Ichihara Ryuji

Ichihara Ryuji (市原竜二, Ichihara Ryūji) is a fictional character in the manga series of Shaman King. He is a gang leader and calls himself "Wooden Sword" Ryu II (二代目 木刀の 竜, Nidaime Bokutō no Ryū).

Appearance
Ryuji is a bulky and yet a large man. He fashions himself after Umemiya Ryunosuke, carrying a wooden sword and has a foot-long pompadour, even though his is more curly. He is always wearing sunglasses.

Personality
Ryuji is an ambitious person who together with his gang wish to rule Nishitokyo. He is also rather violent and short tempered. But despite these traits he also has a soft spot for people that he believe is lonely and or is bullied by others.

He is an admirer of the so called "legendary bad boy" Umemiya Ryunosuke, and looks forward to become as strong as him.

Abilities and Powers
He carries a wooden sword similar to the first "Wooden Sword" Ryu. He bought his at a souvenir shop in KamaKura and painted it red himself, calling it SekiToba. He is a skilled swordsman and with a single strike, he was able to cleave Asakura Hana's head open.

After nearly killing Hana and Luca butchering two members of his gang, facing death awakens his latent shamanic powers, allowing him to see spirits.

Flowers
He and his gang appears before Asakura Hana in the cemetery wanting to take the title of "Funbari's Strongest" from him. They are however all beaten by Hana.

While recuperating at the hospital he meets Hana again again and is about to start a fight with him again, until Umemiya Ryunosuke steps in between them and drags Hana away. Recognizing him as the first "Wooden Sword" Ryu and hearing him calling Hana "Young Master" he wonders who Hana is.

After Asakura Luca enrolls into his school and his class, Ryuji is instantly smitten by her. Believing she is bullied and despite objections from his gang he offers to help Luca with whatever problems she have and she somehow convince him to punish Hana for bullying her. Luca and Ryuji later meet Hana and Asakura Yohane at the Funbari Mall, where Luca manages to trap both Amidamaru and Oboro Daikyoh, turning them into hitodama stones. Without his spirit to fight, Hana is mortally wounded by Ryuji, much to his surprise and he hesitates when Luca tells him to kill Hana. After attacking two members of his gang and threatening to continue if he does not finish of Hana, Ryuji begins to see her Oversoul and petrified Amidamaru, making Luca explain to him about shamans and how Hana got his abilities to fight until they are interrupted by a scream from Hana who has awoken.

Anime/Manga Difference
Ichihara Ryuji is a manga-only character.