Sanada Yukimura
Voiced by: Soichiro Hoshi (Japanese), Andrew Francis (Devil Kings), Johnny Yong Bosch (English)
"There is a time when a real man cannot back down, and that moment is now!"
Takeda Shingen's most loyal vassal and Hot Blooded to a fault, he charges fearlessly into battle with two spears...which he dual wields. He is also the rival of Date Masamune, whose blue colors are a distinct contrast to Yukimura's red.
Goes by the name Scorpio in Devil Kings.
Actor Allusion: Nero and Dante's battle in Devil May Cry 4 was merely finishing what was started in Ancient Japan.
Badass
Badass Adorable: Especially in the anime where he skirts being moe even while fighting.
Badass Longcoat: Gets one in the movie. At one point it comes off.
Badass in Distress: In one episode Oichi's demon hands get a hold of him, and, not wanting to attack her, he spends some time being manhandled before eventually fighting them off. More importantly, it was a great opportunity to have the demon hands roam over his naked torso while he makes rather suggestive facial expressions.
It happens again later on in the season when Motonari pins him to a giant mirror. He's almost burned to death before breaking free. And again with the groaning in pain...
Bad Dreams: In the third game he repeatedly has a dream in which he is drowning and hearing voices. It becomes important later on.
Battle Butler: Yukimura lives to serve Takeda Shingen and has the ambition of a shoe. Shingen tries to educate him otherwise, noting that he will one day grow old and have to learn to take his place.
In the anime Yukimura seems to finally learn the lesson, and while his dream of the future still includes Shingen, he exclaims "I'm not going to be a tiger cub forever! One day I'm going to be the Tiger of Kai!"
As Shingen amusedly notes, by the end Yukimura pretty much orders him to keep out of the last fight.
Bishounen: Over time he's developed much more delicate features than some of the manlier characters.
Break the Cutie: Sort of, in the second season of the anime. Starting with losing to Masamune, he's sent on an important mission where his compassion and sense of honor leads him to make some bad decisions resulting in losing soldiers he's responsible for, leading to Heroic BSOD. Lampshaded by none other than Masamune who notes that purity and innocence won't get him too far in this era.
Fortunately he seems to overcome it eventually and come out of it stronger and with newfound self-confidence.
Brown Eyes: Made to look red in some art. He also gives the best puppy-dog looks.
Observe.â—Š
Catch Phrase: "Burn, my soul!"
Chaste Hero: Doesn't know the first thing about sex, romance or relationships, and gets incredibly flustered whenever anyone mentions such things.
By the third game he seems to quite like the idea of getting married though.
Chewing the Scenery: About 80% of his lines are shouted with scenery-crunching fervency, and it's clear at the live shows that Hoshi is ready to lose his voice or pass out by the end of it.
Curtains Match the Window
Determinator: Ok, if stopping a freaking mobile castle on wheels with only your spears (and huge Battle Aura) doesn't count...
Dual Wielding: With two spears! TWO SPEARS! Or if that's not crazy enough, there's two Sparda Swords, you read that right, TWO SPARDA SWORDS!
Fearless Fool: Shingen beats it out of him eventually...
Friendly Enemy: Yukimura has great respect for Masamune, and they work very well together as a team. Their developing friendship and rivalry is one of the main focuses of the anime.
Heroic BSOD: Happens in the anime after Shingen is supposedly killed. Masamune and Kojuro are forced to knock some sense into him with a manly Rousing Speech. Also occurs in Samurai Heroes for the exact same reason. Ends in relatively the same way.
Also in the second season of the anime, after he loses an important retainer (as well as half of his army) due to some bad decisions he had made.
Historical Beauty Update:
Really?â—Š
Homoerotic Subtext: With Masamune, Sasuke and sometimes even Shingen. Though like Masamune he's shipped with practically every other male character.
Hot Blooded: Hell yes. One of his in-game lines even has him scream it at the top of his voice to get himself worked up.
Hot-Blooded Sideburns: Much more prominent in the anime.
Idiot Hero: Yukimura's not really stupid - on the contrary, he's well spoken and educated - but he's 100% direct, doesn't think before he acts, and seldom seems to learn from his mistakes.
Incendiary Exponent: His feet have the ability to catch fire and kick your face in.
Japanese Pronouns:
'Sessha' / 'Soregashi', sometimes 'Ore'.Keigo: Yukimura is notable for his very archaic and humble speech patterns (unlike Masamune or Keiji). He addresses everyone with respectful honorifics (such as "-dono") and punctuates his sentences with "de gozaimasuru" and "de gozaru", both very old and self-effacing versions of "desu". The only one he doesn't talk like that with is Sasuke, who is effectively his retainer, and he's been known to drop the keigo when he's supremely pissed.
Large Ham
Yukimura:'' "OYAKATA-SAMA!"
Shingen: "YUKIMURA!"
OBSERVE!In the dub, replace "OYAKATA-SAMA" with "YOUR LORDSHIP!"
Leeroy Jenkins: Yukimura generally does not think that plans more complicated than "charge at the enemy head-on" are very honorable. His very first educative punch by Shingen in the anime is for this sort of thinking.
In one Drama CD he accompanies Sasuke on a mission, and is outraged at his plan of sneaking in and doing the job under cover. Sasuke has to remind him that he's a ninja and sneaky attacks are his class's forte. And even then Yukimura gleefully ignores the plan, charges in spears blazing, and has to be dragged away by Sasuke.
Made of Iron: He gets punched by Shingen, a man who can cause a tornado to burst forth from his axe, on a daily basis and gets away with minor injuries.
At one point in the anime a Megaton Punch by Shingen apparently cures his broken arm.
Mr. Fanservice: Girls love his chest revealing jacket... also his anime design and the newest releases of official figures aren't helping him much by
exposing his pelvic bones.â—Š
Jack-of-All-Stats: Edging towards Fragile Speedster/Glass Cannon. He has less attack and defence than Masamune and no ranged attacks, but his attack and movement speeds and his reach are higher and (in the third game) he has the ability to Combo near infinitely due to finishing all his ground attacks with a forward dash.
Martial Arts Headband: Flaps dramatically in the wind. Also plays an important part in the anime.
No Indoor Voice: Except when he's ruminating.
Parental Abandonment: A drama CD reveals that his father is dead, and his mother is never mentioned.
Playing with Fire
Red Baron: The Young Tiger, Red Riger or The Tiger's Cub, after his master.
The Rival/ Worthy Opponent: To Masamune.
Say My Name: "OYAKATA-SAMAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!"
He also has a tendency to bark Sasuke's name whenever he's about to request something ridiculous of him.
And then there's the "DAAATEE MAASAAAMUUUNEEEE" "SAANAADAA YUKIIIMUUURRAAAAA" call, when he and Masamune get down to it.
Screaming Warrior: Good grief, boy's got some lungs!
In a seiyuu event where they had to switch roles for a few scenes, the seiyuu who had to voice Yukimura said they now felt sorry for Hoshi.
Shipper on Deck: In the anime, he firmly supports Sasuke's "engagement" with Kasuga. This is strange considering his normal reaction to any mention of love, but then again Sasuke is the closest thing he has to a friend.
Short Hair With Tail: An odd combination done with spiky Shounen Hair and a sleek ponytail.
Skilled, but Naive: Pretty much defines him in terms of competence. The reason Yukimura's not considered one of the strongest opponents around is that while he has lots of potential, he simply hasn't had enough battle experience.
Sticks to the Back: His spears, apparently.
Sweet Tooth: Extra material gave him a fondness for dango, which the fandom then turned into his Trademark Favourite Food. In the second game, the Maedas bribed him with sweets.
Took a Level in Badass: Played in Samurai Heroes.
Also happens in the second season of the anime, as a result of him overcoming his Heroic BSOD.
Undying Loyalty
Unusual Eyebrows: The fiery sort, though they seem to be normal in his manga incarnations. Also, the fork is in a different place in the games (at the root of his eyebrows) and in the anime (at the end of his eyebrows).
Walking Shirtless Scene: Can't imagine why...
Younger than They Look: Less extreme a case than Masamune, but it can still come as a surprise that he's only 17. (It explains his Idiot Hero tendencies, though. Somewhat.)
