The characters of the anime and manga series Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple are created by Syun Matsuena.
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The Ryōzanpaku Dojo is home to elite fighters who specialize in different styles of martial arts. The dojo is famous for its powerful members and is challenged by other dojos and fighters so often that it charges its challengers and has a waiting list. Despite this, the dojo lacks money; during the YOMI arc, it goes bankrupt.
Although they are all immeasurably powerful, the masters of Ryōzanpaku are also very eccentric and prone to immature behavior. They have trouble interacting with normal people, mainly because they unconsciously release massive amounts of ki, which sometimes makes the people they encounter feel nauseated. They are lazy procrastinators – only Ma and Kōetsuji are shown to bring in any steady income, while Apachai and Shigure have childish tendencies.
Shirahama Ken'ichi (白浜 兼一) Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese), Josh Grelle (English)
Kenichi Shirahama is a sixteen-year-old boy who is currently in his second year of high school.[1] When Kenichi was six, he and his close friend, Ryuuto, watched as a six-year-old Miu defeated a group of thugs who were attempting to rob a local convenience store. They subsequently made a promise to become stronger. Although Ryuuto made good on the promise, becoming the first fist of Ragnarok as well as a member of Yomi, Kenichi forgot about it and was bullied frequently.
On his way to school one day, Kenichi meets Miu once again (though he does not recognize her), and the two soon become friends. At the start of high school, Kenichi joins the school's karate club, hoping to become less weak, but he is forced to do menial chores and is used as a punching bag. One day, he finally stands up to a hulking student, and the two agree to a match in which the loser will quit the club. With Miu's help, Kenichi manages to win, but he quits the club anyway. He joins the Ryozanpaku dojo, which Miu's grandfather nominally runs, and begins an intense training regime in several different types of martial arts. A main point of humour in the series centers around the multiple, varied, and imaginative training methods his masters devise in the name of making Kenichi stronger, most of which bring him to a point near death, but which he somehow manages to survive.
Kenichi fights the karate club's president twice, winning easily the second time, which, to his horror, causes his unwanted attention problem to snowball, since more powerful foes begin to take interest in him. The manga follows Kenichi as he continues to train, and eventually live, at the Ryozanpaku dojo, fighting more and more talented enemies.
Although it is consistently stated that Kenichi has no talent for martial arts, he more than makes up for it with his work ethic. Because of his hard work and his abnormally intense training regime, Kenichi goes from being considered the weakest student in his high school to being able to fight and defeat opponents with many years of training and even with borderline superhuman abilities. In the manga, his level is currently at the lower ranks of the "Expert", a step above a disciple and below a master – a fairly extraordinary feat, especially due to the fact he has only been training for a little over a year.
However, his strongest ability, according to the masters, is that he lacks any form of sakki (killer intent). Because of this, many people who face him see him as a weakling and become overconfident, which usually proves their downfall. He can go unnoticed by even Master-class fighters for a period of time.
Kenichi is kind, compassionate, thoughtful, and moral to a fault. He is against violence and studies martial arts to protect others, and he adheres to a strict code of morals, which includes a refusal to hit women. Because of his kindness and empathy, Kenichi has made many friends, most of whom are former enemies, and has managed to unknowingly win the affections of Renka Ma and Li Raichi.
He also has a crush on the beautiful Miu. Which does give him more strength and abilities than anyone expected him to have. His love for Miu goes unnoticed but he never stops trying and will protect her if necessary (which does not happen very often). This attraction to Miu is usually used as comic relief for the series. Mostly because of Miu unknowingly turning him down. As the manga progresses there seems to be a spark somewhere in this relationship as seen in chapter 423.
Kenichi favors no specific style, though he does abhor the use of weapons, and usually uses whatever fits the situation. However, he has used some techniques consistently. In most battles, Kenichi often fights by interchanging various techniques from the different styles of his masters, making his fighting unorthodox and hard to predict. Recently, Kenichi has begun to create and utilize his own techniques that incorporate aspects of all his fighting styles into a single move.
Fūrinji Miu (風林寺 美羽) Voiced by: Tomoko Kawakami (Japanese), Carrie Savage (English)
Miu Furinji is a curvaceous 16-year-old girl who attends the same school as Kenichi and is currently in her second year.[2] She is the granddaughter of Hayato Furinji and the daughter of Saiga Furinji, the leaders of Ryozanpaku and Yami's One Shadow Nine Fists, respectively. Miu came into Hayato's care when he found out that His son (Saiga Furinji) went on a killing spree and murdered several of his friends and his wife, when he arrived at the scene it was too late. But he found a breathing hole in the snow beneath his stepdaughter body and rapidly rescued his baby granddaughter. In these early years of her life, Miu learned martial arts from her grandfather and accompanied him on his missions to bring about peace.
Before Miu transferred to Kouryou, she attended a famous school,[3] but she was ostracized because all of the other girls at the school were jealous of her high grades, her athletic ability, and especially her looks. Because of this experience, Miu attempted to moderate her appearance by fashioning her hair into a plain-looking braid and beginning to wear glasses. Though she kept this facade going well into her second year, she eventually discarded it.
Despite being attractive, smart, athletic, and kind, Miu is very socially inept, to the point of having no friends before meeting Kenichi and practically no social life. Miu's social ineptness stems from her upbringing, during which she never had any time to make friends, and also from her home life, in which she is practically a live-in maid. Over the course of the manga, Miu manages to make quite a few friends due to her kind and friendly nature as well as Kenichi's help. Miu treasures her friendship with Kenichi but generally seems oblivious to her feelings for him, though she becomes jealous whenever another girl shows affection for him and has on various occasions hinted towards having deeper feelings for him. In chapter 423, Miu kisses Kenichi on the cheek, but before anything further could even be discussed, the masters appear and interrupt them. Miu has a great fondness for kittens and becomes openly hostile towards anyone who harms one. She is prone to making rash decisions when it comes to money-making.
Miu has proven herself to be an immensely skilled fighter. While her exact martial arts disciplines have not been stated, she has shown knowledge of several styles. Her fighting style is graceful and fluid, taking advantage of her agility, coordination, and flexibility, and makes heavy use of kicks. Her skills have been honed to the point where she will reflexively throw anyone who sneaks up behind her.
Fūrinji Hayato (風林寺 隼人) Voiced by: Hiroshi Arikawa (Japanese), R. Bruce Elliott (English)
Hayato is Miu's grandfather and the undefeated elder of the Ryōzanpaku Dojo. He is also known as mutekichōjin (無敵超人, lit. 'superman with no equals') which is translated to "The Invincible Superman" in English materials. He is very tall, very muscular and possesses tremendous vitality despite his advanced age. Not much is known about Hayato's past, but flashbacks have revealed that he was very reckless and violent in his youth, claiming to have taken on 500 martial artists at once.[4] He also at some point had a son, Saiga, who sired his granddaughter Miu, whom he gained custody over. It has also been shown that Hayato used to travel the world with Miu and help out people in need. Around that time, he met Apachai.
Hayato is a kind old man but still possesses a reckless streak and can be very arrogant, the former of which is shown by his tendency to spend the dojo's money and to get carried away whenever he has a chance to showcase his strength. He also tends to convey his often over-simplified plans to others through a blunt manner of speech. He is fond of Kenichi, calling him "Ken-chan", and is the only one who apologizes to him for the hell that he and the others put him through. After Kenichi won the D of D Hayato allows Kenichi to have a platonic relationship with Miu, should she herself agree to it. Though later when Miu and Kenichi grow closer together he has stated that anyone wishing to marry her would have to first defeat him in battle. Despite being a devout follower of katsujin ken, he once threatened to kill a man who was holding her hostage.[5]
Hayato is considered by many to be the most powerful man alive. Even when he uses only 0.0002% of his power, keeps his eyes closed, and splits his concentration and body movements, Akisame comments that he still is the most powerful man in the world.[6] In this state, he remains strong enough to rip a tree in half while simultaneously effortlessly battling Miu and Kenichi.[7] He is capable of throwing kicks so fast that cameras slowed down to 1/1000 of a second can only barely catch a glimpse of them,[8] and he can move fast enough to run on water, since he also possesses the requisite proportional leg strength to do so.[9]
Sakaki Shio (逆鬼 至緒) Voiced by: Unshō Ishizuka (Japanese), Christopher Sabat (English)
Sakaki is a 29-year-old master of karate who claims to hold 100 dan. He is a tall man who is almost always seen wearing a leather jacket and has a long scar that runs horizontally across the bridge of his nose. Little is known about Sakaki's past, but he has mentioned that he used to travel the world and fight, and he also at one point belonged to a group that consisted of himself, a French martial arts master named Christopher Eclair, and an Englishman named Mycroft. The three of them did a wide variety of work, which included working for the FBI and guarding important people. However, Sakaki opposed methods that involved killing or bringing harm to the poor, children, or the elderly, and the other two, who had grown tired of his stubborn refusal to do such things, tried to kill him but were subsequently buried alive in a desert as a result.[10] It is unknown when he came to Ryozanpaku, but he is one of the junior members along with Apachai and Shigure.
Sakaki is a very intimidating person even when he tries not to be, something that he does not seem to realize and is put off by whenever someone points it out. He has a kind and caring nature and is a very bad liar, which is shown when Akisame asks why he suddenly decided to teach Kenichi a fighting technique, and Sakaki replied that it was the anniversary of the creation of judo. He is embarrassed by trivial things, such as when Kenichi calls him sensei, even though he told Kenichi to address him so. Like the other masters, he can be quite childish at times and tends to get into trivial arguments with others, especially Apachai. He also gambles and drinks frequently and often places bets on Kenichi. At first he was strongly against taking a disciple, but he eventually warms up to Kenichi and shows much a great deal of concern for him, even going so far as to directly violate Ryozanpaku's rule prohibiting a master from involving himself in his disciples' battles.
Sakaki is an incredibly powerful martial artist. He his well-versed in multiple forms of karate and possess superhuman abilities, most evident in the fact that he can survive a fall from one of the top floors of a tall building without any noticeable injury.[11] He has yet to be noticeably injured in any of his battles, including his fight with Yami assassin Christopher Eclair and his brief encounter with Silcardo Jenazad, a member of Yami's One Shadow Nine Fists who was able to give Hayato Fūrinji a tough fight. Silcardo was so impressed by Sakaki's skill that he actively seeks a battle to the death. His abilities are further cemented by the fact of his win/loss record of 125/126 against fellow Karate master, God Fist, Akira Hongō.
Apachai Hopachai (アパチャイ・ホパチャイ) Voiced by: Hiroya Ishimaru (Japanese), Sonny Strait (English)
Apachai is a 28-year-old master of Muay Thai and is known as the "Death God" ("Grim Reaper" in the English anime) of the Muay Thai underworld fighting circuit. He is extremely tall and powerfully built, has tanned skin, and is usually seen wearing a tank top and shorts with bandages wrapped around his hands and feet. Apachai has been fighting nearly all his life, fighting life or death battles in underground Muay Thai fights since he was a teenager.[12] At one point, he was an enforcer for a cruel pirate who fed Apachai while he was starving in a harbor in Thailand. (In reality, the man was throwing his food away, and Apachai, who just happened to be nearby, took this as a gesture of good will.) He served this man faithfully until Hayato Fūrinji brought his misdeeds to Apachai's attention. The two of them then defeated the pirates, and Apachai followed Hayato home and has been at the dojo ever since.
Despite his incredible size and strength, Apachai is very kind and gentle. He enjoys playing with children and animals and is very childlike himself. He has a habit of saying the phrase "apa" when he speaks and sometimes yells it while training or fighting. As a result of his violent past, Apachai initially had a hard time taking it easy on Kenichi, once almost killing him during a training session. Saddened by Kenichi's hesitance to train with him, he sought help from Hayato, who told him to pretend as though he were playing with children. The storyline reveals that that Apachai is unable to hold back because he was involved in numerous death matches when he was young, leading him to deal life-threatening blows on instinct. He is very fond of Kenichi and is the only master who consistently shows an open concern for him, Shigurei would give him good luck charm 'voodoo dolls' that he would attempt to hammer a hundred nails into on a tree, Hayato Fūrinji would chase the both of them down for defacing the trees. Apachai has a voracious appetite, often consuming large meals with incredible speed, and even eating other people's shares. He can be easily distracted and persuaded by food. These gluttonous tendencies may stem from the fact that when he was young, Apachai would often accidentally break training equipment and have his meals taken away from him.
Apachai has been trained in martial arts since he was very young. He is extraordinarily strong, able to shatter stone statues and kick down trees without any apparent difficulty.[13] Despite his incredible size, he is blindingly fast, able to dodge bullets while fighting.[14] Even while holding back, Apachai was able to stalemate a master level fighter by the name of Kei Retsumin, a man who had once killed an entire village of people by himself; Apachai was later easily able to overcome him, once there was no one around to get in his way. He was also able to hold his own against Hayato Fūrinji for a time despite being quite young when the fight took place.
Kōsaka Shigure (香坂 しぐれ) Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese), Trina Nishimura (English)
Shigure is a 22-year-old weapons master. She is absurdly beautiful and dresses in a small pink kimono; underneath she wears bandages over her chest and a fundoshi. When fighting seriously she dons chain mail. Shigure's past has been shown more in depth than any of the other masters'. When she was a young child, she lived with her father in the mountains. Her father, who never named her, was a weapon maker and master of incredible skill, who made swords for Yami. Akisame, seeking to find the maker of a particular sword, met Shigure's father, who requested that Akisame kill him. When Akisame refused, the man forced him into a fight, which Akisame managed to win. Shigure's father stated that he wanted his daughter to see what kind of future a person like him, who had created things that had taken lives, would have, and he promptly took his own life.[15] After defeating some Yami members, Akisame named her and took her to live with his friend, an old man who taught her the Kosaka fighting style. She remained there until the old man died, after which Akisame took her to Ryozanpaku.
Shigure is a very mysterious person. She speaks very little and has a habit of falling asleep on the rafters of the ceiling and also traverses atop them more than she uses the floor. She has little knowledge of most things outside of weapons and has trouble interacting with normal people due to her blunt personality and the fact that she always carries a weapon. Before Kenichi came to the dojo, she rarely interacted with any of its other residents except Akisame and Apachai and even refrained from such practical things as having dinner with them. Shigure is apparently quite fond of Kenichi; with him around, she smiles more often (though she still rarely does so) and interacts with the others more, eating dinner with them. She also didn't mind Akisame telling Kenichi about her past, saying that it was okay simply because he's Kenichi. The dramatic change in her personality has caused Miu to harbor suspicions about Shigure and her attitude towards Kenichi.
Even as a young child, Shigure had incredible potential, which Akisame noticed immediately.[16] She was incredibly fast and was able to defeat Sai Kagerou, a sword master, so quickly that he didn't even realize that he had moved. Despite her lithe frame, she is very strong and can cut weapons made of metal to pieces using something with a dull edge, such as a spoon.[17] She once cut a cannon off of a tank and then jammed it through its side.[18]
Shigure has a pet mouse, Tochūmaru, used mostly for comic relief, such as causing Apachai to be blamed for its stealing a lunch Miu made. Tochūmaru is shown to be extraordinarily strong for a mouse, beating one of Boris's men with nunchaku and, in an omake, beating a cat with its tail. While referred to as male, it is always seen with a feminine bow on its tail. Similar to other residents of the dojo, it seems to be knowledgeable of martial arts.
Ba/Ma1 Kensei (馬 剣星) Voiced by: Issei Futamata (Japanese), Vic Mignogna (English)
Kensei is a 41-year-old lecherous master of Chinese Kenpō. He is very short, balding, and always wears a hat. In his youth, Ma was very handsome and claims to have been very good with women. He has been training in martial arts since he was very young and was the leader of a large martial arts alliance in China, which has 100,000 followers,[19] which he left behind, regarding it as a nuisance. He has a wife and three children in China, including a 16-year-old daughter named Renka who followed him to Japan with the intention of bringing him back. He also has an older brother named Sougetsu, who is a member of Yami.
Kensei is a sly and perverted man, who tries to take pictures of attractive women, particularly Shigure and Miu. He often sells these pictures to Kenichi in the form of "data books", which usually turn out to be pictures of anything but the two of them. Ma seems to have a plethora of spying equipment at his disposal to aid him in such endeavors. In spite of his perverted and deceptive tendencies, he and Kenichi become quite close, forming a father-son-like bond. Ma knows Kenichi better than the others and is able to convince him to go along with their plans without resorting to intimidation. Kenichi has absolute trust in Ma and has stated that he has never questioned his convictions as a martial artist.
Ma is a very experienced martial artist, having been trained since he was very young, and purportedly knows all martial arts indigenous to China. In spite of his size, he is very strong, able to destroy a small bridge with a single kick[20] and to rend the flesh of Diego Carlo, a man said to possess a body hard as steel, with his bare hands.[21] He is very agile, capable of jumping from atop one moving cars to another.[22] Ma is also skilled in the field of medicine; he runs an acupuncture clinic and usually, along with Akisame, mends the wounds of Kenichi and the others.
The characters in his name Kensei are pronounced Jianxing in Mandarin, or literally "Sword Star". This differentiates him entirely from Isshinsai Ogata's moniker Kensei, pronounced Quansheng in Mandarin, literally "Fist Saint".
Kōetsuji Akisame (岬越寺 秋雨) Voiced by: Jūrōta Kosugi (Japanese), Kent Williams (English)
Akisame is a 38-year-old philosophical Jujitsu master who was the first master willing to train Kenichi. He is an old friend of Miu's father, Saiga. Despite his seemingly small physique, he is known for having muscles built to perfection. He also has very good insight, often knowing if people are troubled or hiding something; he sometimes even knows what a person is thinking, which scares Kenichi. When he is in his "I Don't Wanna" Mode, he possesses an unbending stubbornness.
He is a famous and legendary artisan, who has mastered calligraphy, painting, pottery, and sculpting. He often invents contraptions that serve as both training devices for Kenichi and power sources for the dojo, including a treadmill generator. He also owns an orthopedic clinic and can reset bones with ease. Akisame speaks Russian fluently.
The Eight Fists are the leaders of Ragnarok, the eight strongest members of the organization. Each member wears a glove with a number (I – VIII) that corresponds to their position. Most of the Fists have adopted the names of legendary beings and figures from Norse mythology. The First Fist, Odin, has the backing of Isshinsai Ogata, who gives him special training not available to the other Fists. The first three fists, known as the "Three of Cards", are the founding members of Ragnarok. According to Natsu Tanimoto, they are on a completely different level from the other Fists.
After Ragnarok is disbanded, five of the eight fists (namely Freya (III), Siegfried (V), Hermit (VI), Thor (VII) and Valkyrie (VIII)) join or ally with the Shinpaku Alliance. Odin (I) joins YOMI. The whereabouts of Berserker (II) and Loki (IV) are unknown, though it is implied that Niijima has convinced Loki to infiltrate YOMI.
Bāsākā (バーサーカー) Voiced by George Nakata (Japanese), Robert McCollum (English)
Berserker is the Second Fist of Ragnarok. He rarely speaks and has a calm disposition. Berserker never studied martial arts; he simply has a natural talent for fighting. He is said to be the most fearsome fighter in Ragnarok. However, he is afraid to fight Odin, believing that the latter is much stronger than he is.
He is named after Berserkers, Norse warriors. His sleeveless jacket features Norway's flag pattern. He displays a furious battle rage when aroused and the ability to negate feelings of pain through an adrenaline rush, which enables him to ignore his injuries and continue fighting.
He is also somehow able to recognize certain pieces of music; for example he recognized Beethoven's Requiem as he was fighting Siegfried.
See Shinpaku Alliance's Kaname Kugatachi
Roki (ロキ) Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara (Japanese), Travis Willingham (English)
Loki is the Fourth Fist of Ragnarok. He uses a Karate style that involves using all the joints in the arms. Besides being a powerful fighter, he is also quite intelligent, using information about his opponents to his advantage. Despite his strength, Loki prefers to win by using any means necessary; he kidnaps Honoka after learning she is Kenichi's sister. His ultimate goal is unknown, but it seems that destroying Ragnarok is part of it; he plants seeds of doubt among the Eight Fists in order to have Ragnarok in disarray. Loki also has "shadows", underlings who look like him; he uses them to distract and confuse opponents.
Berserker defeats him after Loki attempts a coup d'état against Ragnarok. Afterwards Niijima is somehow able to force Loki into gathering information on Yomi for the Shinpaku Alliance.
He is named after Loki, a trickster in Norse mythology.
Siegfried, was the Fifth Fist of Ragnarok. Niijima described him as a zombie, when reporting information to Kenichi, as he had a special ability he called the 'Round Technique', or 'Canon' (in reference to Pachbel's Canon) and it allowed him to take a hit and keep on fighting. He is called "the immortal composer" because he composes music, using his battles and his opponents emotions as inspiration for his melodies. He has a tendency to hum or sing classical music during his fights, and his attacks are named after different musical scores and compositions. In his first appearance, he has been instructed to capture Niijima. After being defeated by Kenichi, he goes on a journey to find himself. Niijima later, in Battle 110, convinces him to join the Shinpaku Alliance, where he acts as the Alliance's combat leader and as Niijima's personal guard. His training has made him virtually unbeatable; during the D of D tournament, Siegfried claims that he has no more weaknesses.
Siegfried is very wealthy and provides all the funds necessary to renovate the Shinpaku Alliance's headquarters.
He constantly prances around and sings operatically during battles, often when opponents are down. He is shown as very tall and limber, with an amazing voice.
Tanimoto Natsu? (谷本 夏)
Voiced by: Ryō Horikawa (Japanese), Jason Liebrecht and Eric Vale (English)
Natsu Tanimoto, as Hermit, was the Sixth Fist of Ragnarok. He learned martial arts from Sougetsu Ma, Kensei's older brother. He is the president of the drama club at Kenichi's school. Tanimoto perceives popularity as a way to control people; he acts the part of a kind and soft-spoken student and is considered the school's "prince". He claims to have only joined the drama club to practice lying.
Tanimoto transports members of the Shinpaku Alliance to the D of D tournament, but his intention is not to participate but to find his old master, Sougetsu. He is briefly believed dead after his boat is blown up by the missile defenses of the private island where the tournament occurs. He later finds Sougetsu on the island and trains under him. He comes to the aid of the Shinpaku alliance in their fight against Fortuna. He also helps when Boris Ivanov leads a YOMI attack against the Alliance.
In chapter 353, Hermit is training to become a member of YOMI. In chapter 355, he faces and defeats temporary YOMI member Enshin Chou for the seat.
See Shinpaku Alliance's Yūma Chiaki
See Shinpaku Alliance's Kisara Nanjō
Kōga Taichi (古賀 太一) Voiced by: Mayumi Yamaguchi (Japanese), Greg Ayres (English)
Kōga, also known as Kōga the Kicker, is the youngest known member of Kisara's team. Unlike Ikki and Ukita, he seems to bear grudges against Kenichi, whom he plans to take down himself, and Miu, whom he calls "Neko Shojo" (Cat Girl). While he possesses a carefree attitude, he is very loyal to Ragnarok and is eager to deliver punishments to those who betray the gang. He first appears to have a flare for Miu, but upon seeing her in action, becomes mortified and ceases all attempts to have her.
Kōga was originally teamed with Takeda and Ukita as part of the Three Man Army. His current whereabouts are unknown.
See Shinpaku Alliance
See Shinpaku Alliance
Tsuji Shinnosuke (辻 新之助) Voiced by: Kazuya Ichijou (Japanese), Chris Rager (English)
Shinnosuke is an ambitious rival of Kisara's, often getting into arguments about who was stronger. He has a rougher fighting style and fewer techniques than Kenichi but greater experience. He had hoped to one day lead a gang stronger than Ragnarok and initially had hordes of men as followers, but after he was beaten by an unintentional sneak attack by Kenichi, he loses all but two of them. He gains respect for Kenichi, informs him of Takeda's impending punishment at the hands of Ragnarok, and warns him of Hermit.
Following his defeat by Kenichi, he goes into the mountains to train. He finds a master and is later able to obtain a victory – of sorts – over Kenichi before the D of D tournament. He refuses a rematch, saying that he's going to hold onto the victory for the rest of his life and never fight Kenichi again. His current whereabouts are unknown, though most likely he has returned to the mountains to continue his training with his master.
Tsukuba (築波) Voiced by: Kiyoyuki Yanada (Japanese), Kyle Hebert (English)
Tsukuba is an upperclassman at Kenichi's school and a black belt in the karate club. His style of martial arts is sport karate, which focuses on the basics of karate and mixes in other techniques, such as boxing. He is the referee for Kenichi's fight against Daimonji and, following Kenichi's win, wants to test Kenichi's skills. He easily defeats Kenichi, but he is not satisfied with his victory because he finds bruises on his body after the fight. When he fights Kenichi a second time, Kenichi wins easily.
Furukawa Takashi (古川 たかし) Voiced by: Isshin Chiba (Japanese), Joel McDonald (English)
Takashi first appears in episode 8 with a group that tries to capture Kenichi. When he fights Kenichi, he initially holds his own, but he snaps after he starts to bleed from Kenichi's punch and resorts to using a knife. Miu knocks the knife out of Takashi's hand with Kenichi's belt. Later, Takashi tries again to take Kenichi to Kisara once again, but Kenichi is able to overcome his fear of weapons and easily defeats Takashi.
20 gō (２０号) Voiced by: Rikako Aikawa (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)
A master of spying and stealth, Number 20 is Loki's right hand girl. In the episode where Siegfried first makes his appearance, she uses a special taser against Miu and claims it takes 'even the biggest man an hour before they can stand again'. She is an excellent fighter and has a taste for airsoft guns. She dresses in military fashion and is never seen without her night-vision goggles.
The Valkyries ("Walkyria" in the English dub) are Freya's followers. Each is a specialist with a specific weapon, which they are taught by Freya's grandfather. When first introduced, they were sent to hunt down Kenichi and Kisara. Later, they all enter the dojo and request to assist Kenichi against Yami, but Shigure points out that they're not strong enough yet.
Yami (闇) is a worldwide organization of martial artists who use their skills to gain power, and in doing so have strong influence in crime syndicates. Yami is divided into a Hand-to-Hand Combat Division and a Weapons Division, which have not until recently gotten along. Their overall goal appears to revolve around, Operation: The Eternal Sunset, which appears to want to create a Third World War so their skills will not "rot away in these times of peace". They use elements as symbols.
One Shadow, Nine Fists is the group of masters that controls both Yami and YOMI. They fight to promote the Satsujin Ken (killing fist), which they believe is the true way of martial arts. Silcardo has mentioned that the only reason they remain together is to avoid fighting each other.
Saiga is Miu's father and the son of Hayato Furinji. He heads the leadership council of Yami. After Shou's death, he chooses his disciple to lead YOMI. He is also likely responsible for killing his wife and inflicting a severe emotional trauma on his daughter in the process (see chapter 192 page 16). Also, he is responsible for taking James Shiba's right eye and leg (see chapter 174, page 19).
Ogata Isshinsai (緒方 一新斎), or Kensei (拳聖) (Voiced by: Akio Ōtsuka (Japanese), Jason Douglas (English)) would have been the first disciple of Ryōzanpaku; however, the elder saw that he had evil intentions. He is the true power behind Ragnarok. He is a Dou Martial Artist. He shows Kenichi the path of Asura, which the Elder wanted Kenichi to witness. He develops an interest in Kenichi and invites him to become his disciple, but Kenichi turns him down. He tries to stop the fight between Kenichi and Odin in order to have both as his disciples but the Ryōzanpaku crew dissuades him. After Ragnarok crumbles, he is revealed to be among the leadership of Yami. His symbol is flow. He acts as the caretaker of YOMI.
Gaidar specializes in command SAMBO, a martial art used by the Russian military. He is a colonel in the Russian army. He has taken up sculpting and painting in order to create an atmosphere of peace to distance himself from the constant fighting. He fights Akisame twice and is finally defeated by Akisame in chapter 304. He disowns his disciple Boris, surrenders to the authorities, and is held in an ultra-secret maximum security prison that even Yami knows nothing about, dubbed Big Lock. He is the first of the One Shadow, Nine Fists to be defeated.
Silcardo is a master that specializes in Pencak Silat, or Supreme Silat as he calls it. He is well known for disposing his disciples if they are not to his liking. He is currently interested in a death match against Sakaki Shio after witnessing Sakaki's battle against Sehrul Rahman in Chapter 350. He enjoys eating fruits and is almost never seen without one, even when someone remembers him.
Diego is a master level Lucha Libre wrestler. He is known for his flamboyant and goofy personality. His YOMI disciple is Rachel Stanley. He believes that a fight must always have an audience and that the fight is for the audience's enjoyment; he also believes that, after a fight, the loser must obey the winner's decision to kill them or not. During a fight against Ma Kensei, Diego loses his composure and takes off his "Smiling Mask", revealing another mask underneath. Ma Kensei refers to this as Diego's true face, "Angry Steel Fist". He is soon defeated and sent to Big Lock.
Akira is a master who uses karate. He scorns the use of science and technology as tools to measure one's level in the martial arts. He was the master of Kanō Shō and was a stern teacher so that his disciple would never lose a match. Shō was defeated in the D of D tournament and subsequently died, which caused Akira to challenge the other Yami masters. He and Sakaki have crossed paths before having had numerous battles.
Akira wears tight black clothing complete with gloves and has a muscular build, like all other masters, but has a few defining characteristics. He constantly wears sunglasses with triangular lenses, has a large scar running down his left eye, and has pointy ears. He also has scruffy facial hair, giving him the look of a thug (and a passing resemblance to Akisame).
Hongo is a rather serious man when it comes to many things, even as simple as meeting the other Fists. He scorns the use of science and technology to measure one's level of Martial Arts, though has shown he doesn't mind using it to train Sho. Despite his cold nature, he has a rather close bond to his disciple and cares for him deeply. He has faith in Sho that he is the 'Sole Successor' and wishes to disprove everyone's opinion of Sho that he is not worthy of the title. He has also shown visible rage when he heard Sho died during the D of D Tournament.
He harbors a great hatred for Ryozanpaku, as it is revealed that he received his scar from Shio Sakaki and is clearly upset when he learns Sho died saving Miu Furinji. In the battle for the Karate successor of Yami, he tells Kenichi to tell Sakaki that they will "end this soon". During his past when he trained the young Sho, Hongo has also shown to be rather lenient, as he does not care that Sho saved the bird, simply saying with a smile, "Do what you like." This shows that he respects the wishes of others, a key mindset that placed him into conflict with Sakaki. Hongo's reason for embracing the Satsujinken is out of honor for Suzuki Hajime, who demanded a death match with him when Yami pitted Sakaki, Hajime, and him in a death match for the succession of Karate in Yami. His conflict with Sakaki stems from this reason: whereas Sakaki wanted to let Hajime live and do what was best for him, Hongo was more concerned with fulfilling Hajime's wishes, calling Sakaki "selfish" for refusing to understand that.
While he shows to be ruthless and very serious most the time, he, compared to the other members of Yami, has proven to be very honorable. He stopped his fight with Sakaki and assisted him in trying to save Mui from Jenazad when Jenazad interfered and even promised the Elder that he would return her to her home. Even Sakaki vouches that he is a man who keeps is word
Akira once had a past with Shio Sakaki and Suzuki Hajime, in a case where he and Sakaki had a disputed victory and Sakaki sought him out at a local karate match to settle matters. Thus starts a series of long days in which he would challenge Sakaki, with their matches supervised by Hajime. Their battles would alternate, with Hongo occasionally gaining victory and Sakaki matching Hongo's victory record. When Hajime accompanies the two in their underground ventures, Hongo would adopt Sakaki's attacking stance to correct his overly careful fighting style. When Hongo is called to challenge Sakaki and Hajime, he is at first reluctant to fight Hajime, but later comes to terms with his friend's wishes and easily dispatches him with a knife hand. He later fights Sakaki, cementing his 126th win and enabling him to join Yami. Hongo is first seen calling Sho to his boat to meet Ogata inside a ship. He is later seen in a meeting with the other fists. Akira is then seen looking quietly at the female spy, with Sho toying around with her and letting her escape. He then berates Sho, telling him to stop playing around, and Sho reveals the disc he took from the spy. He is later seen overlooking at Sho's training. After Sho's death, he is seen angrily walking into the place where the other One Shadow Nine Fists meet, breaking the wall, casually shrugging off the people who are trying to stop him, and questioning the other Fists about Sho's death. Ogata's apology does little to appease Hongō, as the latter angrily attacks the ground, sending a fissure towards Diego Carlo and questioning if he did it, as Diego was in charge of the DofD. He later comments that One Shadow Nine Fists seem complete and asks Ogata for the location of Sho's body and receives the answer that the allied force have taken it. He then asks for details about Sho's death and is shocked when he heard Sho died protecting Miu. Cyril Rahman, Mikumo Kushinada and Ro Jisei voice their confirmation of disapproving Sho as the suitable heir of their techniques, prompting an angry response from the Karate master. Later, after defeating a group of martial artists, Hongo along with Seta and Hayami visit a village where Sho often went, to mourn his disciples' death. Upon noticing that Kenichi and Miu were also in the village, Hongo goes with Seta and Hayami to their location, allowing his disciples to attack them. After his disciples were defeated, he deduces the cause of Sho's death, easily evading Shigure and Apachi and eventually left, telling Kenichi to relay a message to Sakaki.
He is later seen training his disciples and then meeting up with Sakaki and commencing their final battle. Afterwards, he confronts Sakaki and the two begin their fight. During their fight, both would begin to remember when they first met and drove them to fight against each other. Several of the city buildings would be damaged in their fight and when both began to collapse from their injuries. When Kenichi tried to check on Sakaki, Jenazad let out killing intent and made Hongo accidentally strike Kenichi and almost killed him, causing Mui to lose control of herself and strike Hongo out of anger. Mui was later taken by Jenazad and Hongo and Sakaki agreed to fight Jenazad to save Mui for interrupted their fight. As Jenazad left, Hongo promised the elder he would bring her back home and agreed to Sakaki's statement about their fight ending in a draw.
After healing his injuries, he got word were Jenazad was and left out to find him
Mikumo is the master of the Kushinada style of jujutsu, which is claimed to be unique in that it uses no raw power, but rather focuses entirely on skill. She is the only female member of the Nine Fists. She is far older than she appears; her mother is thought to have been born more than a century ago. Hayato has revealed that he and Mikumo had worked together against Yami in the past. It is not known what has turned her to Yami, but other characters have speculated that it was the loss of someone she held dear. Her disciple is Chikage Kushinada, a child prodigy and YOMI member.
Agaard is Tirawit Kōkin's master and a Muay Boran (Ancient Muay Thai) master. He is very proud and firmly believes that Muay Boran is the strongest martial art in the world. He is responsible for the kidnapping of Freya and her grandfather, Danki. Apachai refers to him as the "Demon Emperor of the Underground Muay Thai World". He has unique pupils, which look like Plus signs. He was once Apachai's mentor and brother figure. Agaard's killing intent seems to soften when around Apachai, in turn, Apachai is the only person he would listen to. Despite accepting Apachai as family, he regrets that one day he must fight him as Apachai is also considered as his rival. Agaard and Apachai finally face each other and Agaard is overjoyed that Apachai has trained a fine disciple and that he is finally able to fight Agaard on equal terms. In the end, Agaard and Apachai both deal final, crippling blows, causing Agaard to collapse and Apachai to die but after hearing Kenichi's voice Apachai is able to rise up and save him. Agaard then concedes defeat because Apachai is the last one standing. Due to Apachai's injuries, the other masters of Ryozanpaku could not take him to the Big Lock. He apparently returns to Thailand, along with his disciple.
Sehrul is Ethan Stanley's master and a Kalarippayattu master. He is the "supposedly" oldest among the One Shadow, Nine Fists. He battles Sakaki in chapter 350; the battle ends inconclusively.
Ba/Ma Sōgetsu (馬 槍月) Voiced by: Tessho Genda (Japanese), Rob Mungle (English)
Sougetsu is Kensei Ma's older brother and Renka Ma's uncle. He is a giant bearded fighter, whom people often fear and run away from. He spent most of his life training alone and feels that strength is the only thing to live for. He took in Hermit as a disciple and trained him to eliminate the weak. Along with many other masters, he is hired by Fortuna to defend the tournament but betrays him, defeating the other masters and leaving his disciple Tanimoto to finish Fortuna off.
Sai is a sword master, able to attack and re-sheath his sword without appearing to move. Because he is double jointed, he can attack people behind him as easily as if they were in front. His sword, Setsunamaru, was made by Shigure's father. He duels Shigure, who defeats him and takes his sword. He leaves Yami when he is promised another sword if he protects Kenichi and promises never to kill again; he instantly accepts. He is given a hoe instead; he accepts it with joy and says he has found "a new love for slicing the ground".
Fortuna is arms dealer and owner of the private island on which the D of D tournament is held. He is obsessed with children who have the potential to become Master Class and is the adopted father of the whole Pankration team. His martial arts style is unknown.
Christopher is part of the assassination division of Yami. Christopher, Sakaki and an Englishman called Mycroft used to be a team who fought the mafia and helped the FBI. When Sakaki came to disapprove of their methods, Christopher and Mycroft attempted to ambush him, and Sakaki buried them alive in a desert. During the beginning of the YOMI arc, he fights Kenichi, but Sakaki intervenes and defeats him. He has a very feminine appearance.
Li is a Yami member from China who was contacted by Isshinsai Ogata to help defeat Ryōzanpaku. His daughter, a YOMI member, is his disciple. He strikes his daughter whenever she refers to him as father, rather than master, though he does care for her. He shows mercy on the Shinpaku Alliance because Miu and Renka were among them and could not fight at full strength because he had a daughter of his own.
Ro is a blind but fearsome master-class fighter. His disciple is Chou Enshin. Ro Jisei has been a temporary member of One Shadow, Nine Fists in Ma Sougetsu's absence.
YOMI is first mentioned in the manga as Ragnarok's main rival. It is the juvenile subsection of Yami and has manpower and funds at its disposal; for example, Boris is able to command resources ranging from military helicopters to expensive solid gold insignia. The leading disciples of the One Shadow, Nine Fists form the executive committee of YOMI. There are eight active members within the executive committee following the deaths of Shou Kanou and Radin Jihan. YOMI, like Yami, uses elements as symbols; members bear the same symbol as their master bears in Yami.
Kajima is Saiga's disciple. He has numerous scars and wears an eyepatch over his left eye. He becomes the leader of YOMI following Shou's death. Kajima has developed an interest in Kenichi and would like to fight him.
Kanō Shō (叶 翔)
Shō's nickname, Suparna, is a mythical creature in Hindu mythology said to possess beautiful wings. He is the disciple of Akira Hongou and leads YOMI until his death in Battle 264. Shō was raised as a member of Kuremisago and had received extensive training in martial arts for all his life. More than one YOMI member has described him as "perfect". He possessed power and speed unrivaled by any martial artist below master-level. Although Shou's primary fighting style was karate, he received training from various Yami masters, because he was chosen as the Sole Successor of the One Shadow Nine Fists' martial arts.
Shō fell in love with Miu at first sight and invited Miu to join YOMI; when Miu refused, he attempted to kidnap her. Shō was defeated by Kenichi in the climax of the D of D tournament. Shortly afterward, he died shielding Miu from being shot by one of Fortuna's soldiers. His last wish was for Kenichi to protect Miu in his place.
Radin was Silcardo Jenazad's disciple. He was the Crown Prince of Tidat, a fictional country located on the Indonesia Archipelago, and acted in an elitist, aristocratic manner, claiming that 99.9% of the world's population are worthless commoners.
After Radin was defeated by Kenichi, Silcardo disowned him as a disciple, saying that Radin brought shame to Pencak Silat and was no longer of any use to him. Silcardo created an avalanche to bury Radin and Kenichi. Radin rejected Kenichi's offer to help him escape and was buried alive. He is presumed to be dead, making him the first YOMI casualty.
Tīrawitto Kōkin (ティーラワィット コーキン)
Tirawit takes control of the school's karate club when he and three other YOMI members transfer to Kenichi's school. He is a good strategist and plans things carefully in advance. He is also an excellent teacher, able to teach several people some of Muay Boran's offensive techniques in a very short period of time. Tirawit has said more than once that, despite defeating Shō Kanō, who was one of YOMI's strongest members, Kenichi would need more experience before facing him. During a battle, he kills Kenichi, but Kenichi is later resuscitated.
After causing what he thought was Kenichi's end, he transfers schools. When he is informed of his failure, he attempts to set off to deal with him again, but Kajima forbids him to engage Kenichi. He is currently with his master in Okinawa. After being located by Apachai and Kenichi, Tirawit battles Kenichi while his master Agaard, and Apachai fight around them. Agaard and Apachai's fight is fierce and results in a draw with both men too crippled to move or stand. The 'victor' is left to be decided by result of Tirawit and Kenichi's battle. Tirawit and Kenichi's battle is equally as fierce, with Tirawit trying to understand why Kenichi keeps fighting. Eventually Kenichi and Tirawit simultaneously land debilitating kicks on each other. Kenichi then resolves to finish the fight using only Apachai's Muay Thai style, which causes Tirawit to laugh, the first time he has ever shown any true emotion. Having accepted that he will never be able to 'analyze' Kenichi, the two decide to let their final attack speak for them. In the end, Kenichi managed to catch Tirawit by surprise using Apachai's most basic techniques in full force and defeats him.
Ethan is one of the four YOMI members who transfers to Kenichi's school. He and his sister, Rachel, fight as Team Gemini in the D of D tournament. He is shown to possess immense strength in chapter 278. He performs extra missions for YOMI in order to prevent anything from happening to his sister, who has fallen from YOMI's graces. He requests that Kenichi "die" as a martial artist and return to normal life; when Kenichi refuses, Ethan issues a challenge, despite being injured because of the extra missions he has undertaken.
Rachel is Ethan's twin sister. She and her brother participate in the D of D tournament as Team Gemini. She has a flamboyant personality, is an attention seeker, and is more aggressive than her brother. Rachel transfers to Kenichi's school, where she greatly enjoys school life, becoming the star player on the basketball team and joining the gymnastics club.
Ethan has asked Kenichi to look after Rachel, who continues to look for a new master.
Boris is Alexander's leading disciple. He is the 2nd YOMI member to fight Kenichi in a duel and is one of the four YOMI members who transfer to Kenichi's school. He often wears a military uniform and leads a troop of similarly attired underlings. Boris ignores the orders of everyone except his master, even those of the YOMI leader Shō Kanou.
When he first battles Kenichi, Boris is confused by Kenichi's ability to counter all of his Sambo moves; the fight ends in a draw.
Boris later holds a camping trip, which he uses as an opportunity to attack Shinpaku and attempt to kill Kenichi with the aid of troops belonging to his master. In order to save their teacher, Boris and Kenichi briefly fight together against the troops, resuming their battle once she is safe. Kenichi defeats him in chapter 304, and he leaves to search for his master.
Boris is the first opponent who has acknowledged Kenichi's strength; all opponents prior to him have regarded Kenichi as inferior.
Ryūto Asamiya Voiced by: Ken Narita (Japanese), Jerry Jewell (English)
Ryūto, as Odin, was the leader and the strongest member of Ragnarok. He is currently a member of YOMI and has mastered Seikūken (制空圏 lit. sphere/circle of created/built void/space), a technique which allows him to create a barrier that can neutralize attacks.
Ryūto was Kenichi's friend when they were young, before Kenichi moved out of the neighborhood. They witnessed Miu's martial arts skills when they were six years old, prompting them to make a vow to become stronger. He had coveted the Yin-Yang badge Miu gave to Kenichi and challenges him to fight for its possession. Kenichi defeats Ryūto but concedes to him, of which Ryūto reacts unkindly too. It's shown afterward that he plays the coin machine until he's gotten a Yin-Yang badge of his own. Before Keinchi moves out of his neighborhood, Ryūto declares they both become stronger learning martial arts and challenging each other again when they're older. When he finally meets Kenichi again he quickly defeats him and takes the badge.
Later, when he faces Kenichi again, Kenichi appears to have the upper hand until Ryūto shows his true strength. Kenichi's skills then prove to be no match against Odin's Seikūken. Kenichi manages to overpower Odin by imitating his masters' style and techniques, but Ryūto becomes enraged and combines the ki of both Sei and Dou to and once again overpower Kenichi. Doing so places a great strain on Ryūto's body, and eventually he is unable to avoid Kenichi's final attack. As a sign of his defeat, he gives Kenichi his Yin-Yang badge back.
The self-inflicted damage of combining Sei and Dou turned his hair white, blackened one eye, and left him wheelchair-bound, but he remains a formidable opponent, able to execute his Seikūken and Gungnir techniques despite his condition.
He is named after Odin, the chief God in Norse mythology.
Chikage is a child prodigy and is currently a first year student at Kenichi's school. She is incredibly naive, despite her profound knowledge in many areas; for example, she believed that, though a seed takes four months to bloom, she could plant a seed that was four months old and it would bloom the next day. Despite her first cold appearance, she has gradually warmed up to the group and "secretly" befriended Kenichi, now often seen in "child mode", which comes from whenever sweets or children's books are presented to her. This is because due to her martial arts style training, she has a strict diet that she must abide and sweets are not allowed. Recently, she seems to be aiding Kenichi and his friends by helping Ukita during a battle. She is supposed to be there to watch them, but Kenichi, Miu, and Nejima know her identity, and are, in fact, watching her. Her martial art style is famed for using no strength and all skill to defeat opponents. This style is regarded to other martial arts as impossible since to them, they use mostly strength and less skill. Her master is Mikumo Kushinada.
Chou was a temporary YOMI member, to be removed when Natsu Tanimoto became YOMI-level. He refused to give up his YOMI position, challenging Natsu to a death match for the seat. In chapter 355, he lost the death match.
Li Raichi, a YOMI assassin, is the daughter and disciple of Yami member Li Tenmon. She is sent to measure Kenichi's skills in battle. She is a ruthless fighter, willing to use any means necessary to win; however, Kenichi defeats her without having to harm her physically. Kenichi convinces her that it is not right to kill and from this gains feelings for him. She and Kenichi both are interested in gardening. She reappears on Diego's cruise ship as a bodyguard to one of the many rich socialites attending to watch the fight.
Meatman is a large and arrogant luchador who is an assistant instructor in that style. He has said that he does not have the potential to become a master, and that some people are "given more" than others in that regard, a position Miu disagrees with.
Seta and Hayami are teenagers who act as Shō Kanou's personal bodyguards. They try to prevent Kenichi from pursuing Shō but are defeated by Ryūto Asamiya. Following Shō Kanō's death, Akira Hongou seems to take them on as his disciples. They follow their master to Shō and Miu's birthplace, combating Kenichi and Miu though losing to them.
Rimi is one of three disciples candidates to Isshinsai Ogata. Her speed is shown to be extremely high-leveled, able to perform a body search on people while running past them without them noticing. She is a slight airhead, shown when she tells members of the Shinpaku Alliance everything that she was explicitly told not to say. She has a crush on Ryūto Asamiya and declares Miu her enemy due to his feelings for her. Her shoes are shown to be made of a very dense type of gold, which Miu covets and vowed to take as a "spoils of war" if she were to defeat her in battle. After Thor accidentally destroys the data CD she was attempting to steal in the first place, she flees and presumably returns to Ogata.
The Shinpaku Alliance is a group of fighters created by Niijima Haruo in order to facilitate his goal of world domination. The name comes from the first characters in Niijima (新) and Shirahama (白). The alliance is first introduced in episode 21 of the anime, when Niijima comes to Kenichi's rescue in his fight against Kisara's group. The Alliance is composed mostly of students from Kouryou high and converted former members of Ragnarok. Following Odin's defeat and the subsequent dissolution of Ragnarok, the Shinpaku Alliance is able to cement its reputation as the strongest fighter group in town.
In the YOMI arc, the Shinpaku Alliance participates in the D of D Tournament and manages to reach the final round of the "Chi" group. However, because of the injuries sustained by its core fighter members throughout the tournament and their final opponent being Shō Kanou, the Alliance chooses to forfeit the match.
The Alliance initially used Kouryou High's physics laboratory as a make-shift base, but as the organization grew, it moved to Kisara's former base. After the D of D tournament, Niijima officially rented the building, telling Kisara's dad that they were trying to save her from the world of delinquents.
Yami and YOMI consider the Shinpaku Alliance part of Ryōzanpaku.
Niijima Haruo (新島 春男) Voiced by: Takumi Yamazaki (Japanese), Todd Haberkorn (English)
Niijima is a member of the Newspaper Club and investigates everyone. Niijima dreams of eventually ruling the world and formed the Alliance for that purpose. He has a broad range of expertise, including stealth, lock picking, tinkering and programming; he once constructed rudimentary traps while he was simultaneously running around an arena at high speed. He is very adept at dodging attacks and running away. Despite his cowardly tactics, he has shown himself to be a cunning individual and a skilled tactician. If forced to battle, Niijima relies on hit-and-run and psychological tactics to un-nerve his opponents and render them more vulnerable. His is so skilled, that both friend and enemy have complimented him. Many times throughout the series, Niijima appears to use Kenichi as a tool, but then later displays a random and sometimes irksome act of kindness, making Kenichi question their "friendship" from time to time. In the beginning of the series, Niijima is constantly bullying Kenichi, calling him names and setting him up with other bullies, but over time, as Kenichi becomes stronger, Niijima seems to attach himself to Kenichi, considering himself to be his "best friend". He constantly relies on Kenichi to get him out of danger, and tells the members of the Shinpaku alliance that he has always had Kenichi's back and has never let him down, leading them to believe he is a kind and selfless leader.
His senses are superhumanly acute; he is able to "scan" individuals by observing them for a few seconds, learning a wide variety of physical, mental, emotional, and other information about them.
The Captains are the Alliance's most capable fighters besides Kenichi. A majority of them are former Ragnarok members.
Hāmitto (ハーミット) Voiced by: Ryo Horikawa (Japanese), Jason Liebrecht (Season 1), Eric Vale (Season 2) (English)
Natsu Tanimoto (谷本 夏 Tanimoto Natsu), as Hermit, was the Sixth Fist of Ragnarok. He learned martial arts from Sougetsu Ma, Kensei's older brother. He is the president of the drama club at Kenichi's school. Tanimoto perceives popularity as a way to control people; he acts the part of a kind and soft-spoken student and is considered the school's "prince". He claims to have only joined the drama club to practice lying.
Tanimoto transports members of the Shinpaku Alliance to the D of D tournament, but his intention is not to participate but to find his old master, Sougetsu. He is briefly believed dead after his boat is blown up by the missile defenses of the private island where the tournament occurs. He later finds Sougetsu on the island and trains under him. He comes to the aid of the Shinpaku alliance in their fight against Fortuna. He also helps when Boris Ivanov leads a YOMI attack against the Alliance.
Tanimoto became twisted and vile after the death of his little sister, whom he loved dearly. He then abandoned everything, for he was all alone then. (His mother and father had already passed away) He was saved from death by the Great Sage Fist of Ragnarock, who told him he should take up martial arts. His disposition slowly changes when he meets Honoka at a local shopping center, when he is fighting three gang members and she jumps in with her hammer, prompting the leader to attempt to kill her. Tanimoto defeats the three and, with Honoka playing the sympathy card, takes her to his home to give her medical aid. Honoka does not realize Tanimoto is Hermit, or that he is even evil, and Honoka's "weird" behavior reminds him of his sister. When Loki kidnaps her and hands her over to his right hand woman, Number 20, Tanimoto, seeing that Number 20 threatens, again and again throughout Honoka's constant struggles and outbursts, to kill her with her knife, takes Number 20's arm and plunges the knife into his own chest, saying "If you have a weapon you might as well use it" And slams a surprised Number 20 into a stone wall, knocking her unconscious. He then snaps the blade of the knife off and then yells to Kenichi, ordering him to kill Loki.
He is shown to still attend school and maintain his facade of being a kind honor student in the presence of those who do not know his true nature. Honoka still visits him whenever she gets the chance, forcing him to keep his mansion clean and improve his cooking skills to prevent Honoka from attempting to do the same. Whenever Honoka beats him in Othello, he promises to do whatever she wants him to do with her for the rest of the day. Though others treat him as a member of the Shinpaku alliance, he is adamant in refusing that he has no affiliation with them.
In chapter 353, Hermit is training to become a member of YOMI. In chapter 355, he faces and defeats temporary YOMI member Enshin Chou for the seat.
Takeda Ikki (武田 一基) Voiced by: Kazuki Yao (Japanese), J. Michael Tatum (English)
Takeda, also known as Takeda the Puncher, is part of the Three Man Army with Kōga and Ukita and used to be a rising boxing star. However, an incident where he came to the aid of his friend caused harm to his left arm, leaving it paralyzed. He fights Kenichi to test how strong Kenichi is, but Kenichi defeats him by attacking his lower body, which is a boxer's weakness. Kenichi spares him and takes him to Akisame's clinic, where Akisame fixes his left arm. Takeda acknowledges Kenichi's strength and quits Ragnarok to become a pro boxer once again. He later joins the Shinpaku Alliance and comes to Kenichi's aid on several occasions.
In the second arc, Takeda becomes desperate to find a master similar to Kenichi, who has four of them (technically there is more than 4). Eventually, he finds James Shiba (ジェームズ 志場 Jēmuzu Shiba), an underworld former boxing champion, and trains under him, fighting in underground matches. Training under James dramatically increases Takeda's skills. He later participates in the D of D tournament as part of the Shinpaku Alliance and wins his first match in the quarterfinals of the "Chi" group. However, he is defeated and severely injured by Shō Kanou during an attempt to rescue Miu Fūrinji, causing him to forfeit the remaining matches.
Takeda is usually seen with some type of plant in his mouth.
In chapter 267, he and Ukita fail to graduate.
In later chapters Takeda challenges Kenichi to a sparring match. Though the match is close, Takeda's master throws in the towel to end the match, too concerned with his disciple's well-being to let the match continue. During this match, it is revealed that Takeda has feelings for Miu and, while he claims that it was just a lie to get Kenichi to fight seriously, it is later shown to be true. He routinely gets jealous whenever he sees Kenichi and Miu growing closer and it has gotten to the point where he was releasing a killing intent when asking Natsu about what the two were just asking him about.
Jīkufurīto (ジークフリート) Voiced by: Mitsuaki Madono (Japanese), Chris Cason (English)
Kugen'in Hibiki (九弦院 響)
Hibiki Kugenin, or Siegfried, was the Fifth Fist of Ragnarok. He is called "the immortal composer" because he composes music, using his battles as inspiration for his melodies. He has a tendency to hum or sing classical music during his fights, and his attacks are named after different musical scores and compositions. In his first appearance, he has been instructed to capture Niijima. After being defeated by Kenichi, he goes on a journey to find himself. Niijima later, in Battle 110, convinces him to join the Shinpaku Alliance, where he acts as the Alliance's combat leader and as Niijima's personal guard. His training has made him virtually unbeatable; during the D of D tournament, Siegfried claims that he has no more weaknesses.
He constantly prances around and sings operatically during battles, often when opponents are down. He is shown as very tall and limber, with an amazing voice.
Tōru (トール) Voiced by: Naomi Kusumi (Japanese), Bob Carter (English)
Chiaki Yūma (千秋 祐馬)
Yūma Chiaki, or Thor, was the Seventh Fist of Ragnarok. He joined Ragnarok in order to pursue his dream of making his combat-sumo style mainstream. After he is defeated by Kenichi, he honors Kenichi's condition for the match, that he quit Ragnarok. He later joins the Shinpaku Alliance as a favor to Siegfried. He participates in the D of D tournament as part of the Alliance and is injured in the attempt to rescue Miu.
He is named after Thor, the Norse thunder god.
Nanjō Kisara (南條 キサラ) Voiced by: Minami Takayama (Japanese), Colleen Clinkenbeard (English)
Kisara Nanjō, or Valkyrie, was the most recent member of Ragnarok to be made a Fist. Suspected of being a spy for the Shinpaku Alliance, she is attacked by the Valkyries, Freya's female subordinates. Kenichi and Shigure come to her aid, and she resigns from Ragnarok. Siegfried later convinces her to join the Alliance. After Odin's defeat, she trains with Freya often and her skills have increased to the point where she can fight members of Yami's Weapon Division. She is also noted to rely on growing during tough battles to win. Kisara participates in the D of D tournament with the Alliance. She is also very fond of cats. Ukita has a crush on her, but she has showed no interest in him.
Fureia (フレイア) Voiced by: Atsuko Tanaka (Japanese), Stephanie Young (English)
Kaname Kugatachi, or Freya, was the Third Fist of Ragnarok. She joined Ragnarok in order to learn from Ogata. Freya is well-versed in a variety of weapon forms, specalizing in fighting with a staff, and leads a squad of weapon-using "Valkyries". Kisara defeats her during the final battle against Ragnarok by breaking her staff, after which Freya concedes the fight. After Ragnarok disbands, Nijima conducts numerous attempts to recruit Freya to the Shinpaku Alliance, succeeding after he tells her that the Alliance is preparing to battle YOMI. Freya fights with the Alliance during the D of D tournament. It is hinted at, and finally confirmed in chapter 380, that she has a crush on Ukita making at love triangle between her, Ukita, and Kisara.
She is named after Freyja, a Norse fertility goddess and leader of the Valkyries.
Miu is not actually part of the Shinpaku alliance.
Ba/Ma Renka (馬 連華) Voiced by: Mika Kanai (Japanese), Kate Oxley (English)
Renka is Ma Kensei’s 16-year-old daughter. She came to Japan in search of her father, who she planned to take back to China. She falls in love with Kenichi. In chapter 313, she transferred to Kenichi's school.
She is able to perceive martial techniques at a level unusual for non-Master-class martial artists. In chapters 309–312, during the fight between Apachai and Kei Retsumin, she was able to read most of the "shockwave orbits" that surrounded the 2 combatants and guide Kenichi through them.
Along with Miu, Renka is also not part of the Shinpaku Alliance.
Ukita Kōzō (宇喜田 孝造) Voiced by: Tōru Ōkawa (Japanese), Mike McFarland (English)
Ukita, also known as Ukita the Thrower, is part of the Three Man Army with Ikki Takeda and Kōga Taichi. Ukita is originally a member of the Judo club before becoming a member of Ragnarok. He stands with Takeda against Ragnarok's edict of execution after Takeda quits Ragnarok, he also quits Ragnarok later, and rejoins the Judo Club. Along with Takeda, he later joins the Shinpaku Alliance. He is given the rank of vice-captain because he is not at the same caliber of fighting skill as the rest of the captains.
In chapter 267, he and Takeda fail to graduate.
Shiratori (白鳥) Voiced by: Junko Minagawa (Japanese), Joel McDonald (English)
Shiratori was Kisara's principal lieutenant and joins the Alliance along with Kisara. He accompanies Shinpaku to the D of D tournament but does not participate in the fighting.
Voiced by: Katsumi Toriumi (Japanese), Z. Charles Bolton (English)
Matsui always carries the Alliance flag and has been a member since the beginning. He is fiercely loyal to Niijima and acts as his personal assistant.
Voiced by: ??? (Japanese), Chris Burnett (English)
Mizunuma joins the Shinpaku Alliance after Kenichi saves him from bullies. In the D of D tournament, he fights in the first round in order to avenge his master, because YOMI had taken over his school. He loses but is later avenged by Takeda.
Voiced by: Shigeru Shibuya (Japanese), Eric Vale (English)
Kamioki attempts to attack Hermit when Hermit first confronts the newly-formed Alliance, only to be tossed aside. Niijima manages to rescue Kamioka and subsequently trains him in information gathering and hacking. He has a talent for fortune-telling through the use of tarot cards, which is displayed during the D of D tournament.
The Alliance is made up of many young teenagers and fighters, who follow Niijima fanatically. Many of these members are former Ragnarok members.
A mysterious man dressed as an office worker who first appears in battle 218, Tanaka is the only one-man team other than Shō Kanou. He married at age 18, has a young child, and is seemingly timid. However, his fighting style, Tenchi Mushin Ryū, is fierce, and he defeats an enemy who is at least three times his size with one finger. He is looking for Ogata, and he decides to forfeit when he learns Ogata is not on the island.
He appears again in battle 368, during a bank robbery. In the course of the robbery, he bends the barrel of a gun and defeats three of the five robbers; meanwhile, Kenichi and Miu defeat one robber each. Although Kenichi doesn't remember Tanaka, Miu does. Tanaka returns to Ryōzanpaku with Kenichi and Miu to ask Hayato for information about Ogata. Hayato politely refuses because Tanaka follows the Killing Fist, but he suggests that Tanaka spar with Kenichi.
A team of five of Fortuna's adopted children, the Pankration Team is one of the strongest teams in the competition and the favorite to win the tournament. The team is led by Spartacus, a calm, spiritual person who, despite his power, hates fighting. Their true goal is to attain freedom by escaping from Despair Island. Shō Kanou unexpectedly lends them a hand, replacing them in the tournament and covering up their escape plan by claiming that he killed them.
A group of five people whose members only reveal their full prowess in their match against the Shinpaku Alliance.
Apparently the smartest and strongest of the team, he fights Kisara but is defeated when Kisara discovers a new fighting style that imitates the movements of a cat.
The only girl on the team, Aisha takes on a team of five people at once and wins without a scratch. She fights Kisara but is defeated by Kisara's imitation of Miu's style.
Silvio's secret crush on Aisha is exposed by Niijima, and he subsequently succumbs to Niijima's taunts and is thrown out of the competition by Ukita. He is the first one to be eliminated.
Eliot tried to strangle Siegfried but was defeated.
The fifth member of the team was easily defeated by Siegfried.
Hailing from the Black Tiger White Dragon Alliance in China, the team is represented by Kaku Shin Ten, Chou Yin Lin, and Yo Tekai. They are Kenichi and Miu's first opponents in the tournament. The team fights in a formation that combines the circular movements of the Baguazhang, straight movements of the Shin Yi-ken, and the spiral movements of the Taichiquan. Kenichi wins the match, defeating Kaku after a long and grueling duel. Upon their defeat, the team leaves their organization; in chapter 309, they are shown to have returned to Japan with Renka Ma.
The leader and strongest member of the team, Kaku sees his teammates as decoys to be manipulated. Upon his teammates' defeat, he engages Kenichi in a duel, but Kenichi defeats him.
After Yo is defeated, Chou duels with Miu, but she is defeated when Kaku refuses to come to her aid, opting to observe Miu's power level instead.
Yo wears an eye patch over his right eye and has a strange sense of humor. He is the first one on the team to be defeated, by Miu.
A team composed of the YOMI twins Rachel and Ethan Stanley, who are initially one of the teams favored to win the tournament. Team Gemini eventually forfeits their match against Shō Kanou when Diego Carlo orders Rachel to retreat.
A team defeated by the Shinpaku Alliance in the first round of the tournament. Despite being rated very high and considered proven assassins, Takeda and Thor managed to defeat four out of its five members easily in an open brawl.
Flaming Wire K, the leader of the team, uses metal wires as a weapon to kill his opponents. He avoids Takeda and Thor's rampage but loses against Freya in a weapon battle.
Shirahama Honoka (白浜 ほのか) Voiced by: Tomoe Sakuragawa (Japanese), Cherami Leigh (English)
Honoka is Kenichi's 13-year-old sister and cares for her brother deeply. She is constantly interrupting Kenichi's training sessions, fearing he may get hurt, and constantly yells at his opponent, most often Miu, who she calls "Big Boobs." She appears to have a vengeance with Miu, and is often insulting her and hitting her with her squeaky mallet. She later appears to warm up to her a little, but still calls her by her nickname. The second time she visits the Ryōzanpaku dojo, she shows Shigure and Apachai how to properly make tea, which impresses them. She soon becomes good friends with Shigure and Apachai and visits the dojo regularly to play with them. Honoka is an extremely talented Othello player, often playing against and defeating Apachai and Tanimoto.
She befriends Natsu Tanimoto (Hermit) after he saves her from some thugs, and he saves her when Loki kidnaps her.
Shirahama Mototsugu (白浜 元次)Voiced by: Daisuke Gōri (Japanese), John Swasey (English)
Mototsugu is Kenichi's overprotective father. He is an expert marksman, able to reload a hunting rifle one-handed.
Shirahama Saori (白浜 さおり) Voiced by: Ai Orikasa (Japanese), Cynthia Cranz (English)
Saori is Kenichi's mother. She is more lenient than his father in letting him find his own path. In the anime, she has been seen to hit her husband over the head with a frying pan whenever he tries to save Kenichi.
A former champion boxer nicknamed "The God of Destruction", James lost his right leg and eye in a fight with Miu's father. After Takeda witnesses him defeat a team of thugs outside a Pachinko parlor, he immediately sets out to become James' disciple; James presents various trials, all of which Takeda passes. Akisame has said that James improved a lot since beginning to care about Takeda's well being.
Voiced by: ??? (Japanese), John Swasey (English)
A former pro-wrestler who first appears when his men, while searching for Miu, try to attack Kenichi and Akisame. He later appears at a race track, where Sakaki takes him out with one punch. His name is not mentioned; his men call him sensei.
Izumi Yūka (泉 優香) Voiced by: Makiko Omoto (Japanese), Brina Palencia (English)
Izumi is the president of the gardening club and the only member aside from Kenichi. She is a shy girl who harbors a crush on Kenichi, though he is oblivious to it. Her attempts to ask Kenichi on a date are always interrupted.
Daimonji is a member of the Karate club. He often bullies Kenichi and one day offers Kenichi a chance to stay in the Karate club if Kenichi is able to beat him. After Miu trains Kenichi, Kenichi wins the match but leaves the club anyway. Daimonji, humiliated by his defeat, fights Kenichi again later and swiftly loses.
During the YOMI invasion arc, Daimonji is used to lure Kenichi into a trap. As he runs from a fight between Kenichi and Tirawit, Daimonji realizes that he must go back to aid Kenichi. He summons the Shinpaku Alliance and inadvertently assists in buying time for Akisame to revive Kenichi.
Naoki appears only in the manga. He is the son and disciple of the Yamato style Jujitsu master, and he defeats Kenichi in their first match. Kenichi trains himself to counter Naoki's techniques and wins a second match. He and Kenichi become friends, promising to some day fight again. He sometimes appears in flashbacks.
Ba/Ma Ryō (馬 良) Voiced by: ??? (Japanese), Barry Yandell (English)
Ryō is Kensei Ma's uncle, who owns his own restaurant in Yokohama Chinatown. He goes by the alias "Hakubi" (白眉) and is currently sheltering and employing Renka Ma. In Chapter 313, he states he can take on one or two masters himself in order to protect people.
First introduced during the D of D tournament, Jennifer is an undercover FBI agent working for the US military on Fortuna's private island. Her father, a famous gunman named Lancelot Grey, was murdered by Fortuna. During the military raid on the island, she displays master level marksmanship. She considers herself Sakaki Shio's fiancee.
Ryū Genson (劉 玄孫) Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama (Japanese), Cris George (English) Shokatsu Kōan (諸葛 孔暗) Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa (Japanese), Jon Duckworth (English)
Ryū and Shokatsu, Ryō Ma's two best students, are sent to retrieve Renka. After being defeated by Kenichi, both apologized, since the cause of the fight was a simple misunderstanding: they only wanted Renka to return to the restaurant to calm Ryō down. Ryū uses Tang lang quan (蟷螂拳) and Koan uses Chuōjiǎo (戳脚門). They reappear in chapter 317, fighting a master class opponent who was intent on fighting Kensei. They defeat him with some assistance from Takeda.
Yasunaga Fukujirō (安永 福次郎) Voiced by: Katsuhisa Hoki (Japanese), Greg Dulcie (English)
This 53-year old-Japanese history teacher is Kenichi's homeroom teacher. He and Kyōko Ono pay a visit to Ryōzanpaku to investigate rumors that Miu is living with another student, although the misunderstanding is eventually cleared up.
Ono Kyōko (小野 杏子) Voiced by: Kaoru Nakamura (Japanese), Caitlin Glass (English)
This flighty, 28-year-old English teacher with the body of a child accompanies Yasunaga on his visit to Ryōzanpaku. She helps Boris open up to others, while he helps her keep the class under control when most of her students ignore her. Both Kenichi and Boris believe that she might secretly be Master Class because of her ability to sneak up on Boris and to peacefully sleep during the Russian troops' attack on the campsite.
Takashima Chihiro (鷹島 千尋) Voiced by: Aya Hisakawa (Japanese), Leah Clark (English)
Chihiro was the ace of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Club before Miu transferred in and is extremely jealous of the younger girl. Her report to Yasunaga prompted the teachers' home visit to Ryōzanpaku.
Fūrinji Shizuha (風林寺 静羽)
Shizuha is Miu's mother. She was a strong fighter, but she was killed at age 36, presumably by Saiga Fūrinji.
Danki is Freya's grandfather and a retired weapons master. He came out of retirement to train Freya and her Valkyries as well as Thor. He is still considered a very powerful and knowledgeable fighter, able to take out an entire Yami base by himself, and is prepared to fight side-by-side with Kenichi against Yami. He is also shown to be senile, but it is hinted this is just an act.