Ryuho

Ryuho
Name
Kanji	竜峰
Romaji	Ryūhō
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Tattoo Artist
Status	Deceased
Media Information
Voice Actors	Akira Sasanuma (Japanese) Chris Patton (English)
First Appearance
Anime	Data 02: Crack

Ryuho (竜峰 Ryūhō) is a supporting character and antagonist of DRAMAtical Murder. He is a sadistic tattoo artist, who is connected to Koujaku's past.

Appearance

Ryuho has an average build, pale skin and dark blue eyes, with an eye shape reminiscent of that of a fox when he smiles. He has scruffy, short blond hair that seems to be graying slightly, and a tattoo of a blue seahorse on his neck.

His clothes are the complete opposite of Koujaku's. He wears black leather gloves and a blue kimono with a traditionally-styled dragon patterned on the left breast. It is held up with a light blue sash, a small blue carrier attached to it on his right hip. His most noticeable accessories are the multiple skulls that hang off of him. They are seen around his waist, his wrists and a large necklace that portrays larger skulls and a blue magatama in the middle.

Ryuho usually wears a kind face that comes off as very calm and kind, with his voice being soft and collected, almost resembling a whispering tone.

Personality

Ryuho is a well-known and respected tattoo artist. It is implied that he has been working as one for many years. His work is the admiration of many aspiring tattooists, often being highly detailed and containing smooth, intricate patterns.

When he first meets Aoba, Ryuho is shown to be very kind towards him. He helps him to get into the club that Aoba suspected Koujaku to be in and gives him an extra membership card, so Aoba would be able to come back again anytime. Although he gets an odd feeling from him, Aoba thanks him, as Ryuho walks off smiling.

Underneath his warm smile, Ryuho is shown to be very manipulative and sadistic, drugging Aoba and nearly forcing him into getting tattooed. He enjoys seeing others writhe in pain under him, lovingly going on about how much more beautiful a person becomes after being touched by his needle. His love and obsession towards body art takes a disturbing turn when Koujaku's own tattoos begin to flourish and take control of his mind and anger. The sight of his art turning Koujaku into a monster puts Ryuho into such a state of ecstasy that he welcomes his death with open arms, barely choking out how good it feels to be killed by his own creation.

History

A younger Ryuho inking Koujaku.

Ryuho and Koujaku have known each other from way back, when Koujaku left the island with his mother. Much to his protests, Koujaku's father asked Ryuho to tattoo his son. At that time, he was only around fourteen to fifteen years of age. Wanting to test out a new method of human control given to him by Toue - which had not been yet optimized - Ryuho happily accepted, using Koujaku as an experiment. He ended up drawing large, pink lotus flowers on a majority of Koujaku's back and a black pattern on the right half of his body. Ryuho then left his side, telling his victim to learn to control his temper, or else he would regret it in the future. The events that occurred afterward led to Koujaku vowing vengeance, wanting Ryuho dead. Years later, Ryuho moved to Platinum Jail, residing in Flame Willow.

Plot

DRAMAtical Murder

Note: Ryuho only appears in Koujaku's route.

Koujaku's Route

When following Koujaku, Aoba attempts to enter the night club but is stopped by the guard, lacking the required membership card. An uknown man then appears and, pretending to be familiar with Aoba, allows him to enter the club. After entering, Aoba thanks him and is offered a membership card. Asking why he would do something so nice for a complete stranger, Aoba is told that he should just think of it as a "present" and Ryuho departs.

Aoba meets him again during his second visit of the club while looking for Koujaku. They talk for some time until Ryuho frowns suddenly and stares past Aoba, as if someone were behind him. Aoba turns to see what was wrong, but nothing appears to be there and Ryuho goes back to his smiling facade. He then grimly warns Aoba that because of his honesty and good nature, "he may get “eaten” by someone he trusts if he’s not careful". Confused by his words, Aoba decides to head back to Glitter when it begins to rain.

After his sudden violent assault by Koujaku, Aoba wearily makes his way back to the club through the rain. As he stares blankly at it, Ryuho appears again with a Japanese parasol. Asking if he would like to come up to his private room in the club for a drink, Aoba agrees and asks him his name, as he had never mentioend it. Ryuho introduces himself and they walk up to his room together.

[...]

DRAMAtical Murder Re:connect

Ryuho is mentioned by Koujaku and Aoba in Koujaku's good end, regarding his tattoos. Aoba speaks of him in pure spite and hatred after fully realizing the pain he had inflicted upon them, but can't bring himself to stay angry forever, as that would be the same as letting Ryuho win.

DRAMAtical Murder: The Animation

Ryuho is seen giving Mizuki the drawing the latter had praised so much (in the Visual Novel), and exclaims how happy he is to see how much much Mizuki loves it. It is later seen framed when Koujaku comes to visit Mizuki regarding Aoba's worries.

Trivia

• Ryuho tattoos using the traditional Tebori Method. Tebori (手彫り, literally meaning "hand carving") is a very old technique, its methods passed down for centuries. It is considered to be the most painful way to get a tattoo due to its very long process, said to be about five times more painful than the modern electric needle. A row of needles are wrapped or taped to a bamboo handle, dipped in ink and then applied to the skin, moving back and forth while making a distinctive shakki sound. Sometimes the bamboo handle will be replaced with a steel or titanium handle, so both these and the needles could be sterilized properly throughout. Despite the length and pain it takes, Tebori is said to be the best way to get tatted because of the high quality that stems from the final product, the results often showcasing the most beautiful, intricate and detailed tattoos around.
• Mizuki seems to admire his work, as he has a small drawing of a tattoo design that is strongly implied to have been gifted by Ryuho. Mizuki appears very proud to have received this. In the anime, it was shown that he indeed was the one who gave the drawing to Mizuki.
  • Mizuki also describes Ryuho as a man with God's skills and he is a person with an unusual aura.
• It is rumored that he charges very high for his services, said to exceed 1 million yen for one tattoo ($10,000 USD).^{[citation needed]}