List of Eyeshield 21 characters

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The following is a list of major characters from the anime and manga versions of Eyeshield 21, concentrating on the teams encountered by the Deimon Devil Bats.

Contents

[edit] Deimon Devil Bats

For full article see: Deimon Devil Bats (泥門デビルバッツ)

  • Logo: Red Devil Bat, a nonexistent creature which bears a striking resemblance to Hiruma Yoichi.
  • Helmet logo: black, white facemask, and red bat-wings (with a white outline) along each side.
  • Team colours: Red, white, black. The pants of the team's uniform are revealed in the Eyeshield 21 video games to be a very light beige, rather than white. (Close NFL Color: Arizona Cardinals)
  • Notes: This team represents the Deimon Private Senior High School (私立泥門高等学校 Shiritsu Deimon Kōtōgakkō). The high-school incarnation of the middle-school club, the Maou Devil Bats, the Deimon American Football Club started out with only three members: Yoichi Hiruma, Ryoukan Kurita, and Gen "Musashi" Takekura. After its inaugural year, its membership was further reduced with the departure of Gen Takekura. This remained the case until Hiruma found Sena Kobayakawa and his amazing running ability. The team's chant is "Kill'em! YA-HA!"(ブッコロス!YA-HA!!Bukkorosu! YA-HA!!
  • This team is opposite to that of Ojo, who's philosophy is made on ultimate defense. It is based on extreme offense, partly due to the fact that it initially lacked a kicker and also based on the ideals of its captain Hiruma, who totally focuses on offense. It does not matter if the other team scores, so long as you score MORE points. See the section on Doburoku Sakaki.

[edit] Koigahama Cupids

(恋ヶ浜キューピッド)

  • Logo: Cupid
  • Team colors: Crimson and Pink
  • The Cupids are a very weak team that is well known for all of their team members having girlfriends and bringing them to the games, which aren't very many, since they usually lose and get eliminated within the first or second matches. It was against this team that Eyeshield 21 made his debut by scoring a comeback touchdown victory. The Cupids set the worst record in the Kanto Tournament, losing to the Seibu Wild Gunmans (10-125). But even though Koigahama was practically crushed in the game, they still managed to score 10 points off them, showing Seibu's extremely weak defense. However, they surrendered during the 3rd quarter and never finished the game. The quarterback and his girlfriend have made appearances in the crowd at several of Deimon's games, including the match with Taiyo.
  • In their volume 1 match against the Devil Bats, Shin comments that the Cupids have some decent offence, but Sakuraba notes that their weak linemen are no match for Kurita whatsoever.

[edit] Kaoru Hatsujo

(初條薫 Hatsujō Kaoru) The captain of the Koigahama team, he is more interested in going after girls than he is even in playing football. He has an annoying habit of teasing the opposing side by stating that his team has at least ten girls cheering for them while suggesting that his opponents come from an all-boys school. Uninterested in playing against Deimon in the first game of the Spring Tournament, he is not fired up until Hiruma creates a de-facto cheerleading squad by claiming that he knew Ojo's Haruto Sakuraba and stealing the Cupids' girls. However, because of the ineptness of the team thrown together by Hiruma, Hatsujo nearly lead Koigahama to a three-point victory until Sena was brought in to his first game, scoring the final touchdown with seconds left and forcing him to be the first witness to the speed of Deimon's running back.

By the time of the fall tournament, Hatsujo nearly becomes seduced once again by the cheerleaders of Koigahama's first opponent: the Seibu Wild Gunmen. But since his team remained inept and the Gunmen were inspired by the victories of Deimon and Ojo, his team gets annihilated and is forced to forfeit as all their player are exhausted..

Hatsujo's skill as a quarterback is never clarified, but he is apparently nothing special. He is, however, noted for his abilities as a kicker; he scored the field goal that almost gave the Cupids victory over Deimon and the Football Monthly fall season lineup commented on his kicking ability.

Although slightly perverted, Hatsujo does actually have a girlfriend. Unfortunately, she keeps confusing football with rugby so many times that he has given up trying to explain the difference. Hatsujo, incidentally, is a play on another kanji pair "発情", or to be in heat.

  • Position- Quarterback, Safety, Kicker
  • Jersey Number: 19

[edit] Ojo White Knights

Main article: Ojo White Knights

(王城ホワイトナイツ Ōjō Howaito Naitsu)

  • Mascot: Knight with lance on horse.
  • Helmet logo: Blue shield with a white cross.
  • Team colours: White and blue - akin to the Indianapolis Colts' away kit.
  • Jerseys feature a lightning bolt across each shoulder - Similar to the new San Diego Chargers uniforms.
  • Notes: Ojo Private Senior High School resembles the Notre Dame Cathedral to indicate that the school has a long, proud American football tradition like the University of Notre Dame in the United States. Their team's chant is "Glory on the Kingdom!" The team coach is Gunpei Shouji, a man who played football with Doburoku when they were young. A pony-tailed girl named Koharu Wakana is the team manager.
  • The team is based on the old football maxim "Offense Wins Games, But Defense Wins Championships". If the opponent can be prevented from scoring, then only one point is needed to win. This is the direct opposite of the Deimon Devil Bats, in which ultimate offense is the best strategy. Hiruma: "If we can score 100 points to their 99 points (the number of points Ojo scored on their first game against Deimon), then one point is all we need to win."
  • Like Zokugaku, Ojo also has a university school, whose football team are the "Silver Knights". Currently, their players consist of the legendary "Golden Generation", known as the pinnacle of the ultimate defense and who came the closest to defeating the unstoppable Shinryuji Nagas during their time (prior to Deimon doing so this football season).

[edit] Zokugaku (Zoku to Gakuen) Chameleons

(賊学カメレオンズ)

  • Logo: Chameleon
  • Uniform: checkered squares on the shoulders
  • Team colours: Green and Blue, but different shades to Kyoshin Poseidon - closer to the former World League team Orlando Thunder.
  • This team has a look-alike team at Zokugaku University. They are known as the Zokugaku Frilled Lizards, which are led by Rui's older brother.
  • This entire team consists of gang members, who are not above using dirty tactics to win. The team was disqualified from the Spring tournament when some of the players beat up the referee. Like the chameleon, Zokugaku's philosophy is to adapt in order to win. They specialize in targeting an opponent's weakness in either past strategies or team members. However, they have a problem, whenever the opposing team does something that they don't expect, or if the team can see through their schemes. When this happen, they often resorts to straight, brutal street-fighting to weaken their opponent.
  • Their leader, Rui Habashira accepts a challenge from Deimon where 5 million yen goes to the victor of their match. The game against the Devil Bats ends in a 28-48 loss for them. When Deimon defeats Zokugaku, the team believes that Hiruma was joking about the money, until Hiruma busts out numerous guns and grenades strapped to his body in response to Rui's unsheathing of his butterfly knife. After all, Sena once said in response to an anecdote about Rui's constant possession of a butterfly knife, "We know someone who always carries firearms." The Chameleons are forced to become his slaves to pay off their debt to him. Otherwise, Hiruma would have disassembled their motorcycles, and sell the parts for money. They help the Hah Brothers to train and learn a new technique called "rascal killing" (sometimes known as "delinquent deathblow" or "scumbag scuffle"). In the English manga, it's called "The Juvenile Delinquent Murder Method". The team was later released from their debt when the Devil Bats went to America. Hiruma wanted them to train for the Fall Tournament.
  • In the anime, the Devil Bats and Chameleons have a practice scrimmage just before the second matches of the Fall Tournament. The team from Zokugaku showed a better performance than before, but they still lost 28-30, due to the addition of Deimon's new Tight End. Afterwards, they were forced to carry their motorcycles home by their manager/trainer.

[edit] Rui Habashira

(葉柱　ルイ) The leader of the Zokugaku team. Basically, he is a punk's punk, leading his team like it was a street gang (which in fact it is). Not short on skill, Habashira's long arms make him a good linebacker, because he can intercept passes and stop runs, though he's not on the same level as Shin. Habashira's trash-talking of Shin is what motivates Sena in their game. However, he does show a more serious side, after his team is defeated by the Kyoshin Poseidon team. Hiruma noted that only Habashira tried his hardest to win. At this point, the Zokugaku linebacker begged Hiruma to tell him why, when the two of them were so much alike (both using force to rule their teams), his team lost heart while the Devil Bats fought on. Although seeming like (and acting like) a punk, he does have a good heart. In the anime, when Kanagushi made an imposter Eyeshield 21 to enrage the Chameleons so that they would pick a fight with Deimon Devil Bats and be disqualified, Habashira, although beat up to near exhaustion, he did not fight back so he could keep on playing and he did not take revenge or let his teammates take revenge on Kanagushi.

During the start of the 2nd half of the game between the Devil Bats and the Nagas, he and Tsuyumine both witness the onside kick, which was the start of Deimon's counterattack. Habashira leaves afterwards, saying that Deimon didn't stand a chance, but he is seen with tears in his eyes.

Later, the day before the Christmas Bowl, he saw Teikoku's backup players build a giant snow statue in shapes of their mascot. In response to this, he called his whole team and others, and having them build snow statue of Devilbats mascot face-to-face against Alexander's mascot.

It should be noted that Rui has been subject to a penalty flag - though that was in flashback; he reacted badly to an official throwing the marker his way, and punched his lights out.

  • 40-Yard Dash: 5.2 seconds
  • Bench Press: 80 kg
  • Jersey Number: 42
  • Position: Inside Linebacker
  • Height: 174 cm (5'8")
  • Weight: 67 kg (147lbs)
  • Blood Type: B
  • Birthday: January 25
  • 2nd Year Student (Grade 11)

TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

  • Firecracker Kick - Also known as a Squib Kick, the ball is kicked at an extremely low angle, causing it to bounce all over the place. This causes the opposing team members to run after it during the kick return, scattering them and making them disorganized.

[edit] Ashizuka

He's the place-kicker of Zokugaku Chameleons, who had 78% success rate.

  • Position: Place-kicker

[edit] Hebii

The giant lineman prepared by Chameleons to face Kyoshin's tall lineman Mizumachi. However, his inflexibility gotten him while Mizumachi knocked him on the side using his Swim tackle and faster speed.

  • Position: Lineman
  • Jersey Number: 61
  • Height: 184 cm
  • Weight: 120 kg

[edit] Megu Tsuyumine

The team's manager/trainer. (露峰 メグ Tsuyumine Megu) She is a rough, no-nonsense woman who carries a wooden practice sword (a split shinai or bokuto) and is not above torturing the team members in order for them to train harder (she and Hiruma would probably get along). Some of her known tactics are towing the players behind her motorcycle, hitting them between the legs with her wooden practice sword, and making them carry their own motorcycles home (with herself sitting on Habashira Rui's motorcycle, as he is the leader), rather than ride them. She rules the team with an iron fist and even Habashira's afraid of her. She is also an expert of surprise attacks, and interrogates the team members severely to "strengthen them". Tsuyumine is considered as a beauty, but because of her brutal and torturous personality, she is more feared than admired. While it was left unclear by the creators if Tsuyumine and Habashira are dating, it was said that the two are good companions who share a great deal of trust and understanding. Since Tsuyumine refers to him as "Rui", his first formal name, instead of Habashira-kun (which is Japanese custom, even for close friends, and especially for women), the possibility that they are in a serious relationship is quite strong.

  • Position: Team Manager/Trainer
  • Height: 169 cm (5'6")
  • Weight: 55 kg (121lbs)
  • 2nd Year Student (Grade 11)

[edit] Seibu Wild Gunmans

Main article: Seibu Wild Gunmen

(西部ワイルドガンマンズ)

  • Team Logo/Mascot: A cactus wearing a cowboy suit
  • Team colours: Brown, Gold and Dark Blue - Close match to the now defunct AFL team, Iowa Barnstormers
  • Helmet logo: cross-section of a six-shooter's bullet chamber. Helmets are copper-coloured.
  • The engrish name of Wild Gunmans has been corrected to "Wild Gunmen" in the Viz Comms translation.
  • Like Deimon, Seibu is highly focused on offense, with passing being the major component, (though the run with Riku has been recently added).
  • Although bizarre by Japanese standards due to their American appearance, the Wild Gunmen are considered the strongest offensive team in Tokyo and one of the strongest teams in Kantō. Complete with cheerleaders dressed in sexy cowgirl outfits with real guns and a coach who sports a ten-gallon hat on top of his short body, the team is obsessed with creating an American image for an American game such as football.
  • The training location of the Gunmen is the Ben Ranch, a dude ranch in Houston, Texas (the city also notable as the home of the American NASA Aliens (Shuttles)) owned by coach Billy Horide. Primarily a cattle ranch, it is also notable for holding a stable of horses that look like various players in the Kantō tournament.
  • Although a rival of the Deimon Devil Bats, the Wild Gunmen are one of the few teams that respects the players on the team. The best of the two even came together during a beach football tournament, where they temporarily became the "Devil Gunmen".
  • The teams chant is "GUN&GUN that will do"

[edit] Taiyō Sphinx

(太陽スフィンクス)

  • Logo: Sphinx
  • Team colours: sandy yellow, turquoise-blue (closest NFL match: Jacksonville Jaguars). Team uniform is striped.
  • This strong team is one of the best in the Kanagawa prefecture. Their players act like Egyptians because their headmaster, after excavating a ruin, became obsessed with the Egyptians and opened a school that looks like a pyramid. Their philosophy is based on the importance of the line and they are reputed to have the heaviest. However, their backfield is substantially less than Deimon's.
  • Due to their philosophy of the importance of the line, Taiyō is considered more of a defensive team. They focus on stopping the advance of the opposing side and protecting the quarterback.
  • They were originally chosen to go against the Nasa Aliens, due to the fact that just about every member of Taiyo Sphinx was massively built, in which the sponsors assumed they could take the hits from the large American players. However, thanks to Hiruma's computer hacking skills, they get involved in a match against the Devil Bats for the chance to play against the Americans.
  • Their game against Deimon ends in a tie (20-20), but Banba surrenders the chance to play against the Nasa Aliens to his opponents after they had shown his team the true spirit and drive to win, despite the difference in power, size, and especially climate (the Taiyo field is an arid dustbowl). One thing to note is that all of the students look somewhat Egyptian (their skin is dark). This is explained in a small snippet: all the students are into surfing since Shonan beach is right next door, hence the tans.

The four players to take note of are:

[edit] Mamoru Banba

(番場衛 Banba Mamoru) Massive center of the team. The team captain and powerhouse. He holds the high school record for the squat. Although he is more skillful than Kurita, he does not have as much raw strength. Due to his harsh training for the Fall Tournament, Banba's face has more scars. His build also is much more powerful looking as shown in chapter 200 of the manga, so it's presumed his strength has increased as well.

Unfortunately, whatever training he had undergone was insufficient to match the Dinosaurs' powerhouse lineman Rikiya Gaō. Despite the new formation called Tutankhamun's Mask, Banba was pushed down easily at the start of the match. At the end of the game, he is seen being carried out on a stretcher, as he had sustained the most injuries in protecting Harao, Taiyō's quarterback. However, his efforts were ultimately not in vain, since Harao survived the game unscathed thanks to Banba's efforts - the first quarterback in the story to survive a game against Hakushū.

Banba makes his reappearance after the Hakushū/Seibu game. He shows that he understands 'powerful-go', translating Kumosubi's speech to the Dinosaur's monster, Gaō. He later appears with Bando's Akaba, Kyoshin's Mizumachi, Ojo's Otowara, and Nurse Oka to play baseball with the Devil Bats. It seems that his injuries have healed by this time to the point that he offers to assist Kurita in training in preparation for his own matchup against Gaō in the Kanto final.

During Deimon's congratulation party, he is also the one who participates in the punishment game, by blowing the balloons.

Banba reapears in chapters 277 as one of the personal trainer, coaches Togano.

  • 40-yard-dash: 5.5 seconds
  • Bench-press: 145 kg
  • Position: Center/Defensive Tackle
  • Jersey Number: 50
  • 3rd Year Student (Grade 12)

TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

  • Pyramid Line - The signature formation of the Sphinx. The Pyramid Line involves the linemen going into a V-shaped "pyramid" formation, which takes advantage of the heavier-built players. This gives high protection for the quarterback and makes a formidable obstacle when on defense. However, it can be defeated by certain tactics like the Ha-Ha Brothers' Juvenile Delinquent Murder Method, random player arrangements, and the Devil Bat Dive. Another problem is that Harao has difficulty finding a receiver if the huge line moves backward and blocks his view.
  • Tutankhamen's Mask - The linemen arrange themselves more tightly together than normal, making the spaces between them narrower and forming closer to the quarterback. This is alluded to the Death Mask of the Pharaoh. In theory, the line was made even more secure and harder for the opposing team to break through to sack the quarterback. This formation, however, was still shattered by the raw power of Gaō.

[edit] Kiminari Harao

(原尾 王城) Harao Kiminari) The whining quarterback. He bosses everyone around and puts the blame on them until in Volume 6, Banba sets him straight. For some reason, he's popular with the ladies and has his own harem. He acts like a pharaoh. However, compared to Hiruma, his skills as a quarterback are substantially less. His over-dependence on the Pyramid Line has made him slower and less able to avoid sacks. If he can't find a receiver, then he will just stand in place, rather than try to run the ball himself. He also tends to hold the ball too high when passing, which can lead to fumbles when he's tackled.

Though he appears to be an arrogant snob, Harao is actually quite sensitive about his skills as a quarterback. He knows that others consider him as a second-rate player; even his own team members think so. Like Sakaruba was, Harao is seen as the ace of the team by his fans, though his skills do not match that of his image. He admits to Banba that since the game against Deimon, that he has been trying to improve himself, but he still has doubts, especially since every Kantou Tournament, the Sphinx participate but never win due to the other teams being like monsters. Like Banba, this will be his third and last Kantou Tournament. Banba assured him that the new Tutankhamen's Mask formation would protect him, so all he had to do was throw the ball. However, as the formation crumbles easily under the power of the Dinosaurs monstrous new lineman, Harao began to experience true fear.

At half-time, with the entire roster of linemen sustaining injuries, (including broken bones), and Banba out of commission, Harao was forced to forfeit the match. He was the only member who had not been seriously hurt, since Banba had tried his hardest to protect him. He was also the first QB that had faced Gaō of the Dinosaurs, that was still standing at the end of the game. However, the once-proud quarterback takes no solace in this.

  • 40-yard-dash: 5.4 seconds
  • Bench-press: 50 kg
  • Position: Quarterback
  • Jersey Number: 8
  • 3rd Year Student (Grade 12)

[edit] Niinobu Kasamatsu

(笠松新信 Kasamatsu Niinobu) The second-largest lineman on the pyramid line. He talks too much and is always getting the blame from Harao and apologizing to him. He starts picking on the Ha-Ha Brothers, but is beaten by Juumonji twice, first with the Juvenile Delinquent Murder Method, then with just a normal block. He's not very bright and is easily fooled by trick plays and trap blocks.

During the game with the Dinosaurs, he is among the casualties and his team is forced to surrender at half-time.

  • 40-yard-dash: 5.9 seconds
  • Bench-press: 100 kg
  • Position: Tackle/Defensive End
  • Jersey Number: 66

[edit] Ken Kamaguruma

(鎌車ケン Kamaguruma Ken) Kamaguruma is a large first-year who plays cornerback. He's a bit dim-witted, but a pretty good player. He gives Monta some trouble when he comes in during the second-half of the Taiyo game. He is "The Chariot" for Taiyo. His moves include "Chariot Bump" and "Chariot Attack".The bump is incredibly strong, when Ken smashed down a watch tower over 60 FEET practicing his bump. However, Monta's catching ability far outstripped his skills. It is also shown that his Bump Technique has no effect against Seibu's receiver Tetsuma.

Like his teammates, Kamaguruma is stopped at the quarter-finals at the Kantou Tournament, when the Pyramid Line's new formation fails against the brutal power of the Dinosaurs' new lineman.

His appearance is inspired by Jean Pierre Polnareff from the third segment of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Stardust Crusaders. Similarly, both Kamaguruma and Polnareff use a chariot as the major theme of their attacks. (Polnareff's Stand is "Silver Chariot")

  • 40-yard-dash: 5.3 seconds
  • Bench-press: 85 kg
  • Position: Cornerback
  • Jersey Number: 98
  • 1st Year Student (Grade 10)

TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

  • Chariot Bump - Kamagurama lines up directly in front of the receiver, and once play starts, he immediately thrusts out his hands knocking the receiver off balance. This throws both the receiver and quarterback off of their timing. This is not considered pass interference due to the rule that allows physical contact within five yards of the line of scrimmage
  • Chariot Attack - Basically it's a running version of the Bump. It is done in motion and is used to knock away opposing blockers and receivers.

[edit] Shinryūji Naga

(神龍寺ナーガ)

  • Logo: Dragon
  • Team colours (manga): charcoal-grey or black, with two-tone gold/orange detail.
  • Team colours (anime): dark purple, red and gold.
  • Helmet (manga): black flames on a gold background. Coupled with the uniform, this makes for a strong resemblance to the New Orleans Saints.
  • Helmet (anime): dark purple flames on a red background
  • Team uniform bears flames down the side of both the jerseys and pants, and across the top of the helmet. Team dress outside of games kind of resembles a Buddhist monk's robes (it's referred to in the manga as a dougi).
  • Before the start of each game, the linemen go into a kind of meditation exercise to achieve a Zen state of mind. Supposedly, this is to get them mentally prepared for the game and nothing can disturb them when they are like this... that is, until Ikkyu commented on some cute girls. The fact that Shinryuuji is an all-boys school makes all the players but Unsui susceptible to female distraction.
  • The strongest team in the Kanagawa area by far. Known as the "Gods of Kantou",since the founding of their school, they've won the Kantou tournament for 9 years straight . Four of the players resemble the main characters from Journey to the West (or as they call it, Saiyuki). The name Shinryūji can translate to "Temple of the Dragon God".
  • The team is made up of members who are good all-rounders, with two aces, (Agon and Ikkyu). As a result, they are well-balanced in both offense and defense, which is directly opposite to Deimon's team of specialists.
  • Their coach is Sendou Dasumito, an old man who looks much like a hermit martial arts master would look like in a martial arts movie. He guides the team with seeming wisdom and tactics, though he always turns a blind eye toward Agon and his lack of discipline, due to his God-Impulse Ability.
  • Another fact about the team is that they had never allowed any opponent a two-point conversion against them. This record is destroyed along with their bid for a 10th Kantou Championship when they lose to the Devil Bats in the opening round in quite possibly the most unbelievable upset in their entire history.

[edit] Unsui Kongo

(金剛雲水 Kongō Unsui) A very strong player. Not much is known about him, but in the previous year's match between the Ojo White Knights and Shinryuji Naga, both he and his brother (as first-year players) were sent out with 5 minutes to play and Ojo holding a 16-3 lead. Their entrance resulted in a 17-16 victory for Shinryūji. During their second-year Spring Tournament, the Nagas trounce the White Knights by a score of 40-3, without Agon playing at all. Unsui is passionately devoted to football, but is considered merely a "good" player. In contrast, Agon takes a casual, cynical, almost scornful approach to the sport, but is far better. Far more serious and intense than Agon, Unsui is much better liked, as opposed to feared like his brother is. He is a good player because of his wide range of vision, allowing him to know where all his players are.

Rather than Agon's talent being innate, Unsui has worked all his life to become as good as he is. His workrate seemed to have been recognized when he received a sports scholarship at Shinryūji, but it turns out it was meant for Agon - the school got the twins' names mixed up. He feels his purpose is to back Agon up as much as he can, to make his god-given talents shine even more brightly.

Unsui does recognize Deimon's offensive potential and has taken a more conservative approach to defeat them during the second half of the Kanto tournament game. However, with the Devil Bats counterattacking, he is becoming unsure of the outcome. His greatest shock comes when Eyeshield 21 ignores his brother completely and forces Unsui to fumble, followed by the unbelievable event in which Unsui's seemingly invincible sibling was toppled by Sena.

In the end, when Agon warns the Nagas not to slack off in their training for the next Spring Tournament, and showing his intent to defeat the Devil Bats, Unsui feels that his brother is finally beginning to see the value of working with others, rather than just depending on his own God-given talents.

Before the Christmal Bowl, he appears as one of the Deimon's personal coach team.

  • 40-Yard Dash: 5.1 seconds
  • Bench Press: 95 kg
  • Position: Quarterback
  • Jersey Number: 12
  • Blood Type: B
  • Birthday: May 31
  • 2nd Year Student (Grade 11)

TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

  • Dragon Fly - Using both Kongo brothers as quarterbacks, the ball is passed through multiple laterals among the team members. It is a very adaptable strategy, but its drawback is that an opponent can intercept the laterals in flight, causing a fumble (such as Eyeshield did with Agon).
  • Golden Dragon Fly - This involves three quarterbacks, normally with the Kongo brothers and Ikkyu. This is extremely difficult to stop, but it is possible with run-stuffing tactics.

[edit] Agon Kongo

(金剛阿含 Kongō Agon?)

Main article: Agon Kongo

The younger of twin brothers on the Shinryuji Naga football team, Agon is considered a genius player for whom the sport comes naturally and treats everyone other than himself as worthless trash. However, he is forced to come to grips with his own arrogant ways and feelings when he faces the Deimon Devil Bats in the Kanto tournament playoff, particularly the trio of Yoichi Hiruma, Ryokan Kurita and Gen "Musashi" Takekura, of whom his actions allowed them to form a rival football team in the first place. He is a utility player, having been shown playing most of the skilled (ie non-lineman) positions, but his primary position of running back also makes him a rival towards Deimon's Sena Kobayakawa. His jersey is number 2.

[edit] Ikkyu Hosakawa

(細川一休 Hosakawa Ikkyū) The only person who has an attitude like Monta (but doesn't eat bananas like Monta does). His hair resembles Vegeta from the manga/anime series Dragon Ball Z, and he has a red mole in the middle of his forehead. By the look of him, no one should be intimidated, but his true skill lies in his running technique. He has the record of 4.9 seconds in the 40-yard-dash while running backwards, making him the best cornerback in the Kanto Zone. He is the only player on the Nagas that Agon has any respect for, since he is considered a genius. He has great respect for Agon and is probably the only one on the team who doesn't fear him and actually looks forward to playing with him. Ikkyu is proud of his jumping and catching ability. He tells Unsui that no one can beat him on air. However, Kanto's best cornerback is nothing compared to Japan's best linebacker- Shin proves this to him in his first match against him.

Ikkyu peppers his speech with the inflection oni, which is used as an emphatic phrase. It is usually translated as "completely".

He is always bullied by his teammates because he gets more remarks than they do. Ikkyu is one of the nicer, more friendly players on the team, but that doesn't make him any less serious when game time comes. He's considered a genius with high-jump catches, but he is caught off-guard when Hiruma fakes a Hail Mary Pass and uses an incredibly fast and low bullet pass instead - Ichiro Takami of the Oujouu White Knights christens it a Hail Devil pass. He still intercepts it, but he gets the shock of his life when Monta strips the ball out of his hands, resulting in a Deimon touchdown. Like Agon is acting with Sena and Hiruma, Ikkyu is starting to lose his cool with Monta. He tried to face down the Deimon wideout after the touchdown, but Monta was unimpressed with Ikkyu's posturing.

Near the end of the game, Ikkyu begs for Unsui to let him have the ball, in order to make up for the upset that the Deimon receiver had caused. However, his request is turned down in favor of just running out the clock. He does manage to deflect a pass that was meant for Monta and had a chance to catch a loose ball during Deimon's two-point conversion. However, in the end, he and the Nagas lose out to Deimon.

He seems to have a crush on Mamori;because he originates from an all-boys school, in his less serious moments, he sometimes tries to praise his upperclassmen, but his attempts are thwarted by his teammates, who practice a faux ventriloquist act on him, pretending to make him say such things as "in fact, you can't match the great Ikkyu"--to which he's told "unforgivable. ..indeed unforgivable".

With the game between Deimon and Oujo heating up, Ikkyu becomes even more determined to beat Monta as the Devil Bat receiver displays his new technique, the Devil Back Fire. Even he admits that catching a ball from behind the head is the most difficult method of receiving.

During Deimon's preparation for Christmas Bowl, he became Monta's personal trainer. But he's rattled because Monta can't do his best....

Later, after Monta gained his confidence again, he told him that aerial battle with Taka will be a "staring contest"....

Character Statistics:

  • 40-yard-dash: 4.9 seconds (Backwards)
  • Bench-press: 65 kg
  • Position: Split End/ Wide Receiver/ Cornerback
  • Jersey Number: 33
    • 2nd Year Student (Grade 11)

TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

  • Golden Dragon Fly - See Unsui's entry

[edit] Gondayū Yamabushi

(山伏権太夫 Yamabushi Gondayū) One of the senior members of the Naga team, as he is referred to as Yabushi-sempai by Unsui and others. A very skilled lineman, he is the center (literally and by position) of the line for offense and defense. According to his coach, he is more skilled than Kurita, almost a match for Kurita in power, and faster than Kurita. He is one of the three Shinryuji players crushed at the end of the Naga-Devilbats game by Kurita's game-ending powerdrive. In spite of his team's legendary success, Yamabushi is generally unfazed by the aura of the Shinryuji team and treats even his opponents with respect, especially Kurita. With the end of his final season, Yamabushi defers the future of the team to Ikkyu and Unsui.

Character Statistics:

  • Position: Center/ Nose Guard
  • 3rd Year Student.

STRATEGY/ TECHNIQUES:

  • Elbow Tackle(Shiver Hit): Focusing his strength on the elbow, he strike opposition using his speed. It works against Kurita, who stronger than him but has subtantially less speed.

[edit] Sumito Sendōda

(仙洞田 寿人) Although he appears like a wise old sage, he is in reality the coach of Shinryuji's team. Normally, he's strict on discipline, but he turns a blind eye to Agon's behavior, since he considers him as a player that appears only once a century. However, like Agon's brother Unsui, he does recognize Deimon's offensive potential and changes the team's strategies in order to defeat them, but it wasn't enough to stop the Devil Bats from claiming victory.

[edit] Nasa Aliens/Nasa Shuttles

(NASAエイリアンズ / NASAシャトルズ)

  • Team Mascot: Alien
  • Team colours: blue and yellow (different shades to Taiyō - closer to that of the Swedish flag)
  • Helmet logo: an atom with electron paths traced around it
  • This is the American team that Deimon plays when they represent Japan. The best player on the team, Panther, only picks up balls and is not allowed to play because of his previous mistake in a game and not following through with the coach's instructions, although it was later found out that this was merely a rationalization.
  • The Aliens first play a practice game against Zokugaku University's Frilled Lizards and slaughter them with a score of 73-0.
  • There was a bet before the game with Deimon and the terms were that if a team didn't win by more than 10 points, then that team would stay in the opposite country (Japan for NASA, US for Deimon). Deimon lost by one point (32-33), but only because they lacked a kicker and Sena was too exhausted to try the Devil Bat Dive at the end. Neither team succeeded in one-upping each other by 10 points. So Deimon went to America, while NASA stayed. In actuality, this was all according to Hiruma's plans since he wanted the Devil Bats to gain more experience against a veteran team and get some training in the United States.
  • The more muscular members of the Nasa Aliens have a habit of getting into a group pose and flexing their muscles, in which they believe show off their physiques to all female spectators, thereby getting them dates and such. So far, it hasn't worked.

[edit] Patrick "Panther" Spencer

(パトリック・スペンサー) Panther is a good-natured person who has extraordinary running talents, but has been reduced to being a ballboy, due to Apollo's prejudice. He trains everyday by running across rooftops. Panther's dream is to become a pro NFL player and make money so that his grandmother would no longer have to work. He is also one of the few people who is able to eat his grandmother's horrendous oatmeal recipe.

Initially, he wasn't interested in going to Japan since he really wanted to compete against Shin. Then he saw Eyeshield 21's running ability on Hiruma's web video and wanted to run against him. Eventually, he and Sena became good friends and promised to play on equal terms the next time they met on the field, (Sena was nearly at his limit by the time Panther had entered the game).

  • Position: Running Back
  • Jersey Number: 20
  • 40-Yard Dash: 4.5 seconds
  • Bench Press: 70kgs

TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

  • Zero-Gravity Run - Panther's specialty is called the Zero-Gravity Run, which allows him to run at great speeds with extremely light footsteps. Unlike Sena's method of sharp turns and cuts, Panther can run like water, using the minimal amount of movement needed to slide around obstacles. Shin noted that Panther's running is too clean and easy to predict which route he will take.
  • Stiff-Arm - Panther also uses one hand to hold onto the ball, while the other is extended to ward off opposing blockers. This is a standard block used commonly by other Running Backs in the NFL. However, this gives his opponent a chance to slap the ball away, causing a fumble. Sena and Shin both show this flaw to him, and this teaches Panther that he needs to get more practice against opposing players.
  • Moon Salto Formation - This strategy arranges the linemen in a crescent formation. This allows for maximum frontal protection for the Running Back. This is similar to Deimon's Sweeper tactic, but is done in a straight line rather than diagonally. The Aliens team had been developing this tactic for a long time without Apollo's knowledge.
  • Panther Ghost - (Anime) This is Panther's version of the Devil Bat Ghost that he recently learned, when the Devil Bats returned to America for a tournament between 4 great teams. He can do this at the same speed Sena can.

[edit] Jeremy Watt

(ジェレミー・ワット) Watt is the best Wide Receiver of the Nasa Aliens, and he also serves as team's translator, though he's more of a pseudo-Japan scholar (meaning that he's more of an otaku than a Japan-ophile). As a result, he often gets translations wrong, and has some misconceptions concerning Japanese culture but is shown as well-meaning and would not take offense if corrected. Most of his knowledge and obsession with Japan is pinpointed to an encounter with Shun Kakei when he played for Phoenix Junior High (prior to his return to Kyoushin). He is able to calculate the landing point for Homer's Shuttle Pass with pinpoint accuracy like Mission Control. Being taller and faster than Monta does give him an advantage over the Deimon Receiver, though it's most likely that Monta's new Devil Backfire would compensate. Watt has been seen using computers and upon discovering a humorous though disrespectful webvideo of Coach Apollo, he shares his find with his team mates. Watt is also skilled at video-games.

  • Position: Wide Receiver
  • Jersey Number: 81
  • 40-Yard Dash: 4.8 seconds

[edit] Homer Fitzgerald

Seiyū: Kouji Ochiai

(ホーマー・フィッツジェラルド) Homer is the quarterback of the Nasa Aliens and his specialty is being able to heave a football from over half the length of the field. Along with Watt, he's one of Panther's closest friends, and helped him endure Apollo's racial attitude against African Americans. Homer's biggest problem is throwing control as the ball tends to go off-course. Another thing to note is that due to Homer's upper-body strength, tackling him at the waist is not enough to sack him. However, by going for his passing arm, his ability to throw the ball is stopped. Given his large frame and powerful throwing arm, not to mention his tendency to misfire his passes, Homer could be modeled on Green Bay Packers quarterback, Brett Favre.

  • 40-yard dash record: 5.6 seconds
  • Bench Press: 130kgs
  • Position: Quarterback
  • Jersey Number: 5

TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

  • Shuttle Pass - The Shuttle Pass is considered the signature move of the team. Homer starts by counting down from three and throws the ball for his receiver to catch, usually near the goal line of the opposing team. The problem with this tactic is that it requires a longer time to initiate the pass, which leaves the quarterback open to blitzes that result in sacks. The Muscle Barrier, the name given to the line, is crucial in ensuring the success of the pass.

[edit] Gonzales (Big Brother)

(ニーサン・ゴンザレス Nīsan Gonzalez) The largest member on the Nasa Aliens, (even bigger than Kurita), he plays center on the line. His massive size and crushing power will reduce any lesser player to pulp. However, his slow speed makes it easy for faster opponents to dodge. His catch-phrase is "Big Useful!" Before going to Japan, he wanted to get a kanji tattoo which meant 'big and useful guy.' He asked Watt about the kanji for 'big' and 'useful.' However, (due to a mis-translation by Watt), when putting those two kanji together, the end result was POOP! In the end, his tattoo means Big Poop Guy.

  • Position: Center/Guard
  • Jersey Number: 50

[edit] Gonzales (Little Brother)

(オットー・ゴンザレス Otto Gonzalez) Though lacking in size and overall strength of his sibling, the younger Gonzales makes up for it in speed and tenacity. He's about the same size as Komusubi. He admires his brother and wanted to be known as the Small Helpful Guy. In a way, he is to his big brother like Komusubi is to Kurita. His catch-phrase is, "Don't look down on me!" Unfortunately, he went to Watt for a kanji tattoo as well and the kanji for 'small' and 'helpful' translates as PEE, and that gives him the title of Little Pee Guy. He is also easily fooled by handoff fakes.

  • Position: Linebacker
  • Jersey Number: 70


[edit] Leonard Apollo

(レオナルド・アポロ) Apollo is the coach of the Nasa Aliens team and has an extreme prejudice against those who have innate talents, rather than using skills earned by training. This is the main reason why he does not allow Panther to play during games and had him picking up balls. He's also racist against African Americans, and he dislikes the Japanese as well, thinking that they are weak and submissive as compared to the Americans. Due to this attitude, he cancels the game against the Devil Bats.

In response to this, Hiruma creates an insulting web video. He sends it over the Internet, which directly calls Apollo a chicken for refusing to face Deimon and humiliates the Nasa coach worldwide. Outraged, Apollo reschedules their match, stating that if the Aliens do not crush the Devil Bats by at least 10 points, then the Americans would not return to the United States.

In truth, the coach's real motivation for excluding Panther is jealousy. In his days as an NFL player, Apollo, despite his considerable efforts (such as training three times more than anyone), was never more than a benchwarmer. When it looked like he would finally play, the bigwigs of his team hired Morgan, an extremely talented sprinter and an African American, much like Panther. Apollo was cut from the team, and the flashback he had during the Deimon game showed him asking for one more chance to play, then being denied. Bitter about it all, Apollo went on to find his ideal high school team (Nasa Aliens) that relied solely in perfectly executed and superior strategies without leaning on the performance of talented aces. As coach, he also made up the rule that any team member who made a mistake on the field would immediately be substituted.

When Apollo's strategies during the Deimon game crumbled in front of Hiruma's tricks and Eyeshield's speed, Apollo reluctantly allowed Panther to play, after the whole team begged him to. Panther himself said that he would quit the team if he failed to stop Eyeshield and win the game if he were to be given "one more chance". This caused a flashback for Apollo.

While Panther was playing on defense, Watt and Homer revealed that for a long time, despite how badly Panther was treated, Panther had always admired Apollo, because he was a hard-working man (Panther, like Apollo had, trained three times as hard as a ballboy and secretly with the rest of the team). There was another flashback of Panther when he was little, in which he declared that he had to be on Apollo's team no matter what. Despite the failure to win by ten points, the coach commented with his back turned during the hand-shaking that it was a good game. When the Alien's change their name to the NASA Shuttles and board a bus to leave Japan, Apollo reminded Panther of the deal, which Panther didn't exactly accomplish on his end ("Never call yourself a NASA Alien again"). However, Apollo told him that there would be a number 20 uniform for the Running Back (Panther) of the new "NASA Shuttles" team (#20 was Apollo's uniform number during his NFL days with the San Antonio Armadillos). This was the loophole which allowed the team to go back to America and let Panther play as a part of.

One note in the anime, is that Apollo meets up with Morgan during the tournament between the 4 great teams. At this point, Morgan was the coach of the Russian team. Though the Aliens/Shuttles put up a good fight against Morgan's team, the Blizzards, they still lose. Dejected, Apollo considered quitting football altogether, but changes his mind after Hiruma invites him to watch the game with the Devil Bats against the Blizzards. Seeing the Bats work hard to come back from a lopsided first half, (and even cheering for Eyeshield 21), Apollo regains his drive and determination.

  • Position: Coach

[edit] Amino Cyborgs

(網乃サイボーグス)

  • Mascot: Cyborg
  • Team colours: white, red crosses and white numbers with a black outline - similar colours to the redesign the London Monarchs suffered to become the England Monarchs for one season before folding.
  • Team members dress like doctors off the field, but are very strong and the only school using modern technology to grow stronger. They have a firm belief that victory can only be achieved through medical science, rather than spirit, determination and diligent training.
  • They're known as the Tournament Breakers, since they always choose one sport every year to enter, and win the championship of that sport. Previously, it was soccer and basketball.
  • The Amino cheerleaders wear nurse outfits. Their cheerleading captain is Nasu Hakui, a very strict upperclassman who is always yelling at the underclassmen. Only lineman Aoyanagi enjoys this treatment.
  • The Cyborgs make their first entry in the Autumn Kantou Tournament, where they faced the Devil Bats in Round One. When they manage to topple Deimon's line and scoring the first touchdown on the game in the first quarter, in the 2nd quarter, after hearing Dokurobu's advice, Devilbats' line manage to return the favor, completely shatters them. However, with the absence of Sena (thanks to Taki's mistake, the got carried over to Nagano), the team was hard-pressed since their available runner didn't had enough ability to pass Munakata. However, after Sena's arrive, Munakata, who proclaims that he can defeat Eyeshield 21, had his psyche completely shattered as Sena pass him using Devilbat Ghost and scores touchdown. The rest of the game was an easy win for the Devil Bats and total destruction for Cyborgs (8-38). Even though the sports medical science did make the Amino players stronger, they lacked the stamina and training to keep up with Deimon. Compared to the intensive Death March training, the whole Amino team, including the offensive and defensive players were panting while Deimon's players, who play both sides of the ball (offense and defense), weren't even tired. More importantly, the Cyborgs had calculated their supposedly certain victory over the Devil Bats based entirely on data they collected before the Bats left for America, completely failing to take into account the possibility that their opponents could improve before the fall season (as the Devil Bats most dramatically did).

[edit] Atsushi Munakata

(胸肩厚 Munakata Atsushi) The team captain and Linebacker of the Amino Cyborgs. He was also the team captain of Amino's basketball and soccer clubs, winning the championships of those as well. Facially, he has a very chiselled look similar to US comic book hero Captain Marvel. He's a massively built player with a politician's personality, affecting supreme confidence. However, he had made a serious mistake during the summer in which the Devil Bats were in the United States. He had assumed that Eyeshield 21 would be the same as he was during the Spring Season, so he had practiced to counter Sena's habit of stopping before accelerating. However, during the Cyborg's first and ONLY Fall Game, he was soundly defeated by the Devil Bat Ghost. He soon suffers a nervous breakdown as his faith in medical science is shattered.

  • 40-yard dash record: 5.3 seconds
  • Bench Press: 115 kg
  • Position: Linebacker
  • Jersey Number: 29
  • 3rd Year Student (Grade 12)
  • In his nervous breakdown, he accused Eyeshield 21 is actually a bullied gopher in disguise (which is true).

TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

  • Route Direction - Both Shin and Panther instinctively use this technique to lead opposing players toward them. Munakata shifts his position slightly in order to get the runner to go in the opposite direction, then Munakata tackles the player as he slows down for the turn. This method is nothing against the Devil Bat Ghost since Sena doesn't slow down at all and can change his direction in an instant.

[edit] Suguru Aoyanagi

(青柳卓 Aoyanagi Suguru) He used to be a scrawny student, with a look of Weird Al Yankovic about him, until he took the Amino Training Program for 6 months. This included going to the gym twice a week and taking an unbelievable amount of vitamin supplements and whatever else medical science could provide. He thought that he was unstoppable, and in the first few minutes of the game against Deimon, it seemed to be true. Then the Devil Bats' trainer reminded them of the proper techniques, and Suguru was crushed along with the rest of the Amino Line. He also suffers a breakdown as the muscles he gained through medical science fails against the Hah Brothers. He looks tough but he is a complete nerd, as it is revealed that he likes being yelled at by the team's cheerleading captain.

  • Position: Lineman
  • Jersey Number: 64

[edit] Naosumi Kadoguchi

(角口直角 Kadoguchi Naosumi) Kadoguchi's face seems to be made up of polygons and he moves like a stiff robot. He trained himself to run by using motion-capture videos, in order to attain the 'perfect running form.' However, this means absolutely nothing when going up against Monta and his catching ability. Compared to the Devil Bat Receiver's drive to be the best at catching, Kadoguchi gave up too easily when the ball seemed out of reach.

  • Position: Cornerback
  • Jersey Number: 48
  • 40-Yard-Dash: 4.8 seconds

[edit] Yūhi Guts

(夕陽ガッツ)

  • Logo: A burning sun over an ocean horizon. The sun has angry eyes on it.
  • Uniform and Helmet Designs: Light brown with orange flames on the bottom of the jerseys. Helmets have a sun pattern on the tops. Team colours out of uniform are maroon and gold - close to the Washington Redskins when they wear their throwback gear.
  • Their team chant is "Patience, Determination, Endurance!"
  • Yūhi High is famous for having ace teams in all sports except for American Football. As a result, the team is made of mediocre players with low morale, little to no club funds, second-hand equipment, and a small team roster (about 10 players).
  • The team is considered weak as compared to the other clubs at Yūhi, but this fact only spurs them to train harder. Training sessions include marathons on the beach in loincloths, squat-jumping up and down steps, towing tractor tires behind them and so forth.
  • They go against Deimon in the Fall Tournament and lose miserably (6-56), but one should take note that the coach had used aces from the other sports teams while benching the regulars. When it was apparent that the aces couldn't win against the Devil Bats (40-0 in the manga) because of Taki's addition and Deimon's improvement overall, the regulars were allowed to play and they did manage a touchdown (in the manga). An important note is that Hiruma believed that Yuuhi had 0% of winning with their aces teams on the field, yet raises them upwards to only 1% when the regulars finally take over.
  • In the anime, the aces scored the touchdown while the regulars only managed first down, but they still showed a better performance and dedication than the aces.

[edit] Daisuke Atsumi

(熱海大介 Atsumi Daisuke) The team captain of Yuuhi Guts as well as the Quarterback. He has been leading the members though a series of intense training for 3 years, though it's not like the Death March the Devil Bats underwent. Atsumi is considered slightly below average as a player, (or as Hiruma put it, he's the best of the worst), and the Devil Bat quarterback gave Atsumi's team a 1% chance of beating Deimon. He seems very grounded, and is one of the few players shown that sees through Hiruma's 'scare tactics' immediately (like Kid).

When the coach decided to replace the regulars with aces from the other sports clubs, (soccer, sumo, karate, baseball, etc), Atsumi reluctantly agreed that they had better skills. At that point, Hiruma dropped Yuuhi's chances of winning down to 0. A newly-formed team of aces couldn't deal with Deimon's explosive offense power and the addition of their tight end, Taki. By half-time, the Yuuhi Guts were trailing by more than 20 points.

The other players, knowing that Atsumi really wants to face Deimon, feign injury and illness, (in the anime they simply gave up out of disgust), and the coach eventually allowed Atsumi and the rest of the real football team to enter the game. They managed to put up a better showing than their replacements, even though they still lost by 50 points. At the end of the game, the Guts members cheer Deimon on to win the championship.

  • Position: Quarterback/Safety
  • Jersey Number: 9
  • Height: 173 cm
  • Weight: 78 kg
  • 3rd Year Student (Grade 12)

[edit] Shinobu Haibara

(南風原忍 Haibara Shinobu) Haibara is one of the linemen of the Yuuhi Guts, in which Atsumi places his faith in, since he does have a solid knowledge of blocking. Haibara is also frustrated that the team has no club funds and is considered weak, despite their constant efforts at training. When Hiruma decided to rattle the Yuuhi Guts at the beginning of the game, Haibara could only say in frustration that he is honored that the Devil Bats would show their full strength, while the 'true Yuuhi Guts' could not (meaning that all the members of the football team were replaced by other teams' members).

  • Position: Lineman/Guard
  • Jersey Number: 14

[edit] Katsuko Konjo

(紺上勝子 Konjō Katsuko) She's the team manager and one-girl cheerleader squad of the Yuuhi Guts. She helps train the players and fixes up all of the second-hand equipment that they are forced to use. She can get extremely pumped up while trying to boost team morale. She is often seen waving the team flag, holding a megaphone and most noticeably, wearing burûmâ, (the Japanese version of bloomers). She believes in Atsumi and also takes part in some of the training sessions with the team members. According to the manga, it is rumoured that she is being scouted by Zokuto University as their first cheerleader squad member, due to her intensity at cheering on the team to win.

  • Position: Team Manager/Cheerleader


[edit] Hashiratani Deers

(柱谷ディアーズ)

  • Logo: A Deer (but it looks like a moose)
  • Uniforms and Helmets: Brown with yellow trim on the jerseys. Helmets are yellow wit a brown top.
  • A strong veteran team. They make the most of their small size, using their speed to disarm opponents. Playing opponents of the same size, they are still superior.
  • Hashiratani had an easy time in their match against the Kyoushin Poseidons, scoring fourteen points in the first half and crushing what seemed to be an easy opponent. But after Kyoshin sends in two of its secret weapons (Kakei and Mizumachi, two of the taller players on the bench) the Deers don't score any more points. The Kyoshin Poseidons proceed to dominate the Deers by a score of 31-14.

[edit] Onihei Yamamoto

(山本鬼兵) Onihei is a cunning ultra veteran with a small body who even fellow lineman Kurita greatly admires! In fact, Onihei is the reason why Kurita came to play football in the way he does now and because of him he now has the "Funnuraba!" chant. Onihei is known for his ability to block effectively despite not being a particularly large person. He has enough strength to lift or stop Kurita single handed, and to stop even the wild Ikari with relatively ease. He appears as a spectator at the Poseidon - Devil Bats game as well as several others and has conversations with Ojo players. Onihei has become somewhat of a comic relief character since his defeat at the hands of Mizumachi and the Poseidons, constantly made fun of by Torakichi, who insists that anything Onihei predicts is automatically wrong (and in the true-false section of the trivia game at the Ojo High festival chooses his answers -correctly- based on this theory). So far this has usually held true, with Onihei repeatedly predicting the defeat of the Devil Bats, only to be proven wrong by their comeback victories.

  • Jersey Number: 71
  • Height: 167 cm
  • Weight:72 kg
  • Position: Lineman
  • 3rd Year Student (Grade 12)

[edit] Dokubari Scorpions

(独播スコーピオンズ)

  • Logo: Scorpion
  • Uniforms and Helmets: Black with white trim on the jerseys. Helmets have the scorpion logo imprinted on the side.
  • This team did very well in the Spring Season with 10 wins and one loss. The things to note are that they won five games by forfeit, while the other games were won by taking out the opposing team's aces.
  • They were able to win so many games by predicting the actions of their opponents.
  • The Scorpions face off against Deimon in the third round, but their style of play proved to be no match against Hiruma's deceit. They lose with a score of 14-42 in the anime, 0-42 in the manga

[edit] Sasuke Kanagushi

(金串佐助) He's the team captain and safety. His belief is that football is a mind game. He wears his long hair in a braid that stands up like a scorpion's tail whenever he's excited or angry. Kanagushia is able to predict the opposing team's strategies by reading the telltale signs of the players. Things such as glances, body movements and certain behaviors allow him to figure out what kind of play the other team will use. However, Hiruma already knew about Kanagushia's strategies and used several tricks (including lipstick), and his own brand of psychological warfare to confound him. In the end, the Scorpions were stung by their own poison. In the anime Kanagushia also became Hiruma's slave, by accidentally saying his plan to capture Hiruma and keeping him away from the game aloud, giving Hiruma the chance to recorded it and use as blackmail. In an omake, it shows that he's slapped around frequently by his father ("I've predicted your movements! You're going to slap me on my left cheek now, aren't you?"), who's often annoyed by his abrasive personality; so, while he can predict the movements of others, it's somewhat useless.

  • Position: Quarterback/Safety
  • Jersey Number: 14
  • Height: 166 cm (5`5")
  • Weight: 60 kg (132 lb)

[edit] Kyoshin Poseidon

(巨深ポセイドン)

  • Logo: The Greek god of the sea holding a trident (Poseidon)
  • Uniform: colour scheme similar to the Seattle Seahawks - greyish-blue and green.
  • Uniform detail is of scales down the side of the uniform
  • Helmet logo is a pair of fins, one on each side
  • Team Chant: Go, Flash, Go!
  • The team's Cheerleading Squad Captain, Otohime is said to have a crush on Kengo Mizumachi because of his pure (and immature) heart, and apparently joined the club because of a diet.
  • The team is highly focused on using its members' height to their advantage, both in stopping passes and runs from their rivals, making them a defensive team.
  • Unexpectedly, this team manage to defeat the strong Hashiratani Deer in their first match by gaining 31 points without letting Hashitarani Deer get any more points after sending out their team's secret weapons. Defeated the Zokugaku Chameleons in their second match and lost to Deimon Devil Bats by one point.
  • During their match against Deimon, Oujou's Takami comments that Hiruma is Deimon's true 'hidden ace', due to his ability to make instantaneous decisions on who to pass to, as well as his tactical knowledge.

[edit] Kengo Mizumachi

(水町　健吾 Mizumachi Kengo) The third tallest player on the team and a natural athlete. Was on the swimming team but quit because his teammates didn't understand his determination. Plays on the line and uses his height and speed from a "swimmer's start" to great advantage. He has a bad habit of saying inappropriate and insensitive remarks. A running gag throughout the series is that he is also known to strip down to his boxers in front of people, and seems to hate football equipment, saying that "It's too heavy, I can't move properly". Apparently, modesty is not an issue. Another running gag is that he continually hits his head against the top of doorframes. Initially, he looks down (no pun intended) on Komusubi of the Deimon team due to how short he is, but learns there is a lot of strength in Komusubi's small frame and was defeated by him at the end of the game. Also, Mizumachi seems to understand Powerful-go, the "true language of truly strong men," as he responded positively to Komusubi's post-game grunt of "HOT!". He also likes swimming and spying on the females' half of the bathhouse when the Kyoshin team relaxes, stating that "The only thing to do when you go to a public bathhouse is to swim or peek, right?".

Mizumachi along with the other all-star's of Kanto show up as personal coaches for Deimon, he trains Kuroki. He specifically said that while the others do this for "defeating Teikoku Gakuen" and such, he done this since they can't do anything until the next season.

In the anime, Mizumachi gets his arm dislocated by Agon during the practice game against the Nagas, while in the manga, his arm is forced out of it's shoulder's socket by Agon.

Of particular note, Mizumachi took first place of the four linemen in the fan all-star team, followed by Kurita, Jumonji and Yamabushi.

  • 40-yard dash record: 5 seconds
  • Bench Press: 90 kg
  • Jersey Number: 71
  • Position: Tackle/ Defensive End
  • 1st Year Student (Grade 10)
  • Height: 203cm (6'8")

TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

  • Swimmer's Start - Mizumachi assumes the position that Olympic swimmers use on the starting block. This lowers his center of gravity and allows him to spring forward, much like Komusubi can with his Fast Start technique. However, Mizumachi's method has a fatal flaw. As soon as he brings his arm upward in the 'swim' position, his chest is exposed and he is slightly off-balance. This allows Komusubi to knock him down like a bowling pin.
  • Swim Tackle - Using his height and reach advantage, Mizumachi can strike his opponent's side using his elbow and arm, by moving his arm in a manner like freestyle swimmer. First, he raised his hand below his opponent, cancel his enemy's block using strike with one arm, and then striking his enemy on the side using his elbow from his raised hand below. His reach and height manages him to completely overpowered smaller player, but Komusubi manages to deflect this move using his raw power.
  • Formation: Poseidon - Mizumachi leaves the line and joins Kakei and the other linebackers behind the defensive line. Though this weakens the line, it strengthens the passing defense, while Kakei controls the opponents run. This formation can be summed up as a 3-4 defense, where a defensive linemen leaves the line and joins the linebackers (3 linemen and 4 linebackers).

[edit] Shun Kakei

(筧駿) The fourth tallest player on the team and the de facto captain. Shun is the first character to admit there is a real "Eyeshield 21" playing football at Notre Dame prep school, of which Sena (who was made into an "Eyeshield 21" from Notre Dame by Hiruma) was not according to him. Shun had gone to school in America during his middle school years, losing interest in football due to the size advantage of his American counterparts and quitting the game because of it. After seeing the Japanese player from Notre Dame in action, Shun became determined to play again, to the point where he went up against Eyeshield 21. The encounter inspired him to train with new enthusiasm as he promised to meet up with him again at the finals. However, when the next game against Notre Dame finally came around, Eyeshield 21 was nowhere to be found. Shun asked around for his whereabouts, but no one seemed to know who he was or even if he existed. Shun claimed that Sena was a fake, since the Eyeshield he knew was far taller. He then declared to defeat the Devil Bat's imposter. He later admits that Sena is deserving of the title of Eyeshield 21 and tells him to keep fighting until the final game. Because Shun is consistently seen as serious, he seems to be dodged by his teammates immature actions (although Mizumachi is the only person who can get him really stressed). But because he appears used to it, he can even ignore the fact that Sena, Monta and his other teammates were trying to stop Mizumachi (only this time) from peeking at the bathhouse (and making a big fuss out of it) before he who were then pushed right through the wall by Urashima, Kyoshin's cheerleader vice captain. During the Deimon/Hakushū game, he over hears that the real Eyeshield 21 is on Teikoku Gakuen, shocking both him and Sena.

Kakei becomes a personal coach for Deimon. Amazed by the major improvement Sena's made, he questions if Sena can really beat Yamoto the real Eyeshield 21. He is Jumonji's personal coach and comments on how Jumonji is the best at the Delinquent Death Blow and can be someone who can help Sena. So he decides to teach Jumonji all his hand techniques.

  • 40-yard dash record: 4.9 seconds
  • Bench Press: 95 kg
  • Jersey Number: 41
  • Position: Linebacker
  • Birthday: June 6
  • 1st Year Student (Grade 10)
  • Height: 201cm (6'7")

STRATEGIES/TECHNIQUES

  • One Handed Block- Shun sticks his hand out and blocks the opponent down by way of pushing him in the face. This move is similar to the now illegal "Head Slap Maneuver" used by former NFL player, Deacon Jones
  • Moby Dick Anchor- Shun uses both of his arms and tackles his opponent in a cross grapple across the waist similar to Shin's Double Spear tackle. Shun was able to stop Sena's Devil Bat Ghost with this move, however, it was ineffective against the Devil Bat Tornado.
  • High Wave - This strategy assembles all tall players at the scrimmage line and has them leap upwards simultaneously, thereby preventing the opposing quarterback from passing. It is also used for defensive blocking against a run. However, this strategy is countered by Hiruma's Wishbone tactic.

[edit] Osamu Kobanzame

(小判鮫オサム) Kobanzame is the short, nervous captain of the Poseidons. Unlike the underclassmen on the team, Kobanzame and the other members in their last year are unusually short. During the match against the Deers, the announcer mentioned that the Deer and the Poseidons were two of the shortest teams in the league. This was until the Poseidons revealed their new freshmen who used their height to their advantage. Kobanzame is a comic character who has a tendency to stutter and mess up quotations in his attempts to raise the morale on the team. You first see him when he travels with another upperclassman (or Ohira and Onishi in the anime) to go spy on Deimon's training. When his friend protests that they should not be doing something underhanded, Kobanzame claimed that there was no harm in simply taking a peek as they happened to walk by. While climbing up the fence to get a better view, however, he was hit in the head by a ladder during Monta's attempt to imitate Mizumachi's height.

Kobanzame's spying did allow him to recognize Sena right away when Hiruma sent him disguised as a delivery boy to the Poseidon's clubhouse. Kobanzame immediately called Sena on his deception (ignoring that he had done the same just hours before. ..the lump remaining on his head to prove it) and brought the Devilbat to Kakei's attention. This later led Sena to learn more about Kakei's personal feelings towards the 'fake' Eyeshield 21 from Kakei himself as well as being expanded upon by Mizumachi.

Kobanzame's relationship to the other Poseidons is revealed through several flashbacks in the manga as well as their conversations. According to the author, Kobanzame is ranked second in the series in terms of shyness. Only Sena himself is worse. Because of this, he is often unsure of what to do and will wait for Kakei to decide on something before saying ' Right, that is exactly what I was thinking' and trying to maintain his role as captain. He has a tendency to complain a lot, but Kakei mentioned that Kobanzame was the only other Poseidon to complete the same hellish amount of training as Mizumachi. Mizumachi and Kobanzame seem to be fairly close to one another, and Mizumachi even attempts to convince Sena that the Poseidons deserve to win the game more because the Devil Bats have no third years on their team, while many of the Poseidons, including Kobanzame, are in their last year. Of course, Mizumachi did not realize that it was the last year for the second years from Deimon as well, since they have a no-play policy in their third year. When the Devil Bat/Poseidon match comes down to one final play to determine the game, Kobanzame confesses to Kakei and the others in a joking manner that once again he is forced to sit uselessly on the bench while they do all the hard work. This surprises his team mates who have never even considered the possibility that Kobanzame and the other upperclassmen have been holding them back. They promise to bring Kobanzame his ticket to the finals and head out to the field, leaving Kobanzame alone to think about all the times he tried to make up for his lackluster abilities by doing other things such as gathering information on the Poseidon's opponents and boosting morale. Of course, the Poseidons lose, and Mizumachi feels so dejected that he starts wailing on the field because the dreams of the third years are over. Kobanzame, overcome by emotion, concludes the match by saying that eighth is not so bad and that even though the last summer was the hardest in his life, it was also the best.

Kobanzame unfortunately does have a poor body unsuited for football. He is short, slow, and weak. However, he does have the skill to be a quarterback, and is sort of a quietly skilled player that is overshadowed (literally and figuratively) by his larger than life team mates. In the entire tournament, he has never been intercepted. His passes are always accurate, and much like Hiruma and Kid he can react quickly when an opponent attempts to take the ball. His quick reaction time is more driven by fear than quick thinking, however. Takami and Kid even praised Kobanzame, calling him a good quarterback. In the anime the Devil Bats managed to intercept his pass when Hiruma, in true Hiruma style, frightened Osamu so badly he threw the ball too fast and the Devil Bats were ready to catch it.

  • 40-yard-dash: 5.7 seconds
  • Bench-press: 40 kg
  • Position: Quarterback
  • Height: 163 cm (5'4")
  • Weight: 54 kg (120 lb)
  • Jersey Number: 14
  • Birthday: September 9
  • 3rd Year Student (Grade 12)

STRATEGIES/TECHNIQUES

  • Tempest formation (anime)- Many receivers rush out and cover the field, and between Mizumachi and the other linemen's blocks and Kobanzame's own ability to escape quickly, Kobanzame is able to make short, accurate passes down the field. This is similar to Seibu's Shotgun strategy.

[edit] Hiroshi Ohira

(大平洋) Introduced part-way into the Kyoshin-Deimon match. At a height of 205 cm, he's the tallest high school football player. He is introduced alongside Onishi (below), both of whom immediately begin bickering about who is 'Kakei-sensei's first disciple'. He has short and spiky black hair, and has very large eyebrows that seem to extend down to the tops of his eyes. He also appears to be very passionate & always crying. He is a first year student. The kanji used in his name are the same as those for the Pacific Ocean. Evidently, he and Onishi have been rivals since before they joined the football team, and compete over useless things, such as 'who pulled more all-nighters' and 'who studied less for an exam'. Upon witnessing Kakei's skill, however, they were motivated to play football and learn from him.

  • Position: Linebacker
  • Jersey Number: 31
  • Height: 205 cm (6' 9")
  • 1st Year Student (Grade 10)

STRATEGIES/TECHNIQUES

  • High Wave - He and the other linebackers leap up, blocking any potential passes and any running tactics. This strategy is proven to be ineffective by Hiruma's Wishbone tactic.

[edit] Hiroshi Onishi

(大西洋) At 204 cm, he's the second tallest highschool football player. Introduced alongside Ohira (above). He dislikes having almost the same name as Ohira ("Having a similar name to an uncouth guy like you is bad enough.") as well as their rivalry regarding Kakei. Also a first year student; he wears squarish glasses and has short orange/red hair. The kanji used in his name are the same as those for the Atlantic Ocean.

  • Position: Linebacker
  • Jersey Number: 32
  • Height: 204 cm ( 6`8)
  • 1st Year Student (Grade 10)

STRATEGIES/TECHNIQUES

  • High Wave - See above.

[edit] Blue Mermaids

(ブルーマーメイド) The cheerleading corps of Kyoshin. The captain, Otohime (乙姫), is a slender girl who joined as part of her diet ritual. It was said that she a bit likes Mizumachi, for his "pure" heart. The co-captain, Urashima (浦島), is a more muscular, larged lipped female who joined as part of a bodybuilding ritual. It was said that she was interested in Ohira for his passionate-seems-so-pure heart. Urashima is infamous for her various run-ins with Mizumachi, both tossing him too high in the air prior to the Deimon/Kyoshin game and for beating up on him at a bathhouse. (but getting more modest after accidentally destroying the wall to the boy's side)

[edit] Bando Spiders

(盤戸スパイダーズ)

  • Logo: Spider with a guitar
  • Uniform and helmet designs feature spider's webs - black webs on a scarlet background, similar in design to the costume worn by Spider-Man.
  • This is the team that the Devil Bats face after losing to the Seibu Wild Gunmen in the qualifying eliminator for the Kantou championship. Monta believed all was lost after a play that could have gone either way was called in Seibu's favour, leading him to rage at a game official. It was following the end of the game that Hiruma let slip that they had another chance - by finishing third in the tournament. The 3rd/4th place repechage game is Deimon vs Bando. Deimon won 37-36.
  • Although Bando appeared like a much weaker team due to their kicking emphasis, they were the runner-up in the Tokyo tournament the previous year (losing only to Ojo's "Golden Generation") and made the Kanto tournament, while star player Akaba was league MVP. When they played Ojo again in the Tokyo semifinal, they became the first team to score against the White Knights, but it was mere tactics to eat time allowing Ojo the ultimate victory and forcing Bando into their playoff with Deimon.
  • The team has a philosophy of being a kick team, due to Koutarou Sasaki's kicking ability, and also because most of the original members of the Bando Spiders transferred to Teikoku High in Kansai, leaving only the members of the kick formation left. This makes them take on an offensive stance, to prevent the opposition to take any scores and forcing wins by small scores from kick.

[edit] Hayato Akaba

(赤羽隼人) The fullback for the Spiders. Wears a blue tinted visor in his helmet, to set him apart from Sena's which is green. Originally believed by many to be the real Eyeshield 21, the ace from Notre Dame (Shun from Kyoshin said there is a possibility but notes that Akaba's build isn't quite like the player he faced from Notre Dame). Tall and thin, Hayato hardly looks like the intimidating figure of an ace player, leading many to underestimate him and his skills. In spite of his unimposing build, the skills and abilities he holds can send even Kurita flying with just his arms. It was this skill that made him the MVP for the Tokyo tournament in the previous year.

Although Akaba had accomplished so much with Bando, he chose to transfer to Teikoku High due to his father getting another job in the area as well as an offer by the powerful football program there. However, when he discovered nearly all of the Bando team outside the kicking team left, he chose to reverse his decision out of loyalty to his teammates. But due to school transfer policy, Akaba was forced to sit out for six months from the football program, merely assisting to help the "kicking team" make it all the way to the Tokyo semi-final once again before losing to Ojo and being forced into the third-place game.

When he went against the Deimon team he almost single-handedly defeats Sena and Taki. However, due to Taki getting serious, the Devil Bats are able to come back and win. After getting defeated by Sena's lightspeed running, he graciously gives Sena his blue visor, telling him that he deserves to be called Eyeshield 21 (In the anime, he gives back Sena's own eyeshield which Sena had removed before the start of the game).

Akaba appears again at the Deimon/Oujo match. As well as commenting on the action, he also teams up with Kengo Mizumachi from the Poseidons to provide an impromptu halftime show; he jams on his guitar while Mizumachi dances around in his boxers and cheerleader skirt. The pair attract a hail of garbage from the crowd for their efforts.

Akaba appears once again after the Hakushū/Seibu match. He joins the Devil Bats for an impromptu baseball game. It should be noted that instead of using a bat to hit the ball, Akaba uses his guitar. He defends this by saying "Lately, I've opened my eyes to hard rock." With his sharp eyes and wavy hair, he bears a slight resemblance to Akira Udou of Air Gear.

In the last chapter,he became one of the Deimon's special training coaches. He (supposedly) trains Taki, but instead training they seems to just do the dance-sing combo while he comments about their musical sense get synch. Mamori comments sarcastically that these two will be the ones to get the most out of the training (or most out of hand).

  • Position: Linebacker/Fullback/Tight End (in chapter 167 he was named best Tight End in Tokyo given the position at the awards ceremony in the best 11 offensive positions).
  • Jersey Number: 21
  • Birthday: September 21
  • 2nd Year Student (Grade 11)
  • Like almost all the students at Bando, Akaba plays an instrument, in this case he plays guitar.
  • Akaba's eyes are naturally brown, he wears red contacts
  • He has a habit of connecting everything with music, which annoys Koutaro to the end. When Teikoku Gakuen's scouter try to convince him to going to their school, he makes a comparison of his condition with "a guitar that had his string got cut", makes the scouters gave up on him for they can't understand him. When he disagree with someone, he said that "your musical sense didn't suit me". He also said when helping Deimon training, "Let's see how far Kantou's musicalship can brought you upon". He also makes comparison about finding his enemies' gravity point shift with finding the right tune for guitar (which is found to be super-hard to understand, compared with his explanation about Spider Poison), and many more....
  • His catchphrase is a soft, dismissive "Fuu".

TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

  • Spider Poison - By thrusting out with both arms and hitting the shoulders of his opponents, he is able to push them off balance, and makes the block seems stronger for a moment. The real key to this technique is that by studying the opposing teams in advance, Akaba learns when the opposing players' center of gravity shifts. By knowing this, and Akaba can push the opponent over with ease, no matter how strong they are. Since he also tells his entire team when the other players' center of gravity shifts, so they too implement this technique. However, against someone who can fake their shift of gravity point (like Hiruma) or someone so flexible that he could change his gravity point to evade Akaba's thrust (like Taki), this technique become much less useful.
  • Run Force - By positioning the blockers in a certain way, Akaba can actually force the Running Back into moving where he wants him to go. This way, Akaba knows exactly where the Running Back will be so he can position himself ahead of time. This technique is similar or maybe even identical to Sena's ability to determine the most appropriate path to run.

[edit] Kōtarō Sasaki

(佐々木　コータロー Sasaki Kōtarō) The kicker for the Bando Spiders. He is a direct rival of Musashi, and as noted by Hiruma, he has never missed a try-for-point kick. He even once kicked a full soft drink can right into a rubbish bin made specifically for cans - off of a bridge railing (even more impressively -and unfortunately for Kotaro- it wasn't empty at the time). His skills as a kicker is seen when he could easily get a field goal from 50 yards. It is because of him that the Bando Spiders adopted the philosophy of a kicking team, a team that relies on kicks to win the game. However, his accuracy can also be used against him since it's easy to predict where his kicks will land and they can then be returned. Furthermore, in the match against Deimon, Kōtarō stresses out and actually misses a field goal attempt, which could have won the game. Musashi said that this was because he didn't focused himself completely to the kick, which is a supposedly a kicker job.

Kōtarō's most famous quote is, "That's smart" (スマート だぜ Smart daze) (Otherwise "That's not smart", etc.), and is seen combing his hair whenever he has time, even during a match. He seems to dislike Akaba Hayato because he keeps talking about music. Kōtarō used up a time-out just to explain the history of the Spiders to Deimon. His last name is the same as a famous samurai, Sasaki Koujiro, a rival of Miyamoto Musashi. He asked Bando's manager, Sawai Juri, who is also his childhood friend to go out with him 3 times, but was refused with "Whatever, stop saying stupid things, moron!", but she never actually said "No".

  • 40-Yard Dash: 5.5 seconds
  • Bench Press: 65 kg
  • Position: Kicker
  • Jersey Number: 99
  • Blood Type: B
  • Birthday: November 30
  • 2nd Year Student (Grade 11)
  • In an interesting note of trivia, a poll conducted in vol. 11 and 12 of the Japanese edition had Kōtarō as the only non-Deimon player to win in a showdown, with him winning in the "coolest character" battle against Taki.

TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

  • Onside Kick - Kōtarō kicks the ball right to the opposing team's front line, in order for his team to try to gain possession of the ball once more
  • Spider's Web - Bando Spiders aim for a consecutive offense. Firstly, Kōtarō would score points from a field goal kick, then do an onside kick. Since they know where the ball will land, they regain possession of the ball easily, and they repeat the cycle without even letting the opponent touch the ball. However, against faster opponents, such as Sena's speed, the strategy can be used against them as the opposing team knows also where the ball will land.

[edit] Juri Sawai

(沢井 ジュリ Sawai Juri) Usually called "Julie". She's the team manager of Bando Spiders, and is Koutarou's childhood friend. She has a "non-desirable but unavoidable" relationship with Koutarou. Up to now, he has said, "Please go out with me!" to her three times, and she always answered with "Whatever, stop saying stupid things, moron!", but she has never actually said "No". She dislikes seeing Koutarou and Akaba fight, and noted that they are actually quite similar.

  • Position: Team Manager



[edit] Hakushū Dinosaurs

(白秋ダイナソーズ)

  • Logo: A tyrannosaurus with stripes down its back
  • Uniform: Similar to the Cincinnati Bengals, in design at least; colours are green and black. Thick slashes of a dark colour adorn the whole jersey and helmets. Two eyes peer out on the front of the helmets as well, and a row of sharp teeth are just above the facemask.
  • Champion of the SIC District, where they were a member of the local "Four Heavenly Kings"

Very little had been revealed on this team until the start of the Kanto tournament, but their play style is an aggressive, no-holds-bar defense that has been known to physically wear out and disable opponents, similar to the tactics of a carnivorous animal or a dinosaur. In a newspaper article after the Spring tournament, they were mentioned alongside Deimon (and below tournament mainstays like Shinryuji, Oujō, Seibu and Taiyo) as a "Team to Watch", particularly due to some "massive new talent" that they had recruited. As they had made it to the final eight of the Kantō tournament, the team is slowly being revealed, possibly as a potential final opponent in the Kantou final for the Devil Bats. The team thrashed the Taiyo Sphinx in the quarterfinals by a halftime score of 32-0, and forcing the Sphinx to forfeit due to a lack of players fit to continue. In the semifinals, the team faced the Seibu Wild Gunmen and with Kid's quick draw passes they were able to take a 14-8 lead over Hakushū. Unfortunately, just when Kid had finally accepted the dream of reaching for the Christmas Bowl, Hakushū's "massive new talent" Gaō came up from behind and broke his arm. In the end they defeated Seibu 14-72 thus reaching the finals where they faced off against the Deimon Devil Bats. However, despite injuring Hiruma and making Kurita lose his drive, the Dinosaurs lose by a score of 42-43.

In the extra material section, it has been revealed that the Dinosaurs are a S class team, on par with the Seibu Wild Gunmens. Thanks to Gaō's strength, this team also had reputation of 100% successful attempt of two point conversion. In the recent chapters, it was shown that despite their dependence to Gaō, they are actually a well-rounded team that can adapt to their enemies' movements. (They even have a decent kicker).

[edit] Reiji Maruko (Marco)

(円子令司) The Dinosaurs quarterback, who told Sena and Monta to call him Marco instead of Maruko, because Maruko is a female name (in Japan 'ko' is primarily a feminine name ending, not to mention the irony that their manager is a "Maruko"), and "Marco" sounds like a male Italian name.

Originally, he was merely a nice guy who played football (despite being not really suited, he tried his best, just like Hiruma) and had the love of eventual manager Maruko. However, after witnessing a Christmas Bowl where Kansai finalist Teikoku ran all over the competition, he became obsessed with strength being the only way to win and stop the strongest of teams. Using this motivation, he recruited players such as Gaō with his ultimate goal of getting through Kanto and having a force to stop Teikoku, but this obsession with strength made him on bitter terms with Maruko as a result (she didn't like his way to winning by destroying -literally- other teams and players).

He wanted the strong teams to knock each other out so his team could take it easy, so he offered to switch with Deimon. But just then Oujou's Ootawara drew out number "7" (Deimon had 5), Deimon would meet Oujou in the semifinals, so he told them to forget it. He was especially glad he didn't switch when the Nagas drew number "6" which meant that they would face the Devil Bats first.

After the Devil Bats defeat the Nagas, his personality takes on a more confident attitude, partly due to fact that he didn't have to face off against the former Kantou champions, and partly because his team has a new monstrous lineman that holds the record for the bench press (200 kg). Marco said during an interview that he likes girls with love. According to Deimon's Musashi, Marco seems to be a little bit like a yakuza (Japanese organized crime) member.

After crushing Taiyo in the quarterfinals, Marco appeared to meet his match in the semifinals against Seibu, particularly against steely quarterback Kid. Yet believing in his team, including Gaoh and receiver Kisaragi, Marco faced this threat head-on. This belief is founded as Seibu is crushed after Gaoh seriously injures the Kid and Tetsuma, as well as shutting down Riku.

Facing Deimon in the Kantō final, Marco felt confident in himself, Gaō and his team for victory, using both his North/South game alongside his defense and his Screw Bite to help Hakushū take early control. (particularly made easier with Gaō appearing to destroy Hiruma at one point) But the tenacity of Deimon and Hiruma's unexpected return in the game held him down, forcing him to switch to strategy to out-think the Deimon mastermind.

As the Devil Bats rally around Hiruma's comeback, Marco starts to lose his cool. After two touchdowns by Deimon, he decided to attack Hiruma himself directly from offense. In reality, this was according to Hiruma's plan and Marco fell victim to his own tactic of crushing the quarterback. Kurita, changing his position with Komusubi, managed to catch him off guard and slammed him to the turf, almost like when Hiruma got crushed by Gaō. This causes him to fumble the ball, which was returned by the Devil Bats for a touchdown.

Gambling with his life and believing in Gaō's strength, he manages to scores touchdown, keep evolving as a handling ball expert. Upon Deimon's next drive, he prepared to counter Sena once again with the Screw Bite, but Sena chose to instead get tackled by Gaō, avoiding the ball getting stolen. After the play, Marco reveals that he had been preparing not just for Teikoku but for meeting "the real Eyeshield 21" who plays for them. Realizing that he must be stopped so he could prove his own worth as Eyeshield, Sena decides to take on Marco head on in the next play. Marco's Screw Bite Technique is then defeated with a head-on attack and Sena's new Vertical Devil Light Hurricane, ending in a touchdown.

In the end, Marco felt disappointed that he couldn't get to the Christmas Bowl, less for his sake and more because he thought that his cunning ways and overdriven personality would have driven Maruko away. However, the manager still trusted and cared for him even during this darker time, leading to reconciliation amidst the agony of defeat.

  • 40-Yard Dash: 5.2 seconds
  • Bench Press: 60 kg
  • Position: Quarterback/Safety
  • Height: 177 cm(5`9")
  • Weight: 66 kg(145)
  • Jersey Number: 4
  • Blood Type: AB
  • He had habit of ending his sentence with "I'd say" ("Well, let us show a tiny bit that we still hadn't forgotten the proper American Football, I'd say", "That guy, he's the world champion of breaking through, I'd say"). He also dislikes if he has to face a strong opponent.
  • 1st Year Student (Grade 10)

TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

  • North-South Game: Commented by Jumonji and Co. as "no tactic or shit at all", in almost all their offense play, they heavily rely on their linemen power to plow through their enemies defense like hot knife slicing through butter, allowing Marco to rush the ball down the field to touchdowns. So far, since there's no team who had faced them had strong enough lineman who can stand against Gaō, their offense is practically unstoppable. However, with Kurita's drive restored, Gaō's forceful charge is halted.
  • Screw Bite: A counter-feint tactic used to steal the football even against Sena's speed and technique by grasping the ball away without the other player knowing it. Focusing to the ball completely, he manages to reach the ball on the slightest chance when the holder losing his grip, and forcing it out to his possession using rotational force of his body (thus given the name Screw Bite). Using it against Sena's Devil Light Hurricane, Marco seized the ball away and used it to score an easy touchdown for Hakushū. However, this technique is useless when Sena barrels head on into Marco and use his body as a pivot with the Devil Light Hurricane done vertically. With Sena so close, Marco cannot bring his hands around to grab the ball.
  • Quarterback Spy: By watching movements of the ball, he can predicts quarterback movements and can change his defensive move according to this. Because Sena's lacks of experience, this move was very effective against him. However, since this move is only effective against one person, it is rendered useless if he focuses on the wrong person who he thinks will receive the ball. This is made apparent as he focused so much on Hiruma during his comeback play, that he was caught off-guard when the ball was hiked to Sena.

[edit] Rikiya Gaō

(峨王力哉) The gigantic lineman playing for the Dinosaurs, he holds the record for bench press in all of Japan (200+ kg) and whose appearance even scares the similarly massive Taiyō lineman Banba. He's larger than any other player shown in the series and is reported to have sent all of his opponents' quarterbacks to the hospital. A regular plastic mouthpiece will not work, since he'll chew it to bits like gum. He uses a titanium alloy mouthpiece. Originally a massive new student who crushed anyone in his way, Marco recruited him for the team as part of his own plans to get to the Christmas Bowl, beat longtime champion Teikoku and win the love of his manager Maruko.

Surprisingly, Gaō showed a sense of honor rather than being depicted as a wholly violent brute. He admired Banba for his determination to protect the quarterback, even though Harao had long given up the will to win. Hiruma and Kid also noticed that there was more to Gaō than meets the eye, stating that the huge lineman was not suffering from a lack of control of his strength, but rather that Gaō didn't feel like controlling it. He also admired everyone who had bravery, and who tried their best to achieve power and strength, including Riku (who bravely tried to pass him using his speed, though failed, and was one of several players brave enough to face him up front), Kisaragi (who always yearns for power, trying his best despite his weak stature), Kid (who bravely challenges him up front with his Quickdraw Pass, Gaō even admits that somehow Kid's more frightful than him), and Hiruma (Who keeps standing in the field and taking actual play despite his injury, risking his body. Gaō was amazed especially since he thinks that Hiruma is only coward who used petty tactics only at first, but he proved himself as a monster with his monstrous willpower.).

His first devastating move in the Tournament was breaking through the Sphinx's newest formation, the Tutankhamen Mask, and pushing down Banba and Harao with ease. By half-time, with the score 32-0 in favor of the Dinosaurs, the entire Taiyō line was out of the match due to injuries from trying to hold Gaō's back. The most devastating loss was with Banba as he was carried away on a stretcher. As a result, the Sphinx team was forced to surrender the game. After the quarterfinal match, he nearly lost it when one of the fans openly threw insults at Banba, (this was the same arrogant soccer player that Monta and Sena had mistaken for Musashi--Muro Satoshi). This made Gaō lose his temper, causing him to rip off the steel guardrails of the stadium seats and charge into the bleachers. He would have trampled anyone who got in his way and most likely would have crushed the cowardly soccer player. But before he could get to the fan, Riku from the Seibu Wild Gunmen ran to his aid, protecting him and standing up to the monstrous player. Gaō, however, could tell that it was not Riku, and left it at that.

Discovering Gaoh's weapon of scaring a quarterback from Hakushū manager Maruko, Riku is forced to train not only to stop the destruction of his team but to protect Kid from the monster. At the start of the game, Gaō did exactly what was expected of him: lunging right for Kid and expecting him to clam up or miss, yet unable to stop him from making a quick pass to Riku for short yards. Intrigued by a quarterback who faced him head on, Gaō became more interested in his latest matchup. Yet ultimately the bestial player finally makes his move: at the moment when Kid finally starts realizing how far he wants to go through this, Gaō smashes into him and breaks his arm, sending him out of the game. Ultimately Gaō also takes out a revived Tetsuma and even makes Rikku fall from exhaustion, allowing Hakushū to easily make the final of the Kanto tournament.

As the Dinosaurs attention turn towards Deimon, their opponent in the final, Gaō becomes interested in a new prey: large lineman Ryokan Kurita of the Devil Bats. But due to Kurita's kind nature and inability to be serious in his defensive abilities, Gaō initially did not see him as honorable enough to go against. This nearly cost Deimon the game, leading to Gaō to squash Hiruma with little stopping him after a setup by his teammate Kisaragi against the quarterback. But with Deimon's persistence, particularly Komusubi who tried to fight for Kurita, Deimon's lineman finally awoke his spirit, which in turn charged Gaō play as well. He said that he had been waiting for 16 years for someone who would challenge him with killing intent not for revenge but defense, so he kept on breaking players, and now he is facing someone equally powerful with killing intent, facing him not for revenge, but to protect his teammates, which he is proud of.

With the game heated, Gaō becomes more and more evolved, his strength grow with the intent for protecting his teammates, even manages to slam Kurita to the turf with one hand (barely) from crushing Marco during defensive switch. By the next play, both he and Marco went after Sena after a position with the Devil Dragon Fly, but Sena chose to get intentionally tackled by Gaō to avoid Marco's Screw Bite. Gao seemed to give Sena a lot of credit for this because he admired his courage for purposely taking him on for the sake of having a chance to win the game.

In the final play of the game, Gaō and Kurita meet head-on and in the end, it was Kurita's drive to go to the Christmas Bowl, and his expeience of 5 years playing, which allows him to push the Dinosaur lineman down and clear the path for Hiruma to score the final points. Gaō acknowledge this, and giving his regard as he fall for Kurita's charge.

During Deimon's congratulation party, he was one of the player participates in punishment game to blow up the balloon, saying that he was told that this is good way to relieve some power excess.

Gao becomes Kurita's personal coach.

Realistically, a player as brutal as Gaō (with a track record of seriously injuring and even crippling opponents) would be permanently banned from the sport extremely quickly, possibly after even one game, as his actions are so obviously deliberate.

  • Bench Press: beyond 200 kg (high school record)
  • Height: 200 cm (6'7")
  • Weight: 131 kg (268lbs)
  • Blood type: B
  • Position: Lineman
  • Jersey Number: 70
  • 1st Year Student (10th Grade)

TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

  • North-South Game: See Marco's entry.
  • Weakness: Gaō's main ability lies in his upper-body strength, which is countered by Kurita's weight and lower-body strength. By bringing his arms inward and pushing upward, Kurita is able to withstand Gaō's downward force and send him backward.

TRIVIA

  • 'Gaō' is the Japanese sound effect for a dinosaur's roar.

[edit] Hiromi Kisaragi

(如月ヒロミ) A bishonen male stated as the "left arm of Hakushū" (since Gaoh is the right arm). Introduced accidentally under Gaoh's name during the introductions for the Seibu game, he believed that he did it to save face for the team and their secret weapon so Gaoh would not look like a laughingstock (though some actually thought he was a more emaciated Gaoh instead). Like the other Hakushū players, Kisaragi believes that power, particularly a player like Gaoh, is the key to winning in American Football.

Because of his weak body, he often became bullying target of his peers, like when he got his locker (which by chance, he shared altogether with Gaō because of their absence number being close) being locked by additional chain and lock. However, Gaō, with all his raw strength, manage to ripping out the locker door easily, and later, crushing the bully kids who try to attack him effortlesly. Since then, he looks up upon Gaō and his raw strength. His obsession with strength in the face of his weakness even goes to the point of having muscleman statues aligning his home.

Although acknowledging his own weakness and the pure power Gaō and the rest of the team holds, he is given the opportunity to block Monta during Deimon's second drive and was able to stop the Devil Backfire using his Ptero-Claw Technique. He later appears to switch his defense towards Kurita, but was only used by Marco as a means to block his true target: Hiruma. With Hiruma's vision blocked, both he and Kisaragi become squashed by Gaō's power, disabling both of them and sending them out of the game.

Although appearing out of the game, Kisaragi does get one more chance against Monta while Sena was temporary quarterback. But knowing about the abilities of the Ptero-Claw, Monta's pure will and determination prevented the nimble cornerback from stealing the ball and allowed him to hold on for a crucial catch.

  • Bench Press: 30 kg (below average high schooler - and less than even Sena, who can press 45kg!)
  • Jersey Number: 96
  • Position: Cornerback/ Safety/ Linebacker
  • 1st Year Student (10th Grade)
  • His catchphrase is "That's beautiful", "strength is beautiful", etc.
  • He loves to say that strength is beautiful due to his obsessive following of teammate Gaō, and particularly to his overwhelming strength. He is obsessed with power that he put a kanji of "strength" on his room and apparently had a muscled idol statue in his room.....

TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES

  • Ptero-Claw: Likened to the claws of a pteranodon, Kisaragi reaches up with his slender arms and wraps them around Monta's during the instant he catches the ball with the Devil Backfire. He then uses leverage to force the ball out of Monta's hands before he lands on the ground. This is not ruled as pass interference. However, this skill is situational at best and does not help him when he is blocked by Monta after Hiruma laterals the ball to Eyeshield 21. However, this skill might be able to help him to damages enemies' arms that are not flexible enough. The technique finally fails against Monta's gripping strength and drive to be the best receiver.

[edit] Hanataka Tengu

(天狗花隆) A long-nosed senior on the Dinosaurs, he is introduced as a former ace player on the team prior to the recruitment of freshmen such as Marco and Gaō. Tengu appears to be more notable for his emotional outbursts regarding the games his team plays in, crying in shame whenever Hakushū falls behind and celebrates any scores that they make. At this point, his only actual play in the game against Seibu was on a special teams receiver after a Gunmen kickoff, where one of his emotional outbursts leads to Tetsuma catching an onside kick and Seibu reclaiming the ball. He seems to have developed a dignity complex since the new players came, since he thinks he is worth nothing compared to Gaō and Marco. He won't play in the Deimon-Hakushū final, as he was crushed by his own teammate Gao for insulting Kurita and Banba - two individuals Gao respects.

  • Height : 166cm (5'5")
  • Weight : 57kg (126lbs)
  • Blood type: O
  • 3rd Year student (12th Grade)
  • Jersey Number: 49

[edit] Saburō Mitsui

(三ツ井三郎) Kicker of the Hakushū Dinosaurs. Since he realized that the two top kickers, Musashi and Kōtaro, had outstanding skill and talent, despite his rather good abilities (he's able to make even a accurate punt kick), he aims to be the number three kicker instead. He's instrumental at Hakushū's counter attack against Deimon, who shows Deimon that they are actually a rather strong team, not totally departing from their football roots, despite their dependence on Gaō.

  • Position : Kicker
  • Jersey Number: 3
  • He aims for number three, e.g., the character of his name can be read as "three", his jersey number is number three, a field goal is worth three points.

[edit] Maruko Himuro

(氷室丸子) The manager of Hakushū, she is a serious looking female who appears to speak for the team on behalf of Marco. The two share a name, however "Maruko" is the manager's actual name, whereas Marco decides to take a westernized version of the same name, which is in actuality his last name. Not too long after Deimon's defeat of Ojo, she speaks with both Sena and Riku of the Wild Gunmans to warn them that the road to the Christmas Bowl goes through them and that she doesn't want any more players to get hurt either by Marco or Gaō.

She's actually Marco's girlfriend (despite being an upperclassman) whom Marco promised to see "the morning sun after the victory". However, when realizing that their last enemy,the Teikoku Gakuen, is really a strong team who keep winning over 20 tournaments in a row since the beginning of tournament, he became dumbfounded, realizing his own limitations, and later,became obsessed with defeating them using the only way he knows, by using raw force to cripple their opponent. Even though Himuro reassured him that it doesn't really matter, Marco keep on with that style of play and won't listen, eventually make him on bitter terms with Himuro.

She invited Sena and Riku to a meeting out in the local mall - the other Devilbats followed covertly in the belief that she was about to make a confession of love to Sena. (Hiruma placed a mic on Sena's collar so he could listen in) However, the venue wasn't the best choice as Himuro was tracked down by Gaō and Marco. As Gaō attempts to destroy communication, Sena saves her (angering Suzuna) while Riku saves the vital information on the computer. She is seen again entering the public bath where Hakushū are bathing, to the embarrassment of most of the team. Her goal was to have them leave, so they could study the Devil Bats. In her subsequent conversation with Marco, he reveals the two have a backstory, when he refers to her as "Maria" - a nickname she hates. While they may have a history together, Himuro reveals that Marco's "small, cunning plans" are what she hates in him. However, Marco shrugs this off by reasoning that it does not matter as long as Hakushū wins.

After Hakushū ultimately loses to Deimon, Maruko admits that while she couldn't stand the treatment Marco gave to her, she did admire his cunning plans. Furthermore, if she didn't want to get to the Christmas Bowl with the Dinosaurs, she would have quit their team long ago.

  • Position: Team Manager
  • 3rd Year student (Grade 12)

[edit] Misaki Wolves

(岬ウルブス)

  • Logo: Wolf
  • Uniforms and Helmets: The colour is a purpleish colour. The shoulders and chest of the jersey bear parallel 'gashes', mimicking wolves' claws. The helmets have a wolf's head on either side.
  • Very little is shown of this team. The team leader, Kamiya Taiga, is one of the players interviewed by Kumabukuro Riko shortly before the match against the Shinryuuji Naga.
  • The Wolves hail from Hokkaido; their introduction at the tournament lottery says that they "make their way across the land with their fangs, claws and speed".
  • This is the first team the Seibu Gunmen play against at the Kantou Tournament, though they are largely a joke; when Riku faces Gaō after the Hakushū-Taiyō match, they loosely promise to meet at the next level, while the Wolves protest feebly in the background that they have yet to play against Seibu.

[edit] Taiga Kamiya

(狼谷大牙) The Wolves' captain. He often boasts about his long legs, which help him to run faster. He has short, light-colored hair, much like Riku's, a horizontal scar across his nose, and fangs poking out of his mouth at all times. From the interview with Kumabukuro's daughter (Episode 106), he appears confident to the point of arrogance, saying "You can see my strong point right here, can't you? It's these long legs," while some of the other players decline to mention their advantages (Shin, Marco, and Kid). When asked what players he would watch out for, he says, "Myself! --is probably not the right thing to say ... Agon? Though I'm stronger than he is." Speed appears to be his only tactic. Before the game with Seibu, he also says "The level of my lead makes it feel like 'Kamiya Wolves' already ... Being called the quick shooter gunman, is it some joke? With these long legs, I'll give you instant death." This joke, of course, is overturned on them, as Seibu wins by a large margin (in the manga, the scoreboard shows 82-14 with some time left in the match). However, in anime, Kamiya is portrayed as a player with outstanding skill, giving Rikku as well as the whole Seibu team a run for their money (Wolves are leading 0-21 with 3 touchdown from Kamiya before Seibu made a comeback and won 46-21).

  • 40-Yard Dash: 4.6 seconds
  • Bench Press: 50 kg
  • Jersey Number: 26
  • Position: Running Back
  • Team: Misaki Wolves
  • Blood Type: B
  • Birthday: February 14
  • Eyes: Blue
  • Hair: Icy Blue
  • Episode he Appears in: 69 (just a glance) 121-122

TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

Wolf Fang: Taiga's main technique. It allows Taiga to move at outstanding speeds much like a wolf. He also uses this move for catching as well as defense (used in episodes 121 and 122).

[edit] Sado Strong Golems

(茶土ストロングゴーレム)

  • Logo: Golem (similar in design to Mega Man robot Stone Man)
  • This team is from the Shizuoka area.
  • Their team chant is "Oppai! Oppai! Oppai!", which means "Milk! Milk! Milk!" (or "Breast! Breast! Breast!"....)
  • They lost to Oujou, 42-0, in the first round of the Kantou tournament.

[edit] Ganjō Iwashima

(岩重ガンジョー) He is shown as a key player in the Sado Strong Golems. His position is unclear. When asked what his strong point is he said it is his rock hard body. But he is a very naive player, who ends up taking bad advice while being manhandled by Ōjō in the quarterfinals. His ability to ram into his opponent with his body is impressive, but it proves to be no match against Ōtowara's bulk and Shin's Trident Tackle. He is a bit of a pervert, with a love of women with big breasts and his tackling style similar to groping a female.

  • Jersey number: 36

[edit] Kyotai Susumu

He is the running back and co-captain of the Strong Golems. He is strong enough to throw Otawara in the air at first, but trips on a divot of grass before he gets to Shin. He is never actually matched up against Shin, as Otawara ends up tackling him first after Shin tells Otawara to "give it his all". He is portrayed as a slightly clumsy person.

  • Position: Running back
  • Jersey Number: 26

TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

  • Oppai Clash: Not much of a technique, but Kyotai will shout "Oppai!" and then run straight over an opponent. This eventually fails against Otawara, resulting in a 42-0 loss to Oujou.

[edit] Teikoku Alexanders

(帝黒学園)

  • One of the only teams revealed from the Kansai conference, located in Osaka. The symbol of the school is a twin-headed bird with the kanji their school on it (similar with Byzantium Empire and/or Roman Empire coat of arms), while their logo is a cartoon version of their namesake: ancient boy emperor Alexander the Great.
  • Since the very first Christmas Bowl in 1980, Teikoku has won every single game, defeating even Kanto powerhouses like Shinryuji to show the "western domination" of the sport.
  • Already known as a powerhouse in their own conference, they are also known for actively recruiting the best players from other teams to play for their school. Most of the players from the Bando Spiders were taken by their team and they were close to receiving star player Akaba prior to his decision to remain at Bando. (leading to his subsequent sitting out of most of the season from the Kanto tournament) The recruiters gave up on Akaba when they got confused about a metaphor of "a guitar getting its strings cut".
  • Due to their notability of being the best football school in Japan, they have a massive club composed of over two-hundred players and six separate teams. While each of these six teams is powerful, only the best of all the best make the "first-team" regulars. Their position on the team also determines their seating position in club meetings, where the 1st Team sit in front of the Greco-Roman style senate meetings.
  • To leave the sixth string(the lowest squad) must known the Alexanders playbook which contain over 1000 play or probably all the plays possible in football.
  • To be in the first string a player must have a 40 yard sprint that is under 5 seconds. Given the info that a 4.8 could make you an ace anywhere shows the all star nature of the team.
  • The team has never trailed in a game. Never letting the other team get the lead even once.

[edit] Takeru Yamato

(大和猛) Although merely a player for the best team in Kansai, Yamato is in actuality the real and mysterious Eyeshield 21 from Notre Dame that once fought against Kyoshin Poseidon's Shun Kakei who played for Phoenix. He is said to be the perfect runner and has great strength, speed, technique, spin the ball on one finger and even perfect body balance. So far no player has been able to stop his run. In example of this is said by one of his teammates who says that 10 players from the Teikoku 2nd string combined are not even capable of stopping his run. In fact his is shown to only really be challenged by his fellow ace, Taka Honjo in all of Teikoku. The original person believed to be this man was Hayato Akaba from the Bando Spiders, but Shun comments that his body type is slightly different from the one he played against. Near the climax of the game against the Hakushū Dinosaurs, Marco reveals that the team that this Eyeshield 21 plays for is Teikoku, shocking both Sena and Shun. With Deimon in the Christmas Bowl, the showdown between him and Sena is now a reality. When Sena, Monta, and Suzuna go to scout Teikoku's football team, he pairs up with Sena against 4th string players to see what Sena was capable of. However, his true goal is to meet someone who can match him to the point of being able to make him use his "true style", which has yet to be revealed.

During a recent duel with Agon (of Shinryuji), it is revealed that Yamato's "true style" would have been used against Agon because Agon's God Speed Impulse could overcome Yamato's speed. Yamato almost reveals this style in the duel but his face changes when he use this style intimidating the arrogant Agon. It is revealed by Sena in the latest chapter (283) that Yamato's speed is not faster than Sena or Shin's; however, his balance is "perfect".

  • Position: Running Back
  • Jersey Number: 21(first seen in Chapter 281)/22
  • 1st Year Student (10th Grade)

TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES

  • Near light speed: Yamato has top class speed considered by agon as a super speed 'type' at first. his speed is not a fast as Sena or shin.
  • Strength: he is very strong being able to push Ishimaru out of bounds with only one hand and block to 4th string players with only his hands to the point that they could barely talk or move.
  • Balance: he ran without slowing down right through snow that tripped up Sena, who can run through mud with hampering his run.
  • Absolute Prediction: Yamato never tells lies only commenting on what he knows to be true through observations. He is then, With his massive knowledge of strategy and the tactics used by the opponent, never wrong when he makes a predictions about the game.

[edit] Karin Koizumi

(小泉香燐) Although she appears like a very feminine, girlish person, Karin is in actuality the quarterback for the Alexanders. First seen around the showy fourth-stringer Ibarada, Yamato is forced to defend her whenever she isn't on the field. Karin is first seen in chapter 275 where she is revealed to be the first string quarterback for the Alexanders. Her personality is actually very similar to Sena when he began playing American Football; cut out for football, is far too modest, and has difficulty with not using honorfics. So far, we have not been able to see Karin's abilities.

  • Position: Quarterback (1st Team)
  • Jersey Number: 6
  • 1st Year Student (10th Grade)
  • like all of the first team karin has a 40 yard dash of under 5 seconds.

[edit] Kureji Hera (Heracles)

(平良呉二) A large-set player for Teikoku's first team and the official captain of Alexanders' squad, he has a bizarre sense of humor and lets his roots in Kansai show compared to the others. Sena, Monta and Suzuna meet him as he offers the tour of the Teikoku campus (though Yamato mostly gives the words and comments to their Deimon guests). Though cheerful, he is a tad eccentric, to the point of wearing costumes to fit the role he holds such as a tour guide for Deimon's visit and as a "Roman Senator" during the football strategy meeting in the forum.

Heracles exhibits great pride in the honor of making it into "Teikoku's All Stars", which is the 1st team. He acknowledges the difficulty and determination needed by a Teikoku player to make the first team, relating his own trials in fighting for his current position on the team. Furthermore, he feels disrespect for any other player outside the first team who shuns their duties as a member of the football squad, particularly Ibarada's arrogant behavior. Hera had actually prepared a countermearsure for Gaou of Hakushuu Dinosaurs and it seems that it would prove more effective on Kurita, though it is unknown what this counter is as of yet.

  • Position: Lineman (1st Team)
  • Jersey Number: 78
  • 3rd Year Student (12th Grade)
  • like all of the first team Heracles has a 40 yard dash of under 5 seconds.

[edit] Taka Honjō

(本庄鷹) A long-haired player for Teikoku, he unexpectedly demonstrated his catching ability to Monta by catching a ball one handed without even looking up from the book he was reading. He is most likely the one to whom Honjo, history's strongest fielder and Taka's father, was referring to when he said Monta would meet "someone" at the Christmas Bowl. Finding out Taka's lineage, Monta realizes that Honjo-senshu came looking for a strong opponent for his son to beat, thus making Monta nothing more than a "sacrificial lamb" to make Taka the best. Similarly, Mamori asked Hiruma to cut out any Teikoku article even mentioning Taka out of fear that Monta would discover his idol's son was the best receiver on the best team in Japan, notable for making 1st team in his first day just like Yamato. His record at the long jump is 8.25m(this is very impressive given the world record is 8.35m)and he holds the Japanese record at the high school level by a wide margin.

Because of his consistent daily training with his father, Taka is always training out of habit with no goal, even during Teikoku practice he only find a challenge in Yamato. Because he cannot find a rival, he prefers to relax and read instead of overexerting himself in public. Like all of the first team Taka has a 40 yard dash of under 5 seconds.

In the most recent chapter, he is shown as having jumping leisurely to intercept Hiruma's pass to Monta. It looks like Taka is floating (or skywalking) like a Hawk would. In chapter 284 Taka is seen using Monta's Devil backfire against him, with ease.

  • Position: Wide Receiver (1st Team)
  • Jersey Number: 10
  • The Book he was shown to be reading was The Catcher in the Rye.
  • like all of the first string Taka can run 40 yards in under five seconds

TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES:

  • The Hawk: Using his training as a long jumper, Taka is able to not only leap high in the air but move as if he's walking on air at a high speed. By using this "flying" ability, Taka can steal balls flying high in the air and turn an impossible catch to their side.

[edit] Reisuke Aki (Achilles)

A player who is considered to be an idiot (compared on a scale, Hiruma considered him 60%, whereas players such as Yamato, Taka and Karin were 0% and Taki was 100%). Unlike many of the current first squad, he was the only one who played in the previous Christmas Bowl, where he learned firsthand about Agon Kongo (even though Teikoku did defeat Shinryuji in the game). Was there when Agon tried to join the team. He appears to have a crush on Karin, as he asks her to be his girlfriend at the start of the game, but was pounded by Heracles before finishing the sentence.

  • Position: Lineman
  • Jersey Number: 76
  • like all of the first team Achilles has a 40 yard dash of under 5 seconds.

[edit] Kirio Ibarada

(棘田キリオ) Originally the quarterback of the Bando Spiders, he abandoned his former team when he was recruited by Teikoku, thinking that Bando wasn't strong enough to get to the Christmas Bowl on their own. Attending the Kanto final with the (supposed to be) manager of the team, he was confronted by former teammate Kotaro Sasaki for leaving a team that was close to making the Christmas Bowl themselves the previous year. But Akaba held Kotaro back from attacking him, letting him leave the Tokyo Dome without further difficulty. He is also said to be a good quarterback. However although he was considered the best quarterback in Tokyo in the previous year, his quarterback skills were only good enough to make him reach the 4th team, making him resentful for main team (and female) quarterback Karin. Whether it is sexism or hatred that he himself is not on the 1st team always puts him at odds with the entire team.

  • Position: Quarterback (4th Team)
  • Jersey number: 8
  • 3rd Year Student (Grade 12)

TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES

  • Rose Whip: A sideways throwing technique regarding the ability to throw while running, it is notable by Kotaro as Ibarada's specialty. But it useless against Sena, who quickly sack him before he can even throw the ball.

[edit] Savanna Survivors

  • Logo: Zebra
  • They're from Africa
  • The African team in the "Cream Puff Cup" anime filler tournament.
  • All the members are at least 2 meters tall and all look alike.
  • The team is defeated by Deimon in the first round of "Cream Puff Cup"

[edit] Northern Light Blizzards

  • Logo: Mammoth
  • They come from Russia
  • A team that the Devil Bats play in the "Cream Puff Cup" anime filler tournament.
  • They defeat the Nasa shuttles and lose to Deimon in the final.

[edit] Morgan

The coach of the blizzard. Originally an NFL star running back and the reason Apollo was kicked out of the Armadillo's. Being an NFL star runner has made him a millionaire having earned 20 million dollars a year. He likes glitter so much, that the walls, floors and pillows in his house are gold ingots. His teeth are gold, he wears gold jewelry and has gold leaf tissues.

[edit] Nicola Beach

The Quarterback of the Northern Light Blizzards. He has a very unusual appearance like his hair has 2 triangle shapes sticking out the back of his head in opposite directions along with a scar on his left eye like his teammates.

  • Position: Quarterback
  • Jersey: 4

TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES

  • Soul Pass: A high speed pass that can be fired from a crouched position for high or low altitudes.

[edit] Ivan Ivanov

The Linebacker for Northern Light Blizzards. Is very huge for a linebacker but, possess immense strength to make up for it as he can split a log of wood in half with one thrust.

  • Position: Linebacker
  • Jersey: 44

TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES

  • Mammoth Tackle: It is exactly like a tackle that is commonly used in Pro Wrestling, it mostly revolves around using a person's full arm strength to bring down any opponent.

[edit] Wan Ivanov

Another Linebacker on the Northern Light Blizzards. If Ivan, his big brother is in a pitch he can come behind Ivan for a counterattack. They are fraternal twins because Ivan is much larger than Wan is.

  • Position: Linbacker
  • Jersey: 66

TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES

  • Snowstorm Tackle: He comes from behind Ivan and spins around increasing his the strength of his thrust in order to bring down his opponents if they pass Ivan.

[edit] Too Tattoo (Beach Football)

This team consisted of several delinquent-turned players, gathered by Doburoku who teach them about beach football. They're thankful to him, since if Doburoku didn't pick them up, they most likely would end up as thugs or drug dealers. Headed by Simon, all the team players' had tattoo on their body.

STRATEGY/ TECHNIQUES Flea Dance: By making quick laterals between all the members, is near impossible to stop the runner, enable the team to get touch in with ease.

[edit] Sexy Queens (Beach Football)

A bunch of men from America who fell in love with themselves and beach football. They believe that they have the most beautiful bodies, commenting that Sena and Monta were horrendus looking in comparison.

[edit] Other Characters

[edit] "Machine Gun" Sanada

An announcer for American Footbal Match, known for his fast, machine-gun-speed of talks (thus the nickname "Machine Gun"). It rumored that his first word is "Whoa, I'm already here, on nursery!" when he was born. When particularly excited during commentary, his hairstyle spins like a circular saw - indeed, in one scene he actually uses it to cut through his desk.

[edit] "Bomberhead" Kumabukuro

This reporter is a football player the past, and has passion about football, with only one regrets; that his hairstyle he likes is dampened by the helm. The big Afro style he used now is probably to compensate this....

[edit] Riko Kumabukuro

Daughter of "Bomberhead" Kumabukuro, who declares she's not like her father at all. A cute and determined reporter, she's the one who interviewed aces of Kantou tournament (with Agon trying to flirt with her). A running gag through the anime series is that when she gets two excited, she starts looking like a miniature version of her father.

[edit] Head Commissioner

The head commissioner of Kanto's Highschool Football Association (name unknown yet) is a man with burning passion and spirit for football, it rumored that because of his burning spirit, his office doesn't need a heater even in the midst of winter. He's the one who gave speech about the teams task of only winning, and loser will receive nothing.

[edit] Masaru Honjō

Originally an outfielder for baseball team Shuei Bears, who known for his extraordinary catches, now he became a Chairman of Kansai's Highschool Football Association. He's the one who became inspirations for Raimon Tarou to became the ace of catches. His son, Taka, is the ace wide receiver of the Teikoku Alexanders.

[edit] Torakichi Nanpa

Fan of Sakuraba, he's idolizing Sakuraba after seeing him catching (unitentionally) a very high pass, giving Oujo six extra points in a 99-0 crushing of the Deimon Devil Bats the previous season. Though he later knows that the high pass is just a coincidence, he still admires him, and decides to be a Wide Receiver in order to follow his footstep. Later, Sakuraba decides that he will work hard to be a true ace, to make that "super pass" (precursor of Everest Pass) not just a coincidence anymore, to encourage Torakichi that cannot being on his elementary school team till his last year due to his injury.

[edit] Nurse Oka

A (scary) head nurse in hospital where Torakichi, Sakuraba and Musashi's father admitted. Despite her works, she's a fan of occultism, mysticism and black magic. She had son who plays with Noroi Occults, and exclaimed that she using black magic to make Noroi's enemies makes mistakes (despite them being crushed in 2nd round). She said that she cursed herself to die if she didn't succeed, to push her motivation.

[edit] Miracle Ito

Sakuraba's idol manager. He's very flamboyant, with his looks increased by using first rate goods and clothes, although his appearance deceives, as he's rather a cheapskate. He intended to use Sakuraba's pretty-boy looks as his meal-ticket, but though he tries to get Sakuraba back on the idol circuit, he was forced to forfeit after seeing the Knights receiver's "macho" new looks. However he realizes that Sakuraba, who has improved greatly from a mere athletic clothes-horse to a true ace, now has more personality that way, and he now support Sakuraba in his endeavours... from a distance; he still uses Sakuraba's name to advertise his company's products (including spiked shoes, though Kid commmented that the shoes actually good enough) much to Sakuraba's embarrassment.

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Eyeshield 21 by Riichiro Inagaki and Yusuke Murata
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