Sengoku Basara/Characters/Date Clan

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Date Clan

Date Masamune

Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai (Japanese), Kirby Morrow (Devil Kings), Robert McCollum (anime), Reuben Langdon (Samurai Heroes)

"Now give it all you've got and let me enjoy this!"

Young, cool but Hot-Blooded leader of the Date clan from Oushuu Province. He's out mostly to conquer the land and get on a good fight while he's at it. He's also a guy who values style, therefore his army look very delinquentish and he likes spouting Engrish speeches.

His Devil Kings counterpart's name was Azure Dragon.

"You used someone as a shield, just so that you can finish him, along with your enemies, from behind? There are things that you should, and shouldn't do!"

    • In the games it would seem that harming Kojuro or his men in any way sets him off.

(At Kojuro's death) "You have no idea what you have just unleashed!"

  • Blood Knight: He frequently takes on one-on-one battles just for the hell of it, whether they're necessary or not, to prove his strength.
  • Brown Eyes: In the games. In the anime, he has blue-Gray Eyes. Interestingly recent games show his eyes glow blue when he uses lightning powers.
  • Cool Horse: Not just any Cool Horse, but a Motor-Horse.
  • The Charmer: He's charismatic enough that most characters can't help but be drawn to him. From the third game, Magoichi seems to bring out the smooth-talker in him too.

Masamune: "Yo."
Magoichi: "Ah."

  • Curtains Match the Window: Except in his manga and anime incarnations: in the former he has blond/white hair, in the latter his eyes are blue-gray.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Sometimes, usually when he's threatening someone, but also jokingly too.

"We wouldn't want anyone else with a scary face like yours hanging around, now would we Kojuro?"

  • Defiant to the End: In the anime, when Nobunaga threatens to stab his eye out, Masamune tells him to go on and try it.
  • Determinator: In season 2's finale. Gets thrown through several walls, is nearly strangled to death, is shoved into a stone castle wall and punched so hard that the whole castle is destroyed and collapses on top of him. He still manages to defeat the Big Bad.
  • Dual-Wielding: How about wielding six swords at once instead of just two swords, HA? Or six Alastors, heh?
  • Eyepatch of Power: Masamune is the designated God of Eyepatches.
  • Eye Scream: Masamune's missing eye had to be gouged out in his youth. In the anime Nobunaga tries to gouge out his other eye during their Final Battle.
  • Friendly Enemy: When they're not feeling compelled to try and kill each other, he and Yukimura seem to get along fine. Then again, they also genuinely enjoy fighting each other.
  • Full-Name Basis: Always calls Yukimura by his full name.
    • He has switched to First-Name Basis once or twice during their climactic final duel.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: He does his fair share of cursing. Even though it's in English.
  • Gratuitous English: Masamune loves his Gratuitous English.

Masamune: "ARE YOU READY GUYS?!"
Lackeys: "Yeah!"
Masamune: "PUT YA GUNS ON!"

  • Get Back Here Boss: There will always be a stage where you have to get in a horse race with him (since the Date are expert horsemen and he lives in the mountains), making it to the goal before he does.
  • Hellish Pupils: For no apparent reason, aside from his association with dragons. They're normal in the anime, with a few exceptions.
    • They show up quite a bit in fanart, along with his having an eye of gold.
  • Hey, It's That Voice!: For the 3rd game, they got Reuben Langdon, AKA Dante, the guy Masamune is often compared with. Langdon, however, is not doing his anime voice.
  • Historical Hero Upgrade: The historical Masamune was certainly much more ruthless, but... hey, this is Basara.
    • He probably didn't speak English either...
  • Historical Beauty Update: It's rather doubtful that the real Masamune was as maddeningly attractive as this one...
    • It's time for a historical funfact! Some time ago, Date Masamune's remains were dug up and measured. He was approx 159cm tall. Not much, considering most of his fangirls are taller. But it was the average height during his time.
  • Homoerotic Subtext: His retainer Kojuro and rival Yukimura are the most prevalent, but Motochika and Ieyasu are also noticeable. He's shipped with everyone though.
  • Hot-Blooded: Yukimura influences him.

"Guess I got a little too heated up. I gotta stay cool".

  • How the Mighty Have Fallen: Has to pick himself up and recover his former reputation after Mitsunari delivers him his first crushing defeat in SB3.
  • I Can Still Fight: Does this in the anime after his soldiers are kidnapped. Despite having been shot only hours earlier, he acts like everything's okay and decides to stage a rescue attempt. Kojuro knows he is in no condition to go anywhere and knocks him out (not without a duel first, however).
    • Does it again in the second season when he attempts to fight Hideyoshi in a rather ragged condition. It goes about as well as you could expect (well, a little better, considering Hideyoshi spared his life).
  • Indy Ploy: Although he does come up with strategies, Masamune seems to find it more fun to charge in first and make things up as he goes along.
  • Invincible Hero: He shows huge signs of this in the second season of the anime. Not so much in the games, where consequences of his defeat by Mitsunari Ishida shape his storyline for the third game (and his overall role in the plot is much less significant).
  • Japanese Pronouns: 'Ore'
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's a great guy underneath that cocky, disrespectful teenage Blood Knight persona. Honestly.
  • Large Ham: Becomes loud and boisterous whenever he's fired up. He especially likes making a big entrance.
  • Jack of All Stats: In the games. Average attack, average defence, average attack speed, average reach. Has a good mixture of Spam Attacks, powerful single strikes, dash attacks, a ranged attack, and a Super Mode that turns him into a temporary Glass Cannon.
  • Japanese Delinquents: A whole army of them.
  • Mr. Fanservice: The fans go absolute crazy over him and Capcom damn well know it. How else do you explain his amount of fanservice steadily increasing since the first game?
    • In the anime he tends to get beaten up just so he can walk around in bandages for a while.
  • My Horse Is a Motorbike: Literally.
  • The Nicknamer: In the anime dub. Examples include "Kid" and "Red" for Yukimura, "Flower Boy" for Keiji and "Captain Lavender" for Motochika.
  • Pet the Dog: He has his moments with Itsuki and Tsuruhime in the games and Oichi in the anime. Seems he can't leave a girl in distress alone.
  • The Rival/Worthy Opponent: Towards Yukimura.
  • Rousing Speech: They certainly inspire his troops.

"LET'S PARTY!"

  • Rule of Cool: He probably rules his lands with this set of rules.
  • The Scream: Happens at least in manga when Mitsunari slaughters a good portion of his army and severely injures Kojuro. Complete with bloody backround. Rather cruel turnpoint for the previously cocky and invincible One-Eyed Dragon.
  • Secret Stab Wound: When he is shot in the stomach at Nagashino, he successfully hides the injury until several miles from the battlefield, only revealing himself by fainting and falling off his horse.
    • Not only that, it was implied that he spent half the journey unconscious. That's right, he was on his way back to Oshu while he wasn't even awake.
  • Shirtless Scene: Anime episode 8. He got muscular just for the occasion.
  • Shock and Awe
  • Slasher Smile: Occasionally flashes a crazy grin when he's enjoying himself. His chibi in the Mini Sengoku Basara shorts often features this.
  • Smoking Is Cool: In the second manga he smokes a pipe and has since done so in quite a lot of doujins and fanart.
  • Sobriquet: The One-Eyed Dragon
  • Stupid Sexy Flanders: He has plenty of fanboys too.
  • Super Mode: The Six Claws stance, which gives him a more powerful moveset, though he sacrifices the ability to defend.
  • Take Over the World: His ultimate goal, although unlike Nobunaga or Hideyoshi he has no ill will and wants to make it a place of peace.
  • There Was a Door: "Ah sorry, I forgot to knock!"
  • This Cannot Be!: If you beat him during the horse race, he says this in Engrish for good measure.
  • Trash Talk: Does plenty of this, even when it's not in his best interests. If Masamune's not taunting them, you can assume he respects his opponent.
  • White-Haired Pretty Boy: The manga turns him into one of these.
  • Wolverine Claws: He does the trope one better by wielding three Dragon Claws in each hand.
  • Younger Than They Look: According to Word of God, he's only about 19.

Katakura Kojuro

Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa (Japanese), Travis Willingham (English)

"I am prepared for anything."

Date's Battle Butler, retainer and overall right-hand man. Loyal, devoted and extremely protective of his master, and serves as a calmer counterpoint to the Hot-Blooded Masamune. He is arguably just as cool though.

  • Badass
  • Battle Butler
  • Catch Phrase: "Understood. I will not interfere", in response to Masamune's Leave Him to Me.
  • Demoted to Extra: Becomes an NPC once again in SB3 after only becoming playable for an expansion and PSP game. Then he's playable once more in Utage.
    • Also in the manga, at least in the first volume. Partially justified as it was based on the first game (and he appeared in the second one).
  • Determinator: According to Ieyasu, he should have been dead long before deciding to take on the entire Tokugawa army. And he's still standing after that.
  • Diagonal Cut: One of his main moves.
  • Face of a Thug: He's very intimidating, and looks it too, but underneath he's righteous and quite kind hearted.
  • Good Old Fisticuffs: In Berserk Mode he can also attack with punches and kicks. His hand-to-hand combat skills are shown to be devastating in the anime.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: The scar on his face. We're never told how he got it.
  • Homoerotic Subtext: He is utterly devoted to Masamune, and would rather die than let him come to harm.
  • Hot Men At Work: Quite frequently subject to this, due to his passion for vegetables.
  • Improbable Weapon User: About the only aversion in the whole series; Kojuro wields a traditional daisho, a Katana/Wakizashi pair, in the traditional samurai manner.
  • Invincible Hero: If Masamune can't fight a certain opponent, rest assured that he will pwn them for him. It's inevitable. Just ask Mitsuhide, Hisahide and Hanbe...
  • Japanese Pronouns: 'Ore'
  • Keigo: He only uses it around Masamune, Kenshin and Shingen. Otherwise he talks like a gangster.
  • Love Bubbles: When taking care of his vegetables.
  • Mangst: If he angsts at all, it's quietly and sternly, and he never lets it get in the way of everyday life.
  • Meditation Powerup: Routinely meditates for a moment during his taunt.
  • Mr. Fanservice
  • My Greatest Failure: In the anime he sees his inability to protect his lord at Nagashino as this.
  • Nice Guy: Outside the battlefield or Masamune's service, he spends his time with townsfolk helping them harvest the rice fields.
  • Number Two: He actually seems to be far more involved in day-to-day running of the province, and there's also the implication that he's stronger than Masamune.
  • Older Sidekick: Has a good ten years on his master, yet follows him devotedly and (mostly) without question.
  • Papa Wolf: Dare to hurt Masamune or his subordinates, and Kojuro will destroy you.
  • Perpetual Frowner: The number of times he's been caught smiling can be counted on one hand.
  • The Power of Friendship: His strength is renewed during the Utage story mode thanks to the souls of his dead troops bonding together to help.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: His hobby is gardening, and no one even attempts to mock him for it. He takes it very seriously.
  • The Rival: His designated rival is Hisahide, though Kojuro sees him as more of an Arch Nemesis. Sasuke occasionally crops up too.
  • Shock and Awe
  • Show the Forehead: Slicks his hair back to represent self-control. It becomes disheveled when he's angry.
  • The Southpaw: Is notably the only left-handed character in the game.
  • Sobriquet: The Dragon's Right Eye.
  • Sword Beam: "Narukami", one of his most powerful attacks, which can also be upgraded. Employs this in the anime to defeat Matsunaga and Mitsuhide.
  • Sword Drag: When in Berserk Mode he does this constantly, which displays his marked lack of composure. In the anime he uses it to intimidate Hanbe and some mooks.
  • Team Dad: He constantly worries about Masamune's antics and acts as his voice of reason.
  • Undying Loyalty
  • Unstoppable Rage: After Hisahide steals Masamune's swords, kidnaps some Date troops and injures Masamune, he sends Fuuma out to intercept Kojuro, who's so pissed he enters "Berserk Mode" and proceeds to completely brutalize him.
    • And in season 2, after escaping Toyotomi, he hunts down Hanbe to make him pay for cutting Masamune's back.
  • Wiser Advisor: Far more level-headed and cautious than Masamune, who he tries to keep in check and teach about the ways of war. Also comes up with all the army's battle strategies.
  • Yakuza: His whole attitude is based on this concept. In the expansion his alternate design took this further, complete with tattoos.
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