No More Heroes/Characters

Here's the cast of misanthropes, miscreants, and general ne'er-do-wells (plus one adorable kitten) found in No More Heroes. For the characters introduced in the sequel, go here.

Travis Touchdown
"It's game time!"


 * Voiced by: Robin Atkin Downes

The Heroic Comedic Sociopath Anti-Hero (or possibly Villain Protagonist, depending on your point of view) of the game, who is out to go from loser Otaku to would-be Badass assassin. Begins the game as the 11th ranked assassin in the United Assassins Association.

""Come on, ! Unleash your anger, your hate, everything! I'll take it all and fucking kill you with it!""
 * Alliterative Name: It's an impossibly cool one too. Even Charlie MacDonald agrees.
 * Animal Motifs: Tigers. Several of his shirts have tigers on them, and his Cool Bike is named after them. The name is transliterated in Japanese as "Torabisu", and "tora" means tiger. Also, he can transform into a tiger for a short period of time in the second game. And his wrestling moves include the Tiger Suplex and Tiger Driver.
 * Anti-Hero: Borders on Villain Protagonist. This changes a bit in the sequel
 * Blood Knight: Travis apparently got started as an assassin because he bought a beam katana off the Internet.
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: The first game's opening and ending sequences. He does it periodically throughout the second.
 * Byronic Hero: At first. Character Development at the end of the game and continuing into Desperate Struggle helped greatly.
 * Character Development: Hoo boy, does he get this in Desperate Struggle. While he did change a little bit in the first game, it's nothing near the growth he went through in the second. In the beginning, he's the same immature otaku that he had always been, but some of the battles throughout the game (namely Ryuji being, his decision to , and the outcome of his battle with ) completely alter his view on life, and by the end of the game, his goals have shifted from screwing Sylvia to being a hero in his own way.
 * Cheshire Cat Grin: Particularly whenever he enters a fight while in a good mood. The loading screen for the second game even shows a small picture of him sporting one.
 * Cool Bike: Travis' Schpeltiger.
 * Cool Shades
 * Cutscene Power to the Max: As awesome the stunts you can pull off when in control, it doesn't even compare to what Travis can do in cutscenes.
 * Crazy Prepared: He asked Naomi to make a fucking Humongous Mecha; that is some preparation. If there are any doubts, he says "I thought this might happen".
 * Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Despite being a stereotypical loser, he's built up an impressive body count against other trained killers.
 * Determinator: Becomes a gameplay mechanic in the second game. If you run out of health, you can furiously shake the Wiimote and nunchuck to come back from the brink with a few units of health (the number of times you can do this before dying for real varies on the difficulty.)
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?: The way he recharges his beam katana is quite... evocative.
 * Due to the Dead: He seems to practice this as seen in the events after his fights with Dr. Peace, Holly, Jeane, Ryuji, Margaret, Captain Vladimir, and Alice.
 * Dynamic Entry: His intro in the first stage of the first game. FUCKHEAD!
 * Even Evil Has Standards: It's worth noting that throughout both games, Travis never takes his weapon up against a civilian, killing only in UAA battles, events or assignments, or for revenge in the second game. In the first game he expresses disgust at those who do (Shinobu, Destroyman, and Bad Girl, the latter two being shown as being irredeemable psychopaths). He's also really iffy about Shinobu's crush on him in the second game because he doesn't want to feel like a Dirty Old Man.
 * Genre Savvy: Travis becomes increasingly so as the game goes on.
 * Idiot Ball: That said, man, is he stupid early on. Particularly in the battle against Destroyman.
 * Heel Face Turn: In an interview given to Nintendo Power a few months before Desperate Struggle was released, Suda expressed how he loved to picture Travis as a wrestler, and uses the terms heel and face to describe his career.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Luxord, what did they do to ya?
 * Anutha Succezzful Procedure!
 * Garinoooo!
 * He also became god, once.
 * Then again, Robin Atkin Downes can fill up an entire page just by his roles.
 * In the Japanese version, it's Mugen.
 * Jerkass: So much. By the end of Desperate Struggle though, he seems to have lost nearly all of his Jerkass traits as the result of his increasing unease with killing.
 * Jerkass Woobie
 * Laser Blade: Travis' Weapon of Choice.
 * Katanas Are Just Better: It doesn't matter how much his first three weapons look like fluorescent bulbs with a handle, they're called beam katanas. Played straight by his ultimate weapon, which really is a curved beam of light.
 * Made of Iron
 * Medium Awareness and No Fourth Wall: Travis' Genre Savvy reaches these levels by the end of the first game, and the opening sequence of the second show that he's keeping up with it.
 * My Greatest Failure: If only for a moment, but he felt bad for not letting Holly Summers die by his hand
 * Nosebleed: When seduced by Silvia in Desperate Struggle, although it's hard to notice as she's simultaneously positioning his Beam Katana by his crotch and then proceeds to kiss it. Travis' nose erupts in a geyser of blood and his Beam Katana turns on. Ayup.
 * Official Couple:
 * One-Man Army
 * Otaku
 * Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner: Par for the course for Travis to deliver this against rival assassins, but one that definitely takes the cake is against


 * Red Baron: The manual of the second game, and at least two opponents, call Travis "The Crownless King" in reference to the events of the first. Later on, Travis starts calling himself "the No More Hero".
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: The theme of the second game.
 * Shout-Out: His character design is inspired by Johnny Knoxville.
 * Sliding Scale of Anti-Heroes: He's somehow at both extremes at once.
 * Sociopathic Hero: Travis skirts this line. Sometimes crosses over into Heroic Comedic Sociopath.
 * This Is Gonna Suck: "You've gotta be shittin' me!"
 * This Loser Is You: As incredibly skilled a warrior as he is, Travis remains a complete loser from beginning to end.
 * Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Face it; his character flaws were so exaggerated in the first game that it was hilarious.
 * Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Travis can't bring himself to perform a finishing blow on a woman, as seen in his fights against Shinobu and Holly.  By Desperate Struggle, he's completely over it. The only female he spares is, and it's somewhat implied that her being a female had little to do with it.
 * Wouldn't Hurt a Child: In Desperate Struggle,.
 * Wrestler in All of Us: It helps that his beam katana keeps landing in mooks' chests after he does a wrestling move on them.
 * Suplex Finisher: Most of his wrestling moves are actually different suplex variations.

Sylvia Christel
"Trust your Force... And head for the Garden of Madness."


 * Voiced by Paula Tiso

The mysterious woman who is supporting Travis through his endeavors, using the cash he brings from part-time jobs and small hits to arrange his fights to progress in the UAA rankings. She toys with Travis' affections, offering to sleep with him if he should become #1 on the list.


 * Black Bra and Panties: The top half is usually on display.
 * But Not Too Foreign: You'd never know by looking at her, but she's half-Japanese.
 * Expository Hairstyle Change: Literally—in Desperate Struggle, she actually changes hairstyles and outfits every time you see her just to give exposition.
 * Everything Sounds Sexier in French
 * Femme Fatale
 * Happily Married:
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Good news: she's Lulu. Bad news: she's Laughing Octopus and Jihl Nabaat.
 * Hey, The Female Protagonist is offering a chance to let Shinjiro date her. Provided he kills the other members of Precure!
 * Hot Mom:
 * Karma Houdini: For someone who sets up a bunch of hits, nothing bad happens to her It later turns out that
 * Male Gaze: Played almost to the point of satire during the "Phone Speak" segments in Desperate Struggle
 * Manipulative Bastard:
 * Painting the Fourth Wall: Her phone calls before the ranked battles actually begin are actually played through the Wii remote speaker.
 * Sensual Slavs: She's apparently half-Ukranian, though raised in France.
 * Split Personality: Sylvia tends to swing violently between personalities. In the second game, she starts off nice and sweet to Travis, seducing him back into the ranking battles, then she acts somewhat cold, then a few cutscenes afterward, she's violently screaming at him that she doesn't have time for a scrub of Travis' low rank at the time, and gunning down Travis' opponents when he doesn't finish them off quickly enough. Other times she'll be somewhat mean to him, but it's Played for Laughs, such as making Travis try to jump into her helicopter, reaching out to grab his hand, only to pull it away and saying "Oh yeah, there's no more seats." Other times she'll at least try to be nice, such as copping that she would prefer if Travis and Henry didn't kill each other.
 * Stripperific
 * Tsundere: Travis is sick of it by the second game. "How many personalities do you have?!"
 * What Happened to the Mouse?:
 * Yandere: How much she cares is never quite established, but she does threaten to kill Travis if he makes her jealous.

Jeane (the kitten)
Travis' pet Scottish Fold kitten, who can be played with between missions. In the second game, she's grown up... and apparently eaten a bit too much.


 * All There in the Manual: Jeane's breed. Also, her name comes from being a replacement for the other Jeane, who dumped him.
 * Death by Newbery Medal: Toyed with. During the Speed Buster fight leadup it totally looks like the game is going to kill Travis' cute kitten to make it personal
 * Cute Kitten: She's even cute after growing up and gaining about fifteen pounds too many.
 * Morality Pet: How bad can Travis be? He's got such cute widdle kitty!
 * One Steve Limit: Averted, see below.
 * Spanner in the Works:

Helter Skelter
"Hear the lullaby? Rest in peace, baby."


 * Voiced by Dee Bradley Baker

The eleventh-ranked assassin, he's a wanderer that was baited into a fight with Travis. Never actually fought in-game; he appeared in the trailer for Heroes, which eventually developed into this game.

"Travis: "I couldn't tell if he was the shit or just plain ol' shit.""
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Travis only knows him as "The Drifter".
 * Evil Albino: Although the "evil" is presumed.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy
 * Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Is seen smoking a cigar in the trailer. Until his Jaw Drop, that is.
 * Guns Akimbo / Dual-Wielding: Has two guns that, in addition to shooting bullets, shoot missiles and have retractable swords inside them.
 * Macross Missile Massacre: Tries this against Travis. It doesn't work.
 * More Dakka
 * Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Trailer: Inverted, he nearly only appears in the trailer.
 * Smoking Is Cool
 * Take That: In the trailer, he looks and acts an awful lot like Dante from Devil May Cry, and the trailer seems to play him up as the protagonist until Travis decapitates him with little effort.

Death Metal
"Quite beautiful, wouldn't you say? Paid for with the lives of many. When you have the strength to take life for yourself... That is true wealth. I am free of desire. So long as I have this scenery to look upon. I need nothing more. Please, leave me be."


 * Voiced by Grant Albrecht

The tenth-ranked assassin, who awaits Travis in his opulent estate. He's apparently quite disgusted with his own lifestyle, and eagerly awaits his fight with Travis. He also sees himself as a bit of a rival to Travis, as he also uses a beam katana.


 * Affably Evil
 * All There in the Manual: Apparently he was in a band (hence his name) and is a British nobleman.
 * BFS: It looks more like a giant straight razor than anything, and is apparently a product of "Orange".
 * Doppelganger Attack and Doppelganger Spin
 * Graceful Loser
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Ironically, Crypto is destroyed by a human.
 * Laser Blade
 * Lonely at the Top: Death Metal's monologue suggests this is the fate of all successful assassins. Not that Travis pays attention.
 * Red Baron: Another nickname of his is "Holy Sword".
 * Shout-Out: Count Townsend: Count Grishnack and Devin Townsend, a pseudonym for Black Metal artist Varg Vikernes (Burzum), and Devin Townsend, leader of Extreme Metal band Strapping Young Lad, respectively. Though the "Count" part is definitely debatable.
 * Wicked Cultured

Doctor Peace
"Listen to my song..."


 * Voiced by Richard McGonagle

The ninth-ranked assassin, a crooked cop with a long and sordid past, who apparently spent Travis' entry fee to have a nice dinner with his daughter and have center stage at the local baseball stadium to sing. He uses twin gold-plated revolvers.


 * Affably Evil
 * Blood Knight
 * Cold Sniper
 * Gun Fu
 * The Gunslinger: The Guns Akimbo type.
 * Hidden Depths: Corrupt cop, ruthless hitman, diffident parent... incredible singing voice.
 * Improbable Aiming Skills
 * Mafia Princess: It's strongly implied his estranged daughter is one.
 * Press X to Not Die: When you've depleted his health, you have to go through one of these to finish him off.
 * Revolvers Are Just Better: Golden ones, no less.
 * Shout-Out: Visually based off of Charles Bronson. He's also a doctor, a cop and a gunslinger, characters that gave Mr. Bronson his status as celebrity.

Shinobu
"You will pay with your life! At last, I have my chance. I will now avenge my father!"


 * Voiced by Kimberly Brooks

The eighth-ranked assassin, a cold-blooded schoolgirl living a double life. She's out to kill Travis just as he's out to kill her - she believes that he killed her father. By far the most frequently cited to mess you up if you're not ready for her. Returns in the sequel as a self-proclaimed apprentice of Travis and to score some kills in his place.


 * Artificial Limb: Her right hand is mechanical in the second game. Travis cut the real one off in the first game rather than kill her.
 * Big Damn Heroes:
 * Calling Your Attacks: "Sonic Sword!" "Bloody Sunday!" "Black Monday!"
 * Combat Stilettos: In Desperate Struggle.
 * Dark-Skinned Blond/White-Haired Pretty Girl
 * Defrosting Ice Queen: Compare the cold and aloof Shinobu of the first game to her older, more cheery and cockier self who is fawning over Travis.
 * Dissonant Serenity
 * Fan Service: Save the game as Travis, you hit the can. Save it as Shinobu... Shower Scene.
 * Fragile Speedster: She can avoid all of Travis's attacks with ease, vault around the battle arena, dodge so quickly she nearly turns invisible and can outright ignore Travis's own Flash Step technique.
 * Glass Cannon
 * Gratuitous Japanese: "You've got no Moe Mo-way!"
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Cure Berry!
 * Hot for Teacher: In the sequel, she's adopted Travis as her master and appears to have a crush on him.
 * Joshikousei
 * Katanas Are Just Better: And hers is decorated with little stuffed animals in the first game.
 * Little Miss Badass
 * Scarf of Asskicking
 * Sword Beam: Her Sonic Sword/Gentoken attack
 * Teleport Spam: Used during her ultimate attack.
 * They Know Too Much: She kills her classmates after they learn she's an assassin. Travis calls her out on it.
 * "Wake-Up Call" Boss: The first one who can kill you in a single hit (it's not really an instant kill, but it does enough damage to kill you if you're even slightly wounded), the first one to emphasize the importance of wrestling moves and the first one where it's practically required to know how to Dark Step on Bitter. Not to mention that her ridiculous speed and aggressive combos make direct combat a suicidal effort.
 * You Killed My Father: She doesn't seem to care about the fight... until Travis turns on the beam katana. Then she goes ballistic and starts yelling this.

Destroyman
"Ahahahaha! This is great! Is this guy an idiot or what? Is this a joke? You fell for the oldest trick in the book! Ahaha! Oh man! You are something. This is the best. Man, you really crack me up. I...I think this laughter's going to kill me. Seriously! I think I might really die from laughter! Ahaha...It hurts. Someone help! Oh God! Oh...oh shit. Ehehe, I thought I was gonna die there. For real."


 * Voiced by Josh Keaton

The seventh-ranked assassin, an actor in indie films that uses his character's superhero gimmick suit to hide deadly weapons. In really questionable places. He's initially taken by surprise by Travis, but is able to prepare thanks to quickly tossing Travis an Idiot Ball.


 * Ascended Fanboy: The financier and star of the independent "Destroyman" movies.
 * Ax Crazy
 * Calling Your Attacks: "Destrooooy BEAM". Deconstructed brutally, as Destroyman's campy shouting and posing only serves to open him up for attack and makes him almost trivially easy to telegraph. However, his suit has a built-in SFX converter. He can't use the attacks unless he yells them out. It's a character flaw!
 * Changing Clothes Is a Free Action: Asking Travis to turn around was just so he could get a cheap shot; he went from mailman uniform to full-body spandex in about the space of a second.
 * Clothes Make The Destroyman: I mean, hell, I'd like to be in possession of a super suit complete with a Wave Motion Gun and tons of other nifty gizmos.
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?: Nipple guns and crotch lasers. Really all that needs to be said.
 * Evilly Affable: He's a psychotic, unrepentant bastard, but he's just so over-the-top. It's hard to hold any of his faults against him.
 * Groin Attack: Inverted—Destroyman attacks other people with his groin. DESTROOOOY BUSTER!!!
 * Half the Man He Used To Be:
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Imagine Spidey as an outright Jerkass and the end result isn't too far from Destroyman.
 * Metal Gear Solid fans may know him as young Ocelot.
 * I Surrender, Suckers
 * Light Is Not Good: What with being a superhero and all.
 * No One Could Survive That: After taking advantage of Travis' stupidity, he basically says this, including surprise on not being killed himself.
 * Psycho for Hire: The first really crazy "assassin" you fight. Illustrated by the game itself before he reveals his True Colors—the screen shakes and pulses wildly as he cheerfully talks with Travis, hinting at his mental instability. And note his day job as a mail carrier, a profession widely believed to be the domain of complete lunatics in the United States. There's a reason they call it "going postal"...
 * Smug Snake: He's not nearly as clever as he seems to believe, despite his brief encounter with Travis.
 * Split Personality: In the first game it seems he's simply putting on a facade.
 * Trying to Catch Me Fighting Dirty
 * We Can Rebuild Him:

Holly Summers
"A bud that will never blossom...farewell, my sweet seventh."


 * Voiced by Kim Mai Guest

The sixth-ranked assassin, a former model with a prosthetic leg. She takes full advantage of Travis' unwillingness to hurt a woman, setting up pit traps for him and using the rocket launcher in her fake leg on him when he slips up.

"Holly: Do you like fighting? Do you like killing? Do you like fear? Do you accept death?"
 * Armor-Piercing Question: Seems to try this at the beginning of her match. It doesn't take.


 * Badass Bookworm: She fights far more intelligently than the other ten (at least most of the time and is explicitly referred to as an "academic."
 * Death Trap
 * Face Death with Dignity/Graceful Loser:  Leads to quite a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming for the young upstart.
 * Handicapped Badass: She's got a rocket launcher in her fake leg. That alone is pretty badass. She's also able to dig holes in sand surprisingly fast.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Mei Ling?
 * No, Cure Rhythm.
 * Leg Cannon
 * Love At First Punch: Travis really seems to connect with her.
 * Macross Missile Massacre: From her fake leg, no less.
 * Puzzle Boss: Much of the fight is figuring out how to avoid her traps.
 * Shovel Strike: She can kick your ass five ways to next week with her shovel.
 * Shovel Strike: She can kick your ass five ways to next week with her shovel.

Letz Shake
"Oh Ja! I feel a good undulation. Your rumbling is excellent. I think I'm going to lose the bowel control!"


 * Voiced by Dee Bradley Baker

The fifth-ranked assassin, an immigrant from Singapore who made off with an experimental military earthquake generator. He awaits Travis quite far out of town.


 * Bait and Switch Boss: The battle isn't going to be you against that hulking monstrosity. Nor is it going to be you against its wielder to stop said monstrosity.
 * Brain In An Earthquake Generator: Doctor Shake (likely his father).
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Real name is never revealed in the first game, though the brain in the jar is
 * Funny Foreigner
 * Shout-Out: He appears to be wearing a Virtual Boy and Power Glove, his weapon is based on the Play Station 3 and Xbox 360 hardware and he even pulls a Michael Jackson pose.
 * Technology Porn: The preparation for the earthquake generator.

Harvey Moiseiwitsch Volodarskii
"Let's see what you're made of, country boy!"


 * Voiced by James Horan

The fourth-ranked assassin, an illusionist and escape artist that prefers using both death traps and Dual-Wielding Laser Blades (although smaller than the ones Travis uses). Also gives Travis an Idiot Ball before the fight, although Travis wises up much faster this time. Tends to be the most forgotten fight, for some reason.


 * Affably Evil: Subverted. He seems like a perfectly normal magician until he reveals his death traps.
 * Ambiguously Jewish
 * Bishie Sparkle: While Harvey's bishieness is debatable under that Phantom of the Opera mask, he sparkles, his arms sparkle... hell, the entire stage sparkles.
 * Cat and Mouse Boss: You run from his death traps. He runs from you.
 * Character Development: It's during this fight that Travis's backstory starts to come into play, and it becomes clear that this isn't just a Heroic Sociopath and his quest to become the top killer.
 * Death Trap
 * Dual-Wielding
 * Eye Scream:
 * Hoist by His Own Petard:
 * Husky Russkie: Averted, although he's still dangerous.
 * Master of Illusion
 * Interface Screw
 * Laser Blade: Although they look like circus props of some sort.
 * Shout-Out: Quite a bit to The Phantom of the Opera.

Speed Buster
"Fuck you, ya little prick!"


 * Voiced by Mitzi McCall

The third-ranked assassin, a seemingly senile elderly homeless woman who turns out to have a Wave Motion Gun in her shopping cart. She apparently has some history with Thunder Ryu.


 * Affably Evil: Subverted. Like Harvey, she seems like a perfectly normal old woman until we get to see her Wave Motion Gun (and especially her Boss Banter she says during the fight).
 * Animal Motifs: Her Wave Motion Gun starts out as a shopping cart, then an egg, then a chick, then a chicken, and finally a rooster.
 * Corridor Cubbyhole Run
 * Does Not Like Men:
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Again, even the supplemental materials list no name.
 * Face Death with Dignity/Graceful Loser
 * Fan Disservice: Just like Sylvia and the other female bosses, she is affected by Heroes' Paradise's "Very Sweet" mode. Considering she's around 70-something...
 * Obfuscating Stupidity
 * Never Mess with Granny: If you don't want a huge-ass laser to the face. Just ask.
 * Puzzle Boss: It's really all about dodging her cannon until you can get close enough to sabotage it; she's too old to put up much of a fight.
 * Shopping Cart Antics
 * Villainous Breakdown: As you get closer to her Wave Motion Gun, her battle dialogue changes from taunts and insults to screaming at you to stay away.
 * Wave Motion Gun: Let it hit you and it's bye-bye. You'll survive two or three hits on the lower difficulties (although it will burn out the Beam Katana), but on Bitter you have to get out of the way.

Bad Girl
"Pop quiz. Why am I such an angry bitch? Seriously, no matter how many I kill, it's all the same. They're all. Going. To pay. Yeah. With their fucking lives."


 * Voiced by Kathryn Fiore

The second-ranked assassin, who is an overly made-up woman in a pink baby doll dress and carrying around a bloody baseball bat. While all of the assassins, including Travis, are obviously unhinged to some degree, Bad Girl is out-and-out psychotic. Easily the most unnerving of the opponents.


 * Abnormal Ammo: Cloned gimps. Really.
 * Affably Evil: Immediately subverted. When she offers Travis a beer before fighting him, you might think she'll turn out to be this. It doesn't last, however, as she soon reveals that she's an utter psycho.
 * Ax Crazy
 * Badass Normal: The "normal" part is contested as far as her mind goes, but she fights you with by far the most primitive weapon.
 * Batter Up: Her Weapon of Choice.
 * Blondes Are Evil: No way! She's such a cute dresser!
 * Complete Monster: Of course, YMMV whether she herself is one, but the trope itself becomes the subject of an in-universe discussion between her and Travis. When he first meets her, he's utterly repulsed by her and tries to pull Even Evil Has Standards... but it doesn't work. At all. She retorts that assassins really don't have standards and that they're all just insane, perverted, murderers at the end of the day, no matter how they might try to dress it up.
 * Cute and Psycho
 * Diabolus Ex Nihilo: Throughout the first No More Heroes, the assassins Travis faces at least have some explanation as to who they are. Death Metal has a mansion and a life of luxury, Dr. Peace has an estranged daughter, Harvey is a stage magician, Speed Buster is an old woman who hates men but seems to have an odd friendship with Thunder Ryu... with Bad Girl, you get nothing. There's no Freudian Excuse, no mention of friends or family... she doesn't even seem to have an occupation other than being a killer. Travis does not expect this and the fact that there is literally nothing else to her character beyond murder just disgusts him. He even drops his few shreds of chivalry for the fight with her.
 * Drunken Master: It's not so subtly implied that she's totally hammered during the fight, but she will kick your ass into next week with that bat.
 * Elegant Gothic Lolita: Her style of dress, though that just makes things worse. The style is technically Sweet Lolita. Although, that makes the contrast between her psychotic nature and her cute clothing all the more apparent.
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": With her, though, it's likely that she doesn't even care to have a name.
 * Fetish Fuel: Deliberately invoked to a disturbing degree.
 * For the Evulz: Judging by her monologue, this is what drives her.
 * Girl with Psycho Weapon
 * Gray Eyes: Would fit Type Five (she certainly is dangerous) but doesn't have the cold, professional demeanor that those types have. Instead, Bad Girl is gleefully psychotic.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Damnit Cure Dream, you are drunk again?
 * Lady Drunk: A rather young example, yet the most unstable, batshit insane of them all.
 * Lightning Bruiser: Doesn't look like it, but HOLY CRAP.
 * Mini-Dress of Power
 * Nietzsche Wannabe: Arguably the most disturbing example in the franchise. Unlike the other assassins, there is nothing truly that could be considered "humane" about her. She kills people For the Evulz and doesn't even seem to take pleasure in that. What's more, she's Genre Savvy to know that she's a nihilistic killing machine and has more or less resigned herself to it.
 * Not So Different: During the prefight cut scene Travis says "You're no assassin, you're just a perverted killing maniac" Her response: "In essence, they're the same."
 * Panty Shot
 * Perfect Play AI: In battle, she'll usually just saunter towards Travis very slowly and go ballistic when he's actually within attack range. If the player tries to stay away, she'll resort to her gimps instead.
 * Pink Means Feminine
 * Playing Tennis With the Boss: You can hit her gimps back at her. Careful though, because she'll sometimes send them right back at you.
 * Playing with Fire: After she Turns Red.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Subverted. Why is she such an angry bitch? She doesn't need a reason. She just wants to make people "pay with their fucking lives" because she can.
 * Sexy Walk: Two variations of it, one with dragging the bat and less hip swaying and the other holding the bad like a cane; swinging her hips enough to bounce her skirt side to side.
 * Taking You with Me: She tries her damnedest to do this to Travis.
 * Tranquil Fury: Just look at how her mannerisms shift after Travis tries to pull Even Evil Has Standards on her. She goes from being openly unhinged, flitting from Faux Affably Evil to Ax Crazy at the drop of a hat, to much calmer and more collected. Travis quite clearly hits a nerve with her.
 * Wounded Gazelle Gambit: And if you fall for it, it's a One Hit KO. On you, not by you.
 * You're Insane!
 * Zettai Ryouiki

Dark Star
"Welcome to my castle. I heartily receive you, my son."


 * Voiced by Steve Blum

The number-one-ranked assassin of the UAA, and Travis' ultimate target. Lives way out of town in a large castle, and awaits Travis' approach for a very special reason...


 * Animal Motifs: Dragons, to mirror Travis' tiger motif.
 * Badass Cape: That cape is pimpin'.
 * Bait and Switch Boss:
 * Cool Mask: Complete with a retractable dragon laser whip-sword!
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep":
 * Expy: Walks up in mechanical suit and helmet. Luke, I Am Your Father. Cue Laser Blade. Space Pirates from Metroid, right?
 * Hey, It's That Voice!!: It's Steve Blum... man, now I've got all these Naruto jokes welling up.
 * Luke, I Am Your Father: Dark Star is Travis' father.
 * Spikes of Villainy: On his armor.

Ermen Palmer
"I'm afraid not. These fights don't work like that. It's time to die, Mr. First Rank!"

Rank unknown, but another assassin out to climb the ranks of the UAA. Travis meets him in the ending.


 * Bait and Switch Boss:
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: Rather than go through the kinds of hoop-jumping that Travis did, he just surprises Travis on the toilet.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy:
 * Expy: Ermen is an Expy of Garcian Smith (AKA ) from Killer7.
 * Laser Blade
 * Unknown Rival: He bursts into Travis's bathroom, also with a beam katana, out to take Travis' position. Travis has no idea who this guy is, and particularly why he won't respect the sanctity of the restroom.

Jeane (the person)
"Go ahead. Draw,"


 * Voiced by Kari Wahlgren

Travis' ex-girlfriend, who he hasn't seen in two years.


 * All There in the Manual: Literally, her only mention before her actual appearance is in the instruction manual.
 * Bare Your Midriff
 * Blondes Are Evil:
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall or maybe No Fourth Wall: You could make the argument that Jeane never knew of the fourth wall to begin with.
 * Brother-Sister Incest:
 * Captain Ersatz: She fights like the Opposite Gender Clone of Gene; even the names sound the same. They both use Good Old Fisticuffs, dodge instead of blocking, reverse their opponent's attempts to use wrestling moves, and taunt in combat to goad their enemies.
 * Death Equals Redemption: Well, more like Death Equals Reconciliation, as she and Travis make peace with one another Jeane
 * Good Old Fisticuffs: She uses no weapon, and is apparently an expert at hand-to-hand fighting.
 * Groin Attack: Extreme version. She takes Dark Star down by launching her fist though his crotch.
 * Fingerless Gloves
 * Fragile Speedster/Glass Cannon:
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Man, Delita really pissed off Ovelia didn't he?
 * Luke, I Am Your Father:
 * Mind Screw: When she finally shows up, the Mind Screw officially commences.
 * One Steve Limit: Averted (see above).
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge:
 * Self-Made Orphan:
 * Shout-Out: Compares her situation to that of the manga Miyuki.
 * Stripperiffic: To a degree; all she's wearing is a tank top and shorts that are cut to show off her panties.
 * Take That: She delivers the immortal "No More Heroes Forever" line.
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Her life completely sucked. Her response was to kill the man responsible for ruining it. Given that she became an assassin afterwards, it seems that this wasn't enough for her and she's now making a living out of killing.

Henry Cooldown
"You're a disgrace to yourself and all those you've killed..."


 * Voiced by Quinton Flynn

A mysterious man with an Irish accent that first runs into Travis when the latter is the 6th ranked assassin. He promises to meet Travis again and go into more detail next time.

"Henry: It's not happening, brother. I can't be associated with that travesty. I mean I've got standards, for fuck's sake!"
 * All in The Manual: His last name was revealed as "Kuurudaun" on the japanese Desperate Struggle site.
 * Badass Longcoat: In the first game. Noticeably missing in Desperate Struggle, although he's still a Badass in a Nice Suit.
 * Big Damn Heroes:
 * Best Boss Ever:
 * Duel Boss:, this one's a given.
 * Dynamic Entry: How he
 * Evil Twin
 * Fake Irish
 * Fan Nickname: Mr. Sir Henry Motherfucker—originally used by Travis before the fans refer him to it.
 * Enemy Within: Mimmy.
 * Harmless Freezing:.
 * Katsuyuki Konishi: In the Japanese version. Who the hell does he think he is?!
 * Laser Blade
 * Impossibly Cool Weapon: It has a beam crossguard!
 * Luke, I Am Your Father:
 * Medium Awareness
 * Mind Screw
 * Mirror Match
 * No Fourth Wall
 * Perfect Run Final Boss
 * Screw This, I'm Outta Here: His response to.


 * Separated at Birth
 * Shirtless Scene: In the second game, much to the delight of his fangirls.
 * Shout-Out: Arguably one to Highlander. There's also possibly a Casting Gag about Raiden. In the second, he also manages to do one to.

Thunder Ryu

 * Voiced by Paul Nakauchi

Former wrestler and Yakuza member who now runs a gym. There, Travis can train to become stronger, learn new moves, and get hit on by his mentor. He has a history with Speed Buster


 * Engrish: Played with. While Thunder Ryu has Surprisingly Good English in cutscenes, his words in text (when you meet with him for training, for example) tends to be very insanely broken English.
 * Ho Yay: [invoked] intentional, and based on the nature of samurai student-and-master relationships in fact.
 * Katanas Are Just Better:
 * The Obi-Wan
 * Obi-Wan Moment
 * Spirit Advisor
 * Wrestler in All of Us

Doctor Naomi

 * Voiced by Vanessa Marshall

A scientist in the warehouse area of Santa Destroy who specializes in beam katanas. She sells both the katanas and the upgrades for them to Travis.


 * Absolute Cleavage: Her breasts have grown considerably since the first game. Her shirt has not.
 * Bare Your Midriff: It's very hard to notice (especially if you're staring at the area above), but it's there.
 * Cool Shades
 * Fan Service Pack: Here breasts are much larger in the sequel. There's the popular theory that all of the money Travis spent on beam katanas and upgrades in the first game went straight to her chest. However (in)sane this idea might be, this is Suda 51 we're talking about.
 * Gainaxing: With puppies massive enough to give Power Girl, Rangiku, Tarot, and Klan Klein a run for their money, this was inevitable.
 * Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!: The Japanese website lists her age at 63 years old. Hot damn, is that the hottest (nearly) senior citizen you'll ever see.
 * Hey, It's That Voice!: Face it, tiger. You've just hit the jackpot!
 * Hot Scientist
 * Jiggle Physics: Her breasts physics are some of the most gratuitous non-combat uses of the engine in the game.
 * Male Gaze: Yup. She even calls you out for it in Desperate Struggle, not that it changes anything...
 * Red Herring: The manual mentions some kind of dark secret of hers, even though she experiences no character developement and never leaves the lab. Not addressed in NMH 2, but still a possible Chekhov's Gun. The Japanese website states that she's actually 63—she apparently uses her science to make herself younger.
 * Tsundere: Though she's dismissive of Travis' Otaku lifestyle, she still flirts with him. Though that could be just to get him to buy more stuff (not that there's anyone else selling beam katanas nearby).
 * Welcome to Corneria: Where's that "new toy" you keep promising, Naomi? May refer to the  introduced in the sequel. Of course, after you've bought everything available in the sequel, she refers to another unnamed new toy.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: Only noticeable in the sequel when she stands, but it is there (though only around a Grade B).

Randall Lovikov

 * Voiced by Fred Tatasciore

A drunk who hangs out in a bar down a side street, he'll offer to teach Travis extra moves if he can be presented with seven "Lovikov balls." Given that his training involves beating Travis up, he might be the fastest at putting someone through Training from Hell ever.


 * The Alcoholic
 * Drunken Master
 * : In No More Heroes 1.5.
 * Shout-Out: The Lovikov balls themselves are an obvious reference to Dragon Ball, and the moves he teaches are all references to the various assassins in Suda 51's previous effort, Killer7
 * Training from Hell: As mentioned above, his is a contender for the fastest ever. He teaches Travis techniques in the space of one five-second beating.

Bishop Sidaks

 * Voiced by Matthew Mercer

The owner of the video place near Travis' apartment, and also he's Travis' only friend. He only generally appears if you're far from your bike, as he's the one who drops it off when you call. He'll also rent new wrestling videos to Travis to teach new moves.


 * Boom! Headshot!/Off with His Head:
 * Caught with Your Pants Down: He is seen masturbating to Bizarre Jelly 5 when
 * Dead Sidekick:
 * Meaningful Name: Possibly. Travis is the Crownless King, after all.
 * Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: His ex leaves him a text message repeating "DIE" over and over again.
 * Spell My Name with an "S": Bishop's last name has been spelled "Shidux", "Shidax", and all sorts of other ways. gives it the official spelling of "Sidaks".
 * Wrestler in All of Us