TV-Series
Description
Genkaku Azuma is a man in his mid-twenties who serves as the leader of the Undertakers, an anti-Deadman special force within the prison. He is a self-proclaimed "Ultra Buddhist Priest," a title that reflects his twisted spiritual beliefs and his chosen aesthetic of dressing in the garb of a Japanese monk. His most prominent physical features are his long red hair and the prayer beads he wears around his neck, which hold a skull-shaped pendant that conceals his most important tool.
The foundation of Genkaku's character lies in a deeply traumatic childhood. As a boy training at a Buddhist temple, he was subjected to relentless and horrific abuse by the other monks-in-training, including beatings, harassment, and sexual assault. During this time, he formed a rare emotional attachment to an injured kitten he nursed back to health. Despite the cruelty he suffered, he showed a disturbing capacity for detachment, claiming to feel no hatred and instead viewing his tormentors as foolish, suffering people. However, the Great Tokyo Earthquake shattered any remaining innocence he possessed. He discovered the dead body of his beloved kitten and, amidst the rubble, one of his former bullies lay injured, pleading for help. The combination of these events broke his sanity. When the head monk returned to search for survivors, he found Genkaku sitting beneath a shrine built from the mutilated corpses of the other monks. At that moment, Genkaku proclaimed he had understood the true meaning of salvation: that the only way to be saved from the pain of life is to be taken away from it through death.
Genkaku's personality is a violent contradiction. On the surface, he can appear laid-back and irreverent, often displaying a liking for rock music and smoking cigarettes. This casual demeanor, however, masks a brutal, impulsive, and extremely sadistic nature. He becomes a completely different person when fighting or killing, revealing a psychotic grin and a blunt, sarcastic cruelty. He firmly believes that life is nothing but pain and misery, and that his role is to deliver peace through death. This twisted philosophy allows him to slaughter his own men without a second thought, viewing the act not as murder, but as a form of salvation from the suffering of existence. He is obsessed with the idea of liberating people from fear, oppression, and the burdens of life, and he welcomes the same fate for himself, facing his own potential death with a smile.
In the story, Genkaku acts as a primary agent of the prison’s corrupt director, Tamaki, and a major obstacle for the resistance group Scar Chain. He is given command of the Undertakers, an elite squad of prisoners trained to suppress the Deadmen. His role in the narrative is defined by his violent confrontations with the protagonist, Ganta Igarashi, and his deeply obsessive relationship with the character Nagi Kengamine. Two years before the main events, Genkaku personally killed Nagi's pregnant wife on Tamaki's orders. This act triggered a rampage where Nagi slaughtered twenty-two of Genkaku's soldiers. During that massacre, a terrified Genkaku hid in a locker, an experience that filled him with both fear and perverse excitement. From that day on, he became obsessed with Nagi, viewing the man's savage potential as the true embodiment of his own insane ideals and desperately trying to break his spirit and convert him to the Undertakers' cause.
Genkaku’s key relationships are defined by violence and obsession. His connection to Nagi is the most central, a twisted bond of tormentor and victim where Genkaku seeks to corrupt Nagi into a monster like himself. He sees Tamaki as the authority who gave him purpose and the resources to act on his beliefs. For Ganta, Genkaku feels only contempt, initially seeing the boy as a weak and uninteresting target, though their conflict ultimately leads to his downfall. His past at the temple has also left him with a hatred for authority figures who ignored his suffering, which culminated in him killing his own master.
Throughout the Scar Chain arc, Genkaku's development is less about change and more about the full expression of his madness. He systematically hunts the escaping prisoners, tortures Nagi with drugs to force him to relive his trauma, and ultimately succeeds in turning Nagi into a mindless, brutal killer. In his final confrontation, he unveils a grotesque shrine made from the heads of the Scar Chain members he has killed. His obsession reaches its peak when he stabs Nagi's ally Karako to try and reawaken Nagi's rage. However, his plan fails. Ganta, with Nagi's help, fires a powerful Branch of Sin attack that destroys Genkaku's skull amulet and inflicts devastating wounds. In his last moments, as Nagi holds him in place, Genkaku smiles and calls his greatest enemy his "savior." He is not killed by the attack but is left unconscious and in critical condition.
For notable abilities, Genkaku himself is an ordinary human who does not possess a Branch of Sin. His power as a fighter comes entirely from his equipment. His primary weapon is a distinctive V-shaped electric guitar he calls the Flying V Nirvana, which can split into two machine guns that fire either real bullets or compressed air projectiles. He also wears a skull pendant that contains a device called the Worm Eater. This technology is specifically designed to neutralize the Branches of Sin used by Deadmen, making their blood-based attacks harmless and rendering them vulnerable to conventional weapons. This equipment makes him an incredibly dangerous opponent for any Deadman, and it is only when Ganta's power exceeds the Worm Eater's capacity that Genkaku is finally defeated.
The foundation of Genkaku's character lies in a deeply traumatic childhood. As a boy training at a Buddhist temple, he was subjected to relentless and horrific abuse by the other monks-in-training, including beatings, harassment, and sexual assault. During this time, he formed a rare emotional attachment to an injured kitten he nursed back to health. Despite the cruelty he suffered, he showed a disturbing capacity for detachment, claiming to feel no hatred and instead viewing his tormentors as foolish, suffering people. However, the Great Tokyo Earthquake shattered any remaining innocence he possessed. He discovered the dead body of his beloved kitten and, amidst the rubble, one of his former bullies lay injured, pleading for help. The combination of these events broke his sanity. When the head monk returned to search for survivors, he found Genkaku sitting beneath a shrine built from the mutilated corpses of the other monks. At that moment, Genkaku proclaimed he had understood the true meaning of salvation: that the only way to be saved from the pain of life is to be taken away from it through death.
Genkaku's personality is a violent contradiction. On the surface, he can appear laid-back and irreverent, often displaying a liking for rock music and smoking cigarettes. This casual demeanor, however, masks a brutal, impulsive, and extremely sadistic nature. He becomes a completely different person when fighting or killing, revealing a psychotic grin and a blunt, sarcastic cruelty. He firmly believes that life is nothing but pain and misery, and that his role is to deliver peace through death. This twisted philosophy allows him to slaughter his own men without a second thought, viewing the act not as murder, but as a form of salvation from the suffering of existence. He is obsessed with the idea of liberating people from fear, oppression, and the burdens of life, and he welcomes the same fate for himself, facing his own potential death with a smile.
In the story, Genkaku acts as a primary agent of the prison’s corrupt director, Tamaki, and a major obstacle for the resistance group Scar Chain. He is given command of the Undertakers, an elite squad of prisoners trained to suppress the Deadmen. His role in the narrative is defined by his violent confrontations with the protagonist, Ganta Igarashi, and his deeply obsessive relationship with the character Nagi Kengamine. Two years before the main events, Genkaku personally killed Nagi's pregnant wife on Tamaki's orders. This act triggered a rampage where Nagi slaughtered twenty-two of Genkaku's soldiers. During that massacre, a terrified Genkaku hid in a locker, an experience that filled him with both fear and perverse excitement. From that day on, he became obsessed with Nagi, viewing the man's savage potential as the true embodiment of his own insane ideals and desperately trying to break his spirit and convert him to the Undertakers' cause.
Genkaku’s key relationships are defined by violence and obsession. His connection to Nagi is the most central, a twisted bond of tormentor and victim where Genkaku seeks to corrupt Nagi into a monster like himself. He sees Tamaki as the authority who gave him purpose and the resources to act on his beliefs. For Ganta, Genkaku feels only contempt, initially seeing the boy as a weak and uninteresting target, though their conflict ultimately leads to his downfall. His past at the temple has also left him with a hatred for authority figures who ignored his suffering, which culminated in him killing his own master.
Throughout the Scar Chain arc, Genkaku's development is less about change and more about the full expression of his madness. He systematically hunts the escaping prisoners, tortures Nagi with drugs to force him to relive his trauma, and ultimately succeeds in turning Nagi into a mindless, brutal killer. In his final confrontation, he unveils a grotesque shrine made from the heads of the Scar Chain members he has killed. His obsession reaches its peak when he stabs Nagi's ally Karako to try and reawaken Nagi's rage. However, his plan fails. Ganta, with Nagi's help, fires a powerful Branch of Sin attack that destroys Genkaku's skull amulet and inflicts devastating wounds. In his last moments, as Nagi holds him in place, Genkaku smiles and calls his greatest enemy his "savior." He is not killed by the attack but is left unconscious and in critical condition.
For notable abilities, Genkaku himself is an ordinary human who does not possess a Branch of Sin. His power as a fighter comes entirely from his equipment. His primary weapon is a distinctive V-shaped electric guitar he calls the Flying V Nirvana, which can split into two machine guns that fire either real bullets or compressed air projectiles. He also wears a skull pendant that contains a device called the Worm Eater. This technology is specifically designed to neutralize the Branches of Sin used by Deadmen, making their blood-based attacks harmless and rendering them vulnerable to conventional weapons. This equipment makes him an incredibly dangerous opponent for any Deadman, and it is only when Ganta's power exceeds the Worm Eater's capacity that Genkaku is finally defeated.