History Characters / ChivalryOfAFailedKnightKuroganeClan

** Itsuki ''really'' doesn't like the way he treats his middle son, but continues to obstruct Ikki's advances as a Blazer in order to keep the order of the ranking system intact ([[spoiler:which is also hinted to be not absolute]]).

** [[spoiler:He may be willing to use peer pressure, harassment, and even torture to "[[SarcasmMode encourage]]" Blazers into accepting their role (horrible as it is), apparently, directly forcing them and/or robbing them of their autonomy (i.e. mind control, etc.) is a line he won't cross. Given how he was indoctrinated to uphold the Kurogane traditions before he could even think for himself and what he's capable of in Volume 18, it's possibly true.]]

* {{Foil}}: To Stella's father, Sirius Vermillion. Sirius is emotional to a fault and only initially discouraged Stella from becoming a Blazer out of concern for her safety. In contrast, Itsuki is coldly rational and wants to end his son's career as a Blazer in order to protect the clan's reputation and the ranking system, regardless if it means letting the Ethics Committee break Ikki.

* TheManBehindTheMan: Kirihara would have never assaulted Ikki, the teachers would have never made Ikki repeat another year and the smear campaign against Ikki would never have happened if Itsuki wouldn't let them.
* {{Manchild}}: A [[{{Downplayed|Trope}} subtle]] example. [[spoiler:Given what is later found out about him, it's heavily implied that, despite his professionalism, he never really emotionally outgrew the trauma inflicted onto him by his father and the clan elders. Also, whenever he seems to interact with Ikki, the latter notices that his father has a tendency to be clumsy with his words.]]

* TheNeedsOfTheMany: As a staunch supporter of the ranking system, he'll always serve the collective than the individuals.
* NothingPersonal: He has no hatred for Ikki nor does he doubts his fidelity to the Kurogane Clan, but unfortunately has to reject and obstruct him from being a Blazer due to his own duties and upbringing.

* ParentalNeglect: To the point where it's borderline ParentalAbandonment with Ikki. Itsuki will do everything he can to ignore his son and makes sure that no one outside the family ever made the connection between them. When that doesn't work, he will actively keep him down and "libel" him in the news. All of this... just to preserve a broken system [[spoiler:that even he seems to not have much faith in other than being indoctrinated to support it and knowing ''nothing'' '''''else''''' to do with his life]].

* WellDoneSonGuy: {{Implied|Trope}}. [[spoiler:Just as the indoctrination from his own father was what lead Itsuki into being the man he is today, it's likely that he was also motivated into making Genma proud at the expense of his own individuality. Safe to say, it only hurt him more in the long run given Genma's cold behavior and extreme beliefs.]]

* AmbiguousSituation: Though the aforementioned trope is rather... unclear. While Itsuki used to persecute Ikki, even if he ultimately did end up having a change of heart and even before indicating he may have preferred Ikki to stop being a Blazer partly because he didn't want him to die, Shizuku loathes her father yet she returns home when her mother sends a letter. Considering she hated Itsuki for discriminating against Ikki if their mother indeed treated Ikki like that, Shizuku would likely not care. And it was also stated that Itsuki ''made'' her write that letter, with Shizuku's clear anger making it clear it wasn't the first time, so it may be possible that she is actually a better parent but just can't resist the will of the Kurogane's much less change their treatment of her son. Ikki himself also seems to primarily focus his feelings about being discriminated against on his father.

* TheGhost: She was mentioned by her children, but has not made a single appearance in the series.
* UnnamedParent: Her name has yet to be revealed.

* DirtyOldMan: (LN only) He gives rather lecherous comments to both Kurono and Nene in volume 3.

* KnightOfCerebus: In the earliest volumes, he's one of the most horrifying villains not for his combat ability but for his political influence and willingness to abuse it, as shown in the Ethics Committee's witch hunt against Ikki. By organizing a KangarooCourt and setting up Ikki to be rejected by Itsuki, Akaza comes far closer to breaking the protagonist than Kirihara and other antagonists.

* TheWorfEffect: Gets easily taken out by Stella when he tries to kill Ikki, just to show how outclassed he is in an actual battle due to preferring to manipulating events behind scenes.

* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler:In a way, he can be seen as responsible for the hardships and abusive that Ikki suffers from the Kurogane Clan.]]
* TheGhost: [[spoiler:He has yet to make an appearance in the light novels, but is likely deceased.]]
* HatedByAll: [[spoiler:Besides the previous elders who supported him due to similar beliefs and maybe his own father, who he had half-exiled for trying to reform the Kurogane Clan's twisted traditions, nobody in the current generation of the Kurogane Clan seem to have any love for Genma personally due to his extremism and abuse and only obeyed and respected him out of fidelity and fear. Even his own son doesn't seem to have any care for him to the point of never mentioning the man at all except out of very, ''very'' rare moments, according to Ikki.]]

* KilledOffscreen: He died of old age a few months after meeting and saving his great-grandson from despair.

* ParentsAsPeople: While his abusive actions towards Ikki aren't fully excused, the latter realized that even his father [[spoiler:is nonetheless a person who's been indoctrinated with the twisted ideals of the Kurogane Clan without being able to make his own choices in life.]]

* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler: If you thought Itsuki's treatment of Ikki was bad, then Genma was ''even'' '''''worse''''' as to how Ikki describes his grandfather's extreme views of the Kurogane Clan's traditions. Due to this kind of upbringing, Itsuki's view of [[BlueAndOrangeMorality familial love and right and wrong is greatly warped]] as shown in his treatment of his own children in the current time.]]

* ExactWords: As revealed in Volume 3, Itsuki explicitly points out to Ikki that he never said anything of disowning him during their last conversation 10 years ago, he just never had any expectations for him and that the latter shouldn't try to change his position in life due to his weak magic capacity as it would destroy the harmony granted by the ranking system.

* {{Manchild}}: A [[{{Downplayed|Trope}} subtle]] example. [[spoiler:Given what is later found out about him, it's heavily implied that, despite his professionalism, he never really emotionally grew up.]]

A legendary Blazer and a WWII veteran hero, Ryoma Kurogane was renowned throughout the world as "Samurai Ryoma".

* TheExile: [[spoiler: He was half-exiled by his own son for not sharing the Kurogane Clan's hardline traditions.]]

** Heavily implied to be a straight example towards his son, [[spoiler:Genma]]. [[spoiler:But deconstructed as it didn't stop Genma from growing up to be an AntagonisticOffspring, and in turn, an AbusiveDad towards his own son, Itsuki.]]
* MakingASplash: [[spoiler:Volume 17 reveals that Ryoma's Blazer ability to manipulate water, leading him to be hailed as the "Strongest Water User" in Japan.]]

* ScrewDestiny: [[spoiler:Volume 17 reveals that he's a Desperado as well.]]
* WhiteSheep: Aside from Shizuku, he's also another named Kurogane who was benevolent to Ikki despite the latter's low magic capacity. [[spoiler: It's likely that this is why he was exiled from the clan by his own [[AntagonisticOffspring son]], for he didn't share the same twisted ideals and opposes against them.]]
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: He encourages Ikki to continue pursuing his dream as a Blazer regardless of their clan's [[TheSocialDarwinist views]] of strength.

* ShadowArchetype: He's a good look at what Ikki could become if he never had met and been inspired by Ryouma, and unlike Itsuki, Ikki will be forever stashed away in the household to avoid embarrassing the family.

** [[spoiler:He may be willing to use peer pressure, harassment, and even torture to force Blazers into accepting their role (horrible as it is), apparently, directly robbing them of their autonomy (i.e. mind control, etc.) is a line he won't cross. Given how he was indoctrinated to uphold the Kurogane traditions before he could even think for himself and what he's capable of in Volume 18, it's possibly true.]]

* ParentalNeglect: To the point where it's borderline ParentalAbandonment with Ikki. Itsuki will do everything he can to ignore his son and makes sure that no one outside the family ever made the connection between them. When that doesn't work, he will actively keep him down and "libel" him in the news. All of this... just to preserve a broken system [[spoiler:that even he seems to not have much faith in other than knowing ''nothing'' '''''else''''' to do with his life]].

* AmbiguousSituation: Though the aforementioned trope is rather... unclear. While Itsuki used to persecute Ikki, even if he ultimately did end up having a change of heart and even before indicating he may have preferred Ikki to stop being a Blazer partly because he didn't want him to die, Shizuku loathes her father yet she returns home when her mother sends a letter. Considering she hated Itsuki for discriminating against Ikki, if their mother indeed treated Ikki like that, Shizuku would likely not care. And it was also stated Itsuki ''made'' her write that letter, with Shizuku's clear anger making it clear it wasn't the first time, so it may be possible that she is actually a better parent but just can't resist the will of the Kurogane's much less change their treatment of her son. Ikki himself also seems to primarily focus his feelings about being discriminated against on his father.

* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler: If you thought Itsuki's treatment of Ikki was bad, then Genma was ''even'' '''''[[EvilerThanThou worse]]''''' as to how Ikki describes his grandfather's extreme views of the Kurogane Clan's traditions. Due to this kind of upbringing, Itsuki's view of [[BlueAndOrangeMorality familial love and right and wrong is greatly warped]] as shown in his treatment of his own children in the current time.]]

* EvilerThanThou: [[spoiler:Even though he was only mentioned briefly by Ikki, he's clearly bad news and can make ''Itsuki'' look like a good parent in comparison.]]

* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler: If you thought Itsuki's treatment of Ikki was bad, then Genma was ''even'' '''''[[EvilerThanThou worse]]''''' as to how Ikki describes his grandfather's extreme views of the Kurogane Clan's traditions. Due to this kind of upbringing, it greatly affects Itsuki's parental skills as shown in his treatment with his own children in the current time.]]

* GeniusBruiser: Not only was he a powerful warrior amongst the Kurogane Clan, [[spoiler:but he had built special prison cell called "Coctyus" to imprison the founder of a dangerous religious group called Tendoushuu]].

* TheGhost: [[spoiler: He has yet to make an appearance in the light novels, but is likely deceased.]]
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: [[spoiler: As the previous Head of the Kurogane Clan, Genma is this and is implied to be quite extreme when enforcing the other members to follow the family tradition, including his own son.]]

* AppealToTradition: [[spoiler:A belief that was retroactively enforced by his father and the elders, leading Itsuki to continue carrying on the Kurogane Clan's hardline stance of preserving the Ranking system no matter what.]]

* BlueAndOrangeMorality: [[spoiler:He has a chilling outlook of the world where everyone is born as a "cog" who ''must'' follow whatever fate they have in store for them or else they'll suffer consequences, including his own family. Yet, he also seems to genuinely believe

** Itsuki ''really'' doesn't like the way he treats his middle son, but continues to obstruct Ikki's advances as a Blazer in order to keep the order of the ranking system intact.

* HatesTheirParent: Implied. [[spoiler:Given Ikki's description of what kind of man Genma was and the fact that Itsuki has never mentioned his own father.]]

* KnightTemplar: He firmly believes in the Ranking system bringing the stability of Japan obstructs Ikki from continuing his career or he will cause lower-ranked Blazers to become conceited and ruin it.

* ParentalNeglect: To the point where it's borderline ParentalAbandonment with Ikki. Itsuki will do everything he can to ignore his son. And when that doesn't work, actively keep him down. And all of this just to preserve a broken system.
* ParentsAsPeople: While his actions towards Ikki aren't fully excused, the latter realized that even his father [[spoiler:is nonetheless a person who's been indoctrinated with the twisted ideals of the Kurogane Clan without being able to make his own choices in life.]]

* WellDoneSonGuy: {{Implied|Trope}}. [[spoiler:Just as the indoctrination from his own father was what lead Itsuki into being the man he is today, it's likely that he was also motivated into making Genma proud at the expense of his own individuality.]]

* AmbiguouslyEvil: The Kurogane Clan possesses enough influence in the Mage-Knight world where they can partake in the affairs of the Japanese government, and have been doing rather shady affairs to further increase their political power.

A legendary Blazer and a WWII veteran hero, Ryoma Kurogane was renown throughout the world as "Samurai Ryoma".

* GoodParents: Well great-grandparent, but it still fits. As he was benevolent towards Ikki when the rest of the clan (except Shizuku) ostracized the latter for his weak magic power and supported the boy in his DarkestHour.

** He has no problems letting his son Ikki be effectively treated as ''non-existent'' since the age of five, or be on the receiving end of a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown where if he retaliates, he faces expulsion from school. During the series proper, Ikki the victim of ColdBloodedTorture -- being poisoned, drugged, and suffering from sleep deprivation to the point that he's deathly ill ''before being thrown into a duel'', and being nearly murdered by the family's primary retainer. Itsuki does all this to preserve the ranking system of the Magic Knights of Japan, all the while claiming that he bears no hatred towards his son. [[spoiler: It's eventually revealed this is because [[FreudianExcuse Itsuki's own father was unloving and cruel towards him as a child,]] which caused him to be the strict person he today.]]
** In a way, he can arguably be this towards his two favorite children, Ouma and Shizuku, as well. While he's far more lenient with them, mainly due to their having more magic capacity and [[spoiler:to make up for the cold treatment he received from his own father in his own twisted way]], it ends up backfiring with Ouma being disobedient and leaving the family while Shizuku hates his guts due to his abuse of Ikki. Furthermore, his poor treatment of Ikki for having F-Rank Magic capacity can also be abusive to Ouma and Shizuku by extension, in an unspoken "this is what would happen to you if you weren't born with stronger magic" kind of way.

* TheChainOfHarm: [[spoiler:His father and the other elders of the family abused him, and he in turn passed on this abuse to Ikki as he knew nothing else.]]

* HeroAntagonist: "Hero" is ''really'' stretching it, but if he wasn't so hell-bent on upholding his family's twisted ideals, then Itsuki would be a straight example. Regardless of his constant obstructions to his son Ikki, Itsuki's goal in keeping the status quo is rooted in creating peace and harmony for the people of Japan.

* ParentalFavoritism: PlayedForDrama. In contrast to his poor treatment of Ikki, he practically dotes on his youngest daughter and never punish her for anything, [[spoiler:and he still reaches out to his firstborn son despite the latter's disobedience and the fact that he had cut ties with the clan.]] However, when combined with his overall worldview, this favoritism is rather twisted and doesn't come without strings.

* NotGoodWithPeople: {{Deconstructed|Trope}}. He's capable of playing the political game and can interact with others in a logical, professional manner, but his harsh upbringing has stunted his ability to properly interact with others as individuals, leading to him being seen as a very cold and heartless person.

* DoubleThink: Despite thinking that Ikki won't amount to much due to his rank, he still feels the need to sabotage Ikki's progress to protect the ranking system rather than trust the ranking system to stop Ikki's ascent fairly.

* AbusiveDad: He has no problems letting his son Ikki be effectively treated as ''non-existent'' since the age of five, or be on the receiving end of a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown where if he retaliates, he faces expulsion from school. During the series proper, Ikki the victim of ColdBloodedTorture -- being poisoned, drugged, and suffering from sleep deprivation to the point that he's deathly ill ''before being thrown into a duel'', and being nearly murdered by the family's primary retainer. Itsuki does all this to preserve the ranking system of the Magic Knights of Japan, all the while claiming that he bears no hatred towards his son. [[spoiler: It's eventually revealed this is because [[FreudianExcuse Itsuki's own father was unloving and cruel towards him as a child,]] which caused him to be the strict person he today.]]

* DidntThinkThisThrough: It says a lot that he told his ''five-year-old'' son that "he simply couldn't do anything and shouldn't try" and then cutting off all verbal contact afterward had only lead to Ikki believing that his father disowns him and spend ''11'' miserable years seeking strength in order to make him proud.

* AmbiguousDisorder: The fact that his disturbingly LackOfEmpathy, NoSocialSkills, objectification of others should be a clear sign.

* ChainOfHarm: [[spoiler:His father and the other elders of the family abused him, and he in turn passed on this abuse to Ikki as he knew nothing else.]]

* ParentsAsPeople: While his actions towards Ikki aren't fully excused, the latter realized that even his father is nonetheless a person who's been indoctrinated with the twisted ideals of the Kurogane Clan without being able to make his own choices in life.

* AnAxeToGrind: He wields an axe as a WeaponOfChoice.

* {{Abusive Parent|s}}: He has no problems letting his son Ikki be effectively treated as ''non-existent'' since the age of five, or be on the receiving end of a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown where if he retaliates, he faces expulsion from school. During the series proper, Ikki the victim of ColdBloodedTorture -- being poisoned, drugged, and suffering from sleep deprivation to the point that he's deathly ill ''before being thrown into a duel'', and being nearly murdered by the family's primary retainer. Itsuki does all this to preserve the ranking system of the Magic Knights of Japan, all the while claiming that he bears no hatred towards his son. [[spoiler: It's eventually revealed this is because [[FreudianExcuse Itsuki's own father was unloving and cruel towards him as a child,]] which caused him to be the strict person he today.]]

* AbusiveParent: Much like her husband, she treated Ikki as non-existent after he became 5 years old. But how bad she is with this remains unclear given the AmbiguousSituation below.

* ParentalNeglect: [[UpToEleven To the point]] where it's borderline ParentalAbandonment with Ikki. Itsuki will do everything he can to ignore his son. And when that doesn't work, actively keep him down. And all of this just to preserve a broken system.

* TheManBehindTheMan: Kirihara would have never assaulted Ikki, the teachers would have never made Ikki repeat another year and the smear campaign against Ikki would never have happened if Itsuki wouldn't have let them.

* AbusiveParent: Much like her husband, she treated Ikki as non-existent after he became 5-years-old.
* AmbiguousSituation: Though the afromentioned trope is rather.... Unclear. While Itsuki used to persecute Ikki, even if he ultimately did end up having a change of heart and even before indicating he may have preferred Ikki to stop being a Blazer partly because he didn't want him to die, Shizuku loathes her father yet she returns home when her mother send a letter. Considering she hated Itsuki for discriminating Ikki, if their mother indeed treated Ikki like that, Shizuku would likely not care. And it was also stated Itsuki "made" her write that letter, with Shizuku's clear anger making it clear it wasn't the first time, so it may be possible that she is actually a better parent but just can't resist the will of the Kuroganes much less change their treatment of her son. Ikki himself also seems to primarily focus his feelings about being discriminated on his father.