Rokudenashi Blues - The 4 Heavenly Kings

The 4 Heavenly Kings

The 4 Heavenly Kings are what the students of Tokyo consider the strongest fighters in Tokyo. They each come from a separate district and often come into contact with each other throughout the later half of the manga, which often result in bloody, drawn out dog fights between the schools involved.

Taison Maeda (前田太尊, Maeda Taison?)

The main character of the story, he's a famous delinquent from Teiken High, in the Kichijoji area of Musashino, Tokyo, known for his passion of Boxing, street fighting, and his moped, Chavez. Albeit being a delinquent, being easily angered and stupid at times (He punched a professor when he heard the girl's uniform changed), he has a sense of honor and respect, and values his friends greatly. Taison is also known as one of the Tokyo's elite 4s, or "Heavenly Kings", and aims to become the world champion in boxing. Taison has an interest for Chiaki Nanase. His name is based on wrestler Akira Maeda and former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. He lives with his brother in the Honky Tonk apartment complex. Him and his older brother both left the south of Japan for Tokyo to avoid inheriting their father's profession, that of a monk. He is a lightweight when it comes to drinking and always breaks down into tears.

Onizuka

The most cruel of the 4 "Heavenly Kings", Onizuka come from the Shibuya district of Tokyo. He controls the school he attends with an iron fist, forcing his classmates to pay protection fees for their safety. When Maeda and his friends protect one of Onizuka's classmates from him, a bloody war ensues between the two of them, with Onizuka shoving Sakamura out of a second floor window, breaking Mutoh's ribs and capturing the rest of Maeda's friends. In their final confrontation Onizuka injures both of Maeda's hands and stabs a screwdriver through his leg. In the end however, Maeda uses the trademark karate kick he learned from his father to knock Onizuka out. During middle school, him and Akagi were classmates until Onizuka broke most of his teeth with a chair during a fight and Akagi transferred schools. After his defeat at Maeda's hands, Onizuka changes dramatically, respecting his friends and losing his cruelty. Keeping with the punk rock look of most of the characters, Onizuka is strongly modeled off of Billy Idol.

Yakushiji

Yakushiji is a seemingly carefree, hopeless romantic who has terrible luck in love. He lives in Asakusa. Highly superstitious, throughout the manga he can often be seen reading his horoscope and visiting shrines for luck. However, his laid-back demeanor hides his fighting strength and his martial prowess. He often lapses into melancholy and seems the smartest and wisest of The 4 Heavenly Kings. When he was younger, him and Chiaki used be best friends, and he often thinks about her. He has a Teddy boy hairstyle which is dyed brown. Maeda has an intense dislike towards Yakushiji due to his relationship with Chiaki.

Kasai

The most violent and perhaps the strongest of the 4 Heavenly Kings, Kasai is filled with an all-consuming need to prove himself and keep the respect of his classmates by beating up anybody that he considers strong. The school he goes to has the worst reputation in all of Tokyo and is considered a Yakuza recruitment ground. Having dominated everybody in Ikebukuro he decides to once and for all prove who is the strongest of the 4 Heavenly Kings by humiliating each and every one of them. His rage and his desire to be number one starts to overwhelm him and destroy his sanity and his friendships. Shinjo, a main character from Morita's other manga, Rookies, closely resembles Kasai in both appearance and personality.