List of Noragami characters

The following is a list of characters for the Noragami manga and anime series.

Characters

Main characters

Yato (夜卜, Yatō)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya (Japanese); Jason Liebrecht^[1] (English)

Yato is a war god who wants to build his own shrine. In the past, he was known as a god of calamity (禍津神, magatsukami). He wears a tracksuit and a fluffy scarf and refers to himself as "Yato God" (Yatogami). His current Regalia (神器, shinki) quit, and he appears unarmed when he first meets Hiyori and Yukine. He calls himself a "delivery god" (デリバリーゴッド, deribarī goddo) and often posts or writes his own cell number in public areas in case someone needs his help. Yato usually charges five yen (about five cents in U.S. currency), which is what Japanese people usually give when praying at a shrine, and he is willing to do anything for five yen. However, he often wastes his money on items that allegedly bring happiness. He is also good at both academics and sports. As he "stopped" being a god of calamity due to his dislike of violence, he is often being forgotten by humans. This results in Yato developing athazagoraphobia (the fear of being forgotten), which is why he treasures the existence of Hiyori. Since accepting Hiyori's job to return her to normal, Hiyori becomes increasingly involved in Yato and Yukine's activities, and even saves both of them from Yukine's actions that caused blight upon Yato. Over time, Yato becomes more concerned about Hiyori and her well-being, but worries about being forgotten by her to the point he stalks her constantly and gets jealous over her interactions with other people. Despite it being her best chance to return to normal, Hiyori refuses to cut her bond with Yato, promising that she will never forget him and even builds a small shrine for him which he now treasures heavily. Yato promises himself that he will become an existence that can make Hiyori happy. It is later revealed that his actual name is Yaboku, with "Yato" being a name that a previous Regalia mistakenly gave him due to a kanji mix-up, yet he took to heart and has been using ever since.

Hiyori Iki (壱岐 ひより, Iki Hiyori)

Voiced by: Maaya Uchida (Japanese); Bryn Apprill^[1] (English)

Hiyori is a middle school girl in her third year (9th grade), and a high school first year (10th grade) starting from chapter 25 of the manga. After saving Yato from a car accident, she develops the problem of involuntarily falling asleep suddenly due to her soul "slipping out" of her body and somehow becoming stuck between the human world and the afterlife. Hiyori becomes more involved in Yato's activities and events in the "far side". During this time, she develops a strong attachment to Yato, being able to recognize him by scent and feeling embarrassed by how much she likes it. Despite it being her best chance to return to normal, Hiyori refuses to have her bond to Yato cut because she wants to spend more time with him. She even promises to never forget about Yato, and builds him a small shrine. Even when she gradually forgets about Yato's existence due to Yato's prolonged absence and her school life, she continues to feel empty and that she is missing the one she wants to spend her time with. Although overjoyed upon remembering about Yato, she feels guilt about forgetting about him even a little bit. In the anime, she lost her memories of Yato and Yukine after being attacked by Nora and the Phantoms Nora summons on New Year's Eve. She later was able to recover all her memories by recognizing Yato's smell.

Yukine (雪音, Yukine)

Voiced by: Yūki Kaji (Japanese); Micah Solusod^[1] (English)

Yukine is Yato's current Regalia. His Regalia name is "Sekki" (雪器), whose shape is a katana. He died at a young age, making him miss normal life as a teenager. He acts his age, and once stole money from people with the excuse that it is okay since he is dead. Every time he steals or sins in any other way, Yato suffers injuries. Even though Yato is his master, Yukine does not really show Yato respect as much as how he actually respects him. After being saved by Hiyori, he becomes more obedient. Like Yato, Yukine treasures Hiyori's existence, and fears that one day, when Hiyori has grown up, she will forget him and Yato. After Yukine saves Yato from being killed by Bishamonten, Yukine becomes a Blessed Vessel and takes the shape of twin katanas.

Gods

Gods in Noragami are gods according to the Japanese belief, who are categorized into several aspects, like war and poverty. They are those who grant human wishes, usually after receiving a prayer and a monetary offering. Their existence depends on humans' faith in them. Gods with shrines do not really die when killed. They are simply reborn, taking the same appearance, but usually having the body and personality of a child at first.

Tenjin (天神, Tenjin)

Voiced by: Tōru Ōkawa (Japanese); Sean Hennigan (English)

He is the god of academics. He has several Regalia and has his own shrine, much to Yato's envy. He sometimes assumes human form to intervene if Yato goes out of control playing around.

Kofuku (小福, Kofuku)

Voiced by: Aki Toyosaki (Japanese); Alexis Tipton^[1] (English)

She is a god of poverty (貧乏神, binbōgami), posing as Ebisu. She is energetic and gentle, but can be fierce and stands up to even Bishamonten if needed.

Bishamonten (毘沙門天, Bishamonten)

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese); Elizabeth Maxwell^[1] (English)

Bishamonten, whose name is often abbreviated to Bishamon and also nicknamed Veena, is the god of combat, taking the form of a woman with long blonde hair. She has many Regalia due to her being unable to abandon spirits attacked by Phantoms, and forms a large group over time, causing her trouble as she cannot tend to all of them properly. She has a strong hate for Yato, as he killed her previous clan of Regalia in the past. Later on in the manga, it is revealed Yato eliminated her Regalia on Kazuma's request to save her life. An argument over who stung Bishamonten resulted in all the other Regalia getting into a massive fight that caused them to develop into a massive phantom. She stops hunting Yato after learning the truth. Despite this, they continue to have a stormy relationship.

Rabō (蠃蚌, Rabō)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese); Mike McFarland^[1] (English)

Rabō is an enigmatic character and appears only in the anime, although he also appears in the manga special Awase Kagami. He is often seen conversing with Nora and has been known to be able to control Phantoms. He is also known as a god of calamity, similar to Yato, and having worked together with him, and seeing him being what he is now making him wanted to bring back the old Yato. After his defeat at the hands of Yato, it is suggested that Rabō simply wanted Yato (his fellow calamity god) to kill him. He is known to kill humans, Regalia, other gods and Phantoms, not caring what the job is, as long as he was wished to do it.

Ebisu (恵比寿, Ebisu)

Voiced by: Ryōtarō Okiayu (Japanese); John Burgmeier (English)

One of Seven Gods of Fortune, who offers to buy Yukine from Yato after he becomes a Blessed Vessel, or even use him as a Nora. He dresses like a businessman, and is rather harsh with his words. Unlike most gods, he has no problems with using Nora. Having been abandoned by his mother Izanami, he views himself as an outcast, and thus sympathizes with them. He plans to use Phantoms as Regalia, and his constant failures in that cause him to reincarnate frequently.

Ōkuninushi (大国主, Ōkuninushi)

Voiced by: Shunsuke Sakuya (Japanese); Bryan Massey (English)

Another of the Seven Gods of Fortune, who also goes by the name of "Daikokuten" (大黒天). He is a close friend of both Bishamonten and Ebisu. He appears as a big and gruff man with blonde hair who is constantly wearing sunglasses, combined with traditional Japanese clothes. Despite his appearance, however, he is very friendly and fond of rabbits. He is capable of turning into a monstrous spider and is said to be so dangerous even without a Regalia that he was once sealed.

Regalia

A Regalia is a divine weapon possessed by gods. They are former humans that died for a reason against their will (e.g. not through suicide). Regalia change their shape into a unique weapon when their gods called their Regalia name. Usually, each god has a naming scheme to serve as proof that the god wants a specific type of Regalia, and also as an affirmation of a familial bond . Certain Regalia will evolve after they risk their name to protect their gods into a better shape, which is called a "Blessed Vessel" (祝の器, hafuri no utsuwa).

Mayu (真喩, Mayu)

Voiced by: Asami Imai (Japanese); Leah Clark (English)

She is Yato's former Regalia, and currently one of Tenjin's Regalia. Despite her harsh attitude toward Yato, she does appear to hold a considerable amount of respect and concern for him. An example of this is when she volunteers to be a part of the ablution required to save Yato's life despite the risks involved. When she was still Yato's Regalia, she was given the name Tomone (伴音) and transformed into a small dagger. As Tenjin's Regalia, she transforms into a smoking pipe.

Kazuma (兆麻, Kazuma)

Voiced by: Jun Fukuyama (Japanese); Eric Vale^[1] (English)

He is one of Bishamonten's Regalia and exemplar. His name as Regalia is "Chōki" (兆器), whose shape was originally a nail earring, but because of his close bond with Bishamonten and will to protect her, he became a Blessed Regalia and transformed into a cherry blossom shaped earring who is capable of tracking enemies and also to guide other Regalia in combat. He regards Yato as his benefactor, despite Yato being enemies with Bishamonten.

Daikoku (大黒, Daikoku)

Voiced by: Daisuke Ono (Japanese); Ian Sinclair^[1] (English)

Daikoku is Kofuku's somewhat overprotective Regalia. He regards himself as Kofuku's husband, and once raised a child Regalia with her. His name as Regalia is "Kokki" (黒器), whose form is a fan.

Nora (野良, Nora)

Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (Japanese); Lauren Landa^[1] (English)

A main antagonist of the series. She is Yato's former Regalia. "Nora," meaning "stray," is how the gods call any Regalia who has many masters and thus many names. Because of this, Nora have bad reputations and are the target of prejudice by the gods, but are nevertheless used for tasks that they do not want their own Regalia to be used. Nora was named Hiiro (緋) by Yato, her Regalia name being "Hiki" (緋器), and she still offers herself to be used by him, though he always resists. She causes a lot of trouble, going so far as to destroy Yukine's faith in himself. In the anime, she first tries to kill Hiyori with Phantoms and, when that fails, she erases Hiyori's memory of Yukine and Yato. It is noted that, had she been summoned in the ablution ceremony, she would have killed Yukine. In the manga, it is revealed that she had been Yato's Regalia since he was a child and was Yato's childhood companion.

Kuraha (囷巴, Kuraha)

Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue (Japanese); Greg Dulcie (English)

Kuraha is Bishamonten's Regalia. His Regalia form is a male lion with a scar on his right eye. His name as Regalia is "Kinki" (囷器).

Kugaha (陸巴, Kugaha)

Voiced by: Takanori Hoshino (Japanese); Phil Parsons (English)

A main antagonist of the second season. Kugaha is Bishamonten's former Regalia. He was Bishamonten's doctor, but betrayed her because he wanted to reincarnate Bishamonten and become her new exemplar. His Regalia form is a balance scale. He is actually a Nora and his name "Kuga" was revoked. His name as Bishamonten's Regalia was "Rokki".

Aiha (藍巴)

Voiced by: Hisako Tōjō (Japanese); Michelle Rojas (English)

Aiha is Bishamonten's Regalia. She was manipulated by Kugaha to help her reincarnate Bishamonten and was severely blighted. Her Regalia form is a sliver knight armor used in combat.

Others

Tsuyu (梅雨)

Voiced by: Saori Hayami (Japanese); Jamie Marchi (English)

Tsuyu is the spirit of a plum tree who has lived with Tenjin for 1,000 years. She is not a Regalia, but rather stays with Tenjin out of a lasting love. Because she is a tree spirit, she is able to communicate with other trees.

Mutsumi (睦美)

Voiced by: Mikako Komatsu^[2]

A female student who gets bullied by her classmates. She only appeared in the first chapter of the manga and for a brief moment in the first episode of the anime.

References