Hajime Nagumo is both the main protagonist and the anti-hero in the ” Arifureta Shokugyou” series.He was an original member of the Hero Party. After being rejected for the “Synergist”, job, and his low stats, he became a monster hybrid and decided to return to Japan. After consuming the Monster meats, he became a monster hybrid and was no longer considered a pureblooded person.
Appearance
Hajime was a man with black hair and brown eyes. He also had a slim body, a nice face, and thin bod. His body began to wither after he fell into the abyss while eating twin-tailed wolf beasts. His body started to heal after he had drank the ambrosia inside the Abyss. This was to counter the poisonous effects from the monster meat. His hair became white due to the revitalization stress.
His eyes turned blood-red, and his body developed tattoo-like red veins (Light Novel or Manga). His normal red blood cells became purple spiked blood cells inside his body. This is a sign that he was becoming a demon monster. He also grew in height by 10 cm. His appearance changed along with his personality and talents. It was difficult for people who had known Hajime to recognize him initially. They only recognized him by his voice and facial features.
Soon after falling into The Abyss Hajime was bitten by the Claw Bear and lost his left arm. On the 100th floor, he lost his right eye in a battle against the Hydra. After completing the Great Orcus Labyrinth, and gaining creation magic from the other side, Hajime replaced them both with a mechanical arm made of Creation Magic as well as an artifact known as the Demon Eye.
Hajime wears a black coat with a crimson-colored interior, a gray shirt and a white shirt under it. He also has a cravat that is tied around his neck. Black pants with gun holsters are attached to his pants, and he also wears knee-long black boots. Hajime has described his appearance as a cartoon character.
Hajime’s hair returned to its original color after he returned to Earth. This was due to Kaori’s restoration magic. To keep Tortus’ existence hidden from the public, he decided to keep his demon eye and mechanical arm.
Personality
Pre-Fall
Hajime was initially very shy and laid-back, but he was humble and had a gentle and kind heart. Although he was mild-mannered, Hajime had a unique type of bravery that enabled him to sacrifice his dignity and well-being in order to save others from harm. Kaori observed that while it is easy to be a hero fighting against evil, it is difficult to do so if you are already strong. However, it takes real strength to stand against evil when one realizes that they are weak.
He is a strong man, and he was able to maintain calm even when his class was in danger from the Behemoth. Kouki was temporarily paralysed by fear when Hajime rescued him. He believed that Hobbies were more important than anything else and would prioritize his hobbies, even if he was ridiculed by his peers. Some of his closest friends considered him mature. Because his future was already secured, he was lazy at school. He would often stay up until the last lesson to play video games and read manga. His grade is average, and he did not play sports.
Post-Fall
You’ll be protected by me, and I will protect you. We’ll be stronger together if we keep our backs to each other. We will defeat anyone who stands in our way and make it through this shabby world.
After being betrayed, Hajime was thrown into the abyss of death by Hiyama’s cowardly betrayal. Anger, hunger, fear of death, and despair drove Hajime beyond his limits. His desire to live and survive at all costs combined with these factors caused Hajime’s gentle personality to become a cold, ruthless and brutal, bloodthirsty and unstable killer. He gave up most of his generous and kind nature and became a cold, indifferent man capable of abandoning someone to death without second thoughts. This is evident when Hajime realizes that his goal is not to liberate Tortus from Ehit’s tyranny through defeating him. It is actually the reverse.
Hajime is only concerned about his survival and returning to Japan. He has no concern for Tortus’ fate or the lives of its inhabitants. He doesn’t care about his former colleagues and is willing to kill them if they become his enemies. He stated that he would kill all Humans, Demons, and even destroy Tortus himself if necessary. If they cross him, he will not show mercy.
Shizuku, Aiko both admitted that he would kill them if they tried to attack him at his instigation by the Heiligh kingdom and the Holy Church. Shea noticed Hajime’s tendency to smile in the face of danger, which led him to be called a “Predator”.
Hajime’s hardships led to a strong belief in independence. This was based on the ability to solve problems and overcome obstacles by oneself. When he was protecting Shea’s clansmen and family, Hajime decided to train the Haulia Ratmen to be able to defend themselves. Hajime also refused to take any action regarding Ehit’s manipulations of the people of Tortus.
He stated to Miledi it was their problem and that he doesn’t want to put his life at risk for their safety as her fellow Liberators. He refused Chase’s efforts to persuade them to join them or to teach the Heiligh Kingdom’s Synergists how firearms are made to aid in their war effort.
Kouki stated that Hajime could have convinced Ehit of’s true nature as an evil God by explaining it multiple times. Hajime called Kouki dumb, and fiercely criticized his classmates’ belief that they must always risk their lives to protect others. He stated that they had allowed Eri, Hiyama, to stab them in their backs, almost leading to their deaths. Hajime also advised Shizuku that they should stop protecting their classmates in the Schnee Great Labyrinth. They must learn how to overcome their own trials in order to achieve Age of God’s Magic.
Hajime believes it is determination and strong resolve that are more important than ability and power that allows one to achieve their goals. When Kouki criticised Hajime for not defeating Ehit and saving Tortus, Hajime used the opportunity to bash Kouki’s indecisiveness and weak will to point out that although Ehit blessed him with the strongest abilities of his classmates at the beginning, he still makes mistakes during critical moments when it really matters, like Cattleya’s ambush or Eri’s death trap.
Hajime is a merciless man, but he cares deeply about his comrades as they are his last bit of kindness. Kaori, Shizuku both noted that Hajime, despite all his strength, courage, and confidence, is determined to protect his comrades from any dangers. This trait was a trait that he had displayed even before his fall into Great Orcus Labyrinth.
Hajime’s willingness to help the helpless and weak becomes apparent as the series progresses. However, he is often cold-mannered while doing so, even though his companions try to coax him. He is ruthless and efficient, often to the point that he resorts to brutality. Although he appears brave and reckless, Hajime is actually very cautious. He takes every precaution to avoid any disadvantages even if they are minor. This includes his refusal to sell his techno-magical firearms to MoreNos or his refusal to give up his artillery and guns to the Heiligh kingdom to mass-produce weapons for their war.
Hajime was aware that Ehit’s absolute power over the people in Tortus meant that giving up his weapons and equipment to the Holy Church or Heiligh kingdom would be a dangerous mistake. He knows they will all turn against him. Chase was even threatened with death by Hajime if he tried to steal Donner. This shocked Aiko as well as his classmates. Hajime used the opportunity to inform Aiko about Ehit to warn his classmates and get her support.
He was not motivated by altruism but to reduce the possibility that his classmates would turn on him due to Ehit’s manipulation. As a precaution, Hajime reluctantly accepted Kouki’s party members’ requests to help them gain Age of God’s Ancient Magic. Hajime also stated to Shizuku he prefers to solve problems quickly than wait until it gets out of control. He lamented that Kaori’s killing and almost becoming an undead prisoner by Hiyama was traumatic for him.
Although Hajime can be blunt and cold towards most people, after his transformation, and will often express his frustration with anyone close to him even if it isn’t his intention to, he is extremely spoilt for those he loves and his families. Although he can be cold to people he meets and is often rude towards them, he will show respect and behave courteously towards those he finds fascinating.
He is often a snob when it comes to people in authority or power. However, he shows respect for those who are skilled, cunning, and willing to help others like Ilwa Chang, Catherine, and Lanzwi Fuward Zengen.
Hajime became very popular among women, and Kouki, who was also popular with women, lost his popularity and became jealous of Hajime. Hajime wasn’t keen to use this advantage. At first, he was only interested in Yue and Yue. However, after the Haltina incident, when his feelings for his comrades, (harem), were reversed, Hajime began to realize how much they meant to him.
He also started to accept romantic efforts from others after Shea became his second girlfriend. He would often flirt with Yue, and later his wives, without caring about his surroundings. Although he initially resisted Myu calling him Papa he soon became a loving and protective father to her. Hajime is more patient and respectful around his in-laws than he was with his birth parents. He uses polite language with them when interacting with them, something that his wives, classmates, and other close associates are still not used too.
Although Hajime is a very arrogant and stubborn man, Yue and his wives can “easily talk” him into doing things he was initially reluctant to do. His affection for Myu makes him more approachable towards children. During his stay in Verbergen, he once took over an impromptu babysitting job with a group beastman children. They were captivated by his stories and the small trinkets he was able to syngise at will. The scene of Hajime taking afternoon naps with the children was too cute for his wives.
Kaori also points out that Hajime remains an Otaku. Hajime bases most his creations, as well as his appearance, on anime, manga and video games. Because it would be cool, he’s gone to great lengths to create large and difficult-to-make Artifacts. Hajime is very conscious of this as he knows it’s true. Hajime is a Synergist by nature and can get so passionate about the things he chooses to do that he will not stop until he completes what he started. He has added many cool, but pointless features to his Artifacts because of this.
Hajime’s Otaku nature means that he can get excited and aroused by a variety of fetishes. As a child, Hajime was drawn to bunny girls and beast-girls. He also resents the harsh conditions the Beastmen had to live in. This preference is evident even after his transformation in Orcus. He still fondly touches Shea’s bunny ears, and it grows more after Shea becomes his love.
He has a love for maids. This was evident when he got excited and almost ogled a royal maid from the Heiligh Kingdom after she had served him a drink. He was so obsessed with maids, that he tried to inherit Oscar Orcus’s will to create a maid golem. Instead, he created Freesia, an human-shaped Grim Reaper. He created the Fleur Knights, which were a group made up of beautiful women he had trained.
After Story
It was revealed that he is unsure whether he can survive in Japan because of how strong he became. He also fears being called a monster during the Great Schnee Labyrinth. He returned from Tortus to show his family his friends and family. His parents were very open-minded. Hajime is happy that his parents don’t mind what he does.
Hajime became the leader of the Returnees, a group of survivors from his classmates and his wives who came to Earth with him. He was able to return to high school with his classmates with the addition Yue and Shea to his class which is entirely made up of Returnees.
Hajime was admired by his classmates and their leader. Hajime used the “Demon King” moniker as a sign to respect them all. Hajime would humiliate a soul sister by challenging him, which was often quite literally. The classmate would then joke that Hajime must have a new “hero” because only those with a hero job would challenge a “Demonking”.
He co-opted several business operations using his skills as a Synergist. This has allowed Hajime to not only provide for his family (8 wives and 6 additional children) but also allow Yue to live comfortably and be financially independent.
After his return to Japan, Hajime would continue his Synergist adventure. With the safety and comfort of his home, he would continue to improve his arsenal. He is well-known to have placed a number of these orbital-based weapon platforms into Earth’s orbit. However, he didn’t tell his father this when he learned how much WMD-grade firepower was used during the epic battle against Tortus.
Also Read:Arifureta Season 3 Release Date : Everything You Need To Know
Powers & Abilities
Physical Disabilities
- Mystical Mutation Hajime is a powerful Demonic Beast, and survives the Great Orcus Labyrinth by eating them all. Hajime’s constitution was altered by the magic of the monster. This gave him an extremely high status and even broke the level 100 limit. His mutation will result in him no longer being considered human and will make him no longer fearful of anything.
- Incredible Strength – Hajime gained immense superhuman strength after consuming many powerful Demonic Beasts, and absorbing their power. He is twelve times stronger than KoukiAmanogawa, who is Ehit’s strongest “hero” and surpasses even Tio, the strongest dragonborn, and is able to transport his Pile Bunker and heavy artillery like Orkan with minimal effort. He can defeat the strongest humans, beastmen and monsters without using weapons. Hajime’s true power allows him to break bones and strike with enough force that his enemies’ internal organs are ruptured even Humans who have been blessed with Ehit. For example, Hajime broke almost all of Hiyamas bones, damaging his internal organs severely. He then grabbed Hiyama’s neck and lifted the latter with one hand. Hajime defeated a Limit Break-enhanced Kouki in the Schnee Labyrinth without using any of his full strength. He bypassed Kouki’s Limit Break enhanced durability and Physical Resistance Skill, and he crashed into an icy wall with just one kick, pulverizing it. The attack was complete without him suffering any injuries. With his new reputation as the “God Slaying Demon Kings”, Hajime can now kill immortal or god-like beings. Even in large numbers, such as Yaegashi Family Dojo’s students, Hajime can defeat weaker enemies with one hit. He also bullied the Soul Sisters, both groups that are irritating to his wife Shizuku Yaegashi. Hajime can carry anyone, without getting tired or putting on any physical strain. He even carried Yue and Shizuku while she was sleeping. Hajime is unbeatable in strength and has never lost to anyone. He is also the strongest, and Kouki cannot defeat Hajime. Hajime is able to break standard swords, armors, and shields with just his naked hand. He broke Kondou’s spear, and both Meld’s and Hiyama’s blades. Hajime is able to bypass the defenses of his enemies and defeat them easily, no matter how strong or durable they are, just like he did against Kouki. Ahat says that Hajime was far more powerful than she thought when he killed Noint. He is far too strong to break from spells, including the powerful spell of the Holy Church when he intervened in his fight against Noint.
- Incredible Speed – Hajime has a speed and reflexes that are extremely formidable. His Agility is at least twelve times faster then Shizuku Yaegashi’s, which, combined with his speed-oriented skills makes it difficult for enemies to detect him in battle. Even his more powerful classmates, like Kouki couldn’t even sense Hajime’s movements.
- Extreme Durability – Hajime’s physical endurance is beyond human comprehension, and can withstand attacks that would be fatal for most people. Hajime’s endurance is 12 times stronger than Ryutarou Sakagami. He was not injured by weak attacks like Cattleya’s most powerful attack, Kouki Hiyama’s strongest attack, and DaisukeHiyama’s fireball. His body acts as an armor and is irritated only by weak attacks that aren’t strong enough to hurt him. Hajime is able to defend himself against attacks by one God Apostle, and only suffered minor injuries. Although Freid was able to get Hajime’s guard down while he was still fighting with his injuries, it wasn’t enough to kill him.
- Extreme Endurance – Hajime’s many brutal experiences in Orcus Labyrinth, from the agony and fighting monsters to the life-threatening injuries that resulted from those battles, has made him extremely comfortable with grievous pain. Hajime’s mystically altered vitality and defense status make it possible to withstand most attacks without feeling any discomfort.
- Enhanced senses Hajime developed superhuman abilities after consuming many types of monsters in Orcus Labyrinth. Hajime was forced to battle enemies that could hide their presence in Orcus Labyrinth. He has since honed these senses until he can see things clearly before anyone else. Shea is the only one with better hearing because of her long ears.
- Immeasurable Mana – Hajime gained immense mana from constantly eating powerful monsters in Orcus Dungeon. This far exceeded the mana of Tio, Yue, Shea, and Tio who all have strong mana. His original sky-blue mana changed to crimson. He releases his mana and it is powerful enough to stop the enormous mana pressure from Noint God Apostle. This protected Aiko, who was about to go unconscious. He became so angry that all his classmates who had outpowered their cheat abilities were unable to stop him from causing them to freeze in terror. He has enough mana and regeneration to be able to fly the “Fenrir”, a flying craft that consumes a lot of mana to travel between different locations.
- Genius Intuit – Although his academic ability is average, Hajime is an engineering genius. His vast scientific knowledge was acquired from anime, manga, movies, and video games. Hajime’s intuitive ability is also very accurate. He was able to deduce that one his classmates was purposely responsible for his apparent misfired fireball. This is due to jealousy towards Kaori and would also commit any atrocities to make Kaori his sex slave. It would prove to be correct later when Hiyama assisted Eri in massacring the Knights of Heiligh Kingdom, as well as the death trap for their classmates. He even killed Kaori in order make her his undead sexslave. This was something that even the sharp-minded Shizuku didn’t notice until it was too late. Hajime also noticed that both the Humans (and Demons) of Tortus worshiped the same Evil God Ehit. He was attempting to manipulate them into killing and fighting each other for many millennia. This was after learning of Ehit’s callous indifference towards the destruction and restoration of the Heiligh Kingdom. These were his most loyal worshippers. Ehit promised that he would send more Apostles to follow him. When Hajime was able to stop Freid Bagwa from invading the Heiligh Kingdom’s Heiligh Kingdom, Ehit sent five hundred Apostles to help the Demons. This was to reinforce Ehit’s belief that the Humans who worship Ehit would not be completely destroyed. It also meant that Hajime could no longer be killed. Hajime is also a sharp judge of character. He realized that Tio joined his party because she wanted to use him in her revenge against Ehit’s gods. This was something the other students only discovered after she admitted it to them. Hajime confided in Aiko, his teacher, about his true reasons for refusing to join them. He told her the secret Oscar had taught him about Ehit’s evil nature. Kaori later learned that she loved Hajime and will believe his words. Kouki asked Hajime why he hadn’t told them about Ehit earlier in their reunion in the Orcus Dungeon. Hajime replied that Kouki would never believe him. He elaborately pointed out his misguided senses of justice, inability distinguish between good and bad, and most importantly, his habit of easily twisting and interpreting the world to suit his worldview. This statement was something even Kouki couldn’t deny. He learned the Norse Mythology despite his average grades.
Combat Styles & Techniques
- Gun Kata – This is a martial arts where the user uses firearms to fight.
- Weaver Stance – Hajime’s right arm thrust straight forward and left arm’s elbow slightly bent. His feet, one positioned forward and one backwards. It was the shooting posture, the pose to accurately fire Donner.
- Ultra-Fast Quick Draw – A technique in which he fires Donner so fast that each round of six bullets had only one gunshot noise accompanying it.
- Polygon Rebound – A technique in which he correctly calculates all the angles of his shots, so that occasionally his bullets ran into each other and ricocheted off to hit different targets with perfect accuracy.
- Bounce Shot – A Gun art in which he changes the trajectory of his bullets by hitting them with another bullet to gouge his targets.
- Pinpoint Shot – A Gun art in which he fires six bullets simultaneously so that they land on the same spot without even a single millimeter of deviation almost at the same time.
- Shotgun punch – An attack where he uses a shotgun on his prosthetic arm’s to make his punch stronger.
- Oscillation Smash/Fracture – An arm thrust at high speed that is capable of pulverizing a large boulder in a single blow using the prosthetic arm.
- Pursuit – Magic that allows anything thrown by the user to become a homing object.
- 108 Harassment Demon king-style – It is one of the harassment styles developed by Hajime after the battle with Ehit in order to deal with problems. There are 108 harassment styles in total, but only a few of them are revealed so far.
Notable Harassments
- 108 Harassment Demon King-style – “The Demon King is So Red Like”
The metal dust that had invaded into the body penetrated until inside the blood vessel, shredding the target from inside. If Hajime wanted, he could also use the crow type artifact “Ornis” as relay point to adjust the dust using “Convergence Transmutation”, making the metal dust inside the body to react and give intense pain without killing the target. By the way, the crimson light was optional! The metal dust was clad with crimson light, becoming heavy fog that covered the world. The living organism inside that territory would have the inside of their body within the grasp of the demon king, at the same time their right to live or die was also wrestled away from them.
- 108 Harassment Demon King-style – “Gag Bullet”
“Gag Bullet” even though the impact was terrific, by using regeneration magic the target would be able to stand up again in three seconds as though nothing had happened, it was a bullet to make gag situation in real life.
Skills
- Language Comprehension – A base skill granted to all those who got summoned. It gives the user the ability to understand any language and be proficient in it.
- Transmute – The base skill of the “Synergist” Job class. It allows the user to control, transform and manipulate any kind of ores, minerals or materials in any way or shape the user desires. In order to Transmute any object, the user has to be in contact with the object within the maximum range of 3 meters.
- Ore Appraisal/Mineral Appraisal – Allows the user to identity and understand the basic structure of ores, minerals and materials. In some cases, properties like magical affinity or hardness of the ore or mineral is also notified in numerical range of “1” (weakest) to “10” (hardest).
- Precision Transmutation/Precise Transmute – Increases the precision of transmutations.
- Increased Transmutation Speed – Increases the speed of transmutation.
- Ore Perception/Mineral Probe – Allows the user to sense and locate any kind of ores, minerals and materials within a certain range.
- Ore Desynthesis/Mineral Isolation – Allows separation of ores and minerals.
- Ore Synthesis/Mineral Fusion – Allows the fusion of ores and minerals into alloys.
- Duplicate Transmutation – Allows the user to create duplicates of an already existing transmuted object or item. It’s possible to also replicate an item created by someone else.
- Accelerated Transmutation/Automatic Transmutation – Allows for continuous transmutation until the engraved magic circle is drained of mana, even if the caster isn’t present during the transmutation process.
- Image Supplementation – A skill to transmute through imagination.
- Compression Synthesis – Allows compression of transmuted items.
- Reduced Mana Consumption – It decrease the magic consumption for using transmutation.
- Ore Decomposition/Mineral Decomposition – It allows mana to slowly seep into objects and break down their structural bonds. It can disassemble objects to the smallest unit of mass possible, but it takes time, so it cannot be used in for combat.
- Image Composition – Allows the user to use imaginary magic circles to cast spells. This skill is considered as the final derivative skill for the Synergist Job.
Trivia
- Most of Hajime’s inventions are named in German.
- Hajime’s inventions are based on the anime he watched.
- Hajime is quite sensitive being called a “Chunibyo” and a “Tsundere“.
- Hajime is a skilled artist due to assisting his parents with their work for years.
- Before his transformation, Hajime has the same mana color as Shea and Miledi Reisen.
- In the Light Novel, Hajime’s Demon Eye has a faint blue glow, but in the Anime its red.
- Other names Hajime considered for Yue included “Tsukuyo“, “Luna“, and “Selena“.[5]
- Hajime’s English voice actor, Matt Shipman, also voiced Hiro from Darling in the Franxx. He was romantically involved with Zero Two, who was also voiced by Yue’s English voice actress Tia Ballard. He also voiced Chrome from Dr. Stone
- Matt Shipman is also married to Taeko Sugawara’s English voice actress Brittany Lauda.