App/info

[haraguroi]

▶ CHARACTER
NAME: Ranmaru Mori
CANON: Ikemen Sengoku
CANON POINT: Sasuke's Dramatic Route -- after Ranmaru escapes at the end
AGE: all characters in Ikesen are over 18 -- it's a spicy game
BACKGROUND:
Ranmaru Mori in this version of canon has quite a different life than the historical Ranmaru does. While he is still part of the Mori clan, he is not a samurai but rather a ninja, and he does not appear to have been raised within the Mori clan. Instead, he was found by a monk (also romanceable in the game -- or will be, eventually!) named Kennyo. Kennyo saved him when he was a child and thus raised him, naturally making Ranmaru extremely loyal to him. He claims in his PSP route that he knows Kennyo was a kind man before he became blinded by rage for Nobunaga.
In current English canon, he primarily makes his appearances in Sasuke's route. Sasuke, the other ninja in the game, is originally on opposing sides as the MC and thus crosses paths with Ranmaru and Kennyo (who sorta teams up with Kenshin Uesugi, Nobunaga's #1 enemy). Because the monk wishes Nobunaga dead, Ranmaru agrees to get close to him in order to kill him. He thus becomes a spy for Kennyo and works his way up to being Nobunaga's favored attendant.

Ranmaru lives alongside Nobunaga for quite a long time, and thus ends up becoming extremely attached to him. He often almost lets it slip that he would die for Nobunaga and that he only listens to Kennyo and Nobunaga alone. Eventually he becomes uncertain if he can actually hurt Nobunaga at all. While he did attempt once, the MC's arrival in the Sengoku period foiled that attempt.

Historically, Ranmaru commits seppuku at Honno-ji. He does not die for Nobunaga in Ikemen Sengoku, however (just takes an arrow to the shoulder at some point). Not only does Nobunaga survive but Ranmaru escapes and is supposedly not seen again -- at least so far in canon -- though he will have his own route eventually. He is so torn between his love for Kennyo and his love for Nobunaga that he can't bear it, and runs away.


PERSONALITY: One of the first things the MC notices when she meets Ranmaru is that, for an instant, there's a shadow that falls over his face, betraying the bubbly and friendly persona he puts on. It's a pretty accurate description of Ranmaru in general. While he appears to be sweet, innocent, and always smiling, he is actually quite a bit more two-faced than that. Ranmaru's character trope can be described as "Haraguroi", which translates to "scheming" or "black-hearted". He appears to be a good person, inevitably he is a good person, but for most of his existence he's not been a good person at all.

While Ranmaru will put on a happy face in front of anyone he has to make an impression on, he will drop that smile the minute he's able to. Kennyo, who is basically a father figure to him, even mentions that he'd never once seen Ranmaru smile in his company before. Something, or someone, has made Ranmaru an unhappy person, but he is very good at hiding it. He knows how to act in order to get pretty much everyone to like him. In fact, he's kind of known as a ladies man around Nobunaga's castle because he is so charming. The MC compares him to a pop idol in the modern world (and there is actually a moment in canon where he is an idol after going to the 21st century). Despite the bubbly energy and Stepford Smiling, Ranmaru does have moments of being pretty catty. He isn't afraid of showing his dislike or picking a fight as long as it doesn't betray his endgame.

The real Ranmaru is manipulative and secretive. He almost always has an ulterior motive, be it big or small. He can shed tears on cue and it often persuades people to give him what he wants. His secretive behavior and ability to lie seamlessly are accompanied by his training as a ninja, making him a pretty slippery character. He's not only difficult to read, but he's difficult to catch too. He has selective sympathy for others, whether he knows anything about them or not. Because Kennyo hated Nobunaga, Ranmaru also decided to hate Nobunaga. He has taken lives and does not show remorse for it, and indeed even attempts to take Nobunaga's life out of blind loyalty and nothing more. Ranmaru knows he is feminine and "cute", and uses these traits to his advantage as well. When he's putting on an act, he'll even often refer to himself in third person (considered a "cutesy" trait in Japan), though when he's genuine, he tends to speak in first person.

Thanks to the MC, Nobunaga, and the other warlords (+ Sasuke), Ranmaru eventually begins to warm up considerably. He learns what loyalty truly is, his smiles are less often fake, and his cold heart begins to love so much he can't even bear it anymore. Because he doesn't have much experience with positive emotions, he is easily torn by them and often has no idea how to react. In that respect, despite all his combat and spying experience, he is a little naive. In a way, he's kind of a "Benedict Arnold" too, except it's not on purpose, it's just because he doesn't know what to do with himself.

If Ranmaru acts one way, his real personality is likely the opposite of that. Something that remains consistent though is that he doesn't really like being alone. While a lot of his friendships are fake, he is always surrounded by people one way or another. When he (rarely but) genuinely likes someone, he adores them unconditionally, even going so far as to devoting his entire life (and thus being ready and willing to give that life up) to them.

Although he struggles to understand what's real and what's fake as the story goes on, Ranmaru does feel his emotions quite strongly. He strives to be worthy in the eyes of people he admires and will do just about anything to achieve that. Though he's a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to having a conscience, he will put his all into a cause he believes is worth fighting for. Cheesy as it may be, the power of love (from Kennyo, from Nobunaga, and from the Main Character) rescues Ranmaru from his own darkness and shows him a world he wants to be part of at last.

POWERS/ABILITIES: Ranmaru has no "powers", but he is highly skilled in ninjutsu. His weapons of choice are the kunai and sword, but he can also use shuriken and caltrops. It can be inferred that he is quite physically fit also. His special skill is "crocodile tears"...

INVENTORY: his sword, some caltrops, a (blue) ribbon headband

MOONBLESSING: Cordis