A list over some of the main characters in Ginga: Nagareboshi Gin. For characters who were introduced in the sequel, see Characters Ginga Densetsu Weed.
Unmarked spoilers ahead.
Dogs
Gin
Click here to see him in GDW anime
Breed: Akita Inu
Voiced by: Eiko Yamada (GNG), Hiroki Tochi (GDW)
The protagonist of the series and Riki’s son. At just one week old he witnesses his father thrown into a crevice by Akakabuto, presumably killing him. Takeda Gohei, Riki's owner, swears revenge and from there on trains Gin to become his next bear hound.
Gin returns in Ginga Densetsu Weed, where he is Weed's father and Older and Wiser compared to his younger self.
- Amazing Technicolor Wildlife: Averted in the first series where his fur is a gray silver. Subverted in the sequels (and the reprint covers of the first series manga) where his fur is blue like his son Weed and grandson Sirius, despite the fact that all three are still described as being silver.
- But Now I Must Go: Leaves Daisuke and the rest of his life behind in episode 8 to join the pack travelling across Japan in search for strong dogs to defeat Akakabuto with.
- Berserker Tears: When he fights Moss, believing he killed Ben. Also towards Akakabuto at the climax battle.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: Especially apparent when he picks up Moss the 200 pounds Mastiff like it’s nothing and slams him to the ground. Gets even worse later on when he... somehow, manages to grab Benizakura (a guy almost the size of a bull) and jump with him several feet into the air as if the latter was a feather.
- Chekhov's Skill: His harsh underwater training comes in handy when he's fighting Kurotora, whose breed's only weakness is water. There continues to be other moments in the series where he survives or saves his friends through how long he can stay underwater for.
- Comforting Comforter: He covers a sleeping Daisuke with a blanket before leaving with the Ohu soldiers.
- Coming of Age Story: Nagareboshi Gin is told from the day he’s born to the day he becomes the leader of the Twin Pass.
- Distressed Dude:
- He is nearly killed by Sniper at one point and only survives because Smith saves him.
- Later he’s almost killed by Sniper again, this time indirectly saved by Daisuke, the collar he gave him fooling Sniper into snapping that instead of his neck.
- In Ginga Densetsu Weed, he, along with John and Hiro, were captured by Hougen and tortured. In the anime, he is rescued by Akame along with Kyoshiro, while in the manga he was motivated by the ghosts of John and Smith and managed to escape the prison by himself despite his injury.
- Handicapped Badass: Due to his age and his injuries sustained from the battles against Hougen and later Victor, his sight was weakened and suffered a light stroke. It didn't stop him from fighting and temporarily taking the leader position when Weed was away, though.
- Heroic Second Wind: When fighting Sniper.
- Heroic Willpower: When he pulls Daisuke out from a crevice the latter falls into, letting all of Daisuke’s weight rest on his tiny puppy body while holding onto the rope pulling them up. It got the point his collar tore into his throat and made him unable to breath, yet he refused to let go.
- A Hero Is Born: His introduction in the first episode.
- Instant Expert: Learns to perform Battouga after seeing it in action few minutes earlier.
- The Leader: The Charismatic type.
- Legendary in the Sequel: In Densetsu Weed, he's the famous "Leader of Ohu" and has been for ten years. His son Weed need only tell the dogs he meets who his father is to cause a lot of either awe or chaos.
- Luke, You Are My Father: Tries to tell Riki this upon meeting him again, but the latter suffers from amnesia at this point and has no clue what he’s talking about.
- Meaningful Name: His name means "Silver", given to him by Daisuke for his silver-colored fur.
- Messianic Archetype: As Ben puts it, he sports a strong sense of justice and determination, which is what wins him strong loyalty as well as friendship with his comrades and eventually gives him the leader role. By the end of the anime (and the Akakabuto arc of the manga), he becomes the leader over more than one thousand dogs and the entire Twin Pass territory.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Had a moment of this after he killed Juga, complete with Tears of Remorse.
- Retired Badass:
- With his son Weed taking the position of the leader at the end of the Hougen arc, he becomes this.
- In The Last Wars (the sequel to Ginga Densetsu Orion), Gin's age leads to him developing cataracts in his eyes, leaving him almost blind. In a sad irony, his old age and blindness leads to him almost being killed by Akakabuto's offspring, only to be saved at the last minute by Hiro giving his life to protect him.
- Scars Are Forever: Suffers a strike from the first bear he and Daisuke fights, which gives him three permanent scars on his forehead.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: He's born with brindle fur (referred to as "tiger stripes" in-universe), which is what makes Daisuke recognize him as stronger and more valuable than his brothers. After three episodes have passed however, said stripes disappear and are never seen again (possibly due to them being difficult to animate). They are still visible in the manga, however, and in some of the stylized still shots in the anime.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: The reason Ben picks him to take over his platoon after the latter's handicap; he has a stronger sense of justice and determination than anyone else, despite only being an adolescent.
- You Don't Look Like You: A common complaint of the Densetsu Weed sequel is how his design changed from the silver fur and brown eyes to blue fur and blue eyes instead.
Riki
Breed: Akita Inu
Voiced by: Banjou Ginga
Gin’s father and described as the strongest bear hound there is. He’s seemingly killed in the first episode while fighting Akakabuto, but is revealed to be alive later on, having established himself as “The Leader” over the dogs in Ohu, and gathers them to find as many strong dogs as possible to fight Akakabuto. He does not remember Gin or having a past life however.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Has red fur in the manga.
- All There in the Manual: Or at least in a short story. ‘’Ginga Densetsu Riki’’ is a manga-only prequel with six chapters, telling the story of his puppyhood.
- Badass in Distress: He's temporarily weakened after using the Battouga at one point which results in a surprise attack by Akakabuto's underlings burying him under a pile of timber. He lives however, and somehow gets his memories back following so.
- Big Damn Heroes: In the manga, he saves John and an unconscious Daisuke from a bear.
- Came Back Strong: When he’s revealed to be alive, he looks twice as muscular as he did in the first episode, and has gathered dozens of dogs under his command, to which he’s their “great leader”.
- The Cameo: He appears as a ghost at the battle between Weed and Hougen in Densetsu Weed.
- Disney Death: Apparently dies in the first episode only to return alive and well in Episode 8.
- Dramatic Irony: He was the runt of his litter, strongly attached to his mother and cried easily. It wasn't until a bunch of rogue dogs pushed him into a corner while still a puppy that his "bear-hound blood awoke" and he showed what he was really capable of. Later he turned out the one of Shiro's pups that had inherited his father's genes the most.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": He’s simply known as “The Leader”.
- A Father to His Men: Invoked when Gin calls him out for being his father. He suffers from Identity Amnesia at the time and takes the statement as Gin meaning he sees him as this trope, and proceeds to call the rest of the dogs his "children".
- Final SpeechMy son... You've won so don't cry. .. Celebrate! ... Howl for the honor of the dead... and celebrate with the survivors...
- The Leader: The Mastermind type. Again, it’s even literally the name he goes by. Or more precisely “Boss”.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: He presumably suffered a blow to the head from his deep fall into a crevice, causing him to forget all about his past life with a human owner as well as mate and puppies. The only thing he remembered was his hatred for Akakabuto.
- Meaningful Name: "Strength". Although, he was actually the runt of his litter and was given the name so he’d have something to live up to, making it an Ironic Name to begin with.
- Momma's Boy: He was revealed to be this as a puppy in the prequel.
- One-Man Army: After sending all of his army away to gather more troops throughout Japan, he himself stays behind to fight the bears under Akakabuto's rule.
- Papa Wolf: In the first episode, he tries his best to protect Gin from Akakabuto.
- Scars Are Forever: Has an impressive set of them after all his bear battles.
- Single-Stroke Battle: He delivers this on John, much to the latter's surprise.
- Take Up My Sword: While dying from his wounds, he makes Gin the new Leader.
- Undying Loyalty: Towards Gohei, as he demonstrates in both the first and last episode.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: In the manga, he still has his collar when he shows up alive. In the anime, he's lost it.
- "X" Marks the Hero: Has several "X" marked scars on his body from his bear battles.
John
Click here to see him in GDW anime
Breed: German Shepherd
Voiced by: Hideyuki Hori (GNG), Toru Ohkawa (GDW)
A skilled, but arrogant hunting dog who develops a certain rivalry with Gin upon his introduction.
- Anime Accent Absence: He comes from Europe and is given orders by Hidetoshi in English. Even so he speaks fluent Japanese.
- Possibly meant as a sort of Translation Convention - that is, the language of dogs is the same the world over, regardless of what language their owners use.
- And to be fair, John was originally stated to have been born in Tokyo in the GNG manga. This was retconned much later on.
- Anti-Hero: Shares this role with Moss and Kai Brothers. John is an arrogant, cocky and short-tempered dog who often recklessly challenges much stronger opponents and has a notably harsh tongue. However, he is also very loyal and brave.
- Break the Haughty: Loses his arrogance after being defeated by Riki In the manga however, he continues to have an arrogant streak, just not to the same extent as before.
- Changed My Mind, Kid: Reunites with Gin and the pack in episode 13 after being delivered a Rousing Speech by Riki.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In the sequel, he died fighting Hougen and his army in order to buy time for Hiro and Reika to escape.
- Hot-Blooded: He's always ready to fight and put his skills on display.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: A haughty and ruthless hunting dog at first, but eventually reveals to Gin that his gaze had “swept him away” sometimes, and while they separate he wishes him a good life. Later he returns to join the pack, and develops a close friendship with Gin over time.
- Rasputinian Death: While doing his best to Hold the Line against Hougen so the others can escape, he gets brutalized but manages to stay alive far longer than he should be able to — and this after already having been beaten within an inch of his life by Hougen's soldiers and starved for days. Even more so in the manga, where he gets his intestines ripped out by Hougen but manages to shrug it off for a little while and only dies once his Heroic Willpower finally runs out.
- The Rival: To begin with.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He thinks “The Leader” and the dog pack are crazy for believing they can be stronger than human weapons, and leaves them to stay with his owner. As mentioned above however, he’s eventually convinced by Riki and decides to join them after all.
- You Don't Look Like You: A similar complaint along with Gin in the Densetsu Weed sequel, though in John's case they truthfully tried to make him look closer to how he did in the manga.
- Would Hurt a Child: Ruthlessly kills two innocent bear cubs which infuriates Gin.
Ben
Breed: Great Dane
Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka (GNG), Katsuhisa Hōki (GDW)
The leader of one of Riki’s platoons that Gin joins.
- Babies Ever After: Has three pups with Cross.
- Badass Pacifist: When it comes to other dogs, he doesn’t believe in killing or even seriously injuring anyone, but fights through either wearing his opponent out or delivering a brief attack to exemplify his strength. Even towards the traitor Hyena, all he does is briefly beat him up as punishment while allowing him to stay in the pack, consenting he’d rather forgive than kill. It’s only when facing Akakabuto that all morality is thrown out the window and he wants nothing more but to tear the bear apart.
- Battle Aura: Gets this when he prepares to fight Mosa.
- Beware the Nice Ones
- Big Damn Heroes: He rescued the Kai Brothers from a marten (often mistranslated as mountain dog) when they were puppies. This makes them remember him years later and agree to join the Ohu army.
- The Determinator: Even while going blind, he still insists on fighting Akakabuto to the point he scores first blood against him at the climax battle.
- Disney Death: Twice even.
- Handicapped Badass: Akame's poisoning causes him to slowly go blind, yet he can still hold his own in a fight.
- Large and in Charge: Is the largest member in his entire team, and also its leader.
- Made of Iron: Over the course of the series, he gets struck by a giant rock, poisoned, falls down a deep crevice and suffers several harsh blows from Akakabuto’s claws that any of the random dogs would have instantly bit the dust from, but is completely fine by the end of the day, save having damaged sight.
- The Men First: When the pack is poisoned in the Iga village, he refuses to eat the antidote until everyone else has.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: As mentioned above, when he and his pack gets poisoned, he refuses to take the antidote until everyone else has. Because of treating himself too late, the poison ends up slowly ruining his vision.
- Official Couple: With Cross.
- Taking You with Me: Hurls himself along with Sniper off a cliff in order to attempt this. They both live however as they fall into a river.
- You Are in Command Now: Makes Gin the leader of his platoon when going blind, even though Gin is an adolescent at the time. Justified as he’s every inch of a Kid Hero.
Cross
Click here to see her in GDW anime
Breed: Saluki
Voiced by: Toshiko Fujita (GNG), Keiko Mizutani (GDW)
The only female in Ben’s platoon, possibly in the entire pack.
- Action Girl: She's the only female dog deemed tough enough be a part of a team.
- Action Mom: In the manga. In the anime, she does not fight again after she becomes pregnant.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: In the manga, she has white fur, but for whatever reason her fur is cyan in the anime adaption of the first series. Her fur is white in both anime and manga of the sequel series though.
- Babies Ever After: She becomes pregnant and has three pups with Ben.
- Berserk Button: She apparently hates having her past life with puppies brought up, as Ben finds out the hard way, so to speak.
- Broken Pedestal: She had once hunted Akakabuto along with her owner and several other dogs, to which she was the only survivor while said owner had abandoned them all and ran away in fear, despite her having fiercely protected him. This action of his caused her to lose her trust in humans completely.
- Chickification: Eventually becomes pregnant with Ben's pups and stays completely out of the final battle.
- Damsel in Distress: Gets kidnapped along with her pups in the Wolf arc, prompting Gin and others to go look for her.
- Disney Death: Falls down a cliff when attempting to save Kurojaki's puppy, but is shortly after revealed to have survived.
- Dog Stereotype: Being the only female, her breed is a very feminine-looking one.
- Informed Attribute: Very little about her resembles a Saluki.
- Mama Bear: When witnessing Wilson losing Kurojaki’s puppy down a cliff due to the latter’s interference, she immediately jumps in to grab it and falls down with it, upon returning explains that she can withstand sorrow and hate, but not a crying child.
- Official Couple: With Ben.
- Pregnant Badass: To a degree. She swims an ocean to reach Gin, and runs with the pack for many miles while pregnant.
- The Smurfette Principle: She's the only female dog in Riki's pack as well as one of the best hunters.
- Through a Face Full of Fur: Blushes in both instances where her pregnancy is revealed.
Smith
Click here to see him in GDW anime
Breed: French Spaniel
Voiced by: Kyouko Tonguu (GNG), Ryūsei Nakao (GDW)
Another leader in Ben’s platoon. Next to John, he becomes one of Gin’s best friends.
- Cool Old Guy: Come the sequel he's mellowed out & wisened up with age, while still retaining his valor from his youth and losing much of his cowardice.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Acts like the comic relief most of the time, but is a capable fighter none the less.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Towards Cross (in manga only).
- Handicapped Badass: In Densetsu Weed, he becomes this after losing his right front leg when saving GB from getting hit by a truck.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In the sequel, he intentionally makes the cave around him and Kaibutsu collapse in an attempt to kill the mutant dog. Unfortunately it turns out a Senseless Sacrifice.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: Makes a rather unnecessary sexist remark towards Cross in the anime. There's also an exchange he has with Gin in the manga where he basically says he doesn't want Gin to risk dying to save his life since it might come off as "gay" if another male dies with him.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: Stays out of the climax battle because of an injury dealt to him earlier.
Sniper/Murder S
Click here to see him in GDW manga
Breed: Doberman Pinscher
Voiced by: Kouji Yada
Riki's general, who's really a traitor seeking out to become the sole leader of the Twin Pass.
- Absurdly Sharp Claws: Kills Lloyd by clawing his head.
- Artificial Limbs: In the sequel, he has metal legs that replaced his damaged rear legs.
- Body Horror: In the sequel, his partially deformed face which is covered under a metal mask.
- Death by Adaptation: His last appearance in the anime is of him falling down a cliff along with Ben, which would have you believe he dies. In the manga, he survives, and lives well and on up until the sequel, if anything having had his damaged hind legs replaced with metal substitutes.
- Dog Stereotype: An evil Doberman.
- Finishing Move: Biting into his opponent's throat until they choke or he snaps their neck. He nearly kills Gin twice this way.
- Handicapped Badass: See Artificial Limbs above.
- Humiliation Conga: Suffers this through Gin’s Heroic Second Wind, suddenly being easily dodged by him, flung around like a ragdoll and stabbed onto a branch through his collar, leaving him to hang there as he angrily shouts for someone to get him down.
- Meaningful Name: Self-proclaimed “never misses my target”.
- Manipulative Bastard: Manages to pit Ben and Moss against each other, and later does nearly the same with Gin’s platoon and the mountain dogs on Shikoku.
- The Starscream: Claims he wants to take over the Twin Pass.
- You Have Failed Me: Kills Hyena when witnessing his act of saving Ben. Until Ginga Densetsu Noah that is, revealing that Hyena actually survived.
Hyena/Noah
Breed: Weimaraner
Voiced by: Juji Matsuda
One of the dogs in Ben’s platoon, who’s really a traitor working for Sniper.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: In the original manga, his fur is completely light grey or white. He also has yellow eyes.
- Adaptational Wimp: He's far more cowardly in the anime than in the manga. He outright flees from Akakabuto, unlike in the manga, where he only leaves momentarily to feast on some honey and remains with Ben's pack.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Although he's at first fully loyal to Sniper, the kindness Ben and John show to him convince him to turn on his former boss, to the point he gives his life to save Ben from Sniper.
- Bring My Brown Pants: Loses control of his bladder after being confronted by Kurojaki's Koga clan.
- Cowardly Lion: He does have his moments of major bravery, his Heroic Sacrifice to save Ben being the biggest.
- Heel–Face Turn: He leaves Sniper once his abuse becomes too great and tries to get on good terms with Ben's pack again, In the end, he fully beats his cowardice to save Ben, at the apparent cost of his life. By the time of Ginga Densetsu Noah, he's a full Face, and a close ally of Gin's grandson, Orion.
- Made of Iron: He's survived being nearly gutted by Sniper, and having his head crushed by Shou's teeth.
- Meaningful Name: Hyenas are usually not considered pleasant animals.
- The Mole: Works for Sniper as a spy.
- Redemption Equals Death: When witnessing Ben throwing himself and Sniper off a cliff, Hyena curses his cowardly self for not having helped Ben, and promptly leaps down the cliff with Berserker Tears to follow them, after hearing Ben and realizing he's still alive. In the manga, all three of them end up in a river where Hyena proceeds to save Ben from drowning. Unfortunately, Sniper kills him shortly after for this.
- Redemption Equals Life: Ginga Densetsu Noah reveals that Sniper failed to kill him, and Hyena survived, although barely. However, he lost his memories in the process, and was adopted by a human, who renamed him Noah.
- Super-Senses: After Shou blinds him, his remaining senses become vastly more powerful, allowing him to perceive other living beings near him.
- Trauma-Induced Amnesia: His near-death experience left him without memories of his past life. He was happily adopted, and took on a new name: Noah. Another trauma, his mauling and blinding at the hands of Shou restores his memories.
- Walking Spoiler: His survival and return as the protagonist of Ginga Densetsu Noah make him this.
Akatora, Chutora and Kurotora
Click here to see Kurotora in GDW anime
Breed: Kai Ken
Voiced by: Kouji Totani, Kōzō Shioya and Ryouichi Tanaka (Tadashi Miyazawa in GDW) respectively.
Three brothers described by Ben to be as strong as a hundred soldiers between them.
Only Kurotora returns in Ginga Densetsu Weed.
- Achilles' Heel: Kai Ken's in-universe are described as bad swimmers. Gin takes advantage of this by pushing Kurotora into a lake and defeats him by dragging him underwater.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: In the manga and the anime adaption of the sequel, the Kai brothers has white fur underbelly, but in the anime adaption of the first series, they have the same color covering their entire bodies.
- Anti-Hero: They share this role with John and Moss. All of the Kai Brothers are aggressive, violent and short-tempered Jerk with a Heart of Gold blood knights.
- Badass Adorable: They were abandoned in the wilderness as puppies, but when the first predator, a large snake, came by to eat them, they attacked and ate the snake instead, and continued to hunt and fend for themselves up until adulthood, with some help from Ben.
- Eye Scream: Kurotora got his right eye torn out by a marten as a puppy.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Akatora gives his life to blind Akakabuto completely in the final battle.
- I Owe You My Life: They had once been attacked by a dangerous marten which was about to kill Kurotora in front of them when Ben suddenly appeared and chased it away, and he had continued to come and check on them several times afterwards. They’re more than happy to join him in gratitude for this.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: All of them. They’re extremely hostile to Ben’s pack at first and violently fights him, Gin and Cross. Once they realize Ben is the one who saved their lives while they were puppies however, they immediately apologize and willingly joins him.
- Meaningful Name: “Red Tiger”, “Middle Tiger” and “Black Tiger”
- Politically Incorrect Hero: Chutora is offended to learn he was fighting a female.
- Undying Loyalty: To Ben, due to him saving their lives when they were pups.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Chutora never appear in Ginga Densetsu Weed as he's been confirmed to be dead. How he died is unknown.
Moss
Breed: English Mastiff
Voiced by: Daisuke Gouri (GNG), Shirō Saitō (GDW)
A dog the Kai brothers frequently fought over territory with. They want to settle things with him before following Ben.
- Anti-Hero: Shares this role with John and Kai Brothers. His aggressive personality makes him one of the more morally grey dogs in the series.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Not with himself, but he refuses to join Ben if all he can do is talk; he’ll only follow someone who’s able to beat him in a fight. Ben does this with ease.
- The Big Guy: Of Ben's team after being recruited. While Ben is the tallest, Moss is the actual biggest thanks to his sheer size.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Played with. He’s introduced as antagonistic, and becomes furious when being tricked into thinking Ben’s platoon killed his son. He’s eventually shown to be a good guy however (and his son lives as well).
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Moss is an impatient, short-tempered and very Hot-Blooded dog who doesn't listen to rational talk while being overwhelmed by emotions. However, he also he has soft spot for puppies, even so that he tended to spoil them and gets furious if pups are hurt. His son, Jaguar was very dear to him and he became violently furious when he thought that he died.
- Large and in Charge: Something like twice the size of Ben.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: He was known as "The Monster of Misty Mountains" for years.
- Papa Wolf: To Jaguar and later Chibi.
- Parental Substitute: To Chibi after Kurojaki dies.
Akame
Breed: Kishu Inu
Voiced by: Michihiro Ikemizu (GNG), Takashi Matsuyama (GDW)
A dog Ben met while he had an owner. He seeks him out in order to recruit him, but they’re instead tricked into believing he’s turned himself and his pack into cannibals.
- The Atoner: Ben’s owner had once caged him after being impressed by his jumping abilities, intending to train him for a hunting dog, but he had pleaded for Ben to help him break out. Because of that, and accidentally poisoning Ben and his pack, he swears he’ll do anything for him in amends, and also “be his eyes” once it turns out Ben's going blind from the poison.
- Made of Iron: He gets scythed in the neck by Kurojaki, yet brushes it off like nothing a few minutes later.
- Meaningful Name: "Red Eyes"
Kurojaki
Breed: A Fictional Breed Called A Kōga
Voiced by: Kouji Nakata
The leader of a cannibal pack, and an enemy of Akame. His underlings tricks Ben into believing Akame’s pack are the cannibals.
- Arch-Enemy: To Akame.
- Cutlass Between the Teeth: Carries a sickle when he fights.
- Driven to Suicide: Coupled with Honor Before Reason. When Akame burns down their ancient “sacred master’s” home, he claims it was his only reason to live and jumps into the flames, followed by his pack.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Genuinely cares for his kid, proven by his Berserk Button being pushed when believing he’s dead.
- Eye Scream: Gin manages to turn his own sickle against him, resulting in it stabbing out his right eye.
- I'm a Humanitarian: The canine equivalent.
- Manipulative Bastard: Pits Ben and Akame against each other, making both believe the other is a cannibal, which results in Akame nearly killing off Ben’s entire pack with poisonous thistles.
- Meaningful Name: “Black Demon”
- Self-Disposing Villain: As mentioned above.
Benizakura
Breed: Tosa Inu
Voiced by: Takeshi Aono
A retired fighting dog described as the strongest dog in the world.
- Adrenaline Makeover: After his fight with Gin to which he’s left with the upper hand, he tells Gin that he hasn't felt that excited in years and that what is left of his life, he will give to Gin.
- The Dreaded: He was feared in the dog fighting industry as he nearly never lost any fight he found himself in. Part of his training included taking down adult bulls, so that fear is very much warranted.
- Everyone Has Standards: Despite eventually being presented with the opportunity to take his revenge on Tsunarashi, he opts to kill the dogs who were beating his now-blind rival as they were hurting a dog who could no longer defend himself.
- Fluffy the Terrible: His name means "Crimson Cherry Blossom".
- Heroic Sacrifice: Gives his life to drown Mosa in a lake along with himself.
- In-Series Nickname: The loss of his ears caused people to call him "The Sea Beast".
- Not Too Dead to Save the Day: At the battle between Weed and Hougen in the Densetsu Weed manga, he appears as a ghost along with many others. At one point, Hougen grabs a hold of Weed to which Benizakura's ghost manifests himself around Weed, giving Hougen such a bad fright he's forced to let go.
- The Rival: He had been an unbeatable champion dog until he faced one called Tsunarashi, to which the brutal fight between them turned out a tie. Benizakura wouldn’t accept it and trained hard for years until he could face him again, only to find that the retired Tsunarashi had lost his sight and was being used as a punching bag for young fighting dogs. This infuriated Benizakura, causing him to kill the young dogs while leaving Tsunarashi alone, before retiring from being a fighting dog himself.
- World's Strongest Man: Or World's Strongest Dog in this case, as he is described as such. Seeing as he was able to grab a massive bear by its neck and flip it over, the term is well earned.
Humans
Daisuke Fujiwara
Voiced by: Chika Sakamoto
Gin’s original owner. A headstrong and determined 12-year old who loves dogs, but also has a brattish streak to him.
He returns in Ginga Densetsu Weed as an adult, and is also the one giving names to Gin's grandchildren, Weed's puppies, in Ginga Densetsu Weed: Orion.
- Adaptation Distillation: He keeps having recurring appearances in the manga after Gin leaves with the pack. In the anime, he more or less disappears.
- Back for the Finale: Arrives at the final battle once it’s nearing its end in Akakabuto arc.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Usually towards Gohei and Hidetoshi.
- Catapult Nightmare: In the manga, when he dreams that the missing Gohei ends up shooting Riki so he can feed off his dog's meat to survive. What actually happens is a bit different.
- Decoy Protagonist: The beginning of the series would have you believe he’s the main character in a story centering around his and Gin’s adventures together. Then Genre Shift comes along and turns out Gin’s the main character.
- The Determinator: Swears that with Gohei being hospitalized, he will train Gin in his stead and defeat Akakabuto himself, to which he trains for several weeks, becoming a Pint-Sized Powerhouse and skilled archer.
- My God, What Have I Done?: When he kills a literal Mama Bear who just tried to protect her cubs.
- Only One Name: Until Ginga Densetsu Weed: Orion where we learn his family name, Fujiwara.
- Out of Focus: After Gin leaves in episode 8, he’s not seen again until near the end.
Takeda Gohei
Voiced by: Takeshi Watabe
An infamous bear hunter and dog trainer. He initially trains Gin before his old age takes its toll and he leaves the responsibility to Daisuke.
- An Arm and a Leg: When he and Riki are trapped in a crevice while Akakabuto is roaming around above, he eventually makes the decision of chopping off half of his wounded leg in order to feed Riki the meat, giving him the strength to escape and run for help. Riki's too loyal to do it however.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Inverted. At the end of the manga, he dies of old age while hugging Gin.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: As far as dog training is concerned. His method of training bear-hounds consists of beating them in order to bring out their aggression, teach them to swim by having to dive underwater to get their food, and force them to eat bear meat (consists of a smell so intense "even adult hunting dogs are afraid of it"). In the manga, it’s mentioned that only 1 out of 10 of his dogs survives his training.
- Force Feeding: When trying to make Riki eat his meat. Later he forces Gin to eat bear meat, as part of the training.
- Manly Tears: Cries these in the anime's finale when Riki is dying.
- Pet the Dog: Literally after Gin saves Daisuke’s life in episode 3. He’s impressed to the point he pets Gin, shocking the others.
- Sink or Swim Mentor: He'll train bear-hounds till they become capable or die trying.
- Would Hurt a Child: Punches Daisuke when the latter tries to interfere with his training of Gin.
Hidetoshi Sekiguchi
Voiced by: Hirotaka Suzuoki
The son of a local major killed by Akakabuto, and John’s owner. He returned from his global hunting trips to take revenge for his father, and eventually mentors Daisuke in archery. Also sports an arrogant personality.
- Back for the Finale: Though he only appears in the background.
- Break the Haughty: To a degree. He’s confident that he’s more than capable of killing Akakabuto himself with a modern rifle, but gets a dose of reality when he’s instead tricked into shooting the wrong bear and doesn’t even get a chance to fire against Akakabuto when he does arrive - and disappears again just as quickly.
- Clark Kent Outfit: Has an impressive set of muscles under his plain clothed appearance.
- Gratuitous English: When giving John commands.
- Only One Name: Like Daisuke, we never learn his full name until Ginga Densetsu Weed: Orion.
- You Killed My Father
Bears
Akakabuto
An insane, man-eating bear, and the main antagonist of the Akakabuto arc.
- Animal Nemesis: To Gohei.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Due to being unable to hibernate, Akakabuto gets bigger and bigger until his size by far towers over other bears.
- Attack of the Killer Whatever: Akakabuto is abnormally big for an adult bear. After a year is not being able to hibernate, he grows to near gargantuan size and is stronger than ever.
- Ax-Crazy: Suffering from brain damage as a result of his eye being shot, Akakabuto is violently insane.
- Bears Are Bad News: Well, duh! Akakabuto is the fearsome bear around. Even other bears are afraid of him.
- Big Bad: The main villain of the eighties anime, as the show didn't adapt the Wolf arc that came after its defeat.
- The Berserker: As a result of no longer being able to hibernate, Akakabuto is an insane and violent killing machine.
- Determinator: Getting thrown off the top of his stronghold, riddled with hundreds of bite marks, having his last eye ripped out, suffering two Battougas, and shot multiple times will not stop this bear from rising again until he's killed Gohei, Riki, and Gin. It took Gin decapitating him to finally put Akakabuto down for good.
- Evil Redhead: It's right there in his name.
- Eye Scream: Getting his eye shot out resulted in him being unable to hibernate. In the final battle, Akatora rips out his remaining eye, rendering him blind.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: Frequently. After permanently losing his eyes, this trait remains.
- Handicapped Badass: Had his right eye shot out by Gohei, to which the bullet penetrated further into his brain and made him (even more) crazy.
- It Can Think: Knows how to ambush hunters without giving them a chance to fire at him, or stands at a distance that negates clear shots, uses other bears as territory guards, builds himself a fortress of rocks, and can predict certain attacks the dogs attempt towards him. In the manga, he's even seen talking at one point, albeit in a different "language" than the dogs.
- Lightning Bruiser: In spite of his massive size, this bear can move really fast. Even with his sight gone by the end, Akakabuto can attack with swift and precise movements thanks to his keen sense of smell.
- Meaningful Name: Its name translates to “Red Helmet”, which comes from its red mane of fur.
- Off with His Head!: His ultimate defeat by Gin.
- Rasputinian Death: Is attacked over and over by hundreds of dogs, suffers two Battougas, and gets shot straight in the chest by Gohei… and still stands up to claw away at his enemies. It takes a well-placed Battouga by Gin to finally finish him off by decapitating him.
- The Sleepless: After getting shot through the eye, he can no longer sleep or hibernate. Driving him violently insane and rabid.
Mosa
A one-armed bear Akakabuto uses as territory guard.
- Co-Dragons: With Madara for Akakabuto.
- Handicapped Badass: Only has one forearm and yet makes for a frightening opponent.
- Noodle Incident: It's never revealed how he lost his foreleg.
Madara
A bear covered in black markings, ending up as Akakabuto’s second territory guard.
- Co-Dragons: With Mosa for Akakabuto.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Is impaled with a huge branch through his mouth out the back of his head by Gin.
- Meaningful Name: “Spots” in reference to his markings.
- Off with His Head!: His introduction is through showing a dog’s head flying through the air, having been torn off by him.
- She's a Man in Japan: In many dubs and subtitles, Madara's gender is incorrectly stated as female. This is because the translator misheard the word "osu" (male) as "mesu" (female).
Harpooned Bear
A bear with three harpoons in his back.- Ax-Crazy: He's a sadistic monster who enjoys killing anything he can get his claws on.
- Dirty Coward: Upon seeing Akakabuto's gigantic form, he immediately cowers in fear and begs to join the latter's army. Akakabuto kills him without batting an eye.
- Eviler than Thou: Akakabuto to the Harpooned Bear. The latter's flashback establishes him as a violent murderer to humans and is first introduced killing another bear and several dogs. When he faces the considerably more insane and gigantic Akakabuto, he realizes he had no chance of winning or surviving a fight with him and begs to join Akakabuto's bear army. This gets him ripped apart with ease.
- Too Dumb to Live: He should have known better than to trust Aakabuto's word about letting him join the latter's army.
