Characters / Arata: The Legend

aka: Arata Kangatari

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Note: Spoilers from chapter 218 onforth will be hidden, so be cautious of them if you have not caught up.

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Main Characters

From Japan:

Arata Hinohara

Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto

Hinohara is a freshman in highschool. On the first day of school, he saved Nishijima from being mistaken for a groper and apprehended the actual perpetrator and became famous for it. The various sports clubs from school ask him to join because they saw his fast running speed, but Hinohara rejects the offers, still sore from the events from middleschool.

During middleschool, he was in track along with Kadowaki and the two were among the best of the club. When Kadowaki felt like Hinohara refused to go full speed against him, he began to bully Hinohara badly. He left the track club and even stopped going to school, but the move onto highschool was supposed to be a new start.

Unfortunately, Kadowaki ends up transferring to Hinohara's school and the bullying resumes, with Hinohara's famous groper-attack being seen as a set-up to gain fame. When Hinohara wishes to disappear from his world, he follows a voice and trades places with Arata and lands in Amawakuni.

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• All of the Other Reindeer: He was ostracized by his classmates in middleschool because of Kadowaki's intense bullying. It happens again when Kadowaki transfers to Hinohara's highschool.
• Always Save the Girl: If there is any female character, he will focus on rescuing her.
• Badass Normal: Until he obtained the Hayagami, he was a normal kid and it took him some time to take up the mantle of being a capable fighter.
• Beware the Nice Ones: If you push his buttons... you'll regret it.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: He wanted to disappear from his world... he certainly did and was transported to another.
• The Chosen One: He was chosen by the Hayagami Tsukuyo and destined to revolutionize the government of Amawakuni.
• The Corruption: A piece of Orochi becomes embedded into his shoulder. When Hinohara loses control over himself and becomes more demonic, it grows. It also throbs when Kadowaki and Orochi are near him.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: A heroic example.
• Hikkikomori: Kadowaki's bullying turned him into one for a while, making Hinohara shut himself up in his room and refusing to go to school or leave the house.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: He's aware that Kotoha loves Arata and, when he offers Kotoha a chance to speak to Arata the next time they do, he says he's nice to her because he wants her to be happy.
• Last-Name Basis: On a meta level, he's this for good portion of the audience, at least when they need to distinguish Hinohara and Amawakuni Arata in the same conversation. In-universe, Amawakuni Arata has also taken to addressing him this way to avoid confusing himself. Averted with everyone else, who calls him by first name even after finding out about the two Aratas switching, whether or not they know being indicated in the original text by whether or not they're using the correct kanji/kana to address their respective Arata.
• Meaningful Name: Hinohara's first name, Arata, is spelled with the kaku kanji of kakumei and means revolution. Which is exactly what he brings about with his Hayagami.
• My God, What Have I Done?: After Kotoha manages to calm him down, Hinohara is horrified to learn that he lost control and not only turned Tsukuyo into a Demon, but that he caused Kotoha to get hurt.
• Non-Action Guy: He starts the story off as one.
• School Uniforms are the New Black: Hinohara continues to wear his school uniform in Amawakuni, even if it may not be the most practical attire for travelling. He sometimes puts on cloaks or is dressed in native clothes by others, but mostly wears his school uniform or sports attire.
• Your Universe or Mine?: Hinohara realizes that he'll eventually have to choose what to do, after he has rescued Himeou. He could remain in Amawakuni and become the Emperor or he could return to his old life in Japan.

Masato Kadowaki

Voiced by: Ryōhei Kimura

Kadowaki went to the same middleschool and track club as Hinohara, but started bullying him after Hinohara let him win a race. His bullying caused Hinohara to eventually change schools. The two meet again in highschool and Kadowaki resumes his bullying of Hinohara and tries to continue it when Hinohara and Arata change places.

Kadowaki eventually gets transported to Amawakuni, too, by switching places with the Six Shou Harunawa. There, the rest of the Six Shou tell him that he has been chosen to be Hinohara's adversary and he gains control over the Hayagami Orochi.

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• Abusive Parents/Parental Abandonment/Parental Neglect: Kadowaki’s mother left him, and his father focuses on work over paying attention to Masato's needs, hits him, and keeps calling him a quitter.
• Always Save the Girl: Falls into this as he gets closer to Miyabi.
• An Arm and a Leg: Both actually! His arm was tore off by Ameeno and it turned out that his legs were permanently damaged and steel rods were implanted to enable Kadowaki to move, but it prevent him to exercise agility.
• Ax-Crazy: Kadowaki absolutely enjoys having Shou to submit to him, even going so far as to torture them and indirectly cause Hinohara to suffer.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Bullying Hinohara all the while making lots of friends and doing great in school. But the facade doesn't last very long.
• Blatant Lies: Kadowaki spreads various rumors and "half lies" regarding Hinohara in school grounds. It works surprisingly well.
• The Chosen One: The Six Shou refer to him as the chosen one to defeat Hinohara and force him to submit his Hayagami to him.
• Defeat as Backstory: To think his role as the archenemy all started because of losing a middle school track meet...
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: When he realized that Hinohara slowed down in a race and let Kadowaki win, he yelled at Hinohara for doing so and said the trope. He also hates being pitied, in general.
• Evil Former Friend: He and Hinohara were good friends in middleschool, until Kadowaki blew his gasket and began to bully him.
• Evil Gloating: He loves doing it.
• Evil Is Petty: Kadowaki targeted Hinohara because of his own loneliness and feeling betrayed when he thought Hinohara was looking down on him. Its pettiness really comes out when the full extent of his bullying is shown in later chapters.
• Eye Scream: :One of his eyes gets stabbed out by Akachi's Okoro.
• Freudian Excuse: His mother left the family, leading to his father physically and verbally abusing him. It's also revealed that his legs were broke before the series started which steel rods were implanted to it, but the damage were permanent which means he cannot run anymore.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: From a regular bully to one of the feared Six Shou.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Miyabi has been on the receiving end of his temper a few times because of her clueless nature.
• Handicapped Badass: Kadowaki keeps facing all the misfortunes in this trope, but still capable of fighting and manage to handle his missing limbs, particularly when using Munakata's arm replacement to wield his Hayagami which he manages it.
• Lack of Empathy: Kadowaki does not care about anyone's wants or needs, except his own.
• Magical Eye: His right eye gives him the power to not succumb to Yataka's illusions and he can predict people's movements.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: He is the only one who is allowed to defeat Hinohara in any sense of the word!
• Pet the Dog: He shows kinder moments later on towards Miyabi, Munakata and Kanate, who have become friends and mentors.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Started bullying Hinohara because he took pity on Kadowaki. The bullying became so bad it forced Hinohara to change school.
• School Uniforms are the New Black: Kadowaki continues to wear his school uniform upon being transported into Amawakuni himself, stating that any provided clothes would be nothing but 'cosplay'. After thinking about it and realizing that he has no real place in the other world anymore, he has his clothes and other possessions burned, before donning some Amawakunian clothes.
• The Sociopath: He is this, plain and simple. He only cares about making himself look good, better than Hinohara and has no qualms about killing or using people to his advantages. And when things don't go his way, he complains about never having been loved by daddy.
• Tritagonist: Arguably the tritagonist after the Aratas. Himezuko Arata's screen-time decrease could indicate Kadowaki getting an upgrade to deuteragonist.

Imina Oribe

Oribe is a fellow schoolmate of Hinohara's and was among the crowd of onlookers when he apprehended the groper. Contrary to everyone else, she can see Arata as himself and wonders where the real Hinohara has been taken to. She strikes up conversation with Arata about this and learns about Amawakuni and how people end up switching places through the Kando Forest.

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• Badass Normal: Starts off as one, until her Amatsuriki powers work.
• Badass Unintentional: She managed to save Arata's ass a few times on accident.
• Born in the Wrong Century: Oribe confesses to Arata that she always felt like this. Justified, she is originally from Amawakuni.
• Foreshadowing: Oribe being originally from Amawakuni is foreshadowed by the fact that she seems to have an unnatural haircolor.
• Identical Stranger: It's stated several times that she and Kotoha look remarkably similar.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Arata tells Oribe that Harunawa's attack merely knocked her grandfather out. She does find out soon after, though.
• My Greatest Failure: When she learns that her grandfather did die during Harunawa's demonic transformation, along with six other people, Oribe considers herself a failure and wonders if she could have saved them, had she had control over her Amatsuriki earlier.
• Only Sane Woman: Oribe is quick to pick up on things, like seeing Arata as the way he actually is when others are simply thinking that Hinohara is having a 'mental episode'. It has to do with her being from Amawakuni, too.
• Parental Abandonment: Her mother started to ignore her as some point during early childhood. It turns out to be that her mother realized that Oribe was not 'her child' when they stumbled into the place that connected Earth with Amawakuni and a switch occured.
• The Reveal: Oribe is actually part of Amawakuni and a member of the Himezoku, which is destined to succeed Himeou. She was sent away to keep her safe.
• This Is My Chair: Oribe claims that the water tower on the roof of the school is her 'reserved seat'. But she will give Arata permission to sit on it.

From Amawakuni:

Team Hinohara

Arata of the Himezoku

Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto

Arata belongs to the Himezoku, the family whose maidens succeed to the position of Himeou in Amawakuni. But no maiden has been born into the Himezoku for the past years and the festival for the succession of Himeou is approaching, so Arata's grandmother tells him to crossdress for the festival. During the festival, Kannagi injures Kikuri-himeou fatally and made Arata out to be the culprit, when he realized Arata's gender. On the run from the authorities, Arata heads into the Kando Forest and switches with Hinohara Arata from Japan.

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• Close-Call Haircut: His ponytail gets cut when dodging Harunawa's Bakuto on Kikoku Island.
• Decoy Protagonist: The debut cover portrays this Arata to be the main protagonist and the first chapter also focuses heavily on him. It quickly becomes clear that Arata Hinohara is the actual protagonist.
• Disguised in Drag: Arata had to dress up as a girl for the ceremony, pretending to be a woman of his clan.
• Oblivious to Love: He really isn't good with it. Even when Hinohara rather unsubtlely asks him what he thinks of Kotoha, he doesn't get the implication.
• Strong Family Resemblance: His grandmother says that Arata looks a lot like she did, when she was younger. She says so, at least. Kikuri says someting similar, when she meets Arata, too.
• Wholesome Crossdresser: His grandmother, Kotoha and Kikuri all mention how pretty Arata is while in a dress; though Kotoha and his grandmother are quite aware that he's crossdressing.
• Your Days Are Numbered: Harunawa's Hayagami strikes Arata's arm and leaves a rope mark on it; the rope mark will eventually cover his entire body, killing him. It disappears when Oribe manages to use her Amatsuriki power properly.

Kotoha of the Unemezoku

Voiced by: Ayahi Takagaki

Kotoha has grown up alongside Arata and became his personal Uneme. She loves Arata, but never told him because she knew how he thought about her. When Arata runs into the Kando Forest and switches places with Hinohara, she believes him to be the same and promises to stay by his side. After learning the truth, Kotoha still chooses to stay with Hinohara and help him however she can.

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• Anguished Declaration of Love: From Kotoha to Hinohara, when she is in the form of a child. When she was turned into a little child, she desperately tries to make Hinohara understand that she loves him and says as much. Once things go back to normal, she backtracks and says it was a joke, claiming what she meant was encompassing love.
  • She also does this when she thought Hinohara was going to leave her behind - He realizes later that she's actually in love with Amawakuni!Arata and due to the magic of the Kando Forest, she thinks that Hinohara is her Arata. She continues with the declarations until she finds out the truth.
• Cooldown Hug: Hinohara began to lose control when he's first confronted with Kadowaki in Amawakuni and turns Tsukuyo into a Demon, but Kotoha grabbed his arm and begged him to stop, insisting that he is a gentle person.
• Damsel in Distress: Kotoha needs to be rescued. A lot.
• Japanese Honorifics: She uses Arata-sama, as a sign of respect and being his personal Uneme and called Hinohara this for a while, when she thought he was the same Arata. When she learned the truth, she chose to use Hinohara's first name and simply calls him Arata.
• Ms. Fanservice: From her cute apperance that shows off skin, to having her don various clothes - including a sexy outfit through the power of Hayagami Sarae - and said clothes being ripped, she's there for the eyecandy.
• Oblivious to Love: Kotoha doesn't understand why Hinohara is so nice to her, even when he tells her that he's happy when she's happy.
• Patient Childhood Love Interest: Towards Arata, thinking he might reciprocate her feelings.
• Satellite Character: She comes across as this because she is often overshadowed by more powerful female characters and mostly serves the role as the chick of the group and love interest.
• "Shut Up" Kiss: When Hinohara snaps at her for following him and how dangerous it is, she kisses him and insists on coming along.
• The Medic: Women of the Uneme family have the power to heal other people's injuries, but can't heal their own.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: When it's revealed that the Emperor of Hinowa and carrier of Tsukuyo is destined to have a woman by his side, Kotoha becomes increasingly convinced that Mikusa is the one meant for Hinohara.

Mikusa

Mikusa belongs to the Himezoku and has been searching with her Uneme, Rami, for the Emperor of Hinowa. Upon finding Hinohara and his Hayagami, Tsukuyo, Mikusa decides to follow him on his journey.

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• Bifauxnen: She looks very boyish when first introduced and most take her for a guy, at first. When it is revealed that she's a girl, her overall boyish exterior remains. Until she decides that she wants to live as a girl and a Himezoku maiden from now on and begins to wear feminine and slightly revealing clothes, making her look as female as she actually is.
• Damsel in Distress: Becomes one when she is kidnapped by Isora.
• Happily Adopted: She was taken in by the chief of the Himezoku tribe.
• Ms. Fanservice: Once she is more open about being a woman, she gets a lot more fanservicey moments.
• Raised as the Opposite Gender: Mikusa was raised as a boy, because the daughters of the Himezoku tribe were being slaughtered and doing this kept her safe.
• Samus Is a Girl: Mikusa is actually a girl and a Himezoku maiden.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: Mikusa is quite pretty, when she does decide to look a bit more feminine.
• Tragic Keepsake: Mikusa eventually wears the deceased Rami's headdress, as a way to remember them by and have their spirit watch over her progress.
• Women Are Wiser: Mikusa is quick-tempered, but tends to use her head more often than the more hot-headed members like Kannagi and Yataka.

Rami

Rami is part of the Unemezoku, just like Kotoha, and loyally follows Mikusa all over the place.
She's infatuated with Mikusa and becomes fierce towards anyone who may harm her.

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• Dork Knight: The only time this girl fights is when someone talks bad about Mikusa and then she's prepared to go to war to protect Mikusa's honor.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Don't insult Mikusa or you'll regret it.
• Plucky Girl: She's rarely seen to be sad.
• Stripperiffic: Most of her clothes show a lot of skin on the front and especially on the side.
• Takingthe Bullet: Rami was killed like this to save Mikusa.

Hiruha

Kikuri-Himeou

Voiced by: Hibiku Yamamura

The current princess to govern over Amawakuni.
During the festival to hand her position over to her successor, Kannagi injured her and she was believed to be dead. Kikuri managed to survive and encase herself into a cocoon that stops her injury from getting worse and actually turning fatal. She begs Hinohara to bring all the Hayagami together in Tsukuyo and make it to the capitol to save her.

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• Beauty Equals Goodness: Yataka's weapon shows what a person's "true appearance" is; he was surprised to see Himeou as a beautiful young woman when he used his Hayagami on her. It is one of the reasons why he fell for her is her pure heart.
• Married to the Job: She had a chance to abdicate her position as Himeou and live happily with Yataka, but when she learned what a brief absence of hers has caused to Amawakuni, she decided to put her duty over her personal happiness.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Kikuri instantly regret her decision to elope from her capital and be with Yakata when she found out that the people were massacre at Muroya and all of this happened when she neglected her duty as a Himeou.
• Older Than They Look: She looks like a preteen, but is actually close to 70 years old.
• Timed Mission/Your Days Are Numbered: Hinohara must save Himeou before the talisman he and Arata are wearing has gone completely dark.

Team Kadowaki

Munakata

• Cryforthe Devil: In flashbacks, and right before he dies, he is shown crying over Harunawa's transformation into a serial killer. He also cries after realizing Mumei was the one controlling his son.
• Father to His Men: How he looks at his group who are much younger and inexperienced than him.
• Gentlemananda Scholar: Serves as a father figure in Kadowaki's party and is always calm and informative in educating his young audience.
• Heroic Sacrifice: To save Kadowaki and his son Harunawa, his final action is to destroy the device keeping Harunawa under Mumei's control.
• Papa Wolf: Will go to great lengths to protect Kadowaki And his own son Harunawa

Kanate

Voiced by: Junko Minagawa

Kanate was thrown into Gatoya, the infamous prison called 'Hell On The Other Side Of The Earth' by Amawakunians. He took on the role of a big brother for Ginchi, when his father was killed and lost sight of his mother, promising to protect him until the two meet again. He gave Hinohara and Kotoha a way to escape Gatoya's isolated location.

He joins them and planned to go along with them to the capitol and save Himeou, but he eventually leaves.

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• Always Someone Better: Kanate gradually feels under performed in comparison towards Hinohara. That's what leads him to develop a bond with Kadowaki.
• Badass Normal: And he hates it!
• The Bus Came Back: Kanate re-appears after some time and gains the power of a Hayagami, along with a new look.
• Dork Knight
• Green-Eyed Monster: Kanate is a decent fighter on his own, but grows resentful of Hinohara and Kannagi having the power of a Hayagami behind them. On a Played for Laughs side, he is easily jealous towards Hinohara getting along with Kotoha, whom he has a crush on.

• I Did What I Had to Do: He rectifies his killing of his tribe, including his father and brothers, as this.
• Sidekick: Used to be one for Hinohara, but as Kannagi gradually aids Hinohara more thoroughly, the more Kanate feels unneeded. Therefore, he switched over in favor of aiding Kadowaki.
• Put on a Bus: Kanate disappears for a few chapters after killing his tribe.

Miyabi

Voiced by: Kaori Fukuhara

Miyabi is a new maid that was assigned to Harunawa on the day that he and Kadowaki switched places.
She's clueless and tends to say things that make Kadowaki mad.

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• Damsel in Distress: Kadowaki has to rescue her numerous times due to her klutzy nature.
• Females Are More Innocent: Her naivete often triggers Kadowaki's homicidal tendencies since she often states what he doesn't want to hear but her innocent and kind nature have caused Kadowaki to become fiercely protective of sorts towards her.

The Twelve Shinshou

The Five Heavenly Shinshou

Kannagi

Voiced by: Yuki Ono

Kannagi wields the Hayagami of Fire, Homura. He was the one to attack and fatally injure Kikuri-himeou during the festival on behalf of Yataka's orders. He planned to kill Arata, too, but decided to use him as a scapegoat when he realized that Arata was a man.

When Hinohara switches places with Arata, Kannagi was intent on having him get convicted for killing Himeou, but became interested in him when he saw that Hinohara had become the Shou of Tsukuyo. He wanted to take Tsukuyo into his control, though has failed to do so. Kannagi's Zokushou get killed by Akachi as part of his revenge and Homura was taken away from Kannagi.

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• Affably Evil: He's initially presented as an antagonist and chases after Hinohara, but eventually agrees to an alliance out of opportunity, before fully being a good guy.
• Always Save the Girl: Inverted, he was only going to save Emisu, but failed at that.
• Big Brother Mentor: Becomes this to the younger members of the group.
• Brought Down to Normal: Akachi takes Homura away from him early on, leaving Kannagi without it for quite some time.
• Hot-Blooded: Easily the most hot-tempered out of all the group.
• Heel–Face Turn: From antagonist that started off the plot to a valid member of Hinohara's group.
• Keeping the Enemy Close: His initial reason for sticking with Hinohara.
• Kill It with Fire: His Hayagami, Homura, uses fire as its attack.
• Minor Injury Overreaction: Kannagi was going to ignore Kugura's Zokushou, but then his wind made a tiny cut on his cheek! He proceeded to beat the living daylights out of him.
• Mr. Fanservice: The poster boy of the manga. He has no qualms about showing off his muscles. Or more.
• My Greatest Failure: Being unable to save Emisu from the fire that killed her. Turns out he also considers having been unable to finish his escape with Akachi, as well as being unable to really make Emisu happy, to be something he can't forgive himself for.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Pulls one on Akachi, when he killed all of his subordinates.
• Scars Are Forever: He has burn scars on his right shoulder, although his Hayagami gives him immunity to be burned by fire. The scars come from when he wanted to save Emisu out of the fire, before he had obtained his Hayagami.

Yataka

Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano

Yataka owns the Hayagami Zekuu and was the one who came up with the plan to kill Kikuri-himeou and unlock the seal on their Hayagami. He has an intense dislike for dirt, vulgarity and is dead-set on being a true gentleman and expects his Zokushou to follow those ideales, too. He was intent on getting Hinohara to submit to him and prevent rescuing Kikuri-himeou, but Hinohara managed to come out on top. Yataka wanted to submit, but it failed and so he decides to join Hinohara.

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• Benevolent Boss: He is well-liked by his Zokushou and genuinely cares for them, even letting the newlyweds, Maruka and Okima, have their alone time.
• Death Seeker: Yataka planned to commit suicide, had Kikuri-himeou's assassination gone off smoothly.
• Fanservice: Not to the same extent as Kannagi but he gets stripped nearly nude during several fight scenes.
• The First Cut Is the Deepest: Yataka fell in love with Kikuri, but his heart broke when he thought that she had merely used him. He learned that she was merely putting her duty as Himeou over her personal happiness and Yataka still loves her, despite 50 years having passed.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Put him anywhere near Kannagi and the stoic looks for any chance to argue.
• Men Are Childish: While he is usually the most levelheaded member of the party after joining he is still prone to petty arguments with Kannagi over who is the more superior fighter.
• The Mirror Shows Your True Self: His Hayagami, Zekuu, can use Utsuo no Kagami (Mirror of the Heavens) to see the 'true self' within a person and even turn them into said image.
• Neat Freak: Yataka detest anything being filthy to the point he assigned janitors to clean his territory literally and expect his Zokushous to follow it as well.
• The Stoic: Inverted. He appears to be this until his comical moments include arguments with Kannagi, his senior, and fear of dirty things.

Akachi

Voiced by: Tatsuhisa Suzuki

The Shou and ruler of the Haniyasu territory.
Akachi is the first to make his play at the spot of Emperor in the war for its position and forces Kannagi's Zokushou to submit to his Hayagami, Okoro. He seems to have a personal vendetta against Kannagi.

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• Arc Number: 50 feet, for him. His subordinates must keep a distance of 50 feet to Okoro when he summons it. He also fights Kannagi in a makeshift arena that is 50 feet in diameter. All of it stems back to his days as a slave, when his shackles only allowed him to walk within 50 feet of the shackles' source.
• Attempted Rape: When some men tried to rape his sister, Emisu, Akachi went after them. His slave shackles prevented him from getting close enough; Kannagi stopped them in his place.
• Always Save the Girl: Inverted, with only wanting to protect his sister, Emisu.
• Benevolent Boss: All around very caring toward his Zokushou.
• Brother–Sister Incest: Kannagi states that he harbor feelings for Emisu despite being his half-sister.
• Big Brother Mentor: He was this towards Kannagi, until he learned that Emisu was dead and that Kannagi lied about who was the actual owner of them as slaves]]
• Dishing Out Dirt
• Cool Mask: He hides his face behind one for a while, before eventually tossing it.
• Evil Former Friend: Kannagi and he were on friendly terms, even if Akachi was a slave and beneath Kannagi. Things went really downhill between them when he heard Emisu was dead.
• Go On Without Me/Heroic Sacrifice: Akachi threw Kannagi into the stone elevator with Emisu, allowing the two to escape. He remained behind, to buy them time.
• Kick the Dog: Massacre Kannagi's entire routine of servants and soldiers after his Zokushou submitted, even went far to slaughter a pregnant wife's unborn child.
• Knight Templar Big Brother: Nobody touches his sister, Emisu! Whoever does, prepare to be killed by Akachi.
• Lightning Bruiser: His Hayagami was mentioned to be very heavy, but that doesn't Akachi from being one of the most skilled and strongest Shinshou, and said to out-speed his opponents.
• Pet the Dog: Took care of a girl who coincidentally reminiscent young Emisu when he found her injured.
• Scars Are Forever: His face and body are covered in scars. Some came from the abuse he got as a slave.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: Akachi and Emisu. Both became separated from each other when Kanngi brought them as slaves, and cannot physically interacted being distance from 50 feet. Akachi sacrificed himself for Emisu to find happiness with Kannagi, but upon back to being alive Emisu was dead. Furthermore, both were half-siblings, and while Emisu was't unaware that she's related to Akachi, that doesn't stop Akachi from having feelings toward her which he noted this is also an excuse as to why both cannot be together.
• Taking the Bullet: When a sickle was thrown at Emisu, Akachi threw himself in front of her and got hit by it instead.
• Together in Death: When he submits to Kannagi's Homura, he manages to reunite with Emisu after 132 years of being separated.
• Would Hit a Girl: Akachi was no problem with killing the pregnant wife of Kannagi's subordinate as an act of revenge.

Yorunami

Voiced by: Soichiro Hoshi

A beautiful young man that reigns over the Mitsuhame territory and wields the water Hayagami, Nakisawa.
He can control the weather and observe whatever is happening in his territory through the clouds. Yorunami watches Arata as he approaches his palace and is ready to fight him for the position of Emperor.

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• Benevolent Boss: Was actually this until the plotting of Himeou is where Yorunami becomes intolerably strict.
• The Dog Bites Back: After months of putting up Yorunami's abuses, the majority of his Zokushou ends up cheering on Arata to defeat Yorunami.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: He went so far as to dress similarly to his mother as a sign of respect.
• Improbable Weapon User: His Hayagami, Nakisawa, is in the shape of a knife. However, he uses it in a shape that turns it fan-like to attack.
• Making a Splash: All attacks from his Hayagami are water-based.
• Mommy Issues: The root of his problems lies in his complex relationship with his mother.
• Mummies at the Dinner Table: He has a mannequin out of water dressed in his deceased mother's clothes and refers to her as mother.
• Sissy Villain: His reason for being 'evil' compared to the others is rather weak.
• Tough Love: This was his mother's stance. She knew that her son would become one of the shishou and that his life would not be easy, so she purposefully was cold and demanding of him, to toughen him up.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Yorunami often made trinkets for his mother to garner affection.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: He desperately craved his mother's acceptance.

Kugura

Voiced by: Go Inoue

Kugura rules over the Kasefuno territory and wields the Hayagami Tsunado. He spends his days in his palace protected by a wind barrier and collects the various women to be part of his harem. He has to to meet one that he really likes.

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• Age-Appropriate Angst: Kagura's true form as a child is the source of his angst and frustration.
• Always Someone Better: Seccretly feels very jealous toward his Zokushou Eto for being more experience than him.
• Blow You Away: His Hayagami's elemental affinity is wind.
• The Casanova: Subverted. He came off as this to the public reception as he ordered every daughter (some his Zokushou kidnapped) to be taken a tribute for his harem. However, this is more to do with Kagura seeking for love and affection from his tribute women to fulfill his loneliness, not necessarily for sexual reasons.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Kugura has no memories of his past. He took up the Hayagami Tsunado when he accidentally came across it and instinctively used it to fight back when his family was being massacred by another territory, injuring himself and his big brother, Eto. The injuries sustained and shock led to him repressing everything.
• Older Than They Look: He stopped aging when he became the Shou of Tsunado.
• Shapeshifter Default Form: Kugura's actual appearance is that of a young boy, but he hates it. He prefers to be seen either in the form of a huge, armored knight to intimidate his opponents or makes himself look like an adult version of his true form. Much to his dismay, the last has a time-limit to it.
• Tragic Keepsake: An earring-ornament that was given to him by Eto, said to have been important to Kugura's parents. Eto has an identical one, revealing that the two of them are brothers.

The Six Shinshou

Harunawa

Voiced by: Akira Ishida

Harunawa rules over the Yamata territory and owns the Hayagami Bakuto.
He was chosen by the other Six Shinshou to head into the Kando Forest and he was brought to earth in exchange for Kadowaki.

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• And I Must Scream: Harunawa breaks down crying upon his father's sacrifice by destroying Mumei's device keeping Harunawa under control. Without Mumei's influence his hayagami starts encircling him and he is shown screaming as he dies.
• Ax-Crazy: This guy possibly has the highest kill count among the Six Shou.
• The Big Bad Shuffle: Harunawa is seen responding to an unknown source as his boss.
• Big Bad Ensemble: Part of an extremely powerful group that is composed of members with different agendas.
• Black Cloak
• Blood Bath Villain Origin
• Daddy's Little Villain: Subverted. Munakata wants to save his son and was shown in despair when he was shown the monster Harunawa had become with Mumei's influence.
• Evil Gloating
• Fanservice
• Foil: This guy is a foil to three characters. From the elemental shinshou's he is Kannagi's. The two are often chosen to accomplish someone else's dirty work. He serves as a painful reminder to his father of his inability to save Harunawa similarly to Kannagi's regrets over Emisu's passing. However, Harunawa did not care his father's opinion of his maliciousness until he was freed from Mumei's control. Kannagi wishes for Emisu to know of his regret. They're both smug when it comes to thinking themselves superior to their peers. However, Kannagi is quite expressive and sarcastic in a humorous way personality-wise. Harunawa has a dark sense of humor and shows the barest hints of personality- mostly cruel and condescending in a noncomedic way- whenever he's not following his master's orders.
  • He's a foil to Arata of the Himezoku. Arata is kind and wants to save people, responds to people based on how they approach him since he is clueless about present society (Suguru was kind so Arata treated him as a friend, while Kadowaki was aggressive earning Arata's ire), and acts like a fish out of water when he comes out of the portal into Japan. Harunawa is fine with slaughtering people and was able to easily blend in with classmates since he is manipulative by nature.
    • Masato Kadowaki is his main foil when it comes to personality. The two have no problem sacrificing others to accomplish a goal and seem to enjoy inflicting opponents with extreme cruelty. The two are smug in nature when interacting with people they consider inferior. They both will attack people in their most vulnerable state and possess weapons created to cause their opponent to suffer in extreme pain before dying/submitting. They both share problematic relationships with their fathers. The two are even shown anguishing upon learning their fathers die within the span of a few hours thanks to Mumei's influence. There's a reason Harunawa was Shou chosen to trade places with Kadowaki since they're practically the same person. However, Kadowaki starts to show remorse for his actions as the story goes on unlike Harunawa whose callousness increases throughtou the story.
• The Heavy: Shares this with Shimu.
• Hidden Agenda Villain:
• Monster Misogyny: Harunawa is also sent to Earth on a mission to find the last living female candidate for Himeou and had no problem trying to kill any female that proved to be a successor.
• Multiversal Conqueror: Only because Mumei is ordering it though. He was not originally from Earth and just appears to be following orders instead of having a vendetta.
• Sadists
• Stalker with a Crush: Subverted. He's only after Oribe to eliminate her as the only remaining Himezoku who avoid his genocide several years ago.
• Tattooed Crook: Harunawa has tatoos on his cheek, arms and across his back. And every person he kills with Bakuto earns him another tattoo.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Munakata's memories show a dark-haired Harunawa who appears to be a gentler person compared to his current self.
• Would Hit a Girl: He doesn't care about the gender of his victims. Especially since one of his duties is to find the last Himezoku maiden and kill her.

Isora

Isora wields the Hayagami Kohaku. He doesn't speak himself, but communicates by having his words appear in writing mid-air. His power of speech and language allows him to manipulate other people or put curses onto them.

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• And I Must Scream: Isora lost his voice when his tongue was pulled out using a searingly hot iron during the Spanish Inquisition.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: He suffered this for a long time. Isora was beaten and injured by his captures, thrown into the river multiple times to test him as a witch and his tongue was pulled out with a red-hot iron tool.
• Cool Mask: A small mask that covers his mouth and its burn scars.
• Foil: Not noticeable at first glance but his foil is Yataka, the two found out their family were disgusting human beings when their "figurative masks" came off. Their reactions to this reveal was different. Isora sold out his family while Yataka refused to have further contact with his family.
• Freudian Excuse: Was tortured during the witch hunt that he wants to return and punish everyone who wronged him.
• Hypocrite: Probably the biggest in the series. Isora hates people who would betray their allies due to a very strong Freudian Excuse, but betrays Kikitsune and actually sold out his entire family to the Inquisition after being tortured.
• Humans Are Bastards: Isora's philosophy is that humans are naturally inclined to betray others in order selfishly save themselves regardless how much they loved them. This turned out to be a defense mechanism for Isora to denied that what did was wrong as he incidentally sold his family to the inquisition after being tortured.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Isora's continued torture, betrayal from a friend and abandonment from family caused him to admit to being a witch and betray his family by stating that they, too, are all witches.

• Salem Is Witch Country: Averted, as it doesn't take place in Salem, but refers to the European witch hunts of the middle ages.
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: The guy cannot talk but he is able to use telepathy to break his victims.
• Trapped in Another World: Isora comes from Earth, implied to have been from the middle ages. He was branded as a witch by a supposed friend and the pope went along with it to gain the land assets Isora was going to inherit. Isora was tortured, his tongue pulled out and tested as a witch multiple times, with one of the drowning attempts leading him to be sent to Amawakuni.
• Villainous Breakdown: Has this when Kadowaki rescues Hinohara from his torture chamber. The tipping of the iceberg is where Kadowaki exposes Isora's patterns of forcing people to betray in order to cement his beliefs (see above).
• Villainous Friendship: Too bad Isora does not feel quite as strongly about about his friendship with Kikutsune to rescue him from Kadowaki.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: When he realizes Kikutsune has lost the battle he quickly abandons him.

Kikutsune

Voiced by: Hibiku Yamamura

Kikutsune rules over the Tsuguchi region and wields the Hayagami Kisaru, which allows him to manipulate sound. He forces loyalty from his Zokushou by using his Kamui to take their eardrums, leaving them deaf and has forbidden music to be played and instruments to be owned in his territory.

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• 0% Approval Rating: Established a harsh ban on music, removed all of his people's eardrums, and sent violent music to torture them ocassionally. By the time he was defeated, all of the citizens wanted him dead.
• Ax-Crazy: Very much so in the Remastered edition.
• Beware the Silly Ones: Kikutsune's more comedic moments make him come across as a loud, rambunctious teenager that could get along well with everyone else. However, it turns out he's the most sadistic and Ax-Crazy out of the Six Shou along with Harunawa.
• Big Bad Ensemble: Part of an extremely powerful group that is composed of members with different agendas.
• Deaf Composer: Kikutsune suffers from his loss of hearing back in Earth, but this didn't stop from becoming the Shou of Kisaru and attempting to compose some melody through whistling.
• Evil Gloating: Kikutsune is quick to boast of his superior skills upon meeting the group and gloating Hinohara's dead friends to his face.
• Fed to the Beast: This was supposed to be his fate back in ancient Rome, but then Vesuvius erupted and he fell into a crater and landed in Amawakuni.
• Foil: Kikutsune is this to Kagura in terms of their comical moments and they are both dark-skinned. Though Kikutsune's personality had a dark side to it.
• Freudian Excuse: He wants to go back to Earth to destroy it after he lost his hearing and was sentenced to death.
• Hope Spot: After Hinohara defeats the Kimon inside of him Kikutsune learns that the purified Hayagami of his could restore his eardrums and allow him to hear again]]. Seconds after learning that Kadowaki appears and forcefully submits Kikutsune and his Hayagami by absorbing them into Orochi]].
• Mind-Control Music: He whistles to wrestle control over Hiruha and the people of Muroya in the original.
• Mr. Fanservice: There's a chapter of him sleeping in bed and walking out shirtless.

• Pitiful Worms: Frequently loves to refer people as insects or vermins.
• Sense Loss Sadness: His Kamui can 'steal eardrums' from people, leaving them deaf. It turns out that Kikutsune is deaf, too, after thugs beat him so badly that they burst his eardrums. As a musician, he was horrified to realize that he couldn't hear anymore.
• Trapped in Another World: It turns out that Kikutsune was originally from Earth, just like Hinohara and Kadowaki. He lived around the time of Ancient Rome and was an aristocratic musician. When a rival musician set thugs onto him and they destroyed Kikutsune's eardrums, Kikutsune took revenge by killing said rival and was going to be put to death for the crime]
• Villainous Breakdown: Upon losing to Hinohara he pleads for Isora to come rescue him.
• Villainous Friendship: Considers Isora his best friend because their respective 'defects' mean that they are the only ones that can properly communicate with the other. Unfortunately, Isora doesn't hold their friendship on the same pedestal.

Ikisu

The ruler of the Iyo territory and wielder of the Hayagami Nouga. Ikisu has control over scents, which allow him to remove the scent of things and to manipulate people with them.

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• Abusive Parents: His parents abandoned him as a young child and while no information is provided on his father his mother is shown as neglectful and possibly self-absorbed as she's shown refusing Ikisu because he's "a smelly child".
• Agent Peacock: Despite his feminine appearance he is shown to be a somewhat decent fighter though he tends to be lazy and prefers to let his scents do the world while he sits back and watches.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Almost all of the Twelve Shinshou have some form of a tragic backstory but Ikisu seems to have a rough start since the day he was born. He was possibly abandoned by his parents to live on the street where he grew up being abused by an unidentified male guardian daily and having to beg on the streets for money. When he finally grew desperate enough as a teenager to seek some form of comfort from his mother she kicks him to the streets refusing him. The guy has severe PTSD and developed a split personality to deal with the past trauma. Yeah, he had a pretty bad life back on Earth.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: Ikisu has an abusive mother when he was young, developed mommy issues over her and gain severe PTSD to the point he suffered dissociative identity disorder. Are we sure that the author draws some inspiration from Hitchcock's Psycho?
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: Ikisu can easily be mistaken for a woman, at first.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Unlike Yorunami's case, his mother really didn't care for Ikisu at all.
• Foil: Ikisu share some similarities with Yorunami: both have a effeminate appearance who dresses like their mother, both have mommy issues, and both are easily trigger. The only core difference between them is that Yorunami is more mentally stable and had a mother who did loved him.
• Even the Guys Want Him: Averted, Kadowaki mocks Ikisu for his girly appearance and asks him if he's trying to get picked up by Kadowaki. Nothing is mentioned on Ikisu's sexuality and he's indifferent to Kadowaki's taunts.
• Fiery Redhead: Portrayed with red hair in anime, his hair has more pink tones in manga.
• Freudian Excuse: After living a crappy life back in France he wants to return and destroy the world.
• Gender Bender: When Ikisu started dressing as a woman is unknown but he only appears in this form (and using a woman's body through his scents) in Amawakuni. It appears he started acting as a woman once his mother neglected him.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Ikisu can go from looking serene and calm to enraged in seconds.
• Japanese Pronouns: Ikisu generally uses Watakushi, a very formal and female way of referring to oneself. He does switch to Boku at times.
• Living Emotional Crutch: His mother, Mathilde, is this to Ikisu despite what she did to him. Ikisu has to mimic his appearance and behavior like his mother to hide his vulnerable side.

• Sense Loss Sadness: Ikisu removed the scent of things in his town, but not the people's sense of smell.
• Split Personality: Ikisu himself and then his 'Mathilde' personality, seeking comfort and support in each other.
• Trapped in Another World: Ikisu comes from France. He was a poor boy and took on the lowest of jobs to make money, like chimney sweeping and selling things on the streets, hating the dark, smelly places it took him to. Ikisu wanted to seek comfort from Mathilde, his mother, but was rejected by her.
• Villainous Breakdown: Ikisu suffered a heavy mental breakdown after Ameeno beat him into submitting him.
• Youthful Freckles: Had freckles as a kid and teenager, he possibly concealed them through cosmetics.

Ameeno

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• Abusive Parent: He mistreated his son, Nasake, very emotionally and physically. Even went so far to literally took out Nasake's eyes from his eye sockets with his tongue in his demon form and ate them.
• Ax-Crazy: The most violent of the Six Shou.
• Badass Normal: He may have a Hayagami, but he doesn't even bother to use it. Ameeno is so strong, the only thing he used his Hayagami for was to turn into a demon when fighting against Ikisu and Shimu.

• Cool Shades: They cover his blind eyes.
• Foil: A parallel is drawn between him and Akachi: both of them were once a slave and were known to be very brutal in battle. But with Akachi, he still had a heart and a chance of feeling remorse for his actions. Ameeno is the complete opposite, since he rejoices in all the bloodshed he causes.
• Freudian Excuse: He was forced into slavery and shows resentment whenever someone brings up his painful past.
• I Will Tear Your Arms Off: Not Played for Laughs. He literally done this to Kadowaki with his barehand.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Big time for Ameeno. He betrayed Ikisu by destroying his country, beat him up horrifically, and tore off Kadowaki's arm. Later, his comrade Shimu betrayed Ameeno by nuking his country in a similar fashion and defeated him vice versa destroying not only both of his arms, but his legs too.

• Scary Black Man: He is intimidating in all sorts of manner, with his height and white tatoos on his dark skin being just part of it.
• Trapped in Another World: He came from the time of the 19th century when the European countries colonized Africa and Ameeno from a tribe who fought them and captured as a slave.

Shimu

The leader of the Six Shou and Kadowaki's mentor.

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• Arc Villain: Each of the shou is treated like this with the exception of Kannagi who never fully fulfills the role of villain.
• The Assimilator: Is the first of the Six Shou to offer Kadowaki a place as a Shou and even grants him ownership of the dark Hayagami.
• Big Bad Ensemble: Part of an extremely powerful group that is composed of members with different agendas.

• The Dragon: Turned out to be this. He followed Mumei who is the twelfth Shinshou.
• Foil: Seo, who guides Arata during his quest and offers advice whenever Arata is stuck in a rut. Shimu manipulates Kadowaki into coming to Himeou's realm to challenge Arata and provides Kadowaki with a hayagami the complete opposite of Arata's. Seo is kind and and cares about others, Shimu only cares about following his boss's orders and if someone gets in his way then casualties will happen. They have slight similarites in their looks and both appear to be men in their twenties and similar in height. However, Seo conveys different emotions and appears goofy in certain situations. Shimu barely shows emotion and has no sense of humor.

• Trapped in Another World: Shimu belong from during the time of World War II and heavily implies to been once a Holocaust victim since Hinoharara regonized that his weapon and military forces are somewhat unusually modern for Amawakuni standards.
• The Stoic: Very emotionless and compose for most of the time, even when he get into arguments with Kikutsune and Kadowaki.

The 12th Shinshou

Mumei

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• Greater-Scope Villain: Nothing is mentioned of this guy throughout the series and it's believed Shimu is the [[Big Bad]] until he shows respect to this kid. Harunawa is another direct accomplice of Mumei though it's uncertain if Shimu and Harunawa are aware they work for the same boss.
• Multiversal Conqueror: Possibly The Six Shou want to conquer the world they, along with Arata and Kadowaki, are originally from and this guy seems to be nurturing the ideas.