke and older Hidetoshi is present throughout the entire Kaibutsu arc, where Daisuke helps taking care of Weed after he's been shot, and both of them witness the dogs' fight against Kaibutsu. In the anime, all of their appearances are replaced by random humans, and Weed is never shot. Daisuke keeps having recurring appearances throughout the Hougen arc as well.]]
** The crisis with the humans wiping out nearly all dogs in Ohu is presented as much bigger, and Tokimune himself is killed by Hidetoshi right in front of Weed who thinks he's his father at that point. Weed is shot soon after.
** Sniper is back as a crippled dog with the new name "Murder S", who joins Hougen's forces and eventually reveals his damaged hind legs has been replaced by [[HandicappedBadass deadly metal substitutes]], making him an even more terrifying foe than before.
** In the manga, Gin manages to escape before Hougen's army moves to Ohu. Not wanting to admit this to Hougen, Murder S kills a similar-looking dog to Gin and has Hougen's pack drag said dog with them to trick him. In the anime, Gin escaping on his own doesn't happen, and it really ''is'' his body that Hougen's dogs drags with them.
** Sasuke has a touching subplot where he finds and reunites with his owners after two years apart, though he still returns to join Weed' pack later on.
** When Weed and his pack finds Tesshin, the latter was told that Gin killed his father and is extremely hostile towards Weed, threatening to kill him and refusing to listen to anything he has to say. It takes a good while before he learns the truth, sees Weed for who he is and ultimately decides to follow him after all.
* AffectionateParody: The series itself has one in the form of comic pages done by Website/{{Deviant|art}} artist [=IsisMasshiro=], parodying episodes [[http://isismasshiro.deviantart.com/art/The-pro-slaughterers-1-104485979 4]], [[http://isismasshiro.deviantart.com/art/Kaibutsu-s-rise-and-fall-1-129138845 5 and 6.]]
* AgeLift: Reika, arguably, as she appears to be around the same age as Weed in the anime (1 year old by the time they meet), while she is an adult in the manga.
* AllDogsArePurebred: ''Technically'' averted, since a lot of the dogs (including Weed himself) are second-generation feral dogs and are confirmed to be mixed-breeds. However, their appearance doesn't indicate this. Weed's appearance is plausible, being the son of two Japanese dogs with the spitz body-type, but Ken looks exactly like his father despite being half-Saluki (then again, the art style doesn't help - said Saluki has the same build as the Akitas, for example).
* AmazingTechnicolorWildlife: Most dogs are normal colors, but Weed, Gin and Tokimune are blue despite labelling them as silver-grey.
* AngryGuardDog: Weed encounters one of these in the first episode of his series. ''[[spoiler:And kicks its ass.]]''
* AnimalsAreEasierToDraw: Inverted in the anime that while the dogs were often drawn badly, the humans were drawn well.
* AnimalTesting: Kaibutsu's backstory and how he became what he is ''[[MadScientist (just what were they testing on him?)]]''
* AnimalsLackAttributes:
** Every dog is drawn this way, despite the fact one character is known for biting the testicles off of his enemies.
** This is sometimes averted in the manga though, as some panels clearly show genitals and anuses.
* AnimationBump: The very first and very last episodes are suddenly much more streamlined and detailed. (And almost cute, if there weren't so much blood.)
** Even then, those episodes didn't emulate Takahashi's style. The episodes coming closest to his style are 6, 10, and the selection of generals for Hougen's army in episode 17, and 21.
** The animation for episode 5 looked ''incredibly'' good, so much so it was the ''only'' episode to be animated in that style, giving the impression the animation team behind it was too expensive for the ''Densetsu Weed'' team to bring back for another episode.
%% AnyoneCanDie: '''''Yes'''''. ''Especially'' in the final episodes.
* ArtisticLicenseBiology:
** Large dog breeds like Akita Inu (Gin), Tosa Inu (Musashi) and Great Danes (Ben) have an average lifespan of maximum 10-12 years (6 to 8 years in Ben's case). In the manga, the TimeSkip since ''Nagareboshi Gin'' is 10 years, making it plausible for them all to still be alive (save Ben). The anime however, changes the time skip to 14 years instead, certainly pushing the boundaries, especially when wild dogs in general have a shorter lifespan than pet dogs do.
** This is especially noticeable with Ken who were born in ''Nagareboshi Gin'' and is still portrayed as roughly a young dog.
* AssholeVictim: Jerome mercilessly killing [[spoiler:Thunder]] and [[spoiler:Lector]] was low, but given that both dogs tried to kill Weed twice (and even planned on attempting to kill him ''again''), you can't blame Jerome for what he did. [[WhatTheHellHero Unless]] [[BlackAndWhiteMorality you're Weed]], [[StupidGood of course]].
%% AttackOfTheKillerWhatever: Killer mutant dog (Kaibutsu).
* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: [[spoiler:When Gin passes his leadership to Weed, the other dogs respond to this by mass-bowing to him.]]
%% AxCrazy:
%% ** Hougen, when he gets ''really'' pissed.
%% ** And Shōgun the axe-wielding baboon in the manga... literally.
* BattleAura:
** Smith gets this before taking on Kaibutsu.
** Similarly, this happens many times to the dogs before the fight begins.
* BadassInDistress:
** Poor Gin, John and later, Hiro were captured by Hougen after they were outnumbered by Hougen's soldier and were forced to surrender when Reika was taken hostage.
** In Hokkaidō arc from the manga, almost all of the Ōu Soldiers (led by Gin) were trapped in the gorge at both sides by Victor and the militant German Shepherds.
%% BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: Kaibutsu was a tortured lab dog.
* BerserkButton:
** Do not call Kaibutsu by his lab name, "P4". Jerome takes advantage of this to intentionally make Kaibutsu chase after him and his comrades.
** Someone being needlessly killed is this for Weed, ''regardless'' of how much of a bad guy the victim should be. This is driven home [[spoiler:when he banishes Jerome after he kills Thunder and Lector (or the fox hound spies in the manga) while they were pleading for their lives.]]
%% BerserkerTears: Happens at times when Weed is in a rage.
%% BewareTheNiceOnes: Weed is the most polite and the nicest puppy but if you mess with him, you are seriously in big trouble.
%% BigGuy: Hiro and Moss
%% BigOlEyebrows: Stone
* BizarreAndImprobableBallistics: The number of times attacking dogs change direction in midair and dodge foes...
** {{Justified|Trope}}. FlashStep was common in the original series.
* BlindIdiotTranslation: The subtitles can read like this sometimes.
** --->"You son of a bitches!"
** "I will revenge!"
%% BlindSeer: Bat
%% BloodFromTheMouth: Happens many times to characters who are in a prolonged battle.
%% BodyDouble: Gin's substitute Tokimune and other doubles of John and Akame.
* {{Bowdlerise}}: The anime is ''a lot'' less violent than the manga. One prime example would be [[spoiler:the torture of John by Hougen and his followers. In the manga, John's stomach has been ripped so that part of his intestines are hanging out, resulting in Hougen grabbing and ''pulling them out'', only to have John ''bite them clean off'' causing them to be [[{{Squick}} flunged at Hougen's face.]] In the anime, this is toned down to Hougen impaling John on a branch, a branch that John then removes to throw at Hougen's face.]]
** Another example is [[spoiler:Nero's death. In the manga, he tells Hougen that he fled from the Ohu army because they threatened to tear his paws off and urinate on his head. What does Hougen do? [[EstablishingCharacterMoment He orders his followers to tear his paws off and then urinates on his head]]. In the anime, he slits Nero's neck off-screen, then tosses his body into a crowd of his horrified subordinates.]]
* BrokenAesop: While Weed's sympathy and "if you kill them you're just like them" philosophy is arguably the biggest Aesop in the anime. Even after Hougen proves himself irredeemable time and time again, [[spoiler: Weed refuses to kill him or allow any of his followers to kill. He even tackles ''Gin'' to ''rescue'' Hougen from execution.]] This is the reason Jerome goes off on his own and Kyoushiro almost follows him. However, after Hougen [[spoiler: declares himself king of Gajō because Gin refuses to kill him, he gets struck by lightning and the narrator explains that the gods have passed judgment, implying the even ''gods themselves'' recognize that Hougen just needs to die.]] ''[[FlatWhat What]]''.
** Weed's moral isn't "Never kill, ever" but "Only kill as a last resort". What sets him off is when he sees someone, even a villain, about to be killed when he's already been defeated or has no means of defending himself. The anime makes this confusing however with [[spoiler:Hougen's lightning death, when he's originally killed by a vengeful hunter in the manga.]]
* ButForMeItWasTuesday: When Hiro confronts Kamakiri about killing his father, Kamakiri mockingly says he doesn't remember it.
%% TheCaligula: Hougen and Genba.
* CallBack: The part where Weed [[spoiler:gets pissed off at Jerome for killing Thunder and Lector while they were defenseless]] is reminiscent of the ''Nagareboshi Gin'' episode where [[spoiler:John killed two defenseless bear cubs right in front of Gin, which pissed ''him'' off. What brings it more home is that even the same dog breeds are used (Gin and Weed = Akita, John and Jerome = German Shepherd).]]
* CallingYourAttacks:
** "Zetsu! TENRŌ! ''BATTŌGA!!''"
** In the manga, Weed’s brothers Joe and Yukimura do this as well with their attack Neck The Killing.
* TheCameo: [[spoiler:Riki and Benizakura can be seen among the ghosts at the final battle.]]
* CanisMajor: Kaibutsu. According to the guidebook, he weighs at around 1200 pounds.
* CanonForeigner: Jerome's helpers Ryu, Ryo, Heita and Hanji.
* CavalryOfTheDead: [[spoiler:While they're not doing any actual fighting, the spirits of all the past Ohu soldiers (including the recently deceased such as Smith and John) appears at Weed's battle against Hougen, giving Weed the strength to stand up again after he's nearly been defeated, and simultaneously gives Hougen a bad scare by directly speaking to him, apparently only being visible to him and Weed. And when Weed's next Battouga misses, a sudden powerful wind is created to send him spinning straight back towards Hougen. (The manga version is especially intense.)]] In the anime only, they're also implied to have [[spoiler:created the lightning that ultimately kills Hougen.]]
* ChangingOfTheGuard: Most of the characters from ''Manga/GingaNagareboshiGin'' get sons or otherwise similar characters to take over their roles.
* CharacterDevelopment: Special mention goes to Smith who went from being the PluckyComicRelief to TheMentor in ten years.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: The anime never mentions where Ken's two siblings from GNG are at. In the manga, the Cross-looking male named George eventually makes an appearance however, and through a flashback we learn that his and Ken's sister (the Ben and Ken-looking female) drowned in a river.
* ColdBloodedTorture: Hougen tortures poor Gin and John during their captivity.
%% CombatByChampion: Weed vs. Hougen
%% CoolOldGuy: Smith.
%% CowardlyLion: GB.
%% CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: GB, Sasuke and Mel.
%% CruelMercy: The fate of [[spoiler:Kamakiri]] after his defeat by Hiro.
* CursedWithAwesome: Though the ''Zetsu tenrō battōga'' is a lethal attack if delivered successfully, it requires such a huge amount of energy that the user will have a hard time gathering up strength to even ''stand'' again afterwards.
%% CuteButCacophonic: Mel. He may look cute for a golden retriever puppy but whenever he opens his mouth, you might want to cover your ears.
* DamselInDistress:
** There is a female warrior, one out of only two female warriors in a cast full of dozens of males, that is there for no other purpose then to become a hostage. She literally becomes this minutes after she is introduced, being defeated and captured with no effort, and is not heard from again after being rescued.
%% ** Reika becomes this at one point.
* DavidVersusGoliath: Regular-sized dogs vs an oversized mutant dog Kaibutsu.
%% DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler: The doberman assassin brothers [[AssholeVictim Lecter and Thunder]]]], then later [[spoiler:[[HeroicSacrifice Jerome]]]] in Battle for Gajō arc.
* DeathByFallingOver: [[spoiler:Kaibutsu was finally defeated by Weed, Ken, Kagetora and Jerome who pushed off the cliff and got himself impaled by a sharp branch from the log in the middle of the waterfall.]]
* DeathEqualsRedemption: [[spoiler:Blue]] upon dying confesses how he would have been a good guy, had he only met the right "people" sooner.
* DefiantToTheEnd: [[spoiler:John,]] to the point that in the manga, while he is being tortured by having his intestines pulled out, he ''bites'' them off. They attempted to "soften" this for the anime, with him pulling out a large tree branch that is stabbing his body and hitting Hōgen with it, but the scene is still very graphic.
* DiesWideOpen: Most dogs die like this in violent deaths especially for the CListFodder.
* DisneyDeath: Because of AnyoneCanDie being in effect, this is a rare example were this trope is ''pulled off believably'' for much of the audience. During the [[spoiler: final battle with Hougen, after being repeatedly slammed into the ground like a rag doll, Weed looks very dead laying in the snow, covered in blood and [[DiesWideOpen with his eyes wide open]]. His father and the other characters think he's dead, but he is just stunned, and somehow gets up.]]
%% DiscOneFinalBoss: Kaibutsu. {Administrivia/ZeroContextExample}
* DyingMomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler:John, who'd been badly wounded and starved for what was perhaps several weeks, still holds his ground for a good while against Hougen's mooks, killing and injuring several of them, and eventually faces Hougen himself, pissing off the latter even as he's defeated, by giving a determined speech about how his spirit will live on with his friends, and no Ohu soldier would ever succumb to Hougen. As a result, Hougen makes one last attack on John who is then left bleeding to death in the snow, and, while Hougen walks away, (the manga especially) narrates how despite having killed him, [[PyrrhicVictory he wonders why he's shivering]], being the first time in his life anyone had ever frightened him.]]
%% EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Hougen towards Genba and vice versa.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: To a degree, some of Hougen's followers are appalled [[spoiler:by his frantic beating of John even after he's long defeated,]] and attempts to tell him to stop it.
* EvilOldFolks: Kamakiri the old Irish Wolfhound, and Murder S (Sniper) in the manga who also counts as the EvilCripple.
* TheFagin: Blue. At first, he seems a nice dog who acts as a father figure when he adopts the abandoned puppies (Hook and his deceased brother Kuro, and later Mel) but later, it turns out that he only uses the puppies to steal food from humans, and will beat or even kill them if they oppose him.
* FakeDefector: Kyōshirō [[spoiler: pretended to betray the Ōu Soldiers so that he could inflitrate Gajō to find out about Hougen's plans but it didn't go as planned...]]
* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: Being a Shonen, there's lots of it.
%% FauxActionGirl: All female characters are this way.
* ForgottenFallenFriend: While the dogs are mourning [[spoiler:Smith in episode 5, no one is mourning Jerome's comrade North who died just a few moments before Smith.]]
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Hougen and Genba were just a pair of poor Great Danes which were locked up and abandoned in the run-down kennel. With months of starvation, fighting and cannibalizing other dogs, they later killed their owner and broke free which then later they became the most feared rogue dogs.
* GeckoEnding: While the manga series is long with 60 volumes, the anime ended at 26 episodes.
* GenerationXerox:
** Weed looks identical to his dad at that age. The same goes for Weed's oldest son Sirius, who also looks exactly like his father. Not to mention Gin, Weed, and Sirius all have the same type of personality.
** Also, when Weed [[spoiler:in the last episode poses on top of Gajou with his closest comrades; Kyoushiro = John. Tesshin = Akame.]]
%% GentleGiant: Moss, the retired Ōu soldier.
%% GetOut: Weed says this to Jerome in the anime after the latter [[spoiler: kills Thunder and Lector.]]
* GlowingEyesOfDoom:
** Most evil characters have this to make them look badass.
** And also Weed when he unleashes his battōga
* GoryDiscretionShot: Though the anime is as bloody and gory as the manga, some death scenes had discretion shots. For example, [[spoiler:when Hougen mercy-killed the paralyzed and insane Genba, the next scene only showed Gajou with Genba's scream echoing the background before switching to the scene with Genba's carcass.]]
* GrievousHarmWithABody: As seen in fighting scenes, the stronger dog would pick up another dog and always use it as a weapon or a shield.
* GoodScarsEvilScars:
** Happens to wild dogs and pet hunting dogs, though some of the villains are more deformed.
** Subverted by [[spoiler: Aram/Alam]] in the manga, who is missing the skin of his muzzle. Although introduced as a villain, he later makes a heel-face turn.
* GratuitousNinja: Akame and Tesshin both count, like whoa. Tesshin is even referred to as the 'ninja dog of Kōga'.
* GroinAttack: Hiro's specialty. Taken one step further with castration.
* HairColorDissonance: Both Weed and Gin have blue fur in the anime, but it's really meant to be silvery.
* HandicappedBadass:
** Smith, who was left with three legs after an accident, can still fight. He fights Kaibutsu, but gets a [[DroppedABridgeonHim cave-in dropped on him]]. And then it turns out that Kaibutsu is NotQuiteDead...
** The villainous blind Labrador, Bat, (not so much in the manga) also counts.
** As well as the three-legged Husky Hakurō and the deformed Murder S (Sniper), both in the manga.
* HardWorkHardlyWorks: Zig-zagged. Riki's bloodline has natural strength and intelligence in it, causing Weed to be a capable fighter already as a puppy, much like his father before him. Although, while Gin still had to train, Weed hardly ever does, and is still capable of becoming the leader and [[spoiler: defeating the BigBad.]] Then again, it's possibly referenced with how Gin's first ever Battouga tore the head of a giant bear, [[spoiler:while Weed struck a regular dog with several Battougas, none of which killed him (seriously injured in the end, but still, didn't kill).]]
%% * HeelFaceTurn: (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
%% ** Jeez... where do we start? Weed is like a magic talisman for getting this reaction.
%% ** Probably the most memorable of these [[spoiler:is Rocket.]]
* HeroicLineage: Weed inherits natural strength from his father the way Gin did from Riki.
%% HeroicSacrifice: By more than one character, much like its predecessor.
* HeroicSecondWind: [[spoiler: Weed is badly beaten by Hougen at their fight and nearly dies, yet manages to stand up again after being encouraged by the spirits of past Ohu soldiers.]]
%% HeroWorshipper: Mel, and Kotetsu in the manga.
%% HeterosexualLifePartners:
%% Gin, John and Akame.
%% Ken and Kagetora.
* HongKongDub: The dog's mouths don't always move in synch with what they're saying, if at all, and even when someone has a mouthful of enemy throat, they can still speak clearly. This gets especially frustrating if they're supposed to be ''thinking''. This may be done on purpose, as they aren't ''actually'' speaking Japanese, they're ''barking.'' But, every animator does this differently: one doesn't animate the mouths, the second draws the dogs barking, and the third animates the dogs like they were talking.
%% HotBlooded - Kyōshirō. Weed by definition. ''Everyone'' gets their moments. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
%% HowlOfSorrow (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
* HumansAreBastards:
** A main motivation for Hougen, Genba, and Kaibutsu. Plus, you do actually see people doing things like shooting dogs and running them over.
** The manga subverts this. Some humans are bastards, some are not. The anime doesn't really focus on humans very often, but at least in the case of Jerome and his original allies, it seems they were well cared for - however this was by the same people who made Kaibutsu what he is, so it's really a mixed bag.
** The story actually handles this well. From the perspective of the dogs the humans are attacking them without a reason, but the humans have a good reason to think that the dog pack has gone feral and has started to kill humans. Even Hidetoshi hunted his former friend John because he felt that the least he could do was to be [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou the one to kill him]]. Also the scientists who created Kaibutsu were not simply being [[MadScientist evil]], but were experimenting on [[AnimalTesting genetic transplant treatment]]. Only human we see being evil without any redeeming qualities is the owner of Hougen and Genba.
* HypercompetentSidekick: Jerome is one of most competent dogs of Weed's pack until he was banished by his leader after [[spoiler:killing Lecter and Thunder]]. Though in the manga, he came back from his banishment after Murder S' defeat and remains as Weed's hypercompetent sidekick.
%% IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Weed's often-invoked argument to his subordinates.
* IHaveYouNowMyPretty: Hougen takes Reika hostage in order to blackmail Gin and John into letting themselves get caught (and ''beaten half to death''). Later he tells Reika he intends to keep her captured because he wants her as his mate and she's gonna give birth to his puppies. Poor Reika is terrified.
%% IncorruptiblePurePureness: As Jerome lampshades, "Weed, your spirit is too pure."
* IntellectualAnimal: All the dogs qualify, plus some boars. (Interestingly enough, none of the bears ever speak the same language the dogs and boars do, but they are shown talking to one another in a untranslated language, leaving us to forever wonder what the hell they said.)
* IntimateHealing: When Weed's group finds him nearly having frozen to death in a river they help him get warm again by making a huddle around him.
* {{Irony}}: Kaibutsu, a giant, insane mutant dog is defeated after roughly three episodes. Hougen, a regular Great Dane serves as the BigBad for the rest of the serie.
* JapanesePoliteness: Played with. It's considered rude to mock an opponent, but if they mock you, it's seriously on. If a dog jeers unprovoked, he's probably a bad guy, and expect Gin and Weed to epitomize this trope.
* {{Jerkass}}: Kamakiri, Genba, Hougen. Also GB and Kyōshirō, but [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold the good kind]].
%% JerkWithAHeartOfGold: A lot of characters count, but most notably Kyōshirō and John.
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: Towards the ending there's a scene where Hougen, Jerome and Reika are being swept through a river. To Jerome's surprise he sees Hougen grab Reika and pull her towards the shore as if he intends to save her, however it turns out he was only going to use her as a stepping object to help himself get out of the water.
* KarmicDeath: Hougen's death [[spoiler:by lightning (or in the manga's case, shot by a vengeful human)]]
%% KickTheDog: Let's just say that Hougen does this about once per episode and be done with it.
%% KidHero: Weed.
%% KidHeroAllGrownUp: Gin.
* LargeAndInCharge: The Great Dane brothers, Hougen and Genba. Kamakiri used to be this as he is one of the largest dog breed (he is an Irish Wolfhound) of the anime/manga until his ass was handed in a huimilating way by Hougen.
* LargeHam: Moss, Kurotora, Hougen, Kamakiri and to the certain extent, Hiro as they have [[NoIndoorVoice no indoor voices]] whenever they speak.
%% LastStand: [[spoiler:John]]. See his DyingMomentOfAwesome above.
%% LawfulStupidChaoticStupid: Oh boy...Weed and his morals.
%% LegendaryInTheSequel: Gin.
* {{Leitmotif}}: Anytime the mood shifts, expect the music to let you know it's coming. Weed's acoustic theme during lectures is about the only subtle one.
* LetThemDieHappy: [[spoiler:While the scene plays similarily in the anime, the manga version is easily sadder when Weed, Hook and Sasuke finds the dying John. Upon seeing Weed, John cries tears of relief and asks for Akame, to which they make him believe he's there, listening to his requests while telling him they've gathered an army of 1,000 soldiers that have succeeded in rescuing Gin and capturing Hougen, and that if he just waits for five more minutes, Hougen will be lied down in front of him. In reply, John calls "Akame" an idiot, saying he's hardly got five minutes, and ''"I'm sorry... I've always hated waiting..."'', before thinking to himself that he must go to hell to defeat Akakabuto once more, and ultimately dies.]]
* LivingProp: The background characters, Harutora and Nobutora. Basically they are Kagetora's brothers who are introduced in both the manga and anime with no lines and role other than as soldiers.
%% LovableCoward: GB, emphasis on the lovable.
* LukeYouAreMyFather: Weed pulls this on [[spoiler:Gin in Kaibutsu Arc, who is actually a substitute called Tokimune and he doesn't have a clue what the puppy is talking about before he dies]].
%% ManlyTears: Happens a lot of times to the male dogs whenever they are sad or touched.
* MercyKill: When [[spoiler: Genba]] was heavily-wounded, paralyzed and gone insane from the damage by [[spoiler: Tesshin (and in the anime's case, Shigure),]] poor [[spoiler:Hougen]] had to mercy-kill his own brother by snapping his neck (in the manga, [[spoiler:Hougen]] bit his brother's head and tore his whole brain out).
* MissingMom: Lots of dogs have this, though no one knows what happened to the mother dogs... [[spoiler:with one exception: Weed's mother]].
%% MixAndMatchCritter: P4, also known as Kaibutsu.
* MoodWhiplash:
** Weed gets over the death of his mother ''extremely'' fast.
** Also, Kaibutsu's flashback which moved him to WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds in a single chapter.
* MyMasterRightOrWrong:
** Jerome. [[spoiler: In episode 5 he informs Kaibutsu how ''wrong'' the latter was to attack and flee from the humans that had been ''torturing him for 5 years'' because "it's a dog's duty to obey his master and endure any pain he should put you through." Oddly enough he then averts this at the beginning of episode 6 where he "tells" the humans about to land with a helicopter that he won't obey to their cruel ways anymore and that they should stay away, or he'll attack them the minute they set foot on the ground.]]
** He epitomizes this trope after he accepts Weed as his leader. Even when he [[spoiler: kills Thunder and Lector]] in the anime, he tells Weed that he did it for him, agrees that he did something wrong even though he thought it was right only a few seconds ago, [[spoiler: is willfully exiled, and even tells Kyoushiro to go back to Weed when he follows him.]]
%% NiceGuy: [[spoiler: Rocket after his HeelFaceTurn.]]
* NobodyPoops: Averted. When Hougen first meets Gin, he kindly introduces himself before abruptly defecating right in front of him. ''And then he dares Gin to eat his shit.''
* NotQuiteDead:
** [[spoiler: When Weed, who nearly died from Hougen's beatings, is magically resurrected with the help of ghosts during the final battle.]]
** Hougen does this many times. It is rather pitiful that [[spoiler:while a gigantic monstrous demon bear is taken down after one hit with a battōga, Hougen doesn't bite it until roughly THREE battōgas and a direct lightning strike.]]
* NotTooDeadToSaveTheDay: [[spoiler:During the final battle, Weed was beaten to the point of death by Hougen that Gin could not help his son but to shed tears in defeat. Just when Weed's friends rush to fight Hougen, Weed suddenly rises up from the dead with the help of the ghosts of Ōu soldiers. This scared Hougen so much that Weed took his advantage to defeat him with his final battōga.]]
* NowThatsUsingYourTeeth: The ''[[SpinAttack Zetsou Tenrou Battouga]]'', [[RuleOfCool allowing the user's bite to gain a massive force by spinning]]. Gin used it to decapitate Akakabuto, and [[spoiler:Weed uses it to defeat Hougen,]] cracking his skull by delivering a straight blow of his fangs to his head.
* OhCrap:
** Just like its prequel series, this happens quite frequently. The AngryGuardDog panicking when he sees Smith is just one of the first.
** The look on Hougen's face when he sees [[spoiler:Weed performing the battōga attack for the first time]].
* OneManArmy: Weed is seen as a [[OneManArmy one puppy army]] in the anime opening.
* OneSteveLimit: Averted. Ben's son is called Ken.
* OnlyKnownByInitials: GB. His full name is ''Great Britain''. Of course, nobody ever calls him like that.
%% [[spoiler:OurHeroIsDead]]: [[spoiler:But not for very long.]]
%% OvertookTheManga
* ParentalAbandonment: [[spoiler:Sakura, Weed's mom, dies in the first episode, leaving Weed in the care of some of his father's old friends.]]
* PassingTheTorch: [[spoiler:Gin makes Weed the new leader after he's defeated Hougen and given a RousingSpeech about the power of kindness.]]
%% PetTheDog: Kyōshirō gets one with the pup he adopts, named Teru.
* PintSizedPowerhouse: Weed is this to a ridiculous level, besting dogs many times his size. It helps that he has a basically magical attack ([[SupernaturalMartialArts although it's technically never actually called magical]]) inherited from his father that is said to originate from wolves.
* PlotHole: At one point it's revealed that some dogs are not the dogs they claim they are, they just look identical to them. The plot hole in this is, why didn't the other dogs smell the difference in their sents or notice their different voices? There is no way they could mimic the sents and sounds of the dogs they were pretending to be.
** When it comes to the dogs acting as substitutes for Gin, John and Akame, it's implied that they never actually had physical contact with any other dogs, but watched over the Twin mountains in the background. This is supported when we see Ken trying to reach "Gin", who's really Tokimune, and the latter tells him to stay away, because if he had gotten too close he'd indeed might be able to tell from the scent that it wasn't Gin.
* PragmaticAdaptation: The violence and gore had to be toned down for the anime adaptation, but it still has far more blood than you would see in a TalkingAnimal work in the west.
%% ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Every freaking warrior of Ōu is one of these, and those who aren't want to be.
* PutOnABus: Teru and the younger members in Kyōshirō's pack were left behind in the care of the Koga elder at the Kōga territory while the Ōu soldiers move on to their destination.
** In the manga, Teru and the younger members return as BadassAdorable adolescent ninja dogs in Hokkaidō arc when Kyōshirō went to the territory to look for recruits.
* TheQuietOne: Rocket
* QuirkyMinibossSquad: Batto, Kite, Buruge and Toube
* RasputinianDeath: [[spoiler:Hougen, to a degree. In both anime and manga, he takes several hits of Weed's Battouga, though thanks to them not being delivered with full force he recovers each time. Even when Weed finally manages a full forced blow to his head which causes his ''skull to crack'', he ''still'' manages to stand up after a few moments ''and'' climbs all the way to the top of Gajou. It finally takes a well placed lightning bolt (presumably created by the past Ohu soldiers' ghosts) to end him. In the manga, he stands up after the same grievous injury as well, though he's more clearly shown to have completely lost his sanity and is simply having a "death walk" with his last bit of strength, until Shouji appears and blows his brains out.]]
%% RedemptionEqualsDeath: A couple of times.
* {{Rewrite}}: The first episode offers a flashback to the ending of ''Manga/GingaNagareboshiGin'', changing some facts around such as decreasing the number of dogs present, narrating the attack was lead by Gohei when originally he only appeared at the last minute, and most prominently showing Gin defeating Akakabuto by tearing through his stomach with his Battouga as opposed to originally decapitating him.
* RuleOfCool: Don't ask how a dog spinning in midair suddenly becomes the equivalent of a mechanical saw, just watch how awesome it is.
* SaveTheVillain: In the second episode, Weed tries to save [[spoiler:Blue]] from getting hit by a truck. In episode 16, he tries to stop [[spoiler:Jerome]] from killing both of the doberman brothers.
* SecretTestOfCharacter: [[spoiler:Gin]] performed one on [[spoiler:Weed]] by [[spoiler:pretending to try to kill Hougen]]. [[spoiler:When Weed stops him, Gin reveals that it was a test and that Weed passed]]. This is clearer in the manga than it is in the anime.
* SenselessSacrifice: Smith sacrifices himself in an attempt to kill Kaibutsu in a cave-in. But Kaibutsu survives and only receives a few cuts and bruises.
-->'''Kagetora''': [[LampshadeHanging "Old man Smith died for nothing?!"]]
* ShapedLikeItself: The monster dog is called "Kaibutsu" which means "monster".
* ShootTheDog: Literally. Hunters are rallied together to shoot the dogs living in Ohu, believing them to be responsible for the dead people discovered in the area. In the manga, one of these hunters is an aged Hidetoshi, who winds up shooting the dogs he believes to be Gin and John with a sad expression (turns out they were actually Gin and John's substitutes however.)
* ShownTheirWork: Most of the dogs' character designs are based on real dog breeds. Yes, even Genba and Hougen - they're [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dogge_Odin.jpg Harlequin Great Danes]]. (However, some of them don't look like the breeds they're supposed to be. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Golden_saluki.jpg Cross is a saluki?]])
%% SmugSnake: Kamakiri
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: This happens a lot in both 'Ginga Nagareboshi Gin' and ''Weed.' In ''Weed.'' there are only two female dogs in the cast. Only one has any combat ability, whereas all the males are badasses. One is DamselInDistress and the other is there to be a mother of a male character's pups.
* SnowMeansDeath: Just like in ''Ginga Nagareboshi Gin'', the battle against the BigBad takes place in a snowstorm.
** It's likewise snow-covered surroundings during [[spoiler:John's]] last moments.
** [[spoiler:Toube freezes to death after fighting Kamikiri and his pack. The next day, the Ohu soldiers find him...literally frozen to death.]]
* SpotlightStealingSquad: Weed, GB, Jerome and Kyōshirō
** Other than the four dogs above, Sasuke also fills this role in the manga.
* TheStarscream: Kamakiri always wished to take over Hougen's position, but of course, he fails at this.
* StoutStrength: Moss. He is not only a fat mastiff, he is also strong enough to toss several dogs around and [[{{Kevlard}} his fat took many dogs to bite]] him [[spoiler:until he bled to death in Hokkaido arc in the manga]].
* StrongFamilyResemblance: Played straight between Gin and Weed. In the manga, [[spoiler:Daisuke immediately wonders if the wounded puppy he's helping is Gin's son, because of said resemblance.]]
* [[spoiler:[[DroppedABridgeOnHim Struck a Lightning Bolt On Him]]]]: [[spoiler:Hougen]]
* SuicideAttack: Jerome and his comrades, whose tactic consists of charging Kaibutsu one by one and bite into his chest area, where his heart is located. Doing so, Kaibutsu will pull them off, killing them in the process, but not without them using his own force to rip parts of his chest out, leaving more and more access to his heart for the next attacker. By the time it's Jerome's turn, he reaches all the way in to his heart, however, ends up letting go as his injuries are too great. Although the attack does give Weed's group the opportunity to kill Kaibutsu themselves, having progressively slowed him down and weakened him.
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:Chūtora]] is described as being dead by most of the characters, but there is no actual explanation for his death.
%% TagalongKid: Mel and Teru.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Episode 3 has an especially ridiculous example. Weed and the other dogs blabber on and on, and Kaibutsu even has time to turn around and prepare to attack, while Weed is in '''mid air.''' He was not near far enough away before he jumped for them to have time to say and do all that; he would have to just ''float'' there in the air for this scene to work as presented, despite the action lines that seem to indicate he's blowing at a fast speed through the air.
* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler:Jerome does this to protect his pack from the dog hunters though he is still alive. He refuses treatment from Tesshin as he prefers to keep the bullet in his leg as sort of a punishment for himself.]]
* TearsOfBlood: The mortally-wounded [[spoiler:John]] has bloody tears in his last moments.
* TwoGirlsToATeam: The only female dogs in Weed's army are Reika and Cross. Cross can still fight despite her old age (as seen in the manga), but Reika has no combat ability.
** Also, the female dogs Lydia and Koyuki joined in the later volumes of the manga; Lydia has combat ability and Koyuki doesn't.
* ThemeNaming: The borzoi brothers Rocket, Jet, and Missile are named after speeding machines.
* ThouShaltNotKill: Somewhat zig-zagged with Weed as he is willing to kill an enemy in self-defense or otherwise when it's the last way out, but killing someone who's defenseless and/or are pleading for their lives is a major BerserkButton for him, [[spoiler:to the point he even refuses to kill the BigBad when the latter's been wounded so badly he can hardly stand, and lectures his father (who to be fair was actually just giving him a SecretTestOfCharacter anyway) and everyone present for wanting to do so.]]
* ToiletHumour: During the hot spring scene, when the characters go offscreen a dog suddenly asks "Hey, who the hell farted?", and another exclaims "Argh, my nose is bending!". They all burst out laughing.
* TookALevelInBadass:
%% Weed throughout his series, and Tesshin between the prequel series and this one. (Administrivia/ZeroContextExample)
** In the manga, the mortally-wounded GB took a huge level of badass when [[spoiler:he rips off Hybrid Bear's claw before dying completely]].
** Mel who attempts to take on a bunch of Hougen's mooks wanting to take over Gajou. While he ultimately proves too weak to handle them, he still stands his ground for a good while and manages to get in a few hits against them, this when he's an ''adolescent'' and they're ''adults.''
** Reika has a moment when she realizes Hougen is about to kill Hiro and Mel in front of her, [[DistractedByTheSexy something she distracts him from doing by telling him she's fallen for him.]] What follows is Hougen dropping his guard which gives her the opportunity to push him into the raging river nearby, though not without falling in herself. Her screaming ''"YOU DEVIL!"'' in the middle of pushing him adds to it.
* VillainsDyingGrace: [[spoiler:The minor villain Blue's last act is to save Weed's life from another oncoming truck, when the puppy risked it trying to save him.]]
* WelcomeBackTraitor: [[spoiler: Rocket kind of gets this after he joins Weed's group.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Kyoushiro when he first shows up, does a living by beating and sometimes killing parents he finds abusing their children, as a payback for having had an abusive father himself.
* WhatTheHellAreYou: Kamikiri and his dogs had nearly beaten Toube to death and leave his body there. But when Toube gets up, Kamikiri has a look of shock on his face, and he says this almost every word-for-word:
-->'''Kamikiri:''' What the hell is he?!
* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Weed, who's barely ''a year old'' (the equivalent to an 11-15 year old), somehow develops an immense understanding of life and death, justice and evil, which is particularily noticable in his speech to the puppies in episode 16 (who are what, a few months younger than him?) Fans' opinion differ on whether it's impressive or an AssPull.
%% WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Kaibutsu
* TheWorfEffect: When Gin, John and Akame first encounters Hougen, John attacks him only to find Hougen dodging and slamming him back into a wall. Gin and Akame are shocked, and it's what prompts them to realize Hougen poses a serious threat.
* WouldHurtAChild: Thunder and Lector, the Doberman Pinscher assassins for Hougen, threaten to kill Teru if his father didn't kill Kyoshiro. It was also personal, since Kyoshiro was the one who tore off Teru's father's ear.
* YouHaveFailedMe: Hougen and his allies are not merciful when someone screws up (screwing up here having the meaning of being in any way connected to a bad incident).
* YouKilledMyFather: Happens to poor Hiro when Kamakiri killed his father as a puppy. Later on, he fights Kamakiri singlehandly in a showdown, and guess what... [[spoiler:he castrates Kamakiri, leaving him bleeding to death.]]
** The trope is also subverted ''twice'' (not a double subversion) with Weed. Shortly after he arrives at Ōu, he finally sees his father, Gin... and then sees his father die. The first subversion is only in the manga: humans are responsible, but Weed blames Kaibutsu instead. (In the anime, Kaibutsu kills 'Gin' directly.) The second subversion: it turns out that it ''wasn't'' Gin, but instead a look-a-like. Weed's father is alive, but doesn't show up until later.

!!Tropes used in the manga:
* TenMinuteRetirement: When Jerome was banished by Weed after he killed the [[spoiler:Foxhound Spies]], several dogs such as Kyoushiro, George and Ron called it quits and decided to join Jerome. However, they later went back to Weed after Jerome told them off that it wasn't necessary.
* AFriendInNeed: In one manga arc, Daisuke (Gin's owner) and Hidetoshi come to Hokkaidō to investigate an army of dogs led by Weed moving to the place. Upon reaching the site, they saw the dogs howling over the unconscious Gin. Daisuke shouted for his former pet to wake up, and with ThePowerOfFriendship and love, it worked.
%% * AloofBigBrother:
%% ** Weed's older brothers Yukimura and Joe
%% ** George the saluki-mix is cynical, sarcastic and aloof. Subverted that he is not an older brother, he is a middle sibling among Ben and Cross' three puppies (Ken, George and Minnie).
* [[SocialServicesDoesNotExist Animal Control Does Not Exist]]: While in the first volumes we hear about Hook's time in a shelter and see a dog catcher in volume 3, the amount of abandoned dogs, especially purebred ones, is staggering. There also seems to be a sort of 'meh' mentality among the owners about their pet, since only once does anybody come to look for their pet who escaped to join Weed. [[spoiler: And even then the dog leaves permanently later]]
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Kotetsu, the younger brother of Koyuki.
* AnthropomorphicShift: Sasuke, GB and Hiro are the main culprits of this in the comedic moments.
* ArtificialLimbs:
** Murder S ([[spoiler:Sniper]]) has implanted metal legs.
** [[spoiler:Kite]] has these in the anime, but a number of fans were rather unhappy about this.
* AxCrazy: Shogun the gelada baboon. Literally in this case since his main weapon is an axe.
* [[spoiler:BabiesEverAfter]]: Weed and Koyuki at the end of the manga
* BearsAreBadNews: In the last volumes of the manga, gigantic bears terrorize the dogs and humans.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Happens many times when the younger sibling is in trouble. One such instance is that when George was injured by Hybrid Bear and just as he was about to get killed, Ken rushed in just in time with a battle aura and a howl [[spoiler:from Ben's spirit]] saved him.
* BodyHorror: The NotQuiteDead deformed Murder S (Sniper) and Aramu.
* BoisterousBruiser: Hiro plays this trope straight in the manga more than the anime. Moss is kind of an example of this too.
* BrattyHalfPint: Hiro's puppies and Kotetsu in the manga.
* BringMyBrownPants: Poor GB pisses all over the ground in fear when he first runs into Kaibutsu.
* BusmansHoliday: Weed tried to have a honeymoon vacation with Koyuki but it was interrupted when his close friends brought the news to him about his father fighting Victor in Hokkaido.
* CatapultNightmare: The injured captive Gin wakes up from a nightmare about Weed being ambushed and killed by Hougen.
* {{Chickification}}: Unfortunately, this happened to Lydia after her HeelFaceTurn in the later arcs. It also applies to Cross, though it started in the first anime/manga.
* CombatMedic: Akame is not only an old ninja dog who fights but also a medic who helps the injured dogs with herbs and even [[spoiler:putting the injured Tesshin's intestines back in its place in an Ōu soldier-style surgery.]]
* ConscienceMakesYouGoBack: When GB witnesses Weed's mother die, he tries to sneak away, thinking how it's not his problem. He changes his mind shortly after however, realizing he can't leave a puppy alone.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler:Nero's death in the manga. Nero had all four of his legs ripped off by Hougen's minions and his face was peed on by Hougen himself before he finally dies.]]
* DefusingTheTykeBomb: Mel was brainwashed by Blue into his slave. When his mother Lenny arrived with Weed to see him, he was forced to fight against his mother but with the help of Weed, Hook, GB (by fighting Blue and his minions) and Lenny's PowerOfLove by talking him down, it worked when Mel finally managed to overcome the brainwashing and turned on Blue.
* DemotedToExtra: Happens to some dogs as the manga progresses, most notably Mel, Hook, and Shigure.
* DiedInYourArmsTonight: In the manga, [[spoiler:the dying GB asks for Weed to hug him. Needless to say, his wish is fulfilled, and GB dies as Weed is still embracing him]].
* [[DisposableWoman Disposable Females]]: Happens to many female dogs in both the manga and anime. Especially for Sakura, Lenny, Minnie and Joe's mate, Hitomi.
* EmphasizeEverything: Every narration in the manga is always filled with descriptions that glorifies Weed or bearhound blood.
* EvilCripple: Sniper comes back under the name Murder S in the manga with a wheelchair when he heard that Gin was captured by Hougen. When Hougen and his soldiers had to move to Gajō, Hougen decided that Murder S was useless by burying him alive but the old doberman convinced him with his wits before the act was carried out. Then, after Hougen dug him out of the soil, Murder S wakes up and breaks his cart which also revealed his metal legs. Murder S then [[TookALevelInBadass trained himself]] to fight with using his metal back legs turning him into a deadly opponent.
* EyeScream: Happens to Hiro in a flashback and recently to [[spoiler:Musashi in the manga]].
* {{Gasshole}}: Near the beginning of the manga, GB gets so nervous that he accidentally farts in front of his boss Nero. But then again, he might do it on purpose because [[spoiler:Nero and his dogs had just smelled Weed nearby, so GB's fart effectively hid his scent from them]]. When the dogs get mad at him, he replies "I don't have that much control when nature calls!".
* GentleGiant: Moss may look intimidating, but he is actually very sweet towards puppies.
* {{Hammerspace}}: During the moment when Reika gave birth to her four puppies, the tearful Sasuke was able to produce a handkerchief out of thin air!
** As well as GB and Sasuke's comic relief moments when they were insulting at each other with a long pole! [[http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q10/Mitchfoxbane55/Ginga%20Densetsu%20Weed%204/ComicalGBandSasuke.jpg See it for yourself...]]
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Buruge, Bat, Kite, Toube, Maxime and Lydia.]]
* HesAllGrownUp: Daisuke has become a mature and handsome man by the time of this story, and also mentions that he's in a relationship.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Shouji Sudou the retired policeman had a hatred for dogs ever since Hougen and Genba had killed his partner on the fateful mission. He is so determined to ensure that there are no other dogs who follow Hougen's example that in one case, he was ready to shoot Moss and the injured Tesshin who stayed behind to rest. Fortunately, he heard the other dogs' howls which stopped him from shooting both just in time. In the end, he finally [[spoiler:shot the worn-out and heavily-wounded Hougen after the final battle.]]
* HighHeelFaceTurn: Lydia the only female of the Russian Dog Army betrayed Victor after falling in love with Jerome who was briefly taken captive.
* IdenticalGrandson:
** Weed's oldest son Sirius looks exactly like his father and grandfather.
** Weed's second oldest son Orion looks like his great-grandfather Riki.
** Weed's oldest brother Yukimura looks a lot like Riki as well.
* IWantToBeARealMan: Takeshi, who is one of Kyōshirō's followers, is a scared little puppy who got kidnapped by Kamakiri. After he escaped with the help of a [[HeelFaceTurn Heel Face Turned]] Toube, he saw Kyōshirō in trouble fighting against Hougen's minions. This pushed his BerserkButton; he rushed in to help his mentor to fight them, but fails to when the minion beat him to near-death. Thankfully, it got better when the other heroes turned up in time and saved Kyōshirō from death as well as reviving the unconscious Takeshi.
** Even though foreign readers could read very little Japanese in the manga, they could guess that he was screaming "'''I'M A REAL MALE!!!'''" in that scene when he rushed for Kyōshirō to help him.
* InASingleBound: The dogs have jumped over plenty of gorges, usually succeeding with one leap. Just see how stunned they looked when they see a puppy fly over the gorge! However, the old handicapped Smith almost fails this, but he gets saved by Ken and Kagetora just in time
* InterruptedSuicide: Chōrō the oldest Kōga dog was dismayed when he found his disciple Tesshin befriending Weed instead of defeating him. The upset Chōrō went to the cliff and tried to jump off to drown in the river below when Weed, Tesshin and his friends managed to turn up on time and saved him. After Weed talked him out of suicide, Chōrō found his purpose by becoming a mentor of the puppies who were left behind.
* LightningBruiser: George, the second son of Ben and Cross may look weak for a saluki-mix. Unlike his Great Dane-mix brother Ken, he is not only fast but also has his father's strength.
* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong: Victor and his Russian Dog Army in Hokkaidō arc.
* MutualKill: Weed's oldest brother [[spoiler:Yukimura and the BigBad Shogun both died from injuries they inflicted on each other.]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Aramu got very guilty when he was ordered to [[spoiler:kill his friend Maxime and throw him into the gorge where the Ōu dogs were held captive by Victor's orders (though Maxime wasn't really dead). However, he finally got over his guilt when he drowned both Victor and himself underwater as Weed was unable to finish off Victor.]]
* NightmareFace: When Murder S (Sniper) loses the metal plate on his left face, the results are ''not very pretty''.
** Also, Aramu's face as he had a missing skin and nose on his fleshy muzzle.
* NotTooDeadToSaveTheDay: [[spoiler:During Gin's captivity, he's eventually visited by the ghosts of Smith and John, who encourages him to attempt to escape. They appear before him a second time when he nearly passes out in the attempt, ultimately causing him to succeed, with some luck as well (he's found by humans just in time before Hougen's followers gets to him.)]]
* OffWithHisHead:
** [[spoiler:This happened to Jerome's subordinate Noss when Kaibutsu decapitated him in the tunnel by biting his neck hard before throwing his severed head to the waiting dogs outside Gajou Mountain.]]
** This also happened to [[spoiler:Kamakiri's minion Stone when he got beheaded by Murder S in the match.]]
* OnlyKnownByInitials: Again, GB.
* PlotArmor: Near the beginning of the manga, Weed gets shot. A lot (there were at least 34 bullets in him, according to a later scene). Not only is he back on his feet after a few days, but he is also showing absolutely no signs of being ''shot over thirty freaking times afterwards''. Did I already mention that the protagonist in question is ''a months old puppy?'' No wonder the anime took this out (although to be fair, the anime did also add in the ridiculous scene where Weed uses the Battōga on a dog before having any training or even knowing what it was).
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Subverted when [[spoiler:Buruge used to be Hougen's {{Mook}} until he quits his mook job and joins the Ōu Army, he doesn't die in both arcs (Battle for Gajō arc and Dogs vs Monkeys arc). Later on in Hokkaidō Arc, Buruge dies from fighting against the militant German Shepherds as an Ōu Soldier.]]
** [[spoiler:Toube the tosa mastiff fits more in this trope]]
** [[spoiler:While GB isn't a bad guy, he often curses himself for his cowardice, until they fight the hybrid bear in which he finally finds his courage and furiously attacks and wounds it. However, he suffers lethal wounds in return and dies shortly afterwards [[DiedInYourArmsTonight while Weed cries and hugs him.]]]]
* RetiredBadass: The old dogs who used to be Ōu warriors in ''Manga/GingaNagareboshiGin''.
* TheReveal: Weed has two older brothers, Joe and Yukimura. They were taken care of by another dog as Sakura had been too sickly and weak to care for three puppies.
* SadisticChoice: In GB's backstory where he reveals to Weed that he had met Hougen once before during a time when he had looked after a couple of abandoned puppies, a minor villain character had been faced with this. One day GB decided to risk showing the puppies to Nero, only to arrive the same day Hougen was controlling Nero's territory. Upon seeing the puppies, Hougen threw a fit and questioned Nero where they came from, blaming him for breeding without his consent and hiding females from him. Nero desperately tried to explain the puppies weren't his, to which Hougen then ordered for the puppies to be thrown in front of him... and asking him to kill them if he was telling the truth. Nero, knowing Hougen would kill him instead if he refused to kill them, conceded. [[ForcedToWatch While poor GB was watching.]] And Hougen was laughing.
* TheChewToy: GB and Sasuke are always mistreated in every comic relief scene in the manga.
* TunnelKing: Mole the dachshund may look small and useless to the group but he proves to be a useful ally when he uses his digging skills to dig through a tunnel to Gin's prison for stealth purposes.
* UglyGuyHotWife: Hiro and Reika.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Averted. Gin and Weed gather thousands of dogs, both pets and strays, to fight the villainous dogs Hougen and Victor. The humans are startled at the sight.
* VillainousBreakdown: Happens to Victor when he's really, really pissed off
* WastelandElder: Chōrō the oldest Kōga dog in the ruined Kōga territory. Though the territory is not exactly ruined, he and the new generation of Kōga dogs reside in the underground cave.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: George's fear of water.
* WouldHitAGirl: Played straight in Hokkaidō Arc with the Ōu Soldiers and Victor's army were fighting in the gorge. When the [[HeelFaceTurn reformed]] [[FauxActionGirl Lydia]] tries to defend Jerome from the German Shepherd {{Mook}}, Victor's brother Bozlef grabs her tail and slams her to the wall temporarily knocking her out.
* YouShallNotPass: [[spoiler:A worn-out and injured Moss the mastiff tries to fight a horde of militant German Shepherds while the young dogs try to escape from the gorge. Unfortunately, he died of his injuries and the concerned young dogs ran back to him.]]
* {{Xenofiction}}: Much like [[Manga/GingaNagareboshiGin its predecessor]], the manga and its anime are about feral talking dogs living the wild and fighting against injustice.
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