A Character Sheet for the characters of The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls, currently under construction. Any help is appreciated.Note: the names are in western order: name first, family name second.
Watch out for spoilers!
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The Hori Seven Women and Allies
Jubei Mitsuyoshi Yagyu
Jubei Mitsuyoshi Yagyu
The main protagonist of the series, Jubei is an hardened but good-hearted master swordsman of great skills and intellect, hired by Senhime along with Takuan in order to help the Hori Women to get their revenge on Katou and his Seven Spears. He starts then to tutor his new "pupils", as well as plagueing Akinari and his minions under the guise of "Hannya Mask".- The Ace: A skilled swordsman, master of unorthodox hand-to-hand techniques, cunning strategist and a good ninja as well. However, as the series goes on, it does show that Jubei's not the Invincible Hero he appears to be at a first glance...
- Always Someone Better: At the very end, when his own father bring the Yagyu clan as The Cavalry at Aizu Castle, Jubei begrudgingly admits that all the retainers are as good swordsman as he is, if not more!
- Apologetic Attacker: Express deep regret after cutting down Jounoshin's dogs and laments that they had the misfortune of having an awful master.
- Batman Gambit: He's pretty good at them, given that Takuan taught him.
- Beware the Nice Ones: He seems a laidback, calm, cool guy... just do not cross him...
- Big Brother Instinct: He gradually develops one towards the Hori women.
- Brutal Honesty: When he first encounter the Hori women and Princess Sen and hear their request, he admits that not even a hundred years of training would be enough to allow the girls to take on the Seven Spears individually.
- Calling the Old Man Out: He does this to his own master Takuan, after his spirit was broken by Dohaku and suggested to surrender in order to save Tenkai.
- Chaste Hero: Not even once he thinks of taking advantage of his protegé, and he steadily refuses to have sex with Oyura while the latter's suffering the effects of a powerful aphrodisiac, going as far as holding her still for at least three days.
- Combat Pragmatist: He's a master of it, and teaches similar techniques to the Hori Women to allow them to better fight the Seven Spears.
- Cool Mask: The Hannya Mask he employs to hide his identity from the Seven Spears, as well as scare the crap out of them. To the point that they actually refer to him as "Hannya Mask" for a while.
- Deadpan Snarker: He has quite a dry, nice sense of humor.
- Eye Scream: His iconic missing eye, courtesy of his own father Munenori during a sparring match. So iconic, in fact, that's the reason why he hides his face with a Hannya Mask (and later on pretends to be fully blind). In the final duel against Koushichirou, he gets his already wounded eye slashed.
- A Father to His Men: Alternatively, you can see him developing such a feeling towards the Hori Women.
- Guile Hero: Considering who he has to take on in his quest of vengeance, he has to resort to trickery rather than more direct tactics.
- Groin Attack: He's the one who delivers satisfying justice by chopping off Akinari's junk.
- Handicapped Badass: One eye less, but still deadlier than most warriors.
- Hidden Depths: Despite his laid-back, oafish personality, Jubei is a good man and loves justice.
- Mr. Fanservice: Much to the Hori women's delight.
- Master Swordsman: Like his historical namesake, Jubei is a veritable master of the way of the sword. At one point he can slice arrows in flight while he has his eyes closed.
- Nerves of Steel: Jubei has shown an incredible cool blood even in tense, dire situations.
- Nice Guy: Though it doesn't look like, he's one of the nicest fellows of the story.
- One-Man Army: When faced by mundane enemies, his skills allows him to mow them down by the dozen.
- Perpetual Smiler: Like his master Takuan, he's always seen sporting a smirk.
- Red Baron: First he's referred to as "Hannya Mask" by the Seven Spears, but eventually he briefly goes by the nickname of "Hannya Knight" while in Aizu.
- This Is Gonna Suck: In a serious occasion, when he's locked in the dungeons of Aizu castle with aphrodisiac-crazed women who were ordered to rape him to death at spearpoint and in a more comical occasion, when his very father Munenori shows up at Aizu castle with the rest of the clan.
- Sink or Swim Mentor: Let's just say that his trainings... aren't soft, and he doesn't care if you're a samurai, a woman or the friggin' Shogun!
- Yagyu Jubei: Yes, that's him!
Soho Takuan
Soho Takuan
Famous monk and Jubei's mentor, he's enlisted by Princess Sen to help the Hori Women get their vengeance, and introduces them to Jubei.- Beware the Nice Ones: Again, he may not be as powerful as Jubei when it comes to swordfighting... but that's not a good reason to underestimate him.
- Cool Old Guy: He's not Jubei's master for nothing.
- Dirty Old Man: He's even introduced making a dirty pun regarding the massive hole opened in the Tokei-ji doors.
- Enlightenment Superpower: It's implied that he has reached enlightenment and can use certain techniques.
- Friend to All Living Things: At one point he manages to calm down and pet one of Jounoshin's ferocious dogs with a kiai and also laments the creature's misfortune of having a cruel master. Truth in Television, a popular tale about Takuan has him getting close to and petting a tiger offered as a gift to the Shogun.
- Heroic BSoD: Upon witnessing Dohaku's Genhou Yumeyamabiko technique, he loses any hope of saving the girls, falling into an angry madness and even begging Jubei to give up, thinking that Tenkai's life is worth more than the Hori Women. Actually though, the rage attack was also one of his gambits to get Otone where he wanted.
- Nice Guy: He's overall a good person, valuing justice and truth.
- Oh, Crap!: To the only thing he Didn't See That Coming: Dohaku giving a demonstration of his powers by committing Seppuku.
- Old Master: He's Jubei's.
- Perpetual Smiler: Again, like his disciple Jubei, he's always smirking.
The Seven Women of Hori
The seven surviving women of the Hori clan, exterminated by Akinari Katou after their rebellion. After being rescued by Princess Sen in the Tokei-ji, they're offered a shot at vengeance by Jubei and Takuan.
Tropes in common to all the Seven Women
- Action Girl: Eventually they do become dangerous, combat-capable women.
- Action Survivor: At first, especially when compared to their much more formidable enemies. Jubei even openly express surprise when they manage to kill the first Spear, Tessai, without casualties.
- Alphabetical Theme Naming: All of the seven women's (except Sakura) names starts with "O". Truth in Television, it was an extremely common prefix for female names in old Japan.
- Broken Bird: Mostly due to having their clan murdered and butchered.
- Combat Pragmatist: Thanks to Jubei's training. Invoked, since Jubei pointed out that the women wouldn't have a snowball chance in hell to beat the Spears one on one. Most of the Spears are killed when they bullrush them from all sides, skewering them on swords.
- Distressed Damsel: Near the end, all the girls sans Ochie and Ofue are captured by Akinari's men and prepared for a public execution.
- Ms. Fanservice: They're all rather beautiful, each in her own way, even the short, pudgy Otori. More often than not they end up stark naked.
- Plucky Girl: It doesn't matter if their enemy is a powerful Daimyo with an entourage of incredibly powerful martial artists, they will have their revenge.
- Revenge: Their main motivation, though also justified, as Akinari won't let them be if left alive...
- Training from Hell: They endure one under the tutelage of Jubei.
Ochie
Daughter of Mondo Hori, the clan head. She's the "leader" of the Hori Women.- Big Damn Heroes: Predicting the possibility of things going wrong, she led Ofue and Sakura to spy on Akinari's mansion and manages to sneak inside to rescue Jubei and capture Akinari.
- Full-Frontal Assault: Leads an attack on Akinari wearing only a Hannya mask and nothing else.
- The Leader: Of the Hori Women.
- Put on a Bus: 3/4 through, Ochie and Ofue are sent back to Edo to refer news to Princess Sen, but they still come back for the finale.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: She's the refined and quiet blue to Ofue's emotive red.
- The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: Well, Hori Mondo wasn't that ugly, but she's definetively a beauty.
- Warrior Princess: Well, she is the daughter of the former Daimyo of Hori, and Jubei's training takes care of the first part.
Ofue
One of the Hori Women and Ochie's handmaiden, she's the most tomboyish and emotive of the group.- Bifauxnen: Has the shortest hair of the seven (which also seems to be brown rather than black), and has both tomboyish mannerisms and visage, helped by her petite proportions.
- Full-Frontal Assault: Leads an attack on Akinari wearing only a Hannya mask and nothing else.
- Genki Girl: She's the most temperamental and expressive of the seven.
- Idiot Ball: Upon hearing of Tenkai and Dohaku's synchronization, she tries to pull a dagger on the old man but is quickly scolded.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: As mentioned above, she's the easiest to angry of the girls, though her lack of mannerism is likely derived from her status, as she's a servant, not a noble's daughter/wife.
- Put on a Bus: 3/4 through, Ochie and Ofue are sent back to Edo to refer news to Princess Sen, but they still come back for the finale.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: She's the impulsive, cheeky Red to Ochie's refined and calm Blue.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: She and Sakura are the Tomboys of the group.
Okei
One of the Hori Women, formerly wed in the clan. She helps Jubei infiltrating Akinari's mansion in Edo.- Heroic BSoD: Has one upon seeing her husband's remains in the pit under Akinari's mansion.
Otori
One of the Hori Women, a chubby but plucky girl who still manages to be a skilled warrior.- Acrofatic: In spite of her girth, she learns some suprisingly nimble moves, which she uses in taking down two of the Spears.
- Beware the Nice Ones: She's among the gentlest and nicest of the girls, but she's also the one who took down one of the Spears on her own (with Jubei's help).
- Big Beautiful Woman: She's plumpier than the others, but still pretty good looking.
- Full-Frontal Assault: At one point she and Oshina have to fight Rensuke in the nude (while hanging from his shoulders upside down).
Oshina
One of the Hori Women, formerly wed in the clan.- Clingy Jealous Girl: At one point she grows jealous of Jubei's (perceived) favoritism towards Okei and runs away. Thankfully, things get solved pretty soon.
- Full-Frontal Assault: At one point she and Otori have to fight Rensuke in the nude (while hanging from his shoulders upside down).
- Happily Married: Formerly so...
- Shrinking Violet: She's the most timid and reserved of the girls.
Osawa
One of the Hori Women, formerly wed in the clan.- Happily Married: Again, yes, she was, before the whole rebellion thing.
Sakura
One of the Hori Women, unlike the others she sports a less feminine look.- Bifauxnen: Slightly less so than Ofue.
- Full-Frontal Assault: Leads an attack on Akinari wearing only a Hannya mask and nothing else.
- Odd Name Out: Her name doesn't start with "O".
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: She and Ofue are the Tomboys of the group, though Sakura is more graceful.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: At one point she actually crossdresses as a young samurai.
Princess Sen
Princess Sen
Former concubine of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, she's the elder sister of Tokugawa Iemitsu, and guardian of the Tokei-ji. She takes the Hori Women under her wing to save them from the Seven Spears and hire Takuan to help them get their revenge.- Big Good: Sort of, she can be seen as this, contrasting Akinari.
- Deadpan Snarker: Especially when she interacts with Jounoshin, trying to pass himself and Akinari as complete strangers.
- Good is Not Nice: Well, yes she's good, but you really, really shouldn't cross her.
- Hime Cut: Wears her hair in the traditional style.
- Kubrick Stare: She has a permanent, stern one.
- Ms. Fanservice: That being said, she's a very beautiful woman, though always fully clothed (she appears naked from the back at one point though.
- Really Gets Around: Rumors heard around the Edo has her being very, very lustful, to the point of kidnapping men and raping them to death for her pleasure. Akinari and the Seven Spears try to take advantage of these (presumably false) rumors to smear her reputation.
Tenkai Nankobo
Tenkai Nankobo
A wise monk and advisor of the Shogun himself, he first appeared in Basilisk advising Tokugawa Ieyasu. In this series he plays a bigger role, as well as being Dohaku's good twin.- Age Without Youth: He's 107 years old.... and it shows...
- Ascended Extra: Had a minor role in Masaki Segawa's previous work Basilisk, here he becomes more relevant. Also a minor case of Adaptational Heroism (in Basilisk he was morally gray and had shown a certain Lack of Empathy).
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: Gigantic, white bushy eyebrows, which he shares with his brother.
- Cain and Abel: He's revealed to be Dohaku's brother, and the Abel of the duo. So identical, the Spears actually mistake him for Dohaku upon seeing him.
- Gag Nose: Has a massive, long nose, almost as long as his head.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In the climax, he overpowers Dohaku's spiritual powers and allows Jubei to slay him, at the cost of his own life.
- Synchronization: He and Dohaku have this. Every wound suffered by Dohaku afflicts Tenkai, and Dohaku cannot die as long as Tenkai lives.
- Yōkai: His wisdom, age, spiritual powers and massive nose likens him to a Tengu. And his birth family, the Ashina, are kinda... inhuman in certain aspects...
Otone
Otone
Daughter of an innkeeper, she was kidnapped and raped by Akinari on his way to Aizu, but was rescued by Takuan's intervention and later joined him and Jubei in their plans to foil Akinari and the Ashina.- Broken Bird: She truly didn't deserve such brutality...
- Obfuscating Insanity: She pretends to be insane during her permanence in Aizu castle, which allows her to be underestimated and move around with more freedom.
- The Ophelia: Feigns insanity through various acts, such as urinating on some guards, flashing them with her private parts, randomly glomping Akinari in front of Oyura etc etc...
- Plucky Girl: The girls shows some serious guts and resolve.
- The Sixth Ranger: She could be considered an unofficial member of the seven Hori women.
- Spanner in the Works: Thanks to her antics in Aizu, she manages to release one of the enslaved girls and take her place in the dungeons, which allows her to save Jubei from being gang-raped and smuggles him a sword, which he uses to take Akinari hostage and turn the table on Dohaku.
The Aizu Seven Spears and other Villains
Akinari Katou
Akinari Katou
Son of Kiyomasa Katou, Akinari is the vicious and cruel Daimyo of the 400000 Koku-worth domain of Aizu. Thanks to the support of his seven deadly warriors, the Seven Spears, Akinari rules with an iron fist, killing whoever he likes and kidnappings girls for his perverted pleasures. He's the main antagonist of the story for the first part, before Dohaku steps in personally.- Ambition Is Evil: Ruling over the 400000 Koku worth domain of Aizu isn't enough for this bastard. He even admits in the face of Date Masamune that he would gladly invade his domain as well if given a chance.
- Big Bad: For the first part of the story, though in reality he's The Dragon (if we're feeling generous...) to Dohaku.
- Bullying a Dragon: Downplayed example, a flashback has him taunting Date Masamune, the One-Eyed Dragon of Oushuu, without a trace of fear.
- Butt-Monkey: After Jubei get's involved for real, things start to go awfully bad for the bastard...
- Dirty Coward: Unlike the Seven Spears, he won't fight if it's not against defenseless, broken women. The only time he tries to fight Jubei is with a bow, while the latter is stuck in a pit.
- Disproportionate Retribution: While Hori Mondo did lack respect, having his entire clan hunted down, captured, humiliated and subjected to a Cruel and Unusual Death was a tad overkilling.
- A Fate Worse Than Death: His dick chopped off, his title removed, he's exiled to his son's castle. And said son hates his guts...
- Gonk: He has a rather unpleasant face, with massive chin, pointy teeth and ears and sinister eyes. He gets even more grotesque as the story proceeds.
- Groin Attack: Jubei puts an end to his series of abuses by chopping off his dick. Blurred shot of said mutilated appendage included.
- Hate Sink: While the Seven Spears, monstrous as they are, do have notable quirks, redeeming qualities or slick fighting styles, Akinari has nothing that makes him even remotely sympathetic.
- Historical Villain Upgrade: Granted, the historical Akinari probably wasn't a saint, but he probably wasn't that much evil...
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Destroying the Hori clan ends up biting him in the ass. In a more direct way, his ploy to smear Princess Sen's reputation by leaving broken, traumatized men outside her mansion, ends up backfiring when Jubei leaves him half-naked in the same place.
- Humiliation Conga: Delivered karmically by Jubei and the Hori women, by the end Akinari is a powerless, ridiculed joke of a man he once was.
- Non-Action Big Bad: Unlike the Seven Spears and Dohaku, he's a useless piece of crap.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: He has an entire harem of kidnapped slaves, as well as a nasty knack for raping women and then letting his men finish them off. Unsurprisingly, he's the most disgusting and unsympathetic of the villains.
- I See Dead People: At one point he hallucinates and talks to the ghost of his father, and proceed to taunt him, of course...
- Sleazy Politician: When he's at court.
- Smug Snake: He seems to believe that he's the greatest, the smartest and also unstoppable. Too bad it's only there because Dohaku needs a rich land and a sperm donor for his daughter.
- Villainous Breakdown: By the end of Edo arc, Jubei's visit has left him in a tremendous, half-delirous state of mind.
The Seven Spears of Aizu
A group of seven, powerful warriors, whose skill is only matched by their cruelty. They loyally serve Akinari Katou and are directly responsible for the massacre of the Hori clan. The vengeance of the Hori Women is directed at them. Later it's revealed that they come from the Ashina clan and were sent by Dohaku to support Akinari.
Tropes in common to all the Seven Spears
- Ax-Crazy: Oh boy they're ever...
- Berserk Button: For them, it's disrespecting the Katou clan and the Hori women in general.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Pretty much yes.
- Co-Dragons: To Akinari Katou himself.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Their favourite pasttime is killing and torturing women in the mansion's "Flower Hell".
- Karmic Death: The seven women they tortured and plagued are the ones who gets to kill them.
- Honor Before Reason: For all their douchebaggery, they're still bound by honor.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Most of the Spears, save for three of them, are impaled by the Hori women acting together.
- Non-Indicative Name: As lampshaded by Akinari, only one of them is actually a spearman. The name comes from the fact that Akinari's father Kiyomasa was a member of Hideyoshi's Seven Spears of Shizugatake.
- Tyke Bomb: Not outright stated, but it's highly implied they were picked and trained by Dohaku specifically to serve as badass bodyguards to Akinari, despite their difference in age.
- Villainous Valor: S.O.B. extraordinair as they are, they're also incredibly loyal to their master Akinari, and would go to any legnths to safeguard his health or name.
Koushichirou Urushido
The leader of the Seven Spear, Koushichirou is a skilled one-harmed swordsman who can move and attack at great speed. He's the last member to be killed.- An Arm and a Leg: He misses his arm, and Jubei makes sure his remaining one is disabled before letting the Hori Women at him.
- Blade Across The Shoulder: Oddly enough, he carries his sword on his back, despite the fact that it should take longer to unsheath from that position. Then again, his sword does look longer than usual.
- Blood Knight: Express a great deal of interest in "Hannya Mask" and wishes to fight him one on one.
- Final Boss: He's the very last member of the Spears to be killed, as well as the very last villain fullstop, since by the time he and Jubei finally duel, Dohaku's dead and Akinari... is useless... even more than usual.
- Flash Step: His specialty seems to be an incredibly fast sword slash too quick to see, which allows him to cover a lot of distance.
- Handicapped Badass: Despite lacking one arm, he's a dreadfully skilled swordsman, capable of cutting down whole groups of people in an istant.
- The Leader: Of the Seven Spears.
- Master Swordsman: His skill with the sword is incredible. His favourite way to show it off is to cut down multiple people while holding a flower branch in his mouth, without a single petal falling.
- Slasher Smile: Has this when cutting down people.
- Worthy Opponent: He considers Hannya Mask one, after realising that he must have been a master swordsman on his level or higher, and is actually elated to discover his true identity. Ironically, Jubei duels with him only to disable his only arm, allowing the seven women to deliver the finishing blow.
Ichiganbou Shiba
Member of the Seven Spears, a disgustingly fat man who, in spite of his humongous belly, wields a whip with peerless skill and is probably the smartest of the Seven. He's the fifth to die, ambushed by the Hori women in Aizu.- Acrofatic: He's surprisingly nimble for such a pig of a man.
- Bald of Evil: He barely has a strand of hair on his head.
- Dead Guy on Display: Disguised as a snow puppet, no less!
- The Evil Genius: He's the smartest of the Seven Spears, and the one who elaborates the plan to smear Princess Sen's reputation.
- Fat Bastard: Not only his body is nearly spherical, his throat and face too are grotesquely swollen.
- Gonk: He's the ugliest member of the Spears, and that's saying a lot...
- Know When to Fold Them: He's also the most level-headed and careful, ready to restrain the more impulsive members (8 times out of 10, Ginshiro) if the situation requires it.
- Meaningful Name: "Ichiganbou" literally translate to "One Eyed Bonze", and he's a one-eyed, bald tub-o-lard.
- Spanner in the Works: When Jubei is about to leave Katou Mansion with Okei and an unconscious Akinari, Ichiganbou makes use of the hidden trapdoor to drop the two in the pit and save his master.
- The Strategist: He's the one who takes care of laying out plans and schemes.
- Top-Heavy Guy: His legs are surprisingly normal compared to his nearly spherical torso.
- Weapon Specialization: His weapon is an extra-long bullwhip he can move with incredible precision and strength, to the point that he can decapitate multiple people with it and chop the roofs off palanquins.
Ginshirou Kourou
Member of the Seven Spears, he's an attractive-looking young man with a vertical scar splitting his face in half. He's the most irritable and impulsive of the group and fights with a weird net that can wrap and imprison people until they suffocate. He's the sixth member to be killed, by Jubei's hand.- An Arm and a Leg: Jubei cuts his right arm, though it doesn't stop him from manipulating the net.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: A nasty looking scar splitting his face, nose and lips in half.
- Go Out with a Smile: Dies grinning, knowing that his sacrifice allowed Dohaku to turn the chips on Jubei.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: He's the easiest to piss off of the Seven, to the point that his companions often have to stop him from acting harshly.
- Inescapable Net: His weapons: said net is stored and crumpled inside his sleeves, expand itself when shoot and wrap around people, suffocating them to death.
- Stalker with a Crush: Seems to target Sakura out of the seven women.
- Suicidal Overconfidence: More often than not his hubris and aggressiveness has him threatening the wrong people. Up to Princess Sen (again, the Shogun's sister) and Takuan.
- Taking You with Me: In a variation.... He tries to attack Jubei with his nets, but as he's sliced down he actually aims the attack at the Hori women, trapping them in the net, his severed arm still holding the net's ropes fall at Dohaku's feet, forcing Jubei to surrender in order to spare the women.
Rensuke Washinosu
Member of the Seven Spears, a giant of a man gifted with herculean strength and martial arts. He's the fourth of the Spears to be killed by Otori and Oshina when he's trying to lure Jubei into an ambush.- An Arm and a Leg: Dies after Otori and Oshina chops his legs at tigh level.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: He only fights unarmed, thanks to his mastery of Kenpou.
- The Brute: He's the physically strongest member of the Spears, as well as the only one who doesn't rely on a weapon.
- The Determinator: Still tries to kill the Hori women after his legs were mutilated.
- Didn't See That Coming: He was more than ready to face the Hannya Mask... thus he's left completely dumbfolded when two monks, holding swords into their mouths, fumble out of the bushes on the road and proceed to wobble towards him, getting close enough to throw the swords at the girls hanging from his shoulders.
- Go Out with a Smile: Upon seeing Jubei's face, he recognize him and dies smirking, happy to know that the mastermind behind his defeat was a warrior as skilled and powerful as Jubei.
- Gonk: He has a rather grotesque face and a massive, jutting chin with a single nail-like strand of beard on it.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: He captures and humiliates Otori and Oshina by stripping them naked and hanging them on his body as a grotesque "human kesa". They later take advantage of this position and the spinning motion he does to chop off his legs.
- Lantern Jaw of Justice: He has a massive chin jutting outwards, though he's not lawful or just...
- Large Ham: His boisterous mannerims extends to his speech.
- Super-Strength: He can punch a hole in a massive wooden door with such ridicolous precision he doesn't even leave cracks, only a smooth, circular hole.
- The Worf Effect: Early on, during the Hannya Gang arc, he's knocked out cold by Jubei offscreen. He's... less than thrilled when he wakes up.
Jounoshin Gusoku
Member of the Seven Spears, an ape-like midget who fights alongside three massive trained Akita dogs. He's the third to die while locating the Hori women in Edo.- Animal Motifs: The Monkey, ironically enough, since dogs and monkeys are considered enemies in Japan. Lampshaded by Princess Sen.
- The Beastmaster: His only skill consist in commanding three huge, fearsome dogs in combat.
- Decapitation Presentation: His severed head is delivered to Katou by his own dog, Tenmaru.
- Depraved Dwarf: He's the smallest of the Spears, and openly lusts after Oshina.
- Gonk: He resembles a macaque both in face and size.
- I Have You Now, My Pretty: Ambushes Oshina and offers her to be spared from Akinari's wrath in exchange of becoming his woman. Too bad he didn't took into account the other women, ready to ambush him.
- Implausible Deniability: When he's left outside Senhime's mansion, he tries to claim that he and Akinari are actually innocent travellers and that "Akinari" is actually an impostor who "happens" to look just like him. Obviously, noone buys it.
- Kick the Dog: Right at the beginning of the story, he's the one who has his dogs dragging the captive Hori clansmen into the dust.
- Pet the Dog: His only redeeming trait is his love for his dogs.
- Right-Hand Attack Dog: Three of them, the size of small cattle, named Chimaru (Earth), Kazemaru (Wind) and Tenmaru (Sky). He can even ride on them, and they're so fast noone can keep up with them.
- This Is Gonna Suck: His face screams this when he and Akinari are left, chained and half-naked, outside of the mansion of Princess Sen.
- Suicide Mission: After the whole fiasco with the kidnapped brides, Akinari blames him for everything, pushing him to undertake one behind the other Spears' back to find the women of Hori, despite knowing very well his limits.
- Villainous Breakdown: He doesn't take the deaths of his beloved dogs well.
Tessai Daidouji
The oldest of the Seven Spears, Tessai is a lively old man who fights with a tricked-out chain and sickle disguised as a walking stick. He's the first victim of the Hori women.- Achilles' Heel: Formidable as he is, he's still in deep trouble if his sickle gets stuck into something. And getting him to stuck his sickle into a statue is what Jubei does in order to allow the women to kill him swiftly.
- "Ass" in Ambassador: He was the one sent to Hori Mondo to tell him to give Ochie as a concubine for Akinari.
- Bald of Evil: A massive one he has, except for a samurai ponytail in the back.
- Epic Flail: His kusarigama also has a weighted end, though he mostly uses the scythe.
- Evil Old Folks: He's the oldest of the Spears, but still a formidable warrior to be feared and just as black-hearted as the rest of his companions.
- Sinister Scythe: His weapon of choice is a deadly kusarigama disguised as a stick, which he can turn into the real deal easily. He even has an extra, reverse blade in the back which can pop out without warning.
- Sword Cane: Well, scythe-cane. He can disassemble his cane to form a fully-functional kusarigama.
Magobei Hiraga
A member of the Seven Spears, he's a dark-skinned spearman brandishing a massive cavalry spear in combat. He's the second to die, killed by Otori with Jubei's help.- Ambiguously Brown: For some reason, Magobei has a really dark complexion, as well as bigger-than usual lips, though he's Japanese. At least one color cover gives him a really tan complexion, contrasting most of his companions (sans Jounoshin, who has a similar complexion).
- Awesome, but Impractical: Sure, a six-meter long cavalry spear looks awesome, but is pretty much a hindrance in close combat, and if blocked, there's nothing Magobei can do.
- BFS: Again, a six-meter long cavalry spear, which he can also use to pole vault.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: He's split in half head to torso by Otori's leaping attack.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Otori uses his own spear as a bridge and trampoline to kill him.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: He does this to a group of nuns of the Tokei-ji, hoisting up their corspes like some sort of shishkebob.
- Strong as They Need to Be: During his introduction he's able to lift his long spear even with a bundle of corpses impaled on it, and swing the corpses off it. Later on he struggles to free his lance from Jubei's grasps and doesn't show any other examples of unusual strength.
Oyura
Oyura
Dohaku's lascivous daughter, she's Akinari's concubine while in Aizu, as well as an important pawn in her father's plan for Japan's domination.- Femme Fatale: For the bad guys, she also tries to seduce Jubei (though she's also under the effects of a powerful aphrodisiac at the moment.)
- High-Heel–Face Turn: She betrays her father for Jubei at the last possible moment, and dies for it.
- Lack of Empathy: She's seemingly unfazed by everything around her, yawning during critical moments and sporting a look of Dull Surprise even as she's having sex with Akinari.
- Love at First Sight: For Jubei, oddly enough. Also a case of Love Redeems.
- Taking the Bullet: Intercepts Dohaku's sword meant for Jubei, saving the latter and ruining the former's plans.
- Third-Person Person: She often refers to herself as "Yura".
- Unholy Matrimony: With Akinari Katou. The plan is to give birth to a heir, so that Dakuan can manipulate him from the shadows.
- The Vamp: Oh boy yes...
- Villainesses Want Heroes: She eventually falls for Jubei, and betrays her father for him.
Dohaku Ashina
Dohaku Ashina
The villainous leader of the Ashina clan, he's the real mastermind behind the Seven Spears and Akinari himself, plotting to rule Aizu and eventually the entirety of Japan from the shadow. He's also Tenkai's twin brother.- Age Without Youth: Except that he looks somewhat younger than Tenkai, having black hair and beard.
- Bad Boss: When he hears that three of the Seven Spears were killed in Edo he deems them as worthless trash.
- Big Bad: The true villain behind Akinari and the Spears.
- Cain and Abel: He's the wicked brother to his good counterpart Tenkai.
- The Chessmaster: He's secretly manipulating the events from behind the screen, using Akinari and the Spears as pawns. He manages to out-gambit Takuan taking advantage of his immortality and synchronization with Tenkai to effectively hold him hostage.
- Evil Old Folks: 107 years old and he's still an incredible threat in combat.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: He's utterly speechless when Oyura gives her life to save Jubei, and later when Tenkai decides that his life is a worth sacrifice if he can stop Dohaku from doing further harm.
- Evil Sorcerer: Not as explicit as most examples, but he does seem to employ rituals of dark magic.
- Eviler than Thou: His brutal methods to counteract Takuan and Jubei's mind games grow more and more cruel, to the point that even a remorseless dick such as Akinari is left dumbfolded by the true extent of his cruelty.
- I Want Grandkids: Twisted version, he expects one from Akinari and Oyura's relationship... so that he can have his personal puppet Daimyo.
- Made of Iron: He can use a mystic technique to harden his body.
- The Man Behind the Man: To Akinari Katou. Where do you think he got the Seven Spears from?
- Master Swordsman: Despite his appearence, he's proficient with a sword, though he seemingly relies mostly on his immortal body.
- Old Master: Evil counterpart of Takuan, he's this to the Seven Spears.
- Self-Mutilation Demonstration: In his first appearence, he commits Seppuku as a way to apologize to Takuan... at the same time scaring him with his powers, and giving Tenkai some pain.
- Sinister Schnoz: He has the same Gag Nose of his brother, though he's definetively evil.
- Synchronization: The secret of his immortality: all damage inflicted to Dohaku is rendered null, as the pain is transferred to Tenkai instead. He also cannot die as long as Tenkai lives.
- Villainous Breakdown: When his plans are finally derailed, by his own hand to boot, and then Tenkai manages to overpower his own spell!
