Yoichi Hiruma

Yoichi Hiruma (蛭魔 妖一 Hiruma Yōichi) is a fictional character in the anime and manga series Eyeshield 21 created by Riichiro Inagaki and Yusuke Murata. In the series, he is the captain of Deimon Devil Bats, a high school American football club founded by him and two other students. Due to the lack of interest of students to join the team, Hiruma uses blackmail and threats to recruit players to Devil Bats. Hiruma witnesses Sena Kobayakawa's running abilities and forces the boy to join the team as the running back as soon as he can. Hiruma has appeared in other media from the series, including video games, original video animations (OVAs) and light novels.

Hiruma was created by Inagaki to be a "devil-hero", a kind of anti-hero, according to him. Due to this, Murata, the manga's illustrator tried to give Hiruma a demonic personality. In the OVA, released before the anime's start, he is voiced by Shinichirō Miki. However, in the 2005 Japanese anime television series he was replaced by Atsushi Tamura who was indicated by the manga series creators as they felt his voice was perfect for the role. His voice actor in the English adaptation is Derek Stephen Prince. Hiruma has been well received by publications for manga and anime. Numerous pieces of merchandise in Hiruma likeness have also been released, including ceramic and resin statues, and decals.

Riichiro Inagaki, the writer of Eyeshield 21, said that he developed Hiruma as a character that does not follow the Japanese concept of emphasis on sportsmanship and effort in the game; instead Hiruma is "only concerned with winning". Inagaki intended to make an "anti-hero" or, as he refers to the concept, a "devil-hero". Yusuke Murata, the artist, chose to portray Hiruma as looking "close to being a demon" since he heard from Inagaki that Hiruma had "the personality of a demon." Murata noted that the Devil Bats logo "bears a strong resemblance to Hiruma". Inagaki also stated that Hiruma's name is a homage to the British former F1 driver Damon Hill.
Though the animation studio administrated casting, the studio asked Inagaki and Murata for their opinions. The two both felt that Tamura was a "perfect fit" with "his voice and his style".

Seven years prior to the start of the series, Yoichi Hiruma, then ten years old, snuck into an American military base, where he witnessed a group of soldiers playing American football. Intrigued by the game, he soon caught on to its rules and later began studying its tactics. With his deep understanding of the game, he managed to successfully gamble on the winning teams, accumulating a large amount of money. He entered Mao Junior High, dyed his hair to its current blonde color and met Ryokan Kurita that encouraged Hiruma to create his own team. In order to establish an American football club, Hiruma created an expansive information network to acquire blackmail on virtually everyone in the Tokyo area, which allowed him to threaten the vice principal of Mao into allowing the creation of the club. After the reestablishment of the American football club with Doburoku Sakaki as club adviser, Gen "Musashi" Takekura decided to join the club because he thought Hiruma and Kurita were fun, and together, the three new friends made a pact to reach the Christmas Bowl. Kurita looked up to the Shinryuji Naga, so the three decided to join the team. Because Kurita could not pass the Shinryuji High entrance exam, Hiruma and Musashi went to Deimon High School, and with Kurita established the Deimon Devil Bats.
At the beginning of the series, Hiruma and Kurita, now in their second year of high school, aggressively attempt to recruit new members to the Deimon Devil Bats from the newer students. At first their only successful recruit is the reluctant Sena Kobayakawa, as Hiruma witnesses his incredible running speed and agility and forces him to be the team's running back. Hiruma additionally hides Sena's identity by making him wear an eyeshield and adapt the moniker "Eyeshield 21". Hiruma, through intimidation, blackmail, cyber terrorism, and other similar methods, plays a crucial role in the development of the young Devil Bats team. Hiruma's insight and strategic mind, especially his knack for devising trick plays and his psychological games are critical in the Devil Bats' various matches. His demonic facade is also seen through by the team manager, Mamori Anezaki, whom he shares a deep understanding with, despite constant bickering and teasing.

Following the Christmas Bowl, Hiruma is selected by Seijuro Shin, of the Ojo White Knights, to be one of Team Japan's two quarterbacks due to his knack for trick plays, and Hiruma quickly settles in as the main strategist on the team. Even before this, Hiruma spies on Team USA to acquire information on the ace American players, who are considered by far the favorites to win the tournament. In typical fashion, Hiruma refuses to permit players on the team out of sympathy rather than merit, including his Devil Bats teammates, but does agree with the decision to hold a final tryout as a method of enlisting bench players. Two years later, Hiruma, now in college, is part of the college's American football team,

In every official Weekly Shōnen Jump popularity poll of the series, Hiruma has ranked within the top five characters. In the first poll he placed second, behind Sena, but in another two he ranked first. Several pieces of merchandise based on Hiruma have also been released, including ceramic and resin statues, and decals. In an interview, Atsushi Tamura said about Hiruma: "I look just like this guy"; and stated he "think there is a lot of other people who want to do the Hiruma's role".
Several publications for manga, anime, video games, and other related media have commented on Hiruma's character. Chris Beveridge from Mania.com stated that "the outlandish nature of Hiruma with his guns blazing gets old very quickly" and considered it a "downside" to the series. In other hand, Mania.com's Jarred Pine noted that Hiruma is "so completely over-the-top and out of left field that I couldn’t help laughing" and that his "rude, crude, and completely unpredictable" behavior "makes his character so damn enjoyable". Pine concluded that Hiruma's personality was "instantly memorable" and his "unpredictable nature" was responsible for making the story "so enjoyable". Anime News Network's Erin Finnegan also noted the "demonic-looking", saying Hiruma is "like a predecessor of Ozu from The Tatami Galaxy with a love of football". Writing for Anime News Network, Carlos Santos praised Hiruma's character design as "imaginative" with his "lanky" and "demon-like appearance" and additionally commented that "despite his sheer ruthlessness, it's hard not to laugh as Hiruma enthusiastically resorts to blackmail in recruiting students for the team". Anime News Network's Zac Bertschy called Hiruma the "most fun" character insofar, making note of his "brash, menacing and ultimately passionate" personality and that "in a sense, Hiruma turns the "kindly old coach-come-mentor who helps the hero along" cliché on its ear".


Source : WikiPedia