Ichihara Ryuji

Ichihara Ryuji (一原竜次) is a fictional character in the Shaman King Flowers manga and anime series. He is a gang leader and calls himself "Wooden Sword" Ryu II.

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 West Tokyo. He is also rather violent and short tempered. Despite these traits, he also has a soft spot for people who he believes are lonely or are 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. He is also impressed by Tamamura Tamao, the infamous katana-wielding delinquent.

Abilities and Powers
Ryuji 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, dubbing it Red Hare (赤兎馬). He is a skilled swordsman and with a single strike, he was able to crack Hana's skull.

After nearly killing Asakura Hana and seeing Luca's invisible attack strike two members of his gang, Ryuji awakens his latent shamanic powers, enabling him to see spirits and Over Souls.

Sword Techniques

 * Killer Technique: Spine-Cracker (必殺): Ryuji brings his sword down on his opponent's head with enough force to crack a skull.

Flowers
Ryuji and his gang appear 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 and is about to start a fight with him, 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.

Trivia

 * The name of Ryuji's sword comes from Red Hare, the horse ridden by the Chinese warlord Lü Bu.