List of Eyeshield 21 characters

This article is a list of the characters appearing in the Eyeshield 21 manga (written by Riichiro Inagaki and illustrated by Yusuke Murata) and anime.

Deimon Devil Bats
(泥門デビルバッツ) The Deimon Devil Bats are the main protagonists of Eyeshield 21. The team hails from Deimon Private Senior High School (私立泥門高等学校) and is the high school incarnation of the middle-school club, the Mao Devil Bats, which was founded by and made up of only three players: Hiruma Yoichi, Kurita Ryokan, and Takekura Gen. At the beginning of the series, Hiruma forces Sena to join the team and operate under the series-eponymous codename "Eyeshield 21," and Sena becomes the Devil Bats' ace running back. Over time, the team improves as it gathers more members and becomes a complete team.

Koigahama Cupids
The Koigahama Cupids is a weak team, and the first team that Deimon defeats in the Kanto Spring Tournament. They are shown easily losing to other teams later in the series, and their captain, Kaoru Hatsujō, often provides comic relief as a spectator.

Kaoru Hatsujō


Hatsujō Kaoru (初條薫) Hatsujo is the captain of the Koigahama Cupids. He is a flat character that makes few appearances, and is primarily used for comic relief, known for teasing opponents for not having any girls to cheer for them, only for the opponent to reveal a cheerleading squad consisting of attractive young women. Hatsujo plays quarterback and safety for the Cupids and is also noted for his ability as a kicker: he scores his team's only points in the game against the Devil Bats, although Sena immediately afterward returns the following kickoff for the winning touchdown. Later, in the Autumn Tokyo Tournament, the Cupids forfeit in the third quarter to the Seibu Wild Gunmen while trailing 125-10. Hatsujo, like all members of his team, has a girlfriend who appears with him in several cameo appearances at some of the Devil Bats' games.

Ojo White Knights
Ōjō Howaito Naitsu'' (王城ホワイトナイツ) The White Knights are the Devil Bats' main rivals throughout the series, defeating them in the second game in the series. During this game, Sena develops a rivalry with Seijuro Shin, and the two vow to meet each other in the finals of the Autumn Tokyo Tournament. Contrasting with the Devil Bats, the White Knights are a primarily defensive team, and their defense is considered the best in the Tokyo area.

Rui Habashira


Habashira Rui (葉柱 ルイ) Habashira is the captain of the Zokugaku Chameleons, a team consisting of various gang members, of which Habashira is the gang leader. Though originally portrayed as a stereotypical delinquent prone to act violently when angered, Habashira is later portrayed sympathetically when he is revealed to care deeply about the game of American football and to not be a simple brute. He is the only player on his team who is truly motivated to win, and in his first year on the team he had to force his team to practice hard through threats and violence, because he could not gain their respect otherwise. Rather than holding a grudge against the Devil Bats after losing to them early in the series, he only wishes to face them in a game in the future, and even gives Sena a ride on his motorcycle during the Fall Tournament so he can help the Devil Bats win. In the anime, when Kanagushi has several students disguise themselves as Eyeshield 21 and sabotage the Chameleons, Habashira prevents his teammates from taking revenge on Eyeshield 21 and then on Kanagushi when he is exposed, so that the team will not be suspended from the tournament.

Habashira plays linebacker for the Chameleons and is considered talented for the position. He claims to be a greater linebacker than Shin, but Sena's ability to easily defeat him when the Devil Bats play the Chameleons indicates this is not the case. He is one of the three linebackers named best of position after the Autumn Tokyo Tournament. As captain, Habashira directs his players to adapt to each team they play, targeting the weaknesses of each team. He is depicted playing in two games throughout the series, once against the Devil Bats when he is defeated by Sena, and once against the Kyoshin Poseidon in the Autumn Tokyo Tournament. Against the Poseidon he is the only player on his team to play his hardest throughout the game whereas his teammates resign themselves to defeat midway through. Although Habashira is a second-year player, Zokuto's school policy, like Deimon's, prevents students from participating in clubs after their second year, so Habashira's dreams of playing in the Christmas Bowl end with this defeat. Although having natural talent to some extent, a lot of his skill and scare tactics are derived from his extremely long arms, which, when extended to his sides, seem almost impossible to get past.

In the World Cup Habashira enters as the "Mummy man"(#88) and takes over for Shin when he becomes injured due to Mr. Don's attack

Megu Tsuyumine


Zokugaku's manager and trainer, Megu Tsuyumine (露峰 メグ) is a rough, no-nonsense woman who carries a wooden practice sword and is not above torturing the team members in order to get them to train harder. Some of her known tactics are towing players behind her motorcycle, hitting them between the legs with her wooden sword, and making them carry their motorcycles on their backs, with herself sitting on Habashira's motorcycle. She rules the team with an iron fist and even Habashira is afraid of her. However, she and Habashira are good companions who share a great deal of trust and understanding. She refers to him as "Rui", his given name, instead of Habashira-kun, which is Japanese custom even for close friends, and especially for women, demonstrating their closeness. Like Habashira, she is a second-year student.

Seibu Wild Gunmen
Seibu Wairudo Ganmanzu (西部ワイルドガンマンズ) Seibu is a strong team in the Tokyo area, with a reputation for having the strongest offense in the area. Their team is themed around the American Wild West and features a number of offensive players considered among the best of their position at the high school level in Japan, including quarterback Kid, wide receiver Jo Tetsuma, and running back Riku Kaitani, who is a childhood friend of Sena's.

Taiyō Sphinx
Taiyō Sufinkusu (太陽スフィンクス) One of the best teams in the Kanagawa prefecture, the Sphinx are renowned for their "Pyramid Line," composed of strong and heavy linemen. The Sphinx are originally chosen to play in the Monthly American Football Cup, because the promoters from the magazine believe the line's heavy players will be able to endure hits from their large American opponents. However, Hiruma hacks into the sponsor's computers to change the Aliens' scheduled opponent to the Devil Bats. Hiruma challenges Taiyō to a match for the right to face NASA. Their game ends in a tie (20-20), but Banba surrenders representation of Japan to Deimon due to their overcoming Taiyō's superior experience and home-field advantage. Later, they are one of two teams representing Kanagawa in the Kantō Tournament. Despite the strength of their line, which has apparently become even greater, they are crushed by Gaō of the Hakushu Dinosaurs in the first round. Four players on the team are named: Mamoru Banba, Kiminari Harao, Niinobu Kasamatsu, and Ken Kamaguruma. Kasamatsu (Kasamatsu Niinobu (笠松新信), ) is the second-largest player on the Pyramid Line, and is a slow, rotund player who is easily tricked. Kamaguruma (Kamaguruma Ken (鎌車ケン), ) is a tall first-year cornerback who, while slow, is capable of slowing down receivers and preventing them from catching passes with his bump technique, the "Chariot Bump". The name of the headmaster of the Taiyō High School is Sakumura Yoshiji.

Mamoru Banba


Banba Mamoru (番場衛) Banba is a third-year high school student, and the Taiyō Sphinx's ace player and captain. He holds the high school record for squats, and is distinguished by his massive physique, complete baldness, and, during the Kanto Tournament, multiple scars. Banba commands a great deal of respect from his teammates and other linemen. He is strong-willed, matter-of-fact, demanding, and not afraid to point out the errors of his teammates. Additionally, he is usually very calm despite his intimidating appearance. He appears to take on a great deal of the team's burden, as he undergoes harsh training which leaves his body heavily scarred after a harsh defeat at the hands of Seibu. Additionally, when the tremendous lineman Gaō is revealed before Taiyō plays Hakushu, he assures Harao that he will protect him from injury at any cost. Despite this Gaō crushes the new Taiyō line formation, called Tutankhamun's Mask, and eventually Banba is injured to the extent that he must be carried off the field on a stretcher. Banba later appears on good terms with the Devil Bats. He spectates at several of the other games in the Kantō Tournament, offering insight especially in matters relating to the line. He trains Kurita before the Kanto finals by boxing against him, which prepares Kurita to stand up against Gaō longer in the Hakushu-Deimon game. After the tournament, Banba becomes Togano's personal coach in preparation for the Christmas Bowl. He is later recruited to be part of Team Japan's offensive line.

Throughout the International Youth Cup story arc, he continually expresses concern about Agon's troublemaking schemes. He is also seen joining in with the more immature members' shenannigans.


 * 40-yard-dash: 5.5 seconds
 * Bench-press: 145 kg

Kiminari Harao


Harao Kiminari (原尾 王城) Taiyo's quarterback, Harao often whines when his team does not perform well and at first tends to point out his teammates' shortcomings without acknowledging his own. He is very popular with the ladies and has his own harem, but he is considered sub-par as a quarterback and is overly dependent on the protection his offensive line gives him. Before Taiyo's match against Hakushu, Harao reveals himself to be aware of and sensitive to the criticisms he receives because of his lack of skill. In addition, despite Taiyo's ability to advance to the Kanto Tournament year after year, Harao is intimidated by the might of teams that also compete in this higher tournament. After the match against Deimon in which Harao was more of a liability than a help, Harao worked extremely hard to improve himself. With the entire roster of linemen including Banba sustaining injuries, Harao forfeits the match against Hakushu before its completion. Due to Banba's efforts to protect him, he is not injured by Gaō - the first quarterback to accomplish such a feat against the lineman, though this brings him no comfort.

Shinryūji Naga
(神龍寺ナーガ) A team with a reputation of greatness, the Naga have won every Kanto championship since the team was created nine years before the beginning of the story, and they are known as the "Gods of Kanto". Each year, Shinryūji grants athletic scholarships to two students, who are accepted into the school whilst forgoing the entrance exam. Kurita applied for this scholarship so that he, Hiruma, and Musashi could go to the Christmas Bowl together as part of the Shinryūji team, but Agon Kongo applied for the scholarship as well despite not needing it, because he did not want the powerful but slow Kurita on his team. Agon was chosen over Kurita, and Ikkyu Hosakawa had already been chosen to receive the other scholarship, so Kurita was not permitted entrance into the school. This drove Hiruma and Musashi to enter Deimon along with Kurita and create the Deimon Devil Bats there.

Nasa Aliens/Nasa Shuttles
...Eirienzu/Shatoruzu (NASAエイリアンズ / NASAシャトルズ) A team from Houston, Texas, the Aliens represent the United States in the Monthly American Football Cup in Japan where they face the Deimon Devil Bats. The best player on the team is the talented running back Panther, an African American who is not allowed to participate in games because the coach, Leonard Apollo, is bitter about the innate talent of black men in athletics, something that caused his NFL career to finish without any game appearances despite his hard work.

Amino Cyborgs
(網乃サイボーグス) Amino High is a school renowned for winning the championship in a different sport each year. The team's players use medical technology to improve their physical condition, and they have a firm belief that victory can only be achieved through medical science. In their first American football tournament, the Cyborgs play the Devil Bats in the first round. They take an early lead because of Eyeshield 21's tardiness and the new members of the line being tense, but their luck changes when the linemen become composed and Eyeshield 21 arrives. Amino loses in a rout 8-38, and by the end of the game their players are exhausted despite rotating players for offense and defense.

The Cyborgs are captained by linebacker Atsushi Munakata (#29) (Munakata Atsushi (胸肩厚), ), who also captained the school's championship-winning basketball and soccer teams in the two years prior to the story. Munakata studies Sena's running style and determines that Sena is vulnerable to a tackle when he stops just before making a cut, but because this weakness disappears when Sena develops the Devil Bat Ghost, Munakata is easily defeated. His face is chiseled, and his ever-present confident smile gives him an artificial appearance. Munakata's teammates include the muscular, bespectacled lineman Suguru Aoyanagi (Aoyanagi Suguru (青柳卓), ) (#64) and cornerback Naosumi Kadoguchi (Kadoguchi Naosumi (角口直角), ) (#48), who has used motion capture technology to optimize his running ability. Munakata and Kadoguchi are later seen in the Youth International arc as spectators for the USA-Japan game. Munakata notes that Japan's players should not be looked down upon, but states that he bet 1000 yen on the US, much to Kudoguchi's confusion.

Yūhi Guts
(夕陽ガッツ) Yūhi High is famous for having strong teams in all sports except American Football. As a result, the Yūhi Guts team is made up of a very few mediocre players with low morale, and they have few club funds and poor equipment. They train very hard, and their training session, include marathons on the beach, squat-jumping up and down steps, and towing tractor tires. However, in the Autumn Tokyo Tournament, their coach, pressured by the school to win, borrows the aces from Yūhi's other sports clubs to form a mishmash team of physically talented players because he believes their chances of winning will be greater. The Guts' captain, quarterback/safety reluctantly agrees. So that Atsumi, Haibara and the other regulars can play against the Devil Bats. The club members manage to score a touchdown, but still lose 6-76. In the anime, the aces score the Guts' only touchdown, but the regulars still perform better when they are subbed in.

Katsuko Konjo

 * Konjō Katsuko (紺上勝子)

The manager of the Yūhi Guts.

Daisuke Atsumi

 * Atsumi Daisuke (熱海大介)

The Guts' captain, quarterback/safety. The Guts go against Deimon and fall behind by a wide margin. When it is apparent that the aces cannot win against the Devil Bats, the players from the other sports clubs feign injury so that the former Guts players could play (in the anime they simply give up)

Shinobu Haibara

 * Haibara Shinobu (南風原忍)

The Guts lineman

Onihei Yamamoto


Yamamoto Onihei (山本鬼兵) Onihei is a cunning veteran with a small body, but who is greatly admired and respected by other linemen. Additionally, he was Kurita's inspiration for playing American football. While not very large, he is powerful, and has mastered football blocking techniques; he is captain of the Hashiratani Deers, a favorite in the Autumn Tokyo Tournament. He leads the team to a 14-0 lead over the Kyoshin Poseidon in the first half of their first game of the tournament, but the Poseidon then send in two of their ace players, Mizumachi and Kakei. Mizumachi defeats Onihei repetitively, and the Poseidon win 31-14 to upset Hashiratani. While originally he is presented in a sad light as his final chance to win the Fall Tokyo Tournament vanishes, he later appears as a comic relief character. He often appears with Sakuraba's fan Torakichi, who quite accurately believes, after observing some of Onihei's predictions, that anything that Onihei predicts is wrong. Onihei is among the five offensive linemen named as the best of the position at the end of the Fall Tournament. During the International Youth Cup arc, he debuts with the other substitutes of Team Japan and cooperates with Juumonji to hold back Rochenko during the first match against Russia.

Sasuke Kanagushi


Kanagushi Sasuke (金串 佐助) The Dokubari Scorpions' team captain and safety, Kanagushi is also the team's strategist. The Scorpions' style is to predict the actions of their opponent and react accordingly. With this strategy, Dokubari won ten games and lost only one in the Spring before the Autumn Kanto Tournament. He wears his long hair in a braid that resembles a scorpion's tail, and the braid stands up when he is agitated. Kanagushi's main strength is his ability to recognize opposing players' body language and use this to predict what actions they will take. Under Hiruma's direction, the Devil Bats employ a series of tricks to turn Kanagushi's predictions against the Scorpions, and Dokubari is crushed 0-42 (14-42 in the anime). In the anime Kanagushi also plots to have Deimon and Zokugaku disqualified from the tournament by having teenagers impersonate Eyeshield 21 and sabotage the Chamelons' club, and he also attempts to have Hiruma captured and kept out of the game against Deimon. He becomes Hiruma's slave when he accidentally reveals this plan, allowing Hiruma to use it as blackmail.

Kyoshin Poseidon
(巨深ポセイドン) The team Kyoshin Poseidon is highly focused on using its members' height to their advantage, both in stopping passes and dominating the line of scrimmage. In the Autumn Tokyo Tournament, Kyoshin upsets the strong Hashiratani Deer in their first match by scoring thirty-one unanswered points after sending in Mizumachi and Kakei, who had previously been kept as secret weapons. In the second round they defeat the Zokugaku Chameleons easily before losing in the quarterfinals to the Deimon Devil Bats by one point, 17-18 (23-24 in the anime).

Kengo Mizumachi


Mizumachi Kengo (水町 健吾) Mizumachi is a blonde-haired lineman, the third-tallest (203 cm) player on the Poseidon and a natural athlete. He is a first-year player who, in middle school, was on the swimming team, but he quit because his teammates were unwilling to match his dedication to winning the championship. Along with being incredibly energetic and naturally athletic, Mizumachi possesses a childlike innocence and is almost always optimistic. It is worth noting that this very optimism led to the birth of Sena's Devil 4th Dimension Technique, where, after Sena was stopped by Yamato from all 3 dimensions, Mizumachi optimistically suggested that the lightspeed running back should try overcoming Yamata in the 4th dimension, which, in physics, would require time-travelling. However, Mizumachi is also immature, and he has a bad habit of saying or doing disrespectful things. He thinks very highly of his abilities, and at first he believes that tall, slender players like himself are the future generation of American football players. Initially, this causes him to think little of opposing linemen of short stature, such as Onihei and Komusubi, and in fact he believes that Komusubi should leave the Devil Bats so as not to be a burden to them. When he is challenged and defeated by Komusubi in the game with the Devil Bats, Mizumachi changes his opinion of shorter opponents. On the other hand, he holds deep respect for the seniors on the Poseidon team, all of which are quite short compared to himself. He even criticizes the Devil Bats, claiming the Poseidon deserve to win because they have a great deal of third-year players on their roster while the Devil Bats have none. When the Poseidon are defeated, he cries because the seniors will never be able to play in the Christmas Bowl. He later appears at many of the Devil Bats' matches as a spectator, and also helps the team prepare for the Christmas Bowl by serving as Kuroki's personal coach.

While a powerful opponent, Mizumachi's lighthearted personality is generally used to comedic effect, along with his tendency to strip down to his boxers for no apparent reason. Still, Mizumachi is an incredibly athletic player, able to use his great height to his advantage in games. He is also very agile for a player of his size, and outside of American football he is a very fast swimmer and capable of pulling consecutive somersaults. Though Mizumachi is not exceptionally powerful, his great height and long limbs allow him to gain leverage on shorter linemen, while his slim build makes him faster than most player of his height. Though a rookie to American football, Mizumachi's experience in swimming grants him practice in the use of his two signature techniques. His explosive "swimmer's start", in which he assumes a competitive swimmer's stance on the starting block, lets him burst forward quickly at the start of the play, while the swim move, which is similar to his chosen swimming style, the front crawl, helps him to push opposing linemen aside. He can also serve as a fourth linebacker along with Kakei, Ohira, and Onishi when the Poseidon use their "Poseidon" formation. His prowess earns him the distinction of being named one of the best five offensive linemen at the end of the Autumn Tokyo Tournament, and he is also chosen to be a starting defensive lineman on Team Japan. Two years later, he joins Enma College because he heard he could get in without having to study (Enma didn't have enough students, so it admitted everyone, a policy identical to that of Deimon.)


 * Bench Press: 90 kg
 * 40-yard dash: 5.0 seconds

Shun Kakei


Kakei Shun (筧駿) The Poseidon's fourth-tallest player (201 cm) and de facto captain, Kakei is the first character to allude to the existence of a "real" Eyeshield 21 in the series. Shun attended middle school in the United States, where he witnessed the play of this true Eyeshield 21, a running back for Notre Dame University's affiliated middle school (later revealed to be Yamato Takeru). Amazed by the prowess of a Japanese player, Kakei became reinvigorated with American football after having been frustrated by his inferiority to the American players around him. When Kakei's team at Phoenix University's affiliated middle school played against Notre Dame, Kakei and Eyeshield 21 played against each other on a single play, and while Kakei lost, Eyeshield 21 promised to play him again. Kakei trained hard, practicing how to use his great height to his advantage, and became the team's ace player. However, by the time Phoenix played Notre Dame the following year, Yamato had departed for Japan, and the Notre Dame players had been instructed not to speak of his existence. Kakei returned to Japan as well, determined to find Eyeshield 21 again, and joined the American football team at Kyoshin as a linebacker. Under Kakei's direction, the Poseidon adapted their belief that height was essential to winning American football, and the team recruited several more tall players. When he learned of the "fake" Eyeshield 21, Sena, playing for the Devil Bats, Kakei declared him an impostor, knowing the Eyeshield 21 he had encountered in America to be taller and stronger. Kakei despises Sena and believes him unworthy of his title before and then throughout the Kyoshin-Deimon match, and is determined to expose his inferiority. After being defeated at the end of the game by Sena's newest technique, the Devil Bat Hurricane, Kakei deems Sena worthy of the title Eyeshield 21, but warns Sena that the Eyeshield 21 he met in America will one day stand against him. Kakei becomes a friendly acquaintance of the Devil Bats, appearing at several of their games as a spectator. When he learns that Sena will play against Yamato, whom he believes and later confirms to be the true Eyeshield 21, Kakei vows to teach Juumonji all of his hand techniques in the hope that Juumonji will be able to help Sena defeat Yamato.

Kakei is physically distinguished by his great height, long powerful arms, and fierce blue eyes. While physically powerful, he has a slender build, and draws his strength from using his great height to gain leverage on his opponents. He is capable of holding back or even shoving to the ground most players shorter than himself with a single hand. His long arms also provide him with an extended reach, which allows him to counter against a runner's feints more effectively. Kakei is also a strong strategist, personally being able to discern how to defeat the Wishbone. He is named one of the best three linebackers at the end of the Fall Tournament, and is chosen to be one of Team Japan's starting linebackers.


 * Bench Press: 95 kg
 * 40 yard dash: 4.9 seconds

Osamu Kobanzame


Kobanzame Osamu (小判鮫オサム) Kobanzame is the short, nervous captain of the Poseidon. He and the other third-year players are of below-average height, compared to the extremely tall underclassmen. Kobanzame has a tendency to stutter and mess up quotations in his attempts to raise the morale of the team. According to the author, Kobanzame the second-shyest character in the series only to Sena. He is often unsure of what to do and will usually wait for Kakei to decide on something before claiming to have thought of the exact same thing, in a half-hearted attempt to appear to have some capacity for leadership. Kobanzame additionally has a tendency to complain a lot, but he is extremely dedicated to helping his team to win in any way possible - he actually completed the same amount of training as the diligent Mizumachi prior to the tournament. He also resorts to spying on opposing teams to help his teammates to win as a way of making up for his lack of athleticism. After Kyoshin is eliminated from the tournament, he tearfully states that although his dreams of winning the championship are over, and his final year with the Poseidon was his hardest, it was also the most enjoyable.

Kobanzame is very short, especially for a quarterback, and is also slow and physically weak. His lack of self-confidence also makes him generally unsuited for his position as captain. While he lacks natural skill and a commanding personality, Kobanzame is well-respected for his hard work and mistake-free play as a quarterback. He never throws an interception throughout the tournament, and reacts quickly to rushing defenders by immediately but safely getting rid of the ball, preventing both turnovers and sacks (although in the anime he throws a single interception against the Devil Bats when Hiruma frightens him into making a mistake). Additionally, in the anime only, his ability to escape being tackled is a key aspect of the "Tempest Formation", an offensive strategy of throwing quick, short passes to his receivers.

Hiroshi Ohira and Hiroshi Onishi


(大平洋 Ohira Hiroshi, 大西洋 Onishi Hiroshi) Ohira and Onishi are the two tallest high school American football players in Japan at 205 cm and 204 cm, respectively, and like Kakei they are first-year students and linebackers for Kyoshin. The two are fiercely competitive rivals, and both claim to be "Kakei-sensei's first disciple", though their rivalry dates to long before they joined the team. Ohira tends to act quite passionately and cries a lot, while Onishi dislikes sharing a name with his rival, and sometimes excludes his rival from the team's group accomplishments. Ohira has short and spiky black hair, and very large eyebrows that seem to extend down to the tops of his eyes. Onishi wears square-framed glasses and has short orange-red hair. The kanji used in Ohira's name are the same as those for the Pacific Ocean, while the kanji used in Onishi's are the same as those of the Atlantic Ocean.

Bando Spiders
Bando Supaidāzu (盤戸スパイダーズ)Bando is a team that placed second at last year's Autumn Tokyo Tournament, and their ace player, Hayato Akaba, was also named tournament MVP. Many of the good players from Bando were recruited by Teikoku, including Akaba, leaving only the team's special teams players. However, after a confrontation with the team's kicker Sasaki Kotaro, Akaba changed his mind, and rejoined Bando, helping the team to rebuild using a unique kicking-based strategy. After the Spiders lose in the semi-finals of the Tokyo Tournament to Ojo, Bando plays against the Deimon Devil Bats and loses 36-37 in the third-place consolation match.

Hayato Akaba


Akaba Hayato (赤羽 隼人) Akaba is the tight end for the Spiders and the team's captain. He is obsessed with music and often plays his electric guitar and uses musical metaphors to state his opinions. While playing, Akaba wears a blue eyeshield, and he introduces himself to Sena as "the real Eyeshield 21". He was offered a place on the Teikoku team, and accepted because of the team's strength and his father transferring to Kansai. After a confrontation with teammate Kotaro, Akaba changed his mind and decided to return to Bando. Because of the school's policy, Akaba was forced to sit out for six months from the beginning of the school year, so he could not play with the team until the match against the Devil Bats. Instead, Akaba served as an adviser and instructor to his teammates, teaching them the blocking techniques he created through painstaking research. While Akaba has the upper hand on Sena through much of the game, he eventually loses in a direct confrontation with the younger player, and Sena scores the winning touchdown for the Devil Bats. Afterward, Akaba presents Sena with his blue eyeshield (in the anime he returns Sena's original green eyeshield to him), which Sena uses for the remainder of the manga, and states that Sena deserves to be called Eyeshield 21.

Akaba is a strong and swift player known for his ability as a lead blocker. His main technique, "Spider Poison", involves shoving against an opposing player at the moment that their center of gravity shifts, allowing Akaba to knock them over. On defense, Akaba uses a technique called "Run Force", in which he forces opposing blockers into certain positions to allow himself to be in position for a tackle. Akaba also teaches his teammates to use Spider Poison, making the entire team stronger.

Akaba is recruited to be part of Team Japan, and agrees to play on the condition that he will only play on special teams due to his desire to demonstrate the strength of Bando's philosophy as a kicking team. He also recommends that both Kotaro and Musashi be used as kickers, depending on the situation surrounding each kick.

Kotaro Sasaki


Sasaki Kōtarō (佐々木　コータロー) Kotaro is the skilled kicker for the Bando Spiders and leader of the kicking team. Like Akaba, he is rather eccentric, having tremendous pride in his kicks and believing kicks to be of incredible importance. However, despite their being similarly eccentric, Kotaro and Akaba do not tend to get along well, for unknown reasons. He has a one-sided rivalry with Deimon's Musashi, having heard the urban legend of Musashi's sixty-yard field goal. Nonetheless, he is an extremely good kicker, and he was scouted by Teikoku, though he rejected their offer. His kicks are extremely accurate, making each of his field goal attempts practically a guaranteed success and also allowing Bando to design plays on kickoffs based on where his kicks will land. This is especially useful when the team executes onside kicks to gain consecutive offenses in their "Spider Web" technique. In the match against Deimon, Kotaro eventually competes with Musashi in the manner he desired, and is defeated when he fails to make a 50-yard field goal while Musashi successfully makes a kick of the same distance - a difference that allows Deimon to win by a single point. Kotaro is selected to be a kicker for Team Japan along with Musashi at the suggestion of Akaba. Two years later, it's revealed that Kotaro, along with Kurita and Unsui, has joined the Enma College team.


 * Bench Press: 70 kg
 * 40-yard dash: 5.6 seconds

Juri Sawai


Sawai Juri (沢井 ジュリ) Usually called "Julie", Juri is the Spiders' manager, and Kotaro's childhood friend. She often has to deal with the disagreements between Kotaro and Akaba, and she has demonstrated awareness of the fact that the two are similar in their bizarre behavior and dedication to winning football games.

Hakushū Dinosaurs
Hakushū Dainosōzu (白秋ダイナソーズ)Hakushū is the champion of the SIC District, and represents this area in the Kanto Tournament. Because of the merciless destructive power of their rookie lineman, Rikiya Gaō, the starting quarterback of each team Hakushū played prior to the Kanto Tournament was injured. This onslaught continues for the Dinosaurs, as all of the members of the offensive line of the Taiyo Sphinx and most of the main players of the Seibu Wild Gunmen leave their respective games with injuries dealt by Gaō. In the Kanto Tournament finals against Deimon, Hakushū's captain Marco deliberately plans for Hiruma to be injured and taken out of the game, and Gaō breaks the Devil Bat quarterback's arm. Sena replaces Hiruma at quarterback, while Kurita's inner strength awakens, and he becomes the first lineman capable of matching Gaō's power. Hiruma, though still injured, returns to the game, and after a back-and-forth match, the Dinosaurs finally fall 42-43. Throughout the game, the Dinosaurs reveal that besides Gao they have a number of skilled players, including Saburo Mitsui Mitsui Saburō (三ツ井 三郎), who believes himself the third-best kicker in Kanto. However, an overly emotional senior on the team, Hanataka Tengu Tengu Hanataka (天狗 花隆), appears unskilled, and does not play against the Devil Bats because of an injury caused by Gaō after Hanataka insulted Banba and Kurita.

Reiji Maruko ("Marco")


Maruko Reiji (円子令司) The Dinosaurs' quarterback and captain, Marco is a suave-appearing man who ambitiously dreams of winning the Christmas Bowl, yet when encountered by a strong opponent he acts panicked and frightened. He calls himself "Marco" because he feels his real name sounds like a girl's name, and also wears an Italian suit to match his Italian nickname; additionally, he frequently drinks cola. In his first year in middle school, he joined the American football team, and also courted Maruko Himuro, who is two years older than him. To impress her, he vowed to win the Christmas Bowl, to show her the "morning sunshine after a victory." He led Hakushu to the SIC District Championship later that year, and then began studying the great teams at the high school level. His teammates encouraged him to give up on his dream of winning the Christmas Bowl because of the strength of the undefeated Teikoku Alexanders, and after witnessing the team play, Marco despaired, realizing that the chances of defeating Teikoku were slim. He became determined to defeat Teikoku at any cost by using strength, and recruited Gao to accomplish this. He even used Gao's tremendous power to injure opposing players, a strategy that Himuro came to dislike him for.

Marco's skill as a throwing quarterback is never established, as Hakushu's offense is based entirely on him taking the snap and following Gao's block as the large lineman plows through the defense using the "North-South Game". On defense, Marco's skill comes from his ability to follow ball movements and react to them. He can see through a runner's feints, and given the smallest opportunity can steal an unsecured ball using his signature "Screw Bite" technique. He is also able to act as a "Quarterback Spy", precisely following the opposing quarterback's movements and reacting to them. While his strategies are simple and brutal, Marco is effective at determining how to direct his team's defense to stop their opponents, whether by deliberately injuring the quarterback or by sending a defender to mark a player.

Hiruma later recruits Marco to be Team Japan's strong safety.


 * 40-yard dash: 5.2 seconds
 * Bench Press: 60 kg

Rikiya Gaō
Gaou Rikiya (峨王 力哉) Although a rookie to American football, Gaō is one of the two most powerful linemen in Japanese high school, purely because of his tremendous strength. He is two meters tall and has a monstrous, caveman-like appearance, with long wild black hair, red marks on his cheeks, and a large scar on his forehead. He holds the Japanese bench press record with over two hundred kilograms and is capable of destroying furniture, tearing metal guardrails, and breaking normal people's bones with his bare hands; he wears a titanium alloy mouthpiece because his powerful jaw tears apart ordinary ones. Gaō claims to have searched for someone who can match his power for his entire life, and joined the football team because Marco promised him that the most powerful teams in the country possess such individuals. He has little respect for those not willing to face him directly and tremendous respect for those who do even if they are crushed, including Banba, the aces of Seibu, and Hiruma. He also honors the rules of American football and will not tackle a player who does not have the ball. Gaō becomes interested in Kurita just prior to the Kantō Tournament finals, believing like many that Kurita is capable of matching or even surpassing his strength. However, once the match begins, even though Kurita succeeds in holding back Gaō temporarily, Gaō states that Kurita lacks "killing intent," and is thus unable to match his strength. Gaō crushes Hiruma, breaking Hiruma's right throwing arm and temporarily knocking him out of the game. Although Gaō first believes this will unleash Kurita's inner strength, it at first traumatizes him, severely weakening him. Kurita eventually unleashes his inner strength, not out of anger as Gaō predicts but for the sake of protecting his friends, and for the remainder of the game the two compete fiercely. On the final play of the game, Kurita defeats Gaō and knocks him onto his back, allowing the Devil Bats to score the winning two-point conversion.

At the recommendation of both Shin and Agon, Gaō is recruited to the line of Team Japan, and he is further appointed in charge of recruiting the team's other linemen. At the tournament draw ceremony, Gaō cheats by tearing apart the lottery cage so that Team Japan will play Team Russia, whose star player is the world bench-press record holder, Rodchenko, whom Gaō wishes to battle. However, when Gaō faces Rodchenko, he quickly defeats him, and loses interest in him when he witnesses Chuubou defeat him. Gaou is quickly interested in Chuubou, only to lose interest when he easily defeats Chuubou. During the match against Militaria, he does what he does best, sending players off on stretchers and crushing Comery mercilessly. During the semifinal match against Germany, he defeats the lineman who claims to be the best lineman in Europe.

At the mention of the American lineman in the Pentagram of the five greatest American football players, Gaō refuses to wait until the game begins and confronts the President's son, Donald Oberman, alias Mr. Don, while he is in a limousine. Mr. Don accepts his challenge under the condition that he must be forced out of the car by Gaō first. Eventually Gaō completely flips the limousine and directly faces the Mr. Don. Agon Kongo appears between them to break up the fight in fear that the Japanese team would be disqualified and he would lose any potential prize money, but he then allows Mr. Don to make the first move, instead. Agon suddenly realizes Mr. Don's monstrous strength, and Gaō's inability to protect himself against it, and uses his quick reflexes to deflect the blow slightly. After one movement from Mr. Don, Gaō is on the ground, injured and immobilized. He vows to defeat the American lineman in the finals of the tournament.

The night before the final game, Akira Chuubou returns after intense training to perfect the timing of his Delta Dynamite to challenge Gaō in a rematch. Akira's Delta Dynamite counters Gaō's charge and manages to knock him completely through a glass door. Gaō, impressed with this display of power, asks Akira to teach him the Delta Dynamite move, to use in the game the next day.


 * Bench Press: 210 kg

Hiromi Kisaragi
Kisaragi Hiromi (如月 ヒロミ) Kisaragi is a frail and effeminate player known as the "left arm of Hakushu". He is just as obsessed with strength if not more than the rest of his team, and he frequently states that "strength is beautiful". Kisaragi has been picked on all of his life because of his weak, feminine appearance, and he is envious of those with physical strength. Despite his below-average strength and merely average speed and jumping ability, he is a skilled cornerback because of his "Ptera Claw" technique, in which he disrupts a receiver's catch attempt by wrapping his slender arm around the receiver's and tearing the ball away. Kisaragi met Gaō because the two share a locker, and his obsession with Gaō's strength led him to join the football team because he wanted to help Gaō win the championship. He is extremely dedicated to helping Hakushu win in any way he can, to the extent that he deliberately lets himself be crushed by Gaō while distracting Kurita from protecting Hiruma so that the quarterback will be injured.


 * Bench Press: 30 kg

Maruko Himuro
Himuro Maruko (氷室 丸子) Hakushū's manager, Himuro, is a serious-looking third-year student with short black hair. Himuro is Marco's inspiration for playing American football, for he became smitten with her in middle school and, in an apparent attempt to woo her, he vowed to show her "the morning sunshine after a victory" by winning the Christmas Bowl. She came to admire his optimism and ambition, and at some time afterward, the two were in a close relationship, though it is unclear how intimate they were. He now calls her by the nickname "Maria", which she dislikes. Because Himuro is two years Marco's senior, the player realized that his first year in high school would be his only chance to make good on his promise. After witnessing many players injured by Gao's strength, Himuro came to despise Marco's determination to win at any cost, and they grew apart, though she remains with the team. She approaches Sena and Riku before the Seibu-Hakushū match, and tells them that they should give up midway, because she does not want to see anymore players injured by Gao. While she hates the Dinosaurs' strategy, she points out after Hakushū loses in the Kanto Tournament finals that she stayed with the team because she still admires some of Marco's traits, and has feelings for him in spite of the things he has done.

Taiga Kamiya


Kamiya Taiga (狼谷 大牙) Kamiya is the captain and ace running back of the Misaki Wolves, the team that represents Hokkaido in the Kanto Tournament. Kamiya has a high opinion of himself, and he often boasts of his long legs, which help him to run faster. He has short, light-colored hair, a horizontal scar across his nose, and fangs that poke out of his mouth. Despite his boasts, he is made short work of by the Gunmen, and is easily bested by Kaitani Riku's speed when his team loses to the Seibu Wild Gunmen 14-82. However, in the anime, Kamiya is portrayed as a player with outstanding skill, presenting a great challenge to Riku and the Gunmen and leading his team to a 21-0 lead before the Gunmen make a comeback and the Wolves lose 21-46.


 * 40-yard dash: 4.6 seconds
 * Bench Press: 40 kg

Ganjō Iwashima
Iwashima Ganjō (岩重 ガンジョー) Iwashima is the ace running back of the Sado Strong Golems, representatives of the Shizuoka area in the Kanto Tournament (his position is unclear in the anime). His body is well-trained, and stated by himself and others to be "rock-hard". His ability to ram into his opponent with his body is impressive, but it proves to be no match against Otowara's bulk and Shin's Trident Tackle. He is rather perverted, with a love of women with big breasts, and his coach instructs him to knock opponents away by diving into their chests, because "young men love breasts". In the anime, his tackling style is similar to groping a female. While in the manga he falls victim to Shin and Otawara's improved techniques, this role is filled in the anime by a new character, Kyotai Susumu, who addresses Iwashima as "aniki". The two enter the game carrying a large rock that their coach sits upon to demonstrate their strength.

In chapter 310, Iwashima makes his return as a running back for Team Japan's substitute team.


 * 40-yard dash: 5.3 seconds
 * Bench Press: 120 kg

Teikoku Alexanders
Teikoku Arekisandāzu (帝黒アレキサンダーズ) A team from Osaka in the Kansai regions, the Teikoku Alexanders have a reputation as being completely invincible. Since the first Christmas Bowl in 1980, Teikoku has represented the Kansai region in every Christmas Bowl, and additionally won each time. The team appears as Deimon's final opponent in the Christmas Bowl, presenting two final opponents for Sena and Monta: running back Yamato Takeru, the original Eyeshield 21, and Taka Honjou, son of Monta's hero Masaru Honjou.

National Teams
Following the Christmas Bowl, an international American football tournament called the High School American Football World Cup is announced. The teams confirmed to be taking part in the tournament are Japan, the United States, Finland, Germany, China, France, Canada, Russia, Militaria, Mexico, Sweden, Italy, South Korea, Australia, India and New Zealand.

Team Japan
Team Japan is made up from the all-stars of Japan in both the Kantou and Kansai areas, and includes several members of the Devil Bats and teams that Deimon has faced in the past. The team's starting line-up is:

On Offense (modified I formation with a slotback instead of a tight end):
 * RB/FB - Yamato Takeru
 * RB/HB - Sena Kobayakawa
 * QB - Kid/Mushanokoji Shien or Youichi Hiruma
 * C - Ryokan Kurita
 * OG - Hera Kureji and Akira "Chuubou" Nakabou
 * OT - Yamabushi Gondayu and Banba Mamoru
 * SB - Tetsuma Jo
 * WR - Haruto Sakuraba and "Monta" Taro Raimon

On Defense:
 * DT - Gao Rikiya and Ootawara Makoto
 * DE - Mizumachi Kengo and Aki Reisuke
 * Middle LB - Seijuro Shin
 * Outside LB- Kakei Shun and Agon Kongo
 * CB - Honjou Taka and Hosakawa Ikkyu
 * S - Maruko "Marco" Reiji and Kaitani Riku

On Special Teams (Kick team):
 * Hayato Akaba
 * Gen "Musashi" Takekura
 * Sasaki Kotaro

Nakabou ("Chuubou") Akira
A small middle school student in the Kansai area who admires Sena and has a very loud voice as noted by Kotaro. During the tryouts, he tried to copy Sena's fourth dimension run and was about to get crushed by Yamato when he finally uses his Delta Dynamite in order to stop the running back on his tracks while throwing him off-balance for a moment. He readily tries to attack someone who badmouths Sena (like what he did to Rodchenko on the field). Gaou sees him as his new rival, but is let down after defeating Chuubou easily during a training sessiion.

In chapter 318, Chuubou improves his Delta Dynamite, perfecting the timing. Using it, he goes to challenge Gaou again, who for some reason, is destroying his hotel room (his stance, however, suggests he was attempting to perform the Delta Dynamite). Gaou rushes towards Chuubou, ignoring Chuubou's surprise, but in the end, Chuubou defeats Gaou completely, using the Delta Dynamite to send him flying out through the glass doors and on to the balcony (shocking Sena out of sleep from the next room). An impressed Gaou asks Chuubou to teach him the Delta Dynamite.


 * Techniques and strategies
 * Delta Dynamite - A blocking technique that involves ramming the enemy with the head, shoulder and fist simultaneously in a delta (triangular) shape (hence the name) and makes the block three times more powerful. After being beaten by Gaou, Chuubou perfects the technique and timing with Doboroku, and goes back to challenge Gaou, sending Gaou flying. Gaou later requests to learn the Delta Dynamite. Timing is an important factor in this technique: against Rodchenko, an imperfect Delta Dynamite was enough to defeat him, but against a faster opponent like Gaou, the technique is ineffective unless its timing is correct.

Unidentified Player
The team also has a single back-up player who is completely bandaged and looks like a mummy. The player's identity is unknown, but his uniform number is 88, suggesting he is a Tight End or a Wide Receiver, and during the Kantou tryouts several people noticed his fast cut. Also, Sena recognized his voice when the player spoke to him, suggesting that this is a player who has appeared in the manga before.

It is heavily hinted that it is Unsui Kongo, Agon's twin brother and quarterback of Shinryuuji. However, it cannot be properly concluded as Inagaki (the author) may be using "Unsui"'s appearance as a red herring and it could just be Agon without a wig and glasses.

It is revealed that it is not Unsui, but Habishira Rui in disguise, so his team doesn't lose motivation while he goes to the World Cup.

Unsui's "appearance" before was merely Agon without his wig and without his sunglasses. Unsui may be viewed in the stands lamenting over not competing in the cup because he was only "average" like Habashira.

In the manga you later find out that it is acually Rui Habashira from the Zokugaku (Zokuto Gakuen) Chameleons.

Japan also has a second team of substitutes that include Takami from Ojo; the Ha-Ha Brothers, Komusubi, and Taki, from Deimon; Onihei from Hashiratani; Ohira and Onishi from Kyoshin; Kamaguruma from the Taiyou Sphinx; Kisaragi from Hakushuu; Ushijima from Seibu; and Iwashima Ganjo from the Sado Strong Golems; among others.

Team USA
Team USA is coached by former NFL star Morgan, who proclaims that he will sign a player from the tournament's winning team to his NFL team, the San Antonio Armadillos. Among the American players are Panther of the NASA Shuttles and the ace quarterback Clifford D. Lewis. Tatanka is a linebacker, Bud Walker is a cornerback and Hollywood actor who pulls off stunts without a stunt-double. Another member named Mr. Don is also on the team or at least associated with it, but the former is more likely as Panther states Mr. Don is only 2 years older than he is, making Don eligible to participate in the tournament. Recently, the former has been revealed to have been true: Don is indeed a player in Team USA, as well as the son of the US president, Arnold Oberman. In the world of Eyeshield 21, America has 1,500,000 American football players, another testament to its strength in the sport.

Five first-string players for Team USA have been revealed by Chapter 312, and share the title of "Pentagram", named for the stars on the US flag. These five rookies include Panther, aka Patrick Spencer, ("The Fastest Man Above Ground"), Clifford D. Lewis ("The Invincible Gambler"), Mr. Don ("The Man Who Controls Everything"), Tatanka ("The Human Dome"), and Bud Walker ("The Wild Guy from Hollywood").

Panther
Panther is the Runningback of the USA National team. He is hailed as the Fastest Man on Earth, and fitting that title, has a 4.10 time for the forty yard run, faster than anyone else's 40-yard time so far in the manga.

Clifford D. Lewis
Clifford D. Lewis (age 18)is the Quarterback of the USA National team. His epithet is the "Invincible Gambler". He is the second member of the Pentagram to be introduced in the manga (the first being Panther, who was introduced long before the World Cup arc). Clifford seems to be extremely confident in his superiority, and when he and Panther are addressed as the two best players, he claims himself to be the best player in the United States. He is said to be of noble blood, but whether this means that he is a descendant of a royal/aristocratic family or something else is yet to be revealed. Clifford seems outwardly arrogant, but he confirms to Panther that his attitude is a ruse and a tool for competition. By scaring his opponents he can make them back down on the playing field. This fits in with his Gambler theme. He is very similar to Hiruma, and has shown great investigative ability by finding information on Hiruma and his father online.

Clifford's jersey number is 1, the same as Hiruma.

Cillford is a scrambling quarterback. he has a strong arm and with his running speed of 40 yards in 4.2 makes he very dangerous as he can throw during a full out sprint. he is a combination of Hiruma's personality, tactical mind, arm, and Sena's speed

The American Casinos rank is abilities as:


 * Speed:S
 * Power:B
 * Technique:S

His chances to win the MVP are 3.3 to 1 as compare to anyone on the Japanese team having 2000 to 1 odds.


 * 40-yard dash: 4.2 seconds

Bud Walker
Bud Walker (age 18) is the best Cornerback of the USA National team. He is also an action movie star in Hollywood and is famous for doing his own stunts. His first real introduction involved him falling out of the sky from a helicopter. Physically, Bud is muscular and was able to knock Tetsuma, Banba, and Yamabushi (all three of whom were heavyweight power-types: the former, Tetsuma, had been previously set up as unstoppable) over, while catching a ball thrown by Clifford. He seems to be laid-back and easygoing, but he also believes that entertaining the audience is an important role of an athlete (hence his flashy helicopter-leap entrance). He also tries to joke around with Clifford (who apparently is his classmate). Bud appears to be jealous of Clifford, since the latter is more popular despite Bud being a Hollywood movie star. However this jealousy seems to be casual and not serious envy. Despite being challenged by both Ikkyu and Monta, Bud keeps his cool. Bud's jersey number is 31.

America Casinos Rank his abilities As
 * Speed: A
 * Power: S
 * Technique: A

His odds of wining the MVP are 5.7 to 1 as compare to 2000 to 1 for any Japanese characters


 * 40-yard dash: 4.45 seconds
 * Bench Press: 150 kg

- Grappler Bump - Described as a kung fu style punch. Bud bumps his opponent, counting on his great strength to knock them over.
 * Techniques and Strategies

Tatanka
Tatanka (age 17) is the Linebacker of the USA National team. His great height(he is 6'11'') and his jumping power give him an extraordinary ability to block passes. He is known for this ability as the "Human Dome". Tatanka's jersey number is 47.

Personality-wise, Tatanka tends to look down on the physical attributes of the Japanese team. He knows Japanese and speak it strangely thanks to the fact that he was trying to learn several languages at the same time like Mr. Don. He has a pair of enormous spiraling facial tattoos. He is likely to be an Native American with his distinctive tattoos and hair style. The America Casinos Ranks his ablities as:
 * Speed:A
 * Power:A
 * Technique:A

He has the worst chance of any of the Pentagram to win MVP at 8.7 to 1 compared to 2000 to 1 for anyone from japan.

- Human Dome - This describes his ability to block passes in a sphere of a large radius covering possible receivers.
 * Techniques and Strategies

Donald "Mr. Don" Oberman
Mr. Don (age 18) is the son of the current President of the United States, Arnold Oberman, and a Lineman of the USA National team ( he is offensive and defensive). He has been described to be a lineman without match, and he also likes to drink and hang around scantily clad and beautiful women. He believes in skill through hard work, as well as skill through natural talent, but also that those with natural talent that work hard are those can get to the top. For this reason, he looks down on Japanese American Footballers (and indeed any non-American footballers) to be inferior. It is his belief that the Youth World Cup is simply a yearly reminder to the rest of the world that America is untouchable in American football. He is responsible for Yamato the original Japanese Eyeshield 21 getting kick out of Notre Dame Middle school because after seeing panther steal a ball from Yamato while he was not paying attention, Yamato was unable to catch up so Yamato was, according to Mr. Don, not living up to the name Eyeshield 21. He is so strong as to stop a rush of normal people with just two fingers. He is not only able overpower Gaou alone but Gaou with a helper like Ōtawara or Yamato. He is also fair granting a little boy an autograph because he got to the front of a crowd when he would have rather have signed one for the beautiful woman behind the boy. He knows various languages and expresses that he has trouble with telling the difference between the Asian languages.

the America Casinos Ranks his abilities as:

* His odds of becoming the MVP are 3.3 to 1 compared to 2000 to 1 for any Japanese player Mr. Don's jersey number is 69.
 * Speed: A
 * Power: SS
 * Technique: A

Team Finland
Little is known about the Finnish team, but the first (and only) player that Team Japan encounters is Toni Häkkinen, whose position is unclear (may be a quarterback since his jersey number, 8, is usually associated with quarterbacks). Häkkinen has amazing white teeth, apparently a testament to Finland's dental care. However, Häkkinen's teeth are ruined in the first round of the tournament in a harsh loss to the Militaria Republic (10-49).

Team Germany
Germany has a stronghold in the NFLE with five pro-teams participating in the league.

Heinrich Schultz

The only named German player is Heinrich Schultz, a man with incredible mental capabilities. Like Hiruma, Schultz considers knowledge to be the most important factor in American football, and takes care to memorize the statistics of each player. Although his country is the strongest in the NFLE, he is not arrogant about the fact. Germany meets Japan in the semifinals. During the game, Heinrich Schultz makes use of his eidetic memory to predict Sena's movements, and that combined with his speed of light run allows Schultz to stop Sena's Devilbat Ghost with ease. However, Sena defeats Heinrich near the end of the match, when he uses a new version of the Devil 4th dimension, in which Sena takes only half a step backwards. Germany ends up losing to Japan(34-24).

- 40 Yards Dash: 4.2 Seconds

Techniques and strategies

- Speed of Light Dash - Heinrich Schultz can run at the same speed as Sena and Shin; 40 Yards in 4.2 seconds. He is shown to have blocked Sena once with this speed, and estimates that he could block Sena's Devil 4th dimension with it as well.

- Eidetic Memory - Schultz is able to record anything that he sees in his memory, and keep it there indefinitely. With this, he is able to deduce the weaknesses and strengths of a team, by calling upon his amazing memory.

Team Russia
Little is known about Russia's American football strength, since the number of American football players they have is unknown, and the only named "football player" on the team is actually a weightlifter and has little to no experience in American football. The aforementioned player is named Rodchenko, and is an Olympic gold-medalist in weightlifting and the world record holder for bench-press. Rodchenko only entered the tournament for the $3,000,000 prize, like Agon, and planed to buy a cruise ship with it. Rodchenko was set up as the rival for Gaou, but was defeated by Chuubou with his Delta Dynamite and easily crushed by Gaou. Team Russia faces Team Japan in the first match of the tournament. Russia ended up losing 34-20 to the second team of Team Japan,and Rodchenko was crushed once more by Gaou, this time post-match.

Ivan Rodchenko
 * Bench Press: 300 kg

Team Militaria
A team of young soldiers from a fictional country whose flag depicts crossed swords. Most the members of the team have shaved heads, even the quarterback Burns who actually wears a wig. Their first show of strength came when they crushed Finland and Toni Häkkinen's teeth mercilessly (49-10). The members, especially Burns and Comery are prone to underestimate the enemy. For example, they assumed that the substitutes who were playing Russia were the real starters, which convinced them that Japan would be easy prey. They failed to realize their mistake until the match actually started. The most notable member of the team is Sergeant Comery, who usually calls other teams "weak", "stupid", "worms", "maggots", or any combination of the previous adjectives. He is bursting with overconfidence, always claiming that Militaria will crush the other team of "weak maggots", etc. He is intolerant of long-hair, attacking Burn's wig and most shockingly, Agon's dreadlocks with a buzz-cutter. The only other part of him we see is his Missile Run, which is easily stopped by Agon first, and then Agon with Gaou; both of the Japanese members simultaneously crushed him mercilessly.

Sergeant Comery
 * 40-yard dash: 4.6 seconds
 * Bench Press: 120 kg
 * Techniques and strategies
 * Missile Run- A run that seems to be described as missile-like, and perhaps has above average control when it comes to cuts.

Savanna Survivors
The Survivors are an African team themed around the zebra, their team's logo and the basis for their cream, green-striped uniforms. All of their players are over two meters tall and look strikingly similar, with dark skin and reddish brown hair. The only named player on the team, Jono, is said to be fast like a cheetah. In the first round of the Cream Puff Cup, the Survivors lose to the Devil Bats 0-28.

Northern Light Blizzards
The Blizzards are a team from Russia, representing Europe in the anime filler Cream Puff Cup. The team's coach, retired NFL star Morgan, is responsible for NASA coach Apollo losing his job in the NFL. Before the game against the NASA Shuttles, he accepts a wager from Apollo that the losing team must dissolve. The team has no apparent theme, but all its players have scars over their left eyes. The quarterback, Nikolai Nikolavich, has a high-velocity pass called the "Soyuz Pass" which can be thrown between the linemen's legs and still be caught successfully. A large-built wide receiver for the team wears number 80 and has a face similar to Monta's, and he is referred to as a "big monkey" while Monta is called the "little monkey." In the game against NASA, the Blizzards' linebacker, a tremendous player named Ivan Ivanov, sacks Homer early on and breaks his shoulder with his "Mammoth Attack" technique, and the Blizzards go on to win. Against the Devil Bats, Morgan sends in Ovan Ivanov, Ivan's shorter, smaller twin brother, to injure Sena. Ovan uses the "Storm Tackle", jumping off of his brother's back and spinning his body rapidly while tackling Sena, temporarily knocking him out of the game. However, Sena returns and scores the winning touchdown, and the Devil Bats win 24-21.

"Machine Gun" Sanada
A color commentator at each of the American football matches beginning with the Deimon-NASA game, Sanada is known for his fast, rapid fire delivery of commentary. Overall he is a comedic and completely non-serious character, rumored to have spoken as soon as he was born and always acting incredibly excited at the games he attends. His hairstyle resembles a circular saw, which for comedic effect spins and can cut through objects when he is excited.

"Bomberhead" Kumabukuro
A retired American football player, Kumabukuro is reporter for the magazine American Football Monthly. He has a massive afro, which according to rumor he grew after retiring, because he could not wear a helmet over his afro. He appears at most of the Devil Bats' games, including as an analyst in the commentator's box beside Sanada.

Riko Kumabukuro
Kumabukuro's daughter, Riko shares her father's interest in American football. Although still in high school, she hopes to become a reporter like her father, an interest she discovered after helping him with interviews. Riko conducts personal interviews with eight aces representing the eight teams taking part in the Kanto Tournament, and later replaces her father as Sanada's commentating partner. Despite sharing many interests and mannerisms, Kumabukuro and Riko look almost nothing alike, as she has a cute face and short, light brown hair. As a running gag in the anime series, whenever she becomes enveloped in her work, her face and hairstyle resemble her father's.

Head Commissioner
The head commissioner of Kanto's Highschool Football Association has no given name within the series. He is extremely passionate about football, and it is rumored that because of his burning spirit, his office doesn't need a heater. He believes football is a battle, in which effort and spirit are not rewarded, only victory. He places Sena, Monta, Yamato, and Taka in charge of recruiting Team Japan's players for the World Cup.

Masaru Honjō
A retired star outfielder for the baseball team Shuei Bears, known for his extraordinary catches, Honjō is now a Chairman of Kansai's Highschool Football Association. He is Monta's idol and inspiration, in part because Monta received a glove from him ten years before the beginning of the story. He appears as a spectator in the Deimon-Ojo match, and catches Monta when he is about to collapse from exhaustion at one point. Honjō's son, Taka, is the ace wide receiver of the Teikoku Alexanders, which forces Monta to temporarily despair at the idea of his idol becoming his enemy, but later he becomes determined to surpass the talent of the Honjō family.

Torakichi Nanpa
Torakichi is a grade-school fan of Sakuraba, who has idolized Sakuraba since seeing him catch a very high pass in the White Knight's 99-0 victory over the Devil Bats one year before the story. Even after learning that Sakuraba is really a sub-par player, Torakichi remains a loyal fan. Torakichi became a starter for his school's touch football team, but broke his leg shortly before his first appearance. He shares a hospital room with Sakuraba after the wide receiver is injured against the Devil Bats, and the two become fast friends. Torakichi then learns that he will be unable even to walk for as much as two years, which causes the boy to fall into despair and give up on his dream of becoming a wide receiver. Sakuraba, however, inspires him to work hard to recover by vowing to become a true ace player. Torakichi from then on appears as a spectator during many of the White Knights' appearances, in a wheel-chair. Despite his condition the boy remains energetic and optimistic, determined to become a player for the White Knights once he reaches high school. His childish imagination and behavior is a source of comedy in each of his appearances.

Nurse Oka
Oka is the head nurse at the hospital where Torakichi, Sakuraba and Musashi's father are admitted. She has a ghastly appearance and is obsessed with the occult, and at times frightens her patients with tales of people who have died within the hospital. Her son plays for the Noroi Occults in the Fall Tokyo Tournament. While frail in appearance, when angered she is capable of massive feats of strength. While obsessive about black magic and frightening in appearance, she appears to care deeply about her patients and their loved ones. She helps to convince Musashi to rejoin the Devil Bats by arranging for the other carpenters of his father's business to arrive during the argument between Musashi and his father.

Miracle Ito
Sakuraba's idol manager, Ito is a flamboyant glasses-wearing man who wears various cheap but expensive-looking clothes to make himself appear more successful. At first he uses Sakuraba's shonen good looks to turn the player into a teen idol, and sets Sakuraba up with various sponsors. Because his interests conflict with the Ojo team's, Ito indirectly causes Sakuraba's injury, as the player walks onto the field to retrieve a sponsor-provided sticker in the game against the Devil Bats, and Sena accidentally runs into him at full speed and hospitalizes him. When Sakuraba cuts his long hair as well as briefly growing a beard and mustache, Ito at first panics because his client has abandoned his good looks, but then adapts to this change, acquiring a number of athletic sponsors for Sakuraba instead. When his loyalty to Sakuraba is revived, Ito states that, because Sakuraba's continuing success will earn them more sponsorships, he wants Sakuraba to win the Christmas Bowl, and states that now they "want the same thing."

Andou Baako
The reporter girl commenting the early match of the Ojo White Knights vs. Deimon Devil Bats, clueless about football and only interested in the idol Sakuraba Haruto.