s-CRY-ed / Characters

open/close all folders

The cast of characters from s-CRY-ed, its manga counterpart, and the s-CRY-ed Alteration Alternate Continuity movies. Per wiki policy, trope names are not in spoilers, and there may be spoilers for characters' individual plotlines in their summaries. Read at your own risk.

By default, these tropes apply to the original anime incarnations of the characters and make reference to the original anime's version of events. If a trope is specific to their manga counterpart, or if a trope applies to the Alteration continuity, please indicate it in the trope entry.

Inhabitants of the Lost Ground

Those who reside outside of the city controlled by the mainland. Alternatively referred to as Inners.

Kazuma

Voiced by: Soichiro Hoshi (Japanese), Steve Blum (English)

A Native Alter User who lives with his friend/surrogate little sister Kanami Yuta. He works as a freelancer of sorts alongside his other friend Kimishima, helping resolve issues with other Alter Users in the lost ground for a fee. He soon comes into conflict with HOLY when he's captured after his fight in the first episode; his interrogation and subsequent break out earn him the ire of Ryuuhou Ryu, one of HOLY's top officers.

His Alter is called Shell Bullet, a golden gauntlet that forms over his right arm.

Animal Lover: To a degree. While he'll still fight them if necessary, Kazuma is extremely apologetic about intruding into the space of other animals, especially Alter-using ones. He even expresses anger at The Crystal when he sees it absorb the animals it kills in the Alter Forest.
Anti-Hero: Kazuma is not a bad person at heart, but he's not especially inclined to traditional heroism. He has no problem sticking up for the defenseless, especially if HOLY is bullying them, but by and large his priorities are on things important to him—protecting his friends, living free, and getting his grudge match against Ryuuhou. Whenever he goes along with what would be considered the "right" thing to do, it's usually because he's responding to an injustice right in front of him, or (particularly in the second part of the series, where he's become a much more bitter and jaded person) because of something that affects someone close to him, like Kanami being kidnapped or being on a Tranquil Fury rampage over the deaths of friends like Kimishima.
Back-to-Back Badasses: He and Asuka fight off an animal's wild Alter when they get trapped underground. He settles into this dynamic with Ryuuhou eventually, tearing through an army of mainland Alter Users in Episode 25.
Berserk Button:
- Foremost, being looked down on or underestimated really pisses him off, which is one half of why Ryuuhou immediately makes it to the top of his shit list.
- People who bully the weak and infringe upon the freedoms and rights of others, or those that have given up their own free will to be subordinate to someone else, disgust him; the other half of his grudge against Ryuuhou, as well as his general animosity toward most city-dwellers and HOLY writ large, is because they won't stop picking on the Inners—especially those without Alter power—and he explicitly hates Maxfell for being too afraid to stand up and fight his own battles.
- Most critically, though, do not endanger his friends, especially not Kimishima or Kanami. Kimishima's death alone sends him into a Roaring Rampage of Revenge until Ryuuhou forcibly stops him, and he spends pretty much the entire last third of the series in such a frothing rage at Mujou and the mainland over Ayase's death and Kanami's kidnapping that he willingly puts his grudge against Ryuuhou on hold to infiltrate the city and beat the shit out of Mujou to get Kanami back, then actively stomps the mainland's invasion force alongside Ryuuhou in episode 25.
Big Brother Instinct: He’s essentially Kanami’s older brother. Whenever she's in danger, he wastes no time saving her—he attacked a HOLY medical transport just to get a doctor capable of helping her when she got sick, and his grudge against Kyouji Mujou is entirely based on the fact that Mujou kidnapped Kanami.
Body Horror: The first form of Shell Bullet splits his arm into three vertical chunks in order to form itself—the gory bits are censored with Alter aura on the inside, but it's very apparent from his pained grunting that it hurts him at least a little bit. It gets worse later on, as his arm physically begins to deteriorate because of how much he uses Shell Bullet's second form, followed by the rest of his body with its final form.
Blood Knight: Kazuma really enjoys fighting and using Shell Bullet. This changes for a while after Kimishima's death, where he mostly just treats fighting as a nuisance or a duty instead of something fun, but his final fight with Ryuuhou brings back his enthusiasm.
Calling Your Attacks: What he does when using "Shocking First Bullet", "Exterminating Second Bullet", and "Obliterating Last Bullet". This habit, his Alter's name, and the naming scheme of his attacks are holdovers from being taught by Straight Cougar.
Conspicuous Gloves: He's very attached to the glove over his right hand, refusing to remove it when Mimori asks him to for a fancy dinner in episode 8. It's never explained why, but given some implications from flashbacks to his childhood where his hand is bandaged up at around the same part the glove would be covering, he might be covering up damage done to it from an accident he had while using it. He finally loses it at the beginning of the last episode, when it fades away as he first summons Shell Bullet.
Cynicism Catalyst: After Kimishima dies, Kazuma disappears for a while; when he's seen again, he's little better than a wild animal, involved in an underground Alter User fighting ring and noticeably more bitter and hardened than before.
Dark and Troubled Past: There is very little actually said about Kazuma's childhood, but a flashback in episode 7 shows images of a young Kazuma standing over an unconscious or dead body and staring at Shell Bullet in horror; this implies that he, at some point, lost control of Shell Bullet and severely injured or killed someone. Coupled with the general Fantastic Racism that most Alter Users have to deal with, and the overall lawlessness of the Lost Ground outside of the city, it becomes easy to see why he's so used to the idea of being a reject from proper society.
Dented Iron: Once he's evolved his Alter and started using its second form, his arm periodically spasms under the stress and lines that look like stress fractures start working his way up his forearm as early as episode 10. Abusing Shell Bullet's second form during the Time Skip following Kimishima's death only makes this worse—by episode 17, the fractures have progressed to his shoulder as scale-like scarring that's hidden under his shirt. As time goes on, he seems to have trouble using his arm for normal tasks, and the discoloration only gets more and more noticeable. Additionally, his right eye won't open when he's not using anything above Shell Bullet's first form. By the time he's gotten Shell Bullet's third form, there are parts of his arm that have just chipped away to reveal black voids where his skin should be, and there are more stress lines around the part of his right eye and face where his armor attaches in Shell Bullet's second form.
Determinator: No matter how badly he's beaten down, he'll get up and fight until he literally cannot move. The manga has this as his justification for his moniker "The Treasoner" there—he "betrays" any cowardice and weakness within himself to keep fighting on.
Emotional Powers: In the manga, Shell Bullet is explicitly powered by emotions. At one point, Kazuma punches George Tatsunami with the "Shell Bullet of Grief" to force him to "live the rest of his life in eternal regret" as a sobbing wreck.
Eye Scream: He takes a hit to the face from one of Ryuuhou's attacks in their third fight, and from that point on, despite no blood or visible damage showing, his right eye just doesn't open anymore, unless he's using his Alter past its first form.
Expressive Hair: When Kazuma uses Shell Bullet, his hair spikes up and turns reddish.
Fashionable Asymmetry: His jacket only has the left arm, and he only wears a glove on his right hand. Similarly, Shell Bullet only forms over his right arm until he gets its final form, and even then it has tentacles of uneven size on his back and fists of slightly different sizes.
Foil: While his core one is Ryuuhou, he’s also one to Ayase.
- Kazuma is quick to get on the fight while Ayase is much calmer.
- Both have younger siblings (Kanami and Akira). While Kanami was out of the loop for first part of the story, Akira was fully aware of what’s been happening.
- Kazuma lived to the very end to ensure Kanami’s safety and stayed true to his allegiance, Ayase pulled a Face–Heel Turn that ended in her and Akira’s death.
Hot-Blooded: Prone to shouting and yelling a lot during his fights.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be abrasive and sarcastic, but he cares very deeply for his friends, and has a strong sense of justice and fairness despite his selfish tendencies. In the first episode alone, he slips a boy some extra money when he hears that the boy's father was hurt on the job and can't work, and his words to Ayase and Asuka both galvanize them into overcoming their fears.
I Let Gwen Stacy Die: Kazuma's Heroic BSoD in the second cour is fueled by his angst over letting Kimishima die while trying to carry him to safety. He only comes to terms with it during his fight with Ayase, when a vision of Kimishima breaks him out of his suicidal resignation to let her win and save her brother.
It's Personal: Kazuma's grievances with Kyouji Mujou are founded directly on this—Mujou was the one that oversaw Ayase's refinement, held her brother captive as blackmail to make her do what he wanted, and eventually kidnaps Kanami to use her powers to strengthen himself.
Limit Break: Shell Bullet has one in the forms of its "bullets", powered-up punches that Kazuma can use by consuming one of the three fins on his back. As he runs out of fins, the attacks get stronger, but once he's out of fins, he's out of bullets. Shell Bullet's second and third forms have no such limitations.
Locked into Strangeness: Attaining Shell Bullet's final form causes the right side of his bangs to take on an odd orange color.
Not Quite Flight: Kazuma can use Shell Bullet to emit small bursts of Alter Power to boost himself off the ground. Its second form comes with a propeller on his back that allows him to hover, and its final form just has free-form flight.
The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: His rivalry with Ryuuhou escalates to where he can't stand anyone else fighting him.
Only One Name: He's just "Kazuma". The closest he gets to a last name are his monikers: "the Treasoner" in the manga, and "the Shell Bullet" in the anime.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: He willingly surrenders to HOLY and appears to join them in episode 8, even stating that he always "follows power" despite his fight with Asuka in the previous episode making it exceptionally clear that he values his independence way too much. Naturally, he's just trying to get into HOLY to free the captured Alter Users that HOLY scooped up in episodes 6 and 7. Unkei's Mad Sprict nearly makes the bluff way more permanent until he realizes he's being manipulated.
Perpetual Poverty: Due to his tendency to skip steady work or spend/give away the money he makes from jobs, Kazuma and Kanami are constantly living on a shoestring budget.
Power Fist: Shell Bullet is strong enough to destroy steel with one punch. Its second form is even stronger, and can absorb extra Alter Power for even more strength; its final form gives him two armored arms and a full set of armor to go with it.
Running Gag: He's kind of bad with names; he remembers Ryuuhou's just fine, but never Ayase's. This is another holdover from being taught by Straight Cougar, although he simply forgets names rather than getting them wrong as Cougar does.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Weighed down by the pain of Kimishima's death and his guilt over being unable to protect Kanami, Kazuma tries to leave for the mainland under the name "Takashi Kobayashi" in episode 16. Ayase stops him...and addresses him by the prisoner ID assigned to him by HOLY, NP3228.
Ship Tease: He has a little with Ayase, as she's very friendly and affectionate with him, and she even takes up something he said to her offhandedly as her own personal means of hardening her resolve when the going gets tough. For his part, he simply treats her as a friend.
Simpleminded Wisdom: Has a tendency for this—despite his uneducated background and rough behavior, his lived experience has given him enough perspective to understand exactly why he doesn't trust or like mainlander politics or HOLY, and his words have inspired people to shake off their own limitations and move forward much like he does.
Skyward Scream: Ayase's death draws a painful, enraged scream out of him, though he manages, if barely, not to cry.
The Unfettered: Short of sacrificing his friends, Kazuma will do anything to protect his freedoms and his way of life.
Unstoppable Rage: Kazuma goes on a rampage to get Kimishima's car back from HOLY after Kimishima dies. Unfortunately, Scheris gets caught up in the crossfire and is badly injured, which severely pisses Ryuuhou off.
Vitriolic Best Buds: He has this relationship with Kimishima, Asuka, and eventually Ryuuhou.

Kanami Yuta

Voiced by: Yukari Tamura (Japanese), Carrie Savage (English, credited as Carrie Daniels)

A young girl that Kazuma rescued from a camp a few years previously. She manages the house that she shares with Kazuma, cooking and cleaning. She also does occasional work at a farm.

All-Loving Hero: She has a great fondness for people, has no mean bones in her body, and tries to mediate situations.
Break the Cutie: Where to begin? The death of Kimishima, her other surrogate brother is bad, but then she seemingly loses Kazuma and is enslaved. It only gets worse. Stepping into Unkei’s illusions sets off a chain of events that eventually draws Mujou's attention, gets her captured, and lets Mujou use her ability to read the thoughts of others.
Damsel in Distress: Her Alter ability leads to her capture by Kyouji Mujou as a part of his plan to rule the Lost Ground and fight the mainland.
Everyone's Baby Sister: Kanami is very highly regarded by everyone that knows her, and they will go to great lengths to make sure she’s safe.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: While they aren't related by blood, she's the responsible to Kazuma and Kimishima's foolish. Kanami frequently does chores around the neighbourhood while Kazuma and Kimishima seemingly slack elsewhere.
Locked Out of the Loop: She doesn't know that Kazuma is an Alter User and she doesn't know what he and Kimishima do for work, at least for the first half of the series. She eventually learns the truth, and is displeased that Kazuma didn't trust her.
Morality Pet: She serves as this for Kazuma. After recovering from amnesia, Ryuuhou also comes to see her this way, and protecting Kanami is the one thing that he and Kazuma can always come to agree on.
My Significance Sense Is Tingling: The way her power tends to function when it's running outside of her direct control; her narration often describes the emotions or events she's perceiving as "dreams".
Nice Girl: Easily the nicest character in the series. Polite, sweet, and always helpful.
No-Sell: When Unkei attempts to rewrite reality to induct Kazuma into HOLY, Kanami is unaffected by it. She can also tell that the Tokonatsu Sisters aren't human. Both of these things are likely the result of her Alter's power kicking in subconsciously.
Power Incontinence: She has an Alter of her own, though it remains unnamed and she doesn't consciously control it until the anime's last episode. This causes her no end of trouble when Mujou captures her and abuses her power for Combat Clairvoyance.
Psychic Powers: The manifestation of her Alter, in a more traditional way than other Alters. It gives her the ability to sense the feelings of others and possibly even perceive faraway events. Before she gains conscious control of it, it tends to do its thing most commonly when she's sleeping and most frequently in relation to Kazuma.
She Knows Too Much: When Kanami tells Ryuuhou about the Tokonatsu Sisters and how they’re not actually human, Kigetsuki has her kidnapped. That said, Kanami did not know about it through Kigetsuki, but rather her Alter kicking in subconsciously.
Signature Headgear: Kanami ties her hair into a ponytail with a large pink bow. While she keeps it for the Distant Finale of the anime (except when she's using her Alter Power), the equivalent scene in Alteration has her forego it entirely.
Spanner in the Works: When Unkei and Kigetsuki attempt to get an amnesiac Ryuuhou back, she unknowingly thwarts their first attempt by just being there. This is due to not having a role in the former’s story.
Supreme Chef: Her cooking is amazing. So good, in fact, that Kazuma and Ryuuhou talk about it on their way to the final battle and how much they enjoyed it.

Kunihiko Kimishima

Voiced by: Takumi Yamazaki (Japanese), Lex Lang (English)

Kazuma's work partner and frequent source of transportation. A self-described "no-good punk", Kimishima's primary goals in life consist of making enough money to live well and finding a girlfriend.

All Love Is Unrequited: He's crushing on Ayase, but she's more interested in Kazuma. In the manga, he manages to win her over and they become a couple.
Badass Normal: He doesn't have an Alter, but he compensates by being a decent shot, a good tactician, and a damn good driver.
Big Brother Instinct: Kimishima is pretty much Kanami’s other older brother and like Kazuma, will go out of his way to make sure she’s safe.
Cowardly Lion: Though Kimishima tends to be pragmatic about picking the fights he gets into, mostly because he doesn't have an Alter, but he can be pretty bold when he has to be.
Dying Moment of Awesome: Kimishima takes several bullets while rushing to help Kazuma fight off a group of Darz from HOLY. He succeeds in reaching Kazuma, and figures out a strategy to defeat the disappearing Darz who had been styming Kazuma the entire episode. Unfortunately, the gunshot wounds do him in.
Last-Name Basis: Everyone calls him Kimishima.
Running Gag: His vehicles are always destroyed. Always.
Sacrificial Lion: He’s the first major character to die. It causes Kazuma to go through a Heroic BSoD.
Spared by the Adaptation: He doesn't die in the manga.
Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Kazuma argue a lot, but when it comes down to it they're thick as thieves. It makes his death all the more tragic.

Biff

Voiced by: Ginzo Matsuo (Japanese, original voice actor), Bin Shimada (Japanese, episode 18), Chō (Japanese, Alteration), Paul St. Peter (English)

A brutish Native Alter User that Kazuma fights and defeats in the first episode.

His Alter is called N.R. Hammer, a giant robot with a huge mace as a right hand.

Brainwashed and Crazy: The metal headband he wears after returning from the mainland is part of what's keeping him under HOLY's control. He only begins to demonstrate a sense of self once it's damaged in his last battle.
Dying as Yourself: He forces N.R. Hammer to break the part of the building it's attached to while he's standing on it, causing him to plummet to the ground. He proudly says "I...am Biff!" as he falls to his death.
Empty Shell: The refinement process and brainwashing ultimately reduce him to a brute that can only say "HAMMER" and a few other single word taunts, if that. The destruction of his mind is so potent that Asuka's Eternity Eight can't affect him.
Face–Heel Turn: As a result of his refinement, he becomes little more than HOLY's rabid attack dog.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He didn't have any qualms about bullying normal people in the first episode, but when it comes down to keeping HOLY from interfering with the Lost Ground any more than they already have, he's more than willing to lend a hand.
Pokémon Speak: Post-refinement, he mostly just says "HAMMER!" until his last moments.
Starter Villain: The first villain Kazuma fights and defeats on-screen in the series, just before his fateful first encounter with Ryuuhou.
Stout Strength: He appears to be out of shape at first, but both he and his Alter are pretty strong.
Took a Level in Badass: Played with—post-refinement, N.R. Hammer becomes bigger and bulkier, with a jet-powered hammer, a drill bit as its bottom half, and powerful steel pistons that it can use to anchor itself to the ground, making it a lot stronger, and Biff himself has adapted to its changes well. However, due to being refined and brainwashed to the point that his personality's been completely crushed, Biff himself is even less capable of strategy than before.

Ayase Terada

Voiced by: Kumiko Nishihara (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English)

A Native Alter User who enlists Kazuma and Kimishima's help in liberating a group of captured Lost Ground inhabitants, including her ill younger brother Akira.

Her Alter is called Noble Tempest; it manifests as conch-like shells in her hair, lengthening it and enabling the strands to liquefy anything they touch.

Action Girl: Comes with being an Alter User.
All Love Is Unrequited: She develops romantic feelings for Kazuma, but he returns them in a more platonic manner, while Kimishima is clearly into her. In the manga, Kimishima ultimately wins her over.
Back for the Dead: After getting kidnapped, Ayase doesn’t return until Kazuma tries heading back to the Mainlands, where she almost kills him had it not been for Kimishima’s spirit and her brother’s death.
Big Sister Instinct: She loves Akira with all her heart, to the degree that she will risk her own life or subject herself to Human Experimentation, even fight Kazuma to the death if it means he's safe.
Borrowed Catchphrase: She begins to frequently quote a speech Kazuma gave her about breaking through the wall before her to signify her own determination, after he inspires her to stand up for herself no matter the circumstances.
Deadly Upgrade: She doesn't take to refinement as well as Biff did—even before Akira's death, Noble Tempest's humanoid form begins to manifest clear stress fractures as she continues fighting Kazuma.
Death by Despair: After her refinement and Face–Heel Turn, she's ultimately unable to kill Kazuma before her brother dies. Heartbroken, and already undergoing severe stress from the refinement process, she dies in Kazuma's arms.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Despite turning on Kazuma, she still prioritized Akira over all else.
Expository Hairstyle Change: Her hair is in a much more elaborate updo than the simple ponytail-bun she used to wear when she initially approaches Kazuma for a fight at the airport after her refinement.
Face–Heel Turn: After HOLY captures her, she's shipped off to the mainland and has her Alter forcibly refined like Biff's, as the mainlanders attempted to use her to reach The Other Side. When she proves to be unable to do that, she's sent to fight Kazuma in order to keep her brother alive. Although she tries to persuade him to come to the mainland to try to change the world, he refuses to be used by the mainland, and she eventually decides that Kazuma is the "wall" she'll have to destroy for her brother's sake.
Fatal Flaw: Her devotion to Akira. It walls her sense of justice and would ultimately be a part in both of their deaths.
Making a Splash: What her powers evolve to post-refinement. Not only does she retain the liquefaction ability, she can create twisters and icicles with ease, as well as trigger underwater explosions in rapid succession by tweaking the sodium and magnesium balance in the water.
Marked Change: A new set of permanent stripes appears along her neck after her refinement.
Power Dyes Your Hair: When her Alter is active, her hair goes from brown to a dark cyan color.
Running Gag: Kazuma never remembers or calls her by her name, and she frequently reminds him of it with either a smile or some exasperation. He only calls her by her name when she's dying.
Secretly Selfish: In a sense. When Kazuma denies going to the Mainlands, Ayase decides he must be killed for her brother, meaning she’d let thousands of people die for the sake of Akira.
Slipknot Ponytail: Her powers cause her hair to unbind itself, spreading it to well past the small of her back.
Spared by the Adaptation: She doesn't die in the manga, and hooks up with Kimishima.
Took a Level in Badass: Noble Tempest gains a humanoid form as a result of her refinement, and it becomes way stronger to boot, nearly killing Kazuma when she fights him.
Water Is Womanly: A kind, feminine girl whose Alter Power focuses on water manipulation.

The Alter User With One Black Arm and One White Arm (major unmarked spoilers)

A mysterious Native Alter User that attacked the city of the Lost Ground six years ago, killing several people in the process—including Ryuuhou's mother. He resides in the Alter Forest, a section of the Lost Ground so affected by the First Uprising that even the animals have Alters.

In actuality, this Alter User is actually an Alter, called The Crystal. It comes from the "Other Side", the dimension that HOLY commander Martin Zigmarl briefly accessed during the First Uprising, and is the source of all Alter Power. Kyouji Mujou eventually absorbs The Crystal in order to gain its abilities, but releases it to deal with Ryuuhou at the end of the series. Ryuuhou ultimately fights The Crystal two times—he loses badly the first time, but wins the rematch and destroys it once and for all, avenging his mother.

Its main powers are White Trick, which lets it generate and use electricity as a weapon, and Black Joker, which lets it convert its hands into drills. Both abilities are named by Mujou after he absorbs it.

Nigh-Invulnerable: As a walking mass of Alter Power, the Crystal can use Alter Power to restore itself whenever it takes damage.
Person of Mass Destruction: As a living, masterless Alter, The Crystal requires immense amounts of Alter Power to sustain itself, and will destroy anything it can to get it.
Shock and Awe: The primary use of White Trick, especially once Mujou gets his hands on the Crystal, is for debilitating electrical attacks. Even before meeting Mujou, it tends to fire off compressed balls of electric-like energy to attack.
Super-Empowering: When Martin Zigmarl briefly made contact with it and the Other Side, the result was the First Uprising, the creation of the Lost Ground, and the creation of Alter Users. Similarly, Kazuma ripping out its backbone and accidentally absorbing it into Shell Bullet is what gave him Shell Bullet's second form.
This Is a Drill: Black Joker usually manifests as a wispy black drill when used.
Walking Spoiler: Its true nature is one of the major reveals of the series and is difficult to talk about without spoiling everything.
Walking Wasteland: Anything that can be converted into Alter Power while it's nearby will be.

HOLY

An organization based in the Lost Ground that recruits Alter Users to maintain order. Their parent organization, HOLD, is situated on the mainland, and was founded by Tadanori Kiryuu and Martin Zigmarl to deal with the effects of the First Uprising.

Ryuuhou Ryu

Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa (Japanese), Jason Spisak (English)

A young, stoic Native Alter User born in the city. Isolated in his youth due to his Alter save for his friendship with Mimori Kiryuu, he holds a strong grudge against other Native Alter Users, searching for one in particular with one white arm and one black arm that attacked the city about six years earlier and killed his mother. He brings Kazuma into HOLY custody early on in the show, and the two immediately rub each other the wrong way, causing a rivalry that only deepens as Kazuma escapes the city and continues to rebel against HOLY.

His Alter is called Zetsuei, named after (and first materialized with the remains of) his dog, who was also killed when his mother died. It appears as a white, doll-like humanoid wearing a white half mask with its arms bound; it normally attacks with the sharp, whip-like edges of its collar.

Berserk Button: Generally speaking, threatening the peace brought by HOLY is his, which is why he initially hates Kazuma so much. The events that awakened Zetsuei serve as one in general too, as Mimori obliquely mentioning his mother's death causes him to angrily summon Zetsuei on reflex and his grudge for the Alter User that caused everything still burns strongly despite all the years that have passed. After regaining his memory from Unkei's attempt to Sprict him into submission in the second half of the series, "hurting or threatening Kanami" becomes a big one for him just like it is for Kazuma, and the button previously pressed by threatening HOLY's order switches to "anyone oppressing the weak or innocent".
Big Brother Instinct: He clearly sees Scheris as his ally and little sister. He would also come around to seeing Kanami as this.
Black-and-White Morality: He remains absolutely convinced that everything HOLY does is for the best, considering any of the Natives that rebel against it as criminal scum. After losing his memory and experiencing HOLY's tyranny from the other side, he matures past this, explicitly acknowledging that how he feels now must be what Kazuma felt like fighting against HOLY.
Boomerang Bigot: Serves as one to other Alter Users due to how he regards most of them as troublemakers, especially the Inners, until his Character Development kicks in.
Character Development: His fights against HOLY as an amnesiac temper his zealotry against Inners and Native Alter Users as he comes to understand just how oppressive HOLY's methods are; he chooses to fight to defend the weak from anyone that threatens them—mainland or not. However, he still retains a strong degree of personal dislike for Kazuma, just by virtue of their clashing personalities.
Dark and Troubled Past: Ryuuhou is haunted by his mother and Zetsuei's deaths, to the degree that he has devoted his entire life for the past several years to finding the Alter User that killed them both.
Dented Iron: Much like Kazuma, using his Alter more and more frequently takes a visible toll on him. Most notably, he begins to gain stress lines where Zetsuei attaches to his face in its final form, and both versions of the anime's epilogue shows similar lines appearing on his arms where the "blades" of Zetsuei Toryudan attach, much like the damage Kazuma incurs from the stronger forms of his Alter.
The Dragon: Ryuuhou is Commander Zigmarl's best warrior, the one he sends to problem areas, and the biggest challenge to our Anti-Hero protagonist Kazuma.
Expository Hairstyle Change: In the epilogue of the anime and Alteration, his hair's grown out to about his shoulders.
Expressive Hair: Using Zetsuei's true form causes his hair to stiffen and change to a brighter green than it normally is.
Foil: He serves as one to Kazuma, fitting his role as the other protagonist of the story.
- Kazuma's hotheadedness is often contrasted against Ryuuhou's cold demeanor, and while Kazuma is an Inner from outside the city with no family and technically speaking no registered name, Ryuuhou is the son of a wealthy city family and grew up within its walls.
- Their fighting styles are in opposition to each other, too, with Ryuuhou focusing on precision and open-handed strikes (thrusts, chops, etc.), where Kazuma goes for brute force and direct punches. This manifests in how their Alters work; Kazuma's Shell Bullet fuses with him directly and enables him to go toe-to-toe with his enemies himself, while Zetsuei specializes in carefully directed pinpoint attacks with its collar whips.
- Even their relationships to people close to them are similar, but different: while they both tend to put up a good front about just how deep those feelings run, Ryuuhou cares about those close to him, but keeps himself emotionally distant from them out of fear that they might be hurt, while Kazuma may flake on his friends physically from time to time but never tries to pretend that he isn't heavily invested in their safety; it takes several painful losses for Kazuma to even remotely start distancing himself from his loved ones like Ryuuhou does.
I Am Not Left-Handed: Zetsuei's initial form is its restrained self; when he uses its full power, Zetsuei takes on a more robotic shape with a serpentine lower body, and it becomes fast enough to leave behind afterimages as it attacks and batter Kazuma from multiple angles without being seen.
Inconsistent Spelling: His name can be, and sometimes is, localized as Ryuho or Ryuhou by different sources.
Knight Templar: Related to the Black-and-White Morality example above, he can be pretty oppressive toward Native Alter Users in his line of work, believing that no matter how sketchy or unjust it seems, HOLY is in the right.
Laser-Guided Amnesia: When he fights against Kazuma's second-stage Shell Bullet, the sheer power they're putting out causes the Second Uprising, and temporarily wipes his memory.
Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Both the s-CRY-ed Alteration Quan movie and the light novel show that he grew his hair out to shoulder length after the final battle.
Oblivious to Love: To an extent; he doesn't seem to recognize the depth of Scheris' feelings for him, nor Mimori's, but he eventually makes it clear that he's aware of how much they both care for him and just can't bring himself to reciprocate, either out of self-loathing or something else. After Scheris expends all of her Alter Power and her life to save him, the emotional pain leads him to deliberately refuse to acknowledge romance at all, refusing to let Mimori close to him. It's averted in the manga, where Scheris survives and the two of them working together is how Ryuuhou achieves his full power with Zetsui Touryudan, and in the s-CRY-ed After light novels, where he finally admits and accepts his feelings for Mimori after saving her life and they live together after his body is practically destroyed due to his Alter.
Powered Armor: Ryuuhou eventually evolves Zetusei to the point where he's able to wear it as a suit of armor like Kazuma does, giving him Super-Speed; the manga calls this form Zetsuei Touryudan.
Sugar-and-Ice Personality: He's aloof and can be aggressive, but he cares for his friends greatly.
Synchronization: In Zetsuei's true form, there's a degree of synchronization between it and Ryuuhou; damaging it sometimes causes him to recoil or gives him matching injuries on his own body.
Still Wearing the Old Colors: When he joins Kazuma to assault HOLY and defeat Mujou, he's wearing his HOLY uniform despite the fact that he quit the organization; in both versions of the Distant Finale (anime & Alteration Quan), he's still got it on even though by all indications HOLY doesn't exist anymore.
Unable to Cry: He's shocked into confusion and frustration after Scheris' Heroic Sacrifice for him, but after Kazuma berates him for holding up a stoic front and tells him that it's fine to cry, he breaks down. Hard.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Aside from feeling self-conscious about being an Alter User, Ryuuhou was a pretty good kid, if a bit shy. His mother's death screwed him up immensely.
Would Hurt a Child: When he first meets Kanami, he interrogates her and attempts to harm her just to know where Kazuma is until Urizane tells him to back down.

Mimori Kiryuu

Voiced by: Yuko Nagashima (Japanese), Dorothy Elias-Fahn (English)

A doctor and scientist, the daughter of Tadanori Kiryuu, and a childhood acquaintance of Ryuuhou. She comes to the Lost Ground primarily to meet him again but also to assist HOLY. As the series progresses, she comes to realize how corrupt HOLY is and how it's harming the Native Alter Users, and ultimately turns against them.

All Love Is Unrequited: Her feelings for Ryuuhou are as strong as, if not stronger than, Scheris's own, but Ryuuhou never seems to notice them.
Badass Pacifist: Over the course of the show, Mimori's dedication to changing things without violence solidifies her into one of these.
Frontier Doctor: The role she evolves to take later in the series—the Lost Ground has basically no doctors, so her medical training is the best most communities will get.
Improbable Age: She's a full-fledged doctor at approximately 17 years old, bordering on Teen Genius.
Nice Girl: Has no prejudice toward Alter Users, and actively condemns those that are racist toward them. Despite being kidnapped by Kazuma twice, she still speaks respectfully to Kazuma, and treats Kanami when she gets ill.
Politeness Judo: She uses some of this on a coworker in the second episode to chastise him for insulting Native Alter users.
Sheltered Aristocrat: Mimori's naivete and general ignorance of the Lost Ground often results in Ryuuhou or other characters treating her like this in the early parts of the series, especially since her father is one of the most powerful men on the mainland.
Unlucky Childhood Friend: To Ryuuhou, as Scheris' death completely turns him away from romantic prospects. This is averted in s-CRY-ed After, where Ryuuhou uses Scheris' remaining Alter Power within him to save Mimori's life, then admits his feelings to her.

Scheris Adjani

Voiced by: Masayo Kurata (Japanese), Lara Jill Miller (English)

A Native Alter User that Ryuuhou rescued some years before the start of the show. As a result, she developed strong feelings for him and enlisted with HOLY to be close to him.

Her Alter is called Eternal Devote, and it enables her to phase her body into other people, hurting them in the process. She can also use it to heal.

Brainwashed and Crazy: Temporarily in the manga; Ryuuhou uses The Power of Love to break her out of it.
Cast from Stamina: The primary reason why she doesn't use Eternal Devote much, if at all—even a short burst of activity leaves her physically exhausted and barely able to stand. She lacks this limitation in the manga and makes more frequent use of her powers there.
Clingy Jealous Girl: The very end of her first conversation with Mimori demonstrates this clearly, as she makes a point of telling Mimori that Ryuuhou is "different" from Mimori: since he's an Alter user and Mimori isn't, they won't be able to understand each other.
Expository Hairstyle Change: Before joining HOLD and HOLY, Scheris wore her hair way longer; after Ryuuhou rescues her, and at some point in the intervening years, she cut it to a bob.
Fights Like a Normal: She deals with threats most of the time by using firearms or unarmed combat, due to how taxing it is to use Eternal Devote.
Fusion Dance: When she uses Eternal Devote in the anime to its fullest extent, she forces a permanent one of these between herself and Ryuuhou, saving his life at the cost of her own. In the manga, Eternal Devote is stable enough that doing this gives the other Alter User a power boost, and she can cancel the fusion at will.
Heroic Sacrifice: Eternal Devote's full power saves Ryuuhou's life, but she has to basically merge into him in order to complete process and dies as a result.
Inconsistent Spelling: The Tokyopop translation of the manga romanized her name as "Cherise".
Plucky Girl: Nothing will stop her from getting her job done.
Rescue Romance: The moment Ryuuhou saved her from a gang (in her backstory), she fell for him hard.
Sacrificial Lion: Dies near the very end of the series. Much like Kimishima for Kazuma, it breaks Ryuuhou.
Spared by the Adaptation: She survives in the manga, and not only helps Ryuuhou unlock his full power like she did in the anime, but also manages to win his heart in the end.
Subordinate Excuse: She works with Ryuuhou to indulge her crush on him, acting as his adjutant and Girl Friday to coordinate with other HOLY members, HOLD troops, and civilians.

Straight Cougar

Voiced by: Kyousei Tsukui (Japanese), Crispin Freeman (English)

A Native Alter User that lives by a philosophy of doing things as quickly as he can. He has an easygoing, cocksure attitude, but also tends to wax philosophical about life and what one can achieve in it, usually at a speed that makes it hard to understand what he's really saying. He's also really bad with names.

His Alter is called Radical Good Speed, and it enables him to transform vehicles so that they go immensely fast; as a result of his reckless driving and the stress exerted on the base vehicle, it usually falls apart when he stops exerting his power.

Ambiguous Situation: He seems to pass out while relaxing in a chair in the anime's last episode, and it's left unclear if he's died or not. Radical Good Speed makes an appearance at the end of Alteration Quan, complete with his chaotic driving style, so it seems he survives in the Alteration contunity.
Armed Legs: The combat form of Radical Good Speed gives him a pair of high-tech wheeled boots. While wearing them, he can move incredibly fast and kicks with crushing power.
Badass Driver: As a side-effect of his "turn any car into a pink hot rod" ability, he can drive amazingly well even at high speeds, albeit with noticeable roughness.
Big Brother Mentor: To Kazuma, in an honorary/unofficial sense. His influences on Kazuma are most clearly seen in how Kazuma named his Alter and its attacks, as well as Kazuma's lesser issue with remembering names.
Big Damn Heroes: When Mimori tries to blow the whistle on HOLY's intentions for the Inners and gets imprisoned, he decides to break her out...by diving off a bridge to get the perfect angle, then kicking off with his full Alter power to fly through the city and smash into the cell where Mimori's being kept.
Cannot Spit It Out: After telling Mimori that he's interested in her, he explains that his defiance of this trope fits in with his "the answers to all life's problems lies in speed" philosophy. If you like someone then you should tell them right away because the relationship can't develop otherwise and the person might feel likewise, so not only is there no point in waiting it can even be counterproductive. Mimori agrees with this sentiment but adds that there's something more important: "you should get her name right".
Cultured Badass: Though he doesn't make a point of quoting the authors he's reading, he usually has his nose in some form of literature when he's not on the clock.
Dented Iron: Usage of his Alter has ensured that his legs are, in his own words, "seriously messed up", and true to that, when not wearing his Alter, he walks with an odd, shuffling gait. He has also seen the Other Side, which he implies has impacted his lifespan to some degree.
Drives Like Crazy: Complete with manic laughter and hooting. If something looks like a ramp, he'll use it. If he can take a corner smoothly, he'll rip around it. Radical Good Speed can even reconfigure its own wheels or gain extra boosters to help him achieve maximum speed.
Locked into Strangeness: Both flashbacks and the final episode show that his hair was originally brown before turning orange with a skunk stripe on either side. Given the timeframes involved in the flashbacks, which is what his appearance in the final episode is based on, it's likely that his hair change is a result of either seeing the Other Side or undergoing refinement on the mainland.
Everyone Has Standards: Even he of the Radical Good Speed says one should take their time eating meals so the food can be truly tasted and thus fully enjoyed.
Motor Mouth: How he talks while driving Radical Good Speed, or whenever he's monologuing about life in general, is as fast as everything else about him.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: If he normally gets your name wrong, hearing him get it right is usually a sign that he's being serious.
Power Armor: The full power of his Alter, Radical Good Speed: Wheels Unlimited. It wraps him in full-body armor to accompany the boots he uses for its combat form and increases his speed output even more.
Running Gag:
- He rarely gets Kazuma or Mimori's names right, often calling them "Kazuya" or "Miss Minori".
- Related to his driving skills: every time someone comes out of Radical Good Speed, they look visibly ill.
Speed Demon: The very nature of his Alter and his personality. He has to achieve impossible speeds no matter what.
The Worf Effect: Cougar finally gets serious enough to fight Kyouji Mujou with the full force of his Alter near the end of the anime, but to demonstrate how much power Kanami's Alter plus the Crystal has given Mujou, he loses decisively.

Martin Zigmarl (major unmarked spoilers)

Voiced by: Yuuji Takada (Japanese), Jamieson Price (English)

HOLY's Supreme Commander, one of the founders of HOLY, and the first Alter User. He is an American immigrant to Japan, with a strong sense of both duty and justice and a commitment to suppressing the menace of Native Alter Users.

His Alter is called Alter Alias, and is the one of the few Alters in the series to manifest as more than one body—part of it is mechanical upper body armor that enables him to control air pressure with his bare hands, while the other part is a robotic familiar that has the same ability.

Cast from Lifespan: Due to the primitive refinement techniques used on him, using Alter Alias burns his stamina so quickly that extended use is fatal, which ultimately kills him when fighting Ryuuhou.
Evil All Along: In the manga, he was secretly the Big Bad. The anime appears to follow suit, but it turns out that Zigmarl was largely faking his more villainous aspects to get Ryuuhou to take the fight seriously.
Inconsistent Spelling: His name in the anime's dub is pronounced as Jigmar, which is another way to read the katakana for how his name is written.
Rapid Aging: The price of using Alter Alias, a direct result of being the first Alter User to be refined. He goes from looking in his early thirties or forties to nearly his eighties over the span of the one and only fight we see him in.
Tested on Humans: The Alter refinement techniques used by HOLY and HOLD were first tested on him, and the sideffects thereof are way worse for him than those refined after him.
Trickster Mentor: His fight with Ryuuhou was deliberately meant to draw out Ryuuhou's connection to the Other Side, giving Ryuuhou the power to fight Mujou on even footing.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: It's eventually revealed that being the first Alter User means that Zigmarl was the first person to contact the Other Side. This means that he was the cause of the First Uprising that created the Lost Ground, which in turn makes him responsible for pretty much everything that happened to the majority of the Inner cast and even some of the other members of HOLY like Ryuuhou and Scheris.
Younger Than They Look: Due to Alter Alias's effects on him, his default appearance is likely playing this straight, though to what degree is unknown. It becomes even more pronounced when he's dying after his fight with Ryuuhou, as he's been aging during the fight and looks far older by the time he speaks his last words. The manga exaggerates this, as it turns out that his middle-aged appearance hides a much younger face.
Zero-Approval Gambit: He runs a more personal one of these with Ryuuhou when they fight at the end of the anime; he deliberately riles Ryuuhou up with cold, callous behavior so that Ryuuhou's full power will be unleashed.

Asuka Tachibana

Voiced by: Tetsuya Iwanaga (Japanese), Dave Wittenberg (English)

A young, cocky member of HOLY with an inflated sense of justice and absolute assurance in his own abilities. He has a girlfriend, Cammy, who is the only person he's really vulnerable with or soft toward.

His Alter is called the Eight Treasure Balls, or more commonly, Eternity Eight. They appear as eight large green spheres that Asuka can control independently or in groups, and they have a large variety of abilities, mostly related to the manipulation of life energy.

All Love Is Unrequited: He is remarkable for his aversion of this trope, being the only person in a loving relationship for the duration of the series. The anime's epilogue shows that he and Cammy are still together in the Lost Ground.
Boomerang Bigot: He demonstrates this for the first part of his character arc: he constantly berates Kazuma and other Inners, particularly Alter Users, for being primitive, uneducated fools, despite the fact that he's a Native Alter User as well.
Break the Haughty: His character arc is about forcing him to come to terms with just how much of a jerk he is. When assigned to follow Mimori, he has his first battle against Kazuma, and loses badly. As a result, he's ejected from HOLY and loses touch with Cammy, driving him over the edge with rage.
Combat Medic: Aside from its offensive abilities, Eternity Eight can be used to speed up the body's healing processes.
Enemy Mine: After his first loss, Asuka fights Kazuma again in a desperate bid to win back his life, but loses again, and is forced to cooperate with Kazuma in order to survive when their fight strands them underground. This leads to a Fire-Forged Friends situation when they finally manage to get out.
Gender-Blender Name: Asuka is typically a name used for girls.
Heel–Face Turn: The Enemy Mine situation above and what he learns from Kazuma along the way finally gets Asuka to understand how HOLY harasses the Inners, and resolves to become a better person. After the Second Uprising, he's become a smuggler, assisting the Inners. He's the one that first finds Kazuma in the Alter fighting ring, and ultimately convinces Kazuma to face up to reality and fight for what really matters again.
Mind Wipe: What Eternity Eight's bow form can do—it fires all eight spheres at one opponent, and overloads their brains with such fierce emotions that they become an empty shell.
Morality Pet: Cammy, his girlfriend, shows a more caring side of him than his job as a HOLY thug.
People Puppets: One of Eternity Eight's abilities is to control other living things.
Took a Level in Kindness: Getting stripped of his privileges really humbled him for the better.
Transforming Weapon: Asuka can use Eternity Eight as a bow and a sword, in addition to a platform to stand on.

Urizane

Voiced by: Bin Shimada (Japanese), Kirk Thornton (English)

A chubby and jovial member of HOLY who tries his best to keep the peace around the Lost Ground. He's close friends with Mimori, Scheris, and Cougar, but is especially close to Elian.

His unnamed Alter uses watermelons as a medium to make or do pretty much anything (teleportation, projectiles, boxing gloves, etc).

Adaptational Villainy: He's a straight-up villain in the manga.
Berserk Button: Don't say anything bad about watermelons, or touch any of his without permission.
Big Eater: He'll generally snack on anything, not just watermelons.
Big Fun: Easygoing and generally less serious than even Cougar.
Death by Adaptation: He kills himself after his loss in the manga.
Everyone Has Standards:
- When Ryuuhou interrogates Kanami, he expresses disgust when he considers harming her just to get information about Kazuma.
- He’s understandably baffled when he sees Scheris injured and later when Kigetsuki holds Kanami hostage.
Imagination-Based Superpower: If it has anything to do with a watermelon, he can do anything with it.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He can be a little aggressive, but he’s still a good friend towards many members of HOLY.
Pet the Dog: He's especially protective of and kind to Elian.
Trademark Favorite Food: Watermelons, of course.

Elian

Voiced by: Takayuki Inoue (Japanese), Tony Oliver (English)

Martin Zigmarl's son, and the youngest known member of HOLY. He's close friends with Urizane.

His Alter, Absolute Perception, allows him to create and control electronic devices, using them for surveillance. His reconnaissance abilities are also helped by the fact that he can tap into other electronics using Absolute Perception, even ones that normally don't work.

Artificial Human: Several more Elian clones show up later in the series, used as disposable goods by Kyouji Mujou as part of his plan to take over the mainland.
The Baby of the Bunch: As far as we know, he’s the youngest member of HOLY.
The Stoic: Rather calm and dispassionate for a child his age.
Tomato in the Mirror: He's a clone of Zigmarl, born from genetic data taken directly from Zigmarl himself. Other Elian clones also have Alters similar to Elian's own Absolute Perception.

George Tatsunami

Voiced by: Wataru Takagi (Japanese), Derek Stephen Prince (English, as Steve Prince)

The HOLY member that oversees the camp where Ayase Terada's younger brother Akira is being held. He's an egotistical bastard, believing that his membership in HOLY means that he can do whatever he wants to the Inners.

His Alter is Big Magnum, a giant revolver barrel that fires massive bullets. He controls it by aiming and pulling the trigger on a smaller gun.

Ax-Crazy: He's more than willing to kill any Inners that try to stand up to him, and has no compunctions about taking a hostage to ensure that he can kill Kazuma without fear.
BFG: Big Magnum, naturally. Kazuma defeats him by punching one of Big Magnum's bullets back into its barrel, forcing it to explode.
Corrupt Cop: What he effectively is considering that HOLY is the closest thing to police that the Lost Ground has at all.
Does This Remind You of Anything?: How he describes Big Magnum is eerily similar to that of describing a certain genital.
Hated by All: Has virtually no allies and even Ryuuhou is repulsed by him. This is the first hint that for all of his faults, Ryuuhou does have principles.
Hate Sink: While not as bad as Kigetsuki, he proves to be a piece of work with how he treats Inners and slams Akira to a wall. Mind you, Akira is around the age of Kanami.
Jerkass: This man does not give a damn about Inners and is not hesitant about mistreating them brutally when he's in the mood. He killed multiple people on his previous deployment, pushes Ayase's little brother around and actively threatens to assault Ayase.
Wake-Up Call Boss: The first foe that Kazuma struggles with, only managing to win through sheer luck.
Would Hurt a Child: Slams Akira to a wall and treats him as a slave.

Unkei

Voiced by: Kenyū Horiuchi (Japanese), Michael McConnohie (English)

A HOLY member that sees himself as a genius writer. His power is often used to brainwash new recruits to HOLY.

His Alter is Mad Sprict, which takes the shape of a floating screen and keyboard with an odd biomechanical structure. Anyone he writes about in it is subjected to illusions that follow his writings, and even the victim's thoughts and memories can be manipulated to follow along with the "script". He uses this power on Kazuma in an attempt to subdue him, but a fight that Unkei scripts against Ryuuhou jars Kazuma out of the illusion.

Later on, he and Kigetsuki work together to try and bring Ryuuhou back to HOLY after Ryuuhou loses his memories. Unkei uses Sprict on Ryuuhou, but ultimately fails, and absorbs himself into Sprict in an attempt to survive a nasty fall.

Adapted Out: Doesn't appear in the manga.
Ambiguously Brown: Is much darker looking than the rest of the cast despite being Japanese.
Backstory Invader: During his time teaming up with Kigetsuki, he uses his ability to rewrite the amnesiac Ryuuhou’s memories. When the Tokonatsu Sisters, posing as his fiancees, beg him to "remember", the script shows scenes from Mimori's flashback to when she first met Ryuuhou—except each of the sisters is replacing her in a different scene. It briefly works until Kanami steps in and is able to tell the Tokonatsu Sisters aren’t human.
Big "WHAT?!": His reaction when Kanami enters his story. He lets out a Big "NO!" shortly afterwards, confused over how an ordinary young girl could get in. He doesn’t live long enough to find out she has a sixth sense.
Cruel Mercy: After Kazuma breaks out of Mad Sprict after the misfired Lighthearted Rematch scene that Unkei puts him into (and offers some "constructive criticism"), Unkei shows his thanks with a page from "his new script." After Kazuma opens his eyes in shock while looking at the paper, the scene changes to an airport where Kazuma shows up Just in Time in front of the plane taking the Native Alter captives to the mainland. Unfortunately, he is prevented from stopping the plane by the real Ryuuhou, and barely manages to escape. The episode ends with Unkei gloating about the tragic ending of his latest masterpiece.
Large Ham: Unkei is a self-styled auteur who loudly narrates the events of his story, especially in the English dubs where he plays Lemony Narrator to help translate the on-screen script excerpts.
More than Mind Control: Unkei's specialty is to manipulate his victims into a state of mind that influences them to follow the path his scripts lay out without his interference. Zigmarl's original plan was to have him trick Kazuma into Becoming the Mask when the Native Alter tried joining HOLY to learn where the other captured Native Alters were being kept.
Oh, Crap!: Has this reaction when Kanami goes into his story for Ryuuhou despite not being a character in it.
Rewriting Reality: "Mad Sprict" is able to use a combination of illusions and brainwashing to force its target to follow Unkei's current script. Any other people in the script are either illusions he's conjured up or deliberately acting their parts. The only person immune to his abilities is Kanami, whose latent Alter ability seems to make it impossible for Unkei's Alter to affect her senses; her ability to dream what Kazuma’s doing doesn't work when he's under the illusion, and she can step into Unkei’s story for Ryuuhou without any issues.
Small Name, Big Ego: Unkei is convinced that he's an amazing writer, but it's clear—especially from how terribly he judges the rivalry between Kazuma and Ryuuhou in his first script—that he's relatively incompetent at that job despite his delusions of grandeur.
Small Role, Big Impact: Is one of the least important members of HOLY. That said, he paves way to the final part of the story when he uses his ability and it accidentally gets Kanami in the crossfire. He’s also the core reason why Kazuma was unable to save the Native Alter Users, and that causes both Ayase and Biff to undergo a Face–Heel Turn that ultimately ends in their deaths.
Stylistic Suck: Unkei's a hack, who happily indulges in cliches and tropes that don't fit in with the main series. For example, he has Mimori take Kazuma on a platonic date to show him what city life is like (while Ryuuhou and Scheris spy on them), and turns the Tokonatsu Sisters into Ryuuhou's Unwanted Harem. Lampshaded by Kigetsuki and the sisters.
Tempting Fate: He says he focuses on the reality of his stories while trying to get Ryuuhou back. Cue Kanami, who's very much real entering his story.

Sou Kigetsuki

Voiced by: Hiro Yuki (Japanese), Tony Oliver (English)

One of the more arrogant members of HOLY, a man completely obsessed with power and his own interests. He is almost constantly accompanied by three women known as the Tokonatsu Sisters.

Arc Villain: Of sorts. He serves this role for amnesiac Ryuuhou after the Second Uprising; Ryuuhou encounters him terrorizing a village of Natives, and after Scheris and Kanami both get mixed up in the matter, Kazuma and Ryuuhou step in and hand Kigetsuki his ass.
Asshole Victim: Mujou kills Kigetsuki for failing to defeat Kazuma and Ryuuhou. Considering how much of a Jerkass he is, it’s hard to say he didn’t have it coming.
Bad Boss: It’s not apparent on the surface, but he’s not kind towards the Tokonatsu Sisters. He molded their personalities and calls them ugly to their faces before they do their Fusion Dance.
The Brute: Can more or less be considered one to HOLD considering how much effort it took to beat him, how shallow his thinking is, and how expendable his superiors consider him.
Dirty Coward: The man will use any means to win, even holding people hostage if he has to.
The Dragon: Thinks he’s this to Mujou. Mujou doesn’t care for him and has no problem killing him.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Not him, but the Tokonatsu Sisters clearly care about each other.
Faux Affably Evil: Can act polite, but it’s not genuine.
Fusion Dance: The Sisters can merge to create Burning Summer, which is their true form.
Girl Posse: The Tokonatsu Sisters are this to him. In reality, they're the form his Alter takes, and represent his view of a "perfect woman".
Hated by All: No one really likes him. Not even the Sisters, his own Alter, mind you.
Hate Sink: Where to begin? From his behaviour towards fellow HOLY members, his misogynistic and smug attitude, his horrible treatment towards the Tokonatsu Sisters, holding Kanami, an 8 year old hostage, to later holding hostage an entire village, with his final act to run away when cornered, there’s not a lot to like about him.
He-Man Woman Hater: Evidently, he doesn’t have a very high opinion on women. He treats the Tokonatsu Sisters as expendable, molded their personalities to always listen to him, and hates Scheris for not being as submissive as the sisters are.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Pulls a You Have Failed Me on the Tokonatsu Sisters. Mujou kills him using the exact same stunt.
It's All About Me: OH YES. He's an extremely vile, misogynistic, cowardly, and smug bastard who makes himself look better than he is. He has no problem selling out his allies and makes threats he can't actually deliver on his own.
Jerkass: Big time. He doesn’t see women as actual people and generally has no issue demeaning people. His views on women are why the Tokonatsu Sisters take the forms and personas they do when they're not combined into Burning Summer, and why he turns on them as soon as he starts feeling they're failing him.
Oh, Crap!: Has quite a few of these. Particularly when Kanami reveals that the Tokonatsu sisters aren’t actually human.
Playing with Fire: When he really has to go all out, he can combine the Tokunatsu Sisters into his Alter's true form, Burning Summer, a massive beast that's able to control fire and lava.
Put Down Your Gun and Step Away: In the final clash, when he knows Kazuma and Ryuuhou far outclass him, he tries to use the people of a nearby village to get them to back down. It works on Ryuuhou, but Kazuma doesn't relent and takes him out before he can carry out his threat.
Smug Super: Extremely arrogant and not afraid to flaunt his power.
The Three Faces of Eve: The Three Tokonatsu Sisters have appearances and personalities revolving around this archetype — Shoka, The Ingenue with Girlish Pigtails, Chuka, a Brainy Brunette Bespectacled Cutie, and Banka, the mature beauty of the three.
Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Once he loses, he quickly runs for the hills, vowing vengeance for his defeat. He dies before getting to carry through on it.
Would Hurt a Child: Has Kanami kidnapped after she sees through the illusion he and Unkei made. Later, he holds her hostage after Ryuuhou gains his memories. Fortunately, Scheris and Urizane step in before he can do anything.
You Have Failed Me: He pulls this on the Tokonatsu Sisters after Burning Summer is defeated by Kazuma. After demanding they get back up to keep fighting if they really loved him, Cougar interrupts to say that not only are the Sisters Kigetsuki's puppets to begin with, but not even his own power is enough to make someone that could love him. When Shoka and the others can't answer Kigetsuki's demand to prove Cougar wrong anymore, he angrily disperses them for betraying him. In turn, though Kigetsuki manages to escape after losing to Kazuma and Ryuuhou, he has this pulled on him when he returns to HOLD HQ; he's killed and absorbed by Kyouji Mujou for his failure.

Emergy Maxfell

Voiced by: Isshin Chiba (Japanese), Richard Cansino (English)

A childish, obnoxious HOLY officer that dresses a little like a Tokusatsu hero, also known as "Maxfell on the Cliff". Maxfell suffers from PTSD due to a generally abusive childhood, and his desperate desire to be rescued caused his Alter to manifest. He's usually used as a trump card when HOLY has a top priority mission, and so is sent to dispatch Kazuma after several other Alter Users have failed to subdue him.

His Alter is called the Super Pinch Crusher; it resembles a toy that he had in his childhood, which he considers his "hero". It can only emerge when Maxfell feels as if he's in a "pinch", and the greater the threat to Maxfell, the stronger the Alter becomes in order to rescue him.

Abusive Parents: Given his inner monologue right before summoning Super Pinch Crusher, a large part of his trauma comes from the fact that his parents hated him and took out their grievances on him.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Despite his pleasant demeanor and outwardly polite behavior, he actively enjoys provoking people with insults and badgering when it's time to get Super Pinch Crusher out on the field in force.
Dirty Coward: He was willing to threaten kids in order to make Kazuma surrender—even if it was a bluff to get Super Pinch Crusher strong enough to take Kazuma out.
Combining Mecha: The final form of his Super Pinch Crusher joins together the base robot with a flying unit.
Dark and Troubled Past: His parents hated him and the people around him despised him for being an Alter User, causing him to feel so isolated that Super Pinch Crusher emerged to "protect" him.
Disney Villain Death: The shockwave from Super Pinch Crusher's defeat causes the cliff he's standing on to crumble. Despite that, he survives the fall, but breaks from the trauma of seeing his hero defeated. The next time he's seen, it's in the custody of HOLY, playing with the toy form of his Super Pinch Crusher as if he was a child again and asking Ryuuhou to play with him.
Expy: His outfit is one of Kamen Rider, while his mech is one to the Brave Series.
The Gadfly: His specialty in confrontation—he makes a point out of aggravating the shit out of people specifically to be able to call his Alter out at its full power.
Hate Sink: He’s a Psychopathic Manchild that has no problem hurting children and mocks his "allies".
Humongous Mecha: Super Pinch Crusher takes the form of one of these, complete with a cannon and a sword at higher power levels.
Necessary Drawback: Super Pinch Crusher can only emerge when Maxfell is pushed to the limit due to how it awakened in the first place—he's so dependent on the ideal of being saved that he can't muster up the willpower to save himself, so his Alter can't emerge until he's in such a bad situation that someone else has to save him. Even with that limitation, it's one of the stronger Alters in the series going by brute force alone.
Psychopathic Manchild: His need for a hero and his childish, whimsical behavior all hide the fact that he's seriously deluded and not really a functioning adult.
Would Hurt a Child: Maxfell distributes toys to some children, hiding powerful explosives inside of them, and attempts to hold Kazuma hostage by threatening to detonate them. When Kazuma calls his bluff, Maxfell summons his Alter to fight.

The Darz

Mysterious masked men that all manifest the same Alter Power, a set of grasping hands. They are completely subservient to Kyouji Mujou and follow his every instruction.

Brainwashed and Crazy: Much like many over-refined Alter User, they've been completely subjugated to the will of HOLD. When Tachibana unmasks one of them while repelling an attack from Biff and Kigetsuki, Kazuma recognizes him as a nameless Spear Carrier Native Alter who appeared earlier in the series.
Mooks: They are disposable henchmen for Mujou. They're actually weak Alter Users from the Lost Ground that were captured and sent to the mainland, refined to the point that their personalities have been destroyed.

Kyouji Mujou (unmarked major spoilers)

Voiced by: Tetsu Shiratori (Japanese), Michael Lindsay (English)

A refined Alter User, sent to HOLY and the Lost Ground as a HOLD representative from the mainland. However, he's greedy, ambitious, and obsessed with the power of "The Other Side" that Zigmarl touched on when the First Uprising occurred.

His Alter, Absorption, allows him to take the Alter Powers of other Users as he sees fit, either by touching them or inhaling the Alter Power directly.

A God Am I: Develops one hell of a God complex after he manages to absorb the Crystal Alter and gain the use of its powers for himself.
Bad Boss: Has no problem disposing of people he finds he has no use for.
Body Horror: The...thing he becomes once he's exposed to the power of the Other Side in excess is bloated and misshapen.
Clipped-Wing Angel: He gets blasted into the Other Side by a fully-powered Kazuma, only to come back after having absorbed enough energy to finally sate his base desires. There is some buildup implying he did get more powerful, but the problem is, even at this point the form is still no match for Kazuma and Ryuuhou, and after a This Cannot Be! moment, he gets his just desserts in a Curb-Stomp Battle.
Combat Clairvoyance: What he uses Kanami's Alter for after kidnapping her; it gives him enough insight into his opponent's next thoughts that he can completely predict their attacks. While it gives him the edge for a while, notably allowing him to defeat Cougar in a fight, it ultimately backfires horribly once Kazuma and Ryuuhou become so single-minded that the only thing he can read from their minds is "I'm going to take you down! That's all there is to it!"; he has no means of parrying or dodging an attack when he has no clue of what form it will take.
Faux Affably Evil: Speaks in a condescendingly polite manner.
Hero Killer: He's directly responsible for killing Ryuuhou by letting The Crystal manhandle him, and indirectly kills both Ayase by blackmailing her with her brother's life to force her into combat with Kazuma (and happily admits his culpability for what happened to Ayase while Kazuma's trying to knock his teeth in) and Scheris (since she revives Ryuuhou from the Crystal beating him to death at the cost of her life).
Kick the Dog: Where to begin?
- Kidnaps Kanami, an innocent 8-year-old girl simply to use as bait and for power.
- Lets Akira, who seems to be around Kanami’s age die which would mean his older sister Ayase’s death too.
- Kills Ryuuhou, which forces Scheris to sacrifice herself to revive him.
Knight of Cerebus: Nothing Mujou does is Played for Laughs and he’s played as a completely serious threat.
Manipulative Bastard: He's the one responsible for Ayase Terada's Face–Heel Turn by way of threatening her little brother, not to mention that he's happy to use any resources at hand once he gets his paws deep into HOLY.
Power Copying: His main gimmick, with no upper limit seen in the series, is to absorb the power of other Alters.
Teens Are Monsters: He’s 19 and very much psychopathic.
Would Hurt a Child: Well, he certainly will let a child die if it means getting closer to his goals, and what he did to Kanami is functionally mental torture. He also had no problem letting Akira, Ayase’s brother die.
Younger Than They Look: Would you believe that this guy is actually 19?

Characters / s-CRY-ed

Inhabitants of the Lost Ground

HOLY

Previous

Index

Next

Characters / s-CRY-ed

Edit Locked

Inhabitants of the Lost Ground

HOLY

Previous

Index

Next