Campione!: Difference between revisions

Campione!
Cover of the first light novel
カンピオーネ! (Kanpiōne!)
Genre	Action, Fantasy, Harem, Romance
Light novel
Written by	Jō Taketsuki
Illustrated by	Sikorsky
Published by	Shueisha
Imprint	Super Dash Bunko
Demographic	Male
Original run	September 2008 – present
Volumes	17
Manga
Written by	Jō Taketsuki
Illustrated by	Jirō Sakamoto
Published by	Shueisha
Magazine	Super Dash & Go!
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	October 2011 – present
Volumes	2
Anime television series
Directed by	Keizo Kusakawa
Written by	Jukki Hanada
Music by	Tatsuya Kato
Studio	Diomedéa
Licensed by	AUS: Hanabee NA: Sentai Filmworks UK: MVM Films
Original network	AT-X, Tokyo MX
Original run	July 6, 2012 – September 28, 2012
Episodes	13

Campione! (カンピオーネ!, Kanpiōne!, lit., "Champion!") is a Japanese light novel series written by Jō Taketsuki and illustrated by Sikorski. It has been published by Shueisha in their Super Dash Bunko imprint since September 2008. It has been adapted into a manga series published in Shueisha's Super Dash & Go!. A 13-episode anime television series, produced by Diomedéa aired in Japan on AT-X and Tokyo MX beginning in July 2012 and ended in September 2012. Sentai Filmworks released an English dub of the TV series in North America. The novel's story focuses on Godou Kusanagi, a retired baseball player, as he becomes a Campione after killing the god of war, Verethragna.

Plot

Godou Kusanagi, a retired baseball player, is asked by his grandfather to return a stone tablet to a friend in Sardinia named Lucretia Zola. After meeting the demonically manipulative sword-mistress Erica Blandelli, he encounters the god of war, Verethragna. After killing the god, Godou becomes a Campione, or god slayer. His duty is to fight heretical gods who start changing things to suit themselves, usually at the expense of the people in the area. One of the problems associated with being a Campione, is that his status keeps attracting attention and difficult girls. Blandelli, who strongly professes her love for him, usually creates awkward and misunderstood situations for him in particular.

Characters

Main characters

Godo Kusanagi (草薙 護堂, Kusanagi Godō)

Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Japanese); Blake Shepard (English)

The main protagonist of the series and is the 7th Campione. Originally a 15-year-old (turned 16 sometime before volume 3 in Light Novel but birthday not noted in story) retired middle school baseball player (wild pitch injured and weakened right shoulder,) after his grandfather asked him to return a stone tablet to a friend in Sardinia named Lucretia Zola. While doing this a series of events take place in which he kills the god Verethragna, a Persian god of Victory. Godou obtains the abilities of Verethragna's 10 forms, Bull, Ram, Camel, Stallion, Goat, Boar, Raptor, Wind, The Youth, and The Warrior. Each of these forms give Godō a different ability however each also has a unique condition for activation, and some have a price. For example, to use Raptor the requirement is being attacked by something at high speed. This allows him to accelerate his speed so that everything around him would appear to be in slow motion or stopped. However, the longer he uses the speed the more pain he feels. Once a certain time has passed he is essentially paralyzed by pain for a short period.

During his battle with Verethragna, Godou obtained a golden sword, that can only be used by the Warrior aspect, which "has the ability to cut through divinity itself", in short, it can take away a god's power, rendering them a mere mortal. The golden sword's requirement is to know enough about a god to be able to call upon its power. The more he knows about the god, the more powerful his blade is. Mostly, he receives that information from Erica or the other girls. He receives the information via kissing, which is the only way to infuse the information into a Campione due to their incredible magic resistance. This and ingestion are the only ways someone can have their magic, benign or malign, bypass a majority of the resistance. So even if someone tried to cast a healing spell on Godou, for example, with his permission it will not work unless it is cast through a kiss or ingested in a potion. Even direct contact by laying on hands will be blocked by the resistance. Later on he fights and defeats Athena, but doesn't kill her. As a result she stepped aside to let him face Perseus first as he objected to her plan which was to trigger a volcanic eruption right next to Naples since Perseus is vulnerable to heat that can melt steel due to his attribute as <<Steel>>. However, he owes her an open favor for the insight she gave Liliana that would provide the knowledge and background he needed to power up his Golden Sword. His personality is still that of a high school student over his head resulting in him trying to bury his head in the sand about anything to do with gods as much as possible. He is a little afraid of women due to being completely dense to their feelings, numerous interrogations and punishments from his sister, along with Erica's pranks and occasional blackmail. He feels he is just a normal student (who only became a Campione through luck). He's really shy and wants to do the right thing. He doesn't realize that the time with his Grandfather has already taught him how to attract women. He tends to take what people say at face value, missing their intentions. He receives a bento from a girl who says: 'I just made too much' without realizing she had made it specially. His childhood friend, Asuka Tokunaga, his sister Shizuka, and his now deceased Grandmother (while alive) worry about him realizing his ability and then abusing it.

Erica Blandelli (エリカ・ブランデッリ, Erika Buranderri)

Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa (Japanese); Monica Rial (English)

Erica is a member of the 'Copper Black Cross' - one of the European magic organizations that inherited secret rites from the Knights Templar and is based in Milan, Italy. Their battle tactics and colors (Red and Black) has likened them to that of red devils. Holding the rank of Great Knight and the title of Diavolo Rosso (Dark Red Devil, name given to the premiere knight in the order which she earned through her efforts dealing with Verethragna), she is a magic swordsmen that through coincidence meets Godōu and assists him while he's in Sardinia, Italy. She inherited the title of Diavolo Rosso from her Uncle, Paolo Blandelli. Although in the novels she discovers the identity of the god manifesting in Sardinia it just happened to coincidentally be the very same day as when Godou declared he was going to Italy. Using her weapon Cuore di Leone (Heart of Lion), an enchanted sword that she can summon to her hand, known as the King of Lions. She also has the ability to use the sword to summon a large silver lion which can attack in place of Erica in the anime, (in the novels she uses magic to transform the sword itself into a large lion.) Wary of Godōu, she ends up falling in love with him. She is a 16-year-old Italian girl (she was 15 when first met Godou in March before he became a Campione) with blue eyes and long blond hair. She's only about 160cm tall (about 5-ft 2-in.) She likes to keep herself in control of her own situation, thus she can be very forceful in her affection and jealousy. However, she knows her own limitations to be able to help and protect Godōu so is willing to be openminded enough to allow other women to become additional 'wives' (initially just Yuri, reluctantly accepted Liliana, hasn't officially accepted Ena, and teamed up with Liliana to prevent additional 'wives' from appearing.) However, there are the conditions that she has to approve of them, and that Godōu and the others always recognized her as number one - his proper "1st" wife. That, and possess either the strength and skills needed to help protect him from non-divine threats (Liliana,) or possess a very useful ability (Yuri.) Yuri is the only 'woman' Erica accepted without reservation as Yuri possesses the strongest spiritual sight in the world, is extremely in love with Godōu, can provide the temperament and abilities of a miko (which Erica can't,) but with a quiet and submissive personality that's unlikely to threaten Erica's position.

While Liliana's equal in martial skills as a knight, her magic expertise excels over the other and can be even be considered unrivaled in the areas of Iron alchemy, Fire, Creation, Transformation, Destruction, and Reinforcement spells. To the point of earning Ena's praise over her ability to skillfully manipulate iron using delicate spells not only with ease, but beautiful finesse as well. However, while her skill level is comparative to that of a witch, since she's not a descendant of witches she didn't inherit the ability to use witchcraft. Is extremely adept at mental manipulation, reading and weaving through politics.

She doesn't cook or clean up after herself and leaves such tasks to Godōu or her maid, Anna. She does fry monjayaki under Godōu's instructions (the first time she has cooked for someone else.) To gain practice in making strong strikes with a light weapon she usually uses Cuore di Leone in the form of a rapier. If the situation demands she can use her magic to transform it into other weapons including a variety of spears, lances, and swords. (While Cuore can also take the form of projectile weapons such as a bow and arrow as shown in volume 7, Erica seems to prefer thrown over missile weapons) Part (or all) of Cuore can be used to create a shield for pure defense by itself or as accompaniment to the weapon form she is wielding as well. Its true form is that of a long, silvery, broadsword infused with the spell words of David which give it the ability to harm gods. Erica has to cast the spell words to use them on the sword if it is in any form other than its true form. Using her magic she can multiply the Cuore di Leone, even after throwing it, or in its lion form. She used the multiple lions combined with the spell words of David against Athena in the first volume, and created multiple spears in mid air to take out multiple enemies in the second volume. Whether there is a restriction on how many duplicates she can make, due to ability or power, is unknown but so far has made up to thirteen lions and seven spears. Her lions are infused with intelligence allowing them to act independently just like real lions, but under her control.

Yuri Mariya (万里谷 祐理, Mariya Yuri)

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese); Hilary Haag (English)

Yuri is a Musashino Hime-Miko (Princess Shrine maiden). Musashino is an organization whose duty is to protect Kanto. Talented mikos within the organization are selected at a young age, given the honor of being titled Hime-Miko (bestowing great authority), and are the ones who handle the greatest tasks and responsibilities. However, this means Hime-Miko are subject to the authority of The Committee for the Compilation of True History, a Japanese government based magic organization, who aims to use Godōu to protect Japan while minimizing his potential as a threat. She is quite harsh on Godōu the majority of the time due to the misunderstanding that Godōu is doing something lecherous, but is endured by Godōu as he sees the self-sacrifice that lies behind it. She is often called Yamato Nadeshiko. She is clairvoyant and uses magic to heal and send knowledge to Godōu. In terms of fighting level and physical stamina, she is the weakest but excels at support and is unrivaled at information gathering. She is a good, if not excellent, cook in both taste and visual appeal, and the head of the Tea Ceremony Club that Godōu's little sister is a member of. Like Erica, she falls in love with Godōu when she sees how willing he is to put his all to protect others, will step up to handle things only he can even if he would rather avoid it, but especially after he unselfishly goes to great efforts and endures great pain to rescue and help not just her (from Marquis Voban for example,) but her sister as well.

She has long dark hair, and is about 150–154 cm tall (5'2"–5'4") Her age before being kidnapped is 15. When upset (usually when Godou is doing something with another woman that Yuri misinterprets as flirting) or extremely serious she unknowingly smiles while giving off an extremely cold presence like a Yaksha. Her figure is slender to point where it looks like she would break if not handled carefully. She performs below average in sports.

Liliana Kranjcar (リリアナ・クラニチャール, Ririana Kuranicharu)

Voiced by: Eri Kitamura (Japanese); Genevieve Simmons (English)

Liliana is the childhood friend of Erica and belongs to the organization 'Bronze Black Cross' (colors are Blue and Black,) which is a mage/knight organization similar to, occasionally working but usually competing with the 'Copper Black Cross', which also serves the Campione Salvatore Doni. They also inherited some of the secret rites of the Knights Templar. Although her Grandfather and some other members favor and support the Campione Marquis Voban by preference. While the Copper Black Cross are referred to as red devils the Bronze Black Cross are referred to as blue berserkers. Liliana has been also been called the 'Sword Fairy' and 'Blue Witch', although these seem to be more nicknames as she is rarely called either while Erica is called or calls herself 'Diavolo Rosso' often. She is often compared to be on equal footing to Erica in both martial skills and combat, as well as known by people to be among the top of the current generation of Great Knights. However, due to her direct and upfront nature she doesn't have the political acumen Erica possesses and is more gullible to Erica and Karen's pranks. Although after some pointers from Erica and Kaoru she is starting to face and overcome her shortcomings rather than make panicked protests to Erica's displeasure. She follows the Knight Codes to the extreme and is often strict to Godōu, giving her the name of 'mother' by Godōu's little sister. Despite this she is also in love with Godōu, but does her best to hide it from others. Usually covering up her desire to be in close proximity or help Godōu with claims of merely serving her role as a knight or bodyguard (fooling only Godōu and herself.)

She is a silvered hair (worn in a ponytail like her idol Saint Raffaello) girl with a svelte body. Age when Voban tried to kidnap Yuri was 16, but whether she's had a birthday since then is unknown. Though she lacks the well-curved, voluptuous, figure Erica possesses, her beauty is more along that of an ephemeral, delicate fairy. While receiving their blessing (along with new swords) as newly entitled knights they encountered the newly christened 6th Campione, Salvidore Doni, without realizing he was a Campione. Wanting to receive the best swords they had to find Saint Raffaello first and so went with Doni after hearing he had been the only one to have ever found her. Long story short Doni created a ruckus, helped them find not only Saint Raffaello, but a buried gremoire she was guarding which is where they learned the spell words of David. Saint Raffaello gave them a key and location of the catacombs where her swords, Cuore di Leone and Il Maestro, were hidden until knights worthy of them appeared. As a final test the two had to get past all the traps and monsters in the catacombs and find the swords to claim them. They managed to do so shortly before Lilian was summoned by Vodan to unknowingly become a part of his ritual to summon a Heretic Guard. Lilian claimed Il Maestro while Erica chose the Cuore di Leone. Using this unique sword, she often fights with great speed, excellent magic, and flying attacks similar to that of a falcon. She is great at housework and cooking, is a descendant of witches, and has the hobby of writing embarrassing romantic novels, which Erica loves to read and blackmail her with. In terms of fighting level, she is an equal to Erica. However, her expertise over Erica is in Flight Magic, Witchcraft, Potions, communicating with plants and animals, spells relating to Water, Earth, and Sky. This allows her to make flying attacks similar to a sparrow, but with the ability to halt in midair, unaffected by gravity, before continuing her attack while Erica can only come close with Leap magic (IE spells that strongly boost jumping, but not actual flight.) This also gives her the ability to swim through water as easily as a fish, harvest herbs, cast hard spells and create difficult potions. Which proved invaluable in not only opening a gate to the Astral realm to rescue Erica and Godōu (which is a high level and difficult spell,) but the knowledge to create the potion required to be unaffected by the Astral Realm's environment (also an extremely difficult and rare skill.) As a descendant of witches she can use Witchcraft (which Erica can't) and spells like Witch's Eye, which is considered the strongest and most versatile observation spell. She can also summon and use the Bow of Jonathon, which is powerful enough to harm gods, such as Perseus. Although it appears she shoots 4 arrows at a time, only one is real, the others are illusions to increase the chances of the real arrow hitting. Her sword, Il Maestro, is kept in sword form to hide its true power like Erica does with Cuore di Leone. Released, it takes on its true appearance of a naginata, which releases spell melodies when swung that can disrupt the concentration of even the toughest of opponents, although since magic in nature it has limited, if any effect, on Campiones or gods. However, in naginata form the spell words of David are infused into it as well giving it the ability to harm gods.

Ena Seishuin (青洲院 恵那, Seishūin Ena)

Voiced by: Yuka Saitō (Japanese); Carli Mosier (English)

Ena is a girl with long, shiny, black hair with black eyes. Her birthday is unknown, but probably about 15-16 years old like the other girls. Ena, like Yuri, is a Hime Miko as well as a Yamato Nadeshiko but with a figure similar to Erica's.

She is the strongest of all Japan's Hime Miko, giving her the name Hime-Miko of the Sword. She was specially trained by Susanoo. She is aggressive, impulsive, and has a tendency to ignore complicated things. Due to the harsh training she endured Ena lacks a bit of common sense in everyday life, but this has made her an unpredictable fighter as she relies on instinct. She possesses the sword Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi and can be draw power from it, becoming possessed in the process. However, she can only do this for short periods before her body starts taking damage. Also, if she takes in too much power, there's a chance of Susanoo's instincts or Ama no Murakumo taking control of her and running amok. When this happens she can fight on par with Campiones and gods alike.

Erica considers her a threat to her position with Godou due to Ena being the only other harem member with both a strong personality and a voluptuous, curvy, figure (Liliana and Yuri are more submissive and easier for Erica to either manipulate or dominate.) Erica believes that Ena can get close to Godou as a "guy" with her forthright nature before showing some feminine charm as a "girl". Due to isolation from society during her training Ena is not very experienced with relationships in general.

She was sent to seduce Godou (as Erica and Yuri are believed to be doing) and "kick out" his European lovers. However she knew that he was her soulmate the instant she saw him and has completely fallen for him to the point that she is willing to be his mistress as long as she can be with him (and bear his children.) She misunderstands his wanting to develop their relationship slowly as well as his desire to become a man good enough for her as signs that she is not good enough to be his wife which frustrates Godou as much as Erica's wild antics do.

Campiones

Due to a 'curse', if a mortal kills a god, that mortal shall become immortal and obtain the abilities (named Authorities) of the killed god. These are the people known as Campione. Campiones will not age (or age extremely slowly,) have enhanced bodies that can heal from even mortal wounds much faster, bones stronger than steel, and their magic ability exceeds that of the most powerful mages, even if they had no talent or experience as a human. However, they still have to study and learn how to use magic to deliberately cast magic spells rather than Authorities. They also have very high magic immunity which protects them from mortal enemy magic, but also prevents them from receiving beneficial magic such as teaching or healing. Thus, a caster has to deliver the spells internally through methods such as kissing or ingestion. Examples are the knowledge spells the girls use to increase Godou's knowledge of gods, or the potion Liliana tricked him into drinking to knock him out for a while. Campiones are often referred by magic users as "kings" or "demon kings" and are often feared as unstoppable monsters, although gaining alliances or friendly relationships with Campiones are a high priority task by most magical corporations as a means of influencing or harnessing the Campione's power. To any magic affiliations Campiones have the right of rule, meaning Campiones have the final decision in all matters and are to be obeyed without judgement. In return a Campione's only responsibility is to deal with whatever Heretic Gods appear to protect humanity as a whole. This rule is partially because that's the way the system is set up, but mainly because only another Campione can stand up to or criticize another Campione as nobody else, even working as a team, is strong enough to hurt or enforce rules upon a Campione. Note that the Campiones' number order are chronological from when they first appeared, and not a reference to power level or actual age. Aisha, for example, is considered to be centuries old but has admitted that she hasn't even lived for even fifty years. This is because her time traveling authority may force her to return from days to decades later then the time she left the present. All Campiones are referred by magic users as having the same authority and strength, regardless of their age and ability. When temporarily dead (were 'killed' but have an authority that revives them) their spirits meet Pandora. Pandora is the goddess who turns a person who just killed a god into a Campione. She also decides whether or not a Campione receives the authorities from a god they just killed based on some undefined set of rules. Most Campiones recall little of anything she tells them as only someone with the qualities to be a mage to retain the knowledge. Only a few Campione fall in this category as most mages know better than to challenge a god head on and either try negotiation, sealing, or enact damage control while praying the God either leaves or is defeated by a Campione.

Sasha Dejanstahl Voban (サーシャ·デヤンスタール·ウォバン, Sāsha Deyansutāru Voban)

Voiced by: Unshō Ishizuka (Japanese); John Swasey (English)

The 1st Campione. He is a Hungarian cold man whose only desire is to battle worthy opponents and obtaining abilities. Voban is the oldest of the Campiones and because of this fact not all of his authorities are known to the Order, it is only during battle with Voban that Godou becomes privy to what his abilities are and where they come from, with help from his shrine maiden friend. Has defeated and usurped the authorities of Apollo and Osiris. Current abilities shown thus far is creating severe storms, summoning swarms of dire wolves (magic in nature and about the size of a pony but disintegrate when killed,) swallowing sun based attacks, turning people into salt with his eyes, and summoning the bodies of anyone he's killed to serve him (they have the skills they had while alive, but no will, follow his orders to letter, are dead but not rotting, temporarily turn to dust for short while if "killed" again until he resummons them.) Although of common ancestry titled himself Marquis after taking over the castle of the local Marquis, and for some personal reason took the Marquis' favorite dog's name, Voban, as his family name. As he was struggling to get enough food just to survive another day before becoming a Campione he has a gluttonous streak where he'll consume large quantities of food (somehow not getting fat as a result) just because he can and not because of actual hunger or enjoyment of the food. Bears a grudge against Salvatore for crashing his ritual four years ago and killing the Heretic God (Siegfried) he had summoned as a means to get worthy prey to hunt. However, after their clash he wants Godou to get stronger so it'll be more entertaining when they have a rematch. From their battle it seems to have been entertained him enough to not try summoning another Heretic God anytime soon. Normal appearance is that of a healthy and athletic old man with white/grey hair. Alternate form is that of a huge werewolf.

Luo Hao (羅濠, Ruo Hao)

The 2nd Campione. A Campione from China. Possessing the full set of the five Confucian virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, knowledge and integrity, she was a great figure who carried herself with royal splendor. Before Godou met her, she was seeking a worthy opponent who could defeat her just like Verethragna had. Also, she believes her valor to be the greatest in the world, she places greater value on herself than anyone else on the Earth, and is undecided on whether humanity is worth saving or not. Simply put, she has delusions on the level of middle school students that have been spoiled since birth. Many of her followers don't go near her as she feels that if former kings and emperors could punish people for just looking at or hearing them, than being a Campione demands receiving similar respect (but even more so.) Thus, when home, any commoner who sees her pluck out their eyes, and any commoner who hears her has to rip their ears off unless she grants permission otherwise. If she is imprisoned somewhere, than to satisfy her pride she has to destroy the entire prison and walk out the main doors proudly, even if the place is a historic land mark before being used to imprison her. Her protégé remarks that if she ever discovered the Greenwich assembly had listed her authorities with names other than the ones she chose, death and destruction would ensue. Despite all this, Luo Hao is very observant of formality and propriety, as well as the rules of etiquette. In Volume 6, Godou made a valid argument on why she should leave things to him which she had to comply with as it'd taint her honor to overrule him. However, to preserve her honor she declares herself his Onee-sama, although he refuses to call her anything other than Onee-san. Due to the circumstances he's not allowed to explain what brought about them being sworn family as it could harm her reputation as a maiden (since she had to kiss them him to apply Daoist arts along with the circumstances they were in) and therefore would be forced to settle her vengeance on him. There are some signs that she likes him, but doesn't realize it herself yet since she's always been a disciplined warrior, but never a girlfriend. Although she does dress to look beautiful to maintain the proper image of her station, she still considers makeup, and excessive unnecessary methods beyond that as too vain and ubiquitous. Normal attire is clothing from the Han era and natural beauty similar to that of an orchid. She has defeated and usurped the authorities of the Benevolent King Buddha Guardians and the Hindu Goddess Gayatri which are her preferred authorities to use. She has defeated an unknown number of gods but rarely encounters a situation which requires more than her preferred authorities. For example, one authority would cover everything in the world with flowers if she didn't keep control of it. Meaning not just the ground but people, animals, stone, etc. and the flowers could be harmless, poisonous, or dangerous like giant Venus flytraps. With over two hundred years experience she has mastered Daoist arts which allows her to use techniques similar to European magic spells such as Leap Magic. Another ability is changing herself to a small lizard, although whether its an authority or a Daoist art is unknown. In the Campione! series Daoist, along with some other skills, are being treated the same as magic, just slight differences due to different methods used in different countries. Had applied Daoist arts to Godou so would know immediately when his body is invaded by extraordinary divine power which would only occur from a decisive battle with a Heretic God (namely the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.) It only worked the once as she did not appear or have her disciple take action when Godou was under the effects of Lancelot's "Insane Rush."

Aisha (アイーシャ, Aīsha)

The 3rd Campione. A Campione who lives in Alexandria. She has the nicknames the Eternal Beauty, Goddess of Caves or Mysterious Queen of Caves. When she became a Campione she only had the name Aisha and was given the title Madam by the magicians of the time. She is a beautiful maiden about seventeen or eighteen years old with black hair and olive skin. Personality is that of a wanderer who can't stay in one place for too long without feeling confined and needing to go on a journey for a few years. The Authorities revealed so far don't seem to have any combat potential, but do other things. Such as the Authority she received from Persephone that allows her to share the energy of life with living things which heals even severe wounds. Although if she has a day to prep she can flip the 'Spring' side of the authority into the 'Winter' side (Spring representing when Persephone is on Earth and Winter representing the three months she has to spend in the Underworld with Hades) which can remove life, but Godou stopped her from actually using it the time she considered it. Another she usurped from 'a certain Catholic saint in the Catholic religion' causes everyone to like her which helps keep her out of trouble in areas where the locals ostracize or treat strangers with hostility. Although if she doesn't keep the effect toned down or 'inspires' a group of defenders too often then she could unintentionally create a cult that would lay down their lives for her. It is suggested but not confirmed that she has an authority giving her eternal youth. The names referring to Caves is a result of an Authority that can create a hole to another world and has the appearance of a cave. This is considered a most troublesome Authority by Saint Raffaello in that most of the holes link to the past (never the future.) This is a problem in that any changes in the past could affect the future similar to the Butterfly Effect. Such as accidentally killing the ancestor of a historical figure which would prevent that figure from being born or the troubles a Campione triggers just by being there. Also, once a hole is formed it will reappear in the same spot every now and then (usually nights with a full moon and a clear sky) even years later. The main problem with this Authority is that she has no control over what time period the holes open up to, and the holes appearing and sucking her in whenever she forgets about having the Authority. Also, the connection in time is not stable so someone entering the whole a few minutes earlier or later than another person will still arrive at the same spot, but days or years before or after the other.

Annie Charlton (アニー·チャールトン, Anī Chāruton)

The 4th Campione. A Campione from America. Also goes by the masked identity of John Pluto Smith. A serious minded individual, she only lets her feelings show when she's drunk (as Annie Charlton) or in the guise of Smith. When in the armored form of John Pluto Smith, she acts much more relaxed and flamboyant. At some point the Smith persona turned into a semi-split personality which seems to express all the emotions and stuff Annie has been heavily suppressing. So Annie and Smith are aware and know everything the other personality experiences, but thoughts and actions reflect whichever one is 'out'. After fighting alongside Luo Hao and Godou, she seems to start to grow feelings toward Godou, although she denies to herself due to the difference between their ages and Godou's reputation of being a playboy. Has usurped the authorities of Tezcatlipoca and Artemis. Tezcatlipoca's authorities require sacrifices to use, such as sacrificing the ability of fire, streetlights, etc. to create light in an area for a period of time to transform into a jaguar. Artemis' authorities so far is to automatically reload Artemis' "arrows" in a special, large revolver (magnum?,) created specifically for her human form by a dark elven metalworker living in the Astral Realm out of extremely rare Eorl steel once a lunar cycle. The "bullets" are Artemis' arrows so only six shots can be fired until the next lunar cycle, and any shots not used before reloading can't be removed and saved for additional shots. Only her human form needs to use the gun to shoot the arrows, the Jaguar form, for example, can shoot the arrow's from her mouth but each shot still consumes an arrow from the revolver. Since the gun was made specifically for her use no one else can use it unless she is nearby and wills permission for the wielder. When not going around as Smith, she goes around as herself as Smith's collaborator, member of Sorcerous Sacrilege Investigation (US version of Japan's Committee,) and highly adept mage. As Annie wears dark leather suits, rectangular half-glasses, with short fiery red hair. As John Pluto Smith wears various cloths that present the "proper atmosphere of a hero" over armor that makes her look like an insect, primarily the helmet, and hides the fact that Smith isn't a man but a woman.

Alexander Gascoigne (アレクサンダー·ガスコイン, Arekusandā Gasukoin)

The 5th Campione. A Campione also known as Black Prince Alec from Britain, leader of political organization Royal Arsenal that oppose Princess Alice organization Witengamot. Has the authority of Fallen Angel Ramiel "Black Lightning," an ability that grants him super speed. Can also turn himself into a lightning avatar made of plasma to travel even faster, evade physical injury, and use lightning strikes. However, if the lightning avatar is dispelled he'll revert back to his normal physical form. While it would take several mages of Zola's skill working in harmony to do so, this could result in him falling to his death (or at least cause extreme damage all over his body) if his avatar form got dispelled while he's flying miles above the ground. Has also defeated the Minotaur granting ([The Labyrinth] which creates an underground labyrinth where the user always knows where he and anyone else in it is, full understanding of layout, and level of complexity dependent on the intellectual level of the user,) and the three Furies ([Judging Furies] returns all damage done in front of them back to an opponent using any form of destructive power, whether it is physical or magical.) Personality is arrogant but not completely cold. Such as willing to work, and on rare occasions extend common courtesy, with Alice when their goals align on issues such as Guinevere. Looks like a young man with black hair.

Salvatore Doni (サルヴァトーレ·ドニ, Saruvatōre Doni)

Voiced by: Takuya Eguchi (Japanese); Andrew Love (English)

The 6th Campione. He has a carefree personality, considered by most to be a complete idiot with no common sense and lacks magical skills. He and Kusanagi Godou are on equal levels as campione, as it is mentioned that they have a duel that ends in a draw, afterwards developing a strong friendship from this (often one sided). Salvatore is also notably hated or strongly disliked by the campione Sasha Dejanstahl Voban, for "stealing" his prey that he had summoned specifically to relieve boredom. While not cruel like Voban, he is feared for all the trouble his antics cause because his usual excuse is "It would be more interesting this way." That, and his utter lack of understanding much less caring about serious issues which he usually ignores as irrelevant with the belief that every solution to every issue is in his scabbard, literally. Is a battle maniac so anything not related to battle is considered boring, irrelevant, and hardly worth remembering. Such as not being able to remember Erica's or Liliana's names until their affiliation with Godou is mentioned. Doni's interest isn't because he sees Godou as a friend or ally (which he does) but due to his extreme anticipation of having a rematch (even if it's to the death) once Godou masters all his authorities. As such he warned Godou about Voban entering Japan and used [Return to Medieval Style] to keep Erica and Yuri from helping Godou so he would grow stronger, faster in Naples than he would with their help. He is a former Templar candidate, but failed due to abysmally poor magic scores and ability well below that of a young novice who never heard of magic before. Is considered an exceptional prodigy with swords, and always carries one around with him wherever he goes just in case he gets into an interesting fight. So far the only person to beat him in a sword fight (just sword skills no authorities) after he became a Campione was Saint Raffaello. The Copper Black Cross association answers to him since his home base coincides with their headquarters. Most of the Bronze Black Cross members do too, or at least the Italy based ones, although both organizations are long time rivals and some Bronze Black Cross members are Voban supporters (like Liliana's Grandfather.) He has usurped the authorities of the king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Nuadha ([Ripping Arm of Silver] allows him to turn his arm silver and gaining the ability to cut through anything,) Nordic hero Siegfried ([Man of Steel] provides a body of steel that can't be damaged but increases his mass in proportion to how strong the protection is,) and Vulcan ([Return to Medieval Style] reduces the technology level of an area to that of the Middle Ages for about half a day, so modern devices like cellphones, airplanes, electricity, etc. don't work.) His fourth authority he usurped from Dionysus. It causes ALL magical powers to overload, activate and run out of control. This suits him very well as he doesn't have enough control yet to keep the Authority from wreaking havoc with his magic, but since he's too inept to use magic but only uses Authorities and Sword Skills it doesn't hamper his style at all. He is a blond-haired Italian in his early twenties with a scar going around his right shoulder where it meets the arm and always carrying around a basic, mass produced, sword Erica and Liliana had purchased for him soon after he defeated Nuadha. His creed and spell words is that he will not allow anything to exist in the world that he can not cut. Anyone who gets to know him, including his friend and butler, considers him to be a trouble-making idiot who looks to his scabbard for solutions and uncaring about the suffering he causes all in the name of fun.

Uldin (Uldin)

The eighth campione to appear in the series. He is a hunnic warrior and is even compared as being Godou's twin in that they both tend to act the same and have similar fighting temperaments. Although not explained, a possible reason is that he's an unrecorded and distant ancestor of Godou which would explain the similarities in their personalities and 'luck' with women. He has a habit of acting on his impulses and therefore has a harem of women spread throughout the world, although he is apparently married to four of them, with Ruska (first wife) and Clotilde (fourth wife) making their appearance along with Uldin. His other two wives are at two other fortresses he controls. As with the time period feels that if he likes a woman it is ok to carry her off as she will eventually fall for him like the others anyway. His primary authority that is used is "dragon tamer" which allows him to control the 'dragons' that he keeps in the forest near his castle. That and turn 'dragon' bones into an army of smaller skeleton dragons similar to the story of sowing dragon's teeth into the ground to raise an army. He is also known as Tyr's sword and has Tyr's authority allows him to resurrect for a limited time his army of dragons to fight again.

Heretic gods

Heretic gods are gods that come to exist in real world, rather than staying as myths. Heretic gods can use their ability same as in their myths. A human who weakens and killed a heretic god singlehandedly will gain their abilities and become a Campione, while Campiones can also kill other heretic gods singlehandedly to gain more abilities. Killing a heretic god who is already weakened by someone else or cooperating with other people during the fight to kill them will not receive any ability. Note that even if killed, heretic gods will resurrect later as long as the myth is still known among humans.

Athena (アテナ, Atena)

Voiced by: Yui Ogura (Japanese); Brittney Karbowski (English)

Athena has a cold personality and seems willing to do anything to reclaim her lost powers. She was defeated by Godou in volume 1 of the Light Novel and returned as a cameo at the end of volume 3. Having the aspects of both Athena and Medusa is due to myths that reconcile both entities as being the same goddess. She returns in volume 4 to train Godou and helps him defeat Perseus, another Heretic God, by providing the knowledge to power his [Sword] of the Warrior form. In exchange for her assistance, Godou had to promise her that he would fulfill any one wish. Her appearance is that of a young teenager with silver hair and black eyes similar to those of an owl. After acquiring the Gorgoneion, she gained a slightly more mature appearance, but lost it after her battle with Godou. In the anime it is stated that she lost her age and rank before becoming a heretic god, so her young form appears to be a punishment of some kind. While she claims that she does not want anyone else to defeat Godou but her, she does seem to have taken an interest in Godou's growth and development. It is possible that, like Erica and the others, having watched and interacted with him she has started to develop feelings for him that she isn't aware of, or willing to admit to herself. This is shown in the anime when she sought his help after losing her memories. When she talks with Shizuka it is hinted that that her feelings towards Godou might be affectionate. Furthermore, when in peril, she was able to summon him through his Wind authority by calling his name.

In volume 9 she is slain by the heretic King Lancelot du Lac after Lancelot interferes with her duel with Godou. During the fight she was severely weakened by her previous confrontation with the divine ancestor Guinevere. During that fight Guinevere used the Holy Grail to latch onto and constantly drain Athena's divine powers. To slow down the process Athena absorbed the Grail into her body. Athena manages to temporarily slow down the draining by petrifying herself during her first confrontation with Godou. Godou temporarily halts the grail by combining Ama no Murakumo (which resides in his right arm) and the Warrior incarnation's Golden Sword into an anti-Divine Artifact weapon which severely damages the Grail, but not Athena. This was possible due to the knowledge about the Grail that Guinevere had given him for his showdown with Athena. During the fight Athena defends against Lancelot's charge but suffers extensive damage, and bestows the last of her powers on Godou, allowing him to fight to a stalemate against Lancelot. Although Athena is completely absorbed by the Grail when she dies, it seems that she somehow imparted something of herself into his mind before the end. This impression is bolstered when an impression of Athena's owl along with knowledge of how to create a powerful sword comes to Godou's mind during his battle with Circe. Guinevere later uses the Grail's ability to transform into Athena, albeit a weaker version, along with the mission to find and wake the King of End.

Verethragna (ウルスラグナ, Urusuraguna)

Voiced by: Junko Minagawa (Japanese); Leraldo Anzaldua (English)

An ancient Persian warlord. He likes fighting and will do anything to challenge a worthy opponent. He has defeated nine other warlords and inherited their abilities. He meets Godou in the form of the Youth and doesn't remember his name or that he is a god. During several encounters he helps Godou out with a few situations along with the Perseus stone. After recovering his divinity, he has forgotten that he gave Godou the stone so that Godou could finally give him the long awaited defeat he craved. To save Sicily, Godou uses the stone to steal Verethrana's incarnation of the Horse. After being defeated his powers were usurped by Godou, making him a Campione. Being joyful at finally being defeated, he blesses Godou before passing on, along with a stern command not to fall to anyone else before their rematch.

Perseus (ペルセウス, Peruseusu)

Voiced by: Nobutoshi Canna (Japanese); Christopher Patton (English)

A Heretic God, known as the Legendary Dragon Killer. He slays any dragon he encounters, disregarding the consequences that come from killing the dragon. Since this Perseus' history was born from the Roman belief that Perseus was the same god as Mithra, the former master of Verethragna, he possesses the power to seal the authorities of Verethragna. This is bad for Godou as his Golden Sword can only target and damage the aspect of Mithra or Perseus, but not both. Due to Heroic Steel being known in many myths as conquering dragons (which were degraded or fallen Earth goddesses not actual dragons,) rescuing and marrying the maiden in distress (which were the defeated and subjugated Earth Goddesses or their high priestess) any god (namely Perseus) with the property of Heroic steel can dominate and control any descendant of those goddesses and priestesses. Thus anyone with the disposition of a Miko/Witch can be enthralled. Especially as they've been raised into believing that a god's power is absolute and too strong for them, although love (especially in myths) is stronger and can break the spell. He was defeated in battle by Godou. Afterwards in the novel he is killed by Salvatore Doni, but his authority is somehow absorbed by Guinevere's [Circle of Usurpation]. In the anime, he is consumed by a shadowy figure.

Pandora (パンドラ)

Voiced by: Yuiko Tatsumi (Japanese); Sasha Paysinger (English)

A Demigod. She's known to be the mother of all Campiones and occasionally appears in Godou's dreams when he is in the border between life and death after the Ram form has activated. She provides information, criticism, pep talks, or even just small talk with any of the Campiones who either have just become a Campione, or 'died' but haven't yet revived through their authorities. However, until the Campione reaches some level in an unknown aspect (essentially having the disposition of a mage,) most of the talk will be forgotten with only the subconscious remembering anything. Mages such as John Pluto Smith and the Black Prince are able to recall their time with Pandora normally.

Secondary characters

Lucretia Zola (ルクレシア·ゾラ, Rukureshia Zora)

Voiced by: Atsuko Tanaka (Japanese); Maggie Flecknoe (English)

A powerful witch whom Godou meets when returning an artifact of hers (the Prometheus Grimoire) in place of his grandfather, who had promised his departed wife to never meet with Zola again. Lucretia attended college with and befriended Godōu Kusanagi's grandfather but due to her high magic ability and talent, she has been able to retain the appearance of a woman in her twenties despite being in her 60s (if not older). She has long, flaxen hair (in the anime her hair is brown), a lazy nature, voluptuous body and lives on the island of Sicily. While living away from major cities she makes sure to have modern conveniences such as a refrigerator, air conditioning, and a computer with internet access. Lucretia is very knowledgeable about various gods, magic, and other matters, but shares Erica's disposition for always choosing the more 'interesting' course of action and teasing Godōu. Deciding it would be more interesting (and keep Erica from blindly charging forth with it) Lucretia returned the grimoire to Godou to help him deal with the two heretic gods who had appeared. She seems determined to be Godou's local wife (mistress) although whether she's serious, playing around, or (most likely) both, is unknown.

Arianna Hayama Arialdi (アリアンナ・ハヤマ・アリアルディ, Arianna Hayama Ariarudi)

Voiced by: Sachika Misawa (Japanese); Juliet Simmons (English)

Erica's personal maid, chosen by her master due to her possessing interesting aspects. (Hayama is a Japanese surname.) According to Erica, Arianna is smart, responsible, and hardworking: she would be a perfect maid except for her four "interesting" points. Those four points are: 1) Despite her extremely dangerous driving habits she has somehow, miraculously, not only obtained a (Japanese) driver's license, but has never had a single serious accident (meaning no car crashes, but occasionally getting a few minor dents and scratches from minor things such as bumping into other cars while [un]parking.) 2) Her cooking is on a level to be found in any 4 or 5 star restaurant, unless it's cooked in a pot. Her pot-cooked meals are so bad that Erica won't even touch them, and they set off Godou's Campione instincts as being 'very dangerous'. 3) Arianna has no martial or magic ability at all. 4) While otherwise perfect, she will make a single unintentional major mistake every three days like clockwork. Arianna doesn't appear to have noticed these personal points at all. As such, this makes her interesting enough for Erica to employ her. Arianna is also friends with Karen Jankulovski with whom she likes to gossip. Arianna always dresses in a maid outfit(at the beach she wears an apron over her swimsuit), has black hair and eyes and is about 19 years old. How long she has been working for Erica is unknown, but most likely a while as Erica spoke her name when waking up the morning after her drinking contest with Godou. It is possible that Arianna is hiding her real abilities and deliberately emphasizing her interesting points to ensure that Erica keeps her on as her maid.

Karen Jankulovski (カレン・ヤンクロフスキ, Karen Yankurofusuki)

Voiced by: Kanami Satō (Japanese); Allison Sumrall (English)

Liliana's personal maid. She has a devil's personality similar to Erica's (but not as refined or experienced.) She has noticed Liliana's feeling toward Godou and often gives her advice as a push, as well as making fun of her master. She also secretly sells copies of Liliana's journal/diary to Erica. Is someone Erica feels is good to have a long term relationship with as Karen considered selling privileged information on the Bronze Black Cross as too risky and thus is less likely to get caught from overextending herself. Has short green hair and constantly wears a maid outfit unless meeting Erica in secret. Is about 14 years old but has already learned and finished equivalency exams equal to that of a college degree. Is apprenticed to and learning how to be a witch from Liliana. Also occasionally takes bribes from Lily's grandfather to get Lily to dress and act more sexily and less strictly.

Shizuka Kusanagi (草薙 静花, Kusanagi Shizuka)

Voiced by: Rina Hidaka (Japanese); Luci Christian (English)

Godou's younger sister. Shizuka has short brown hair and said to already be showing signs of growing into a beauty like their mother. She is a strong-willed girl who is suspicious about her brother's actions and fears that he has inherited their grandfather's lady-killer ways. Shizuka is aware of a multitude of girls, especially several of her friends, being fond of him but refuses to enlighten him about it. Like their deceased grandmother and Godou's childhood friend (and former classmate) Asuka, she worries that one day Godou will not only realize his extreme talent at attracting the love and affection of women, but will come to abuse it. Like Yuri, Shizuka often criticizes Godou but it is a front for her concern for her brother. Since Godou's high school and her middle school are part of the same school complex, she is a member of the same tea ceremony club that Yuri belongs to. Shizuka is jealous of all the attention Godou receives from Erica, who notes that he is no longer solely Shizuka's anymore. Evidence of this can be seen in volume 5 when Shizuka becomes extremely happy that Godou cuts his vacation abroad short to spend part of the summer with her.

Media

Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Jirō Sakamoto began serialization in the inaugural October 2011 issue of Shueisha's Super Dash & Go!.

Anime

A 13-episode anime adaptation produced by Diomedéa and directed by Keizo Kusakawa aired in Japan between July and September 2012 and has been licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks. The anime adapts the first five volumes of the light novels, with the final episode being a self-contained story. The opening theme song is "BRAVE BLADE!" by Megu Sakuragawa and the closing theme song is "Raise" by Yui Ogura.

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External links

• Official light novel website Template:Ja icon
• Official anime website Template:Ja icon
• Campione! (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia