Benikage

Benikage (“Bloody Shadow”)
"Kunoichi"
Alignment	Heel
Place of Birth	Unknown
Age	Unknown
Height	5'6” (167 cm)
Weight	Unknown*
Measurements (Bust, waist, hips)	Unknown
Specialties	Hades Drop, 6 Realms
Allies	Anesthesia (Hostile Tag-Partner)
Family	Unknown
Note	Her listed wt (103 lbs) isn't possible with her height & build

Benikage (previously called “Bloody Shadow”) is a playable character in both the original Rumble Roses in 2004 and sequel Rumble Roses XX in 2006. She fights under the subtitle of "Kunoichi" (a female ninja). Her Japanese voice actress is Aki Sasaki. She was dubbed by Lenne Hardt in the first game, with Jessica Gee voicing her in the sequel.

Background

A mysterious woman with no name or past... Benikage (aka "Bloody Shadow") is an agent of the "Otugumi", a modern day Ninja Unit that trained her in the arts of Ninjitsu.

She was sent by the Japanese Government to investigate the activities of the Rumble Roses Organization (while posing as a competitor in the Rose Tournament). Her ultimate goal is to uncover what is real going on behind the scenes...

As she learns more about what is going on, she finds that Anesthesia is at the heart of the all the turmoil being caused around her. She repeatedly crosses paths with the Nurse, and at each encounter grows increasingly outraged by her inhumane and unethical work. Once she becomes aware of the extent of Anesthesia's machinations (such as expirimenting on Fujiko Hinomoto to turn her into Evil Rose), Benikage concludes that she is totally evil!

She goes so far as to declare that Anesthesia is The Devil and dedicates herself to defeating her and ending her plans once and for all...

Personality

Benikage is an extremely serious woman and takes a fairly simple, no-nonsense approach to virtually everything she does- including when she's fighting an opponent in the wring!

Benikage vs Anesthesia!

Benikage is completely dedicated to her Ninja path. Because of this, she has little interest (or understanding) in anything or anyone that isn't critical to the success of her mission.

She prefers to avoid unnescesary interactions when possible. In the first game, when interviewed, she evaded most of the questions by replying with cryptic remarks. She never speaks during her introductions, even going so far as to silently 'kill' the enemy ninjas during her Tag Match intro! She also shows almost no emotion even when fighting or even winning.

As a result of this, she often comes across as being cold and aloof- as if she were emotionless. She further inforces this view of her (either intentionally or not) by acting largely indiferent to virtually everyone that she encounters...

In sharp contrast to this, she reacts with blatent contempt and violent rage when dealing with Anesthesia. She does this regardless of whether she's fighting Anesthesia orDr. Cutter... Despite having been trained to be a master of stealth and covert killings! Benikage is clearly offended by the twisted woman's very presence and will fly into a rage at the very sight of her. Despite being a person of very few words and little bravado, she openly threatens Anesthesia/Cutter regardless. (Similarly, Yasha will behave exactly the same towards them, despite being the "good" version of Benikage!)

Amusingly, the only other notable instance where Benikage can be seen to break character and express a real degree of emotion is when she's competing in the Queen's matches. While approaching the wring via going down the wooden boardwalk during her introduction, Benikage noticably blushes and shies away from the camera. She likely feels exposed when she realizes that she's being recorded.

Appearance

Art of Benikage without her mask

Benikage is a beautiful woman who appears to be in her twenties. She has long dark brown that comes mid-way down her back, and brown eyes. She wears a black headband with a shuriken emblem on it. She covers the lower half of her face with a protective mask. It resembles the open mouth of a japanese ogre, making similar to a mempo- a piece of facial armor worn by Samurai. She wears kote-style arm guards (over her forearms and hands), with a layer of mesh underneith.The guards covering Benikage's hands have the same white shuriken emblem as the one on her headband. Benikage also wears armored leg guards that cover her knees and lower legs (with a layer of black fabric underneath). The armor is bound around her calves with red lace. She wears black tabi socks on her feet, with Kôgake-style foot armor on top- fixed to her sandals with the same red lace.

Benikage in Super Star Mode

She wears a mesh swimsuit-style garment (with strategically placed sections to cover her) that comes up to the base of her neck and a long red scarf with the tails hanging down her back. Benikage has an intricate tattoo of a flowering red rose with leaves, located between her navel and right hip.

Trivia

• In the first game, when asked about her favorite food, she replies "As a ninja, I entertain no notions of desire, except for jello."
• Benikage's original theme "The Shadow Appears" was composed, arranged, and performed by an artist credited only as dj TAKA. A purely intrumental version, renamed "Crimson Shadow", was recorded (presumably in-house by Konami) for the sequal in 2006.
• There are various references to toads in association to Benikage - like the giant frog that appears durring her introduction. This is linked to the mythology surrounding the historical ninjas. They would hide in the mountains, and the Toads that lived there were considered to be the spirits of the mountain. This belief led to toads being linked to ninjas in popular culture (such as in Naruto).
• During her various intros, she's seen wielding a short Ninjatō sword, which she uses to fight off the scantily clad female ninjas that attack her on the way to the wring.