Bakumatsu Rouman: The Last Blade: Amano Hyo

Amano Hyo! Man, does this guy have character. He exudes it so much. I just love playing him because he's so funny. He doesn't take anything seriously at all. He wears a pink kimono, of all things, he swaggers rather than walking, and he fights with a wooden pole that gives off sakura petals when he hits hard enough. He's completely full of himself, and spends most of his battle taunting his opponent. No matter how much of a poser he may seem to be, he's a hell of a lot of fun to play. (It's just a shame about that Elvis hairstyle.)

Hyo also has one of my favourite moves in the game. It's called Loudmouth, and when you do the move, he leans forward and says something in Japanese to taunt his opponent. Sound boring? Do it when someone's attacking you. He'll spin them around and beat them soundly with his pole. ^_^ He also has another cool move, which is scuttling up to his opponent and stabbing them in the guts with his pole; he then slips around behind them, apologising in Japanese while they collapse in a heap on the ground. What a bastard. He has some other great whacking moves with his pole, and a nice uppercut. Careful if you miss with that pole, though, because if you do, he often sends himself off balance for a second. His special is pretty cool, too; he calls some kind of fireball down from the sky which bounces straight into the opponent and knocks them flat.

In the second game, Hyo plays very similar to the first game. So saying, he's still as much of a pink-wearing poser as ever, and he still can whack quite viciously with that sakura-loving pole of his!

Last Blade 1 Story: Err.. they didn't think too hard on this one. ^_~ Amano is a playboy who only cares about sake, women, and fighting. But he grows tired of things; one day he notices how the petals are all falling off the Sakura tree, and decides someone out in the world isn't enjoying life like they should. So, he heads out to "bust some ass".

Last Blade 2 Story: (yay, they thought a little harder this time! ^_~) The sakura have blossomed in glory for one thousand years, but now the sky turns grey and clouded, day after day. Hyo draws his dear sword, Otokomae, only to find it's edge strangely dulled. He took it to his friend Takane Genzou, hoping to get it reforged. Yet Genzou had passed on, and his beloved daughter, Hibiki, had left their home. Hyo was uneased; he decided to search for the girl.

Useless but fun facts: Hyo's birthdate is April 14, 1835, making him 28 years old at the time of the first game. The kanji for his name means something like heavenly fields (for Amano) and to drift (for Hyo).