Devil in the Details

Mukuro Rokudo, only fifteen and likely to be one of the most wanted criminals, has a heart of ice and is not to be trusted. Deceitful by nature, he is boy who is cunning and skilled in battle with addition to his Six Paths of Rebirth technique. He is willing to manipulate whatever is at hand to get what he wants that even the mafias are wary of him. Mukuro will become a cheater if need be, because to him it doesn't matter if who took the easy or hard way; whomever came out alive is the victor in his eyes.

Every series needs a villain, and who better to fit the role than Mukuro Rokudo? His introduction at volume 8 as the first real threat to the Tsuna-tachi gave the audience a breath of fresh air from the slapstick comedy and the peaceful daily life lead by the protagonists. Allies respect him while foes fear him. He shows no sympathy to people and sees anything and anyone as tools at his disposal. His confidence is unmatched, always having a back up plan or two when things get sticky. Mukuro knows the consequences of what he does but driven by his ambition and is the type to put everything on the line to reach his goal.

His confidence is also his downfall, playing at the hands of enemies from time to time but as the sly man that he is, Mukuro is able to slip through any situation. When he had underestimated Tsunayoshi and was taken back to prison, he had managed to find Chrome to use as a second body. When Byakuran thought he had captured him, Mukuro had allies behind the scene as well. He can be at many places at once making him a formidable foe.

Even so, a hardened criminal like Mukuro is still human. He may not show love to his allies, but that is just a simple poker face. Unlike others, he is always prepared not just physically, but also emotionally. The only ones readers have ever witnessed the source of his concern were Ken, Chikusa and Chrome. It may be unspoken, but there are people in his life that can reach out and move him. As his friend he knows that he is putting them in danger, but as their leader all he can do is allow them to assist him in fulfilling his goal.

Name Meaning

Mukuro's name is actually quite straight forward. Written in kanji as “六道 骸” it would be written in romanji as Rokudo Mukuro, last name first and given name second in the traditional Japanese way (why Akira Amano would choose a traditional Japanese name for an Italian character, we may never know).

With kanji, it’s best to break it down first. Beginning with his last name Rokudo, 六 is the kanji for “roku” or in English, six. 道 is best translated in English as path, road, lane, etc. Mukuro’s first name translates to “corpse.” So when put together, we have “six paths corpse” or as a better translation, Rokudo Mukuro would be, “Six Paths of Death.” Such a morbid name, but fitting for a character whose battle abilities revolve around the six realms of reincarnation.

Something to note, is that when you put his last name, Rokudo, in hiragana (ろくど ) backwards you get, どくろ (dokuro)—in other words, we have the name of his other half, Chrome Dokuro. The name he had given her is an anagram of his (in Japan, the alphabets are separated into syllables, so: mu ku ro = ku ro mu); a symbolism that she has taken his place until he is able to receive his old body again. When he managed to escape from prison and met Chrome in the physical world for the first time, he calls her Nagi—her birth name. This means that she is no longer playing the role of “Mukuro” because he is able to exist in the world freely with his original body.