Kuroko

Kuroko (黒子, Kuroko), was used as an official who officiated the match in early Samurai Shodown games. He starts to challenge players as a hidden boss in Samurai Shodown II and continues to do so in other games of the series. Kuroko is an alias; his real name is shown in the credits of the second game; but it is, for unknown reasons, blurred with mosaics. His "real" name is revealed to English fans nearly a decade later as Dueling Judge: "Slick" Sukihiro. On his card in the English version of Card Fighters Clash he is called "The Ump".

Although he appears as his own character in the series, real life kuroko are meant to be anonymous and "invisible" stage men in Japanese theater. The color black (kuro) in Kabuki and Noh theaters, means to be invisible.

Similar characters appear in the Power Instinct series, though they have no relation to Slick, aside from a common occupation.

Story
Not much is known about him or from where he comes from. He was forced to judge matches as a servant of Amakusa in Samurai Shodown because his other brothers were held hostage. After Amakusa's defeat, he reunites with his family. One of the brothers had a previous working relationship with Nicotine Caffeine and is well versed in necromancy.

Personality
He is an enigma. It's hard to tell which brother is under the Kuroko alias at what time. He may not even be human.

Powers

 * Mimicry - Kuroko is notorious for parodying special moves of SNK characters from series such as Art of Fighting or King of Fighters. He can also morph into a copy of his opponents.
 * Pump Up - Kuroko can temporarily project a topless and muscular version of himself to hurt his opponents. He has a distinct Big dipper scar on his chest.
 * Flag Fighting - Kuroko's makes use of his flags as weapons.
 * Multiple Attacks - Kuroko can kick his opponents a lot of times.

Fighting Style
He dons a red flag and a white flag (used in martial arts competitions to denote when a player hits an opponent) as his weapon. As a playable character, Kuroko parodied moves from other SNK characters, mainly from those in Fatal Fury or Art of Fighting, and unlike every other character in the game, it was his outfit that became red as his rage bar filled up. He also can't be thrown normally, like Earthquake in the same game, and apparently his flags, which he uses as weapons, can't be destroyed or lost. He becomes a copy of his opponent in Samurai Shodown III. In Samurai Shodown VI, his special moves further parodied King of Fighters characters.

Music

 * お調子六句, Ochoushi Rokku (The Tune of Six Sentences) - Samurai Shodown II. The name of the theme is a pun, since it sounds as "Freestyle Rock" in Japanese.
 * 舞闘劇, Butougeki (Dance of Battle) - Samurai Shodown III
 * True Garage Spirits (Spiritual Black Men Mix) - Samurai Remix VA

Voice Actors

 * Masaki Usui - Samurai Shodown and III
 * Eiji Yano - Samurai Shodown II (while judging)
 * Toshikazu Nishimura - Samurai Shodown II (during battle)
 * Kaori Minami - Samurai Shodown 64
 * Takumi Satō - Samurai Shodown VI

Game Appearances

 * Samurai Shodown - judge; playable character in handheld version only
 * Samurai Shodown II - judge and challenger; hidden character playable in the console version only
 * Samurai Shodown III - challenger
 * Samurai Shodown IV - cameo in Gaira's ending
 * Shinsetsu Samurai Spirits: Bushidou Retsuden - save point
 * Samurai Shodown 64 - hidden character (also gameplay instructor & post-ending cameo)
 * Samurai Shodown! 2 - random select icon
 * Samurai Shodown V Special - "judge" (actually part of one of backgrounds)
 * Samurai Shodown VI - judge and challenger; hidden character playable in the console version only

Mobile Appearances

 * Days of Memories (third title) - in-text cameo; appears in various story modes

Cameo Appearances

 * Samurai Shodown IV - in Gaira's ending
 * Maid by Iroha
 * Samurai Spirits (pachinko)
 * Samurai Spirits Gaiden: Cham Cham