Reina

Reina (レイナ) is one of Raoh's closest allies before and during his rise as Ken-Oh, created for the Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu film trilogy in 2006 and later incorporated into the spin-off manga Ten no Haoh. The younger sister of Sōga and a childhood friend of Raoh, she commands the King of Fists' cavalry under the nickname Reina of the Twin Blades. Deeply in love with Raoh, she is among the popular theories regarding the identity of Ryū's mother.

Origins in the Land of Shura

Reina was born in the Land of Shura, the territory that also served as the birthplace of Raoh, Toki and Kenshiro. She grew up there alongside her elder brother Sōga and forged such strong bonds of friendship with Raoh that they endured even after his exile to the continent. When Raoh raised his army to conquer the devastated lands following the nuclear war, Reina and Sōga in turn left Shura to join him.

Captain of the Ken-Oh Royal Guard

Within the Ken-Oh's army, Reina holds the position of Captain of the Royal Guard and commands the cavalry. Her official nickname is Sōken no Reina (双剣のレイナ, Reina of the Twin Blades), derived from her signature martial style, the Nichigetsu Sōtō (日月双刀, the Twin Blades of the Sun and the Moon). The art consists of wielding two swords in a mirrored fashion, one for attack and the other for defense, in a sequence whose tempo evokes the course of the sun and the moon.

This dual mastery of cavalry and swordsmanship makes her a front-line combatant, capable of holding her own against opponents such as Gaiya or Souther's officers during the military campaigns of Ten no Haoh.

The escape from Cassandra and Sōga's leg

The founding episode of Ten no Haoh takes place at Cassandra, where Raoh, Reina and Sōga fall into a trap set by Gion. To allow Raoh and his sister to escape, Sōga sacrifices his right leg, crushed by one of the prison's mechanisms. He will later replace it with a mechanical prosthesis that amplifies the power of his Sūzan Senpū Kyaku. This sacrifice seals the bonds between the three companions and makes Reina the primary holder of Raoh's personal trust.

Feelings toward Raoh

Reina harbors a deep love for Raoh, declared from the first film Raō Den Junai no Shō. Unlike subordinates who follow Ken-Oh out of fear or fascination, Reina follows him out of personal attachment, clear-eyed about his ambition and the gap between them. Raoh, for his part, keeps Reina at an emotional distance: his heart remains turned toward Yuria, whom he believes to be dead.

This dimension brings her close to Sakuya, another female figure from Ten no Haoh with comparable feelings, and makes Reina one of the candidates most frequently cited by fans for the identity of the mother of Ryū, Raoh's orphaned son taken in by Kenshiro at the end of the manga. However, neither the original manga nor any derivative works have officially settled this question.

Character creation and appearances

Reina was introduced in 2006 as an original character in the film Hokuto no Ken : Raō Den Junai no Shō, the first installment of the Shin Kyūseishu Densetsu theatrical trilogy, where she is voiced by Kou Shibasaki. The character design for the films was created by Tsukasa Hōjō (creator of City Hunter). She was subsequently adapted by Yuko Osada in the manga Ten no Haoh (Weekly Comic Bunch, 2006-2007, 42 chapters in 5 tankōbon), then in its animated adaptation by Satelight in 2008, where she is voiced by Mai Nakahara.

In this animated adaptation, her character is fleshed out: she interacts with Sakuya, secretly supports Toki while he is imprisoned in Cassandra, and actively takes part in the defense of Raoh's headquarters when Yuda attempts a coup in the absence of Ken-Oh.

Techniques and abilities

In addition to her mastery of Nichigetsu Sōtō, Reina is an exceptional horsewoman, capable of leading decisive charges on the battlefield. She also practices the classical martial arts of the Land of Shura, making her a formidable fighter even unarmed. While not reaching the level of the successors of Hokuto Shinken or Nanto Seiken, she ranks among the most powerful generals in the Ken-Oh's army.