This is a page about the characters of Nobuyuki Fukumoto's Ten. Currently under construction; feel free to contribute.
Takashi Ten
Ten is a friendly guy who happens to be good at mahjong; or to be more precise, cheating at it. He's often hired to turn the tables around in the client's favour. If he gets caught, he lets his opponents beat him, because he knows how frustrating it is to lose. In the yakuza gamble, he joins the east side.
- Anime Hair: His hair is not unlike a lion's mane... if said lion got a zap of static electricity.
- Card Sharp: As a mahjong player, he is average at best. But as a con man, he is second to none. When his friends are struggling to win a high-stakes game, he is the one they call on to even the odds - not for his skills at the game, but for his skills at sleight of hand.
- Cheaters Never Prosper: Downplayed. He usually gets away with cheating... but his opponents usually aren't too happy when they find out, and he has the scars to prove it.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Only for the first few chapters, though. He invites Hiroyuki to live with him while he's at University but then pisses Hiroyuki off by giving away everything Hiroyuki owns to people Ten thinks need them more. He also takes and blows a million yen that belongs to Hiroyuki on fireworks, finally driving Hiroyuki to leave. By the time they meet each other again over a high-stakes mahjong game, the manga's tone is much more serious and Ten's ditched his comedic weirdo vibes.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has multiple scars on his face as a result of the beatings he's willingly endured from angry opponents.
- Polyamory: He has two unnamed wives, and the three of them sleep together.
- Scars Are Forever: He got them from letting his opponents beat him up after being caught cheating.
Hiroyuki Igawa
A youth who becomes Ten's friend after a gamble early on. Unlike Ten he has a natural talent for mahjong, but doesn't like taking risks. Occasionally serves as the series' narrator.
- Always Second Best: He becomes pretty miserable through most of the series because he considers himself inferior to Ten and Akagi.
Shigeru Akagi
An enigmatic man and a legendary mahjong player.
For tropes displayed by Akagi in the prequel, see his character sheet here.
- Better to Die than Be Killed: Akagi chooses to go through medically-assisted suicide rather than have his mind deteriorate due to Alzheimer's. The fact that he was never afraid to face death makes it easier to digest...the fact that his mind was the greatest weapon he ever had and the fact that he was only in his early fifties doesn't.
- The Gambler: Has been playing high-stakes games since he was a kid, and is considered a legend thanks to a combination of his analytical skills and his absurd luck.
- Handicapped Badass: He finds out he has Alzheimer's just before the series' finale.
- Not So Stoic: Loses his temper shortly after his introduction, and sheds a few tears in the finale.
Sawada
A Yakuza.
- Katanas Are Just Better: Stabs Ten when he cheats. Hiroyuki saves him. This is arguably the point where the series gradually becomes more serious.
Ken
A friend of Hiroyuki's. He plays for the East side in a Yakuza gamble.
- The Idiot from Osaka: To a certain extent. He's young, brash and enthusiastic, even directly challenging Harada- who, despite also being from Osaka, is a much cooler, calmer character and thus accordingly loses his accent as the series progresses.
Mitsui Soga
A brilliant old man who plays for West.
Ginji Asai
Plays for East.
Shuuzou Kanamitsu
The head priest of a mahjong temple. He joins the East side.
- Dirty Old Monk: Priests are generally not involved in gambling between Yakuza gangs after all. He was also in Hawaii picking up chicks for some time along with several other characters, and takes a piece of Akagi's grave hoping it will bring him luck.
Hitoshi Washio
A really skilled mahjong player. He plays for the East side.
Katsumi Harada
The head of a Yakuza gang. He plays for the West side.
Ten's wives
Two women, both married to Ten. They appear physically early on, and are mentioned again much later in the series.
Ogami
He plays for the West side.
