Kenshirou Yozakura (四桜 犬士郎 Yozakura Kenshirou) is a supporting character in the Nanbaka Web Manga and anime. He is a former police officer[8] and a guard of Nanba Prison, where he is the supervisor of building four. He is considered to be the prison's second strongest guard.[9]
Appearance[]
Kenshirou is a slim man of above-average height. He has a dark complexion and a single buck tooth protruding from the left side of his mouth. He has white and pink hair tied in a ponytail that curls at the end; the rest of his hair feathers out to the sides with two short bangs framing his face. He has deep pink eyes and possesses long eyelashes - he wears a black eyepatch over his right eye, suggesting that it may be missing.
Kenshirou's most common outfit is the standard Nanba Prison guard uniform, which he wears with multiple modifications, including spike accessories on his boots and belt. However, his most prominent feature is his pastel pink haori which is decorated with a darker pink cherry blossom pattern. He wears petal-shaped pins on his collar, and his hat is adorned with a gold cherry blossom ornament. As a guard of building four, he wears a white armband on his left arm. His name badge is pinned to his left breast.
Personality[]
Kenshirou is a calm, reserved and cool-headed individual who doesn’t speak often and rarely exhibits strong emotion - because of his quiet nature, he is rather popular with women.[10] Despite this unemotional persona, he is noted to be a poor liar and is easy to read to the point that his coworkers and even inmates[11] can tell what’s on his mind with little difficulty. He is very serious and seems to be the most levelheaded of the supervisors, remaining calm even while they are showing strong emotions[12] and often attempting to break up arguments between them. This, however, causes him to come across as arrogant, pompous and cold, contributing to their typically tense relationship.[13] Despite this attitude, he himself is not above bending the rules as shown when he let dogs into a staff room;[14] he seems quite fond of the animals in general, with several of his subordinates being dogs who he gets along quite well with.[15]
Kenshirou's arrogance is further displayed through his great confidence in his abilities, believing himself to be capable of defeating Nanba's strongest guard[16] and not seeing the rest of his coworkers as worthy opponents.[17] He is dedicated to his job, willing to not only train to achieve his goals but to go to great personal lengths to ensure justice brought to those who deserve it; he shows great resentment for criminals who go unpunished, displaying heated anger that differs from his usually equanimous nature.[18]
Despite being mostly impersonal in his conduct, Kenshirou is noted to harbor powerful romantic feelings for Momoko Hyakushiki and hopes to defeat Hajime to gain her acknowledgment, showing a large amount of determination in his attempts to do so.[19] He has a significantly jealous side and resents those who gain affection from her[20] and at some point buys a handmade doll of her worth Y10,000, displaying a rather weak will as he had initially shown hesitation in doing so.[21]
Background[]
Kenshirou was originally a member of the police force, where he trained police dogs.[22] At some point, he began hearing cases of inmates being used for illegal human experimentation. Enraged at their actions, he began investigating the situation and submitted numerous reports to his superiors in hopes of having it investigated properly; however, his reports were dismissed and characterized as mere rumors. Kenshirou continued submitting reports but, feeling as though his coworkers were deliberately hiding something from him, resigned from the police force with the intention of investigating himself as a prison guard.[23]
Plot[]
Part One[]
New Year's Tournament arc[]
Kenshirou appears at the beginning of the New Year's Tournament and announces the list of participants.[24] Shortly afterward, he approaches Hajime Sugoroku, Kiji Mitsuba and Samon Gokuu where he tries to break up a fight between the two of them, only resulting in further arguing; ignoring the rest, he turns his attention to Hajime who he considers his foe.[25] With only one inmate representing his building, Kenshirou performs the rounds largely on his own. After defeating Kiji in the penultimate round, he advances to the final round where he is put up against cell thirteen to open a sake barrel. Intimidating Hajime into entering himself, Kenshirou prepares to fight him while romanticizing Momoko Hyakushiki's reaction to his victory. Ordering Musashi to fight Jyugo, he begins to race to the sake barrel while preventing Hajime from reaching it with his whip. He attempts to injure Hajime, who counters with a non-fatal gun he picked up from a weapon collection; irritated at what he considers a mockery of the battle, Kenshirou continues to attack Hajime as they switch out their weapons over the course of their fight.
As they fight, Kenshirou and Hajime are distracted by Musashi's act of producing flames from his body and using them to attack Jyugo.[26] On Momoko's orders, Kenshirou tries to arrest Musashi who tries to kill him in response; Kenshirou is saved by Kiji and Samon[27] and, after a brief argument between the four supervisors, they begin fighting the inmates. Kenshirou orders Samon to help him and attacks Musashi, deducing that his pyrokinetic powers are beginning to wear off. As Samon and Kiji trap the inmate, Kenshirou restrains him with his whip and applauds the success of the arrest. The jubilation is short-lived, however, as Hajime is apprehended for brutalizing Jyugo[28] and promptly secures a victory for building thirteen regardless.
Following these events, Hajime is suspended due to his brutal treatment of Jyugo and Kenshirou, Kiji and Samon berate him. The three are then ordered to take his place as supervisor of building thirteen; after losing to his coworkers at rock, paper, scissors, Kenshirou is forced to do so first. Claiming to have volunteered to do so, Keshirou takes Nico for his medical check-up where he learns of his strange illnesses and explains Jyguo's critical condition.[29]
At some point, Kenshirou attempts to interrogate Musashi who agrees to answer questions only if he can speak to Jyugo. Conceding, Kenshirou explains the situation to Hajime when his suspension is lifted and agrees to allow them to communicate.[30] He listens as Musashi explains his past and his motives before undoing his shackles and demanding him to continue answering questions. When Musashi promises to do so, Kenshirou explains his past as a police officer and his unsuccessful attempts to investigate the human experimentation. Asserting his desire to find and punish the criminals, he promises Musashi that he will do so; upon being told he is too serious, he makes a feeble attempt at a joke.[31]
Part Two[]
Kenshirou takes Musashi to the infirmary for a medical exam, arousing an argument between them due to Musashi's reluctance to go. There, they encounter Jyugo and Uno who Kenshirou encourages his inmate to apologize to. After he does so, Musashi is invited to visit Uno's recreation room;[32] Kenshirou receives permission to take him[33] and brings him there despite his nervousness.[34] After their day in building thirteen, Musashi tells Kenshirou more about his past and asks him to understand him and Jyugo, asserting his desire to change; complacent, Kenshirou tells him that he can.[35]
Building Five arc[]
Kenshirou attends a supervisors' meeting in which Momoko Hyakushiki explains that she has been requested to visit headquarters with confidential information; along with the other supervisors, Kenshirou ponders the reason behind it. He sees her off the island and is later present in a staff room where Mao Nimaijita and Samon Gokuu begin arguing about Enki Gokuu (Samon's traitorous older brother) [36]. Following the confrontation, Kenshirou remains outside waiting for Momoko's return when he is joined by Kiji, who berates his coworkers' judgmental attitudes; thinking of his own former judgementalness towards Musashi, Kenshirou agrees.[37]
Later, Kenshirou joins Mitsuru Hitokoe in the broadcasting room where they conclude that Enki has escaped from building five, putting the prison in danger. Telling him not to contact security, Kenshirou claims that Enki must have a motive and heads out to find him himself. He eventually encounters him and questions him about his motives; however, Enki reveals his desire to kill Musashi, prompting Kenshirou to begin fighting him. He seems set to lose against Enki until Inori Hakkai arrives and announces his desire to betray and arrest Enki; Inori orders Kenshirou to move while he attacks and imprisons Enki. Kenshirou then watches helplessly as Enki breaks free of the makeshift prison and wounds Inori.[38] Shortly after, Noriko Sanzou appears and joins the fray; as Kenshirou tries to fight her alongside Kiji Mitsuba, she paralyzes them both with her charms and continues her actions.[39]
Shortly thereafter, Kenshirou watches Jyugo produce his blades while fighting Noriko[40]. Along with the other supervisors, he prevents Hajime from trying to attack to avoid a repetition of the New Year’s Tournament. Kiji devises a plan to defeat all present adversaries, but Samon rejects it in favor of handling Enki alone; as he does so, he asks Kenshirou and Kiji to watch over things for him, surprising them. Kenshirou then discloses that he too does not believe Enki to be a murderer, before being left to look over the other inmates along with Kiji; as they do so, he watches in alarm as Kiji demands Mitsuru to send them aid.[41] They continue to supervise the inmates, discussing the ongoing fight and the relationship between Enki and Samon.[42] Sometime later, Kenshirou and Kiji take the inmates back to the surface where they reunite with their respective supervisors. As they agree to return to their buildings,[43] Enki delivers his final words to Kenshirou and Kiji.[44]
Following these events, Kenshirou and Kiji discuss the events that transpired and Enki's subsequent death and conclude that despite this, they ultimately lost very little. due to Enki's unconditional resolve.[45]
Part Three[]
Kenshirou appears in Momoko's office, where she reveals that the planned meeting with all thirteen supervisors must be postponed due to the suspension of Tomato Ichijou. Momoko then explains that the meeting is vital due to the instructions of their superiors, and that she suspects they no longer trust her ability to manage after Enki's death. Distressed, Kenshirou tries to convince her that the incident wasn't within her control, but Momoko brushes him off and asserts her appreciation for him and the rest of the supervisors. Leaving the office, Kenshirou internally vows to protect Momoko to stop her from experiencing further helplessness.[46]
Trivia[]
- The name Kenshirou means "dog" (犬) (ken), "samurai, warrior" (士) (shi) and "son" (郎) (rou).
- Kenshirou's favourite food is clam.
- Kenshirou's favourite drink is green tea.
- Kenshirou's surname Yozakura means "four" (四) (yo) and "cherry blossoms" (桜) (zakura).
- According to Kenshirou's character card;[48]
- His favorite color is white.
- He likes nikujaga, work and Momoko Hyakushiki.
- He dislikes sunny-side up eggs, Hajime Sugoroku, acts of transgression and failure.
- His hobbies include taking walks and caring for animals.
- Due to his quiet and reserved nature, Kenshirou is popular with women.[49]
- Along with Samon Gokuu, Kiji Mitsuba and Momoko Hyakushiki, Kenshirou is an allusion to the Japanese folklore called Momotarō as he represents the dog, one of Momotarō's companions.
References[]
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 18
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 37.2
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 37.2
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 37.2
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 37.2
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 37.2
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 18
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 18
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 21
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 18
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 26
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 120
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 15
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga chapter 37.2
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 104
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 21
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 15
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 34
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga chapter 21
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga chapter 37.2
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 34
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 18
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 34
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga chapter 14
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga chapter 15
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 22
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 23
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 24
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 26
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 29
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga chapter 34
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 56
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 57
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 57
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 104
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 66
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 68
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 113
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 118
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga chapter 119
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 123
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 140
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 143
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 114
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 146
- ↑ Nanbaka Web Manga: Chapter 170
- ↑ when-will-i-sleep.tumblr.com - Nanbaka translation page
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 37.2
- ↑ Nanbaka web manga, chapter 18