History Characters / UshioAndTora

* For the heroes, go [[Characters/UshioAndToraHeroes here]].
* For the villains, go [[Characters/UshioAndToraVillains here]].
[[/index]]

The Character Sheet for ''Manga/UshioAndTora'', including the main characters and their allies.

For the villains, go [[Characters/UshioAndToraVillains here]].
[[/index]]

[[foldercontrol]]

!Main Characters
[[folder:General Tropes]]
* BashBrothers: Whenever they stop fighting between them, Ushio and Tora form an awesome duo as they kick youkai ass together.
* FireForgedFriends: Their relationship starts out as an EnemyMine deal. As they work together to defeat monsters and end up saving each other several times, they start to trust each other and become best friends.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Their relationship evolves into this, though in a [[VitriolicBestBuds vitriolic]] fashion.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Ushio and Tora spend their time arguing, fighting, insulting each other and trying to kill each other. Somehow, there's no better way to know they are best friends.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ushio Aotsuki]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ushio_aotsuki.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:280:Click [[labelnote:here]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ushio_beast_spear.jpg[[/labelnote]] to see what he looks like when using the Beast Spear.]]
->Voiced by: Creator/NozomuSasaki (OVA), Creator/TasukuHatanaka (series) (Japanese), Randy Sparks (OVA), Creator/DavidMatranga (series) (English)

The protagonist of the series. His family maintains a temple in Japan, where 500 years ago, his samurai ancestor battled a monster to a standstill, and eventually trapped him against a rock using a cursed spear called the "Beast Spear". One day, Ushio accidentally unsealed the cave the monster was trapped in and ended up releasing him from the Beast Spear. Ushio then names him Tora and together they go to battle evil demons.
----
* AccidentalPervert: He accidentally peeps at Saya when she's bathing.
* {{Adorkable}}: Especially when it comes to art.
* AllLovingHero: Ushio is one of the kindest, most compassionate and most forgiving heroes you will ever meet. He will do anything for those he cares about, go to extreme lengths to save strangers and will give second chances to monsters that tried to kill him without a second thought.
* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Gets a particularly gut-retching one towards [[spoiler: Asako]] before the final battle [[spoiler: especially since she currently [[LaserGuidedAmnesia doesn't remember him]].]]
* AnimalEyes: His eyes turn like this when he uses the Beast Spear.
* BelligerentSexualTension: With Asako.
* BigOlEyebrows: Inherited from his mother, no less.
* BladeOnAStick: He wields the Beast Spear. Even without it, he tends to use long objects such as pipes or broomsticks as improvised weapons.
* BlitheSpirit: Ushio has a strong influence on people and he has a tendency to rush into their lives and change them for the better. When he goes on a journey and he skips school several days, his classmates become depressed without him around as Ushio is the one who lightens up the day for everyone.
* BookDumb: He does poorly at any school subject that isn't PE. He fries his brain simply trying to solve a math problem.
* CantBatheWithoutAWeapon: Ushio never lets go of the Beast Spear not even when bathing, to Tora's dismay.
* TheCallKnowsWhereYouLive: He initially refuses to take the Beast Spear, partly because of Tora's threat to eat him the moment he's freed, and partly because he really didn't want to do any of that stuff. But after youkai start showing up around their temple, attacks Asako and Mayuko, he's forced to deal with the spear and Tora.
* ChickMagnet: He has at least four girls attracted to him. With the corollary that it comes in handy later [[spoiler: giving him enough girls with connections to him to save him from turning into a beast]]
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: With Asako.
* ChildhoodFriends: With Asako and Mayuko.
* TheChosenOne: He was destined to wield the Beast Spear. [[spoiler:It's revealed that Giryou, the blacksmith that created the Beast Spear, chose Ushio, also known as "Tsung Yue", as the rightful owner of the spear the moment it was created.]]
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Ushio will never, ever turn his back on people in trouble. He will do anything he can to help them.
* {{Determinator}}: It takes a ''lot'' to make him give up and even then he tends to bounce back.
* EtTuBrute: [[spoiler:During the final battle, Ushio feels Tora betrayed him when the latter tells him he killed Nagare, something Ushio precisely asked him not to do.]]
* TheHero: He's the brave and noble protagonist who fights evil and risks himself to protect the innocent.
* HighHopesZeroTalent: Ushio is passionate about art and aspires to be a great painter. Too bad he can only make scribbles.
* HopeBringer: Ushio brings hope to those around him with his great courage, charisma and strength. This is one of the reasons why Hakumen no Mono views him as a threat [[spoiler:and tries to get rid of that hope by having everyone forget about him]].
* IdealHero: While he has his temper issues, Ushio is heroic, honorable, selfless, honest, always fights to protect others and can't stand things that are wrong and unfair.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: Pure-hearted and incorruptible to a fault. Ushio is actually so pure that [[spoiler:[[BrokenAce Nagare]] sided with Hakumen no Mono because just looking at Ushio's innocent, trusting eyes was too much of a burden for someone like him]].
* ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne: Because he's the chosen wielder of the Beast Spear, Ushio has to constantly battle evil monsters that come after him and that's not the worst part. Everyone around him expects him to be the one to defeat the world's greatest evil and force the responsibility of saving the world on him when he's still a kid who never wanted anything to do with any of that in the first place.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's short-tempered, brash and impulsive. In spite of his jerk qualities, he's actually quite friendly, kind, forgiving and polite most of the time.
* KidWithTheLeash: Ushio keeps Tora at heel with the Beast Spear, as the two begrudgingly cooperate in fighting demons.
* MagneticHero: He gains the loyalty of many allies in the course of the series thanks to his heroic deeds.
* ManlyTears: Sheds these from time to time, usually when witnessing tearjerker moments such as when Jie Mei sacrifices herself to imbue the Beast Spear with the power to defeat Hakumen no Mono.
* MeaningfulName: His name means "tide", which is fitting for someone as stubborn and nigh unstoppable as him. [[spoiler:His mother gave him that name because of the underwater base she's forced to stay in and because she wanted her child to have a strong will that would bend to no one.]]
* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: His teeth turn beast-like when he uses the Beast Spear.
* MundaneUtility: He uses the Beast Spear to cut sausages, to his father's dismay.
* OrdinaryMiddleSchoolStudent: Ushio lives as a normal middle school student, until one day he releases an ancient youkai from the basement of his house and now has to battle evil monsters on a nearly daily basis.
* PowerMakesYourHairGrow: When Ushio uses the power of the Beast Spear, it usually results in him growing hair past his legs.
* RetGone: [[spoiler:During the final arc, Hakumen no Mono causes his minions to delete all trace of Ushio from everyone's memories, including those he sees everyday or whose life he saved.]]
* ScarsAreForever: After he gets attacked by Juurou, he gets a little scar on his forehead. He also gets a scar on his left cheek.
* SinsOfOurFathers: Many youkai come to kill him because he is the son of the Oyakume that youkai despise for [[spoiler:getting in their way to kill Hakumen no Mono]].
* StockShonenHero: Ushio is a rash, but kind-hearted and compassionate KidHero with a strong sense of justice. He will do anything to help anyone in trouble, be it a stranger or a close one and will show mercy for any of his enemies. He was chosen to be the owner of the Beast Spear who will destroy the world's greatest evil. He lacks the IdiotHero traits for most of the part, but he is BookDumb.
* TellMeAboutMyMother: Once he finds out his mother is still alive, Ushio asks his father to tell him about her and where she is now. His father refuses to tell him, but once Ushio shows him his resolve, he allows his son to go on a travel to find out the truth himself.
* TerribleArtist: He may love art, but his paintings always turn out pretty awful.
* UnstoppableRage: Ushio completely loses it and goes berserk when [[spoiler:he finally faces Hakumen no Mono, the monster that screwed up his life and made everyone he cares about forget about him. However, since hatred and rage can't beat Hakumen, the Beast Spear breaks.]]
* WouldntHitAGirl: He doesn't like to fight women.
* XMarksTheHero: He gets a little X scar on his forehead and his left cheek.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tora]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tora_anime.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/ChikaoOhtsuka (OVA), Creator/RikiyaKoyama (series) (Japanese), Creator/BrettWeaver (English)

An tiger-like youkai who was trapped in the basement of Ushio's temple for 500 years and was released when Ushio pulled off the Beast Spear. He claims he wants to eat Ushio, but they eventually become true friends, not that they want to admit it.
----
* {{Adorkable}}: The childish and overly excited reactions to objects of the modern world that come out of this big tiger monster are surprisingly cute and funny to watch.
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: [[spoiler:In his life as a human, he was shunned as a child because he was believed to be a cursed child, which made him hate everyone around him.]]
* AmnesiacHero: [[spoiler:Tora was once the human that gave birth to Hakumen no Mono and the first wielder of the Beast Spear. He doesn't remember any of it because his transformation into an Azafuse erased all his memories of his human life.]]
* AntiHero: Was obviously an evil spirit prior to Ushio taking ownership of the Beast Spear. But as they spend more time together, he stops being outright evil, and acts more like this instead. He even goes so far as to rescue humans, particularly ones close to Ushio such as Asako and Mayuko, fearing retribution from Ushio if he simply allowed them to die. A special volumes showing a few stories with Tora in the past, however, show that he wasn't as evil as he boasted.
* BeastAndBeauty: Tora is the Beast and Mayuko is the Beauty.
* BerserkButton: He doesn't like being underestimated or insulted, especially if the perpetrator is a younger, less experienced Youkai.
* BestFriend: Even if he will never admit it, Tora is Ushio's inseparable friend and partner.
* BigDamnHeroes: Pulls these off from time to time. Sometimes with Ushio's help, but other times he saves people because he doesn't want to deal with Ushio's wrath should they end up dying.
* BloodKnight: Tora is always up to a good fight. He certainly likes it better when he knows his enemy is strong.
* BreathWeapon: Fire, though he's unable to do it if his mouth is obstructed.
* ChickMagnet: Not as many girls as Ushio, but Tora has at least three girls who find him attractive, including [[InterspeciesRomance Mayuko]].
* TheChosenOne: A very dark example: [[spoiler:Hakumen no Mono chose him as his vessel so he could gain a physical form from his host's hatred.]]
* ComboPlatterPowers: His list of powers consists of: SuperStrength, {{Flight}}, {{Invisibility}}, [[IntangibleMan Limited Intangibility]] (phases through mundane object - does not work on other demons, magical weapons, or modern-day substances he isn't familiar of such as concrete), [[PlayingWithFire Firebreathing]], [[ShockAndAwe Lightning Summoning]], stretching his neck several meeters long, reattaching his limbs when they're cut off, PrehensileHair and VoluntaryShapeshifting.
* CreateYourOwnVillain: [[spoiler:Turns out Tora is responsible for the existence of Hakumen no Mono, since Hakumen was born out of the hatred inside Tora's human self.]]
* DarkAndTroubledPast: [[spoiler:Tora was once a human general of Ancient India near 3000 years ago, named Shagaksha. Supposedly born a cursed child, Shagaksha grew up hating everything and everyone around him because of being constantly reminded of the deaths surrounding his birth. He found solace only in fighting in wars and battles, enjoying killing and venting out his hatred. He found companionship in his attendant, a young boy named Rhama, who idolized his master, and he fell in love with Rhama's older sister. But then war came again and Shagaksha was called to arms once more. Before heading into battle, he took Rhama's sister in attempts to take her somewhere safe. But as they fled, they unfortunately met an enemy squadron who let loose their arrows on the two. Shagaksha survived but Rhama's sister died. His hatred reached its peak as Shagaksha killed the enemy soldiers. Shagaksha's hatred gave birth to Hakumen no Mono and the demon fox then revealed as a side-effect of having been inside him, Shagaksha could not die, and destroyed his village to make him even more hateful. Shagaksha ran to his village and found Rhama on the verge of death and the boy died in his arms. As he could not die, Shagaksha wandered Asia, seeking a way to take his revenge on Hakumen for 400 years. Finally, after hearing about it from a wise man, Shagaksha sought the Beast Spear and became its wielder. However, his soul was eventually consumed by the spear and he was transformed into a youkai that attacked humans until Ushio's ancestor sealed him.]] Yes, it is that bad.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: Tora is the other protagonist of the story.
* DisappearsIntoLight: [[spoiler:Tora's ultimate fate after he sacrifices his life in the final battle.]]
* DumbMuscle: Tora is one of the toughest youkai out there, but he's not very smart. When he first met a human who could free him after 500 years, he tells him the first thing he's going to do when freed is to eat him... twice.
* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: Tora used to have a slightly more monstrous face and, most notably, large, rabbit-like ears emerging from his mane of red hair and dangling in front of him. As the series progressed, those ears leaned backwards more and more until they become indistinguishable from the rest of Tora's hair. In the anime series, they use Tora's "earless" design from the start.
* EvilDetectingDog: Close enough. When he and Ushio are sent back to ancient China about 2200 years from their present time, Tora mentions to Ushio that he senses an extremely evil presence permeating throughout the countryside. But he feels a rather strong evil presence emanating from within the walls of the nearby fortress. His suspicions are later confirmed when one of the Emperor's concubines turns out to be none other than Hakumen no Mono.
* FireForgedFriends: Originally, he only hangs around Ushio to eat him and he only helps Ushio because the latter forces him to. Eventually, it becomes obvious they are now friends thanks to their teamwork in battle. Not that Tora wants to admit it.
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: Having been trapped in a basement for 500 years, Tora has great curiosity over modern lifestyle and gadgets. When he first sees TV and vehicles, he has no idea what they are, nor does he seem to understand windows.
* FluffyTheTerrible: He's an ancient monster that is said to have eaten thousands of humans in the past, and Ushio decides to give him the simple name "Tora" (Japanese for tiger).
* {{Foil}}: To Ushio.
* GeniusBruiser: Shown better in the Manga, but Tora is quite smart when he wants to. During the manga-only Stray Gedo arc, he manages to overpower the Gedo by remembering and quoting the spell required to block its powers.
* GoodThingYouCanHeal: He gets his limbs cut off a couple of times, but it isn't a major problem since Tora can easily reattach them.
* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:After defeating Hakumen no Mono, Tora smiles at Ushio one last time as he disappears.]]
--> [[spoiler: "I've already... eaten all of you."]]
* HeadPet: Tora usually rides on Ushio's shoulders. Hilariously, he's several times larger than Ushio, so often looks comical when riding on the latter's head.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: At the very end, he sacrifices his life to allow Ushio to defeat Hakumen.]]
* HeyYou: Tora normally doesn't call anyone by their names, instead calling them by "hey", "you" and other indirect ways. The only notable exceptions are [[VitriolicBestBuds Ushio]] and [[ShipTease Mayuko]].
* HiddenHeartOfGold: As much as he claims to hate it, Tora repeatedly ends up protecting and saving humans while always coming up with excuses such as that he wants to eat them or Ushio would beat him up if he just leaves them to die.
* IHaveManyNames: Tora has been known as Raijuu, Nagatobimaru, and [[spoiler:Shagaksha]]. Not to mention his youkai "species" name, ''azafuse''.
* ILied: Tora promises Ushio that he would deal with the minor demon spirits manifesting outside the shrine if he releases him from the spear. The instant he does though, Tora attacks him, stating that he never intended to keep a promise to a human. It's only because Ushio channeling the power of the spear that keeps Tora a little more honest.
* ImmortalImmaturity: He's an over 2,000 years old youkai, but Tora usually acts like a bratty and impressionable child who enjoys teasing Ushio. Hell, a teenage boy like Ushio is way less immature than Tora.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's a very rude and vicious monster, but it's not hard to see that Tora isn't as evil as he wants to make others think. Spending time with Ushio makes the "heart of gold" more prevalent over time.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: While he's powerful and arrogant, there are enemies he knows he'd had an hard time beating. He openly admits having fled from fighting Fusuma and Shumuna, and when he realizes that Ayakashi's stronger than he thought, he sends Umizato looking for Ushio.
* LoveAtFirstSight: Parodied with Mayuko. When he first sees her, Tora is stunned by her looks... because she's the most tasty human he has seen in 500 years. He decides he will eat her one day and will protect her until then.
* {{Malaproper}}: He tends to say the names of modern items wrong, such as calling a hamburger "hanbakka".
* MonochromaticEyes: Overlaps with RedEyesTakeWarning, being a youkai. [[spoiler: The other ''azafuse'' have these eyes, a possible side-effect of losing their soul to the Beast Spear.]]
* MonsterProgenitor: [[spoiler:He was the first human to wield the Beast Spear and as such, he was the first to turn into an Azafuse.]]
* MrExposition: Tora explains a lot of the supernatural stuff to Ushio (and viewers).
* MundaneObjectAmazement: He finds airplanes and buses amazing, as he's a FishOutOfTemporalWater who hasn't been around for 500 years.
* NobleDemon: Tora likes to emphasize that he is an evil monster. However, it usually doesn't take a lot to get him to help Ushio save innocent lives. [[BlatantLies He still says he's only hanging out with Ushio to eat him.]]
* NominalHero: Initially, he only helps Ushio fight demons because Ushio forces him to and [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou Tora doesn't want anyone besides him to kill Ushio]].
* ObliviousToLove: Tora gains the affections of Mayuko and Kagari over the course of the series, but he doesn't notice it and their advances only confuse him or annoy him.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: "Tora" is the name Ushio gave him. He has been known by several other names prior to being pinned in the basement of Ushio's temple. [[spoiler:His original name from back when he was human is Shagaksha.]]
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou:
** He says he will one day eat Ushio, but until then he won't let any other monster eat him.
** He takes the same attitude towards Mayuko, claiming he protects her only because she will be his dessert after he finally eats Ushio.
* PrehensileHair: He can use his massive mane to grab things, walk around or even shred lesser Youkai to pieces.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Tora is amazing at giving these:
** First, during his second duel against [[spoiler:Nagare]]. After the latter's MotiveRant, Tora's response is to burst into laughter and call him a coward who [[spoiler:betrayed his friends and joined Hakumen only because he got scared of a young boy's innocent eyes]].
** Later, he gives an epic one to [[spoiler:''Hakumen no Mono'']] of all people. [[spoiler:He calls Hakumen out on how it acts all mighty and terrifying, yet it's always looking up to others instead of looking down on them. Tora then concludes Hakumen actually envies and fears humans and youkai.]]
* SarcasticDevotee: Tora insults and makes fun of Ushio all the time and is annoyed by how Ushio goes out of his way to save others. However, as much as he tries to deny it, there's no doubt Tora is Ushio's best and most reliable friend and he will always be there when Ushio needs him.
* SealedBadassInACan: He spent 500 years sealed in a basement until Ushio freed him and forced him to help him fight evil demons.
* SealedEvilInACan: Long ago, Tora was an evil monster that terrorized humans until Ushio's ancestor defeated him and trapped him in a basement with the Beast Spear. 500 years later, he's freed by Ushio and although Tora hates to admit it, he's also losing the "evil" part of the trope.
* SecondLove: To Mayuko. She develops feelings for Tora after she gets over her unrequited crush on Ushio.
* ShipTease: Gets some at times for Mayuko (the wedding dress) and Kagari (thinking of her [[spoiler: when it looks like all the demons of the east have perished]]), not to mention he treats both of them surprisingly well considering his personality.
* TookALevelInKindness: After he spends time with Ushio, the youkai that knew Tora long ago can tell that Tora is no longer the cruel and ruthless monster from back then.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Hamburgers, as they act like a substitute for human flesh.
* {{Tsundere}}: Tora is very much fond of Ushio and later, Mayuko. He's just too much of a hot-headed and abrasive youkai to admit it. The most he will do is to call them his food and claim he's protecting them so he can eat them later, so they better don't get the wrong idea.
* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:Tora DisappearsIntoLight after Hakumen no Mono is defeated. It really appears Tora is dead, but the final narration implies he only left temporarily and will return to Ushio's side someday.]]
* WasOnceAMan: [[spoiler:He was a human who wielded the Beast Spear and, after having his soul consumed, was transformed into a youkai.]]
* WeaksauceWeakness: Perfume and cologne repels him. Even common jewelry bothers him due to its anti-Yokai properties.
* WorthyOpponent: To Nagare. He always wished to fight someone as strong as Tora, which would allow him to give his all in a fight. [[spoiler:Nagare joined Hakumen no Mono because he wanted another fight against Tora.]]
[[/folder]]

!Ushio's Close Ones and Allies
[[folder: Asako Nakamura]]
[[quoteright:245:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/asako_anime_2.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/YuriAmano (OVA), Creator/MikakoKomatsu (series) (Japanese), Creator/AllisonSumrall (English)

The tomboyish childhood friend of Ushio who happens to have a crush on him.
----
* AmnesiacLover: [[spoiler:During the last arc, Asako forgets everything about Ushio even though she has loved him nearly her entire life.]]
* BelligerentSexualTension: With Ushio.
* BigSisterInstinct: She quickly becomes protective of a boy named Tatsuya that she meets at the beach, defending him against some thugs and later comforting him when they are trapped in Ayakashi's stomach.
* BoyishShortHair: She has short hair, emphasizing her tomboyish personality.
* CanNotSpitItOut: She completely refuses to admit she has a crush on Ushio.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: With Ushio.
* ChildhoodFriends: With Ushio and Mayuko.
* ConvenientlySeated: She sits in a seat by the window with Ushio at her side. When Ushio absents class, Asako is shown looking outside and sighing over Ushio's absence.
* CoolBigSis: She acts like a loving and protective sister figure to Tatsuya.
* CryCute: This harsh {{Tsundere}} looks adorable in the rare moments in which she becomes sincere with her feelings and cries when she thinks she might lose Ushio.
* DesignatedVictim: She often gets attacked by evil monsters, which quickly sends Ushio into the action to save her.
* HeIsNotMyBoyfriend: She frequently denies that there's anything between her and Ushio other than friendship. She is not fooling anyone.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:She attempts this by offering herself as the sacrifice to create a new Beast Spear in Mayuko's place. Fortunately, Ushio arrives to save her just in time.]]
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Mayuko.
* FirstGirlWins: She has known Ushio the longest out of all the girls attracted to him and everyone acknowledges Asako is the one meant to be with Ushio.
* GirlNextDoor: She's Ushio's ordinary and tomboyish friend who has known him ever since they were kids.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: She's kept in the dark about Ushio's involvement with the Beast Spear and the youkai for a good part of the series. She only finds out when [[spoiler:Jie Mei asks for her help to save Ushio from being consumed by the spear]].
* PleaseDontLeaveMe: A tearful Asako says this to Ushio in episode thirty-one right before he leaves in a sub to protect his mother. Despite having been hit by some LaserGuidedAmnesia and forgetting about their earlier interactions, she still recalls how much trouble he went through to save her from sacrificing herself in Mayuko's place despite the cold treatment she gave him earlier. She then tells him to come back safe, even if he's no longer human.
* RescueRomance: She developed feelings for Ushio after he defended her from some bullies when they were kids.
* {{Shorttank}}: She's Ushio's tomboyish and hot-headed childhood friend who always argues with him.
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: She loves Ushio for his good heart and great courage.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: The Tomboy to Mayuko's Girly Girl.
* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: The tomboy Asako likes jewelry and cute clothes and actually wants her more girly friend Mayuko to express more interest in that stuff.
* {{Tsundere}}: Dere type. She's nice and friendly to everyone, but when it concerns Ushio she turns harsh, hot-headed and violent.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Mayuko Inoue]]
[[quoteright:245:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mayuko_anime_2.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/YumiTouma (OVA), Creator/KiyonoYasuno (series) (Japanese), Mandy Clark (OVA), Creator/LuciChristian (series) (English)

Asako's more sweet and feminine best friend.
----
* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: She gives a heartrending one to [[spoiler:Tora during the final battle, begging him to stay with her and protect her after she becomes the fourth Oyakume. Tora refuses because he doesn't want her to become the Oyakume and he's determined to kill Hakumen no Mono now.]]
* BarrierWarrior: As the descendant of a lineage of lady shamans, Mayuko is able to create powerful psychic barriers.
* BeastAndBeauty: Mayuko is the Beauty, Tora is the Beast.
* BestFriend: She's Asako's closest friend.
* {{Bookworm}}: Although we don't see it, this is implied since she bought a book instead of earrings when she went to town on her own, and she's been noted as the library club president.
* ChildhoodFriends: With Ushio and Asako.
* CoolBigSis: To Kirio, who [[spoiler:she adopts as her younger brother]].
* DesignatedVictim: She gets attacked by monsters about as much as Asako. She always gets rescued by either Ushio or Tora.
* FondMemoriesThatCouldHaveBeen: [[spoiler:In her final moments with Tora, she futilely tries to turn him back into human and talks about how much fun they could have if they were lovers. Tora dies shortly after.]]
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Asako.
* IdenticalGranddaughter: She looks identical to her ancestor Mikado Hizaki.
* InterspeciesRomance: She's a human girl who develops feelings for the youkai Tora.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: She has harbored feelings for Ushio for a long time, but doesn't pursue him because she doesn't want to ruin it for her BestFriend Asako and only wishes for their happiness.
* LongLostRelative: She and Ushio turn out to be related as they are both descended from the Hizaki bloodline.
* NiceGirl: Mayuko is very polite, nice and friendly. She's also far more patient than the hot-tempered Asako.
* RescueRomance: She develops a crush on Tora after he repeatedly saves her from monsters.
* SamaritanRelationshipStarter: When she met Ushio, she thought he was just a bad-tempered and troublesome kid. One day, her new hat was sent flying to a swamp by the wind and Ushio went into the mud to bring it back to her. This made Mayuko realize Ushio was a nice guy at heart and she developed feelings for him.
* ShipperOnDeck: She supports Ushio/Asako and often encourages Asako to be more honest with her feelings.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: The Girly Girl to Asako's Tomboy.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Shigure Aotsuki]]
[[quoteright:210:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shigure_anime_8.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/TakeshiAono (OVA), Creator/KeijiFujiwara (series) (Japanese), Creator/JohnSwasey (English)

Ushio's father and the keeper of the temple he and his son live in. He goes off on travels, leaving his son on his own. His secret identity is being one of strongest priest of a special Buddhist sect named Kouhamei, dedicated to fighting youkai.
----
* AbusiveDad: PlayedForLaughs. He constantly insults and beats up Ushio, but Ushio does the same in return so it doesn't come off as abusive as it would normally be.
* ActionDad: Ushio doesn't know it at first, but his dad is one of the strongest in a secret order of youkai-trashing monks and his training travels are actually missions to exterminate youkai.
* BloodKnight: In his youth, Shigure enjoyed killing youkai so much that even his fellow monks considered him a problem.
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: In the past, Shigure was a violent and moody man who was considered a problem even by his fellow monks. When he met his wife Sumako, her kind and gentle nature got through him and turned him into the man he is today.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: In early scenes with Ushio, they are often butting heads in a comical fashion, and he often ends up leaving on a journey on a whim. However, it's later revealed he is actually quite a badass, as he's seen banishing a youkai and cleansing the area they were in. He also manages to hold his own against some monks within their religious order that wanted Tora killed along with the Beast Spear being forcefully taken away from Ushio.
* FourthDateMarriage: With his wife Sumako, who he only knew for a couple of days before they agreed to get married. Sort of justified; Sumako only had two years to marry and have a child before returning to hold up Hakumen no Mono's barrier.
* HavingABlast: He can use his Dharmic powers to set things ablaze. Manga-only.
* OhCrap: He's left dumbstruck when he realizes that Ushio has opened the underground vault and obtained the Spear. He also freaks out when, while he's scolding Ushio for [[MundaneUtility using the spear to cut fish wieners and hold the cup ramen's lid closed]], Ushio points out he's treading the Beast Spear.
* OpenMindedParent: Once his son shows him his resolve, he gives him 1.2 million yen to go on travel to find out about his mother.
* ShapingYourAttacks: Like his co-workers, he can created crescent-shaped of circular-shaped barriers to paralyze people and monsters.
* TakenForGranite: [[spoiler: He and the entire Kohamei sect turn themselves to stone to avoid having their minds altered by Hakumen's Hiyou army. They return to normal in time to join the final battle.]]
* UglyGuyHotWife: You wouldn't believe an old fart like him has a beautiful woman for a wife.
* WarriorMonk: A low-key variety, at least early on. It's not until Ushio and Tora have killed, cleansed, or banished several youkai that we finally get to see what he really does when he runs away from home.
* WeaponOfChoice: While he carries a Khakkara crosier like all Kouhamei Monks, he's seemingly at best with the "Senpourin" (Buddhist Wheel), which he employs in his offensive technique "Gishiri".
* WhenYouComingHomeDad: He usually has to travel and leave Ushio alone in the temple to do his job as a youkai-slaying monk.
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: During the Mountain Fish arc, he gives kind encouragement both to a bullied student with big self-esteem issues and his teacher.
* YoungerThanHeLooks: He's 47 years old, but he looks old enough to be Ushio's grandfather.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Reiko Hanyuu]]
[[quoteright:196:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/reiko_anime_7.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/YuiMakino (Japanese), Creator/KiraVincentDavis (English)

A girl from Ushio's school who is the daughter of an artist Ushio admired. She is haunted by the spirit of her father, who turned into an oni after his death and attacks any man who tries to get close to her.
----
* BrokenBird: She stopped smiling after her mother abandoned her and her father to run away with another man. Her pain only got worse after her father returned as an oni to haunt her, forcing her to stay away from others in order to protect them and attempting suicide multiple times.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: She has many goofy moments later on in the series.
* CartwrightCurse: Every boy who tried to ask her out on a date always met with some kind of unfortunate accident. As a result she tended to distance herself from people.
* ChildhoodFriends: With Kenichi.
* CreepyLonerGirl: When Ushio meets her, Reiko is a lonely, depressed and suicidal EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette who does whatever she can to avoid people because her deceased father turned into an {{Oni}} and is trying to kill whoever gets close to her. Ushio befriends her despite this and gets rid of her father's spirit, finally setting Reiko free to live a happy life and have friends.
* DaddysGirl: She and her father were very close when he was alive. Even with all the troubles he gave her when he returned as an oni, Reiko clearly still loved him and didn't resent him.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: She has long jet black hair and very pale skin. She's a bit creepy when first introduced because her father's hauntings made her depressed and suicidal. After that is resolved, she loses the 'eerie' part of the trope.
* InterruptedSuicide: Reiko attempted suicide four times before meeting Ushio, but was always saved in time. She then attempts it a fifth time, but is stopped by Ushio and her childhood friend who promises never to leave her again.
* ParentalAbandonment: Her father died some time ago and her mother left the family to run off with another man.
* RavenHairIvorySkin
* SugarAndIcePersonality: She shows herself as cold, distant and gloomy, but that is just a facade she puts up to keep others away from her. Once she drops the act, she reveals herself as a NiceGirl.
* TakingTheBullet: Reiko jumps in front of Ushio's spear as he prepares to stab her father, whose spirit turned into a demon. Fortunately, it goes right through her and hits the cursed painting. Tora explains that the spear was designed to only hurt demons, so she's perfectly fine.
* WhenSheSmiles: Once she's able to smile cheerfully again, Ushio asks her to model for him with that smile.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Hyou]]
[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hyou_anime.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/NorioWakamoto (OVA), Creator/DaisukeNamikawa (series) (Japanese), Ed Paez (OVA), Creator/DavidWald (series) (English)

A powerful Chinese exorcist. He travels around China and eventually comes to Japan to seek the youkai who killed his wife and his daughter. Hyou initially thinks Tora is the one who murdered his family, but Ushio convinces him Tora is innocent, and Hyou later calms down a little, becoming a valued ally.
----
* AntiHero: Hyou is not a bad guy and he becomes a trusted ally for Ushio and Tora after his introduction, but he's ruthless to his enemies or anyone who dares to hurt a child and he's motivated by the desire of revenge. During his introduction he harms several people who couldn't answer his questions.
* AnArmAndALeg: [[spoiler:His right arm gets eaten by Guren in their final battle. Since Hyou had embedded charms in it, this serves as the final blow to kill Guren.]]
* BadassLongcoat: Creepy black-coated Hyou makes a living (and revenge) hunting youkai, and almost took down Tora single handedly.
* BadassPreacher: Hyou took this up to avenge his wife and daughter after they were killed by a monster, and he was left with a scar on his face from its attack. He's so deadly that even Tora has a really tough time with him, and it's only because of Ushio intervening that he wasn't outright killed.
* BerserkButton: Never kill, hurt, or threaten a child in front of Hyou. Anyone he runs into who does any of those things will likely meet a swift end, be they monster or even human.
* ByronicHero: Morally neutral, largely concerned with personal interests, has a tragic past, introspective loner, cynical, jaded, brooding and self-destructive.
* CoveredWithScars: His body is covered in scars from the years he has worked as an exorcist.
* CrusadingWidower: His wife and his daughter were killed by a monster. After that, he became an exorcist in order to seek said monster and avenge his family.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: A youkai killed his beloved family.
* DiedHappilyEverAfter: [[spoiler:Hyou sees himself finally returning home after avenging his family and his late wife and daughter greet him in the afterlife.]]
* DiedInYourArmsTonight: [[spoiler:He dies in the arms of a mother he protected during his final battle against Guren.]]
* EyeScream: He lost his right eye to the monster that killed his family. [[spoiler:In his final battle against Guren, Hyou ''pulls out the blue crystal ball of his eye socket'' as part of his final attack to kill Guren.]]
* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:He dies with a satisfied smile on his face after finally avenging his family.]]
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Ushio warns Hyou that he may end up becoming this if he kills Tora after being informed that Tora didn't kill his family as he was stuck in their storehouse for 500 years. He doesn't seem convinced until Ushio says that he'd simply be a murderer by killing Tora, something his daughter wouldn't like. Hyou lashes out at Ushio initially, but eventually backs down. He then goes out to continue his search for the monster that was responsible for his family's death.
* MagicalEye: In his right eye socket now is a magical blue crystal ball that allows him to hypnotize people and such.
* NiceHat: He always wears a fedora hat.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: He says "Hyou" is merely an alias. He threw away his real name long ago.
* {{Revenge}}: His main goal is to avenge the deaths of his wife and child.
* ScarsAreForever: The monster that killed his wife and daughter left three long scars on his face.
* SlasherSmile: He puts it on when he faces Tora, thinking he's the monster that killed his family. He has it again [[spoiler:during his battle with Guren]].
* SugarAndIcePersonality: He's cold, aloof and merciless at first glance, but he has a kind and good-natured side he's willing to show to his closest allies.
* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler:He finally reunites with his wife and daughter in the afterlife after avenging their deaths.]]
* UnscrupulousHero: Due to his past, he's ruthless, cold and his main motivations are very self-serving. However, Hyou is a good person at heart, he comes a very helpful ally to Ushio and he's always quick to apologize when he realizes he has made a mistake.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Yuu Hiyama]]
[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yuu_anime_design.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/AkiToyosaki (Japanese), Creator/BrittneyKarbowski (English)

A young girl whose father was killed in an airplane crash caused by Fusuma, a flying demon. Initially she blamed her father's long-time friend Atsuzawa for the incident, but after helping Ushio to defeat Fusuma, she learns the truth and forgives Atsuzawa.
----
* GreenEyedMonster: Towards Asako, to the point of calling her on her treatment of Ushio. Luckily, they mend fences by the end of the Hokkaido arc.
* ItsPersonal: Upon learning that Fusuma devoured her father, she helps Ushio delivering the blow to the monster.
* MeaningfulName: Yu means "Brave", as she acknowledge at one point.
* PluckyGirl: When it comes to her turn to comb Beast!Ushio's hair, she's prepared to jump over a rather big gap in a bridge to reach him.
* YouKilledMyFather: She at first blames and resents Atsuzawa for her father's death. Once she learns Fusuma was the real responsible for his death, she helps Ushio fight the monster to avenge her father.
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Saya Takatori]]
[[quoteright:245:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saya_anime_1.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/YuukaNanri (Japanese), Creator/TiffanyGrant (English)

A young girl descended from a long line of white-haired women who have maintained the success of the Takatori household by appeasing the childlike spirit Omamori.
----
* AbusiveParents: Her father and her grandmother only see her as a tool to keep Omamori entertained and make their household prosper.
* ApologizesALot: She apologizes for about anything when Ushio meets her. In fact, Ushio got a NakedFirstImpression from her and ''she'' is the one who apologizes.
* EmptyEyes: When we first see her her eyes lack eyeshine, reflecting her poor health and lack of will to stand up against her family. After Ushio helps gain more willpower, they gain eyeshine.
* IllGirl: She suffers from poor health and she faints on regular basis.
* MissingMom: Her mother died from poor health when she was young.
* MysticalWhiteHair: Her white hair is proof that she's descended from a long line of women with the ability to see and talk to spirits.
* NakedFirstImpression: Ushio first meets her when she's taking a bath at a hot spring.
* NakedOnArrival: She first appears when Ushio spots her taking a bath at a hot spring.
* NiceGirl: Probably the nicest and most polite girl in the series, rivaling even Mayuko.
* {{Ojou}}: Her family are immensely rich landlords. However, they lose their forture after Ushio frees Omamori.
* RapunzelHair: Her hair reaches down to her hips.
* RichesToRags: She allows Ushio to free Omamori, but in exchange her family loses their house and fortune. However, Omamori decides to stay by Saya's side to ensure she can survive on her own.
* ShrinkingViolet: Shy, quiet and withdrawn.
* WhyCantIHateYou: She says she thinks of herself as a horrible woman for being jealous of Asako's closeness to Ushio.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shidara Minoo]]

A Manga-Only character, Minoo is a dark-skinned woman from Shikoku who can control a ferocious Youkai known as Gedo. She's sent by her mother in Tokyo to find a Stray Gedo who's possessing people and turns up in the same school as Ushio and Tora, who are dragged in the fray when the Gedo appears.
----
* ActionGirl: Although she mostly fights through her Gedo, she's no slouch herself.
* AntiHero: Heroic yes, but also rude, abrasive and downright brutal to anyone she meets.
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: When the Kokuen attack Asako and her family, she shows up with her Gedo to save the day.]]
* DarkSkinnedBlonde: Like her mother and some of her friends, she's very tanned and has light hair.
* DefrostingIceQueen: Towards Ushio and Asako, as she learns more about them.
* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Schoolmate Miyata Hitomi invites her to her mansion, mentioning that she's alone, shows her an indoor pool and offers to tell her everything she knows about the Stray Gedo if she agrees to go for a swim with her. Minoo is willing to go along if she gets what she wants. [[spoiler: Given that she was possessed by the Gedo, it's unknown if the interest was genuine.]]
* FreudianExcuse: Because of her supernatural abilities she had a crappy, lonely childhood, and turned to violence to compensate.
* UsefulNotes/JapaneseDialects: She speaks with a thick Shikoku dialect (for examples she says "Bokko" rather than "Baka" and "Shetsu" instead of "Setsu").
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Very deep down, she's sweet, but even her would deny that.
* SummonMagic: She carries around a precious pauwlonia box covered in the finest washi (traditional Japanese paper), which is where the Gedo rests. Said Gedo takes the form of a monstrous, multi-headed white hound which can split if cut in half and will devour monsters. She also knows a spell which can amplify a Gedo's power or shut it down.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sumako Aotsuki]]
[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sumako_anime.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/MaayaSakamoto (Japanese), Creator/EmilyNeves (English)

Ushio's mother who was presumed dead, until a Youkai told Ushio that she's alive and hated by all Youkai. Finding the truth about her becomes Ushio's motivation for his journey to Asahikawa.
----
* BarrierMaiden: As the third Oyakume, Sumako keeps up a powerful barrier that keeps Hakumen no Mono sealed under the sea and holds off every youkai of Japan that wants Hakumen no Mono's head.
* BarrierWarrior: She is able to create powerful barriers to deflect youkai. She uses this to help her husband in a fight against youkai during a flashback.
* BerserkButton: In the extra story detailing her encounter with Shigure, the only time she's angry at him is when he scathingly tells her how he hates people "born without a purpose". She [[ShutUpHannibal tells him not to be so arrogant]] and that purpose isn't something we're born with, but something we find.
* BigOlEyebrows: And now you know where Ushio got his thick eyebrows from.
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: When they first met, she was the Gentle Girl to Shigure's Brooding Boy. Her kindness got through his angry and violent self and turned him into the man he is today.
* ChekhovMIA: Once Ushio learns his mother is still alive, it's inevitable she gets an important role in the plot.
* DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou: She had to leave her husband and son to hold up Hakumen no Mono's barrier under the sea.
* FourthDateMarriage: She vaguely knew Shigure for a couple of days before agreeing to marry him. Sort of justified; Sumako only had two years to marry and have a child before returning to hold up Hakumen no Mono's barrier.
* FriendToAllChildren: According to her husband, she was very good with children.
* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: She tries to literally slap some sense into Ushio when he starts to freak out and tries to convince her to run away with him instead of facing Hakumen. [[spoiler:It has the opposite effect than she intended; this only results in Ushio giving in to his hatred and entering an UnstoppableRage.]]
* HimeCut: She has the traditional hairstyle befitting of a YamatoNadeshiko.
* {{Housewife}}: [[spoiler:After Hakumen no Mono's defeat, Sumako is freed from her duty as the Oyakume and now can dedicate herself to taking care of her husband and son.]]
* MissingMom: Ushio never met her and was told she was dead his entire life until a youkai told him otherwise.
* MysteriousParent: Her identity and situation remained a mystery for a long time. After he learns she's alive and is an enemy of youkai, Ushio spends a good part of the story searching for answers of who his mother is. He finally discovers she's under the sea, holding up Hakumen no Mono's barrier.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:By hitting Ushio and putting defeating Hakumen no Mono before their reunion, she only made Ushio snap and start an UnstoppableRage that ultimately destroys the Beast Spear.]]
* OlderThanSheLooks: She looks like a young woman, but she's actually over 140 years old. The Oyakume have their lifespan and youth expanded so they can keep up the barrier for a long time.
* RapunzelHair: When Ushio finally meets her, Sumako's hair is longer than her body. This is justified, since she was too busy keeping up Hakumen's barrier to cut it. She later cuts it to waist-length.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: A really beautiful woman with long black hair and pale skin.
* UglyGuyHotWife: Would you believe this beautiful woman is the wife of an old-looking guy like Shigure?
* YamatoNadeshiko: A beautiful, kind and traditional Japanese woman in a kimono with an unbreakable will and a great love for her family.
[[/folder]]

!Kouhamei Sect

[[folder:The Second Oyakume]]
->Voiced by: Creator/WakanaYamazaki (OVA), Creator/FumikoOrikasa (series) (Japanese), Mandy Clark (OVA) (English)

The old and wise woman who's in charge of the Kouhamei Sect, a Buddhist sect who aims to preach the teaching of Buddha and to protect humans from Youkai. She was the former guardian of Hakumen, and her real name is Mikado Hizaki.
----
* BarrierMaiden: She was chosen by Jiemei to watch over Hakumen no Mono in far distant past, though now she's retired.
* BarrierWarrior: The above being said, she's not lost her touch with barriers.
* ChekhovsGunman: A powerful exorcist by the name of Mikado Hizaki was first mentioned during the Gamin-Sama arc, being the focus of their vengeance but thought to be dead. Then we learn that Mikado was the second Oyakume and she still is.
* GoOutWithASmile: Although her death causes much distress, she passes on knowing that she fulfilled her mission and that she can now rest.
* HolyHandGrenade: Uses her Dharmic powers to literally shatter the insides of the Youkai Kuragi, who's an avatar of Hakumen, btw.
* IWasQuiteALooker: She looked a lot like Mayuko when she was young, though she's aged well all things considered.
* PreMortemOneLiner: Doubles as a humble BadassBoast.
-->"Hakumen really underestimates me... your master knowns very well that a simple avatar such as yourself cannot defeat me... for I am the Second Oyakume, Mikado Hizaki." (Kuragi goes boom)
* Really700YearsOld: She's at least 500 years old, but she had her lifespan extended.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: She's extremely wise and corteous, and the only reason why the Kouhamei oppose Ushio early on is because her underlings disregarded her orders.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Nigira]]
->Voiced by: Creator/HidekatsuShibata (Japanese), Marty Fleck (English)

A massive bonze with a scarred face, he's the second in comand of the Sect. When the Second Oyakume dies taking down Kuragi, Nigira becomes the new head of the Kouhamei.
----
* CainAndAbel: He's the responsible and kind Abel to Kyoura ruthless Cain.
* LargeAndInCharge: Even more so after the death of the Second Oyakume.
* NumberTwo: To the Second Oyakume.
* ScarsAreForever: Half of his face is scarred. The manga reveals that it was an accident with Dharmic powers caused by his brother by mistake.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kyoura]]

Manga-Only Character, Kyoura is an heretical member of the Kouhamei, expelled because of his excessive bloodlust and violence, but his demon-slaying skills and Dharmic powers are indeed without equal. He's Nigira's brother.
----
* AdaptedOut: Unfortunately for him, the anime could do without him, though they at least give a cameo to his weapon.
* AtopAMountainOfCorpses: [[spoiler: He dies on a pile of Kokuen corpses, telling Ushio and Tora that he had fun fighting them.]]
* BackForTheDead: [[spoiler: After his second major appearence, he disappears from the story, only to pop up during the final battle, revealing that he took on and destroyed a whole army of Kokuen who were sneaking on Mayuko and Sumako, dying in the process.]]
* BaldOfEvil: He's bald, but he's also ruthless, violent and doesn't think too much of anyone who's not strong enough to give him a good fight.
* {{BFS}}: During his second appearence he shows up wielding the "Senshinkaku" (Lit. Spirit-Impaling Horn), a massive weapon resembling an hybrid of a lance and a sacred prayer tool. It's the most powerful Dharmic weapon forged by the Kouhamei, good enough to give the Spear a good match, but it requires an insane amount of energy to use.
* BloodKnight: He enjoys a good fight far too much, and is willing to downright slay Youkai rather than seal them. This is why he was excomunicated. Even after his first defeat, he still seeks to hunt after Ushio with stronger weapons for a rematch.
* CainAndAbel: He's the ruthless and violent Cain to Nigira's Abel.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Iguri, the Demon-Slaying technique of the Senshinkaku: rumored to be powerful enough to slay even [[{{Satan}} the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven]] ([[DemonLordNobunaga for once, not Nobunaga]]), but it must gather Dharmic energy from a huge human chain of people, and the partecipants, if untrained, may suffer long-term health problems.
* HolyHandGrenade: He makes full use of his Dharmic powers to kill demons and Youkai. He can even (briefly) seal the Beast Spear and Tora with a rosary.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: For all his faults, he still won't directly disobey the Second Oyakume.
* SocialDarwinist: Has a very low view on who's not strong enough for his standards, pretty much every single civilian.
* WorthyOpponent: Considers both Tora and Ushio one after their first encounter.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Jun Moritsuna]]
[[quoteright:184:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jun_anime_design.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/AyahiTakagaki (Japanese), Creator/EmilyNeves (English)

A young girl with great dharmic powers, she's the sister of Satoru, one of the four successors to the Beast Spear.
----
* BarrierWarrior: During the Hokkaido arc, when Ushio is turned in a Beast, she joins Hinowa and helps her make a barrier powerful enough to restrain Ushio.
* FullFrontalAssault: In order to maximize her spiritual powers she meditates under a waterfall and then she unleashes her spiritual energy in Moritsuna's eyes to help Ushio, all without putting her clothes back on.
* HolyHandGrenade: During the battle inside Moritsuna's body, her spiritual powers from outside prove essential in fighting the Hiyo and Blood Robe.
* MeaningfulName: Jun means "pure".

[[/folder]]

!!Beast Spear Successors
[[folder: Hinowa Sekimori]]
[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hinowa_anime_design.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/NanaMizuki (Japanese), Creator/StephanieWittels (English)

The first of the successors to appear. Hinowa is a tough, no-nonsense girl who appears to try to take the Beast Spear away from Ushio because she believes him to be unworthy of it. When she gets the chance to wield the Spear, it rejects her, returning instead to Ushio. Hinowa is still reluctant to acknowledge Ushio as the true bearer of the Spear, but she ends up helping him from time to time anyway.
----
* ActionGirl: She has been trained to fight youkai all her life and can defeat minor Hiyou. Despite this, she isn't capable enough to deal with major threats on her own.
* ArrogantKungFuGirl: Very proud and confident of her skills to exorcise youkai. She thinks someone like Ushio is nothing but a lucky idiot compared to her.
* BoyishShortHair: Her short hair reflects her tough and aggressive personality.
* TheChosenWannabe: She believes the Beast Spear should have chosen her instead of Ushio, as she was trained her entire life to bear it. She looks down on Ushio, refusing to acknowledge him as TheChosenOne even after the Beast Spear rejects her and Ushio has to save her from Hakumen no Mono's Hiyou, claiming she merely needs more training before the spear acknowledges her.
* ClothingDamage: Her clothes tends to be destroyed whenever she fights a threatening opponent, much to her chagrin.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: She uses combs as weapons in battle.
* LikesOlderMen: WordOfGod is, she's got a crush on Shigure, who's her type.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: She gives one to Ushio, calling him an inexperienced and reckless idiot who can't bring out the real potential of the Beast Spear and isn't worthy of it. This affects Ushio enough to hand her over the Spear.
* TheResenter: She resents Ushio, feeling that he stole her position as the bearer of the Beast Spear.
* {{Tsundere}}: Given that apparently men like Shigure are her type, her relationship with Ushio sounds more like this.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Nagare Akiba]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nagare_anime.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/YoshimasaHosoya (Japanese), Creator/IanSinclair (English)

The second of the successors to appear. Unlike the others successors, Nagare isn't that bothered by Ushio bearing the Beast Spear and is for more interested in challenging Tora. After Tora defeats him, Nagare decides to help him and Ushio in their journey.
----
* BadassBiker: He drives a CoolBike and he's strong enough to give Tora a tough fight.
* BigOlEyebrows: He has very thick eyebrows.
* BrokenAce: He confesses that throughout his life, he was always so good at everything that he couldn't feel any excitement and he wasn't allowed to give his best at anything due to all the harassment and threats his mother received due to jealousy from other parents and their kids. This made him empty inside and [[spoiler:was one of the reasons why he joined Hakumen no Mono]].
* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler: He dies with his eyes open after a final fight with Tora.]]
* DualWielding: He's skilled enough to wield two full-sized shakujo at the same time.
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:He eventually sides with Hakumen no Mono, after it reveals his most secret desire to fight someone strong such as Tora.]]
* FlechetteStorm: He has masterd the Vajra and can use them as flying bullets to pierce the enemy.
* HulkingOut: [[spoiler: When fighting Tora with all he has,]] Nagare bulks considerably and is able to imbue his very punches with Dharmic energy.
* ShapingYourAttacks: Like all Kouhamei Monks, he can summon moon-shaped light formations to paralyze monsters and people. He has mastered the "Kogetsu" (Lone Moon) form, which is supposedly nearly-impossible to perform alone.
* SlashedThroat: [[spoiler: Tora takes him out by biting a chunk of his throat out.]]
* SlasherSmile: [[spoiler: A rather unhinged one when he goes all out against Tora.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler: Goes mad when Tora correctly guessed that Nagare couldn't stand Ushio's honest and strong gaze anymore.]]
* WillfullyWeak: Though he's a pretty skilled fighter, during his second fight with Tora, he reveals that he was TheAce in both physical and mental aptitude. He purposely held back because of all the harassment and threats his mother received due to jealousy from other parents and their kids. He then pulls a IAmNotLeftHanded move, and shows off his true power. [[spoiler:Despite this however, Tora still defeats him, and only holds back from killing him because Ushio warned him not to kill Nagare.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Satoru Moritsuna]]
[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/satoru_anime.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/RyotaOhsaka (Japanese), Creator/CliffordChapin (English)

The most senior of the four Chosen of the Beast Spear. He was possessed by Hiyou to attack Ushio and destroy the Beast Spear.
----
* TheAce: Handsome, popular and skilled in martial and spiritual arts.
* BigBrotherInstinct: He is very protective of his younger sister Jun.
* TheCorruptible: His jealousy over Ushio being chosen by the Beast Spear instead of him left him vulnerable to the possession of the Hiyou.
* DemonicPossession: He was possessed by Hiyou to attack Ushio, but Ushio frees him.
* FightingFromTheInside: Satoru is able to resist the influence of the Hiyou to some extent. He tries to commit suicide to put an end to it. Ushio and Tora stop him and eliminate the Hiyou inside his body.
* InterruptedSuicide: Satoru attempts to kill himself by jumping off a cliff, but is saved by Ushio throwing the Beast Spear to stop his fall. Ushio and Tora, with the help of another youkai, Izuna, then go inside him to exorcise the demon out that had possessed him.
* IOweYouMyLife: He becomes indebted to Ushio after he frees him from the Hiyou's control and saves his life.
* SummonMagic: A master shikigami user. He's seen summoning a giant, multi-headed leech, a pair of huge millipedes and a GiantSpider.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Kirio Inasa]]
[[quoteright:199:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kirio_inasa.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/MegumiHan (Japanese), Creator/BlakeShepard (English)

The youngest but also the strongest of the successors. He wields the Elzaar Scythe and is accompanied by a monster partner call Kuin.
----
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: He believes having the Elzaar Scythe and Kuin make him better than Ushio and he's confident that he can beat Hakumen no Mono on his own.
* HappilyAdopted: [[spoiler:He is adopted by Mayuko's family.]]
* {{Matricide}}: [[spoiler:Once he realizes his adoptive mother Towako never really loved him, Kirio kills her with the Elzaar Scythe.]]
* NiceHat: He always wears a cap.
* PrecociousCrush: He develops a crush on the older Mayuko.
* SinisterScythe: His WeaponOfChoice is Elzaar Scythe, a weapon created to destroy powerful youkai. Kirio is confident that it can even destroy Hakumen no Mono.
* {{Tykebomb}}: [[spoiler:He was kidnapped, experimented on and then raised by Towako to be her tool and help her destroy the Beast Spear.]]
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:He was manipulated his entire life by his "mother" Towako, using him as a pawn in her plan to destroy the Beast Spear.]]
* YoungerThanHeLooks: [[spoiler:Towako's experiments accelerated his growth, turning him from a baby to a young boy in a short period of time.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Kuin]]
->Voiced by: Creator/KatsuyukiKonishi (Japanese), Creator/DavidWald (English)

Kirio's partner, an imposing bird-like monster of incredible power who's collected and logical, but loyally follows Kirio and protects him. He's something of a rival to Tora.
----
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: Just like his master Kirio, except that he tends to target exclusively Tora.
* BerserkButton: Insulting or harming Kirio is this for him.
* CombatTentacles: The rims of his wings can extends into ribbon-like appendages to imprison opponents or impale them.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Dies of fatigue and wounds after shielding Mayuko and Sumako during the final battle.]]
* MeaningfulName: Kuin means "Nine marks", referring to the three series of three circles on his ShouldersOfDoom and head.
* NoSell: One of his powers is a golden mist which can neutralize Tora's lightning and fire.
* OurHomunculiAreDifferent: Kuin is an artificial monster created through western alchemy, which involved boiling chemicals, flesh and horse semen in a cauldron.
* RedOniBlueOni: He's the calm, analytical and polite Blue Oni to Tora's boisterous, rude Red.
* TheStoic: He's always composed and collected, except when he's being outmatched in combat, and even then he doesn't exactly overact.
* WingedHumanoid: Overall resembles a massive eagle-man whose wings cover most of his body.

[[/folder]]

!The Eastern Youkai

[[folder:Eastern Leader Yamanmoto]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yamanmoto_anime.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/ToshioFurukawa (Japanese)

The leader of the Eastern Youkai of Japan, appears as an old man with a long, downward-pointing nose, but he's actually a Daitengu. Becomes an ally of Ushio after encountering him during his journey north.
----
* BadassInDistress: During the Youkai War arc, he's captured by Shinno's Mazuchi and kept prisoner inside the Mansion in the Sky.
* BreathWeapon: A barrage of sharp feathers, apparently.
* GameFace: Whenever he gets serious, he turns into a huge, red-faced, monstrous Tengu.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: In the end, he and most of the Youkai merge with the gap left by Hakumen to save Japan from sinking.]]
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler: Falls victim of this near the end when the Hiyo consume his memories of Ushio and Tora.]]
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: While he probably hates Sumako for her barrier, he's willing to listen to her son's version and let him go once he's explained himself.
* SecretTestOfCharacter: Appears as a harmless old man attacked by Youkai to test Ushio.
* {{Tengu}}: Implied by his large nose and leaf fan, he can turn into a giant red Tengu in a pinch.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ibuki]]
->Voiced by: Kenta Ookuma (Japanese), Mike Vance (English)

A Karasutengu from the East, he's Yamanmoto's bodyguard.
----
* AloofAlly: He's very distrustful of Ushio at first.
* BlowYouAway: He can use his fan to summon squalls of wind, even [[PlayingWithFire scorching hot gales]].
* TheLancer: He's Yamanmoto's most trusted man.
* TheMole: Implied by Gurashi, the Western Karasutengu, to be one. It was a ploy though.
* SimpleStaff: His weapon of choice aside from his fan is a long, hexagonal staff.
* TakingTheBullet: Moved by Ushio's trust in spite of his own lack of, he jumps in the way of the highly-damaging Mazuchi barrier to give Izuna a shot at possessing it.
* {{Tengu}}: Unlike his boss, Ibuki is a Karasutengu, and has the head and wings of a bird (hawk, in this case). In [[AllThereInTheManual an extra insert]] he mentions that he heard that people who die hating Buddhism are turned into Tengu, but he doesn't remember if this's the case with him.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hitotsuki]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hitotsuki_anime_design.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/HisaoEgawa (Japanese), John Gremillion (English)

The Snake Monster from the East, Hitotsuki is one of the strongest eastern Youkai and fought Hakumen alongside Tora. He looks like a giant Oni-like brute, but his body is made up of intercoiled snakes.
----
* AloofAlly: He only begrudginly trusts Ushio and Tora.
* ArrogantKungFuGuy: While he is legitimely strong, he still acts as if Tora didn't became any more powerful than before. Which leads to a truly brutal awakening.
* BigEater: Being a snake, he can subject his enemies to the EatenAlive trope, and he actually devours the Western Snake Monster whole since he can't break through his defense.
* HornAttack: That horn of his isn't for show, and he can even make it grew longer to spear his opponents.
* MeaningfulName: Hitotuki means "One Ogre", which compliments his Oni-like normal appearence.
* SimpleStaff: Fights with a rather simple hexagonal staff, though he mostly uses the snake heads coming from his body and his horn.
* SnakePeople: His true form is, essentially, a one-horned Naga, but he usually goes around in a humanoid body made of coiled snakes.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Yamanmoto, to the point of costantly berating himself for failing to save him, even when Yamanmoto ordered him to go and seek for help.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Zashiki Warashi]]
[[quoteright:293:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/omamori_sama_anime.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/AiKayano (Japanese), Creator/BrittneyKarbowski (English)

Also known as "Omamori Sama" (Lord Protector Deity), he was a child-like Youkai who brings good luck to a household, but was imprisoned by a sorcerer from the Takatori family and sealed in their mansion behind a barrier, with the white-haired women as his only company. Currently bound to Saya, he's fred by Ushio and Tora and follows Saya everywhere, helping Ushio whenever he can.
----
* ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler: As Hakumen is defeated, he sacrifices himself to lock the gates of the Underworld, as they can only be closed from the inside.]]
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler: Averted, he and Saya are among the few beings who avoid having their memories eaten by the Hiyo.]]
* SealedGoodInACan: [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters The Takatori Family]] forcibly sealed him in a special room under a mystic talisman which forms an unpassable barrer, so that they can abuse the good luck he brings. Thanks to Ushio and Tora, he's released by his prison.
* TheStoic: While good and collected, he's never shown expressing emotions, outside of a polite smile, which is seldomly seen.
* ZashikiWarashi: One and the same, taking form of a cute child in a kimono, his presence blesses an house with wealth and fortune. Unfortunately, he was forcibly sealed in one to milk said blessing for all that's worth.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ungaikyo]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ungaikyou_anime.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/ShozoIizuka (Japanese), Rob Mungle (English)

A mirror Youkai who lives in the mountains, Ungaikyo can talk to people through the mirror in his body and talk through all the mirrors of Japan.
----
* ButtMonkey: The first time he appears, he's terrified by the Beast Spear and scared speechless of Nagatobimaru. The second time, seeing them both again causes him to leap in shock [[AmusingInjuries crashing his head against the ceiling of his cavern]].
* CoolOldGuy: Despite being a reclusive Youkai, he's kind and helpful once you get to know him, and he does look pretty old.
* MagicMirror: The massive mirror that's part of his body allows him to record and show events seen from any mirror of Japan, speak trhough them and even move people across the mirrors.
* NarratorAllAlong: [[spoiler: The ending implies that we "saw" the story through Ungaikyo's mirror, and he also brings up the possibility of Tora's return.]]
* OhCrap: He's shocked with fear when he sees the Beast Spear, but he's even more terrified when Nagatobimaru shows up.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Raishin]]
[[quoteright:245:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/raishin_anime_5.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/ShowHayami (OVA), Creator/ShinichiroMiki (series) (Japanese), Andy [=McAvin=] (OVA), Creator/JayHickman (series) (English)

The eldest brother of the Kamaitachi siblings. He and his sister ask Ushio to kill their brother Juurou because he was being taken over by his hatred for humans and has became a threat to both humans and his siblings.
----
* BadassBack: He usually manifests his scythe from his back.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: He's nice, affable and polite. Still, not one you'd like to make angry.
* BlackEyesOfCrazy: His eyes turn like this when he uses his youkai powers.
* FacialMarkings: He has a mark on his left cheek.
* {{Kamaitachi}}: The eldest of three Kamaitachi siblings. Originally, they were a classic trio of Kamaitachi siblings, Raishin knocking down humans, Juuro giving the humans a cut, and Kagari applying medicine.
* UndyingLoyalty: Once Ushio gains their trust, Raishin and his sister would rather die than betray Ushio.
* YouAreACreditToYourRace: Raishin and his siblings detest humans, but he and Kagari come to consider Ushio the only human worthy of respect because he's "different".
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Kagari]]
[[quoteright:245:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kagari_anime_1.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/HiromiTsuru (OVA), Creator/RisaShimizu (series) (Japanese), Creator/MonicaRial (OVA), Creator/PatriciaDuran (series) (English)

The youngest of the Kamaitachi siblings. She uses a medicine that can heal the injuries made by her brother Juurou. Although she supports Raishin's decision to have Ushio kill Juurou to stop his rampage, she still loves his brother and hates humans just like he does.
----
* ActionGirl: She's a competent fighter and is skilled with her blades.
* AdaptationalCurves: She's much more buxom and filled out than in the manga, especially compared to her first appearance.
* BlackEyesOfCrazy: Like her brother, her eyes turn like this when using her youkai powers.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: She usually manifests her scythes from the side of her hands, usually from her extended pinkies.
* CombatMedic: She makes medicine to heal wounds, but she doesn't stay behind in battle.
* DefrostingIceQueen: When they first meet, she dislikes Tora, thinking of him as a mere pet of a human. Eventually, she warms up to him, coming to greatly admire him, respect him and even develop a crush on him.
* DeliberatelyDistressedDamsel: PlayedForLaughs when she tries to invoke RescueRomance with Tora by walking to the largest guy she could find, putting his arm around her neck, then screaming for Tora's help. When she sees it doesn't work, she shows off to the guy that he isn't a threat to her by tearing off his clothes.
* HeadTurningBeauty: Quite a few men stopped to check out Kagari's human form when she goes to do a errand with Tora.
* InsecureLoveInterest: She worries that Tora may only see her as a burden.
* {{Kamaitachi}}: The youngest of three Kamaitachi siblings. Originally, they were a classic trio of Kamaitachi siblings, Raishin knocking down humans, Juuro giving the humans a cut, and Kagari applying medicine.
* MinidressOfPower: In her human form, she wears a tube dress.
* MsFanservice: Her human form is very attractive, going around in an alluring red MinidressOfPower that shows off her figure and long legs.
* ObliviouslyBeautiful: She doesn't understand why human men stare at her so much when she's in her human form. She assumes they must be wondering if she's cold because of her tube dress.
* ParryingBullets: She's able to ''cut bullets in half in midair'' with her blades.
* PrehensileHair: During the Youkai War arc, she manages to kill her opponent by grabbing and flinging a broken piece of her scythe with her hair.
* RapunzelHair: In her human form, she has waist-length hair.
* SexyBacklessOutfit: She usually wears a backless tube dress.
* UndyingLoyalty: She swears loyalty to Ushio just like her brother Raishin.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Izuna]]
[[quoteright:262:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/izuna_anime_design.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/NaoNagasawa (Japanese), Creator/JayHickman (English)

A small fox/ferret-like spirit send by the Osa of Tono to assist Ushio in his effort to purge the demons possessing Moritsuna.
----
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: For a small, arrogant fox-spirit, he's surprisingly though. His best moment probably involves getting stabbed on Blood Robe's naginata so that he could shatter the blade.
* {{Kitsune}}: He's a small one, specifically a Kudagitsune, a type of Kitsune who excel at possessing humans.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's quite rude to Ushio at first and looks down on humans, but he becomes a good friend and loyal ally to Ushio after the latter earns his respect.
* ShipperOnDeck: He supports [=ToraxKagari=].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Umizato]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/umizatou_anime.png]]
->Voiced by: Yanami Shouji (OVA), Inaba Minoru (series) (Japanese), Ted Pfister (OVA), Philip Hays (series) (English)

A sea Youkai taking the form of an old blind man carrying a lute on his back, he asks Nagatobimaru's help against the monstrous Ayakashi. He ends up revealing to Ushio that his mother is still alive and hated by all Youkai.
----
* AloofAlly: He reluctantly agrees to seek Ushio's help, and despite the Spear he makes no secret that he despises the human.
* ChangedMyMindKid: [[spoiler: During the climax, he pulls a BigDamnHeroes to help Sumako. When she asks why, he admits that the Sea is ever-shifting and fickle.]]
* HandicappedBadass: A powerful and respected Sea Youkai who's blind.
* RubberMan: One of his powers allows him to extend his arms to ludicrous lengths.
* SummonBiggerFish: Essentially his plan: since he can't beat Ayakashi, he asks for Tora's help.
* WhamLine: He's the one who reveals to Ushio the whereabouts of his mother.
--> "Ushio Aotsuki... you're the son of that despicable woman who still lives!"

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sanpitara Kamui]]

Manga-Only Character, Sanpitara is an Ainu God of the Land who resides in a lake. He's met when he tries to hire Ushio's friends as the new Kami of the lake in order to defeat the evil Oyau Kamui. He's among Ushio's allies in the north.
----
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: He leads the deities of the Land to assist Ushio in his final battle.]]
* GodsHandsAreTied: Rather than fight Oyau Kamui himself, he'll rather hire two people to turn into Kami so that they'll fight in his stead and defend the lake. Justified when he reveals that the last time he took action against a God of Misfortune and kicked him away, the resulting action caused a volcanic eruption that killed hundreds of people, so he'd rather not act unless strictly required.
* PhysicalGod: He's a Kamui, an Ainu deity watching over Japan. He has a special divine Saké which can turn humans into Kami. He also mentions that the former deity "was promoted" and left this world to AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The most questionable thing he does is to promise two girls in marriage to the two guys he chose to be the new Kami of the lake, and even then it's just because he was really desperate. When Oyau Kamui is slain, he lets them go and apologise.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tokisaka and Tokijun]]
->Voiced by: Creator/MayumiTanaka (JP), Creator/BrittneyKarbowski (Tokisaka, English), Mark X Laskowski (Tokijun, English)

A Time-travelling monster with two bodies half-hidden behind a flat stone, Tokisaka can travel back in time, Tokijun can travel forward. They were enlisted by Jie Mei herself to explain the origin of the Beast Spear to Ushio.
----
* MeaningfulName: Tokisaka means "Reverse Time", Tokijun means "Correct Time".
* OhCrap: When return from their peek in the future in panic, as they saw [[spoiler: the destruction of the Beast Spear.]]
* OurMonstersAreWeird: They appears a a flat diamond-shaped slab of stone split in the middle, an arm and a leg poking out of each side, with their heads poking from the inner side of the slab.
* TimeTravel: Tokisaka can go back in time, bringing people with him. Tokijun can go forward, doing the same. They tend to bicker on which of their specialties, past or future, is the most important.

[[/folder]]

!H.A.M.M.R. (Head Anti Metamorphose Measure Research)
[[folder:General Tropes]]

* ArcVillain: Of their own Arc.
* {{Curse}}: Turns out, Hakumen has put a "tatari", a deadly curse which is killing the members of the organization one by one. At this point, the surviving scientists are desperate.
* HeelFaceTurn: By the end of their arc, they decide to fully support Ushio and the effort against Hakumen.
* InsistentTerminology: They refer to {{Youkai}} as "Metamorphose". There's a reason why, since the sinonym "Bakemono" literally translate to "Shapeshifter being".
* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Their situation has pushed them to adopt inhuman and cruel experiments on both monsters and humans alike.
* NoSell: They managed to invent a device called "Kirlian" Oscillator, which can emit special waves able to repeal/bind monsters.
* PoorCommunicationKills: Even if you're doing things for good, kidnapping people with men in black and artificial monsters won't get you anywhere.
* ScienceIsBad: At first, this is seemingly played straigth. Ultimately subverted, just like the monsters in the previous arc, H.A.M.M.R. were just desperate and underestimated Hakumen.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: They mistakenly believe that Hakumen is just a very powerful Metamorphose and nothing more. Soon, the fragment they revive proves impervious to their machines and nearly kills them all.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: They were sent in Japan to study monsters and lend a hand against Hakumen. However, the death of several colleagues due to Hakumen's powers made them more ruthless and unhinged.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Helena Markof]]
->Voiced by: Yuko Tsuga (Japanese), Creator/TiffanyGrant (English)

One of the three surviving head-researchers of H.A.M.M.R.
----
* AdultFear: With a bit of {{Irony}}, her son fell ill and despite all her skills she was [[OutlivingOnesOffspring unable to save him]].
* {{Determinator}}: Even when mortally wounded, she won't stop from directing Asako so that they can stop the Hakumen Fragment and send datas to Nicholas and Marco so that they'll be able to update their machines for the final battle.
* EvilOldFolks: Subverted, though she's really unpleasant when she first appears.
* FamousLastWords:
-->" [[DeadPersonConversation What would you like to eat... Paul?]]"
* FreudianExcuse: Most of her bitterness and lack of ethics stem from the death of her son. As she explains to Asako, scientists like her are willing to do anything to make sure that other people won't go through the same suffering as they did.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Uses the last of her strength to keep the Oscillators activated to paralyze the Fragment and make sure that the lab will explode, destroying it for good.]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: She and her colleagues soon realize that tampering with the Fragment of Hakumen wasn't a good idea.
* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler: She saves everyone from the mess, at the cost of her life.]]
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: She's the only female researcher.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Nicholas Koestler and Marco Pavroti]]
->Voiced by: Ikuya Sawaki (Nicholas Koestler, Japanese), Creator/KinryuArimoto (Marco Pavroti, Japanese), Creator/JayHickman (Nicholas Koestler, English), Rob Mungle (Marco Pavroti, English)

The other two surviving head researchers, the Kirlian technology is their doing.
----
* DueToTheDead: They keep doing their research both to atone themselves and to honor [[spoiler: Helena's sacrifice]].
* FaceDeathWithDignity: [[spoiler: As the Kokuen are trashing the labs, they calmly whistle an American tune which reminds them of their childhood and they activate the Giant Kirlian Oscillator "Trump".]]
* InformedAbility: Downplayed, but Nicholas warns Ushio that if he's still angry at them, he'll give him a taste of his boxing skills.
* EvilOldFolks: Subverted, though they're rather amoral and lacking in empathy early on.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Once all Hell breaks loose, they soon realize that tampering with the Fragment of Hakumen wasn't a good idea.
* NoSell: [[spoiler: They manage to repel the memory-eating Hiyo by wearing special helmets which generate a Kirlian anti-youkai field on their heads. This allows them to help Ushio with a passage to Okinawa and the Stone Eater's Armor.]]
* TheStoic: Especially Nicholas, who rarely changes expression.
* ThemeNaming: They name some of their creations after characters from ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Baldanders]]
->Voiced by: Creator/AyumuMurase (Japanese), Creator/CliffordChapin (English)

A western monster who was captured by H.A.M.M.R. in Europe, he befriends Asako and is dragged in the battle against the revived Hakumen fragment.
----
* AluminumChristmasTrees: He's actually a RealLife shapeshifting monster from Germany.
* BadassInDistress: He tries to save Asako from the Fragment, only to be absorbed inside. After a long battle, Ushio manages to cut him free.
* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler: He shows up with a handful of brothers to save Asako and her family from the Kokuen.]]
* GameFace: Normally he appears as a normal-looking, long-haired boy, but his real form is that of a gigantic, half-ethereal humanoid with [[TopHeavyGuy a huge torso]] and FacialMarkings.
* NonMaliciousMonster: He's harmless and spent his days sleeping in an old ruined castle when H.A.M.M.R. captured him.

[[/folder]]

!The Spirits of the Beast Spear
[[folder: Giryou]]
[[quoteright:222:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/giryou_anime.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/MamoruMiyano (Japanese), John Gremillion (English)

A highly skilled blacksmith from Ancient China. His parents were killed by Hakumen no Mono and his younger sister Jie Mei sacrificed her life to create the blade of the Beast Spear. Filled with anger, remorse and regret, he hammered his body into the shaft of the spear. His spirit is trapped in the darkness of the spear, unlike his sister, and can greatly influence the user of the spear with his fury.
----
* BlackEyesOfCrazy: Develops this look after losing his parents and sister to Hakumen no Mono while forging the Beast Spear.
* TheBlacksmith: Forges the Beast Spear after Hakumen no Mono kills his parents, and his sister Jie Mei sacrificed herself to imbue it with the power to defeat Hakumen no Mono.
* TheChooserOfTheOne: As he became the Beast Spear itself, Giryou decided he wanted no one other than Ushio to wield him, making Ushio the rightful owner of the spear.
* CynicismCatalyst: The death of his parents at hands of Hakumen no Mono and his sister's sacrifice to create the blade of the Beast Spear made him give in to his hatred and become a "demon" with the sole purpose of destroying Hakumen no Mono.
* TheFogOfAges: He says he can no longer remember why he hates Hakumen no Mono, since over 2000 years have passed.
* ThePowerOfHate: Specifically, his hatred of Hakumen no Mono eventually turned to hatred against all Youkai, leading it to become a potent weapon against their kind.
* TearsOfBlood: He cries these after his sister sacrifices herself and he merges with the spear, succumbing to his hatred for Hakumen no Mono.
* YouKilledMyFather: He came hate Hakumen no Mono because he killed his parents and he created the Beast Spear in order to destroy him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Jie Mei]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jie_mei_anime.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/KanaHanazawa (Japanese), Creator/CarliMosier (English)

The spirit guardian who lives in the darkness of the Beast Spear. She is the sister of Giryou, who sacrificed her life to create the blade of the spear. Jie Mei is able freely materialize anywhere needed, and first appeared to help prevent Ushio from transforming into a Beast by having his soul totally absorbed by the spear.
----
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Yellow hair and eyes.
* CuteGhostGirl: She looks pretty cute as a ghost.
* GoOutWithASmile: She gave one final smile to her brother and "Tsung Yue" before her HeroicSacrifice.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: She had blonde hair and she was a kind-hearted, selfless young woman when she died.
* HandHidingSleeves: As a ghost, her sleeves are long enough to reach the end of her dress.
* HeroicSacrifice: She willingly sacrificed her life to create the blade of the Beast Spear.
* HumanSacrifice: She gave up her life as a sacrifice to the gods to create a spear strong enough to destroy Hakumen no Mono.
* IdenticalAncestor: She looks nearly identical to her distant descendant Mayuko.
* MoralityPet: To Giryou. She is the one who talks him out of consuming Ushio's soul.
* NiceGirl: She was a very sweet and friendly girl when alive. As a ghost, she continues to help Ushio whenever she can.
* {{Reincarnation}}: After her sacrifice, she reincarnated as a woman named Yuki, the first of the lineage of powerful lady shamans who would become the Oyakume.
* SpiritAdvisor: Shows up in this form from time to time to alert others that Ushio needs their help.
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: The pure and sweet Jie Mei gave up her life so her brother could create the weapon that would put an end to the evil Hakumen no Mono.
[[/folder]]

->Voiced by: Creator/YuriAmano (OVA), Creator/MikakoKomatsu (series) (Japanese), Allison Sumrall (English)

->Voiced by: Creator/NanaMizuki (Japanese), Stephanie Wittels (English)

->Voiced by: Creator/ShowHayami (OVA), Creator/ShinichiroMiki (series) (Japanese), Andy [=McAvin=] (OVA), Jay Hickman (series) (English)

->Voiced by: Creator/NaoNagasawa (Japanese), Jay Hickman (English)

->Voiced by: Ikuya Sawaki (Nicholas Koestler, Japanese), Creator/KinryuArimoto (Marco Pavroti, Japanese), Jay Hickman (Nicholas Koestler, English), Rob Mungle (Marco Pavroti, English)

->Voiced by: Creator/HiromiTsuru (OVA), Creator/RisaShimizu (series) (Japanese), Creator/MonicaRial (OVA), Patricia Duran (series) (English)

* AdaptationalCurves: She's much more buxom and filled out than in the manga, especially compared to her first appearence.

* DamselInDistress: Played for laughs when she tries to invoke RescueRomance with Tora by walking to the largest guy she could find, putting his arm around her neck, then screaming for Tora's help.

* InnocentFanserviceGirl: She doesn't understand why human men stare at her so much when she's in her human form with her tube dress. She assumes they must be wondering if she's cold.

* MinidressOfPower: In her human form, she wears a tube dress

* YouAreBetterThanYouThink: During the Mountain Fish arc, he gives kind encouragement both to a bullied student with big self-esteem issues and his teacher.

* HeroicAlbino: She has white hair and really pale skin. She's also a rare example of using albinism to emphasize a character's vulnerability and frailty.

* {{Adorkable}}: His childish and overly excited reactions to objects of the modern world are oddly endearing.

* ImmortalImmaturity: He's an over 2000 years old youkai, but Tora usually acts like an immature child.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He may be an arrogant, insulting and traitorous monster, but it's easy to see that Tora is not that bad deep down.

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Hamburgers, as they act a substitute for human flesh.

* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:Tora DisappearsIntoLight after Hakumen no Mono is defeated. It really appears Tora is dead, but the final narration implies he only left temporary and will return to Ushio's side someday.]]

* {{Tsundere}}: Type B. She's nice and friendly to everyone, but when it concerns Ushio she turns harsh, hot-headed and violent.

* {{Housewife}}: [[spoiler:After Hakumen no Mono's defeat, Sumako is freed from her duty as the Oyakume and now can dedicate herself to take care of her husband and son.]]

* YamatoNadeshiko: A beautiful, kind and traditional Japanese woman with an unbreakable will and a great love for her family.

* LikesOlderMen: WordOfGod is, she's a crush on Shigure, who's her type.

* HulkingOut [[spoiler: When fighting Tora with all he has,]] Nagare bulks considerably and is able to imbue his very punches with Dharmic energy.

* TykeBomb: [[spoiler:He was kidnapped, experimented on and then raised by Towako to be her tool and help her destroy the Beast Spear.]]

* ImprobableWeaponUser: Downplayed, but he usually manifests his scythe from his back.

* AloofAlly: He reluctantly agrees to seek Ushio's help, and despite the Spear he makes no secret that he despise the human.

->Voiced by: Creator/ToshioFuruwaka (Japanese)

* BashBrothers: With Tora.

* FireForgedFriends: His relationship with Tora starts out as an EnemyMine deal. As they work together to defeat monsters and end up saving each other several times, they start to trust each other and become best friends.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Becomes this with Tora, though in a [[VitriolicBestBuds vitriolic]] fashion.

* VitriolicBestBuds: With Tora. They spend their time arguing, fighting, insulting each other and trying to kill each other. Yet, somehow there's no better way to know they are best friends.

* BashBrothers: With Ushio.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Becomes this with Ushio despite the amount of denial Tora shows.

* VitriolicBestBuds: With Ushio. Tora is always trying to eat him and making fun of him, for which Ushio beats him up with the Beast Spear. And still they undeniably are best friends, even if both hate to admit it.

->Voiced by: Creator/YumiTouma (OVA), Kiyono Yasuno (series) (Japanese), Mandy Clark (OVA), Creator/LuciChristian (series) (English)

->Voiced by: Creator/YukaNanri (Japanese), Creator/TiffanyGrant (English)

->Voiced by: None

->Voiced by: Toshio Furuwaka (JP)

->Voiced by: Ookuma Kenta (JP)

->Voiced by: Creator/HisaoEgawa (JP)

->Voiced by: Kayano Ai (JP)

->Voiced by: Creator/ShozoIizuka (JP)

->Voiced by: Yanami Shouji (OVA)/Inaba Minoru (series) (JP)

* PhysicalGod: He's a Kamui, an Ainu deity watching over Japan. He has a special divine Saké which can turn humans into Kami. He also mentions that the former deity "was promoted" and left this world and AscendedToAHigherPlaneOfExistance.

->Voiced by: Creator/MayumiTanaka (JP)

A Time-travelling monster with two bodies half-hidden behind a flat stone, Tokisaka can travel back in time, Tokijun can travel forward. They were enlisted by Jie Mei herself to explain the origin of the Beast Spear to Ushio. [[spoiler: During the final battle, they use their powers to reveal to Kirio Tora' origins.]]

* UnderestimateBadass: They mistakenly believe that Hakumen is just a very powerful Metamorphose and nothing more. Soon, the fragment they revive proves impervious to their machines and nearly kills them all.

->Voiced by: Tsuka Yuuko (JP)

->Voiced by:

->Voiced by: Ayumu Murase (JP)

* AluminiumChristmasTree: He's actually a RealLife shapeshifting monster from Germany.

The Character Sheet for ''Manga/UshioAndTora''.

!The Eastern Youkai

[[folder:Eastern Leader Yamanmoto]]
->Voiced by: Toshio Furuwaka (JP)

The leader of the Eastern Youkai of Japan, appears as an old man with a long, downward-pointing nose, but he's actually a Daitengu. Becomes an ally of Ushio after encountering him during his journey north.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hakumen no Mono]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hakumen_no_mono.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Music/MegumiHayashibara (Japanese), Creator/JohnSwasey (English)

An extremely powerful nine-tailed fox born from ancient times who enjoys destroying countries by manipulating the rulers and creating fear among humans and youkai. Currently, it is trapped in an immense psychic barrier maintained by a lineage of lady shamans under the sea south of Japan. However, this does not keep it completely helpless and plots to destroy the Beast Spear before it finally escapes from its imprisonment.
----
* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:After Hakumen is finally defeated, it's implied what Hakumen really wished for all this time was to be born as a human baby with a mother who would love it.]]
* BewareMyStingerTail: Hakumen's tails are weapons in their own right. In particular, the 8th tail [[spoiler:can turn into a mass of spears. Hakumen created it specifically to imitate and counter the Beast Spear; and, in fact, the Spear was unable to destroy it]].
* BigBad: An EldritchAbomination that not only was behind a majority of events, was revealed to behind even things that originally didn't seem connected, like a few arc villains.
* BreathWeapon: Can spit a stream of white fire. Notable among all the youkais capable of this, because it can literally disintegrate humans and make entire islands explode.
* TheDreaded:
** Played straight with its savage attacks towards both men and youkai, along with instilling terror in them to grow even stronger, eventually ends up forcing the two groups to work together in an attempt to defeat it. Ushio learns about this firsthand when he's sent back to ancient China along with Tora to learn the origins of the spear.
** In an interesting inversion, Hakumen no Mono is terrified of the Beast Spear, forged by Giryou in the wake of its attack on ancient China. At one point in episode twenty-seven of the anime, it states that the spear was the only thing that ever caused it to tremble in fear, and vows to destroy it so as to never feel that way again. Since Ushio is the current spear wielder, it's up to him to ensure Hakumen no Mono's destruction.
* DrivenByEnvy: [[spoiler:The real reason Hakumen hates humans and youkai is because it has always been jealous that they were born in the beautiful light while it had to be born and live in the darkness.]]
* EldritchAbomination: It's so powerful that it took literally all of Japan's monsters, along with a lot of humans, to even stand a chance against it.
* EmotionEater: Hakumen literally feeds off fear of it from human and youkai alike. Furthermore, hatred for it makes it unkillable.
* EyeScream: [[spoiler:Hakumen gouges out its own eyes after their look let Tora know Hakumen envies and fears the beings of the light.]]
* FogOfDoom: Its first tail can turn into acidic fog that can dissolve enemies and attacks alike. [[spoiler:Turns out it was Shumuna - see HiveMind]].
* ForTheEvulz: Hakumen no Mono's entire motivation. It just loves destruction and enjoys tormenting and killing others, be it human or youkai.
* TheHeartless: [[spoiler:Hakumen was born out of the hatred of a man named Shagaksha, who would later become Tora.]]
* HiveMind: The Hiyou (and later on, the Kokuen) are explicitly stated to be extensions of Hakumen's will. Moreover, Hakumen can also create stronger monsters that call themselves ''Bunshin'' (Avatar), such as Kuragi. [[spoiler: Turns out that Shimuna, Towako and the Ayakashi are also Bunshin, and that each type of these monsters came from one of Hakumen's tails]].
* HopeCrusher: Hakumen feeds off fear and despair, so if something appears that gives hope to others Hakumen will try and destroy that hope. [[spoiler:This is the reason it wipes off Ushio and Tora from everyone's memory in the final arc.]]
* {{Kitsune}}: Not referred to as such, but Hakumen no Mono looks like a demonic nine-tailed fox. However, it isn't a traditional kitsune; it's essentially a sapient physical mass of malice, hatred, and evil that has taken the form of a cross between kitsune and griffin.
* LoadBearingBoss: If Ushio's mom lets up the barrier and allows the yōkai of Japan to kill him, all the islands of Japan will sink with him.
* MadeOfEvil: He's said to be a manifestation of all the darkness and evils of the world.
* ManipulativeBastard: Loves doing this to humans, tricking them to do things they would otherwise never bother with, such as having the Emperor of China forge weapons to destroy it, only to them kill all the blacksmiths and royalty ForTheEvulz. [[spoiler:Later it even appears as Jie Mei, in an attempt to trick the military into attacking the real Jie Mei and destroying the seal she had around it.]]
* MemoryWipingCrew: [[spoiler:In the final arc, Hakumen has its Hiyou erase the memories involving Ushio and Tora from all their allies.]]
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: It was such a terrifying creature to both men and youkai that they ended up working together in an attempt to kill it, but were unsuccessful.
* NotSoDifferent: [[spoiler:Tora points out Hakumen and Nagare are the same. Just like Nagare became Ushio's enemy because he couldn't stand Ushio's brightness, Hakumen became the light's enemy for the same reasons.]]
* RedEyesTakeWarning: The most dangerous and feared monster by both human and youkai happens to fittingly have red eyes.
* SealedEvilInACan: It's sealed inside a barrier under the sea and being watched over by Jie Mei's successors.
* ShockAndAwe: [[spoiler: Its 7th tail is an electric storm. It's completely immune to wind, fire or electricity, and it was created specifically to imitate and counter Tora's abilities]].
* VillainousBreakdown: Near the end, [[spoiler:Tora discovering the motive for its hatred causes Hakumen to [[EyeScream gouge out its own eyes]] and go all-out on Ushio and Tora, declaring that it doesn't care anymore about killing humans or youkai or even ''surviving'' as long as it can kill the duo]].
* VoiceOfTheLegion: The anime gives Hakumen a demonic voice with an echo effect.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: It can change form at will. It seems to like to disguise itself as beautiful women.
* XanatosGambit: Does one when it was nearly on the verge of defeat. [[spoiler:It runs away, then embeds itself into the bedrock of the Japanese island, so that if it was killed, it would end up destroying the bedrock, sinking the entire island, and taking everyone with it. Jie Mei is then forced to stop the demons from finishing it off. Unfortunately she didn't explain why she suddenly stopped them, leading the demons to feel she betrayed them.]]
* ZergRush: His Hiyo, small yokai minions spawned from Hakumen that looks like a flying eyeball with ears. They can combine together to form a stronger entity or attack en masse in huge numbers. They are also capable of eating specific memories in humans and monsters alike.

[[folder:Sumako Aotsuki]]
[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sumako_anime.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/MaayaSakamoto (Japanese), Creator/EmilyNeves (English)

Ushio's mother who was presumed dead, until a Youkai told Ushio that she's alive and hated by all Youkai. Finding the truth about her becomes Ushio's motivation for his journey to Asahikawa.

* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMama: For all his faults, he still won't directly disobey the Second Oyakume.

* LikesOlderMen

* {{Tsundere}}:

The leader of the Eastern Youkai of Japan, appears as an old man with a long, downward-pointing nose, but he's actually a Daitengu. Becomes an ally of Ushio after encountering him during his journey north.

A Karasutengu from the East, he's Yamanmoto's bodyguard.

The Snake Monster from the East, Hitotsuki is one of the strongest eastern Youkai and fought Hakumen alongside Tora. He looks like a giant Oni-like brute, but his body is made up of intercoiled snakes.

[[folder:Sanpitara Kamui]]

[[/folder]]

[[/folder]]

!The Spirits of the Beast Spear
[[folder: Giryou]]
->Voiced by: Creator/MamoruMiyano (Japanese), John Gremillion (English)

A highly skilled blacksmith from Ancient China. His parents were killed by Hakumen no Mono and his younger sister Jie Mei sacrificed her life to create the blade of the Beast Spear. Filled with anger, remorse and regret, he hammered his body into the shaft of the spear. His spirit is trapped in the darkness of the spear, unlike his sister, and can greatly influence the user of the spear with his fury.

* BlackEyesOfCrazy: Develops this look after losing his parents and sister to Hakumen no Mono while forging the Beast Spear.
* TheBlacksmith: Forges the Beast Spear after Hakumen no Mono kills his parents, and his sister Jie Mei sacrificed herself to imbue it with the power to defeat Hakumen no Mono.
* TheChooserOfTheOne: As he became the Beast Spear itself, Giryou decided he wanted no one other than Ushio to wield him, making Ushio the rightful owner of the spear.
* CynicismCatalyst: The death of his parents at hands of Hakumen no Mono and his sister's sacrifice to create the blade of the Beast Spear made him give in to his hatred and become a "demon" with the sole purpose of destroying Hakumen no Mono.
* TheFogOfAges: He says he can no longer remember why he hates Hakumen no Mono, since over 2000 years have passed.
* ThePowerOfHate: Specifically, his hatred of Hakumen no Mono eventually turned to hatred against all Youkai, leading it to become a potent weapon against their kind.
* TearsOfBlood: He cries these after his sister sacrifices herself and he merges with the spear, succumbing to his hatred for Hakumen no Mono.
* YouKilledMyFather: He came hate Hakumen no Mono because he killed his parents and he created the Beast Spear in order to destroy him.

[[folder: Jie Mei]]
->Voiced by: Creator/KanaHanazawa (Japanese), Creator/CarliMosier (English)

The spirit guardian who lives in the darkness of the Beast Spear. She is the sister of Giryou, who sacrificed her life to create the blade of the spear. Jie Mei is able freely materialize anywhere needed, and first appeared to help prevent Ushio from transforming into a Beast by having his soul totally absorbed by the spear.

* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Yellow hair and eyes.
* CuteGhostGirl: She looks pretty cute as a ghost.
* GoOutWithASmile: She gave one final smile to her brother and "Tsung Yue" before her HeroicSacrifice.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: She had blonde hair and she was a kind-hearted, selfless young woman when she died.
* HeroicSacrifice: She willingly sacrificed her life to create the blade of the Beast Spear.
* HumanSacrifice: She gave up her life as a sacrifice to the gods to create a spear strong enough to destroy Hakumen no Mono.
* IdenticalAncestor: She looks nearly identical to her distant descendant Mayuko.
* MoralityPet: To Giryou. She is the one who talks him out of consuming Ushio's soul.
* NiceGirl: She was a very sweet and friendly girl when alive. As a ghost, she continues to help Ushio whenever she can.
* {{Reincarnation}}: After her sacrifice, she reincarnated as a woman named Yuki, the first of the lineage of powerful lady shamans who would become the Oyakume.
* SpiritAdvisor: Shows up in this form from time to time to alert others that Ushio needs their help.
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: The pure and sweet Jie Mei gave up her life so her brother could create the weapon that would put an end to the evil Hakumen no Mono.

[[folder:Hakumen no Mono]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hakumen_no_mono.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Music/MegumiHayashibara (Japanese), Creator/JohnSwasey (English)

An extremely powerful nine-tailed fox born from ancient times who enjoys destroying countries by manipulating the rulers and creating fear among humans and youkai. Currently, it is trapped in an immense psychic barrier maintained by a lineage of lady shamans under the sea south of Japan. However, this does not keep it completely helpless and plots to destroy the Beast Spear before it finally escapes from its imprisonment.

[[folder: Raishin]]
[[quoteright:245:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/raishin_anime_5.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/ShowHayami (OVA), Creator/ShinichiroMiki (series) (Japanese), Andy [=McAvin=] (OVA), Jay Hickman (series) (English)

The eldest brother of the Kamaitachi siblings. He and his sister ask Ushio to kill their brother Juurou because he was being taken over by his hatred for humans and has became a threat to both humans and his siblings.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: He's nice, affable and polite. Still, not one you'd like to make angry.
* BlackEyesOfCrazy: His eyes turn like this when he uses his youkai powers.
* FacialMarkings: He has a mark on his left cheek.
* UndyingLoyalty: Once Ushio gains their trust, Raishin and his sister would rather die than betray Ushio.
* YouAreACreditToYourRace: Raishin and his siblings detest humans, but he and Kagari come to consider Ushio the only human worthy of respect because he's "different".

[[folder: Kagari]]
[[quoteright:245:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kagari_anime_1.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/HiromiTsuru (OVA), Creator/RisaShimizu (series) (Japanese), Creator/MonicaRial (OVA), Patricia Duran (series) (English)

The youngest of the Kamaitachi siblings. She uses a medicine that can heal the injuries made by her brother Juurou. Although she supports Raishin's decision to have Ushio kill Juurou to stop his rampage, she still loves his brother and hates humans just like he does.

* ActionGirl: She's a competent fighter and is skilled with her blades.
* AdaptationalCurves: She's much more buxom and filled out than in the manga, especially compared to her first appearence.
* BlackEyesOfCrazy: Like her brother, her eyes turn like this when using her youkai powers.
* CombatMedic: She makes medicine to heal wounds, but she doesn't stay behind in battle.
* DamselInDistress: Played for laughs when she tries to invoke RescueRomance with Tora by walking to the largest guy she could find, putting his arm around her neck, then screaming for Tora's help.
* DefrostingIceQueen: When they first meet, she dislikes Tora, thinking of him as a mere pet of a human. Eventually, she warms up to him, coming to greatly admire him, respect him and even develop a crush on him.
* InnocentFanserviceGirl: She doesn't understand why human men stare at her so much when she's in her human form with her tube dress. She assumes they must be wondering if she's cold.
* InsecureLoveInterest: She worries that Tora may only see her as a burden.
* MinidressOfPower: In her human form, she wears a tube dress
* MsFanservice: Her human form is very attractive, going around in an alluring red MinidressOfPower that shows off her figure and long legs.
* ParryingBullets: She's able to ''cut bullets in half in midair'' with her blades.
* PrehensileHair: During the Youkai War arc, she manages to kill her opponent by grabbing and flinging a broken piece of her scythe with her hair.
* RapunzelHair: In her human form, she has waist-length hair.
* SexyBacklessOutfit: She usually wears a backless tube dress.
* UndyingLoyalty: She swears loyalty to Ushio just like her brother Raishin.

[[folder:Saya Takatori]]
[[quoteright:245:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/saya_anime_1.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/YukaNanri (Japanese), Creator/TiffanyGrant (English)

A young girl descended from a long line of white-haired women who have maintained the success of the Takatori household by appeasing the childlike spirit Omamori.

* AbusiveParents: Her father and her grandmother only see her as a tool to keep Omamori entertained and make their household prosper.
* ApologizesALot: She apologizes for about anything when Ushio meets her. In fact, Ushio got a NakedFirstImpression from her and ''she'' is the one who apologizes.
* EmptyEyes: When we first see her her eyes lack eyeshine, reflecting her poor health and lack of will to stand up against her family. After Ushio helps gain more willpower, they gain eyeshine.
* HeroicAlbino: She has white hair and really pale skin. She's also a rare example of using albinism to emphasize a character's vulnerability and frailty.
* IllGirl: She suffers from poor health and she faints on regular basis.
* MissingMom: Her mother died from poor health when she was young.
* MysticalWhiteHair: Her white hair is proof that she's descended from a long line of women with the ability to see and talk to spirits.
* NakedFirstImpression: Ushio first meets her when she's taking a bath at a hot spring.
* NakedOnArrival: She first appears when Ushio spots her taking a bath at a hot spring.
* NiceGirl: Probably the nicest and most polite girl in the series, rivaling even Mayuko.
* {{Ojou}}: Her family are immensely rich landlords. However, they lose their forture after Ushio frees Omamori.
* RapunzelHair: Her hair reaches down to her hips.
* RichesToRags: She allows Ushio to free Omamori, but in exchange her family loses their house and fortune. However, Omamori decides to stay by Saya's side to ensure she can survive on her own.
* ShrinkingViolet: Shy, quiet and withdrawn.
* WhyCantIHateYou: She says she thinks of herself as a horrible woman for being jealous of Asako's closeness to Ushio.

[[folder:Izuna]]
->Voiced by: Creator/NaoNagasawa (Japanese), Jay Hickman (English)

A small fox/ferret-like spirit send by the Osa of Tono to assist Ushio in his effort to purge the demons possessing Moritsuna.

* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: For a small, arrogant fox-spirit, he's surprisingly though. His best moment probably involves getting stabbed on Blood Robe's naginata so that he could shatter the blade.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's quite rude to Ushio at first and looks down on humans, but he becomes a good friend and loyal ally to Ushio after the latter earns his respect.
* ShipperOnDeck: He supports [=ToraxKagari=].

[[folder:Sumako Aotsuki]]
[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sumako_anime.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/MaayaSakamoto (Japanese), Creator/EmilyNeves (English)

Ushio's mother who was presumed dead, until a Youkai told Ushio that she's alive and hated by all Youkai. Finding the truth about her becomes Ushio's motivation for his journey to Asahikawa.

* BarrierMaiden: As the third Oyakume, Sumako keeps up a powerful barrier that keeps Hakumen no Mono sealed under the sea and holds off every youkai of Japan that wants Hakumen no Mono's head.
* BarrierWarrior: She is able to create powerful barriers to deflect youkai. She uses this to help her husband in a fight against youkai during a flashback.
* BigOlEyebrows: And now you know where Ushio got his thick eyebrows from.
* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: When they first met, she was the Gentle Girl to Shigure's Brooding Boy. Her kindness got through his angry and violent self and turned him into the man he is today.
* ChekhovMIA: Once Ushio learns his mother is still alive, it's inevitable she gets an important role in the plot.
* DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou: She had to leave her husband and son to hold up Hakumen no Mono's barrier under the sea.
* FourthDateMarriage: She vaguely knew Shigure for a couple of days before agreeing to marry him. Sort of justified; Sumako only had two years to marry and have a child before returning to hold up Hakumen no Mono's barrier.
* FriendToAllChildren: According to her husband, she was very good with children.
* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: She tries to literally slap some sense into Ushio when he starts to freak out and tries to convince her to run away with him instead of facing Hakumen. [[spoiler:It has the opposite effect than she intended; this only results in Ushio giving in to his hatred and entering an UnstoppableRage.]]
* HimeCut: She has the traditional hairstyle befitting of a YamatoNadeshiko.
* {{Housewife}}: [[spoiler:After Hakumen no Mono's defeat, Sumako is freed from her duty as the Oyakume and now can dedicate herself to take care of her husband and son.]]
* MissingMom: Ushio never met her and was told she was dead his entire life until a youkai told him otherwise.
* MysteriousParent: Her identity and situation remained a mystery for a long time. After he learns she's alive and is an enemy of youkai, Ushio spends a good part of the story searching for answers of who his mother is. He finally discovers she's under the sea, holding up Hakumen no Mono's barrier.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:By hitting Ushio and putting defeating Hakumen no Mono before their reunion, she only made Ushio snap and start an UnstoppableRage that ultimately destroys the Beast Spear.]]
* OlderThanSheLooks: She looks like a young woman, but she's actually over 140 years old. The Oyakume have their lifespan and youth expanded so they can keep up the barrier for a long time.
* RapunzelHair: When Ushio finally meets her, Sumako's hair is longer than her body. This is justified, since she was too busy keeping up Hakumen's barrier to cut it. She later cuts it to waist-length.
* RavenHairIvorySkin: A really beautiful woman with long black hair and pale skin.
* UglyGuyHotWife: Would you believe this beautiful woman is the wife of an old-looking guy like Shigure?
* YamatoNadeshiko: A beautiful, kind and traditional Japanese woman with an unbreakable will and a great love for her family.

!Beast Spear's Successors
[[folder: Hinowa Sekimori]]
[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hinowa_anime_design.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/NanaMizuki (Japanese), Stephanie Wittels (English)

The first of the successors to appear. Hinowa is a tough, no-nonsense girl who appears to try to take the Beast Spear away from Ushio because she believes him to be unworthy of it. When she gets the chance to wield the Spear, it rejects her, returning instead to Ushio. Hinowa is still reluctant to acknowledge Ushio as the true bearer of the Spear, but she ends up helping him from time to time anyway.

* ActionGirl: She has been trained to fight youkai all her life and can defeat minor Hiyou. Despite this, she isn't capable enough to deal with major threats on her own.
* ArrogantKungFuGirl: Very proud and confident of her skills to exorcise youkai. She thinks someone like Ushio is nothing but a lucky idiot compared to her.
* BoyishShortHair: Her short hair reflects her tough and aggressive personality.
* TheChosenWannabe: She believes the Beast Spear should have chosen her instead of Ushio, as she was trained her entire life to bear it. She looks down on Ushio, refusing to acknowledge him as TheChosenOne even after the Beast Spear rejects her and Ushio has to save her from Hakumen no Mono's Hiyou, claiming she merely needs more training before the spear acknowledges her.
* ImprobableWeaponUser: She uses combs as weapons in battle.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: She gives one to Ushio, calling him an inexperienced and reckless idiot who can't bring out the real potential of the Beast Spear and isn't worthy of it. This affects Ushio enough to hand her over the Spear.
* TheResenter: She resents Ushio, feeling that he stole her position as the bearer of the Beast Spear.

[[folder: Nagare Akiba]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nagare_anime.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/YoshimasaHosoya (Japanese), Creator/IanSinclair (English)

The second of the successors to appear. Unlike the others successors, Nagare isn't that bothered by Ushio bearing the Beast Spear and is for more interested in challenging Tora. After Tora defeats him, Nagare decides to help him and Ushio in their journey.

* BadassBiker: He drives a CoolBike and he's strong enough to give Tora a tough fight.
* BigOlEyebrows: He has very thick eyebrows.
* BrokenAce: He confesses that throughout his life, he was always so good at everything that he couldn't feel any excitement and he wasn't allowed to give his best at anything due to all the harassment and threats his mother received due to jealousy from other parents and their kids. This made him empty inside and [[spoiler:was one of the reasons why he joined Hakumen no Mono]].
* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler: He dies with his eyes open after a final fight with Tora.]]
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:He eventually sides with Hakumen no Mono, after it reveals his most secret desire to fight someone strong such as Tora.]]
* WillfullyWeak: Though he's a pretty skilled fighter, during his second fight with Tora, he reveals that he was TheAce in both physical and mental aptitude. He purposely held back because of all the harassment and threats his mother received due to jealousy from other parents and their kids. He then pulls a IAmNotLeftHanded move, and shows off his true power. [[spoiler:Despite this however, Tora still defeats him, and only holds back from killing him because Ushio warned him not to kill Nagare.]]

[[folder: Satoru Moritsuna]]
[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/satoru_anime.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Creator/RyotaOhsaka (Japanese), Creator/CliffordChapin (English)

The most senior of the four Chosen of the Beast Spear. He was possessed by Hiyou to attack Ushio and destroy the Beast Spear.

!The Spirits of the Beast Spear
[[folder: Giryou]]
->Voiced by: Creator/MamoruMiyano (Japanese), John Gremillion (English)

A highly skilled blacksmith from Ancient China. His parents were killed by Hakumen no Mono and his younger sister Jie Mei sacrificed her life to create the blade of the Beast Spear. Filled with anger, remorse and regret, he hammered his body into the shaft of the spear. His spirit is trapped in the darkness of the spear, unlike his sister, and can greatly influence the user of the spear with his fury.

* BlackEyesOfCrazy: Develops this look after losing his parents and sister to Hakumen no Mono while forging the Beast Spear.
* TheBlacksmith: Forges the Beast Spear after Hakumen no Mono kills his parents, and his sister Jie Mei sacrificed herself to imbue it with the power to defeat Hakumen no Mono.
* TheChooserOfTheOne: As he became the Beast Spear itself, Giryou decided he wanted no one other than Ushio to wield him, making Ushio the rightful owner of the spear.
* CynicismCatalyst: The death of his parents at hands of Hakumen no Mono and his sister's sacrifice to create the blade of the Beast Spear made him give in to his hatred and become a "demon" with the sole purpose of destroying Hakumen no Mono.
* TheFogOfAges: He says he can no longer remember why he hates Hakumen no Mono, since over 2000 years have passed.
* ThePowerOfHate: Specifically, his hatred of Hakumen no Mono eventually turned to hatred against all Youkai, leading it to become a potent weapon against their kind.
* TearsOfBlood: He cries these after his sister sacrifices herself and he merges with the spear, succumbing to his hatred for Hakumen no Mono.
* YouKilledMyFather: He came hate Hakumen no Mono because he killed his parents and he created the Beast Spear in order to destroy him.

[[folder: Jie Mei]]
->Voiced by: Creator/KanaHanazawa (Japanese), Creator/CarliMosier (English)

The spirit guardian who lives in the darkness of the Beast Spear. She is the sister of Giryou, who sacrificed her life to create the blade of the spear. Jie Mei is able freely materialize anywhere needed, and first appeared to help prevent Ushio from transforming into a Beast by having his soul totally absorbed by the spear.

* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Yellow hair and eyes.
* CuteGhostGirl: She looks pretty cute as a ghost.
* GoOutWithASmile: She gave one final smile to her brother and "Tsung Yue" before her HeroicSacrifice.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: She had blonde hair and she was a kind-hearted, selfless young woman when she died.
* HeroicSacrifice: She willingly sacrificed her life to create the blade of the Beast Spear.
* HumanSacrifice: She gave up her life as a sacrifice to the gods to create a spear strong enough to destroy Hakumen no Mono.
* IdenticalAncestor: She looks nearly identical to her distant descendant Mayuko.
* MoralityPet: To Giryou. She is the one who talks him out of consuming Ushio's soul.
* NiceGirl: She was a very sweet and friendly girl when alive. As a ghost, she continues to help Ushio whenever she can.
* {{Reincarnation}}: After her sacrifice, she reincarnated as a woman named Yuki, the first of the lineage of powerful lady shamans who would become the Oyakume.
* SpiritAdvisor: Shows up in this form from time to time to alert others that Ushio needs their help.
* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: The pure and sweet Jie Mei gave up her life so her brother could create the weapon that would put an end to the evil Hakumen no Mono.

[[folder:Hakumen no Mono]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hakumen_no_mono.jpg]]
->Voiced by: Music/MegumiHayashibara (Japanese), Creator/JohnSwasey (English)

An extremely powerful nine-tailed fox born from ancient times who enjoys destroying countries by manipulating the rulers and creating fear among humans and youkai. Currently, it is trapped in an immense psychic barrier maintained by a lineage of lady shamans under the sea south of Japan. However, this does not keep it completely helpless and plots to destroy the Beast Spear before it finally escapes from its imprisonment.

* BladeOnAStick: He wields the Beast Spear.

* AntiHero: Was obviously an evil spirit prior to Ushio taking ownership of the Beast Spear. But as they spend more time together, he stops being outright evil, and acts more like this instead. He even goes so far as to rescue humans, particularly ones close to Ushio such as Asako and Mayuko, fearing retribution from Ushio if he simply allowed them to die.

* AntiHero: Hyou is not a bad guy and he becomes a trusted ally for Ushio and Tora after his introduction, but he's ruthless to his enemies or anyone who dares to hurt a child and he's motivated by the desire of revenge.

* SummonMagic: A master shikigami user.

* {{Tsundere}}:
** He refuses to admit that he considers Ushio a friend and generally goes ballistic if anyone implies that they like each other. He also consistently threatens and attacks Ushio, insults him, or tries to simply ignore him. Nevertheless, he always shows up to help Ushio in tight spots, often with a " Don't get me wrong, I just..." excuse. All in all, it's pretty obvious Tora cares for Ushio as more than a meal, he just won't admit it.
** He acts pretty much the same towards Mayuko. Her affection towards him often confuses and embarrasses him, but he reciprocates it in his own gruff manner and becomes quite protective of her, though he frequently tries to deny it with the excuse that he protects her only so no other monster can eat her or that he doesn't want her to get injured and dirty because she won't taste good that way.

* CombatPragmatist

* {{Deuteragonist}}: Tora is the other protagonist of the story along Ushio.

* EmptyEyes: Overlaps with RedEyesTakeWarning, being a youkai. [[spoiler: The other ''azafuse'' have these eyes, a possible side-effect of losing their soul to the Beast Spear.]]

* IdiotHero

* NoSocialSkills: He has no idea of how human society works. He actually thought that Ushio would agree to free him after he told him that the first thing he would do would be eating him.

* ChekhovMIA

* HellishPupils: His eyes turn like this when he uses the Beast Spear.

* BloodKnight

* ActionGirl

* DamselInDistress: She often gets attacked by evil monsters, which quickly sends Ushio into the action to save her.
* DesignatedVictim: She regularly becomes the victim of the MonsterOfTheWeek.

* DamselInDistress: She gets attacked by monsters about as much as Asako. She always gets rescued by either Ushio or Tora.
* DesignatedVictim: A frequent victim of youkai attacks alongside Asako.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: She has harbored feelings for Ushio for a long time, but doesn't pursue him because she doesn't want to ruin it for her best friend Asako and only wishes for their happiness.

* AbusiveDad: PlayedForLaughs.

* DisappearedDad: Zigzagged. He does take care of Ushio and their shrine. But he just as often leaves quickly for reasons unknown to Ushio until after he's had some experience with the spear and Tora.

* AloofDarkHairedGirl

* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette

* SugarAndIcePersonality: She shows herself as cold, distant and gloomy, but that is just a facade she puts up to keep others away from her. Once she drops the act, she reveals herself as a nice girl.

* AnArmAndALeg: [[spoiler:His right arm gets eaten by Guren in their final battle. Since Hyou had embedded charms in it, this serves as the final blow to kill Guren.]]

* NiceHat

* SlasherSmile

* BlackEyesOfCrazy
* FacialMarkings

* ActionGirl
* BlackEyesOfCrazy
* CombatMedic
* DangerouslyShortSkirt

* ImplausibleFencingPowers: She's fast enough to ''cut bullets in half in midair'' with her blades.

* LadyInRed
* MinidressOfPower
* MsFanservice

* SexyBacklessOutfit

* ApologizesALot

* NakedFirstImpression: Ushio first meets her when she's taking a bath at a hot spring. Despite this, ''she'' is the one who apologizes to Ushio for peeping at her.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold

* BarrierWarrior

* ActionGirl

* {{Tsundere}}

* BadassBiker
* BigOlEyebrows

* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler: He dies after a final fight with Tora.]]

A master shikigami user and the most senior of the four Chosen of the Beast Spear. He was possessed by Hiyou to attack Ushio and destroy the Beast Spear.

* BrokenAce

* TheResenter: He came to resent Ushio for being chosen by the Beast Spear instead of him. This left him vulnerable to the possession of the Hiyou.

* CreepyChild

* NiceHat
* PrecociousCrush: On Mayuko.
* SinisterScythe

* TearsOfBlood

* AnimeChineseGirl
* CuteGhostGirl

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold

* NiceGirl

* BreathWeapon[=/=]PlayingWithFire: Can spit a stream of white fire. Notable among all the youkais capable of this, because it can literally disintegrate humans and make entire islands explode.

* ExoticEyeDesigns

* MadeOfEvil

* RedEyesTakeWarning

* VoiceOfTheLegion

* TheHero: The story is about Ushio constantly saving other people's lives and fighting evil youkai.

* TheHero: The story is about Ushio constantly other people's lives and fighting evil youkai.