Hakumen (BlazBlue)

Hakumen is a male video game character who features in BlazBlue.

Biography

Hakumen (Japanese: ハクメン) was the identity taken by the Jin Kisaragi of another timeline. In the original timeline, Nu-13 killed Tsubaki Yayoi and afterwards, jumped into the Kiln with Jin’s brother, Ragna the Bloodedge at the Sheol Gate. In a fit of rage, Jin went after her, and was thrown into the past, not long before the birth of the Black Beast. As he was lying on the ground, injured and helpless due to the previous battles and the trip through the Boundary tearing him, physically and mentally, he met Rachel Alucard, who offered him a chance to become a true hero. Jin was taken to Alucard Castle for treatment; he woke up after one week and was greeted by Rachel’s father, Clavis Alucard. He noticed not only his body, but his memory was also damaged, which Clavis explained as the result of his trip through the Boundary. Barely concerned himself with what the old vampire was saying, Jin’s mind was stuck with the thought of having to eliminate the Black Beast. However, Clavis said that there was still time before he would be presented with the choice to stand up or not. He suggested Jin rested until then so that he could regain his strength, because his destiny had yet to be concluded. A few days later, Clavis led Jin to the basement and showed him the Susanoo Unit. Explaining that the Original Unit was like a god to humans, he offered giving it to Jin should he wanted to wield a sword again, though he would also not mind if Jin decided to stay in the castle for the rest of his life. As Jin was left with Rachel to consider his options, the girl said that once he decided to take the armor, he would cease to be human. Jin asked what he would become, to which Rachel replied that he would become different than what he currently was. Looking at his crippled body, Jin easily made his choice. For him, it was either live unable to fight, or live to fight. As the white armor whispered to him, he decided to wear it in order to sever the repeating tragedy. Ending the life of Jin, he 'tread a new stage' as Hakumen.

Hakumen traveled alone, chasing after the Beast’s trails. As he arrived at the lab where the Black Beast had first appeared, he detected a faint presence and searched for the source, though to no avail. In exchange, he met Nine, Trinity Glassfille and Celica Ayatsuki Mercury for the first time. He recognized them as his comrades to-be, but noted that the time for them to encounter each other had yet to come, and went away. Some time passed ever since the incident at the lab, the one-sided massacre between mankind and the Black Beast rages on. Hakumen is summoned to a meeting held by Nine to form a team of extraordinary people, which has the necessary abilities to defeat the Black Beast. Their cooperation has a shaky start, but eventually, their efforts pay off, and the Black Beast is repelled for the first time. The Six Heroes are then recognized by the whole world, Hakumen in the lead. With Nine passing on the knowledge of creating Magic Formula to mankind, the tides turns, and the Six Heroes defeats the Black Beast. Hakumen personally slays the Beast in the finale of the long war. After the war, Hakumen and Jūbei wander to search for and close the Kilns, which are spreading toxic magic element around the world. Little did they know that while they were away Yūki Terumi escaped mind control, thanks to the help of his host body, Kazuma Kval, and killed both Nine and Trinity. They meet Terumi again, free from his bindings, when a closed Kiln suddenly opens. Due to the disadvantage of being near the Kiln, both Hakumen and Jūbei are overwhelmed by Terumi. As a last resort, Hakumen urges Jūbei to use his Sekigan, to which the latter grudgingly obeys, and somehow forces Terumi to reveal his true form. While Terumi is in shock, Hakumen grabs him and jumps straight into the Kiln, telling Jūbei to close it to trap both of them inside the Boundary forever.

Just as the Black Beast was beaten, the body reverted to Ragna and his own consciousness, his body beaten and covered in black and red. Hakumen approached him, looking at the man he recognized, his many red eyes staring daggers into the beaten body. He muttered towards the dying figure, pitying him with the words “How pitiful… So this is what your existence has finally come to huh…”, and finishing with “…No. Perhaps this is just the ‘beginning’?” with these words said, Hakumen raised the Slaying Demon: Ōkami above his head and struck downwards, his Event Weapon killing the Beast that had wrought its destruction upon the world and its denizens. Hakumen managed to return to the real world after almost a century after his heroic sacrifice. He arrived at the Kiln beneath the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi to chase after Ragna, but was late and encountered Hazama and Relius instead. Relius was interested in how Hakumen escaped from the Boundary. He theorized the white knight either accomplished that feat through pure will, or through a third party, but concluded that it was a meaningless topic to talk about. Hakumen said that the only thing he found meaningless was them, adding that he found the two of them no more than trash. Terumi took that as a provocation, and drew Ouroboros out of anger. Hakumen easily bested him, commenting that he was still incomplete. Relius ordered his automaton to assist Terumi after the latter begged for his help twice. Recognizing the product of Snap Weapon, Hakumen attempted to attack Relius in rage, but was dragged back to the Boundary before he could do so.

As the time loop begins, Hakumen was 'rescued', by Kokonoe, a scientist who often subjects him to her whims, though only at 20% of his full capabilities. Hakumen recognizes her as the child of Jūbei and Nine, which irritates her. Kokonoe tells Hakumen that as much as she would love to dump him back into the Boundary again, she still has to study his body, the Susanoo Unit; the rest is the least of her concerns. Hakumen tells her to do whatever she wants and leaves to find and destroy the current threat to the world, Ragna the Bloodedge. As Hakumen reaches the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi, he meets Ragna again for the first time and engages him in combat. While his immense strength allows him to easily overpower Ragna, he finds himself repeatedly aggravated by Kokonoe’s meddling, as she repeatedly interferes with his duels by having him teleported elsewhere until a miraculous change happens, in which Hakumen uses sheer force of will to dispel Kokonoe’s forced phenomenal interruption. There being nothing left in his way, he resumes his battle with Ragna, to which the latter responds by activating his Blue Grimoire and defeats Hakumen.

After the decisive battle with Ragna, Hakumen is revealed to have been locked up in one of the 7th Agency’s lab by Kokonoe, meant to be imprisoned until Kokonoe has no further use for him. Rachel, claiming to need his power to deal with Terumi, breaks him free and tells him to rendezvous with her outside. Hakumen takes up his sword and destroys every single door in his way. However, as the exit is too easy, he becomes suspicious and turns his attention towards a particular direction Kokonoe wanted him to ignore. As he slices through another door, he is disgusted to learn that Kokonoe is storing nuclear warheads, something he deems even more dangerous than the Black Beast. After escaping the lab, Hakumen arrives at the Hanging Gardens and meets Rachel again, who is displeased for his late arrival. Rachel tells him to stop Terumi, which might involves killing Noel Vermillion if worst comes to worst. Their conversation is disrupted midway as Tager arrives to retrieve Hakumen. Hakumen easily defeats him, as Rachel’s observation allows him to make better use of his current power than he did previously. Hakumen continues to wander, and by chance, meets Tsubaki. They introduce themselves to each other, and Hakumen is surprised to find that Tsubaki is a devoted fan of him. He tells her to take off her mask, so he can see her face, and tells her an old tale about himself, though leaves out the name of those in the story. In his story, he inadvertently led the girl he loved to her demise through his arrogance and conceitedness. The pain strengthened his resolve and allowed him to slay the Black Beast; he even named one of his techniques after her. Hakumen expresses his regret, and wishes to ask for her forgiveness, to which Tsubaki replies that the girl must have already forgiven him. As he hears the answers he has always longed for, he bids her farewell and silently says “Thank you, Tsubaki” in his old voice.

After his moments with Tsubaki, Hakumen encounters Jin inside the Cathedral, and they exchange a short fight. He criticizes Jin’s weakness of being conceited. However, he realizes what Terumi wanted and asks Jin to go save Tsubaki, to which Jin agrees. Hakumen then goes to the Kiln to defend the entrance leading to the Boundary. After some waiting, Noel, who has transformed into Mu-12 arrives at the Kiln to destroy Amaterasu. Hakumen fends her off, as requested by Rachel, but is unable to kill her. Before they could continue, Jin arrives to take on Mu, though to no avail. As Jin is defeated, Ragna arrives and successfully defeats Mu while keeping her alive, at the cost of his left arm. Hakumen decides to spare Ragna for the impossible deed he has done for once. Suddenly, Hazama appears before them, announcing that Takamagahara is under his control. He attempts to kill everyone present, as he has no further use for them, but the Emperor appears, telling him to back off. Hakumen and Jin attack the Emperor on sight, but Tsubaki and Litchi Faye Ling block them. Both Hakumen and Jin are shocked to see Tsubaki on her side. The Emperor, indifferent to everyone but Rachel, reflects the current situation, where Amaterasu is at her mercy before leaving. Sometime after the incident at the Sheol Gates, believing Rachel to be too soft as an observer, Hakumen decides to walk his own path.

Overview

Personality and attributes

He was shown as being a very serious individual who is usually extremely focused on the task at hand and rarely shows any emotion beyond stoicism. His attitude can come off to others as prideful, stubborn, and even arrogant, occasionally getting him into issues with his comrades when he refuses to cooperate with them and tries to handle things on his own. His solitary goal is to eradicate evil wherever it hides and rarely compromises, warning his target to not take his mercy lightly when he spares them.

Hakumen completely loses his temper when Hazama brutally tortures Tsubaki in front of him. Having already witnessed Tsubaki’s gruesome end in his own timeline and harboring immense guilt over the fact that he didn’t stop it, Hakumen can’t bear the thought of having to witness it again.

While Hakumen is generally cold toward others, he does have respect for Jūbei, Valkenhayn, and Trinity, occasionally indulging them in conversation. Although Rachel Alucard frustrates him with her commandeering attitude, he is willing to tolerate her to some extent not unlike that of Ragna. He also shows respect towards Bang Shishigami as a fellow man of justice and shows kindness towards Celica Ayatsuki Mercury, occasionally doing favors for her.

Due to the fact that Hakumen is Jin Kisaragi’s alternate future self, they share many similar traits. Both are cold, stubborn, anti-social, and have a desire for Ragna to die by their hands. However, while Jin’s desire is brought out as an obsessive impulse, Hakumen merely does so as it is his destiny, yet regrets every bit of it, showing that deep down he cares about his brother.

Due to his ego, Hakumen often clashed with other members of the cast. Over time, however, he has become much more focused on the more important matters, letting fate run its course with the rest of the cast and not interfering with their affairs. Even though he considers Ragna his greatest opponent, since BlazBlue: Continuum Shift he has put aside their rivalry for the sake of the greater good. Their rivalry was noticeably less hostile and he was more cooperative with his comrades.

Powers and abilities

Being the former leader of the Six Heroes, Hakumen is an extremely powerful individual with a myriad of significant abilities. Having apparently mastered the Power of Order during the Great Dark War, utilizing the Sankishin Unit: Susanoo which grants him nigh limitless fighting capabilities and stamina, and willpower so strong that he was able to resist losing himself to the Boundary, Hakumen could very well be one of the most formidable characters in the BlazBlue universe.

Notes

• Hakumen was created by Arc System Works where he featured in the setting of the BlazBLue universe.

Appearances

• BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger:

External Links

• BlazBlue Wiki Entry

This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.