History Characters / Shigurui

* DepravedBisexual: Discovering Chika's unusual genitals doesn't deter him from raping her.

* HonorBeforeReason: Fujiki ''does not'' take kindly to anyone tainting the name of Kogan, or ridiculing the Kogan style--and as such, is willing to do some truly terrifying things in order to uphold the honor of the Kogan school.

* YamatoNadeshiko: Mie has always lived with the expectations of being the only daughter of the grandmaster of the Kogan school, expected to uphold the honor of the Iwamoto clan through hard work and sacrifice. Despite going through periods of rebellious behavior in which she lashes out against her father and her sad lot in life, after [[spoiler:Kogan's death]] she takes up the burden of restoring her family's honor through revenge on Irako. Mie's pride and loyalty are especially poignant while she and Fujiki are living as social outcasts because they did not commit ''seppuku'' after losing the revenge match with Irako. While waiting for the tournament at Sunpu castle they live in a miserable shack with no servants or income. Being treated as scum by people who used to be her social inferiors is painfully humiliating, yet she puts on a brave face for Fujiki and never lets him see how much she's suffering. She comes home from shopping later and later every day because she has to walk miles to find a merchant who won't recognize her and charge exorbitant prices, and she is unable to get dried abalone for the before-battle meal she serves to Fujiki before they leave for the tournament, but she presents it to him without the abalone, and he pretends to eat it. All of the officials who deal with her and Fujiki are struck with admiration for the beautiful maiden who stays constantly at the side of her samurai champion, helping him with all her strength and never losing her poise or grim determination to get justice for her family.

* NobleDemon: Although he's a violent and even cruel man, Seigen still has his own moral code -- even showing kindness to a starving child at one point.

* PetTheDog: Despite a lot of wicked deeds, he also saves Fujiki from drowning, treats Iku better than Kogan did, gives his aid to a beggar girl, speaks passionately to ''Toudouza'' member Tsutanochi about how he wants to prove their worth, and leaves a miracle cure for Fujiki while he's deathly ill.

* SocialClimber: Born into abject poverty, he took advantage of the doctor Irako Seigen and, using his name, set out to win a name for himself as a swordsman. He plans to ingratiate himself with Kogan Ann's marry Mie in order to inherit the dojo with its stipend of 300 ''koku'', and that's just the beginning! Later, having obtained the patronage of the leader of the blind men's guild and impressing Tadanaga, he hopes to enter the top ranks of society. Ironically, the samurai class which he wants to join are still the kind of people he hates the most. Ultimately he is motivated to rise not merely by his own ambition, but in order to repudiate hierarchical society and the fixed class system.
* WorthyOpponent: One scene does show that Irako actually respects Fujiki, but the feeling is not mutual. [[spoiler: It became mutual only at the very end of the series.]]
* VillainProtagonist: The story focuses on [[{{Deuteragonist}} him as much as Gennosuke]] and both are violent men who will kill anyone who questions their honor.

* YamatoNadeshiko: Mie has always lived with the expectations of being the only daughter of the grandmaster of the Kogan school, expected to uphold the honor of the Iwamoto clan through hard work and sacrifice. Despite going through periods of rebellious behavior in which she lashes out against her father and her sad lot in life, after [[spoiler:Kogan's death]] she takes up the burden of restoring her family's honor through revenge on Irako. Mie's pride and loyalty are especially poignant while she and Fujiki are living as social outcasts because they did not commit ''seppuku'' after losing the revenge match with Irako. While waiting for the tournament at Sunpu castle they live in a miserable shack with no servants or income. Being treated as scum by people who used to be her social inferiors is painfully humiliating, yet she puts on a brave face for Fujiki and never lets him see how much she's suffering. She comes home from shopping later and later every day because she has to walk miles to find a merchant who won't recognize her and charge exhorbitant prices, and she is unable to get dried abalone for the before-battle meal she serves to Fujiki before they leave for the tournament, but she presents it to him without the abalone, and he pretends to eat it. All of the officials who deal with her and Fujiki are struck with admiration for the beautiful maiden who stays constantly at the side of her samurai champion, helping him with all her strength and never losing her poise or grim determination to get justice for her family.

* TheCaligula: One of the previous shogun's sons, and favored by his mother to become shogun before his older brother Iemitsu beat him to it, he nevertheless rules a domain of 550,000 ''koku'' as a mad tyrant. He rapes and kills his subjects at a whim and with complete impunity, causing even his subordinate daimyo and counsilors to be utterly terrified of his unpredictable cruelty. His complete incapacity for restraint eventually causes the only power greater than him, his brother the shogun, to sieze his lands and make him commit seppuku.

The aged Grandmaster of the Kogan-Ryuu school, notorious for his deadly techniques and having six fingers on his right hand. Lately reduced to a state of senile dementia in which he behaves like a beast of pure instinct, he temporarily regains his sanity at certain times, most often in the period between fall and winter. He cares nothing about the feelings of his daughter, Mie, only thinking about the future of his school.

The daughter of Kogan Iwamoto.

The aged Grandmaster of the Kogan-Ryuu school, notorious for his deadly techniques and having six fingers on his right hand. Lately reduced to a state of senile dementia in which he behaves like a, he temporarily regains his sanity at certain times, most often in the period between fall and winter. He cares nothing about the feelings of his daughter, Mie, only thinking about the future of his school.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: The "evil" part is arguable--Fujiki's not actively malicious, but his loyalty to Kogan is such that he is willing to do the most monstrous things imaginable to ensure Kogan's honor remains intact. That being said, he holds sincere affection and love towards Mie--it is implied that seeing her during his very first bout with Irako wracked his nerves to the point where Irako was able to gain the upper hand and break two of his fingers. However, the tragedy of their situation is that Fujiki's willingness to uphold his honor as a samurai perpetually ends up causing rifts between them both, [[spoiler:and this ultimately drives Mie to suicide, when she realizes that despite everything that's happened between them, he is still a slave to his honor.]]

* TearsOfRage: As he prepares to blind Irako by preparing to use ''nagare boshi'', taking the stance reminds him of how Yagyuu Munenori sabotaged his chance to become sword instructor to the Shogun, and the old master sheds tears of chagrined rage.

* GlasgowGrin: When Kogan gets impatient with him for vascillating over whether Fujiki or Irako is more worthy to impregante Mie, he shoves his blade in Ushimata's mouth, giving him a permanent slit-cheeked grin afterwards.

* OldMaster: His glory days as a swordsman were way back when Hideyoshi ruled, and despite his increasing senility he's still the unequaled of Nobi.

* DeadPersonImpersonation: Stole the identity of a doctor named Irako Seigen.

A stoic and diligent pupil of the Kogan dojo. In the present time in his duel with Seigen he has only one arm but it is noted that his back muscles could theoretically make up for lost strength. Fujiki is very loyal to Kogan , and is said to be most likely to succeed as the school's master.

* AntiHero: Is the main protagonist of the story. Does some nasty deeds without flinching throughout it.

* {{Foil}}: To Irako. The both of them are demonstrably proficient in the way of the sword and hold their honor above all else, to the point where they would immediately kill anyone who would dare to put their swordsmanship skills into question. But Fujiki's UndyingLoyalty to Kogan brings him in conflict with the self-gratifying Irako, who mainly sees Kogan as a way to push him up the social ladder. While Fujiki has SingleTargetSexuality towards Mie, Irako is a shameless lecher who sleeps with any woman who catches his eye. Even their respective swordplay styles are different--though both of them mainly rely on using inertia and momentum to deliver their killing blows, Irako specializes in vertical slashes while Fujiki mainly uses horizontal ones.
* FatalFlaw: Refuses to see any other view that the way of Bushido and puts honoring the monstrous Kogan above all else. Due to this dogmatic outlook, he finds himself losing [[spoiler:the only man who understood him, the woman he loved and finally, any semblance of humanity he ever felt]].

* MasterSwordsman: An extremely diligent and talented student of the Kogan school, he was second only to Gonzaemon in strength among Kogan's students before Irako came along. He and Irako soon come to be known as the twin dragons studying under the old tiger, Kogan: together they defeat the fearsome Funaki brothers, showing them to be almost evenly matched. Later in the story when the blinded Irako comes back to get his vengeance on the Kogan school, slaying their members one by one, Fujiki turns out to be the only swordsman who stands a serious chance of figuring out how to counter Irako's undefeated ''mumyou sakanagare'' technique.

* BlindWeaponmaster: After his blinding by the members of the Kogan school, he learns how to fight without his eyesight and perfects a technique so deadly that he manages to destroy the Kogan school and attract the patronage of powerful aristocrats.

* TheCasanova: Uses his wiles to seduce any maidens and wives within walking distance of the Kogan school. This comes back to bite him when his schoolmates leave him at the mercy of the menfolk of two women he'd spoiled.

The Grandmaster of the Kogan-Ryuu school. Mentally unbalanced most of the time, he regains his sanity most often in the period between fall and winter. Cares nothing for his daughter, Mie, only thinking about the future of his school.

* EvilMentor: Kogan is a cruel BloodKnight and encourages his students to kill anyone who questions his dojo and that the only thing that matters is their martial prowess.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: He despises his daughter for having been born a girl and sees her only as a BabyFactory to produce a grandson who will inherit his skills as a samurai.

* HonorBeforeReason: Her father is a monster, but he is still her father. Which is why, [[spoiler:when Kogan dies, despite suffering her entire life under his abuses, Mie still urges Fujiki to slay Irako.]]

* HandicappedBadass: Losing his left arm is a huge setback, but he retrains himself to do without it by sheer determination.

* AnimalMotifs: the Taurus, largely owing to his burly stature, enormous physical strength and later on signifying his elite position within the house of Iwamoto as an accomplished practitioner and instructor of Kogan-ryuu.
* TheBigGuy: The biggest and strongest member of the Kogan school, he was able to

* GroinAttack: Tore off his own testicles at the time he killed the woman he loved, as a sign of devotion to Kogan and his sword above all else. Irako tries to kick him in the testicles during the revengue duel, which doesn't work because he has none, so Irako contorts his foot into a point so he can penetrate to Gonzaemon's organs and successfully stagger him.
* RedStringOfFate: Promised to return to his childhood love Fuku, and Kogan refused to take him with the other students for special training. He told Gonzaemon that as long as he was tied to another by the red string of fate, he would not be truly devoted to Kogan-ryuu. Gonzaemon took this to heart, and killed her so that he would never again be conflicted.

* ComfortingTheWidow: [[spoiler:Sent Gonzaemon to murder both of Iku's fiancés, after which he took her as his concubine]]

* AvengingTheVillain: [[spoiler: Swears vengeance on Irako after her father is killed]].

* ExtremeDoormat: [[PlayedWith It's complicated]]. She can't really do much, in a household where she's seen as little more than a broodmare by her father, treated as though she is meant solely to produce a strong heir for the Kogan style and nothing else. She lashes out against her father's wishes when he demands [[spoiler:she give up her virginity to Irako ''right in the middle of the dojo'', in front of literally ''everyone'']]--and is horrified when Fujiki [[spoiler:is willing to help carry out the order by ''holding her down'']]. So while she tries not to be an ExtremeDoormat, everyone's so driven by their loyalty to her father that she can't do anything but lash out against the fate she's been handed. [[spoiler:This plays massively into why she's DrivenToSuicide in the ending; despite growing to love Fujiki later on in life, the fact that he would still put his own honor as a samurai above all else makes her see him as the same man who had held her down to be raped by Irako.]]
* HonorBeforeReason: [[spoiler:Her father is a monster, but he is still her father. Which is why, when Kogan dies, despite suffering her entire life under his abuses, Mie still urges Fujiki to slay Irako.]]

* AntiVillain: Despite serving the ambitious and amoral Irako, she comes across as more of a pitiable victim of circumstance than a malicious villain. She initially reacts against Kogan's mistreatment, and her sense of loyalty and sacrifice for Irako is frequently admirable.

* TheCaligula: One of the previous shogun's sons, and favored by his mother to become shogun before his older brother Iemitsu beat him to it, he nevertheless rules a domain of 550,000 koku as a mad tyrant. He rapes and kills his subjects at a whim and with complete impunity, causing even his subordinate daimyo and counsilors to be utterly terrified of his unpredictable cruelty. His complete incapacity for restraint causes the only power greater than him, his brother the shogun, to make him commit seppuku.

* RoyallyScrewedUp: Spoilt rotten by his mother, leading him to think that he should have become Shogun instead of his brother Iemitsu.

* Foil: To Irako. The both of them are demonstrably proficient in the way of the sword and hold their honor above all else, to the point where they would immediately kill anyone who would dare to put their swordsmanship skills into question. But Fujiki's UndyingLoyalty to Kogan brings him in conflict with the self-gratifying Irako, who mainly sees Kogan as a way to push him up the social ladder. While Fujiki has SingleTargetSexuality towards Mie, Irako is a shameless lecher who sleeps with any woman who catches his eye. Even their respective swordplay styles are different--though both of them mainly rely on using inertia and momentum to deliver their killing blows, Irako specializes in vertical slashes while Fujiki mainly uses horizontal ones.

* Foil: To Fujiki. The both of them are demonstrably proficient in the way of the sword and hold their honor above all else, to the point where they would immediately kill anyone who would dare to put their swordsmanship skills into question. But Fujiki's UndyingLoyalty to Kogan brings him in conflict with the self-gratifying Irako, who mainly sees Kogan as a way to push him up the social ladder. While Fujiki has SingleTargetSexuality towards Mie, Irako is a shameless lecher who sleeps with any woman who catches his eye. Even their respective swordplay styles are different--though both of them mainly rely on using inertia and momentum to deliver their killing blows, Irako specializes in vertical slashes while Fujiki mainly uses horizontal ones.

* ExtremeDoormat: [[PlayedWithTrope It's complicated]]. She can't really do much, in a household where she's seen as little more than a broodmare by her father, treated as though she is meant solely to produce a strong heir for the Kogan style and nothing else. She lashes out against her father's wishes when he demands [[spoiler:she give up her virginity to Irako ''right in the middle of the dojo'', in front of literally ''everyone'']]--and is horrified when Fujiki [[spoiler:is willing to help carry out the order by ''holding her down'']]. So while she tries not to be an ExtremeDoormat, everyone's so driven by their loyalty to her father that she can't do anything but lash out against the fate she's been handed. [[spoiler:This plays massively into why she's DrivenToSuicide in the ending; despite growing to love Fujiki later on in life, the fact that he would still put his own honor as a samurai above all else makes her see him as the same man who had held her down to be raped by Irako.]]

* FatalFlaw: Refuses to see any other view that the way of Bushido and puts honoring the monstrous Kogan above all else. Due to this dogmatic outlook, he finds himself losing [[spoiler:the only man who understood him, the woman he loved and finally, any semblance of humanity he ever felt]].

* AvengingTheVillain: [[spoiler: Swears vengeance on Irako after her father is killed.]]

* YouKilledMyFather: Urges Fujiki to slay her father's killer, Irako.

* BrilliantButLazy: Irako undoubtedly has TheGift when it comes to swordsmanship, and his skill continues to grow even though he seems less serious about his training than Kogan's other pupils. Mie recalls that he would only take part in the required training every day, and that afterwards he would spend the rest of the day napping and lazing about while all the other students continued their training independently.

* ByronicHero: Intelligent, charismatic and capable man, who doesn't listen to anyone but himself. He is also idolized by the other blind men in the series, showing that even they can achieve something in life. At the same time, he is lecherous and arrogant, both which get him blinded in the first place.
* TheCassanova: Used his wiles to seduce any maidens and wives within walking distance of the Kogan school. This came back to bite him when his schoolmates left him at the mercy of the menfolk of two women he'd spoiled.

* {{Jerkass}}: Before his blindness, he was an unrepentant [[TheCasanova Casanova]].

* ObfuscatingDisability: Downplayed because the wound to his foot really did hobble him somewhat, but he knows that he'll only get more famous for winning despite being blind and lame, so he deliberately exaggerates his limp and blindness in front of others. This has the added benefit of making opponents underestimate him until it's too late.
* PetTheDog: Despite a lot of wicked deeds, he also saves Fujiki from drowning, treats Iku better than Kogan did, gives his aid to a beggar girl, and leaves a miracle cure for Fujiki while he's deathly ill.
* SocialClimber: Born into poverty, he took advantage of the doctor Irako Seigen and, using his name, set out to win a name for himself as a swordsman. Ironically the samurai class, which he wants to join, are still the kind of people he hates the most.

* ComfortingTheWidow: [[spoiler:Has a hand in the deaths of Iku's fiancés, after which he took her as his concubine]]

* MasterSwordsman: An extremely diligent and talented student from youth, he was second only to

* TragicHero: His quest to avenge his school and protect Mie is at least well-intentioned and brave, even if he isn't a good man by modern values. Nevertheless, his fatal flaw of blind obedience toward his master and the samurai hierarchy leads him to kill the only man who could understand him, sacrifice his integrity to avoid punishment, and in doing so drive his beloved to suicide.

* PetTheDog: Saved Fujiki from drowning, treats Iku better than Kogan did, and gives his aid to a beggar girl.

TheStoic pupil of the Kogan dojo. In the present time in his duel with Seigen he has only one arm but it is noted that his back muscles could theoretically make up for lost strength. Fujiki is very loyal to Kogan , and is said to be most likely to succeed as the school's master.

* BaitTheDog: At the start, he looks noble and admirable, then he [[spoiler: crosses the MoralEventHorizon.]]

* HandicappedBadass: Losing his left arm didn't slow him down a bit.
* MyMasterRightOrWrong: As Kogan had saved his life when he was a little boy.
%%* TheStoic
* VillainProtagonist: Due to his strict adherence to Bushido, and thus his BlindObedience to Kogan, Fujiki has done many questionable things.

%%* AnimalMotifs: Dragons.

%%* BlindWeaponmaster

* EvenTheGuysWantHim: [[spoiler: Original Irako Seigen most certainly did.]]

* PetTheDog: Usually followed with him kicking it.

%%* TheBigGuy

* {{Determinator}}: [[spoiler: Even massive brain damage won't stop him from coming after your ass.]]
* GlasgowGrin: Inflicted by Kogan.
* GroinAttack: Tore off his own testicles at the time he killed the woman he loved, as a sign of devotion to Kogan and his sword above all else.
%%* TheStoic: albeit not to Gennosuke's extent.

The Grandmaster of the Kogan-Ryuu school. Mentally unbalanced most of the time, he regains his sanity most often in the period between fall and winter. Cares nothing for his daughter, Mie.

* AxeCrazy: Has gone off his rocker in his advanced age.
* BadassGrandpa: Perhaps the most badass character in the series.
* ComfortingTheWidow: [[spoiler: Has a hand in the deaths of Iku's fiancés.]]

%%* OldMaster

* DrivenToSuicide: Conflicted from initially loving Seigen for refusing to rape her when Kogan ordered it to [[spoiler:hating him for killing Kogan]], to not knowing how to interpret his kindness when he helps heal Gennosuke, Mie [[spoiler:takes her own life after Gennosuke kills Seigen]].

* AntiVillain: Perhaps the most symphatetic character in the series.
* BreastAttack: [[spoiler: Kogan slices off her nipple when he finds out she's been cheating on him.]]
* ChristmasCake: Before Kogan takes her in, she has outlived two fiancés, and no one dares to woo her.
* MoralityPet: To Irako.
* NeutralFemale: Averted. She isn't a fighter, but is anything but useless.
* UnholyMatrimony: With Seigen to whom she is completely devoted to. It's unclear how much Seigen cares about her, although he does treat her much better (ie. like an actual human being) unlike her previous lover Kogan.

Lord of the Sunpu castle and the shogun's younger brother. He is quite mad.

* TheCaligula: Doubles up as a RoyalBrat, as he is the Shogun's brother.
%%* DepravedBisexual

%%* HistoricalVillainUpgrade.

* {{Jerkass}}: Before his blindness, he was an unrepentant {{Casanova}}.

* DrivenToSuicide: Seemly, she considered her [[spoiler:life to be no longer important after Fujiki killed Irako]], she just [[spoiler:killed herself]] without a clear reason, one can assume she had just [[spoiler:too much built-up sorrow]].
** You can also argue that [[spoiler: because Mie despised her father and his men (who were samurais and yet willing to commit crimes (such as almost raping her to get a heir) just for some titles), when she saw Gennosuke beheading Irako and thus dishonoring the latter even in death to be someone else's dog, [[DeathByDespair she realized that he was just the same as those men]]]].

* AntiHero[=/=]NominalHero: Is the main protagonist of the story. Does some nasty deeds without flinching throughout it.

* TheStoic

* AnimalMotifs: Dragons.
* AntiVillain[=/=]NobleDemon: Despite his cruelty, he occasionally show flashes of kindness.

* BlindWeaponmaster

* {{Deuteragonist}}: The story's as much about him as it is about Fujiki.
** VillainProtagonist: Not that that makes him a good guy by any stretch.

* EyeScream

* TheBigGuy

* TheStoic: albeit not to Gennosuke's extent.

* AnimalMotifs: The Tiger.

* PetTheDog: Some flashbacks imply that he was once less batshit crazy and evil.
* OldMaster

* DepravedBisexual
* {{Expy}}: He is [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire Joffrey]] [[RecycledInSpace in Tokugawa Japan]].
* HairTriggerTemper: Easily angered.
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade.
* NightmareFetishist: Organises a tournament whereby warriors would use real swords and keeps a man-eater killer ape.