Main Characters: Arachnid, Caterpillar, Blattodea
The Organization's "Bugs": Recurring, Exclusive to Arachnid, Exclusive to Caterpillar, Exclusive to Blattodea
Other Characters
Related series: Jackals, Choubu no Shinobi, Himenospia
Character list for Jackals.
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Main Characters
Alligator Nichol
A Jackal, and the protagonist. A young hitman and Bounty Hunter who tries pretty much to survive the best he can in a crime-ridden city. The son of the legendary Grim Reaper Roxy, he wields an enormous blade inherited from his mother after her death.
Unsurprisingly, his line of work garnered him quite a few enemies and, as he later finds out, a thirst for revenge from many of his victims' relatives, notably Huya.
He eventually becomes entangled in the Gang Wars of Nero City after killing one of Gabriella's agents, unknowingly sparking a deadly feud between Gabriella and Tennouren. A bloody path awaits him, one that might change him forever.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Subverted and defied. No woman other than Sheryl seem to be attracted to him and, even though his line of work may deem him a "bad guy", he doesn't want to see a gentle girl like Sheryl hurt because of him, nor does he exploits her crush on him. Probably because he just loves her too.
- Anti-Hero
- Badass Longcoat: Bulletproof and leaded, no less, which means he's even faster than he already is.
- Blood Knight: He lives mostly for the battle and has no other goal in life apparently.
- But Not Too Foreign: Half-Puertorican through his mother.
- Disappeared Dad
- Impossibly Cool Weapon: This...blade. How do you wield this weapon?
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: The main reason why he chose to leave Sheryl behind.
- Lightning Bruiser: Fast AND powerful.
- Momma's Boy: The positive version. Since his father never cared about him, the only family he ever had was indeed his mother.
- Mr. Fanservice: He spends a lot of time shirtless and the panels often make great display of his lean but muscular body.
- Professional Killer
- Revenge: His main motivation up until he finds out that his mother is still alive.
- Strong Family Resemblance: It's very easy to tell who he got his looks from.
- Testosterone Poisoning: Is the one-finger push-up necessary?
- Troubled, but Cute: Just ask Sheryl why she even bothers with his dismissive self.
- Walking Shirtless Scene
Requiem Huya
Another Bounty Hunter of Nero City, he runs into Nichol upon being mistakenly hired for the same assassination job as him and completing the task before him.
One of the many foundlings of the city, he got taken in by an elderly lady who raised him as her own son and who gave him a very strict religious upbringing. He loses his caretaker to Gabriellan Cyclone Claude and swears revenge.
Manipulated by the treacherous Lee Meilang from Tennouren who tells him his father's murderer is none other than Nichol, his thirst for revenge is now greater than ever. But will it bring him peace or will he just become just like the ones he hunts?
- Androcles' Lion: His motto is "I never stay in anyone's debt". He immediately thanks Nichol for saving him by taking on Gacho and Hans on his own.
- Anti-Hero
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Not quite the modest type indeed, and it often gets him in trouble.
- BFS: His Requiem Sword, which is a
carbon copy of Guts' Dragon Slayer. - Bounty Hunter
- Christianity is Catholic: He's a religious guy, thus he wears crucifixes everywhere on his outfit.
- Complaining About Rescues They Don't Like: When Nichol saves him from Hans' bomb, he immediately gripes about it.
- Heartbroken Badass: Consecutively lost his mom and his caretaker to the Gangs of Nero City.
- In the Hood: When Nichol first meets him after seeing his target's head presented to him.
- Momma's Boy: Exact same deal as Nichol.
- Mr. Fanservice: Not as blatant as Nichol but still there.
- Orphan's Ordeal: His mother was killed before him by a Gabriella operative.
- Professional Killer: Like all jackals.
- Revenge: His main motivation.
- Tragic Keepsake: His caretaker's headband that he took for himself. Also counts as Real Men Wear Pink.
Nichol's Loved Ones
Grim Reaper Roxy
A Jackal pioneer and the one of the few females of her kind who survived long enough her life of violence to conceive a child.
A loving mother, she still taught her son all she knew before dying in a last fight before her son's eyes.
It's later revealed that she got fixed by Lee Meilang in exchange of her services, a position she doesn't like much but which she can't really escape since Meilang provides her with the remedy that helps her living on.
- Absurdly Youthful Mother: Roxy appears to be about ten years older than her son
- Action Girl <-> Dark Action Girl: Strides the line between the two since she mostly works for herself and no one else.
- Counter-Attack: Her "Killing Bite" technique, where she swings her blade from a crouching position and manages to parry anything around herself. Yes, that is what Killing Bites is — the scene where she parries Isaac's Brand Nero is subtly evoked in that story and also explicitly referenced in Caterpillar.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: In her son's arms at the end of the series, after protecting the girl he likes from a certain death.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Both times she gets killed, she goes down with heroism and badassery.
- Good Parents: Despite her line of work, she did all she could to raise her son well and to be a loving, caring mother.
- Missing Mom: Nichol's.
- Not Quite Dead: Subverted. Even though she may still be alive, she can only sustain herself for so long...
- Posthumous Character: At first, but she's soon revealed to be still alive.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: She doesn't like Meilang one bit, but without the drug she provides her, she would die quickly. Therefore she has no other choice but to comply with Meilang's agenda.
- Your Days Are Numbered
Silver Fox
Nichol and Roxy's mentor who also assists them in their day-to-day life.
Despite being the series' voice of reason, there's not much he can do to stop Nero City and, in turn, Roxy and Nichol's fate from spiralling down to their down.
- Cool Shades
- Cool Old Guy
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: He doesn't fight much due to his age but he's still got it.
- Mentor Archetype
- No Badass to His Valet: One of the few people able to give Nichol attitude.
- Retired Badass: The former mentor of Roxy and Nichol's current mentor.
- Smoking Is Cool
Sheryl Carter
Gray Fox's ward and Nichol's Love Interest of sorts.
Rather courageous despite her vulnerability, the fact that so many people used her to get to him prompted Nichol to realize that a man like him would never make her happy and might indeed put her life in unnecessary danger. Doesn't stop her from still caring for Nichol no matter what.
- Action Survivor: She's no fighter but she somehow managed to remain alive all through the series. Having Roxy and Nichol to protect her and Meilang using her as a bargaining chip sure didn't hurt.
- Blood-Splattered Innocents: Roxy dies on top of her, bleeding abundantly and leaving a scared shitless Sheryl drenched in blood.
- Damsel in Distress: Justified. She received no training whatsoever and accordingly can't fight.
- It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Nichol likes her. A lot. But seing his line of work, he eventually prefers leaving her behind forever rather than seeing her hurt because of him.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Much like Nichol did towards her, she helps him get the strength he desires by prompting him to ask respectfully Inoue to tutor him, even though she knows it will just expose him to more violence and make him shift away from her even more.
- Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: The Light Feminine to all the other females of note of the series that all embody the other side of the spectrum.
- Nice Girl: She's a sweet girl who just ends up caught in things that she never wished to be a part of.
- Protectorate: Perhaps the only person, aside from Roxy, for whom Nichol has a soft spot.
- She's Not My Girlfriend: Nichol's default stance towards her.
- Tsundere: A mild type B towards Nichol.
- Unlucky Childhood Friend: Even though Nichol does love her, he knows that the life he leads has no place for romance or family. He regretfully leaves her to a normal life, going his own way without her.
Gabriella Gang
Don Salieri
Gabriella's leader that only appears sporadically.
He is seen giving orders to Isaac and often points out that his delusions about driving away Tennouren will likely not amount to anything. He and Isaac are long time acquaintances.
Never seen in battle but he appears to be just as manipulative as Meilang, even though he's more of a strategist than a fan of screwing with people's minds.
- Big Bad Ensemble: He fights against Lee Meilang and, eventually, Vampire Franco for control of the city.
- Non-Action Big Bad: Despite being a mafia boss and it being indicated he can fight, he has Issac do the fighting for him.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Appears to the world as the short, plump mayor of Nero city. Changes to a much more athletic and imposing build when in "Don Salieri mode".
Darkness Isaac
Gabriella's second in command but the one with the most direct power over the troops. A charismatic and pragmatic leader, his mere presence commands respect.
Despite his cool, stoic demeanour, he still cares a lot about his comrades and Gabriella in general. However, he's not so forgiving if someone messes up and his underlings still fear him.
He uses a straight sword in combat and uses a Shadow Walker technique that allows him to completely disappear from his opponents' perception field and temporarily blend into the dark if the setting is shadowy.
He seldom fights directly but proves more than once that he's a very competent fighter and eventually challenged Nicol to a final showdown where he eventually finds his demise.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: Quite obvious seein his build and height.
- Badass Longcoat
- Conspicuous Trenchcoat: As part of his Sharp-Dressed Man routine but also plays the trope straight for obvious reasons.
- BFS: Uses a long straight sword in combat.
- The Don: He's the series' version of Don Corleone, despite only being The Dragon to Don Salieri.
- Died Standing Up
- Evil Versus Evil: His ongoing feud with Tennouren doesn't have many noble intentions.
- Large and in Charge: Towers over all of his cohorts.
- Pragmatic Villainy: Isaac doesn't like pointless evil and imposes a strict code of conduct over his cohorts.
- Shadow Walker: His M.O. of choice in battle, combined with a form of Flash Step.
- Sharp-Dressed Man
- You Have Failed Me: What he says to Hans when he gets back to Gabriella with the news of Gazzo's failure and death. But he still gives him a chance to atone.
Blood Witch Domino
The former head of "The Cavern", Gabriella's drug dealing section, she's quick to defect for Tennouren, since they apparently pay better.
Selfish, sociopathic and a sadist at heart, she's also a Torture Technician who derives arousal from torturing her victims. Even though she wears a typical witch hat, she doesn't seem to use any form of magic whatsoever.
Her shtick is mostly being able to cheat death since she seems to be able to cast an illusion about where her heart is. She eventually dies in her fight against Arshela since Cornelio figured out her trick.
- Combat Sadomasochist: Her "carnal pleasures" include torturing her victims the longest she can.
- Dark Action Girl
- Exalted Torturer: To a ridiculous degree. See above.
- Green-Eyed Monster: With her dying breath, she tells Arshela just how much she envies her Dude Magnet status.
- Hat of Authority: Symbol of her office, her witch's hat never leaves her.
- Hot Witch: She's quite attractive but not an actual witch. However, she still envies Arshela's beauty.
- The Vamp: To her, sex is a weapon.
Dynamite Hans
- Hair-Trigger Explosive: He designed explosives that could indeed ignite with a single spark. He uses his finger gloves to that end.
- Mad Bomber: Subverted. He looks like one but he's actually quite controlled.
- Sharp-Dressed Man
- Smug Snake: Not to the level of Meilang but still enough to qualify.
- Slave Collar
- Sole Survivor: Escapes the collapsing Gabriella headquarters, carrying the wounded Arshela with him, to an unknown fate.
- Slipknot Ponytail
- Stuff Blowing Up: His specialty. See above.
- You Are in Command Now: Upon his demise, Isaac legs him the commandment of Gabriella.
Cyclone Claude
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy
- Blow You Away - Razor Wind: As could be expected, seeing his name.
- Iaijutsu Practitioner
- Katanas Are Just Better
- Worthy Opponent: For Huya.
Giant Gazzo
- Scary Black Man: Tall, massively muscled and uses brute force to fight.
- Starter Villain: Despite being a formidable opponent, he appears too early in the manga to be anything else.
- Taking You with Me: Asks Hans to blow him up with Huya, knowing that he wouldn't live to see another day.
- Token Minority: The only Black character in the whole series.
Python Lady Arshela
- Always Save the Girl: Domino lampshades this upon fighting her, saying that maybe her success with men was the reason why she would have made it this far. Which appears to be true since Hans saves her and carries her away upon the fall of Gabriella, whereas all the other (male) Gabriellans are dead by the end of the series.
- Animal Motif: She has snakes as her animal motif, being even part of her name and weapon.
- Designated Girl Fight: Averted. Despite fighting with Domino during the huge Final Battle, their battle is rather violent and serious.
- Femme Fatale: Lampshaded by Domino, upon dying, saying that her dark beauty and her knockout figure was indeed an asset that many a woman would envy.
- Snake Whip: She wields a sentient, snake-shaped whip.
- Whip of Dominance: She's a stern and domineering Femme Fatale who fights with a Snake Whip, and she's in charge of "The Cell', which is the division of Gabriella in charge of disciplining and punishing the other gang members.
Green-Eyes Abraham
- Ax-Crazy
- Glowing Eyes of Doom
- My Death Is Just the Beginning
- Starter Villain: The first enemy that Nichol fights.
- Technicolor Eyes: Hence his name.
Poison Cornelio
- Death Equals Redemption
- Dying Declaration of Love: As he lays dying in Arshela's arms, he tells her that he did all he did only for her, even before Gabriella.
- Fake Defector: Pretended to betray Gabriella with Domino so as to punish her for her betrayal
- Nerd Glasses
- Xanatos Gambit: Pulls one on Domino.
Flying Monkey Jasper
- Breaking Speech: Always gives one to his opponents before battling them.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Gets offed a few panels after his introduction.
- Wolverine Claws
Vampire Franco (spoilers)
The head of The Bat, the information branch of the Gabriellas. Despite appearing to be just another mobster, however, he turns out to be using both sides for his own agenda.
- Big Bad: He sets off the conflict by manipulating the gangs into warring against each other so he can control them both.
- Big Bad Ensemble: He establishes himself as an opponent to both Salieri and Meilang by trying to take control of both their gangs.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Though he initially seems to be another minion in the Gabriella gang, he is actually the real Big Bad using the gang for his own ends.
- Fat Bastard: He is rather chubby and is also the biggest psycho in a series full of them, sparking gang wars for his own advancement.
- I Have Your Wife: He sets up the attempted assassination of Roxy by holding the assassin’s wife and daughter hostage. He also tries to get Nichol to stand down by holding Sheryl hostage.
- Non-Action Big Bad: He is a manipulator with plenty of minions, but he never fights himself. Nichol and Huya are able to kill him easily once they get to him.
- Playing Both Sides: He works with the Gabriella gang and gives them information, but then sells them out to Tennouren, whom he also later tries to take over.
- Smug Snake: He plays the gangs against each other and behaves as though he is a true master manipulator, but he is really a psychotic scumbag who pales before the genuinely charismatic Lee Meilang.
- The Starscream: To both Don Salieri, whom he sells out and has tortured to death, and Lee Meilang, who he attempts to betray and usurp (though he fails in the latter case).
Ruberio
Lightning Richard
Scorpion Dosini
Tennouren Gang
Lee Meilang
- The Baroness: You DO NOT want to have her even talk to you. She will either use you or have you killed.
- Big Bad Ensemble: She fights against Darkness Issac and, eventually, Vampire Franco for control of the city.
- Daddy's Little Villain: She ended up killing daddy because he was getting in the way of her plans.
- I Control My Minions Through...: Birthright and Blind Obedience. She's the daughter of the former chief of Tennouren and knows exactly what to say to have people abide.
- Jerkass: She's a bitch, she knows it, she likes it, she's proud of it.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Due to her innate ability to understand people's inner workings, her words are often much more sensible than what her victims may give her credit for.
- Manipulative Bitch: It's her hobby. She just loves studying people's reactions, motivations and emotions in order to use them against said people for her own personal benefit, or just for the hell of it.
- Non-Action Big Bad: Never fights herself but knows exactly what to say to have people bow to her will. Still, she always surrounds herself with strong fighters in order to protect herself whenever things don't go her way and it notably saved her from getting killed by Huya when she approached him.
- Pet the Dog: Forcing Sheryl to escape the crumbling building at the end of the series, to fulfill her promise to Roxy to protect her is both this and Pragmatic Villainy. While Nichol and Huya both hate her, they would have been reluctant to kill her with Sheryl so close to her. That said, Meilang could have easily left her to die and Roxy would have never known about it.
- Smug Snake: She's very confident about her level of bitchery.
- Sugary Malice: Her evil is always dipped in honey, but she's still evil.
- Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Shamelessly exploits her sex to stop people from being violent to her, even though she has no qualms about pitting people against one another for her own amusement or to recruit the strongest and most resilient among them.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Smugly admits to this modus operandi when questioned by Huya, saying:"Yes. Any problem with that?"
Spider Turis
- The Dragon: Meilang's personal bodyguard and henchwoman.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Turis never fights people stronger than her head-on. This makes one wonder how her own fight against over 40 people in a dungeon while weakened went.
- Mysterious Past: How she came to work under Lee Meilang at the age of 12 is only vaguely stated in the omake pages for volume 4, but in the one-shot Turis is from she has nearly the same background as Alice from Arachnid before joining Tennouren. It is unknown if that is canon for Jackals.
- Perky Female Minion: Her playful personality contrasts that of her boss.
- Razor Floss: Wields the Kumoito, a curious spider thing that's attached to a pistol and sets thread traps around her. It isn't explained if it is an actual spider or some sort of mechanism. Arachnid features a Kumoito that has a knife on the end of the string (the weapon's original design; see below) and establishes it is a Living Weapon, but doesn't make it clear if the two are the same or not.
- Reused Character Design: The author draws most female protagonists of his stories the same as Turis. She originated from a 2001 one-shot
which later became the basis for the 2009 story Arachnid, so she and Alice are lookalikes with the same kind of weapon. Turis is also used in a short Spider-Man zine from the author. - Stealth Hi/Bye: A specialty of hers due to her way with threads and ropes. Often does this while hanging from the ceiling Spider-Man-style.
- Undying Loyalty; Towards her mistress, which might be why she was the only one to follow her to her utopia.
Raging Bull "Decapitator" Shao
- The Bully: Quite unapologetic about it.
- Dirty Coward: Very much. Cowers in fear in front of somebody stronger than him and runs away for his life every time.
- Jerkass: He's often a dick for the hell of being a dick.
- Lecherous Licking: Tried this with Cheryl, but averted in the nick of time by Turis.
- Off with His Head!: His ironic death at the end of the story.
- Stupid Evil: REALLY doesn't know when to shut up. It ends up being his demise.
Bear Wong
Praying Mantis Yuan
- Attack Reflector: The power of his tonfas. Too bad Claude is better than him at this game.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: It was a chandelier (see below) but just as abrupt.
- Falling Chandelier of Doom: How he met his demise.
Unaffiliated Jackals
Angel Giulio
- Enfant Terrible
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Courtesy of Roxy.
