TV-Series
Description
Osamu Saginuma, better known under the alien name Desarm, is a character in the Inazuma Eleven franchise who first appears as the captain of Epsilon, the highest-ranked team of Aliea Academy. He debuts as a goalkeeper but is later revealed to be a natural forward, and across the series he plays in goalkeeper, forward, midfielder, and defender positions, making him one of the few players to appear in every role on the pitch.
As with the other Aliea Academy players, Osamu is an orphan raised at Sun Garden, the facility that cultivated Aliea's footballers. Under the name Desarm, he leads Epsilon as a cold and superior alien invader, but his identity and circumstances change as the story continues. He is a third-year middle school student during the international tournament arc. His distinctive appearance includes eyes with black sclera, an aquiline nose, a very slender waist, and long black hair wrapped around his neck like a scarf. His teammates address him with the honorific Desarm-sama.
Desarm is strict, calculating, and proud. He gives his teammates instructions measured in fractions of a second and is only satisfied when everything proceeds exactly according to plan. His speech is grandiose and old-fashioned, and he refers to himself with the formal watashi. Beneath his ruthless invader persona, however, he is a genuine football enthusiast who becomes increasingly eager to face strong opponents and even appears to enjoy such battles; as the story progresses, his love of the game surfaces more clearly.
As an Aliea player, he is driven by the mission to defeat Earth teams and demonstrate Aliea's superiority, but personally he craves worthy challenges and wants to test himself against the strongest players available. In the Aliea Academy arc, he clashes with Raimon three times. In their first meeting he declares that the match will end in three minutes and stops Fubuki Shirou's Eternal Blizzard with one hand without using a special technique, only to grant Raimon a ten-day reprieve out of growing interest. The second match ends in a one-all draw, with his Worm Hole and Drill Smasher techniques holding Raimon at bay. In the third match, with the reformed Epsilon Kai, he deliberately breaks down Fubuki psychologically when the forward's shots lose their strength, moves to the forward position, and uses the powerful Gungnir technique before returning to goal for the final stretch. After Epsilon's defeat, he is about to accept Endou Mamoru's handshake when he is seemingly erased by Gazel, though he is later revealed to have been taken into police protection.
After the Aliea conflict, his motivation shifts. Despite his ability, he is not invited to the selection trials for Japan's national team, and his desire to compete against the world leads him to seek out coach Kira Hitomiko and convince her to build a team from other overlooked players. This team, Neo Japan, is formed specifically to challenge Inazuma Japan for the right to represent the country on the world stage, with Osamu serving as its captain and midfielder under his real name. Neo Japan loses narrowly, but he declares that he will take the national team's place whenever their play weakens, and he later sends Inazuma Japan a long, elaborately written letter of encouragement.
In later series, he continues to appear in changing roles. In Inazuma Eleven GO, he is the co-coach of Seidouzan under coach Ishid Shuuji. In the Ares no Tenbin era, he returns to playing as a goalkeeper for Eisei Gakuen, where he is known for a slow start followed by increasingly solid goalkeeping once he warms up. In Orion no Kokuin, he is finally selected for Inazuma Japan as one of the team's goalkeepers, and he also plays as a defender and midfielder in key matches, contributing to the completion of the combined technique The Ashura alongside Endou and Nishikage.
His most significant relationship is with Endou Mamoru, whose spirited play repeatedly challenges his worldview; Endou's offered handshake after their final Aliea match is what makes him acknowledge the joy of football. Fubuki Shirou is another important rival, initially respected for his shooting and later discarded when his mental state weakens his play. With Kira Hitomiko he shares a bond of ambition, since she builds Neo Japan around his appeal. Within Epsilon, Zell acts as his right-hand man and takes over in goal when Desarm moves forward, while his fellow Aliea veterans such as Midorikawa Ryuuji, Nagumo Haruya, and Suzuno Fuusuke reappear alongside him in later installments.
Desarm is a highly versatile player. Though he serves as Epsilon's goalkeeper, his natural position is forward, and his kicking power is so overwhelming that, according to his teammate Zell, he plays in goal because using his full power as a forward would end matches too quickly. He is also a precise captain who issues instructions to his teammates down to fractions of a second. His signature goalkeeper techniques are Worm Hole, which warps space to alter a shot's trajectory, and Drill Smasher, which creates a massive drill that stops the ball by taking its momentum head-on. As a forward he uses Gungnir, an ultimate technique resembling a thrown spear that can break through powerful goalkeeping moves, as well as Illusion Ball, Dash Storm, and Triangle Z. During his time with Neo Japan he also learns additional moves such as a remastered version of God Knows and passes some of his own techniques to his teammates. In his later appearances, his adaptability allows him to perform across multiple positions on the field, and in the Orion era he also shows a willingness to use unconventional tactics, such as stripping illegal eleven bands from opposing players during a match.
As with the other Aliea Academy players, Osamu is an orphan raised at Sun Garden, the facility that cultivated Aliea's footballers. Under the name Desarm, he leads Epsilon as a cold and superior alien invader, but his identity and circumstances change as the story continues. He is a third-year middle school student during the international tournament arc. His distinctive appearance includes eyes with black sclera, an aquiline nose, a very slender waist, and long black hair wrapped around his neck like a scarf. His teammates address him with the honorific Desarm-sama.
Desarm is strict, calculating, and proud. He gives his teammates instructions measured in fractions of a second and is only satisfied when everything proceeds exactly according to plan. His speech is grandiose and old-fashioned, and he refers to himself with the formal watashi. Beneath his ruthless invader persona, however, he is a genuine football enthusiast who becomes increasingly eager to face strong opponents and even appears to enjoy such battles; as the story progresses, his love of the game surfaces more clearly.
As an Aliea player, he is driven by the mission to defeat Earth teams and demonstrate Aliea's superiority, but personally he craves worthy challenges and wants to test himself against the strongest players available. In the Aliea Academy arc, he clashes with Raimon three times. In their first meeting he declares that the match will end in three minutes and stops Fubuki Shirou's Eternal Blizzard with one hand without using a special technique, only to grant Raimon a ten-day reprieve out of growing interest. The second match ends in a one-all draw, with his Worm Hole and Drill Smasher techniques holding Raimon at bay. In the third match, with the reformed Epsilon Kai, he deliberately breaks down Fubuki psychologically when the forward's shots lose their strength, moves to the forward position, and uses the powerful Gungnir technique before returning to goal for the final stretch. After Epsilon's defeat, he is about to accept Endou Mamoru's handshake when he is seemingly erased by Gazel, though he is later revealed to have been taken into police protection.
After the Aliea conflict, his motivation shifts. Despite his ability, he is not invited to the selection trials for Japan's national team, and his desire to compete against the world leads him to seek out coach Kira Hitomiko and convince her to build a team from other overlooked players. This team, Neo Japan, is formed specifically to challenge Inazuma Japan for the right to represent the country on the world stage, with Osamu serving as its captain and midfielder under his real name. Neo Japan loses narrowly, but he declares that he will take the national team's place whenever their play weakens, and he later sends Inazuma Japan a long, elaborately written letter of encouragement.
In later series, he continues to appear in changing roles. In Inazuma Eleven GO, he is the co-coach of Seidouzan under coach Ishid Shuuji. In the Ares no Tenbin era, he returns to playing as a goalkeeper for Eisei Gakuen, where he is known for a slow start followed by increasingly solid goalkeeping once he warms up. In Orion no Kokuin, he is finally selected for Inazuma Japan as one of the team's goalkeepers, and he also plays as a defender and midfielder in key matches, contributing to the completion of the combined technique The Ashura alongside Endou and Nishikage.
His most significant relationship is with Endou Mamoru, whose spirited play repeatedly challenges his worldview; Endou's offered handshake after their final Aliea match is what makes him acknowledge the joy of football. Fubuki Shirou is another important rival, initially respected for his shooting and later discarded when his mental state weakens his play. With Kira Hitomiko he shares a bond of ambition, since she builds Neo Japan around his appeal. Within Epsilon, Zell acts as his right-hand man and takes over in goal when Desarm moves forward, while his fellow Aliea veterans such as Midorikawa Ryuuji, Nagumo Haruya, and Suzuno Fuusuke reappear alongside him in later installments.
Desarm is a highly versatile player. Though he serves as Epsilon's goalkeeper, his natural position is forward, and his kicking power is so overwhelming that, according to his teammate Zell, he plays in goal because using his full power as a forward would end matches too quickly. He is also a precise captain who issues instructions to his teammates down to fractions of a second. His signature goalkeeper techniques are Worm Hole, which warps space to alter a shot's trajectory, and Drill Smasher, which creates a massive drill that stops the ball by taking its momentum head-on. As a forward he uses Gungnir, an ultimate technique resembling a thrown spear that can break through powerful goalkeeping moves, as well as Illusion Ball, Dash Storm, and Triangle Z. During his time with Neo Japan he also learns additional moves such as a remastered version of God Knows and passes some of his own techniques to his teammates. In his later appearances, his adaptability allows him to perform across multiple positions on the field, and in the Orion era he also shows a willingness to use unconventional tactics, such as stripping illegal eleven bands from opposing players during a match.