| Gunji | |
| |
| Role | Side Character |
|---|---|
| Race | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Status | Alive Deceased (Shiki's Bad Ends) |
| Relatives | None |
| Aliases | Executioner Chickie (by Kiriwar) |
| Weapon | claws |
| Abilities | Strength, Speed, Sturdiness |
| Voice Actor | Kishou Taniyama/Kazuya Sugisaki |
| Height | 195 cm |
Gunji (グンジ) is an Executioner, under Arbitro's reign. He works alongside Kiriwar, who often bosses Gunji around.
Personality
Gunji is not very smart and acts spontaneously and violently, and is extremely sadistic in his killings, but still has a fun-loving, childish innocence to him. He is easily bored and has a limited range of interests: killing, food, and things he can play with. He often conflates killing with eating.
Gunji has an affinity with name-calling. In the manga, Gunji seems to confuse cats with dogs; Kau is supposed to be a pet "dog", but Gunji refers to him as "Tama", which is a common pet name for a cat. He also names a cat that he finds "Pochi", the common pet name for a dog. In the game, this is reversed: it’s Kiriwar who calls Kau “Tama” and Gunji who insists he’s “Pochi.”
Appearance
Gunji's tattoo designs, taken from the Official Works book
Gunji is a 195cm tall man with long blonde hair. He has blue eyes. He wears a bright red hooded jacket that is open at the front, exposing most of his tattoo-covered torso which also spreads down his back, up his neck on his shoulders and flames on his wrists that spread up his fore-arm. He wears dark trousers with a 2-row pyramid belt with dog tags wrapped through the loop-holes of his pants. He often appears hunched over and fights with metal knuckle claws, similar to Wolverine.
Abilities
- Strength and Speed - Gunji is almost inhumanly strong and fast, enough to be a threat to addicts enhanced by Line.
- Sturdiness - In the manga, living weapon Nicole Premier’s bare hand cannot pierce his chest (as it usually would).
Relationships
Kiriwar – His fellow Executioner and partner of sorts. They are always together in the game, and appear to have a vitriolic friendship where they argue and insult each other. Gunji calls him an old man ("jijii" in Japanese) and, in return, Kiriwar calls him a punk, a chickie, a bird brain, and other insults to Gunji's intelligence.
Arbitro – Gunji’s employer. Gunji calls him "papa” and “Bitro.”
Kau – Gunji appears to interpret for him and they seem to get along. In the manga, Gunji calls him “Tama,” and in the game, “Pochi.”
Shiki – Gunji is one of the few people who do not fear Shiki, or as Gunji calls him, "Shikitty"/”Shikiti.”
Akira - Gunji considers him “prey” and nicknames him “kitty” (“neko-chan” in Japanese).
Takeru – A rule-breaker Gunji hunts down. Gunji calls him a “blue ape.”
Nicole Premier (manga) – Gunji calls him “Mr. Ghost” and tries to kill him several times for sport.
In the Game
History
Little is known about Gunji's past.
Common Route
In the Street
The Executioners
Gunji is introduced alongside Kiriwar while working. They are surrounded by a large crowd in the middle of the road, and Akira observes how people are oddly subdued for an Igura battle. From afar, Akira sees two tall figures doing a rough body search of an Igura participant. The man’s terror is apparent from a distance; he breaks down screaming and tries to run. Kiriwar catches him. Gunji’s approach is languid, and he grins broadly. The man goes down after being hit and pleads for mercy; Gunji mocks him. Rin points out who is who to Akira, and explains how the Executioners make up excuses to kill for fun. As if to prove it, they start to laugh and kick the man until he’s dead.
Then Gunji calls for “Pochi,” which Kiriwar corrects that to “Tama.” Gunji insists, “Tama is a name for cats!” After Kau inspects the victim’s tags, Gunji reports that the man wasn’t cheating after all and laughs wildly. Kiriwar asks “Tama” to inspect the crowd, but Gunji says, “He ain’t Tama. Pochi says he’s hungry.” Gunji crouches down and Kau headbutts his knee like a real dog. This makes Kiriwar relent. Gunji stretches and Kau follows him as they begin to leave. Kau stops in front of Akira and Kiriwar checks him out, but before anything escalates, Gunji urges them on. He reminds Kiriwar that Arbirto will be upset if they don’t return Kau soon.
Chasing Takeru
While running from the executioners, Takeru runs into Akira and hauls Akira along with him by the arm. The Executioners give chase, roaring, and Gunji calls Takeru a “blue ape” as he yells at Takeru not to run away. Akira and Takeru duck into a maze of alleyways. The player’s choices in this section of the game can lead to Gunji’s ending . If Akira and Takeru stay together, they escape by hiding in a sealed dumpster. Through the metal, Akira hears the Executioners talk about giving up for now. Kiriwar suggests they let Akira and Takeru run for a bit more, and Gunji replies: “Hide and seek? Yep, it’ll be yummier to stalk ‘em nice and slow. Broil ‘em with fear.” After kicking the dumpster, the Executioners leave.
Alley with Motomi
After Akira’s first Igura “victory,” he recovers from his injury in an alley. The shadowy sight of human figures makes him hide, because Akira recognizes Gunji and Kiriwar by their stature and gait. He hears a dragging noise that turns out to be the body of the silver-haired line addict Akira had defeated. Akira unintentionally tries to retreat and trips over scrap metal, drawing their attention. Gunji hums and walks as though climbing stairs, before he turns his head in Akira’s direction. Being noticed by Gunji sends a jolt down Akira’s spine.
Gunji asks if there’s a kitty there. Motomi pulls Akira to safety into the shadows as Gunji continues to call for the “kitty.” Gunji hunches over in his curiosity, but is disappointed when he only sees the “worn out old fogey,” Motomi. Kiriwar and Motomi talk, and Gunji laughs after Kiriwar warningly threatens to kill Motomi. Gunji makes a strange whoop and stands. It’s Motomi who tells them he’d be no fun to kill because, “You guys like it when they cry and scream and flee.” Gunji calls that his favorite.
When Motomi suggests they move along, Gunji informs Motomi that he and Kiriwar are two of a kind and so should get along better. Kiriwar calls Gunji a “brainless little chick” and smacks him on the forehead with his metal pipe. Gunji howls in pain and yells at Kiriwar about losing brain cells. Kiriwar doesn’t respond, but as they leave, the executioners bicker over something indistinct.
Chasing Takeru (2)
Takeru tries to steal a man’s tags by posing as a prostitute, but the Executioners catch up to him in the hotel. Takeru escapes after seeing their familiar shapes.
His End
To obtain Gunji’s End, the player must first choose to shake off Takeru during the chase, then choose to go left. Choosing right leads to Kiriwar’s Ending.
After making the choice to go left, Akira stops to catch his beath. A high-pitched voice crows “Fooouuund you,” and Gunji drops down in front of Akira. He mocks Akira for thinking he could escape and grabs him when he tries to run.
Akira says to let him go, but Gunji tells him to shut up and holds his claws to Akira’s throat. Gunji threatens: “I’ll gut you if you scamper around too much, ya know?” Gunji licks his claws and throws Akira against a wall. Then he uses the tips of his claws to lift Akira’s chin. Gunji compliments Akira’s clear eyes, favorably comparing them to the murky eyes of Line users; he says this makes him want to hurt Akira. His hair shifts, revealing his eyes. Akira thinks they hold a different sort of sharp madness than Kiriwar’s eyes, and he can’t look away from Gunji’s piercing stare. Gunji jerks on Akira’s hair and tells him to “sing.” As his claws descend on Akira’s shirt and skin, he describes a type of torture where water drips on one’s forehead in precise intervals, and how the monotony drives a person mad. Then Gunji asks if that pain doesn’t sound unbearably good.
Of Akira’s blood, Gunji says: “All red like a bunny’s eyes, all waaarm, this is what ya call proof that you’re alive! Ain’t nothing more of a treat than blood and screams!” Gunji entreats Akira to “sing” for him (meaning to scream) twice more before he rapes Akira. He also asks Akira: “Does it hurt? Don’t you want it to hurt? Nothin’ fun about only feelin’ good…” Akira faints from the pain and blood loss, and his ultimate fate is unknown.
Other Routes
Keisuke’s Route (Capturing Akira)
Akira decides to visit the Palace as per Arbitro’s earlier invitation to discuss Keisuke, and encounters a solemn crowd in the main avenue. Akira hears Gunji shriek as he cuts a man down, before the crowd parts enough for Akira to see. Gunji licks the blood from his claws and spits it out. He says the blood of drug users is gross and “reeks” before he argues with Kiriwar about which of them has worse blood.
Gunji notices Akira and points him out to Kiriwar. Kiriwar explains that Arbitro is waiting for him, and Gunji says they were sent to hunt Akira down. Kiriwar inspects Akira’s face and calls him interesting. Gunji doesn’t understand why, so Kiriwar admonishes him to look closer. Gunji still doesn’t get it, so he grabs Akira’s chin. He hums thoughtfully and looks surprised even after Akira slaps his hand away. Gunji says they don’t use Line either, but Kiriwar points out that people who fight back against the Executioners are usually on Line. Kiriwar threatens Akira a little, before Gunji snaps at Kiriwar to stop playing and kicks the man he felled earlier in irritation. He grabs Akira’s arm and drags him to the Palace.
Gunji doesn’t let go of Akira even after entering the hall, so Akira speaks up. Gunji looks at him through the gaps in his bangs and smiles wide as he comments, “You’re kinda thin, for bein’ one of them muscular types. Gotta put some more meat on your bones.” Gunji bites Akira on the back of his hand before letting go and laughing, “Ain’t tasty yet.” The Executioners leave Akira after telling him to wait in the entrance hall.
Keisuke's Route (Palace Evacuation)
With Toshima in chaos and full of corpses, Akira and Keisuke visit the Palace for answers; there are no guards posted, and they find Arbitro holed up in his room with the Executioners. Arbitro explains that people have been charging the Palace, and Gunji laughingly comments, “Monkeys ain’t got no brains for nothin’ but wailin’.” Akira asks about what happened, and Arbitro explains how undiluted Line has entered the marketplace and driven Line addicts insane. Combined with Japan’s impending civil war, Arbitro and his remaining men are leaving the city.
Shiki’s Route (The Palace)
Gunji attacking Shiki and showing his eyes
Shiki delivers a suitcase of undiluted Line to Arbitro, and encounters the Executioners as he’s leaving the Palace. Gunji tells him: “You’re such a drag, Shikiti. We been beggin’ you to play with us, but ya never do.”
Shiki dismissively calls them mad dogs, which makes Gunji laugh and bark. Gunji even curls his hands in front of his chest like a dog. He tells Kiriwar: “You must be a real old, worn-down dog, Gramps.” Kiriwar shoots back that Gunji is an extra-hairy mutt. Shiki orders them to move out of his way, but Gunji says: “Wait up. Let’s start playin’ the way friendly doggies do…!” Gunji springs forward and swipes his claws at Shiki’s back, but Shiki blocks the attack with his katana.
After clashing with Kiriwar as well, both Executioners leap back and evaluate. Shiki calls them scum and knocks over a statue, which makes Gunji complain that Arbitro’s going to blame them. Kiriwar says he’ll blame Gunji alone, and Shiki leaves as they argue about it.
Shiki’s Route (Endings)
WhenArbitro interrupts the showdown between Emma, Gwen, Nano and Akira, he brings the Executioners as protection. At the wave of Arbitro’s hand, Gunji and Kiriwar close rank in front of Arbitro with identical bored expressions on their faces. Gunji grumbles, “What a pain.” He says nothing when Arbitro asks if Gunji spoke. Emma refuses to back down, so at Arbitro’s signal, Gunji grabs Akira. He tells Akira to shut up when he protests. He pins Akira’s hands behind him and then puts him in a one-armed headlock, crushing his windpipe for a moment. Arbitro explains they intend to use Akira to reverse-engineer the Nicole virus and Gunji drags Akira off in the headlock. Kiriwar complains about Akira’s struggling, so Gunji asks Arbitro if he can shut Akira up.
Arbitro tells him not to kill Akira, and Gunji replies that he understands. He raises his free hand and says “How about I scratch up his eyes a little bit, huh? Might make him fetch a better price, eh?” Before Gunji’s claws can strike, Shiki appears and rips Akira away; as he does, Akira catches sight of Gunji’s face twisted with disgust. They watch from a distance as Shiki confronts Nano, but when Akira tries to get between their fight, the three of them appear once more. Kiriwar holds Akira back. Gunji asks if he can join the fun and jerks his head at Nano and Shiki with a big, childlike smile.
The route diverges into Shiki’s endings: In the first, Arbitro and the Executioners are killed by Shiki in an enhanced burst of speed. In the second, Shiki clashes with Kiriwar after trying to kill Arbitro. Gunji jumps in with a yell and tries to swipe at Shiki’s calves. Kiriwar swipes at Shiki, then trades off with Gunji, who yells at Shiki to cry or Gunji won’t get excited. Akira notices that both are struggling before Shiki speeds up and slips past Gunji’s guard. His eyes are briefly visible and wide with surprise, and he curses Shiki as he blocks the attack with his claws. The force of the strike makes Gunji stagger, for a change. The fight ends with Shiki cutting down Gunji and Kiriwar.
In Shiki’s good ending, Shiki stabs Nano in the stomach instead of drinking his blood. Arbitro tries to take some blood for his own purposes and Shiki threatens him with the point of his katana. The Executioners come when called, but they look very bored and are disinterested in fighting with Shiki. Gunji calls it a drag and exchanges a look with Kiriwar. Kiriwar explains how Shiki is lifeless with depression, and Gunji adds, “No fun in fightin’ someone as empty as a scarecrow.” They don’t intervene when Shiki leaves with Nano’s corpse and Akira.
In the Anime
Gunji's first appearance
Gunji is first seen in Episode 2, when Rin, Akira and Keisuke accidentally come across them. He slashes a supposed rule-violator across the back and licks the blood off his blades. He continues to attack the man until he dies, then celebrates by laughing, while Rin explains who Gunji and Kiriwar are and what they do. He then summons Kau, who sniffs the corpse. When he and Kiriwar notice the other three, he calls them annoying as they walk away, and then leaves with Kiriwar and Kau.
He is then seen chasing after Takeru in episode 3. He argues with Kiriwar while running his right hand blades across the walls. A bit later, he and Kiriwar throw a corpse into Arbitro's office as he's explaining the rules of Igra to Keisuke. Gunji is scolded by Arbitro, but then cheers when he's allowed to go on a "blood festival". Before he leaves, Kiriwar forces him to take the corpse with him, arguing over the fact that he has to carry "Mitsuko", his pipe-weapon, while Gunji exclaims "As if that metal pipe would be heavy for you!" then slams the door shut.
In the next episode, he calls out his "prey," then shouts at Kiriwar as he's hit over the head with Mitsuko. The two carry on walking down the street as Rin hides from them.
He and Kiriwar are seen walking down the street with a corpse in episode 5. While Gunji's singing to himself, he hears a noise down the alleyway (who turns out to be Akira). Thinking it's a "kitty", who follows the noise, forcing Kiriwar to follow. Before they find Akira, Motomi hides and covers for him when Gunji finally finds Motomi. Not convinced, Gunji still calls "kitty", but promptly hit on the head by Kiriwar and argues with him. He steps to the side and lets Kiriwar and Motomi talk. Gunji seconds Kiriwar's intention to kill Motomi, but Motomi convinces them that he would be a boring kill. This is when Gunji says that his favourite kill is when the victim tries to run away and beg for his life, and finds it a lot more fun than someone like Motomi. Before they leave, Gunji compares Kiriwar and Motomi and asks if they can get along, causing Kiriwar to hit him rather harshly with his pipe, complaining about how noisy he is, and once again, forces Gunji to take the corpse instead.
In episode 7, after the massacre at the club in the neutral zone, Gunji complains that they have to clean up all the dead bodies, and then moans even more when Arbitro asks them to find the culprit of the massacre, saying it's "overtime". Gunji walks by Arbitro's side as they find Takeru, after Arbitro had been informed that Takeru was a Line user that died of unusual circumstances, and had gone to see for himself. Gunji kneels next to Takeru while Kau takes a look himself, and asks who he was. Kiriwar reminds him that he's the tag thief. Gunji retorts saying he didn't recognise him because there wasn't a single blue hair in sight since he was covered in blood, then laughs to himself.
In episode 9, Gunji and Kiriwar are seen standing next to Arbitro's desk, when Rin asks to fight Il Re after stealing tags from Akira and Keisuke. Gunji exclaims that it was about time a challenger appeared, clearly excited about the upcoming match and trying to appease to his own sadistic side. He then stands to the right of Arbitro, Kiriwar on the left, as Arbitro watches the fight between Il Re and Rin, and seems either annoyed or surprised at Akira's disruption. When ordered to chase after Akira and Rin, who had managed to escape in the chaos of the bombings, Gunji asks if he can "take care" of the bigger one, Akira, but is reprimanded by Arbitro who wants Akira alive and unharmed.
Before Akira and Rin could get to Motomi in episode 10, Gunji and Kiriwar, with the help of Kau, find them. Gunji clashes with Akira, and doesn't like it when Akira runs away. He chases after him, calling him "kitty". Later at night, he's still running around trying to find Akira who has hidden from him. But as Akira tries to run away again, he's confronted by Kau, and Gunji catches on, chasing Akira to the roof of a building. They clash briefly, then Akira is forced to the ground. Gunji seems to notice that Akira is different from "those goddamn Line addicts", and asks if he should make him stiff with fear, or writhe in pain. When Akira doesn't put up a fight, he elbows him in the face. He decides he's going to kill Akira, either forgetting that he was meant to be brought back to Arbitro alive or deliberately disobeying his orders for his own satisfaction. Before he can do anything though, Nano intervenes, punching him to the railings, and then off the building, where he falls into a dumpster. He curses Nano as he watches him jump off the building with Akira in his arms.
Gunji and Kiriwar argue in Episode 11
He is again seen by Arbitro's side with Kiriwar as they watch the fight between Nano and Shiki in episode 11. Gunji says that he wants to try and kill Nano since it seems Shiki can't do it. Kiriwar mocks him and Gunji challenges him in rebuttal. Arbitro reminds them both that they are fine just protecting him, resulting in Gunji and Kiriwar falling silent. Gunji and Kiriwar continue to question whether Shiki can kill Nano.
In the final episode, we see Gunji and Kiriwar back to back after killing some soldiers that invaded Toshima. He asks Arbitro what they should do next, to which Arbitro replies that the two must still protect him from the CFC and Nikkouren. Gunji and Kiriwar call him a "bitch". This is the last we see of Gunji, Kiriwar, Arbitro and Kau.
In the Manga
Gunji is as chaotic and violently insane in the manga as he is in every version of the series. Throughout the manga, Gunji often sings morbid little rhymes about subjects like his job, boredom, hunger, and how people should fear him as a "Great Executioner." He has an expanded role, and sometimes patrols separately from Kiriwar. He is in charge of hunting down Takeru.
Cats and Dogs
In the first chapter, Gunji makes a riot yelling for Arbitro until Kau appears. In the Tokyopop translation, Gunji calls Kau, “Mittens” and “Kitty,” demonstrating his confusion between cats and dogs. When corrected, Gunji insists Kau isn’t a dog because he doesn’t bark, to which Kiriwar responds that Kau doesn’t meow, either. Gunji suggests they should see what noises they can squeeze from Kau.
In chapter 6, Gunji finds the white cat that was originally seen with Nano (who is in the area). He names it “Pochi” (or “Poochie” as an English equivalent) and promptly adopts it by putting it on his head. Kiriwar warns they’re not allowed to bring back “garbage covered in fur.” Gunji doesn’t follow when Kiriwar suggests the cat will be made into hamburgers, because he gets distracted by his stomach. (It is then implied Gunji licked one of the corpses, calling it “Salty!”)
Gunji often carries the cat on his head. He does so in chapter 7, after Arbitro (who is allergic to cats) orders them out. When Kiriwar points out again that the animal is a cat, and Gunji argues there’s no law against giving a cat a dog’s name. Later, Gunji briefly carries the cat in his mouth before moving it to his head once more. In chapter 9, Gunji says that Arbitro told him the cat is on a walk. Later, as he and Kiriwar discuss Vischio abandoning Toshima, Gunji protests that they can’t leave because Pochi is still on his walk. The cat is with Kiriwar when he finds Gunji’s corpse in chapter 38; it climbs into Gunji’s hoodie and cries out to him.
Hunting and Fighting
He fights and hunts down several people in the series, with varying levels of success.
Shiki - Gunji fights Shiki in chapter 3. Gunji offers Shiki work as an Executioner, because Gunji says he’s bored of cleaning alone. He teases Shiki by saying they have good food at the Palace for staff, but rescinds the offer by saying underlings go last. When Shiki uses his briefcase to block Gunji’s attack and breaks a few vials, Gunji whines about the smell of Line on his hand, and tells Shiki to throw the valuable case away. Before they fight, Shiki suggests Gunji fetch Kiriwar. In the Tokyopop translation, Gunji asks if Shiki wants a threesome, but Shiki replies that he won’t do the cleanup when Gunji’s dead. Later, when Gunji’s attack is mention to Kiriwar, he explains Gunji picked the fight out of boredom. After his battle with Shiki, Gunji looks worse for wear, and his jacket is split down the back. It remains split throughout the manga.
Takeru - In chapter 4, Gunji first meets Takeru losing an illegal fight without a witness. He kills the line addict fighting Takeru, but Takeru flees. Later, Gunji tells Kiriwar that Takeru was a guy with black or blue hair. He then forgets about Takeru, and needs Kiriwar to describe who they’re looking for. He later chases after Takeru and Akira, and turns his attention to the latter briefly before he’s interrupted by Nano.
Nano - Gunji also fights several times with Nano, who Gunji believes to be a ghost. They first meet in chapter 17; Nano attacks him because Gunji was tormenting Akira. Gunji dwells on their fight and asks both Kiriwar and a few random servants about the existence of ghosts. He meets Nano again while Gunji is taking out the "garbage" (military troops sent into Toshima) and is pleased when he discovers Nano is corporeal. They fight, and Nano's hand cannot pierce his chest in chapter 28. Eventually, Nano kills him with a broken piece of his own claws.
Trivia
- His name is sometimes romanized as "Gunzi." However, the katakana used in his name spell "Gunji," and that is also the spelling used most often and on official merchandise, and so is considered to be the correct spelling.
- According to the manga, Gunji can't read. However, because of the context, it is unclear whether he can't read Japanese or if he only can't read English.