* FishOutOfWater: He has to flee the palace under the protection of [[Action Girl Balsa]] because his father is trying to kill him in the belief that he is possessed by the legendary water demon who once brought a terrible drought. Going from a life of luxury to being on the run is a bit of a harsh transition for him, though he adapts well later on.

* NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist: He plans to overthrow the Mountain King and gain free access to ''luisha'' apparently for the poor people of Kanbal. In reality, he's nothing but a [[TheSociopath sociopath]] who cares more about achieving eternal glory for himself than the lives of his people.

%%[[folder:Yuguro]]
%%!!!'''Voiced in Japanese by:''' Daisuke Ryū (radio)
%%!!!'''Debut:''' ''Guardian of the Darkness''
%%One of the King's Spears and Jiguro's deceptive younger brother.
%%[[/folder]]

!!Balsa Yonsa
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Jun Karasawa (radio), Tamaki Oka (radio, young), Mabuki Andō (anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/CindyRobinson (anime)

!!Chagum
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Shōtarō Ōkubo (radio), Naoto Adachi (anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/MonaMarshall (anime)

!!Tanda
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Kenzō (radio), Creator/KoujiTsujitani (anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/PeterDoyle

!!Torogai
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Misako Watanabe (radio), Ako Mayama (anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/BarbaraGoodson (anime)

!!The Second Queen
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Tomoko Saitō (radio), Creator/EmiShinohara (anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/TaraPlatt (anime)

%%!!Torugaru
%%!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Akihiko Ishizumi (radio)

!!Shuga
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Yūsei Oda (radio), Creator/HirofumiNojima (anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Steve Cannon (anime)

%%!!Kainan Nanai
%%!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Yoshi Sakō (radio)

!!Toya and Saya
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Sota Murakami (Toya, radio), Creator/MayumiAsano (Toya, anime), Creator/RyoHirohashi (Saya, anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/YuriLowenthal (Toya, anime), Erika Lenhart (Saya, anime)

%%!!Naguru

!!Rogsam

!!Jiguro
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Yoshi Sakō (radio), Rintarō Nishi (anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/KyleHebert (anime)

%%!!Yuguro
%%!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Daisuke Ryū (radio)

%%One of the King's Spears and Jiguro's younger brother.

!!Karuna
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Akihiko Ishizumi (radio), Creator/KeijiFujiwara (anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Creator/PatrickSeitz (anime)

%%!!Yuka
%%!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Michiko Godai (radio)

%%!!Laloog
%%!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Creator/GoroNaya (radio)

%%!!Toto
%%!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Kazuo Kumakura (radio)

!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Jun Karawasa (radio), Tamaki Oka (radio, young), Mabuki Andou (anime)

!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Tomoko Saito (radio), Emi Shinohara (anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Tara Platt (anime)

!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Yūsei Oda (radio), Hirofumi Nojima (anime)

%%!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Yoshi Sako (radio)

!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Sota Murakami (Toya, radio), Mayumi Asano (Toya, anime), Creator/RyoHirohashi (Saya, anime)

!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Seishiro Kato (Toya), Riana Saijima (Saya)

!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Shido Nakamura

!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Yoshi Sako (radio), Rintarou Nishi (anime)

!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Koji Kikkawa

%%!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Daisuke Ryu (radio)

!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Akihiko Ishizumi (radio), Keiji Fujiwara (anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English):''' Patrick Seitz (anime)
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Yusuke Kamiji

%%!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese):''' Goro Naya (radio)

!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese dub):''' Jun Karawasa, Tamaki Oka (child) (radio); Mabuki Andou (anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English dub):''' Creator/CindyRobinson (anime)
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Haruka Ayase, Kaya Kiyohara (girl), Naho Yokomizo (very young)

The main protagonist of the ''Moribito'' series.

* MissingMom: Her mother died when she was five, leaving her in her father's care.

* NervesOfSteel: Many examples, but the most prominent one is when she [[spoiler:almost single-handedly, really quickly and without hesitation amputates Tanda's hand to save his life.]]

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: When she was a teenager, her primary motivation was [[spoiler:desire for revenge and hate directed at King Rogsam for making her childhood living nightmare. She ''really'' wanted to kill him, but he died before she could do it.]]
* SheKnowsTooMuch: For example during her travel back to Kanbal in ''Guardian of Darkness'' [[spoiler: Jiguro's brother Yuguro tries to have her killed because she knows the truth about his past, which he ''really'' doesn't want to be revealed...]]
* SlaveLiberation: She spends all of the Queen's gold to liberate the slaves owned by the Blue Hand. This frees them and creates diversion from the manhunt.

** In the live-action adaptation, she is portrayed by Haruka Ayase as an adult, by Kaya Kiyohara as a girl, and by Naho Yokomizo as a very young child.
* TomboyishPonytail: She wears her hair in a high ponytail.

* WorthyOpponent: The Emperor's royal guard chasing her and the prince see her as this.

!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese dub):''' Shōtarō Ōkubo (radio); Naoto Adachi (anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English dub):''' Creator/MonaMarshall (anime)
!!!'''Portrayed by:''' Kai Kobayashi (season 1), Mizuki Itagaki (season 2-3)

The second prince of New Yogo Empire. He is being protected by Balsa.

* DemonicPossession: What everyone thinks originally, that he's possessed by a Water Demon that will cause a drought when it comes out, which is why he's being hunted. By the second-half, it cleared up.
* DistressedDude: For the most part of the ''Traveler of the Blue Road'', [[spoiler:Chagum is one. After being kidnapped by Talsh spy, he is taken to the Southern Continent by a pirate ship.]]
* ElementalEyeColours: Prince Chagum [[spoiler:carries the egg of a benevolent water spirit]]. In the anime, he also has a noble, innocent personality typical of blue eyes.
* FakingTheDead: In ''Traveler of the Blue Road'', [[spoiler:wanting to escape from the grasp of a Talsh Prince, Chagum fakes his own suicide. Later, he travels to Lota and Kanbal to forge an alliance between two kingdoms in order to stop Talsh from invading the rest of the Northern Continent.]]

* FishOutOfWater: He has to flee the palace under the protection of [[Action Girl Balsa]] because his father is trying to kill him out of belief that he is possessed by the legendary water demon who once brought a terrible drought. Going from a life of luxury to being on the run is a bit of a harsh transition for him, though he adapts well later on.

* MisterSeahorse: The Water Spirit Egg is inside of his stomach and waiting to hatch. [[spoiler:However, doing so will have the Egg Eater chase and kill him.]]

* NonActionGuy: He's a prince with no combat training who serves as the LivingMacGuffin in ''Literature/MoribitoGuardianOfTheSpirit''. Balsa does give him a little training while he's in her care, though.

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Later in the novels, [[spoiler:Chagum embarks on a dangerous journey alone to stop the Talsh Empire of the Southern Continent form invading New Yogo, Kanbal and Lota.]]
* ScrewDestiny: [[spoiler:As the Guardian of the Water Spirit, Chagum will be pursued by the Egg Eater, which seeks to devour the Water Spirit within him as it hatches by tearing him apart. Everyone seeks to avoid this fate. They succeed.]]

* SpareToTheThrone: He is the Emperor's second son, and Spare to the Throne. Unlike most examples, he did apparently receive schooling because his older brother, Sagum, suffers from a SoapOperaDisease, and becomes the heir apparent after his brother succumbs to it halfway through the series. In either case, he is remarkably calm (although clearly not-too-pleased) about it.

!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese dub):''' Kenzō (radio); Creator/KoujiTsujitani (anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English dub):''' Creator/PeterDoyle

A man who knows Balsa and is awaiting her return.

!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese dub):''' Misako Watanabe (radio); Ako Mayama (anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English dub):''' Creator/BarbaraGoodson (anime)

A Yakoo magic-weaver who learns of the egg within Chagum and is familiar with Balsa and Tanda.

* TruthSeeker: She seeks out the truth of the water demon within the second prince and the Great Drought.

%%The founder and first mikado of the New Yogo Empire.

!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese dub):''' Yūsei Oda (radio); Hirofumi Nojima (anime)
%%!!!'''Voiced by (English dub):'''

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: He's the only star-reader who suggests working with the Yakoo and is doing his best to help everyone come out alive.
* TruthSeeker: He's the one who suggests seeking out and working with the magic-weavers to find out the mysteries of the Water Demon and keeps up the search for a solution.

[[folder:Toya & Saya]]
!!Toya & Saya
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese dub):''' Mayumi Asano (Toya), Creator/RyoHirohashi (Saya) (anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English dub):''' Creator/YuriLowenthal (Toya), Erika Lenhart (Saya) (anime)

A pair of orphans that are friends with Balsa and Tanda, they assist the pair occasionally.

* ArrangedMarriage: Toya mentions that Saya is so impressive that she's getting marriage proposals. [[spoiler:PlayedForDrama when one of the families actually pressures Saya into agreeing to a marriage, leading to the AstralProjection incident. It's called off afterwards.]]
* AstralProjection: Saya, after drinking a wine that was steeped in a flower that sent her soul to the SpiritWorld. She's stuck outside of her body until Tanda retrieves her.

* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Toya can't do anything if Saya isn't around for him. [[spoiler:Likewise, she has a crush on him and being arranged into a marriage to someone else leaves her unable to return her soul to her body.]]
* MadeASlave: [[AvertedTrope Narrowly averted]]. In the past some slavers tried to take Saya to do this, but Balsa saved them.

%%The king of Kanbal and older brother of Rogsam.

* CainAndAbel: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. He blackmailed Karuna into poisoning his brother, Naguru, for the throne of Kanbal.

!!!King's Spears
[[folder:Jiguro Musa]]
!!Jiguro Musa
!!!'''Voiced by (Japanese dub):''' Rintarou Nishi (anime)
!!!'''Voiced by (English dub):''' Creator/KyleHebert (anime)

%%[[folder:Yuguro Musa]]
%%!!Yuguro Musa
%%The younger brother of Jiguro.

!!!Others
[[folder:Karuna Yonsa]]
!!Karuna Yonsa
The late father of Balsa and older brother of Yuka.

[[/folder]]

* BloodKnight: Not so apparent in the anime, but in the novels, it is stated that Balsa is painfully aware that her love for fighting and guilt are two of the reasons she probably will [[InHarmsWay never change]] [[ChallengeSeeker her current life style]]. Even more apparent in ''The Wanderer'' about her early teenage days.

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: In the anime, receives some serious injuries during the series, but none of them leave visible scars. We can assume she ''must'' have a nasty one on her stomach, but her clothes are rather modest and only show her arms and face, which remain untarnished.

A star-seer in service to the royal family. He seeks the truth about the Water Demon and Prince.

* BadassAndChildDuo: With Chagum and later with [[spoiler:Asla]]. As a Child with Jiguro during her childhood.

---

* GuileHero: As above, she puts her intelligence to good use when outnumbered.

* GenuisBruiser: She is highly intelligent as well as [[ActionGirl a capable warrior]].