These are the Characters from the anime series Grenadier.
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Main Characters
Rushuna Tendo
Voiced by: Mikako Takahashi (JP), Wendee Lee (EN)
The Grenadier.
Rushuna is a busty blonde with extremely impressive gun skills as well as impressive analytical skills. A former candidate for the Juttensen, Rushuna had been charged by Tenshi herself to travel in order to learn the "Ultimate Battle Strategy", to remove an opponent's will to fight. She is joined first by Yajiro and then by Mikan on her way to the capital city of Tento....At least, that's how she is in the anime. In the original manga, there is no "Ultimate Battle Strategy" per se, no Tenshi (except in the form of the unseen Emperor), and no Tento (it's called simply "the Capital"). She's still a rather busty blonde with extremely impressive gun skills, and impressive analytical skills. She is on her way to the Imperial Capital, with the samurai Yajiro Kojima (she calls him Yatchan) in tow, to find information on her unknown homeland.
- Action Girl: The main character of the series and also the most badass.
- Badass Adorable: To some extent, since many opponents seem to find her cute.
- Badass Boast: A subtle one to Namari in the manga.Namari: I'll kill you!
Rushuna: Oh? Go ahead and try. - Barbie Doll Anatomy: Although Rushuna is rarely completely naked, there are situations where you'd think that at least her nipples would be exposed...
- Bathing Beauty: She loves taking baths and frequently likes to know where to get one. Her bathing scenes thus make for a good portion of her fanservice, with both the opening and credits scenes featuring her in the hot springs as well.
- Blasting It Out of Their Hands: This is Rushuna's primary method of disabling opponents, leaving them moaning and clutching their wounded hands. Of note is a time where she blasts out the axle of a gatling gun.
- Big Eater: Apparently, though you'd never know it from her figure.
- Boyish Short Hair: Had it as a toddler.
- Buxom Beauty Standard: She's very busty and this is often the first thing people notice about her. Even female prostitutes are impressed by her size.
- Can't Bathe Without a Weapon: She keeps her gun within her reach even while bathing, as shown during the opening credits.
- Cooldown Hug: Coupled with Marshmallow Hell via those massive jugs.
- Crazy-Prepared: Just happened to have special, underwater bullets for her fight with Suirou. This ends up subverted when they don't really help her at all, leaving her to rely on... The solution that was also in the manga, where she used the bubble trail of his bullets to form an air path for her own.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Not moron per se, but did you expect such a bubbly woman to be so handy with a revolver?
- Curtains Match the Window: She has blonde hair and matching eyes.
- Distaff Counterpart: To Vash the Stampede himself, no less.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: She is shown killing people in a flashback in the first volume of the manga, despite her later established Thou Shall Not Kill belief.
- Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones: Rushuna is a Technical Pacifist who whole-heartedly believes that any conflict can be solved with an honest smile. However, you know that a villain of the week has crossed the line when she says "I have no more smiles for you" — this usually means they'll get their ass handed to them before long.
- Even the Girls Want Her: The hookers in the brothel they were using as a hotel were rather fascinated by Rushuna's big boobs.
- Friend to All Children: Has a soft spot for children and hurting them appears to be a bit of a Berserk Button.
- Genius Ditz: In the manga she is mentally a child for the most part, but is amazing at gunfighting, nearly unsurpassed. Yajiro outright wonders if she is an Idiot Savant.
- Girlish Pigtails: Had them at 11 years old in the flashback chapter.
- Gorgeous Gaijin: She's blond, has really, really big boobs and is from a country "on the other side of the ocean" and DAMN good with guns.
- The Gunslinger: Hardly anyone can match her skill with guns. She fits The Woo, The Trick Shot and The Quick Draw.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Rushuna is a kind soul, but in the original manga, she is practically a child mentally (except in battle).
- He Is Not My Boyfriend: Mikan indirectly accuses Rushuna of being in love with Yajiro. Rushuna responds by insisting they are Just Friends, complete with stuttering and slight Luminescent Blush.
- Heroic BSoD: Goes into one near the end of the manga where she's afraid she won't be able to save everyone. Yajiro brings her out of it.
- Meaningful Name: Rushuna is a play on a Rushana Buddha, a statue exemplifying the essence of the Buddha, while her surname, Tendo, translates to "Heavenly Path".
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Some of Rushuna's more oblivious remarks come off as rather snarky if you assume she's just pretending to be a bimbo.
- Red Baron: Throughout the manga, whenever Rushuna
does what she does best with her gun, people declare her to be the highest level of senshi, a Grenadier. - Red Is Heroic: She wears red overalls and is one of the main protagonists.
- Revolvers Are Just Better: The two best marksmen in the show both use revolvers, and Rushuna's is not only a custom job, but also considered very outdated by the standards of the setting.
- Stylish Sunhats: She wears a bright pink-and-white triped sunhat post-Time Skip.
- Spin to Deflect Stuff: Rushuna's method of dodging bullets tends to involve a lot of spinning. In fact, it seems as though simply spinning in place can cause bullets to miraculously change their paths.
- Stripperific: Some of her outfits in the manga fall into this category. Once she even does it on purpose to "make Yajiro happy."
- Underestimating Badassery: Tends to happen to her a lot, most people underestimate her, mostly because of the way she acts.
- Unorthodox Reload: Rushuna manages to keep spare bullets — IN HER CLEAVAGE! Talk about Victoria's Secret Compartment. She is somehow able to bounce her breasts in such a way that exactly six bullets will fly out, and have them align in midair just right for her to sweep her revolver toward them and have ever bullet go right into the cylinder.
- Waif-Fu: Uses it in some of her fights.
- Worst Aid: Her attempts to help Yajiro with his wounds do more harm than good, causing him to leave to find a healer by himself rather than be treated by Rushuna.
- You Leave Him Alone!: In the manga, after being on the receiving end of a Curb-Stomp Battle by Namari, when it looks like Rushuna is about to be killed, Yajiro leaps in to try to save her, despite being seriously injured. Namari proceeds to start curbstomping him too, to which Rushuna yells for her to stop. Namari threatening to kill Yajiro is also what sends Rushuna into a Heroic Second Wind, though it doesn't last long.
Yajiro Kojima
Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai (JP), Sam Riegel (EN)
Yajiro is a mercenary swordsman who first encountered Rushuna while he, along with other swordsmen, was trying to free a lord from an army of Senshi. He joins Rushuna on her way to the Capital.
- Always Save the Girl: "I'll never let another woman die again because of me!"
- Big Damn Heroes: Jumps in to save Rushuna several times throughout the series, sometimes appearing Just in Time. She doesn't seem to appreciate this at first, but later is thankful for it.
- Chivalrous Pervert: He becomes flustered by the attention from the brothel girls and has frequent Nosebleeds when he sees Rushuna naked, but he's almost killed himself several times trying to save Rushuna and Mikan.
- Doesn't Like Guns: Being a swordsman, he is incapable of using guns.
- Katanas Are Just Better: Probably even more outdated than Rushuna's revolver. In a setting surrounded by people with guns you'd think a Samurai would be at a disadvantage, but he manages to do alright.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Averted, but not for lack of trying on his part. In volume 3 of the manga, when the main group are climbing Mount Nabanba, Rushuna is knocked unconscious and all three are falling. Yajiro makes sure Rushuna has a balloon to float with and stakes Mikan to the side of the mountain through her scarf with his katana, leaving him with no way to possibly survive. Luckily for him, at that point they were only 10 feet off the ground.
- Hot-Blooded: He has a fiery and intense personality and tends to dive into things without thinking. This has nearly gotten him killed more than once.
- My Greatest Failure: He wasn't able to save Suguha since it was his idea to climb Mount Nabanba, despite the fact that he did everything he could to save her and she was actively loosening his grip on her while he desperately tried to hold on. This influenced his entire life goal and philosophy, to become the greatest swordsman in the land because Suguha believed he would be, and to never let any woman in his sight die again.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: He's a talented swordsman, but he's still overshadowed by the wide variety of fighting styles. He ultimately gets his moment fighting the Jester.
- Parrying Bullets: Yajiro can slice away bullets with his katana.
- The Peeping Tom: Tries to look in on Rushuna and Koto in the bath. Rushuna promptly shoots at him. He seems to keep this trait later, but frequently punches out Teppa for trying to peep on Rushuna.
- Samurai: Described as such on several occasions.
- Shonen Hair: Spikey hair that would make Sasuke Uchiha jealous.
- Supporting Protagonist: We see how Rushuna helps people through his perspective and how he gradually changes his outlook.
- Tears of Joy: Sort of a humorous example. After attempting a Heroic Sacrifice to save Rushuna and Mikan and surviving said attempt, he cries Manly Tears since he didn't really want to die.
- Technical Pacifist: He feels that only with a sword can one feel the weight of a human life.
Mikan Kurenai
Voiced by Yuki Matsuoka (JP), Julie Ann Taylor (EN)
A little girl who lost her balloon-making parents to a senshi named Ganzo and his men, Mikan was taken by Touka Kurenai, formerly of the Juttensen, to live at the Peach Blossom Inn. She joins Rushuna and Yajiro on the way to the Capital. She whips up balloons of all sorts to help Rushuna and Yajiro.
- Compressed Hair: Somehow hides a rather impressive mane of spiky hair under her bandana.
- Hyperspace Arsenal: Among her countless balloons, Mikan can produce an inflatable boat, costumes, a glider and even colored doubles of herself.
- Love at First Sight: Falls for Juzaemon Shiga instantly upon seeing his face. But apparently every girl that sees what he looks like falls in love instantly.
- Megaton Punch: Gives one to Teppa for trying to peek on an unconscious Rushuna's boobs. Mikan sends him into orbit.
- Parental Abandonment: Her parents died at the hands of Ganzo.
- She Is All Grown Up: With the use of balloons, Mikan briefly appears to be older than she is, and even does Marshmallow Hell to Yajiro at one point.
- Tag Along Kid: To Rushuna and Yajiro, though she occasionally holds her own in fights and has saved Rushuna and Yajiro by throwing herself at Namari.
Supporting Characters
Touka Kurenai
Voiced by: Mami Kosuge (JP), Cindy Robinson (EN)
A former member of the Juttensen, Touka gathered several young girls who had been orphaned by strife and war as they opened up a "Pleasure Palace" called the Toukarou (meaning "Peach Blossom Inn"). She wields the Kensousen, a spear with a rounded (but explosive) tip, one of the Ten Sacred Weapons, though she does not see action often, because of a chronic illness.
- Mama Bear: Harm any of her adoptive children and you're dead.
- Parental Substitute: She takes several orphaned young girls under her wing and became a surrogate mother to them.
- Training from Hell: Her method of training the other members of the Juttensen. It has earned her their ire; whether she knows or not is up to debate.
Ouka Kurenai
The head of the Juttensen, and Touka's younger sister. She wields a magnetic lance capable of reversing the direction of bullets and directing rubble to fly through the air. She and the rest of the Juttensen believe that Touka died out in the frontier because of her illness.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Ouka (and the Juttensen's) reaction upon learning from Mikan that Touka is still alive.
Teppa Aizen
Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama (JP), Doug Erholtz (EN)
A member of the Juttensen, the Gaifu Senshi, specializing in his family's technique, the Adamantine Cloth. In the anime, Teppa was a childhood friend of Rushuna's.
- Anything but That!: In a bonus segment of the manga, his younger sister Tekka is about to give him a "special punishment" him for being "such a loser." He promptly begs her not to it. The punishment? Telling his friends embarrassing stories about him.
- Chick Magnet: So he assumes of himself.
- Chivalrous Pervert: Has what amount to porn scrolls and tries to perv on Rushuna every chance he gets, but is genuinely concerned for her safety, saves her on their first meeting, tries to convince her to go anywhere but the capital so that he won't have to fight her even though he's been ordered to kill her, and pulls a You Shall Not Pass! near the end of the manga so Rushuna can go ahead to the final battle.
- Stoic Spectacles: But of course once Rushuna's in his field of sight...
Shin'noshin Hakubi
Voiced by: Kazuki Yao (JP), Richard Cansino note (EN)
The Suiro Senshi, and the Juttensen who guards the Imperial Capital via the lake surrounding it. He communicates when underwater (and, occasionally, above the water) by painting up signs; in other words, communicating through sign language.
- Talking with Signs: His method of underwater communication.
Juzaemon Shiga
One of the Juttensen, he is capable of completely dismantling any weapon placed in front of him, thus giving him the title of the Invincible Senshi. He wears a bunny suit, because he is so handsome that any girl who sees him falls in love instantly.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He wears a bunny suit all the time, to prevent girls from glomping him.
- Chick Magnet: What he is when he goes out without wearing his bunny suit.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He has memorized the schematics of every weapon ever made, and uses that in conjunction with his weapon, the Shiga Kaikoken, to dismantle the weapon of any Senshi he faces in battle.
Danjou Ouma
A member of the Juttensen, known as the Nekko Senshi. He wields gloves which enhance his strength greatly.
- Hot-Blooded: He struck his leader, Ouka, when he felt obligated to battling Rushuna.
Soun Kongo
The founder of the Juttensen, and the master of both Rushuna and Namari, whom he considers to be his daughters. He has a habit of taking pictures of Rushuna and saving them in his (very large) collection of Rushuna pictures. He was blinded at some point after Rushuna set out on her journey by the Iron-Masked Baron.
- Disability Superpower: Despite being blind, Soun more than capable of handling himself in battle, even managing to defeat Rushuna in their reunion, and effortlessly defeating swarms of the Baron's Shiki (Death Machines). Also, it is implied that his other senses are sharper than others', because he is able to sense the Baron nearby when the others cannot.
- Eye Scream: He was blinded by the Iron-Masked Baron.
Midare Kojima
The head of the Kojima clan, of which Yajiro's family is a branch. After his sister Suguha dies under Yajiro's care, he sets off to avenge his sister by slaying Yajiro. At some point, he acquired an electric sword from a golden-haired foreigner (strongly implied to be the Baron).
- Revenge: He wants to kill Yajiro for being responsible for Suguha's death.
- Sword Beam: with electricity. He uses this to ensure that his fight against Yajiro was one-on-one.
Suguha Kojima
Midare's younger sister, and the heir to the Kojima clan. She is left in Yajiro's care, and dies to make sure that Yajiro will be able to live; otherwise, he'd have been unable to climb back up the cliff.
- Bring My Brown Pants: She urinates herself when a bandit is about to kill her. Yajiro saves her, and then mocks her for peeing herself. Midare threatens Yajiro with a katana and makes him swear to tell no one.
- Protectorate: Was one for Yajiro, as he was charged with protecting her. As a result, he feels her death is all his fault.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Pulls one to save Yajiro. She pulls his fingers off of her hand as she is hanging over a cliff and he is desperately trying to save her. Granted, they both probably would've died if she hadn't, because with one hand holding onto her and one holding on to the mountain, Yajiro would have no way to get them both back up.
- Oh, Crap!: When she realizes that the bandit is going to kill her.
- Tears of Fear: She cries in despair after being cornered by the bandit.
King Furon
Voiced by: Motoki Takagi (JP), Yuri Lowenthal (EN)
The king of a small country called Tara in the nation of Banshu. He was enlisted by the Big Bad at the age of seven to become the bearer of the weapon Enlightened Evil (translated as Devil's Light in the manga),which grew in power the more it sapped the user's growth energy. (His subjects assumed this to be a childhood illness.) He used this power to keep his nation protected from "animals" who would invade it, earning the "golden-haired Senshi" a bounty of 3000 gold pieces.
- Meaningful Name: his name (as written in kanji in the manga) means 'Wind Dragon' (a more accurate translation may actually be "Fu Long"). Appropriate, given the power of Enlightened Evil.
- Older Than He Looks: He is actually 17 years old and when the Enlightened Evil/Devil's Light is destroyed, he reverts to his true age.
- Razor Wind: the power of Enlightened Evil.
Koto
Voiced by: Noa Nagai (JP), Stephanie Sheh note (EN)
A barwoman at a bar in Tara. She befriends Rushuna quickly.
- Nice Girl: Was willing to help an injured Rushuna, and was nice to everyone she met.
- Not Enough to Bury: She is killed in the crossfire of Rushuna and the Baron's battle, and all Rushuna found of her was her necklace.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Even though she dies in the crossfire of Rushuna and the Baron's first battle, she manages to survive in the anime.
Akki Nago
Voiced by: Kiyoyuki Yanada (JP), Bob Papenbrook note (EN)
A brutish senshi who has a strong sense of money. He wields a tremendous machine gun called a galdo.
- Boom, Headshot!: In the manga, Rushuna easily bests him by shooting him in the head.
- Starter Villain: He's the first villain Rushuna and Yajiro encounter.
Hage Tengu
Voiced by: Tomomichi Nishimura (JP), Kirk Thornton note (EN)
A long-nosed senshi who intimidates a local village into letting him basically run the village. He wields a gatling gun which fires 200 rounds a minute, called the Rokumonsen.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: His "name" is actually a catcall Rushuna made in the manga (translated officially as "You bald goblin!").
Lady Tenshi
Voiced by: Chieko Honda (JP), Dorothy Elias-Fahn note (EN)
The Empress of Tento, she was the one who sent Rushuna on her journey. She only appears in the anime.
- Canon Foreigner: She was created as an anime-only character.
- Facial Markings: Tenshi has a yellow sun mark on her forehead.
Antagonists
The Iron-Masked Baron; The Jester, Kaizan Doshi (anime only)
Voiced by: Kazuhiro Nakata (JP), Kim Strauss (EN)
- Big Bad: The main antagonist of the series.
- Brain in a Jar: In the manga, he's been reduced to a human brain in a robotic body a la Dr. Gero.
- Cyborg: Manga only. Having lost his body in the devastation of trying to replicate the Perpetual Motion Solar Jacket, the Iron-Masked Baron is almost completely robotic. The only organic part of his body that seems to be left is his brain.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: He is never identified in the manga by any name other than Iron-Masked Baron. Averted in the anime, where his identity is almost different enough to justify listing the Baron and the Jester as two completely different characters.
- Social Darwinist: In the manga, he believes that being a literal superhuman makes him fit to rule the world. This is also why he seeks to destroy Rushuna; during the Final Battle, he claims that only one of their kind should exist, so that only one can reign supreme. In the anime, Doshi sought to find the strongest person living to become the feared Grenadier who would do his and Setsuna's bidding and help him rule the world.
- White Mask of Doom: His mask resembles a drama mask.
Setsuna Oomidoh (anime); Namari Shirogane (manga)
Setsuna Voiced by: Chieko Honda (JP), Dorothy Elias-Fahn note (EN)
The Evil Counterpart Cain and Abel to Rushuna Tendo, and that's where the anime and manga similarities end, really.
- Anti-Hero: She becomes one towards the end of the manga to stop the Baron from destroying everyone.
- Bears Are Bad News: Part and parcel of Namari's Heroic Sacrifice where she defended Rushuna from a bear, at the cost of her own left eye.
- Cain and Abel: Particularly in the manga. Namari and Rushuna were both taken in by Soun, but Namari was about six when Rushuna — an infant — was found and taken in. After losing her left eye, Namari intends to kill Rushuna and become the Grenadier.
- Easily Forgiven: Rushuna forgives her pretty quickly when she pulls a Heel–Face Turn, despite having nearly murdered Yajiro in front of her just to upset her, among other things.
- Electronic Eyes: Manga only. The Scan Eye helps her detect the paths of incoming bullets, and respond accordingly.
- Evil Twin: Appeared to be such for Rushuna in her first appearance, but the backstory shows they're not blood related, Namari is older and they don't have the same hair color.
- Eye Scream: In the manga, she loses her eye courtesy of a bear in her first Heroic Sacrifice.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Manga only; when she removes her prosthetic mask, her face is the same, apart from an X-shaped scar around her prosthetic left eye that reaches across the bridge of her nose. Played with in regards to the fact that she switches to Rushuna's side in time for the final battle.
- The Gunslinger: She's quite capable of wielding guns in battle.
- Heel–Face Turn: After being defeated by Rushuna she realizes the error of her ways and teams up with Rushuna to stop the Baron.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Twice. The first one loses her left eye to a bear. Played with in the sense that Namari lives, but afterward resents Rushuna for existing. The second occurs during the final battle, when Namari takes a lethal blow from the Baron intended for Rushuna. She lives.
- Unorthodox Reload: Much like Rushuna.
- Walking the Earth: What she decides to do at the end of the manga, probably deciding to be The Atoner.
Fuuka Shirato
Voiced by: Naoko Suzuki (JP), Karen Strassman note (EN)
A former compatriot of Yajiro. She fills the role that Suguha played later in the manga.
- Canon Foreigner: She was created for the anime adaptation.
