Ojou White Knight

The Oujou White Knights are a High School American Football team based out of Ojo Private Senior High School. They are the main rivals of the Deimon Devil Bats throughout the series, and the team's star linebacker Seijuro Shin is Sena's first and most prominent rival. The White Knights are a strong team with a major focus on their stringent defense.

Overview

The White Knights are historically known as the best high school team in the greater Tokyo area and one of the best teams in all of Japan. One reason for this strength is the program in place at Oujou - Oujou is an escalator school from Oujou Junior High, so students can gain an additional three years of experience prior to entering high school. In recent years Oujou has been considered the only team in Kanto capable of challenging the Shinryuji Naga due to the strength of the Golden Generation, a group of players who graduated from Oujou the year before the series takes place. However, Oujou was never actually able to defeat Shinryuji, coming closest in the Golden Generation's final year when Shin Seijuro joined the team, when Agon and Unsui Kongo had to lead the Naga to a comeback in the final five minutes to win.

When the Golden Generation departs, the White Knights are considered a weaker team, which particularly shows when the team nearly loses to the Seibu Wild Gunmen and is blown out by Shinryuji in the Spring tournament. During the course of the series, the team exceeds these expectations, primarily due to the improvement of Shin and the wide receiver Haruto Sakuraba.

Team Members

Players

Seijuro Shin

The ace linebacker of the Ojo White Knights, Shin is Sena Kobayakawa's main rival throughout the series. When the Devil Bats and White Knights play in the second round of the Spring Tournament, the White Knights begin to dominate the game once Shin enters. However, in one instance, Sena manages to out-run Shin. As a result, Shin vows to play Sena on the field again, as well as to train himself to be able to match Sena's speed. Over time, Shin, already considered possibly the greatest linebacker in the history of American football in Japan, improves himself in preparation for facing Sena again. On the other hand, he often acts as a source of motivation for Sena to improve himself, and on a few occasions even offers advice to his rival.

Shin is known for being extremely strong and fast, and almost continuously trains to improve himself in often extreme and ridiculous fashion. He is frequently recognized as one of the best players in Japan, and earns various honors including Autumn Tokyo Tournament MVP and being recruited to Team Japan for the World Youth Cup. His trademark move is the Spear Tackle, a powerful tackle that involves thrusting his entire body into an open-palmed thrust of his arm. Shin continues to improve this technique, eventually combining it with the Speed of Light Pace to create the Trident Spear Tackle. Shin is always calm and serious, and often demonstrates that he has a deep understanding of the game. He is typically the leader of Ojo's defense on the field, and is named the captain of the team at the end of the year.

Haruto Sakuraba

Sakuraba is a wide receiver for the Oujou White Knights, and also an attractive pop idol. He stands out on the team due to his great height, and also because of his appearances in advertisements under the company Jari Productions. Because of his status as an idol, he has a large number of female fans who believe him to be the ace of the team. However, at the beginning of the series, Sakuraba has only average abilities. Following the Spring Tournament, Sakuraba separates himself from Jari Productions in order to dedicate himself to practicing and improving his athletic abilties. As a result, Sakuraba becomes Oujou's key offensive weapon, and comes to be regarded as one of the four best wide receivers in the entire Kanto region. A major aspect of this success is Sakuraba's cooperation with Takami, who is also very tall. The two are able to utilize their combined height with the Everest Pass, a pass that Takami throws with a high trajectory such that only Sakuraba is capable of reaching it.

While at the beginning of the series Sakuraba is repeatedly overcome by self-doubt and the pressure accompanying the perception that he is the team's ace, he becomes more confident as his skills improve. Otherwise he has a fairly quiet and submissive personality, which often leads to him suffering the consequences when his teammate Otawara acts recklessly.

Ichiro Takami

Takami is the quarterback of the Ojo White Knights, and acting captain of the team. Takami is ailed by a childhood leg injury suffered in a car accident, which hampers his running ability. In middle school he was told he could not play due to this drawback, and so he decided to attempt to make up for his disadvantage by training harder and practicing his throwing ability. Takami was thus able to become Ojo's starting quarterback when he entered high school. Takami is intelligent, insightful, and sometimes crafty, and he is usually capable of analyzing an opposing team's abilities. However, while his throws are renowned for their accuracy, he is not considered a top-notch quarterback. Takami's only natural ability is his height, which allows him to accurately throw passes at a greater height than any other quarterback. He is only able to do so, however, by throwing to a receiver who is also very tall. He had thus been depending on Sakuraba to improve, as he does prior to the Autumn Tokyo Tournament. Together, Takami and Sakuraba develop the Everest Pass, which becomes Oujou's greatest offensive strategy.

Makoto Otawara

(大田原誠 Ōtawara Makoto)

A large lineman for the White Knights, Otawara is an extremely muscular, brash, and dense senior student. He has a number of juvenile habits, such as farting in public, picking his nose, and his pants falling off frequently, all of which are played as running jokes throughout the series. He is repeatedly considered one of the least intelligent characters in the series, matched only by Taki, and is not only confused by somewhat complicated language, but also American football strategy. Despite this, he is very strong and also extremely fast for someone of his size, which makes him a very good defensive player. Otawara can be very insightful on occasion, which genuinely shocks just about everyone, but is in general a cheerfully bumbling person who is at his best when he does not bother to think about a situation. He also takes great pride in the capabilities and achievements of his team, and seems to be a motivational leader for the White Knights, as he is responsible in leading the team's chant at the beginning of each game.

Daigo Ikari

Ikari, nicknamed "Prison Chain Ikari" in middle school, is a former notorious delinquent and lineman for the Oujou White Knights. He is very quick to irritate, and often reacts violently to any comments he perceives as insulting to his teammates or to Oujou High School in general. Because of this, he was frequently suspended from school up until deciding to join the football team after overhearing a remark that the White Knights were weaker without the Golden Generation playing for them. However, his bouts of violence continue, which causes him to be disqualified from each of Oujou's games before he is able to play; this pattern continues until Oujou's second match with the Deimon Devil Bats. His violent behavior continues when he plays games, as he brutally attacks any opposing ball-carrier without hesitation.

Other Players

Various players from the White Knights are additionally named, though their role in the story is extremely limited. However, it is made quite apparent that the White Knights' strength is a team effort, and in the Autumn Tokyo Tournament, several players are named the best of their position. Additional players include:

Hikaru Itadaki, #16, Tight End

Shun Kankazi, #83, Wide Receiver

Keisuke Nekoyama, #32, Running Back

Shoichi Mayumura, #38, Running Back

Reiji Kagamido, #52, Offensive Lineman

Atsuo Iwabana, #62, Offensive Lineman

Yoshinori Agota, #78, Offensive Lineman. Agota is named to the Tokyo Best 11.

Eiji Suzuki, #57, Offensive Lineman

Kyohei Yakumaru, #35, Linebacker

Takaya Gushiken, #51, Linebacker

Rintaro Tsuyashima, #22, Cornerback. Tsuyashima is named to the Tokyo Best 11.

Hiroyuki Iguchi, #25, Cornerback. Iguchi is named to the Tokyo Best 11. At the beginning of the second game against Deimon, he covers Monta, and Monta develops the Devil Backfire against him before Sakuraba takes over covering him.

Tadashi Tsurime, #15, Safety. Tsurime is named to the Tokyo Best 11.

Sota Nakawaki, #33, Safety. Nakawaki is named to the Tokyo Best 11.

Naoki Uemura, #92, Defensive Lineman. Uemura is named to the Tokyo Best 11.

Yorihiro Watanabe, #70, Defensive Lineman. Watanabe is named to the Tokyo Best 11.

Gunpei Shoji ("Shogun")

(庄司軍平 Shōji Gunpei)

Seiyū: Tetsuo Komura

Shōji is the head coach and trainer of the Ojo White Knights. During his years in university, he had been an ace player for his football team, along with Deimon's trainer Doburoku. Together, they were known at the Twin Japanese Blades. Unlike his former teammate, Shōji had avoided seriously injuring himself during the Death March training. He is a harsh but fair coach and he firmly believes that defense is the most important element in winning football games. Shoji was responsible for Shin's being recruited to the football team, as he instantly recognized his talent upon seeing the young player.

Koharu Wakana

(若菜小春 Wakana Koharu)

Seiyū: Sakenobe Mika

Wakana is the manager and assistant of the Ojo White Knights. She's known for recording most of the football games and has a habit of catching garbage thrown by the coach and players in a wastebasket. She seems to developed a friendship with fellow member Takami and Deimon's Mamori and Suzuna. It was said that she actually became manager to avoid working for her parents' grocery store.

Team Appearance and Rituals

Mascot: Knight with lance on horse.

Helmet logo: Blue shield with a white crucifix.

Team colors: White and blue. Jerseys feature a lightning bolt across each shoulder.

Notes: Ojo Private Senior High School resembles the Notre Dame Cathedral to indicate that the school has a long, proud American football tradition like the University of Notre Dame in the United States. Their team's chant is "Glory on the Kingdom!" The team coach is Gunpei Shoji, a man who played football with Doburoku when they were young. A pony-tailed girl named Koharu Wakana is the team manager.

The team is based on the old football maxim "Offense Wins Games, But Defense Wins Championships". If the opponent can be prevented from scoring, then only one point is needed to win. This is the direct opposite of the Deimon Devil Bats, in which ultimate offense is the best strategy. Hiruma: "If we can score 100 points to their 99 points (the number of points Ojo scored on their first game against Deimon), then one point is all we need to win."

Like Zokugaku, Ojo also has a university school, whose football team is the "Silver Knights". Currently, their players consist of the legendary "Golden Generation", known as the pinnacle of the ultimate defense and who came the closest to defeat the unstoppable Shinryuji Nagas during their time (prior to Deimon doing so this football season).