Bakumatsu Rouman: The Last Blade: Genbu No Okina

Okina is a funny little guy. He's about half the height of everyone else, with a big, wide brimmed hat and a bushy beard and mustache that hides his face. He seems to be pretty peaceful, a fisherman at heart, really. ^_^ You can even get him to sneeze and say "Chotto matta!" (Wait a little!). And believe it or not -- though with that beard I could believe it -- he's 128 years old. *Eep!*

Okina is also very odd. He fights with the fishing pole he carries over his shoulder, and the large basket strapped to his back. He whacks with his pole, and does some nice spinning moves that thump rather heartily with that basket. And if you think that's odd, wait till he pulls open his basket and starts punting turtles at you! Big ones and little ones, either way they hit for damage if you're not careful. He also has a few tortoises in that basket, and when he whips those out, they heal him for a small amount. So don't hide in the corner and let him throw tortoises, either. He's a lot of fun to play, and very cute.

In the second game, Okina is quite similar to the first, though I think he's gotten better with that fishing pole. His turtles sometimes do extra things now, too.. and did I mention that he summons the great Genbu turtle as his special? Well he does, in both games -- it's very cool. Genbu is huge.

Last Blade 1 Story: Okina is another of the four guardians of the Gates of Hell, and he represents Genbu, the Green Turtle. Years ago, he was assigned his job as guardian because of his excellent sword skills. For the most part, now, he is peaceful and merely likes to fish, but one day five years ago, a young boy named Kaede came to see him. Kaede wished to learn about swordfighting, and Okina taught him everything he knew, until Kaede was so skilled he could defeat even Okina. And then, out of the blue, Kaede went away again. Okina realised that the boy was going for a reason, and decided to follow him, slowly and surely.

Last Blade 2 Story: Hell's Gate had not been sealed properly, and Okina knew this. Legends of the Sealing Maiden had passed down the generations, of how the gate could not be sealed without her. Okina told Kaede and Yuki to find the Maiden. Then, things seemed to happen all at once: Yuki disappeared; the Messenger From Afar was coming; Moriya was said to have returned; and a familiar evil was felt. Okina found himself hurrying in the face of so many events and so little time.

Useless but fun facts: Okina's birthdate is December 3rd, 1735, making him 128 years old at the time of the game. The kanji for his name literally means venerable old man of Genbu.