Leno Ichikawa

* Manga
* Anime

*"But the kind of officer I strive to be... is one who can lay his life on the line... to protect one of his own at a time like this!!"*
— Leno, determined to protect Iharu Furuhashi against Kaiju No. 9
**Leno Ichikawa** (市 (いち) 川 (かわ)  レノ, *Ichikawa Reno*) is the deuteragonist of the *Kaiju No. 8* series.

He briefly worked at Monster Sweeper Inc. where he met and befriended Kafka Hibino. After witnessing Kafka's transformation, Leno helped him enter the Defense Force and joined with him. He was a member of the Third Division and after destruction of Tachikawa Base he was transferred to the Fourth Division.

## Appearance

Leno is a tall, slender young man with short silver hair and big violet eyes. He usually shows a neutral unfazed look on his face, but this expression usually changes to exasperation or incredulity when around Kafka.

Earlier in the series, Leno wore the usual Defense Force combat suit when on the battlefield. Leno's new combat suit is unique compared to the regular combat suit's worn by other Defense Force members, being the Numbers Weapon forged from Kaiju No. 6's corpse. It is a dark-blue armory suit with pipes and pistons on the back and shoulders, the Izumo Tech logo on the left side of the chest plate and the 006 insignia on the chest.

## Personality

Leno is a calm and collected person. Despite initially antagonizing Kafka for giving up on his dream, he later shows a softer and more caring side towards his friend and his condition and goals. As their bond grows, Leno begins to show his protective side, not only towards Kafka but towards any of his comrades. His resolve in fighting in order to protect his peers brings him to completely ignore Iharu Furuhashi's one-sided rivalrly towards him and still put his safety first.

In battle, Leno is a determined and straightforward person, being a natural thinker on his own. Due to his immense sense of resposibility towards his colleagues and his desire in becoming stronger, an extended usage of his Numbers Weapon can bring Leno to spiral out of control and push himself past his limits in order to be strong enough to save those around him.

## Powers & Abilities

**Overall Abilities**: Leno is a strong troop member with great potential. He is noted by Soshiro Hoshina to have the potential to become a captain, proven when he was able to momentarily stall a kaiju as strong as Kaiju No. 9. Jugo Ogata states that he is a *prodigy*.

After becoming compatible with **Numbers Weapons 6**, the Defense Force's most powerful and dangerous weapon made from the corpse of Kaiju No. 6, Leno's combat skills and abilities have drastically improved, allowing him to move much faster and neutralizing a pack of kaiju on his own. However, despite drastically agumenting his fighting prowess, it seems that the suit has a negative influence on Leno's behavior, bringing him to fight out of control in order to defeat his opponent. In fact, due to his immense sense of resposibility, Leno is able to draw a lot of power out of his suit but brings his human body past his limit, to the point of tearing his muscles and breaking his bones just to beat his enemy.

### Powers

* **High Unleashed Combat Power**: When Leno first tries on his Defense Force combat suit, he is able to initially release 8% of the suit's power. After shooting training, he is able to release 18%, having drastically improved as noted by Iharu. Currently, while wearing Numbers Weapon 6, Leno's full released force has risen to 43% and he can further increase his suit's power to 51%.
	+ **Enhanced Speed and Reflexes**: Leno is incredibly fast, surprising Kafka with how fast he can move while carrying him. He also has incredible reflexes, able to dodge Kaiju No. 9's extremely fast attacks. His speed is greatly agumented when wearing Numbers Weapon 6.
	+ **Enhanced Endurance**: Leno has incredible levels of physical endurance, able to continue fighting after Kaiju No. 9 shot him multiple times. When wearing Numbers Weapon 6, Leno is able to keep fighting even with fractured bones and muscle tears.

* **Cryokinesis**: By using Numbers Weapon 6, Leno is able to released high amounts of ice and freezing energy from his body, replicating Kaiju No. 6's late powers. Leno can use it to stick to his surroundings by releasing ice from his feet, to stabilize his footing. The suit also includes freezing rounds. Leno can also freeze his enemies with a simple touch of his hand. After training his skills even further, Leno can now manage to freeze a whole horde of Daikaiju in one single attack.

### Abilities

* **Expert Marksman**: Leno is a very skilled marksman.

* **Advanced Growth Rate**: After only one month of training, Leno is able to use Numbers Weapon 6 in combat with great proficiency. According to Toko, Leno's ability to improve far surpasses that of Kikoru Shinomiya's even though his current released force is lower than hers.

## Battles

* Leno and Kafka Hibino vs Yoju (Interrupted): Chapter 1
* Leno and Kafka Hibino vs Exam Yoju (Interrupted): Chapter 5 - Chapter 7
* Leno and Iharu Furuhashi vs Kaiju No. 9 (Interrupted): Chapter 15 - Chapter 17
* Leno vs Mole Type 67 Yoju and Honju (Lost): Chapter 60 - Chapter 62
* Leno and Iharu Furuhashi vs Mole Type 67 Honju (Won): Chapter 62 - Chapter 64

## Equipment

**Respirator Mask**: Leno wears a respirator mask in combat.

**Rifle**: Leno uses a rifle in combat as his main weapon of choice, equipped with brust rounds and freeze rounds.

**Numbers Weapon 6** (識別怪獣兵器 (ナンバーズ) 6号 (ごう) , *Nanbāzu Roku-gō*): Marked **EC-0115** and provided by Izumo Tech, Leno's personal Numbers weapon is a special combat suit, recognized as the Defense Force's most powerful and dangerous weapon, made from the corpse of Kaiju No. 6. This suit allows the user to release ice. The suit also increases his overall skill and physical abilities far beyond that of the standard combat suits of the Defense Force.

**Cannons**: Leno earned sixteen smaller cannons, marked **FN-0006** and provided by Izumo Tech, to go with his Numbers Weapon. The cannons allow him to better control his freezing attack and easily freeze multiple giant-size Daikaiju with no effort.

**Combat Suit *(formerly)***: Before being given Numbers Weapon 6, Leno would wears the usual combat suit of the Defense Force.

Leno's respirator maskLeno's rifleLeno's Numbers Weapon 6Leno's smaller cannonsLeno's former combat suit
## Etymology

* Leno's last name **Ichikawa** contains the kanji for "city, market, town, municipality, fair" (市, *ichi*) and "river, stream" (川, *kawa*).

## Trivia

* Leno likes music, cooking, and shonen manga.
* Leno joined Monster Sweeper Inc. because he thought that the aptitude test to join the Defense Force was going to be kaiju disposal. He was later proved wrong.
* Leno ranked #3 in the first character popularity polls.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Chapter 1
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Leno's character profile
3. ↑ Chapter 2
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chapter 3
5. ↑ Chapter 54
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Chapter 60
7. ↑ Chapter 14
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Chapter 16
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Chapter 62
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Chapter 5
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Chapter 11
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Chapter 61
13. ↑ Chapter 6
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Chapter 15
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Chapter 99