Yashamaru Kurama

Yashamaru Kurama is a character from the Samurai Shodown series. He debut in the 2019 reboot of Samurai Shodown as the main protagonist. He is voiced by Kōhei Amasaki.

Story
A young and fallen samurai who stalks the shadows as the phantom thief "Karasu Tengu." Brandishing an heirloom nagamaki, he fights using the ancestral tengu powers he has inherited.

The only thing he wasn’t aware of is that he is targeted by the possessed Shizuka, who mistook him for Yoshitsune.

Personality
He loathes villains who exploit the weak for financial gain. Because his father was executed on false charges in the past, he has developed a deep and unparalleled hatred for the corruption within Tokugawa Shogunate, even proclaiming himself as Yoshitora Tokugawa’s rival. Aside being a thief, he is also a ruthless vigilante who will stop corrupted crimes mercilessly, something which the remaining uncorrupted Bakufu members like Yoshitora cannot.

Powers

 * Tengu Heritage - Due to his lineage, he possesses mystical aspects of the Tengu such as speed, senses and heightened reflexes and movement.

Fighting Style
Yashamaru fights with his Nagamaki, a long-handled sword that nearly resembles a polearm or even a naginata, except that the blade occupies half of the overall length. His lunging attacks and powerful expansion moves makes him formidable upclose, but is quite laggy in comparison when it comes to pokes and sword bouncing. Because of his weapon, he has better reach in comparison with the rest of the cast, though not as long as Gaoh's.

Music

 * The Crow - Samurai Shodown (2019)

Games

 * Samurai Shodown (2019)

Mobile

 * Puzzle & Dragons

Etymology

 * The name Yashamaru means "female demon" (夜叉) (yasha) and "round, circle, pills, purity, suffix for ship names, complete" (丸) (maru).
 * He shares his given name with one of the Kouga Clan ninjas in the novel The Kouga Ninja Scrolls. Yasha are a race of benevolent demons in Japanese Buddhism, and are counterparts to the malevolent rasetsu.
 * Yashamaru's surname Kurama means "saddle" (鞍) (kura) and "horse" (馬) (ma).
 * His surname, Kurama, is derived from a mountain in Japan where Sōjōbō, king of the tengu, was said to live. According to legend, it is where Sōjōbō taught swordsmanship to the folk hero Ushiwakamaru, more famously known as Minamoto no Yoshitsune.
 * His nagamaki, Shanaō, shares its name with the moniker that Sōjōbō granted Ushiwakamaru upon coming of age.

Trivia

 * As a descendant of tengu, Yashamaru is part-yōkai.
 * This makes him and Kusaregedo the only characters with such supernatural lineage, though Kusaregedo became one after death, while Yashamaru was born as such from the start.
 * His criminal alias, Karasu Tengu, literally meaning "Crow Tengu," is derived from a breed of tengu that takes on the appearance of a crow.
 * He shares his hatred of the Tokugawa clan with Amakusa, who was also historically executed by them, at first becoming the main villain, eventually becoming something of an anti-hero and finally, a supporting hero.
 * His hair is naturally white. His black hair, which appears when he activates the Rage Bar, represents the Tengu lineage on Yashamaru, as well as the blood stain that appears on his face in one of his win poses.