Below are all past entries for Character of the Month. If you would like to suggest a character to be featured, please use the comments section below.
July 2012
Tegamaru Tanashi(棚志 テガマル) is a character in Battle Spirits Heroes He is a red card battler, and the main rival to Hajime Hinobori. Notably, he possesses the powerful "Phantom Card," The AbsoluteDragonDeity Amaterasu-Dragon.
Already a powerful card battler, he was one of three representatives from Japan to be chosen to battle in the world tournament.
Also of note, he may have an unhealthy love for milk.
August 2012
Kenzo Hyoudo (兵堂 剣蔵) is a character in Battle Spirits Shounen Gekiha Dan and Battle Spirits Brave. This character is most notorious for confusing viewers over his true gender. In universe, everyone seems to know he's a boy, but he's not so lucky in the department of having his name remembered. Magisa never seems to get it right (and neither can Stella, though it's probably on purpose in her case.)
Kenzo uses green, and is the bearer of the green core's light. In Brave, though he doesn't battle so much, he manages to include 3 of his favorite card, The BladeKingBeast Byak-Garo, in his deck. Lethal.
September 2012
Masako Inogashira (イノ頭マサコ), aka Number Eight, is a character in Battle Spirits Shounen Toppa Bashin. She’s the only female member of Numbers Elite, and takes care of the delivery missions, despite her talent for getting lost.
Normally, she uses purple or green, but her favorite card is the yellow magic, Angel Voice, which is pretty dangerous for a common card. Even The AbsoluteDragonDeity Amaterasu-Dragon may fear it.
Fun fact: The actress who plays her has worked in every Battle Spirits anime to date.
October 2012
Yaiba (ヤイバ) is a character in Battle Spirits Sword Eyes. He’s Tsurugi’s rival, and in a neat twist, also his older brother. Right now, he’s a villain, but seeing how the rivals always switch sides at some point, that may not last.
He uses white, and with his Sword Brave, The MidnightSunTreasuredSword Midnight-Sun, he’s capable of bypassing the rush condition of any spirit he braves it with. That will make him a tough opponent for the Sword Eyes of Light to defeat.
November 2012
Mai Shinomiya (紫乃宮 まゐ) is a character in Battle Spirits Shounen Gekiha Dan and Battle Spirits Brave. She’s one of the bearers of core’s light, and uses purple spirits, such as The SevenShogun Beelzebeat and The SevenShogun Asmodios.
She’s a celebrity in the world of Battle Spirits, thanks to her blog, Purple Talk.
Surprisingly, by the time of Brave, her character has changed a lot. But even with her gentler personality, she still shouldn’t be messed with.
December 2012
Manabu Ohizumi(大泉 マナブ) is a character in Battle Spirits Heroes. He’s a blue card battler, possessing one of the arguably deadliest X-rares, The IronHero Saigord-Golem.
He was Kadode Middle School’s student council president until graduating, and has a love for flashy battles. He even has his own cheer, to get the audience in on his show.
He wasn’t a blue-user from the start. His first deck was actually a copy of Dan Bashin’s deck in Brave.
January 2013
Garudos Randall (ガルドス・ランダル) is a character in Battle Spirits Sword Eyes. Seemingly Yaiba’s top servant, he may act like a suck-up, but he clearly has some objective of his own.
He uses red, and has displayed the dangerous combo of The FlashDragonEmperor TheEnd-Dragonis and Slave-GaiAsura, with the same ultra awaken ability as its namesake. Both spirits have the power to attack many times per turn. As Sword Eyes gets deeper into the plot, who knows what other powerful cards he might reveal.
February 2013
J Sawaragi(J澤ラギ) is a character in Battle Spirits Shounen Toppa Bashin. As one of the “chosen” card battlers, he’s the main rival of the series, and the franchise’s first white card battler.
Perhaps annoyingly, J had his signature combo with The Gigantic Thor, which led him to repetitive easy victories. Later on in the series, he uses a red key card instead, The DarkDragonEmperor Siegfried.
Future rivals in the Battle Spirits anime have certainly been inspired by J, with their tendency to be of rich or noble heritage, and switch sides during the course of the show. And of course, being really powerful.
March 2013
Dan Bashin (馬神 弾) is a character in Battle Spirits Shounen Gekiha Dan and Battle Spirits Brave. Dan is the bearer of red core’s light, and the first human Brave user.
Although in Brave, Dan mixes all colors into his deck, his key cards have always been red dragons, such as The ThunderEmperorDragon Siegwurm and The ShineCentaurusDeity Sagitto-Apollodragon. Dan’s decks have been replicated multiple times in later series, and for very good reason. It’s hard to deny he’s one of the greatest card battlers ever.
April 2013
Kouta Tatsumi (巽 コウタ) is a character in Battle Spirits Heroes. He’s Kimari’s younger brother, and Hajime’s biggest fan.
He uses a Pentan-based yellow deck, though he doesn’t get to have onscreen battles.
Probably a rightful successor to the Pentan Empire, he’s dedicated enough to trade 100 copies of The ClownPrincess Trickster for a single Pentan-series card.
May 2013
Aibou (アイボウ) is a character in Battle Spirits Shounen Toppa Bashin. He looks like a cute pet mouse, but just don’t call him that.
Despite appearance, Aibou can even battle. He took on J’s cat Okyou with a red deck, just like his owner, Toppa’s.
Before being able to talk, Aibou must have been a pretty unusual pet. Rather than a cage, he lived in a mini house, with his own bed.
June 2013
Suou(スオウ) is a character in Battle Spirits Sword Eyes. The first OP revealed him as the Purple Sword Eyes of Light, though he isn’t even human. Instead, he was made from alchemy by Rirove.
Suou’s Sword Brave and key card should be revealed in the long-awaited BS23. He’s yet to even battle (as of writing this), so that should be interesting to see. More purple charge cards should be expected as well.
July 2013
Duc (デュック) is a character in Battle Spirits Brave. His full title is The Hooligan General Duc. He is the mazoku in charge of Asia (excluding Tokyo, which he loses to Dan Bashin in the first episode.)
Duc uses a green deck when he first appears. However, after becoming The Prison General Duc, he starts to use purple instead. His key card is the infamous “brave killer,” The StarSlayerDragon Darkwurm-Nova. It’s the evil counterpart to Dan’s old spirit, The SupernovaDragon Siegwurm-Nova.
August 2013
The Soldier of Darkness Bomber (暗黒戦士ボンバー) is a character in Battle Spirits Heroes and Battle Spirits Sword Eyes.
Bomber is one of the four mascots of Battle Spirits, the second to be introduced. His anime versions speak only in grunts, while the “real” Bomber is shown to talk like a human being.
He inspired the very unique (and thankfully illegal) card Bomburst. A new promo, Bomber Hammer is also coming soon.
September 2013
Smile (スマイル) is a character in Battle Spirits Shounen Toppa Bashin.
He’s Number Four of Numbers Elite, and the first person to use yellow in the anime.
Smile wouldn’t do as well today without a deck upgrade. One of his X-Rares, The ArcAngelia Mikafar, is banned. The other, The ArcAngelia Valiero, is limited to one per deck.
October 2013
Magisa (マギサ) is a character in Battle Spirits Shounen Gekiha Dan.
She is the witch who protects Grand Rolo, and is actually 4029 years old.
Magisa’s deck, while awesome, is one of the most impractical ever created. It has only one spirit, and the rest of the deck is made up of magic and nexus cards.
November 2013
Rei (レイ) is a character in Battle Spirits Saikyo Ginga Ultimate Zero.
Though he’s the main character, he doesn’t just use red like usual. He also has a white deck, and will eventually use a green deck too. In each of his battle forms, his appearance and personality differs.
Also departing from the norm, his voice actor is male.
December 2013
Hagakure Shido (ハガクレ・シドー) is a character in Battle Spirits Sword Eyes.
It takes him long enough to find his sword brave, The HurricaneTwinBlade Kamui-Hayate, but he’s still the green Sword Eyes of Light.
Outside of the battlefield, he uses ninja skills (of varying effectiveness), and has the help of Hayatemaru, a giant eagle.
January 2014
Mika Kisaragi (如月 ミカ) is a character in Battle Spirits Heroes.
Her key card is the banned The ArcAngelia Mikafar. Though it’s a kind of silly reason, she rarely battled anymore after it got its legendary status.
While disguised as her alter-ego, The Battle Spirits Sage, she still used yellow. This time, she had a deck full of Pentans.
February 2014
Seven (セブン) is a character in Battle Spirits Shounen Toppa Bashin.
He has two distinct different forms. First, the quiet and cowardly club president, Seven-sepmai. Then, the narcissistic and fabulous Galaxy Seven.
Of course, he’s modeled after Galaxy Watanabe, who appears in almost every Battle Spirits series in some way, shape or form. Hopefully, Ultimate Zero will be included.
March 2014
Clackey Ray (クラッキー・レイ) is a character in Battle Spirits Shounen Gekiha Dan and Battle Spirits Brave.
He’s the yellow core soldier.
Clackey loves cute girls, and cute girl spirits. His favorite is The GreatAngelia Sophia. He names his ship after her in Brave.
April 2014
Miroku (ミロク) is a character in Battle Spirits Saikyo Ginga Ultimate Zero.
A mysterious person, Miroku is the leader of the guild. His ultimate objective and even what kind of deck he uses are still unknown, but it’s likely he’ll turn out to be the final enemy. Unless, of course, crazy plot twists await.
May 2014
Brau Balm (ブラウ・バルム) is a character in Battle Spirits Sword Eyes.
He uses blue, specifically, a dark Fusion Beast deck. His key card is The StrangeSeaCreatureGod Dist-Ruction
Brau is very loyal to Yaiba to the point where he’s willing to let Yaiba kill him whenever he makes a mistake.
June 2014
Chihiro Kusaka (日下 チヒロ) is a character in Battle Spirits Heroes.
Chihiro uses a white burst deck, centered on The IceHero Mibrock-Baragan and later incorporates braves too.
Chihiro hopes to become a spirit designer one day.
July 2014
Card Sensei (カードセンセ) is a character in Battle Spirits Shounen Toppa Bashin.
He is shown to have multiple decks, but uses yellow X-Rares, such as The ArcAngelia Mikafar.
Flashbacks show that he once had borderline superhuman strength, before settling down to become a school teacher.
August 2014
Zungurii (ズングリー) is a character in Battle Spirits Shounen Gekiha Dan.
He’s Dan's fan, and personal curry chef.
He once got to battle with a Siegwurm like Dan.
September 2014
Denebola Legulus Le On (デネボラ・レグルス・レ・オーン) is a character in Battle Spirits Saikyo Ginga Ultimate Zero.
As a representative of Leo, she uses The LeoAstralArmored LeoBrave. Her signature combo is a deadly one, giving her brave Ultra Immunity to blue, red and green.
October 2014
Nakes (ネイクス) is a character in Battle Spirits Saikyo Ginga Ultimate Zero.
He is the Ophiuchus user of the Reverse 12 Zodiac, wielding The SnakeEmperorAstralArmored BravePiooze.
Although he doesn’t appear until late in the series, he becomes the ultimate enemy for Rei to defeat.
November 2014
Bringer (ブリンガー) is a character in Battle Spirits Sword Eyes.
He is Tsurugi’s loyal and very protective droid companion.
Bringer uses a red deck, which is modeled off of Dan Bashin’s.
December 2014
Leon (レオン) is a character in Battle Spirits Shounen Gekiha Dan.
He uses a hybrid deck, with many powerful X-Rares.
Leon traveled to Grand Rolo from the past.
January 2015
Toppa Bashin (馬神トッパ) is a character in Battle Spirits Shounen Toppa Bashin.
The main character, Bashin naturally prefers a red deck, and his key card is the original X-Rare, The DragonEmperor Siegfried.
His legacy continues with Dan Bashin, who was named for him (though they aren’t related.)
February 2015
Dr. Sunset (Dr．サンセット) is a character in Battle Spirits Heroes.
Sunset calls himself an evil scientist, though his actual effectiveness as a villain is even worse than the Triumvirate. He ends up being Kimari’s underling.
It’s possible his name is a reference to the animation studio, Sunrise.
March 2015
Gilfam (ギルファム) is a character in Battle Spirits Brave.
Gilfam is the queen of the mazoku in the future timeline.
She doesn’t battle in the anime, but in the manga she’s the owner of The ValkyrieVirgoDeity Vielje
April 2015
Ian (イアン) is a character in Battle Spirits Saikyo Ginga Ultmate Zero.
Ian is Kiriga’s dragon partner, like Mugen is to Rei.
He transforms into a spirit for battle, and gradually evolves, finally becoming Ultimate-Drian.
May 2015
Souun Gunjou (群青早雲) is a character in Battle Spirits Burning Soul.
Souun is a blue user, who uses The Blue Seas WisdomKing as a key card for now.
She’s powerful enough to have acquired territory in Kantou, and is considered a princess by her followers.
June 2015
N/A
July 2015
Rirove Rakels (リローヴ・ラケルス) is a character in Battle Spirits Sword Eyes.
He is the purple Sword Eyes of Darkness and the brother of Suou
His sword brave is The OffensiveSkullBlade Executioners
August 2015
Striker (ストライカー) is a character in Battle Spirits Shounen Toppa Bashin.
He is a green user, and a huge My Sunshine fan.
His X-Rares are The Duke Kingtaurus and The SavageKnight Hercules, both won from Nazo-Otona.
September 2015
Sasuke Akatsuki (暁佐助) is a character in Battle Spirits Burning Soul.
He uses red, but is only a beginner battler.
So far, he inherited Sengoku-Gurendragon from Yukimura Rekka, and may still improve further.
October 2015
Isami Serizawa (芹沢 イサミ) is a character in Battle Spirits Heroes.
He is a white brave user who debuts in the national tournament.
Although he seems silly with his tendency to talk in haikus, he's the only entrant seen as a threat by Tegamaru Tanashi.
November 2015
Yuuki Momose (百瀬 勇貴) is a character in Battle Spirits Shounen Gekiha Dan.
He is the first rival of Dan Bashin and the white Bearer of Core's Light.
His exact fate is left in question, but by the future timeline, he's reincarnated as Zolder Grave.
December 2015
Fuurin (フーリン) is a character in Battle Spirits Burning Soul.
He is actually just a card, but is also the imaginary friend of Hanzou Hyakki, and supposedly talks to him.
Weird but excusable, because it's really cute.
January 2016
Tsuruhashi (ツルハシ) is a character in Battle Spirits Saikyo Ginga Ultimate Zero.
He will typically end his sentencess with "Yo!".
Though just as prone to losing as his fellow Triumvirate members, he becomes a much better battler when he removes his goggles.
February 2016
Kizakura Kukuri (キザクラ・ククリ) is a character in Battle Spirits Sword Eyes.
She is the yellow Sword Eyes of Light, and president of her own company, the Sweetsmates.
Her X-Rare is a light spirit, The ArcAngelia Raraphael.
March 2016
Toshiie Homura (炎利家)) is a character in Battle Spirits Burning Soul.
He is one of the rivals offered to Yukimura in Battle Spirits Burning Soul, using the same color as the main character, just under a different facet, focusing on BP Destruction rather than battles. Despite his yakuza-like appearance, attitude and playstyle, Toshi is perhaps among the gentlest characters on BSBS. First of all, he tolerates Nagayori around him, not discriminating for a moment the fact Nagayori has more bark than bite. Second, when Yukimura wanted to test his Soul Burst, he challenged Toshi. Despite the implication of being used as nothing more than a stepping stone for Yukimura to get above Kanetsugu, Toshiie still accepted it. Third, despite having little to no connection with her (at least shown on-screen) when Souun was defeated by Maou, he showed much more worry than anyone else. Next, when the lone wolf Shingen prepared to leave without offering any words, Toshiie didn't allow for that and made sure to exchange goodbyes with the War Devil. Lastly, despite insisting he's battling for his own sake and interests, he still carries Souun's hope within him, the wish to prove their battles aren't for nothing resides within him.
Regarding his playstyle, it's as violent and intense as expected of Red. Sengoku Ashliger can open a way to the opponent's life, take two lives and refresh afterwards. Leon-Lancer has high odds of clearing the field and taking two lives (one through its effect, one by its attack) as well. His most recent trump is Great Eccentric Flame, which can destroy small fry spirits and allow his own Emperor Beasts to refresh. His main tactic is clearly to open the way to the opponent's life and mercilessly assault at once, even if cornered to the gates of hell, a single chance is all he needs to grasp a victory.
Regarding the man his name comes from, their characters overlay in certain points. Both are eccentrics in their fashion style and attitudes, both have a hot-blooded demeanor and a strong sense of loyalty can be felt on both of them. Their relationships, however, aren't quite as well translated. Toshiie Maeda was a loyal retainer to Oda, then became Toyotomi's right hand. Homura sees both as enemies he must defeat and nothing more. On a personal opinion, judging by his usual behavior, his friendship with Yukimura and dedication to strength while not a bad Toshiie in any way, I see him working better as Keiji Maeda than Toshiie Maeda.
Among references to the real personality, three stand out. First of all, Sengoku Tiger, which recalls to Toshiie Maeda's clothes which were styled after tiger fur. The second one is Leon-Lancer, which references to Maeda's nickname of sorts, Matazaemon of the Spear. The third reference comes from Hideyoshi, who calls Toshi a dog during their battle. Before his coming of age, when he still hadn't joined the Oda Army, Toshiie Maeda went by the name of Inuchiyo ('Inu' written with the kanji for 'Dog').
A strong personality with a few layers of depth, plus great skills as a battler (Seen during his match against Hideyoshi, where he surpassed even Invincibility and on his matches with Kanetsugu, where knowing his opponent plays a huge role on how he forms his strategies) give Toshiie many points as a developed character. If Burning Soul/Legend is to leave any marks, certainly the character of Toshiie Homura is to be one of them. Whether he wins or loses, he'll certainly prove to be the non-main character to show the greatest battle against Dairokuten Maou.
May 2018
Usui Takeshi is the Green Guardian from Extreme Game and a four-kanji idiom lover. His winning record is one of the worst, together with the Yellow Guardian, his first victory only ocurring 20 episodes into the show.
While certainly not the strongest player of the series, one can argue he is the most passionate, as he shed tears upon winning after his long string of losses. He's played Ninja Gale, Siegfried-Vert, Blue-Green Blade Beast and the deck he was proudest of, one that went against the flow of Ninja Gale meta, a deck he simply named "Usui Takeshi," focused on using the Revived The Duke Kingtaurus to stop the opponent from reacting. His winning record might not be the best, but his charisma as a player and entertainer is among the top notch when it comes to Extreme Game.