Yoichi Saotome

Yoichi Saotome 「早乙女 与一, Saotome Yoichi」 is one of the main characters of the Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign manga series. He is a member of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army as well as Shinoa Hīragi's squad in the Moon Demon Company.

Appearance
Yoichi is an average-height boy with medium length, brown hair and large, dark green eyes. In the manga, his hair appears spiky, less bouncy and thinner than his anime appearance.

At the beginning of the series, he is shown wearing his school uniform: a gray with light blue design gakuran.

He wears the standard JIDA uniform which consists of a long-sleeved black coat with light green details including the shoulder epaulettes which has a brown Sam Browne belt passing diagonally over his right shoulder and two rows of gold buttons on the front. Along with that, he wears a pair of white gloves and a white web belt with a gold waist-plate. He also wears the uniform trousers and black boots which go over the trouser's leggings. He usually wears the cap and cape as well.

Personality
Yoichi has an equilibrium of kindness and altruism, giving him an optimistic and sweet personality. This gives him a strong mental balance against his demon. However, he lacks strength and hates conflict. He wants neither his friends nor his family to die, but he doesn't want to kill anyone. Although he lacks the passion to exterminate vampires, he will do what it takes to protect his friends.

His sister ordered him to hide before she was killed by Lacus Welt. He feels guilty for her death, but this motivation is not strong enough for him to overcome his demon. His true strength and motivation comes from wanting to protect his friends and new-found family.

He tends to be meek and stutters when he is most nervous. He is the peace-maker of the group and often tries to break up fights between Kimizuki, Yu, and/or Mitsuba.

He is very friendly toward Yu, hugging him on multiple occasions and shouting out his name as soon as he sees him.

History


When the vampires attacked, Yoichi and his sister were in their room. His sister pushed him under the bed and told him not to come out for any reason. Then the vampire Lacus Welt opened the door, grabbed his sister, and fed on her until he dropped her corpse on the ground. Yoichi watched from underneath his bed, unable to do anything.

Like his sister, he was one of the children that was being experimented on by the Hyakuya Sect to create a weapon of mass destruction, as part of the 'Seraph of the End' plan in destroying the world. Guren knew of this beforehand, thanks to intel provided by Mahiru eight years ago.

Second Shibuya High School Arc
Yoichi wanted to become part of the Moon Demon Squad of the JIDA, claiming his intention is to avenge his sister. He asked help from some students (Satoshi Yamanaka, Yūji, and another student), who claimed one was accepted as a member of the Moon Demon Company. Since he failed the test the first time, he wanted to be able to retest on getting in. They bullied him and made him run errands in order to receive their help, but the students lied about the Moon Demon Company. He is the first student to get close to Yū, and Yū tries to fight the bullies until Shinoa informs him that harming a civilian will lengthen his sentence. When a vampire breaks loose from a nearby laboratory, Yū attacks it. As the vampire is about to drink from a student she captured, Yoichi tackles her, saving the girl. When Yū is outside later, Yoichi tackles him with a hug, accidentally making him pass out after hugging him so ferociously with a dislocated shoulder. When Yū wake up, Yoichi is at his side with Shinoa. Since Yoichi counts as Yū's first friend, they are both enlisted in a vampire extermination unit and join the Moon Demon Company.

Later on, those same bullies chase down Yoichi, asking him to make them his disciples. They ask him to save Yūji, who entered a class-1 restriction zone and became possessed by a demon. Yu grabs onto the axe Cursed Gear, and Yoichi is there with Shinoa when he comes to.

He attends his first class for training as part of the Moon Demon Company with Yu, and Guren introduces him as "the crybaby." During their first assignment in pairs, Shinoa jumps to be Yoichi's partner, forcing Yu and Kimizuki to pair up. When Shinoa reports candidates for the Black Demon Series, she says both Yū and Kimizuki have strong desires and heartbreaking kindness; she does not list Yoichi, who she believes does not have strong enough desires.

Yū earns a zero on their first Japanese spellcraft exam. While Shinoa responds by passing it around and Kimizuki shows off his perfect scores for spellcraft in three different languages, Yoichi sympathizes with Yu, bringing up the fact that Yū was held in a vampire city when he was little. Yoichi suggests that English and Latin may be easier for him, and Yū tries to explain until Kimizuki interrupts him; later on, Yū hints that he did not receive any schooling at all as one of the livestock. Yoichi tries to make peace when Yū and Kimizuki start fighting again, but only the appearance of Guren distracts them enough.

In her report, Second Lieutenant Sayuri Hanayori, their teacher, states that Yoichi is the most stable of his entire class. When Guren tests them all, Yoichi does not even feel the attack and asks what is wrong with everyone. Along with Yu and Kimizuki, Yoichi tests for Black Demon Series Gear. Sayuri expresses concern that Yoichi's heart is not strong enough to accept the demon. Guren simply says that Yoichi will die if he fails and asks Yoichi if he still wants to continue. Kimizuki and Yū tell advise him to leave.

He continues anyway and contacts his demon. Unfortunately, his will is too weak, and the demon Gekkōin possess him, turning Yoichi into a man-eating demon. The demon feeds him flashback after flashback of his elder sister's death at the hands of the vampire Lacus Welt. His demon claims he has no strong desire for revenge. The possessed Yoichi attempts to kill Guren, Shinoa, Yu, and Kimizuki. Guren orders Yu and Kimizuki to kill him as their first assignment. After some fighting, Yu throws down his sword, telling the possessed Yoichi that he cannot kill him. He tells Yoichi to snap out of it, but it does not work. Guren yells at Yoichi, asking him if he is going to hide underneath his bed and watch his family die again. This pulls Yoichi to his senses, and he breaks free.

He fiercely hugs Yu again, crying as Yū pats his head. Guren gives them their next orders, and Shinoa wonders if he planned this from the start.

Shinjuku Arc
[Mitsuba Sangū joins their squad as the fifth member, and Shinoa is in command. He enters the ruined city for the first time. When Yū walks into an obvious vampire trap to save a child, Yoichi supports him against a Four Horsemen of John by firing arrows. During the skirmish in the Omotesando Station, Yoichi also fights against the vampires.

On their way to Shinjuku, they crash into Thirteenth Progenitor Crowley Eusford. Yoichi is the first to attack, but Crowley activates his sword and easily blocks Yoichi's attack. Shinoa and Mitsuba defend Yoichi when Crowley counterattacks. Fortunately, Ferid calls Crowley away. As the squad proceeds, Shinoa coaches them on drugging up.

When Yu freezes on the battlefield against Mika, Yoichi is the first one to notice and ask if something is wrong. When the vampires attack, a vampire easily pins him down and bites him, drinking his blood. Reinforcements save him and his squad.

Post-Shinjuku Arc
When Yu wakes up from his coma, Yoichi is there sleeping at the end of the bed. When Yu wakes him, Yoichi is overjoyed to see him, embracing Yu again. He informs Yu that Yu was the only one badly injured before he informs the rest of the squad.

When Lieutenant General Kureto Hīragi questions Yu, he uses Kimizuki and Yoichi as hostages, having them stabbed in the shoulder every time Yu hesitates. Afterward, Yu supports Yoichi when they leave. In private, Yoichi and Yu discuss what happened.

Yoichi arrives with Mitsuba and Kimizuki for their meeting with the rest of their squad plus Guren. Their training actually begins in the ruined city of Shinjuku, but Yoichi can already manifest his demon, which should be impossible. Yoichi easily takes out three Horsemen from a distance. He said manifestation just occurred naturally for him while talking to his demon in his sleep. He says they talked about their favorite colors yesterday. Yu and Kimizuki both try and fail to do the same.

Shinoa and Mitsuba explain the types of demons and the next step of training, which is unnecessary for Yoichi. Yu goes first. While he is unconscious, the squad agrees to tell Yu everything that happened during the battle. During the night, Shinoa and Mitsua tease Yu and Kimizuki as a yaoi couple, which Kimizuki denies. Yoichi tells Kimizuki that they are right about him being so nice, but the girls quickly warn Yoichi to not fall for Kimizuki's Nice Guy act and say that it will get him in trouble. Yu begins reacting to his demon after twenty hours go by, and he finally wakes up after succeeding in making Asuramaru yield. Kimizuki goes next, attacking Yu voluntarily when he wakes up. Shinoa reveals that the detailed reports on the past of all three boys have been removed from the army's intelligence department.

They meet at Shinoa's apartment at a later date. The group decides to remain loyal to Guren.

Nagoya Arc
On their way to the Ebina Rest Stop, Yoichi volunteers to take out a Horseman, but Yu insists on doing it instead, resulting in a series of pranks by Shinoa and Mitsuba. They claim that this was all Yoichi's idea. They arrive late, and Yu takes the blame. The three boys meet Sergeant Makoto Narumi and his squad. The two squads are paired together for this mission.

When he hears Yu screaming during his punishment, Kimizuki follows the others inside.

Guren challenges the squad to a test: Guren, Mito Jūjō, and Shinya Hīragi in a fight against her entire squad. He gives them ten seconds to prepare.

Shinoa explains that her ability is to detect anything within the attack radius of her scythe. Shinoa assigns Yoichi to keep Shinya at bay. She orders the squad to stay within the radius of her scythe.

Shinya fires Byakkomaru, surprising Yoichi when the materialized tiger appears at them from behind.

Guren slips past Yu and breaches their lines. He tells Shinoa's squad that it is over as all their friends are dead.

Guren scolds Yoichi and Kimizuki for being too slow. He could have killed Shinoa with his first strike, and Mitsuba was already incapacitated. Since they lost their commander, the squad was already done for.

He introduces them to the other soldiers as 16-year-old rookies and states that three of them bear black demon weapons.

The combatants evaluate their performance. When Shinya used his special technique to shoot from behind, he turned Kimizuki and Yoichi's attention to their backs.

Shinoa's squad agrees that they desperately need to work on their teamwork, and the operation commences. The squads mobilize and head to Nagoya. When they commence their operation at Nagoya, Shinya coaches Yoichi on sniping. Yoichi is very nervous, but Shinya manages to calm him down and make him relax. He informs Yoichi that their duty is to stay calmer than anyone to kill their enemies and back up their allies. In the case of a retreat, a sniper must also kill any allies who fail to escape before they can be captured and tortured. This surprises Yoichi, but Shinya tells him that is only as a last resort. They fire at Fifteenth Progenitor Lucal Wesker, who sacrifices his aide Esther as meat shield. He swings at Yoichi and Shinya, making them run and hold on to their perch for dear life. When Kimizuki goads Lucal into attacking, Yoichi and Shinya support the attack by firing from the back of the group. While everyone congratulates each other, Yu blows off Kimizuki and goes to complement Yoichi, smacking him on the shoulder.

On the streets of Nagoya, Shinoa Squad and Narumi Squad wait for the survivors to regroup. Sergeant Aiko Aihara arrives with a bruised, battered, and bleeding face. Kimizuki notes that Aiko Aihara's squad only has seven survivors, so eight of them died. Yu offers to have his squad take watch while hers rests, and she takes him up on it. Guren and his squad come above ground, but they are all worse for the wear. Narumi reports that Shinoa Squad did very well.

Guren orders Shinoa Squad and Narumi Squad to join his squad and hunt down Crowley, Chess, and Horn. Guren orders them to stage an attack on Crowley that will last ten minutes. If they cannot kill him during that time, they will retreat and tackle the next mission with those numbers.

Once at Nagoya City Hall, Shinya and Yoichi prepare to snipe Crowley Eusford. As soon as Yoichi fires Gekkōin at him, Crowley catches it's manifestation and flings it aside. Yoichi recognizes Crowley as the vampire noble his squad rammed a jeep into on their way from Harajuku to Shinjuku during the previous vampire attack.

After careful planning, Guren decides that his squad will take his squad to attack Crowley while Shinoa and Narumi Squads free the hostages. He gives them five minutes to rescue as many hostages as they can and act as a proper diversion for the main force in Shinjuku. As soon as the five minutes are up everyone has orders to retreat to the Nagoya Airport immediately.

Sometime later, Yoichi reports on the situation with Guren's squad to his squad and Yu insists on rescuing him. Shinoa agrees with him but says they only have five minutes. She gives them specific instructions regarding their plan.

Shinoa Squad fights to rescue Guren Ichinose, and Guren's squad soon joins them. They rescue Shinya Hiragi and are forced to escape, leaving Guren behind.

After his flashback, Yu wipes away his tears and states he cannot follow orders. He says he is not cut out for teamwork. He tells the others to proceed without him, and he will stay behind. Yoichi along with Mitsuba is shocked by this.

After Yu rushes off to fight Crowley, Kimizuki captures Yu, he joins with the rest of the squad, they run toward Shinya, who orders them to move. Vampire reinforcements are coming. They join with Narumi Squad and many injured soldiers. They flee, and Rika Inoue reports seeing a single vampire straight ahead. Shinya says they can handle one noble and orders them to keep pushing forward.

As Mika engages the Moon Demon Company, Kimizuki says the should stop him before Mika kills them. Yoichi protests. Mika reaches for Yu. Mitsuba tries to block him, but Mika smacks her axe away. Kimizuki drops Yu while trying to block Mika and says Mika cannot have Yu. Mika throws him aside. Mika begins to lift Yu from the ground, but Yoichi jumps on his back. He says he is not letting Mika go anywhere, and Mika tells him to quit getting in his way. Yoichi says Mika can kill him, but Mika is their family so long as he is Yūichiro's family. Mika knocks him off as well, telling him to not be stupid and to die.

Shinya uses the distraction to stab Mika through his back and chest. He tells Yoichi that he did excellent work and this battle is over. He tells Mika to die, alarming Mitsuba and Yoichi.

Kimizuki, Mitsuba, and Yoichi join Shinoa, stepping between Mika and the other humans as well. Yoichi says that they've already decided on their motto: "Family takes care of family." The squad then charges at the Moon Demon Company while Mika flees with Yu.

Shortly after Mika flees with Yu, vampires rain down around the Moon Demon Company.

After seemingly escaping the vampires, Shinoa and her squad, sans Yu, run in Nagoya Airport for their rendezvous. Mitsuba says the attacks against them have stopped, but the vampires are most likely still pursuing them. Kimizuki asks Shinoa if she has more information on their assignment.

Later on, a van pulls up at Nagoya Airport, and Aoi Sangu steps out. Although she notices Mitsuba, she quickly turns from her. Then, Kureto Hiragi steps out. Shinya Hiragi and the members of Guren's squad are immediately alarmed, surprising Makoto Narumi with their reaction. Yoichi and Kimizuki recognize Kureto as the one who tortured them. Shinoa and Mitsuba are concerned.

After Kureto orders Aoi to kill the "sacrifices", Shinoa orders her squad to quickly prepare to retreat.

As Aoi launches chains from the ground, a pair of chains strike down at Narumi from above, but Mitsuba and Kimizuki block the attack. Kimizuki yells at him to not give up yet. Yoichi fires arrows at Kureto, which Kureto easily deflects. Shinoa and Mitsuba order a retreat, and Shinoa commands them to take their curse stimulant pills.

Later as Yu loses control of his Seraph, Yoichi is able to confirm the spiraling column of flames to be Yu going berserk once more.

Awakening in his seraph mode, Yu defeats the demon Abaddon and later stabs himself through the chest with his cursed gear.

As the squad makes their escaped from Nagoya Airport, Shinoa tells her squad that they are now seceding from the Japanese Imperial Demon Army.

Human soldiers chase them and order them to hand over Yu, who Yoichi is carrying on his back, but Mika appears and kills them.

Three months later, the group is near the sea.

Post-Nagoya Arc
Horsemen are attacking the village. With the exception of Makoto, the group fights four Horsemen. Afterward, the villagers thank them.

Their group notices that Mika drank their blood and approach him. Yoichi asks if their blood was okay. Mika says it was gross. Shinoa rambles about the pure and sweet blood of a virgin and then asks if unchaste blood got in there before looking at Mitsuba with an aghast expression. Yu, Mika, and Shiho share identical blank expressions.

Shinoa brings up their future plans. Mitsuba summarizes what has been going on. She says that the Japanese Imperial Demon Army will probably hunt them down and kill them, which puts the villagers at risk. They mention they cannot travel overseas because of how acidic and poisonous the blood-red oceans are. Monsters even worse than Horsemen swim in their depths.

They suggest surrendering, and Mika rejects the idea of returning Yu to the army to prevent him from becoming a demon. Makoto tells him to keep his fangy mouth shut unless he has any other options. He says he will save Yu no matter what in order to give his friends' deaths meaning. Shiho states he will do absolutely anything to save his sister and even betray the rest of them. Yu suggests meeting up with Guren, but Shinoa vetoes that idea and says they cannot trust him. Makoto tells Mika this is the circle of discussion they are stuck in and asks if he has anything to offer.

Mika asks if he owes them a favor because they gave him blood, but Shinoa says no. She says that blood was for helping a friend but says she would love to hear any suggestions if he has them.

Mika says the vampire queen, his sponsor, participated in the Seraph of the End experiments. They may be able to trust her. He says she was captured and he does not know what happened to her, but rescuing her might be their least complicated option. Makoto asks if vampires are less dangerous than the Demon Army, and Mika says yes. Vampires actually care little about humans and are only concerned by power-hungry humans. Makoto agrees and says that describes the Demon Army pretty well. Shiho also agrees with that plan and states he does not trust anyone aside from those standing right there. Mitsuba agrees to the plan, and Shinoa says that the Demon Army is the most dangerous organization in Japan.

Shinoa announces their next objective is to rescue Krul Tepes before Yu becomes a full demon.

Natural Abilities
Yoichi has high psychic resistance, but he's mentally very weak. His resistance is so strong that he does not even feel Guren's attack against them when he tests them for the Black Demon Series. He is able to manifest his demon without training. He is also very strong, as he was able to carry Kimizuki in episode 24 and Yu in chapter 41, both of which weigh more than him.

Cursed Gear



 * Gekkōin 「月光韻, lit. Moonlight Rhyme」: A manifestation-type demon weapon of the Black Demon series. It takes the form of a big, black bow with glowing green eye-like features at the upper and lower curves of the bow. The left eye of Yoichi is shielded by a green pentagram symbol that locks and focus on his designated target, so he can readily begin homing in arrows as preparation to be shot at. It can manifest multiple arrows and can see far away. This allows Yoichi to target multiple enemies as well as seeking them out before they can attack. It is a purely long-range Cursed Gear weapon.

Acquired Abilities
Learned the role of a sniper from Shinya.

Trivia

 * In the Japanese industry, "Yoichi" is often used for "bow," but this Yoichi's name has a different origin, which the writer, Takaya Kagami, says is a secret.
 * Yo 「与」can mean "to provide" or "award", whereas Ichi 「一」 means "one" or "first."
 * Saotome 「早乙女」 means "young maiden."
 * When Yoichi's design was first created, he was depicted with black hair. This was most likely changed due to his resemblance of Yuichiro.
 * In the light novels, it is confirmed he and his sister are also results of the "Seraph of the End" experiments the Hyakuya sect undertook.
 * In the popularity poll, Yoichi earned 9th place at 879 points.
 * According to the 8.5 fan book:
 * Interests/Likes: [Interests] How to take revenge / Cola
 * Favorite Food: Napolitan / Green tea / Black tea
 * What he looks for in the opposite sex: A girl who he can drag into things.

Quotes: Vampire Reign

 * "Lieutenant Colonel Guren, Sir! I'll do it!! I want more power! I want enough so that I'll never lose anybody important to me again!!!"--Yoichi to Guren, Chapter 6, "Black Asura"
 * "Oh my gosh...!"--Yoichi, multiple chapters
 * "Yūichirō!"--Yoichi, multiple chapters
 * "Th-That can't be right! I do want revenge for my sister--"--Yoichi to Gekkoin, Chapter 7, "New Family"
 * "B-But... But I... I don't want to run away anymore. I-I want... to protect my friends. I need power to keep them safe. I need power... to drive off the bad guys who'd hurt them! Give me power... Demon!!"--Yoichi to Gekkoin, Chapter 7, "New Family"
 * "Um... I-I'd like it if we didn't have to fight them again."--Yoichi to Shinoa's squad after fighting some vampires, Chapter 8, "Mitsuba's Squad"
 * "...I'd like to go home to Shibuya about now."--Yoichi to his squad before entering the battle at Shinjuku, Chapter 10, "Vampire Attack"
 * "Still, I'm not sure what I think of this. Relying on pills and all."--Yoichi to his squad, Chapter 12, "A Very Safe Supplement"
 * "Oh, come on, guys! Yūichirō's always been a nice guy."--Yoichi to his squad while the others are teasing Yū, Chapter 15, "Complicated Connections"
 * "Shoot down my enemies, Gekkōin. Let's protect everyone."--Yoichi before attacking, Chapter 19, "Cause for Madness"
 * "We are... all friends, right...?"--Yoichi to his squad, Chapter 19, "Cause for Madness"
 * "Aha ha ha! But they're right, you know. You're super nice."--Yoichi to Kimizuki, Chapter 20, "The Demon's Nightmare"
 * "Guys! Guys! Can't we try to get along?"--Yoichi to Kimizuki and Yū, Chapter 21, "Kiseki-o's Box"
 * "If you're gonna kill me, do it! But...  If you're Yuichiro's family, then that makes you our family too!"--Yoichi to Mikaela Hyakuya, Chapter 35, "Traitorous Allies"
 * "Yeah! We've already decided on our motto...'Family takes care of family.'"--Yoichi while protecting Mikaela Hyakuya, Chapter 35, "Traitorous Allies"
 * "Oh no. It's Yuichiro!  Yuichiro is going berserk again!"--Yoichi to his squad, Chapter 41, "Arrogant Love"
 * "Um... Mikaela?  Was our blood okay?  Do you think you'll be able to drink it?"--Yoichi to Mika, Chapter 43, "Where It All Begins"