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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]. 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[]
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[13], 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].
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 details, 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
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