| “ | To tell you the truth, I love to gamble.
— Madarame Baku to Yukiide Kaoru
|
” |
Madarame Baku (斑目 貘, Madarame Baku; "Baku Madarame"), also known by the epithet "Usogui" (嘘喰い, lit. Lie Eater), is the main protagonist of Usogui. Known as a genius gambler, he is a legend among the underworld.
Appearance[]
Baku has voluminous silver-coloured wavy hair, black eyebrows and blue-coloured eyes; he is assumed to have beautiful features. He is often seen wearing some form of formal attire.
When he was younger, he wore his hair in a slicked back style. He returns to this hairstyle in the Hand Chopper game.
After the events of the Tower of Karma Arc, Madarame started wearing a stylized eye-patch over his left eye after Suteguma Satoru damaged it.
Personality[]
| “ | ” |
Baku is a cold, calculated, cunning, intelligent, and compassionate individual whose surrounded with an aura of self-confidence and charisma. Steadfast and ruthless while maintaining a carefree and somewhat negligent attitude towards those around him, highly observant and extremely intelligent with a self-assurance his deductions are always correct. He values his established friendships and sees them as important people in his life, while also seeking their development individually and has a unique hidden desire to see them grow.
Baku is always extremely calm and composed with deviations from this temperament always being a ruse to confuse, misdirect, or trick his opponents into making dangerous mistakes. His tendency to smile when he has the upper hand showcases a violently devious underbelly which is complemented by his ability to predict his opponent's mindset, mood, or method of cheating which borders on clairvoyance.
His devilish charisma and unshakable aura of invincibility attracts a multitude of characters who're drawn to this magnetic persona of - comparisons always being made with being comparable to the devil himself.
History[]
Madarame Baku gained notoriety after quickly trampling members of the mysterious gambling organization, Kakerou, at the tender age of 15.[2]
On November 20nd, 1998, he met Hachina Naoki at an old bookstore. Baku, supposedly a collector of rare items, wanted The Prince Bee book that Hachina had ordered. The two gambled for it and Baku won. Hachina started to follow Baku in order to retrieve the book. Baku promised to give it to him after he finished reading. Baku gave Hachina the nickname "Hal" and the two became fast friends.
Baku defeated the son of the president of the SAKASA cooperation in a Kakerou match. In an attempt to re-gain what was lost, the president later challenged Baku in a restaurant. They played a game involving guessing how the meat would stick to the clams and Baku won. One of the president's allies was Sasaoka of the MPD. Baku planted the idea of the L-file in Sasaoka's head, leading to the eventual birth of the Labyrinth Game.
During his time with Hal, Baku notices Q-tarou at a casino.
On April 9th, 2001, Madarame challenged the Leader of Kakerou, in the "Surpassing the Leader" game; Madarame bet everything, while the Leader's position was on the line. The gamble was on how many air vehicles would fly through the surrounding area in 30 minutes. He bet that "some" air vehicles would pass, making preparations for 100 air vehicles to fly through the area beforehand. However, his preparations were read, and the Leader had gathered his Private Army. The air vehicles never showed up and Baku ended up losing the challenge. His life itself become the Leader's possession, but then, the Leader didn't "feel like taking it", so Baku's life wasn't collected at that time. From this challenge, Baku lost everything, and disappeared for a few years.[citation needed]
At some point, he bought the old bookstore where he and Hal first met.
Plot[]
Introduction[]
***Warning, Spoiler's Ahead***
One day, Baku met Kaji Takaomi at a pachinko shop, playing a FotNS pachinko game. Baku loses the game, and Kaji helped him profit from the game. As thanks, Baku acts like an angry fellow loan shark that was mad due to Kaji's lawyer relative ratting out their whole group. The two proceed to go to a casino, where Baku gambles every number. He proceeded to remove every number he had bet on, triggering the croupier to cheat and make it land on his unbets. However, Kaji gambles the unbetted as planned and they win the money. Baku assisted Kaji in getting rid of Kaji's loan sharks by acting like a yakuza member to scare them and "paying off" his debts. Afterwards, he gets the video rental store where Kaji has an overdue porno to let him keep it.
Abandoned Building Arc[]
Baku and Kaji are invited to gamble with Q-Tarou. They are eventually brought to the abandoned building. Baku wins the gamble, thus gaining all of Q-Tarou's money, the rights to the building and a Kakerou membership. Q-Tarou's kidnapped and abused son, Marco, also becomes Baku's ally. Baku entrusts the membership to Kaji.
Poker Shark Arc[]
Baku gives the winnings from the game with Q-Tarou to Kaji, telling him to spend it. Predicting what Kaji will do, he eventually shows up to the casino where Kaji had gambled with Samemaru Nikaido. In the chaos caused by Rodem, Baku takes control of Nowa Mitoshi's wheelchair and tells him to arrange a game for him.
Terrorist of the Abandoned Mine Arc[]
Baku plays Hangman against the terrorist Sadakuni Ikki.
Labyrinth Arc[]
0 Yen Gamble Arc[]
Baku has Kyara tail Kaji and finds out the 0 Yen Gamble is being held in the MPD. Baku goes after Kaji loses. Baku plays a game named paper labyrinth with yukiide. The rules of the game are that each player draws a labyrinth on a paper. Another player has to solve it by guesses. Baku wins the paper Labyrinth Game against Yukiide Kaoru.
Labyrinth of the Minotaur Arc[]
KY Declaration Arc[]
Tower of Karma Arc[]
Battleship Arc[]
Protoporos Arc[]
Baku starts off in the Taper kingdom. His handle-name is Madarame BK (まだらめBK) and his exclusive referee, at the beginning, is Ikon Jyuuzou.
Encirclement of the 4 Gods[]
Untouchable Line[]
Although Baku didn't directly participate in the Untouchable Line event, he would continue to make preparations for his team to survive. Additionally, Baku handled higher authorities, or — in his case — "liars" who wouldn't pay the team the proper award. He would also interact with Vincent Lalo. He is one of the few teams that turned the tables in the colosseum.
Azura Fortress[]
Dominating the Outlaws[]
To fulfill his plan for players to start leaving the island, Baku knew that he had to take control of the outlaws and lead them to victory and destruction. By doing this, he would scare the players off and increase his chances of becoming the king. Knowing full well he couldn't take the outlaws on, Baku sent Kyara to do his bidding, which eventually got him killed.
Hand Chopper[]
Baku competes against the current king of Tipa (Taper) for the seat of King in the game Handchopper (more commonly known as chopsticks). Baku chops off his pinky finger in order to win the gamble.
War of the 3 Kingdoms[]
Baku declares war on the other two kingdoms. On the fourth day, Baku stages an important event to draw Lalo to attack him, and sends Kaji to defeat the Shoudo kingdom. Kaji does this easily since they are all high on LSD thanks to Lalo, and Lalo becomes the Kaiser. Baku wins this gamble because Lalo became the kaiser too early since the Kaiser is always reset on the 31st.
Protoporos Nightmare[]
Baku flees and is found by Bai Long. Bai Long shoots Baku's eyepatch off, knocking him down. Baku tricks an adversary into threatening Baku with a jammed gun, which accidentally kills Cameo. Yakou wards off Bai Long and Baku goes to Developer HQ to accept Lalo's kakerou match.
Air Poker Arc[]
Baku plays a poker game with Lalo with oxygen as an ante in a death match inside water. Both are tied to the bottom so that only the winner can get out alive. First player has to choose the ante and the later must agree on it. Both the players are given a number and by using it they have to make a hand of the given cards such that the sum of the cards is equal to that number. The numbers starts from ace as 1 all the way upto king as 13. Whoever makes a stronger hands wins the ante. The match ends when one of the player wins all the oxygen of the other.
Battle Of The Referees[]
Baku has the choice of choosing the referee for Surpassing The Leader. Baku decides to let the referees fight and decide for themselves who will be the referee for Surpassing The Leader. Yakou wins this match and becomes the exclusive referee for Surpassing The Leader.
Surpassing the Leader Arc[]
Baku and Souichi wait for the Surpassing the Leader referee to appear. The referee chooses the game to be drop the handkerchief. The rules of this game are that one player sits on a chair and the other stands behind him. Let's call the person on the chair A and the one behind him B. One round is for 1 minute. B drops the handkerchief and A can turn around anytime between the round, once he spots it, the round is over. The time between dropping the handkerchief and spotting it is noted, and the poison is accumulated respectively. If the handkerchief is not dropped and B turns, there is a penalty. B can choose how much poison he wants to be injected in him. The person who loses will be killed and then be brought to life for the amount of the poison that has been filled on the basis of the time difference between dropping the handkerchief and seeing it. A person can survive by taking only a limited amount of poison. Baku wins this gamble too and becomes the 22nd leader of Kakerou.
Abilities[]
Mental Abilities[]
Madarame Baku is a highly skilled and intelligent character in the manga Usogui. He is a master strategist and possesses exceptional analytical and deductive abilities that allow him to predict his opponents' moves with incredible accuracy.
Baku's intellectual abilities are reflected in his ability to manipulate his opponents into making moves that he can use to his advantage. He is a skilled bluffer and can read the emotions of his opponents to determine their next move.
In addition, Baku is highly knowledgeable about the art of gambling, including various games' rules and strategies. He is a master of probability and is capable of calculating complex mathematical equations in his head to determine the best course of action.
Baku's intelligence also extends to his exceptional memory. He can remember every detail of past games, including his opponents' moves, making him a formidable opponent in any gambling match.
He has tremendous mental and psychological capabilities, able to think many moves ahead of his peers. He is reputed to be someone who possesses God's intellect and the Devil's calmness.[2]
Overall, Madarame Baku's intellectual abilities make him one of the most feared and respected gamblers in the manga Usogui, and he is a force to be reckoned with in any game of chance.
Physical Abilities[]
Madarame has noted himself that he is not gifted physically and is average at best;[citation needed] he has been shown many times to have low stamina.[3] Baku is apparently a decent voice mimic, as seen when he imitated Kokonoe Tarou's voice during the Escape the Abandoned Building game and Minowa's voice during the Human Labyrinth game.[4] Despite having low stamina, he has enough strength to knock down a grown adult with a single punch.
Relationships[]
- Kaji Takaomi: Baku and Kaji have a very close bond. When they meet, they quickly form a friendship as Baku introduces Kaji into the gambling underworld. Kaji feels inferior to Baku, but by protoporos he throws away these feelings and becomes on equal footing with Baku; he even helps Baku solve the law in Air Poker. Baku refers to Kaji as "Kaji-chan" and has a special nickname for Kaji, "Clever-Creep" (キモ冴えてる).
- Marco: Baku saved Marco from Kokonoe Tarou's abandoned building where he was forced to kill. Baku told Marco that he would not have to kill anymore. Baku also allows Marco to buy candy and potato chips. Baku's nickname for Marco is "Maa-kun."
- Kyara: Baku refers to Kyara was his "first ally and companion."[5]. He is very distraught over Kyara's passing.
- Hal: Hal is a very close friend to Baku and Baku goes through a lot of steps in order to get him back. When talking to Yukiide Kaoru, he takes responsibility for Hal's "death." He likes to repeat things he said to Hal in the past. Baku bets everything on Hal during Air Poker, which ultimately pays off and allows the duo to claim victory.
- Yakou Hikoichi: Yakou is Baku's current exclusive referee.
- Karl Belmont: Karl was originally an enemy to Baku, but he becomes a useful ally and friend to Baku later.
- Vincent Lalo: Baku seems to have a grudge against Vincent for stealing his winnings and for causing the death of Kyara, even taunting him.
- Champ: Baku calls Champ "the best damn slave" while giving Champ a very sultry look.
Notes & Trivia[]
- A running gag is his fondness for eating Kariume.
- He is apparently known as the strongest gambler in Kakerou's history.[2]
- His catchphrase is "you are a big liar" (「アンタ嘘つきだね」, "anta usotsuki da ne").
- Baku has two cards in the Usogui Playing Card Set.
- "Madarame Baku" as the ace of hearts, and "Usogui" as a joker.
- The Madarame Baku card features different artwork between the two versions (the one given as a YJ promotion and the one sold in the publisher's online store). The only other character to share this situation is Kyara.
- "Madarame Baku" as the ace of hearts, and "Usogui" as a joker.
- Baku's given name, 貘, comes from the mythological baku, a tapir like creature that devours nightmares.
- This is referenced through his kingdom in Protoporos being Taper (テイパー, referred to as "Tipa" in the fan translation).
- Baku's given name might also be related to the words "bakuchi" (博打) and "tobaku" (賭博), which both mean "gambling."
- A character very similar to Baku, known as "Usokui," appears in the original one-shot.
- Baku's slicked backed hair style is possibly a reference to the "Usokui" character.
References[]
- ↑ Chapter 3 (pages 19-20)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Chapter 11 (page 15)
- ↑ Chapter 6 (page 9)
- ↑ Chapter 19 (page 17)
- ↑ Chapter 328 (page 6)