Characters / BlazBlue - Ragna the Bloodedge

Playable Characters: Calamity Trigger (Part 1 | Part 2) | Continuum Shift | ChronoPhantasma | Central Fiction
Others: Non-Player Characters | Remix Heart | Light Novel Characters | XBlaze (Code: Embryo | Lost: Memories) | Alternative: Dark War
Spin-offs: Cross Tag Battle (BlazBlue | Persona 4: Arena | Under Night In-Birth | RWBY)
Individual Characters: Ragna the Bloodedge | Jin Kisaragi | Noel Vermillion | Hazama | Yuuki Terumi

Ragna the Bloodedge (ラグナ＝ザ＝ブラッドエッジ)

The "Grim Reaper". Don't fear him.

Profile

• Height: 185cm (6'1")
• Weight: 78kg (172 lbs)
• Blood type: B
• Date of Birth: March 3
• Birthplace: Unknown
• Hobbies: Cooking (meat especially)
• Values: His silver bracelet
• Likes: Tentama udon
• Dislikes: Ghosts, the Novus Orbis Librarium

"I'll show you fear. There is no Hell. Just darkness."

"Take a good look. THIS is the Azure!"

Voiced by:
JP: Tomokazu Sugita, Rina Sato (young)
EN: Patrick Seitz, Caitlin Glass (young)

The protagonist of the series (well the C-series anyway). A rebel outlaw with a bad attitude, a short temper, and an axe to grind with the Librarium, the international government. After destroying a branch of the Library and having a colossal bounty put on his head, he sets out for the city of Kagutsuchi in order to destroy the last "Cauldron" and prevent the resurrection of the Black Beast. As the story goes, he becomes more heroic and uses his power towards protecting his loved ones.

He's Jin Kisaragi's older brother. Their rivalry stems from when they were younger, when Jin used to bully their sickly sister Saya. One day, Ragna noticed that the church the three of them lived in was set on fire. When he entered, he was ambushed by Terumi, who took over Jin's mind, cut Ragna's arm off, and left him to die inside the burning building. A combination of the trauma and the Azure being implanted in him caused one of his eyes to turn red and his hair to turn white. He was then taken in and trained by his master Jubei, who gave him his signature coat and sword, as well as the title of "Bloodedge."

His arcade playthroughs are named, in order of the game: The end of time, CONTINUUMSHIFT and nemesishorizon. His story playthroughs are named, in the first two games^note the third game stops giving each character story playthroughs and instead follows 3 general routes where you play as many kinds of characters: Grim Reaper and stray sheep.

His Drive ability, Soul Eater, drains his opponent's health, adding it to his own. He can also activate the Azure Grimoire in his right arm to strengthen this ability, at the expense of his own health. In Chronophantasma, his Overdrive is Blood Kain Idea, a former super move of his that grants him extra strength on his attacks and life-draining abilities. It used to drain his own life as well, but this is no longer the case in Chronophantasma. It also doubles the now-reduced damage of his Devoured by Darkness super.

His Exceed Accel (in BBCF), Seed of Tartarus, has him attack his foe with a chop of his sword. If it hits, he then turns his sword into a scythe and charges a powerful slash. His Astral Finish, Black Onslaught has him using the fullest might of the Azure Grimoire and turn his blade into a scythe as he proceeds to repeatedly slash his opponent with it, using Soul Eater to empower it. He then transforms into... something, and unleashes a final strike that completely erases the opponent from existence.

Warning! Late-Arrival Spoilers for Calamity Trigger, Continuum Shift, and Chronophantasma.

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# - B

• 11th-Hour Superpower: It seems to happen once per game, but in every True Ending of the series, Ragna will be forced to activate his Azure Grimoire to fight the respective game's final boss.
• '90s Anti-Hero: A rather unique subversion. He fulfills the general criteria: he has the dark and gritty name, a lethal powerset, an equally lethal weapon with names just as gritty as his own (Dead Spike, Hell's Fang, Blood-Scythe, Blood Kain, etc.), the bad attitude, is totally committed to whatever his current goal is (often to the point of getting him into some deep shit), and will beat down anyone who gets in the way of said goal. The subversion comes in that... Ragna is taken nowhere near as seriously as other examples. He commands almost no respect from the cast as they generally look down and make snide remarks toward him, most of the series' humor is at his expense, and despite his attitude, he's one of the kindest characters in the series and generally helps people for no benefit to himself. Really, he's a Jerk with a Heart of Gold masquerading as this trope. As noted above, Ragna eventually gets past this trope once he realizes that he never really accomplished anything by just attacking things head on and seeking out revenge, so he decided to focus on protecting the things that are precious to him. In doing so, he not only gains greater respect from his peers, but also becomes stronger for it.
• Accidental Marriage:
  • In Rachel's joke ending in the second game, Noel got a marriage certificate for the two of them and faked the seal. Too bad it was annulled by Nirvana. Who ripped up the contract and remotely detonated the civil administration building which had the copies.
  • In Rachel's joke ending in the third game, Kokonoe appears and wants to give Ragna a new left arm (his left arm is artificial as of the third game). Litchi points out that the left arm(s) that she brought has wedding rings pre-installed that can't be taken off.
• Adaptational Badass: Minor case in the second manga. He fights off the group of bounty hunters at the restaurant with Tao instead of running away from them like in the game.
• Afraid of Needles: If his Help Me, Professor Kokonoe's session is of any indication, he doesn't like injections.
• All Just a Dream: His joke ending in CS. As well as the abridged Continuum Shift's gag reel in CPEX.
• All There in the Manual: The name of his sword was never revealed in the games themselves. Instead, we learn that its name is Aramasa through merchandise and storyboards for BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle.
• Aloof Big Brother: During their childhood, he was this to Jin. Or at least, that's how Jin viewed him.
• Alternate Company Equivalent: Let's see... White-haired, red-and-black wearing Badass Longcoat, who's a snarky Dark Is Not Evil Anti-Hero with a compassionate side to him who wields a BFS one-handed, and has an antagonistic relationship with his brother who has a blue coat, a katana and fights using the quick-draw style AND is a Butt-Monkey of epic proportions. It's almost like Dante was split into two characters with Kagura getting the cocky, laidback charisma, reputation with the ladies, complete with shameless ways and general status as The Ace; with Ragna getting every other aspect from the Dark and Troubled Past right down to the general appearance and relationship with his brother. To nail the similarities even further, Aramasa basically functions exactly like Devil Sword Sparda: A BFS capable of transforming into spear and scythe.
• Always Save the Girl:
  • Saving the girl is an objective so utterly impossible to attain in Continuuum Shift in relation to Mu-12 that Takamagahara is DISTRACTED trying to observe Ragna doing it!
  • In Chrono Phantasma, it doesn't matter if it's the past or the present, Ragna is always opposed to the idea of using Celica to activate the Kushinada Lynchpin.
  • He takes this up a notch in Act 3 of Central Fiction. he chooses to protect Noel and the girl inside the Master Unit from the other Entitled and denying all of their desired worlds, even though he knows it will mean truly becoming the “enemy of the world”.
• Ambidextrous Sprite:
  • Canonically, he carries his sword in his left hand. ^note However in Chronophantasma he explicitly states himself to be right handed. In game-play, the sword always in the hand farthest from the camera. One of his Too Many Belts changes sides as well.
  • The character portrait for his younger self is a more noticeable example, as his eyes are larger and the shirt he wears is sleeveless. In flipped version of the portrait for when he's facing toward the left side of the screen, they try to avert the issue by making sure to keep the colors for his mismatched eyes in their correct positions. However, the bindings for his Grimoire still switch to the wrong arm.
  • Given a nod in the anime where he is ambidextrous.
• Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear exactly what happened to him at the end of Central Fiction and there are hints towards several different outcomes. He might have stayed with The Origin in the Master Unit, he might have been erased from the world entirely when he became "possibility" or he might still exist in the new world since his sword was taken from the grave in The Stinger.
• Ambiguously Human: Ragna's race is never defined. Several sources point out that he is an Artificial Human. There's also the fact that he's often mistaken for a Dhampyr. Interestingly, he actually seems to be aware of it.
  Ragna(to Noel/Mu): Just shut the hell up! So what if you're not human?! I'm just like you! God only knows whose soul this actually is! But it doesn't matter... I'm a person... a Human Being!
  • There's also the presence of a No.5 tattoo◊ on his chest, leading many to believe that he is either a male Murakumo unit or something similar.
  • The fourth game confirms what he is: He, along with Jin and Saya, is the "child" of the 5th Prime Field Device, making him a natural son of an artificial human.
• An Arm and a Leg: Part of his Dark and Troubled Past is him losing his right arm, which is then replaced by the Azure Grimoire. Then in CS, he lost his other arm in his struggle to save Mu-12. Fortunately Kokonoe gives him a new arm after that.
• And Then John Was a Zombie: In general, most of the time loops in the first game always involve him turning into a Black Beast.
  • In his CS bad ending, the Azure Grimoire overpowers him and transforms him into a new Black Beast.
  • This actually came to pass in Chrono Phantasma's True Ending, where Nu stabs him and Izanami forces his latent power to awaken.
• Animal Motifs: Dogs. He's called a "little puppy" by Terumi and is compared to a stray dog by Luna. Rachel sometimes even refers to him as a mutt. Perhaps a better way to describe Ragna would be to refer to him as an "underdog" of sorts. Another, more appropriate motif of his would be the Black Beast itself.
• Anime Hair: His hair is seemingly unaffected by the laws of gravity. He even has it as a kid.
• Anti Anti Christ: CS reveals that his destiny is to be the Destroyer of the World, though he's made a vow to become the Protector of the Azure instead. By the end of CF he has saved the world from destruction.
• Anti-Hero: Ragna is a good person at heart, but he has a really bad attitude problem and tends to take his frustrations out on other people most of the time. He's basically a terrorist fighting against an established government and mowing down anyone who gets in his way without a second thought. And no, he's not doing this for altruistic reasons, but to hunt down one man who royally screwed him over. CP has him grow out of this and become genuinely more altruistic.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Wanted for terrorizing the world government through sheer destructive force, Ragna has of late been pushed into adding dine-and-dashing to his rap sheet.
• Artifact of Doom: The Azure Grimoire serving as his new right arm, is the remnant of the Black Beast and using it is slowly corrupting him into another beast. Both the Black Beast and the thing is described as "portable Cauldron" capable of devouring souls.
  Ragna: (Talking to Mai) What are you planning to do when you find it? It's not something you can easily handle.
• Artificial Limbs: Ragna's right arm is actually the Azure Grimoire which is actually a fake, and also the future/past body of the Black Beast replacing the arm Terumi cut off. In Continuum Shift he loses his OTHER arm by overloading it with power and making it explode while turning Mu back into Noel. Kokonoe builds him a new one from Lambda's spare parts, including the Idea Engine...which she tells Ragna is a bomb. For the Lulz.
• Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: At the end of Central Fiction, whatever happened to him, he's implied to be "somewhere high up".
• Attack! Attack! Attack!: His Modus-Operandi, the best way to take down opponents to him is to just beat the shit out of it. If that doesn't work, he just keeps trying until it does. This all holds true to gameplay, where he's crap at enforcing his pressure but is very solid at footsie/poke-conversions into long mid-to-high damage combos. Though he does start toning this methodology down midway through Chronophantasma.
• Awesome, but Impractical: Devoured by Darkness, where he makes a clawed hand that grabs you and summons a bunch of claws to ravage your body and take away 60 percent of your health, adding 30 percent to his own. This would be awesome if it weren't for the fact that you need to enter Blood Kain mode first, which requires 50 Heat, and then you need to use another 50 Heat in order to use this move. Unless you're using Unlimited Ragna, but even then there's still the issue of range. No longer the case as of the third game where the Blood Kain is safer to use, although there's still the issue of range.
• Badass Creed: During his Astral Finish:
  "I'll show you the power of the Azure! I'll show you fear. There is no hell, only darkness. This is the power of the Azure."
• Badass Family: With Jin and Noel. While the family is kind of screwed up, Ragna, Jin and Noel are a family. The Grim Reaper, the Hero of Ikaruga and the Eye of the Azure are siblings. Several openings, namely the Chronophantasma Extend opening, show them fighting together.
• Badass in Distress: Finds himself in these situations from time to time:
  • He was impaled by Nu-13 and almost dragged into the Cauldron to get sent back 100 years ago to become the Black Beast. Thankfully, Noel was able to save him and stop that from happening.
  • Found himself at Terumi's mercy when he shut down his Grimoire and was about to be struck down... only for Lambda to intervene and take the hit for him. Cue Heroic Second Wind.
  • Was at Terumi's mercy again in Chronophantasma until Kokonoe sent Celica in, shutting off Terumi's Grimoire to completely cripple him.
• Badass Longcoat: His rather distinctive jacket which he inherited from Jubei after completing his training with him. It belonged to Jubei's old friend from the Dark War named "Bloodedge" which Ragna adopts as his title in honor of the man. In actuality Bloodedge is Ragna himself thrown back to the Dark War by Rachel to learn the true nature of the Azure Grimoire, and simply gave Celica his jacket and sword before leaving to return to the present timeline.
• Badass Transplant: After Terumi cut off his right arm as a child, Rachel brought Ragna to the basement of the Church he lived at and presented him with the Azure Grimoire if he chooses it. Ragna wills it to serve as his new right arm and looks almost indistinguishable from his old one, albeit being completely black. Ragna's new right arm makes him one of the most powerful individuals in the series, albeit not without some problems.
• Bad Powers, Good People: Doombringer by virtue of his Azure Grimoire which may turn him into a Black Beast, with the power to suck the soul of other people, and a very violent person by rumor, but he's actually nice when he isn't being screwed over by the universe, angered, or being attacked. Too bad those instances where he has his lucky breaks are rare.
• Berserk Button: Ragna gets pissed off at a lot of things, but Hazama/Yuuki Terumi is the one person who he hates more than anyone. The average match between the two is just them shouting for the other to die.
  • As of Chronophantasma Izanami taunting him by mimicking Saya's voice which makes him completely snap.
  • Also in Chronphantasma, it's revealed that his other Button is endangering those he holds dear, as seen when Azrael provokes him by attempting to murder Celica during the tournament. Also shown in Central Fiction, with Ragna actually going completely berserk on Hazama after he was torturing Rachel. Terumi also (unsuccessfully) tried pressing on this button by talking about all the ways he was going to hurt her.
• Best Served Cold: After Terumi burned down his church, cut off his arm, and kidnapped his sister, Ragna dedicated his entire existence towards ending his. By Chronophantasma however, he realizes that it's not worth it.
  "I can't kill you enough times!"
• Betty and Veronica: Always the Archie, with three possible love interests.
  • Noel and Rachel are the traditional Betty and Veronica examples. He feels more "at home" with Noel due to how she resembled and sounds like his long missing sister, and while she's clumsy and irritates him a lot, she's also a good, innocent girl at heart. Rachel is a relatively newer presence in his life, practically acts as his "superior", acts elegant and mature and has a haughty personality, and bickers with him a lot, but she nevertheless cares for him (don't say it in her presence, though).
  • There's also a Third-Option Love Interest in form of Celica in the third game. She confuses Ragna about how she's familiar with him but not vice versa. She also inspired Ragna (not-so-willingly at first) to become her protector and improve his mindset. By the later events of the third game he realizes the big reason behind his duty and thus he takes his "protector" job more seriously. This gets lampshaded in one Gag Reel where she isn't affected when Ragna puts on the Spectacles of Eros... because she already loves Ragna a lot. (Also with the implication that Rachel does, too, as she's also shown to be immune.)
• Beyond the Impossible: Ragna saving Noel/Mu-12 in Continuum Shift is considered so impossible that when he actually accomplishes it, Takamagahara, who have complete omniscience at this point, are actually distracted watching him do it!
• BFS: His main weapon: The Aramasa, is a large sword that has a greater resemblance to a giant slab of metal than an actual sword. It becomes somewhat larger and longer when in scythe mode.
• Big Brother Instinct: Ragna was said to be very protective of Jin and Saya when they were children, and even after all of the crap that's happened between him and Jin, it's implied that whenever they fight, he holds back, mostly likely due to this. He also never goes through with the killing blow should he win. In CS, he's even gives Jin words of encouragement to overcome his Evil Weapon.
  • This also extends to Noel as well. Which makes sense considering she's a clone of Saya. To the point where despite only knowing her for a week at most, he's willing to sacrifice his left arm to restore her after she was Brainwashed and Crazy.
  • He eventually returns to being a Cool Big Bro during his final moments in Central Fiction, hugging and encouraging his sobbing siblings to live their lives as best they can, before he steals their memories of him.
• Big Damn Heroes: Pulls this off a couple times.
  • In the True Ending of the first game, when he saves Noel from being killed by v-13 by blocking her attack an instant before it connects.
  • He pulls it off again and again in Continuum Shift's True Ending. Saves Rachel from Hazama and Phantom's trap, saves Jin from Mu, and reverts Noel to normal at the cost of his left arm.
• Big "NO!": In the Continuum Shift retelling in CPEX, he shouts this when Rachel shocks him, Nago and Gii after Gii showed them the picture of Rachel being bound by the baddies. Earlier Ragna had called her out about that moment but Rachel purposefully ignored him.
• Big "WHAT?!": Considering how often this happens, he may as well be called Ragna the Whatedge. This also applies to all the other moments in Rachel's gag reel. Due to playing the Only Sane Man in Gag Reels, this is expected.
• Blessed with Suck: His Azure Grimoire grants him extraordinary abilities, enough to be considered the most wanted criminal in the world by the NOL and wage a one man assault on them. It comes with a lot of drawbacks despite all that. Using it slowly erodes him into another Black Beast, he needs to devour souls for it to function, and any injury he receives from things outside of logic^note Nox Nyctores, Magic, etc etc will slow his Healing Factor and cannot be undone, even by Phenomena Intervention.
• Body Horror: While it's usually obscured due to his jacket, extra material shows the arm that houses the Azure Grimoire is covering his body in what looks like a shadow.^note His younger character portraits show it only reaching up to a little over his arm, when he's an adult, its reached over the shoulder to his torso. When he uses Devoured by Darkness, said arm becomes a giant, red tipped claw with a pulsing eye. And in two endings of the series, his clothes start to shred as he turns into a very feral looking monstrosity.
• Born Unlucky: While Ragna's origins are far from normal (him being born into a lab and all), he at least enjoyed a normal life with his siblings and the Sister that took care of them. Then Terumi happened and things didn't necessarily get better from there...
• Boxing Lessons for Superman: Was subject to this in Chronophantasma when he was unable to use the Azure and by extension, the use of his right arm and eye for most of the game. He becomes a much more efficient fighter when he regains the use of his limbs and sight, and is able to even defeat Nu in the True Ending without activating the Azure, something he was never able to do prior.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: While he does regain some of his sentience, Izanami makes his Grimoire go wild, turning him into a mindless berserker that injures Jin and Noel before heading off with Izanami.
• Bring My Red Jacket: Most of the endings featuring him have him receive some type of injury that results in him getting covered in his own blood. It's a really good thing his coat is red, otherwise the series would probably get an M-rating with the amount of shit he's been through. He's also a Glass Cannon and even his Super Mode drains his health (although no longer the case in the third game).
• Broken Ace: In a different way than his brother. Ragna is pretty high up the scale and is infamous for singlehandedly taking on the NOL’s armies and fighting off most of the cast, especially once he activates the Azure Grimoire. However, with his status as a Cosmic Plaything of the highest order and almost all of his victories being undone by more tragedies and failures, to say that he’s been through a lot is an understatement.
  • To wit: Terumi brainwashed his younger brother to cut off his arm in a fit of jealousy, along with burning down the church he and his siblings lived in along with kidnapping his sister. As his replacement right arm, he acquired the Azure Grimoire, a powerful but highly volatile weapon that's a piece of a monster that nearly brought the world to its knees a century ago. Even with his new power, anything he did either didn't work or Terumi counted on his victory to further push his plans along. The whole world is after his ass because of his immense bounty, the threat he possesses or for personal reasons, with even his very own allies mostly mocking him. Further ramping up his shitty luck is that he's the Central Fiction and as long as he exists, the world could never move forward, forcing him to erase his own existence and save a world that barely gave a shit about him because of all the unfortunate circumstances brought upon him, although he did so anyway without hesitation. No wonder why he's filled with so much bitterness before Character Development.
  • Even more tragic is that it's heavily implied that Ragna barely had any semblance of control in his life to begin with. Thanks to him being the Central Fiction and the one Amaterasu desires, he and Susano'o were destined to be enemies. Terumi thoroughly messed up his life to spite her and even though he failed to turn the world into a wasteland of chaos and by the monster he created, what Terumi did turned someone who just wanted to be with his loved ones into a broken, bitter wreck of a man who was forced to suffer and struggle for a world that didn't care a wit for his well-being along with sacrificing his happiness just so that fate doesn't screw over the people he cherishes. From beginning to end, the life of the Grim Reaper was already a tragedy, but damn if it isn't heroic.
• Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: The process of activating the Azure Grimoire at full power by removing the Idea Engine's limiter on it to match Susano'o almost destroyed his physical body. By the end of it, he's almost on death's door.
• Brought Down to Badass: As Bloodedge in Phase 0. Also throughout CP when his Azure Grimoire is sealed off. Sure, he doesn't exactly fare a whole lot, but he manages to hold his own well enough despite the handicap. Also see Boxing Lessons for Superman above.
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: He's mainly a crass guy with a penchant for violence, but he's a nice guy deep down who can barely hide his empathy. He also quickly becomes friends with Taokaka.
• But Not Too Foreign: As shown in CF, he, Jin and Saya/Noel are the children of the 5th Prime Field Device, who is implied to be based off of Saya Terumi, who is Japanese. This also applies to Lambda-11, Mu-12, and Nu-13.
• Butt-Monkey: Continuum Shift seems to have turned him into this, especially during the gag reels. Not to mention that just about anyone not named Taokaka or Celica has something derisive or snarky to say to him. While the gag reels completely go for the comedic route with it, the main story treats it with a lot more seriousness. Ragna rarely catches a break, often failing to stop the villains, with his few successes only furthering their agenda, and he's painfully aware of this.
• Byronic Hero: A textbook example. He's tall, he's handsome, he has a troubled past and a cynical and occasionally abrasive (but also down-to-earth) attitude to match, and his quest for revenge against Terumi and rebellion against all forms of authority leave him morally questionable, but this is obscured by his surprising compassion. Oh, and chicks dig him, especially when he's got the Spectacles of Eros on.

C - F

• Cain and Abel: Because of circumstances outside their control when they children, and the fact that their destinies are at complete odds with each other, there is a lot of bad blood between him and Jin. Even being on the same side during Chronophantasma doesn't quell their feud much; not to mention Ragna even has a super move called "Blood Kain" (see the naming?). They finally do make peace by the time of CF and then Ragna has to erase Jin's memory so he can complete his plan on devouring all of the Entitled's dreams...
• Calling Your Attacks: Ragna does an enormous amount of this, at maximum volume and ferocity. It gets taken up a notch whenever he fights Hazama and/or Terumi.
• Came Back Strong: A heroic example. He nearly bled to death after Terumi cut off his arm and burned down his home. Then he was bitten by Rachael and fused with the corpse of an Eldritch Abomination. This gave him the Azure Grimoire and Soul Eater powers which turned him into a One-Man Army. The bad news is that if he uses them too much, he will turn into the aforementioned Eldritch Abomination.
• The Cameo: In XBlaze Code: Embryo as a Silhouette.
• Cast from Hit Points: Blood Kain amplifies the power of his Drive attacks and allows him to use Devoured by Darkness, but it also actively drains his health while he uses it. Though this becomes averted after he gets the Idea Engine and upgrades it to Blood Kain Idea, where it no longer drains his health.
• Casting a Shadow: The Azure Grimoire grants him the ability to wreath his limbs and even his sword in powerful darkness that drains the souls of those he fights.
• Catchphrase: "It's not over yet." It's even the name of one of his Special attacks. He is also very fond of variations of "Outta my way!"
• Celibate Hero: Despite the vast amounts of Ship Tease he gets, Ragna hasn't really shown any romantic interest in anyone. Makes sense, he's got way more important matters to worry about than his love life. He does mention a liking for "young girls" in CS (when he gets mistaken for liking his own brother, It Makes Sense in Context), so Ragna isn't exactly ENTIRELY uninterested in the opposite sex. Also, in Jin's Gag Reel in CF, Ragna blatantly states he is into women.
• Cessation of Existence:
  • This is the ultimate fate of whoever Ragna kills with his Astral; their soul is completely devoured and wiped from existence. This is the fate he bestows on Terumi at the end of Central Fiction. He can't return since there's no soul for him to return from.
  • It's ambiguous, but it's implied that Ragna wiped his own existence from the world so that it could continue without The Origin.
• Character Development: Starting with Continuum Shift and all throughout Chronophantasma, Ragna has slowly gone from an individual motivated purely by revenge and was more than content with destroying everything that pissed him off, to a far more heroic individual willing to protect those he cares about. In Central Fiction, he becomes much more calmer than he was before and shows more resolve to solve the big problem, even getting to make a plan for it: see Zero-Approval Gambit below.
• Characterization Marches On: He was far more belligerent and unheroic in the original Calamity Trigger than later on. Notably, the pre-release short stories for CT showed that he murdered indiscriminately, painting him more as a Sociopathic Hero at best or a Villain Protagonist at worst. After Continuum Shift however, his more common traits began to show, to the point of that Continuum Shift's retelling of Calamity Trigger retconned his initial acts of violence and personality.
• Chekhov's Gun: Jubei duly warned Ragna to not think of the Azure Grimoire's power as his own. Later, in CP, Izanami managed to control him against his will by forcing his Azure Grimoire to go berserk, and in CF, it not being "his" is the reason he isn't being affected by the Embryo's soul deteriorating effect when everyone else who used Drives got their souls sucked.
• Chick Magnet: In Rachel's non-canon joke ending for Continuum Shift, by the power of the Spectacles of Eros placed upon him by Rachel as a prank. It magnets a lot of characters, from Noel to Kokonoe... to even Nirvana.^note Among playable characters, both Tsubaki and Taokaka were absent from the gag reel. Her jealous body language, however, speaks much louder than the mocking banter she provides throughout the ending. Supposedly the glasses worked a little too well for her subconscious comfort. He's also a somewhat muted example in canon, receiving Ship Tease with several characters. In canon the list of girls having confirmed feelings being Noel, Rachel, Celica, Lambda, Nu, Saya, Izanami.
• Close-Range Combatant: He excels extremely well the closer he is to the opponent and overwhelms them with his life draining moves and above average damage output.
• Comes Great Responsibility: Was told by Jubei to never think of the Azure Grimoire's power as his own, but Ragna never seemed to understood what that actually meant considering how willing he is to throw it's power around at anything that remotely pisses him off. He finally understands what he meant by Chronophantasma, as he refuses to use the Grimoire against Azrael, acknowledging that it isn't his power to throw around and wants to fight with his own strength.
• Cosmic Plaything: Ragna never catches a break, at all. Whenever he succeeds in something, the universe makes sure for something equally bad or worse to happen afterwards.
  • It's bad enough that he's stuck in two unwanted yandere relationships with both of his siblings (well, one real sibling and one "technical" sibling).
  • In Chronophantasma, when Rachel warns him that discovering the truth about the Azure Grimoire will decide his future, Ragna states that he believes his future was never really in his hands to begin with.
  • In Central Fiction, it's actually given justification: he is the titular Central Fiction, the "dream that God observes", and thus, literally a plaything for The Origin (the girl in the Master Unit). Gloriously averted, though, when he, against all odds, manages to save the world, by making peace with the Origin.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: A case of Gameplay and Story Segregation but, if Ragna performs his throw, he lifts his opponent over head, activates Aramasa's extension of the blade, and stabs them in the face, making a cruel remark along the lines of "This'll sting!"
• Curb-Stomp Battle: He's been on the giving and receiving end of these over the course of the series:
  • His first fight with Jin has him on the giving end of this trope. Jin ends up spending most of Continuum Shift as a Handicapped Badass because of this.
  • Was on the receiving end of this from Hakumen in Calamity Trigger until he activated the Azure Grimoire.
  • Also gives one to Hazama, after being given one himself, at the end of Continuum Shift, though it turns out is was Just as Planned.
  • Dishes one out to Tager and later one to Tsubaki in Chronophantasma, largely to show how powerful he became after the events of Continuum Shift.
  • Also ends up on the receiving end of one against Kagura, though to be fair, Celica was nearby.
  • Delivers a pretty epic one to Nu-13 at the end of Chronophantasma, as he did it without activating the Azure Grimoire!
  • After Izanami forces his Grimoire to go berserk, he steamrolls both Jin and Mu-12 at the same time.
  • Gets on the receiving end of this with his first fight against Nine and Susano'o in Central Fiction.
  • Trounces Hazama again in Central Fiction. The best part is that Hazama gets no victories or consolation prizes out of this one.
  • Delivers many of these to most of the roster in the last third of Central Fiction, even an amped up Nu-13 and Hakumen. Though these were in part due to the Embryo weakening the Entitled.
• Curse Cut Short: Given the series T rating, anytime Ragna is about to drop an F-bomb, it inevitable gets cut off at the "fu-".
• Cuteness Proximity: Has a bit of this going on in CS. Even he can't help but be swayed by the cuteness of the Kaka kittens. A flashback reveals that his first reaction upon seeing his master Jubei was "you're a kitty! A big fluffy kitty!"
  • While they never meet in the CS main story, Ragna exhibits a bit of this in Arcade mode after fighting Makoto.
• Cynicism Catalyst: His whole Dark and Troubled Past turns him into a rough man who doesn't care about the world and is obsessed with revenge. However, Character Development slowly turns him into a better person.
• Damn You, Muscle Memory!: Dead Spike's input is reversed in Chronophantasma^note From 214D (Quarter-Circle Back), to 236D (Quarter-Circle Forward). With its old input being his new Blood Scythe/Aramasa move.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique:
  • He can use the Azure Grimoire to "devour the desires" of the entitled, which amounts to stealing their memories (or their wishes and dreams). However, this only accelerates the Grimoire's corruption of his body.
  • Central Fiction shows that he can remove the Idea Engine's limiter on the Azure Grimoire. This makes him powerful enough to practically equal the full power of Susano'o^note Think Terumi with Hakumen's 100% level of power added on, but it also threatens to destroy his body and greatly increases the Grimoire's corruption.
• Dark and Troubled Past: When he was a child, he lost his home, his family, and his arm. He got a replacement for the latter but it's the remains of an Eldritch Abomination that ravaged the world years ago and if Ragna overuses its power, threatens to consume him and destroy the world again.
• Dark Is Not Evil: He dresses in Red/Black, his epithet is The Grim Reaper, and has the potential to destroy the entire world. Is he a good guy? Sort of... This trope is however played straight after some Character Development mellowed him out considerably.
• Deadly Lunge: His Hell's Fang move.
• Deadly Upgrade:
  • Blood Kain buffs Ragna's Soul Eater attacks such that he can steal more health, but his own drains in a set amount of time. In CP however it gets a non-deadly upgrade in form of Blood Kain Idea, which removes the health drain.
  • The Azure Grimoire as a whole is this. Combined with his training under Jubei, it makes him one of the most powerful warriors in the BlazBlue world, but he also runs the risk of going insane and turning into a world-killing monster if he overuses it. As revealed in Chronophantasma, the Grimoire also eats away at his body and is slowly killing him.
• Deadpan Snarker: His story and arcade lines have a lot of this for pretty much everyone he talks to.
• Death from Above: He has a new attack in Continuum Shift called Belial Edge, where he dives downward with his blade. It's replaced in Central Fiction with a move named Nightmare Edge, which does a similar thing but has an added attack that restores Ragna's health if it hits.
• Declaration of Protection: In Chronophantasma, when Ragna laments not having a reason to fight like Jin and Noel do, Celica gives him the suggestion that he should be her protector. Ragna doesn't really understand what he's protecting her from, but he agrees regardless. He takes this a lot more seriously when Celica's purpose is revealed however, especially after he returns from a trip to the past, where he met the real Celica there. He also gives a pretty damn impressive one for Noel in Alter Memory.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: He rips apart the '90s Anti-Hero and the usual method in which they operate. Appearance wise, he fits this archetype like a glove; being an immensely powerful One-Man Army with a dark and gritty title fueled by his anger and driven by vengeance who rushes into the fray believing that he can just overpower any opposition that gets in his way. Rushing headfirst into danger almost never works out for him because the world and his enemies are much more savvy than he initially thinks, and his anger often gets him into far more trouble than he can handle. Because of this, he comes across less as a badass Anti-Hero, and more as a Butt-Monkey, with nearly every cast member snarking at his expense as a result. It should really say something that he starts finding more success and respect the further he moves away from these archetypes and becomes more genuinely heroic.
• Deity of Human Origin: By the end of Central Fiction, he becomes the new wielder of Master Unit Amaterasu as well as gains possession of the Azure Flame Grimoire, making him this by default.
• Depending on the Writer:
  • Activating the Azure Grimoire either envelops him in a dark aura (Games), simply has his Grimoire hand emit a blue light from the red shell (anime), or permanently turns his arm into a "Devoured by Darkness" claw until he deactivates it (manga).
  • His bodycount during his raids on NOL Headquarters vary drastically. From killing everyone involved indiscriminately (early side-materials), to killing only those who tried to stop him (manga and anime).
• Determinator: Most people would go insane if put through half of the shit Ragna goes through, but he just swears a bit and keeps it moving.
• Dhampyr: He becomes one after Rachel bit him to save him from his mortal wound in his Dark and Troubled Past. Though that only happens in the original timeline; in the others, she just gave him the Azure Grimoire to save him.
• Did Not Get the Girl: Despite having three possible love interests, he doesn't hook up with any of them because Noel is his resurrected sister, Celica dies and he erases Rachel's memories of him. Oh, and he disappears from reality.
• Did Not Think This Through: A major reason that contributed to his Unskilled, but Strong status was that he tended to rush into things without an actual plan. His main strategy being "Rush in, beat them to a pulp and worry about the rest later". As his fights with Hakumen, Kagura, Azrael, and Terumi have shown, this doesn't really work out the way he hopes it would. Thankfully, he learns from his mistakes and averts this in Central Fiction, coming up with a plan and stopping doomsday almost single-handedly.
• Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Ragna does not give a single shit about the titles or status of the various characters he knows and pretty much speaks to them with the same attitude he treats everyone with. He also has no problem fighting against those same people either despite the fact that more than half of them are capable of kicking his own ass.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?:
  • He single-handedly defeated Take-Mikazuchi, an Eldritch Abomination stated to be equal to the Black Beast itself.
  • In the climax of CF, he manages to drag Terumi out of the Susano'o Unit using his Dangerous Forbidden Technique. Terumi is actually impressed at this and he Died Laughing.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: In his Continuum Shift Bad Ending Rachel does a combination of this and Lap Pillow for him. After turning into the Black Beast and being defeated, Rachel rests his head on her lap and holds his face, crying as he dies.
• Die or Fly: After getting his arm chopped off, he had two choices; bleed out and die or survive assimilating the Azure Grimoire. Naturally he survives the latter.
• The Dragon: To Boing Queen Litchi in Platinum's gag reel in Continuum Shift.
• Drama-Preserving Handicap: Because of her ability to suppress seithr, if Celica is in his proximity, his right hand becomes crippled, his red eye unusable and he can't use his Azure powers around 1/3 into Chronophantasma's story. Made worse by Kokonoe telling him to stay close with her or his Idea Engine will blow up. This leads to the Power Loss Makes You Strong below. Later Kokonoe reveals that the "bomb" thing was a lie, and she later upgrades his Idea Engine so that he'll be immune to Celica's seithr-nullifying ability and he can use his powers again.
• The Dreaded: To the NOL! By the end of Central Fiction, even Terumi of all people is at least somewhat afraid of him.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: He really doesn't get as much respect from the cast as his reputation would imply. Not helping is that 1) most of the cast are capable of kicking his ass, 2) he's got that confrontational personality.
  • He actually starts getting more respect in Chronophantasma as he dials down his abrasive attitude, finds something to fight for while moving past his need for revenge, and becomes stronger without relying on the Grimoire.
  • Averted in Central Fiction where more members of the cast respect him, with Kagura, Rachel, and Kokonoe backing up his plan to deny the entitled their desires. Even Terumi gives him his respect and congratulates him after he rips him out of the Susano'o unit. When someone as self-centered and monstrous as this guy respects you, you know you've managed to get out of this trope.
• The Dulcinea Effect: In Remix Heart ch. 11, he agrees to help Mai finding the Azure, claiming that leaving a woman in a place like that (i.e a place with a thick seithr concentration among other dangers) would disturb his sleep.
• Dying Deal Upgrade: After Terumi cut off his arm, he was left to bleed out in the burning Church until Rachel came to him. She offered him the Azure Grimoire to get a second chance at life and, in the first time loop, drank his blood.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: After a life of trauma, fighting and constant danger; Ragna manages to reunite with his family, defeat his enemies and save the world. Though the happy ending is more for his family and the world than for him, because he had to sacrifice his memories on anyone in order to save everyone. He's still perfectly willing to go through with it, though.
• Escaped from the Lab: He, along with his siblings, was rescued from an unknown lab by Jubei and then was brought to Celica's custody.
• Even the Guys Want Him: Besides Jin, Arakune's CS Gag Reel features Hazama wanting to marry an unconscious Ragna.
• Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones: Most of Ragna's win quotes in Central Fiction highlight his newfound All-Loving Hero status, expressing a desire to save everyone. However, in the case of Terumi, he demands he get up as he's about to "show him the definition of hell." This being Terumi however, he more than deserves it.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: Ragna is constantly told by Jubei to never mistake the power of Azure Grimoire for his own. For good reasons: 1) It endangers him into turning into a Black Beast should he overuses it, 2) if the Grimoire is somehow manipulated from outside sources, he's screwed, such as Terumi shutting it down (because he can create Azure Grimoire and thus knows its ins and outs), Celica's latent ability disables it, and Izanami forcefully turning him berserk with it.
• Expy:
  • Of Vash the Stampede , another main inspiration according to Word of God. Both are fair-haired Artificial Human protagonists who wear red, have a large bounty on their heads, and have a transforming weapon, but whereas Vash has a positive, idealistic attitude in spite of living in a Crapsack World and tries to strictly adhere to Thou Shalt Not Kill, Ragna is an embittered, vindictive man who is lashing out on the world at large for everything that's been inflicted on him and doesn't care who ends up in his crossfire, and in Ragna's case his bounty is more justified.
  • He's also of Guts to an extent since they both have suffered trauma in their past, had lost an arm, wield magical swords, have a main adversary be a fair-haired Sissy Villain, and are out for revenge. The Azure Grimoire seems to draw parallels to the Berserker armor since they both provide a power-up but can end up killing the user or driving them mad if overused.
• Face of a Thug: Despite looking perpetually angry, he is actually a pretty good guy when you show him some kindness. And then there's his wanted poster. See below for more detail.
• Facial Composite Failure: In his infamously Gonk "Wanted!" Poster, natch. Taokaka had a hard time differentiating real Ragna with poster Ragna because of it.
• Failure Hero: He tries damn hard, but it seems like Ragna's attempt to change anything about his miserable life just end up for naught. He does win a few times, but they're usually not crucial victories and when the stakes are higher and he does manage to win, it usually furthers the villains' whims. Subverted in Central Fiction however, where Ragna almost single-handily derails all of the villain's plans.
• The Fettered: Despite his protests, Ragna has a pretty solid moral compass and draws strength from his refusal to give up and his desire to protect what's close to him.
• Fight Magnet: Being the main character of a fighting game series, this is kind of expected and he's very annoyed by it.
• Final First Hug: Before he goes off to chase after Terumi/Susano'o, he hugs Rachel for the first, and last, time, and thanks her for everything. She struggled at first, but then she goes with it and embraces him. He then goes to erase her memories of him.
• Force and Finesse: He's the force to Jin's finesse. While Ragna fights more like a reckless brawler with his power-oriented battle style, Jin fights with elegant swordsmanship and skilled use of his ice powers.
• Foreshadowing:
  • One of his dislikes is ghosts. And Terumi is one; he's possibly even the reason for this phobia in the first place.
  • His specials have a hellish theme to their names. That, and some of the designs point towards the Azure Grimoire being the Black Beast.
• Forgotten First Meeting:
  • He met Tao when she was just a kitten when he and Jubei encountered her Torakaka during training. Ragna eventually remembers, Tao...doesn't.
  • In the third game Celica apparently recalls meeting Ragna before; he recalls nothing of the sort. Although, he didn't really forget, so much as he didn't go through the events that led to their first meeting yet... (Hint: time-travel shenanigans.)
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Once upon a time, Ragna was just a mere boy that lived out his life along with his siblings in a church with a nun who was the closest thing they had to a mom. Thanks to Terumi's machinations, he ended up having a piece of an Eldritch Abomination as his replacement limb, allowing him to literally take on the entire government by himself and gain a bounty that puts even the Four Emperors of One Piece combined to shame. He even went as far as to rip out the soul of the person that made his life a living hell from the Susano'o Unit and permanently strike him down.
• Fusion Dance: As revealed in CT, the Black Beast comes from a fusion of him and Nu (with 2 halves of an Azure Grimoire and a Murakumo Unit) getting sent back to the past by the Cauldron.
• Gameplay and Story Integration: Ragna's personality and fighting style is reflected perfectly in gameplay, focusing on simple, heavy-hitting blows while barely bothering with defense.

G - M

• Gameplay and Story Segregation:
  • In gameplay Ragna's Soul Eater is considered a Drive but in story it is explicitly only an ability of the Azure Grimoire. This becomes important in Central Fiction where most of the cast becomes weaker due to the Embryo sucking in their souls when they use Drives but Ragna remains strong, even when constantly using Soul Eater.
  • His Unlimited Form also ends up receiving a Nerf in Continuum Shift so that Mu-12 and Hazama seem more impressive as final bosses. This is despite him receiving the Idea Engine, which is his Mid-Season Upgrade.
  • Due to Central Fiction removing Unlimited mode, all of Ragna's (and anyone's) fights gameplay wise is played as normal, even if Ragna is shown to remove the Idea Engine's limiters against Susano'o.
• Gemini Destruction Law: CS reveals he has a "life-link" with Nu, which is why no one could kill her in the previous game. Whatever else a life-link involves, it means that neither he or she can die unless both of them die at the same time (or something severs the lifelink).
• Glass Cannon: He has below average health, so much that despite his huge firepower, even his life-sucking ability will have a hard time keeping it up. A console-exclusive skit in Calamity Trigger had Litchi poke fun of it and compare him to Guilty Gear's Chipp Za—GAUNTLET HADES! Not to mention, it also ties into the story where he tends to suffer from some brutal defeats.
• Gonk: His wanted poster.
• Good is Not Nice: Though he and Rachel are not as bad as Hakumen, Jin, or Kokonoe. Apparently he's been abrasive ever since he was a kid, even to the Sister that took care of him and his siblings.
• Good Thing You Can Heal: He tends to get grievously injured, a lot. However, while his wounds eventually heal over time, they are inflicted on his very soul and cannot be undone even with Phenomenon Intervention.
• Grapple Move: His Devoured by Darkness Distortion Drive has him grab his opponent's neck with his enlarged right hand, then lift them up and then suck their life force for himself. Also his Not Over Yet! (See below)
• The Greatest Story Never Told:
  • As the original Bloodedge, he bought the Six Heroes the year they needed to arm humanity against the Black Beast — by sacrificing himself to put the Black Beast in a coma for a year. Nobody aside from the Six Heroes (and Celica) knew this... Jubei never tells anyone, despite idolizing the man, due to immense guilt of not being able to prevent his death.
  • Taken even further in Central Fiction. He saves the entire world and reality itself, but had to erase everyone's memories of him in the process. As a result, nobody knows just how hard he fought to ensure everyone's safety and nobody ever will. The simple reason is that Ragna's very existence (as the Central Fiction) is intrinsically and inextricably part of the problem, so removing himself from the picture entirely is the only way to fix it.
• Guest Fighter: In Lost Saga and Toukiden 2 (for the latter, just as a Mitama/equippable spirit).
• Hair-Trigger Temper: It doesn't take much to piss him off, especially with the weird cast around him. He does start to tone this down in the later games as he progresses.
• Handicapped Badass:
  • In BlazBlue: Phase 0, after getting sent back in time, Ragna's right arm and eye stopped working. However, it's downplayed as while he can hold his own he notes his center of gravity is off due to not being able to use his arm, and that he has a blind spot on his right side, so his fighting style is severely hindered as a result.
  • Also happens in the third game, where his Azure Grimoire, and by extension his right arm and eye stop functioning. It's due to Celica's abilities.
• Happily Adopted: Ragna and his siblings were very clearly this during their time in Celica's church.
• Harmful to Minors: All of those Dark and Troubled Past above happened while he was still a young kid.
• Hated by All: It's always lampshaded in-game and self-inflicted at the end of Central Fiction. In contrast to Jin's Loved by All, due to him being seen as the famous "Hero of Ikaruga" and a Living Legend, Ragna is a hated and wanted SS-Class Criminal in the world of BlazBlue. Sadly, it doesn't get any better by the end of the series since he pulls a heroic Zero-Approval Gambit, so the world will forever remember him as the same wanted criminal and "The Enemy of the World", which contrasts Jin who remains the beloved and iconic folk hero of the world.
• Hates Being Touched: Doesn't seem to mind if he's on good terms with people such as Noel or Tao, but if not, contact weirds him out.
• Healing Factor: He's survived and recovered from being impaled through vital organs. Thanks to the Life Drain abilities that Soul Eater and the Azure Grimoire provide him with, he can further increase his healing abilities. Hakumen's sword has the ability to nullify it though. Also worth noting that despite recovering from lethal wounds and being able to fight immediately afterward, it hurts like hell. As CS shows, he cannot recover missing limbs.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Although it's kinda justified. While Ragna is not a bad person (Although he certainly isn't very nice), he is technically a terrorist who has destroyed many NOL branches and threatens the stability of the world. It's not surprising that he doesn't have a very good reputation to people who don't know him personally. His reputation does get better fortunately, at least among the major characters.
• Heroes Prefer Swords: As the main protagonist, it's natural that he gets to wield a sword. In this case, the Aramasa.
• Heroic Second Wind: After getting his ass handed to him by Terumi, Lambda steps in and takes an attack that kills her and grants the Idea Engine to Ragna. Ragna gets up, activates the Grimoire, and utterly wrecks Terumi.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Ragna has a really hard time recognizing that people see good traits in him, and doesn't see himself as anything more than a murderous scumbag who's only goal in life is to get revenge on Terumi, the man who wronged him. He gets over it after some Character Development, as further detailed in You Are Better Than You Think You Are below.
• Hey, You!: Has a habit of referring to most of his acquaintances this way; "Rabbit"^note Rachel, "Masked Freak"^note Hakumen, "Old Man"^note Valkenhayn. Unlike Tao who does it out of playful innocence, there's a lot of irreverence behind Ragna's naming.
• High-Pressure Blood: In Taokaka's CS story mode, she describes him as looking like a "blood-sprinkler."
• Hopeless with Tech: In Valkenhayn's Gag Reel, he is utterly clueless about operating his smartphone. To put this in perspective, Tao understands the phone perfectly.
• Humanoid Abomination: He becomes one when using his Astral, and after becoming part of the Black Beast. He gets better though. On top of that, according to Amane in Central Fiction, Ragna no longer exist in the realm of "Logic", just like the Black Beast.
• Hunk: In contrast to his brother's Bishōnen, Ragna has a more ruggedly handsome look with a tall and fit body.
• I Am Not Left-Handed: "Restriction 666 released... Dimensional interruption imaginary number formed... BlazBlue (or Azure Grimoire in some parts of the dub, or both)... Activated!" That's when he decides that his enemy is dangerous enough for him to need his dangerous Azure Grimoire and stop fooling around.
• I Can Still Fight!: If there's one thing Ragna is good at, it's fighting when he realistically has no chance of winning. This literally happens in every game to date. Every one.
• I Have Many Names: "The Black Beast", "Grim Reaper", "The Dark One", "Good Guy", "The World's Nightmare", "Rawrgnya", "Raggy", "Central Fiction".
• I Let You Win: In one encounter with Bang in the first game, he purposefully let himself lose so that Bang can just go away. He notes that it isn't easy pretending to lose.
• Identity Amnesia: As Bloodedge in Phase 0 and the Six Heroes storyline in Chronophantasma. Happens again in the new true ending of Chronophantasma Extend, where he appears out of the Embryo with no memory of who he is. This continues into Central Fiction.
• Idiot Hero: Sorta. He has pretty average intelligence and even occasions of brilliance, but he also has a really nasty habit of blindly attacking any problem head on. In all fairness, he tends to end up in the same room as the smartest characters in the series, so he ends up coming off as an idiot as a result. In addition, the characters who try to talk him out of his recklessness are really godawful at explaining themselves. This does get played straight in a few gag reels, such as Valkenhayn's in Continuum Shift, where he has no idea how to operate a smartphone that Tao of all people can use perfectly.
• Internal Reveal: He had no idea that Jubei and Kokonoe were parent and child and was pretty indignant neither of them told him.
• Ironic Name: The name of Ragna's sword is Aramasa, the blade wielded in mythology by Susano'o to kill the Orochi. This blade is used by Ragna, the Black Beast (who is based off the Orochi) to kill Terumi, aka Susano'o.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He tries very hard to portray himself as a cold and unfeeling hardass, but he really sucks at it. Ragna can't turn the other cheek when someone's in trouble. He's also fairly down to earth when interacting with people not trying to antagonize or kill him. By Chronophantasma the heart of gold part is given more prominence.
• Kick Them While They Are Down: "It's Not Over Yet!" has this effect, though it's more like "pick them up while they are down and sock them."
• Kill the God: At the end of Central Fiction, he kills Yuuki Terumi, whose true identity is Susano'o, the God of Destruction, after he drags his body out of the Susano'o Unit.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: While he may be a wanted criminal and mass-murderer, according to this image,◊ cats are apparently pretty fond of him. Furthermore, in his story route in Continuum Shift, he gets along better with the Kaka Village inhabitants than he does with pretty much every other character in the series, and is even shown playing with the children. Must have something to do with his master being a cat...
  Young Ragna: (upon meeting Jubei for the first time) "YOU'RE A KITTY! A BIG KITTY!"
• Knight in Sour Armor: Well, more like rebel to be exact but the point still stands. His brutal past combined with constant tragedies and failures have made him a cynical man, yet he moves forward despite the odds against him. More prominent after Character Development, where he became more altruistic in his goals, moving beyond revenge and protecting his loved ones.
• Large Ham: Just listen to his battle quotes. He has the cocky, shounen-heroic type of ham. Both Sugita and Seitz clearly had a lot of fun with them. And then there's the fact that Seitz Screams Like a Little Girl...
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Twice. Rachel sends him back to the past to learn about Kushinada's Linchpin, the process of which leaves gaps in his memories. He still remembers his own name and recognizes Celica and Jubei, but it feels like déjà vu to him. The process is reversed when he gets back. The second time is in the ending of Chronophantasma Extend, where he wakes up with the Embryo high in the sky, with no clue where or who he is; this continues in CF up until the end of the Act 2.
  • This is also one of the abilities he can inflict with his Soul Eater and is how he intends on "devouring" the dreams of the Entitled.
• Leeroy Jenkins: In a rare case for a Japanese protagonist, this is arguably Deconstructed. Ragna's tendency to just attack everything in his way leads him to making some pretty poor decisions. A notable example is when he goes after Terumi in Continuum Shift despite repeated warnings not to, the reason? Terumi created the Azure Grimoire, and not only does he know how to shut down Ragna's, he has his own, more powerful version.
  • To be easier on Ragna though, nobody bothered to tell him any of that because it would worsen his grudge against Terumi, which would make Terumi stronger.
  • It's even lampshaded in his HMPK session where Kokonoe tells him to stop and actually listen what other characters say to him instead of "being all badass and say 'WHAT DID YOU SAY?!' to everything".
  • Thankfully, he starts toning this down in the later games.
• Legacy Character: "The Bloodedge" comes from the unsung hero Bloodedge, who held back the Black Beast for a year before the Six Heroes could defeat it. He took on the name at Jubei's request, him being one of the few who actually knows Bloodedge. The truth is, Bloodedge is Ragna himself, transported to the past (shown in CP) to create the Stable Time Loop. So he's basically his own legacy.
• Leitmotif: The song rather appropriately named Rebellion, which describes... well, Ragna's rebellion against the world and his fate. His boss theme is Black Onslaught, when he really cuts loose with the Azure Grimoire.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Whenever he gets serious and activates the Azure Grimoire, the characters that can hope to beat him can be counted with the fingers on one hand.
  • Taken further in Central Fiction, where he removes the Idea Engine's limiter on the Azure Grimoire. At that point, the only character on the same level as him is Susano'o, a Physical God.
  • The "dangerous" part deserves special attention. If he overuses this power, he runs the risk of either turning into the Black Beast and destroying the planet, or destroying his body trying to control it.
• Life Drain: As noted above, the main ability of his drive. The more attacks he hits you with his drive attacks, the more health he drains. The amount increases even further in Blood Kain.
• Lightning Bruiser: His Unlimited self is not only faster and stronger than he normally is, he out-tanks Tager (at least in CT). His normal self is a subversion of this, however. He's fast and strong, but he's also a Glass Cannon and can't take many hits.
• Like Brother and Sister: With Noel. By the events of CF, they actually are: Noel finally becomes Saya's reincarnation and actively refers to Ragna as her brother. On his end, Ragna is quick to sucker punch Kagura when he makes a joke at Noel's expense.
• Living Macguffin: In the first game, practically everyone wants a piece of Ragna thanks to him possessing the Azure Grimoire.
• Locked into Strangeness: He used to be blond, like the rest of his family. But then due to the combination of trauma he got in his Dark and Troubled Past, as well as Disease Bleach after getting his hand lopped off and replaced by Azure Grimoire, his hair turned white.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Is aware of being this and extremely annoyed by it. He repeatedly yells at Rachel to "throw him a bone!". Averted in later sequels where he's actually in on what's going on and acting on it.
• Logical Weakness: His Soul Eater only works when fighting against people that actually have souls. Therefore, he is at a disadvantage against Fuzzies because he summons soulless monsters like ghouls and a Bone Dragon.
• Mark of the Supernatural: Side materials confirm that his red eye is connected to the Grimoire instead of vampirism. Rachel only ever bit him once in the first loop, his eye stops working when his Grimoire stops working, and his eye starts working again when his Grimoire starts working again in Phase 0. Put two and two together.
• The McCoy: To Jin's Spock and Noel's Kirk.
• Meaningful Name:
  • Ragna comes from Ragnarok, the Twilight of the gods and the end of the world in Norse Mythology. Fitting seeing as he's destined to bring about the end of the world in the series.
  • Alternately, it references the Norse hero Ragnar Lodbrok, who is known for slaying an evil snake and being executed by getting thrown into a Snake Pit. Considering that Terumi is associated with snakes, this probably is not a coincidence.
  • The true name of his sword, Aramasa, is a reference to the original Japanese legend of Susanoo. Aramasa was the original sword used by Susanoo to slay Orochi, before he gained the Kusanagi. True to form, Ragna's Aramasa was used to kill the Black Beast, which serves as an analogue to Orochi within the story of BlazBlue.
• Messiah Creep: A grumpy, anti-social wanted criminal who becomes the savior of mankind.
• Messianic Archetype: At the end of Centralfiction, Ragna sacrifices everyone's memories of him, in order to save the world.
• Mid-Season Upgrade:
• Mistaken for Pedophile: Just in case he wasn’t enough of a Cosmic Plaything already. In Continuum Shift, the waitress at the Chinese restaurant assumes this after he accidentally says he likes young girls and he is directly called a pedophile by Luna and Rachel.
• Mix-and-Match Weapon: His main weapon, Aramasa, is a giant sword that can shift into a Sinister Scythe on command.
• The Most Wanted: Ragna is the most sought after criminal in the entire world due to both the Azure Grimoire in his possession and his massive bounty of 90 billion platinum dollars.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: Punches Kagura across the room after he jokingly calls him "Onii-sama" after flirting with Noel. This is after it's revealed that Noel has part of Saya's soul and therefore Saya herself.
• Mystical White Hair: His hair bleached as a result of the trauma he endured when Terumi chopped off his arm and assimilating the Azure Grimoire.

N - S

• Named Weapons: Averted initially. His BFS used to be known as just "Blood Scythe". Not very indicative until you see his Astral Heat, or play Chronophantasma and beyond, where he gets a move of the same name. Supplemental materials and Cross Tag Battle, however, have finally revealed its true name: Aramasa.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Well, this should have been painfully obvious by now.
• The Namesake: Ragna's title, "the Bloodedge," actually comes from the unsung hero, Bloodedge. That coat and sword is also from the same man. In reality Bloodedge was an semi-amnesic time-displaced Ragna.
• Nerf: Continuum Shift took the nerf bat to Unlimited Ragna, toning down his health to make him a less ridiculous True Final Boss...and to make Hazama and Mu-12 even more impressive by comparison. This despite Ragna acquiring the Idea Engine story-wise, which would seem to cause the opposite effect.
• Nice Guy: He's actually a rather decent guy to anyone who gets past his gruff exterior, such as Noel and Celica. Shown off best in Episode 8 of the anime, in his interactions with a lost Lambda.
  • In the "Six Heroes" story of Chronophantasma, his Bloodedge incarnation has amnesia and thus has no memory of all the terrible events of his life. He's a much less aggressive and confrontational guy (although still resorts to swearing a lot), and he's really sweet to Celica, implying that beyond his Freudian Excuse, this is his true personality.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • In CS: Him managing to turn Mu-12 back to Noel is considered as something nigh-impossible that Takamagahara gets distracted at it, allowing Terumi to hack into their system and taking over them.
  • In CP: Him saving Nu-13 instead of killing her (as Hakumen expected) leads to Izanami controlling Nu to stab Ragna while he's distracted, leaving him injured enough for Izanami to control his Azure Grimoire.
• Nominal Hero: Before Character Development started to settle in, this was all he really was. It's pretty easy to miss the fact that Ragna wasn't fighting against the NOL for altruistic reasons, but just to get his chance to kill Terumi. In fact, he said in no uncertain terms that he hates the world and everything in it and deep down he wanted to destroy it for screwing him over. By the third and fourth games he starts to grow out of this and becomes more genuinely heroic to protect those he cares about.
• Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: A protagonist example. His path of destruction and vengeance earned him the highest bounty ever put out by the NOL, and the very likely occurrence that he will become another Black Beast has made him a rather feared and hated individual within the series. The misunderstood part comes from the fact he has very justifiable reasons for his destructive tendencies, and he barely has any control over his Grimoire as it is. Almost everyone that gets to know him learn quickly that despite the rough exterior and his questionable actions, he's nowhere near as bad a person as his reputation implies.
• Once an Episode:
  • In pretty much every game, the story mode starts with the hijinks between him and Taokaka. Each game also features his hilariously bad "Wanted!" Poster in some fashion.
  • Also, expect him to activate the Azure Grimoire to take down an impossibly strong opponent (usually the final boss) at least once in each game.
• One-Handed Zweihänder: In standard anime fashion, he has absolutely no trouble wielding a sword that's clearly too large to be of reasonable use.
• One-Man Army: He has destroyed entire NOL installations all on his own and in Central Fiction, he decides that to save the world, he must deny the entitled their wishes and "devour" them. This translates to going through almost the entire playable roster, beating them and using the Azure to steal their dreams.
• One-Winged Angel: Does this during his Astral Finish, where he turns into... something big and covered in shadow.
• Only One Name: Despite effectively being Celica's adoptive child, he never took up the "Mercury" surname. Excluding the Bloodedge title given to him by Jubei, he only has Ragna as his name.
• Only Sane Man: Ragna, usually in the Gag Reels, is played as a spectacularly hammy version of this by both voice actors, wildly complaining and lampshading the absurdity around him while others hardly seem to notice. This ranges from all sorts of wacky scenarios, where he dies and becomes part of a ghost pirate crew to forcibly joining Terumi's new rock band and trying to correct Celica's sense of direction. However, in the main story, he's less so, considering that he's got tons of anger-management issues and has the Black Beast stored within him that could turn him into that very beast. He still tries his best to be sane, bless him.
• Optional Boss: Unlimited Ragna is the very first in the series. He even gets a separate theme just for his boss version.
  • In CT, get enough super finishes and you will fight him directly after fighting Nu, skipping your character's ending and returning to the Sheol Gate stage. Defeating him rewards the player with a special "Congratulations!" screen.
  • In CS2 and CSE, only Mu-12 can fight him if she has gotten enough super finishes. Jin and Hazama fight him as their Final Boss.
  • In CF, defeating all opponents with Astral Heats will cause the credits to be interrupted and Ragna's Drive symbol to flash on the screen while he shouts his Astral quote. You are then taken to a secret stage known as Judgment Day to fight him.
• Order Versus Chaos: His rivalry with his brother Jin/Hakumen is based mostly around this trope, with him obviously being the chaos.
• Outlaw: He's a wanted criminal in his world and often travels outside of civilization to avoid the law. He's also got quite the bounty on his head.
• Parrying Bullets: While he can't really do it in gameplay (his attacks have too much startup delay), Ragna is often seen swatting aside projectiles in cut-scenes and story sequences, up to and including stopping lasers with Blood-Scythe.
• Past Experience Nightmare: He is haunted by his inability to do anything against Terumi in his past.
• Perpetual Frowner: While Sol's artworks commonly depicts him smiling/smirking, Ragna is often portrayed as frowning in his artworks. His portraits in the sequels even have him scowling, and it took getting a spin-off crossover to have him smile in any official art.
• Person of Mass Destruction: Despite being the series chew toy, there is a reason why the world fears him. He's destroyed entire NOL bases and effortlessly dismantled their armies with nothing more than his strength and the Aramasa. The anime shows us some of this, as he destroyed a city block with just one swing of his sword.
  • It should be noted that despite his status as The Chew Toy, he rarely lost any of his fights unless they had something that can weaken Ragna's Azure Grimoire or for plot reasons. Even then, he was able to get strong enough to not only hold his own against those same people, but even kick their asses in the future.
• Pet the Dog: As much as he tries to embrace his reputation, he definitely seems to have some morals to himself.
• Phlebotinum Overload: He deliberately releases the Idea Engine's limiter on his Azure Grimoire in order to fight evenly with Susano'o, nearly destroying his own body in the process. By the time of his final talk with Amane, this caused the corruption from the Azure Grimoire to spread to the point where it's covering his eyes.
• Power Crutch: The Azure Grimoire is where his abilities (his "drive") stem from. While it makes him extremely powerful, he loses most of his fighting abilities if he ever becomes deprived of it, which has happened to him on a number of occasions (Hazama deactivating the Grimoire and Celica nullifying it). After going through Power Loss Makes You Strong in Chronophantasma, he learns how to fight without relying on it.
• Power Degeneration: The more Ragna uses the fake Azure, the greater the chance that it will take control of his entire body and turn him into a humanoid Black Beast.
• Power Gives You Wings: His dark power manifests in a dark angel wing during his win poses.
• Power Glows: Blood Kain comes with a black/dark purple glow.
• Power Loss Makes You Strong: Pretty much his Character Arc in Chronophantasma, he's unable to use his Azure Grimoire and is forced to fight without it. In the process, he grows to understand the meaning of power and the responsibility that comes with it. After this, he becomes far more powerful and skilled than he ever was prior. See Took a Level in Badass below.
• Power-Up Letdown: Calamity Trigger Reconstruction brings back the moment Ragna finally stops holding back (see Power Limiter above), only this time, for whatever reason, Unlimited Ragna does not become playable. Cue Unlimited Hakumen and Nu-13.
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Right before he devours Terumi's soul for good.
  "Be devoured by the infinite darkness... Yuuki Terumi"
• The Promise: His promise to Litchi to spare Arakune. Also one for Celica in the past, as Bloodedge, to meet again in the future.
• Protagonist Title: He is the fourth game's Central Fiction. Also, to a lesser extent, BlazBlue refers to the Azure Grimoire (which he, and Hazama, wield).
• Punched Across the Room: It's played for laughs, but he did deck Kagura across the room for flirting with Noel, whom is half the reincarnation of his sister, Saya (the other being Izanami).
• Punctuated Pounding: Goes hand in hand with being a Large Ham during gameplay. Any match when he fights Jin or Hazama (but not Terumi strangely enough) is effectively a shouting match between the two.
• Real Men Cook: His hobby is... cooking. Apparently, his specialty is meat dishes... which Jin happens to despise. Somewhat justified, as his master Jubei is a Supreme Chef, some of his cooking skills might've been passed on to Ragna.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: Subverted. He wears a red jacket and a black vest underneath, but he's both The Hero and while a bit of a dick at times, he's positively a messiah compared to Relius and Hazama.
• Red Baron: As mentioned, his moniker is "Grim Reaper" due to his Badass Longcoat and Sinister Scythe.
• Red Oni: To Jin's Blue Oni.
• Red Right Hand: His right arm is the Azure Grimoire, and he turns it into a giant demonic claw for Devoured by Darkness.
• Resist the Beast: He's repeatedly told not to overuse his Azure Grimoire to hold him back from being turned into a new Black Beast. He seems to learn his lesson slowly but surely; when he's provoked into unleashing his Azure Grimoire against Azrael, he almost complies - but he forcefully stops in the middle of it. And when Izanami causes his Grimoire to go berserk, he still tries to hold himself back from killing Jin and Noel.
• Retgone: In the ending of Centralfiction, he erases everyone's memories of him, then "wakes the Master Unit up from her dreams"; as Ragna himself is the center of the Master Unit's "dream", this causes him to start fading out from existence, as confirmed by Amane. With that, he creates a new "possibility" with the Azure and returns the Master Unit to the boundary.
• Reverse Grip: How he frequently holds Blood-Scythe. Might also be a nod to Sol Badguy.
• Rolling Attack: His new move in CP, Blood-Scythe, is him doing this with his scythe form of his weapon.
• Rule of Symbolism:
  • The color red in BlazBlue represents chaos. Considering Ragna being the sole threat to the world's stability thanks to him being the most wanted criminal in the world and a One-Man Army who routinely destroys NOL bases, it suits him pretty well.
  • White in some Asian countries means death. His Red Baron is the Grim Reaper, coupled with his white hair further symbolizes the potential for destruction he can cause.
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Him and Celica seem to have this dynamic. She's incredibly Genki, and Ragna is constantly exasperated at her energy and No Sense of Direction. At times, though, they may become Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl instead.
• Say My Name: TERUMI!!!, JIN!, SAYA!!!
• Screaming Warrior: Not a single match using doesn't have him shout at the top of his lungs.
• Screams Like a Little Girl: In his CS Gag Reel, after realizing that he became what he feared the most: a ghost. Being the Butt-Monkey he is, he is mocked relentlessly afterward by Rachel and Tager, of all people. Link to proof is above under Large Ham.
• Screw Destiny: Basically tells this to Jin in his CS True Ending. He doesn't care if he is destined to be the Destroyer of the World, he's going to fight that destiny, and that if Jin wants to fight him, he should do it as his brother rather than as the World's Antibody.
• Shaping Your Attacks: A good number of his specials come out with the imagery of dark claws or beastly heads.
• Ship Tease: Ragna is shipped with some of the females of the cast, both in promotions and within the games themselves. It gets Played for Laughs in a recurring Gag Reel from CS onwards, when almost every named female character^note And Jin falls in love with him when wears the Spectacles of Eros.
• Shotoclone: Conspicuously averts this with his lack of full-screen projectiles and hurricane kick. Inferno Divider on the other hand....
  • While not full screen, in Chronophantasma, Dead Spike's input has changed (to a 236/QCF motion) while looking and functioning more like a projectile.
• Signature Move: Most of his specials, DD and Astral Heat can be this, but special mention goes to his Dead Spike (where he throws out a monstrous head made of darkness). It even becomes its own character in a spinoff game.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Someone really needs to wash his mouth out with some soap, and this is taken up a notch whenever he's up against someone he really hates (Jin, Terumi, etc.)
• Skill Gate Characters: Being a main character, it's a given. He has tools for virtually every situation, doesn't have any odd gimmick, and his combos are pretty easy, yet do good amount of damage. However, he also has among the lowest health in the game.
• Smarter Than You Look: Despite all the mocking he gets from his contemporaries about his stupidity (not helped by his Leeroy Jenkins mentality), he has had moments showing that he's more intelligent than what some give him credit for, even coming up with a plan that almost singlehandedly derailed Doomsday.
• Snark-to-Snark Combat: Whenever he has a conversation with Rachel, sit back, grab a popcorn and enjoy the show.
• SNK Boss: His "Unlimited" version in Calamity Trigger's Arcade. And again as a hidden boss in Central Fiction's Act 3 Arcade.
• Stable Time Loop: His existence and major actions revolve around this. It's through his actions as Bloodedge, aided by Rachel, that he can stop the Black Beast for a year and inspire the Six Heroes to unite and arm humanity with Ars Magus, which defeated the Black Beast. His sword and jacket also has no real origin, as he gives them to Celica to be then given to young Ragna, only for him to grow up and become the Black Beast and then have Ragna (coming from the future) taking them up again. He himself is one, too - the Azure Grimoire he uses is actually his own decapitated corpse, after the Black Beast is decapitated - which is why Azure Grimoire's initial form looks like a little headless humanoid statue.
• Sticks to the Back: His Blood-Scythe freely hangs horizontally on the back of his hip when he's not using it.
• Stock Shōnen Hero: Nope. While Ragna is visually based on the traditional anime hero (spiky hair, red outfit, short fuse…), he has more in common with the '90s Anti-Hero archetype. He does shed his more negative attributes in the later games, but not enough to fit the trope.
• Stunned Silence: In one of the gag reels of Chrono Phantasma, when he's at a loss for words after Celica confirmed that she likes him.
• Super Mode: In terms of gameplay, Blood Kain acted as this for the first two games before it became the standard Overdrive. Story wise, his Super Mode is activating BlazBlue and unleashing the full power of the Azure Grimoire (which translates to playing as Unlimited Ragna in gameplay, until CF).
• Superpower Meltdown: His Azure Grimoire will damage his soul the more he activates it and makes him more at risk at losing control and turning into a Black Beast. In fact, that ends up happening in his CS bad ending.
• Swiss-Army Weapon: The Blood-Scythe/Aramasa, which doubles as both a BFS and, as one of its names suggests, a Sinister Scythe.

T - Z

• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: 6’1, wears black and red clothing along with using the power of the Black Beast, and quite a decent guy to look at.
• Temporal Paradox: In Chronophantasma and as detailed in the Phase 0 novels, Ragna went back in time and eventually left his jacket and sword with Celica before he returned to the present and Ragna would eventually inherit said jacket and sword from Jubei. So basically, his jacket and sword have no point of origin. Even stranger, when Ragna eventually returns to the present, he's without the jacket and sword but somehow gains them again in the very next scene. Also, Mitsuyoshi gets his alias "Jubei" from the future Ragna who called him such, being Jubei's disciple.
• Theme Naming: Ragna's attack names sound dark and demonic (Dead Spike, Belial Edge, Blood Kain, and Carnage Scissors), invoke the imagery of Hell (Hell's Fang, Inferno Divider, and Gauntlet Hades), or involve darkness in some way (Devoured by Darkness).
• The Stoic: Downplayed, as Ragna has a case of Hair-Trigger Temper, but whenever he isn't screaming in rage, he's usually a Perpetual Frowner with a gruff air around him.
• This Is Unforgivable!: He'll shout this at Jin when using some of his specials. In CS, he shouts it at Hazama during an animated cutscene.
• Three-Strike Combo: His Inferno Divider can be followed up by 2 more commands. Meanwhile, Unlimited Ragna can follow up his special Dead Spike by 2 more commands.
• Tomato in the Mirror:
  • While the details are a mystery, it appears Ragna is not a naturally born human, a point he tries in vain to use to argue Noel back into sanity. He's aware of whatever is going on, but we the audience have to wait on another sequel. It's revealed in Centralfiction that he's the natural born son of an artificial human, aka the 5th Prime Field device.
  • Used quite literally in Phase 0, where it is revealed that Ragna is the original Bloodedge, just without his memory.
• Took a Level in Badass: He takes a jump in every game.
  • In Continuum Shift, he gains the Idea Engine and is able to overpower Hazama/Terumi's influence on his Grimoire. This gets lampshaded by a few characters during his Arcade and early story mode in Chronophantasma. Tager notes that his power supersedes all data previously acquired on him, and after fighting Hakumen to a draw later down the road, he notes his improvement.
    Tager: This power. This doesn't match the data I'd collected on you.
    
    Hakumen: Hm hm, you've become quite formidable, Dark One...
  • In Chronophantasma, he learns how to fight without relying on the Azure Grimoire's power constantly, becoming far more skilled and powerful than he ever was previously. As a result, in True Ending he managed to defeat Gigant: Take-Mikazuchi with his Azure Grimoire activated, which not only has the size of a satellite but is also said to be equal to the Black Beast, albeit that time it was weakened by both Celica's power and Kushinada's Lynchpin.^note Though this is a bit ambiguous, as while Celica and Kushinada's Lynchpin did weaken it, Izanami did outright state that she would lend Gigant her power. This implies that she kept it at full potential throughout the fight. Without activating the Azure Grimoire, he's able to effortlessly defeat Nu-13 of all people^note Unlike all their previous encounters, Nu was actively trying to kill him and Ragna was actively trying to save her (i.e. he was holding back), and later in Central Fiction, outright stalemate sealed Azrael and Kagura^note who can defeat the former and did so while weakened by the Embryo's effects. He also can pose a threat to Nine^note one of the only characters not being weakened by the Embryo other than Ragna himself due to using natural magic, on top of being one of the best mages in the world as a former Six Heroes, and ultimately becomes the only character powerful enough to match the Physical God, Susano'o, through the use of his Dangerous Forbidden Technique.
  • In Central Fiction, he becomes much smarter, coming up with a plan to deny the entitled their desires and almost single-handedly derails Doomsday. However, there's a subversion when Hakumen is suspicious of his power after he curb-stomps the entire roster, including Take-Mikazuchi-infused Nu-13, and later Hakumen himself when he challenges him, where it happens due to everyone progressively becoming weaker thanks to the Embryo, rather than Ragna becoming further stronger aside from his Boxing Lessons for Superman throughout Chronophantasma.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Throughout Chronophantasma, he starts moving past his need for revenge and sheds most of his darker qualities, becoming much nicer and more polite with his allies in the process. But since he's still Ragna at heart, he's still a bit of a smart-ass, just not a perpetually angry one anymore.
• Touched by Vorlons: He gained his powers (ie. his Drive) when he fused with a fragment of the Black Beast, which became his new right arm.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Tentama udon (heaven orb/jewel udon). He's always shown eating it whenever he dine-n-dashes.
• Tragic Hero: The entire series may as well be called 'How Ragna's Life Sucks' with the amount of potshots and shit he goes through. Despite being born in a lab, Ragna was able to live a happy life with Celica and his siblings, Jin and Saya. It all ended when his own brother, manipulated by Terumi, cuts off his arm and on the verge of death, is replaced with a piece of an Eldritch Abomination that once polluted the world a century ago. This instilled immense anger within Ragna, who resorted to taking down NOL bases as a means of revenge and to get back at him. However, his path of vengeance, while understandable, has earned him the world's hatred, with many from all sides and factions mocking him for his shortsightedness or outright call him evil even when he becomes a better person. To make it even worse, It's then found out that he's the Central Fiction, and the world would be unable to move forward and stuck in a state of constant reset unless Ragna saves Amaterasu. He does so, at the cost of his own existence and everyone's approval of him, causing him to be viewed as nothing more than a monster. You know you're this trope if the only way to get a semblance of rest is total existence erasure with no one remembering the good you do.
• Troubled, but Cute: You can thank Terumi for all the trauma and pain Ragna received. Even after he receives Character Development, he still has a gruff air around him. He may not be a Bishōnen like his brother, but Ragna isn’t a pushover in looks.
• True Companions: Despite Ragna's rough exterior, he actually manages to form this relationship with quite a few characters.
  • First, there's Jubei, Ragna's teacher and arguably the closest thing he has to a father figure. A good example of their close friendship is that Jubei is one of the few people Ragna addresses in a respectful way, calling him "Master". Ragna's signature jacket and weapon were also a gift from Jubei, both of which used to belong to an old friend. It is also entirely possible that Jubei taught Ragna not just how to fight, but also how to cook, which went on to become Ragna's hobby.
  • Taokaka is also another example. Even before his Character Development, she was arguably the only person he considered a friend, promising to play with her some day and taking a nap with her. Tao has also been Ragna's companion during his travel to Ikaruga under request by Jubei, something that Ragna was only slightly bothered by, but also seemed to be rather amused with her company.
  • Then there's Celica, Ragna's surrogate mother, one of the few characters that he's comfortable being around, even toning down his attitude when around her. She's also a major part of his Character Development in Chronophantasma, and protecting her is also a major part of Ragna's purpose in life.
  • And while it may not look like it, Rachel is probably his biggest companion. For all their Snark-to-Snark Combat, some moments show they truly care for each other, so much so that even after Ragna is erased from existence and everyone forgets about him, Rachel still manages to keep some memories of him and is determined to bring him back despite not even fully remembering him.
• True Final Boss: Unlimited Ragna in Calamity Trigger Arcade Mode. Reappears with full force in Central Fiction act 3.
• Tulpa: As the titular Central Fiction, this is effectively the true nature of Ragna's existence. He came to be because the Origin, the girl inside of the Amaterasu Unit, wished for someone to free her from her imprisonment within the Boundary. This single powerful desire, combined with teh Amaterasu Unit's ability to performn phenomenon intervention, resulted in Ragna literally being willed into the world, being born as one of the three children of the 5th Prime Field Device. Per Rachel's description, Ragna is the "hero" of the Origin's dream, created to slay the monster Susano'o and save her. Fittingly, it also partially explains how he can erase both his own existence from the world and memories of himself from others: because he technically doesn't exist since he is an extension of the Origin's will in much the same way the other Murakumo units and izanami are.
• Two Guys and a Girl: In covers and promotional ads, Ragna, Jin and Noel are always sided together as the series's main protagonists.
• The Unchosen One: CF has it mentioned that he's not one of the Entitled, i.e those who qualify to have their desire granted in the Embryo with the Azure. Subverted for the true reasoning behind it: He is the dream that "god" observes, i.e the Central Fiction itself, and thus the hero in the "Story of the World". Not being the Entitled also makes him stay strong while the Entitled slowly get their souls being sucked to the Boundary, making them weaker. He's also the "Man of the Azure", the only one qualifying to walk into the Azure Gate and take the True Azure to create new possibilities.
• Unperson: His ultimate fate by the end of Central Fiction, he made the world forgot that he ever existed to allow it to move forward, as it was what made The Origin constantly resetting the world with Amaterasu Unit.
• Unskilled, but Strong: As noted by Kagura, Ragna really doesn't use any sort of skill or finesse when he fights but just straight up throws his power around against anyone who gets in his way and use the Azure Grimoire when things look bleak. If somebody can negate his Azure Grimoire (which a lot of characters have the ability to do) then he really finds himself in trouble. Though he starts growing out of this in Chronophantasma, as mentioned above in Boxing Lessons for Superman. By the end of that game, he seems to have improved enough that he can curb-stomp Nu, and later in mid-to-late Central Fiction, he can outright equal Azrael and Kagura, all 3 are done without activating the Azure Grimoire. Later he can fight evenly against Nine.^note Though in Kagura's case, he was one of the entitled having his soul drained by the Boundary, though it is worth noting that this doesn't diminish skill. Especially since Kagura was able to fight and defeat Azrael later down the road relying primarily on skill and finesse (with some help from Jin). In Nine's case, she's one of the few NOT getting their soul and strength sapped out due to having natural magic, not a drive.
• Unstoppable Rage: He was enraged after Lambda/Nu's Heroic Sacrifice and death at the hands of Terumi (which is really saying something given his usual attitude). What followed was one of the most satisfying beatdowns in the series.
  Time to die, you degenerate son-of-a-Bitch!!
  • This is actually dangerous if he gets too out of control since his emotions will only accelerate the progression of his erosion into the Black Beast. This happens first in CP when Azrael attacks Celica to provoke him into a fight and then in CF when Hazama taunts him after taking Rachel captive and telling Ragna exactly how he tortured Saya.
• Unwanted Harem: Starting from the second game, each game has a Gag Reel devoted to giving Ragna this. All of them involve the Spectacles of Eros given to him by Rachel, and his harem just increases in size game after game.
• Unwitting Pawn: To Hazama/Yuuki Terumi. He used Ragna's battle with Mu to make Takamagahara distracted so he can hack into them.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: He's basically this with all of his associates, particularly with Rachel. He may be constantly annoyed at her attitude, but he always comes through for her when she needs him to. Not to mention she saved him from dying in his past.
• Vocal Evolution: Ragna's voice (both in Japanese and English) has gotten slightly deeper over time, most likely as a way of showing his character growth.
• Weapon Tombstone: At the end of Central Fiction, he leaves behind his Bloodscythe after moving on to the Boundary. The Stinger shows that it's disappeared.
• Weapon Twirling: He does this in one of his Battle Intro.
• What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Did not consider any of the Prime Field Devices humans, just things that needed to be destroyed. However, after meeting Noel (and Lambda in the Anime), a Prime Field Device who is almost indistinguishable from a normal human, he starts questioning this stance. After Noel is mind raped into her Prime Field personality, Ragna has the epiphany that it doesn't matter if she's human or not and that she has a right to live and this enables him to restore her to her "good" self.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Near the end of the anime towards Rachel and Kokonoe, calling them out holier than thou attitude but having no alternatives to save Noel after she's been tempered to her Murakumo personality.
  • Gives Kokonoe a second one in Chronophantasma for her plan to use Celica to activate a Fantastic Nuke, knowing full well it would kill her in the process.
• White Hair, Black Heart: Subverted. Sure, he's a big, swear-prone meanie head with outspoken hatred to the world and has become infamous as a criminal, but at times he can't help but be helpful to people.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He's rather comically afraid of ghosts. Many gag reels play with this.
• Why Won't You Die?: "Die Already!"; something he yells out while fighting. Especially for Terumi/Hazama.
• Willfully Weak: Let's just say that if he kept activating the Grimoire in almost every single fight he was in across all games, the Earth would have been destroyed a long time ago, as his bad ending in CS can attest.
• Wistful Amnesia: Even during is amnesic phase in CF, he can still remember his resolve to save Nu, Noel, and Saya. He also has an extreme urge to murder Hazama and Terumi despite not knowing who they are, and feels extremely uncomfortable around Jin and Hakumen.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Pre-Character Development. Really more noticeable in the Anime.
• The Worf Effect: Whenever a powerful new character comes along, their first feats of strength is usually beating the shit out of Ragna to prove how badass they are. Hakumen, Terumi, Kagura, Azrael, and Nine are the most notable characters to do this.
• Worf Had the Flu:
  • Most of his losses are due to some influence out of his control; Hakumen's sword negates his Healing Factor, Terumi's Azure Grimoire shut down his own before he acquired the Idea Engine, and he only had use of one arm and eye when he fought Jin and Azrael. Some of his early losses in Central Fiction were also a result of him suffering from amnesia and having no clue what was going on around him.
  • The Inverse happens in Central Fiction. He dishes out Curb Stomp Battles to the entire cast, but this was partly due to the Embryo draining the souls of everyone who had a drive (i.e. the Entitled), and therefore weakening them. After he effortlessly beats an amped up Nu-13 and Hakumen in rapid succession, he points this out.
    Ragna: ...Do you get it now? I'm not the one who got stronger... All of you just got weaker.
• World's Strongest Man: Sort of, even though he has the reputation of one. On his own, while absurdly powerful and much stronger than most of the cast, there are a good number of characters who supersede him in strength. When he activates the Azure Grimoire, however, only the absolute strongest characters in the BlazBlue world can hope to match him. This, combined with him staying strong while others are getting weaker due to the Embryo's effects and a Dangerous Forbidden Technique is the reason why, in the end, he's the only character that's in the same ball bark as Susano'o, a Physical God.
• Worthy Opponent: Despite his status as the series Chew Toy, he does garner some bit of respect for his reputation; The likes of Jin, Hakumen, and Azrael all express a desire to fight him at his best.
• Would Hit a Girl: He will hit a girl if they attack him, but that's only because holding back against a girl in this setting is a good way to get your ass kicked. Although much like his younger brother, Jin (in his defense, Jin atleast was ''never'' shown on-screen to have killed a woman but would give them warnings if they get in his way), it was shown that Ragna has no qualms in hitting (or in this case, killing) a defenseless woman if you are in his way. especially if you are from the NOL. He was once shown to have violently killed everyone while raiding an NOL base, men and women alike. Yeah folks, Ragna doesn't discriminate.
  (to Litchi) "*sigh* It just doesn't feel right fighting a woman."
  (to Nu, before killing her) "I really am sorry... Saya..."
  (to Lambda) "This whole thing... just... sucks!"
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: After feeling somewhat powerless since he doesn't have access to his powers and sees how hard Jin and Noel are fighting for someone they care about, Celica keeps pressing him with this to the point where it eventually hits home and makes him change his attitude somewhat.
• You Are Number 6: Several pieces of official art show a tattoo marking Ragna as number five of something, similar to the Murakumo Units. Because he is a child of the 5th Prime Field Device.
• Your Days Are Numbered: At the end of Chronophantasma Rachel reveals that the evil inside of him is slowly consuming him. With the amount of seithr in the world lowered, he has even less time, thus he must be killed before that happens. If that fails, then apparently killing Rachel might help as well.
• You Rebel Scum!: How most of the normal NOL see him. Also, his theme song? It's called "Rebellion."
• You're Insane!: He thinks Rachel is insane, calling her a "twisted, evil, blood-sucking rabbit" in her Continuum Shift Gag Reel when, due to the effect of the Spectacles of Eros, Luna falls madly in love with him and Rachel taunts her by claiming that he's head-over-heels in love with her (Rachel).
  Rachel: "Ragna is simply head over heels in love with me, of course!"
  Luna: "Is... is this true?!"
  Ragna: "No! And in case you missed it the first time, HELL NO! You twisted, evil, blood-sucking rabbit! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
• You're Nothing Without Your Phlebotinum: After losing the ability to use the Azure Grimoire in Chronophantasma, he comes to acknowledge that he relies on it too much and can't fight without it. A major part of his character arc in the game is learning to rely on his own strength and not a power that doesn't belong to him.
• Your Soul Is Mine!: The Azure Grimoire grants him the ability to drain and devour souls to rejuvenate himself. His Astral, Black Onslaught, completely devours the soul of his victim and erases their existence. This is the fate he bestows on Terumi after he defeats him at the end of CF.
• Zero-Approval Gambit: What he ultimately decides to do in CF Act 3 in order to try and change the world. He finally accepts what it truly means to be "the enemy of the world", and chooses to protect the girl in the Amaterasu unit and create change for the world by denying and devouring everyone's wishes, including her own, reasoning that the Entitled's desires will all just end with the world "repeating its mistakes again" and thus, he wants people to stop denying their losses and misfortunes (as one sentence in Act 3 opening says: "Leave no regret behind.") He knows full well that by doing this, he will end up having to hurt and sever ties with his friends and even his own brother.

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