Ari

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Concept art of Ruka (Ari)

**Ari**,known as **Ruka** in the original Japanese version, is the protagonist of Okage: Shadow King. He is the only "playable" character. All party members can be controlled in-battle, but the player will control Ari as he travels the overworld.

Ari's shadow is possessed by Stan, and pressing the Square button on the controller will bring him up at any time. He is always connected with Ari (except for when Stan is in his true form), and in battle, he always stands behind him.

For Ari's special moves, see the Specials page.

## Recruitment

Ari is the first party member, and the only one that cannot be removed. You start the game with him.

## Personality

Ari's personality is determined partially by the player through dialogue choices. However, these dialogue choices rarely have any effect on the game. A big part of Ari's character is that he is very, very overshadowed, meaning people do not pay him very much attention. This is later revealed to be due to his lack of "classification".

As a result of this, Ari is viewed by many others as a quiet, unimportant boy. He is rarely acknowledged, and he can get away with saying rude things, as nobody pays him any attention. He is also known to surprise people, and is berated for always "sneaking up on people", when in reality he was there the whole time.

## Relationships

### Stan

At first, Ari is somewhat wary of Stan. Depending on the player's choices, he may reject to becoming Stan's slave. Regardless of Ari's desires, he is forced to become Stan's slave. Slowly, the two form a bond, although it's mostly just Stan growing to like Ari, and Ari being indifferent.

Stan very rarely refers to Ari by name, opting to instead refer to him as "slave".

At the end of the game, after Ari and Stan have been separated, Stan reveals that he enjoys tormenting his slave more than anything, and begins plotting about his next plans.

### Annie

Annie and Ari seem to care about one another, though they do tend to argue as siblings usually do.

### Rosalyn

Rosalyn pities Ari for being forced to serve Stan. She is shown to have some form of romantic interest in him, as she kisses him on the cheek in the Madril hotel. However, she also has no problem threatening Ari's life, in an attempt to scare Stan.

If the player completes the Compatibility sidequest and favors Rosalyn, the bonus scene will reveal that Rosalyn greatly admires Ari, and feels she has to work hard to stay as strong as Ari is becoming.

### Linda

Linda seems to be in love with Ari, getting extremely jealous at any mentions of him and Rosalyn or him and Marlene in a romantic scenario. At their first meeting, she is inspired by Stan's advice, and begins referring to him as "coach".

### Marlene (Doll)

After the fight with the Bubble Evil King, Stan forces Ari to forcefully approach the fake Princess Marlene. Stan discovers that she has no soul, and Marlene slaps Ari, labeling him an "offender". Marlene requires that Ari serve her as punishment, much to Stan's dismay.

Over time, Marlene grows to greatly enjoy Ari's company. She visits his home and his family, happy to enjoy a much more simplistic lifestyle. After the fake Marlene's "death", Ari is noticeably upset.

### Marlene

The ending of the game heavily implies that Ari and Marl
ene are a romantic couple, or at least very close friends. There is minimal interaction between the two, but they are seen holding hands as they enter Ari's house.

### Epros

Epros is impressed by Ari, and is deeply intrigued by the boy's lack of classification. It eventually leads him to join the party.

## Ruka

In the Japanese version of the game, Ari's name is Ruka, and his eyes are much wider.

## Gallery

Ari being introduced.Ruka with Rosalyn and Kisling.Ari predicting dinner.Ruka with Stan in promotional artwork (full).Ruka's in-game model.Ari in battle using Blaster. This seems to be from an early version of the game.
## Trivia

* Ari is the only character whose name can be changed.

* If Ari is killed in-battle, he is the only character that cannot be revived. Ari's death results in an instant game-over.
* Ruka and Ari's dialogue choices differ. When Ari gets a dialogue branch, most of the time, the third choice was originally "..." in the original Japanese version.