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kurosawa-family · 3 years ago

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Character Information #2: August Kurosawa.

❛It has been very weird to have met you... Very weird, and wonderful.❜

—𝑭. 𝑺𝒄𝒐𝒕𝒕 𝑭𝒊𝒕𝒛𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒅, “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑫𝒂𝒎𝒏𝒆𝒅”.

⟅☙⟆ Universe ⟅☙⟆

Multi-Fandom, he doesn't belong to a specific universe. Although at first he was a Diabolik Lovers OC.

⟅☙⟆ Full Name. ⟅☙⟆

August Blaz Kurosawa.

His name is a variant of Augustus, from the Latin word augere, which means "to increase." In this context it means "great" or "revered".

Blaz means "Passionate, romantic and intelligent." The German version of Blas.

Kurosawa, which is his surname that he started living with from the age of thirty (physically or in demon years, that's unknown), means "Black Swamp" in Japanese.

His original surname, on the part of his father, is Adlersflügel, which means "eagle wings" from German (words Adler "eagle" and Flügel "wing").

⟅☙⟆ Kanji. ⟅☙⟆

アウグスット

⟅☙⟆ Nickname. ⟅☙⟆

August is (or rather, was... In a few ways), in short, just like his father; The nightmare of mortals and various demons, even of important personalities, of entire countries. He was known as "Der Smaragdgrüne Albtraum", or "The Emerald Nightmare" in German. Even so, after so many years of reign of horror and suffering, of massacres and panic, little by little, that beast stopped making appearances, and only remained in legend. Anyway, the most legendary nickname of his was marked, especially in Germany.

Yvonne calls him "Ma Perle", which means "My Pearl" in French, because (although August doesn't look like that) for his wife, that man is a jewel, a very valuable one.

⟅☙⟆ Age. ⟅☙⟆

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⟅☙⟆ Gender. ⟅☙⟆

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⟅☙⟆ Sexual Orientation. ⟅☙⟆

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⟅☙⟆ Height. ⟅☙⟆

People say his normal height is 269 cm. But, since he can change it, the maximum is 304.80 cm.

⟅☙⟆ Weight. ⟅☙⟆

Unknown, but it's said that he's a little bit more than 400 kg.

⟅☙⟆ Blood type. ⟅☙⟆

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⟅☙⟆ Status. ⟅☙⟆

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⟅☙⟆ Race. ⟅☙⟆

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⟅☙⟆ Birthday. ⟅☙⟆

March 19th.

⟅☙⟆ Zodiac Sign. ⟅☙⟆

Taurus.

⟅☙⟆ Favorite Color. ⟅☙⟆

He likes “coffee” kind of brown.

⟅☙⟆ Appearance. ⟅☙⟆

August appears to the public as a huge man, almost a giant, to put it in a way. His skin is dark brown, almost as if it were ebony skin, coming from his mother, who was a beautiful woman from Portugal; his hair, which is tousled and reaches the nape of his neck (which is why he doesn't have long hair most of the time) is a dark brown color, which passes for a charcoal color to the naked eye, even if it is not like that; He has beautiful emerald green eyes, which shine in an unusual way, and he has inherited it from his father, who was a respected man from Germany.

The man has a huge anatomy, and with it, a quite (very) remarkable belly, even if he tries to hide it. Even though he seems to be hopelessly chubby, he is actually the strongest in the family. Also, he's insecure about his body, but all of that is one of Yvonne's favorite things. He also has a short beard, and his face bears several battala scars, as does his chest and back. August won't have the best anatomy in the world, but at least he's healthy, isn't he?

He usually dresses in a very sophisticated way, in Victorian suits or similar suits, usually in dark colors, although he will never wear black in his life. He sometimes dresses comfortably, with loose pants and a t-shirt that his children give him as a gift, even if it takes a miracle to find something of his size.

⟅☙⟆ Personality. ⟅☙⟆

August, in unknown or acquaintances eyes, is someone you should fear as soon as you see him, either alone or in company. His face is scarred, and adding to his serious and intimidating expressions, it is easy to assume that this is not the first time that he has done unspeakable things. And honestly, it's true. August is not a saint, he has destroyed entire civilizations, he has massacred millions and millions of beings, and not just humans. Anyone who has stood in his way or has dared to insult him has paid a price, either as a slave or with their own life, but it was depending on the offense, and if they became a slave, it is not very likely that be treated as such, unless there is some serious offense...

August isn't like that twenty-four hours a day, every day. In reality, he hardly raises his voice or his hand. The demon is passive (not like in his youth, he was... Quite different back then) and he avoids conflict if possible. He is someone who uses reason at all times, and he is a caring being who would not hesitate to go out of his way for others. He is unsure about his own anatomy, and above all about how to approach humans, or other beings inferior to him. In general, he is a person who isn't good with his own feelings, and much less with those of others, but he tries.

Still, physically, he always gives a shoulder to cry on, and someone to listen. He is aware of not being able to handle such situations well in words, everyone in his daily life knows it, but he is always there for them; for his children, and for his wife. He always is.

⟅☙⟆ Relatives. ⟅☙⟆

Yumeko Kurosawa.

Former nanny of the Tsukinami family, nanny of the Sakamaki family as well, and a Ghoul.

Currently alive.

She cared for August since he was still a "kid". She currently works as a florist in the Underworld, visiting August and his family every few months.

⟅☙⟆ Favorite Food. ⟅☙⟆

He loves Austrian food, but the Sacher cake, the symbol of Austrian chocolate confectionery, is his favorite.

⟅☙⟆ Hoobies ⟅☙⟆

Music.

He loves to play the piano in his spare time. Most of these moments are full of beautiful melodies, forgotten, and capable of taking you to another world if possible. It relaxes him, and he loves it. During the parties or gatherings that Yvonne holds, there is always the beautiful melody of a piano to accompany the atmosphere.

Reading.

It's no secret August loves to read. It may sound childish, but he loves fairy tales, fantasy tales. Yes, he lives in a world with all the creatures found in those books, even those that even the human mind cannot imagine, but he simply likes those books. The settings and the music that is created in his head are what makes him want to go and create a little secret place like those in these stories.

Helping.

It may sound ridiculous, but he likes to help his kids if they need it. His favorite activity is to do his daughter's hairstyle, and decorate it as she likes it. She's daddy's girl, so obviously he pampers her a little bit (same with all his kids, honestly) like she's a queen.

Photography.

He is the reason why the house is full of pictures and photos, both of the family and of some beautiful landscapes that they have visited throughout the years that he was with his family. August has improved a lot since he started doing these things.

Cooking.

Oh, he loves being the family's almost-official cook, especially when Yvonne helps him. It's fun, for the dark haired man, to spend those moments with his wife or with his children, and he is improving every time he cooks, even if it is something simple, there is always some touch of his that gives him a tremendous delight.

⟅☙⟆ Occupation ⟅☙⟆

He used to be a soldier to his father in his young years. In his best days, he was dedicated to being a kind of "mercenary."

Now, he lives a quiet life as a photographer in general. He doesn't have a lot of job opportunities, so he started his own business. He had a hard time getting the title, especially as an adult, but it was worth it.

⟅☙⟆ Relationships ⟅☙⟆

Yvonne Beauchene.

He adores her wife, he would die and kill for her (he's not allowed to do the latter so often), and vice versa. They obviously have their fights, but they don't blame each other for anything. They take time to calm down and talk about it. Despite her being the "boss" around the house, August does the housework most of the time when he's at home (they take turns on certain weeks at the request of his wife, but he insists on doing it), and basically holds the house. calm in the house ...

Convoitise Kurosawa.

His first child and the spitting image of his mother, literally. They have a good relationship, but the older ConCon grows, the more difficult it is for August to communicate with him, and with how impatient his son is, sometimes they end up arguing...

Still, August always tries again after he's sure they've both calmed down. It's hard for both of them, and sometimes it doesn't work, but... Well, Convoitise knows that his father is always going to be there to give him a hand, and the young man makes sure to be there for his father as well. It's the least he can do.

Aimer Kurosawa.

Aimer is almost a copy of his father, although only physically. The two get along well, and Aimer sees his father as an equal, and he appreciates it a lot when he helps him. The youngest is bad with feelings, and he's not really physically affectionate, so the times when he doesn't feel weird or freaked out when his father hugs him or shows him physical affection are rare, but nice. Aimer shows his gratitude with small gestures, but that he knows he cares about his old man.

Hela Kurosawa.

The only daughter and the middle child. August's princess, his little babygirl. Hela adores her parents, but August is her confidant, even in things he doesn't understand himself. They get along wonderfully, even if she doesn't look like her father at all; She is more delicate than her mother, and too outgoing and flirtatious. When her father leaves for work, Hela pretends not to miss him, or to worry if something is going to happen to him... But it's too obvious that she does, it doesn't matter if she hides it.

Still, Hela tries not to be too close to him with friends. The older one knows that it can be embarrassing at her age to be seen with her father, but... he wonders if he has done something wrong for her to react like this with others.

Varick Kurosawa.

August is not very updated to date with modern times, he knows it himself, but that does not mean that his baby should be afraid of his reactions. Varick adores their father and they know it themselves, they want his approval, and despite having so many secrets, August gives them space to trust him... if it isn't serious, of course.

It's very difficult for him to communicate with his younger children, especially because they are at an "impatient age", so it hurts a lot when they get irritated or angry with him... Especially Varick, being one of those who use modern expressions and such.

Volker Kurosawa.

Same as Varick: August has a hard time communicating with him, but he's not really as troublesome as the other... August loves them both, Volker knows it, but he doesn't want to be treated like a child, and August can't quite understand him in that way...

Shoma Komori.

He is confused by her hostility. He always thought it was just her age, until he saw her scars. He knows the feeling of just not belonging anywhere, so he gives her space and patience to make herself at home, and trust him.

Shoma became his favorite human, and August is Shoma's personal giant teddy bear.

KarlHeinz Sakamaki.

Despite being vastly larger than the head of the Sakamaki family, August is terrified of him. He's able to stand up to Karl, he's able to hold a conversation with him, but the dark-skinned man just hates being in the same place as the vampire.

Sakamaki brothers.

He babysat all six of Karl's children at the request of his wife when these two were going to "negotiate" (actually, they were going to do hand-to-hand combat, just for fun). Children adored him every time they saw him, and they stayed that way until they were nine years old. Now that they are adults, well, it is weird for them to have someone who really cares about them, but August adores them, and welcomes them into his home with open arms.

⟅☙⟆ Likes ⟅☙⟆

Fantastic animals.

August is a fan of fantastic creatures, like dragons and pegasi, and that is why he owns Blueberry; a mountain dragon.

This is because his nana owned a Phoenix for companionship, and August always spent hours and hours with that bird, completely and utterly fascinated by it.

Flying.

The demon loves to fly, and his wings are as gigantic as his body, so that gives him a lot of advantage, both in the sky and on the ground. He basically loves to fly, and he loves his wings. It also allows him to protect himself from the rain and use it as a shield in case of danger.

Hot and sweet drinks.

He loves the chocolate milks his wife makes in winter, especially if she has cream and marshmallows. Thanks to Yvonne, he knows them, because before her, he always drank bitter or strong drinks, giving him severe headaches. Now, despite many seeing it cloying, August loves it just the way his beautiful woman does.

Music.

She likes to play the piano or the harp, as she is relaxing for him. The melody those two instruments produce reminds him of his mother...

⟅☙⟆ Dislikes ⟅☙⟆

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⟅☙⟆ Fears and Phobias ⟅☙⟆

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⟅☙⟆ Headcannon Voices ⟅☙⟆

⭆ X

⟅☙⟆ Song Theme ⟅☙⟆

Ed Sheeran — Perfect.

⟅☙⟆ Abilities ⟅☙⟆

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⟅☙⟆ Extra ⟅☙⟆

August was a good friend of Joseph Haydn, coming to help him with several of his compositions. He was one of those who mourned the most at his death, and to this day, he continues to visit the grave of his friend frequently, and hears the wonders that he himself has created.

⟅☙⟆ History ⟅☙⟆

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mangamushi · 3 years ago

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Thoughts on Saikyou Densetsu Kurosawa

FUKUMOTO Nobuyuki, 11 volumes, published from 2003 to 2006 in Big Comic Original (Seinen)

Saikyou Densetsu Kurosawa (Legend of the strongest man Kurosawa) follows the story of 44 years old construction worker Kurosawa as he realizes he spent most of his life without any meaningful connections with anyone nor any special achievements. He decides to change his life so that he can become proud of his own accomplishments and efforts, and earn respect and appreciation from the people around him.

(spoiler warning)

So I’m currently binging Fukumoto manga, after having them on my “plan to read” list for several years…I started with Kaiji, but initially the first manga of his that caught my interest was Kurosawa. The themes of it are right up my alley, and I like main characters that are not teenagers or young adults.

Kurosawa has a sequel, Shin Kurosawa: Saikyou Densetsu, which is a direct continuation. I’ll mostly be focusing on the first part here.

The art is typical Fukumoto style. Odd at first, definitely not the prettiest nor the most impressive out there, but it does the job and I really grew to like it. He doesn’t hesitate to give exaggerated features to his characters, and I actually find the deliberate ugliness of the character designs refreshing. It certainly fits the story of Kurosawa, makes the characters very expressive and works well with the often comedic tone.

Although the art looks simple, Fukumoto can deliver very intense pages when he needs to.

His forte is in his use of narration combined with the picture, rather than in the drawings alone. He is a master at using a narrator’s comments or the character’s thoughts to raise tension and make the manga flow better.

Kurosawa is definitely written with a lot of heart. Both the manga itself and the titular character, feel very genuine. Kurosawa is very flawed and very human. He is rough but powerful, his desires are simple, and he is straightforward in his reactions, to the point that his impulsive nature and lack of social restraints put him in trouble, especially when it comes to women...

There are a few instances however where he comes close to harassing women, which is played for laugh, which I disliked. Those scenes made me less sympathetic towards him as he actually deserved the repercussions of his actions here.

But besides those chapters, Kurosawa is overall a likeable character, easy to sympathize with and to root for as we see him at a low point of his life.

He is clumsy in his interactions with his coworkers, which, coupled with his hot-temper, often leads to misunderstandings and prevents him from getting closer to them despite his best efforts. I actually found Kurosawa’s failed attempts at achieving popularity reminiscent of Watamote. The beginning of both series, in which a pathetic main character fails repetitively at gaining the appreciation of their peers through outlandish strategies, elicits the same mixture of pity, second-hand embarrassment, and amusement.

Kurosawa also gets into a fair number of fights. While those fight-focused chapters were not bad, I was personally less into them.

Drawing literal fist-fights in not what Fukumoto’s best at. His character’s postures are somewhat stiff, which he compensates for with heavy use of speed-lines. It is okay-ish, but I want read a fight scene, there’s plenty of fighting manga out there that can do a better job.

I like Fukumoto more when he writes more psychological battles, like in his gambling mangas. Of course, psychological elements and strategies where not totally absent from the fights, but it was nowhere as much as in his gambling manga. Sometimes I think Kurosawa was a bit too lucky in the fights, as he is not a very athletic person nor someone with a lot of experience in fighting. It did not feel very convincing to me.

Besides, it is through these battles that Kurosawa gathers allies, a reputation and respect. But most of his opponents are teenagers, even middle-schoolers ! Granted they are very scary teenagers, but I still fail to see how a 44 years old man throwing hands with teenagers is such a praise worthy thing...

I think I prefer to see Kurosawa fight and struggle to improve his life in a less literal way that actual physical fighting.

I haven’t read that many of Fukumoto’s works yet, but I feel like an important theme in them is perseverance/resilience. He puts his characters through a lot, but they tend to have some form of resistance that shines through as admirable. Kurosawa’s will to fight and to push back against adversity is sometimes the only thing he has left, and it is extremely important.

However, that is not an innate ability that comes to him easily -at times Kurosawa hides, flees, cowers. He hesitates, and he needs to think things through before he actually decides to fight.

Fukumoto: You know how protagonists in shonen manga do things like jump in to stop their classmate from being bullied without thinking about how they might get beaten up themselves? I always felt that wasn’t real. So with Kurosawa, I wanted to make a manga that shows hesitation, and how it actually isn’t so easy to defend people like that.

(Excerpt from this interview)

I like this kind of manga where characters reflect about what is the right decision to take and on how they should be living their life. And how the reader has access to their inner turmoil and thoughts.

His strength is often born from sheer desperation and desire to survive. It is when he is cornered that he can manage to act and fight even when the odds are against him. He has to make do with the very few tools and options he has, which leads him to elaborate unconventional tactics to win over his opponents.

Having cornered underdogs characters winning over more powerful, but less desperate, opponents seems like a running theme in Fukumoto’s manga (cf. the made-up E-card Game from Kaiji, in which The Slave is the only card that can win against The Emperor, precisely because it is so low that it has nothing to lose anymore).

In a way, one could argue Kurosawa follows a formula reminiscent of classic shounen manga: a character who is below average at first rises to a heroic status through willpower, effort and after fighting a string of opponents. However, there are major differences that set Kurosawa apart, besides the older characters and more adult setting (Kurosawa’s worries are grounded in reality: growing old alone, financial problems...) Kurosawa does not provide escapism and dreams. The story begins with Kurosawa as a single old man, and ends with him an even older still single man. He does not become an amazing fighter through power boost and magic training like a shounen character might.

He does want to dream big, but all things considered, his achievements are fairly modest. He is not saving the world or becoming hokage. At most he is just helping some other marginalized people from his neighborhood.

Even if he puts his life on the line to fight, what he accomplished will fade into oblivion at some point.

But, even so, his efforts and struggle are still admirable.

Besides, Kurosawa is not about friendship, at least not the kind of friendship you find in shounen manga.

In Fukumoto’s manga, people may stick together for survival, they can share intense emotions when put through the same ordeals, but it’ll rarely turn into true companionship. Kurosawa is alone from the start, and while he does connect with other people throughout the story, in the sequel those relationships are left behind as he leaves on his own to start a new life.

Fukumoto: My protagonists, on the other hand, are always alone – not only do they not have followers, they don’t even have friends. (laugh) [...] I can’t do manga where the characters readily make friends that they risk their lives for. I started out by drawing short human drama pieces, but even then – partially because I wasn’t doing long-term series, but – they weren’t generally stories about friends.

I was kind of expecting Asai, one of Kurosawa’s coworker, to have a bigger role, but that didn’t happen. (I liked the part where he tried to comfort Kurosawa after he got humiliated so I was hoping for more!)

The story isn’t very cohesive or straighforward, it just follows Kurosawa’s life, who wants to change but lacks a clearly defined goal or road to follow. There isn’t one big coherent plot, instead the story goes in different directions, shifting from one genre to another from chapter to chapter. Kurosawa even admits it himself !

The quality of the chapters and different arcs is in my opinion rather uneven.

There are some really powerful scenes, notably the very end of the manga which is very touching. Kurosawa successfully leads a group of homeless men to defend themselves against some delinquents who were threatening them, but as a result of his injuries, he is implied to die. (The sequel manga reveals he actually just goes into coma for 8 years). It is bittersweet ending as he finally achieved something and is surrounded by human warmth.

Shin Kurosawa, the sequel, is similar to the first part, though slightly more light-hearted and focused on humor (even though Kurosawa’s situation technically worsens!). It seems to be less liked than the first part for those same reasons, but I personally enjoy Fukumoto’s humor and his more slice of life-y mangas. It has many genuinely funny moments. Once in a while there are still some chapters that feel deeper/more thought provoking, as Fukumoto likes to reflect about society, life, and humanity in his stories.

For anyone looking for other manga with similar themes, I can recommend Furuya Minoru’s excellent Wanitokagegisu . Both feature very lonely adult men who wish to turn their life around, and oscillate between humor and psychological drama.

#fkmt #saikyou densetsu kurosawa #fukumoto noboyuki #kurosawa #manga

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