Black Belt Demon

The Black Belt Demon
Death Judo
Alignment	Heel
Place of Birth	Japan
Age	18
Date of Birth	April 7, 1986
Height	5'5” (165 cm)
Weight	114 lbs (51.7 kg)
Measurements (Bust, waist, hips)	Unknown
Specialties	Tornado Form, Knee Flexor
Allies	Great Khan (Friend & Tag-Partner), Haru-Chan (Mascot)
Family	N/A

Black Belt Demon is a playable character in both the original Rumble Roses in 2004 and the sequel Rumble Roses XX in 2006. She fights under the moniker of "Death Judo". Her Japanese voice actress is Yui Horie. She was dubbed by Leslie Wilkerson in the first game, with Carrie Savage voicing her in the sequel.

Black Belt Demon is unlocked in the first game by completing Makoto's story-line or through the Vow system. In Rumble Roses XX she emerges after Makoto loses the Championship title to a player controlled character.

Background

"Gold-Medal Makoto always wins. But, everyone is disappointed in me when I commit a foul. I'm not perfect, I'm just an ordinary girl. ...I'm sick of living up to everyone's expectations. Judo is a bitter road, with no turning back. Hah!"

-Black Belt Demon (in her prologue)

The Black Belt Demon is one of the characters whose origin can vary somewhat, depending on how you interpret events or which game you're playing. Though the common thread throughout all of them is that she is always the villainous Heel persona of Makoto Aihara.

Based on the character's story mode in the first game, the Black Belt Demon persona emerges as a result of Makoto having lost the tournament as a result of committing too many fouls. She begins to feel that the fans are only interested in her when she's winning- "As long as I win, nothing else matters." Tired of this perceived double standard, she becomes the Black Belt Demon- a twisted version of her former self. As she's about to debut, she gleefully declares "My fans are going to be VERY surprised with the new me!"

In certain character's story modes (such as Benikage or Aigle), the implication is that Anesthesia "created" the Black Belt Demon. The Nurse warped Makoto's mind to bring her darker nature to the surface, hence the presence of the Demonic Tattoo on her right foot.

Rumble Roses XX, however, seems to regard the "transformation" as just an act, since the lack of any narrative limits the Black Belt Demon's antics to the wring. In that game, she can team up with the Heel persona of her former Tag-Partner, now Great Khan, and fight alonside her as The Naughty Empire.

Personality

The Demon in the Wild!

The Black Belt Demon is essentially a dark, twisted, and uninhibited version of Makoto. She's aggressive, violent, and obsessed with winning at any cost. In the first game, during Aigle's story, Anesthesia claims that the Black Belt Demon is Makoto- just without morals or ethics to guide her.

The Black Belt Demon seems eager to sever any links to her old self (including her friendships with Aigle and Reiko). She's also unable to move on from her loss against Reiko, and her obsession with beating her has caused "Makoto" to become extremely hostile towards her. When Reiko questions her about the change, she replies "I thought I'd go for the sexy look. Something nice for your funeral." Her dark obsession with Reiko nearly cost the Zero Fighter her life, putting her in hospital after and extended bearhug that she refused to release.

However, unlike other Heels, she often becomes defensive when others dispute her, even becoming violent at times. Despite her actions, it's possible that she may in fact harbor some doubts about her new persona- having to constantly reinforce her new way of life by talking about how twisted and dark she now is. Before the start of her match with Reiko, she seems desperate to convince the other woman that she's "bad". And when Reiko disputes her, she tries to hit her. Her final words in the first game is a summation of her mantra- that "Judo is a bitter road."

Appearance

Production artwork of the Black Belt Demon

The Black Belt Demon's outfit is essentially a darker, more aggressive (as well as slovenly) version of the clothing worn by her previous incarnation. She wears thick light metallic blue eye shadow, thick dark eye-liner, and pink lipstick. Her hair has also gone from black to dark brown. The hair in the back is now tied into a small ponytail, and tied with a large rust-red ribbon.

Though a lot of original production art shows her with bandages on her face, she doesn't actually have any on her face in the games. She wears a pair of padded blue martial arts gloves. Her legs are totally uncovered, with no knee-pads or footwear (making her the only character to fight barefoot). The only clothing on her lower body is her pink lacy underwear. She has a large bandage over her right knee, and has the Rumble Rose Demonic Tattoo is her right foot.

The central part of the outfit is a black Karate Gi. The front hangs open, showing off her lacy pink bra. Her Judo black belt is tied crookedly and to the side. It has blood red flame-like designs on the ends of the long sleeves. There are two prominent Chinese Dragon on it: a floating one covering the back of the gi, and one in flight (at an upward angle) across the left side of the front flap of the gi.

The Super Star Black Belt Demon

In the first game, the dragons were reddish-orange (with white clouds). In the second game, the dragons are embroidered in solid gold thread.

When she achieves Super Star status, she unlocks her flashy new outfit to go with it. While some have likened the outfit to a Geisha, it's actually based on clothing worn by Oiran- special prostitutes (or "Courtesans"), that dealt with the members of the inner courts of the Japanese nobility. In popular culture, the Oiron are sometimes depicted with the kimono hanging off their shoulders, to be more alluring... This is likely why the Black Belt Demon's robes are left open in the front.

Her hair is held in place with a massive lavender ribbon in the back. In keeping with Oiran theme, she wears numerous ornate hair pains, and a giant comb with ornaments hanging from it. She wears what looks like a full-length (dark blueish-purple) floral kimono, but without the lower half. Similar to the style of the Oiran, the overall design of the kimono is quite garish and colorful. She wears a gold and black obi with various "Mon" (Japanese Heraldic crests) on it, that's tied in the front for- as the saying goes, "easier access."

Her outfit is rounded off with a pair of white tabi socks and black wooden sandals called "Geta". When the Black Belt Demon makes her way down the ramp, she's carrying a traditional Chinese Parasol- made of red fabric with a simple dark wooden frame. This type of umbrella found its way to Japan and China, where became iconic, both for its practical purpose and as an accessory.

Fighting Style

The fighting style of the Black Belt Demon is similar to her alter-ego's abilities. Like with Makoto, her strength lies in her ability to outmaneuver her opponents. Also like with her Babyface incarnation, the BBD is arguably the best at reversing. She can easily reverse grapples and attacks with ease, allowing her to quickly build up the Humiliation levels of her opponents during matches.

However, because of her small stature and build, the Black Belt Demon lacks both physical strength and endurance. And her low stats in striking makes it harder for her to wear down tougher fighters during matches- which ultimately makes it harder for her to successfully perform pins. Because of this, she's at a disadvantage against larger, stronger fighters (such as Dixie or Aisha).

The Black Belt Demon is well suited to standard 1-on-1 and PH Matches. Caution is advised when fighting strong opponents, especially in Streetfights.

Trivia

• The Black Belt Demon's theme The Bitter Road was composed, arranged, and performed by the Japanese heavy metal band "Des-Row". The group has created music for other Konami games, including scores for the Pop'n Music series.
• The Black Belt Demon is one of only two characters in Rumble Roses XX who has a playable follower, her pet bear "HARU-chan". The other is The Mistress's slave, Sebastian.