Kenren Taisho 捲簾大将
General in Heaven’s Western Army. He’s a lawless man who loved sake, flowers, and women. An infamous commander who used to be a general in the Eastern Army, he was demoted for sleeping with his commander’s wife and became Tenpou Gensui’s subordinate. He’s a bold wanderer overflowing with chivalry, but he could also be meddling and common-sensed. He’s a good older-brother type, especially towards children and his subordinates. Although he’s been called Tenpou’s husband, he’s actually more of a housewife, supporting Tenpou, who wouldn’t be able to handle daily life if left to his own devices. He had doubted the absolute principle policies of Heaven from long ago. He was attracted by the Lower World’s art and the beauty of living things, and while he was a military man in Heaven’s Army, he joined up with Goku. He loved Lower World luxury items like cigarettes. Because acquiring these goods was difficult, he smoked several brands.
Profile
・ Height: About 181 cm [5 ft 11 in]
・ Hobbies: Fishing. Drinking sake under the flowers. Light weightlifting.
・ Favorite Food: Yakiniku, kimchee, seafood
・ Least Favorite Food: Milk (his stomach is surprisingly weak)
・ Concerns: It’s concerning that he isn’t concerned with details.
・ Occupation & Post: General of Heaven’s Western Army, 1st platoon.
・ Special Skill: Shooting. Cleaning.
・ What he looks for in a woman: A high-maintenance beauty (because he likes taking care of people) ・ Favorite Color: Black
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・ He overflows with handsomeness and chivalry. Not only that, but he likes taking care of people. It looks like he’s good at all kinds of household chores and he likes them. No matter where you look, you’ll never find a man as valuable as him. I’d love for him to be my husband. (Okinawa Prefecture, SH-san)
・ I fell in love with him at his, “Maybe real pain is not being able to tell anyone ‘it hurts’,” line. … I love the way he lives his life. (Kanagawa Prefecture, SM-san)
・ I like how cool lines just pop out of his mouth, and how he cares about his boss and subordinates more than anyone. (Yamagata Prefecture, YY-san)
・ I want a big brother as amazing and kind as him. I love how, even though it seems like he’s always laughing (?) with some sake in hand, you can depend on him when push comes to shove! (Kanagawa Prefecture, TS-san)
・ I love the strong, kind Ken-nii who acts like a little kid even though he’s physically grown. I like his childish, teasing smile so much. I fell in love with that Ken-nii (Aichi Prefecture, Yohta-san)
・ I chose him because he looks good when he smokes. His conversations with Tenpou were amusing. (Tokyo City, SM-san)
・ I like his free but worrying personality ♡ He’s a dependable older brother to Goku, and a respectable (maybe) military man. He and Tenpou are like husband and wife (laughs); he and Konzen are bad friends (laughs); as many friends as he has, he’s got more enemies; he would lay down his life for anyone. I like his spirit. (Kanagawa Prefecture, KH-san)
・ I was pulled in strongly by how he’s always the one who understands the others the best (Fukushima Prefecture, FH-san)
・ Even though he’s always saying and doing stupid things, when push comes to shove he sacrifices himself for his friends first thing…… How can you not fall for such a good guy (laughs)! Also, I like how he enjoys life from the bottom of his heart (Tokyo City, Shiina-san)
・ That big brother attitude makes me want to go with him anywhere! He’s good at calligraphy and drawing, and he’s good at household cleaning and cooking… How amazing! It was truly a shock that of the four running away, he was the first to fall, and I was overcome with helplessness even knowing the outcome… (Miyagi Prefecture, YA-san)
・ Everyone’s big brother, Kenren-sama! He’s nice and cool and I really love him ♡ Please, won’t you be my big brother only?? (Chiba Prefecture, Kanae-san)
・ I love his little kid general points (Yamagata Prefecture, NS-san)
・ No matter what they say, he’s a meddling, kind big brother. I love that about him. The Tenpou/Kenren combo is amazing, and I admire how, even though he was jailed for thinking of Nataku, and chased into a hopeless situation for trying to protect Goku, he continues along his chosen path. And the fact that his subordinates like him and he cares for them comes through. (Hagikuro-san)
・ His actions and his mouth are bad, but he’s a big brother who thinks of his friends more warmly than anyone, and takes good care of them. When he stepped out in front of the Heavenly Emperor for Nataku’s sake, I really fell in love with him. I love that kind of big brother who would lay down his life for anyone! (Kassun-san)
・ His caring for others really comes through, and I love how he’s a man among men! And how he takes care of people, too (laughs)! (Zukkii-san)
・ I love brave Kenren!! I fell in love with him at first sight (laughs). Looking at him caring for his subordinates, anyone would agree that he’s the type of husband who would definitely take care of his family! I imagined that and other scenarios and came to love him (laughs). The scene where he gets wrapped up in bandages was cute! (Chisa-san)
・ He’s awesome and cool and straight-forward… He’s really my ideal person (Karen-san)
Tenpou Gensui 天蓬元帥
Field Marshal of Heaven’s Western Army. He’s a reading maniac, and was always buried in books. He also loved Lower World items, and collected senseless things in his office. He’s easy-going and vague, very ‘my pace’. With his shabby lab coat and dandruff-ridden hair, his handsome face was totally wasted and he didn’t care at all about himself. He’s famous for being a weirdo, and his calm, coolheaded insight while standing on the battlefield was like that of another person. His superior officer the Dragon King recognized Tenpou as the superior military man. He used to be the type to bear everything on his own, but since he gained his good comrade Kenren, he changed his solitary recklessness, placed Kenren at the top of his unit, and put his heart into playing the wife role. He also had a dangerous side that led him to keep hot items to himself beyond all expectations, and keep his teeth in something until he’s satisfied, no matter who his opponent was. The beloved cigarettes he smoked about 5 packs a day were Arc Royals. He got his favorite frog ashtray in the Lower World.
Profile ・ Height: about 178 cm [5ft 10in]? He’s never measured.
・ Hobbies: Reading and collecting books. He likes everything from non-fiction to exaggerated fantasy. Collecting Lower World items (especially sculptures). Fundamentally an otaku.
・ Favorite Food: Ramen. Curry. Ochadzuke. Pot-cooking. He’ll put miso soup and anything else on rice. He likes putting furikake on raw-egg rice.
・ Least Favorite Food: Previously he ate expired nameko mushrooms, so now he can’t eat any type of mushroom.
・ Special Skill: He can go 5 days without a bath and be fine (so he says). He’s fine with a room like a trash dump (so he says). He’s fine without sleeping (but he’ll pass out somewhere)
・ Concerns: His bottomless curiosity ・ Occupation & Post: Field Marshal of Heaven’s Western Army (the Western Army is divided into 1st platoon and 2nd platoon, so he’s in charge of only the small 1st platoon).
・ What he looks for in a woman: A self-sufficient person.
・ Favorite Color: He thinks the color combination of that thing at Lower World barbershops is the pinnacle of art.
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・ I like the feeling that he’s hard to deal with. He has many faces, and it feels like you get pulled deeper and deeper as you try to figure out what kind of person he is. He can be warm and kind like sunshine, or colder than midwinter ice… (Tokyo City, KK-san)
・ He’s smart, playful, sloppy; I like all of it. I even fell in love with the gap between his military man expression and uniform from when he goes out to battle… and how he looks normally. (Fukuoka Prefecture, MS-san)
・ I love that he looks gentle and good-tempered, but he’s actually quick to snap! I especially like his two shots with Kenren. (Ibaraki Prefecture KM-san)
・ Unlike his messy room and untidy appearance, he looks cool and collected on the battlefield. I thought he looked really cool. Although, I did like how he looked, reading a book as he fell ♡ He’s impulsive enough to tear his beloved books, and he believes in Kenren… I think Tenpou is amazing. (Yamagata Prefecture, TM-san)
・ Even though he presents a strong ‘irresponsible’ image with his ragged lab coat and dandruff-ridden hair, I absolutely love the sharp gaze he sometimes shows. I like how he falls asleep in the bath, uses a frog ashtray, and everything ♡ (Tokushima Prefecture, SM-san)
・ I like it when he spaces out! (Tokyo City, BM-san)
・ I like how even though he’s smart, he can’t clean up at all. I want to clean up for him. My eyesight has gotten better watching Ten-chan. It’s true! (Mie Prefecture, HS-san)
・ He understands others the best… and holds them dear. I like Tenpou best when he fights. (Akita Prefecture, Shinya Itsuki-san)
・ He’s always easy-going, and he looks good softly smiling, but I like the sudden change in his eyes when he’s being a military man or when he gets serious. It’s wonderful how he holds strong feelings deep in his heart…♡ (Yamagata Prefecture, HE-san)
・ I liked him the first time I saw him (laughs). He’s easy-going and hard to figure out, but his heart burns hotter than anyone else; I was captured by that difference. You can see that he’s more forgiving than anyone from his talks with Kenren. I love him. (Aichi Prefecture, TA-san)
・ I like that he puts his subordinates and friends before himself and he’ll use everything he can, even himself, to protect them. (chiho-san)
・ I was pulled in by his appearance too, but mostly it was his personality. At first glance he looks like a sloppy boss, but actually, he thinks of his comrades (subordinates), he’s smart, his heart and his sword are strong, and he’s really cool! I’ve read the story about his duel with Shou’u at the end and his death numerous times, and numerous times I’ve ended up crying. (Shiori-san)
・ I was pulled in by his quite chivalrous aspects in contrast to his pretty face (laughs). Seeing him snap in the first volume was exciting! The fight scene where he uses a sword was cool too! A lab coat and a sword… he was amazing (Usa-san)
・ He was a very ‘human’ person. He was smart but weird, and sloppy, and calmly passionate. He was a man overflowing not just with pretty looks, but with charm too. I adore the Field Marshal, who fell beneath his own aesthetics for Goku and the others, thinking of the everyday and Kenren to the very end. I always will. (Aasa-san)
・ I like how he’s serious amid his easy-going ways!!! And I like how he’s not good at keeping things organized!! (Moko-san)
・ I like his dealings with Kenren, his refreshing smile, how he really cares for his friends, his lab coat and toilet slippers… I love it all!! (Mizuki-san)
・ Really I love them all! But my favorite is Ten-chan!! He used to be the type to carry it all by himself, but he learned the importance of friends from meeting Kenren, and watching him survive until the end in order to protect those important friends made me cry. (Minato Ri-san)
Prince Nataku 哪吒太子
A synthesized combination of youkai and god created by Li Touten; in other words, a man-made man. According to Li Touten’s wishes, he was appointed ‘War Prince’, as he was the strongest ‘killing puppet’ that combined a terrifying amount of youkai power and godly skills. He was tortured by the dilemma of being both a mischievous, childlike boy and a doll that took his father’s word as law. But when he met Goku, that wall collapsed and he was left with the terrible, unavoidable choice of suicide. He was Goku’s first friend.
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・ I love Goku and Nataku! The tiny kid combo is just too cute ♡ I would love to see the two of them happily playing together like normal children some day. (Toriten-san)
・ I think he’s the deepest character. I love that, even though he’s a created being, he desperately tries to hold on to himself and his heart. (Osaka City, NA-san)
・ He was Goku’s first and only friend, and I like his innocent, smiling face that makes him look the same age as Goku. (Hiroshima Prefecture, Lotus-san)
・ I was surprised that he started as a ball*. I was done in by that. My breath stopped. (Hyogo Prefecture, SS-san)
- More info in Saiyubito’s Comparative Analysis, here
・ “Saiyuki Gaiden” means Nataku ♡ (Tokyo City, Zabuton Usagi-san)
・ He is a small boy whose eyes show his loneliness and pain. (Tokyo City, Toreisu-san)
・ He seems so cold (in body and spirit), so I want to feed him warm food. (Iko-san)
・ At first he was Li Touten’s (his father’s) puppet, but…… in the end he held on tight to his own wishes, and sacrificed himself to protect his friendship with Goku…… It’s sad, but I think it was a good thing. (Kaori-san)
・ Nataku’s words moved my heart. He’s very brave and straight-forward… I really like him a lot. (Shinya-san)
・ He’s strong and cute. I feel sorry for him… I hope he can play with Goku soon. (Sekiya-san)
・ He’s the War God who supports Heaven with his small body. He’s always lived with hardships, and wavered between absolute orders and his father’s uncertain love. Amid all that he meets Goku, and his childlike points shine through. I really like him. (Shiina Ayato-san)
・ I thought Nataku, who was born as a doll, showed amazing courage to ignore Li Touten’s orders and try to protect his best friend Goku. (Kanagawa Prefecture, Botan-san)
・ It was like a shot to the heart when Nataku, who couldn’t show emotion to anyone as the War God (a murdering puppet), met Goku and smiled like a child. It lit a fire under my motherly instincts… (Inaka Hoppe-san)
・ I was caught by how he fought with the constraints of his birth, and the strong loneliness of listening to his father’s words and putting off what he wanted to do, even though he was just a little boy. (Kubota Yuuya-san)
・ I was done in by his smile and “See you later” (laughs). But the fact that he can’t disobey his father makes my heart ache… (Amatou-san)