TV-Series
Description
Hougen, a Great Dane, serves as the primary antagonist. Born with his brother Genba in a lightless shack near the Northern Alps, he was among 20 dogs abandoned by their criminal owner. Facing starvation, Hougen orchestrated the consumption of weaker dogs, first compelling others to eat a dead companion, then consuming the remaining pack members with Genba over six months. When the owner returned, the brothers killed and ate him. They later attacked policemen Tanuma and Shōji Sudō, killing Tanuma and permanently disfiguring Sudō before escaping into the wilderness.
Hougen established a large army in the Southern Alps, driven by ambitions to conquer Japan and eliminate humans, rooted in his traumatic past. He viewed Ōu's leader, Gin, as overrated and targeted his territory first. His personality blends strategic cunning with extreme cruelty, employing psychological torture like humiliation and hostage-taking. He demanded Gin eat excrement to spare his life and used the female dog Reika as leverage to force surrenders. He exhibited perverse behavior, urinating on corpses like Nero's and making unwanted advances toward female dogs, particularly Japanese breeds. Despite his brutality, he showed rare loyalty only to Genba and occasional respect to subordinates like Murder S, whom he spared after a loyalty test.
Hougen grew his army through coercion, incorporating local pet dogs and allies like Kamakiri, subjugated via humiliation. He eliminated perceived failures or traitors mercilessly, executing Jet and Missile for incomplete missions and initially burying Murder S alive before rescinding the order. After capturing Gin, John, and Hiro, he imprisoned and tortured them. John's escape and subsequent death during a diversionary stand against Hougen's forces left a psychological impact; John's defiance despite evisceration unsettled Hougen, who remembered him persistently.
Genba's paralysis during the Ōu invasion, inflicted by Tesshin, led Hougen to euthanize him per their mutual pact. This loss fueled Hougen's rage, causing him to blame and execute Genba's subordinates. In his final confrontation with Weed, Hougen survived an initial battōga attack by shielding himself with a minion but was overwhelmed when spirits of deceased Ōu soldiers empowered Weed for a second strike. Critically injured, Hougen was spared by Weed. His fate diverges: the manga depicts him killed by Shōji Sudō in a revenge shooting, while the anime shows him struck by lightning after a defiant rant.
Portrayal differences include reduced violence in the anime, such as omitting the visceral detail of John's intestinal mutilation. Narrative elements like Hougen's manipulation of Gin's doppelgänger corpse and Shōji Sudō's role were omitted from the anime adaptation.
Hougen established a large army in the Southern Alps, driven by ambitions to conquer Japan and eliminate humans, rooted in his traumatic past. He viewed Ōu's leader, Gin, as overrated and targeted his territory first. His personality blends strategic cunning with extreme cruelty, employing psychological torture like humiliation and hostage-taking. He demanded Gin eat excrement to spare his life and used the female dog Reika as leverage to force surrenders. He exhibited perverse behavior, urinating on corpses like Nero's and making unwanted advances toward female dogs, particularly Japanese breeds. Despite his brutality, he showed rare loyalty only to Genba and occasional respect to subordinates like Murder S, whom he spared after a loyalty test.
Hougen grew his army through coercion, incorporating local pet dogs and allies like Kamakiri, subjugated via humiliation. He eliminated perceived failures or traitors mercilessly, executing Jet and Missile for incomplete missions and initially burying Murder S alive before rescinding the order. After capturing Gin, John, and Hiro, he imprisoned and tortured them. John's escape and subsequent death during a diversionary stand against Hougen's forces left a psychological impact; John's defiance despite evisceration unsettled Hougen, who remembered him persistently.
Genba's paralysis during the Ōu invasion, inflicted by Tesshin, led Hougen to euthanize him per their mutual pact. This loss fueled Hougen's rage, causing him to blame and execute Genba's subordinates. In his final confrontation with Weed, Hougen survived an initial battōga attack by shielding himself with a minion but was overwhelmed when spirits of deceased Ōu soldiers empowered Weed for a second strike. Critically injured, Hougen was spared by Weed. His fate diverges: the manga depicts him killed by Shōji Sudō in a revenge shooting, while the anime shows him struck by lightning after a defiant rant.
Portrayal differences include reduced violence in the anime, such as omitting the visceral detail of John's intestinal mutilation. Narrative elements like Hougen's manipulation of Gin's doppelgänger corpse and Shōji Sudō's role were omitted from the anime adaptation.