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Jyuken Club
Maya Natsume
Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (JP), Wendee Lee (EN)
The 17-year-old captain of the present Jyuken Club. A third-year student, she can control her body by shrinking herself to the appearance of an 8-year-old. She had a previous relationship with Mitsuomi Takayanagi, but has now sworn revenge on him for the events surrounding the death of her older brother, Shin.
- Action Girl: She's the strongest fighter in the Jyuken Club, and one of the best in the entire school.
- Always Someone Better: To her younger sister Aya.
- Badass Normal: She doesn't have any supernatural powers, unlike her sister and other main characters; her fighting ability is all born from natural ki manipulation. This is subverted, bringing her up to Empowered Badass Normal, once her Amaterasu's Dragon Gate is revealed and becomes active.
- Beneath the Mask: Under her confident, calm exterior, Maya carries a lot of guilt over how her friendship with Mitsuomi nearly ruined his life and got Shin killed, which is what keeps such a large strain on her relationship with him in the present day, and can be sad or brooding at times over how her previous mistakes haunt the current Jyuken Club.
- Close-Call Haircut: Has one while fighting against Emi Misuzu at the bowling alley, leading to the hairstyle shown in her profile picture; prior to that, it was extremely long, spilling onto the ground in her child form.
- Dual Age Modes: Her ki conservation technique allowes her to appear either as a child or an adult.
- Face Death with Dignity: In the last chapter, she gladly sacrifices herself to save Souichiro.
- Hair Antennae: Lampshaded several times in-universe.
- Hair Intakes: Her hairstyle has two intakes that look like cat ears.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Absorbs and nullifies the many, many powers that Souichiro has absorbed, as well as his ability to absorb them, in order to free him from his father and from the power of Susano'o. There was so much that she ends up dying as well to save him.
- Intimate Healing: She performs this on Souichiro via mouth-to-mouth when he had exhausted himself during his early training using ki. It goes over with Aya as well as could be expected.
- It's All My Fault: For all her bluster, she takes this position in regard to her brother's death and her estrangement from Mitsuomi; she feels that her own inability to properly split herself from Shin and her reckless actions in trying are what wound up isolating Mitsuomi and getting Shin killed, and can't forgive herself for it.
- Living Emotional Crutch: When she was younger, she was this to Shin, oftentimes keeping him from rampaging out of control. This gets deconstructed hard, though; eventually, Maya can't stand his overprotectiveness or the violent means he takes to defend her, and wanted to get stronger so that he'd stop feeling the need to protect her. Her methods for trying to break away from him cause extreme trouble to say the least.
- Master of the Mixed Message: Part of the reason both Mitsuomi and Souichiro became so enamored with Maya, and why Aya gets so upset with her with regards to Souichiro falling in love with her; Maya has a bad habit of being unable to say what she really means, and then failing to consider the impact of that until the results smack her in the face. In Souichiro's case it turns out that she really didn't mean to turn him on.
- Ms. Fanservice: She doesn't seem to mind being naked or half-naked more often than not. Includes Furo Scenes, Modesty Towels and a lot of Panty Shots.
- Mystical White Hair: Putting aside her more common Dragon Gate power, possessing the nullification abilities of the Amaterasu Dragon's Gate qualifies her for this trope.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Her rebellion against Shin's group and disregard for her own safety contributed to Shin's rampage against his own comrades, which broke up KATANA and forced Bunshichi to beat sense back into Shin at great injury to both of them (Shin lost the use of one of his eyes for a while, and Bunshichi's legs were extremely damaged). Moreover, when Shin and Mitsuomi had their final fight, her concern for Mitsuomi caused Shin to hit Mitsuomi with a dangerously crippling ki strike.
- Older Than They Look: Three words: "Body Refinement Technique".
- Power Nullifier: It is eventually revealed that Maya possesses the Amaterasu Dragon's Gate, which cancels out "Red Feather" powers. This is the real reason why she was entrusted with Reiki, as she was able to keep it in its sealed state with her Gate's power. Her power is also integral to sealing away the powers that Souichiro has collected in his body by the end of the manga.
- Sleep-Mode Size: She uses her younger form to build up her ki for future fights.
- The Tease: She makes a habit of doing this to Souichiro in the present and did so with Mitsuomi in the past, sometimes even without realizing it.
- You Remind Me Of My Brother: One of the reasons why she felt an attraction to Souichiro was that he gave off the same aura as Shin did in their carefree fighting days. Mitsuomi even calls her out on it as the main reason she picked Soichiro for her club.
Masataka Takayanagi
Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (JP), Johnny Yong Bosch (EN)
A polite second-year who trains under Maya. He falls in love with Aya at first sight, but is crushed when she goes for Souichiro instead. He's an excellent, but often overlooked, martial artist, and can enter into a berserker rage when pushed too far. His membership in the Jyuken Club is why he's currently estranged from his older brother, Mitsuomi.
- Achilles' Heel: During their first fight, Masataka is stunned when Souichiro holds Aya's bento close to his face, allowing Souichiro to give him a solid punch to the stomach. In the manga, Masataka accidentally catches his foreskin in his zipper, making his peers chuckle because a dozen opponents couldn't bring him to his knees before.
- Artificial Limbs: He had to get his hand replaced after Souichiro-turned-Susano'o cuts it off in the big showdown.
- Badass Normal: He's one of the no-special-powers kind of fighters. Still, he manages to defeat his brother Mitsuomi later in the manga, and at the end he becomes the only Worthy Opponent to a God-of-War-possessed Soichiro.
- Berserk Button: Aya fawning over Souichiro proves to be this along with Souichiro disregarding the lunch she made for him.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Despite his Butt-Monkey tendencies and Nice Guy nature, he's one of the strongest characters in the series, bar none. People that underestimate him usually tend to regret it once he's pushed hard enough.
- Breakout Character: Masataka's role greatly expands in the second half of the manga, slowly building him up as one of the key factors to ending the whole conflict; his presence is so well established by then that Masataka actually has more manga volume covers than even Souichiro.
- Butt-Monkey: The way he is treated sometimes in-series, being a Nice Guy in a school full of Hot-Blooded Delinquents.
- Covert Pervert: A HUGE one, expecially when Aya is involved. Often Played for Laughs.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: When pushed, Masataka hands these out like candy. First, when an untrained Souichiro provokes and challenges him at the beginning of the story, Masataka beats him without much trouble (in the anime, this escalates to a brutal beating that leaves Souichiro bloodied and barely conscious). Then, after several volumes of fading into the background, he comes back with a vengeance, utterly crushing Madoka and later a reanimated Fu Chi'en, two otherwise incredibly dangerous fighters, as well as the three strongest members of the Executive Committee while taking hardly any damage at all, feats that would've been far beyond him at the start of the series.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Keeps trying to court Aya despite her lack of interest. Culminates in a Love Confession near the end of the manga, but Aya kindly rejects him, stating that though she does love him, she loves Souichiro far more.
- Hopeless Suitor: Towards Aya.
- Nice Guy: In contrast to Souichiro, he's a polite and kind young man who usually avoids starting fights for no reason, unless he's pushed too far (Souichiro learnt that the hard way).
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Delivers one to Souichiro in the anime for using Aya's bento to get a cheap shot in. He doesn't get as violent when Souichiro pulls the same trick in the manga, but only because Maya and Aya's interference stops him from going full throttle.
- Oblivious to Love: Madoka Mawari has a crush on him. He doesn't know about it at all, mostly because she can't spit it out.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Is one of the blue oni to Souichiro's red, being much calmer and generally relaxed than him (though he can be set off given enough effort, as his early beatdown of Souichiro proves handily).
- The Reliable One: Is frequently the only thing keeping the club from fragmenting completely. In Volume 12 of the maga, Kurei calls him the club's most reliably competent member.
Aya Natsume
Voiced by: Minori Chihara (JP), Stephanie Sheh (EN)
A first-year student at the Todo Academy and Maya's equally busty younger sister. Like her brother Shin, she possesses the Dragon's Eyes, which give her powerful clairvoyance in addition to letting her see into both the past and potential futures, see and listen to the dead, and learn things from inanimate objects. However, she doesn't have voluntary control over it. Since the first time they met (involving an unintentional meetup in the bath), she has devoted herself to becoming Souichiro’s wife.
- Action Girl: She's not as strong as her sister, but is still a high-level fighter in the school.
- Badass Adorable: She is a cute and nice girl when she's not obsessing over Soichiro or fighting with her own Superpowered Evil Side.
- The Ditz: Despite her superhuman skills, she often comes out as this due to her cheerful, mostly carefree nature.
- Dogged Nice Girl: Single-mindedly devotes herself to Souichiro, even though he doesn't appear to return her feelings beyond the platonic level.
- Feminine Women Can Cook: Cooks most of the meals at home, as Maya can't cook that well. She also makes lunches for Souichiro, which he continually refuses to eat.
- Idiot Hair: One strand of hair that sticks up from the top of her head.
- Katanas Are Just Better: She's rarely seen without one or a bokken.
- Love Hurts: Breaks down crying after overhearing Souichiro has feelings for Maya, but refuses to give up on loving him.
- Ms. Fanservice: Even moreso than Maya. Includes Furo Scenes, Modesty Towels, several Shower Scenes and a lot of Panty Shots.
- Muscles Are Meaningless: Since most fighters use ki to improve their strength, Aya's build belies her strength.
- Superpowered Evil Side: Her Dragon's Eyes go out of control at one point, and she beats Shiro Tagami into a paste with his own weapon.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Feminine, a good cook, follows the family traditions. Also devoted to becoming Souichiro's wife.
Souichiro Kengo Nagi
Voiced by: Soichiro Hoshi (JP), Steve Staley (EN)
A self proclaimed hoodlum, and the heir of the Nagi demon exorcist family. A first-year student, he's been fighting his whole life due to his family's reputation. Because of this, he has problems expressing his feelings toward people, often acting detached or surly even to his friends and family.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Souichiro was bullied extensively during elementary school, due to his mother's exorcist powers and status as a disabled single mother giving them a reputation as freaks and weirdoes. This ostracism is why he became a delinquent in the first place.
- Amazon Chaser: He falls in love with Maya after she easily defeats him.
- Brought Down to Normal: In the end, Maya sacrifices herself to remove the power that was consuming him, sealing the powers he's absorbed and his Dragon Fist as well. It's unknown if his natural Dragon Gate remains.
- Blood Knight: Always looking for a good fight to be excited by. Reaches Death Seeker levels once he becomes Susano'o, as he regards Masataka as his only Worthy Opponent, and the only one capable of murdering him in order to stop him from becoming another Shin.
- Break the Haughty: He starts off as an arrogant punk who thinks he's invincible because he's pretty good at street fighting. He's quickly proven wrong when he fights against Masataka for the first time, who's a highly trained martial artist. That loss inspires him to get serious about fighting and pursue martial arts.
- Combat Pragmatist: He starts off this way at least, using Aya's bento lunch gift she had given him to distract Masataka (who's in love with her) and get in a punch. Unfortunately for Nagi, this proves to be Masataka's Berserk Button and he proceeds to badly beat him. Even as he becomes more trained in martial arts and takes things more seriously, he never quite stops pulling out all the stops to win.
- Clark Kent Outfit: At first glance, he seems to be short and scrawny in his school jacket only to take it off and reveal that he's positively jacked underneath. It doesn't matter much at the beginning of the series, though, as he still loses to Masataka despite his muscles.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Develops a mild case of this against Mitsuomi when it becomes clear that Mitsuomi and Maya are still somewhat attracted to each other.
- Delinquent: Before getting in the Jyuken Club he was one of these, randomly picking fights with anyone and forming a pair known as the "Knuckle Bombs" prior to arriving at Todo Academy.
- Death Is Cheap: Once he gets control of his father's powers, he demonstrates the ability to revive people and other living beings, though in the case of the cherry tree outside of the Juuken Club's building, it didn't turn out so nicely.
- Decoy Protagonist: It initially looks like he's the hero of the story, but towards the end Maya and Masataka take that role.
- Eyepatch of Power: His right eye is removed and replaced with Sohaku's before the start of the Tournament Arc, causing him to wear one of these.
- Fate Worse than Death: Averted, but just barely: he nearly had his body, and the absurd amount of powers he'd taken from other fighters, stolen by his own father to enact a thousand-year war.
- Generation Xerox: Ultimately, his character arc winds up paralleling his mother Makiko's. Sohaku uses both of them to try to create the Ultimate Warrior, relying on their Dragon's Fist to do so, and Sohaku is ultimately responsible for both Souichiro and Makiko losing eyes (Makiko's left, Souichiro's right). However, where their stories diverge is that Sohaku ultimately judged Makiko a failure and threw her away, leaving her permanently disabled, but viewed Souichiro as the perfect vessel for his plans and sought to shape Souichiro as such, leaving his body mostly intact.
- First Kiss: Had Aya take his from him, much to his chagrin.
- Fighting from the Inside: Despite his body running out of control at Sohaku's whims, his conscience is still active deep down, and he takes on Sohaku in a Battle in the Center of the Mind accompanied by both Aya and Maya; it's ultimately Masataka transferring ki to this inner Souichiro that gives Souichiro the strength to kill Sohaku's spirit once and for all.
- Hot-Blooded: One of his distinguishing character traits, which tends to obfuscate both his more introspective and cannier moments.
- Hot for Teacher: His feelings towards Maya. Definitely a case of Likes Older Women since she is two years older than him.
- I'll Kill You!: He says it a lot, but not even close to being literal.
- Jerkass: At the start of the series, he's very much a young, arrogant punk. Over time, he evolves to a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: His hair grows out well beyond his back once he becomes the Ultimate Warrior.
- Love at First Punch: The moment Maya fought and beat him, he became infatuated with her.
- Love Triangle: He falls for Maya, but Aya likes him too, and despite his loud protestation against Aya's feelings and clinginess, they become good friends with no small amount of tension between them.
- Mark of the Supernatural: Sohaku's eye is distinctly different from his own, possessing a spiral pattern. Once he's returned to normal, this no longer applies.
- Mega Manning: His Dragon's Gate ability, hereditary to the Nagi family, allows him to to absorb the Dragon Gates of other people and use them for himself. However, doing so, especially in combination with his exorcist form, runs the risk of him losing control and becoming a berserker killing machine, or being killed by his own power. He is forced to steal hundreds of powers by his father, Sohaku, and eventually becomes the True Warrior Susano'o, continuing to absorb powers until his final battle with Masataka. At that point he has almost 3700 powers under his control.
- Momma's Boy: Messing with his mother brings out the Dragon within - literally.
- Mystical White Hair: As the True Warrior Susano'o, his hair is completely bone-white.
- The Napoleon: Judging by this
cover, he's only about 150 cm tall (4'9) not counting his hair. Gets Lampshaded by some of Asshat's groupies, who refer to him as "shorty". In his defense though, he is slightly taller than that particular picture would imply, as he's officially listed as 165 cm (5'4). - No Guy Wants to Be Chased: He finds Aya's clingy crush to be extremely aggravating and doesn't hesitate to say so.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Receives this from Masataka in the first serious fight the series presented. He then begins to deliver these himself as his own power grows.
- Physical God: As the True Warrior Susano'o. Complete with Power Makes Your Hair Grow.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Is the red oni to both Bob and Masataka, being temperamental, prideful, and arrogant.
- Replacement Goldfish: Aya thinks that Maya is treating him as a substitute for Shin. It doesn't help that Maya is an absolute Master of the Mixed Message.
- Super Mode: His Demon Exorcist form, which causes his hair to turn black and fall straight down; in this state he is capable of using his natural ability of generating electricity as long as he touches the earth, in addition to the powers he's stolen.
- Superpowered Evil Side: His Demon Exorcist form straddles the line on this; while he can use it safely to some degree, the infinite ki it provides runs the risk of overwhelming him and sending him into a berserk rage. The True Warrior Susano'o form he takes on near the climax of the manga acts as a second one, as it's formed from all the Dragon Gate powers he's taken into himself and Sohaku's spirit in Souichiro's body helps maintain it; while Souichiro is in some degree of control, his bloodthirst and desire to fight is amplified beyond his normal levels.
- Will They or Won't They?: With Aya Natsume. The manga does shows them becoming closer friends and they later develop a Psychic Link telling them if the other is in danger. However, nothing develops romantically, even by the manga's end, in part because of Souichiro's feelings for Maya.
Bob Makihara
Voiced by: Shin-ichiro Miki (JP), Jamieson Price (EN)
Souichiro's friend, who is of African descent. He and Souichiro first met and became friends in elementary school. Naturally athletic, he fights using the Brazilian fighting style capoeira. Because of his ancestry, when he first arrived at Todo, some addressed him as "The Foreigner". He is the conservative one of the pair, and unlike Souichiro, he does not let his rage overtake him, most of the time.
- Bash Brothers: He has this dynamic with Souichiro early on, which begins to fade a bit as Souichiro begins to pull ahead of him in strength.
- Cool Bike: One of his prized possessions, such that he gets incredibly pissed off when it gets wrecked by Ryuuzaki.
- Dance Battler: Practices Capoeira and uses rhythm to predict his opponents' moves.
- Delinquent: Before the beginning of the story, along with Souichiro.
- Dreadlock Warrior: Given his African background, he sports some wicked dreadlocks.
- Gag Penis: The reaction that Asshat's bodyguards have to seeing him naked implies that he's very well set down below.
- Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Forms this pair with Chiaki; he's at least 1.5 to 2 times her height.
- I'm a Man; I Can't Help It: Asshat's Bodyguard Babes, still reeling from an earlier 'demonstration', challenge him to a '4-vs-1 match', and then start to strip. His response?Bob: "Don't tell Chiaki about this, heh." *wipes the drool*
- Lovable Sex Maniac: He's more lowkey about his love of sex than his girlfriend, but he has a pretty healthy sex life to put it mildly.
- Morality Chain: Chiaki is this for him. One of the few couples in the series to be depicted as happy with no major tension. Eventually escalates to Happily Married and Babies Ever After.
- Really Gets Around: Has sex with four girls at at time at one point, and he even makes sure to tell Souichiro not to tell Chiaki beforehand.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Against Ryuuzaki for destroying his bike and sexually assaulting Chiaki. The first time doesn't work out in his favor, but the second time ends up making Ryuuzaki's hospital stay extremely unpleasant, to say the least.
- Shipper on Deck: Ships Aya X Souichiro.
- The Straight Man: Much more level headed than Souichiro and is the first to call him out for being dense or reckless, acting as the other blue oni to Souichiro's red oni.
- The Executive Club Wants You: Mitsuomi makes no attempt to hide the fact that he would love nothing more than to take Bob under his wing and train him personally since Maya is so set on Souichiro and can't train Bob properly anyway. Bob still refuses.
- World's Strongest Man: Mitsuomi thinks Bob has the potential to become this, citing Bob's ability to read rhythm as a rare and hidden talent with the right talent.
Shin Natsume
Voiced by: Shūichi Ikeda (JP), Liam O'Brien (EN)
Maya and Aya's older brother, who was the president of the Executive Council and founder of the Jyuken Club. He had the power of the Dragon's Eyes like Aya, but couldn't control it, which caused him to behave erratically and violently. A lot of events in the series are based around Shin's actions and death.
- Ax-Crazy: He never did a very good job of keeping his Superpowered Evil Side under control once it awakened.
- Badass Biker: Enjoys riding now and then, especially when he is calm. He's very good at it, too.
- Berserk Button: Whatever you do, DO NOT go near Maya. It gets to the point that even trying to protect Maya from him pushes this button.
- Big Brother Instinct: Shin's got one of these, and has it sincere, but it's taken to such an extreme (especially after Fu Chi'en used Maya to provoke him) that even getting close to Maya emotionally could set him off, as Mitsuomi found out.
- The Berserker: Whenever he held Reiki, or whenever he thought that he was protecting Maya, he became unpredictably violent and extremely dangerous.
- Broken Ace: He was a talented fighter as a child, maintained that skill as a young adult, and had exceptionally strong Dragon's Eyes. However, because of how early he developed his Eyes, when he touched Reiki for the first time it was too much to handle and he lost control over his power, causing him to be plagued by near-constant, uncontrollable visions of the past and the future.
- Death Seeker: In a vision, he saw Mitsuomi as the person who would eventually defeat him. After that, he explicitly tells Mitsuomi that should he lose control, it is Mitsuomi's job to kill him.
- Eyepatch of Power: Starts wearing one after Bunshichi kicks him in the eye to knock him unconscious after their fight. His eye is ultimately uninjured underneath it, implying that he just needed time for it to heal.
- Mad Oracle: His Dragon's Eyes give him the ability to see past and future events, but it's so strong and out of control that he describes it as being within a rainstorm, being able to hear every single raindrop but not to understand their individual significance.
- Power Incontinence: Induced by touching Reiki as a child; its Amplifier Artifact powers opened his Dragon's Eyes too wide for him to control, and for the rest of his life he could never manage to stop the resulting visions.
- Posthumous Character: He died two years before the beginning of the story. His personality and actions, particularly their impact on Mitsuomi and Maya, are explored through flashbacks.
- Self-Made Orphan: He killed his parents with Reiki after discovering that they planned to separate him from Maya.
- Sibling Incest: Fairly one-sided. When Shin broke down after touching Reiki, Maya was his only real human contact and the only one that could stop his visions from consuming him, making him GROSSLY dependent on her. Years later, this developed into an extremely unhealthy fixation to the point that his girlfriend not only commented on it, but was jealous of Maya because of it.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: As a result of touching Reiki, he lost control of his powers at a young age, leaving him vulnerable to fits of unrestrained murderous impulses.
- Worthy Opponent: Saw Mitsuomi as this. Bunshichi also tried to be one to him after viewing Kuzunoha's videotape, and managed to fight him and beat him.
- Yandere: When it comes to Maya. He will literally kill anyone who dares try to hurt her or take her away.
Kagesada "Asshat" Sugano
A third-year student, he is better known by his nickname Asshat (or Scum in the anime), given to him by one of the teachers due to his smarmy attitude. During the Election Tournament, he remained hidden with Bunshichi and let Maya, Mitsuomi, and Shin do the fighting. He remained a member, although an inactive one, until Souichiro and Bob asked him to rejoin them in their cause.
- Badass Normal: He's probably the most normal fighter in the series other than Bunshichi, since neither of them practice any real martial arts or have any powers. In terms of brute strength alone, he's also likely to be a close second to Bunshichi and Mitsuomi.
- Bodyguard Babes: He has four of them, and they are all smoking hot.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Womanizes and plays the part of a lazy lech, but is also extremely resourceful in a fight and has the strength to back up his determination. It's later revealed he brutally trains himself in order to be surprisingly badass in a straight fight, meaning this is really Obfuscating Stupidity.
- Combat Pragmatist: He gets grappled on purpose just for a chance to choke a guy with his glove strings.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Shows his colors in the Tournament Arc, when he takes on an entire team by himself as well as their Brainwashed and physically enhanced leader, and wins, despite getting the living tar beaten out of him.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Asshat, as given to him by one of the teachers. It fits.
- Good Old Fisticuffs: His fighting style is traditional boxing.
- Handsome Lech: Complete with a squad of girls that hangs around him and helps him to "fight".
- Hard Work Hardly Works: He averts this hard, as it's revealed in a flashback that he's spent every day for the last three years since Shin's death training himself so that he'll be able to be useful to his club.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He comes off as a womanizing prick, but when it comes down to it, he's quite nice to girls and truly cares about his underclassmen in the club.
- Megaton Punch: Asshat himself is quite scrawny, if decently muscled, but his punches pack no small amount of weight behind them. During his first meeting with Souichiro and Bob, he nearlly flattened Souichiro with a single punch, adding to the latter's Running Gag of Underestimating Badassery.
- Mr. Fanservice: There's a reason why he's always getting around and always has four babes with him.
- Out of Focus: Seen briefly in the anime during the Flashback arc and hardly mentioned during the manga until he proves how good a fighter he is during the Tournament arc.
- Really Gets Around: He literally has an army of smoking hot girls to fight his opponents instead of him.
Shinichiro Kurei ("The Alien")
Vice-captain of the Juken Club. When people first meet this third-year student, most are shocked and often confuse him with an extraterrestrial because of the size and shape of his eyes, and the fact that he makes misleading sounds when sucking on his juice box. He is very intelligent, respectful, and is knowledgeable concerning technology.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: How he supports his allies in battle.
- Covert Pervert: Likes to take pictures of girls in the shower.
- In-Series Nickname: The Alien.
- Mission Control: He's usually in the background, explaining things or suggesting courses of action.
- Gonk: People tend to utterly freak out upon first meeting him. Souichiro and Bob even captured him, and attempted to call the TV stations concerning an "alien sighting".
- Non-Action Guy: He doesn't show any fighting prowess.
- Older Than They Look: He's a third year student, despite his small size and bizarre, alien-like features.
- Only Sane Man: In a school full of people chosen only because of their fighting ability, he's this.
- The Smart Guy: Good with technology.
Executive Council
Mitsuomi Takayanagi
Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa (JP), Kim Strauss (EN)
The president of the Executive Council and Todo Academy's top fighter. He is Masataka's brother and is seemingly displeased with his brother's choice of comrades, presumably because of the history between himself and Maya Natsume. He was at one time a friend of Maya's brother, Shin Natsume.
- Aloof Older Brother: To Masataka. Turns out to be a façade as Mitsuomi truly cares for his brother and threatening Masataka is the easiest way to piss him off.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: He is the strongest fighter at Todo Academy and he got his position by defeating who was once previously considered the strongest fighter (Shin). He could probably defeat the whole Council (minus Bunshichi) by himself, if he wanted to.
- Berserk Button: Don't threaten Masataka around him, or even hint at endangering him. He will make you regret it.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: He has a thick pair of eyebrows With FORKED ends!
- Brought Down to Normal: In the aftermath of his battle with Susano'o-Souichiro and Masataka, a doctor says that his heart rate has finally stopped constantly increasing. This is most likely due to the blow to the chest he took from Souichiro during the fight.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Mitsuomi directly starts working against his father after Shin's death, culminating in Mitsuomi's ascent to leadership of the Takayanagi clan.
- Deadly Upgrade: Mitsuomi's heart rate is constantly elevated above normal after Shin's death. While the increased circulation improves his strength and ki flow, he can only fight at full strength for about three minutes before his heart can't take the extra strain.
- Disability Superpower: His elevated heart rate is effectively a double-edged sword—for all the benefits it gives him for ki circulation and strength, his heart rate continues to slowly increase even when he's not exerting himself, meaning that he will eventually die from heart failure no matter what he does.
- Empowered Badass Normal: Mitsuomi's boosted heart rate isn't natural to his body; once he got it, he went from "fairly strong fighter with very good potential" to "best fighter at Todo Academy". It's a result of Shin nearly killing him with a ki blast that hit him in the heart.
- Enemy Mine: During the second half of the story, he frequently teams up with the Juuken Club despite the fact that he is nominally opposed to them and to Maya. Bonus points because he grumbles about it. Maya doesn't buy it for a second.
- Fashion-Victim Villain - Invoked: Mitsuomi has without a doubt the worst sense of style to ever... "grace" this earth. He thinks his outfits look awesome when everybody else insults them. Lampshaded by Masataka when Mitsuomi wants him to wear battle-clothes passed down through the Takayanagi family. These clothes are little better than the clothes Mitsuomi wears, and Masataka wonders if a bad sense of style is hereditary.
- Handicapped Badass: The consequences of his constantly elevating heart rate don't deter him from fighting and kicking tremendous amounts of ass whenever he shows up. It even lets him survive a fight with Susano'o Souichiro near the end of the manga.
- Heart Broken Badass: He and Maya refuse to acknowledge their lingering feelings for one another, causing them both some heartbreak and increasing their mutual antagonism.
- Hidden Heart of Gold: It becomes increasingly obvious that he cares for his little brother, and that he constantly tried to push him away to keep him out of the brutal martial arts world of Tenjho Tenge and the war that was about to start.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Since Shin did indicate that he wanted Mitsuomi to kill him, he views his role in Shin's death as this. He doesn't use it as an excuse for his actions, though.
- Jerkass: Certainly comes across this way, especially towards Masataka. It becomes more of a Hidden Heart of Gold later on as the tangled web of the Red Feather and White Feather families comes to light.
- Made of Iron: He got smashed by a high-speed motorbike and then set on fire, and he ended up no worse for it.
- Took a Level in Badass: During the flashback. While he was already a strong fighter, his final battle with Shin required him to take it to a new level; however, he also Took a Level in Jerkass and began to develop his colder personality immediately afterwards.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: His personality in the first set of flashbacks (manga volumes 4-7) was remarkably like Masataka's.
- Would Hit a Girl: If put to it, Mitsuomi has no issues with hitting women. He in fact threw a woman out of a five-story window for threatening Masataka.
Emi Isuzu
Voiced by: Haruhi Terada (JP), Kate Higgins (EN)
A third-year student, as well as the vice-president of the Executive Council. Not only is she Mitsuomi's second-in-command, but she also harbors a deep respect and love for him. Because of Mitsuomi's lingering feelings for Maya, Emi sees Maya as someone she must defeat. Being a member of the rich Isuzu family, she works the family's traditional job as the Takayanagi family's inner guard, and is skilled enough with knives to bear the nickname "The Black Knife".
- Action Girl: She is Maya's rival, after all.
- Body Guard Crush: She has deep love and respect for Mitsuomi, being one of the few people aware of his heart condition.
- Determinator: Emi's an odd example in that she'll often pull out of a fight if things get rough, but if she's wounded, she'll force herself to stay conscious in order to maintain her disguised appearance.
- The Dragon: To Mitsuomi.
- Fiery Red Head: Her hair seems more pink in the anime, but her behavior fits the trope.
- Hair Antennae: Has two strands of hair that stick up from the top of her head.
- Hair Intakes: The two "cat ears" that are part of her hairdo.
- Hot Teacher: In the epilogue, she starts working as a part-time teacher at Toudou Academy.
- Hyperspace Arsenal: Appears to have one, but in actuality, she stores her knives in the folds of her hidden-away fat, making it look like she's pulling knives from thin air while her technique is in use.
- Number Two: Mitsuomi's. She often keeps other members of the Council in line.
- Ojou Ringlets: She has five large ringlets. There are the three in the back and two that frame the sides of her face. She's part of a wealthy clan whose job it is to protect the Takayanagi family.
- Red Baron: Her talent with throwing knives has earned her the nickname "The Black Knife".
- The Rival: Sees Maya Natsume as this, due to Mitsuomi's lingering feelings for her. She does gain a sort of respect for Maya after the bowling alley fight.
- Ugly All Along: Downplayed. She uses a body fat contortion technique to make her look slender; her real self is much heavier than her disguised appearance.
Bunshichi Tawara
Voiced by: Kazuki Yao (JP), Kirk Thornton (EN)
A twenty-year-old senior of Todo Academy and close friend of Shin and Mitsuomi. He is the advisor, essentially their strategist, of the Executive Council. He never does anything and insists he is a member in name only. Unlike the other characters, Bunshichi does not see any sense in training to be stronger than someone else and avoids fights.
- Badass Normal: He has absolutely no powers, no martial arts training, or utilization of any discipline. At best, he uses his "ki" to just increase his muscle size. This doesn't stop him from being unmatched by almost every other character in the series.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Regarding his fighting skills and general personality. Once he gets serious, he can be incredibly deadly, routinely besting most challengers that come his way.
- Characterization Marches On: When Bunshichi first appears, he demonstrates a skill akin to super-hearing, able to tell what's going on with the fight inside the bowling alley while he's standing on the roof. This skill is never used or mentioned again. This may in fact have been a leftover character element from Oh Great!'s original draft of the series, wherein Bunschichi was the "Old Man" who had mastered every style of martial arts and several other esoteric skills. Thus, his first appearance may have been before the author settled on him being a pure brawler with no formal training.
- Determinator: Despite the fact that Shin knocked him into a car and stabbed Reiki into his legs repeatedly, Bunshichi was still able to get up and pummel Shin into straight unconsciousness.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: He's about the only person who can take on Shin running berserk.
- Gag Penis: It's implied he's got one of these.
- Good Old Fisticuffs: His fighting style is best described as "street brawling", using sheer brute force to win fights.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Despite his laid-back attitude, he's extremely dangerous when pushed to his limit. Case in point: he spends several pages running away from a car trying to hit him and then, finding himself cornered both physically and emotionally, he turns and punches the car away.
- Lovable Sex Maniac: Often threatens to sexually assault people, but never really means it, and likes pretty girls; he tends to call large breasts "deadly weapons".
- Obfuscating Stupidity: He likes to use his repuation as a perverted, lazy lech to hide his keen observational skill and extreme talent for fighting.
- Red Baron: Has three nicknames: Exorcist Tawara, God of Fighting, and Double Impact Tawara. He lives up to all three of them.
- Smoking Is Cool: Loves smoking cigarettes, so much so that he lights one up even after getting killed, revived to bare consciousness, and while strapped to a hospital gurney, claiming that he'll die without it.
- The Juggernaut: Despite having virtually no martial arts training, his strength is so monstrous that he is able to hold his own against Todo Academy's best fighters even while holding back. While in his "rage" state, he is practically unstoppable.
- Tsundere: Is a platonic one towards both the Executive Committee and the Juken Club.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Naturally talented and powerful, but with no known formal training.
- Younger Than He Looks: Is apparently around twenty years old, and is still a senior due to the injuries he sustained during his last fight before the start of the series, which forced him to take time off from school.
Shiro Tagami
Voiced by: Eiji Hanawa (JP), Dave Mallow (EN)
Third-year student and leader of the 3rd division group of the Executive Council. He proclaims himself "the last samurai", following bushido. Being a gentleman, he despises cowardly ways of fighting. His style of fighting is using a hybrid bō that can turn into a sansetsukon. When fighting, he is very violent, but he does not take pleasure in hurting his enemies. As a samurai, he seeks for strong opponents and feels honored for fighting against them. He is currently ranked 9th of the Todo Academy's strongest fighters and is the reserve of the Executive Council on the Election Tournament.
- Character Tic: Has a noticeable stutter whenever he speaks (or thinks!).
- Everything's Better with Samurai: Despite living in the modern era, he is a samurai to his bones.
- Informed Ability: He's said to be one of the 10 strongest people at the school. Apparently, he only fights against the top 9.
- Honor Before Reason: The real drive of his character - he's probably the single most honorable person at the school.
- No Holds Barred Beat Down: Delivered to him by Aya after her Dragon's Eye activates.
- Spam Attack: Attacks rapid fire with his staff, particularly effective because of his reach and the close quarters in which he was fighting.
- Speech Impediment: He often stutters, as appropriate for his timid personality.
- The Worf Effect: Apparently, his character's biggest contribution to the series is routinely getting his ass kicked to hype up the next big enemy.
Shinobu Kagurazaka
Voiced by: Mitsuaki Madono (JP), Chris Kent (EN)
Third-year student and the leader of Mitsuomi's guard, he does not seem to care very much about Mitsuomi's safety, which normally causes Emi to get upset at him. Kagurazaka have a very effeminate look and, for this, is called transvestite by Isuzu. Little of his abilities were shown, and he only had an unfinished fight against Masataka, but his stats on Kurei's data apparently puts him on the same level as Isuzu.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Being one of the strongest fighters seems to have made him a bit of a Jerkass.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Gets his ass kicked by Masataka.
- Hidden Depths: Despite his Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy attitude, it's explained that he went through self-imposed Training from Hell to reach his level of skill.
- Informed Ability: Is said to be about as strong as Isuzu, but doesn't seem to put up nearly as much of a showing against Masataka as Isuzu did agaisnt Maya.
- Jerkass: He really likes to taunt his opponents while he's winning.
Koji Sagara / "Saga Mask"
Voiced by: Kenta Miyake (JP), Lex Lang (EN)
Second-year student and the founder of the Pro Wrestling group, which became a subsidiary of the Executive Council. He joined the Executive Council only after Mitsuomi promised his startup group would not be destroyed, would get a place to practice, and have a budget. He has an alternate personality named Saga Mask, which according to him, is the most brutal enforcer of the school. When playing the part of Saga Mask, he will not take off his mask even if it will prevent trouble with others (including the police), because it is part of his beliefs.
- Boring, but Practical: His "Muscle Bomb" technique is probably the most boring move in the series. Yet it's useful enough for even Mitsuomi to learn and use it.
- The Big Guy: His role in the Council.
- Calling Your Attacks: This series is utterly prone to them, but when your attacks consist of dramatically shouting "German...SUUUPLEX!", it's worth a mention.
- Cool Mask: Wears a wrestling mask when fighting as he believes it strengthens his power.
- Curb-Stomp Battle / The Worf Effect: Souichiro utterly destroys him in their second encounter.
- Giant Mook: After not being able to catch up to main characters, this is basically his role.
- Honor Before Reason: Allows Souichiro to tap-out via rope despite the fact that they aren't in a wrestling ring.
- Testosterone Poisoning: He really likes being manly.
- Theme Music Power-Up: The ''Terminator theme at that!
- Walking Shirtless Scene: He always fights in his wrestler outfit.
Tsutomu Ryuuzaki
Voiced by: Kenji Hamada (JP), Derek Stephen Prince (EN)
A second-year student, fire-elemental user, and an enforcer of the Executive Council. He was assigned to punish Souichiro and Bob for their actions at school. He accomplished this by setting Bob's treasured motorcycle on fire, sexually assaulting Chiaki, and pummeling Souichiro and Bob when they came to save her. Once Souichiro and Bob joined the Juken Club, Maya Natsume pays him a visit, seeking to overturn Souichiro and Bob's expulsion. Ryuuzaki engages Maya in a fight, but loses. Afterwards he is attacked and seriously injured by Sagara, as punishment for failing his mission. While in the hospital recovering from his injuries, Souichiro and Bob come to pay him a visit and deliver their own vengeance.
- Chick Magnet: Has a group of nurses fawning over him while in the hospital.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Is never seen again after Souichiro and Bob beat the shit out of him.
- Jerkass: He's the only character from the Council who has no excuse whatsoever for his actions.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Suffers from this twice as punishment for what he did to Chiaki; first, Maya gets to him after Souichiro and Bob fail to take him down, then Souichiro and Bob catch up with him in the hospital and beat the holy hell out of him.
- Playing with Fire: Though it's called a cheap trick by other characters, he is capable of this. Maya still kicks his ass seven ways to Sunday with her bare hands and a school tie.
- Rape as Drama: He assaults Chiaki as a way to provoke the Jyuken Club into a war with the Council.
- Took a Level in Badass: Maya briefly mentions he's gotten better control of his power, not that it helps him beat her.
- You Have Failed Me: The School Council gets him hospitalized for losing against Maya.
Mitsuiro Tokuan Shojo
The current head of the Shōjō family and Hirohiko’s teammate. She only recently arrived at Todo Academy and she has appeared to have aligned herself with the Executive Council. It was hinted her real reason for coming was to finish her ancestor’s work. Much like her ancestor before her, she seem to have the ability to copy people’s appearance and physical attributes without their drawbacks, such as Mitsuomi's drawback of only able to fight effectively for three minutes.
- Body Double: Her Red Feather power allows her to completely copy the appearance, memories, personality, and battle abilities of anyone without any drawbacks. Mitsuomi has her use this ability to take on his form for the upcoming election tournament.
- Dark Action Girl: She is very strong, but can be quite nasty.
- Emotionless Girl: A sort of side-effect of her power. Spending your life copying other people apparently is not good for your emotional health.
- Friendly Enemy: In the end, her true goal is to stop Sohaku's plan.
- Ms. Fanservice: After copying Aya's appearance, she gropes herself in wonder.
- Shapeshifting: Much like her ancestor, she's able to copy people's appearances and abilities.
Hirohiko Myouun Kabane
The current head of the Kabane family and Mitsuiro’s teammate. He only recently arrived at Todo Academy and he has appeared to have aligned himself with the Executive Council. It was hinted his real reason for coming was to finish his ancestor’s work. He seems to be very informed about the strengths and weaknesses of others' powers. His power is the same as his ancestor’s, he can materialize large blades seemingly out of nowhere.
- The Ace: Arguably, he is the strongest and most skilled of all the Red Feathers. Aya observes that although he has fewer techniques than most of the other Red Feather heirs, the amount of ki he is able to exert matches, or even exceeds that of Tetsuhito.
- Attack Drone: The Kabane Blades, materialized through Hirohiko's acupuncture needles and manipulated via chains of scent, behave in this manner.
- Beware the Nice Ones: He's normally a Nice Guy, but he has no issues with trying to kill Souichiro to stop Sohaku's plan.
- BFS: He can summon several of these and control them with his power.
- Blind Seer: He can use his ki and his nose to perceive things better than most people.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Has always loved Mitsuiro.
- Eyes Always Shut: As appropriate for a Blind Seer.
- Eye Scream: It is a tradition for the Kabane family leader to put out their eyes with a special blade.
- Field of Blades: He can turn dust into a storm of swords.
- Friendly Enemy: He fights against Aya and Soichiro, but his goal is stopping the Big Bad.
- Handicapped Badass: His blindness doesn't hinder him too much when he fights.
- Powered Armor: He can create an armor with his power too.
F
Sohaku Kago
The first and only head of the Kago family, the true leader of F, and the father of Souichiro Nagi. His power can infuse ki back into a lifeless body, reviving it from the dead. Through this means, Sōhaku seemingly "defies" death and has been alive for centuries. He also has the ability to store his consciousness in his right eye, allowing his soul to migrate to another body, when the eye is inserted into someone else's body. He has a habit of using people for his own means and getting rid of them when they are no longer useful to him. He has always been in conflict with the other founding families and is often responsible for many of their deaths.
- Archnemesis Dad: To Souichiro.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: He likes doing villainous things with style.
- Big Bad: His plan to become a Physical God is the source of most problems in the series.
- Delinquent: Not in the present, but he certainly dressed like one during his marriage to Makiko, complete with Goggles Do Nothing.
- Grand Theft Me: He wants Souichiro to be powered up with Red Feather powers so that he can eventually possess his body. He succeeds (though he loses control later), turning Souichiro into a superpowered monster until the final confrontation.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: He was Makiko's husband and Soichiro's dad.
- Manipulative Bastard: His marriage with Makiko was at least partly him manipulating her into helping with his plan.
- Necromancer: Sohaku's Red Feather power allows him to recharge the chakras of ruined bodies, enabling him to give life to the recently dead (although by the definition used in the series, these people aren't fully dead, and it is explicitly stated that even Sohaku can't revive someone who IS really dead). This same power is also what enables him to live for millennia without aging a day and is also what allows him to keep his favorite servants around him for centuries as well.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: See Badass in a Nice Suit above.
- Soul Jar: Sohaku's eyes can act as this, leading to Souichiro losing one of his own as part of the Grand Theft Me plot above.
- Unholy Matrimony: He once married Makiko and had a son, Soichiro, with her.
- White Hair, Black Heart: He has probably the blackest heart in the whole series.
Noriko Shindayu Inue
A Shinto priestess and one of Sōhaku's most trusted subordinates. Her power, the Dragon Roar, allows her to control another’s body, but the owner of the body can still make subconscious movements. She has lived for centuries, due to Sōhaku’s power to defy death. She is often entrusted with Sōhaku’s experiments and seems to have a very possessive love (or adoration) towards him. She is also the one that is delegated to obtain a new body for him if/when his old one is destroyed.
- Arrogant Kung Fu Bitch: She's extremely confident in her power and likes to show it off to her victims.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted twice over. Mitsuomi punches her so hard that some of her teeth are knocked out, and later on she bites off part of her tongue when Souichiro attacks her and takes her powers.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Her power can inflict this on people.
- Bullying a Dragon: She insults Mitsuomi and threatens Masataka while pouring a cup of tea on Mitsuomi's head. As a result, Mitsuomi punches her face in and tosses her out of a fifth floor window. Great job, Inue, you just had to piss off the one person immune to your powers.
- Co-Dragons: With Kagiroi to Sohaku. While he handles killing people, she typically acts as the extension of Sohaku's will by controlling others and working as an ambassador of sorts.
- Manipulative Bitch: Her power is this weaponized, and she really likes using it.
- Miko: She acts like one to Sohaku.
- Really 700 Years Old: Has been kept alive and healthy for years thanks to Sohaku's power.
- Smug Snake: All she really has going for her is her ability to control people. When that doesn't work, she loses it.
Tetsuhito Kagiroi
The current star-fighter of F and head of the Kagiroi family, he is one of Sohaku’s most trusted subordinates.
- Achilles' Heel: He has two. Because of his iron hard skin, he's never experienced pain, so inflicting even a minor injury on him will cause a big reaction. Also, removing or damaging his left eye will make him lose control of all his powers.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Having been an almost undefeatable warrior from his birth, he doesn't seem to value other people's lives at all.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: He's smarter than he looks and can easily see through many techniques.
- Co-Dragons: Shares a role as one of Sohaku's top lieutenants with Inue. In some ways he fits The Brute archetype what with being powerful and, despite his intelligence, only really sent in to break things, but he's too high up the totem pole for that, and he's the only one Sohaku really trusts to succeed in killing powerful enemies.
- Combat Pragmatist: Makes use of high-tech "hologram bombs" which project images of himself and explode upon someone coming in contact with them.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: He seems to be a magnet for these.
- Tetsuhito himself was born after Sohaku made his mother swallow a bomb which blew off her upper torso—while he was still in the womb.
- He personally killed numerous members of the Mawari branch family by rolling them into round balls and squeezing out all of their bodily fluids until only a shrivelled up husk remained.
- In a spectacular display of Karma Houdini Warranty, Maya inflicts one onto him and bisects him along his arm as his punch collides with the true blade of the Reiki.
- Eye Scream: Maya graphically stabbed his transplanted eye...with a tie!
- Genius Bruiser: Despite his overwhelming strength and powers, he can fight smart if he needs it.
- Hero Killer: He kills Maya, but not without dying in return.
- Lightning Bruiser: He's strong, fast, and because of his iron skin, almost invincible.
- Made of Iron: The women of the Kagiroi family drink iron sand during pregnancy which gives members of that family skin and blood that is freakishly strong. It is from this that they get the Iron Fist technique.
- Really 700 Years Old: Sohaku's experiments on him have allowed him to live for hundreds of years. He also had Makiko's eye transplanted into him after Sohaku deemed Makiko too weak to be a "true warrior", giving him the powers she absorbed.
- Unskilled, but Strong: He tends to rely on the bevy of supernatural powers he possesses in battle. When those fail him, he has his inherent Kagiroi Family toughness to fall back on, which works both defensively and offensively.Maya notes that, even if he doesn't use technique, getting hit by one of Tetsuhito's blows is like getting clocked with a chunk of solid iron.
- Villain Respect: Is capable of expressing respect and admiration for an opponent who meets or exceeds his expectations. Half his dialogue in Volume 12 is him praising Masataka.
- Would Hit a Girl: As Maya found out the hard way.
Katsumi Kabuto
The current head of the Kabuto family. He acted as Sōhaku’s assistant and supervised the operation to retrieve the computer chip at Enmi's shrine. When the operation failed, he agreed to fight with Souichiro to redeem himself, but since the fight was never shown, his power was never revealed. After his defeat he made a deal with Souichiro that if Souichiro freed him, he would help him escape Sohaku’s compound. He was last seen meeting Tessen, who immediately killed him.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Though his arrogance gets broken pretty quickly.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: He acts and talks like a businessman, despite being a strong warrior.
- The Brute: His only real ability is physical strength, he's a somewhat lower-ranking member of F, and he isn't all that bright.
- Cool Shades: Until they get broken during one of his Worfications.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: First betrays the 12 Founding families, then betrays Sohaku. Ishiyumi properly ventilates him. And he still has time and energy to switch over to become Mitsuomi's assistant.
- Curbstomp Battle: While never shown, it's implied he got his ass handed to him by Souichiro. He also never stood a chance against Ishiyumi.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: Though he mostly gets thrown through the door rather than using it willingly.
- Informed Ability: He's supposedly one of F's strongest...but not once does he get a chance to show it.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: He really likes to appear smarter than he is.
- Smug Snake: He isn't nearly as good at playing both sides as he thinks he is.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Tired of his Chronic Backstabbing Disorder and scheming, Ishiyumi swiss-cheeses him, but isn't able to kill him.
Jushi Mataza Tsumuji
The illegitimate son of Yorihira Mataza Tsumuji, the former leader of the Tsumuji family, and a member of the Shukyou family (a branch of the Kabane family, one of the Red Feather families of the Flying Phoenix). After a painful, miserable childhood, Jushi grew to become the sadistic leader of the Tsumuji family, after a coup d'état on his father.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: He's so confident in his power that he usually fights as an Hollywood Cyborg to avoid using it.
- Eye Scream: Jushi's father wound up breaking Jushi's spear when Jushi attempted to kill his spiteful half-brother Yorimasa, the legitimate heir to the Tsumuji family. One of the fragments pierced Jushi's right eye, causing him to lose it.
- Freudian Excuse: His misanthropy and cruelty stems from his terrible childhood, where he constant bullying over his mother's profession and Red Feather Blood from Yorimasa.
- Jerkass: Despite his Freudian Excuse, he's probably one of the most evil characters in the series. He and his troops engage in child murder, torture and gang-rape in a single arc, along with inventively murdering people in "imaginative" ways such as killing an opponent using non-lethal techniques by impaling her from crotch to the mouth.
- Hollywood Cyborg: Tries to avoid using his power whenever he can. This is why he makes use of eight mechanical arms and multiple spears in battle.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Uses robotic arms to wield eight spears simultaneously.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: After awaking Soichiro's Superpowered Evil Side, he gets on the receiving end of one of those. He's still satisfied, though, since corrupting Soichiro's mind counts as a victory for him.
- Son of a Whore: Part of the reason why Yorimasa hates him so much.
- Torture Technician: Arguably the best in the series. It's implied his half-brother spent about ten years being brutally tortured.
- Traumatic Superpower Awakening: The Eye Scream incident that cost Jushi his right eye also activated the power of the Shukyou family, the Dragon Claw. He used it to immediately attack Yorimasa.
Tessen Ishiyumi
The head of the Ishiyumi family, Tessen proved to be one of Mitsuomi's most loyal subordinates. Tessen normally keeps a level-head, and good humor about himself. However, his resolve to place Mitsuomi in power makes him a fearsome combatant. As he refers to Emi Izumi and Shirō Tagami to Mitsuomi's Sword & Shield, Tessen analogizes himself to an arrow, who will stop at nothing until he pierces his prey. The only member of F who leans much more so towards Mitsuomi than F itself.
- Ax-Crazy: After losing his powers to Souichiro, he temporarily turns into something of a sociopath. He gets better after a What the Hell, Hero? moment with Mitsuomi.
- Cherry Tapping: He massively held back during his first fight against Souichiro.
- Mr. Fanservice: He usually fights shirtless and is quite ripped.
- Fan Boy: He deeply admires Mitsuomi.
- Friendly Enemy: He and Souichiro have a lot in common. They both acknowledge that if things took a turn differently, they'd be the best of friends.
- Undying Loyalty: To Mitsuomi. This snaps him out of his Ax-Crazy phase.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Temporarily goes a wee bit crazy after Souichiro accidentally snatches away his Dragon's Gate. Mitsuomi firmly snaps him out of it.
Madoka Mawari
The current head of the Mawari family and was a member of F; her specialty is fencing. She was initially controlled by one of Sōhaku’s jutsu, maintained by a necklace she wore; it reduced the pain she felt in battle and also made her believe that she was in love with Sōhaku, even though he was the one who killed her parents. She was sent to retrieve an important computer chip from the Juken Club, and relentlessly attacked them until Aya destroyed the amulet. Afterwards, she is proven to be a caring middle school student that is willing to help the Juken Club in any way she can; she takes a liking to Masataka, though he is painfully unaware of her affections.
- The Ace: Is said to be the single best swordsman in the entire series in terms of skill.
- Action Girl: She manages to defeat both Bob and Emi Isuzu.
- Badass Adorable: She has a small, petite build since she's one of the youngest characters fighting in the series, but make no mistake—she is *deadly* in a fight.
- Clothing Damage: She cuts off the hem of her dress to fight better against Bob, Masataka, and Isuzu.
- Cultured Badass: She fights with a dignified, refined sword style, and is well-educated in not just swordplay but the actual philosphy behind using a sword.
- Dual Wielding: Is more than capable of this, especially with the S.A.B.B. Acetylene Gas Blades—effectively lightsabers made of FIRE, and a pair of trench knives, similar to Asuma Sarutobi's.
- Hopeless Suitor: Towards Masataka after their fight.
- Implausible Fencing Powers: When it comes to living up to the family name in terms of sword expertise she doesn't disappoint, being more than an even match for Bob in their fight. Maya even goes so far as to say that Madoka easily outstrips her and Aya in the use of a blade, and is honored to watch a demonstration of Madoka's techniques in person.
- Impossibly Cool Weapon: S.A.B.B. swords aside, she also has a Whip Sword on hand and doesn't hesitate to use it.
- Little Miss Badass: She's only in middle school, but again: she's strong enough to beat both Bob and Isuzu and is a better sword user than either Aya or Maya.
- She Is All Grown Up: As seen in the time-skip chapter in which she and Bob have a short fight.
- The Worf Effect: Her defeat of Bob and Emi makes Masataka seem even more of a badass after he defeats her with a single blow.
Nokimi Mayutsubo
A member of one of the Kago branch families, serving under Sohaku.
- Combat Sadomasochist: Pleasures herself while watching Hirohiko Myooun Kabane and Aya fight.
- Non-Action Girl: Though she claims that the Jujitsu club captain has a weak hold, she gets incapacitated with one good punch and spits up the queen bug that coordinated her body controlling powers.
- Meat Puppet: Can control others with special insects and toughen them up; those controlled tend to lose finer control of themselves and act extremely oddly, with notable physical symptoms such as runny noses or drooling.
Supporting Characters
Dogen Takayanagi
The father of Masataka and Mitsuomi. The former head of the Takayanagi family until Mitsuomi took over, and best friends with Maya, Aya, and Shin's father, Katsumi Natsume.
- The Atoner: Shows shades of this when he explains his reasoning for training Souichiro; he views his part in what happened to Shin as a personal failure.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Mitsuomi did this by forcibly overthrowing him as head of the family.
- Dirty Old Man: Seen in the episode where Masataka lets Aya stay with him for the night and his comments to Shin regarding his relationship with Mana.
- Disc-One Final Boss: He's the mastermind behind the events of the first flashback... but he's still a pawn for the true Big Bad.
- Old Master: Makes up for his age with his experience, and did at one point teach Masataka and Mitsuomi how to fight.
- Pet the Dog: Does genuinely care for his sons, despite his general bastardry towards them sometimes; he was outraged when Shin nearly killed Mitsuomi in combat, and seems to have a good relationship with Masataka.
- Scary Shiny Glasses: During his most villainous moments.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He attempted to use Shin as a figurehead for his ideal "True Warrior" to fight, but he did it with the intention of trying to stop the threat of Shin's rampages in general.
Makiko Nagi
Voiced by: Yuri Amano (JP), Karen Strassman (EN)
Souichiro's mother.
- Artificial Limbs: She gains a pair of artificial arms after losing her remaining arm to save Souichiro.
- An Arm and a Leg: She loses her right arm when she's forced to suck up all of Souichiro's Dragon Fist ki to snap him out of a berserk rage. Eight years prior to the start of the series, when she tried to chase after Sohaku once he took her left eye (and with it, the powers she'd stolen for him), he cut off her left arm.
- Demon Slaying: Her family's traditional duty.
- Eye Scream: Sohaku plucked out her left eye after transferring all the powers she'd stolen for him into it, then transplanted that eye into one of his other subordinates, Tetsuhito Kagiroi.
- Eye Patch Of Power: She wears one that conceals a very nasty mass of centipede-shaped scar tissue.
- Handicapped Badass: Missing an arm and an eye doesn't stop her from fighting in the slightest.
- Heroic Sacrifice:She ultimately gives up her life in order to fully revive a comatose Maya.
- Love Martyr: She completely devoted herself to Sohaku's cause, willingly fighting other power-users to steal their abilities, and in the end Sohaku abandoned and mutilated her.
- Mega Manning: The Nagi family as a whole possesses the power of the Dragon Fist, so she can steal powers and absorb ki just like Souichiro can.
- Morality Chain: Souichiro is very protective of her, intending to drop out of school later and take over the running of the family business for her.
- No Body Left Behind: Her body evaporates into nothing after sacrificing herself.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: Played with. While she's naturally beautiful, the horrible scars marring her face make for a strange inversion of the trope since Sohaku is now more attractive than her.
- Unholy Matrimony: She and Souhaku were once married, according to her, and they conceived a son together—Souichiro. When she still had her left eye and left arm, she was willingly complicit in Sohaku's villainous plans.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: She was abandoned by Sohaku after he deemed her too weak and no longer useful to his plans, resulting in the Eye Scream and An Arm and a Leg incidents listed above.
Chiaki Kounoike
Voiced by: Ryōko Shiraishi (JP), Julie Ann Taylor (EN)
Bob's girlfriend, who has no relevance to the plot other than this. Mostly shows up for Fanservice purposes but is apparently a sweet girl, if kinda hypersexual.
- Babies Ever After: With Bob in the time-skip chapter. Though, funnily enough, it only appears to be one kid despite how often the two have been shown going at it.
- Got Over Rape Instantly: Played with. She doesn't act any different to her usual self after Ryuuzaki has his way with her, but is still angry about it in regards to Bob's feelings. She angrily mentions it upon learning about Maya & Mitsuomi's relationship, thinking that Bob suffered being beaten up and having to deal with his girlfriend being raped because of a lover's quarrel.
- Lovable Sex Maniac: Towards Bob.
- Ms. Fanservice: Distinguished from all the other Ms. Fanservices in that this is basically her only role in the story.
- The Pollyanna: Subverted, she is not sexually ignorant, due to her relationship with Bob, but is no less cheerful.
- Satellite Character: Has no real bearing on the plot whatsoever aside from her connection to Bob.
Mana Kuzunoha
- Becoming the Mask: She initially hated being made to act as Shin's girlfriend, but grew to fall in love with him.
- Brainy Brunette: She has no fighting skills, but can still be quite menacing with her acupuncture.
- Combat Medic: Can throw her acupuncture needles like weapons and is a member of the school's Medical Club. She treats Shin's opponents after he wounds them, saving the lives of many in the process.
- The Mole: She serves as this for the Red Feather families on behalf of Dogen Takayanagi; her relationship with Shin was more or less mandated by them. Shin isn't fooled, but keeps up the façade for his own reasons, and eventually she starts truly caring for Shin over the course of of the relationship.
- Stoic Spectacles: She has hidden her true feelings for quite a while.
- Through His Stomach: Laughably averted in a hospital scene where Shin, recuperating from his injuries refuses to eat her bento. She does not take it well.
- Together in Death: She takes Shin's ki attack meant for Mitsuomi and confesses her love for him even though she knows he doesn't love her back. After this, Shin takes one of her acupuncture needles and commits mutual suicide with her.
- The Vamp: To Mitsuomi, in order to further Dogen's plans.
- Unwanted Spouse: Her opinion on the relationship between the two Natsumes is that it's more like lovers than siblings, so she perceives herself as this in comparison to Maya.
Reiki
A ceremonial nodachi that is the heirloom of the Natsume family. Maya is its current guardian, although she eventually intends to hand over possession to Aya when Aya comes of age. It is considered to be cursed by characters, as it amplifies the user's Dragon's Eye abilities, and was part of the reason why Shin became so dangerous.
- Ancestral Weapon: Has been passed down the Natsume family until it got into Maya's and Aya's hands.
- BFS: Obscenely long, probably matching Shin's height in terms of its length.
- Cool Sword: A lot of the story revolves around its power.
- Chekhov's Gun: Beyond its role in Shin's story, it becomes integral to killing Sohaku and destroying Susano'o; after its spirit form is stabbed into Sohaku's spiritual body, it eventually cuts him off from the power of Susano'o, making him vulnerable.
- Critical Existence Failure: After Maya has the power of Reiki added to her own, it turns into rust and scatters on the wind when Aya next draws it.
- Empathic Weapon: Of a sort. It contains the power and soul of Iyo Natsume, one of Maya and Aya's ancestors.
- Katanas Are Just Better: Averted, as a nodachi is not a katana, and is based on swords that actually predated the katana.
- Power Nullifier: It can be used as this.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Amplifies the user's powers, but if used at too young an age can drive the user insane.
Fu Chi'en
Dogen Takayanagi's Deceptive Disciple. He beat Maya in a fight in order to humiliate her and enrage Shin, which worked all too well and got him beaten to a pulp by Shin. Though he planned to get his revenge on both Shin and Maya, Shin decided to preempt said vengeance by visiting him in the hospital and ripping off his face and ripping out his eyes.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Very confident in his superiority to "Japanese monkeys". It doesn't end well.
- Graceful Loser: In his final appearance, he's able to come back to a semblance of himself and acknowledges his loss to Masataka.
- Handicapped Badass: His "triumphant" return when he faces off with Bunshichi and Masataka has swords for hands and a veil over his face. As the series goes, more emphasis is put on his increasing cyberization as he loses more and more limbs. His final appearance has him walking on prosthetic bladed hands, with a large wheel attached to his lower torso—the rest of him is simply gone.
- Shock and Awe: His Dragon Gate power allows him to generate electricity as long as he's touching the ground, exactly like Souichiro can.
- Smug Snake: He is actually quite strong, but he keeps biting more than he can chew and refusing to admit it.
- Staying Alive: He was for all intents and purposes dead until Sohaku revived him with the Flaming Dragon's Gate. Since then, he's been coming back for more and more punishment, and becoming less human along the way.
Tsumuji family
Yorihira Mataza Tsumuji
The former head of the Tsumuji family, before Jushi overthrew him.- Eye Scream: Willingly takes a spear to the eye from an enemy Mook.
Yorimasa Mataza Tsumuji
Yorihira's son, and heir to the Tsumuji family prior to Jushi's overthrow.- Asshole Victim: He tormented Jushi unrelentingly and wound up being the first to die when Jushi finally snapped and awoke his powers.
- Heir to the Dojo: The reason why he and his younger half-brother do not get along.
- Jerkass: He constantly bullied his half-brother until he snapped.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Unintentionally caused Jushi to awaken his power.
- Sibling Rivalry: Had one with Jushi, regarding him as inferior trash due to Jushi being born out of wedlock.
Past/Feudal Japan Characters
Aya Natsume (senior)
Maya and Aya's ancestor. Was a previous owner of Reiki.
- Cruel to Be Kind: She's fascinated by people weaker than her, coming off as a Jerkass and a bully, but in the end does right by them. During her journey, she met a barefooted peasant girl whose feet had nearly frozen to the point of amputation due to the snow and cold. After humiliating her, she transferred some of her ki to the girl. The experience ended up being beyond excruciating for the girl, likening it to kneading mustard into open wounds, but as a result her feet had completely healed and toughened up to handle the cold.
- Younger Than They Look: She has the same ability as her descendant Maya to change appearance, but instead of transforming into a chibi version of herself to save her ki, she transforms into an adult version of herself.
Ichiyo Nagi
- Improbable Age: Was head of the Nagi family at a very young age.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: He's the true leader of the group, and also the most level-headed one.
Tokuan Shojo
- Last of His Kind: At the time he was the only survivor of his clan.
Myouun Kabane
- Identical Ancestor: He physically resembles Hirohiko quite closely.
Senhime
- Barrier Maiden: She was used as a focus for a big Power Nullifier barrier created by amplifying her powers.
- Bodyguard Crush: She felt this way about Sohaku who in feudal times was her guardian.
- Power Nullifier: She possessed the Amaterasu Dragon's Gate.
Other Characters
Natsume family
Kaima Natsume
Voiced by: Ryūzaburō Ōtomo (JP)
The father of Shin, Maya and Aya Natsume.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: His treatment of Shin and Maya backfired on him spectacularly; Shin grew obsessively attached to Maya since she was the only human contact he had, and since she was able to calm him down whenever he began to lose control.
- Parental Abandonment: After Maya unwittingly allowed Shin to touch Reiki, he decided to lock Shin up to both try and control his powers and keep him away from Aya, in fear of accidentally awakening her own Dragon's Eye abilities.
Mrs. Natsume
The mother of Shin, Maya and Aya Natsume. Never appears in the anime and is only referred to in the manga in one of Aya's flashbacks.- The Cameo: Makes an appearance in one of Shin's flashbacks when he is driven mad by Reiki, admonishing her son for his actions and hugging him without her head.
- Secret Test Of Strength Aya recalls a memory of her mother training her by playing a game with her.
Todo Academy Staff
