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Always strive to win against yourself.—Enki Gokuu, to Samon Gokuu
Enki Gokuu (悟空 猿鬼 Gokū Enki) is a supporting character of the Nanbaka Web Manga and anime. He is the deceased[3] former supervisor of building five; originally a greatly admired prison guard, he is arrested on charges of murder due to the influence of Elf[4] and imprisoned in the Gogyousan Underground prison, from which he eventually breaks out. He is also the older brother of Samon Gokuu[1] and grandson of Hihi Gokuu.
Appearance[]
Enki is a remarkably tall individual, standing at well over twice Samon's height.[5] He has a muscular build, dark skin and sharp, dark green eyes outlined with red makeup. Further red makeup is dotted at the corners of his mouth. He has long, somewhat curly red and white hair which is gathered into a thin ponytail just under halfway down, tied with a gold band. He wears multiple piercings in each ear[6] and possesses prominent facial scars; two crescent-shaped ones around his left eye and a third on his right cheek. His nails are turquoise in color and are notably sharp; his teeth are also unusually sharp, resembling fangs. Around his neck is a gold choker. As an inmate, he wears a black jumpsuit worn open at the top, exposing his chest. Such jumpsuit is fastened with four silver clasps, and he wears a red sash around his waist.[7]
Upon escaping from prison, Enki regains the modified version of the Nanba Prison guard uniform he wore as a supervisor, which has become notably worn and tattered.[8] His uniform appears as a long, black tunic with gold trimming on the sleeves, accessorized with a green and gold cloth and red straps. He wears round, red and gold shoulder ornaments with a piece of red and gold cloth connected around his chest; around his right shoulder is a piece of tattered green cloth, hiding the area where he was attacked by Elf. His footwear consists of red and gold boots with small heels, and he wears spiral-shaped gold pins on his collar. His guard hat is decorated with a gold headband.
Personality[]
Enki's apparent cruelty
Described as a difficult-to-understand individual who refuses to open his heart to anyone[9], Enki is a mature and composed person who rarely speaks or displays emotion. His emotionless persona, coupled with the assumptions that he brutally beat up and killed inmates for no other reason than to prove his own strength [10], makes him come across as cruel, heartless and cowardly to others [10]. However, prior to this incident, he was seen as a highly admirable person to his immense strength and strong will. He was dedicated to his job and made valuable contributions to the prison; he caused rehabilitation in the inmates through his passion for training and exercise and displaying strong leadership. He was one of the more serious of the supervisors, often breaking up arguments between Samon Gokuu and Hajime Sugoroku [11].
Enki's dedication extends not only to his job but to bringing about justice worldwide, becoming a prison guard due to his belief that everyone deserves a chance [12]. As a guard, he went out of his way to prevent the mistreatment of inmates, ensuring that he did so single-handedly [12] - a trait shared by many residents of building five [12] - displaying a deep amount of compassion and concern that his otherwise unemotional nature would not have suggested. He is noted to have a remarkably strong will, as exemplified by his immense dedication to training; the extremity of his willpower was shown when he took his own life in order to prevent Elf's influence over him [12]. He was noted to have remained himself right up until this point, a notion that brought comfort to others after his death [12].
Background[]
A teenaged Enki during his training
Enki was a member of the Gokuu Clan, a clan of martial artists who secluded themselves in the mountains of China to train. He was always noted as an almost inhumanly strong individual and trained diligently [12]. When he was eleven, he participated in his one and only martial arts tournament, where he met Taiga Nikaidou. While he defeated Taiga in the preliminary round and advanced further into the tournament, Enki left midway through, possibly because he had deemed that no other participant was as strong as Taiga.[13]
He gained great admiration from Samon Gokuu (Enki's younger brother), who took to following him enthusiastically and asserting his desire to be as strong as him; Enki was dismissive, claiming that the strengths they sought were antonymous, which only interested Samon even more. They remained distant throughout their childhood, Enki largely ignoring Samon’s attempts to imitate his training [12].
At some point, Enki traveled to the mountains where he rescued Noriko Sanzou from her temple prison, preventing her from committing suicide and encouraging her not to be a slave to her powers [12]. He brought her back to his and Samon’s mountain habitat, where he ordered Samon and Noriko to train together. As time went on, the three developed a close bond, with Enki regularly teaching Noriko and revealing his own ideals about life and justice [12]. Noriko one day disappeared, getting involved in an accident and losing her memories. Sometime later, Enki visited her and questioned her thoroughly on the incident, having become a prison guard in China prior to that.
Enki as a guard of Yonsen Prison
As a prison guard, Enki began investigating surgeries and operations performed on certain inmates and regularly pressed the matter with his boss, believing the situation to be suspicious. Despite his boss's warnings, he continued to investigate outside of his official duties and deduced that inmates were being used for illegal organ trafficking. Noting that only healthy inmates were needed, he took to deliberately injuring prisoners so that they would be hospitalized in a supervised environment. His interference caught the attention of his boss who eventually called an assassin to kill him. Enki noted that the assassin had superhuman powers and deduced he was the result of human experimentation, vowing to kill him, though he ultimately emerged with only one injury. Following the event, Enki reported the actions of the prison to the police and judiciary, and the prison was subsequently shut down [12].
Enki then became a guard of Nanba Prison, where he was the supervisor of building five. He was greatly valued during his time there, gaining admiration from both guards and inmates [12]. At some point, however, he noticed a presence identical to that of his former attacker and discovered Elf, who manipulated the surrounding inmates into attacking Enki. He knocked them out and promptly tried to attack Elf who, explaining that he engrained part of himself in Enki while injuring him in the past, manipulates his right arm in a manner that makes it look like a murder [12]. Framed for the murder of an inmate, Enki was cornered by his fellow supervisors and ultimately turned himself in to Hajime Sugoroku, being imprisoned in the Gogyousan Underground. Following the event, he quickly lost trust and popularity and his building was colloquially referred to as the "traitorous building five".
Plot[]
Part One[]
Post-New Year's Tournament arc[]
After his imprisonment, Enki is regularly visited by Inori Hakkai who tries to talk to him whenever possible. Following the events of the new year's tournament, Inori informs him of Jyugo, Musashi and their respective superhuman powers. Deciding to kill them both, Enki promptly destroys his cell and breaks out of his underground prison [12].
Part Two[]
Building Five arc[]
Enki appears before Samon
Enki succeeds in breaking out of his cell with the help of Ruka Gojou and Inori Hakkai [12]. They make their way to the surface, where they are soon joined by Samon; approaching him, Enki mocks him for being unable to sense his presence and calls him weak. Despite Samon Gokuu's efforts, Enki easily defeats his brother and has him locked in the Gogyousan Underground prison [12]. He continues to make his way through the underground alongside Inori, eventually stopping to ask him if his plan was successful after sensing a considerable amount of movement. Receiving an affirmative answer, he recalls his past and vows to kill the individual who maimed him [12][12]. Later, he reiterates the same question after sensing more movement, including that of something inhuman [12], which he continues to sense throughout his journey. Sometime later, he and Inori come across empty cells and deduce that their prisoners have somehow escaped. Subsequently, Enki makes his way to the surface where he is confronted by Kenshirou Yozakura [12].
Kenshirou attempts to speak to Enki and ask him about his goals. Unresponsive, Enki reveals that he plans to kill Musashi as well as Jyugo, prompting Kenshirou to begin fighting him [12]. The fight seems largely one-sided in Enki’s favor, but as they fight Inori arrives with a hoard of Jiang Shi dolls and announces his return to Samon’s side, vowing to arrest him [12]. Inori traps Enki by sealing his Ki, only for Enki to later break out and mock his efforts. As he does so, he unveils Houdzuki Sanzou and Noriko who are utilizing their Doukidoukon in an attempt to save him. Enki asks Inori if he will continue to fight, to which he responds the affirmative [12].
A moment later, Samon arrives at the surface to confront Enki, who callously asks him what he wants and orders him to stop getting involved. Samon asks Enki about his motives once again, only for him to refuse to disclose his goals. He subsequently runs past him to the entrance of the underground in his attempt to kill the approaching Jyugo, only to be stopped by Hajime Sugoroku. Ignoring his threats, he tries to kill Jyugo once again but is stopped this time by Samon, who points out his uncharacteristic behavior. Despite this, Enki soon orders Noriko to stop getting involved with Jyugo and let him kill him himself, describing him as dangerous and inhuman existence [12] which he deduces that Noriko can sense as well. However, Jyugo then seemingly suppresses Elf's influence, confusing Enki [12].
Enki then turns to Hajime, reiterating his point that Jyugo is dangerous and vowing to kill him. He is subsequently interrupted by Noriko, who has sensed another evil presence within him and vows to protect him, which he begrudgingly allows. Samon berates him for doing so but Enki, unresponsive, tells Samon to prepare to kill him if he wishes to stop him successfully [12].
Enki vs. Samon
The two begin fighting once again, with Enki continually mocking Samon as the fight seems one-sided in his favor. As they continue, Elf’s influence increases within Enki who aims to kill Samon under it, wounding him greatly. As a result, Samon deduces that Enki was never a murderer and demands to know of Elf’s identity. The possessed Enki continues to fight Samon with the resolve to kill while insisting that he can’t be defeated. He aims a powerful qigong technique at his brother Samon[14], who stops it with another technique that he learned in order to impress him; largely unimpressed, Enki repeats the same technique prompting Samon to collapse in frustration.
As Noriko appears shortly after, Enki asserts the futility of their fight before confronting Jyugo, asking him if he understands the situation [12]. His fight with Samon unresolved, he delivers his final words to Kenshirou and Kiji Mitsuba before being taken to the infirmary. He is visited by Noriko, who he thanks for saving and believing in him shortly before she passes away in his arms. After Noriko dies, Elf appears and mocks the two of them, angering Enki. He is temporarily controlled by Elf, who tries to make him dismember Noriko’s dead body; however, Enki somehow resists and berates Elf before deducing that he wants his memories as well as his body. Angered at his actions, Enki maims himself in order to commit suicide and resist Elf’s will, mocking his efforts before dying [12].
Skills & Abilities[]
Immense Strength[]
Enki's qigong shield
Enki was widely recognized for his immense strength, the levels of which have been described as almost inhuman since his teenage years [15]. He has proven his superior strength through such feats as sending Samon Gokuu flying with a single punch which caused his weapon to break and the wall he hit to crack [16]; breaking large boulders with one strike of his hand; carry copious amounts of rocks and wood up large mountains with little effort [15]; greatly wound and even supposedly kill others with one hand [17] and, ultimately, remove his own heart in an act of suicide [18]. His strength renders him almost undefeatable, having overwhelmed Samon, Kenshirou Yozakura and Inori Hakkai with very little effort; his achievements have gained great admiration from inmates and guards alike [19].
Qigong[]
Like Samon Gokuu, Enki is a master of various qigong techniques and is noted to be very powerful, as exemplified by the large number of charms required to seal his Ki; he was powerful enough to quite easily break free of a sealing technique performed by Inori Hakkai, whose reaction suggested that doing so should have been difficult [20]. When exerted, his Ki is light blue in color [21] and he is able to perform a variety of offensive and defensive techniques. He is also able to sense the Ki or "presence" of others, able to distinguish between different types of "presence" with little difficulty [22], as well as hide his own so that others cannot sense it [23].
Relationships[]
Inmates[]
Jyugo[]
Before having even met one another, Enki and Jyugo share a turbulent relationship. Enki mistakes Jyugo for the same inhuman presence he fought in the past[24] and, believing his existence to be dangerous[25], goes as far as to break out of jail in the hopes of killing him[26]; Jyugo, unaware of this, discovers that Enki has been investigating him and becomes paranoid as to why he gained such attention from him, resulting to mutual animosity between the two. Enki remains fixated on killing Jyugo throughout his entire mission and regularly tries to convince others of how dangerous he is, particularly after sensing Elf's presence within him. However, Jyugo ultimately decides to stand up to Enki in hopes of discovering more about himself; while doing so, he insists that he is different from Elf and asserts a level of self-acceptance that gains Enki's respect[27]. Enki later concludes that he is, in fact, different from Elf, and has the power to withstand the latter's influence without losing sight of himself[28].
Ruka Gojou[]
Enki shares a somewhat one-sided relationship with Ruka, who holds him in very high regard and respectfully refers to him as "Enki-San"[29]. His admiration for Enki is such that he believes everything he does is right, even murder. Despite claiming to understand him better than anyone else, he fears that he doesn't understand him at all and often imitates him in the hopes of bonding with him; the extremity of this is shown when he attempts to kill others in an attempt to understand Enki and his motives, justifying his murderous actions by stating that Enki too has murdered[30]. However, in truth he does not believe Enki to be a murderer, being one of the people who still believe in him, and wishes for him to return to building five[31]. Enki's exact opinion on Ruka is unclear but he is shown to be reluctant to share his personal feelings with him, as with the rest of his acquaintances.[29]
Guards[]
Samon Gokuu[]
Enki is Samon's older brother, whom he has admired greatly since childhood. He saw him as an immensely strong and talented person, seeing him as his greatest aspiration; despite having previously had no interest in training or martial arts, the sight of Enki's strength inspired him to begin training seriously in the hopes of reaching his level. Enki remained largely indifferent to Samon, trying to deter him from following him by stating that they weren't searching for the same types of strength; intrigued, Samon ignored him and continued to imitate his training, often injuring himself while doing so. Enki regularly referred to Samon as weak, causing him to develop a significant complex; despite this, Samon's persistence gained a certain amount of praise from him.[32]
Samon shared Enki's ambitions to become a prison guard under the belief that everyone deserved to have a chance. They remained distant as prison guards, despite Samon frequently hiding in his office for attention and trying to help him with work[33]. When they were transferred to Nanba Prison, Samon retained his admiration of Enki along with many other guards and inmates in building five, despite most others stating that they were very different; assuming they meant that he was weaker than his brother, Samon continually tried to prove them wrong through extensive training in an attempt to reach Enki's level. However, one day Enki supposedly murdered an inmate and Samon, overcome with shock, was unable to act in time to stop him. The event had a severe impact on him, not least because he was then compared to Enki regularly; many of his coworkers seemed to expect him to repeat the incident, to the point of referring to his building as "the traitorous building five"; it was noted that the brother shared ambition, pridefulness and determination in common, justification that Samon may repeat Enki's actions[34]. Despite this, Samon somehow continued to believe in and trust his brother.[35] When Enki breaks out of the Gogyousan Underground prison, he and Samon's relationship takes an increasingly negative turn. Samon becomes determined to stop him in order to prove himself as a supervisor, while Enki continues to refer to him as weak and threatens to kill him. Despite this, Samon remains determined to get to him somehow, continuing to have faith in him despite them fighting one another mercilessly. During their fight, Enki shows a certain amount of concern for his brother by internally willing him to retain his willpower. Their fight remaining unresolved, Samon eventually plans to prove Enki innocent and bring him back to building five; before he can do so however, Enki dies as a result of Elf's influence. Despite being greatly disheartened, Samon resolves to keep living and not lose sight of himself, asserting that Enki taught him to do so.
Inori Hakkai[]
Inori was one of Enki's subordinates. Inori became curious about Samon's undying faith in Enki and, wishing to determine the reason behind it, took to visiting the prisoner in his underground cell and speaking to him regularly in the hopes that he would deny being a murderer, which he didn't. Following the events of the New Year's tournament, Inori tells Enki about Jyguo and Musashi's powers, indicating a certain amount of desperation in learning about him as he was willing to disclose such classified information. After hearing about this, Enki breaks out of his cell, causing Inori to feel responsible. He pretends to be on Enki's side, making a show of appearing to see Enki as inherently stronger and more admirable than Samon while secretly planning to betray and arrest him, which he ultimately does.
Other[]
Noriko Sanzou[]
Enki had a great influence on Noriko's life, being the one to break into the shrine she had been placed in by her family. He helped inspire her to take control of her strength and gave her a place to stay in the mountains where the Gokuu family resided. She greatly looked up to and supported him. This went so far as to aid Enki in his breakout and attempt to murder the source of the corrupted energy. She was by far his strongest ally.
Quotes[]
— Episode 16 (in a flashback of Samon Gokuu's mind, it is revealed Enki used to say this as a recognizable quote)
— Chapter 112
— Chapter 113
— Chapter 118
— Chapter 129
— Chapter 129
— Chapter 129
— Chapter 129
— Chapter 130
— Chapter 144
— Chapter 145
— Chapter 145
— Chapter 145
— Chapter 145
— Chapter 145
— Chapter 350
Trivia[]
- The name Enki means "monkey" (猿) (en) and "demon" (鬼) (ki).
- Enki's surname Gokuu means "enlightenment" (悟) (go) and "sky" (空) (kuu).
- Enki's character design is slightly different in the anime than it is in the manga:
- He has fewer ear piercings
- He has no scar on his right cheek
- His outfit is more detailed, with intricate patterns on his tunic and shoulder pads
- Enki's hobbies include training and meditation.
- Enki's favorite food is Zakuro shaved ice.
- Enki is the tallest character in the series.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 66
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, 123
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 146
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 116
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 76
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 115
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 77
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 74
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 113.5
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 75
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 146.2
- ↑ 12.00 12.01 12.02 12.03 12.04 12.05 12.06 12.07 12.08 12.09 12.10 12.11 12.12 12.13 12.14 12.15 12.16 12.17 12.18 12.19 12.20 12.21 12.22 12.23 12.24 12.25 12.26 Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 135 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "“Chapter" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 350
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 142
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 124
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 76
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 116
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 145
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 67
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 112
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 124
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 119
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga, Chapter 76
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 79
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 121
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 117
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 143
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 145
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 100
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 95
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 106
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 124
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 115
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 65
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 146