Mibu Kyoshiro

Mibu Kyoshiro(壬生京四郎 Mibu Kyōshirō; Seiyu: Konishi Katsuyuki) is a fictional character in the manga Samurai Deeper Kyo by Akimine Kamijyo. His personality is almost a direct opposite of the series' main character, Demon Eyes Kyo. Mibu Kyoshiro has been ranked top 10 in every Samurai Deeper Kyo popularity contest. His personality and character can also be compared to Himura Kenshin from Rurouni Kenshin, since they both dislike violence, but will fight in order to protect their friends.

Character Overview
Awkward and funny at the beginning of the adventure, Mibu Kyoshiro is in fact a frightening combatant called "the Demon-God", who is the only one to have beaten Kyo, in addition to being the true thousand man killer. He hid Kyo's body, and now the two share his body. He killed many people in the past, including the brother of Shiina Yuya, Shiina Nozomu. He is actually very high ranking in the Mibu and is gifted in the handling of a sword and is thought to be the best swordsman of the clan to date. He knows the techniques of the Mumyou Jinpu Ryuu and is also the former owner of the Shibien. As far as areas of comparison go, his skill and potential rank him equal to Kyo and just below the former Crimson King. His only wish is to protect Sakuya, whom he was in love with along with Kyo before the battle of Sekigahara.

Powers and Abilites
Mibu Kyoshiro is one of the Red Cross Knights, created from the flesh and blood of the former Aka no Ou. It is revealed later that Kyoshiro was not created by the former Aka no Ou, but by the true Mibu.

He was a killing machine, but he had a very friendly heart. He was also a master of Mumyo Jinpu Ryuu Satsujin Ken. He once wielded the Shibien, one of Muramasa's Devil Swords, and killed many people with it until the sword turned black in color because it absorbed too much blood.

Although he had mastered every technique in the Mumyojinpu, he is unable to use the final form of the Mumyojinpu's ultimate technique. He is only able to summon the 4 Gods, but is unable to summon the Golden Holy Wind. Despite the lack of this power, Kyoshiro can still match Kyo in combat.

Mumyo Jinpu Ryu Satsujin Ken (無明神風流殺人剣)
Kyoshiro's sword style is the Mumyo Jinpu Ryu Satsujin Ken (The Sword of a Devilish Wind), which was taught to him by Muramasa. It teaches standard fencing skills and defense, but they are far more powerful than any of the skills of other sword styles. Although the technique is powerful, it almost killed Kyoshiro to learn it. It is the most powerful sword school in the Mibu Clan. Attacks are:

Quote: The god murdering sword technique "Mizuchi". Finishing Quote: You heard it too didn't you?... The voice of the wind. Finishing Quote: You saw it too didn't you?... The Red Mirage.
 * Mizuchi (蛟龙): An attack that uses the air to cut an opponent to pieces; a sub attack of Seiryu.
 * Shin (蜃): An attack that creates an illusion of an opponent's worst nightmare, then kills him; an abbreviation of Shinkirou(蜃気楼) which means "Illusion".

Mumyo Jinpu Ryu Ougi (無明神風流奥義)
Mumyou Jinpu Ryu Ougi are the advanced techniques in the Mumyou Jinpu Ryu. The techniques are based on the Shishin, and each has its unique way of dealing damage to enemies. Note that these are different from Mumyo Jinpu Ryu Satsujin Ken, for they are more special and are a lot stronger. The attacks are:

Finishing Quote: Can you feel the immortality of this phoenix soul? (You felt it too didn't you? The breath of Suzaku.) Finishing Quote: Can you feel the claw of the white tiger? Finishing Quote: You've been captured by the hand of Genbu Finishing Quote: Can you feel the anger of Dragon King?
 * Suzaku (朱雀): A technique that embodies the legendary red phoenix. Its speed is incredible, as is the power of its flames, and like the legend of the phoenix, can revive itself from its own destruction.
 * Byakko (白虎): A white tiger that tears an opponent apart with its claws. It is a superior technique to Suzaku. If the first "claw" misses, the opponent is dragged in by its other "claw" and ripped apart by its "fangs".
 * Genbu (玄武): A black tortoise entwined with serpents; is both an offensive and defensive technique. Genbu's shell protects Kyoshiro from an opponent's attack, while the serpents bind and destroy the opponent. It is capable of blocking any attack, barring the Kouryu.
 * Seiryu (青龙): More than a dozen Mizuchi are projected toward an opponent and surround him, eventually merging to create an immobilizing and destructive whirlwind that pulls the opponent into the heavens where the waiting Kyoshiro (in the form of the legendary blue dragon) descends to deliver the final blow.
 * Shishin Douji Hatsudou (Four Gods Simultaneous Attack): As the name implies, the Four Gods are summoned simultaneously to attack the enemy. It is an extremely powerful technique.

The Beginning
Before the start of the manga, Kyoshiro had lived inside the Mibu Clan. He was chosen to be the one of the former Aka no Ou's Red Cross Knights when he was just a child. That was around the time when he was introduced to Sakuya by the current Aka no Ou. At that age, Kyoshiro showed enthusiasm and excitement at being chosen. He worked hard and help out everyone. As he aged, he was trained in the art of killing. He became the former Aka no Ou's assassin, killing at his command. When Kyoshiro was ordered to kill the current Aka no Ou, Sakuya reappeared in his life. Sakuya tried to stop him from killing the former Aka no Ou, but failed. Finally realizing what he had been doing, Kyoshiro, long with Sakuya, fled from the Mibu.

After they fled the Mibu, they met Kyo. Kyo and Kyoshiro had a brief spar. Taking an interest in them, Kyo joined their group. For a while, nothing changed. But their time of peace was short lived, as Chinmei had tracked them down. Kyoshiro once again picked up his sword. In the middle of the night, Kyoshiro hunted Chinmei. He accidentally killing Shiina Nozomu and wounded a child Yuya. Horrified at what he had done, he vowed to never kill again.

When Kyo discovered Sakuya's link to the former Aka no Ou, he tried to kill her. Kyoshiro defended Sakuya and fought Kyo at he battle of Sekigahara. Kyoshiro defeated Kyo, but could not bring himself to kill Kyo. He solved this problem by sealing away Kyo's spirit and hiding his body.

Four Years Later
Mibu Kyoshiro was now a medicine man. He met Yuya while he was traveling to Edo by himself. Kyoshiro appears to not know any sword skills at all, but is it really the truth? He believes one should cure people, not kill them. He loses control to Kyo for the first time when he was attacked by the Bantouji brothers. The second time, he lost control when Jimon attacked him. The third time he lost control, Kyo managed to hold onto the control of Kyoshiro's body. Kyoshiro would not resurface until Kyo's fight with the fake Kubira. Once Kyoshiro regained control, he demonstrated his former power by effortlessly defeating the fake Kubira. He then allowed Kyo to regain control until Kyo's fight with Nobunaga.

As Kyo and Nobunaga battled, Kyoshiro knew that Kyo would lose, so he surprised Kyo and took over, regaining full control of his body once again. While Kyo fought evenly with Nobunaga, Kyoshiro defeated Nobunaga easily. But as Kyoshiro was about to finish him off, Kyo managed to wrestle control away from Kyoshiro.

He did not appear in the manga until after Kyo's third fight with Oda Nobunaga.

When he finally did resurface, it was in the body of Kyo. He had managed to transfer his spirit into Kyo's body while Kyo fought Nobunaga for the third time. Leaving Kyo in his old (Kyoshiro's) body, Kyoshiro went before the former Aka no Ou, and became the next Aka no Ou, although the former Aka no Ou still commanded him.

After Kyo fought his way to the former Aka no Ou's red tower, Kyoshiro stepped in and challenged Kyo. During the fight, Kyoshiro fatally wounded Kyo twice, but Kyo got up from both, using his will power alone to continue the fight. Kyo eventually defeated Kyoshiro with the Kouryu, the ultimate attack of the Mumyojinpu. Both battle worn, they charged at each other for a final attack. Right before their swords met, Kyoshiro swapped bodies with Kyo and allowed Kyo to land a fatal blow on him.

It was revealed, that Kyoshiro had joined the Former Aka no Ou to reclaim Kyo's body, and to help him get stronger. After knowing this, Kyo used his own blood to heal Kyoshiro's wounds. They teamed up and attacked the former Aka no Ou. Their teamwork was short lived however, when Kyo's hunger for battle took over him, transforming him into a battle crazed beast that lived only to kill. Though Kyo managed to defeat the former Aka no Ou, he turned on his friends. Kyoshiro and the others held Kyo off until he regained his senses and gained the powers of the Crimson King's Cross. Their victory was short-lived, as the former Aka no Ou was still alive. The former Aka no Ou re-absorbed Kyoshiro and Chinmei into his body, to regain his strength. Inside the former Aka no Ou's body, Kyoshiro met his second brother, Kyousaburou. Kyosaburo, along with Chinmei, helped Kyoshiro regain his body, allowing him to distract the former Aka no Ou while Kyo landed the last attack. Kyoshiro survived the battle and ended up living with Sakuya.

Kyoshiro, like Kyo, knew the Mumyojinpu sword technique. He was able to master every technique except for the Kouryu, the ultimate attack.

Appearances in other Media

 * Kyoshiro has appeared in a crossover manga, along with Kyo, Yuya, the cast of Getbackers and the cast of Rave Master.
 * Kyoshiro appears in both Game Boy Advanced and Playstation Samurai Deeper Kyo games.
 * Kyoshiro appears in the Samurai Deeper Kyo anime, which has different plot and characters.