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The hapless hero, Yorikiro's fighting style often includes breaking his sword and running away, but every now and then he reveals a surprisingly high level of combat skill. He is kind, but naive. He likes Ina, but feels conflicted over his heritage and Ina's dislike of his clan. |
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Ina Senshin is the daughter of Masuhiro and Kagome Senshin. She flees home when her engagement to a member of the Wataro clan is announced. She is strong willed and resents the sheltered life she is expected to lead. |
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Cho Teko is a blind Taoist priest who often spews absurd proverbs. He wields multiple bo staves in combat. Cho is part of a prophecy involving a blind Taoist Priest, a Hindu, and a Christian Priest walking into a Japanese bar, heralding the end of the world. He maintains a calm demeanor that seems to stem from his expectations that the events around him are determined entirely by fate. |
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Kenta "Ken" Daisuke, is a ronin who wields a massive zanbatou sword. He is violent and does not hesitate to use force on any occasion. Ken is the last living member of the Daisuke clan, and wants more than anything to kill General Nataku. Genchu saved his life. He loves alcohol and Kabuki plays. |
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Masuhiro Senshin is Ina's father and a skilled samurai. He is influential and respected throughout Japan for his abilities as a negotiator. This includes the agreement to wed Ina to Hirotomo Wataro's heir to restore peace between the clans. He was captured by the Izuma ninja clan en route to a conference with Hirotomo. |
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Kagome Senshin noh Masamune is Ina's mother. She shares Ina's temperament, but is more of a conformist. Kagome does not handle pressure well and drinks alcohol heavily when in stressful situations. She believes in her husband, but not her brother, Yukizane. |
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Yukizane is Kagome Senshin's brother. He has a keen mind and loves to play Go and other strategy games. A skillful tactical commander, he once won a legendary battle by challenging the enemy general to a game of Chinese Checkers and winning, leading to a death toll of zero. |
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Very little is revealed concerning Ina's sisters (or even how many there are.) They have so far only been portrayed in a flashback and at a very young age. |
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Misaki is Ina's caretaker. She appears to be oblivious to Ina's constant complaining and is therefore an excellent candidate for her job. Ina's mother hired Misaki while drunk. |
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Hirotomo Wataro is Daimyo of the Wataro clan. He is Yori and Eijiro's father. He has systematically crushed all who oppose him including his own son. Hirotomo shows signs of paranoia which appear to originate with the murder of his wife by renegade members of the Daisuke clan (his former allies.) |
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Eijiro Wataro is Yorikiro's arrogant younger brother and therefore second in line to his father's position. He is devoted to the clan, but not above going behind his father's back to achieve what he considers is best for the clan. Eijiro hired the Izuma to kidnap Masuhiro expecting that doing so will lead to war. He has also hired the ninjas o kill Yori and assure his inheritance. |
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General Yoshinori Nataku, AKA "Nine Finger Nataku," lives to fight and obtain glory in battle, even if that glory involves slaying helpless civilians. Nataku personally oversaw the slaughter of Ken's clan, but lost his finger to Genchu in the process. Nataku frequently advises Hirotomo. |
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As Hirotomo's other advisor, General Atsumori represents an important counterpoint to Nataku's warlike demeanor. Atsumori exercises a great deal of caution and restraint in his advice and actions. |
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Tadashii, is the leader of the four Demons of Sorrow, and the clan's finest swordsman after the loss of Genchu. He trained Yori after Genchu left. The two men were once good friends, but Tadashii's absolute loyalty to his lord proved stronger than friendship. His sword represents his family's loyalty to their lord. Genchu literally clove it in half during his escape. In Japanese, the word tadashi means, "loyalty to master". |
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Honou-ko is one of the four Demons of Sorrow. He wears a thick mask and armor, and has an unhealthy obsession with hellfire, slaughter, and general carnage. He is the most fearsome demon, but the least stable. |
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Uso is one of the four Demons of Sorrow. Although technically a samurai, Uso uses many ninja-like techniques to fight. He has a petty personality. In Japanese, uso means "a lie." |
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Ryoku, one of the four Demons of Sorrow, and Eijiro bodyguard. He joined the Demons of Sorrow knowing that he would one day be called on to kill Yori, and ensure Eijiro's succession to the throne. Ryoku is egotistical and uses this air of superiority to manipulate his opponent. Ryoku is blind, but, like Cho, possesses a sort of second sight. Ryoku challenged Yori to a match and was killed. |
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Little is known of this character except that he was one of the original Demons of Sorrow, prior to Ryoku joining the group. |
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Yorikiro's mother was murdered by a disowned faction of the Daisuke clan. This resulted in Hirotomo's quick retaliation against his former allies. |
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Suzuka is the leader of the Izuma ninja clan. Uses her "female trickery" to foil Masuhiro's numerous escape attempts. Like most Izuma, she is skilled in the use of poisoned weapons. Suzuka's weapon of choice is a kusarigama. She is very business minded and takes her position very seriously. |
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Ayane is one of Suzuka's two lieutenants in the Izuma ninja clan. She wields a set of spiked fans, each one coated in poison or knock-out drugs. She wears a revealing kimono, and paints her face in a style similar to that of a geisha. |
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Yumiko is one of Suzuka's two lieutenants in the Izuma ninja clan. She is an expert shot, and wields a bow with arrows coated in poison or knock-out drugs She also uses a sai. Yumiko has an eye patch and shoulder armor. She has yet to speak within the comic. |
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Bunzo is an Izuma ninja who uses Rock-jutsu. He is motivated by revenge to kill Yorikiro. who he believe killed his two buddies. Bunzo was last seen heading toward Mount Fuji, which he intended to use as a weapon against Yorikiro. |
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Genchu Wataro Daisuke, a master samurai, who bears two family names but was born into neither. He may or may not be dead. Genchu taught Yori before leaving the Wataro clan, and saved Ken's life when Ken was a child. It is said that Genchu's strong will manifests itself in his ability to cleave the weapons of his enemies in two, as seen in his fight against Tadashii. |
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Little is known about Matrix, except that she follows the foursome, and has some interest in his survival. She seems to only intervene when Yori is in immediate danger of dying, although she has been instructed not to cross "the line." Matrix is named for the Latin word Matrix, which in this case would be best translated as "origin," although serveral other meanings exist. |
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Even less is known about Lex than Matrix. Whatever business he has with Yori, he handles it far more seriously than Matrix. Lex is named after the Latin word for order. |
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Tang, along with his brother Wu, are the current leaders of Cho's monastery. They gained this position through deceit and then sent Cho away to hide their fraud. Now aware that their actions could lead to the fulfillment of a dangerous prophecy, Wu and Tang have decided to track Cho down and permanently remove him as a threat. |
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Like Tang, Wu is willing to do anything to succeed, going so far as to disobey a direct order not to learn the Thousand Fists of Fury: a technique that, if executed correctly, has devastating results, but is dangerous to the one who uses it. |
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Master Zhao is the deceased leader of Cho's Taoist monastery in China. He seems to have favored Cho over the Wu Tang brothers. On his deathbed, master Zhao conveyed to Wu and Tang his final wish that Cho be placed in charge of the monastery. |
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Fumio is one of the two surviving bandits that attacked Ina near the beginning of the comic. He is rash and self confident, but lacks the skills and brains to back these attributes up. |
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Fujio is one of the two surviving bandits that attacked Ina near the beginning of the comic. He is rather gullible and easily impressed. Although he is no smarter than Fumio, he follows him loyally. |
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Murasaki Maru, AKA "Purple Samurai", has a short fuse and, when drunk, is ready to pick a fight with anyone over anything. He is rather egotistical and dislikes the peasants of Kyoto. Murasaki is a Senshin vassal in charge of a small village near the Senshin-Wataro border. Despite his boorish and crude demeanor, he takes his duty seriously and is willing to give his life in service to the Senshin clan. |
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Shounen is one of Murasaki's tenant villagers. He is far more sociable than Murasaki and will frequently act as a buffer between his lord and visitors. |
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Ennosuke Nakamura is a famous Kabuki actor who has recently gained some attention as a director due to his unique portrayal of the play "Eternal Longing Endless Sorrow." |
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This cart vendor is well traveled and has sold a wide variety of items including Green tea (which is very well priced,) and hot dogs. |
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Doppelgänger Yori is much more passive than the real Yori. He doesn't speak and allows Doppelgänger Ina to push him around. |
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Doppelgänger Ina is actually angrier than normal Ina. She always looks disgusted about something. |
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Doppelgänger Cho is just happy to be here. |
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Doppelgänger Ken is scared of about everything. |
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Assigned to guard Masuhiro's cell, this ninja guard has taken multiple beatings in Masuhiro's escape attempts. This has not prevented him from returning to the same post after Masuhiro is recaptured. |
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Fujio and Fumio's traveling partners, Yukta and Genshi quickly fell pray to Yorikiro's dumb luck while he was saving Ina. They are not particularly missed, and frequently forgotten by Fujio and Fumio. |
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Likely to die in the next panel. |
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See "Nameless Ninja" |
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