A list of the protagonists of Ni no Kuni. Click here
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Tropes related to The Party as a Whole:
- The Beastmaster: Everyone can fight with their familiars, but special mention goes to Esther, who is the only one that can tame them.
- Fighter, Mage, Thief: Oliver, Esther, and Swaine fit this dynamic in regards to their personal special abilities. Oliver flings offensive spells at his opponents (and becomes quite the powerhouse in the latter parts of the game), along with a few potent healing spells to keep him and his friends in the fight; Ester's abilities focus more on healing and buffs (and, as mentioned, is the only member who can tame familiars); while Swaine is the trickster, stealing items from enemies or hitting 'em with de-buffs. Marcassin joins as a sort of Jack-of-all-Trades, having many of the same spells as Oliver (though lacking the really hard-hitting ones) allowing him to fill any role in battle.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Oliver and Esther, barely in their teens, being friends with the much older Swaine and Drippy, and to a lesser extent, to Marcassin.
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Oliver
Voiced by: Adam Wilson (English), Mikako Tabe (Japanese)
A boy from the peaceful town of Motorville. Oliver led a simple life until he mischievously snuck out at night to test his car with his friend, which in turn resulted in him falling into the river due to the White Witch's intervention. His mother luckily rescued him, but she suffered a heart attack right after.
Days later, Oliver meets Mr. Drippy after a Swiss-Army Tears unseals him. He then tells Oliver about the truth regarding his mother, showing him an opportunity to save her by going to another world. Hesitant at first, Oliver takes on the adventure.
- Adorably Precocious Child: Acts pretty mature for someone who is 13. Though he still has some childish moments, like the fact he only stopped sleeping with his stuffed doll less than a year ago.
- Badass Adorable: And well-mannered to boot!
- Badass Cape: After he changes out of his Motorville attire early in the game. Some of the NPCs in Motorville question or compliment him about it later.
- Big Damn Heroes: When he snaps out of his Heroic BSoD, Oliver saves Esther and Swaine from being nearly killed by Vileheart with Mornstar.
- Break the Cutie: When Shadar reveals the truth about his mother, he goes into Heroic BSoD mode and spends several days in bed without waking up (though he's put in an Angst Coma for grabbing the sphere holding her "soul"). He reveals to Pea that he feels that his journey was all for nothing since his mother is well and truly dead. It takes a montage to get him back on his feet.
- Catchphrase: "Neato!" and "Jeepers!" He also has a tendency to put "huh" at the end of his sentences.
- Character Development: By the time Shadar has been taken care of, Oliver learns to make peace with his mother's death, despite still missing her.
- Child Mage: Though not the only one in the game.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: So says the other world's prophecy.
- The Chosen One: The "Pure-Hearted One."
- A Darker Me: Shadar
- Disappeared Dad: Nothing is known as to who his father was, but some fingers point to Shadar.
- Elemental Powers: Over the course of the game, he gains Fireball and Burning Heart, the latter being his Limit Break, Frostbite, Thunderstorm, Arrow of Light, Mornstar and Astra, Evenstar, and the Fortune's Fool spell, which can aid your party in a variety of ways, or absolutely fail.
- Farm Boy: At least in nature until Drippy came into the picture.
- Flying Broom Stick: In the ending, he's seen flying around Motorville with one while looking down at all his friends doing their daily routines.
- The Heart: Turns out to be his biggest strength for the obstacles he faces. It also unlocks the full potential of Mornstar and the spell itself.
- Heart Is an Awesome Power: Is able to heal the brokenhearted, among other things. His caring nature also earns him many allies.
- Heroic BSoD: After finding out that his mom and Alicia were one and the same. As a result, he spends the next several days in a coma. Esther and Swaine beat themselves up over it.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Upon confronting Shadar, he learns that they are soulmates, which means killing Shadar will kill him too. Oliver decides to go through it anyway... until it's subverted by Shadar himself, who severs the connection between their souls so Oliver can go on living.
- Instant Expert: No wonder his talent in magic is incredibly innate...
- I Want My Mommy!: In Wrath of the White Witch, sometimes, after being KOed in battle, he will randomly shout out "Mom!" He will also still do this even after learning his hope of bringing his mother back from the dead was a false one.
- Kid Hero: A polite and mild-mannered one.
- Missing Mom: The main conflict of the game is that his mother suffered a fatal heart attack some moments after saving from a river.
- Messianic Archetype: Complete with Virgin Birth, no less!
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Adam Wilson's attempts at a Middle American accent are rather inconsistent to say the least. This does make a bit of sense, though, considering Oliver is the son of an apparently British woman but lived his whole life in America.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: As far as magic is concerned, anyway.
- Playing with Fire: One of his first spells, as well as his Miracle Move Burning Heart.
- Reincarnation: As Shadar's Soul-Mate, it's implied he has been reincarnated repeatedly due to the latter's Immortality. He doesn't remember anything of it, though.
- Refusal of the Call: He said no after everything was explained to him... until he showed Drippy who his mother was.
- Skilled, but Naive: Even Drippy gets annoyed with just how simple-minded Oliver can be, but only in the early game. Near the end of the game, it's clear that he's gained a lot of wisdom and at the game's end, resolves to no longer fret over his mother's death and get on with his life.
- Squishy Wizard: Starts out as this but eventually becomes a Jack of All Stats.
- Summon Magic: After bringing back the Mornstar to its full power, he can unleash this.
- Swiss-Army Tears: What leads him to unseal Drippy from his doll form.
- The Watson: In the early parts of the game, Drippy has to tell him everything many times, which drives the fairy crazy. Justified in that Oliver is new to the other world.
- Too Dumb to Live: It did work, but who in their right mind proposes to go up a volcano to stop it from erupting without informing any of the nearby townspeople? Either Oliver is really foolish, or he is trying to live up to his role as the hero of the story (as running away from any problems up to that point didn't solve a darn thing).
Drippy (シズク Shizuku)
Voiced by: Steffan Rhodri (English), Furuta Arata (Japanese)
A fairy from another world who was turned into a doll, which ended up in Oliver's hands by his mother. He's happy to guide Oliver around in order for him to defeat Shadar and bring peace.
- Big Brother Instinct: All fairies come from the Fairy Godmother, making them all siblings. And despite Drippy not wanting to go to Teeheeti and visit his mother, he admits that he's worried about the Littliesnote not emerging from their mother when they were supposed to.
- Cutscene Power to the Max: His only use for battles is to support you by casting Tidy Tears (a healing spell that also gives you a defense boost). In cutscenes? Aside from the Pintsized Powerhouse entry, he can also catch up to a boat while running at full speed on top of water and carries heavy stuff for you.
- Deadpan Snarker: The snarkiest one in the game. He's often the one bluntly pointing out others' silliness, and is usually the first to voice his disapproval over something he doesn't understand.
- Department of Redundancy Department: He introduces himself as the "Lord High...er, Lord of the fairies", in what seems to be an attempt to make his regular title sound better. From then on, he always refers to himself as "Lord High Lord".
- Demoted to Extra: Gameplay example. Drippy used to be a party member that would fight alongside you in Jet-black Mage. In White Witch, he's your guide and offers advice on boss fights for a "Chance!" moment, and can randomly use his Tidy Tears skill during battle.
- Dynamic Entry: They could have just gone through the backdoor into the Fairy Godmother's body, but instead he opts to get shot out of a cannon straight into her mouth.
- Exposition Fairy: He's your source of info, no matter how much Oliver annoys him with his lack of knowledge.
- Fairy Companion: To Oliver.
- Funetik Aksent : His Welsh accent is strong enough that the subtitles transcribe it more or less directly in text, with "Your" as "Youer" and "Our" as "Ouer", as well as other words.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!: He says "flipping" a lot, along with "heck" and "knickers".
- Invisible to Normals: He can't be seen by any of Motorville's human residents. Animals, on the other hand, can see and hear him perfectly fine.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Short-tempered, impatient and no-nonsense, but he ultimately means well.
- Motor Mouth: Probably a weird case in the English version of the game, but he talks a little bit too fast. No wonder why Oliver is often confused.
- No Sympathy: Very bluntly calls out Oliver for crying so much in the days following his mother's death. He even gives him the nickname "Crybaby Bunting".
- Pintsized Powerhouse: Though he doesn't fight alongside you (in the PS3 version), he does throw a boss' shield ten times bigger than he is.
- Plucky Comic Relief: Fittingly. Not only does he hail from a community where comedy is a cultural staple, but he's considered a legendary comedian even there.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: If his title is more than a comedic affectation.
- Sealed Good in a Can: He was turned into a doll by Shadar and somehow ended up in Motorville. Oliver ended up freeing him from his Forced Transformation early in the game.
- Swiss-Army Tears: His Tidy Tears spell that heals all your party members and gives them a defense bonus. This is hinted at in one of the tales of wonder that talks about a fairy who had healing tears.
- Verbal Tic: He tends to say "Tidy!" when a problem's been solved. He also speaks with an incredibly Welsh accent and mannerisms.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Apparently has a fear of "slimy things", like snakes and frogs.
Esther (マル Maru)
Voiced by: Lauren Mote (English), Masami Nagasawa (Japanese)
Daughter of the sage Rashaad of the other world and Myrtle's soul mate, she was robbed of a piece of her heart until Oliver mended Myrtle's family struggle. As thanks, she accompanies Oliver in his journey to defeat Shadar. Though she wishes to have some kind of good personal reason other than helping Oliver out...
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: Very briefly playable when Oliver's in his coma.
- Bedlah Babe: She's the only one dressed like this in her kingdom and her main outfit is explicitly stated to aid in dancing.
- Friend to All Living Things: From familiars to other fauna, this is what makes her the tamer of the group.
- Girly Run: Except during battle, oddly enough.
- Invisible to Normals: She can't be seen by the people of Motorville. However, Myrtle might be able to hear her, being Esther's soul-mate and all.
- Jumped at the Call: Eagerly and immediately after Oliver cures her from Shadar's brokenhearted spell.
- Modesty Shorts: She wears pants under her skirt to lessen the amount of skin her normal clothes show. Again, she's the only one wearing this type of fashion in the game.
- Music Magic: Aside from using her harp to tame familiars, she also uses it to buff and heal allies and occasionally damage foes with a magical soundwave.
- Odd Couple: With Swaine. Most of their humor revolves around how different the two are.
- Plucky Girl: A norm for Studio Ghibli's works.
- Status Buff: Her Songs can enhance the party's abilities.
- Support Party Member: She's more useful as the buffer and healer than as a combatant; she hardly even gets any attack spells, and her Magical Attack stat doesn't lend much to them anyway. She's better off relying on her familiars for actual combat.
- White Mage: Gains some nice healing spells fairly early on, much sooner than Oliver.
Swaine/ Gascon
(ジャイロ Jairo)
Voiced by: Louis Tamone (English), You Ooizumi (Japanese)
A traveling thief who causes a few problems for Oliver until he joins his side. For some reason, he's concerned about reaching Hamelin and having a talk with the sage... He's in a personal turmoil about his younger brother not being himself. After a few hurdles, the two finally make peace once more.
- Anti-Hero: He starts off as a bit of a jerk, but once Esther and Oliver really get to know him, Swaine becomes very friendly, if a bit snarky.
- Badass Normal: He has little to no magic to speak of, aside from using familiars, with all of his MP moves using his "Trickshots" and has the lowest MP amount of the group.
- Big Brother Instinct: To Marcassin, his younger brother.
- And to a lesser extent, to Oliver who he seems to take a liking to soon after meeting.
- Big "NO!": When he sees his father dying fifteen years in the past, only in person this time. Ouch...
- Butt-Monkey: Mostly due to Esther chiding at his snark.
- Deadpan Snarker: Only slightly less than Drippy.
- Grappling-Hook Pistol: Grappling-Hook Lockpick Pistol, actually.
- Impossible Theft: His Miracle Move allows him to steal the rarest item from any enemy 100% of the time. This doesn't work if the enemy in question isn't carrying any items.
- The Gunslinger: This makes him the only party member who can attack at range with his regular attack.
- Hypocrite: Gets called out as one by Esther for chastising Pea about abandoning her kingdom. She points out that he's not exactly one to comment. "Ouch..."
- King Incognito: It becomes obvious once the party reaches Hamelin that Swaine used to be royalty. It takes the rest of the party longer to figure it out though. This is also Played for Laughs when Swaine reveals this info to them... during the last arc of the game, at which point they've long since figured it out.
- Loss of Inhibitions: While brokenhearted and without his restraint, Swaine becomes a kleptomaniac.
- Loveable Rogue: Probably the friendliest (if snarky) thief you'll ever meet.
- Meaningful Name: Swaine seems similar enough to "Swine" to count as foreshadowing his connection to the Pig-based Hamelin. Eespecially since the other members of royalty you've met have pun-based names, though since it isn't his birth name it might be more of a Meaningful Rename instead. His real name, Gascon, on the other hand can refer to being a boastful person or braggart, fitting his personality when he was younger.
- Muggle Born of Mages: This is the main reason Gascon became Swaine, since the emperor of Hamelin also has to be a great sage. Marcassin would end up getting the throne regardless of what he did and also caused him to believe that he was his father's unfavorite so he left home to find his own path.
- The Nth Doctor: This is the present-day Gascon. It's incredible what a life of poverty away from your castle can do to you.
- Odd Couple: With Esther. Most of their comedy comes from how different the two are.
- Riches to Rags: Purposely left his kingdom as a teen in order to find a purpose. To say that his appearance changed greatly due to this is an understatement.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: He attempted to help Marcassin become a sage when they were younger but resolved to find his own purpose and help out in his own way during that time. Later in life, he ends up helping Oliver save the world. Twice.
- The Smart Guy: At least in street savvy.
- Video Game Stealing: Despite firearms being relatively rare in the setting, he steals using a type of gun specifically made for thieves that can steal from long distances thanks to the retractable claw attached to the gun.
- Warrior Prince: Well, he's already renounced it, but it still counts.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Is just as reluctant to explore the Vault of Tears (home to a dangerous snake king) as Drippy is.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: His lack of magical ability and the cold shoulder he got from his father caused him to believe he was The Unfavorite. When he claims as such to his father when the party is sent to the past, his dad is appalled. When the emperor is dying, however, he reveals to Swaine that the latter had already made him proud.
- You Killed My Father: Shadar mortally wounds the emperor while they were off getting Mornstar. The emperor dies in Swaine's arms, making the moment all the sadder.
- Younger Than They Look: He's in his late twenties, but a life of thieving and poverty on the streets have left him looking a fair bit older and quite haggard. To quote the man himself, "You don't get a face like this unless you've lived a little."
Marcassin (ラース Lars)
Voiced by: Iain McKee (English), Nigel Pilkington (English, Young), Junpei Mizobata (Japanese)
The prince and Great Sage of Hamelin. Marcassin is at a complete loss due to his heart being deprived of its belief. Oliver and company aid him to recover his lost belief, and from there, he aids them in their adventure.
- Adorably Precocious Child: When you meet him fifteen years ago in the past.
- Badass Adorable: As a child sage-in-training. He's powerful enough to defeat the guardian of the Mornstar with one shot.
- Big Damn Heroes: Drops from the sky and teleports Oliver and the gang away when the residents of Ding Dong Dell turn into monsters from the White Witch's manna.
- Child Prodigy: His sage magic was very developed when he was younger. It's just that he feigned being a novice just that he could stay close to Gascon. He wanted to avoid ascending to the throne because he didn't want Gascon to leave the house.
- Cutscene Power to the Max: In cutscenes, he's great and everything. As a playable character, he's basically an inferior version of Oliver and doesn't fulfill a specified role that's useful to the party like the others do.
- Late Character Syndrome: He joins in during the last portion of the game when everyone discovers that there was a threat behind Shadar. Unfortunately, because of this, Marcassin ends up being only used during the last few, relatively small final dungeons, and the post-game. Not only does he join at a low level (depending on how extensively the player grinded the others), Marcassin turns out to be an inferior Oliver in gameplay, only surpassing Oliver's physical attack stat, which is useless for a wizard character. His spells aren't much better; they have a shorter cooldown timer than Oliver's, but they're also the same as Oliver's, barring the story specific ones that only Oliver can use, meaning Marcassin lacks the most powerful spells in the game. Worse still, since the other three party members already have roles (Esther for taming, Swaine for stealing), and you can't get rid of Oliver, Marcassin's usefulness drops almost to nil. The best you can say about him is that having him on the same team as Ollie effectively doubles magical damage output, but you'd be giving up Esther's healing and buffs or Swaine's ability to snag rare items.
- Meaningful Name: His name is a little used word for a young wild boar, fitting as he is the young Porcine Prince of Hamelin. It may also refer to the obscure Fairy Tale "Prince Marcassin", which is about a prince who is cursed with a boar's head.
- Pretty Boy: Is repeatedly stated to be a handsome man, especially by Queen Lowlah.
- Promoted to Playable: He's the fourth party member added to Wrath of the White Witch.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Once he recovers from his brokenheartedness, he does everything he can to help Oliver and the party, as well as his own people. This is especially true after he joins the party.
- Sixth Ranger: Unfortunately, he comes in so late and has no real use to the party (aside from being able to better utilize specific Genuses of familiars that the others can't), that he's pretty much useless.
- You Killed My Father: Shadar is the cause why he doesn't have him anymore.
Pea (コクル Kokuru)
Voiced by: Lily Burgering (English), Mana Ashida (Japanese)
A mysterious girl whom only Oliver can see and speak too. She appears occasionally to warn him and give him assistance on his journey.
- Buffy Speak: Mostly due to her being a child younger than even Oliver.
- Cheerful Child: She's generally always happy, but she has a few moments where she's really upset, such as when the manna starts falling in the other world. She's so distressed that she just cries and cries until Oliver calms her down.
- Dub Name Change: From Kokuru in Japanese, to Pea in English.
- Enemy Without: Inverted (or Played Straight if you're looking from the White Witch's perspective). Pea is the goodness of Cassiopeia, released right before Cassiopeia's heart was overtaken by loneliness and despair. Pea was then taken to Motorville by Gallus in an attempt to help Cassiopeia become free from her own darkness.
- Genki Girl: More pronounced after she comes to the other world, where she acts far more child-like than she ever did before.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Well, since she's a part of Cassiopeia during the final battle, it counts. Also, she does travel with the party for a substantial amount of time but doesn't fight.
- Mysterious Waif: So mysterious that who Pea is isn't revealed until the end of the game.
- Older Than They Look: She looks no older than six years old, but according to the back story, she's really ten thousand years old!
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: It's revealed that she's actually a queen late in the game.
- The Pollyanna: More so than Oliver even!
- Token Mini-Moe: A given considering she's the youngest character to travel with Oliver and company.
