Hamatora The Animation primarily focuses on Minimum Holders, people that possess supernatural abilities. However, there are characters without powers that are included in the cast as well. Most of the Minimum Holders may come across as being over the top at times, but they’re still likable characters that viewers can relate to. Read on to learn more about the characters of Hamatora The Animation.
Nice
Nice is one of the founders of the Hamatora detective agency. He, along with his partner, Murasaki, rent a table at Café Nowhere and wait for business to come to them. He is constantly in need of money due in large part to not caring about the cost of a job request as much as what the case he’s asked to look into entails. This is the complete opposite of Murasaki’s criteria for trying to decide whether or not to take a case.
He has an impulsive personality, is a bit absent minded, and rarely acts his age. Although he comes across as having a carefree nature, Nice is actually a genius thinker who can assess situations quickly. He’s a genius and a prodigy. While Nice and Murasaki may have completely opposite personalities, they are still able to work together to solve the cases that their agency takes on.
Nice is a Minimum Holder, and he has a Sonic Minimum that allows him to move at the speed of sound. He activates his ability by putting on a pair of headphones that he usually wears around his neck.
He was a student at Facultas Academy, a place that trains Minimum Holders in secret to develop their potential. When Nice was at the facility, he always had the top scores among his peers. While he may be a genius, Nice doesn’t let it go to his head. He’s also aware that Murasaki is a little jealous of him, but Nice doesn’t let this get to him.
Nice is also friends with Art, the superintendent of the Yokohama Police Department. They’ve actually known each other for years, since Art was also a student at Facultas Academy. It’s through Art that Nice and Murasaki learn about the serial killings of Minimum Holders when he decides to warn them about the situation. The two detectives end up getting drawn into the situation when the cases Hamatora takes on turn out to have a connection with Art’s serial murder investigation.
When Nice learns that part of Professor Moral’s motivation for the killings is to save him from loneliness, he laughs it off and says that he never asked to be saved. But at the same time, it almost seems that Nice feels at least a small twinge of guilt that Moral is trying to use him as justification for his actions that have hurt and affected both Minimum Holders and non-Minimum Holders.
Nice is fiercely loyal to his friends, which he demonstrates on several occasions. He is protective of Hajime and sees her as one of his closest friends. But his strongest demonstration of his sense of loyalty comes when Nice learns that Professor Moral has killed Art. He takes it upon himself to go after Moral in order to avenge his friend’s death.
Murasaki
Murasaki is Nice’s partner at the Hamatora detective agency. He has a reserved personality and is a rational thinker, which is the complete opposite of Nice. He also seems to have a bit of an existentialist outlook on things. But when it comes to the job requests that Hamatora receives, Murasaki usually prioritizes the cost of a request over what the job entails. Fortunately, they are able to overcome these differences in their personalities and successfully work together to solve the cases that come their way.
Murasaki is a Minimum Holder, and he has a Gravity Minimum that is activated when he removes his glasses. His ability hardens his body and gives him super-human like strength.
Like Nice, Murasaki was also a student at Facultas Academy. He had the second highest scores in the history of the academy and is also considered a prodigy, although he was always beaten out by Nice. Even though Nice and Murasaki may be partners, he dislikes how Nice always surpasses him. Murasaki wishes to defeat Nice just once in order to be acknowledged by him.
Murasaki is also friends with Art, the superintendent of the Yokohama Police Department, as they were classmates together at Facultas Academy. However, it appears that Nice is closer to Art than Murasaki is.
Hajime
Hajime is one of Nice’s closest friends, and is one of the founders of the Hamatora detective agency. She tends to accompany Nice on most of the cases that he chooses to pursue for the business.
But Hajime is also a gluttonous girl who spends most of her time eating at Café Nowhere when she isn’t out and about with Nice. In addition to her love of eating, the other memorable thing about Hajime is the fact that she’s always seen wearing a visor. For most of the series, Hajime comes across as being around more as a comic relief sidekick than anything else.
It’s revealed later in the series that Hajime is also a Minimum Holder, and her ability makes her a strong combatant. Her Minimum also allows her to unleash a berserk state. Even though Hajime may possess a Minimum, she also suffers from memory loss.
Outside of these traits, not much is truly revealed about Hajime during Hamatora The Animation.
Professor Moral
Professor Moral is a former professor of Facultas Academy, and was a staff member at the time Nice and the other Minimum Holder characters were students there. He left the institution to conduct research into non-innate Minimum Holders, with the hope of achieving equality by giving everyone in the world a Minimum ability. In addition to wanting to achieve equality, Moral decides that he wants to save Nice because he believes that he is tortured by solitude due to having no equal to himself. Nice doesn’t feel he needs or wants Moral’s help, but this doesn’t dissuade the demented professor from moving ahead with his plans.
Moral has a severely warped mind, and is ultimately the one behind the serial killings of Minimum Holders. He harvests his victims’ brains because he needs them to create a substance that allows him to create non-innate Minimum Holders. And with the aid of his ally, Momoka, Moral reveals the existence of Facultas Academy and the identities of the Minimum Holders in order to cause unrest.
Moral is also a Minimum Holder. He possesses the Transformation Minimum, which allows him to take on the appearance of other people. This is an ability that he utilizes on several occasions during the series in order to achieve his goals. The most important use of his Minimum is when he takes on Art’s appearance to cover up the fact that he murdered Art after the officer refused to join forces with him. By taking on Art’s appearance, Moral almost removes everyone from the serial murder case who could potentially learn his secret and thwart his plans.
Café Nowhere Staff (Master and Koneko)
Master is the owner of Café Nowhere, and he rents out a table to the Hamatora detective agency to use as their office. During the series, he serves as a source of wisdom at times when it seems like Nice or Murasaki are stuck on a case. But Master seems to genuinely care about Nice, Murasaki, Hajime, and the others. Usually, Master is seen grinding coffee beans while working behind the counter at Café Nowhere.
Koneko is an employee at Café Nowhere and helps Master out with the business. However, she also serves as Hamatora’s receptionist and contract negotiator. Koneko is the one who receives the agency’s job requests, which she explains and assigns to Nice and Murasaki. If either one needs clarification on a job, she’s more than happy to provide additional information to help them make an informed decision. If Nice and Murasaki are offered two jobs and argue over which one to take, Koneko is the one who tries to calm them down and provide ideas for how to handle the disagreement. She can be a peacekeeper if one is needed.
Odd Jobs (Birthday and Ratio)
Birthday runs the “Odd Jobs” business out of Café Nowhere, and he and his partner Ratio sometimes help Hamatora out with their cases. Unfortunately, his demeanor sometimes gets him into trouble when he's trying to impress people. Birthday is a Minimum Holder, and he has the Electric Shock Minimum that involves electrical manipulation. He activates his ability by biting the tip of a tazer and blitz attacks his enemies.
Birthday has an unknown disease that nearly killed him during his childhood. With his Minimum, Ratio had predicted Birthday’s death, but he had surgery that saved him from that fate. Birthday is determined to live as long as he possibly can because he wants to prove Ratio and his Minimum ability wrong.
Ratio is Birthday’s partner in the “Odd Jobs” business as well as his childhood friend. He is also a doctor. Ratio has the X-Rays Minimum, which allows him to see the structure of a person’s body. He can use the information that he gleans to determine their weak point and uses brass knuckles to force that person into submission. He activates his Minimum by removing the eye patch he wears over his right eye.
But Ratio’s ability caused him to be distant from others when he was younger because he could foresee someone’s death if they had weak health. But when Birthday proved Ratio wrong, this curse was broke. Ratio is now determined to protect Birthday and wants to find a cure for his friend’s disease.
Yokohama Police Department (Art and Gasquet)
Art is the superintendent of the Yokohama Police Department. He is usually calm with a kind demeanor, and he also possesses a strong sense of justice. He is investigating a serial killer case where all of the victims are Minimum Holders. Art is old friends with Nice and Murasaki, and he discloses information about his investigation in order to warn them about what’s going on.
Art had been a student at Facultas Academy, but he was the only graduate that had never actualized a Minimum ability. As he investigates the serial killing case, he discovers that Moral, a former professor at the academy, is behind it. But when Art confronts Moral about his scheme to create non-innate Minimum Holders, Moral offers him the chance to gain a Minimum through the technique he is using that requires him to kill Minimum Holders. Art finds himself conflicted about this offer due to his inability to produce a Minimum and the differences between himself and Nice. But when Art ultimately decides to turn down Moral’s offer of help to gain a Minimum, the professor kills him.
Gasquet is an officer at the Yokohama Police Department and is often seen working alongside Art. As Art’s partner, Gasquet is genuinely concerned about his welfare. Gasquet also has a keen interest in researching Minimum Holders.
Bodyguards (Honey and Three)
Honey has an Analysis Minimum, which she is able to manifest by using Mighty, an object that looks like a tablet device. With Mighty, she is able to see ten minutes into the future. Honey’s catchphrase is “Got you!,” which she says when she sees her target’s future.
She is partners with another Minimum Holder named Three, and the two of them work as bodyguards. Their work sees them traveling around the world, but they are mainly located in Café Nowhere. Honey and Three are called on by Art to help him out with the serial killer investigation.
Three is Honey’s partner, and he is also a Minimum Holder. He has the Beast Minimum, which allows him to take on a beastly form with super strength after repenting his actions to a Bible.
He used to be a mercenary who killed people and was known as the Bloody Beast. But Three now runs an orphanage in Japan, where he raises the children of his victims. He teaches the kids that it’s not a sin to exact vengeance on those who attack them, try to take something away from them, or took something from them. Three expects that when the children are older and learn the truth about who killed their families, they will want to exact their revenge on him. Honey helps Three run the orphanage.
When the identities of the Minimum Holders are revealed by Moral’s associate, this causes problems for Three because members of the Association for the Health, Protection, and Equality of Youths want to get permission from the authorities to take the children from his custody. This causes some serious emotional turmoil for Three because he genuinely cares about the children.
As you can see, Hamatora The Animation includes characters with differing personalities and backgrounds. Even though there may be stark differences between them, the combination of their various traits helps to strengthen the story that’s being told in the series. Viewers should be able to find at least one character that they can relate to.
