Characters appearing in Samurai 8: The Tale of Hachimaru.
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Main Characters
Hachimaru
Hachimaru
Debut: Chapter 1 (Manga)
The main character, The Hero of Samurai 8. Hachimaru started as a sickly boy who couldn't live without being connected to a giant life-supporting machine. He spent his days playing videogames and dreaming of becoming a Samurai until an incident led to that dream coming true.
- Afraid of Needles: And other pointy objects. Most likely due to the needles being associated with daily drip feedings (because his stomach couldn't handle most foods).
- Artificial Human: It was revealed in Chapter 14 that he himself was a by-product of a project by Professor Furuta aimed to replicate the Seven Keys required to open the Mandala Box.
- Ascended Fanboy: Hachimaru starts the story as a massive fanboy of samurai with a love of samurai video games and a even a model katana collection in his room. When wishing on a shooting star in the story's prologue, his greatest wish is to be a samurai, and by the end of chapter one that dream has come true.
- Artificial Limbs: He begins the story with a prosthetic left leg and arm. Despite the fantastical sci-fi setting, Artificial Limbs Are Stronger is averted completely as Hachimaru is physically debilitated and must rely on a cane to even move around his home.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: As a result of mastering his favorite video game, Hachimaru developed a knack for picking up on his opponents' fighting styles and predicting their movements. Once he realizes he can apply video game logic to real battles, he's able to counter an enemy's move before it's even made, letting him best more experienced Samurai despite his meager stats.
- Blade Below the Shoulder: His prosthetic left arm has a built in walking stick, and when his body is upgraded into that of a samurai's, the cane becomes an extendable blade.
- Blue Is Heroic: Hachimaru dresses only in blue and white and is the sensitive and kind hearted young hero of the story.
- The Chosen One: Chosen by His planet's locker ball to become a samurai: Deconstructed in Chapter 14, as he was intentionally designed to become a Key Samurai that can open Pandora's Box and its twin, Mandala's Box, and is actually the weakest of his brothers.
- Deadpan Snarker: He shows shades of this when he's with Daruma, notably to make fun of his long-winded and/or obscure explanations.
- Declaration of Protection: To Ann, just before they take off for their search of the Keys, he promises her that he will protect her no matter what.
- Delicate and Sickly: Hachimaru has been sick since birth and has to be connected to a life support machine to survive. He gets better after becoming a samurai.
- Distressed Dude: On Chapter 40 he gets captured by Ata, his key stolen from him and chained while being unable to die.
- Dying Declaration of Love: In this case, familial love. While Hachimaru often acted aloof in his father's presence and took out his frustrations with his disabled body on his father, his last words before committing seppuku are to tell his father that he has always loved him.
- Emergency Transformation: With the Samurai Soul which fueled his body gone, his life support system destroyed, and his heart stopped, Hachimaru would surely have perished. Fortunately, the Locker Ball finds him worthy and transforms his body into that of a powerful Cyborg.
- Facial Markings: Has an unexplained tomoe on his forehead, even prior to his transformation. It's revealed that his brothers have the same markings also since they're all intended to be the Keys to open Mandala's Box.
- Fashionable Asymmetry: Before and after becoming a Samurai, his outfit consists of a top with one long right sleeve that covers his arm and a short left sleeve which stops just below his shoulder.
- First-Episode Resurrection: When the rogue Samurai tells him to commit Seppuku to connect to the Locker Ball, Hachimaru obeys to save his father's life. At first it seems like the connection failed and he just died, but he's quickly reborn with a cyborg body.
- The Glasses Come Off: Inverted - Hachimaru's glasses become a part of his body after becoming a cyborg and generally rest atop his head. When a fight starts, the glasses automatically reposition themselves onto his face to show that Hachimaru is ready for combat.
- Healing Factor: Like all samurai, Hachimaru's body has a powerful healing factor that allows him to regenerate from any injury and reattach severed limbs in seconds.
- Heroes Love Dogs: Hachimaru's only companions at the start of the story are his father and his loyal Robot Dog Hayataro who Hachimaru programmed. Hayataro is never far from Hachimaru's side and Hachimaru speaks to him as if he were a person.
- Heroic Suicide: He commits suicide by Seppuku when told that doing so is the only way to save his father's life. Luckily, the blade he uses is one from a Locker Ball which gives him the means to be reborn.
- I Know Mortal Kombat: He wins his first battle as a Samurai using a style and strategy which he learned from a samurai video game.
- Implausible Fencing Powers: Cleanly and completely cuts a tank in half using a katana when said tank is much larger than the actual length of the sword. Even the smoke emitted by the tank is cleanly divided by his sword strike.
- Innocently Insensitive:
- Has a bad habit of lashing out at his father when he's upset, sometimes saying pretty harsh things. His dad never gets mad for it however, implying he's used to it at this point.
- He has a tendency to interrupt people before they finish their sentences, which annoys his Fated Princess Ann, causing her to act cold with him at first.
- On the same note, he is excited when he meets Ann for the first time because at first he only sees her as a mean for getting strong, rather than a relationship that he must cultivate. Ann sees through it and acts cold towards him at first.
- When he tries to praise Ann's cooking, he begins by saying how it looked like sludge first but was very tasty, which annoys Ann.
- Jumped at the Call: Is absolutely thrilled at the thought of becoming a spacefaring samurai warrior and when approached by Daruma immediately begins trying to work up the nerve to commit seppuku and prove himself. When Daruma gives him a choice between coming with him or living a peaceful life with his dad, Hachimaru doesn't even think twice and choses the former.
- Katanas Are Just Better: Hachimaru seems to think so. He even keeps a collection of model katanas.
- Kid Hero: A plucky eager child and the hero of the story.
- Magically Regenerating Clothing: During his rebirth, Hachimaru's clothes transformed along with the rest of his body and seem to now be a part of his unique Cyborg physiology that regenerate along with the rest of his body.
- Missing Mom: He was raised by his father for apparently his whole life, and his mother is never mentioned. Which is because he had no mother, as he was created in a lab by his father, who he isn't really related to.
- Nerd Glasses: Fitting for a fan of video games who can also program an AI if Hayatarou's anything to go by.
- Purely Aesthetic Glasses: After becoming a cyborg, Hachimaru no longer seems to need glasses to correct his vision. However, the glasses remain, now as a part of his body, which normally rest on top of his head.
- Retractable Weapon: After undergoing his Emergency Transformation, the cane built into his left arm develops into a retractable blade that is stored in his arm when not in use.
- Shonen Hair: His hair is a mess of dirty blonde spikes that jut out in every direction.
- The Shut-In: Involuntary example. Hachimaru's life was sustained only by a massive immobile life support system which prevented him from ever being able to leave his home.
- Skilled, but Naive: Being a shut-in gamer left him with no common sense in things like socializing and handling money(shown when he emptied his master's bank account on one item), but it did give him a talent for predicting enemy moves on a level his master compares to an elite warrior. Even with little battle experience, he can drop more experienced Samurai with hardly any effort.
- You Are Number 6: He is the Eighth of 8 brothers product of the experiment by Professor Furuta, his original name was "Hachikaku".
Daruma
Daruma
Debut: Chapter 1 (Manga)
The Mentor of Hachimaru, a legendary blind Samurai, master of the Kongo-Yasha style and stuck in cat-machine body. Daruma was entrusted by the Samurai Leader to search for the Keys needed to open Pandora's Box, which brought him to Hachimaru's planet where he meets the latter and witnesses him becoming a Samurai; He the takes him under his wing to train him in the ways of the Samurai while enlisting his help in finding the keys. Despite being stuck in a cat body he's still quite strong.
- All-Encompassing Mantle: He wears a red one with a pattern on the back similar to that of a daruma ball. When he sleeps, his body is completely hidden by the cloak.
- Blind Weaponmaster: Daruma is blind in both eyes but is still a samurai and a renowned swordsman. Somehow, this is true for both his original body and his current cat body.
- The Chooser of the One: Daruma is tasked by his master with choosing those 7 special samurai who together can unlock Pandora's box and save the galaxy.
- Death Glare: Even if he's blind, he gives one to Ata when he mentions what happened to Princess Baku, since Ata was apparently responsible for it.
- Delayed Causality: Invoked; his Silent Slash technique allows him to determine the length of time between his sword strike and the actual cut.
- Famed In-Story: Daruma is famous for his mastery of the Kongo-Yasha style of swordplay, his wolf holder, and for having overcome a thousand men in combat. Even a ronin on a remote planet immediately identifies him after seeing his fighting style.
- Funny Animal: His current cat body appears as such. He wears clothes and can grip a sword; however, there is nothing particularly human about his form.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: As a hero, the scar over his right eye - which he got from being hit by a technique that nullifies regeneration - is only a thin neat line.
- Guns Akimbo: When he brings out two handguns, he can wield and fire both simultaneously.
- Implausible Fencing Powers: Even when using a model sword, he can slice apart a tea cup from top to bottom so cleanly that the liquid inside separates with the two halves but does not spill. His Kongo-Yasha style even allows him the ability to delay the time between his sword strikes and the cut made.
- Master Swordsman: Certified as a master swordsman of the Kongo-Yasha school of swordplay.
- The Mentor: He quickly becomes this to Hachimaru after deciding to teach him the way of the samurai.
- Metaphorgotten: His analogies involving underwear can rapidly become a bit obscure.
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: A blind cyborg swordsman stuck in the body of a cat. Hachimaru even lampshades this upon meeting him telling him that he cannot be so many things at once as there are too many contradictions.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: With his cat like body, he doesn't even reach Hachimaru's shoulders when standing. However, he is still a master samurai and can match giant mecha in strength.
- Red Baron: He is known as the Lone Wolf.
- Red Is Heroic: Daruma is a noble samurai tasked with saving the galaxy, and red is his primary color scheme.
- Sleepyhead: Has a bad habit of falling asleep in the middle of his business, which can include right before a fight. While this is usually Played for Laughs, it actually has almost dire consequences for Hachimaru in chapter 5 since he's left alone to fight giant guardian Holders that Daruma was supposed to deactivate. Incidentally, it also plays into his cat theme, since cats are notoriously heavy sleepers. In Chapter 12 it's revealed that his regeneration is quicker when he sleeps, so he puts himself to sleep hoping Hachimaru and the others hold on their own for enough time against Ata.
- Sword and Gun: A scene of his original body shows that he once wielded his sword in his right hand and a gun with his left.
- Try to Fit That on a Business Card: A bit of a Running Gag is people calling him by his many impressive nicknames.
Hagamichi: Th… That symbol!! The master of the Kongo-Yasha style! The wandering Lone Wolf, slayer of a thousand! The star-crushing dog samurai! The evil biter!
- Unorthodox Reload: As Daruma is firing his handguns, new bullets are molded by his Key Holder and fed directly into them.
Hayataro
Hayataro
Debut: Chapter 1 (Manga)
- Action Pet: As a Key Holder, he acts as Hachimaru's partner during combat without command.
- Big Friendly Dog: Nonmenacing despite his large size and takes well to new people. His design emphasizes this appearing less obviously mechanical or threatening relative to other Holders with lots of round edges and blob shapes.
- Canine Companion: A dog that mews like a cat and is Hachimaru's faithful companion.
- Canis Major: His original body was very tiny; however, after his transformation Hayataro is large enough to serve as Hachimaru's mount.
- Deployable Cover: One use of his shapeshfting powers is to form a large shield from his metallic flesh.
- Eyes Always Shut: Almost always. The only exception is when he warps his metallic flesh away from his body and no longer has eyelids.
- Horse of a Different Color: By land and through the sky, Hayataro serves as Hachimaru's primary mode of transportation. For added symbolism, Hayataro's Holder form was constructed using the remains of Hachimaru's destroyed wheelchair which had been built so that Hachimaru could could finally leave his home and see the world.
- Intelligible Unintelligible: He only mews. Somehow, Hachimaru is able to understand these mews as specific messages.Hayataro: Meow! Meow!Hachimaru: What? You smell the same gunpowder as when we got shot out of the sky?
- Jet Pack: He showcases the ability to transform into a flight mode complete with wings and jet propulsion.
- Robot Dog: He's a robotic dog built and programmed by Hachimaru.
- Sheath Strike: When aiding Hachimaru in combating another Samurai, Hachimaru wields a katana whilst Hayataro wields the katana's sheath in his mouth and uses it to attack.
- Vocal Dissonance: Due to a programming error, Hayataro has the form of a dog but mews like a cat. This sticks even after his transformation.
- Voluntary Shapeshifter: His primary power like that of other Holders. While he has a rigid internal skeletal frame, his metallic 'flesh' can be shifted and molded to form shields and wings.
- We Can Rebuild Him: His original body is destroyed by a theiving Rōnin while attempting to defend Hachimaru. Luckily, Hachimaru's transformation into a samurai allows for Hayataro to also be reborn as his Holder with a larger more powerful body.
Ann
Ann
Debut: Chapter 6 (manga)
A "Princess" apprentice who lost the Locker Ball she was supposed to be guarding. Her Locker Ball was later used by Hachimaru to become a Samurai, which makes her Hachimaru's "Fated Princess".
- Cute Clumsy Girl: She is bubbly and adorable, and she was supposed to be guarding a Locker Ball but lost it due to carelessness.
- Feminine Women Can Cook: As part of an attempt to connect with her "Samurai Lord" Hachimaru despite them getting off to a bad start, she decides to make lunch for everyone. The meal is delicious… just not very appealing to the eye.
- Holding Hands: With Hachimaru:
- When they start to bond with each other and he pulls her over Hayataro to take flight.
- Later before Furuta dies, he takes both their hands and puts them together and tells Hachimaru to protect her.
- Meaningful Name: According to Daruma at least, her name stands for Aun, which refers to the names of the two Nioh guardians Agyoh and Ungyoh.
- Nightmare Fetishist: The floral arrangement class is supposed to help Princess pupils express their refined souls. The other pupils' creations are modest and elegant. Ann's creation is big, dark and terrifying, yet she presents it with a cute smile.
- Psychic Nosebleed: She gets a small nosebleed while praying for Hachimaru when the latter duels a Samurai.
- Shrinking Violet: When first meeting Hachimaru, she stutters and blushes. This is because Hachimaru became a Samurai with her Locker Ball, which makes her his "Fated Princess".
- Silk Hiding Steel: She immediately throws herself in front of Hachimaru to protect him from Ata.
- Speech Impediment: She stutters heavily, which makes her seem a little clumsy.
- Tsundere: Downplayed Trope, she acts cold towards Hachimaru at first, but she later admits to Daruma that she puts it up as facade to appear tough, and the readers at this point had already seen her Shrinking Violet true personality. She quickly warms up to him afterwards.
- Youthful Freckles: Serves to highlight her timid character.
Other Samurai
Samurai Leader
Samurai Leader
Debut: Chapter 1 (Manga)
Daruma's boss, the strongest Samurai in the galaxy who keeps a certain evil at bay.
- Big Good: Implied to be this, since she's the only one who's keeping an evil (hinted it to be Kala) in check.
- World's Greatest Warrior: The strongest Samurai, who guards the whole galaxy and sends Daruma on his quest to find 7 Keys for Pandora's Box.
Nanashi
Nanashi
Debut: Chapter 2 (Manga)
A secluded youth with no past and no namenote whom Hachimaru meets by chance (i.e. crashing through their roof). While biologically male, Nanashi's complete lack of identity has left them unsure of their own gender.
- Ambiguous Gender Identity: Nanashi is physically male, but can't settle on what gender they are, which points to gender fluidity. However, while gender-fluid people typically identify themselves as such, Nanashi's alternation stems from a lack of self-identity. This is emphasized by their right hand being "male" and their left hand being "female", each matching Nanashi's gender to their own while Nanashi remains silent on the matter.
- Consulting Mister Puppet: Nanashi "talks" with their hands, "Mr. Right" and "Miss Left", which also scold them and bicker with each other. It is unclear whether it's Nanashi just talking to themself or a case of Split Personality.
- Expository Pronoun: Nanashi's right hand uses the masculine "ore", their left hand uses the feminine "watashi", while Nanashi themself uses "boku", which is usually a male pronoun but is sometimes used by girls too.
- Eyes Out of Sight: Their long hair covers their eyes most of the time, reinforcing the notion of being "invisible" and having no identity.
- Hikikomori: They have spent several years without any human contact, playing virtual games. At one point they say that they only exist in the game.
- Pronoun Trouble: The classic case of the translators having to decide which pronoun to use due to Nanashi's Ambiguous Gender Identity and the lack of gender markers in the Japanese text. The English translation uses "he" when Hachimaru or Mr. Right speak, and "she" when Miss Left speaks, while the French translation sticks to a default male pronoun.
- The Rival: In their virtual reality game, they've crossed swords many times with Hachimaru, and they're the two best at the game due to being secluded at home and pouring all of their time and effort into it.
- Somebody Named "Nobody": "Nanashi" means "Nameless" in Japanese, since they don't know anything about their past.
Lord Mujin
Lord Mujin
Debut: Chapter 6 (manga)
The Samurai guardian of Hachimaru's planet.
- Have You Seen My God?: He calls out for the War God Fudo Myo-o to not forsake him, just before Ata delivers the final blow to him.
- The Phoenix: Invoked with his companion animal, Garuda, and his title, "the Immortal".
- Red Baron: Known as "The Immortal" Lord Mujin.
- The Worf Effect: After setting him up as the strongest Samurai of Hachimaru's planet with Daruma expressing his respects for him, he gets completely destroyed by Ata.
Hagamichi
Hagamichi
Debut: Chapter 7 (manga)
A Samurai tasked with finding Hachimaru when he became a Samurai and to introduce him with his "Fated Princess" Ann.
- More Dakka: He transforms part his Keyholder animal into a machine gun against Ata.
- Noble Wolf: His Keyholder animal is a black wolf.
Ata
Ata
Debut: Chapter 7 (manga)
An evil Samurai who betrayed the Kongo-Yasha style, who searches for the Hachimaru. He and Professor Furuta have a history together.
- Astral Projection: He sends a (presumably weaker) projection of him to hunt for Hachimaru.
- A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil: He used to be a pupil of Daruma.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: It's shown that he utterly annihilated Lord Mujin, the strongest Samurai of Hachimaru's planet and decimated his guard. The scariest part? It wasn't even his real body to do so!
- The Dragon: He's apparently Kala's strongest supporter.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: He gets half of his body sucked by Furuta's soul-sucking device.
- Hypocrite: Yells at Hachimaru for using Fudo Myo-o's name too lightly and in vain. When he reveals that his faction plan to use Hachimaru's seven "brothers" to become gods themselves in answer to Fudo's supposed betrayal, Daruma calls him out for naming Fudo in vain as well.
- Earth-Shattering Kaboom: He effortlessly shatters the moon, Muun, of Hachimaru's planet.
- Faux Affably Evil: He addresses Daruma as "master" and politely kneels to him, even Hachimaru thinks at first that maybe he's not so bad after all.
- Knight of Cerebus: He's the first big threat of the story, his arrival kills all humour and puts the main characters in serious danger for the first time. It even causes the death of Hachimaru's father.
- Our Dragons Are Different: His companion animal seems to be a huge, eastern dragon.
- Red Baron: Ata "the Peerless", a well-earned nickname, considering how much damage a phantom copy of him did.
- Serrated Blade of Pain: His personal katana has several nail-like protusions along its edge, evoking the look of a barbed sword. And from what we've seen, he's not a nice guy.
- Storm of Blades: Aside from his energy sword, he carries four more seemingly normal blades he can move telekinetically.
Ikkaku
Ikkaku
Debut: Chapter 13 (manga)
The first the of Eight Keys to open Mandala's box and Hachimaru's eldest brother. He and Ata seem to have a teacher/student relationship under the orders of Kala.- Artificial Human: Like Hachimaru, he's the part of the main result of Professor Furuta's experiment.
- Cain and Abel: He searches for Hachimaru in order to take his power back for himself and the rest of his brothers, killing him in the process.
- Evil Twin: He looks identical to Hachimaru, only with dark hair and a white tomoe instead of a dark one.
- You Are Number 6: As the first brother his name reflects this fact.
Kala
Kala
Debut: Chapter 15 (manga)
An extremely powerful and evil samurai, founder of the Ususama Style. Seeks to open the Mandala Box to destroy the Galaxy.
- Big Bad: From what Daruma said so far, he seems to be this for the manga.
- BFS: When he appears in chaptr 35, his torso is surrounded by a Field of Blades, with two huge katana with opposite colors standing to his sides.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: According to Fudo, Kala cannot understand the beauty and the nature of the current universe, which is why he essentially wants to revert everything to the previous state by destroying everything in the Galaxy, up to the very fundamental structure of the Galaxy itself.
- Humanoid Abomination: In chapter 35, Fudo Myo-oh himself shows Hachimaru and Daruma how Kala looks like: appearing as a towering man with an eerie squared chin with a slit-like triangular mouth in it, while the top of his head resembles a DNA double helix with a flame in the middle. He's also fused to a colossal skull beneath the waist.
- Master Swordsman: His skill with the sword was so big he created his own style from scratch.
- Nothing but Skulls: He has always appeared sitting on top of a giant skull, shrouded in shadows. According to chapter 35, he's literally "fused" with said giant skull.
- Person of Mass Destruction: According to Daruma, Kala has enough power to routinely annihilate whole planets like nothing, and given that his number 2 Ata can, with an Astral Projection, cleave a moon in half, this isn't an hyperbole.
- World's Strongest Man: According to Daruma at least, and thanks to the Ususama style he invented.
Ryu
Ryu
Debut: Chapter 17 (manga)
A ronin Samurai with no memories and Kotsuga's partner.- Forgetful Jones: He constantly has to be reminded about everything, including his own name, every single time someone talks to him.
- Literal-Minded: Lampshaded by Kotsuga, when he tells him to slice everyone but Ann, he then turns his blade on his partner, since "everyone" also includes him.
- Morph Weapon: He can change his katana into different shapes, including a scythe, a drill and a dual-bladed saber staff.
Benkei
Benkei the Key Hunter
Debut: Chapter 19 (manga)
An Oni Samurai from planet O-06, he organized a Samurai tournament with a billion Yen as a reward, but according to Daruma, he's a notorious and infamous criminal and former Samurai.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: His ace in the sleeve, Oniwakamaru, is a satellite-sized Key Ship which can take the form of a colossal demon-like creature with massive blades on his arms, capable of slicing huge gashes in planets.
- Animal Motifs: Bulls, as seen with his animal companion, size and armor.
- Arc Villain: The first standalone antagonist of a story arc in the manga.
- Body Horror: When he finally confronts the heroes aboard his ship, he's half-merged with his bull Ushiwakamaru and has Yoshitsune's skeletal head and arm poking out of his own torso.
- Brutish Bulls: His companion animal Ushiwakamaru is a huge bull-like monster with a set of gator-like teeth jutting from his lower jaw.
- Comically Missing the Point: He misunderstands what Hachimaru meant when he said that he wanted him as a reward in case of victory. Apparently, it's not the first time...
- Deceptive Disciple: Was this to his former employer Shana Yoshitsune, Kotsuga's real father.
- Evil Mentor: To Kotsuga, his former protegé and now partner in crime.
- Expy: Of Musashibo Benkei, being a huge warrior resembling a monk, wielding a polearm, as well as being a Oni (Oniwakamaru was Benkei's childhood name) and having an animal partner called "Ushiwakamaru" (the name of Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune in his youth, Benkei's companion).
- The Fagin: After Kotsuga was discarded by his clan, Benkei took him in and tought him how to get his hands on money illegitimately.
- Fangs Are Evil: He sports two tiny tusks which grow larger when he reveals his real intention.
- Guns Akimbo: He can sprout two additional arms equipped with guns.
- Green-Eyed Monster: While he claimed that his betrayal of Shana Yoshitsune was a case of Break the Haughty, the memories imply that he was simply envious of Yoshitsune and his fortune, so he took everything he had from him, his son, wife and life.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: After trapping his enemies, he orders Kotsuga to finish them off to prove his loyalty. Kotsuga turns on him and cuts him in half.
- Kick the Dog: After Yoshitsune's wife takes the dagger for her son, Benkei, pretending to rescue her, proceed to sink the blade deeper, killing her and causing Yoshitsune's Death by Despair.
- I Lied: About the tournament, and about being the Key Holder Hachimaru was looking for and the prize.
- Losing Your Head: By the time the heroes are done with him, Benkei is reduced to a still-living head imprisoned in a forcefield, taken away to be judged and sentenced to prison.
- Master of None: He claims to have mastered four different styles, but as Daruma quickly reveals, he just copied techniques from stronger samurai and didn't bother to improve his own skills. It doesn't help that most of them were stolen.
- Oni: He comes from a planet of Oni, and used to have prominent horns, now filed down kinda like Hellboy.
- Only in It for the Money: When Hachimaru tries to persuade him to join them, he claims that he'll choose money over noble actions.
- Red Baron: "Key Hunter" Ben, an infamous title as he is known galaxy wide for killing other Samurai and stealing their Keys.
- Stone Wall: Ushiwakamaru can generate shields sturdy enough to block explosive bullets with ease.
Other Princesses
Baku
Baku
A Princess who is implied to be bonded to Daruma who in turn refuses to talk about her, her fate is unknown.- The Ghost: She was first mentioned by Ata and previously Daruma had refused to talk about his Princess when Hachimaru asked him about her.
- Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Daruma refuses to talk about her every time Hachimaru asks about her.
- The Lost Lenore: Implied to be this for Daruma, his dialog and the Samurai's Leader implies her to be dead.
Sa
Sa
Debut: Chapter 6 (manga)
An elderly Princess bonded to Lord Mujin, she was the first one to detect when Hachimaru became a Samurai with Ann's Locker Ball and notified the Princesses Academy of it.- Grow Old with Me: Implied Trope with Lord Mujin, since she reminisces when she first meet her Samurai Lord when he was a kid not unlike Hachimaru.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Her detecting Hachimaru becoming a Samurai kicks off the events that would lead Ann to meet him for the first time.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: She died alongside Lord Mujin when the latter was defeated by Ata.
Un
Un
Debut: Chapter 7 (manga)
A Princess bonded to Hagamichi, she's the headmistress of the Princess Academy Ann was studying on.- Beneath the Mask: She always projects a proper and dignified look when she's around her Samurai Lord, but in reality she considers herself to be quite sloppy in private.
- Sweet Tooth: We first see her stuffing her face with sweets.
- Reasonable Authority Figure:
- Rather than scolding Ann for losing her Locker Ball, he instead provides her with guidance about her new role as an actual Samurai's Princess.
- In a flashback when she met Ann and her brother, she explains to them the type of training required to be a Samurai candidate and encourages them and wishes them luck on their dream.
Niri
Niri
Debut: Chapter 7 (manga)
An evil Princess bonded to Ata, she detected Hachimaru as the Eighth Key when the latter became a Samurai, and relayed that information to Ata to set him on track.
- An Arm and a Leg: She is missing one arm and in its place she has an empty socket.
- Body Horror: She has no eyes, she is missing an arm and her body seems to be fused with Ata's combat animal.
- Gorgeous Gorgon: She evokes this look with her hair-like tendrils from her head.
Others
Professor Furuta
Professor Furuta
Debut: Chapter 1 (Manga)
Hachimaru's father, who built various supporting items to make his son's life easier.
- Dark and Troubled Past: He's implied to have gotten the money in chapter 1 by not-so-legal means, and got on an evil Samurai's bad side after betraying him when he worked for him.
- Gadgeteer Genius: His talent for building new technology is seemingly the reason Ata and Niri hired him to work for them in the first place.
- Healthcare Motivation: He traded with a fishy and amoral ronin to get his hands on a Locker Ball, with which he could have completed a special chair that would have allowed Hachimaru to move around freely.
- Sacrificial Lion: He dies after the protagonists' encounter with Ata, which kicks off Hachimaru's trip to find the Key's for Pandora's Box.
- Taking the Bullet: He shields Hachimaru from Ata's slash with his body and gets grievously wounded in process.
- Taking You with Me: He attempts to use a Samurai's Soul-sucking device on his chest to take down Ata at the cost of his life.
- Truly Single Parent: He was the lead scientist of the project that created Hachimaru and his brothers; later he fled with Hachimaru to save his life and raised him as his child.
Kotsuga
Kotsuga / Shana Sanda
Debut: Chapter 17 (manga)
A thieving bushi looking for his next mark alongside his partner, Ryu.- Freudian Excuse: He was initially a member of a very influenial family which had a long-standing samurai tradition. However, he was soon written off as a failure once it was discovered that his chances of surviving the seppuku ritual were just too low to be worth even trying it. After his father's death, Kotsuga was adopted by Benkei who groomed him to become a glorified pickpocket.
- Heel–Face Turn: Once the truth about the demise of his parents is revealed to him, he decides to aid Hachimaru for real.
- Hopeless Suitor: He seems to have taken a liking to Ann and constantly hits on her, but she repeatedly turns him down and ignores him in favour of Hachimaru.
- Lovable Rogue: His introduction presents him as this.
- The Mole: He was secretly working with Benkei the whole time.
- Mugging the Monster: He attempts to steal what he assumed was Daruma's ship, which in reality was his Keyholder animal, not to mention Daruma being a legendary Samurai leagues above his partner Ryu.
- The Reveal: Kotsuga is actually Sanda, son of Shana Yoshitsune and a victim of Benkei's revenge. Also, he was only diagnosed as unfit for the Seppuku ritual because Benkei swapped his blood sample with another one.
- Shadow Archetype: He is ultimately the kind of person Hachimaru could have become if he gave up on becoming a samurai and passed the Despair Event Horizon, all without a caring father figure to support him.
- Walking Spoiler: His actual loyalties and backstory are a major twist, not to mention his real identity.
Ann's Brother, i.e.: Nanashi
Ann's Brother
Debut: Chapter 21 (manga)
Ann's adoptive elder brother, he died when Ann was a little girl.- Appropriated Appellation: As an orphan he was called "Nanashi" (no name) as an insult, he however appropiated the name with it's alternate meaning, "Seven Wishes" for protecting Ann.
- Big Brother Instinct: He was always very protective of his little sister, frequently taking beatings from bullies for her.
- Not Blood Siblings: Despite looking alike, it is mentioned that him and Ann were not blood related.
- One-Steve Limit: Subverted, he shares the same name as the other youth Hachimaru met, Nanashi; it's actually a "name" given by default to all orphan children where they grew up.
- Post Humous Character: He's been dead since long before the start of the story.
- Senseless Sacrifice: He died by committing seppuku with a Locker Ball in a temple, in the hopes of becoming a Samurai and protect Ann. Sadly the Locker Ball didn't chose him.
- Speech Impediment: He heavily stuttered, just like Ann.
- Youthful Freckles: He is shown to have them like his little sister, despite not being related.
