The cast of Rose Guns Days, and associated tropes.
The cast of Rose Guns Days is a recurring one. Be careful of spoilers from later seasons from now on.
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City 23
Club Primavera
Rose (Misaki) Haibara
Drawn by Sōichirō
- "My father often told me to be more Japanese than anyone. I often wondered what he meant. Being Japanese… is helping your Japanese countrymen."
Fair, kind, and beautiful to boot, Rose is the real founding Madam of Club Primavera, and the protagonist of Jeanne's story. In her usual sweet fashion (and also out of necessity at the time) she offers Leo a job as a bodyguard. She dislikes violence and tries to solve things rationally, often in vain thanks to her adversaries.
After 1947, she starts to rule City 23's underworld (outside of Chinatown) with the Primavera Family.
- Adaptation Explanation Extrication: In 1948, she can see right away that Rapunzel is wearing a tricked ring because she had been given a similar device in 1947 to assassinate Caleb. In the manga though, while the 1948 scene is still there, the 1947 one never happens so one can just assume that Rose has developed a Spider-Sense.
- All-Loving Heroine: Her biggest quality, and at the same time her biggest flaw as Primavera's Madam. Some note that this hurts Primavera's authority factor quite a bit among the populace; she is respected but she isn't feared.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: First averted when she is abducted and tortured by Miguel, but then played straight since she doesn't keep any scars (physical at least) from the event.
- Broken Tears: In the manga
◊, when she learns of the death of a merchant after a refusal to join Caleb. Surprisingly though, she doesn't have any crying sprite in the VN. - Big Good: Tries her best to be this as the Madam of Primavera and effectively becomes this in Season 2, although by that time there is no longer any Big Bad per se.
- Berserk Button: There is at least one way to make her angry − try to insult the ladies of the night, and women in general.
- But Not Too Foreign: Half-Japanese, half-Greek. She was actually bullied for it as a child, hence a desire to assert herself as Japanese more than other people.
- Character Development: A good part of the series is about her evolution as a leader. In Season 1 she appears as a Wide-Eyed Idealist who will help anyone in need at the cost of sometimes being reckless and short-sighted. By Season 3 she has become much more confident, perceptive, and prepared to take harsh decisions if she thinks they can be beneficial on the long term.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: She gets called out on this quite a bit in the Alfred arc, notably after she pays an unfortunate (and unknown) girl's debt with the club's money to save her. Meijiu later tells her outright that if she tries to save everyone, she won't be able to really save anyone, and that there is nothing wrong with helping those close to you first. He takes the example of a mother feeding her children first during a famine.
- Damsel in Distress: She is this at first, but the story is in good part about her learning to become a leader.
- Death Faked for You: The same way she did it for Caleb, Jeanne does it for her when she inherits the title of Madam.
- Feminine Women Can Cook: She can cook pasta at least, much to Leo's delight.
- Foreign Culture Fetish: Not herself, but her Greek father had this for the Japanese culture, and was a fervent defender of it. Rose notes that his over-idealization of the Japanese people may have influenced her when growing up.
- Given Name Reveal: Depends on the format. In the VN it's done near the end of Season 2, when she meets the Satomi Alliance − she uses her Japanese name to not irritate their leader, who hates foreign loanwords and the likes; in the manga however, her name is given much earlier, during the Alfred arc (partly because the aforementioned scene was removed), in a flashback with her father.
- Leitmotif: Jeanne no Shozo is hers too. There is also Bara no Shizuku.
- Heroic BSoD: After she refused to obey Caleb, leading to a merchant's death and herself being captured and tortured by Miguel. The incident kickstarts her Character Development.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation/It's All My Fault: She spends a good part of the second half of Season 1 lamenting that she isn't fit to be the Madam and that people suffer because of her. Of course she's the only one in Primavera to think that. Thankfully she snaps out of it in Season 2, and gets more confident as the series goes on.
- Ironic Echo: Early in Season 2, Miguel spots Rose's tricked ring right away, saying "it doesn't suit her". Rose delivers the exact same remark when Rapunzel is about to put poison in her drink by a similar tricked ring.
- Madness Mantra: “I must… become a dragon...”
- Official Couple:She gets married with Leo (under a new identity) after the events of Last Season.
- Patriotic Fervor: What basically drives her, although she is often led to realize that the meaning "helping one's compatriots" isn't always as simple as it seems; this is explored more in depth from Season 2 on.
- Politically-Active Princess: Kind of becomes this in Season 2.
- A Protagonist Shall Lead Them: "Them" being what remains of the Japanese people after the disaster. For Rose much of the story is about realizing this, but also discussing the way it should be done. In Season 1 she is mostly the Damsel in Distress who has pretty ideals about Japanese countrymen helping each other, but not what it takes to concretise them. In Season 2 she accepts this charge and manages to recreate a strong Japanese community in City 23. In Season 3 all of her efforts start to fall apart because of various reasons (one being that her fellow countrymen are more worried about being able to eat than preserving their culture in the end). So she changes her approach, deciding that Primavera should prioritize protection of the Japanese community before anything, without seeking to be respected. In the Last Season, after Richard takes over Primavera while she was unconscious, she decides that she wasn't the right person and lets Jeanne replace her as the Madam when they take Primavera back. In the end, Jeanne didn't perform much better it seems…
- Rose-Haired Sweetie: And what a fitting name!
- Sophisticated as Hell: In one self-critical instance in Season 3:Rose: Ideals that are imposed on you by someone else are crap!
- Took a Level in Badass: In Season 2, she certainly does, and not only in combat skills. The negotiation scene with Wang Yuanhong early in Season 3 shows that she's no longer someone to be taken lightly.
- Taking You with Me: What she contemplates to stop Caleb in Season 2; before Leo snaps her out of it.
- Technical Pacifist
- That Man Is Dead: She was not really killed by Jeanne but instead passed the title of Madam to her before changing her name.
- Verbal Tic: It's only occasional, but she sometimes adds an unnecessary "… desu" when she is flustered.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Of course she eventually has to learn that, as wonderful as her ideals may be, and as much as everyone acknowledges it, it is doomed to crash into reality's wall if she is too optimistic. Which is pretty much exactly what happens in the end, although Gabriel's intervention certainly didn't help.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Played with. While she features many elements of the trope, she is still at the head of a club of prostitutes (and later of a mafia) and participates in several gunfights. She certainly doesn't fit the "obedient" part at least.Cyrus: The Yamato Nadeshiko is an endangered species, huh…
Leo (Koutarou) Shishigami
Drawn by Jirō Suzuki
"Give up. In this kind of fights, the cool guy always wins."
A laidback ordinary guy with a love for italian food who was kept away from his homeland for 3 years due to a misunderstanding after the war ended. Finally getting back to his homecity Tokyo, he finds himself unemployed and estranged from everything. He happens to come across Rose Haibara, whom he promptly saves from kidnappers. He ends up as a bodyguard for Club Primavera Rose owns after finding the new Tokyo a place he can't fit into.
- The Ace: Whether it be guns, brawls, or just running his mouth, there is no one better. He's so nigh-superhumanly competent in everything that even some badass characters shiver at the idea of having him as an ennemy. The manga downplays this a bit though, by removing him from some events where he was involved in the VN (Alfred's defeat notably).
- Adaptation Expansion: While his character remains the same, the Season 1 manga gives him a bit more depth with several short additional scenes, making him somewhat more relatable.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: It's a feat in itself to look cool in a green jacket.
- Chivalrous Pervert: More the former than the latter, though.
- Decoy Protagonist: He may be the first character introduced and the most competent, but he's still just a bodyguard. Jeanne's story is about Rose. And he leaves Japan at the end of the first part of the story.
- Fish out of Water: In his own hometown, to make things worse.
- Gangsta Style
- Juggle Fu: In his intro scene in the manga, he spits his cigarette up and catches it with his mouth when he beats mooks while holding Rose in his arms. That was probably not necessary.
- Implausible Hair Color: Pure Japanese, but the orange-ish hair doesn't look that native.
- Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: When Claudia and Rose are captured by Alfred, he interrogates a poor mook my grabbing him by the collar, smashing him into a window and hanging him above the floor two stories below, while warning him that this is his weak arm. The guy's shirt does end up ripping… but he lands on a beat-up sofa.
- Leitmotif: Shall We Dance. Which provides a nice Theme Music Power-Up.
- Living Legend: After 1947 he's called "The Legendary Man". Of course he is only legendary in the underworld.
- Meaningful Name: Shishigami. Lion god. If you disregard the kanji, it can also be read as "lion hair".
- Muscles Are Meaningless: Skinny as a rail, but he can still kick ass.
- Noodle People: A notable example, even by Jirō Suzuki standards.
- Official Couple: He and Rose end up sleeping together in Season 2 (VN only) and they got married after the events of Last Season.
- Perpetual Smiler: He does have one or two non-smiling sprites, but you don't see them often. This is greatly toned down in the manga though, where he comes more as a Stepford Smiler at times.
- Put on a Bus: He goes back to south-eastern Asia to fight with his former mates in the guerilla after Caleb's defeat. He only comes back in 1950... after everything’s already gone to hell.
- Satellite Character: Surprisingly, he is actually kind of this to Rose. Be it in 1947 or 1950, he remains primarily a physical and moral support for her.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Not immediately apparent, but even without directly fighting he didn't come out of the war mentally unscathed. The manga delves a bit deeper into this (see Wide-Eyed Idealist below).
- Showy Invincible Hero: May or may not be the reason he is Put on a Bus at the end of the 1947 part. Whether his presence in 1948 and 1949 would have changed anything is anyone's guess.
- This Is No Time for Knitting: In 1950, while the party is Pinned Down by a sniper i.e. Keith Kisaragi, Leo proposes to wait for dawn and jokingly asks that someone bring him a parasol. Jeanne then really goes and bring him a parasol, despite not knowing what the hell he's thinking. He uses it to trick Keith and determine his position.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: The well-known "free Asia from Western colonization" justification? He actually believed in it sincerely during the war. After he was ordered to retreat, though, he started to seriously question it, leading him to wonder why he was even fighting, until he simply stopped caring about anything (before he met Rose at least).
- You Shall Not Pass!: Stays in the Belton Plaza Hotel's lobby to prevent Caleb's reinforcements from going upstairs while Rose and Wayne are chasing the man. Alone against 40 men. The kicker? He wins.
Wayne (Kouta) Uedera
Drawn by Yaeko Ninagawa
"If you ever look down on me because I didn't go to the battlefield, I'll kill you!"
A bodyguard working for Primavera. He was taken in by Rose after apparently losing all of his relatives and starving in the streets. Because of it, he is very protective of her, to the point of going against all reason.
- Always Save the Girl: Towards Rose, since he is her bodyguard. He also seems to have an unreciprocated Bodyguard Crush.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: After the first Time Skip he wears a pretty dignified white suit.
- Bodyguard Crush: He says meeting Rose taught him for the first time what unconditionnal love was. Although it's ambiguous whether he's talking about himself or about Rose.
- Character Development: He starts as a Hot-Blooded punk with an Inferiority Superiority Complex towards Leo, but becomes more composed as the series goes on. In 2012, he has become a peaceful Old Retainer.
- The Comically Serious: Being the only dead serious guy in the room when everyone else is relaxed often leads to him becoming this.
- Disney Death: In Season 2, though it's not really a surprise, since we already know he is alive in 2012.
- Honor Before Reason: At first at least. In Season 2 he actually calls out the Wandering Dogs precisely because they were too impatient to get credit and thus too reckless.
- Hot-Blooded: Again, this is less the case as the series goes on (although some of it always remains).
- I Owe You My Life: Towards Rose
- Icy Blue Eyes: At first it contrast with his Hot-Blooded personnality, but it becomes more in tune with the character when he becomes more composed.
- In the Hood: Which against popular belief is actually a sign of Shown Their Work.
- Lady and Knight: At least he tries to fill the 'Knight' part. Two guesses who the lady could be.
- Tsundere: Towards the Wandering Dogs, so much… he may genuinely care about them, but you have to almost force him to give them more than a half-assed praise when they succeed in something.
- Undying Loyalty: To Rose.
Richard (Toshizou) Maiougi
Drawn by Sōichirō
In Season 2, he becomes Rose's direct counsellor in the Primavera Family, often taking a more radical stance than her to solve problems.
- Berserker Tears: Near the end of Last Season during the Final Boss fight against Gabriel.
- Big Bad: Sort of for 1950, as the leader of the now-brutal Primavera which is in a war with the Golden Dragons, though he's influenced by the manipulations of Gabriel.
- Cerebus Retcon: In Season 1, there a gag scene where he threatens a guy who didn't pay back his debt that he will lose a finger for each day late… a threat written on a memo, on which he bites his tongue. In the Last Season, he no longer needs a memo, and it's no longer an empty threat.
- The Consigliere: Largely has this role to Rose, but it's more evident in Season 2 when he literally becomes her Consigliere.
- Cynicism Catalyst: In the Last Season, losing Stella was bad enough, but losing Yūji a few days after in a particularly horrific scene while thinking all of this was Lee Meijiu's doing crushed the little idealism he had left. After that, he decides to call bullshit on Rose's methods and takes over Primavera to take a bloody revenge on the GDS.
- The Dragon: Non-evil version to Rose, and later, very evil version to Gabriel.
- Foil: To Rose, as the colder, more calculating and usually more ruthless leader.
- Face–Heel Turn: In the Last Season, as a result of losing Stella and Yuuji, he takes over Primavera and rules City 23 with an iron fist.
- Ineffectual Death Threats: Apparently, he's so terrible at making up threats that he has to write them down beforehand. Even then he usually bites his tongue at the last moment.
- My God, What Have I Done?: At the climax of Last Season, Butler informs him that Gabriel was the mastermind behind it all, and that all of Richard’s ruthless actions towards the GDS have been for naught. By the time he bursts into Gabriel’s office to seek revenge, he has become an incoherent husk of his former self.
- Not So Stoic: In Season 3, it's pointed out that he is more short-tempered than he looks and that he would actually be an easier opponent than Rose to deal with. He does usually prone more direct and brutal solutions than Rose as her counsellor. Which he demonstrates to extreme lenghts in the Last Season.
- The Stoic: Doesn't show much emotion and usually suggets the most pragmatic solution, partly due to his job as a moneylender. Bt he always respects Rose's decisions nonetheless.
- Tranquil Fury: This is described as being his state of mind in the Last Season.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: What he claims to be in the Last Season… but considering some of the things he says, the "well-intentionned" part is dubious.
Stella (Sumiko) Maiougi
Drawn by Sōichirō
The sister of Richard, and the top "lady of the night" working for Club Primavera. She was one of the faction leaders who agreed to make Rose the Madam of Primavera (the other two being Meryl and Amanda).
She stops working as a lady of the night in Season 3, to become Rose's assistant within the Primavera family.
- Affectionate Gesture to the Head: A habit, much to Wayne's annoyance.
- Buxom Beauty Standard: She has the biggest boobs of the cast, barring maybe Amanda, and is the top lady of Primavera.
- Can't Hold Her Liquor: One glass is enough to get her drunk.
- Character Development: It's late, but it eventually comes in 1949. Partly from her meeting with Keith, but before all because she realized that she did basically nothing to help Rose after their victory over Caleb.
- Head-Turning Beauty: She isn't Primavera's number 1 girl for nothing.
- Ms. Fanservice: At least the closest thing the series has to one.
- Navel-Deep Neckline: Her dress has a neckline that plunges to her navel.
- Parental Substitute: To Yūji, her dead sister's child. In S3 he calls her "Mama" − and Richard "Papa",
which might be a bit strange considering they are brother and sister. - Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Meryl's red.
- Sacrificial Lion: Her murder sets the series into Cerebus Syndrome, showing that 1. death is an actual threat now, and Anyone Can Die, 2. Gabriel is not playing around and will be the evilest of the Big Bads, and 3. Primavera is going in a dark direction from now on, and the characters will never be the same.
- Sexophone: Occasionally accompanies her.
- Tempting Fate: "Keith. If I die… please take care of Yūji." That was a bad thing to say.
- Trash of the Titans: While she has many talents, cleaning is apparently not one of them…◊Keith: "I get why Yūji lives with the Consigliere, now…"
Meryl (Miyoko) Tanashi
Drawn by Sōichirō
- "Are the stars ashamed that they can only shine at night? They aren't. They are rather proud that they get to decorate the night so beautifully."
A "lady of the night" working for Club Primavera and lively drinker. She and Stella are often arguing childishly but both support Rose nonetheless.
- Boisterous Bruiser: Shows some sides of this.
- Companion Cube: Always carries a bottle of alcohol with her. It even shows in some of her sprites.
- Guns Akimbo:
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Proudly claims that alcohol is her blood!
- Hidden Depths: Invoked by Leo who makes a pousse-café when she asks him to give his "first impression" of her.Meryl: So this is your first impression of me? A beautiful color, and a heart hidden under several layers… something like that?
- Leitmotif: Sake ga nai to hajimaranai! (It doesn't start without alcohol!) is the theme of Club Primavera in general but is especially fitting for her.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Though everyone suffers from this due to multiple character designers, Meryl's design is different even when looking at everyone else.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Stella's blue.
- Shout-Out: Her real name is shared with Miyo Takano's original identity, Miyoko Tanashi in Higurashi: When They Cry.
- Victory Is Boring: She invokes this ironically at the end of Season 3. With Amanda gone, Stella dead and Rose in the hospital, all of her old rivals are out of the way and she can stand at the top of the club! Needless to say, she doesn't feel the slightest bit happy about it.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Stella.
Cyrus (Toyo) Saimura
Drawn by Yaeko Ninagawa
"In the end, we are soldiers. If someone tells us to die for our country, we just have to obey."
Richard's former bodyguard, now working through him as a bodyguard for Club Primavera.Apparently fought front line in the war.
- Boisterous Bruiser
- Catchphrase: He often says "Don't take me lightly, kid" to Keith in the Last Season.
- The Dragon: Becomes this to Richard in the Last Season.
- Face–Heel Turn: Joins Richard in his takeover of Primavera.
- Large and in Charge: Becomes the Grand Boss of the Primavera Family in 1948. With an appropriate attire. He was also in charge of a unit during the war.
- Old Retainer: He is a Childhood Friend of Richard, and was lucky enough to meet him again after the war.
- Real Men Cook
- Scars Are Forever
- Undying Loyalty: Towards Richard, as it turns out. And dying for him he does at the very end.
- Waistcoat of Style
Claudia (Fumi) Kurosaki
Drawn by Ryūkishi07
One of the girls working in Club Primavera, who gets kidnapped by Alfred early on, but is rescued by the Club's leading team. After that she leaves the club to open a Japanese potato restaurant named Kuroimo.
- Damsel in Distress: Captured by Alfred at the beginning. Later, though she is the one to shelter Rose and Leo while the Caleb Family is after them. In Season 2 she is captured again, this time by the Caleb Family. After that she only appears occasionally as a modest shop owner.
- Demoted to Extra: In 1948, while not important per se, she appears several times with other merchants to make points about the whole soy sauce crisis. However, since the Soy Sauce War story arc has been removed in the Season 2 manga, she doesn't appear at all in it.
- Hime Cut
- Kimono Is Traditional
- Verbal Tic: "desu no!"
Amanda (Ryouko) Amamiya
Drawn by Yaeko Ninagawa
- Hidden Heart of Gold: She actually took over the club so that it wouldn't collapse until Rose could return with a new determination.
- Sore Loser: Never quite forgave Meryl and Stella for setting up Rose as Primavera's new leader (explicitly to prevent her from being the Madam). She later takes over the club with the help of Caleb.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: She takes over Primavera with the help of Caleb during Rose's Heroic BSoD. The situation of the club gets significantly worse in just a few days. Though it's subverted in Season 2.
- Zero-Approval Gambit: She made sure nobody would acknowledge her as the real Madam so that Rose could take back the position heroically.
Caleb Family
Father Caleb (Unmarked Spoiler Warning)
Caleb (Souhei) Keireiji
Drawn by Sōichirō
"Every day, men starve to death, or die like dogs on the roadside because they have lost a limb and cannot work… so that these men can eat and be treated… we have no time to lose."
A charismatic war vereteran who gets acquainted with Leo and insists on helping out his "war buddies". He is actually the mafia leader named Caleb and takes over the underworld of City 23 after Alfred's demise. Trying to benefit from the occupying force's "special offers window", he's told by them to gather 100 million Japanese Dollars to prove his worth. Which he proceeds to do. Brutally.
In Season 2, he is defeated by Rose and fakes his own death to hide in Chiba with Amanda and Miguel.
- A Father to His Men: Literally. His henchmen call him "Father".
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: His usual MO.
- Big Bad: Of 1947, as the leader of the Caleb Family who extorts money from Primavera and others, and kills people to do so, to pay the GHQ to make Japan more stable.
- Catchphrase: "You're looking more and more like my dead wife!" (to Rose)
- Defeat Means Friendship: Lampshaded in Season 2 where the Wandering Dogs are stunned to see Caleb and Rose laughing together like old friends, when they were trying to kill each other a year ago.
- Large and in Charge
- Leitmotif: Hikage no yugami (Distorsion in the shadow).
- Living Emotional Crutch: He acts as this for Miguel.
- Karma Houdini: All the very dubious things he does earn him little retribution in the end. Rose even uses the money he has violently gathered to buy the special offers windows.
- The Mafia
- Pimped-Out Cape: Full with a Classy Cravat!
- Scars Are Forever
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He wants to help the people of Japan not starve, and the GHQ wants 100 million Japanese Dollars before they will help. So he decides to squeeze the money out of his people any way he can. Too bad his actions to "help people who are starving" haven't helped anyone and only caused even more people to starve.
Miguel (Shigeru) Kurashiki
Drawn by Sōichirō
"While we men were taking out the worms out of our comrades wounds on the battlefield, what were you women doing? Opening your legs while stuffing yourself with delicious food!"
Caleb's loyal and fearsome right-arm, who served in his unit during the war and will help him achieve his goal no matter the cost. The war left him with an unstable personality and a fierce hatred of women. After losing his fight against Wayne in Season 2, he goes to hide in Chiba with Caleb.
- Agent Peacock/Sissy Villain: Extremely effeminate, especially in the VN. It's somewhat less pronounced in the manga though, especially when he starts to wear his military uniform again.
- Ambiguously Gay: He says he has no interest in women, but he never says that he's interested in men either... although the manga amps up the romantic subtext towards Caleb quite a bit (which becomes downright text in the yonkoma omakes).
- Being Tortured Makes You Evil: His extended flashback in he manga shows the tortures he had to endure in more detail during the war. It would have been hard to not become crazy after that.
- Disney Death: Seems to die at the end of 1947, but turns out to be alive in the next Season. May or may not be a way to narrowly avoid killing off the only gay character in the series while still keeping his shining moment.
- The Dragon: Does Caleb's dirty work and is very good at it.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: It's not limited to his apparence either. The narration and characters point out that he has a "feminine intuition" (see Gut Feeling below).
- Effeminate Misogynistic Guy: He doesn't think very highly of women's intelligence and seems convinced that they did nothing but enjoy themselves lazily while men were on the front.
- Femme Fatalons: Despite being a guy. And they're painted.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Delivers an epic one to Caleb in Season 2.
- Given Name Reveal: Manga only, where unlike in the VN, Caleb and Miguel start calling each other by their real names again near the end of Season 1.
- Gut Feeling: He seems to have an almost supernatural intuition and sense of danger.
- Hand Cannon: His pink custom gun appears to be this.
- Hopeless Boss Fight: When Wayne tries to fight him, it doesn't turn out as well as usual.
- Important Hair Cut: Manga only. He returns to the hairstyle and uniform he had in the army for the final battle in 1947.
- Leitmotif: Majo no Hoodzue.
- Real Men Wear Pink: He notably dons pink handguns.
- Satellite Character: Not that he has no personality of his own, but his actions are primarily motivated by Caleb's best interest.
- Scars Are Forever: The manga shows he has quite◊ a few◊ of these. They are a remnant of the tortures he was inflicted after being captured during the war. The volume version adds scars on his face too.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: His time on the front left him with a boost in combat ability… and a severe drop in mental stability.
- Signature Laugh: Kyaha ☆ (star obligatory). It's been removed in the manga, where his feminine mannerisms have been slightly toned down.
- Survivor Guilt: Highly despises himself for not sacrificing his life on the front and surrendering instead.
- Undying Loyalty: Literally, as Caleb promised him that should they die, they would die together.
- Worthy Opponent: Has quite a bit of that dynamic with Wayne.
- You Can Barely Stand: A villainous example. He fights Wayne while heavily injured from the earlier skirmish, and then stabbed by his own knife, but he still puts one hell of a fight. Until Caleb shows up and finally "ends his war".
Maurice (Tetsurou) Monobe
Drawn by Ryūkishi07
A former soldier who fought on the frontlines, and one of the most competent mafia bosses working for Caleb.
After the latter's defeat, he joins the Primavera family, and is at head of the Battalion crew.
- Death by Irony: He is killed next to Oliver's grave, the same kid he had sent to his death a year earlier.
- Dungeon Bypass: How do you penetrate in a building when all the entrances are baricaded? Well, just blow the baricade up!
- Elite Mook: They don't call him "Major Monobe" for nothing.
- Expy: Of Higurashi and Umineko's Okonogi.
- Just Between You and Me: During the 1950 climax thinking he has already won against Zel, he reveals to her, Charles and Nina how he sent the Wild Dogs to their death a year ago, with a big grin on his face.
James (Jirou) Tomitake
Drawn by Ryūkishi07
- "As a gambler, I can't quite understand why soldiers have no interest for raising their chances of victory…"
The owner of a famous gambling club in City 23, the "Rich Bamboo", which rivals Club Primavera in popularity — but similarly loses most of its customers after Caleb's rise to power. He was said to be the most powerful boss after Caleb when the man was rising, but had pragmatically surrendered to him, before helping Primavera to defeat him. He then joins the Primavera Family, at the head of the intelligence crew.
- Cool Shades
- Expy: Of Jirou Tomitake, obviously.
- The Gambler: Which Leo masterfully exploits to convince him to side with Primavera.
- I Fight for the Strongest Side!: It sums up his philosophy. He chooses to support whomever seems to have the upper hand.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: A variant in the Last Season. He tries to bribe Maurice and Keith so that they join Rose's side against Richard. They accept… or pretend to for a minute, before nailing his hand on the counter and strangling him with a piano string. Woops.
Wandering Dogs
In General
Tropes common to the Wandering Dogs
- Catchphrase: A collective one when they kick some ass.Nina: *uses her slingshot* One
Charles: *does some kind of trick* Two.
Oliver: *kicks the enemy* Three. - Heroic Wannabe: As the "drag-outs" of the Wild Dogs they want to make a name for themselves and get out of the very bottom ranks of Primavera. Rapunzel's arrival helps them get more confidence in their own abilities.
- Leitmotif: Genki no bargain sale for light-hearted moments. They also have a guitar tune called Kessen as their Theme Music Power-Up.
- Satellite Character: Charles, Nina and Oliver are a strange case where they are satelites to each other. They always act as a group and are rarely seen without one another. Then they themselves become satellites to Rapunzel.
- Street Urchin: They were all this except for Rapunzel. This is actually a common trait of all the members of Wayne's crew, the Wild Dogs.
- Trash of the Titans: Charles, Nina and Oliver's appartment was a horrible mess before Rapunzel joined them. Since they grew up in the street, they have absolutely no notion of cleaning or decoration.
- True Companions: You would be forgiven if you think you're reading a good ol' shonen manga in some of their scenes.
- Young Gun: They (with Zel to a lesser extent) dream of becoming legends like their mentor Wayne. While they rarely actually use guns, they prove to be very talented in their own fields and succeed in several dangerous missions. It doesn't end well for Oliver though.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Again with the exception of Zel. They notably spent a good part of their introduction scene arguing together.
Zel (Spoiler Warning)
Rapunzel ("Zel")/Hotaru Saijō ("Hotarubi")
Drawn by Sōichirō
"Fortune smiles to those who enjoy every day and live a clean and bright life!"
A young girl who was accidentally hit by Rose's car while escaping from mafia mooks, and lost her memory. As an apology, Rose supports her and offers her an appartment until she remembers who she is. She also gives her that temporary name.
- The Ace: She can speak Chinese fluently, is a wonderful singer, a good strategist, a badass martial artist, and a skilled assassin.Zel: ... It seems I was pretty incredible before losing my memories.
- Amnesiac Hero: Fits the description to a T in Season 2, despite not being the main character.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: At least they seem unusually high…
- The Chanteuse: Plays this role as a diversion to infiltrate Wang's castle and rescue her father in Season 3. The audience is captivated to say the least.
- Crocodile Tears: Yet another one of her talents, that she displays in Season 3 when Oliver refuses to listen to all the advice he's given about his fighting techniques.
- Daddy's Girl: She works for the GDS under the threat that her father will be killed if she doesn't cooperate or fails. Since he's her only remaining family, she was almost ready to assassinate Rose just to keep him alive.
- He Went That Way: Does this for Leo and Jeanne when Tequila and his men are after them in the Last Season.
- In-Series Nickname: "Zel", which gets used far more often than "Rapunzel" in the end. By Season 3, Zel has pretty much become her official Western given name.
- Informed Attractiveness: Mostly in Season 3. Meijiu notably points out that, had she not been as beautiful, she would probably be dead by now.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: After being hit by Rose's car while she was running from her procurers. Her "escape" and accident were actually deliberately staged so that Rose would find and "save" her; what wasn't part of the plan was her memory loss, but even then she fulfilled her mission without realizing it.
- The Leader: Of the Wandering Dogs.
- Honey Trap: The GDS usally used her for these kind of missions, taking advantage of the fact that she was Japanese.
- Leitmotif: A pretty dark and melancholic tune called Honeymoon Elegance.
- Little Miss Badass
- Mark of Shame/Slave Brand: When she was sold as a trophy to perverted mafia bosses, one of them tatooed a gross buterfly-shaped motif on the nape of her neck, as he did to all the women he claimed to "possess". She cannot see it herself but she still feels the pain of the needle when touching it.
- Meaningful Name: Rapunzel. It says enough. Her real name Hotaru means "firefly"; her codename as an assassin, Hotarubi, refers to a firefly's light.
- Ninja: Her job for the GDS consisted in getting close to mafia bosses using her body and eliminating them swiftly. That was pretty much the job of the kunoichi in old times.
- Older Than She Looks: Considering that she's old enough to drink alcohol in 1950, that would make her 18 or 19 in 1948.
- Only Sane Woman: At first she sort of plays this part in the group with the three below. She teaches them how to do some cleaning, to start. After that though, she rather becomes The Heart for them.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: She invokes this in Season 3. Her assassination missions usually went smoothly because the people she was told to eliminate were scum; putting poison in the drink of someone she deeply respects like Rose is not quite as easy.
- Put on a Bus: It seems to be a pattern in this series… she has to leave Japan at the end of the 1948 part, since she and her father are still wanted by the Chinese military.
- The Strategist: She is the one who thinks up the plans for both of the Wandering Dogs big missions, the first one to expose the Backdoor Employment Agency, and the second one to rescue her father in Wang's castle.
- Switching P.O.V.: Part of the 1948 sequence is narrated from her point of view, as a newcomer who discovers City 23 and doesn't know anything about Primavera or how the city was a year ago.
- Suddenly Always Knew That: Played With. The situations she is placed in progressively makes her realize things she could do before losing her memories (see The Ace above), but without regaining said memories. At least until she meets with Hsiao-Lan in Chiba. It's downplayed in the manga though, since she regains her memories much earlier.
- Unwitting Pawn: In the 1948 climax the plan to rescue her father was actually only there to create a commotion in the restaurant and open an opportunity for a duel between Wang and Rose; thus allowing Sun Tzulung to start his coup d'état. The rescue operation was actually expected to fail.
- Team Mom: Kind of, especially towards Oliver. She is pretty much the only person he actually listens to outside of Wayne; even more so than Wayne in a way. They have a strange dynamic where she would often talk to him like a teacher to her pupil or a mother to her child, with him listening obediently.
- Walking Spoiler: Due to all the revelations about her in Season 3.
Oliver (Kouichi) Oribe
Drawn by Nana Natsunishi
"We are proud wolves. A wolf doesn't ask for directions!"
The oldest of a group of three orphans, and the most serious and responsible of them… supposedly. He actually has a rather short temper, which caused him some trouble in the past.
- Bullying a Dragon: Literally, somewhere during the time skip. He beat up a Chinese boy who was protected by the Golden Dragon Society in a bar. As a result a few Chinese mafia men came to hold him accountable. He mocked them, saying he would take care of them alone, despite the warnings of Wayne's underlings not to mess with these guys.Charles: After that, well, you can say Oliver did become a legend, in a sense…
- Catchphrase: Urusai, damare! ("You're too noisy, shut up!")
- The Comically Serious
- Extremity Extremist: He fights only with kicks.
- Feigning Intelligence: Is constantly reading a(n upside-down?) book, apparently just to give himself a cultured air.Oliver: You're too noisy, shut up. I'm reading. It's a foolish story about a man who spends 19 years in jail for stealing bread.
Nina: … Isn't that the story of Les Misérables? (Oliver's book is "Crime and Punishment")
Oliver: You… You're too noisy, shut up! I was just testing you! - Gangsta Style: He initially tries to weild his gun this way, to invoke Rule of Cool. Zel tells him to stop trying to be fancy and shoot normally already.
- Heroic Wannabe: The most prominent case among the Wandering Dogs. He asks nothing better than to accomplish feats for Primavera and get a big name. He dies a useless death in the process.
- Honor Before Reason: Played for laughs in his first appearance (see the above quote).
- Hot-Blooded: Though he tried to calm down after the little… incident above.
- Insane Troll Logic: When he, Charles and Nina go to the hospital to take Zel to Primavera, Oliver first stops in front of an old lady's bed. When Charles points out that she's a bit old to be the "young girl" Wayne talked about, Oliver replies that it was probably a euphemism of his, because Wayne is a gentleman.
- Senseless Sacrifice: He and his fellow bodyguards risk their lives to save an unconscious Richard during an ambush. Not only do they all die, "Richard" was just a double, and the ambush was a part of the real Richard's False Flag Operation.
- Shout-Out: An orphan kid who lived in the streets and takes the name of "Oliver" may not be a coincidence.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Mostly due to his desire of being acknowledged by Wayne.
- Tsundere: The manga makes him this towards Rapunzel in the early chapters − it was kind of present in the VN, but less prominent.
Charles (Kaoru) Chatani
Drawn by Nana Natsunishi
"Well, we're just a bunch of failures sticking together."
The other boy of the trio, more laid-back and energetic, who calls Wayne his "big brother". Very good at stealing wallets when he lived in the streets. He's especially fond of Chinese food.
- Catchphrase: "I don't get it, since I'm an idiot…"
- Impossible Thief: His "special talent", though he has stopped doing it after getting a roof. When teased about it by other Wild Dogs, he pulls the classic move of "if you say that, you should be more careful next time" while waving the wallets he just stole from them, completely unnoticed.
- Informed Attribute: His small size is mentionned several times, but his sprite is just as tall as everyone else… it shows in the manga though, where he’s shorter than even Nina.
- Messy Hair
- The Nose Knows: Near the end of Season 2 he manages to detect enemy henchmen… by their smell. Caleb and Miguel are quite impressed. However it was actually a lie to get some credit. It's Zel who warned him of the enemy's presence, after having been warned herself by Hsiao-Lan.
- Obsessed with Food: Or at least, he seems to get hungry easily. Considering where he and his two mates grew up, that's understandable.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Nikuman (pork buns). It's even lampshaded.Oliver: Do you have a disease that will make you die if you don't eat nikuman?
- Unusual Euphemism: When Rapunzel isn't feeling well, he wonders if, like Nina, she has that "Violent Disease that happens once a month." Three guesses at what he's talking about.
Nina (Mio) Ninagi
Drawn by Yūji Takagi
The girl of the trio, close to Charles in character, but who sometimes causes confusion by speaking in a very… unusual dialect. A gifted slingshot user.
- Berserk Button: Telling her to correct her speech is a sure way to piss her off. She seems quite attached to it.Nina: This speech is my hometown's pride! It's ya Tokyo people who always think ya're the center of Japan or somethin'!
- Brats with Slingshots: And Improbable Aiming Skills to go with it.
- Demoted to Extra: In 1949 she plays an important part in locating Davis Degawa through her relationship network. That part is completely occulted in the Season 3 manga, where she and Charles are rendered pretty much non-existent.
- Doesn't Like Guns: Her trusty slingshot isn't lethal, but she's more at ease with it.
- Girlish Pigtails: Gives her a slightly childish look. It probably didn't help to be a "lady of the night".
- Informed Ability: At the end of 1948, she says she will start to learn Chinese, but since she never interacts with Chinese characters afterwards, we never get to see it.
- Lady in Red: Borders on Unusually Uninteresting Sight, as nobody ever comments on her rather… immodest attire.
- One of the Boys: She was apparently strong enough to lead boys and win in brawls when she lived in the streets.
- Signature Laugh: Tahahaha…
- Stay in the Kitchen: A variant, as the only job that is suggested to her by the other Wild Dogs is to be a lady of the night. Her answer is a no thanks. She actually tried at first, but she (and the other girls) quickly realized it wasn't her thing. Although she ends up going back to it in Season 3, to build a relationship network.
Battalion
Alan (Daisuke) Aramaki
Drawn by Jirō Suzuki
"Yahoo! There's a brawl festival over there! Let me in too!"
A lively guy who works for Primavera and will eagerly take part in any brawl. Both he and Keith fought in Siberia − where they had to work in a prisoners' camp − during the war and only work with each other. He's also going out with a girl named Yuki, to whom he must hide his real job… and his "pastime".
- Anti-Hero: Both he and Keith are depicted as "good guys", but their reputation as unfailable hitmen isn't just for show. When they do their job, they do it thoroughly, and they don't leave witnesses.
- Boisterous Bruiser
- Broken Smile: He sports one in the Last Season when he realizes that Meixue is already dead. And that he even knowing that, he isn't crying, as if she was just another fallen comrade.
- In-Series Nickname: "The Brawler", exactly what it says on the tin.
- Ironic Echo: When he infiltrates Davis' hideout, one of the henchmen tells him that he is too nice and won't last 3 months in the "business" like that. Alan throws the line right back at his face one minute later.
- Love at First Sight: Let's just say he's head-over-heels for Yuki. Keith thinks that she's just using him as a walking wallet, but he could care less.
- Pietà Plagiarism: He's described to hold Yuki's dead body this way.
- Pungeon Master: Keith is the only one who laughs at his puns though… and Miguel too, for some reason.
- Put on a Bus: It's his turn at the end of 1949, although it's much more brief than for the other two. After he wins his duel against Keith, he goes to China where Meixue will be buried, as Primavera considers him a traitor and has put a reward on his head.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Keith's blue.
- Signature Laugh: Nihihihi!
- Star-Crossed Lovers: He considers his relationship with Yuki as this (as someone "living in the night" dating someone "living in daylight"). It is, though not in the way he thinks.
- Unusual Euphemism: He once calls his gun an "automatic translator" when he threatens a guard in his attempt to rescue Butler in the American army's HQ.
- Verbal Tic: Despite his very masculine speech, he has an odd tendency to puntuate his sentences with particles that rather mark a feminine speech, like "wa", "no" or even "kashira".
Keith (Yuzuru) Kisaragi
Drawn by Nana Natsunishi
"It's only natural that the enemy would be harsh on you. And it's only natural that the Siberian winter would be harsh on you. I can't complain about what is natural. Those who really hurt me were my Japanese comrades."
A professional sniper working for Primavera, with his friend Alan as his spotter, within Maurice Monobe's Battalion crew. Also a descendant of the famous Matagi hunters in northern Japan. Although he was born in Japan, he claims to hate his own country. He quickly becomes friends with Stella and her nephew Yūji.
- Anti-Hero: Same as Alan. Though it gets much worse in the Last Season.
- Boom, Headshot!: The fate of most of his victims.
- Catchphrase: "Pft… what's this, I don't get it! Kukukuku…" (every time Alan makes a lame pun)
- Cold Sniper/Friendly Sniper: He initially was the former, but evolved into the latter at Alan's contact. In the Last Season, he goes Cold Sniper again after Stella, Yūji and, as he mistakenly believes, Alan were killed by, as he mistakenly believes, the GDS.
- Defrosting Ice King: Alan had started to defrost him in the past, his meeting with Stella and Yûji completes the process. When he loses all of them, he frosts all over again.
- Exposed to the Elements: Inverted − he never lets go of his heavy coat even in summer. Apparently the Siberian cold has screwed up his heat sensitivity.
- Face–Heel Turn: After Stella’s death, he becomes significantly more cold-blooded.
- Friend to All Children: He loves children because of the dreams and future they represent.
- I'm Cold... So Cold...: Subverted, as he sometimes says it despite being very alive and constantly wearing a thick coat. It comes from his trauma of the Siberian cold and the prisoner camp's torture. Notably shown in an additional scene◊ in the manga.◊
- Meaningful Name: "Kisaragi" is the old name for the second month of the year. Coincidentally or not, it's the month where the winter ends in Japan.
- Parental Substitute: Fatally becomes this to Yūji after Stella's death. For about a week, just the time for Yūji to be killed too.
- Please Wake Up: He has this reaction when he slowly realizes that Alan isn't just sleeping after their fall from the bell tower.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Not that his victims ever have the occasion to see his eyes…
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Alan's red.
- Sniper Duel: Has to engage in this near the end of Season 3 to save Yūji from Gabriel's sniper. Stella is killed in the process.
- Sniper Rifle: It's a customised Soviet model, described with all the loving details in one scene. In 1950, he has turned it into a Mosin Nagant.
- Survival Mantra: "It's not my fault… I did nothing wrong…! It's not my fault…!!" after he kills Meixue and realizes she was Alan's girlfriend Yuki. He tries to tell himself as much as he can than even she deserved it and it was a rightful vengeance, even though deep down he perfectly knows it's not.
- Verbal Tic: He tends to stretch the vowels at the end of his sentence—s.
Unaffiliated
Alfred (Tetsuya) Akagi
Drawn by Ryūkishi07
"Oh, this city is becoming very dangerous, don't you think?"
The leader of an American-Japanese mafia branch in Tokyo. Going after Club Primavera, after money and its passionate Madam Rose, he is the first threat Primavera has to fight in the story. Obviously not a nice guy.
- Big Bad: Of the first arc, as he and his mafia extort Primavera for money.
- The Bus Came Back: He comes back out of nowhere in Season 3, more healthy than ever. Primavera makes sure to bribe him into being their ally this time around.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Yep, he's not the most subtle bad guy out there, that's for sure.
- Demoted to Extra: A weird instance where it's also a case of Ascended Extra. When he reappears in the second half of the story he's no longer a major threat; however, according to
Word of God, he was initially supposed to not appear at all after Season 1, but he apparently had so much fun writing him that he took him back. - Disc-One Final Boss: He sort of acts as this in Season 1. After his defeat, Father Caleb steps in.
- The Don: Leads a branch of a mafia, so not quite the ultimate Ron, but still a mob boss.
- Foreign Culture Fetish: For the United States. Leo even calls him a "fake foreigner".
- Gratuitous English: To a point that would make even a J-Pop singer cringe.
- Hidden Depths: Shows a surprising amount in Season 3. He's not a benevolent man by any means but it seems he does have some principles. He also feels genuinely sorry for his "friend" Richard after Stella's death.
- In-Series Nickname: "Crazy Alfred".
- Just a Stupid Accent: He apparently speaks with a faux-American accent even though he's Japanese.
- Large Ham: Espe~cially in Japane~se, where he will stre~tch his vo~wels for no~~ reason at a~ll!
- Leitmotif: Kami no shiranai machi (The city without a God).
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: It was his intention regarding Rose at least.
- Signature Laugh: HAHAHAHA! − the signature is that it's written in letters even in Japanese.
- Starter Villain: He’s the first major threat Primavera faces, and certainly a genuine threat; however, the later villains make him look like a puppy dog in comparison.
- Worthy Opponent: He ends up thanking Leo for crushing him thoroughly and is waiting for the day he can fight him again. Though obviously that part completely disapears in the manga, where they never fight each other.
Lee "Yuki" Meixue
Drawn by Jirō Suzuki
"Delicious. I'll give you 10 more points for tonight's dinner."
A pretty young business-woman, who recently came back to Japan and goes out with Alan. Sadly for him, she claims to hate violent men, mafia, and violent mafia men. She happens to be Lee Meijiu's little sister, but can't quite bring herself to tell this to Alan. She also studied in the same university as Tzulung.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Inverted; she is the one annoyed by her older brother, from his overprotectiveness, to his negotiation methods, to his weird Japanese Verbal Tic.
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: She doesn't let it show that much in front of him, but her private scenes show that her feelings for Alan are genuine.
- Foreshadowing: During the 1948 part Meijiu mentions that he had once made his little sister cry after being too reckless, announcing her future introduction.
- Gratuitous English: Due to having lived in England for a long time.
- Leitmotif: Peace Eases
- Mafia Princess: Much to her dismay.
- Meaningful Name: Yuki means "snow"; as does the second caracter in her Chinese name.
- Omniglot: She claims to speak seven tongues, no less. She tells Alan that she learned Chinese, but of course it's actually her birth language.
- Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Completely averted − her Japanese accent is so perfect than Alan never suspects she could be Chinese.
- Satellite Character: Her role in the story consists mostly in being Alan's girlfriend and Meijiu's sister. And she kind of serves their Character Development after she dies.
- Tsundere: A slight case of type A, although it's not too pronounced.
Tequila (Seita) Matoba
Drawn by Ryūkishi07
"Come on, if we talk about the best knife-user in City 23, it's me, Tequila-sama~♪!!"
A man in charge of extorting money for the Primavera Family, who also has a small one-sided rivalry with Jeanne. Not exactly the sanest man around.
- Berserk Button: He really doesn't like his haircut to be mocked.
- Boisterous Weakling: He puts on airs and gets angry easily, but he's just small fry in the end.
- Expy: TK was a mafioso in a former life apparently.
- Odd Name Out: "Tequila"? Is that even a name?
- Psycho for Hire
- Verbal Tic: "Teki na~♪" (could be translated as "like")
- Yubitsume: What he does to an unfortunate merchant who can't pay enough money. On Richard's order. Leo is not amused.
Jeanne (Jun) Amakawa
Drawn by Hinase Momoyama
"Mafia men are all like dogs, you know! You have to beat them up and train them properly!"
A tough woman with the gift of the gab and a strong sense of justice, who works in a bread shop in Akebono, the Japanese shopping street of City 23. Her husband and her two children died during the war and in the great disaster. She meets Leo by chance and offers him a roof after he helps her outrun Tequila Matoba and his men. A series of events will eventually lead her to succeed Rose as Primavera's Madam.
She is the granddaughter of Amakawa Shoten, a benevolent and highly respected land-owner who helped to revive the Edogawa discrict (what became City 23), and to create the Akebono shopping street. However, she ran from the Amakawa house to live a carefree life, which she now regrets.
- Action Girl: Quickly shows herself as one in her very first appeareance in 1950.
- Call-Back: Her encounter with Leo is almost identical to the first scene of Season 1… except her character is pretty much the opposite of Rose, so the exchange that follows is a tad different.
- Damsel out of Distress: She gets Leo's help, but it's telling that they have to be half a dozen to only put her in a pinch.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Appears in the stinger at the end of Season 3, which happens in 1950.
- Establishing Character Moment: The first scene she appears in features her kicking out Tequila and his men, who were trying to go after her goods, along with encouraging her fellow merchants and the passersby to join her to take down Madam Rose.
- Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: She has a sprite like this for whenever she talks defiantly (which is, a lot of the time).
- Icy Blue Eyes: Of the "cool" type, though she also shows quite a mischievous personality.
- King Incognito: For her, adopting a Western name was also a means to hide her real identity, Amakawa Jun. Nobody in the shopping street knows who she is.
- Klingon Promotion: At least Julie's initial assumption from what she has heard is that Jeanne killed Rose herself to take her place. The actual story is, of course, not that simple.
- Large Ham
- Last Episode, New Character: She is the last character introduced (apart from Tequila) and her year arc is also the shortest of the four, which can make her development seem a bit rushed.
- Ma'am Shock: Played with. She first beats up Wayne for calling her Oba-san… then she beats him up for not doing it.Jeanne: Use a "san", will you! I'm obviously older than you, right?! I'm a middle-aged lady, right?! I had kids, I was a wife, I am a widow! Do you have any complaints?!
Wayne: No… none… - Meaningful Name: Rose sees her as her savior, a leader with the ability to take over Primavera and lead it in the right direction.
- Older Than They Look: By the time Leo and the others meet her, she's been married, had kids, and became a widow, yet she barely looks older than 25.
- Plucky Girl
- Rousing Speech: Gives one to the people in the business street when Tequila's men try to extort money from the shop-owners. With a little bribery to help the rousing.
Other Groups
Golden Dragon Society
Lee Meijiu
Drawn by Jirō Suzuki
A big shot in Tokyo's Chinatown, who can speak Japanese fluently and supports Primavera with information on the underground. Also a high-ranked member of the Golden Dragon Society, the clan that rules the Chinese mafia in the neighboring City 22 and a part of City 23. Called the Black Dragon, he represents the faction that supports Sun Tzulung, son of the late leader of the GDS, as the legitimate successor.
- Big Brother Instinct: He repeats that he only works for the best interest of his compatriots, but he also shows quite a bit of concern for his sister's safety.
- Blatant Lies: In Season 3.Meijiu: I don't deceive women. That's my policy.
Hsiao-Lan: … Liar. You do it sometimes. - Early-Bird Cameo: His introduction scene in the VN is turned into this in the manga (he only has a proper introduction in the following chapter).
- Leitmotif: Tonarimachi no Ikoku (Another country in the neighbourhood).
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy
- Manipulative Bastard: An extremely skillful one. Though he becomes more sympathetic once he and Rose are on an equal footing. A good example of this is that it is strongly implied that he had Butler's sister killed in order to turn him on Gabriel.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: He's not too happy about Meixue dating someone at first, although he ends up accepting their relationship after Alan has protected her from assassins.
- Parental Substitute: Apparently this to Hsiao-Lan. Sort of.
- Parrot Pet Position: His pet iguana Hua-Hua.
- Perpetual Smiler: As much as Butler, although in a more affable sort of way. Trusting that smile too much is probably a bad idea.
- Verbal Tic: "Aru yo" or "aru ne" when speaking Japanese. Mostly part of his Nice Guy façade, as he drops it when he gets serious.
- Undying Loyalty: To Sun Tzulung, the son of the former leader of the GDS.
Hsiao-Lan
Drawn by Hinase Momoyama
"……………, …………."
A mysterious, silent young girl who often acts like a wild animal and acts as a spy for Lee Meijiu. She and Rapunzel knew each other before the latter lost her memories.
She doesn't understand Japanese… supposedly.
- Animal Motif: She is often compared to a wild cat or a monkey due to her agility and behavior.
- Beige Prose: She speaks essentially in short, direct sentences.
- Big Damn Heroes: She saves Meixue for the sniper who was about to shoot her, and later does the same when Keith is about to shoot Alan. As a subversion though both Meixue and Alan end up dying anyway.
- The Comically Serious: She has a bit of this dynamic going with Meijiu and the Japanese characters she meets.
- The Confidant: Downplayed, but it's still noted that she was the only person Hotaru could confide in within the GDS.
- Cute Mute: She isn't mute but she can't speak loudly due to her weak vocal organs (she had a severe fever when still a baby). She communicates by gestures a lot instead.
- Flechette Storm: Her speciality. She can throw knives with deadly accuracy.
- He Who Must Not Be Heard: Meijiu understands what she says by reading on her lips, but often the only "text" we see is lines of suspension marks. She doesn't have readable dialogue until Season 3, with Rapunzel… in Chinese.
- Little Miss Badass
- Meaningful Name: Her name in Chinese (小蘭) means "little orchid". For some reason the final credits refer to her as "Lee Meilan" (李 美蘭), Meilan meaning "beautiful orchid".
- Mysterious Past: Very little is known of her outside of the fact she's an orphan. In Season 3, Meixue says that Meijiu has a "little sister much more cute and obedient" than herself, apparently refering to Hsiao-Lan (who is visibly puzzled), but no more details are given.
- Mysterious Watcher: How she appears the first time we see her and a few more times afterwards.
- Ninja: Discreet, agile, acts as a spy and is very skilled in combat.
- Le Parkour: Her other speciality, as her light body allows her to climb buildings with ease.
- Protectorate: Threatening Meijiu in her presence isn't the best of ideas.
- Spell My Name With An S: The official spelling is Hsiao-Lan, but Witch-Hunt writes it Xiaolan.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Has a habit of appearing and disapearing suddenly, and apparently never by the door.
- Street Urchin: After losing her parents and before being picked up by Meijiu.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Mooncakes. Don't try to steal one from her or she will scratch you.
- Vague Age: She is tiny and clearly acts like a child, yet she has apparently sticked with Meijiu for quite a long time and doesn't seem to grow up at all over the course of the story (though of course it's hard to tell with only the VN sprites). She might be anywhere between 11-12 and 15-16.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Alan Aramaki in the Last Season.
- Will Not Tell a Lie: She does not talk much in general, but she is always honest when she does.
Blue Dragon Wang Yuanhong
Drawn by Ryūkishi07
"I know better than anyone how precious time is. That's why I will give you some of this precious time… to think carefully about my offer."
Another member of the Golden Dragon Society, who wears the title of "Blue Dragon". Contrary to Meijiu, he represents the faction supporting the Elders' council, which claims that Sun Tzulung is too young to take the head of the GDS. He was also a mentor of sorts for Meijiu, who calls him "honored brother" ("anija"). His apparent jolliness and geniality hide a fearsome negotiator.
- Ambiguously Bi: While he certainly doesn't dislike pretty ladies, some of his dialogue with Meijiu let show a lot of… affection for his former disciple. The latter amusingly lampshades the ambiguity.
- Big Bad: Of 1948, as he engages Primavera in a gang war to control the spice trade, and Meijiu to unseat the young lord of the GDS.
- Dirty Old Man
- Hoist by His Own Petard: That delayed-effect poison that Hotarubi was supposed to put in Rose's glass? It ended up in his glass instead.
- Foreshadowing: Wang sure talks a lot about time and his frustration towards it. It's because he knows he's going to die soon.
- The Hyena: He seems to constantly burst into laughter for a yes or a no.
- Incurable Cough of Death: At the end of the 1948 climax.
- Large Ham: Though some of it is in his actual personality, part of it is also meant to disturb the opponent and make them lower their guard during negotiations. Even Richard almost falls for it.
- Leitmotif: Kumanekomachi (Panda's city)
- Man of Wealth and Taste: He loves luxury goods ("organic or inorganic" as Meijiu puts it) and keeps some of them in special rooms that only open with a special key and when all his clocks chime.
- Meaningful Name: Wang is written with the character for "king" (王).
- Politeness Judo: One of his specialities.
Young Lord Sun Tzulung
Drawn by Higasa Akai
The young son of the GDS's former leader Sun Zilung, who returned from his studies in England. Two factions face-off in the organisation to determine whether or not he should be the new leader.
- The Chessmaster: As pointed out afterwards, basically everyone was dancing in his palm in the 1948 climax. In the end not only did he manage to double-cross Wang and take over the GDS, he also succeeded in making Primavera comply to the GDS's two demands (handing over the special offers windows and disbanding the Japanese Labour Union).
- The Confidant: Meixue is certainly much more willing to talk with him than with her brother at least. They studied in the same university in England.
- Demoted to Extra: All the scenes he had in the first half of 1949 have been removed in the Season 3 manga.
- Meaningful Name: His name (孫子龍) roughly translates as "Child Dragon". Also, remove the last character, and you have Sun Tzu.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He doesn't want to enter in an unnecessary feud with Primavera, and is quick to understand what the purpose of the simultaneous assassination attempts of Meixue and Stella actually is.
- Spell My Name With An S: It's written "Sun Tzulung" on the official site, but "Sun Zilong" in Witch Hunt's translation. It probably depends on the transcription convention used. The manga complicates the matter even more by using the Japanese pronounciation of the caracters, "Son Shiryū".
US Army
Captain Philip U. Butler
Drawn by Jirō Suzuki
A Captain of the US armed forces who saved Primavera from the brink of destruction, and backs them up behind the scenes. Rather prone to manipulate both his allies and his superiors to confort his position.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's revealed at the very end of 1950 that his sister was killed, hence him betraying Gabriel. However, we don't know exactly how she died, or who killed her in the first place.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's not just a pervert pen-pusher, mind you. He's so good at solving delicate issues without attracting attention that he's called "the Ninja".
- But Not Too Foreign: His mother is Japanese, while his father is American.
- Buxom Beauty Standard: Inheritted Battler's title of Breast Sommelier, apparently.
- Chivalrous Pervert: And contrary to Leo, he's more heavy on the latter.
- Corrupt Bureaucrat: Nowhere near the worst example, as he is still competent and not without principles, but he's not above accepting a little back-hander here and there. Which comes to bite him in the ass when Gabriel Kaburaya becomes his boss and uses exactly that to shut him up in Season 3.
- Distressed Dude: In the Last Season, where he is under constant surveillance and can't move a finger without Gabriel's permission. The reason Alan and Meijiu plan to save him is that he is the only one who can expose Gabriel's plan and lift the suspicion on the GDS.
- The Dog Bites Back: He ultimately betrays and kills Gabriel in 1950 after his sister's death and all of the abuse he suffered through.
- Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: He has these for most of the Last Season, mentally exhausted by the constant surveillance imposed on him.
- Even Evil Has Standards: His moral standards aren't particularly high, since he is a Corrupt bureaucrat, but he is utterly creeped out by Gabriel's plan when he discovers it.
- Expy: A blatant one of Battler Ushiromiya. According to Ryukishi, you must see it as the same actor playing a different role like in cinema. And like in Umineko, he has a little sister called Ange (though it's pronounced "anjeh" and not "enjeh" this time). Amusingly though, his personnality is closer to Rudolf, Battler's father.
- Handsome Lech
- He Knows Too Much: The reason he is under constant surveillance from Season 3 on.
- Last-Name Basis: No-one ever calls him "Philip", be it in or out-of-universe. Gabriel calls him "Phil" though.
- Leitmotif: Twinkle.
- Manipulative Bastard: He's very good at using people for his own interests while keeping the same friendly smile. He keeps it up to the very end of 1950 where he tells Richard the truth so that the latter will go eliminate Gabriel in his place.
- Manly Tears: He sheds them in the very last 1950 scene after killing Gabriel. It's strongly implied that his sister Ange was killed, although we are not told by who; Butler only thinks it was by Gabriel.
- Out of Focus: He has only one brief appearance in 1948; before getting much more focus in 49.
- Perpetual Smiler: In Season 1 and 2 at least.
- Playing Both Sides: He alternates between helping Primavera and his superiors, to have the most benefit out of them.
- Signature Laugh: Ihihihihi!
Major Gabriel Kaburaya (Unmarked Spoiler Warning)
Drawn by Jirō Suzuki
"A virtuous man, me? No… I am a gentleman, but I never defined myself as a benevolent person."
An officier sent by the GHQ to keep a watch on Butler and on his negotiations with Primavera and the Golden Dragon Society. He looks like a nice guy; He isn't.
- All Crimes Are Equal: And all criminals deserve death, in his eyes. Except for him, of course.
- Ax-Crazy: He’s a little too eager to bring criminals to justice- and his justice is dealing out death.
- Big Bad: Of 1949 and indirectly 1950, as he engineers a gang war between Primavera (which he in 1950 controls through Richard) and the Golden Dragon Society, to kill all criminals in City 23.
- Black-and-White Insanity: Played with. While he exhibits many aspects of the trope, extolling himself as God’s lawman exterminating the “Satans” of the criminal underworld, he doesn't consider himself a good person by any means, and his speeches about eradicating evil and crime are said on an almost joking tone, making it dubious that he really believes any of it.
- Blackmail: He holds proof of Butler's (and several other higher-ups') corruption, giving him all the leeway he wants to exploit him.
- Boomerang Bigot: He hates criminals, and organized crime especially (since it cost him his family), despite becoming something of a crime boss himself.
- But Not Too Foreign: Japanese father, American mother; he doesn't speak Japanese though.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Downplayed; he knows he’s not a good person, but he still takes self-righteous glee at all the criminals he kills.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: For all his horrible atrocities, he is driven by the death of his family, who he loved dearly.
- Evil Laugh: That man mastered the basics of villainy alright.
- False Flag Operation: His plan was to assassinate both Lee Meijiu and Richard Maiougi's sisters and make it look like Primavera and the GDS were the respective culprits, to trigger an open war between them. Meixue's assassination failed, Stella's succeeded. And while Rose survived the attack on her, it incapacitated her for long enough time that Richard had to take Primavera's lead. As a result, Meijiu understood what was going on, Primavera's bosses didn't.
- Faux Affably Evil: He always speaks in a polite tone, even when discussing horrible, violent things to people he’s screwing over.
- Final Boss: Aside from being the final Big Bad, he is the final gameplay boss. After having escaped from the church, Richard meets Butler, who tells him the truth about Stella and Yūji's death. Richard proceeds to go take revenge on Gabriel… and fails miserably.
- Final Solution: What he hopes to do to criminals, seeing them as a plague on the world. He plans to start with City 23.
- Freudian Excuse: His hatred of criminals comes from having lost his parents and sister to them. Not that it remotely justifies his actions.
- Friendly Address Privileges: Darkly played with. He tells Butler to call him "Gab" when they aren't at work, but it's not like the latter has the option of refusing. He also gives this privilege to Richard, despite being the one responsible for Stella and Yūji's deaths.
- The Fundamentalist: He commits his atrocities in the name of God and the law.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Despite being responsible for the whole situation of 1949, he doesn't do much in 1950, instead letting Richard do the job for him. He does retake the role of Big Bad in time to be the Final Boss.
- Hero Antagonist: Subverted. He initially appears to be a good lawman who happens to be in conflict with the protagonists, but he is actually a villain far worse than any of the previous ones.
- Hypocrite: He claims to despise all criminals, calling them all “Satans”, yet he himself has no qualms manipulating the criminal underworld to further his plans, and what he’s doing is all kinds of illegal. Suffice to say, if his superiors ever found out, he would have been locked up for life (assuming he wouldn’t have just been sentenced to death).
- Inspector Javert: Exaggerated, to an insane and frightening extreme: he wants to kill all criminals.
- Ironic Name: Lampshaded by Butler. He's not exactly the kind of person you would expect to bear an angel's name.
- Knight of Cerebus: The chapter where he appears is titled "The Descent of Hell's Angel" for a reason. Notably, he’s the only one of the four major villains to actually kill off several main characters.
- Knight Templar: No matter what terrible thing he does, he is convinced that he is simply getting rid of criminals.
- Leitmotif: Axelle-ratio, a crescendo of violin and harpsichord that gets progressively faster and tenser.
- Man of Wealth and Taste: Who gives us a full explanation of how sad it is for a fine wine to be bouchonné during his introduction.
- Perpetual Smiler: Yet another one, of yet another type, he veers more on the sociopathic side.
- The Purge: He sparks a gang war between Primavera and GDS with the specific intent of cleansing City 23 of it’s criminal underground.
- Revenge: His actual motive and pretty much life-goal is to avenge his family’s death at the hands of Yakuza.
- The Sociopath: Of the “moral” variety.
- Softspoken Sadist: He might make some scary faces, but he never snaps and never lets go of his gentleman-ish manner of speech even when saying and doing horrible things.
- Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: Subverted hard; he initially appears as one, who’s job is to expose Butler’s corruption and get in the way of Primavera. He’s not- he is a self-righteous lunatic who wants them all dead. Along with all the criminals in City 23, and criminals in general.
- Terms of Endangerment: He calls Butler by his nickname "Phil", but that doesn't mean he intends to be nice to him. At all.
- Troll: Shown to its full extent in the Last Season, particularly towards Richard. Ryukishi 07 jokingly notes in a Q&A that a character like him would rather have his place in a When They Cry series.
- Try to Fit That on a Business Card: His affectation roughly translates as "Officer in charge of counter-measures against organised criminal activities" (組織犯罪対策特命将校). Ironically, he does precisely the opposite by controlling the organized crime himself.
- Unintentional Backup Plan: During the "Operation Great Justice", he succeeds at killing Stella and Yūji but fails to kill Meixue. However, not long after she dies during the attack on the GDS by Primavera, at the hands of Keith of all people.
- Villain with Good Publicity: At least within the army. He was favored in the promotions because of his Japanese descent, so that the army could weave a pretty tale and fend off accusations of anti-Japanese racism. Primavera trusts him too, and the general citizens think he is a Reasonable Authority Figure. It's noted that nobody saw the madness behind his angelic smile.
- Walking Spoiler: While he is built up as the final antagonist, he is also built up as a Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist, and there is initially little indication of his true monstrous nature. His actions also change everything about the series.
- White Hair, Black Heart: Seems to be some kind of tradition in 07th Expansion series.
- You Are What You Hate: His actions make him quite similar to the very people who killed his family, if not worse, up to poisoning the last relative of the Maiougi Family, not unlike how his sister died.
Present Time
Julie Hayashibara
Drawn by Sōichirō
A young journalist working for the Hong-Kong Daily, whom Madam Jeanne requests to record her life's story because of her pure-Japanese heritage. She was apparently a brilliant student, proficient in Japanese, Chinese, English and French. The actual reason Jeanne tells her this story is that she he is the granddaughter of Leo and Rose.
- But Not Too Foreign: She actually has some Greek blood through her grandmother, Misaki Hayashibara.
- Character Development: It's light but it's there. Over the course of the story, she starts to try and understand the message that Jeanne tries to tell her and everyone rather than just taking the posture of a neutral journalist.
- Demoted to Extra: Her screentime in the manga is reduced to short prologue at the beginning of Season 1, and an equaly short epilogue at the end of each Season.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Was called Sushi-Sushi Geisha in grade school due to her Japanese origin.
- The Every Man: A ordinary journalist, living an ordinary life, with an ordinary personality. She just happens to be of Japanese descent.
- Family Eye Resemblance: Has the same striking aquamarine eyes as her grandmother.
- Gamer Chick: Mentioned in Season 2, where she explains that in (that world's) 2012, the villains in FPS are almost always Japanese who want to restore the Empire, and that Japanese-styled houses are usually the bad guy's fortress.
- Improbable Hairstyle: Seriously, her haircut is a Mind Screw in itself…
Jeanne (Jun) Amakawa
Drawn by Ryūkishi07
- Leitmotif: Jeanne no shouzou (Jeanne's portrait).
Consigliere Uedera
Drawn by Ryūkishi07
- "… I was a fool. I respected Madam Rose so much, and even deified her… but I was only a chain tying her to the seat of Madam. Despite being so close to her… I didn't even notice that…"
He is Wayne Uedera, who has become Jeanne Amakawa's quiet and polite old consellor in 2012. He takes her relay to tell Julie about an event called the "War of Soy Sauce" just before Season 2 ends.
- Old Retainer
- Switching P.O.V.: A variant; Jeanne asks him to tell the rest of the pre-1950 story to Julie, as he is the last direct witness of the events.
Toratsugu Uedera
Drawn by Yaeko Ninagawa
Wayne's grandson, who grew up with him. After her third interview with Jeanne, he is assigned as Julie's personal bodyguard… whether she likes it or not.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: He does his bodyguarding job wholeheartedly, that's for sure. To the point of being a tad too invasive, but he doesn't seem to get why Julie would be annoyed by it.
- Demoted to Extra: Like all the 2013 characters, his screen time is considerably reduced in the manga.
- Identical Grandson: With glasses.
- Lady and Knight: He enthusiastically swears Undying Loyalty to Julie, but she's not too happy about it.Julie: C… Councellor, can't you find a better knight than that?! I don't want my knight to be this socially handicapped guyyyy!!"
- Left the Background Music On: He plays the series' opening in his car, much to Julie's annoyance. Not unlike Amakusa with Ange in Umineko.
- Sword and Gun: A short sword actually.◊ We never see him use them, sadly.
