Supinamarada! Characters

The characters of the manga *Supinamarada!*

Main Characters of Supinamarada!

#### **Kai Kengo**

Kai Kengo(甲斐 賢吾) is a third year Tomakomai Yuftsu High student and the alternate captain of the Yufutsu Hockey team. His number is 25 and he uses right-hand gear. He is the fastest skater among the 3rd years. He is the center player for the second set(black jersey in practice match) and was also part of the special set during their match against Kiyosato High. When he injures his wrist, he was supposed to be demoted to the 3rd set as the strain of face-off would be too difficult for him and it would be disadvantageous to their play.

He is a childhood friend of the Genma brothers and as kids they would often play together. He is also an alumnus of Houkoryo Junior High and was in the same team with both the Genma brothers before graduating. It is implied their fathers were also friends who played hockey together. As kids it was their dream that they would all someday play in the Yufutsu's hockey team like their dads. He is very proud and supportive of both the Genma brothers. Surprisingly, while he is the eldest of the three, he is called 'Kengo-kun' by both the brothers, perhaps since their parent's call him as such. He is implied to live alone with his dad.

His distinguishing feature is a white patch on each cheek which are congenital. He is generally friendly and maintains an affable demeanour. However, he appears conflicted at times and also has a tendency for picking fights. On the other hand, he is also a very emotional person. When he was feeling nervous about a face-off, Kouro encourages him by relaying Keiichi's words. He also encourages and was motivated back by Kouichi before the inter-high finals where they would fight on opposite teams.

He is on good terms with Higuchi. He tries to avoid a confrontation between Genma Keiichi. Kouichi and Higuchi when the situation suddenly deteriorates.

Based on his performance in the Inter-high finals, he was scouted for joining a famous Kanto University team.

#### **Kouro Naoto**

Kouro Naoto(紅露直人) is a third year Yufutsu high student and the Captain of the hockey team. Being the Yufutsu captain, his jersey number is 19 and previously it was 56 in his second year. He is the Center player in the 1st set. He, Ushiyama and Kumano are boarding students(stay in dormitory). He is from Kushiro and he previously attended junior high in Kushiro.

In the final chapter, it is stated that after graduating he became a Asia League player. In the epilogue illustration, a bearded Kouro appears together with Rou, the Genma brothers and Kiribuchi on the Olympics Ice Hockey Rink wearing the Japan national team jerseys.

#### **Ushiyama Souta**

Ushiyama Souta(牛山草太) is a second year Yufutsu high hockey team member. His jersey number is 27 and he is the Forward(right wing) player in the 1st set. He is the fastest skater among the 2nd years. He, Kouro and Kumano are boarding students(stay in dormitory). He is an experienced practitioner of Judo.

He has a very expressive face and prominent eyebrows shaped approximately like the character 'へ'. Ushiyama is from Donan and speaks in heavy Hamakotoba dialect with no care for enunciation which is why no one understands what he is saying. Rou even wondered upon first meeting him if he were speaking a foreign language. According to Kumano, his enunciation is worse than Fujinami Tatsumi. Since they were friends since the time they were six, only he can understand what Ushiyama says. He often acts the part of the interpreter.

In the final chapter, it is stated he became the new captain of the team and since no one understands what he says, Kumano became his interpreter.

#### **Kumano Tomohiro**

In the final chapter, it is stated because Ushiyama became the captain of the team and since no one understands what he says, Kumano became his assistant and interpreter. He got nicknamed "Dabadi" because of this.

## Character Trivia

* Shirakawa Rou is the only player on the team who has his first name, Rou, written on his jersey. everyone else writes their surname.
* Toshimitsu Nihei shares the same design as Tetsuzou Nihei from Golden Kamuy.
* The cat that lives with the Shirakawas also shares its design with Edogai’s cat with the 'centre-parting hair' from Golden Kamuy.
* Ushiyama Souta speaks in Hama-kotoba dialect(or seashore speech) as he is from Dounan(South Hokkaido). His speech is utterly unintelligible to anyone but his childhood friend Kumano. His speech bubbles resemble Koito Otonoshin’s when he starts speaking unintelligibly.
* Ushiyama Souta also happens to share his surname, 牛山, with Ushiyama Tatsuma from Golden Kamuy. He is also experienced in judo just like Ushiyama in Golden Kamuy is a master judoka.
* The Kiyosato High coach Wakabayashi Hiroki (若林弘紀) borrows his name from Wakabayashi Hiroki(若林弘紀), a renowned Japanese ice hockey coach, who provided certain input for the manga. While both specialize in coaching the goalkeeper, their career histories are very different.
* Kiribuchi Yuuto's special move is called the Jagr move. He also sports the number 68, same as legendary Czech player Jaromír Jágr.

## Ice Hockey Teams and Member's Data

### **Yuftsu High School**

Hokkaido Tomakomai Yufutsu High School(北海道苫小牧勇払高等学校)

The team has a tradition of singing the school song before their games and during practices:-

噴煙雲の
盛り上がる
樽前山を仰ぎ
穹天を突く
我ら勇払の気宇
貴き皇国の
隆運は
天地と共に
窮まりなかるべし

## Terms References

1. ↑ The 3 prime player **positions in ice-hockey:-'***GK **= Goalie/Goaltender;** FW **= Forward,*** **There are 3 forward players in a line:- the** *C ='* **Center, FW R** = Right Wing, **FW L** = Left Wing; **D** = Defenceman.
2. ↑ Ice Hockey is played in shifts or sets with a line(of three forwards) and a pair of defencemen(partners) that comprise the group of players that play at a given time. There are usually four to five lines that play in shifts.
In Yufutsu High's practice matches, each of the 5 sets has a different coloured jersey of its members to distinguish them from each other. The 5 colored jerseys are as follows: **1**st - **red**; **2**nd - **black**; **3**rd - **blue**; 4th - **green**; 5th - **yellow**. The new members(1st years) and bench players wear **white** jerseys.
3. ↑ The captain of the team has a **C** on the upper left side of their jersey.
4. ↑ The alternate captain of the team, sometimes called assisst captain, wears an **A** on the upper left side of their jersey.
5. ↑ OB is a term used for (male) alumni of a school or university, more commonly for referring to former members who were part of a club or sports team. It is a contraction of the term 'old boys'.

## Reference

1. ↑ Fujinami Tatsumi is a famous Japanese pro-wrestler who worked with the WWE. Apparently, he has terrible articulation.
2. ↑ 'Dabadi' is a reference to Florent Dabadie, a French journalist who is famous for having been the assisstant to Japan's soccer team coach Phillipe Troussiere and he is known to act as his translator and interpreter.