A long time ago, a Demon God rose bringing hostility and death to the world. The Demon God also unleashed a race of his progeny referred to as fiends. The Goddess of Fate fought off the Demon God and drove him into slumber. She instilled some of her power into six flower petals so that if the Demon God ever does awaken, she can brand these flower petals onto six worthy warriors to force the Demon God back into slumber. These warriors will be known as the Braves of the Six Flowers. One day long after, the Demon God awakes from his slumber. The Goddess selects her chosen fighters and they all meet at the entrance to the fiends' home, The Land of Howling Demons. A problem arises though, as seven people with the Goddess' crest appear. These warriors must now determine which one is a fake before continuing their mission of fighting off the Demon God. This is the story of Rokka no Yuusha, an epic fantasy show based on a recent light novel. Let's take a closer look at these seven chosen ones.
Adlet Myer:
Adlet Myer is the show's main protagonist. Despite his young age of eighteen, he refers to himself as "the strongest man in the world" and is completely convinced he is deserving of that title. He displays an enormous amount of self-confidence that can bleed into arrogance at times. He is a little awkward around women, which can be seen when he meets the princess for the first time. Adlet reacts nonchalantly to situations of failure or defeat.
Adlet was born in Wooro, the Nation of the White Lakes. In his early childhood, he did not care for swordplay or fighting at all, instead preferring to study and pick mushrooms. He lived with his older sister in a pastoral village as the two of them lost their parents at an early age. At the age of ten, one of the three fiend rulers came to his home land. The fiend demanded that the village leader move everyone to The Land of Howling Demons. Anyone who opposed this order would have their hearts ripped out. Adlet refused to give in and both his best friend and his sister died trying to protect him. Before they died, they told him not to hate fiends for what they had done because they believed a peaceful coexistence between humans and fiends was still possible.
Following the death of his loved ones and the destruction of his village, Adlet went deep into the mountains to train with the mysterious hermit, Atro Spiker. The tragedy he had witnessed caused him to want to become the strongest man in the world, kill all fiends, become one of the Six Braves and fight off the Demon God for what they did to him. His master taught him a special fighting technique that was solely designed for the purpose of fighting the Demon God. He also trained him in how to make secret weapons, poisons, and gunpowders from the latest scientific advancements. Atro Spiker's training was extremely rigorous and every student he had previously taken on had left because they were not able to handle it. However, Adlet was the one exception, determined to accomplish his goals.
More importantly though, his master taught him that revenge is foolish and one cannot become strong for the purpose of revenge. You need to have something to believe in. He also taught Adlet that the key to strength is being able to laugh and smile. When Adlet first came to Atro Spiker, he was in tears because of the situation he had just been through. Atro kicked him and told him to smile because if you can't smile when things are bad, then you will not have the motivation to continue and you will give in to death.
His master's training completely changed Adlet. It caused him to take the words of his best friend and sister to heart. He realized that his goal to kill all fiends out of revenge was futile. The peaceful coexistence they told him about is the belief that his strength is founded on. He wants to fight off the Demon God to not lose anyone else that is close to him, not to become a tool of war.
After his training was complete and Adlet now finally considered himself the strongest in the world, he went to the country of Piena where a holy tournament was being held before one of the Goddess of Fate's temples. He interrupted the tournament and fought all of the competitors and guards to prove himself before the Goddess. He was obviously imprisoned afterward, but it proved to be worth it. When the Goddess chose her warriors, Adlet was given a petal crest on his hand. While in Piena, he ended up meeting Princess Nachetanya, who was also chosen, and the two left the kingdom together.
After meeting up with the other Braves, Adlet was actually considered to be the fake. He broke the seal to their rendezvous temple, which is what led everyone to believe this. However, Adlet knows that he was set up and is trying to piece together the puzzle to prove his innocence.
Adlet also develops romantic feelings for Flamie Speeddraw. He sees that they are both similar because they are fighting because they lost something dear to them. He always stands up for Flamie and protects her verbally and physically. Flamie represents what he considers important to him now that he doesn't want to lose like he lost his village and family.
The character of Adlet Myer represents positivity and strength. Adlet doesn't let bad situations get to him. When accused of being an imposter and when being imprisoned, he still was able to smile and persevere through. No matter how desperate times may seem, he always looks forward to tomorrow because he is determined that he can make it better. He is simply, the strongest man in the world!
Princess Nachetanya:
Princess Nachetanya is the princess of the Kingdom of Piena and the Saint of Blades. Like Adlet, she is also eighteen years old. Her mother and brother are both dead. She is not afraid to speak her mind and likes to toy with people. This can be seen when she starts to attack Adlet out of nowhere and apologizes for it immediately afterward.
When Nachetanya was a child, there was a civil war in Piena. Her Father was blamed for the war and as such, was stripped of all his power. Her father also ordered for her execution during the war. Every night, the princess would go to bed fearing for her life. She wants to fight the Demon God so that others do not have to deal with that same fear she dealt with as a child.
Being of royal birth, Nachetanya is very sheltered and naïve. When her and Adlet first leave Piena, they pass through an orchard with lemons and carrots. She takes one of each and eats them raw. She doesn't realize that she has to pay for the crops and much to the dismay of Adlet, he does it for her! She then reveals to Adlet that she used to think that fruits and vegetables grew on plates since she had never been outside the kingdom's walls.
She is also very inexperienced when it comes to fighting. Prior to leaving Piena, she had never been in a fight before. She is nervous and fearful when she and Adlet have to fight fiends for the first time. However, she ends up killing the fiends without getting a scratch on her. She grows stronger and loses more of her nervous feelings with every battle.
Though their time traveling together is short, Nachetanya develops a close bond with Adlet on their way to meeting the other Braves. Since they were both chosen by the Goddess, she feels that Adlet is her equal and the first person she can truly relate to. Most of her interactions with others were with people who served her and therefore put her on a pedestal above them.
Flamie Speeddraw:
Aside from having the coolest character name ever, Flamie Speeddraw is a cold, hard edged, cynic. She is the Saint of Gunpowder and doesn't go anywhere without a gun in her hand. She hates humans and says that she prefers the company of dogs.
The same fiend ruler that came to Adlet's town was also responsible for Flamie's birth. The fiend came up with the idea to have a half-human, half-fiend hybrid to kill the Braves off before they could get to the Demon God. Flamie was born from a fiend mother and a human father. Her mother is the only fiend who could give birth to a hybrid and was created specifically for that purpose. She never met her father and doesn't know why he agreed to the situation because he was killed right after her mother became impregnated.
While she was young, her mother and other fiends kidnapped a bunch of people and forced them to build a shrine to the God of Gunpowder in The Land of Howling Demons. This is how Flamie inherited the power of the Gunpowder God becoming the Saint of Gunpowder.
Flamie is the only half-human, half-fiend hybrid in existence. Because of her unique birth, Flamie has the ability to do things that only humans can do and things that only fiends can do. She also has a horn growing out of her forehead, which she covers with her hair, and one red eye that she keeps covered with an eye patch.
Throughout her childhood, her mother expressed great care and love towards her and those feelings were reciprocated by Flamie. Flamie also had many friends that she would train and fight with. The feelings of love and companionship were mutually expressed between Flamie and her friends as well. However, one day, Flamie was sent to fight Chamot Rosso. Chamot is incredibly powerful and the fight went disastrously for Flamie. Chamot made a complete mockery of her and almost killed her. Flamie's failure caused her mother and all of her friends to now see her as worthless. They all attempted to kill her because of this.
This experience destroyed Flamie's soul. She realized that her mother and friends that she cared for and loved had abandoned her. They were just pretending to love her and in reality just saw her as a pragmatic weapon to be used for bringing about the Demon God. This is what gives Flamie her motivation for wanting to kill the Demon God. She wants to destroy the one thing that her mother is working towards.
It also is the reason she reverted to her cynical ways. Understandably, she has a difficult time trusting people and doesn't see the benefit in doing so. She never wants to love anyone again because she is afraid it will lead to the same pain she felt as a child. She is trying to completely rid herself of the human side of her heart.
She tells Adlet that she is jealous of him because he has something to believe in and she doesn't. She is acting purely on a motive of revenge against her mother. When Adlet starts to display his affinity towards her, she acts completely cold. Every time she starts to warm up to him, she will recognize what she is doing and pull a gun on him. However, the temptation to warm up to him is within her. She desperately wants to feel love again, she just won't allow herself to be put in that situation.
Towards the beginning of the series, Flamie is known as the Brave-Killer. She is traveling around the countryside killing off prospective candidates to be chosen by the Goddess. Her intention in doing this, is to bring the Demon God back, as she was raised to do. The twist however is that once he is back, she wants to kill him. By herself.
Goldov:
Goldov is sixteen years old and served Princess Nachetanya for many years when they were younger. He is an adept swordsman and incredibly powerful for his age. You can tell he has a lot of experience fighting fiends. He takes them down easily and without hesitation, never faltering once in the midst of a battle.
Serving the princess for so long has instilled an incredible sense of loyalty and obedience in him. He always kneels before the princess when speaking. He will do anything to protect her from harm. He will do virtually anything she tells him to. Goldov has also states that he is willing to die for the princess if a situation calls for it. He only wants to act in the best interest of the princess, considering his own life secondary to hers.
Through association of this mentality, Goldov has also fallen in love with Princess Nachetanya. I think part of the reason he acts so loyal is because he wants to win her over. He tries to keep his feelings secret, but he does a pretty poor job of it. In one episode, Nachetanya tells him that she has known how he feels for a long time, but that now is not the time or place to discuss it.
His love for the princess has also caused Goldov to feel jealous towards Adlet. Goldov sees how close Nachetanya got to him when they were traveling and fears that she has fallen in love with him. Both Adlet and the princess try and convince him that this is not true, but his fears and insecurities get the best of him.
Goldov's jealousy and immaturity due to his age, cause him to act in impulsive and irrational ways. When the Braves were accusing Adlet of being the fake, it was a calm and collected verbal discussion. The others had decided that if they did think it was Adlet, then they would have to stack up more evidence before killing him. However, when Princess Nachetanya (the only one who believed Adlet was innocent) asked him to stand up for Adlet, his jealous rage overcame him and he attacked Adlet.
Chamot Rosso:
Although Adlet would disagree, Chamot is the most powerful of the Braves. She is the Saint of Swamps and became a Saint at age seven. Her power is so strong that it can surpass her ability to control it at times. When fighting in a tournament as a child, her power became so overwhelming that she accidentally killed her opponent.
Being the Saint of Swamps gives Chamot the ability to harness the power of the Swamp God. This means that she has a swamp in her stomach. She always carries a foxtail plant around with her. When she eats the foxtail, she vomits out some of the swamp. She then controls the swamp residue and turns it into fiends. These fiends are also able to regenerate and can only be killed if Chamot is knocked out or killed herself. Essentially, Chamot can create an entire army of regenerating fiends by eating a plant.
Despite her childlike appearance, Chamot is also bloodthirsty and sadistic. She never shows any signs of remorse or compassion when she kills people or fiends. When accusing people of being the fake Brave, Chamot would always say that she was eager to either kill or torture them. She then comes to the conclusion that the interrogation process is taking too long, so she wants to kill everyone to determine who the imposter is and fight the Demon God alone. This leads her to spawn a legion of her swamp fiends and use them to attack Adlet and Hans.
Maura Chester:
Maura Chester is the Saint of Mountains and also the leader of the All Heavens Temple. The All Heavens Temple is the headquarters for all seventy-eight Saints. This means that Maura is the head of all the Saints and her duty is to watch over them. This creates some confusion when she first meets Flamie and finds out she is the Saint of Gunpowder because she didn't recognize her from the Temple. Although, she says that it is possible for new Saints to be created and for the Temple to have a delay in recognizing them.
Maura acts like a mother figure to Chamot. Chamot will do anything that Maura tells her to. This often means that Maura has to hold her back and restrain her from her sadistic tendencies. One of her responsibilities was to make sure that Chamot doesn't kill people unless it is absolutely necessary. If she tells Chamot that she is angry, Chamot will feel bad and respond to Maura's commands. Maura will also threaten Chamot with spankings at times.
Being the Saint of Mountains enables Maura to use the "Mountain Echoes." She can say something and project it across any volume and space. When she needs to get a hold of the other Braves who are all far away from her, she uses the Mountain Echoes to reach them. She can also summon the power of the Mountains to make her attacks stronger.
She is the one most convinced that Adlet is the fake Brave. Despite proving his innocence to Hans, Maura tells Hans that he has been deceived and that Adlet is still guilty. Since Adlet knows he is innocent, this leads him to believe that Maura could possibly be the seventh Brave.
Hans Humpty:
Hans is a professional assassin and loud mouth with a genius level of intelligence. His past is shrouded in mystery. When asked about where he came from or his early life by Adlet, Hans doesn't give him an answer. That makes him the "man with no name" figure amongst the Braves.
Hans is also a little pervy around women. When he first meets the other Braves he comments on how there are several attractive women this time around. When paired up with Adlet for a mission, he says that he wishes it was with the princess instead so he could hit on her.
One unique aspect of Hans' character is that he was trained by cats. He has adopted their manner of speech, always saying "nyaa" (similar to a cat's meow) at the beginning and end of every sentence. He also modeled his style of fighting after his cat masters. He is swift, agile, and can jump from high distances and land without injury. He swings his swords so gracefully it is reminiscent of a cat swinging its tail.
Being an assassin, there is a side of Hans that is ruthless. He seems to have no moral conflict about killing people for money. When first branded with the Goddess's crest, he went to a nearby kingdom to tell them he was going to fight the Demon God. He told the king that by doing this, he was giving their kingdom protection and should be paid for it. He is not fighting off the fiends purely for the good of the world, he is also doing it to make a living.
That being said, Hans is not as cold as Flamie. He still values trust and companionship amongst others. After Adlet proves his innocence to Hans, the two become friends and confide within each other. They use their companionship to fight together and defeat Chamot when she attacks them.
