All characters in Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin.
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Main Characters
Sakuna
Sakuna
Voiced by: Naomi Ozora (Japanese), Laura Post (English)
- Badass Adorable: She looks like a cute little girl, but she, the daughter of a war god, can handle most fights by herself.
- Batter Up!: Sakuna can use her longer weapons like a baseball bat and send enemies flying.
- Brought Down to Normal: The rice fields being devestated completely neuters Sakuna's godly powers, and a decent portion of the late game is spent repairing the fields and, by extension, Sakuna's abilities.
- Character Development: Slow but there. When she and Kinta got into an argument of how dangerous the demons were on the island, Kinta runs off by himself to prove her wrong. While she does save him and berate him for his lack of fighting capabilities, she does praise his weaponsmithing skills. Getting yelled at by Kokorowa for being how selfish she was while investigating the tainted rice later has Sakuna actually admitting fault to Kamuhitsuki for blowing up the garner again. Later on, she apologizes to Kokorowa for treating her so poorly. When Tama offers to sacrifice himself as the Blade of Hoshidama to be melted down to form a new sword for her to use and lose his soul in the process, she vehemently rejects his suggestion with the fear of a child losing a parent/grandparent. Sakuna also later realizes that she's come to liking to live on Hinoe with the others after her mother's home, storage, and rice field were destroyed by demons and the volcano's ash. Another epiphany was that she had grown fond of the humans despite her earlier complaints and whining of living in lower standards compared to the lap of luxury she's grown up in.
- Clothing Combat: Sakuna has a magical sash that can extend for various purposes such as traversing via swinging or throwing enemies.
- Cool Mask: Some stages hide masks like a kitsune mask or oni mask for Sakuna to wear.
- Cuteness Proximity: All of her logical arguments against keeping more cats go out the window once they start acting cute.
- Eleventh Hour Super Power: She makes a sacrifice to unlock the true power of her Divine Raiment in the final battle with Omizuchi, giving her the ability to create a damage negating barrier that can explode after taking enough hits.
- Friend to All Living Things: When it comes to friendly animals, Sakuna easily gets along with them and even has the option to play around with them.
- Gratuitous Princess: She is titled "Princess" Sakuna. She's a high-ranking goddess but no royal connections are otherwise mentioned.
- Inelegant Blubbering: She tends to do this whenever she gets emotional, such as when she reconciles with Kokorowa.
- Innocently Insensitive: When she comments how the island would be under her control once she takes care of the western fortress and Kamuhitsuki would praise her, Ashigumo walks off in a indignant huff. Sakuna remembers that his tribe hadn't been on the best of terms with the kami from the capital, which includes herself, and tries to apologize.
- Lonely Rich Kid: For all her arrogance and haughtiness as a high-ranking goddess, having a friend in Kokorowa as well Tama raising her, Sakuna admits to her deceased parents that she used to cry to herself from loneliness and from missing them.
- Magical Floating Shawl: Sakuna is a spoiled goddess who inherited a "divine raiment" (depicted as a shawl that floats around her shoulders in official art) from her mother. After Sakuna is exiled to Earth, the raiment's magic proves useful in combat.
- Modesty Shorts: In her casual outfit, she wears black shorts underneath her kimono.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Not realized until partway through. Because of her dropkicking Ishimaru off the heavenly bridge and that the Clouds of Creation aren't connected nor fixed to space and time, Ishimaru wound up on Hinoe at an earlier point, organized the demons where they were using equipment, and killed a number of the Ashigumo tribe that formed into the boss Yomotsu Homusubi in the volcano.
- Oh, Crap!: Several moments throughout the story, but the two biggest ones are her detonating the larder in the capitol, twice. The third one is realizing that her kicking Ishimaru off of the heavenly bridge at the beginning of the game is what caused the demons to be rather organized and the boss Yomotsu Homusubi to inhabit the volcano, because he was leading the demons after landing on Hinoe before she and the others arrived.
- Parental Abandonment: From the way how Sakuna acts with her bratty and arrogant behavior much to Tama's ever suffering of trying to reign her in, plus how her parents are always referred to in the past tense, one would expect this. The reality is that Omizuchi had consumed them both and trapped their souls within him before the game's events, most likely when she was still young enough to have some memories of them but not a whole lot. In a cutscene where Sakuna asks Myrthe to take Kaimaru back to the Lowly Realm, Sakuna reveals that she never really knew her parents since childhood, only through the stories told by Tama.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She's about the same size as Yui and Kinta, but she can move fast and hit hard.
- Princess Protagonist: She is referred to as Princess Sakuna and is the main character.
- Really 700 Years Old: As a goddess, she's ostensibly centuries or more old despite looking, and acting, no older than Yui or Kinta.
- The Sleepless: Nothing about the game requires Sakuna to sleep. She can stay awake for the whole game.
- Spoiled Brat: Sakuna is the descendant of gods that fought against the demons of Hinoe Island, but she spends all her time drinking and refuses to associate with the Lowly Realm.
- Superpowerful Genetics: Sakuna's father Takeribi was a war god, and her mother Toyohana was a harvest goddess. Sakuna herself has inherited both of their talents.
- Utility Weapon: Sakuna's weapons are sickles, hoes, ladles, shovels, and other various farming tools, but she does use the hoe when tilling the field and sickles come time to harvest the rice. The ladle and shovel would be presumably used when working on fertilizer.
Tama
Tama
Voiced by: Takashi Narumi (Japanese), Frank Todaro (English)
Sakuna’s faithful protector. Taking the form of a little guardian dog, he is wise and fiercely loyal.- Heroic Sacrifice: Ultimately defied. He is fully prepared to give up his soul to repair Hoshidama, the only thing able to pierce Omizuchi's, but Sakuna manages to acquire materials to make such a sacrifice unnecessary.
- Meaningful Name: "Tama" can translate to "ball" 球, which he resembles. It can also mean "soul" or "spirit" 魂, which he appropriately is as the former Blade of Hoshidama, Takeribi's holy sword.
- Mentor Mascot: Adorable looks or no, he's Sakuna's constant voice of reason and wisdom.
- Mister Exposition: He explains a lot of the backstory of both the setting and how Sakuna's parents met.
- Old Retainer: Tama lives within the sword Sakuna inherited from her father and fought alongside him. Now he stays by Sakuna's side as her protector and advisor.
- Parental Substitute: Hinted throughout most of the dinner conversations and cutscenes that he basically raised Sakuna.
- Sleep-Mode Size: Tama later explains to Sakuna that his current form is the result of the previous battle against Omizuchi - his original sword form Hoshidama broke in half when her father Takeribi failed to kill the Omizuchi. Tama says his real form is that of a tiger-sized guardian, yet when Tama is reforged to his full potential again, his form remains that of his little self but with a repaired horn. Tama’s real form is never seen in-gamenote .
Tauemon
Tauemon
Voiced by: Ryota Yano (Japanese), Patrick Seitz (English)
A bumbling samurai who dreams of being a farmer, Tauemon is the de facto leader of the humans sent along with Sakuna to Hinoe Island. He is earnest and has a good heart, but his clumsy nature causes trouble for the group.- The Big Guy: Tallest guy of the group in Hinoe. Sakuna even calls him "big guy" at one point.
- Butt-Monkey: He takes the brunt of Sakuna's insults and is regularly belittled by Kinta as well, at least at first.
- Cowardly Lion: As much a Lovable Coward as he is, in the beginning, when the humans were being threatened, he did draw his sword to defend everyone (his knees were shaking, and his stance was poor, but credit where credit is due).
- Deity of Human Origin: Tauemon stays in the Lofty Realm and eventually becomes a harvest god himself.
- The Heart: Despite being walked over by the cast, or because of it, he's the glue that brings them together. He manages to calm the group down during their first rice planting, even manages to make Kinta apologize for stealing rice, among other things.
- I Choose to Stay: When he and Myrthe are discussing about returning to the Lowly Realm, Tauemon decides to stay in the Lofty Realm, citing that he'd be a disgrace to his samurai father when he wants to be farmer, as well that he doesn't want to return to being a bandit either.
- In-Series Nickname: His real name is Katsura Uemon-no-jou Takamori, but the others call him Tauemon. His bandit boss had given him that nickname, while Ishimaru's the only one to actually call him Katsura.
- Know-Nothing Know-It-All: Downplayed. He has a good theoretical understanding of rice cultivation, but his practical skills are severely limited. When he first tries it, he ends up accidentally destroying most of the rice seed, which forces Sakuna to take over the role with the last remaining rice.
- Like Father, Unlike Son: Tauemon was descended from noble samurai, and he certainly has a strong body, but he's never had the heart for fighting. Instead, he wants to live as a farmer... although it takes some time for him to actually get the hang of it when he starts helping to grow rice on Hinoe Island.
- Lovable Coward: He's trained as a samurai, but really doesn't have the personality for it and he's the first to admit it. The thought of violence causes him to shake like a leaf, shown when facing Ishimaru on the bridge at the beginning of the game.
- Meaningful Name: "Taue" 田植え means "rice planting."
- Nice Guy: He is very kind and respectful to everyone and speaks in a humble manner. He was taught good manners by his father so that they could avoid embarrasment when entering into the capital.
Myrthe
Myrthe
Voiced by: Hikari Kubota (Japanese), Carrie Keranen (English)
A missionary from a foreign land who is exiled to Hinoe Island with Sakuna and the other humans. As a language learner, she speaks at first in broken sentences interspersed with Dutch, and her abilities improve over the course of the story. She often tries to be the voice of reason in the group when tensions run high.- The Chew Toy: Poor Myrthe has suffered grievously throughout her years as a missionary. She's had rocks and feces flung at her in multiple countries, and was nearly Made a Slave in Yanato.
- Eloquent in My Native Tongue: The introductory text that crawls is taken from Myrthe's book way down the line.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: Dutch, which is a case of Shown Their Work as the Dutch
were the only ones allowed to trade with Japan from 1609 to 1853 until Matthew Perry's arrival in 1853. - Made a Slave: Narrowly averted - she was captured with the intention of being sold into slavery for her exotic looks by Ishimaru, but was rescued by Tauemon before that happened.
- The Medic: She acts as the group's doctor, and her fledgling divine powers let her instinctively diagnose illnesses and injuries.
- The Missionary: On spreading the teachings of Formos with her priest prior to being almost sold into slavery. Unlike the more negative portrayals of missionaries, she's quite open-minded and accepting of the Shinto and Buddhist teachings Tauemon shares during dinner.
- Nice Girl: She's such a sweetheart and has a motherly nature to her.
- Supreme Chef: She's not depicted this way at first as she completely botches dinner on the first night (due to attempting to prepare a Dutch meal using Japanese ingredients and utensils), but from that point on if you bring her the right ingredients her culinary skills are ridiculously impressive for someone cooking dishes not of her home country. Later on, you can also cook Dutch dishes with ingredients bought from the capital.
- Team Mom: The only adult woman among the band of humans. She acts as a mother figure for Kinta, Yui, and Kaimaru, being concerned with their growth and education. She's also the team chef.
- Token Minority: The only Caucasian among a cast of Japanese. Her backstory centers around being a foreigner with exotic looks.
Kinta
Kinta
Voiced by: Soma Maeda (Japanese), Bryce Papenbrook (English)
A young boy with a talent for smithing, Kinta has a sharp tongue and a pessimistic outlook, and he forms an inseparable pair with Yui.- The Blacksmith: Primarily forges weapons for Sakuna to use, though he's also savvy enough to make farming tools, a loom for Yui, and other useful things.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Early on. He's often rude to the others and snuck food away.
- Character Development: Minor, but still important. It's after Tauemon chastises him about his antics when Tauemon and Sakuna wouldn't believe his warning about the kitchen being on fire - Myrthe hadn't completely put out the embers and some had landed on the nearby wood pile.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a mouthy kid most of the time, but he means well for everyone.
- Made a Slave: Narrowly averted. Ishimaru had been about to sell him, Yui, and Myrthe to slavers before Tauemon saved them.
- Mistaken for Profound: Like the crane-wife version of "The Crane Returns the Favor," Kinta had saved the crane’s life from a trap while in the Lowly Realm. However, Yui never knew that Kinta himself was the one who had set the hunting trap - the trap simply didn't work as intended. She grew to love Kinta for a perceived compassion that didn’t really exist, although in the end Kinta did grow to appreciate Yui’s company. Sakuna does make him promise to never tell Yui that he had intended to cook her/the crane, so as to prevent Yui's perfect image of their encounter from shattering.
- Mouthy Kid: A young boy who's prone to mouthing off, which often causes Sakuna to snap right back at him.
- Ship Tease: Yui's infatuated with him, though it's mostly one sided.
Yui
Yui
Voiced by: Aoi Koga (Japanese), Megan Harvey (English)
A little girl with a cute voice and a sometimes surprisingly dark temperament. Once banished to Hinoe Island, she reveals a talent for weaving garments for Sakuna to wear as armor.- Bratty Half-Pint: Not quite as bad as Kinta, but she definitely has her moments of rudeness and spite, even when she's making clothing for Sakuna.
- Deity of Human Origin: Well, Deity of Crane Origin, but she's a crane who became human, who eventually grows into a Goddess of the Loom.
- Did Not Get The Guy: With her in the Lofty Realm while Kinta returns to the Lowely one, her crush on him ultimately goes unfulfilled.
- Fairytale Motifs: The crane from "The Crane Returns the Favor".
- Foreshadowing: There are lots of hints foreshadowing the eventual reveal that she's a crane.
- Sakuna catches Yui standing on a rock and flapping her arms like they're wings in one cutscene, while another has Yui asking Sakuna to not peek while she's weaving. Anyone who has read the story "The Crane Returns the Favor" knows what happens later.
- Yui can understand Kaimaru. Which is very odd, considering that Kaimaru Speaks Fluent Animal.
- She can understand what the kappa are saying, despite not even Tama knowing their language.
- One dinner conversation that triggers if sparrow or pheasant is served has her give her meat to Kinta, saying that she doesn't like bird meat. Kaimaru will start to spill the beans as far as what Yui actually is until she stops him, which even Sakuna takes notice of.
- Another hint is that if grasshopper is served, she comments how one of her favorite meals are prepared bugs, which immediately grosses out Sakuna. Japanese red-crowned cranes also eat insects.
- Freakiness Shame: Imposed on Yui as per her contract with the Twin Gods. Her background is based on the crane wife version of "The Crane Returns the Favor" folk tale, where she has a crush on Kinta, telling Sakuna that he had saved her life in the Lowly Realm. In Yui’s case, she can never reveal that she's really a crane, otherwise the transformation will be broken.
- Hime Cut: Straight-cut bangs and side tails in front, long and straight in the back. She's a strongwilled young girl who is skilled at weaving.
- Made a Slave: Narrowly averted. Ishimaru had been about to sell her, Kinta, and Myrthe to slavers before Tauemon saved them.
- Meaningful Name: The Twin Gods said her name meant "to tie" while explaining to Sakuna. The kanji 結 and 維 can be used in a name format as "Yui," and both have the definition of "tie" - 結 also can also mean "bind," while 維 can also mean "fiber," hence Yui's weaving.
- She Is All Grown Up: According to the ending, this cute little girl grew up to be so lovely Sakuna constantly wards off suitors.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Her mood changes depending on how she feels. She can be very sweet and kind when she's in a good mood, but when she's not feeling well, she can get agitated sometimes. And when she's infatuated with Kinta, she has a tendency to ignore all of her surroundings because she's so focused on him.
- Textile Work Is Feminine: The band of humans' only young girl is the only one who takes up weaving.
Kaimaru
Kaimaru
Voiced by: Rika Momokawa (Japanese), Faye Mata (English)
The youngest member of the human outcasts on Hinoe Island. He can barely speak and refers to Sakuna as “Sah-Sah.” He possesses a preternatural ability to communicate with animals, and it is thanks to him that Sakuna’s home on the island gains a retinue of cats, dogs, and other creatures.- The Baby of the Bunch: Kaimaru is the youngest of the humans, being a toddler with very little speaking ability, but has a natural affinity for befriending animals.
- Friend to All Living Things: As mentioned above. He even comes to Yui's rescue with a pack of dogs!
- Speaks Fluent Animal: Apparently is able to communicate with various animals.
- Trauma Button: Kaimaru carries some emotional trauma due to witnessing his father being killed in front of him by Ishimaru’s hands, which made Kaimaru regress to a more infantile state. Both Tauemon and Ishimaru commented that Kaimaru used to be able to speak properly before his father's death. Encountering Ishimaru causes Kaimaru to completely freeze up and almost gets kidnapped.
Lofty Realm
Kokorowa
Kokorowa
Voiced by: Rika Kinugawa (Japanese), Stephanie Sheh (English)
Goddess of wheels and inventions, Sakuna’s closest friend in the Lofty Realm. She is an ingenious inventor who has long languished in the harvest goddess’ shadow. She's a polite, reserved character with hidden reserves of passion and frustration.- Cooldown Hug: She shares a hug with Sakuna after they reconcile and start their friendship again.
- Driven by Envy: Years of being looked down on by Sakuna for her low-born status causes her to taint Sakuna's rice with another brand as part of an effort to keep Kamuhitsuki's attention on her.
- Failed a Spot Check: During her impassioned speech to Sakuna shortly after revealing just why she betrayed her, Kokorowa completely fails to hear, smell, or feel the fire gradually building up directly behind her, right up until the garner explodes.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Gears float behind her like halos, and she creates automatons that are invaluable to the defense of the capital of the Lofty Realm. You have to fight several of them once she turns against Sakuna.
- Grew a Spine: At the beginning of the game, she's soft-spoken and quite deferential to Sakuna. When Sakuna sneaks back into the Capital to investigate her tainted rice, she runs into Kokorowa. Sakuna calling her "her dear friend" is what snaps Kokorowa to deliver a verbal smackdown on how selfish Sakuna had been due to her high-born prestige, gaining all the attention of the other kami, while Kokorowa had to scrape and toil away for some form of recognition.
- Hime Cut: She has full bangs, sidetails decorated by ribbons, and long dark hair flowing down her back. She's much more of a proper Japanese god and lady than Sakuna.
- Pen Name: A conversation between her and Sakuna late in the game heavily implies she's Sakuna's favorite writer, Koushi Oborozuki.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Sakuna's closest friend in the Lofty Realm and opposite. Sakuna is high-born, brash, and irresponsible; Kokorowa is low-born, exceedingly polite, and hardworking. Sakuna wears red in official art, while Kokorowa wears blue.
Lady Kamuhitsuki
Lady Kamuhitsuki
Voiced by: Miwa Kohinata (Japanese), Cindy Robinson (English)
The exalted ruler of the Lofty Realm, Lady Kamuhitsuki banishes Sakuna and the humans to the dangerous Hinoe Island after they unwittingly wreak havoc in the heavenly capital.- Bragging Rights Reward: Her mask as the reward for clearing Sakuna the Efflorecent is of little practical use, considering the difficulty of attaining it; the item has no inherent abilities, just 3 open slots for customization, like many other easier to attain equipment already do. The real reward is getting to know who Kamuhitsuki really is, but if you are not familiar with Fairy Bloom Freesia then this little reveal will fly right past over your head.
- Hero of Another Story: Through an Easter Egg in the form of a reward for clearing all 100 Waves in the Sakuna the Efflorescent mini game; it may be revealed that Kamuhitsuki is none other than Freesia, the protagonist of Fairy Bloom Freesia, as the mask’s description claims that the Freesia-looking face is Kamuhitsuki in her youth. However, if this is meant to be taken seriously, or just a fun reference, is up in the air.
- Legacy Character: Past tales of Takeribi's heyday state that the Lady Kamuhitsuki he had a friendly rivalry with was the predecessor of the one Sakuna answers for in the present; despite being extremely powerful it seems "Kamuhitsuki" needs to go through a cycle of sorts, so after the previous one ended her time, she pleaded for Takeribi to watch over the next Kamuhitsuki grow, with the current one likely being Freesia.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Her facial features make her look like a character from an 80s era manga or anime, unlike the more contemporary designs of the rest of the cast.
- Not So Above It All: After preparing to put Kokorowa to death for her treachery, one of her advisors informs her of how disposing of such an invaluable member of the court would reflect badly on her and potentially worsen her standing, information Kamuhitsuki repeats in a flustered and undignified voice.
- Took a Level in Badass: She may have taken a massive one in her past. If she really is Freesia grown up, she went from a simple fairy to the Top God of everything.
- Top God: As the ruler of the Lofty Realm, Lady Kamuhitsuki is the highest-ranking goddess. Tama mentions that no one has ever found a god stronger than Kamuhitsuki.
Takeribi
Takeribi
Voiced by: Riki Kagami (Japanese), Brad Venable (English)
A renowned god of war from the Lofty Realm, a fearsome warrior in certain legends, as he was the previous Lady Kamuhitsuki’s personal envoy to vanquish any undesired problem within the Lofty Realm. In between his many battles on Hinoe Island after getting booted from the capital, Takeribi heard that the Ashigumo tribe were thriving under the guidance of a new leader, a princess, the war god thought of paying the tribesmen a visit as a means to mock this supposed great leader.
- Bruiser with a Soft Centre: Takeribi is famed as an implacable man of war, but he is shown to have a very soft side towards his wife and daughter.
- Friendly Rivalry: Takeribi then choosing to treat the Ashigumo with respect after he fell in love with Toyohana got him at odds with Lady Kamuhitsuki, who thought Takeribi was now aiding the demons, but both gods still held enough respect and trust for each other. When the previous Kamuhitsuki was about to pass on, she entrusted the next Kamuhitsuki to Takeribi's care and he accepted, ending the conflict.
- Love at First Sight: Was immediately smitten with Toyohana after he got past the Ashigumo tribe when he had intended to make fun of their "princess."
- Take Me Instead: He joins Toyohana in offering his soul as payment for the Divine Raiment's sacrifice.
- War God: He's described as a war god and a ferocious fighter.
- Worlds Greatest Warrior: Tama describes Sakuna, Takeribi's daughter, as "the descendant of the capital's greatest warrior god."
Toyohana
Toyohana
Voiced by: Miwa Kohinata (Japanese), Laura Post (English)
Once a human woman who came to possess the mysterious Divine Raiment, with that she managed to cross into the Lofty Realm. Toyohana at some point took up residence on Hinoe Island and befriended the Ashigumo tribe, treating them when they were afflicted with an illness as she made her personal rice farms in the vicinity, while teaching the Ashigumo on how to cultivate as well. Toyohana’s deeds eventually got the attention of the very powerful warrior god Takeribi, who had thought of mocking the supposed new "princess" of the Ashigumo.
- Deity of Human Origin: Played straight with all gods in the Lofty Realm due to the natural cycle of death and rebirth, but Toyohana is special in that she became a goddess differently, just by being really good at what she did while living in the Lofty Realm - harvesting.
- Hereditary Hairstyle: When her appearance is finally revealed, we see that she has a similar hairstyle as her daughter Sakuna: dark hair that's parted in the middle and tied into two sidetails and four loops at the back of her head.
- Honorary Princess: She was an ordinary human who wound up on Hinoe island. The Ashigumo were so impressed by her that they called her a princess.
- Human Sacrifice: Was originally one to Omizuchi before she obtained the Divine Raiment and fled to the Lofty Realm.
- Love at First Sight: Was immediately smitten with Takeribi when he got past the Ashigumo tribe who had been protecting her as she was their leader.
- Take Me Instead: When the Divine Raiment tries to take Sakuna's soul as the price for unleashing it's true power, Toyohana uses her status as the Raiment's true owner to offer her own instead.
Hinoe Island
Ashigumo
Ashigumo
Voiced by: Riki Kagami (Japanese), Joe Zieja (English)
An honorable river otter warrior who lives on Hinoe Island. He first confronts Sakuna as a foe, but after discovering her lineage as the daughter of two legendary gods, he helps guide her and the humans in their harsh new home.- Good Counterpart: To the other Ashigumo spectres you deal with. He's undead himself, but outside a single battle you have with him early in the game he's entirely helpful and friendly.
- Informed Species: One could be forgiven for mistaking Ashigumo for a weasel given their prevalence in Japanese mythology and his overall body shape, but designer notes puts him as a river otter.
- Kamaitachi: A mustelid? Check. Uses a sickle as a weapon? Check. Very fast when Sakuna first fights him? Check.
- Last of His Kind: Apparently the last of his tribe on Hinoe. Until the revelation that he too, is already dead.
- Nice Guy: After clearing up the misunderstanding in the beginning of the game, Ashigumo volunteers to help out the main cast in living on Hinoe Island. He even helps mentor Kinta in blacksmithing.
Ishimaru
Ishimaru
- Creepy Shadowed Undereyes: The only character to sport these, which are so thick they fittingly resemble a bandit's mask.
- Deal with the Devil: It's eventually revealed that he struck one with Omizuchi in exchange for demonic powers.
- The Dragon: Ishimaru turns out to be this to Omizuchi, who is funnily enough revealed to be a literal dragon.
- Dual Wielding: He wields both a sword and a matchlock. He mainly sticks with the sword in most scenes, keeping the matchlock strapped to his back, though he puts both into use during his boss fight.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Despite being shown kindness and forgiveness from Tauemon, and seeing how earnestly he's living in the Mountain Pass by firmly remaining good-natured, Ishimaru sees all that as nothing but trash and weakness, refusing to abandon his evil ways.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Speaks in a rather rough-sounding tone that fits his rugged appearance. Whenever he does talk, it's always a threat or some form of mockery against the main characters.
- Face Death with Dignity: When Ashigumo and the rest of his undead tribe come for him in a cavern, he calmly accepts his impending doom, never once wavering from his philosophy.
- The Heavy: After getting easily disposed of in the opening scene, he ends up being the one who helped the demons to organize, as well as the one to aid Omizuchi's recuperation. While Omizuchi is still the Final Boss, Ishimaru's actions in the plot are the ones that affect Sakuna and her allies the most.
- Klingon Promotion: Ishimaru killed his boss among the group of bandits, Kaimaru's father, becoming the next boss.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Is eventually killed by the spectres from the Ashigumo tribe he helped exterminate, after shrugging off all the times he was spared by Tauemon and Sakuna.
- Might Makes Right: How Ishimaru gleefully justifies his ways, a thief like him can do whatever he wants with anyone, anytime as long as he has the strength to enforce it.
- One-Winged Angel: Upon being confronted, he uses the demonic power that Omizuchi granted him to assume the form of a stone tiger demon to put himself on equal footing with Sakuna in battle. She never faces him in direct combat in his human form.
- Shut Up, Kirk!: He blows off Tauemon's offers of peace and redemption in favor of his Might Makes Right philosophy and tries murdering him instead.
Omizuchi
Omizuchi
An extremely malevolent entity, a demon dragon so powerful it has become equal to a deity. Omizuchi's existence is the result of all chaotic evil born from the Lowly Realm, thus the biggest threat to the prosperity within the Lofty Realm as Omizuchi and all demons influenced by him wreak havoc in the deepest parts of Hinoe Island, the place which the Tree of Creation's roots reside in. As such, Lady Kamuhitsuki had employed her best gods to repel Omizuchi each time he had resurfaced.- As Long as There Is Evil: Omizuchi is the physical manifestation of the negative aspects that occur in the Lowly Realm, where if evil is abundant there, he will surge again.
- Breath Weapon: The left head focuses on fireballs and breathing flames, the right head upchucks boulders, and the middle head spits out orbs of water.
- Elemental Powers: Omizuchi has three dragon heads, the first two heads spitting fireballs and generating stalagmites, with his primary head dealing water and lightning-related damage.
- Graceful Loser: He takes his loss against Sakuna very well despite some small mockery before their battle started. Omizuchi congratulates Sakuna on her determination and strength, remarking that her efforts in making both the Lowly and Lofty Realms a better place courtesy of her rice will make sure he won't be reborn for a very long time.
- Light Is Not Good: His scales are primarily white, and Eastern dragons are typically treated as wise and benign guardians in mythology, but he's also an evil god that leads an army of chaotic demons.
- Sequential Boss: Each head has its own life bar and different attacks, with Sakuna facing each one at a time, starting with the right one and ending with the central head for three separate phases.
