Afro Samurai renders not-yet-seen game characters

by: Randy - posted: 11/18/2008 8:43:00 PM

These character renders of Afro Samurai, Namco Bandai's upcoming cut-'em'up (and which now vaguely totes a Blood is Beautiful subtitle), shows off several characters that haven't made it into previous batches of screenshots.  Along with Afro Samurai himself, we've got pics and character biographies of Daimyo, the mustachioed fellow in samurai armor; Jinno, with small black topnot and twin swords at his hip; Justice, packing two six-shooters full of it; Kuma, the bear-headed cigarette smoker; Ninja Ninja, with the Black Flys and white afro; Okiku, the female on the phone; Otsuru, the little girl clutching the teddy bear; Sasuke, with strapped-on bifocals; and Sword Master, sporting his Christopher Walken good looks.

Afro Samurai Character Bios

Afro Samurai

“Where is Number One?”

 

Only the warrior who wears the Number Two headband has the right to challenge the Number One, and only with the Number One headband in his possession may a man become a god, so the legend goes. But Afro Samurai seeks the Number One simply with vengeance in mind, for the greatest fighter in the world is also the killer of Afro’s Father.

 

Pursued by all men who desire the power of the Number One headband, haunted by memories of those he betrayed and killed to become Number Two, Afro can never rest. If the Number One is closest to heaven, the Number Two is surely closest to hell.

 

Justice

“Challenge me, when you’re ready to duel a god!”

 

The killer of Afro’s Father and now ranked as Number One – a God on Earth. Monstrous yet somehow beguiling and charismatic, Justice is the catalyst for Afro’s odyssey of killing and revenge. With a single act of violence Justice has wrought sorrow, pain and death on the world he presides over as God.

 

Ninja Ninja

“Thinking about your pops huh? Which part – the head or the body?”

 

Afro’s herald, hype-man and a real trash-talker; Ninja Ninja bears witness to Afro Samurai’s search for Justice. Ninja Ninja is a force of nature - mischievous, highly-strung and dangerously irresponsible. When stuff goes down he’ll split as fast as his thin veneer of cool. It’s sometimes hard to tell if Ninja Ninja is an ally or an enemy.

 

Sword Master

“This is the world you have made – is it everything you hoped it would be?”

 

Following the death of his father, Afro is found and taken in by the master of a Sword School. As he comes to understand Afro’s dark past, Sword Master attempts to dissuade the boy from pursuing his father’s killer and to live a normal life, creating a conflict that only serves to push Afro further along the path to vengeance.

 

Jinno

“Afro… What did you do?”

 

The senior student at the Sword School, it’s Jinno the other children look up to and with good reason. He is fiercely loyal to his friends, and Jinno considers Afro a brother. That loyalty is ultimately Jinno’s greatest failing. As Afro secretly pursues the Number Two headband, Jinno covers for him, risking the lives of all at the Sword School.

 

Otsuru

“Afro, I got something for you…”

 

Like all the children in Sword Master’s care, Otsuru is an orphan. She clings to Jinno as tightly as she clings to her teddy bear, but perhaps it is Afro she truly idolizes.

 

Sasuke

 

While not a rival to Jinno and Afro, Sasuke knows he is no match for their skills. As a result, the Sword Master’s respect and approval is of huge importance to him.

 

The Daimyo

“What are you looking for, Afro Samurai?”

 

Administrator for the region in which the Sword School stands, the Daimyo is wealthy and ruthless enough to do whatever he wants, without question. His advisors pander to his demands while covering up the consequences of his actions. The Daimyo’s sense of what could be considered ‘normal’ is severely compromised. Above all he is a pragmatist who believes that action matters over intent.

 

Okiku

“Your dreams are so sad…”

 

A mysterious silk-maker with a troubled past, Okiku lived in exile on the edge of a bamboo grove in a remote valley. As she nurses Afro back to heath she finds in him a kindred spirit, and perhaps a chance for redemption. Okiku; beautiful as an autumn sunset and just as full of sadness. And like the sunset, darkness follows close behind.

 

Kuma

“Who… am… I?”

 

Travelers tell stories of the mythical bear-man said to haunt the great red gate that sits high on Mt. Shumi. Kuma, whose weeping and wailing makes the wind itself howl with sorrow. All who wish to pass through the great gate must first face him and answer the riddle of the bear man; “Who… am… I?”

 

Kuma doesn’t remember what he once was, and he doesn’t question what he has become. His only memory, buried deep, is a single image of a child and her toy bear.