Devil/Characters/Summoner Raidou Kuzunoha
Raidou Kuzunoha the 14th
A young student of Yumizuki High School who was trained at the Kuzunoha village in the art of the Devil Summoner. Once he was ready, he undertook the trials at the nameless shrine in the heart of the Shinoda mountains and became the fourteenth Raidou Kuzunoha. He was assigned a partner by the Herald of Yatagarasu named Gouto, a sarcastic talking cat who was to guide Raidou in the ways of a Devil Summoner, and was sent to work part time at the Narumi Detective Agency as a cover for his true task.
As the newest Raidou Kuzunoha, it is his duty to protect the Capital from the demons of the Dark Realm, and ensure that the supernatural world is kept in check. His abilities with a katana are without equal, and his skill with a pistol unmatched, but Raidou's true power comes from the demons tucked away in confinement tubes beneath his cape.
Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV returns as the protagonist of the sequel, Raidou Kuzunoha VS King Abaddon. He returns to the shrine in Shinoda and undergoes retraining in preparation for returning to work for under the Herald of Yatagarasu. Gotou-Douji returns in order to provide guidance in the same capacity as he did in the first game. Gotou unseals some of Raidou's abilities to allow him to summon two demons at once, and Raidou returns to work as The Capital's guardian, seeking out the new disturbances that were detected by the Herald of Yatagarasu. Raidou once again winds up working with Shouhei Narumi and Tae Asakura.
Raidou Kuzunoha replaces Dante's role as a recruitable ally in the update re-release of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniacs, titled Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Chronicle Edition, which was released along with Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon. Despite not being the protagonist of the game, Raidou remains silent, with Gouto speaking in his stead. Many of his in-game attacks parallel Dante's from the original, but have new names. He does one up Dante though by gaining the move 'Pierce', which was previously exclusively reserved for one other demon and the Demi-Fiend, the latter who can only get it on the True Demon Ending path. So Raidou is even more badass than Dante Sparda.
- Badass: You know it to be true when the guy can throw down with Japanese tough guys in a bath house and not even get his hat wet.
- Even the Guys Want Him
- Expy: An rare heroic one of Yasunori Kato.
- Hello, Insert Name Here: His real name is blank until you name him in true Megaten tradition.
- Heroic Mime
- Hotblooded Sideburns
- Legacy Character: He's the 14th of the devil summoner line to inherit the title of "Raidou"—the highest rank of devil summoners.
- Nice Hat
- The Beast Master / Summon Magic: As a Devil Summoner he can see and hear demons. He is capable of capturing them and calling on them to use their powers for investigation and combat. It's necessary for him to do so, as Raidou cannot learn or use magic.
- The Musketeer: A Gunslinger and an adept swordsman.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Gouto mentions in his notebook he has a surprisingly great singing voice.
Gouto
Gouto is a mysterious talking cat who has been the partner of every Raidou Kuzunoha since the second. Not much is known about Gouto, other than the fact he's not of this world and his real form is not that of a cat, although he does have a shameful secret obsession with a certain cat toy.
Now assigned to the fourteenth Raidou Kuzunoha, Gouto's job is to offer his support and advice as he deals with the supernatural world of demons, and to ensure Raidou keeps to his duties as the newest Raidou Kuzunoha. Despite Gouto's sarcasm, he believes that this Raidou Kuzunoha may be the best he has ever had the honour to guide.
When the Soulless God Oumagatsu was awakened, Gouto helped to come up with the plan to destroy the Tai-itsu, and to ensure its success joined a demon in a rocket bound for the satellite. When the Tai-itsu was destroyed, so too was the earthly body of Gouto. However, despite this drawback, Gouto continued to guide Raido as a formless voice until the end of his mission.
Just before the destruction of his body, Gouto revealed that his true form was that of the first Raidou Kuzunoha, and that he has watched every summoner to bear his name since. By the end of the game, Gouto is seen as a raven as he follows Raidou on his next mission.
In the sequel, Gouto has returned to his cat form.
In an optional conversation in the sequel, Gouto reveals that he committed an unspecified crime during his role as Raidou Kuzunoha; as punishment, he is forced to mentor and watch over all his successors until they die. Gouto also mentions he was previously a Housoushi magician before becoming Raidou Kuzunoha.
- Cursed with Awesome
- Deadpan Snarker
- Green Eyes
- Intellectual Animal
- Invisible to Normals: To non-empowered people, he's only a cat. He can speak, but they will only hear purrs and meows.
- Non-Human Sidekick
- The Mentor
Shouhei Narumi
Narumi was once an officer in the Japanese Imperial Army, but after being witness to the corruption of the military, he retired to become the owner of the Narumi Detective Agency. He is well versed in the ways of the world, and is aware of its many secrets, even having knowledge of demons and the supernatural. As such, he agreed with the Herald of Yatagarasu to take Raidou on as a part time junior detective while he worked secretly as the new Raidou Kuzunoha.
The Narumi Detective Agency only takes on the most unusual cases, where the impossible is all that's left, although generally he isn't the type to get his hands dirty, and would rather pass on all the leg work to Raidou. While on the surface he may appear lazy, Narumi cares a lot about the people and won't stand idly by while the citizens suffer. Should Raidou ever be in deep trouble, Narumi will try to help, even if it's far beyond his abilities.
Shouhei returns as the head of the detective agency once again in Raidou Kuzunoha VS King Abaddon. Now claiming to be a "Modern Man", Shouhei has taken to blending his own coffee and eating nothing but toast for lunch.
- Badass Normal: He managed to get through Munakata's base, which was full of demons and undead Super Soldiers, with nothing but a pistol. Demons, it should be noted, he can't even hear, let alone see.
- Butt Monkey
- Must Have Caffeine: Narumi-blended coffee!
- Nice Guy
- Nice Hat
- Sharp-Dressed Man
- Trademark Favorite Food: Toast.
- We Help the Helpless
Tae Asakura
Tae is an ace reporter for the Capital Daily, going by the pen name "Kichou" that comes for her respect for the feminist crusader Raichou Hiratsuka. She works hard to improve women's lot around the Capital, and does all her own legwork despite the danger that may be involved. She has an unfortunate tendency to faint when scared, but doesn't let this discourage her from going out and getting the scoop or trying to help in tough situations.
Tae is an old friend of Narumi's, and when she managed to snap a shot of the mysterious Red Cape that has been sighted in the Capital, hires Narumi and Raidou to help her in her inquiries. After the Red Cape caper, Tae turns to Raidou several more times when facing potentially hostile situations.
- Damsel in Distress: Occasionally.
- Hot Scoop
- Intrepid Reporter
- Nice Hat
Kaya Daidouji
The daughter of Takeshi Daidouji, head of the prestigious Daidouji family, Kaya is known for her sunny disposition. She treats her classmates and servants as equals despite being raised as a member of the upper crust, and is loved by them in return. However, Kaya has a dark family secret hanging over her head, and discoved that she was doomed to be possessed by a demon on her sixteenth birthday.
Kaya spent much of her time locked in a secret basement beneath the Daidouji Residence as she approached her sixteen birthday, but with the help of her uncle, Kiyoshi, she escaped only to meet with Munakata's forces. Desperate, she contacted the Narumi Detective Agency and requested to meet them in private. Narumi and Raidou went to meet with Kaya, only to witness her taken by mysterious masked soldiers dressed in red.
Much later Raidou was able to rescue Kaya, who took up temporary work at the Narumi Detective Agency afraid to return home. But all was not well, and after using Raidou to help her acquire an ancient artifact needed for the Super Soldier Project, revealed that she was already possessed, and escaped into the Dark Realm.
Finally, after Raidou destroyed the Soulless God Oumagatsu, he is able to pursue Kaya into the Akarana Corridors of time where he discovers that the presence within Kaya is a Raidou Kuzunoha of the future. After a long battle, and even after the entity possesses the Soulless God Yasomagatsu, Raidou is able to defeat it. Expelling the entity from both the ship and Kaya, Raidou cast it into the abyss of time, and returned Kaya safely to her family.
- Action Girl: When she's possessed.
- Demonic Possession: She's playing host to a Kuzunoha of the future.
- Dangerous Sixteenth Birthday: Her family's curse.
- Damsel in Distress: And how!
- Hime Cut
- Living Bodysuit: The Kuzunoha of a far future time.
- School Uniforms Are the New Black
Rasputin
In Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha, Rasputin played the role of a major character. He was a Dark Summoner (a Devil Summoner who turned his back on the teachings for personal gain) who attacked Raidou Kuzunoha several times to prevent him getting too close to the truth about the Soulless Army Project. He is believed to be the real Rasputin (although he is reported to be dead by then) until it is revealed that he is in fact a mechanical man working for Munakata as collateral to keep the project a secret until it is fully underway. Later, after his contract with Munakata is up, he unexpectedly turns to Raidou with information on Munakata's location and goal. He then seemingly watches from the sideline with neutral feelings on the outcome. It is revealed he is also a time traveller from the future, apparently sent to maintain the timeline, but ignored his mission to pursue his own goals. By the end of the game it is implied Rasputin remains in Raidou's time to become more 'human'.
He returns in the sequel to provide hint for Raidou to defeat the Appollyon.
- Evil Counterpart
- Casanova Wannabe
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: Well, Rasputin the time-travelling cyborg dark magician.
Dr. Victor
He is an alchemist and a demonologist, who makes his home in the basement of Konnou-Ya. As the resident of the "Gouma-den", he's highly interested in studying Devil Summoners and the demons they employ. To that end, he will fuse your demons to strengthen them, heal you and your demons for a fee, keep track of the demons you've seen, and increase the power of your katana. He may be more than a little eccentric, but he will be of a great help to Raidou's journey.
- The Blacksmith: He can forge demons or crystals into Raidou's katana to make it more powerful.
- Curtains Match the Window
- Facial Markings
- For Science!
- Large Ham
- Milking the Giant Cow
- Mad Scientist: And he's on your side!
- Monster Compendium: The Devil Chart, in which he'll return registered demons to you for a fee.
- Shout-Out: To Victor Frankenstein
Dahn
- A Boy And His Giant Locust
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever
- The Atoner: After he found out that summoning the Apollyons was not a good idea.
- Boss Subtitles: Dahn the Direct
- Heroic Sacrifice: In the Law Route.
- Malevolent Masked Man: As Dahn the Direct.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Dahn has a bit of a breakdown when the summoned Apollyons don't obey him, as he didn't even realize that causing so much misfortune would open the Gate of The Abysmal Realm.
- Non-Human Sidekick: His Locust Taromaru.
- One-Winged Angel: In the Law route as Dahn the Direct.
- Poisonous Person: Uses it in his fight as Dahn the Direct.
- Tragic Monster
- Walking the Earth: At the end of the game in the Neutral and Chaos path. Where he plans to lead the Mushibito to a new home where they won't be shunned for their appearance.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Stealing the Capitals Luck was part of his goal of freeing the Tsukigata village from the control of the Tento Lords. It backfires horribly.
Akane Narita
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever
- Boss Subtitles: Akane the Patient.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In the Chaos and Neutral Route.
- Malevolent Masked Man: As Akane the Patient and a bit earlier.
- Marriage to a God: She has to marry Lord Tento.
- Mook Maker: She summons Mots during the battle against Akane the Patient
- One-Winged Angel: As Akane the Patient in the Chaos and Neutral Route.
- Tragic Monster
Geirin Kuzunoha the 17th
Nagi Geirin Kuzunoha the 18th
- Fantastic Racism: Suffered from this as child. Where people treated her horribly because of her blue eyes until Geirin found her.
- Halfbreed: Half Russian and Japanese.
High Pixie
- Back From the Dead: In the ending
- Kimono: Unlike most Fairies she wears one.
- Non-Human Sidekick: To Nagi.
- Playing with Fire: Agidyne.
Shinado
- Dark Messiah: His Anger Aspect genuinely believes that there is no hope in the future and that mankind should embrace him to seek salvation.
- Literal Split Personality: His Anger and Sorrow Aspects.
- Malevolent Masked Man: Subverted with his Sorrow Aspect. Played straight with the Anger Aspect and anyone who has given into despair.
- Nietzsche Wannabe: His Anger Aspect is one.