The introducing of Hakkenshi/The Eight Dog Warriors in Nanso Satomi Hakkenden -Inusaka Keno’s Edition-

 Sixth, I decided to introduce Inusaka Keno.

・Inusaka Keno's character

He has an orb engraved with the character "智(Chi/Wisdom)."

He has a peony-shaped birthmark on his right elbow (right thigh in the OVA "The Hakkenden").

Before he was born, his father was killed by the evil vassals, Makuwari Taiki and Komiyama Ittouta.

And to escape their eyes, his mother gave him a girl's name, and from the age of 3 to 15, he belonged to a female dengaku troupe, which was a nightlife business at the time.

He's a beautiful boy who looked natural even when dressed as a woman.

So, he distinguished himself as a female dengaku performer, Asakeno, and he approached to Makuwari and finished his revenge.

His cunning and versatility, even dressing up as a woman, a begger and so on, to try to revenge, make him stand out in comparison to the other Hakkenshi who are all the samurais like samurais.

In the original work and elsewhere, he is often portrayed as a taciturn, unsociable, rational and cruel character.

On the other hand, he seems to have a homosexual hobby.

And when he met Inuta Kobungo while cross-dressed, he asked him to marry him.

And if it was an impossible love, he at least wanted to die by Kobungo' hand, which made Kobungo fall for him. 

(This is called "Asakeno's Wooing of Kobungo". It seems that this kind of shudo was not uncommon in the Edo period.)

・In the Kadokawa film "Satomi Hakkenden/Legend Of Eight Samurai"  in 1983 (Actress: Shihomi Etsuko. Her orb engraved characteristics "礼(Rei/Countesy)" by some reasons.)

She appears as the only female among Hakkenshi.

Due to a curse from the enemy, snakes are always surrounding her and she has no partner.

So she has made a living as an assassin disguised as a female dengaku performer. (Although her dancing looks more like rhythmic gymnastics.)

In the process, she drove Inuzuka Shino's girl friend Hamaji to her death, and was chased by an enraged Shino, who even crosses swords with her.

But they reconciled after learning that they are both Hakkenshi and their missions.

The line in the play, "Not loved by anyone, and not loving anyone," was apparently very well received at the time.

・In the TBS New Year's Special Drama "Satomi Hakkenden" in 2006 (Actress: Yamada Yuu)

The setting is basically the same as in the original work, and the fact that he is actually a man is still intact (apparently they spent a lot of money on CG to express that).

He was said a "stoic lone wolf",

but after revenging Makuwari, he learned of Inuyama Dosetsu who is also burning with the desire for revenge through Inukawa Sosuke, so he easily joined the pack of Hakkenshi.

In addition, he didn't use any particular strategy, except for approaching Makuwari by pretending a female dengaku performer.

Inuta Kobungo had fallen in love with Keno one-sidedly, without realizing that Keno is a man.

However, they became a good relationship, with Kobungo showing excellent combination play with Keno in the final battle.

In the OVA "The Hakkenden" (Character Voice:Takayama Minami. The voice of Kiki in Kiki's Delivery Service and Conan in Detective Conan.)

As in the original work, he approaches Makuwari as a female dengaku performer, and his taciturn, rational, and cruel personality remains intact.

He was the only one to side with isolated Inue Shinbei for a long time, prioritizing the mission of Hakkenshi.

However, unlike the original work, his father was still alive when he was a child, and it is revealed that he liked his father, with the two often playing the flute together.

Although he didn't try to woo Kobungo, Kobungo became angry by Keno's cruelness, who even tries to kill Makuwari's child for his revenge, and they even cross swords.

On the other hand, he changed his behavior after seeing Kobungo's struggle during the final battle.

So, he is still strongly influenced by Kobungo.

In his battle, he uses a pair of sai and displayed brilliant swordplay.

I introduced both “Harem Protagonist as Hakkenshi” and “Garupan Captain Group as Hakkenshi”.

Needless to say,

"The Harem Protagonist as Inusaka Keno ": Yuuki Rito (To Love Ru)

"The Garupan Captain Group as Inusaka Keno ": Darjeeling (St. Gloriana Girls’ College)

Yuuki Rito was cast because he had actually become a woman in the past.

And combined with Yabuki Kentaro's design, he seems particularly feminine.

(However, it feels like Keno's characteristics of being "strategic, rational, and cruel" don't really suit him.)

Darjeeling was cast because she is two-faced in a good way, and seeks elegance, characteristics that make her particularly unique among Garupan Captain Group (she probably also has a strategic side).