A 16-year-old boy who is currently in his second year of high school. On his way to school one day, Kenichi meets a girl named Miu, and the two soon become friends. At the start of high school, Kenichi joins the school's karate club, hoping to become less weak, but he is forced to do menial chores and is used as a punching bag. One day, he finally stands up to a hulking student, and the two agree to a match in which the loser will quit the club. With Miu's help, Kenichi manages to win, but he quits the club anyway. He joins the Ryozanpaku dojo, which Miu's grandfather nominally runs, and begins an intense training regime in several different types of martial arts.Kenichi is kind, compassionate, thoughtful, and moral to a fault. He is against violence and studies martial arts to protect others, and he adheres to a strict code of morals, which includes a refusal to hit women. Because of his kindness and empathy, Kenichi has made many friends, most of whom are former enemies.
Badass Normal: His masters blatantly tell him that he has no talent, but make up for it by all-but beating the lessons into him. The results have been staggeringly successful, as attested by out-classing Berserker.
Boring, but Practical: Kenichi doesn't have the kind of advanced moves or styles that many of his opponents have, and while he has his awesome moments, strictly speaking he's just using the basics of martial arts. However, this is precisely the kind of martial artist Bruce Lee stated was the most fearsome.
Eventually averted when he starts relying on Ryūsui Seikūken and Mubyoshi.
Your Mileage May Vary here, Mubyoshi is a fanciful name for an application of basic understandings from four martial arts and the Ryusui Seikuken is similarly an exaggerated basic skill.
Clueless Chick Magnet: While his sights are firmly set on Miu, that hasn't stopped him from unknowingly picking up a small harem of interested girls, including Izumi, Renka, Raichi, and possibly even Shigure.
Cowardly Lion: Scared stiff more often than not, though it won't stop him fighting. It's his master's training that really scares him. Through the wonders of character development, this is less and less the case.
Determinator: Unconsciousness won't stop him, by the end of the D of D tournament. In fact, that just worsens your chance of keeping him down, since he then surpasses the speed of thought and perfectly demonstrates the techniques that (nigh literally) have been beaten into him by Ryouzanpaku.
Expecting Someone Taller: No one he fights can believe he's as good as he is because of his looks and general demeanor.
His meeting with Miu is related to this trope but not quite it, since neither have Jerkass tendencies, and it was her attempt to befriend him that got him to notice her attractiveness. Plus, the real reason she did so is because she recognized him from their childhood.
Kenichi indeed gets extremely muscular: he's just still rather short. Compare to Edward Elric of Full Metal Alchemist.
It is stated in the anime that Akisame's training alters the slow twitch/fast twitch muscle ratio in Kenichi's body, creating a lean look, with very strong muscles.
Nice Guy: Would MUCH prefer reading and tending flowers than what he's called upon almost daily to do.
Not So Weak: One of the earlier thugs that beat him down got grabbed on the ankle before kicking him off. The thug then pulled up his pant-leg, revealing a bruise in the shape of Kenichi's hand. Kenichi has since grown much, much stronger.
Pointless Bandaid: Chikage tends to call him "Bandaid", because of it.
Thanks for the Mammary: how Kenichi broke Miu out of her Unstoppable Rage. Subverted in Chapter 459 where he tries to pull it off again to Miu to get her out of her Brainwashed and Crazy state, but he still gets a brutal beat down in the end.
Took a Level in Badass: Took hundreds. A few volumes, and he can drop his former tormentors. A few arcs, and he's accidentally hospitalizing them by the dozen. All thanks to the sheer fortitude to survive Ryozanpaku.
To put things into perspective. At the start of the series he was terrified stiff of guys with small knives. Or just guys who wanted to beat him up. Now he can even take on guys armed with huge swords and firearms.
Training from Hell: Driving Kenichi into the ground and scaring his reflexes into gold are standard for the masters of Ryouzanpaku, but the most hellish comes from Koetsuji, who builds simple and complex machines to wring the skill from his disciple's bones. Some intrinsic consequences from failing these machines include (but are not limited to only): burning alive, electrocution, being trapped for hours in one position, and impalement. If they didn't know what they were doing (or if Apachai hadn't learned to hold back), he would be long gone by now. Since they do, Kenichi can actually consider it "training" and gain immense results...though he did actually die once or twice. Good thing two of his masters are also medical geniuses.
Kenichi actually grows to like it, going so far as to increase his regimen while his masters are absent in Chapter 423. Try to imagine the Kenichi from 200 chapters ago doing that.
A 16-year-old girl who attends the same school as Kenichi and is currently in her second year. She is the granddaughter of Hayato Fūrinji, the leader of Ryōzanpaku Dojo. Despite being attractive, smart, athletic, and kind, Miu is very socially inept, to the point of having no friends before meeting Kenichi and practically no social life. Miu's social ineptness stems from her upbringing, during which she never had any time to make friends, and also from her home life, in which she is practically a live-in maid.Miu has proven herself to be an immensely skilled fighter. While her exact martial arts disciplines have not been stated, she has shown knowledge of several styles. Her fighting style is graceful and fluid, taking advantage of her agility, coordination, and flexibility, and makes heavy use of kicks. Her skills have been honed to the point where she will reflexively throw anyone who sneaks up behind her.
Battle Couple: With Kenichi, sort of. She started out protecting or looking out for him since she was much stronger in the beginning. Played straighter when he improved enough to be equal to her level, or close to it.
Fan Service Pack: Her boobs and hips grow substantially in a very short time after she starts her second year at school. Handwaved as puberty, when she wonders how much bigger they will get.
...and somehow Miu's breasts and hips got smaller right after Apachai's "death" event, the measurements seems to be the same as her early design.
Heir to the Dojo: Raised by the leader of Ryozanpaku and trained by him.
Innocent Fanservice Girl: Bordering on outright hentai sometimes, particularly in ch. 445-447, on the tail end of Sakaki & Hongou's fight. And that's after several chapters of egregious Male Gaze on her spandex-clad body.
So Beautiful, It's a Curse: She is so beautiful that she had some social problems at her last school because of it (implied to be other girls bullying her). To that end, in her current school she puts on glasses and wears her hair in braids to make herself look plainer.
Violently Protective Girlfriend: When Kenchi was still a novice martial artist this was more prominent. In that period, Ma Kensei actually pointed out to her that this was not good, because this deprived Kenichi of gaining combat experience. After Kenichi took enough levels in badass, this became less prominent, but she actually never stopped being protective of him. Note also that her style of fighting is much more aggressive than Kenichi's.
Weak, but Skilled: Her fighting style is based on grace and coordination rather than pure strength.
Miu's grandfather and the undefeated elder of the Ryōzanpaku Dojo. He is very tall, very muscular and possesses tremendous vitality despite his advanced age. Hayato is a kind old man but still possesses a reckless streak and can be very arrogant, the former of which is shown by his tendency to spend the dojo's money and to get carried away whenever he has a chance to showcase his strength.Hayato is considered by many to be the most powerful man alive. Even when he uses only 0.0002% of his power, keeps his eyes closed, and splits his concentration and body movements, Akisame comments that he still is the most powerful man in the world.
Big Good: He has titles like "The Invincible Superman", "He who has no Enemies", and "The Strongest Man in the World", and has earned every one. It's a good thing he's on Kenichi's side.
Old Master: He's actually taught Kenichi only a few lessons, but each has resulted in monumentalimprovements. One way to look at it is the he's the one who brings together all the stuff the other masters has been pounding into Kenichi on a daily basis.
One-Man Army: Hell, he is a MONSTER, he fought alone with an entire American military base and WON!
And throwing more people or heavy artillery at him is a bad idea, since he can use people as freakin' shurikens, and has special moves that he uses specifically to take out TANKS!!!
Gives a Crowning Moment of Funny in Chapter 423 where Miu has acknowledged Kenichi's feelings and given him a kiss on the cheek...only for the Elder to show up at the front gate, expelling massive quantities of killing intent (so much that Kensei complains that he'll break the doors with his blood lust), and all five of Ryozanpaku's masters desperately trying to hold him back.
Ever since Chapter 423, he's pretty much commanded Apachai and Shigure to "discreetly" chaperone Kenichi and Miu, for their protection (and to make sure Kenichi keeps it platonic).
Walking the Earth: Appears to have done this both in his youth and during Miu's early years. Arguably still doing it given his semi-frequent "walks" that keep him away from Ryozanpaku for days on end.
World's Strongest Man: Is called as such on several occasions, when he isn't being called the Invincible Superman.
Apparently, using 0.0002% of his power and closing his eyes STILL leaves him the "most powerful being on this planet".
A 38-year-old philosophical Jujitsu master who was the first master willing to train Kenichi. He is an old friend of Miu's father, Saiga. Despite his seemingly small physique, he is known for having muscles built to perfection. He also has very good insight, often knowing if people are troubled or hiding something; he sometimes even knows what a person is thinking, which scares Kenichi.
The Ace: Not only is he a Martial Arts Master, but he's also considered a genius in multiple academic fields, can bring people back to life with his medical knowledge, is said to have "the perfect body", is always calm and composed, is the main breadwinner of the group, manages to turn a group of school children into emotionless fighting machines in an afternoon, and can outsmart any of the other masters (Kensei spent YEARS using a false Rock-Paper-Scissors pattern until he really needed to win, and Akisame saw through it immediately). If there is something he isn't good at, he'll learn it almost instantly. If that doesn't happen, he learns instantly by watching somebody else do the same.
The "perfect body" part is actually achieved through intense training. Whether that adds to the trope is up to the reader.
Badass Mustache: He actually argues about whether or not it is with James Shiba.
Beware the Nice Ones: He's one of the more cultured and approachable Ryozanpaku masters, and can usually keep his cool in stressful situations. If you do anything that could potentially harm Kenichi or any innocent bystanders, though, he'll show you no mercy.
Prophet Eyes: Subverted in that Akisame is clearly not blind (or if he is, it would come off as a major asspull at this point).
The Reliable One: There is a reason why he was chosen to be the main Kenichi's trainer. Always cool and collected, rather serious, a good organizer, and possesses the best technological and medical knowledge of all Ryozanpaku masters. Compared to him, Hayato (the eldest and strongest and the owner of the dojo) sometimes looks like a mischievous teenager.
A 29-year-old master of karate who claims to hold 100 dan. Sakaki is a very intimidating person even when he tries not to be, something that he does not seem to realize and is put off by whenever someone points it out. He has a kind and caring nature and is a very bad liar, which is shown when Akisame asks why he suddenly decided to teach Kenichi a fighting technique, and Sakaki replied that it was the anniversary of the creation of judo.He is an incredibly powerful martial artist. He his well-versed in multiple forms of karate and possess superhuman abilities, most evident in the fact that he can survive a fall from one of the top floors of a tall building without any noticeable injury.
Anti-Hero: Type II, and Sakaki tries to give a hard cynical impression, but he isn't fooling anybody, as people he meets keep being amazed at and telling him what a nice and Wise Beyond His Years fellow that he is. The "worst" that he ever does is drag along Apachai on harebrained Get Rich Quick Schemes, and although he worked as a mercenary for a while he never liked it, or accepted immoral missions, and when his old partners did, he immediately turned on them. He mostly earns a living by catching career killers for Interpol and similar.
Badass Biker: When he uses his motorcycle, he definitely counts.
Berserk Button: Anybody seriously harming Kenichi. While he can control himself (with difficulty) when its done by another disciple, when its a Master class... well
Berserker Tears: He didn't take it well when Hongo killed Suzuki.
Boisterous Bruiser: Easily the character who does the most shouting in Ryozanpaku.
Bruiser with a Soft Center: Is pretty much the biggest softie of the masters. Most of his character's humor comes from his (increasingly desperate) assurances that this isn't the case.
The Cape: Honorable, kind, refuses to kill and is ready to do what is right to help defend the defenseless no matter what. There is a reason why the Trope beneath happened.
Childhood Marriage Promise: Variation as he wasn't a child, but earlier in his life, he promised to marry Jennifer Grey. He claimed he was drunk, but she still wants him to make good on that promise.
Dark Is Not Evil: He's a Dou-style user and very vicious in combat (in fact, the karate school he uses is an art developed and used by YAMI), but he's probably the nicest member of the Ryozanpaku dojo.
Defector from Decadence: It was revealed in Chapter 439 that he was actually groomed by his master to be a powerful follower (and possibly eventual Fist) of YAMI, but he rejected the philosophy of Satsujiken in response to the death of Suzuki.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: So much so that some have wondered just how much of his image and habits are genuine or are carefully cultivated so as to appear from looking too kind and soft.
Hypocritical Humor: In chapter 422 he shared with Kenichi some tips for fighting when you're wounded: don't let your opponent know you're hurt, avoid unnecessarily large movements, and don't let rage overtake you. Guesswhathedoes.
Gets another moment in chapter 434 when Kenichi and Miu follow him against his wishes, he exasperatedly wonders who taught Kenichi to so flagrantly disregard his masters wishes. Cue placard of him acting in the exact same manner towards his master.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Seriously, had any of his fight hasn't ended like this? He's so brutal Kenichi and Miu took pity on his opponent after he beat him straight through several rooms, walls and all. He also managed to give all of Kenichi's True Companions the shivers (literally) on another occasion...where he claimed to be holding back. And he may actually be telling the truth.
Obviously Evil: He looks like the archetypal bad guy and half of his dialog comes out sounding like a bad guy or The Dragon. Lampshaded by Kenichi when Sakaki promised the Elder to "bring their heads as trophy"; he was joking but still...
Scars Are Forever: Has one across his nose. Chapter 429 hints, and Chapter 431 confirms, that he got it from a fight with Akira Hongo, YAMI's God Fist. In Chapter 443 they gave each other they're scars at the same time. Also looks like he's gained a few more during his latest battle with Hongo...which also serve as a Shout Out.
Sensei for Scoundrels: A lot of his advice is delivered while at least a little drunk.
Strangely his best advice, on life in general if not fighting, is when he is drunk, and he won't remember saying it all. Of course, he may be faking it.
Shout Out: See Shirtless Scene above, plus His latest battle with Akira Hongo has left him with a rather familiar-looking set of finger-poke wounds on his chest.
A 28-year-old master of Muay Thai and is known as the "Death God" of the Muay Thai underworld fighting circuit. Despite his incredible size and strength, Apachai is very kind and gentle. He enjoys playing with children and animals and is very childlike himself. He has a habit of saying the phrase "apa" when he speaks and sometimes yells it while training or fighting.Apachai has been trained in martial arts since he was very young. He is extraordinarily strong, able to shatter stone statues and kick down trees without any apparent difficulty. Despite his incredible size, he is blindingly fast, able to dodge bullets while fighting.
Beware the Nice Ones: One of the genuinely kindest characters in the series. Also one of only two masters known for a fact as capable of giving the Elder a challenge in combat.
Determinator: Chapter 406: the guy came back from the dead in a way that would put the Terminator to shame and delivered a God-Slaying Punch while being half-dead just to protect his beloved disciple. If this doesn't Scream DETERMINATOR then this troper doesn't know what does.
Normally, I Would Be Dead Now: It was looking pretty grim for a while there, but he did eventually survive his fight with Agaard, thanks to Akisame and Kensei.
A 22-year-old weapons master. Shigure is a very mysterious person. She speaks very little and has a habit of falling asleep on the rafters of the ceiling and also traverses atop them more than she uses the floor. She has little knowledge of most things outside of weapons and has trouble interacting with normal people due to her blunt personality and the fact that she always carries a weapon.Even as a young child, Shigure had incredible potential, which Akisame noticed immediately. She was incredibly fast and was able to defeat Sai Kagerou, a sword master, so quickly that he didn't even realize that he had moved. Despite her lithe frame, she is very strong and can cut weapons made of metal to pieces using something with a dull edge, such as a spoon. She once cut a cannon off of a tank and then jammed it through its side.
Ninja: Not actually a ninja but she might as well be. Her short kimono & fishnet outfit scream kunoichi, as does her choice of typically ninja weapons (swords, manriki-gusari, shuriken, and kunai) and her habit of setting weapon traps. She also walks on ceilings, but she does this by gripping the beams with her toes rather than magic tricks. Oh, and sneaking in is one of her specialties.
No Name Given: Her father never gave her a name. It was Akisame who gave her the name and he put her in the care of the Kosaka family.
A 41-year-old lecherous master of Chinese Kenpō. Kensei is a sly and perverted man, who tries to take pictures of attractive women, particularly Shigure and Miu. He often sells these pictures to Kenichi in the form of "data books", which usually turn out to be pictures of anything but the two of them. Ma seems to have a plethora of spying equipment at his disposal to aid him in such endeavors. In spite of his perverted and deceptive tendencies, he and Kenichi become quite close, forming a father-son-like bond.Ma is a very experienced martial artist, having been trained since he was very young, and purportedly knows all martial arts indigenous to China. In spite of his size, he is very strong, able to destroy a small bridge with a single kick and to rend the flesh of Diego Carlo, a man said to possess a body hard as steel, with his bare hands. He is very agile, capable of jumping from atop one moving cars to another. Ma is also skilled in the field of medicine; he runs an acupuncture clinic and usually, along with Akisame, mends the wounds of Kenichi and the others.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He acts the most goofy and affable of all the Ryōzanpaku teachers, but when the chips are down, he's also one of the most powerful.
Sensei for Scoundrels: Is often encouraging perverted behavior in Kenichi as a form of training.
Rachel Stanley considers him a genius for suggesting ways to grab attention more shamelessly.
Transliteration Trouble: Many scanlations translate his family name as "Ba," because that's how it's pronounced in Japanese, but it's supposed to be pronounced the Chinese way.
Dangerous Forbidden Technique: The first to demonstrate the Roar-as-One technique, using explosive ki and contained ki together. It left him confined to a wheel chair, turned his hair white, and gave him one black-sclera'd eye.
Unstoppable Rage: Practically his fighting style, and thus the codename. The moment before he is defeated in the Ragnarok Arc, he is using his broken, snapped-in-the-wrong-way arm to try and land a blow on Hermit.
The Starscream: He even builds a team that will comprise the new Eight Fists, himself included. In the end, though, he had about as much success as this trope's namesake. Notably, he didn't see himself as leader, but rather Berserker.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer/Cloudcuckoolander: His logic is not like our Earth logic. He travelled to Tibet to find a master, and he did - in the form of a prayer wheel.
Let's Get Dangerous: At first you could think that he's plain crazy. After a second thought... he's still crazy. But in combat, he's one of the most powerful members of Shinpaku Alliance.
He may be the strongest member of Shinpaku Alliance since the masters mentioned in the D of D Tournament that he is almost a master at martial arts, something that has never been said about any other teenager, not even Miu and she has always been shown as the one stronger than just about anyone else.
This interpretation is almost certainly incorrect however, when taken in context of the series as a whole. Firstly, Sakaki refers to Siegfried as a near-master of his Go No Sen technique, not a complete martial art such as Karate or Judo. Secondly, the odds that Siegfried is considered by the Ryōzanpaku Masters to be a superior fighter to Miu is fairly ridiculous. The most likely explanation is that none of Kenichi's teachers bother taking her into account when discussing the abilities of the members of his age group, the fact that she's the best would generally go without saying.
Musical Assassin: Though not necessarily one, he will kick your ass while singing and composing.
Make Me Wanna Shout: Not concussive, but definitely powerful enough to knock you out at point-blank, with his head facing backwards.
No One Could Survive That: Siegfried's style of fighting is to literally roll with the punches; in his fights he seems to always absorb one's finishing moves with ease and he even uses these skills to survive detaching his parachute at least 5 stories off the ground by falling through tree branches and landing face first. Even when he can't avoid the impact,he gets up when he really should not.
Always Someone Better: While under Sougetsu Ma's brand of training, Hermit always fights someone at least slightly better than him in all aspects. He realizes that this is how Kenichi has grown so much as martial artist, since virtually all of Kenichi's fights have been with superior opponents. It doesn't stop either of them from winning.
A-CupRage: The reason why she flies into a frenzy to fight Miu having never even seen her before.
Berserk Button: Make fun of her chest, or mess with cats, or refuse to fight her because she's a girl.
Cat Girl/Animal Motifs: Not a true cat girl as she's lacking the ears, but after her Heel Face Turn she has a tendency to lapse into cat-like mannerisms and often has a Cat Smile and cat pupils. She even has a catlike variation of Tae Kwon Do called Nya Kwan Do.
He also has high-class concealment and evasion techniques that match those of the martial artists. Not to mention he can keep up with most of the Disciple class martial artists in speed, while cackling.
Crazy-Prepared: He has traps around the entire city and Shinpaku's base, and he seems to have a plan any time he has enough time or resources. He even made a back up from the time he helped Akisame download Yami's database, and he is also pen-pals with Inspector Honmaki's daughter, who he made a member of Shinpaku!
Expy: Pointy ears, fangs, beady eyes, big nose and Cheshire cat smile? Check. Jerkass, Magnificent Bastard, and bully? Check. Specialties are information gathering, trickery, and being crazy prepared? Check. May or may not be the devil in human form? Check. Did Hiruma get a haircut or something?
The Friend Nobody Likes: Siegfried's about the only one who genuinely likes him. Everyone else is usually blackmailed into the Shinpaku Alliance, dragged in, or just following another member.
Gonk/Human Aliens: The other characters seem to think he's an alien. The author may clearly agrees with them.
Can't Catch Up: He sees Kenichi's progress, seeks out a master and is soon almost on the same level.
Conservation of Detail: When he first appears, Takeda stands with a slightly hunched posture. This is actually foreshadowing that the injury that forced him to retire from boxing isn't with his arm, but his spine. Once Akisame fixes him, Takeda is able to stand up straighter.
I Am Not Left-Handed: Subverted. In his first fight with Kenichi, he starts off by saying that he'll only be using his right arm to fight, instead of using his "legendary left." Turns out that this is actually because his left arm is paralyzed - or it was, until Koetsuji fixed it.
Later is played straight after training with James, who has him wear a harness of some sort.
Defector from Decadence: Same case as Takeda, Ukita leaves Ragnarok in his buddy's wake, but he doesn't show it until saving him from taking a beatdown by the rest of Kisara's thugs.
Determinator: Proves to be one in the D of D tournament, when the Shinpaku Alliance faces the Capoeira Team.
Let's Get Dangerous: He may be the weakest of the Shinpaku Alliance fighters, but that does not mean he's someone to be trifled with. A Yami weapon-user finds this out the hard way when Ukita saves Chikage by blocking a dagger with his bare hands and throws him to the ground. Chikage was impressed.
The Load: Was afraid of ending up as this, and currently is. Well, until he saves Chikage from a Yami weapon-user.
Unskilled, but Strong: And he isn't really that unskilled; he just trains normally, unlike the others, who are either prodigies or have genius masters. Recent events have shown that he could be an absolute BEAST with the right master.
The Worf Effect: Usually the first one down to show the strength of the newest enemy.
Renka Ma
Absolute Cleavage: Either her outfits will sport this to begin with or a result of clothing damage.
Cat Smile: Which results in Miu suffering from Cuteness Proximity. Flat out lapses into fully cat-like behavior when Miu starts treating her like one, with her Expressive Hair acting just like a Cat Girl's ears.
Telepathy/Tell Me How You Fight: He's adept at reading his opponents' heart; this lets him trace their lines of thought to the second and constantly beat them at strategy games.
Combat Pragmatist: He goes for eye gouges, neck snaps, and attacks to the groin and vitals, as befits an art focused on killing instead of self-defense, but he goes beyond this into...
Fighting Dirty: By having his men knife Kenichi while distracted and ordering them to kill Miu while he's down.
Dance Battler: Mostly his minions, actually. Pencak Silat was often passed down and hidden through dance.
Dying Moment of Awesome: For all his arrogance, fighting dirty and being an all-around bastard of prime sort his facing an avalanche without fear while yelling "Because I'm a King" was pretty awesome.
Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Can't understand why Apachai seems excited to fight Agaard, but Kenichi says that its because Apachai wants to show his former Big Brother Mentor how much he has grown.
Jerkass: Even his Evil Mentor had to point out to him that he should not behave like a jerk.
Kick the Dog: Tricking Kenichi into hospitalizing the school's karate club, before beating him to the brink of death.
Attention Whore: Has gone as far as to claim Kenichi killed her someone\did something naughty to her\ both at the same time to get everyone's attention.
Clothing Damage: Happens in nearly every battle. If it doesn't occur naturally, she'll make it happen.
Also doubly subverted in the tag team match with her mentor. This not only helps her master when it happens to her by distracting Master Ma, but it also fails hard when she tries use this trope against Renka only to get her master hurt when Ma doesn't leer at his own daughter.
Foreign Fanservice: She does it on purpose. Being attractively exotic and giving the in-universe audience a nice eyeful are top priority. She doesn't have to try very hard, by most standards.
Friendly Enemy: Gets along pretty well with Kenichi and the others ever since Kenichi attempted to help her brother rescue her.
Omniglot: In addition to Japanese she also demonstrates her knowledge of French and German
Wrestler in All of Us: You know all those 'moves' the adults stopped you from doing before someone got hurt or fatally embarrassed? She makes them work and makes them work well.
Boris Ivanov, Ice
Child Soldier: He also applies this attitude to teachers at school and calls them "instructors".
Trickster Mentor: She also seems to be teaching him the moves she makes him do while hiding her role.
Sugar and Ice: Towards Kenichi, as a result of Kenichi's efforts to defuse her as a Tyke Bomb, and towards the Katsujinken (Fist of Life/Saving) side in general; she helps them, but only because she "wants to be on the Young Detective Squad".
Sweet Tooth: Exposure to sweets also temporarily dissolves her creepiness, since the Dark Side won't give her any. Even in a panel dedicated to her thoughts verging on epiphany, there are "tastes delicious" and "cake".
Fragile Speedster: Very fast, but her attacks are not strong enough to greatly damage other martial artist in one hit, as demonstrated by Thor, who simply stood there and weathered her blows.
Anti-Villain: He seems to truly care about Miu's welfare. He also broke a man's arm then gave him medicine at the same time. There might more to him being the leader of Yami than meets the eye.
First off, to his dad, the Big Bad to Ryozanpaku's Big Good.
Secondly, to Akisame, as he has demonstrated superb healing skills. His looks like a blonde version of Akisame, without the moustache.
Not to mention Akisame calls him his best friend, or former best friend anyway.
Arguably to Kenichi as well. Not only does he have gauntlets similar to the ones Kenichi has inherited (and Kenichi's gauntlets used to belong to Saiga), he was also more of a lover of nature before his Start of Darkness; which parallels Kenichi love of flowers.
It could be said that Kenichi embodies what Saiga used to be before his Face Heel Turn, while Saiga represents what Kenichi could potentially become if he ever pulled a Face Heel Turn himself.
Mad Scientist: Sort of. He is quite open to "experimenting" on his disciples and even his peers, especially with the Dou-Sei combination technique, which destroys the mind and body of the user.
Abusive Dad: Severed his parental ties with his daughter when she joined Yomi. Beats her if she loses or gets out of line. Secretly a Papa Wolf who held back because her life was spared.
Muscles Are Meaningless: Slim as Akisame, but we don't see whether or not he has the same kind of developed muscles as him, and he is still incredibly strong.
Silkwat: So what? If you are a King, then I am aGOD.
Blood Knight: So much so that he'll do whatever it takes to keep Tidat Kingdom a war-torn hellhole just so he can make good use of his martial arts ability.
Combat Pragmatist: It's the only way a death match against one of the Nine should be done.
The Ditz: Seriously, you find birds with more attention span that Silkwat. Also, he seems to had an embittered feud with kitchen utensils and plates.
Didn't Think This Through: To the point of becoming his defining characterization. In kidnapping Miu for his attempt to obtain a disciple, he gets Sakaki, Hongo, AND HayatoPISSED.
Fair Weather Mentor: Actually, averted. While harsh and brutal and with low attention deficit, it shows that he was in fact a very "competent" mentor, very thorough in his teaching and no different that the Ryozanpaky kind, if a little more evil. But don't you dare to dissapoint him or soil the Pencak Silat for your petty reasons or he will end you.
Fallen Hero: Helped out his country to break through the UN Soldiers but soon finds victory boring and it gets worse from there.
Make Me Wanna Shout: His debut has him setting off an avalanche by screaming at a mountainside.
Malevolent Masked Man: Never shown without his stylized monster mask. That is outside his village.
His epithet, "Demon Fist," is not the nickname of a man you want to stick too close to, either. Literally so as of Chapter 463—Akira Hongo reveals that Junazard took a third option in martial arts and went down the path of "Gedou" (which literally means "path of the demon").
Spirit Advisor: He was called the Guru and apparently he served as an spiritual guide as much as a mentor to Radin... until he crossed the line. In chapter 454 it revealed that he would have probably killed him regardless.
Talking Is a Free Action: But Averting Inaction Sequence. Is pointed out that is suicidal to do this in a real fight... unless you are a Master, which then becomes basic etiquette in a Death Match. Hongō is just being rude.
Victory Is Boring: The reason he continued to have war in his own nation.
Wager Slave: As mentioned in his picture quote he believes that the loser should always obey the winner, thus voluntary going to Big Lock.
Akira Hongō, Sky
Badass: In his fight with Sakaki, he fixed his dislocated finger by using his thigh as anvil... while in the air. And without stopping their Pummel Duel.
Berserk Button: Sakaki is the only one who had managed to piss him off by wanting to impose his desires in others. As far as Hongo is concerned, is the greatest crime in the world.
He really doesn't like anyone speaking badly about Kanou, as Chapter 471 shows.
Boring, but Practical: Since his opponent is so strong and his martial art so complex, he decided to use the most basic Karate katas Averted since he was doing (sonic) high kicks at 30m of the ground by holding himself of the walls with his feets and was only a ruse to beat Silkwat with one of his most complex moves.
Cross Counter: How he and Sakaki got there respective scars.
The Determinator: As a flashback in Chapter 474 reveals, Hongo was invoking Beyond the Impossible even as a young man due to this character trait. He got shot with a semi-automatic weapon while protecting a hostage, was hurt badly enough to warrant being put into surgery, and yet he left the hospital and went to win a karate tournament he'd previously been signed up for—all while still being badly injured.
Duel to the Death: Sakaki fight, regardless of what Sakaki might believe.
Even Evil Has Standards: In Chapter 429, he refuses to fight Apachai and Shigure, the former because he's injured from his earlier fight with Agaard, and the latter because she's a woman (despite them attacking him first).
He was absolutely pissed when Silkwat tricked him into attacking Kenichi while he was unconscious. If he hadn't pulled himself out of the attack at the last second, it WOULD have killed the boy. To follow that up, he kidnapped Miu when she tried to avenge him by attacking Silkwat. Sakaki, Hongo, and ELDER, are going after the man with a vengeance.
While he follows the path of Satsujinken, he would never follow the path of Gedou.
Forgotten Fallen Friend: Averted. Until the present day Suzuki Hayime memory still hunts them down and motivated to fight to the bitter end.
If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten: The entry to YAMI was to kill the other participants, since there could be only one. Played straight with Sakaki, who refused to kill no matter what and was sickened by the challenge but subverted with Suzuki, who wanted to die in exactly that way. Sakaki was not amused.
Rapid Fire Fisticuffs: Technically is not this. It only looks like this because they attack so unbeliavable fast as to exchange dozens of techniques in a matter of a second.
Flash Step: She is fast, even by Ryouzanpaku's standards. She can create semi-solid speed-clones and use them in combat against both Shigure and Sakaki while picking up Chikage from a different rooftop.
Older than They Look: Seems to be about as old as Hayato, but according to Silkwat, Kushinada Style slows the aging process to the point that she's physically 20.
Shipper on Deck: Amusingly seems to ship herself and the Elder. In one fourth-wall straining scene, she makes a suggestive comment only for the Elder to dismiss it in such a way to suggest that she was deliberately misleading the readers.
Mikumo: "...Even though we once felt the hot fires blazing between us."
Hayato: "Stop saying misleading things. The things that were burning were forts and tanks!"
Statuesque Stunner: She's tall enough to make Sakaki look short and Chikage look like a baby and shapely enough to make Shigure look underdeveloped. Sakaki is about two meters tall and Shigure has melons the size of actual melons.
Weak, but Skilled: Apparently Kushinada Style involves 0% strength and 100% skill.
Agaard Jum Sai, Flame
Affably Evil: Literally hasn't stopped smiling since his introduction, enjoys spreading random encouragements and praise around anyone nearby, and seems like a generally nice guy except for the whole 'Yami' thing.
Big Brother Mentor: Used to be this to be this to Apachai. Still is, in a way.
Friend To All Children: Taught children the martial arts back in Thailand, and was quite popular with them. Apachai might even have picked it up from him.
Friendly Enemy: Despite being Apachai's lifelong rival and Evil Counterpart, he seems to have nothing but respect and admiration for Apachai and his skill, and even expressed genuine remorse at the thought of killing him. Confessing this has been pretty much the only time Agaard has stopped smiling.
Pet the Dog: When he saw Kenichi win against Koukin, he congratulated Kenichi on the win and told Koukin there was no shame in his losing to such a skilled opponent. Gets another next chapter when he assists Kenichi with directions when the Weapons Master he faced tries to kill him.
Pyrrhic Victory: Caused one in a Flash Back, he deliberately lost the title to a challenger only for the said challenger to die in the middle of the ring after his victory.
Beard of Evil- Turns out to be a weakness. Sakaki grabs him by the beard during their fight in the helicopter and begins bouncing him off of the roof, floor and walls.
Improbable Aiming Skills: Gets a pretty damned good shot off by pointing his rifle backwards, underhanded while running in the opposite direction and not looking.
I Call It Vera: Kenichi's father calls his shotgun "Sebastian". His double barreled over-and-under shotgun, that is. He has a pump shotgun he calls "Maximillian". And a hunting rifle he calls "Rotowski".
Annoying Little Sister: Subverted in that she doesn't annoy Kenichi as much as she does Tanimoto.
Big Brother Worship: She's extremely protective of Kenichi and initially suspicious of the Ryozanpaku Masters. Later on she's shown to respond nigh-instantly to his commands.
Hidden Depths: While at first her ability to always beat Apachai at Go seems to be caused by Apachai's childishness, it is later discovered that even Akisame has trouble beating Apachai. We never get to see Honoka go up against the philosophical judo master, however.
Human Shield / Grievous Harm with a Body: Twirls a little girl like a staff in a fight with Sakaki and then later distracts him by throwing her brother out of the moving train car that they're on.
Locomotive Level: Fights Sakaki on a crowded subway/light rail car and both revels in the fact that Sakaki can't go all out with all the potential victims and uses said Innocent Bystanders against him.
The Mole: Seeds one of his agents into his target's staff.
Monster Sob Story: Pretends to have one, but he's lying because he's actually a...
Psycho for Hire: An assassin purely because he loves killing.
No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Sakaki defeated him by punching and kicking him through no less than 3 rooms.
Childhood Marriage Promise: Variation as she made Sakaki promise to marry her while he was drunk. She was a child, but he was not. Not the exact scene but she is the same age.
Clingy Jealous Girl: To Sakaki. Has once mistaken Shigure as her "competition".
You Killed My Father: Fortuna killed her father, which is the reason she seeks revenge against him. She doesn't get to kill him, but does arrest him once he is defeated by the Shinpaku Alliance.
Assassin for the Black Tiger White Dragon Alliance
Ax Crazy: Got his nickname by calmly wiping out a whole village to avoid having to find his target's hiding place. Said to have killed more people than any plague.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Fights with Pisuke, a Myna bird, in a cage on his head.
A 16-year-old girl who attends the same school as Kenichi and is currently in her second year. She is the granddaughter of Hayato Fūrinji, the leader of Ryōzanpaku Dojo. Despite being attractive, smart, athletic, and kind, Miu is very socially inept, to the point of having no friends before meeting Kenichi and practically no social life. Miu's social ineptness stems from her upbringing, during which she never had any time to make friends, and also from her home life, in which she is practically a live-in maid.Miu has proven herself to be an immensely skilled fighter. While her exact martial arts disciplines have not been stated, she has shown knowledge of several styles. Her fighting style is graceful and fluid, taking advantage of her agility, coordination, and flexibility, and makes heavy use of kicks. Her skills have been honed to the point where she will reflexively throw anyone who sneaks up behind her.
Assassin for the Black Tiger White Dragon Alliance
Don't know her name, so sue.
