Gawara

Gawara
Kanji	ガワラ
Information

Gawara (ガワラ　Gawara) is a member of the Onigami organization, serving as the Leader of its Raiding Party.

Appearance

Gawara, riding his giant fish and surrounded by his subordinates

Gawara is a tall, massive and well-built Oni, ranking amongst the largest shown members of his race (being roughly the same size as Yanma, though nowhere as big as Ogre). He has long, wavy dark hair, gathered on the back of his head and secured in a ponytail by a thin cord, with two bangs framing his elongated, squared face on the front, and light eyes. His rather thick and dark upper lip, together with the writing "Peach" tattooed below his left eye in capital letters, gives him a somewhat feminine look, despite his imposing figure. He shares all of Oni's usual traits, namely two small, rounded and segmented horns sitting at his head's sides, long, dark and sharp nails, and pointed canine teeth and ears. His left shoulder is adorned by a dark tattoo, centered around a sphere, with a downwards pyramid below it and four horn-like motifs protruding from its top. His lower right bicep is circled by a pair of large dark stripes; either another tattoo or two ornamental bands.

Gawara's outfit mirrors the scanty one worn by his subordinates from the Raiding Party, but, befitting his role as the leader, also distinguishes him from them: the light-edged bib covering the front part of his bare muscular torso is secured around his neck by a collar which bears a decorative motif (being split into a series of squares, each marked by lines in the shape of an "X" inside it), and, while largely dark in color, has its upper part adorned by a prominent image, this depicting the head of a being similar in appearance to a stylized boar, possessing tusks and large, round pupil-less eyes; the light background behind the picture is spaced out by thick, dark lines pointing towards it. A thick rope is located below the bib, crossing Gawara's chest diagonally and going over his right shoulder: secured to it on the Oni's back is an iron pole which he can use as a weapon. True to his role as an underwater fighter, Gawara wears swimsuit-like shorts, dark in color and snug, which end above his knees; these have fur lining the waist area, and a pair of light, short bands hanging from the front. He also dons the headgear common to all members of his squad, consisting of a metal band circling his head in correspondence to his forehead, sporting a pair of horns much larger than his natural ones on its front. For footwear, Gawara wears a pair of dark sandals, secured by three straps in a triangular shape and possessing rather large, squared heels. Adorning the Oni's left middle finger is his Dark Bring, Stone Roses, in the form of a ring.

Personality

"Kill."

Gawara can be shown retaining a calm demeanor on most occasions. He strongly believes in the superiority of Oni in water, finding it strange that Haru, a human, would try and engage him in underwater combat, and being shocked by his defeat at the Rave Master's hands, unable to believe a human bested an Oni while fighting in the sea. He seems to have a certain degree of bloodlust, sticking his tongue out devilishly and pointing his thumb down in a pollice verso way as he ordered his men to kill Haru, but, unlike most of his comrades, also appears to have some mercy or a certain sense of honor, offering an almost completely petrified Rave Master the chance to "be a man" and surrender, claiming he wouldn't have destroyed his body if he did. As a fighter, he's able to discern those with a killer instint greater than his own: sensing Haru's bloodlust (caused by the Mermaids' sacrifice) prompted him to shake and sweat visibly. In spite of this, Gawara was still willing to continue his assault on the Rave Master, who he thought might have gotten to Commander Ogre, had he not killed him; something which proves him able to overcome fear and shows his dedication to Onigami.

Synopsis

Mermaid Peril arc

Gawara and his men outside Shaolan

Gawara is first shown patrolling the area around Shaolan with his unit. The group spots the Rave Master, Haru Glory (who remained behind to give his friends a chance to infiltrate the base), who provokes them into chasing after him, causing Gawara to order his death for entering Onigami's territory. Haru proceeds to employ the Rune Save form of his Ten Commandments sword to split the sea, causing the Raiding Party Leader to warn his men about the danger the boy poses, to no avail, as his subordinates are struck in midair by Haru's Explosion and then caught in the water split previously, returning to normal. The Rave Master manages to get away in the turmoil.

He reappears later, without his men, reaching Haru in front of Shaolan. His fish delivers the first attack on the boy, missing him, whereas Gawara manages to deliver a mighty punch to him. He is then asked by Yanma, from inside the base, to kill the Rave Master. As Haru readies to fight him, he realizes his right arm has been petrified; a result of Gawara's Stone Roses, which the Oni reveals before continuing his assault.

Gawara defeated by Haru

The confrontation between the two continues, with Haru eventually becoming almost completely petrified. Gawara offers the Rave Master a chance to surrender, claiming he won't shatter his body if he does, but the boy refuses, causing the Oni to deliver one final attack, meant to completely turn him into stone and shatter him. Haru's body, however, doesn't break, and instead starts returning to normal: a large number of Mermaids freed from Shaolan by the other Rave Warriors, is using Spirit of the Sea Magic to dispel the Dark Bring's effects on the Rave Master, much to the two fighters' surprise. However, many Mermaids start collapsing due to exhaustion after several days spent having their magic ebstracted, and Gawara resolves to wield his iron pole to destroy Haru's body before it turns completely normal. The Rave Master, his legs still encased in rock, has difficulties dodging him, but still manages to avoid his slashes. Once he's back to his original form, the human reflects about the injustice of Mermaids sacrificing themselves for him, and starts feeling a sense of bloodlust strong enough for Gawara to notice, causing him to shake in fear. The Raiding Party Leader, however, resolves to continue attacking Haru, not willing to let such a dangerous opponent survive and maybe get to Commander Ogre. He readies another attack, but, before he can perform it, is defeated by a much faster, devastating slash from the Rave Master's Ten Commandments. Gawara is shocked by the fact that a human beat him, an Oni, so easily, and wonders whether Haru's power stems from anger or tears.

Dark Bring and Abilities

As the Leader of Onigami's Raiding Party, Gawara has authority over the group and all of its members. He has proven himself a powerful opponent, who, while fighting underwater, was a match for the Rave Master, Haru Glory, most notably managing to temporarily overwhelm and corner him: had it not been for Mermaids' intervention, in fact, Haru would have succumbed to the Oni, being completely turned into stone by his Stone Roses and then reduced to pieces; a feat few of the Rave Master's foes can boast about.

Gawara assaulting Haru

Hand to Hand Combatant: Gawara relies on unarmed combat alongside his Stone Roses, performing melee attacks which gradually petrify his foes on contact, making it harder and harder for them to properly fight the Oni over time. He employs an aggressive, brutal fighting style focused solely around his arms and mainly consisting of strong punches, performed with either one or both hands; something which is seemingly thought to maximize the effects of his Dark Bring. When engaging enemies in underwater confrontations, Gawara becomes considerably more dangerous (especially against human opponents, even powerful ones such as Haru), with his superior swimming speed making his moves much harder to avoid. He is able to pummel someone as durable and strong as Haru around, and is also confident he can break down petrified opponents with his bare hands, hinting he possesses a high degree of physical strength.

Underwater Skills: As a member of the marine Oni race, Gawara possesses a number of traits which allow him to stay in water with the same (if not greater) ease he has on mainland. He is able to breath underwater, as well as to freely move in the sea, ignoring water's mass and weight, which on the other hand take their toll on humans; Oni are also unaffected by Mermaids' Spirit of the Sea Magic, making this second race powerless before them. Being the Leader of Onigami's Raiding Party, and thus taking full advantage of such innate talents, Gawara is a superb underwater combatant.

Dark Bring

Stone Roses' effect, as seen on a human being

In Gawara's hands lies the power of the Dark Bring Stone Roses, which gradually turns anything he directs his blows against into stone. This effect, unlike that granted by the somewhat similar All Crush, isn't active at all times, being more controlled, with the Oni having to directly assault foes with unarmed moves in order for the petrification process to start: the body parts of humans subjected to Gawara's punches will become more and more stiff, taking on a rocky appearance, and ultimately result immovable, making it harder for the victim to avoid the Raiding Party Leader's subsequent attacks. Once targets have been completely turned into stone they'll be defenseless, allowing Gawara, if he so wishes, to shatter their petrified bodies with a powerful enough blow, killing them.

Paired with Gawara's skills in close quarters combat and his race's natural talents, Stone Roses makes for a very powerful and effective tool. It doesn't seem to have any particular weakness; however, it's worth noting that the magic from a large number of Mermaids, while ineffective against Gawara himself due to his racial heritage, was able to nullify the Dark Bring's effects on Haru, turning the Rave Master's almost completely petrified body to normal. This Dark Bring takes the form of a light ring, with a dark round gem embedded into it, located around Gawara's left middle finger.

Weapons

Gawara readying to attack with his iron pole

Iron Pole: Gawara is shown carrying around a rather long, straight iron pole, possessing an edge wrapped in thick bandages acting as a grip, with its ending part curving backwards, resembling traditional umbrella handles. This is secured to the Oni's back, its handle peering out from behind his right shoulder, by a massive cord crossing his chest diagonally, below his bib. While simple in look, this blunt object can make for a deadly weapon when combined with Gawara's Dark Bring, allowing him to easily shatter petrified opponents. The Oni seems to employ the pole as a last resort, usually relying on his sheer punches to finish off opponents, and resolved to pull it out only as his fight with Haru was approaching its conclusion; an instance which proved him capable of performing highly dangerous and powerful armed attacks, easily breaking through the rocky ocean floor.

Companion

Gawara's fish attempting to devour Haru

On his first appearance, Gawara was shown riding a huge fish, using it as a mount and leading his Raiding Party from its back. This possesses a massive, elongated head with very thick lips, bulging round eyes and a single, pointed horn, reminiscent of Oni's, but slightly curved, with what looks like a massive ring adorned by rhombuses circling its lower part; large dark markings are present around the creature's eyes and above its lips. Its body is covered in vertical lines, and it sports a number of fins: together with the dorsal, anal and caudal ones are two distinct pairs of pectoral (or pelvic) ones, the front pair being larger than the other, sprouting from a solid, linear structure going from the creature's head to its tail. Gawara employed reins, secured to the fish's horn by a large band, to control this mount of him. This being, aside from acting as a means of transportation, can also support its master in battle, baring its massive teeth (some sharp and some rounded, arranged in neat rows) to devour his opponents; something made easier by its size and large mouth. After Gawara's defeat, it's unknown what happened to his fish.

Trivia

• There have been some inconsistencies with Gawara's look throughout his appearances, and most notably during his fight with Haru: his furry belt was shown changing shape, his nails were sometimes portrayed as normal and human-like, both his pole and sandals went missing from time to time and his upper lip was portrayed as being the same shade of his face, in contrast to its initial depiction. In addition, the panel showing his Dark Bring incorrectly has his face superimposed to his left hand.