Characters / Usagi Yojimbo

Heroes

Miyamoto Usagi

It's not a fair fight. Those zombies are doomed.

Our hero, a young samurai whose liege lord died in battle not long after Usagi entered his service. Now masterless, he walks the earth, occasionally hiring himself out as a bodyguard (hence the title), honing his skill as a warrior and meeting lots of interesting people.

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• A Dog Named "Dog": "Usagi" means "rabbit", and Usagi is a rabbit.
• Ambiguously Absent Parent: His father appears in flashbacks (and is later revealed to have been killed by Hikiji) but his mother goes completely unmentioned.
• Arbitrary Skepticism: Flip-flops a bit. He's pretty skeptical about the supernatural, though he's encountered more supernatural elements than any of the other characters (except Sasuke). He also strongly doubts Jei's claims of divine inspiration, and felt that the earthquake that occurred when Jei stuck the Sword of the Gods into the ground was 'coincidence'.
  • Though given that it is Japan, which has hundreds of fault lines and sits at the boundaries of several plates, earthquakes are common enough that it could have been a coincidence.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: He can almost invariably tell, just by watching another person's technique, whether he can defeat them or not.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Asked to him by Tomoe when she asks if he's willing to abandon his life as a ronin and settle down to raise Jotaro, which he would feel obligated to if he told Jotaro he was his father. He doesn't have an answer. Unbeknownst to him, Jotaro already knows, but doesn't want to hold Usagi back.
• Bash Brothers: Most often with Gen, but he has developed similar relationships over time with Katsuichi, Jotaro, Tomoe, and (in crossovers with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) Leonardo.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Usagi's nice, friendly and very good with kids. He's also highly (and unconventionally) skilled, devious, and The Determinator when there are lives or honor at stake. And he also has a body count to rival Conan the Barbarian. ^note And considering unlike Conan, who is as likely to start a lethal fight as be attacked, 98 percent of the fights Usagi gets into are started by someone else, and 80 percent of the time he tries (and fails) to defuse the situation, that is REALLY SAYING SOMETHING.
• Blatant Lies: He often says he doesn't want to get involved in other people's business. He inevitably does, even when he could ignore it.
• Character Development: Very (very) slowly, Usagi has started to question how honorable Bushido really is when he's seen so many lives ruined and ended by it. This begins to culminate when he returns to where he buried his master's head to say that he wishes to be free of his obligation to Mifune as he has found a life he'd prefer to live (as a vassal of the Geishu with Tomoe) rather than just being a wandering ronin forever dedicated to a dead man.
• Characterization Marches On: In a very early special, Usagi is seen outright trying to sell his services as a warrior to a town being harassed by a monster of some kind. This is essentially the opposite of how he is for the majority of the story, generally trying to keep his head down until circumstances "force" him to step in.
• Cheated Angle: Usagi's cheek tufts shift around a little so that they're always distinctive and visible.
• Chick Magnet: He's a kindhearted, sword wielding badass. Plenty of the ladies have noticed.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome:
  Usagi: I can't just stand by and do nothing.
  Chizu: Of course you can... but you never do.
• Cultured Warrior: On top of being really tough and skilled in a fight, he paints calligraphy.
• Death Glare: As nice as Usagi is, he is capable of a rather chilling glare.◊ It's enough to scare off lesser bandits in many situations.
• Dual Wielding: Is capable of wielding both his swords at once.
• Ears as Hair: His ears are tied back to resemble a chonmage, a Samurai Ponytail.
• Fascinating Eyebrow: Appears to have a permanent one, but it's actually a scar.
• Friend to All Children: Usagi always gets along famously with most of the children he interacts with, usually the kids of those he's a guest of for the night, and is unusually nice to the dino lizards that litter the setting.
• Good Is Not Soft: Usagi is probably the nicest samurai ever. Many bad people have mistaken this pleasant nature for weakness. Those people are dead now.
• Heroic Build: You can't really tell most of the time because of his baggy clothes but Usagi is ripped, as seen on occasion when he's barechested.
• Honor Before Reason: An aversion for the most part, which often drives the plot of the comics, since even as a Ronin, Usagi is supposed to embody this ideal. Nakamura Koji even calls him out on this during his final appearance, claiming that this means Usagi isn't a "true" samurai since he isn't willing to throw his life away on some arbitary notion of honor rather than find happiness, or make the world a better place.
• Honorary Uncle: He's "Uncle Usagi" to Jotaro, the son of his first love from his hometown. Except he's really Jotaro's father, something both Usagi and Jotaro separately know but don't want to reveal to the other for fear that it would ruin his happiness.
• Hyper-Awareness: A skill that Katsuichi-sensei physically beat into him and one that has saved Usagi's life many times. It can be over-sensitive and Usagi has a tendency to ignore correct hunches. Katsuichi-sensei also drew a distinction between this trope and Properly Paranoid.
• Hypocrite: During Senso, Usagi is clearly bitter that Tomoe married the man she was politically engaged to, though she says she did it out of duty to her lord and had no real choice in the matter. He does apologize as he understands perfectly well that duty to one's lord comes before any personal desires.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Toward Mariko.
• Kid Samurai: in flashback chapters.
• Knight Errant: With the loss of his master, Usagi is now a ronin, roaming aimlessly across Japan.
• "Leave Your Quest" Test: 'Circles' (in Book 6 of his first series) established that he will never return to his home village, where his first sweetheart Mariko lives with his boyhood arch-rival, Kenichi.
• Martial Pacifist: He sought war and glory when he was young. Now he attacks only in self defense or on behalf of those who cannot fight for themselves.
• Master Swordsman: He thinks nothing of taking on six or seven warriors of ordinary skill.
• Noble Male, Roguish Male: With Gen.
• No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Of Miyamoto Musashi.
• One Riot, One Ranger: Usagi isn't quite in the One-Man Army category, but he regularly takes out whole bands of bandits or criminals unassisted.
• Phrase Catcher: "It's only one man/samurai/ronin!", generally said right before Usagi goes to town on a crowd of thugs and proves them fatally wrong.
• Righteous Rabbit and Rascally Rabbit: Usagi is kind and honorable almost to a fault, but has a trickster streak as well.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue Oni to Gen's Red Oni.
• Rōnin: One of the earliest stories establishes that Usagi's journeys began when his lord, Mifune, died in a great battle (the same one that gave him his scar.)
• Scars Are Forever: Usagi has a scar above his eye, which he got from Lord Hikiji at the Battle of Adachigahara while trying to avenge his lord. It looks like a Fascinating Eyebrow. Since he gained it on the same day he became a ronin, it's a visual reminder whenever there is a flashback to his samurai days.
• Shout-Out: His name "Miyamoto Usagi" is one to the famed samurai/ronin/author of The Book of Five Rings, Miyamoto Musashi. He also often uses both swords at once during some fights, a style Musashi is famous for inventing/popularizing and something no other character in the comic does.
• Still Wearing the Old Colors: He continues to wear the Mifune mon years after his lord's death and the dissolution of his clan.
• Victory Through Intimidation: Has ended more than one conflict with a Death Glare at his would-be opponent. Usually after slaying one or two of their comrades to add some weight to the silent threat.
• White Bunny: It's hard to tell since the comic is in black and white. However, color stories (and covers) reveal that he really is white.

Tomoe Ame

Chief retainer to the young Lord Noriyuki; a controversial position for a woman, but one she's earned several times over. She and Usagi become friends early in the series after he helps her foil an assassination attempt on her master, and they gradually develop feelings for one another.

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• Action Girl
• Cain and Abel: She and Noriko.
• Celebrity Paradox: Although the idea for Tomoe's character was drawn from the historical female samurai Tomoe Gozen, Grasscutter actually includes a scene with the original Tomoe Gozen (in her elder years as a Buddhist nun.)
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Very, very downplayed since she is too proper for that and she and Usagi aren't officially an item, but it takes all of two seconds of Kitsune implying (in jest) that she and Usagi had a fling for Tomoe to decide she doesn't like her. She was also immediately suspicious of an actual trickster fox spirit that was posing as a woman and hypnotizing Usagi to fall for her, but in that case she had plenty of good reason to be suspicious since she saw through the illusions.
• Death Glare: Hers are almost as bone-chilling as Usagi's
• Lady of War: She seems more comfortable with warfare than with the skills traditionally practiced by women of her caste.
• Naginatas Are Feminine: Tomoe began her career wielding a naginata. She had learned the sword from her swordmaster father but could not use them because she was a lady. By saving her lord from a ninja attack she was appointed "guardian of the heir" and was allowed to again wear her swords.
• Put on a Bus: After the Chanyou tea ceremony chapter, she hasn't shown up in any of the following Usagi stories. The Bus Came Back in Senso, but in the main series, it has yet to. Somewhat justified as Stan Sakai himself stated he needs to do research on arranged marriages in Japan before writing the story revolving around hers.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue Oni to Noriko's Red Oni.
• Samurai: Rather unusually for a samurai, she helped train and raise her current master, Lord Noriyuki. Her being a female samurai allowed to bear her swords is itself unusual for her era.
• Will They or Won't They?: With Usagi. By the time of "The Mother of Mountains", they have discreetly become lovers, though Usagi's travels and Tomoe's upcoming arranged marriage have made the future of such a relationship iffy.
  • In the quasi-canon finale Senso, Tomoe has been in an arranged marriage with another man for years, something Usagi is very bitter about. The two of them do still love each other and contemplate the possibility of being together after her husband is killed. However, Usagi dies at the end after professing his love for her one last time.
• You Go, Girl!: Due to the chauvinistic nature of the period, she's constantly having to prove her worth over and over.

Gen (Murakami Gennosuké)

Usagi's less morally upright friend, a bounty hunter who cheats Usagi out of money the first few times they meet: which later becomes a running joke between them. He's more interested in preserving his gruff image than his samurai honor, but is not as callous as he pretends.

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• Ancestral Weapon: After the battle against Magistrate Oda's men, he discovers the swords he took from Oda's armory were once his father's swords.
• Boisterous Bruiser: A drinker, a brawler, and generally a fun-loving guy.
• Bounty Hunter: This is his day-to-day profession. He's not completely mercenary, though. He once let a mark go because the man wanted to meet his newborn son. Shortly afterwards, said man gets cut down by Gen's sometimes bounty hunting partner who was also looking for him. Gen gives his cut of the bounty on the man to the man's wife.
• Clint Squint: Wears a constant one. It may even serve a reference to the trope namer, due to his character in A Fistful of Dollars being the Western equivalent of "Sanjuro" in Yojimbo.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Gen is the son of a samurai who followed his mistress quest for vengeance after her husband was murdered, and remained with her long after she slid into poverty and most of her other retainers had left. Gen's mother was forced to prostitute herself to feed her family, and eventually died prematurely. Gen never forgave his father, blaming him for his mothers death and their miserable life, and abandoned him once he reached adulthood. This is also the reason for his disdain for bushido, which he considers a fool's errand.
• Heroic Lineage: Gen's father was General Murakami, the hero of a hundred battles and most loyal vassal of the Asano family in the Shirogeta Clan. Gen's not too proud of him, though.
• Hypocritical Humor: Gen is one of the most greedy characters in the series, looking for any opportunity to get economic benefits, but does not hesitate to criticize the greed of others.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As much as he tries to pretend, he really is a good man under his bounty hunter persona. He has a particular soft spot for widows and orphans thanks to his own troubled background, and has given away his bounty payments to victimized families several times, while poorly trying to pretend he didn't, much to Usagi's amusement.
• Manly Tears: Despite the resentment he holds for his father General Murakami for the hardships the general's duty put him and his mother through when Gen was a child, when he concludes that his father died trying to do his duty, Gen can’t help but shed some tears.
• Miser Advisor: He doesn't like handing out cash unnecessarily.
• Not in This for Your Revolution: He prefers to do good deeds, but he expects payment.
• Perma-Stubble: Yes, on a rhino.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red Oni to Usagi's Blue Oni.
• Rhino Rampage: He's got good offensive techniques, but tends to be stopped cold by real masters such as Zato-ino or Inazuma.
• Rōnin: As the son of a ronin, he has the right to wear the swords. But he was raised in poverty, so he lacks the usual gentlemanly training associated with his caste.
• Ship Tease: He and Kitsune show some attraction. Neither really has the temperament to settle down (or to split the take fairly), so it's unlikely to progress far. In a prequel to Senso, it is revealed the two of them eventually get married, though Senso is only quasi-canon so it remains to be seen what happens to them in the story proper.
• Shout-Out: The Perma-Stubble and general attitude make him the in-universe version of "Sanjuro", Toshiro Mifune's character from Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo and Sanjuro. Mifune also played Miyamoto Musashi, for a different director.
• Short Cuts Make Long Delays: A Running Gag; Gen's short cuts do not work out.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Usagi have become good buddies, but barbed comments and minor pranks are part of the relationship.

Allies

Iké the farmer/General Ikeda

A general who joined his cousin Lord Araki's uprising against Lord Noriyuki's father, Lord Mataichi, and commanded his army. When the rebellion failed and Araki committed suicide, he and two of his soldiers went into hiding disguised as commoners, intending to take up arms again at a politically opportune moment; but when Mataichi died a few years later, Ikeda had become too attached to his farm and his peasant wife and children and decided to stay with them.He became an ally of Noriyuki after the latter saved his son Motokazu's life.

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• Becoming the Mask: Ikeda originally only intended to stay in hiding for a few years, but became attached to life as a farmer.
• Call to Agriculture: He and two soldiers manage to flee when their rebellion failed. Ikeda and one man stay at an abandoned farmhouse, while the other leaves to regather their forces. Ikeda and the other man adopt life as farmers, managing to raise a thriving farm. Ikeda even notes the feeling of success when digging an irrigation ditch far outweighs any war victory he's had. After the other man dies, Ikeda meets a woman and raises a family. Years later, the second soldier returns, bringing news of Lord Matiachi's death and that they have enough soldiers to launch a new attack. Ikeda chooses to stay with his family and informs the soldier that he's never met him.
  • Even after he saves Noryuki and Tomoe, effectively ending his exile as Noryuki pardons him, he still prefers his life as a farmer and turns down Noryuki's offer of reinstatement. Instead, he asks that his son Motokazu be taken into Noryuki's service when he comes of age, as he's still the son of a samurai even if that samurai is now retired.
• Four-Star Badass: No one calls him lord Ikeda, it’s General Ikeda to friend and foe alike, and with a title like “General of a hundred Battles” many of whom he’s won, even when outnumbered or the enemy had prior knowledge about his forces, you know he deserves it. Part of his strategies and intricate knowledge of warfare is shown in several stories, like leading a band of lowly peasants to victory against bandits, to leaking counterintelligence to his enemies whilst a noble and predetermining how his opponents will react while leading Tomoe Ame and Noriyuki out of trouble. And judging from Tomoe Ame’s assessment, Ikeda is a formidable swordsman, despite not wielding one for years.
• Game-Breaking Injury: An old leg wound he recieved in the rebellion never healed properly, which eventually cost him the life of his second son when it kept him from moving fast enough to save him during a flood. It flares up again occasionally, such as near the end of Grasscutter II, leading to him staying behind to hold their pursuers off.
• Heel–Face Turn: He and his son Motokazu were helping Noriyuki and Tomoe flee some villains. Noriyuki wound up endangering himself to save Motokazu from falling to his death, which prompted Ikeda to abandon his ancient grudge.
• Heroic Sacrifice: At the climax of Grasscutter II.
• Rage Against the Heavens: When his second son drowned during a flood and his old war injury kept him from saving the boy.
• Retired Badass: He gave up his birthright and abandoned war. He comes out of retirement due to the events of Grasscutter.
  • A flashback shows him briefly coming out of retirement years earlier when bandits were plaguing the area. He took his swords out of storage and rallied the villagers against them, using his military experience to defeat the bandits.
• That Man Is Dead: He abandoned his original identity of General Ikeda after growing to like the simple life of a common farmer, and only comes out of retirement to assist Usagi and Lord Noryuki with the Grasscutter affair.
• You Shall Not Pass!: When he's holding off the Neko ninja at Atsuta Shrine. He's Impaled with Extreme Prejudice, but he held them off just long enough. And he lived just long enough to slay his killers in the process.
• What You Are in the Dark: He's left alone with Grasscutter while everyone else is asleep, and realizes that with the help of the legendary sword, he could not just easily regain his former status as a samurai and general, he could raise an entire army and become Shogun with the divine mandate of the Gods... only to lay the sword aside, thinking that such fantasies are not for a humble farmer like him. In fact, it's instrumental for safeguarding the real Grasscutter while a fake is stolen and belived lost in the ocean.
  • He also has the chance to slay Lord Noriyuki in revenge for his loss against his father which led to his exile but never acts on it.

Ikeda Motokazu

Iké had one surviving son. Motokazu was raised as a peasant, but after his father's death he was accepted into the samurai class and promised an eventual place in Lord Noriyuki's court. In later volumes he appears as a page, since he's not yet old enough to take up his father's swords.

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• Give Him a Normal Life: Played with. At first, his father intended to raise him as a farmer's son. But after he decided Noriyuki would be a good liege, Ikeda asked for Motokazu to be trained and honored according to his birth station.
• Kid Samurai: Unlike characters of a similar age, such as Jotaro, Motokazu was unaware of his heritage. However, he does technically belong to this category.
• He Is All Grown Up: At the beginning of Senso, 20 years after the main series.
• Sins of the Father: Despite Noriyuki's pardon, his father's reputation as a traitor continues to haunt him during his time as a squire despite his skill, thanks to the long memories of the Japanese. It only stops after Noriyuki takes him on as his personal page.
• To Be Lawful or Good: Goes against Noriyuki's instructions during the Mother of Mountains arc, which saves Usagi and Tomoe's lives and exposes Noriko's plot, but also dishonors him since he went against his lords orders. Noriyuki forgives him however and even gives him a promotion from squire to full fledged samurai.

Inazuma

After killing the yakuza boss who had her husband tortured and killed, the swordswoman who went by the stage name 'Inazuma' lived a life on the run, outfighting all manner of assassins. Usagi once covered the price of her drinks at a wayside inn, and she saved him from a hidden archer as thanks; but he doesn't much like her. Later in the series this 'chance meeting' becomes more significant: Inazuma becomes the new host body for the demon, Jei.

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• The Ace: Accord to Stan Sakai, Inazuma is the best sword fighter in the entire series.
• Action Girl: An anti-hero version. She rivals Usagi in her skills as a warrior.
• Arrow Catch: How she saved Usagi's life when they first met.
• Avenging the Villain: Her husband was an abusive gambling drunk who got himself killed by trying to blackmail the son of a known crime lord after learning he used loaded dice in his gambling hall. Inazuma killed her husband's murderer and spent the rest of her life on the run from bounty hunters.
• Broken Bird: She gave up everything for a husband who didn't love her. When he died, her heart hardened.
• Cats Are Mean: While she isn't a villain, Inazuma isn't particularly friendly.
• Cruel Mercy: Jei doesn't kill her when they first meet and chooses to help her with injuries she had sustained despite her fitting into his insane perimeters of evil. It turns out he was saving her as a new host for his spirit to possess after being killed.
• The Drifter: She's got an enormous bounty on her head after killing the son of a crime lord. And then she gets something IN her head...
• Due to the Dead: After her death, her brother burns her corpse to prevent bounty hunters from taking her head.
• Dying as Yourself: Priest Sanshobo manages to exorcise Jei from her, but she dies shortly after from the injuries she sustained while possessed.
• Fighting from the Inside: During her possession by Jei. It's implied this ultimately leads to her death, as Inazuma-Jei somehow doesn't or can't shrug off or heal an injury like the first Jei would typically have done, and later blames Inazuma for making her body harder to sustain.
• Honor Before Reason: She was stronger and more self-reliant than her abusive husband, but chose to stay with him anyway either out of love, her duty as a wife or a refusal to admit she had been wrong to run away from home. Similarly, she could have avoided having a bounty placed on her head if she hadn't chosen to go after her husband's killer (who had stupidly tried to blackmail said killer while alone and in the killer's gambling hall, surrounded by the latter's men...), but her honor as a self-appointed samurai demanded vengeance.
• Instant Expert: How she took up swordplay. Her husband chose to teach her to use a sword in order to perform grandstanding tricks and she found herself to be a natural, quickly eclipsing her husband in fencing skill.
• No Name Given: Inazuma (lightning) is a pseudonym; her real name is Tomiko.
• Rebellious Princess: The daughter of a ambitious samurai who ran away with a ronin to avoid marrying a kind but much older member of their lord's court.
• Self-Proclaimed Knight: Considers herself a samurai though she was obviously never officially made one. She is of the samurai class by birth, however.
• Tragic Hero: She gave up an arranged marriage to an influential noble and eloped with a handsome ronin who turned out to be an abusive drifter who used her and her sword skills to fuel his gambling addiction. After he got himself killed threatening a crime family, Inazuma avenged him and spent the rest of her life running from bounty hunters. She would later get possessed by Jei, kill many more people while possessed by him, and would suffer fatal wounds while under his control. After undergoing an exorcism, the last thing she learns before dying is that her father forgave her and wanted her to return home.
• The Virus: After Jei's death she becomes possessed by his spirit and starts wandering the roads with Keiko, searching for Usagi.

Inspector Ishida

A middle-aged detective, highly competent but sometimes hampered by corrupt superiors. He and Usagi have solved several murder mysteries together.

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• A Day in the Limelight: 'After the Rat' doesn't even have Usagi in it.
• Cowboy Cop: Though he values the law to see justice for those who deserve it, he's not above briefly stepping outside the bounds of the law to see it happen. See below where he murdered his corrupt superior, and how happily overlooked Usagi's slaying of the also corrupt chamberlain of the city when the others on the force were looking for the culprit.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: In a story rampant with this, Ishida tends to be the exception. In a society where social class is highly enforced, he tends to have more modern ideals of justice, believing that no one should be above the law and everyone deserves justice, regardless of social status. Also unlike Usagi, who is distrustful of Christianity and its adherents (who would worship an executed criminal after all?), Ishida is very sympathetic to the plight of Japanese Christians. Not surprising, considering he is one.
• Friend on the Force: He and Usagi share a certain Cowboy Cop attitude and become good friends.
• Good Is Not Soft: After thwarting an assassin who was out to kill Ishida's corrupt superior for the murder of his parents and sister, said superior gloats that he did indeed do everything the assassin was there to kill him for and asks Ishida what he plans to do about it? Ishida kills his superior and says that the assassin performed the deed with his dying breath. Generally speaking, Ishida is a very lawful man, but when justice calls for it, he'll bend the rules.
• Japanese Christian: He and Usagi investigate some in the story arc "The Hidden". Usagi, though normally open-minded, is profoundly uncomfortable with the idea of worshipping an executed criminal, but Ishida is much more sympathetic to their plight and government oppression. It is, of course, because he's secretly one of them. In fact, he's the unofficial leader of the local community.
• Happily Married: She's really only seen in one story, but Ishida and his wife are clearly very happy together.
• The Last DJ: His superiors value station and 'face' over little things like evidence and justice, so he's usually at odds with them.
• Martial Pacifist: Though he always tries reasoning with people first, he is skilled with the jitte (sword-catcher) and in unarmed combat.
• Nice Guy: He is very cordial and polite to everyone he meets, values Usagi's insights, clearly loves his (albeit rarely seen) wife and generally does not blindly accuse or convict anyone without a damn good reason. He also immediately assures Usagi he knows that he meant no harm when the latter accidentally upsets his wife by asking if they have a child (theirs died young).
• Outliving One's Offspring: Ishida and his wife had a child who died very young, and it upset them enough that they never threw away their toys. Thanks to Usagi, they later adopt the child of a murdered courtesan, so those toys came to good use after all.
• Staff of Authority: The jitte he carries is a symbol of his authority as law enforcement, and he often has to pull it out and remind particularly snobbish or uncooperative people to take it up with the Shogun if they have a problem with his investigations.
• Worthy Opponent: He is considered this by the cat burglar Nezumi, but it's not mutual.
  Ishida: Justice is not a game.

Inukai/Stray Dog

A Bounty Hunter who sometimes works with Gen. He's a ruthless, double-crossing Jerkass who claims he only looks out for himself...

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• Combat Pragmatist
• Hidden Depths: He uses part of his earnings to help support an orphanage. The children call him "Uncle".
• Hidden Heart of Gold: He'll take hostages and betray his allies casually enough... but he Would Not Hurt A Child.
• Meaningful Name
• Pet the Dog: See Hidden Depths.
• Replacement Flat Character: For Gen.
• Rōnin
• Shout-Out: His name comes from a Kurosawa Film Nora Inu. His secret heroic bit is directly from Manga wrestler Tiger Mask.

Jotaro

Usagi's son by his childhood sweetheart Mariko, raised in the belief that her husband Kenichi is his father. He later learns the truth.

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• A Day in the Limelight: He received an extended arc, Travels with Jotaro, in which his master Katsuichi sends him on the road with Usagi to give him some practical experience of the world.
• Badass Adorable: He is a surprisingly good fighter, especially considering his age, but he's still an adorable rabbit boy.
• Everyone Can See It: A non-romantic example - everyone who's seen Usagi and Jotaro together sooner or later comments that the latter is essentially a scaled-down version of the former, much to Usagi's embarassment and Jotaro's confusion.
• Groin Attack: This tends to be one of his go-to moves. In his defence, due to his young age and short height, thats his default reach.
• Heroic Bastard: Publicly he is the son of a village headman. He has become aware that he is illegitimate.
• Kid-Appeal Character: And sometimes an Audience Surrogate.
  Tomoe: I see what you mean. He's adorable!
  Jotaro: Hey!
  Usagi: I also told her you're very brave.
  Jotaro: That's better!
• Kid Samurai: He's determined to be the coolest samurai ever. Considering he has defeated foes literally twice his size armed only with a wooden bokken, he is well on his way.
• Wooden Katanas Are Even Better: He's too young to carry real swords, so he fights with bokken staffs instead.
• Luke, You Are My Father: Doesn't say it to Usagi's face, but shouts it after he leaves. Usagi hears something, but thinks he just imagined it. In Senso, the two finally admit it to each other just after Usagi has been mortally injured. He passes his swords on to Jotaro before he dies.
• He Is All Grown Up: At the beginning of Senso, 20 years after the main series.

Katsuichi-sensei

The old hermit who taught Usagi more or less everything he knows: humility, compassion, thinking before he acted, and not least importantly his unusual style of swordsmanship. He's currently teaching Jotaro the same things.

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• Characterization Marches On: When originally appearing in flashback Katsuichi-Sensei is a Sadist Teacher bordering on Sensei for Scoundrels, who is well on the way to becoming a misanthrope, if he wasn't already one. In later appearances he is a Stern Teacher: harsh, demanding but also caring and effective. It could be argued that teaching Usagi, and later the brothers Shunji and Shunichi, also served to soften his personality and regain his faith in humanity.
• Close-Call Haircut: Koji chops off the end of his "pony tail" during their duel, but it's not commented on.
• Eye Patch Of Power: After getting his eye slashed in an ambush, he uses a sword guard as an eyepatch a la Kaede's or Yagyu Retsudo's.
• Friendly Rivalry: In his later years, the only friend he still seems to have from his childhood is Isao, a fellow Old Master. They both trained at the same Dojo, both trying to surpass the other, and both saying they thought their opposite was better. After Katsuichi left Isao took over the dojo, and they still keep in touch.
• I Was Quite a Looker: He doesn't bring it up, but the one issue that flashed to his youth reveals it.
• King of Beasts
• Mentor Occupational Hazard: Subverted, Katsuichi got jumped by students from a rival katana school who wanted to avenge the defeat of their school at Usagi’s hands, and despite fighting them off, Usagi saw Katsuichi fall off a cliff and believed him dead. He survived.
• Old Master: He's lost some of his youthful agility and strength, but he's still among the most skilled warriors in the series.
• Retired Badass: He's a sensei (tutor) now, not a warrior.
• The Rival: He had one in his youth named Toshi, he endured Toshi's jeers and mockery up until Toshi killed Katsuichi's lover and dueled him. Katsuichi killed him and left his school to become a hermit afterward.
• Secret Test of Character: likes to subject his students to these.
• Warrior Poet

Kitsune

A street performer/thief/con woman who remains friends with Usagi despite the fact that his purse tends to go missing when they meet.

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• Affectionate Pickpocket: While Kitsune usually prefers more subtlety, she's not above this style.
• Catchphrase: "A girl has to do what she can to get by, neh?"
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Plays no role in the What If? Alternate Continuity "Senso". "Wherewhen" reveals why she wasn't present...
• Classy Cat-Burglar: While she prefers con games, she's also adept at burglary (and pickpocketing).
• Cool Big Sis: To her apprentice, Kiyoko. Before that, to her poor doomed sidekick, the mute Gentle Giant she only knew as 'Noodles'.
• Cunning Like a Fox: That's why she has a fox-like appearance.
• A Dog Named "Dog": "Kitsune" means "fox", which is pretty self-explanatory. However, it turns out that it's not her real name.
• The Gadfly: She loves to rattle the cages of the self-important. She's pulled pranks on most of the people she's encountered, except Inspector Ishida (this backfired really badly when she tried her pranks on Chizu).
• Hidden Depths: Once she confides to Usagi she would like to give up the thief life and retire somewhere quiet, but feels people like her aren't meant to find happiness.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: When Noodles was framed and executed for theft, Kitsune was not content until the corrupt official responsible was utterly ruined and commanded to perform seppuku.
  Kitsune: It's better than he deserves.
• Like Brother and Sister: She enjoys Usagi's company but shows no romantic interest (unless she's up to something), though she often teases him about it.
• Mentor Occupational Hazard: Sachiko in Kitsune's backstory.
• Odd Friendship: Usagi is a samurai who's fallen on hard times. Kitsune is a street entertainer and a criminal, originally of the merchant class - the lowest social class in the Edo period's class system, and only one step above the outcast eta and hinin classes. He doesn't judge her for that, and she likes that in him.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: A flashback reveals that Kitsune is not her real name, but a name given to her by her mentor. We have yet to learn what her real name is.
• Secret Identity: Publicly, she is a traveling entertainer who does balancing acts with tops, fans and so forth.
• Ship Tease: With Gen.
  Usagi: Gen?! Ewww!
  Kiyoko: Ha ha! That's what I said!
  • Although it's a different continuity, they're Happily Married in the TMNT crossover story "Wherewhen" and even show signs of being a Battle Couple. Gen is DEVASTATED when she gets killed.
• The Tease: Downplayed, since she does it rarely, but she is clearly aware she is attractive and has used it to her advantage a few times - but usually only for loung enough to swipe a purse or a key to a cell or something. She also loves to insuniate that her and Usagi are an item when she sees him with other women, if only because she's amused the results.

Lord Noriyuki

The new head of the Geishu clan following the death of his father, Lord Mataichi. At the beginning of the series Noriyuki is about ten; he's one of the few characters to have visibly aged, though only by a couple of years.

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• A Child Shall Lead Them: Lord Mataichi was assassinated when Noriyuki was about ten, leaving Noriyuki in charge of the Geishu Clan.
• Innocently Insensitive: When one of his vassals recommends that he, the vassal, should be married to Tomoe, Noriyuki happily agrees. While it is a politically beneficial move, Noriyuki thinks that he is doing a favor for Tomoe thinking that she would want to be married to a noble, not realizing that she and Usagi were already in love. As it is, it never occurs Noriyuki to ask her what she felt about all this.
• He Is All Grown Up: At the beginning of Senso, 20 years after the main series.
• Non-Action Guy: Noriyuki is staunchly protected and kept out of action. He's brave, stoic in adversity, and strives to be a Father to His Men, but he's not usually in the field. However, he's grown hard to bushwack, even when asleep, as Chizu learns when she sneaks into his room.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Unlike most of the daimyo shown (who tend to be either treacherous, tyrannical or terminally ill), Noriyuki is a level-headed and honorable young man who is concerned with justice, honor, and the welfare of his people.
• What You Are in the Dark: He and Tomoe were fleeing an enemy force, and wound up being guided through the mountains to a high rope bridge. When one of the guides (Motokazu) fell through the bridge, Noriyuki risked death to catch the falling boy.

Priest Sanshobo

A former Hatamoto (Banner-man) of Lord Ikeda named Konuma Inushiro, now the head priest of a temple. Despite giving up his former life as a warrior, he has forgotten none of his old skills.

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• The Atoner: Gave up his former life when his friend Lord Shigeki's son accidentally fell to his death under Sanshobo's care, which resulted in Sanshobo's son Hirukazu jumping after him in order to atone for their failure to protect him. Sanshobo felt shame and sorrow enough to renounce his status and retire to a monastery with lord Ikeda's acceptance.
• All Monks Know Kung-Fu: Sanshobo is Japanese, and doesn't know any Shaolin tricks. But he's skilled in armed warfare and Hyper-Awareness, since he was a samurai warrior before his life as a priest.
• Good Shepherd
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: He displays the ability to exorcise an evil kami, but it's not clear if this is because he has power or because the demon thinks he does.
• The Nose Knows: He instantly realises he's in the Geishu province from the scent of pine needles alone.
• Warrior Monk: Technically a former warrior, but he hasn't forgotten how to deal with attackers.

Sasuké the Demon Queller

A skilled fox ronin, Sasuke is a demon slayer and has devoted his life to hunting them.

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• Determinator: When he's set upon a target, he travels miles to get to it. Whenever he expends too much energy, he's left an old man, but the spirit who grants him his powers continues to order him to the next destination, and Sasuke goes without complaint.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: To almost every other character in the series, supernatural monsters and wizards are rare and terrible things. But it's starting to look like Sasuke is the reason they're rare.
• Hunter of Monsters: In the case of wizards, he's a Hunter of His Own Kind.
• Magic Knight: He's a skilled warrior with nearly unmatched magical powers, with only a few sorcerors and monsters being stronger than him.
• Mind Reading: Or possibly foretelling the future. He knows the names of people he's never met before, which is a bit of a Running Gag with him. When they point this out, he claims they told him before or someone else mentioned their name.
• Really 700 Years Old: His wife's ghost is six hundred years old. The math is easy to do, though he does not confirm his age.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Usagi really doesn't like it when he runs into Sasuke, because it always means some sort of supernatural danger is about. He always ends up helping Sasuke, but he never enjoys it.

Sojobo-sensei

Usagi's other master, a tengu that lives in the mountains west of his hometown. Beat a lot more humility into him than Katsuichi-sensei ever did. Many have aspired to learn from him, but he challenges all prospective students into a duel, and will claim their hand should he win, although this may or may not be literal.

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• Evil Mentor: 'Evil' may be pushing it, but he's a decidedly darker teacher than Katsuichi is just the same, what with his grim disposition, manipulative nature, and propensity to dismemberment. Even in his later years Usagi is terrified of the very suggestion that his own son Jotaro might seek the tengu out.
• Exact Words: After a fashion. When Sojobo defeats Usagi in a duel, he claims the ownership of the latter's hand but decides it'd be much more useful attached to the rest of his body and strengthened through training. Whether it's because Usagi actually impressed him, or if that's his usual way fo doing things, is not addressed.
• Hook Hand: Lost his hand under circumstances that are yet to be determined. In his first meeting it's insinuated that Katsuichi may have been responsible for cutting it off, but this is ultimately revealed to not be the case.
• Manipulative Bastard: Runs mental rings around Usagi every time they meet, without the latter realizing it until it's far too late. In his first appearance, he attacks young Usagi's pride to goad him into accepting a duel even with the deadly stakes; in his second, he holds back and stays in the defensive to make Usagi think he has advantage when he does not, again to make him feel more confident to accept what's to come.
• Master Swordsman: Katsuichi's equal, having dueled him once on-screen and once in the backstory, both times inconclusively.
• Opposed Mentors: Him and Katsuichi do not get along well at all, with an agreement for each to stay on their side of the mountain and an inevitable duel when this deal is broken. Unusual to the trope, though, Usagi finds a way to learn from both.
• Really 700 Years Old: Noted by Usagi to have not aged at all between their first and second meeting.
• Tengu: The red-skinned, long-nosed variant.
• Would Hurt a Child: Was all set to claim young Usagi's hand when Katsuichi intervened.

Yagi and Gorogoro/Lone Goat and Kid

Yagi is a grim but honorable samurai who turned assassin after being framed for treason. He travels the land while pushing a wooden cart in which his young son Gorogoro rides.

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• A Dog Named "Dog": "Yagi" is the Japanese word for "goat", which is what Yagi is.
• Expy: They're based on Itto and Daigoro, the main characters of Lone Wolf and Cub, and are even known as "Lone Goat and Kid" In-Universe.
• Gruesome Goat: They're both goats, and while they aren't exactly evil they're still both unsettling in their own ways. Yagi is an assassin who's obsessed with punishing evil, and Gorogoro isn't above killing people in self-defense despite his young age.
• The Quiet One: Yagi is stoic, but his son hardly ever speaks at all. He's said "goodbye" once to Usagi, and again (much later in the series) to Jotaro.
• Shadow Archetype: Yagi is a darker character than Usagi - like him, a perpetual wanderer, but one more obsessed with punishing evil men than in defending innocents. The endearing, close relationship Yagi has with Gorogoro also contrasts with Usagi's fond but uncomfortable (and intermittent) relationship with Jotaro.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Gorogoro has killed men, if only in self-defense.
• Walking the Earth: As assassins for hire.

Zato-Ino

• Affably Evil: He's in search of a peaceful place to live, and he's an agreeable fellow except when someone tries to catch him or when he's in a bad mood.
• Corrupted Character Copy: While he seems to be a straight-up tribute to Zatoichi, his life as a vagabond with a price on his head has made him much more violent, cruel, and paranoid than his inspiration.
• Disability Superpower: Sees through scent.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Left badly injured after the events of The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy, Zato is found by a young peasant girl, who helps nurse him back to health. The two eventually marry, and by the time of their final appearance, they're expecting a child, giving Zato the peaceful life he always wanted.
• Handicapped Badass: By Word of God, the most skilled fighter in the series (prior to the creation of Inazuma).
• I Just Want to Be Normal: He doesn't want to fight strangers or spend his life on the run. He wants a peaceful, anonymous life in a quiet village.
• Kick the Dog: When he gets his wooden mask to replace his nose, he tests his senses by slashing a nearby lizard apart.
• Master Swordsman: He mastered the sword despite his blindness, and he was considered by Stan to be the best swordsman on a technical level until Inazuma was retconned into being such. Also deconstructed in that his reputation constantly brings people who want to challenge him, and that he'd give up his skills just for some peace and quiet.
• Out of Focus: Initially he was one of the major supporting characters alongside Gen, Tomoe and the rest. However once he settled down in a remote village his story was wrapped up and he hasn't appeared since.
• Reverse Grip: Usually holds his sword this way.
• Sword Cane: His walking stick conceals his sword.

Nakamura Koji

A former swordsmanship instructor, who got defeated by Katsuichi and wandered the land, honing his skill, hoping to one day meet Katsuichi again.

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• Bare-Handed Blade Block: During his duel with Usagi, he catches Usagi’s katana between his palms, flips Usagi over and places his own sword at Usagi’s throat. Koji lets Usagi go against the promise that Usagi will deliver his challenge to Katsuichi.
• Break the Haughty: In his backstory he was an arrogant and haughty instructor, poised to gain the favor of Lord Hikiji himself, until he came to challenge a hermit named Katsuichi. He was defeated three times in front of Hikiji, and humiliated. Upon his defeat he renounced his dojo and became a wanderer, growing in both skill and humility.
• Character Tics: Usagi realizes that Koji would, seemingly unconsciously, dip his sword right before an attack. Usagi considered this knowledge key to his technique and defeat but Katsuichi makes a point to remain ignorant about it so their duel may be fair.
• Honor Before Reason: In Koji's view, nothing in the world matters more than a warriors honor, and if he is to die in battle because he wasn't the best, so be it. When Usagi accuses him of throwing away all the good he and Katsuichi could do in the world if Koji didn't insist on the pointless duel, he accuses Usagi of not being a "real" samurai because it doesn't matter what a warrior could or could not do, honor demands satisfaction.
• Old Soldier: He's an elderly man, but also one of the most powerful samurai in the comic, whose skill is equal to that of Usagi's sensei Katsuichi.
• Punch-Clock Villain: He wants to duel Katsuichi to the death, and that is the extent of his villainy. Outside of that, Koji is pleasant, honorable, and has no quarrel with Usagi or anyone else. He even teams up with Katsuichi and his students to help free a village from a local gang.
• Unknown Rival: To Katsuichi. After he defeated Koji in their youth, he faded into Katsuichi's memory along with the other rivals he's had over the years. Though due to being a hermit, Katsuichi doesn't get much news, so Usagi specifically is sent to inform him of Koji's wishes to duel.
• Worf Had the Flu: When talking with Katsuichi, Isao specifically cites this as the reason why Koji lost to him. He'd been so worn down fighting Isao's students, that he lost to Isao himself. An impressive feat seeing as all the other schools he'd challenge ended with Koji whipping the floor with their best disciples before taking down the Sensei.
• Worthy Opponent: He feels this way of Katsuichi, one of the few to ever defeat him. During their final battle Katsuichi clearly reciprocates giving him a respectable funeral, and even stating that it was only luck that allowed him to triumph.

Yamamoto Yukichi

A cousin of Usagi who is a ronin like him, though much less world-weary. Based off of Yuichi, the protagonist of the Netflix show drawing from the comic, Yukichi serves as something of an Audience Surrogate for new readers of the series into Usagi's life and relationships (particularly since he was introduced after the series moved from Dark Horse to IDW Comics).

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• Ambiguous Innocence: Perhaps unintentionally, but Jei declares him innocent... Jei.
• Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Started as this, but was quickly humbled. Yukichi dismissed Usagi and sent him away when he tried to get an audience with his master, considering him far too important to associate with vagrants. He learned better when his master chewed him out after seeing evidence of Usagi's skill.
• Audience Surrogate: He serves as one for newer readers to the comic. After joining Usagi in his travels, Usagi has come across in rather rapid succession multiple allies AND enemies from the past, which allows both Yukichi and the potentially new audience to become familiar with the various people in Usagi's life.
• Canon Immigrant: Of a sort. He is based off Yuichi, the protagonist of the Netflix show based on ''Usagi Yojimbo" (though oddly having a bit more in common with "Space Usagi" due to it's sci-fi elements) who in that show is a descendent of Usagi. Here, they are cousins.
• Incorruptible Pure Pureness: He is one of the very, very few characters that has met Jei's standards for innocence. A list that so far has only explicitly included two young children: Keiko, and Lord Goyo's daughter Keifumi.
• Naive New Comer: He is not quite as worldly as Usagi is (and looks a lot more youthful than Usagi), having never gotten caught up with criminals, serial killers, and ninja before journeying with Usagi. Though he is still good in a fight when needed.
• Poor Communication Kills: In the Senso prequel (that is also a TMNT crossover), in a battle with a horde of robots, Yukichi ends up being the closest to the machine that is controlling all the robots. Donatello yells to him that he has to shut the machine off to stop the robots. Yukichi, being from ancient Japan and having no idea what robots really are, doesn't understand what Donatello is telling him to do but at least understands that he needs to disable the device he's next to somehow. He chooses to do this by plunging his sword into it. This does destroy the machine and stop the robot army, but it also electrocutes Yukichi, causing him to die in Usagi's arms shortly after (conveniently justifiying why he didn't appear in Senso proper.)
• Remember the New Guy?: He is Usagi's cousin, but was never mentioned before his first appearance. This is justified by the fact that they didn't know either - they don't find out until long after their first meeting, and only realized they were related after chatting for a bit.
• Won't Get Fooled Again: Pulls this in hilarious fashion when he meets Kitsune, who instantly steals his coin purse after she gently touches his cheek (and is told to give it back by Usagi). After they all save Kiyoko from some gangsters, she thanks him and again touches him gently... And Yukichi immediately pats himself down to check for his coin purse,saying that he remembers the last time. Kitsune is not quite amused.

Villains

Lord Hikiji

Enemy of Usagi's Lord Mifune, personally killed Usagi's defiant father and made Keniichi village leader, and employer of the rival Neko and Komori ninja clans.

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• Arch-Enemy: Subverted. He's set up as one, having killed Lord Mifune and Usagi's father, but he doesn't actually interact much with Usagi. When you think about it, it makes a fair amount of sense; Hikiji likely doesn't even know who Usagi is, and has very little reason to worry or care about a single ronin in a land full of them.
• Big Bad: Shares this role with Jei, though unlike the demonic swordsman, Hikiji has had very little actual interaction with Usagi since the Battle of Adachigahara, mostly working behind the scenes to extend his power over Japan.
• Dark Is Evil: Nicknamed the "Shadow Lord", and his mon is a plain black circle.
• Evil Overlord: Even compared to the other scheming lords of the series, such as the Conspiracy Of Eight, Hikiji is easily the worst. He's often referred to as the Shadow Lord by the other characters.
• The Faceless: Hikiji's face is almost always either in shadow, covered by something in the scenery, or by a helmet and war mask with only his eyes visible. Even after we know what he looks like, the comic just keeps his face hidden for all future appearances. It's strictly from the audience's point of view, though. In-universe, his face is well-known enough to require a kagemusha (body double).
• Greater-Scope Villain: He often remains unseen, while others act as his emissaries.
• Hero Killer: Killed Usagi's beloved Lord Mifune, though Usagi robbed him of a valuable propaganda victory by cutting off Mifune's head and burying it in the mountains.
• He Who Must Not Be Seen: As a Japanese lord he doesn't need to be seen to be influential, and for the vast majority of the series he is never physically present. Stories in which he features usually have Hebi appearing as his representative.
• Starter Villain: Hikiji is still around, but has faded into the background as Usagi's focus has changed from the past (and vengeance) to the present.
• Tin Tyrant: He wears face-concealing "great armor" in all but one of his appearances.
• Token Human: He is the only human character seen in the comics, an artifact of a very early "humans vs animals" concept for the series that Sakai abandoned. This is never relevant to the story, although the fact that he stands out is probably why Sakai has kept him The Faceless ever since. A story once showed him or rather his body double wearing a helmet and mask which exposed his eyes and mouth, but pointedly kept his uniquely human nose hidden.
• Villain with Good Publicity: While not exactly beloved, Hikiji has a surprisingly good reputation, especially considering his monstrous actions. This is because Hikiji doesn't act overtly tyrannical, and most of his evil deeds are done through proxies like the Neko Ninja. As far as most of Japan is concerned, Hikiji is no different from any other noble focused on power and prestige, for better or worse.
• Would Hurt a Child: Orders the assassination of Lord Mifune, his wife, and young son. He is also behind the assassination attempt of Lord Noriyuki at the start of the series.

Lord Hebi

A giant snake who's Lord Hikiji's second-in-command.

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• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Lord Hebi is so huge he fights ninja by picking them up with his mouth and hurling them to their death.
• The Dragon: To Hikiji—he consistently shows up as the "voice" of the Shadow Lord.
• Dragon-in-Chief: Hebi gets considerably more screen time than Hikiji and is the active schemer amongst Hikiji's inner circle. He might as well be the Big Bad in his own right.
• Enemy Mine: Hebi sent the Neko ninja with Usagi and Tomoe to stop Lord Tamakuro, an ambitious daimyo who had stockpiled guns and was planning to betray Hikiji and overthrow the shogunate. Noriyuki tells him that he only did it to serve Hikiji's interests. Hebi merely states that they should be grateful that they stood together against this threat.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Though ruthless himself, Lord Hebi is shocked, disgusted and horrified when he learns that his master Lord Hikiji has made a deal with the Martian invaders and betrayed Earth. In retaliation he kills Hikiji, before being killed in turn by the Martians.
  Lord Hebi: You make a pact with monsters! And you.. you are the greatest monster of all! You would kill your own people!
  Lord Hebi, after killing Hikiji: You're the worst kind of monster there is. You should have died long ago. I followed you blindly, but now I can see you for the abomination you were. I can see.
• "Facing the Bullets" One-Liner: When facing the Martian tripod that is about to incinerate him, just as it's started to rain:
  Lord Hebi: It's starting to rain. Good. We need the rain.
• Non-Standard Character Design: Hebi is not anthropomorphic in the slightest, looking like a regular - albeit gigantic - snake that can talk. Thus far, the series has not addressed why that would be so.
• Pet the Dog: After Lord Ito succeeds in a bet with a fellow lord, to have ice delivered from the mountains to his home (a very difficult task as the ice melts easily in the summer weather), Hebi is impressed and gives him the position of honor during Hikiji's visit.
• Pragmatic Villainy: As vicious as Lord Hebi is, he doesn’t see a point in just killing people for past failures when they can still be of use to Hikiji, such as Shingen, who got a second chance after he failed to steal a Muramasa blade from the Geishu clan.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: He isn't just a cunning politician, but a fierce combatant. One notable example is when his entourage gets attacked by ninja, and he lunges into the fray despite the warning of his guards, proceeding to hold his own and then some:
  Lord Hebi: And leave my safety to you incompetents?!
• Undying Loyalty: Of all Hikiji's servants, he is the most faithful. It doesn't stop him from turning on Hikiji after the latter announces his alliance with the Martians despite the ruin they're inflicting on his own people.
• Unwitting Pawn: As smart as Hebi is, he's clueless to the Neko Ninja's power struggle, and is manipulated into ousting Chizu by Kagemaru.
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Hebi is one of the cruelest and most inhuman characters, and coincidentally also one of the scariest-looking and least human.

Jei

One of Usagi's deadliest enemies. In his first appearance he is showed as a crazed killer who think himself as an emissary of the gods in a mission to cleanse the world from evil by any means necessary; but with each appearance, although it's never confirmed that he is the blade of the gods, it's made more clearly that he isn't just a normal person, neither.

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• Ambiguous Situation: Stan Sakai refused to clarify whether or not Jei was transformed and corrupted into a supernatural being or if he was possessed by a dark power that used him as its first host.
• Arch-Enemy: He's grown into this role, by virtue of a) being a Serial Killer whose plans tend to be much more immediately threatening than Hikiji's (mostly because those plans tend to involve a large amount of people dying) and b) having a personal dislike for Usagi. He also happens to be a Foil for Usagi in a few ways that set them up to be arch-enemies. He is primarily a spearman, which gives him the advantage over a swordsman like Usagi in open spaces where their fights tend to take place. And he is a wolf while Usagi is a rabbit, giving a predator and prey vibe. By the time of Space Usagi he's remembered as this in tales, though the truth of them is doubted.
• Art Evolution:
  • His ears get longer after the Grasscutter arc like in a flashback to his origin even before becoming Jei.
  • His third host body starts off looking a bit different from his first as they're seen together, but eventually they become practically identical.
• Ax-Crazy: Well, Spear-Crazy, but he counts, given he's effectively a slasher villain in Feudal Japan.
• Back from the Dead: Despite being visibly killed, he's come back from the grave more than once.
• Bloodbath Villain Origin: "The Darkness and the Soul". His first incarnation was a Buddhist monk named Jizonobu who made a pact with dark gods to cure a sick noblewoman whose father threatened to raze his monastery if she wasn't cured. Then he was possessed and butchered the other monks himself.
• Blue-and-Orange Morality: Jei is everything he claims to be, a servant of the Gods sent to cleanse the world of evil. The only problem is that Jei and the Gods he serves have a view of Good that everyone else would describe as sociopathy: understanding the very concept of evil makes you a target.
• Breakout Villain: Jei was initially meant to be a one-shot villain, but he was popular enough to become a recurring character, and was the main antagonist of the crossover three-parter in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012).
• The Corruption: If he wounds you with his weapon, his evil presence is inside you forever. It may dwell there for years, but it never goes away. The sole survivor of Jei's first rampage, who was wounded but not killed, lived his life for years afterwards only to be possessed when Jei had need of him. Jei wounded Usagi and Gen as well. Gen's wound hurts at times (particularly when he faces Jei again in the body of Izuna), and Usagi had a dream of being possessed by Jei.
• Dark Is Evil: In a reference to the oft-repeated maxim 'the sword is the soul of the samurai', any blade that Jei 'consecrates' immediately turns black. He also favors plain black kimonos, a style ordinarily worn only by monks. It's likely a holdover from his first incarnation, who was a Buddhist monk.
• Depending on the Artist: Usually colored an ashen grey but is sometimes brownish in earlier colored pieces.
• Dropped a Bridge on Him: Played With. He gets unceremoniously fried by an alien death ray in Senso, and while it's still not enough to put him down for good (as he possesses Keiko) he plays no role in the ensuing plot, so it still counts. It's worth noting that he actually outlives most of the main cast, including Usagi himself.
• Exact Words: Jei is indeed the "Blade Of the Gods", but he never said which Gods.
• Evil Versus Evil: He fights a Yuki Onna who unbeknownst to him had menaced Usagi and Yukichi shortly beforehand.
• Fate Worse than Death: Being stabbed by his spear—or later, sword—is shown to be agonizing, and it's implied that if he kills you with it your soul is taken by him or destroyed.
• High-Voltage Death: How he died the first time: being struck by lightning.
• Honorary Uncle: To Keiko. It does nothing to humanize him.
• Implacable Man: His first incarnation survives several injuries that should be fatal and only dies when stabbed with Kusanagi. While possessing Inazuma he keeps her alive with a mortal injury for days before he is exorcised.
• Joker Immunity: No matter what Usagi or anyone else does, Jei just will. Not. Stay. Dead. Even getting impaled with the sword Kusanagi only led him to possess Inazuma, and given his ability to Body Surf, it's entirely likely he'll still be around long after Usagi (the only one who can reliably defeat him) is gone.^note And in the Senso future (wherein Usagi dies at the end of the story while Jei finally possesses Keiko) that's exactly what happens.
• Knight Templar: He's on a mission to eradicate evil. His definition of 'evil' is worrying.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: In the first stories where he appears it's left ambiguous whether he's an actual supernatural entity or just a homicidal madman who happens to be good with a spear. This doesn't last too long though—later we learn that he really is a demon, possessing innocent host bodies.
• Milky White Eyes: Or Glowing Eyes of Doom - it's hard to tell in a comic.
• Never Hurt an Innocent: One of the few unambiguously positive things you can say about him is that when he declares someone innocent, he won't turn his spear on them. Don't count on this to save you.
• No-Sell: Much to his surprise, his corrupting touch is unable to affect the divine Grasscutter sword.
• Obliviously Evil: He genuinely doesn't seem to grasp he's not actually doing good by killing so many people. When he's called out on it in his introductory issue, his response is that the accuser must be no better than the victim was.
• Omnicidal Maniac: In one story it's shown that he's perfectly willing to let Japan be destroyed in a massive earthquake, as such a disaster would kill countless "sinners."
• Outside-Context Problem:
  • In a largely stable society without many weapons of war, his favorite weapon is a yari, which gives him an advantage against Usagi and his shorter katana.
  • In a more general sense, the world of Usagi Yojimbo is a Historical Fantasy where the supernatural is relatively rare. Jei, meanwhile, is effectively the main villain of a slasher movie, with all that that implies, and might be why the heroes have such a hard time getting rid of him (several attempts on his life and an exorcism have all failed).
• Pay Evil unto Evil: While his warped view of morality means he constantly kills good people, Jei's also killed a number of demonstrably evil people as well.
• Prophet Eyes: He does have the power to 'see' souls... although he usually doesn't like what he sees.
• Pet the Dog:
  • He declares Keiko to be innocent and saves her from some bandits. Of all the characters she's the only one he seems to have any affection for, though she's pointedly not a Morality Pet. Originally he was supposed to steal her body for a new host but the author changed plans playing this trope straight. He likewise spared Lord Goyo's daughter Keifumi, whom he declared to be innocent, in his origin story, whilst he slaughtered everyone else except her and priest Hama (whom he badly wounded). Yukichi is also declared innocent and spared, despite having a familial connection to Usagi (though it's implied Jei didn't realize that part until their conversation was over).
  • He offers Kitanamono a chance to drop Kusanagi and leave with his life, and seems genuinely disappointed that he had to kill him in the ensuing fight.
• Politically Correct Villain: He's shown to not believe in the caste system of Edo Japan, thinking of himself, his mission, and the gods as above it.
• Savage Wolves: A wolf and an Ax-Crazy Serial Killer.
• Serial Killer: The term is never used, what with this being feudal Japan, but he's clearly this, and a clear-cut example of the Mission-Based (believes he's ridding the world of evil) subtype.
• Shout-Out: If you attach the honorific "-san" to his name, it sounds like "Jason," aka the main villain of the Friday the 13th movies, with whom he shares some traits: i.e., being an Implacable Man who constantly comes Back from the Dead. His origin story finally revealed how his name came to be: He was originally a Buddhist priest named Jizonobu, with "Priest Ji" being his nickname. When he was possessed and strangled his best friend Kin, a fellow priest, to death, said priest tried to snap him out of it by calling him "Ji," which his gurgles twisted into "Jei." When Lord Goyo asked him who he was right before he was killed, Jei responded by replaying his friend's last words, gurgles and all, like a recorder, before telling him "Call me... Jei!"
• Sin Eater: Jei is a former priest who believes he has been chosen by the gods to cleanse the world of sin. Unfortunately, Jei has a rather twisted view of what qualifies as sin, leading to him killing many innocent people.
• Slasher Smile: And when he starts chuckling it's too late to run.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: There is basically no difference between Jei's first and current incarnations and minor differences in physical appearance may be due to Art Evolution.
• Tragic Villain: While Jei itself is a murderous cackling madman through and through, the backstories of its hosts lend its existence an aura of tragedy:
  • Priest Jizonobu was a genuinely good man and a dedicated healer who only became the host of the entity now called Jei as a result of a Deal with the Devil to save an innocent girl's life.
  • Inazuma, while far greyer morally than Jizonobu or Hama, earns some sympathy by struggling with Jei every step of the way and visibly suffering for it.
  • Priest Hama was the survivor of Jei's initial rampage, and the wound he received apparently was infecting him to make him a suitable host for Jei. Much like Jizonobu, what we see of him is a good, if understandably traumatized, man who did nothing to deserve the fate visited upon him..
• The Virus: "Jei-san" is actually a spirit who uses people as hosts.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Jei genuinely believes he's cleansing the world of sin and killing only those who deserve it. He cannot be convinced otherwise. It's part of what makes him so dangerous, since unlike other villains, he cannot be reasoned with or talked down.

Keiko

Jei-San's "niece", who he spared after killing the thieves who killed her grandpa because she was "innocent." Having nowhere else to go, she started following him. She was originally supposed to become Jei's new host, but the author felt uncomfortable so he created Inazuma.

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• Badass and Child Duo: The horror movie version.
• Body Surf: Was originally planned to become Jei's new host, but Stan felt having a child be possessed would be too dark and scrapped the plan. However, in Senzo, which occurs over a decade later, after Jei is atomized by the invaders, in the crowd of refugees, you can see that Keiko has finally been possessed by Jei, though she doesn't appear again in the story after that.
• Cheerful Child: Keiko is instinctively nice to those around her. Including those her "uncle" butchers.
• Corrupt the Cutie: It is ambiguous just how much of her own strange behavior is her own doing, or if she is under evil influence by Jei. She doesn't always seem to comprehend the murders he commits are wrong (if she even registers that he's killing people at all - she once covered victims in a blanket so they wouldn't get cold), has been shown to eat roots and grubs without batting an eye and is incapable of recognizing Jei's host bodies when Jei isn't currently possessing them, as shown with Inazuma. She also unfailingly follows him even in stories where he momentarily abandons her out of the blue.
• Creepy Child: Her obliviousness to the horror around her makes her unsettling.
• The Face: Jei (who isn't much of a people person) sometimes sends her as an emissary.'
• Foil: One of sorts to both Jotaro and Kiyoko, what with the whole "following an adult major character around" thing. Where Jotaro is energetic and eager to learn from Usagi, who teaches him more realistic and rounded things about both the life of a samurai and the overall social structure of Japan, Keiko is submissive to Jei, who doesn't really bother teaching her anything other than he is killing those that are "evil", and she either doesn't really register what he is doing, or is completely unaware that it is wrong. Kiyoko, meanwhile, is fully aware that hers and Kitsunes lifestyles go against the grain. But Kitsune isn't really malicious and Kiyoko is capable enough of her own without attaching herself to Kitsune's hip, whereas Keiko usually freezes up and doesn't know what to make for herself when Jei is nowhere to be found.
• Improbable Infant Survival: This trope is why the initial plans to have Jei possess her were scrapped. Indeed, once she is no longer a child in the Senzo story, she is fair game for possession.
• Morality Pet: Notably averted. While Jei by all indication genuinely cares for her, it does nothing to stop him from carving a bloody swathe through their travels.
• Pure Is Not Good: Even though she's an innocent child, she willingly followed a creepy murder demon who has no sense of what is right or wrong.
• Satellite Character: She hangs around with Jei and whatever vessel he has at the moment. As the stories go on she interacts with everyone else less and less.
• Where I Was Born and Razed: She dwelt with her old grandfather in an isolated hut. The place burnt to the ground shortly after his death, and she - left with nothing in the world but the clothes on her back - followed Jei, who had avenged her grandfather's death.

Noriko

Tomoe's cousin or more acturately, her sister, Noriko was hired by Lord Sanada to mine for gold in mountains in Geishu territory, making false rumors of a plague to scare people away from finding the site. She treats her slaves brutally and heartlessly, with no regard for their lives.

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• Bad Boss: She is willing to murder her slaves if they mess up or slack off.
• Cain and Abel: She and Tomoe.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Her nickname is "The Blood Princess"
• Cats Are Mean: While other characters in this series avert this trope, such as Tomoe herself, to say that Noriko lives up to it would be and understatement.
• Dark Action Girl
• Death Glare: Gives one to Tomoe when ordering her to pick up a basket for slave labor. Of course, Tomoe is unfazed by it, responding just by giving Noriko a Death Glare of her own.
• Disney Villain Death: Flees into the gold mine just before it blows up, burying her under the mountain. We're then shown her surviving and escaping being Buried Alive by squeezing through a crevice and swimming through an underground river which leads outside, but this turns out to be a nightmare Tomoe is having. Still, we never saw the body...
• Evil Counterpart: To Tomoe.
• Faux Affably Evil: She invites Tomoe to sit and drink sake with her, acting all friendly, welcoming, and elegant... just to set her up for the horrid revelation that she murdered her father.
• Freudian Excuse: She is a total psychopath who casually kills peasants and enjoys inflicting suffering on others. However, she had a pretty unfair childhood. Her mother had her through an affair with her husband's brother, aka Tomoe's father, making her Tomoe's half sister. Her legal father couldn't stand the sight of her knowing where she really came from and sent her off to live with her blood father, who refused to acknowledge her as his daughter due to the scandal it would make. She was always jealous of Tomoe who was well loved and well treated. Then again, she had homicidal tendencies since childhood, so that may have contributed to why she was hated by Tomoe's family. It wasn't explained.
  • How much of Noriko's past qualifies as a Freudian Excuse could depend on what your theories on it are. It's true that Tomoe's father, Tatsutaro did refuse to acknowledge her as his daughter due to the scandal it would make, Word of God says that it was Noriko's cruelty and sadism that made him not want to acknowledge her as his niece either.
• Hate Sink: A proud and absolutely sadistic cat who engages in slavery and murder, she is not likable in the slightest.
• Jerkass: At her best, Noriko's condescending and haughty, and at her worst she's a cruel and violent killer.
• Kick the Dog: She is willing to kill a slave if they get too tired or mess up a task she gives him or her.
• Kick Them While They Are Down: She's introduced sparring with her cousin Tomoe using wooden swords, winning, and then savagely beating a now unarmed Tomoe to the ground. She does this again (minus the wooden swords) when she reveals that not only are she and Tomoe half-sisters but she also killed Tomoe's father after he refused to acknowledge her as his daughter, literally kicking Tomoe while she's down and in shock. She also killed a slave when he got tired.
• Luke, I Am Your Father: We were right off the bat on Noriko being a member of Tomoe's family. We were just wrong about which family member.
• Patricide: She actually committed this crime twice!! She poisoned her adoptive dad and stabbed her biological one in the back!
• Psycho for Hire: She arguably decided to serve a ruthless warlord specifically so that she'd be able to satisfy her sadistic kicks.
• Psychopathic Manchild: She gets violently angry when things don't go her way.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red Oni to Tomoe's Blue Oni.
• Sadist: She enjoys humiliating defeated opponents and she killed her father.
• Self-Made Orphan: Killed both of her fathers.
• Slasher Smile: Her most frequent facial expression.
• The Sociopath: Ever since she was a child.
• The Unfavorite / Bastard Bastard: [[She's shunted to her aunt's after her mom dies because her uncle is actually her biological father (mom and aunt are sisters). Aunty doesn't like her very much and then bio-dad straight-up tells her he'll never accept her as his daughter, so she kills him and poisons her "step" father for being weak. She reveals all of this to her The Favorite cousin Tomoe while beating her to the ground (on top of having worked a day in Noriko's mine). For Noriko, it's a very satisfying beating.]]
• Villainous Breakdown: She had one when a slave revolt was starting and as everything went downhill for her, it got worse and worse and worse.

The Neko Ninja

The most frequently encountered ninja clan in the series, principally because they are the agents Lord Hikiji uses when he has dirty business to do and can't have his name attached to it. They are frequently antagonists of the heroes.

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• Enemy Mine: They ally with Usagi to face Lord Tamakuro. They then declare that they have no further alliance with Usagi.
• Stuff Blowing Up: This clan's special edge is that it is the only one with access to explosives ranging from grenades to small kegs of gunpowder for more target demolitions.
• We Have Reserves: Usagi and his companions have killed a lot, to say nothing of those lost to Lord Tamakuro in The Dragon Bellow Conspiracy. By the end of Grasscutter II it's clear that they cannot continue to sustain such terrible losses, leading Chizu to question their continued association with Bad Boss Hikiji.
• What Measure Is a Mook?: In many early stories the Neko ninja were simply a vast swarm of interchangeable cats in black garments. However, over time the series has focused on individual ninja, examined their philosophy and gone into detail about the reasons for their service to the Greater-Scope Villain. In addition to the consequences of sustaining such horrific losses throughout the series.

Shingen

• Armor-Piercing Question: Usagi gives him an awesome one when accused of destroying a Neko Ninja hideout, killing all present.
• Evil Virtues:
  • Cooperation: He doesn’t shy away from cooperating with those that are usually his enemies if that means getting the job done.
  • Loyalty: whether it’s to his clan or to Hikiji, Shingen doesn’t waver in his devotion, it's part of the reason Lord Hebi chose not to have him executed for failing a task.
  • Respect: He has great respect for Usagi, as during their brief alliance, would hear him out and follow his advice, such as bringing Gen and Zato Ino along for extra swords, despite not knowing either.
  • Valor: He leads an attack on Lord Tamakuro’s fully fortified fortress in high alert in an attempt to give Hikiji and lord Noriyuki time to muster their forces and deal with the rebellious lord. Shingen manages to catch Tamakuro in an explosion at the cost of his own life.
• Ninja: The kashira or "boss" of the Neko clan.
• Noble Demon: Shingen has very few scruples in serving the wicked Lord Hikiji, but he lives by a strict code, particularly when it comes to Villainous Valor.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: Shingen's attempt at a woodcutter disguise shows the importance of researching your cover and keeping your lies consistent. Mitigated somewhat by the fact that Shingen was basically making it up as he went along, having been seriously injured in a failed attempt to steal a precious sword from the Geishu clan.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: He was the head of the Neko ninja clan and could fight Usagi quite evenly.

Chizu

• Acquired Poison Immunity: Gained after ingesting small amounts of poison over a long time, in anticipation of attempts on her life. It pays off.
• Berserk Button: Normally, Chizu maintains a constant stoic and professional nature, as befitting a ninja. However, Kitsune's "antics" manages to drive her into a murderous rampage multiple times, to the point that Usagi has to physically hold her back.
• Cats Are Mean: Justifiably so in The Thief and the Kunoichi, where she was nearly caught. This made her want to murder Kitsune.
• Dark Action Girl: Her clan serves Hikiji. Eventually, just Action Girl.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Chizu was shown to have great respect for her brother Shingen, hoping that he would survive storming Tamakuro’s castle. She's like this with her clansmen as well, unless thet betray her.
• Evil Virtues: Chizu shows a few of these, part of what makes her a Reasonable Authority Figure and A Lighter Shade of Black compared to other villains and antagonists.
  • Temperance: On occasion. Although she had the perfect opportunity to kill Gen when he’s unconscious for striking her, she simply settled for nailing his sleeves to the wall with blades.
  • Wisdom: When faced with the opportunity to gain Grasscutter, Chizu planned to throw it to the sea, so that no one, not even her own clan or Hikiji could abuse its power and throw the nation into a brutal civil war.
• Friendly Enemy: Gets substantial Ship Tease with Usagi. She's shared more on-page kisses with him than any other character. In fact, just about every storyline between them ends with a kiss (sometimes initiated by our hero himself!)
• Femme Fatale
• Honor Before Reason: Inverted, while the Neko ninja serve Hikiji, this doesn’t mean that Chizu tells him everything or that everything the clan does under her leadership is to his benefit. A prime example of this is that she procures a written agreement by several lords that seeks to abolish the shogunate. Such a paper could shift the power balance in Hikiji’s favor, but is also very useful for the Neko clan themselves, so Chizu opts to keep it in the clans custody. However, thanks to Kagemaru, this agreement does find its way into Lord Hebi’s possession.
  • Another example is during the Grasscutter saga where she plans to throw the Kusanagi blade back into the sea, rather than hand it over to Hikiji, who’d most likely use it to throw the country into a massive civil war to seize power.
• Ninja: And one skilled enough to become the ''kashira'' of the Neko Clan after her brother's death.
• Noble Demon: During her tenure, she makes a number of decisions that she claims are Pragmatic Villainy but which probably stem from her personal code of ethics.
• Pet the Dog: When judging two clansmen, one of whom was an old friend of Chizu, that tried to leave the clan and lead a normal married life, Chizu is swayed to let them go. Kagemaru doesn’t agree and secretly has the man murdered (he fails at killing the woman).
• Team Mom: When she becomes head of the clan. Not all of the Neko are pleased...
• Trauma Conga Line: When Kagemaru pulls his coup, she has all her friends and allies turned against her, she's cut, poisoned, and dropped into a moat. Kimi finds her sick, freezing and bleeding on the side of a building later on and a barely coherent Chizu must accept that she's now a nukenin (fugitive ninja).
• Villainous Cheekbones: She is depicted with these later in the series, though this point in time, she's more of a dark Anti-Hero than a villain.

Kagemaru

• Cats Are Mean: He is very greedy, selfish, cold-hearted, manipulative, and willing to shed copious amounts of blood to get his way.
• The Star Scream: He successfully manipulated Lord Hebi and Chizu, allowing him to usurp command of the Neko clan.
• Smug Snake: He smirks a lot.

General Fujii

One of the more memorable bandit chiefs Usagi faced; a renegade former samurai of considerable skill and cunning.

• Bad Boss: He has no concern for the lives of his own men and at one point destroys a bridge to make a getaway, leaving several of his men on the other side.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows
• Card-Carrying Villain: He doesn't gloat exactly, but when Usagi calls him a "monster", Fujii just calmly responds: "Yes, I suppose I am."
• Genre Blindness: He stole Usagi's swords. He even had the option of putting down the swords and walking away, but he felt he had to prove himself superior.
• It's Personal: He makes things personal between himself and Usagi by stealing Usagi's swords, and later using them to cut down an argumentative village elder.
• Manipulative Bastard: Made the villagers build a wall around their village, supposedly to protect them from bandits, and then locked them up inside and forced them to work for him.
• Surrounded by Idiots: Invoked the trope by name.
  Fujii: Bah! I'm surrounded by idiots and cowards.
• Villainous Breakdown: He has one when Usagi finally catches up with him after he steals his swords.
• They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!: Insists on being called "General".

Yamaguchi Kyosai

A mercenary first encountered by Usagi as an enemy, next time as an ally. Quite cordial outside work.

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• Punch-Clock Villain: Ceases attacking Usagi the moment the stone he attempts to steal breaks, rendering the point moot - and has absolutely no hard feelings about it the next time they meet.

The Orphanmaker

A mercenary working for Noriko during The Mother Of Mountains, he's originally portrayed as an arrogant and sadistic bully who embraced his nickname with sickening pride. But as they say, pride goes before fall, and sometimes, we come out better for it.

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• Break the Haughty: And how, he was an arrogant, sadistic murderer, but losing his eyes eventually made him a much better person.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Arrogantly loved his horrible nickname given to him because of the people he killed and left children orphans.
• Eye Scream: One of the nastiest cases in the whole series, losing both his eyes in battle with Usagi over the course of days, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Ironically, he arguably came out the better for it.
• Heel–Face Turn: First appeared as a despicable murderer and sadist, only for his evil to cost him his eyes. When he reappears, he's completely reformed himself, essentially becoming a different person, much to Usagi's surprise.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Spending time as a blind beggar made him realize just how monstrously he acted towards those weaker than him in his previous life, and became a monk to atone.
• No Name Given: He's only ever refered to as Orphanmaker, though presumably he goes by his real name as a monk.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Made a total 180 some time after he lost his eyes and became a monk, he acts like a completely different person when Usagi meets him again. He doesn't even react in anger when a group of local bullies steal his cane, and even admonishes Usagi for using violence against them.

Koroshi, the League of Assassins

• Beneath Notice: The League's members like to disguise themselves as peasants, monks, beggars, and other unremarkable individuals to move openly and get close to their targets.
• Beware the Nice Ones: While some of the Koroshi are openly dangerous, murderous types, the really nasty and dangerous ones wouldn't hurt a fly!... for free, anyway.
• Carnival of Killers: A travelling troupe of circus performers turned out to be members of the League, and ambushed Usagi because they recognized him and thought he was a shogun spy there to arrest them.
• The Dog Was the Mastermind: Generally speaking, the more harmless a minor character seems, the better the odds that somebody's going to die mysteriously within a few pages.
• Evil Old Folks: The highest-ranking assassins are positively ancient, and just as deadly as in their youth, if not more so.
• Ninja: Unlike the titled ninjas in the comic, the Koroshi are shinobi as they actually once existed.
• The Unseen: The directors of Koroshi rarely, if ever, meet Usagi face to face.
• Villain Ball: Various assassins are thrown at Usagi because he interfered with their assassination attempts. As a result, many of the best assassins are killed by that ronin.

The Komori Ninja

The Komori are a ninja clan that are constantly striving to gain Lord Hikiji's favor and become his principal servants. They are relentless and bloodthirsty, but (for the most part) not terribly bright. To make up for their lack of hands, they wear blades strapped to the leading edge of each wing, turning their dive attacks into a sort of guillotine.

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• Bat Out of Hell
• More Teeth than the Osmond Family: Very jagged, very numerous.
• We Have Reserves: They appear in swarms and fight to the last bat.
• What Measure Is a Mook?: In the early stories the Komori were a vast swarm of interchangeable bats in ninja garb. Moreover, they tended to be more overly villainnous, sadistic and one-dimensional than their Neko counterparts, who were depicted with more personality. However, in more recent stories more varied and honorable Komori characters have appeared, such as Kurokaze, the kashira of the Komori clan who is shown to respect Chizu for her skills, and Kazehime, a female Komori ninja whose life Usagi saves during a raging storm.

The Mogura Ninja

A third ninja clan that has only appeared once or twice. They don't seem to have a daimyo to sponsor them, acting as mercenary spies and saboteurs instead. These moles have poor day vision and burrowing abilities, so they tend to rely heavily on ambush by night.

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• Tunnel King: They use their ability to quickly dig through the earth for theft and ambushes.
• Wolverine Claws: As moles, they have large claws on their hands that they use for digging and doubles as lethal weapons.

Lord Tamakuro

A supporter of Hikiji and a neighbor of the Geishu clan. The main villain of the Dragon Bellow Conspiracy.

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• Arc Villain: He is the central antagonist of the Dragon Bellow Conspiracy arc.
• Bad Boss: He’s not a pleasant man to serve under, his majordomo Torame, who Tamakuro vilifies, views him as wicked, but stays with him out of loyalty.
• Beardof Evil: A small mustache that he occasionally twirls.
• Death by Irony: While he believed that the flintlock rifles and black powder would make him invincible, but Tamakuro perishes in a massive black powder explosion, courtesy of Shingen.
• The Gambler: He makes a bet with his major domo against Usagi who is having a practice match, he quickly loses.
• I Control My Minions Through...: Authority and power. The authority comes from his birthright and position as a feudal lord, as it means that some samurai have served his family for their entire lives, like Torame. Power is implied from the countless ronin that he’s hired, who gain back their status as proper samurai, rather than wandering ronin, forced to beg or sell their weapons to survive.
• Non-Action Big Bad: Despite being the main villain of his arc, and allegedly of an ancient warrior lineage, Tamakuro leaves the fighting to his samurai and does extremely little to stop even a wounded ninja from igniting explosive blackpowder, despite standing a few feet from him.
• Pig Man: He’s an anthropomorphic pig.
• The Starscream: Tamakuro was officially an ally of Hikiji, but craved power for himself, and sought to challenge the shogunate so he could gain it. Lord Hebi wasn’t too happy when he found out about the lords’ duplicity.
• Would Hit a Girl: Justified, he has no qualms about personally interrogating Tomoe Ame after she uncovers his operations, which would lead to his execution if he was caught.
• Would Hurt a Child: Tamakuro orders the slaughter of an entire village, including women and children when it’s discovered they’re part of the Neko ninja clan, sent to spy on him by Hikiji.

Rodriguez

A spanish ambassador and one of the very few foreigners to ever appear in the series, Rodriguez proves himself as one of the most repugnant villains Usagi has ever faced as the antagonist of "Death Of A Tea-Master".

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• "Ass" in Ambassador: Rodriguez is a sadistic monster who uses the Japanese concept of honor against them to indulge in his own petty revenge.
• Cats Are Mean: Like most other cats in the series, such as Noriko and the Neko Ninja, Rodriguez is an outright bastard.
• Disproportionate Retribution: The Tea Master wouldn't allow him to watch a tea ritual, since it's supposed to be a highly ritualistic and intimate ceremony. Rodriguez response was to force the master to commit seppuku as his reward for defeating the Lord's men in a duel, knowing full well that neither could bring themselves to refuse.
• Laser-Guided Karma: He wanted to see someone commit seppuku, and even after witnessing the tea master complete the ritual, he wanted to see it happen again, and was willing to pull rank just like before to see it happen when the lord who arranged the execution refused to let him do so again. It's fitting, then, that Usagi defeats and mortally wounds him by slicing him across the gut.
  Usagi: "You want seppuku? Then EXPERIENCE it!"
• Out Of Context Villain: His foreign combat style and his rapier is this to the Japanese samurai he fights, to the point that only Usagi can beat him.
• Royal Rapier: He is a rapier-wielding Master Swordsman who is sent by a royal European court to Japan. His personality does not match his position, however, and the samurai are appalled by his brashness and cruelty.
• This Cannot Be!: When Usagi defeats him in combat and kills him.
  Rodriguez: "But... my report-"

The Aliens

The main antagonists of Senso, the probably-not-canon Deadly Distant Finale of the comic, the Aliens are a race of technologically advanced alien molluscs who invade Japan during the final battle between the heroes and Lord Hikiji.

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• Aliens Are Bastards: They invade Earth and mercilessly slaughters anyone in their way, helpless civilians included.
• Eviler than Thou: They're so far beyond even main series Big Bad Lord Hikiji he's little more than a useful tool to them. Even Jei is killed as nothing more than collateral damage during the attack.
• Hero Killer: The last surviving Alien manages to mortally wound Usagi before it dies.
• Logical Weakness: The alien tripods only have three legs, and destroying or disabling one renders it helpless. The trick is getting close enough to do so.
• Rock Beats Laser: Downplayed; the Japanese suffer massive losses to the aliens and their technology, but they are weak and slow outside their iconic tripods, even while armed with energy weapons, and even their tripods are defeatable by the Middle Age-level weapons the heroes use. Only the first and the final tripods require extreme measures to take down. It's implied that the aliens weren't expecting any serious resistance, as the last surviving tripod starts using actual tactics instead of just attacking everything head on.
• Shout-Out: They're heavily based on the Martians from The War of the Worlds.
• Outside-Context Problem: The isolated Japan don't even have a concept of life on other worlds, much less alien invasions.
• Outside-Genre Foe: A race of classic sci-fi alien invaders in the middle of a Japanese historical action series featuring Funny Animal characters.
• The Quisling: They end up recruiting Hikiji to help them enslave Japan and the rest of Earth.

Others

Lord Mifune

Usagi's beloved lord, defeated by Lord Hikiji's forces thanks to General Toda's treachery at the Battle of Adachigahara. The war was caused by Hikiji sending the Neko Ninja to murder his wife and child. Usagi personally decapitates his lord's body to ensure his head isn't used as a trophy.

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• Benevolent Boss: Cared very much for his vassals' well-being. So much so that he expressly forbade his retainers from committing seppuku in the event of his death, which is why Usagi didn't kill himself after fulfilling his last duty to his lord and burying his decapitated head in a secret location during the Battle of Adachigahara.
• Big Damn Heroes: Even death doesn't prevent him from saving his loyal vassal Usagi.
• Crusading Widower: Becomes this after his wife Kazumi and son Tsuruichi are murdered by the Neko Ninja, sent by Lord Hikiji.
• Frontline General: Preferred to lead his army in battle in the heat of the action, rather than command from the rear. This trait ultimately contributed to his death at the Battle of Adachigahara.
• Honor Before Reason: When the Battle of Adachigahara entered a critical phase, with Hikiji's forces setting up the Keyhole Defense maneuver to protect their generals (which was implied by Mifune's officers to be a desperation move), Mifune chose to join the battle in person despite Gunichi's warnings of the danger involved. He did so because he did not want to hide in the rear while his soldiers were fighting for him. However, had he chosen to remain in the rear, he likely would have been able to react more quickly to General Toda's betrayal, and he would have been able to extricate his army from Hikiji and Toda's trap without getting himself killed.
  Lord Mifune: "This is the crucial period! It's time for me to join the battle!"
  Gunichi: "No, Lord Mifune! The danger.."
  Lord Mifune: "I refuse to gain victory by gazing at the backs of my men! Gunichi... you'll guard my left flank. Usagi, my right! To horse!"
• Not Too Dead to Save the Day: He briefly comes back from the dead, with the arrows that killed him still sticking from his body, to save Usagi from a hellhag in the forest known as the Tangled Skein and give him some words of wisdom before Usagi falls unconscious and wakes up alone in the woods.
• Posthumous Character: He appears only during flashbacks.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Everybody seems to agree that he wielded his authority with great responsibility. He honored his vassals' service to him.
• Shout-Out: To Toshiro Mifune.
• Undying Loyalty: To his vassals. As he explains to Usagi in a flashback, the loyalty of a lord to his vassals is greater than that of a retainer to his lord, for it is the lord's duty to ensure the welfare of each of his people. So great was Mifune's loyalty that not even death could keep him from rescuing Usagi in the Tangled Skein.
  Lord Mifune: "You were always a loyal retainer, Usagi, but remember my words... A lord's loyalty to his vassal is greater."

The Woodcutters

Two monkeys, husband and wife, who have an amazing - and totally coincidental - tendency to travel to whatever area Usagi is in: they're routinely seen in any scene set on a road. They play a minor role in stories in Book 3 and Book 9, and come within a hair of being the victim of a villain in Book 22, but ordinarily they have no lines and are simply seen passing by. They refer to each other as "husband" and "wife".

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• No Name Given
• Recurring Extra
• Running Gag: They're always around, yet Usagi never seems to recognize them.

The Snitch

A hooded figure who first appeared in Space Usagi, he sells information to anyone with enough money.

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• Actually Pretty Funny: When he's finally caught doing an elaborate double-cross, Gen isn't sure whether to be angry or amused.
  Stray Dog: "You've been playing us against each other -"
  Gen: "- and charging us for it! I'd wring your neck if I didn't admire you so much."
• Hidden Depths: He's a coward and a weakling, but he does have considerable archery skills. After sending an entire gang of sellswords at Usagi to tire him out, he very near kills him with a well-aimed arrow to the head. Usagi wouldn't have even noticed it had Inazuma not caught it.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Eventually, one of the large violent men he sold out catches him alone in a secluded location, beats him to within an inch of his life, and takes all his money.
• No Name Given: He's just "The Snitch," though his Space Usage counterpart was named Toady.
• Perpetual Poverty: He gets generous payments in almost every appearance, and yet the next time he appears in-series, he still seems to be offering information for a few zeni. Apparently, though he is very good at making money, he is utterly terrible at keeping it.
• Punch-Clock Villain: He'll snitch to the heroes too. But villains usually pay more.
• Recurring Traveler: He pops up in many different towns over the course of the series. No justification is attempted, although it's entirely possible that he's been run out of every town.

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