TV-Series
Description
Kirimaru Settsuno is a ten-year-old student in the first-year Ha class at the Ninjutsu Academy, where he serves on the Library Committee. A war orphan, he lost his home and family when his village was burned during a conflict, an event that left him without a surname. His name, Settsuno, simply indicates his origin from Settsu Province. Having survived a harsh childhood that included selling boxed lunches on battlefields, he worked numerous jobs to pay his own entrance fee to the academy and continues to support himself, earning the nickname of the Genius Part-timer.
In appearance, Kirimaru has a slim build, standing 140 centimeters tall. He has sharp, slightly upturned eyes and a distinctive pointed tooth that becomes visible when he is being mischievous. His dark violet or blue hair is parted down the middle and tied into a neat ponytail. He typically wears a cinnabar-colored kimono with a mustard-colored patch on the shoulder, a navy hakama, and his ever-present navy scarf. During longer school breaks, he resides with his homeroom teacher, Hansuke Doi, who has adjusted these hand-me-down clothes for him.
Kirimaru is defined by his extreme frugality and his relentless drive to earn and save money. His eyes literally transform into the shape of gold coins at the mere mention of words like treasure, reward, or prize, while he has a strong negative reaction to terms implying free labor or loss. When asked whether money or his own life was more important, he answered without hesitation that coins were. This obsession is rooted in his traumatic past; having had to survive entirely on his own, he developed a deep-seated need for financial security. Despite this hard exterior, he possesses a hidden well of compassion and occasionally helps others who are struggling, especially if their situation mirrors his own past. While he dislikes being asked for favors without compensation, he frequently ends up performing them anyway.
Within the story, Kirimaru forms one-third of a close-knit trio of underachieving friends with his classmates Rantarou Inadera, who affectionately calls him Kiri-chan, and Shinbei Fukutomi. The three share a room at the academy and support each other through academic and personal challenges. His most significant relationship is with Hansuke Doi, his guardian and teacher. Bonded by their shared experiences as war orphans from Settsu, Kirimaru considers Doi-sensei almost like family and shows profound concern for his safety. He also holds deep respect for upperclassman Chouji Nakazaike, the fearsome Library Committee chairman, and idolizes the thrifty Granny Orin as his mentor in frugality.
Kirimaru undergoes subtle but meaningful development throughout the series. While his love of money is played for comedy, his backstory is treated with genuine poignancy. He privately reveals his vulnerability, such as crying beneath his blankets when worried about Doi-sensei while maintaining a cheerful facade around his friends. Though greed often drives his actions, such as sprinting past valuable scrolls to pick up a single dropped coin, he consistently demonstrates loyalty to his friends and is willing to risk himself for their sake. His journey involves slowly learning to balance his profit-driven survival instincts with selfless acts of kindness.
Kirimaru possesses several notable abilities that distinguish him as a talented ninja in training. He is highly skilled in practical ninjutsu techniques and has remarkable agility, though his grades suffer because he often neglects his academic studies in favor of working. His most extraordinary talent is his superhuman hearing, which allows him to detect the sound or even the smell of a coin from several kilometers away and distinguish real currency from fakes. He is also capable of performing rapid mental calculations with up to eight digits, a skill he applies exclusively to money. A peculiar weakness resulting from his stingy nature is his inability to let go of anything he has grasped, which means he always chooses rock in rock-paper-scissors. He also has above-average cross-dressing abilities, occasionally taking on the persona of Kiri-ko to increase his profits from certain jobs.
In appearance, Kirimaru has a slim build, standing 140 centimeters tall. He has sharp, slightly upturned eyes and a distinctive pointed tooth that becomes visible when he is being mischievous. His dark violet or blue hair is parted down the middle and tied into a neat ponytail. He typically wears a cinnabar-colored kimono with a mustard-colored patch on the shoulder, a navy hakama, and his ever-present navy scarf. During longer school breaks, he resides with his homeroom teacher, Hansuke Doi, who has adjusted these hand-me-down clothes for him.
Kirimaru is defined by his extreme frugality and his relentless drive to earn and save money. His eyes literally transform into the shape of gold coins at the mere mention of words like treasure, reward, or prize, while he has a strong negative reaction to terms implying free labor or loss. When asked whether money or his own life was more important, he answered without hesitation that coins were. This obsession is rooted in his traumatic past; having had to survive entirely on his own, he developed a deep-seated need for financial security. Despite this hard exterior, he possesses a hidden well of compassion and occasionally helps others who are struggling, especially if their situation mirrors his own past. While he dislikes being asked for favors without compensation, he frequently ends up performing them anyway.
Within the story, Kirimaru forms one-third of a close-knit trio of underachieving friends with his classmates Rantarou Inadera, who affectionately calls him Kiri-chan, and Shinbei Fukutomi. The three share a room at the academy and support each other through academic and personal challenges. His most significant relationship is with Hansuke Doi, his guardian and teacher. Bonded by their shared experiences as war orphans from Settsu, Kirimaru considers Doi-sensei almost like family and shows profound concern for his safety. He also holds deep respect for upperclassman Chouji Nakazaike, the fearsome Library Committee chairman, and idolizes the thrifty Granny Orin as his mentor in frugality.
Kirimaru undergoes subtle but meaningful development throughout the series. While his love of money is played for comedy, his backstory is treated with genuine poignancy. He privately reveals his vulnerability, such as crying beneath his blankets when worried about Doi-sensei while maintaining a cheerful facade around his friends. Though greed often drives his actions, such as sprinting past valuable scrolls to pick up a single dropped coin, he consistently demonstrates loyalty to his friends and is willing to risk himself for their sake. His journey involves slowly learning to balance his profit-driven survival instincts with selfless acts of kindness.
Kirimaru possesses several notable abilities that distinguish him as a talented ninja in training. He is highly skilled in practical ninjutsu techniques and has remarkable agility, though his grades suffer because he often neglects his academic studies in favor of working. His most extraordinary talent is his superhuman hearing, which allows him to detect the sound or even the smell of a coin from several kilometers away and distinguish real currency from fakes. He is also capable of performing rapid mental calculations with up to eight digits, a skill he applies exclusively to money. A peculiar weakness resulting from his stingy nature is his inability to let go of anything he has grasped, which means he always chooses rock in rock-paper-scissors. He also has above-average cross-dressing abilities, occasionally taking on the persona of Kiri-ko to increase his profits from certain jobs.