As Ganbare Goemon is a series with numerous characters across different media, this list will be limited to those who appear most often.
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Main Characters
Goemon
Voiced by (anime): Yasunori Matsumoto (JP), Vic Mignogna (EN)
Our hero, the eponymous Mystical Ninja. A bred-in-the-bone Edoite who fights evil with his family's kiseru. His hot temper often gets him into hot water.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: A prominent feature of his character.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Willing to risk everything to save Omitsu, who frequently seems unaware of his attraction to her.
- Dub Name Change: Renamed Kid Ying in Legend of the Mystical Ninja.
- Even the Guys Want Him: As much as he is loath to admit it...
- The Faceless: In Shin Sedai, an older Goemon sends his same-named disciple on a quest due to being injured with a broken arm. The "Head of the G Squad" is always seen with his face in the dark and he's never referred to by name.
- Facial Markings: The distinctive red marks around his eyes and mouth are reminiscent of kumadori, the stage makeup worn by kabuki actors.
- Gender Bender: Happens in the Jigoku-Hen manga — Naturally, Goemon turns out to be a hottie.
- Golden Super Mode: His Sudden Impact ability in ''Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon" has him, effectively, turning Super Saiyan.
- Grappling-Hook Pistol: The Chain Kiseru, which somehow attaches to blocks using the bowl end.
- The Hero: The protagonist of the series.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Ebisumaru, strangely enough.
- Hopeless Suitor: Omitsu seems to like him enough that they could be an item, but he's too shy and she's too easily distracted by... everything for him to have a real chance with her.
- Hot-Blooded: Easily annoyed and generally speaks through shouting.
- Improbable Weapon User: His kiseru (basically a fancy smoking pipe) and throwing koban. Legend of the Mystical Ninja has him wielding a Killer Yo-Yo if he collects enough cat dolls to power up his weapon.
- Jack of All Stats: Always has the most balanced stats and versatile moveset.
- Just Like Robin Hood: Naturally because he's based on Ishikawa Goemon
. - One-Man Army: While he generally always has a fair few number of allies backing him up, Goemon has proven to be capable of beating all of them, Impact included, in a fight and has regularly stormed across Japan and saved the day by himself. While Yae may be more rational than he is, he's the only one who gets things done.
- Only Sane Man: Pretty much forced into this role by being a fairly standard hero living in Cloud Cuckooland, though his hotbloodedness makes him less of one than Yae.
- Passing the Torch: Goemon hands down his name and legacy to the main character of Shin Sedai after suffering an arm injury. Ironically, in the final game of the series, the New Goemon is presented as a nameless failure who's under arrest and isn't even recognized by the original one.
- Playing with Fire: A signture technique of his is turning coins into fiery projectiles.
- Pretty Boy: Parodied and very much an Informed Ability. Several characters go on and on about his charming good looks when, while not nearly as ugly as some of the characters, Goemon's pretty average looking. Due to the nature of the series, most of the characters who refer to him as a Bishōnen are Camp Gay men, most notably Ebisumaru.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to all of his companions. Unusual for an Only Sane Man.
- Sleeps in the Nude: Appears sleeping in the nude when Ebisumaru first calls him in Uchuu Kaizoku Akigingu. Ebisumaru reacts by gawking at him while vizualizing a T-shaped tetremino and turning to stone.
- Super Mode: His "Sudden Impact" ability in Starring Goemon allows him to temporarily deal (but also take) double damage and move heavy objects. The form he takes when using it is a blatant expy of Super Saiyan.
- Verbal Tic: "Teyandei," among other words traditionally associated with Edokko.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Ebisumaru. Goemon is frequently annoyed and weirded out by his man-crush on him, but seems to consider him his most trusted ally.
Ebisumaru
Voiced by (anime): Kenichi Ogata (JP), Chris Patton (EN)
Goemon's eccentric best friend who'd rather eat and loaf about than do battle. He likes to call himself "The Ninja of Justice."
- Ambiguously Bi: He loves the ladies, but his admiration for Goemon is rather questionable at times. He's definitely not so ambiguous in the manga, though...
- Author Avatar: For Etsunobu Ebisu. Look at him in costume.
- Big Eater: He's said to hold a record for eating 200 plates of dango at his favorite teahouse. In the pachisuro game, it's possible for him to devour up to 100 kan of dango, equivalent to 826.7 lbs (or 375 kg in metric).
- The Big Guy: Generally has more health than the others and sometimes also has more attack power.
- Butt-Monkey: The guy can almost never catch a break.
- Camp: Frequently skips instead of walking, attacks with streamers and ballet, and has a rather effeminate voice. Despite this, he's a known womanizer.
- Dub Name Change: Renamed Dr. Yang in Legend of the Mystical Ninja.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: His original origin story? In Ganbare Goemon 2, he was a female ninja cursed into the body of an old fat man. At the end of the game, the curse is broken and she and Goemon are implied to have become a couple. This becomes Canon Discontinuity at the beginning of the next game, though. In the reboot series, though, his counterpart is a girl with a crush on Goemon's disciple Goemon.
- Eyes Always Shut:
- Expy: of Nezumi Kozō (the "Rat Brat"), the Player 2 character who appears in the MSX version of the first Ganbare Goemon.
- Fartillery: The "Poison Mist" attack in Goemon's Great Adventure.
- Fire-Breathing Diner: In the anime.
- Gonk: A light example, but compared to the other leads, Ebisumaru is quite weird looking.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Goemon, though the heterosexual part is iffy.
- Identical Grandson: Sister Bismaru. No one actually seems to realize the obvious connection.
- Improbable Weapon User: He has an entire arsenal of these, and gains more of them in every title.
- Incredible Shrinking Man: His "Mini-Ebisu" ability in Starring Goemon allows him to shrink down to enter small passageways, but cannot attack while using it.
- Kavorka Man: Ebisumaru is surprisingly popular with the ladies.
- The Lancer: Goemon's most frequent traveling companion.
- Mighty Glacier: Slow, a terrible jumper, and has awkward and strange skills, but has the highest damage output of the main four.
- Meaningful Name: Ebisumaru may have been named after (former) Konami director Etsunobu Ebisu.
- Pig Man: Ebisumaru is temporarily transformed into one during the Jigoku-Hen manga.
- Plucky Comic Relief: While the entire world is incredibly weird, Ebisumaru is the only one of the main four who isn't relatively normal.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Beautiful!: Once got himself and Goemon banned from a store trying to negotiate a discount by performing a "hypnotic dance" in nothing but his underwear, claiming that it only failed because the owner couldn't see his "inner beauty." Goemon makes no attempt to hide his exasperation.
- Strong Family Resemblance: His daughter Mao.
- Touch the Intangible: Starring Goemon gives him the Windup Camera, a special camera that can make intangible enemies tangible. It also serves to reveal the weak point of the boss of the dungeon that it's found in.
- Verbal Tic: "Honii" — it's actually the word formed when he uses the Solid Megaphone in Goemon's Great Adventure.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: His constant hitting on Goemon combined with Goemon's frequent annoyance at him makes it quite strange that they're virtually inseparable.
Yae
Voiced by (anime): Aya Hisakawa (JP), Jessica Boone (EN)
A member of a group of secret ninja agents who investigate strange happenings. She's like a big sister to Goemon and the others.
- Action Girl: The series' original.
- Ascended Extra: She is a supporting NPC in the original SNES game and later gets promoted to one of the four main recurring characters.
- BFG: Her Bazooka can be seen as this. It's as big as her head due to the graphics!
- Curtains Match the Window: Green on green.
- Demoted to Extra: Uchu Kaizoku Akogingu replaces Sasuke and Yae with a burly man and a Space Sheriff Gavan parody. Yae only briefly appears in the story, as she's doing her own offscreen investigation of the villains.
- Hotter and Sexier: Yae's wardrobe has become more revealing in recent times, trading her practical shinobi shouzoku for a skirt short enough to flash her panties at certain angles.
- Jack of All Stats: Like Goemon, though her move-pool is generally much more specialized and situational than his is.
- The Lancer: A calm, rational law-enforcer in contrast to Goemon's Hot-Blooded thief.
- Ms. Fanservice: She's the series' main provider of Fanservice, though Omitsu and Princess Yuki have had their fleeting moments. Her fans in Japan even have a mantra of "Yae is in charge of the eroticism."
- Only Sane Man: Even more so than Goemon, whose hotbloodedness frequently gets in the way.
- Parrying Bullets: When you upgrade her sword for the first time in Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, it can deflect bullets!
- Police Are Useless: Despite being one of the most rational and competent people in the series, Yae and the organization she works for are virtually useless unless aided by Goemon.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The tomboy to Omitsu's girly girl.
- Tsurime Eyes: Showcasing her confidence and rationality.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: In some games she gains the ability to turn into a mermaid, allowing you to swim underwater in deep bodies of water like rivers and oceans.
- Warp Whistle: In Starring Goemon, she obtains a magic flute that when played can summon a dragon capable of immediately taking you to almost any previously-visited location. Ebisumaru wanted to be its user, but was passed over by Goemon in favor of Yae.
Sasuke
Voiced by (anime): Chika Sakamoto (JP), Greg Ayres (EN)
Wise Man's creation, a steadfast mechanical ninja with a "useless" good/evil switch. He's fond of hot baths and green tea.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: Sasuke's brows are arguably more stubborn-looking and a bit wider than Goemon's.
- The Comically Serious: While he's nowhere near as goofy as most of the supporting cast, Sasuke isn't rational enough to be an Only Sane Man alongside Goemon and Yae, frequently succumbing to the antics of those around him due to his gullibility.
- Defeat Means Friendship: His first meeting with Goemon was in the heat of battle when he thought that Iga was being attacked. After that, they've been lifelong friends.
- Demoted to Extra: Uchu Kaizoku Akogingu replaces Sasuke and Yae with a burly man and a Space Sheriff Gavan parody. Poor Sasuke is saddled with being a makeshift upgrade on the Goemon Impact in the endgame, though he at least gets to participate in the final battle in that state.
- Enjo Kosai: Played for laughs in the Fever manga. Goemon and Ebisumaru get the idea to remodel Sasuke into becoming a kogal, whereupon he quickly adopts the stereotypical mannerisms.
- Fragile Speedster: He's both the fastest and the best jumper, but has the lowest health.
- An Ice Person: Starring Goemon gives him the Kunai of Severe Cold, which can freeze enemies solid and temporarily cool down hot floors.
- Jump Jet Pack: His "Flying" ability in Starring Goemon has him sport rocket thrusters on his back to jump high distances, although why Sasuke has to undergo training to be able to use it is anyone's guess.
- Losing Your Head: Sasuke's severed head is used to power up the Goemon Impact in Uchu Kaizoku Akogingu. In a strange detour from fighting the Big Bad at the very end, Sasuke's head is stolen by a youkai and it attempts to use Sasuke against the heroes as a last resort. Luckily, Sasuke regains consciousness after getting attached to the monster and headbutts its body to a pulp, ironically leaving its true head stuck to a rack in the room as it cries for help.
- Pintsized Powerhouse: Suggested to be the second strongest member of the group after Goemon despite being about half his size.
- Put on a Bus: In Shin Sedai, Sasuke is for some reason absent and sends a new model of himself to help the new generation of heroes.
- Robot Buddy
- The Smart Guy: Being a robot, he has the most tech know how of the team.
- The Stoic: Justified by being a robot.
- Undying Loyalty: To both the Wise Man and Goemon.
- Verbal Tic: "De gozaru," in line with his archaic manner of speaking.
Supporting Cast
Goemon Impact
Voiced by (anime): Yasunori Matsumoto (JP), George Manley (EN)
First Appearance: Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shougun Magginesu (SFC, 1993)A giant robot with an affable personality and dreams of stardom. Originally thought to be made by Wiseman, he is actually an alien.
- Distaff Counterpart: Miss Impact, who is also meant to be his mate.
- Mechanical Lifeforms: Ganbare Goemon 4 retcons him as being an alien robot the whole time. This was largely ignored by the rest of the series, like how in Uchu Kaizoku Akogingu he can't even fly to space under his own power (there are, however, hints of that game being an interquel, meaning Impact is faking to not be capable of spacefaring). In games like Ōedo Daikaiten, he at least retains his ability to talk.
- Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: His machine gun punch is one of his most useful moves in the games where it is available.
- Suddenly Voiced: In Ganbare Goemon 4 he suddenly starts talking and claims to be an alien robot who just happens to look like Goemon.
- Wave-Motion Gun: In some games he can fire a hugh laser beam.
Omitsu
Voiced by (anime): Sakura Tange (JP), Kira Vincent-Davis (EN)
First Appearance: Ganbare Goemon! Karakuri Douchuu (FC, 1986)Goemon's neighbor and sweetheart, a teahouse waitress with a reputation as a beauty idol. She provides support from the sidelines whenever she isn't getting kidnapped.
- Attention Whore: She became one in the manga as a means of poking fun at her lack of popularity.
As a result, she would never be able to shake off the negative portrayal even after the manga ended. - Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Her manga counterpart, so very much. Her Kawaiiko facade was already starting to slip during Legend of the Mystical Ninja, but by Ganbare Goemon 3 it had completely shattered. Her anti-fans believe that she's like this in every 'verse to facilitate Goemon pairing off with someone more "deserving."
- Blush Sticker
- Clingy Jealous Girl: In the TV anime and manga, though she's much more violent about it in the latter. Ironically, Omitsu lacks this behavior in the games — considering the way Goemon acts in the ending of Ganbare Goemon 3 and the entirety of Kuru Nara Koi, HE'S the overprotective one.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: In Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, she shows up at the Kyuushu Bridge just as Goemon and 'co are heading there... on a dumpling delivery service. Not only is this impressive as the trek from Oedo to Kyuushu is nearly the entire width of Japan, but it also means Omitsu fought off dangerous enemies while carrying food upright by herself! It even gets lampshaded by the gang, who notes she must be tougher than she looks.
- Curtains Match the Window: Brown on brown.
- Damsel in Distress: She gets kidnapped more than anyone else combined.
- Damsel out of Distress: In a Black Comedy scene in the end of Uchu Kaizoku Akogingu, Goemon is Forced to Watch as a robot threatens to rape Omitsu (who doesn't really look distressed...) unless he surrenders to Akogingu's demands. The girl ends up pulling the plug on the robot by accident, and then Yae shows up and brings her back to Earth.
- Demoted to Extra: To the point where she's considered unnecessary (there's Yae after all), but can't be completely erased from canon due to the Grandfather Clause.
- Fangirl: Omitsu is crazy for Bishōnen, leading Japanese
Fan Dumb to label her as a "slut" because they assume that her squeeing means she couldn't possibly be faithful to Goemon. - Tomboy and Girly Girl: The girly girl to Yae's tomboy.
- Waif-Fu: Omitsu seems tougher than she looks, but for some reason never has the idea to rescue herself. It's a full-on running gag in the manga, with the explanation that using her strength undermines the "innocent maiden" image she tries (and fails) to cultivate.
Wise Man
Voiced by (anime): Junichi Sugawara (JP), Jim McClellan (EN)
First Appearance: Ganbare Goemon: Yuki-hime Kyuushutsu Emaki (SFC, 1991)A brilliant inventor from Iga and a close ally of the Goemon gang. Unfortunately, his perversions tend to cloud his judgement.
- Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": He does have an actual name, but no one ever calls him by it.
- Eyes Always Shut
- Robotic Spouse: Invoked as a throwaway gag during the opening of Ganbare Goemon 4, in which he tries to pass a cross-dressing Sasuke off as his wife. In the manga, he was given a (young) human wife instead.
Kurobei
First Appearance: Ganbare Goemon: Yuki-hime Kyuushutsu Emaki (SFC, 1991)A ninja cat who is both Princess Yuki's pet and bodyguard. He has the ability to turn into a plate-spinning ghost woman, for whatever reason.
- Verbal Tic: He says "nya," but never did it until recently.
The Feudal Lord
First Appearance: Ganbare Goemon: Yuki-hime Kyuushutsu Emaki (SFC, 1991)Edo Castle's happy-go-lucky ruler, who doesn't seem to do much ruling. Nevertheless, he cares deeply about his people.
Princess Yuki
First Appearance: Ganbare Goemon! Karakuri Douchuu (FC, 1986)The beloved princess of Edo Castle. She has a calm and quiet demeanor, but don't rub her the wrong way...
- Ascended Extra: Her expanded role in the pachisuro game saved her from becoming Demoted to Extra.
- Blush Sticker
- Curtains Match the Window: Blue on blue.
- Damsel in Distress: At times she is essentially a substitute Omitsu, without the romantic ties to Goemon.
- Shy Blue-Haired Girl
Other Characters
Kabuki
First Appearance: Ganbare Goemon: Yuki-hime Kyuushutsu Emaki (SFC, 1991)A recurring villain notable for his habit of coming back from the dead. His burning desire for revenge is what motivates him.
- Goldfish Poop Gang: While he does always put up a pretty good fight, he's treated more or less as a joke.
- Hollywood Cyborg: Keeps losing more and more of his humanity with each appearance he makes in the SFC games.
- Unknown Rival: Considers Goemon to be his archrival. This sentiment is not mutual.
General McGuinness
First Appearance: Ganbare Goemon 2: Kiteretsu Shōgun Magginesu (SFC, 1993)A foreign warlord who wants to take over Japan and its culture.
- Demoted to Extra: In Oedo Daikaten, he is reduced from Big Bad status to being a chapter boss without dialogue.
- Eagleland: He is a satire of foreign interference over Japan who attempts to rip chunks out of the country's landmass for his own purposes. He is obsessed with rabbits, which are called "USAgi" in Japanese, rides on a U.F.O. as if to convey he's an invasive lunatic foreigner and attempts to trample over the Japanese heroes with a bulldozer. All this even though he "loves" Japan... His love is "PURE"!
- Moon Rabbit: He dresses his minions in rabbit fursuits and pilots flying saucers.
- Pose of Supplication: He's enough of a japanophile to have trained how to properly humble himself before Japanese warriors strong enough to defeat him.
Jurokube Shishi
First Appearance: Ganbare Goemon 3: Shishi Jūrokubē no Karakuri Manji-gatame (SFC, 1994)A tyrant from Japan's future.
- Affably Evil: He kidnaps Omitsu but treats her kindly enough that she swoons over him and laments his departure in the end.
- The Cameo: In Uchu Kaizoku Akogingu, he briefly appears to provide technology for the Goemon Impact because after turning over a new leaf and researching history, he's found it to be a Stable Time Loop that he must complete.
- David Versus Goliath: He attempts to fight Goemon Impact with his bare hands after losing Dark Impact, claiming he's about to use the manji-themed "Mecha Leg Hold" on his game's title. Then he's just anti-climatically shot off and flies in a manji pose. The real life truth behind this is that the developers never quite figured out how the Mecha Leg Hold was even supposed to work like until they run out of time to finish the game.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: He is obsessed with the manji symbol and uses it as the sigil of his dictatorship.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Jurokube became a tyrant to uphold the villainous legacy of his ancestor Goemon and is flabbergasted to find out only at the end of Goemon 3 that Goemon was actually a good guy who received a Historical Villain Upgrade. He promises to become a good ruler from then on.
- Sigil Spam: He decorates everything with manji and even poses like it on defeat.
Plasma
First Appearance: Ganbare Goemon: Neo Momoyama Bakufu no Odori (N64, 1997)A hooded, barely-clothed, vaguely draconic fortune teller with an obvious Verbal Tic. Come to his place for the hints, stay for the atmosphere.
- Character Catchphrase: "PURASUMAAAA!!!!"
- Face–Heel Turn: He cameos as a boss in Ōedo Daikaiten for some reason.
- Hint System: His purpose is to act as the in-game system for the Ganbare Goemon universe. By paying a fee, he gives you hints on where to go next.
Thaisamba
First Appearance: Ganbare Goemon: Neo Momoyama Bakufu no Odori (N64, 1997)An aquatic robot known as "The Charming Mermaid." He takes on a handful of different forms (a few of them gigantic), and speaks his own incomprehensible language.
