"If I am going to slay someone, I will be swinging my sword by my own will. That is my atonement."
Nobume Imai (今井信女 Imai Nobume?), formerly known as Mukuro (骸?), is a former member of the assassination unit of the Mimawarigumi, as well as its former vice captain. She is the secondary antagonist of the Thorny Arc and is is the current director of the police department, succeeding her late boss Sasaki Isaburo.
Appearance[]
Nobume is a young woman with a triangular face and dull red eyes. She has long dark blue hair, evenly trimmed bangs, and two shorter, rectangular strands falling on her face. Nobume has a Yatagarasu tattoo behind her neck, which is constantly covered by her long hair.
She is normally seen wearing a typical Mimawarigumi uniform. Under the neck has a white long scarf draped white suit with a collar, decorated with gold buttons on her shoulders, and the front rectangular brackets folded cuffs. Her uniform coat is a long trench coat extending to her ankles, while below was cut in half. She is also wearing a black colored belt with a silver buckle. She is seen wearing blue half-thigh shorts rather than the typical Mimawarigumi's long pants, she also wears the same colored socks decorated with white thread which form two X's on each side. She also wears the Mimawariguri uniformed boots.
During her childhood she had the same trimmed hair as in the present albeit much shorter. She's also seen wearing a kimono and the Yatagarasu's uniform. After she was picked up by Sasaki she wore an outfit similar to the one of Katsura when he was a child, and tied her hair up into a ponytail.
Her eyes were initially pupil-less and had a "murderous-like" look to them due to her past, being raised as a cold-blooded assassin by the Naraku. After Sasaki Isaburo's death, she renewed her ideals, with pupils full of life appearing in her eyes.
Personality[]
As a result of having been trained by the Naraku faction to be a professional assassin, Nobume is shown to be an emotionless person in both expression and speech. She appears to be sadistic and likes to cut down people (in the literal sense). According to Sasaki Isaburo, once she switches into her assassin mode, she annihilates everyone in her way. Although she seems to be quiet, she is surprisingly talkative. As shown during the Ikkoku Keisei arc, she thinks that it is better to cut down people that are knocked unconscious instead of leaving them alive, believing it is faster to cut them up in order to not get into trouble, with Gintoki and Tsukuyo trying to stop her. Despite her lack of showing emotions and serious attitude, she has been shown to be quite childish as she enjoyed it when she, Kagura and Soyo played a prank on the guards, and playing kick the can.
Nobume eating a donut in Episode 247.
Nobume violent expression for donuts in Episode 258
Nobume loves eating donuts and will often behave in an animalistic manner to get them. When Sasaki rewarded her with a donut for her good work, she immediately bit down on his hand before he even had a chance to hand it over and wouldn't let go to the extent that Sasaki had to shake her around to get his hand free and ended up dislocating it in the process. Sasaki was also able to "fish" her out of a collapsed building by attaching a donut to a fishing rod and dangling it over the ruins. In addition, she is antagonised whenever someone tries to tease her by eating donuts in front of her and turns violent as Sougo learned the hard way, resulting in him almost getting castrated.
Despite her loyalty towards Sasaki Isaburo, she shows some good conscience to go against his orders. For example, she allowed Rotten Maizou to go to Yoshiwara, despite Sasaki's orders, and when he was promoted, Nobume stated that with both allies and enemies gone and them standing on the top of a pile of corpses, that didn't mean that they could call their jobs done. Also, when she was offered to seat in the commander's chair she stated that she would rather grovel on the dirt instead of sitting there. She has also shown to bear animosity towards the Tendoshu as she insulted them when they arrived to retrieve Nobu Nobu, and later she told Oboro that she will never serve them again. In short, she detests people who selfishly abuse authority power.
It is revealed later on in the series that Nobume is not emotionless but rather just hiding it, as shown when she cried after remembering that she has the mission to kill Sasaki, showing that she is not actually willing to do that, and she also cried for Sasaki after seeing him in a near-death state, and is shown mourning his death.
She later becomes independent, declaring to Utsuro that she will only kill people for herself and not for neither the Tendoushu nor the Mimawarigumi. Despite looking unemotional, Nobume has a strong sense of justice, like when she kills the assassins that killed Isaburo's wife, although she was too late.
Strength & Abilities[]
Nobume vs. Sougo
Master Swordmanship Specialist: Because she was raised as an assassin from a very young age, Nobume is very powerful even by Tenshouin Naraku stantards. At a very young age, she is said to be immensely talented in assassination and was the best among the children and was named as one of the Naraku three when she was just a child. Even as a child she was able to successfully kill multiple adult Tendoushu assassins at the same time without sustaining any injuries. Her sword appears to be a Nodachi but it turned out to be a regular sized Katana while a small tantō concealed at the end of her scabbard. She uses a 2 sword fighting style. Kondo Isao has compared her to the grim reaper, as every strike she makes are lethal and capable of killing anyone if it hits.
Immense Endurance: Nobume appears to have a very high endurance, as she survived having a building crashing down with her in it with only minor scratches. Also, when Utsuro threw his sword and stabbed her in the stomach she still had enough strength to keep fighting him along with Kagura and Sougo. She was also able to avoid a point blank would-be lethal blow from Utsuro and hold him in place long enough for Gintoki to come in for a surprise attack.
Nobume is very skilled in imitating people's voices, as seen when she was voicing the Shogun during the Courtesan of a Nation Arc, and she also seems to be a good judge of character. Despite Sougo's cute appearance, she was able to tell that he is a sadistic murderer just by looking at his eyes. She was also able to see the sorrow in Gintoki's and Takasugi's eyes.
Relationships[]
Friends & Allies[]
- Sasaki Isaburo: Sasaki is Nobume's commander. Even though it looked like Nobume murdered his family in cold blood, Sasaki was able to see who is his real enemy, blaming the era for allowing such brutality to happen. He chose to not kill her for it and instead have her serve him for his goals. Nobume, who felt strong guilt for her crimes followed him without questions. He seems to know anything about her, including her donut quirk, and managed to 'fish' Nobume out from a pile of rubble with a donut as a fish hook bait. She calls him Isaburo, and he calls her Nobutasu. She seems to be quite loyal to Sasaki as she claims that she would go along with him if he decides to tag along with Takasugi Shinsuke. Despite having the mission to kill Sasaki, she was shown crying after Sasaki died and mourned his death.
- Soyo Hime: She was ordered to protect Soyo-hime when the castle was heavily guarded. Soyo-hime and she are on good terms and Nobume would sleep with Soyo Hime whenever she gets scared at night.
- Sakata Gintoki: Isaburo said that Gintoki's influence on Nobume has started to change her. In the end she even went against her commander's orders, allowing Rotten Maizou to go to Yoshiwara. The two of them had showed to have an unusual ability to synchronize perfectly with each other every time they are seen together, despite being only acquaintances, like when they knocked out the shogun they were both ready to run away and both of them were able to fool Sada Sada with their puppet act. Also, Tsukuyo and she were able to notice Gintoki's signal and run beside the wall to distract the guards from the machine gun turret long enough for Gintoki to move in for the kill. She is also the only one who noticed Gintoki was alive after Utsuro's cannon attack and stabbed his foot for Gintoki to come in for a surprise attack. She destroyed the phones of witnesses who wants to rat on Gintoki's location to get some money. Nobume also helped him and the rest of Yorozuya find Sakamoto to find Kagura saying that the reason she helped them was because Gintoki has the same eyes as Isaburo.
- Tsukuyo: Nobume and Tsukuyo fight together during the Courtesan of a Nation Arc, They both were protecting Gintoki from Naraku agents attack. Notably, she asked Tsukuyo if she was allowed the cut people when they were ready to attack in the Shoguns palace.
- Kagura: They seem to have a close friendship and the same rivalry with Sougo. Shinpachi noted that her, Kagura and Soyo-hime are the "Sisterhood Sadist Three". In the Farewell Shinsegumi arc, Kagura tried to convnice her to stop fighting because she believed it was not what Nobume really desired in her heart after seeing her tears. Nobume also saves Kagura from a sword that was thrown by Utsuro, getting injured in the process.
- Yoshida Shouyou: During the time when he was jailed, Nobume received lessons from him, even though she was serving as his jailer. With the help of his wisdom, she gradually develop her emotions and sense of morals. She and Oboro knows the truth of Utsuro's origin and one of his seven personas, including Shouyou.
- Okita Sougo: They fought against each other in the Mimawarigumi arc. They could be considered rivals because of both of them being sadists. Nobume commented that Okita shares the same eyes as hers: the eyes of a killer.
- Katsura Kotarou: It is considered that she knew him as one of the three of Shouyou's students, although she didn't encounter him due to Katsura not being involved in the first part of the war between Yorozuya and Shinsengimu's alliance and the Tendoshu. She and Katsura are now allies since when Sasaki's cover to take down the corrupted Bakufu again has been blown.
- Kijima Matako: Due to Nobume stating that she sided with some legendary Joui patriots like Gintoki and Takasugi, they seems to know each other. Matako accused her for having betrayed her due to not telling her that Gintoki showed up and started an argument between them
Acquintance[]
- Oboro: Nobume knows Oboro from her past, as they were both part of the Naraku. Even before Oboro revealed his face to the rebels, Nobume knew it was him when she infiltrated Tokugawa Sada Sada's palace. She possesses extensive knowledge about Oboro's combat skills as well as his position in the Naraku. Later Oboro called Nobume by her former name Mukuro and reminded her of her past as one of The Three Wings of Naraku During their last conversation, Oboro implied that, because Nobume decided to side with Takasugi, one of them is going to die the next time they meet. However, it was not last long after Oboro is defeated by Takasugi to end his tragic immortal life, after Utsuro kills Shouyou inside his body. Both of them are the ones who knows the truth of Utsuro's origin and one of his seven personas, including Shouyou.
- Hitsugi: Nobume knows Hitsugi from her past, as they were both part of the Naraku.
Enemies[]
- Utsuro: Utsuro is aware of Nobume's actions, knowing that she betrayed the organization. He impaled Nobume by throwing a sword, and she pushed Kagura to safety. He proceeded to attack both of them, as well as Okita, and overwhelmed them in a three-on-one fight. Also, she is the one who knew the truth behind Shouyou's death before Gintoki does, as Gintoki was only aware of the Shouyou's execution that he was forced to carry out, to save his comrades Takasugi and Katsura. As Oboro also known this truth with her, what Nobume referring behind Shouyou's death is that the Shouyou's original evil persona, Utsuro kills one of his seven personas he created inside his body, including Shouyou to resurfaced to the real world once again for opposing him, due to his immortal body.
- Hitotsubashi Nobu Nobu: She follows the new government only because Isaburo was following them.
Battles[]
| Fight | Outcome | Time it Occurred |
|---|---|---|
| Imai Nobume vs. Okita Sougo | Loss | Episode 246 - Episode 247 |
| Imai Nobume and Tsukuyo vs. Naraku Agents | Interrupted | Episode 259 |
| Imai Nobume vs. Okita Sougo | Interrupted | Episode 312 - Episode 313 |
| Imai Nobume, Okita Sougo, Kagura and Sakata Gintoki vs. Utsuro | Retreat | Episode 314 |
Trivia[]
- Her former name "Mukuro" means "corpse"
- She is roughly based on ex-Mimawarigumi member, Imai Noburo.
- Imai Noburo had confessed that he was involved in the assassination of Sakamoto Ryoma with Sasaki Tadasaburo (the real person behind Sasaki Isaburo) and others.
- Nobume share some similarities with Akame from "Akame Ga Kill!".
- Visually, they share a similar hairstyle, dark hair, and red eyes.
- Both were trained as assassins since they were very young.
- Both left a corrupted Government/Empire to join a rebel army (although Nobume is in the Mimawarigumi who are police officers secretly in alliance with Takasugi).
- Both would kill their targets without hesitation.
- Both are very skilled swordswomen and both of them have an unhealthy obsession over their favorite foods (donuts for Nobume and meat for Akame).
- According to Sorachi, the reason Nobume's Mimawarigumi uniform and Shimaru's Shinsengumi uniform are different from the standard one is because they want to look cool.
- Imai Nobume's looks and standards are quite similar to Izayo Gorugo from Sorachi's one-shot 13.
- Both of them have long hair and wield a samurai sword for sadistic use.
- It is possible that Sorachi took part of Izayo's design and put it into Nobume.
- She ranked 16th in the Fourth Popularity Poll, 15th in the Fifth and 21st in the Sixth.
- She shares the same Japanese voice actress as Misa Amane from Death Note, Yukiko from Lupin III: Green Vs. Red, Dende from Dragon Ball Kai, and Lucy Heartfilia from Fairy Tail.
- Nobume's name is a combination of the kanji 信 (to believe/trust) and 女 (woman).
- Like Kagura, she has a great rivalry with Sougo.
- Similarly to Soyo, she also doesn't know how to be the straight man in a situation.
- At the end of volume 72, Nobume ranked 4th in female character that has large breasts.
Quotes[]
- (To Okita Sougo) "I knew you weren't a cop. You have the eyes of a murderer... just like me."
- (To Okita Sougo) "Never sheath your sword until you've dispatched your target. Isn't that right, murderer?"
- (To Shimura Shinpachi) "As a survivor of the Mimawarigumi, it is my duty to fulfill my mission. Also, I get to cut people up."
- (To Tokugawa Sada Sada ) "The criminal here is you. All your crimes till now have been witnessed by me, Vice-Captain of the Mimawarigumi, Imai Nobume. Tokugawa Sada Sada, you're under arrest for the assassination of Bakufu officials."
- (To Tsukuyo) "It's alright to cut down who I want now... Right?"
- (To Sakata Gintoki) "Time for the last stage, huh? I won't let you hog the glory. The last bite of a donut is always the best."
- (To Oboro) "Isaburo said he would go along with that man's foolish dream... So I will do the same."
- (To Oboro) "They weren't like him. One was trying to protect Shoyo's legacy. The other was trying to destroy it. However, they had one thing in common. They both had such sorrow in their eyes.
- (To Sakata Gintoki and Tsukuyo) "Last bite is always the most delicious"
- (On mail to Sasaki Isaburo) Isaburo, I want to thank you for the name, k'?