The Protagonist, Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu in the form of a wolf. After being sealed for one hundred years as a statue, she's revived to deal with evils that have been released.
Big Friendly Dog: Just TRY not to think that when she lets Kushi pet her every time she sees her, feeding helpless kittens, or when she's licking Waka.
Bishie Sparkle: When she wakes up, when she gains new weapons, when she runs...
Cherry Tapping: Golden Fury (where she urinates on enemies) and Brown Rage (where she takes an exploding dump on them).
Clap Your Hands If You Believe: Only nobody believes anymore, so Ammy wakes up very weak. At the end of the game, she gets all of her power back as Issun becomes her missionary
Cloudcuckoolander: Nothing says it more than her laying down and taking a nap when people are giving her important information.
Although based on her interactions with Waka, it might be because she knows it all already.
Heroic Mime: Seeing as she's, y'know, a wolf. Doesn't explain why the other brush gods can talk, though...
Her being a Heroic Mime is an interesting part of the plot, since because of that you never know what Amaterasu actually knows or is thinking, so for most of the game you only have Issun's opinion and position on things. It eventually turns out that Amaterasu knows quite a bit more about the plot than Issun does.
Gender Bender / Tangled Family Tree: According to Okami, Shiranui is a previous avatar of Ammy and is female. According to the English translation of Okamiden, Shiranui is in effect Ammy's father, and considers Chibi his grandson. And given that Ammy is a god, Shiranui and Chibi are more accurately aspects of her, rather than separate entities. Confused? This gets even more confusing if you're one of the people who believe Amaterasu is using a wolf as a vessel and the wolf itself is male.
I Call It Vera: All of her Celestial Instruments have names, though she did not name them herself.
Meaningful Name: "Amaterasu" literally means "Illuminating Heaven".
Phrase Catcher: "Ah, Amaterasu. Origin of all that is good, and mother to us all." Mostly used by the Celestial Brush Gods, but a few others, who are in the loop about Amaterasu's true nature, use it as well.
Reality Is Unrealistic: When Amaterasu uses Golden Fury, she hikes her leg up in a way that most people associate with male dogs. This confuses some people and is used as evidence to support the theory that Amaterasu is using a male wolf vessel, not transforming into a wolf. In real life, whether a wolf hikes its leg or not is dependent on the wolf's position in the pack hierarchy, not its gender. Alpha wolves raise their leg when marking/urinating and subservient wolves squat down to urinate. Some female dogs hike their leg, too.
Walk on Water: When you equip the water tablet, Ammy gains this ability.
Issun
One of the members of the Poncles, a race of tiny people. He's a wandering artist. Later, just before the Ark of Yamato, Waka shows up and explains that he won't be able to board. Issun thinks it's a ploy to not have him come on. He tries and fails. The reason he couldn't was because he refused to become a Celestial Envoy. He does become a Celestial Envoy later, which helps Amaterasu defeat Yami.
Insistent Terminology: He's a wandering artist. Not a bug. A WANDERING ARTIST. He looks like a bug for most of the game, but when you shrink down to his size, you find that he's actually a really tiny person, wearing a helmet that makes him look like he's got insect antennae.
Japanese Mythology: His name and size come from "Issun-boshi," the one-inch boy.
Meta Guy: Whenever something doesn't seem to make sense, Issun invariably points it out.
Mistaken Age: Based on his overall (relative) maturity and interest in women, Issun seems to be at least an adult. However mid-way through the game, Ammy shrinks down to his size and it's revealed that he's still a kid. If you're familiar with the mythology though this comes as no surprise.
In addition, the in-game story art depicts him as a young adult. Given that Poncles are small and do not age at the rate of humans, it's even more difficult to tell.
The Nicknamer: He calls Amaterasu 'Ammy' and 'Furball', Waka is 'the half-baked prophet', Kokari is 'crybaby'...
Reality Warper: Albeit a very weak one. He is shown to be able to use some celestial brush techniques. He knows Restoration at the start, and he demonstrates a mild form of Bloom late into the game, while claiming that he remembers all 13 and will eventually figure out how to perform each of them.
You Can't Fight Fate: He has to become a Celestial Envoy to help Amaterasu, despite his reluctance.
Waka/Ushiwaka
A mysterious prophet who speaks in riddles. He first shows up to fight Amaterasu, then later helps her. His intentions remain unknown for most of the game, until we find out that he's one of the Moon Tribe. He brought the Ark of Yamato to the Celestials, but Yami was lurking on board, and he was the only person to survive the carnage. He also saves Amaterasu from Yami when she is stripped of her divine powers and nearly sacrifices himself.
The Atoner: One of the only survivors of the Moon Tribe. The only survivor of the Celestial Plane, aside from Ammy who is a Physical God.
Trickster Mentor: He almost never gives a straightforward answer, but his prophecies usually turn out to be reliable.
Wakeup Call Boss: The first time you fight him, you'll probably use up all your health items and/or die. The trick is to equip your newly-gained rosary.
Walk on Water: The first sign that he's definitely not a normal human. Interestingly not even Ammy can do this (yet), but no one really seems surprised.
A group of 14 gods who were separated from Amaterasu when she died 100 years ago. Each one holds one of the 12 celestial brush techniques that did not stay with Amaterasu when she died. Reuniting with them and recovering her former strength is a major part of Amaterasu's mission in the game. Each one of them has hidden away somehow. Some of them are bound in some fashion, while many of them are simply hiding in the form of constellations, waiting for Amaterasu's return.
Yomigami
God of Restoration, and bearer of the power of Rejuvination/Garyou*
(Drawing Dragon)
. He is dragon rising out of a picture scroll. Amaterasu reunites with him at the River of the Heavens.
God of the Sword, and bearer of the Power Slash/Issen*
(Brandish)
technique. He is a rat bearing an enormous Tachi sword. Amaterasu reunites with him at the Cave of Nagi.
Absurdly Sharp Blade: His Power Slash technique can rend tress and boulders into pieces with a single (brush) stroke, at its weakest level.
BFS: Many times larger than himself, and while he is a mouse, he's still about half the size of Amaterasu. And he can still adeptly wield it. With his mouth.
Meaningful Name: "Tachigami" means "Rending God". A Tachi is also the sort of sword he bears
The Hanagami Trio
A trio of floral gods, bearing the powers of Bloom/Hanasaku, Lily Pad/Suihasu, and Vine/Tsutamaki*
(Vine Wrap)
, collectively known as a single power, called Greensprout/Ouka*
(Cherry Blossom)
. Their names are Sakugami (Saki-no-Hanagami), Hasugami (Hasu-no-Hanagami), and Tsutagami (Tsuta-no-Hanagami). Each one is an ape playing a different musical instrument. Amaterasu reunites with them in the Hana Valley, Kamiki Village, and the Tsuta Ruins, respectively
Green Thumb: Greensprout, in all its forms, is a power to create plant life, either by making dead plants bloom, creating lilly pads, or by slinging vines.
Eastern Zodiac: Each one of them represents the sign of the Monkey.
Meaningful Name: "Hana" means "Flower". "Saku" means "bloom", "Hasu" means "lotus", and "Tsuta" means "Vine"
Bakugami
God of Explosions, and bearer of the Cherry Bomb/Tekadama*
(Shining Ball)
technique. He takes the form of a large boar balancing on a similarly large bomb. He is followed by four flame-bearing piglets, attempting to light his bomb. Amaterasu reunites with him outside the Pyrotechnist Tama's house
Ascended Extra: He is accompanied by a bunch of piglets who are constantly attempting to light the bomb he balances on. Those are his children, who show up again in Okamiden, taking their father's place in granting the Cherry Bomb power to Chibiterasu
God of the Moon, and bearer of the Crescent/Gekkou*
(Moonlight)
technique. She takes the form of a rabbit bearing a large mallet, for pounding mochi cakes. Amaterasu reunites with her in the Agata Forest, after she returns the moon's reflection to the water there.
Drop the Hammer: Nearly strikes Amaterasu with her mochi-pounding mallet when Amaterasu tries to take a bite out of the unfinished mochi.
Lunacy: Crescent summons the moon, and with it, night.
Moon Rabbit: Surprising absolutely nobody, the rabbit is the god of the moon. She comes complete with a mochi-pounding mallet, and she and Amaterasu take turns pounding and kneading some mochi before they get down to the exchange of power.
Meaningful Name: "Yumi" means "Bow", referring to the stylistic crescent shape, or "bow-shaped" moon
Nuregami
God of Water, and bearer of the Waterspout/Suigyou*
(Riverside)
technique. She takes the form a large snake sealed up inside a flask filled with water. Amaterasu reunites with her in Sasa Sanctuary, after returning the flow of water there.
Warp Whistle: Whirpool allows Amaterasu to activate Mermaid Springs without throwing in a Mermaid Coin.
Kazegami
God of the Wind, and bearer of the Galestorm/Shippuu technique. He takes the form of a large horse with a fan on his back. Amaterasu reunites with him in the windmill at Kusa Village.
Blow You Away: Galestorm manipulates the wind. Its higher form can call a hurricane.
Playing with Fire: Inferno allows the user to conduct flames from one source to another. Its upgrade creates a blazing inferno wherever the user desires.
Phoenix: Evokes the firebird, but its rooster inspiration is also clearly visible.
Kasugami
God of Mist, and bearer of the Veil of Mist/Kirigakure*
(Mist Concealment)
technique. She takes the form of a sheep with a large waterskin filled with alcohol on her back. Amaterasu reunites with her in Sei-An Cit, after releasing her from a gourd.
The Alcoholic: She's even drinking upon reuniting with Amaterasu for the first time!
Bullet Time: Veil of Mist slows down time for everyone but Amaterasu, allowing her to get the most out of limited windows of opportunity, more safely charge Glaives, and other such things.
Kasugami herself tries this in her intro, see "Drunken Master" for the details...
Drunken Master: Subverted by way of parody. In her intro, Kasugami is attacked by a few Imps. She drinks from her waterskin, and leaps into the air, only to utterly fail to dodge anything. Turns out that alcohol just makes her drunk.
Quick Nip: Really likes drinking from that waterskin on her back.
Warp Whistle: Mist Warp allows Amaterasu to step between any two Ultimate Origin Mirrors.
Kabegami
God of Walls, and bearer of the Catwalk/Kabetari*
(Wall Walk)
technique. She takes the form of a white cat clinging to a wall mural with a fish sculpture on top. Amaterasu reunites with her atop the Catcall Tower, after feeding her familiar.
Cats Are Mean: The first thing she does in her entrance is to start batting Issun about. Of course, Amaterasu quickly joins in, so it seems wolves aren't all that much better.
Eastern Zodiac: Represents the "missing" sign of the Cat. No comment is made about it, however. If there is any ill will between her and Tachigami, it's never mentioned.
Wall Crawl: Catwalk imbues walls with Kabegami's power, allowing people to cling to them until the power wanes. This allows for infinite Wall Jumps upon such surfaces. A few places have permanent Catwalk symbols already on them, but for the most part, one has to seek out a statue of Kabegami to use it. Kabegami herself calmly stands sideways on a painting.
Gekigami
God of Onslaught, and bearer of the Thunderstorm/Jinrai*
(Thunderclap)
technique. He takes the form of an ill-tempered tiger with a longbow on his back that fires lightning. Amaterasu reunites with him on Oni Island, after restoring the statue that he was trapped in.
Cats Are Mean: Fires a lighting bolt really close to Amaterasu, with no provocation. However, he's just as kind and polite as the others during the formal speech.
Fridge Brilliance: People born the year of the Tiger in the zodiac are reputed to have fierce tempers.
Shock and Awe: Thunderstorm allows the user to conduct electricity from one source to another. The Lighting Bolt power allows the user to call lightning from anywhere.
Itegami
God of Ice, and bearer of the Blizzard/Fubuki technique. He takes the form of an ox bearing a large conch horn. Amaterasu reunites with him at the Wawku Shrine, after disabling the blizzard machine.
An Ice Person: Blizzard allows the user to conduct cold and ice from one source to another. It comes with a variant that calls down a hailstorm of ice and snow.
The wood sprite who inhabits a number of mystical trees scattered across Nippon. She revives Ammy at the beginning of the game and continues to provide advice and help.
Stripperiffic: Her fully-powered form. Apparently a third costume was planned which was even smaller.
Susano
The descendant of the legendary hero who slew Orochi 100 years ago — and don't you forget it. Considers himself a great warrior, but he only fools the people who haven't known him too long.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Make no mistake, for all that Ammy helps him, he is still a competent swordsman and offhandedly mentions pushing a boulder to block a path before the game started, without anyone noticing
Generation Xerox: He is almost completely identical to the original Legendary Hero, Nagi.
Horrible Judge of Character: He attacks innocent sleeping bears as 'foul beasts' and assumes Amaterasu has been sent by the gods to harass him for their amusement.
Leitmotif: A heroic if somewhat comic piece which suits him perfectly.
Obfuscating Stupidity: Finding him in the Noob Cave and talking to him after defeating Orochi has him reveal he is, and has been, quite aware Ammy is a god.
Wooden Katanas Are Even Better: Subverted in that his sword is pretty much worthless. Double Subverted when it absorbs magical energies from the moon and becomes stronger than a normal sword ever could be.
As an amusing point, Susano's sword actually has seen so little use that there's a tiny branch growing off of it. After he draws on the moon's power, the branch blooms into a flower and stays that way the rest of the game.
Old Master: Mr. Orange generally attempts to be this...with dance. The Konohana Shuffle to be precise.
Mushi/Mushikai
A young boy living in Kamiki village with his faithful companion Hayabusa who is secretly one of the Eight Canine Warriors and not the original Hayabusa.
The Prankster: A minor one, but he and Hayabusa spend their days trying to dig up his mother's field.
Obfuscating Stupidity: He reveals after Orochi's defeat that he knew Hayabusa isn't the real one, as the real Hayabusa would've died with his master and not abandoned him. He's still thankful for Hayabusa saving his life, however, and feels guilty for treating him badly recently.
Mushi's Mama
Mushi's mother who spends most of her day trying to keep her son and his dog out of her turnip field.
Memetic Badass: In-Universe example. Even Issun is afraid of her!
Never Mess with Granny: While not quite a granny, you really don't want to be on the receiving end of her hits...
Kokari
A child living with the forest. Him and his dog, Ume/Umetarou*
who is actually Jin, one of the Satomi Canine Warriors
, are inseparable friends.
Crying Little Kid: Tends to be genuinely useless if he cries as a result of Ume being kidnapped by some monster somehow.
Nemean Skinning: Er, sort of. The kid wears a rabbit pelt on his head.
Took a Level in Badass: Turns from the cry baby he is into someone who manages to survive and does well in Kamui.
Karude/Kariudo
Kokari's father. That's pretty much all you need for him.
Nominal Importance: You can go through the entire game without speaking to him.
Princess Fuse
The current and last remaining head-priestess of the Satomi house, with Crimson Helm's resurrection, she was overcome by demons until Amaterasu rescued her. Princess Fuse wishes to defeat Crimson Helm and let the divine winds flow again, however, to do so, she needs her eight Canine Warriors to reassemble, and guess who is going to help her. She is Yatsu, the previous head priest's wife. But for some reason, she doesn't seem to ever mention him.
Animal Motifs: Her hair style makes it look like that she has dog ears.
A priest of the Satomi house who died fighting Crimson Helm and his demon minions. He is now a ghost who holds guard over the door leading to the Wind Shrine. Despite being blind, he can use his inner eye to see a person's true form. Yatsu is in fact Princess Fuse's deceased husband, after Crimson Helm's defeat, he contently leaves this world.
Blind Seer: Despite being blind, he can see a person's true form. He sees Amaterasu as a "beautiful maiden", to which Issun laughs at, until he referred to Issun as a "little booger".
The Satomi Canine Warriors
Eight dogs each representing one of the right Confucian virtues, they are:
Tei/Teiken (Brotherhood)
Shin/Shinken (Faith)
Chi/Ken (Knowledge)
Rei/ken (Honor)
Ko/Koken (Wisdom)
Gi/Giken (Duty)
Chu/Chuuken (Loyalty)
Jin/Jinken (Justice)
When their master, Princess Fuse, summoned them back, only five returned, and Amaterasu was forced to find the rest of them.
Dung Fu: It seems that Ammy is not the only one who enjoys explosive dog droppings.
Hot Blooded: All of them up to a certain degree, but most noticably, Tei, the biggest and most fierce of the warriors.
I Owe You My Life: Jin (Ume) refuses to return because Kokari and his father saved him when he was gravely wounded.
Last Request: Chu (Hayabusa) refuses to return because the real Hayabusa, who died defending his master, requested him to protect Mushi from Orochi's arrow, which is prophecised to kill him.
Samus Is a Girl: The original Chu and by extension Hayabusa. The second Hayabusa as well, given that she is able to pass for Hayabusa with no problems. Male pronouns are used above to avoid spoiling it.
True Companions: To such a degree where even if they are seperated, the eight can still fight together through the Satomi Power Orbs. Or as they say, "Even when seperated, the Satomi warrior's hearts beat as one."
Urine Trouble: If Ammy get stuck in one of the holes that the warriors dug, they will pee on her, instantly draining away all her ink.
You ALL Look Familiar: Played seriously, nobody can tell Hayabusa isn't the original Hayabusa because they're the same breed
Mr. Bamboo/Taketori-ou
Kaguya's father and is known all across the country for his work with bamboo.
Kaguya
Mr. Bamboo's adoptive granddaughter. As her name and hair color suggests her to be, she is one of the Moon Tribe, sent to Earth for obscure reasons and saved by Mr. Bamboo.
Really 700 Years Old: As a member of the Moon Tribe like Waka and as suggested by Mr.Bamboo's dialogue, she likely never aged since Mr. Bamboo saved her.
The Sparrow Clan
A clan of sparrows led by Jamba/Janba-Tayuu. Lives in Sasa Sanctuary and runs an inn that receives few visitors for obvious reasons.
Mafia Princess: Jamba's daughter Chun/Chunjaku-Tayuu is, while not technically a mafia princess, is treated as one.
Affably Evil: To some extent. While he rules Eastern Nippon with an iron fist, He doesn't actively cause trouble around the village and is perfectly willing to leave them in peace so long as he gets his yearly sacrifice.
The Dreaded: To the point that merely speaking his name is said to be a curse.
Eldritch Abomination: Came from outer space, was a living Soul Jar that contained the other villains (except Yami), and his reappearance alone devastated the world.
Weaksauce Weakness: He's effectively invincible unless you get him drunk.
We Can Rule Together: To Susano, though it's justified. Since it was Susano originally freed him, he needs Susano's help to get back to full power.
Worf Had The Flu: The first time you face him, he's not at full strength because of the seal that put him away. The next two times, he's back to his old self.
Xanatos Gambit: If Susano completes the blood pact with him, Orochi is restored to full power. If this fails and he's defeated, then he can release the other demons that he contained. Either way, Orochi wins.
A young priestess in Sei'an City. Turns out that she was killed before the start of the game by a kitsune named Ninetails. He then shapeshifted into her and tricked Amaterasu and Issun into giving her the Fox Rods.
Gender Bender: Ninetails refers to himself as male, but most of his time on screen is as the very feminine Rao. Issun continues to refer to Ninetails as a she for the rest of the game though.
Japanese Mythology: The myth in question was used for both the story arcs with Blight and Ninetails. To elaborate, the myth goes that there was a young priestess. She became very popular with everyone, including the Emperor. The Emperor fell ill and two warriors found out that she was really a kitsune that was casting a spell on him. She pleaded with them in their dreams to spare her, because she had a vision that they would kill her. They didn't listen.
The queen and ruler of Sei'an and all of Nippon. When Issun and Ammy arrive in Sei'an in its cursed state, they found out that the queen was holed up in her palace and not doing a thing to help. Issun, having one of his Genre Savvy moments, guesses that the queen is secretly responsible for this mess. However, this is not true as the queen was in fact praying the whole time for a solution for these problems. Amaterasu was what she had been waiting for, and she requests the duo to seek out and destroy Oni Island. Her plans apparently fails when Amaterasu fails to save the water dragon and she is murdered by the evil Rao. However, it is later revealed that this was what she planned all along and both her and Amaterasu knew that she had to die from the beginning.
Heroic Sacrifice: Her Thanatos Gambit obviously involved her death, and in her last moment in this world, she managed to determine Oni Island's location for this one sunset.
Just as Planned: As you can probably see from all these spoiler markers, her story arc is a very strong plot point and involves lots of plans and out-gambitting, she succeeds.
Thanatos Gambit: Amaterasu gave Rao the fox rods so that Rao would kill Himiko and attempt to steal her crystal ball, and by doing so, the crystal ball gains her dark powers and becomes able to determine the location of the Oni Island. It seems that Amaterasu and Himiko knew of this from the beginning, judging by the conversation with Waka, but Issun did not.
Otohime
Queen of the Dragon Palace, she foresees Amaterasu's coming and asks her for help by retrieving the Dragon Orb from the berserked Water Dragon's body. The water dragon is in fact her husband Wada, and after hearing both his and Queen Himiko's death. She transforms into a dragon herself in order to help Amaterasu across to the Oni Island.
The deranged water dragon that once was the guardian of Ryoshima Coast, one day it suddenly started terrorizing the coast, sinking any ships passing by. He is in fact the king of the Dragon Palace, Otohime's hushand, Wada. He transformed into a dragon to combat Ninetails and her army of monsters, swallowing the Fox Rods, Ninetail's treasured weapon, in the process. However, its dark powers caused him to go berserk.
Heroic Sacrifice: Combatting Ninetails' in his attempt to save his kingdom cost him his sanity. Letting you succeed in retrieving Dragon Orb cost him his life.
Our Dragons Are Different: Especially considering that they are human(ish), royalty, have different features according to whoever is transformed into one (but all are still know as the one dragon) and are the only ones with the power to break the barrier on Oni Island.
Orca/Shachimaru
Emissary of the Dragon Palace and your main means of traversing the waters off of Ryoshima Coast.
Awesome, but Impractical: He might be strong enough to be able to brush off the Water Dragon's attacks and be a gorgeous mode of transport around Northern Ryoshima Coast, but after beating Oni Island and buying the Water Tablet, he's completely useless. Even before then, if you have Mist Warp when he first takes you to Dragon Palace, you've officially made his main purpose worthless, as his job is to take people to the Dragon Palace and you can now simply go there in less than half the time by warping as there is an Origin Mirror there.
Urashima
A fisherman who is frequently tormented by three local bullies.
Older Than They Look: Due to visiting with the mermaids, he appears to be pretty young, but is in fact supposed to be an old man. You can actually reverse this, if you want to. It doesn't affect the end.
Who Wants to Live Forever?: When you bring him the Magic Box, he, knowing exactly what it is, opens it of his own free will, welcoming its effects. He's grateful to the Dragonians for saving his life, but he is glad to be rid of a body that never ages, because it means he can live a normal life with his wife again. This is perhaps the first time that a rendition of the tale of Urashima has used the Magic Box as a positive force in his life.
Yoichi
An archer who was once guarding the drawbridge between Taka Pass and Sei-An City. Has since gone travelling in order to further improve his archery skills.
Named After Somebody Famous: He's either supposed to be or named for Nasu no Yoichi, a famous samurai who is said to have once shot down a fan pinned to the top mast of an enemy ship. From a swimming horse. While the ship was moving.
The Emperor
Technically a former emperor as Queen Himiko now rules Sei-An City. Was the cause of the poisonous mist in Sei-An City due to Blight living inside of his body.
The Emperor: Albeit a mostly ineffective one, who is visibly more interested in his hobby than ruling the city.
A somewhat crazed inventor living in a tower in Sei-An city.
Ascended Extra: It's possible to finish the first game without ever meeting him, as you only need him to get an optional brush technique. In the second game he plays a role in the main plot and in the ending.
Mad Scientist: In the first game, Issun points out that his invention can't possibly work, and in the second game he ends up building a Time Machine and a Cool Spaceship.
Raiden/Sanda
A lightning ghost lingering in Sei-An for unclear reasons.
Invisible to Normals: In the second game, even Chibi can't see him if he isn't with Kagu.
Lightning Can Do Anything: In the first game, help apprehend a thief, and in the second game resuscitate a man who is having a stroke.
Nominal Importance: While he seems important at first glance, being named and all, his only role in the first game is as a source of lightning for the final Hayazo race. He gets a small upgrade in the second game where he helps save a man's life, but his role is still very minor.
Punny Name: His name in Japanese sounds like the English word "Thunder".
Shock and Awe: He is a lightning ghost, so both Ammy and Chibi can draw lightning from him.
Tobi/Hayatobimaru
A piece of floating, talking paper found on Oni Island, he acts as the guard for the racing trials inside the fortress. When you meet him, he acts both as your guide and competitor through the trials, but becomes more and more friendly as you continue to beat him. In the end, Tobi decided to abandon his post as guard to race you one more time, knowing full well that it would destroy him. However, racing was all he ever wanted in his existence, and the races with Ammy had fulfilled his wishes.
Heroic Sacrifice: He doesn't know it himself, as far as Tobi can see, he disobeyed his orders to guard the trials (and therefore destroying him) in order to race you, which he felt fulfilled his existence. But he did also act as a guide and died as a result of helping you across the fortress.
Tear Jerker: In universe example, Tobi dies because of his passion for racing, and when he perishes he tries to bloom into a bundle of flowers like other enemies when they die. However, he only manages to become a single, tiny flower. This seems to have touched Issun more than anything before this point.
When you play the HD edition of the game on PS3, a trophy pops up shortly after this cutscene saying "RIP Tobi". That may count as a Crowning Momentof Heartwarming in respect that, up 'til this point, trophies were mostly reserved for major events and difficult sidequests, and this one serves as little more than a meta-memorial.
Taking the form of a floating suit of empty armour penetrated from all sides by katanas, its true form is actually a cursed katana named Goldnail. He went into the emperor's body and caused him to fall ill, and using his body, it polluted the entire city with a poisonous fog before being vanquished by a shrunken down Amaterasu.
Evil Weapon: The weapon, Goldnail, is its true form, not the armour.
Meaningful Name: Its modus operandi? Covering the entire city in a plague-like mist.
Characters from Kamui
Oki/Okikurumi
A warrior of the northern lands. Oki's goal is to restore peace to Kamui by slaying the twin demons, Lechku and Nechku. After his initial duel with Amaterasu, he becomes an on/off ally. He stole the precious blade Kutone from the village of Wep'keer and desperately tries to make its prophecy: "The wall of ice shall shatter and open the way to the heavens when Kutone, the guardian sword, glows silver." come true, as he believes that this will empower the sword and allow him to destroy the demons. However, he does not know how, so he thought he could empower the sword by killing as many demons as possible. He eventually gains the power to defeat Lechku and Nechku by using his sword to protect instead of kill.
Anti-Hero: Type II, and staying true to the trope, loses the "anti" part over time.
Blood Knight: Absolutely obssessed with demon killing.
Cool Mask: As all Oina wears one, but he is the only one with the mask of a wolf.
Fastball Special: You have to fire him like a crossbow in the battle on top of Wawku Shrine to launch him at the weakened Nechku or Lechku.
Heroic BSOD: His attempt to kill Orochi resulted in Orochicurb stomping him. The shame and embarrassment that followed resulted in nothing good.
Leeroy Jenkins: To a certain extent. Next time he'll think twice before trotting right up to an ancient, eight-headed dragon and swinging his sword at it.
Took a Level in Kindness: Between engaging the damaged Lechku and Nechku or saving Ammy and Shiranui from being crushed by a tree and falling off a cliff, he swallows his pride and cuts down the tree before it can harm anyone. It's this act which powers up Kutone, not the obsessive demon-killing.
A girl who is special in that she, as a child, found Ponc'tan. As a result she is the one who leads Amaterasu through Yoshpet, the Forest of Illusion to said village.
Cool Big Sis: Is literally this for her kid sister Lika but also seemed to be this for Oki, Samickle, and to a degree, Issun, when they were young.
Lika/Pirika
Kai's kid sister who happens to be extremely powerful. Is preceived to be a threat by the twin demon owls Lechku and Nechku.
One of the Poncles and Grandfather of Issun as well as the sixth Celestial Envoy, the companion of Shiranui 100 years ago just like Issun is now to Ammy, he disowned Issun after some disputes until Issun actually chooses to become a Celestial Envoy.
Meaningful Name: "Shaku" is an Asian measuring unit roughly the length of a "foot". Issun means "One-Inch", Isshaku can be translated as "One-Foot".
Lechku and Nechku/Moshirechiku and Kotanechiku
Clockwork Creature: Aside from being made of gears and other mechanical parts, Lechku has an actual clock on his chest. Nechku has what appears to be a lunar calendar or digital clock.
Dangerously Genre Savvy: Double Subverted. He attacked Amaterasuin the middle of her victory howl, but then, he doesn't stop her from getting her power back from prayers, he decides he's just gonna block every one of her Celestial Brush techniques in the next battle, though.
Science Is Bad: Subverted. While Yami is implied to be the creator of technology, technology by itself is not evil and can be used for beneficial purposes.
Theres No Kill Like Overkill: This seems to be Yami's "fighting style." Each new form adds more weaponry to the last one. Its final form pretty much takes this Up to Eleven.
Cowardly Lion: Like Susano, he tends to start shaking and sweating profusely whenever someone talks about danger and monsters. When push comes to shove, however, he'll join Chibi in kicking demonic butt.
Demonic Possession: Taken over by Akuro sometime after being separated from Chibi.
The Dulcinea Effect: Kuni has a habit of coming to the aid of young girls he's just met.
Every Girl Is Cuter with Hair Decs: After she gets her Wet and Dry Jewels back, she uses them as hair decorations. They make her even cuter, if that's possible.
A boy from 100 years in the past, whom Chibi encounters near the Moon Cave. Chibi's fifth partner.
Big Damn Heroes: Near the end of the game, when he violates space and time, and breaks through a closed portal to rescue Chibi along with Kagu and Nanami.
Big Eater: Deconstructed. He had to send his dog to live with his cousin because he couldn't afford to feed both of them, his mother skips some meals, and there's rarely any food in the house for very long.
Butt Monkey: Constantly suffering from hunger pains, getting squashed by Chibi or his other partners, and getting shot out of cannons, sometimes right at bosses. Quite obviously played for laughs.
No Name Given: She promised to tell Kurow on their date. Fate, however, has other plans.
Shikibu/Murasaki Shikibu
A strange girl who lives inside a shrine at the bottom of the ocean and is tasked with protecting the Knowledge Stone. She appears to have some Miko-like powers and writes (bad) romance stories in her spare time.
Manpuku's mother, who works herself to the bone to keep him fed. She is a master chef, and was kidnapped by imps while out gathering food in order to make a meal for Orochi.
Bad Boss: She has been known to eat her own minions.
Sen & Ryo/Senryou & Manryou
A duo of Youkai that took over Sei'an City's playhouse, trapping the actors and the spectators inside. They were once a duo of terrible actors whose dream was to peform on the playhouse, but were always refused. Upon death, they spirits became Youkai under the servitude of King Fury, and they took over the playhouse to force themselves onto the stage.
Alas, Poor Villain: Upon hearing their backstory, Kagu expresses pity for them. invoked
Bishonen Line: Of a sort. While already powerful enough on his own, to obtain true power he needs to possess a vessel of pure light. This vessel wound up being Kuni, who appearance-wise is much less intimidating than Akuro's default form. Also applies to his boss fight, as his second form is a almost literal mirror image of Chibi.
Continuity Snarl: Akuro is either as described above, or the one who was controlling Yami the whole time. The game tells you both, but what should we believe?
That he is Yami—to be precise, Yami's "soul" of the broken pieces, if you will. To say he was "controlling" Yami? Of course; why wouldn't one be in control of their own body?
