The Yagyu Clan is a distinguished family of swordmasters in service to the Tokugawa Clan that enjoys considerable status as celebrities.
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Kyubei Yagyu
Kyubei Yagyu
Voiced by: Fumiko Orikasa (JP), Advah Soudak (series), Brittney Karbowski (movie) (EN)
An aristocrat who was born female, but brought up as a male in order to succeed their family's clan. They dress and behave like a boy due to their upbringing, and while they go through a great deal of conflict regarding their gender, they eventually decide they're "neither a man or a woman." They were close friends with Tae Shimura as children, and lost their left eye protecting her when they were young. The incident also left them with the determination to become stronger and improve their skills.
- Affectionate Nickname: 'Kyu-chan', from Tae and Kagura.
- Ambiguous Gender Identity: For a long time, the series wasn't particularly clear on how Kyubei personally saw their gender; on one hand there were episodes where Kyubei tried to get in touch with their feminine side after having lived their entire life as a male—sometimes discreetly pleased and sometimes uncomfortable — while on the other several episodes threw in the mention that Kyubei still, after their introduction arc, had interest in "becoming a man." The Time Skip arc had them identify as female, dress very feminine, hit on Shinpachi, and have surgery done to have a dick to make it even more confusing. In the Gender Bender arc, they eventually express they're "neither a man or a woman."
- And Now You Must Marry Me: In their introduction arc, Kyubei takes Otae away with the intention of marrying her. While it's obvious Otae isn't happy with the idea, she agrees out of guilt over Kyubei losing an eye while protecting her. Kyubei still insists only they can make Otae happy, but after being defeated by her friends, they admit they were just being selfish and let Otae go.
- Arc Villain: Kyubei is the main antagonist of their introduction arc where they try to marry Otae, which causes the Yorozuya and the Shinsengumi to attack the Yagyuu clan to take Otae back.
- Attractive Bent-Gender: In the Gender Bender Arc, Kyubei looks so handsome as a man that Tae even feels attracted to them, though they don't change much except for getting taller and having a spiky ponytail.
- Badass Longcoat: Kyubei wears a long and stylish white samurai's sucoat to go with their badassery.
- Boyish Short Hair: Kyubei's Bad Future self in the second movie has cut their hair really short, which gave them a masculine look. Their hair in the actual Time Skip in the epilogue arc is just as short and equally as boyish.
- Calling Your Attacks: Man**kyou Tentsuugan.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Kyubei has been infatuated with Tae since they were children. They even made a Childhood Marriage Promise. Unfortunately for Kyubei, Tae can't bring herself to love another woman and only agreed to marry them because she felt guilty over Kyubei losing their eye because of her. They work everything out after Kyubei's first arc, though Kyubei continues to pine after Tae.
- Childhood Marriage Promise: When they were children, Tae promised to marry Kyubei after they lost an eye trying to protect her from Evil Debt Collectors. However, Kyubei finally sets Tae free from their promise after understanding it was wrong to basically force Tae to marry them out of guilt.
- Cleans Up Nicely: Dresses rather stellar all the time, whether in masculine or, a few times, feminine clothing.
- The Comically Serious: Prone to acting silly while remaining completely serious. Katsura regards this as a character overlap between them and wants them to change their character archetype.
- Contralto of Strength: Kyubei speaks with a very deep voice and is one of the best swordfighters in the series.
- Covert Pervert: Totally ready to fondling Tae breast if had the chance.
- Declaration of Protection: To Tae.
- Defeat Means Friendship: After losing to the Yorozuya, they come around to befriending them.
- Distaff Counterpart: Katsura considers his and Kyubei's characters overlap due to both of them being The Comically Serious, the only thing setting them apart being their genders.
- Eye-Obscuring Hat: Kyubei wears a large straw hat that obscures their face when they first appear, though it's never seen again after that.
- Eyepatch of Power: Kyubei wears an eyepatch to cover their lost left eye.
- Failure Knight: Failing to save Tae and Shinpachi from their Evil Debt Collectors and losing their eye in the process is what motivated them to get strong enough to protect Tae.
- Forceful Kiss: Gives one to Tae after asking her to uphold her end of their promise.
- Gayngst: Kyubei is in love with Otae, but believes they can't be with her as a woman.
- Gender-Concealing Voice: During Kyuubei's introduction, no one except Otae knows about Kyuubei's gender since the latter's androgynous appearance and low voice make everyone else think Kyuubei is a young man.
- Girlish Pigtails: In some occasions where they dress up like a girl, Kyubei ties their hair in twintails.
- Hates Being Touched: Not so much hate being touched in general as being touched by men. Kyubei has got nothing against men per se, but they will hurl any guy who tries to touch them. Even if that guy's the Shogun!
- Heir Club for Men: The head of the Yagyu family is traditionally always male. This is part of the reason Kyuubei was raised as a man.
- Heir to the Dojo: The successor to the Yagyu clan, a rich family of swordmasters. They command a great deal of respect.
- Historical Gender Flip: Of Yagyu Jubei, no less.
- If It's You, It's Okay: Very in love with Otae, and might also have some feelings for Gintoki.
- Incompatible Orientation: Unfortunately for Kyubei, Tae only ever shows actual attraction towards men. The only time Tae even seems attracted to Kyubei is when the Dekobokko turn Kyubei and everyone in Kabuki District into the opposite sex.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: At the end of their introduction arc, Kyubei realizes they can't marry Tae if she's only agreeing to it out of a sense of obligation. Kyubei lets her go back with her friends, knowing that's the place where she can be truly happy in.
- Raised as the Opposite Gender: Kyubei was raised as a man to ensure that the Yagyu Clan would have a male heir. To say it causes some trouble for them would put it mildly.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: In their first arc they gives several to Shinpachi, pointing out how he is so weak that he has to rely on and hide behind others, such as his sister, and that because of it he is unable to let her go and be herself. They pretty much take it all back after their defeat.
- Rescue Romance: Kyubei developed a crush on Tae after she defended them from some bullies when they were children.
- Samurai Ponytail: Kyubei's usual hairstyle is a high ponytail and they come from a distinguished family of samurai.
- Sarashi: Wears a sarashi in the anime's 7th ending, which features the majority of the male characters shirtless.
- Satellite Character: Downplayed. While Kyubei is undoubtedly their own character, a significant part of their characterization is centered around their unrequited love for Otae. More often than not, Kyubei is hanging out with Otae and pining after her. This also extends to Kyubei's gender confusion since the main reason why they think they would be happier as a man is because Otae could love them back that way.
- Single-Target Sexuality: Kyuubei is mostly Tae-sexual.
- Sobriquet Sex Switch: When Kyubei gains a male body during the Gender Bender arc, they call themself 'Jubei'.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Calm and controlled on the outside, but Kyubei is really a caring person on the inside.
- Suicide as Comedy: In the Beam Sword Style arc, Kyubei tries to commit seppuku for attempting to kill Hajime after realizing how much he means to Otae.
- Tomboy Angst: The Yagyuu clan had Kyubei be Raised as the Opposite Gender to be a fitting heir, something Kyubei deeply resented. Deep down, Kyubei wanted to play girly games and wear pretty kimonos. Kyubei's male upbringing also caused bullying from boys. Nowadays, Kyubei is more allowed to act femininely, but the masculine habits gained while growing up often get in the way.
- Tomboyish Voice: They have a very low voice which fits their androgynous looks.
- Trans Tribulations: Kyubei suffers from several issues as a result of being born female, but Raised as the Opposite Gender. They're constantly conflicted as to whether they should see themself as male or female. Their angst and confusion over their identity and feelings for Tae became the catalyst for the Gender Swap Arc, in which they decided "I am neither a man nor a woman," and wherein Gintoki followed that even if they continued to waver on the subject "That's fine, isn't it?"
- Uptown Girl: Kyubei comes from a rich family of celebrities and has a huge crush on the middle-class girl Tae.
- Yandere: Despite having more or less accepted that Tae won't ever love them romantically, Kyubei will threaten to murder any man who might have Tae's affections. In episode 204, Kyubei sends the Yorozuya three postcards in a row stating their intention to murder Kondo after he lies and claims to have married Tae. In episode 262, Kyubei teams up with Kondo in an attempt to kill Obi after Shinpachi mentions Obi was Tae's First Love. In both occasions, Kyubei's behavior is Played for Laughs.
Koshinori Yagyu
Koshinori Yagyu
Voiced by: Takaya Kuroda
Kyubei's father, a man of short stature who is very obsessed with maintaining his clan's image as celebrities. He tries to implore the rest of the family to live up to their celibrity status, usually to no avail. His wife died after giving birth to Kyubei and in order to protect Kyubei's status in the clan, he refused to take another wife. He thus decided to raise them as a boy instead in order to succeed the clan and keep their place in the family.
- Historical Domain Character: He gets his name from Yagyu Munenori, a swordsman and founder of the Edo branch of the Yagyu Shinkage-ryu school.
- Insistent Terminology: Insists on being addressed as 'Papa' instead of the more formal 'Chi Chi', presumably because it ties in better with his 'image'.
- Like Father, Like Son: His dwarfism obviously came from his father, Binbokusai, although he is slightly taller than him.
- The Mourning After: His wife died after she gave birth to Kyubei. Some of the relatives urged him to remarry to get a male heir, but he refused, out of his deep love for his late wife.
- The Napoleon: Short and easily agitated.
- The Patriarch: He's not the actual head of the clan, but he's effectively in charge of the family.
- Slave to PR: He puts a lot of effort into maintaining the clan's image as celebrities and even keeps a Persian cat despite hating and being allergic to them. The rest of the family doesn't seem to care.
- Wanted a Son Instead: The Yagyu family only has male heirs, but his only child Kyubei was born a girl. For the sake of keeping the family tradition, he raised Kyubei as a boy.
Binbokusai Yagyu
Binbokusai Yagyu
Voiced by: Naoki Tatsuta
Kyubei's grandfather and the current head of the Yagyu Clan, though he leaves the duties of leading the clan to his son Koshinori. He is a man of short stature but great skill, considered one of the greatest swordsmen in the history of the clan. When the Yorozuya and Shinsengumi come knocking and challenge the Yagyu dojo to a match, he takes on the role of the team captain. He ultimately admits defeat after Shinpachi manages to destroy his plate and win the match.
- Cloudcuckoolander: He has a large trash collection and willingly eats Tae's food.
- Cool Old Guy: He's pretty reasonable in comparison to his son.
- Graceful Loser: Admits his defeat after Shinpachi shatters his plate, then gets Koshinori to call off his guards.
- Historical Domain Character: His name is loosely based on Yagyu "Sekishusai" Munetoshi, father to Yagyu Munenori.
- Master Swordsman: Kyubei calls him the best swordsman in the history of the Yagyu Clan.
- Miniature Senior Citizens: He's an absolutely tiny old man, though according to Kyubei people in their family tend to be very short in general.
- Old Master: Easily capable of throwing down with the youngsters despite his age.
- Shipper on Deck: For Tae and Kyuubei.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Despite his size, he is quite strong and skilled with the sword.
Ayumu Tojo
Ayumu Tojo
Voiced by: Koji Yusa (JP), Blake Shepard (movie) (EN)
A steadfast servant of the Yagyu Clan who personally looks after Kyubei. He is also a member and leader of the Yagyu Clan's Four Aces, the top students of the Yagyu dojo. He is generally calm and composed in both appearance and mannerisms, although he easily becomes agitated whenever anything concerning his master is brought up.
He is extremely dedicated to the point of obsession in his concern for his young master's well-being. He goes to great lengths to ensure that no misfortune ever befalls them, much to their annoyance. Despite his radical approach to caring for his master, he genuinely has the best of intentions for both Kyubei and the Yagyu family.
- Abhorrent Admirer: Kyubei is usually indifferent to Tojo's excessive attention and they've stated on one occasion that they have never liked him from the beginning. Kyubei never shies away from responding with physical abuse when Tojo's advances get too annoying.
- Battle Butler: As he is a part of the Yagyu clan and has been entrusted with the safety of its successor, he is a highly skilled combatant.
- Berserk Button: Ah, he sure loves eating his raw egg yolk on his rice... but when the yolk breaks...
- Butt-Monkey: Past his first arc, he's never treated with any respect, being the subject of much physical and verbal abuse.
- Cheshire Cat Grin: Combine this with his voice actor and this should remind you of someone...
- Creepy Crossdresser: The less is said about his crossdressing incidents, the better.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Because of all his antics, it's very easy to forget he's actually a skilled warrior and one of the Yagyu school's top students.
- Everyone Has Standards: He may be devoted to Kyubei, but when he was stuck in the bathroom without toilet paper, and needed to wipe his ass somehow so he could fight Kondo, his only options being sandpaper or a picture of Kyubei he has, not even his devotion could get him to use the sandpaper over the picture.
- Eyes Always Shut: A part of his perpetually calm demeanor, he always keeps his eyes closed. The few times he opens them show he has green eyes.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: While he regularly is part of the major supporting cast and fights alongside the Yorozuya when the situation calls for it, he isn't exactly liked by any of the Yorozuya. Rather, they just tolerate him because he's Kyubei's head retainer, and regularly beat the shit out of him whenever he annoys them. Even Kyubei tends to have a love-hate relationship with him, as while they appreciate his loyalty and devotion towards them, they're frequently annoyed or disturbed by his Stalker with a Crush antics.
- Lovable Sex Maniac: Downplayed. He is indeed a sex maniac, regularly visiting prostitutes and brothels, furiously masturbates, is a Creepy Crossdresser occassionally, and even has an adult baby fetish as revealed in the Love Choriss arc, all of which he has no issue broadcasting to anyone who listens. He's The Friend Nobody Likes on most occasions however, the only person remotely liking him being Kyubei, and even then they have a love-hate relationship with him because of said behavior on top of being their Stalker with a Crush.
- Satellite Character: Downplayed. His character is largely defined by being Kyubei's Battle Butler/Stalker with a Crush, though he does occasionally get some humor focusing on how much of a pervert he is.
- Stalker with a Crush: He's pretty much to Kyubei what Kondo is to Otae, with the added annoyance that Kyubei has to live with him. Besides his obsessive fussing over his young master, he has kept a diary to record Kyubei's activities for years.
- Trademark Favorite Food: When he first appears, he is shown to have an obsession with beating a raw, unbroken egg yolk on his rice for meals and flies into a rage if the yolk breaks. This trait doesn't carry over beyond this scene however.
Itsuki Kitaoji
Itsuki Kitaoji
Voiced by: Kenji Hamada
One of the Yagyu Clan's Four Aces, the top students of the Yagyu dojo. Kitaoji is stoic and serious, completely devoted to improving his skill with a sword and has great pride in his training. In order to keep his spirit strong, he always eats a ton of ketchup with every meal.
When the Yorozuya and the Shinsengumi try to crash the dojo to bring back Tae, he fights Hijikata in a drawn-out duel. He is eventually defeated when Hijikata breaks his plate.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: While he initially does acknowledge Hijikata's skill and talent, Kitaoji constantly touts the superiority of his style of swordsmanship and the effort he puts into it over Hijikata's during their fight.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: He is quickly able to deduce Hijikata's fighting style and exploit its weaknesses, attacking with several feints to fool Hijikata’s instincts into reacting and opening him up to another attack, keeping him on the defensive.
- Bring It: Taunts Hijikata early in their fight to bring it on, while opening up his robe to show off his plate.
- The Comically Serious: Stoic and serious, despite eating every meal with a ton of ketchup, which he considers a great way of building up a strong fighting spirit.
- Oh, Crap!: Has two expressions of shock in a short span during his fight with Hijikata: First when Hijikata holds up a plate from their meal earlier, fooling him into thinking it's his plate; second when it’s quickly revealed that he still has his own plate and he just left him open for Hijikata to hit him.
- Stoic Spectacles: He wears glasses and tries to maintain a stoic attitude. In fact, his eyes turn squinty when he loses his glasses, to the point of looking like a pair of 3's.
- Trademark Favorite Food: In a similar vein to Hijikata, he pours a ton of ketchup on every meal he eats. He actually used to hate tomatoes and ketchup, but he ate it in excess to build up a strong spirit, and has forced himself to actually love it.
Sui Minamito
Sui Minamito
Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa
One of the Yagyu Clan's Four Aces, the top students of the Yagyu dojo. Unlike Kitaoji, Minamito is more relaxed and obsessed with his own good looks. Unfortunately for him, both Kitaoji and Nishino tend to compare his face to that of a dick.
When the Yorozuya and the Shinsengumi try to crash the dojo to bring back Tae, he fights Okita, who beats him up and completely humiliates him without breaking his plate. He then gets his plate broken by Tojo for failing to stop them.
- Butt-Monkey: He is mocked by getting his face compared to a dick and gets wrecked in his fight with Okita without being able to retaliate.
- Leeroy Jenkins: After witnessing Nishino get smashed through a wall and seemingly killed by Ougai in the final arc, Minamito charges in alone against the Dakini and would have gotten killed if Kitaooji and Tojo hadn't saved him.
- Not in the Face!: He tries to get Okita to agree with not hitting each other in the face. Unfortunately for him, Okita just proceeds to beat up the rest of him.
- Phrase Catcher: Often referred to as having a "dick-face" by Kitaoji and Nishino, along with several comparisons between his face and a dick.
- You Have Failed Me: A non-lethal version: When he shows up to Tojo with bloody and beaten but with an intact plate, Tojo breaks the plate as punishment for failing to beat the intruders.
Tsukamu Nishino
Tsukamu Nishino
Voiced by: Yoshinori Sonobe
Nishino is one of the Yagyu Clan's Four Aces, the top students of the Yagyu dojo. Nishino is a strong serious warrior, with an odd fondness for kiddy meals. Despite being human, his strength allows him to throw around and break apart boulders.
When the Yorozuya and the Shinsengumi try to crash the dojo to bring back Tae, he fights both Kagura and Okita. During the fight he breaks Kagura's arm, but is defeated when Kagura grabs Okita by his foot and smashes him into Nishino's forehead, knocking them both out of the fight.
- An Arm and a Leg: While he survives getting bashed into a wall by Ougai's club in the final, he loses his right arm in the process.
- Bald Head of Toughness: A bald fighter with Super-Strength due to his Charles Atlas Superpower.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: He is just human, but is capable of throwing boulders around and can even contest with some of the Yato and Dakini in matters of strength.
- Cutlass Between the Teeth: Holds the blade of his sword in his teeth while holding on to a Dakini's club.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: Subverted, in the final arc he charges at the enemy Dakini and declares for the rest to follow him, only to get smashed through a wall by Ougai mid-sentence, and is thought to have died. It is revealed shortly after that he survived, though he is heavily injured and lost his arm in the process.
- Oh, Crap!: Gets a shocked expression when Kagura grabs Okita (who had just broken his plate against the doorframe) by the foot and smashes him like a club into Nishino's forehead, breaking his plate and knocking them both out.
- Trademark Favorite Food: In the same scene where the other members’ favorite food is established, he is shown to enjoy eating various kiddy meals.
Jugem Jugem
Jugem Jugem
Voiced by: Ryōko Shiraishi
Initially the pet monkey of the Shogun's cousin Morimori, Jugem caused too much trouble at the palace. He was as such given to the Yagyu Clan to train. Koshinori entrusted the monkey to Kyubei, who quickly bonded with the monkey. Due to Kyubei taking suggestions for his name from the Yorozuya and Tae, and mixing them all together, he ends up with an Overly Long Name, which can be seen further below.
- Bare-Bottomed Monkey: Has a pink bare bottom that is actually the topic of once of Tojo's rants — as it turns out, monkey bums aren't nearly as cute in real life as they are in fiction.
- Dung Fu: Constantly throws poop at Gintoki and Tojo. Kyubei uses it for training by wearing a mask of Gintoki's face.
- Named After Someone Famous: Named after Jugemu of legend
. - Overly Long Name: Okay, here goes... Jugem Jugem Unko Nage Ki Ototoi no Shin-chan no Pantsu Shinpachi no Jinsei Balmunk Fezarion Isaac Schneider San Bun no Ichi Junjyou na Kanjyou no Nokotta San Bun no Ni wa Sakamuke ga Kininaru Kanjyou Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitteiruyou de Shinranai no wo Boku wa Shitteiru Rusu Surume Medaka Kazuno Kokoedame Medaka….Kono Medaka wa saki no to wa Chigau Yatsu Dakara Ikeno Medaka no Hou Dakara Raa-yuu yuuteimiouki Mukou Pepepepepepepepepepepepe Bichiguso Maru.
- Or in English: Jugem-Jugem Poop-Throwing Machine Shin-chan's Day Before Yesterday Underwear Shinpachi's Life Balmunk Fezarion Isaac Schneider One Thirds Pure Feeling Two Thirds Worried-Over-a-Hangnail Feeling Though Betrayal Knows My Name I Know The Unknown, The Cuttlefish Tastes Kind Of Different Than It Did Last Time Because It Was Caught Near The Pond And Served With Oil From A Hoofed Mammal, pepepepepepepepepepepep Bichiguso-maru.
- He even holds the record of the longest anime name of all time.
