BlazBlue Wiki
Register
Advertisement
BlazBlue Wiki

Ragna the Bloodedge (ラグナ=ザ=ブラッドエッジ Raguna za Buraddoejji), also known as the Grim Reaper (死神 Shinigami, God of Death), Man of the Blue (蒼の男 Ao no Otoko), and Centralfiction (神の観る夢(セントラルフィクション) Sentorarufikushon, Dream Seen by God), was an SS-class rebel, and Jin and Saya’s older brother. He is a playable character in the BlazBlue series, and was the main protagonist of mainline game’s C-Series (namely from Calamity Trigger until Central Fiction).

Appearance[]

Ragna is modeled after the traditional Japanese manga and anime hero. He is a young adult with white spiky hair and heterochromia: his left eye being green and his right being red, a side effect from assimilating the Blue Grimoire into his body. His clothing consists of a hybrid of modern, futuristic and old features. He wears a vibrant red sleeved jacket with two long thin tails hanging from the back. Under it is a black shirt with three red belts and also several belts covering his right arm. He wears a pair of black gloves with a red shell on the backs of the hands. His right arm is a black mechanical prosthetic made of the Blue Grimoire, after having lost his original arm when he was younger. The shell opens up to reveal the grimoire whenever he utilizes it. He wears a black hakama and steel-toed red boots. He also has a small black birthmark on the center of his chest. Ragna has a bright green stud earring on his left ear, not on the lobe of the ear but further up.

When he was in his mid-teens, he had blond hair and green eyes. Because of the trauma he experienced, his hair turned white. After he is taken care of by Jūbei, he wears a traditional Japanese style sleeveless red turtle neck top, long black gloves that reach to his elbows, baggy black pants, and red shoes with high cuffs and steel toes.

BlazBlue Alter Memory (Episode 5, Screenshot 4)

Ragna with his hair wet.

In BlazBlue: Alter Memory during the hot spring scene in Episode 5, Ragna wears a pair of black, baggy swim shorts; his, otherwise, spiky hair is pushed down from the water and comes down just below his nose. Also, he is seen both shirtless and barefoot. However, most of his torso is wrapped in bandages.

His swimsuit in Chronophantasma is different than that of Alter Memory – he now wears an open, long sleeve red-and-black hoodie, which shows his chest and eight-pack abs, orange-and-red swimming trunks with black flames on each side, and red-and-black sandals. The small black birthmark on his chest was exposed while wearing the outfit.

Personality[]

Ragna is sardonic, rude, and abrasive to anyone he comes across. He is also quick to anger, stubborn, and never misses a chance to use as much vulgar language as possible. In this regard, Ragna is similar to the stereotypical anime delinquent. This is caused mainly by Yūki Terumi practically destroying Ragna’s life, which has created a mass of hatred in him; stronger than that of any other individual. Ragna often becomes infuriated at first sight of Yūki Terumi, which he and/or Hazama often takes advantage of through taunting him. However, even in cases where he cannot win or is on the brink of death, Ragna possesses an undying will and persistence, refusing to give up even when he is clearly out matched, something many characters either hate or admire.

Beneath his gruff exterior, however, Ragna does possess a softer, more compassionate side. He chooses to keep up his public front because of the path he chose – that of revenge, as well as accepting the fact that he’s still someone who’s committed crimes such as murder. He does genuinely care for certain people, such as Taokaka, Rachel, Noel, Jūbei and, to an extent, his brother, Jin. Ragna seems to disdain killing, refusing to kill Terumi after he defeated him in the end of Continuum Shift. Ragna spared Arakune’s life due to Litchi’s pleas, and in his Arcade Mode, he directly references his promise to Litchi to let him live after he defeats him. In the end of Chronophantasma, Ragna saved Nu-13 instead of killing her and he told Hakumen to not kill her. Also, despite Jin’s role in the destruction of his life, still cares for him as a brother. He also expressed anguish when Nu sacrificed her life to protect him, despite the past animosity he harbored for her and later declares he will “save” her due to prior events that shifted his beliefs. This side of his personality becomes more apparent as the story progresses, though he still keeps a rough exterior around others that don’t know about his soft side.

Later on after the events of Chronophantasma, Ragna goes through more personal development which changes his opinions about the reasons he fights. He starts to rely on his own strength instead of the Blue Grimoire, as its power is to “steal” instead of “protect” as he finally understands the notion that the power from it was never truly his to activate so freely without fully realizing what it is. He declares that he will no longer fight to destroy and for revenge, and instead, decides to fight in order to protect his loved ones in spite of what he's lost in his life. This as aforementioned extends to Nu where he declares he’ll save her instead of destroying her.

Furthermore, he then by proxy becomes more aware of how the world's possibilities and timelines revolve around himself within Centralfiction, as well as his own connection to the Master Unit. Thus, Ragna resolves to fight for the sake of migrating people's dreams and possibilities into a brand new world, and despite trying to take on the task alone, he learns to accept help from others in achieving this goal.

In terms of comic relief, Ragna is often the straight-man of several situations that he himself cannot comprehend, mainly in several gag scenarios at his expense.

History[]

BB CT1 001

As a youth, Ragna was confined in a lab along with his younger siblings Jin and Saya. However, they were eventually freed from the lab by Jūbei of the Six Heroes.[1] They were then taken to a church and were watched over by the sister of one of the Six Heroes. At some point, Saya became very ill and Ragna decided to look after her, and in turn spending less time with his brother. Jin eventually grew jealous of Saya for being able to spend a lot of time with Ragna, and he began to hate her.

Ragna the Bloodedge (Calamity Trigger, Story Mode Illustration, 1, Type A)

The burning church

Soon after Saya became sick, the church was burnt down by Jin and Yūki Terumi, who also cut off Ragna’s right arm and kidnapped Saya before leaving him for dead. At some point, Ragna was bitten by a vampire to save his life.[2] He was later found by Jūbei, the beastman who left him at the church, where he proceeded to train Ragna on how to control the power of his newly acquired Blue Grimoire which replaced his lost arm and repeatedly stated that although the item was a part of him now, the power was not his to command yet. For the next few years, Jūbei trained Ragna to control the power of the Blue, being periodically watched by Rachel, who requested Jūbei to take care of him. During the time, he met Taokaka as a child. When his training was at last complete, Ragna had finally come to the decision to depart on his journey. 

Ragna the Bloodedge (Continuum Shift, Story Mode Illustration, 2)

Ragna obtains the jacket and sword

But before the three would part ways, Jūbei took Ragna to the burnt down church and handed Ragna two items once belonging to a hero named Bloodedge: his jacket and his large sword.[3] Feeling the weight of the man that gave hope to the world and the Six Heroes, Ragna finally takes off, his training now complete.

Ragna has a deep hatred for the World Void Information Control Organization, and travels from city to city destroying their bases; due to this, he has become a world-known rebel and has the biggest bounty on his head, according to Jin. Despite this, he seems to travel through cities by night without much fear of being detected or captured by the Control Organization or any vigilantes.

BlazBlue: Remix Heart[]

This section is based on story of the manga BlazBlue: Remix Heart.
Mai Natsume, Ragna The Bloodedge

Ragna finds Mai

Distracted while training, Ragna turned his head, believing that someone was calling out for him. Unfortunately, Jūbei attacked while he had his guard down, knocking him over. He leisurely resumed the regime once ordered by the hero.

Jūbei soon ordered Ragna to find the Pursuit Grimoire within the Military Academy; things did not go as planned when Mai Natsume dropped down from the upper levels in front of him, deterring him slightly from his mission. Ragna was alarmed when she asked if he was looking for the Blue Grimoire, but decided to help her through the maze of the lower levels to find the Blue figments that she was sensing – since he would lose sleep if he left a woman in such a place. The two of them eventually found the Pursuit Grimoire, but were attacked by the grimoire’s defenses. Effortlessly, Ragna began to dispatch each and every one of them, but more arose, leading him to try and activate the Blue Grimoire so he could get it over with. However, two of the defenses threw him down a dust shoot, landing him straight in front of the wrathful Jūbei, who relentlessly hounded him for having help in finding the grimoire.

BlazBlue: The Wheel of Fortune[]

This section is based on story of the drama CD BlazBlue: The Wheel of Fortune.

In the first timeline where Noel Vermillion did not exist, Ragna made his way deep into the bowels of Kagutsuchi’s Control Organization branch, eventually running into Relius Clover, who summoned the Detonator: Ignis to assist him. Despite the difficult fight for Ragna, he refused to use the power of the Blue Grimoire, disappointing Relius until he left out of boredom, saying it had been a waste of time.

Ragna managed to make it down to the bottom of the branch, reaching the Kiln, he was, however, stopped by Jin Kisaragi and the two dueled until Ragna stood victorious – a victory short-lived as Tsubaki Yayoi rushed in and pathetically attempted to punch Ragna away, something he withstood and waved away, pushing her down to the ground since he had no idea of how to deal with her. This meeting between the three was interrupted as Nu-13 descended from the Kiln, leading to Jin questioning who she was until Ragna told him to shut up; Ragna soon went toe-to-toe with Nu herself, but the results ended in her favor.

Before Nu went to finish off Tsubaki, Ragna stabbed the Murakumo midway through before finally succumbing to his wounds and fainting. Nu took the fallen Ragna and fell into the Kiln with him, merging to become the Black Beast which would plague the planet with death and destruction for a century.

BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger[]

This section is based on short story “Memory of Blue” of BlazBlue Material Collection.

Trekking through the 9th Hierarchical City of Akitsu-Kō in the dead of night, Ragna noted how dull and unremarkable the city was until the looming figure of the Control Organization headquarters stood overhead. Coming close to the building, he was met with several officers issuing warnings for him to turn back; Ragna came too close and a trap designed for feral beasts was raised, however, he easily dispelled it. Ragna was met with dozens of armed Imperial Guards, but they were easily defeated as he blasted them and the gate down.

BlazBlue Calamity Trigger Material Collection (Illustration, 17)

Leisurely walking down the interior of the branch, Ragna was eventually met with an army of 300 plus armed officers, awaiting him on the staircase connected to the central hall. He launched himself recklessly into the crowd, effortlessly massacring each and every soldier without much of a struggle from the opposition. Afterwards, Ragna descended into the area that contained the Kiln and effortlessly destroyed it. The weather control in the city was destroyed alongside the Gate.

Becoming slightly lost in the labyrinth that was the lower levels of the City, Ragna encountered Rachel, who teleported in front of him and gestured towards the northwest, whispering that he should go to the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi. Rachel then abruptly left as Ragna managed to find his way out of the City. Shortly afterwards, Ragna earned his moniker – the “Grim Reaper”.

This section is based on true ending, “Ragna the Bloodedge”, of BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger.
Ragna the Bloodedge (Calamity Trigger, Story Mode Illustration, 5)

Ragna’s confrontation with Jin

On the date 2199/12/31 AD, New Year’s Eve, Ragna traveled to the  13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi to destroy the Control Organization base located there. Along the way, he has a brief confrontation with his younger brother, Jin, inside the headquarters. After the fight he makes his way down to an elevator shaft that leads him straight down to the headquarters basement. There, he meets Hakumen of the Six Heroes and a lengthy battle ensues. As Ragna is about to lose, he activates his Blue Grimoire to tap into the power of the Blue and is able to defeat Hakumen.
True Ending (Calamity Trigger, Story Mode Illustration, 4)

Noel saves Ragna

He then arrives at the battle between Noel Vermillion and Nu-13. Right before her death blow, Ragna intervenes and saves Noel, but cannot defeat Nu, either. Noel then saves Ragna from being taken by Nu, who wanted to fuse and jump into the Kiln with him. Rachel then appears and tells Ragna that Noel is the new “eye”, who will inherit the “true” Blue, and that the world will change.[4] She then departs to activate her Tsukuyomi Unit to protect Kagutsuchi from a powerful blast that came from the Event Weapon named Highlander: Takemikazuchi. Shortly after Rachel returns, Hazama appears before all three of them, and Ragna immediately recognizes him as Yūki Terumi, the one who cut his arm off and burned down the church. He and Rachel attack him, but Terumi merely rubs them off, stating that Ragna is too weak for him to fight and Rachel is the only one who can keep up with him. He then leaves the three of them.

BlazBlue: Continuum Shift[]

This section is based on short story "Trigger Shift" of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Material Collection.
Since Rachel left both Ragna and Noel inside the collapsed interior of the Control Organization branch, the Grim Reaper was forced to burrow himself out of the rubble, being slowed progressively by Noel’s repeated clumsiness. Finally, they made it outside of the building, despite Noel’s slow movements.

This section is based on the true route of story “stray sheep” of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (II · Extend).

After the incident at the Sheol Gate, Ragna lets Noel travel with him for a short time, though he tells her to leave afterwards, upsetting Noel who tells him that the next time they meet they will be enemies. He is shortly thereafter attacked by the vigilante, Carl Clover, managing to beat the boy though he is dealt a nasty blow from Nirvana. He then wakes up in the Kaka tribe village, having fallen in there and spends the next few days recovering and becoming friendly with the Kaka tribe, including Taokaka.

He leaves shortly thereafter and meets Platinum the Trinity before fighting Lambda-11 due to Kokonoe Mercury messing up the teleporting process. After fending her off, Ragna hears from Kokonoe not to fight Hazama as he cannot beat him. Hearing Noel’s name from Kokonoe prompts Ragna to find Rachel who tells him where to go, though reminding him that he must not fight Hazama. He then runs into Jin at the Control Organization branch, and Ragna manages to defeat him. There Jin also warns Ragna not to fight Hazama, saying Ragna cannot beat him.

This section is based on true ending, “MURAKUMO”, of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift (II · Extend).
Ragna the Bloodedge (Continuum Shift, Story Mode Illustration, 4)

Ragna loses to Hazama

Nonetheless, Ragna proceeds to fight Hazama, though his grimoire is useless as Terumi, the original creator of the Blue Grimoire, locks Ragna’s. Ragna is forced to watch as Noel descends from the Kiln as Mu-12. Just as he is about to be killed, Nu intervenes in Lambda’s body and gives Ragna the Idea Engine,[5] allowing him to bypass his Blue Grimoire’s restrictions and allow access to the true Blue and defeat Terumi. He runs to Rachel to free her from a binding spell cast by the Phantom, and then fights Mu. Ragna manages to wake Noel’s mind by using the True Blue’s power to activate the Idea Engine, but his left arm is destroyed in the process. After the fight, he, Jin and Noel see that Hazama and Relius Clover are working for Saya, which is a shock to them. After they leave from Kagutsuchi, he, Jin and Noel decide to leave the city and become stronger. Kokonoe gives Ragna a new mechanical arm using parts from Lambda’s regeneration tank.[5] Ragna leaves for Ikaruga with Taokaka, who was ordered by Jūbei to go with him much to Ragna’s dismay, but he caves in when he realizes Taokaka would follow him even if he declined.

BlazBlue: Chronophantasma[]

This section is based on story “Chronophantasma” of BlazBlue: Chronophantasma (Extend).

While traveling with Taokaka, Ragna temporarily separates with her and visits the Sister’s grave on the remains of the church. Rachel approaches him, and upon being asked about Kushinada’s Lynchpin, tells him that it is located in Ikaruga, and that the technique to activate the Lynchpin has been lost, but she doesn’t know all the details surrounding the Lynchpin. She tells him that the Lynchpin has the ability to sever the connection between the Boundary and the Kiln, stopping the flow of magic element, which could defeat the Emperor, and give Ragna the chance to defeat Yūki Terumi. Ragna asks Rachel how he can obtain it, but she tells him it is impossible for him. She tells him that Tenjō Amanohokosaka had sealed it, and to remove the seal, Noel’s power as the Successor of the Blue and the Eye of the Blue is required.

Suddenly the Emperor appears with Phantom, who immobilizes Rachel with Gravity Seed. The Emperor asks Ragna to become hers, swear loyalty to her and serve her forever. She offers him Yūki Terumi’s head in exchange, but Ragna declines. Then, the Emperor switches to Saya’s voice and asks Ragna to come with her. Ragna attacks her in rage, but becomes subdued by Phantom until the two take their leave.

Ragna is injured due to Phantom’s attack, so Rachel asks, the recently arrived, Torakaka to take him to the Kaka Hot Spring that is located in the old Kaka village. Rachel reveals that attacks by magic inflicts damage towards the soul, and that the Blue Grimoire remembers all the damages that Ragna takes, even bypassing dimensional interferences, and that it is the same case with damages occurred by an Event Weapon. She warns Ragna that if the Blue Grimoire’s assimilation continues, he will become damaged by injuries that happened within other dimensions.

A while later, Ragna finds Tsubaki. Tsubaki attempts to arrest him, but fails as Ragna manages to overpower her. She blames Ragna for the changes in Noel, Makoto, and Jin, and declares that she will definitely kill him. Tsubaki pleads for him to kill her, but he declined because she is Noel’s friend. As Tsubaki keeps blaming him, Ragna decides to just destroy the Izayoi. Hakumen appears out of nowhere to protect Tsubaki and let her escape. Ragna tells Hakumen that Tsubaki is currently affected by the Mind Eater technique and that it isn’t something she can solve by herself. Hakumen tells Ragna that the one to toss aside the Sealed Armament: Izayoi should be Tsubaki, not Ragna, and the two begin to fight.

Ragna the Bloodedge (Chronophantasma, Arcade Mode Illustration, 2)

Ragna is forced to fight against Nu-13 with his BlazBlue sealed

After the fight between the two, Hazama appears to insult them, telling Phantom to get rid of the obstacles, and both Ragna and Hakumen are teleported. Ragna is teleported into the Grave Marker of Bases, and decides to face against Terumi, but he declares that his opponent is not him, while Nu-13 descends. Hazama requests that Ragna fight against Nu, the Sword of Izanami. Ragna tries to activate the Blue Grimoire, but he becomes unable to do so, because Terumi used the power of Takamagahara to create an Event Interference. Ragna becomes surprised as such level of Event Interference is impossible, but Terumi declares that the Emperor’s Event Interference power is above the Successor of the Blue. Terumi tells Ragna and Nu to continue fighting and killing, and that their distressing “song” will open the Nemesis Horizon.

Time rewinds back to when Ragna was eating with Taokaka in the restaurant. Suddenly Ragna feels intense pain and injuries start appearing from his body. Taokaka becomes shocked by the sudden happening, and Bullet runs into the scene asking if Ragna was alright. Ragna asks her if her name was Bullet, then she takes caution as Ragna knew her name. Ragna remembers the words that Rachel told him before about Ragna receiving injuries from magic and Event Weapons. Ragna’s vision becomes blurry and he is unable to think straight, then faints.

Chronophantasma (Chronophantasma, Story Mode Illustration, 6)

Celica heals Ragna

Ragna dreams about his time with the Sister when he was young, and wakes up to find out he was lying down on Celica Ayatsuki Mercury’s lap. He realizes that Celica was using magic to heal him, and stands up in panic. Celica happily comments that Ragna is the same as always, but Ragna tells her to not call his name so easily. Suddenly, Ragna’s right eye becomes blind and his right arm paralyzed. Celica asks Ragna if he is still hurt somewhere, but Ragna pushes her aside and runs away.

Later Ragna walks on a rainy street, and notices that his right eye and arm had gone back to normal and suddenly bumps into a stranger. Ragna’s temper appears and he tries to attack the stranger, only to see that Rachel had teleported him away. Ragna tells Rachel to go away, which makes her disappear after she insults him due to his behavior. Ragna wonders why he is in an enraged mood, then meets Noel. Noel becomes surprised as Ragna was soaking wet in the rain, where she tries to dry him with something. Ragna suddenly grabs Noel painfully, saying that he had looked for her everywhere, and demands her to come with him. Noel pleads him to let her go but Ragna keeps on trying to bring her with him by force. Suddenly Kagura Mutsuki comes to Noel’s rescue by attacking Ragna. Kagura calls Noel “his woman” and asks Ragna what he was doing to her. Ragna becomes more enraged and tries to attack Kagura and fights with him, only for him to fall into Kagura’s pace. Kagura insults Ragna by calling him weak, which makes Ragna try to activate his BlazBlue, but then suddenly his arm and right eye becomes paralyzed again, due to Celica appearing. Kagura tells Ragna not to look away then knocks him unconscious.

Ragna gets arrested and is thrown in jail. He asks why he is jailed, Kagura replies that it is because of Ragna’s past crimes, and tells him to be grateful that he wasn’t executed on the spot. Celica and Noel becomes surprised by his statement, which makes them ask Kagura to not execute him. Kagura tells them he was joking and that he still has a job for Ragna to do. However Ragna declines saying he will not do anything Kagura asks him to do. Kokonoe later reveals that the reason Ragna was imprisoned was because of the Emperor’s Event Interferences and that the underground where Ragna is has an anti-Event Interference device, and that Ragna should cool his head while he is imprisoned.

Later, Kokonoe arrives to Ragna’s jail room, telling him to get out and follow her. Ragna asks if it’s alright for her to let him out of prison, then she shows him a rectangular object with a switch, and reveals that Ragna’s left arm has a bomb installed in it, which would kill him alone if activated. She tells him that if he wanders too far from Celica, the bomb would activate and explode. Because of Kokonoe’s threats, Ragna is forced to follow her.

After the group heads to Kagura’s room, Kagura and Kokonoe reveal that they need Ragna to become bait for Azrael, as he is a threat. Hibiki Kohaku reveals that the news about Kagura having arrested Ragna had spread all around Ikaruga, and that there will be a tournament with Ragna’s bounty as a prize at the Colosseum, where Ragna will fight against the participants, which would attract Azrael to join in. Kagura tells Ragna that he will reward him with the Kushinada’s Lynchpin. Ragna abruptly asks Kagura if he truly has the Lynchpin, Kagura says that the key to activating the Lynchpin is already with them, and points to Celica. Kokonoe confirms that Celica is the key to activating the Kushinada’s Lynchpin. After hearing this, Ragna decides to go with Kagura and Kokonoe’s plan. Ragna then asks what their plan is. Kagura answers that their plan is to take down the Emperor and take over the World Void Information Control Organization.

After Noel obtains control over her powers as Mu-12, it is shown that the room where she was sleeping was covered in a dimensional barrier, making the room inaccessible, which made Ragna, Celica, Kagura, Kokonoe, and Makoto unable to enter her room until Noel’s consciousness comes back to her. It’s shown that Noel was getting absorbed by Arakune, and due to her being unable to become free, she unconsciously calls out for Ragna, calling him “Brother”. Ragna senses this and is able to enter the room, then sees that the room has turned dark, full of spider webs, and that Arakune was there. Ragna tries to attack Arakune but Kagura attacks Arakune instead, forcing him to flee the area. Kokonoe reveals to Ragna and the others that it was her fault that Arakune had infiltrated the area, due to her relationship with him. Kokonoe reveals that her frailty was what had caused this, and that her frailty may take an ally’s life as the enemies they are facing should be considered like gods. Ragna tells Kokonoe that he doesn’t believe in gods. Ragna sees that Jin had come visiting to see what was going on, but then sees him take his leave. Celica comments that Jin isn’t being honest, but Ragna tells her that Jin was always that way.

The next day comes, and everyone gathers at the Colosseum. Ragna acts like a true rebel and appears in the main stage with Kagura and Celica. Tsubaki congratulates Kagura for arresting Ragna, and insults Ragna, telling him that he is to be taken to the headquarters and be executed for his crimes, but that she has a mountain of things to ask him, so she will personally question him. Ragna sees that Azrael was not around, so he asks Kagura why Azrael was nowhere to be seen. However, after the preliminaries are over, he sees that Bullet had entered the tournament and that Azrael had finally made his appearance. During their battle, Ragna sees that Azrael was too overwhelming for Bullet as she was getting tortured by Azrael. Celica pleads for Kagura to stop Azrael from hurting Bullet any further, but due to Tager’s power output, the Coordinate Fixture for capturing Azrael was unstable, thus, Kagura could not enter yet. Ragna soon entered the stage himself to stop Azrael from hurting Bullet any further. After seeing this, Kokonoe tells Ragna to buy some time for her to stabilize Tager’s output.

Azrael (Chronophantasma, Arcade Mode Illustration, 1, Type A)

Ragna sees a memory of himself fighting Azrael in another timeline

Ragna’s BlazBlue activates, but goes in a berserk-like state, but he manages to subdue it and deactivates the BlazBlue. Kagura becomes impressed at Ragna for being able to subdue the Blue Grimoire and Rachel also becomes impressed over Ragna’s growth. After seeing this, Azrael questions Ragna as to why he didn’t use his power and tries to kill him in disappointment. However, Kagura makes Ragna retreat, saying his turn is over. Ragna runs over to Celica, asking if she was alright. Celica asks Ragna how Kagura is doing and sees that Kagura was getting overwhelmed by Azrael, but then sees that Kagura was able to find out that Azrael could not attack first, and sees Kokonoe successfully capturing Azrael.

After Jin, Noel, and Makoto succeeds in freeing Tsubaki from the Emperor’s control, Ragna goes with Celica to the underground where Kokonoe is. Ragna realizes that Celica was worn out from the day’s incidents and tells her to rest. Kokonoe picks Celica up and takes her with her. Ragna realizes that his right eye and arm went back to normal and wonders if it is because Celica had gone away from him. Ragna wonders what kind of answers he will find the next day about the Blue Grimoire, but suddenly, Hazama approaches him and tells him that he was unable to “observe” him, which forced him to come find Ragna himself, and attacks him as he wants to find out if Ragna was “real”.

Hazama (Chronophantasma, Arcade Mode Illustration, 1)

Ragna is saved by TR-0009 Tager while battling Yūki Terumi

Ragna becomes overwhelmed by Terumi in the fight until TR-0009 Tager and Kokonoe interferes, then Ragna notices that his right eye and arm became paralyzed again. However he also sees that Terumi was in pain as well. Terumi, who was in extreme pain asks Kokonoe what she had done, and she reveals that due to all the observations done by the Emperor’s group, she had gone through extensive research on how to fight against them without getting observed, and that she had found out the answer. Terumi yells out to Phantom to teleport him out of the area in panic, and questions Kokonoe why Celica Ayatsuki Mercury was alive when he had killed her in the past. Celica then appears, who runs to Ragna to heal him. Terumi becomes surprised after seeing Celica’s appearance, and Kokonoe reveals that Celica is a Chronophantasma, someone who doesn’t exist. Ragna then sees Phantom appearing to teleport Terumi away from the area.

The next day, Ragna, Noel, and Celica head down to the Ibukido’s Kiln, where Rachel was waiting. Ragna asks what he must do, where Rachel tells him that she will be sending him to a certain location. She tells him that there are people who doesn’t have the time to think about What or Who, and that Ragna has a duty to do in that world, and that after he returns, his future will be decided, from the future of his end. Ragna asks what he must do there, where Rachel tells him that it is for him to decide for who, and for what he will use his Blue Grimoire for. Rachel reveals to Ragna that he will have a time travel to the past through the Boundary. Rachel then uses her Tsukuyomi Unit to protect Ragna from the influences within the Boundary. Ragna then goes into the Kiln to begin his time travel back to the First Great Magic War era, 94 years back.

This section is based on story “The 7th Agency” of BlazBlue: Chronophantasma (Extend).

After returning from his trip, Ragna goes in a state of panic. However, after looking at Noel, Ragna is able to calm down. After hearing the name of Kushinada’s Lynchpin, he takes Celica and runs over back to the base to find Kokonoe. After finding her, Ragna asks her how she plans on activating the Lynchpin. Ragna asks her if she knows the meaning behind it, then Kokonoe asks Ragna who he had heard about it from. Ragna reveals that to activate the Kushinada’s Lynchpin, Celica’s soul must be used as a catalyst, meaning that her soul must be fused to the Lynchpin. However once the soul is fused into the Lynchpin, the soul cannot be returned, as it will be bound to the core, and the soul’s life will be used up until it dies, and once the soul dies, the Lynchpin would deactivate, where the magic element it stopped would spread once again. Ragna reveals that he had heard it from the words of Nine. Kokonoe asks if Ragna had met her mother, where she reveals that she is Nine’s daughter. Ragna tells Kokonoe that her mother was more of a human than she was, as Nine was fighting to protect her sister, but Kokonoe tells him that her mother was foolish. She reveals that if Nine had used the Lynchpin, the Black Beast would have had stopped its activity from 3 to 5 years.

Ragna tries to attack Kokonoe in anger, but Celica stops him. Celica reveals that even she thought of becoming a sacrifice 94 years ago due to the tremendous loss humans had experienced during the Great Dark War, but Ragna corrects her saying that even if she had become a sacrifice and the Black Beast had stopped its activity for 3 to 5 years, it would have been meaningless as Nine would have given up all hope after losing Celica. Ragna reveals that because he had bought 1 year of time for humanity, Nine had worked all her hardest in creating the Magic Formula as she had thought only about protecting Celica. Celica denies that her sister is that weak, but Ragna corrects her saying that if one were to lose something very important, they would become weak. Ragna tells her that when the Kushinada’s Lynchpin was found, no one there had ever thought about wanting to sacrifice Celica. Celica asks if Ragna thought the same, where he tells her that he did not want to lose anything, which was why he had fought against the Black Beast alone. Kokonoe tells Ragna that the only reason she had made Celica was to use her as the activation key for the Lynchpin, and that Celica herself knew about it too.

Chronophantasma (Chronophantasma, Story Mode Illustration, 14)

Ragna grabs Kokonoe in anger

Afterwards, Kokonoe reveals that the Emperor’s group is planning on summoning the Amaterasu from the Boundary, and that Amaterasu itself was going to be a bait to lure the Emperor. Ragna came to understand their plan but rejects the idea of using Celica as the catalyst. However, Kokonoe tells him that if there was another way, she would have already found one. Rachel then enters, and reveals that there is, in fact, another way to activate the Lynchpin. After Celica tells Kagura the way to activate the Lynchpin, which would fuse the soul and the core, Kagura realizes that Tenjō Amanohokosaka’s soul is inside the Phoenix Wing: Rettenjō possessed by Bang Shishigami. After theorizing that the Kushinada’s Lynchpin may activate with the Phoenix Wing: Rettenjō, Celica wonders if she isn’t needed, but Kokonoe tells her that she is needed as an assurance.

Kagura tells Ragna, Noel and Celica to go activate the Lynchpin since everything is ready. Kokonoe gives Ragna a transition device which needs to be attached to the Lynchpin, and that the energy for the transition will be Ragna’s Blue Grimoire. Ragna asks Kokonoe how he is going to do that when Celica seals the Blue Grimoire’s power, then Kokonoe makes the Idea Engine activate, which makes Ragna’s right eye and arm come back to normal. Ragna wonders how this happened, and Kokonoe tells him that the Idea Engine has a Noise Canceler installed that negates Celica’s power from affecting the Blue Grimoire, and as long as Idea Engine is active, he will not be affected by Celica’s power. Kokonoe reveals that the bomb she spoke of before never existed.

Ragna, Noel and Celica arrive at the location but only find an empty room. However Noel tells them that she can see the door, but Ragna and Celica are unable to see it. Celica tells Noel to take strong awareness of the door. Noel transforms into Mu-12 and takes strong awareness of the doorway, which reveals a large room with the Kushinada’s Lynchpin. Suddenly, Bang enters the room and declares that he was waiting for them to arrive, giving off a palpable killing intent.

Following a fight and a moving speech on Ragna’s part, Bang finally acknowledges Ragna as being worthy of using the Lynchpin, and declares he is willing to use the Phoenix Wing: Rettenjō for him, and Noel places the transition device onto the Lynchpin. While trying to find out how to use the Lynchpin, Celica asks Bang to insert the Phoenix Wing: Rettenjō into the Lynchpin. When Bang tries to go to the Lynchpin, he is suddenly attacked by Litchi Faye Ling. Noel is then assaulted by Nu-13, who starts synchronization with her, while Ragna is forced to fight against Relius Clover who prevents Ragna from aiding Noel.

After Terumi activates his BlazBlue, souls start getting sucked into the Ibukido tower. Nu finishes her forced synchronization with Noel and becomes the Successor of the Blue, like Noel. Relius affirms that Noel and Nu have synchronized, and that Noel is no longer needed, where he orders Nu to kill her. Celica tries to protect Noel, then Ex Machina: Minerva arrives to protect Celica from harm. Suddenly, the magic element concentration increases, which makes Ragna, Noel, and Celica cough in pain. Relius reveals that all the Kilns around the world have been released, which is absorbing all life around the world, to be gathered into the tower of Ibukido as a catalyst, in order to summon the Amaterasu.

After Relius reveals that he will be the one to recreate the world after Amaterasu is destroyed, and that not even the Emperor is needed in that world. Ragna tries to attack Relius, but Carl Clover comes to protect him. Kokonoe contacts Ragna again to ask if the Kushinada’s Lynchpin is ready as the Emperor has started the summoning of the Master Unit, but Ragna tells her that the situation is terrible. Kokonoe asks if he has put the transition device onto the Lynchpin, which he confirms that it is. Kokonoe tells him to activate the Lynchpin no matter what, and tells that she plans to have the Lynchpin strike into the Kiln by having it strike the monolith tower. However Kokonoe tells Ragna that one problem is that if the monolith tower’s foundation is hit, the tower itself will be destroyed and that the tower currently has souls trapped inside.

The Master Unit Amaterasu is successfully summoned. However, due to Ignis and Nirvana’s dual attacks, Ragna is unable to approach the Lynchpin. Tsubaki and Makoto arrives at the scene, and after leaving on orders from Kokonoe, Ragna follows Celica, leaving the Lynchpin’s acquisition and defense to them and Bang.

Chronophantasma (Chronophantasma, Story Mode Illustration, 16)

Ragna and Noel see Amaterasu floating in the sky

Ragna and Noel leave the area and see Amaterasu floating in the sky. Suddenly they see something fall from the sky, which is revealed to be Takemikazuchi. With Jin and Noel in tow, Ragna heads off to face it, finding Celica along the way. Kokonoe reveals that she plans on deactivating Celica’s limiter because Kushinada’s Lynchpin hasn’t been activated yet. and that Takemikazuchi has been attacking Amaterasu. She intends to use Celica’s ability to make Takemikazuchi unable to attack Amaterasu, but if that doesn’t work, she plans to use Celica as a bullet and fire at the Takemikazuchi. Kokonoe tells him to buy 10 minutes of time as that is the time limit before Celica ceases to exist. Ragna asks Kokonoe if that doesn’t work either, what she would do, where she answers that she will fire all nuclear missiles at Takemikazuchi. Suddenly after hearing that, Hakumen appears. Ragna and Celica then ask Hakumen to destroy the tower’s foundation.

Chronophantasma (Chronophantasma, Story Mode Illustration, 22, Type B)

Ragna, Noel, and Jin see the image of the Sister within Celica

After Hakumen accepts their request, Ragna asks Kokonoe to give him access to the communication towards Bang, where he asks him to activate the Lynchpin within 10 minutes. Ragna tells Celica to turn off the limiter once 10 minutes hit, whether the Lynchpin activates or not. After Celica releases her limiter, Ragna and the others face Hades: Izanami, and the battle between Ragna, Jin, Noel, and Takemikazuchi begins.

After Hakumen defeats Yūki Terumi and destroys the foundation of the monolith tower with Jin, Ragna sees that Celica is reaching her time limit. After Bang successfully strikes the monolith tower with the Phoenix Wing: Rettenjō, the activity of all magic element stopped, where Rachel immediately tells Ragna to activate his BlazBlue and take down Takemikazuchi. Ragna asks how he can even use any Magic Formula when magic element activity has completely stopped, but Kokonoe tells him that the Noise Canceler within his Idea Engine works the same for such a situation. Ragna then activates his BlazBlue and defeats Takemikazuchi.

Afterwards, Ragna, Celica and Minerva goes inside the Takemikazuchi’s core. Nu suddenly appears in front of them, starting to speak like Noel talks, telling them the place they are in is Magic City of Ishana, which was the final scene that the current Celica saw before coming to the future. After a series of other surprising revelations by Nu (see Nu’s character page for more information), she reverts to her regular persona and says that they should start fighting, also stating that Celcia can join in to “make it a threesome” but she would probably die straight away. Following the innuendo Nu declares that she will hug Ragna, by which she means she will impale them both whilst actually giving him a hug in a similar fashion to the first game in the BlazBlue series. Ragna says that she did not come to kill Nu, saying that even if he did come to destroy her, Nu wouldn’t stay dead. Nu reveals that this is due to a Life Link that they share, saying that it’s as if destiny wanted them to be together forever, but Ragna says that they really need to let go of this negative, one-sided relationship already. When Nu says that she wants to kill each other forever, Ragna says that it’s already too late since she said she asked Ragna to “save her”

Confused, Nu denies saying anything like that, but Ragna tells her that the whole story that she had just told him was like asking him to save her. Nu then becomes even more confused, which turns into anger, telling Ragna to “drop the bullshit” or she would kill him for real. Ragna, getting a little cocky now, taunts her, asking her to try if she is truly capable of doing so, since she knows that neither of them aren’t truly capable of dying due to the Life Link she had recently mentioned. Nu becomes even angrier, while Ragna tells her to bring it on, knowing that his method of saving is rough, and the two engage in an intense battle inside the Takemikazuchi’s core. Ragna easily defeats Nu even without the use of his Blue Grimoire, which makes Nu go into denial on how Ragna became stronger. Ragna tells Nu that it isn’t that he is strong but that she is weak, even though he said that she is the “strongest” out of the two. Nu then falls unconscious, where Ragna catches her before she falls. Ragna points out that Nu’s sleeping face looks similar to Noel, where Celica comments that she looks cute. Nu is then taken out from the Takemikazuchi by Ragna and Celica.
Chronophantasma (Chronophantasma, Story Mode Cutscene, 9)

Ragna carries Nu-13 out from Takemikazuchi’s core

Celica escapes the core first, while Ragna comes out while holding Nu. Suddenly, Hades: Izanami appears, and Ragna immediately attacks her. However, Ragna stops short before his attack can land. At that point, Nu awakens and attacks Ragna from the back, causing Ragna to collapse. Hakumen then attacks Hades: Izanami using his Time Killer technique, which leaves her unaffected, and Phantom teleports Hakumen away from the area. Noel then transforms into Mu-12, where Hades: Izanami comments that since Noel is known as the “Godslayer Kusanagi”, she must strike back.

Chronophantasma (Chronophantasma, Story Mode Illustration, 24)

Ragna is forcibly transformed into a Black Beast-like state by Hades: Izanami

Hades: Izanami then declares the awakening of the Beast, which makes Ragna’s Blue Grimoire go fully berserk. Ragna tells Jin and Noel to take Celica and run away, and screams in pain. As Noel and Jin stand ready to fight Ragna, Hades: Izanami notices that neither Hazama or Relius are coming, and points out that her contract with them had already ended, but since they had served her, she declares that she shall give them a “good death” and disappears with Phantom. Noel and Jin then attacked by Ragna, who then attempts to warn them off, lest he kill them.

Rachel Alucard (Chronophantasma, Arcade Mode Illustration, 2)

Rachel tells Tsubaki about Ragna’s current state

In the Epilogue, Tsubaki arrives at the scene only to find Ragna gone and saw that Noel and Jin were both critically injured, with Kokonoe having tasked Tager with searching for Ragna, with the possibility that he is already dead not yet ruled out. Although Noel wasn’t as badly injured, Jin was in a critical condition with heavy injuries, and Celica was doing her best to heal him. Tsubaki then prepares to take her leave, intending to go after Ragna, whom she sees as an evil that must be destroyed, but not after Rachel tells him that Ragna may be slowly dying due to his current fate, and that Tsubaki is one of the few that must destroy either Ragna or Rachel herself before it is too late.

Somewhere at an unknown place, Ragna’s body reverts into a normal state, as he wakes up and sees the Embryo in the sky. However, he somehow lost all of memories and doesn’t know who he is.

BlazBlue: Phase 0[]

This section is based on story of the light novel BlazBlue: Phase 0.

Although it is not a widely remembered part of the Great Dark War, six years after its appearance the Black Beast went dormant for an entire year. This was due to the actions of an individual known only as “Bloodedge”, who sacrificed his life and managed to delay its cataclysmic destruction for an entire year. This small window he created allowed the Six Heroes to teach humankind how to use Magic Formula, and to amass a greater and stronger following. His sacrifice also strengthened Jūbei’s resolve to defeat the monster, as he had personally bore witness to Bloodedge’s final moments.

Bloodedge was a close friend of Jūbei, then known as Mitsuyoshi, one of the Six Heroes, who is one of the few people who remembers Bloodedge and what he did for the world. After Ragna completed his training, Jūbei gave Bloodedge’s red jacket and weapon to his young apprentice. Ragna’s title, the “Bloodedge”, is in honor of this man. Ragna even speaks a phrase eerily similar to something Bloodedge once told Jūbei.

In reality, Bloodedge is actually a time-displaced Ragna, who was sent into the past by Rachel halfway through the events of BlazBlue: Chronophantasma and stripped of most of his memories, along with the ability to move his right arm or see with his right eye. At first, the only thing he can remember is his name 'Ragna', but he continues to regain fragments of his memories as the story progresses as he traveled with Celica and Mitsuyoshi.[6] In these novels there are two versions of Ragna: one that became the Black Beast by merging with Nu-13 in the original timeline and one that travelled back in time and would later be remembered as the hero known as Bloodedge, a human that sacrificed his life for the world by going up against the Black Beast alone.

The human Ragna travels with Celica and Mitsuyoshi to the now destroyed Japan, which had been hit by nuclear missiles from around the world in an attempt to kill the Black Beast after it appeared, to search for Celica’s father, Shūichirō Ayatsuki, since Celica wanted to prove her father’s innocence in the project which caused the Beast’s appearance.

Towards the end of the novel, he fully regains his memories due to being in close proximity with the Boundary through the Sheol Gate. Together with Nine and Trinity, they managed to find Celica’s father. They then learn that he wanted to use Celica as the key for the Kushinada’s Lynchpin, which would defeat the Black Beast, but in return would mean Celica’s sacrifice. However it would only be temporary, as it can only be activated until Celica’s life wears out. Angry, Ragna walks out from Shūichirō’s laboratory to cool his head, though it is only an excuse to meet Rachel of his time, who was waiting for him near the Kiln. Ragna asks her how to create the one year window of chance, to which Rachel says that he already knows the answer.

Suddenly, the laboratory shakes, and through one of the surveillance camera, everyone is aghast to realize that the Black Beast is coming at tremendous speed. Nine wants to stay and fight, but Ragna tells her to wait for a chance, which he will create to defeat the Black Beast. As Nine prepares to teleport everyone out, Ragna tells her to gather the Six Heroes and prepare for humanity’s counterattack during that one year. He also warns her to be wary of Terumi, and passes his jacket to the tearful Celica and promises her that he will return afterwards. Mitsuyoshi stays behind with Ragna to fight the Beast, while Ragna laments the fact that he had lied to Celica. Ragna makes Mitsuyoshi promise to run away as soon as he gives the signal, as he is needed in the future.

BlazBlue Phase 0 (Colored illustration, 2)

Ragna challenges the Black Beast

As Mitsuyoshi and Ragna fight their way to the Beast’s body, the two are struck with fear, realizing how much of a monstrosity the massive Beast is. However, Ragna realizes that his inability to move his right arm or see with his right eye was due to Celica’s latent magical ability to suppress magic element. Reaching the farthest point they can go, Ragna signals Mitsuyoshi to retreat and activates the BlazBlue before charging at the Black Beast. The clash between the Beast and the Blue Grimoire creates a reaction, which pulls Ragna into the Beast’s core and results in the phenomenon which the Beast is dormant for one year.

BlazBlue: Phase Shift 1[]

This section is based on story of the light novel BlazBlue: Phase Shift 1.

Ragna appears in one of Kazuma’s dreams, battling Terumi at the top of Kagutsuchi.[7]

Ragna was later found wounded in a forest by Celica, with most of his memories stripped away.[8]

BlazBlue: Phase Shift 2[]

This section is based on story of the light novel BlazBlue: Phase Shift 2.

Ragna was mentioned to be the reason as to why the Black Beast follows Celica.[9]

BlazBlue: Phase Shift 4[]

This section is based on story of the light novel BlazBlue: Phase Shift 4.

Inside the pitch black darkness, the human Ragna survived being consumed by the Black Beast and meets Nu-13, whom he fights while time is distorted. He manages to kill Nu which allows Hakumen to kill Black Beast Ragna. Approximately one year later in the real time (much shorter in the core), the Beast re-emerges in the real world and human Ragna is expelled of its body. While the Six Heroes fights the Beast on the frontline, Ragna reunites with Celica, brought by Rachel to see him one last time before he is sent back into the future. As their window is short, Ragna says farewell to Celica and tells her that they will meet later in the future before heading back through the Boundary to get back to the future where he belongs.[10]

BlazBlue: Centralfiction[]

This section is based on the act 1, “Phantom of Labyrith”, of BlazBlue: Centralfiction.
Ragna reawakens within the Embryo, mostly stripped of his memories and searching for who he truly is. All that he has is his name, most of his old personality, and his fighting skills to aid him in recovering his memories. He was told to go to the Kiln where he encountered an illusion of Nu acting as if she was smelted for the first time, like in BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. Despite their confrontation, Ragna insisted that he will not kill Nu or destroy her, which led her to ask who he is. Ragna replied that it does not matter, and said that he will save her. After the battle, Ragna said that he probably came to this place to save her, and Nu asked what his desire was, but her voice then turned into Nine’s voice. Ragna saw a vision of his childhood at the church and after it ended, he found himself standing in the Purgatorium in front of Nine. She told Ragna that the only way to make his wish come true is to defeat Izanami with his own hands before the Doomsday arrives.

This section is based on the act 2, “Nightmare Memory”, of BlazBlue: Centralfiction.
After this encounter, Ragna started to get his memories back. Remembering what Nine said he went to Izanami, and after the battle she let him stab herself. Izanami said that Ragna cannot end anything by defeating her, and that she will show him his true enemy. As the Event Interference reverted their battle’s aftermath, Ragna saw the wielder of Amaterasu Unit, and felt like that woman is someone who knows him.

This section is based on the act 3, “The Replacement Blue”, of BlazBlue: Centralfiction.

Ragna realized that the Qualified again force their desires on her, that they want to deny the whole world because they do not like the results of their choices and just run away from the consequences. He thinks that this way nothing will change, and nothing will be saved, so Ragna decided to not let anyone, including God, fulfill their desires, even mentioning that he will devour their desires and become the enemy of the whole world.

He encountered Naoto Kurogane, someone that people have been mistaking for Ragna. After their battle, Rachel teleported to Ragna, warning him to stay away from Naoto, but she did not explain to Ragna that Naoto’s existence overrides his own.

Ragna went to the Kushinada’s Lynchpin to destroy it, but Lambda-11 teleported to him and they fought since she is one of the Qualified. After the fight she asked if Ragna wants to destroy her, and he replied that it is a bit different, but his answer is a “yes”. Ragna said that he will defeat all Qualified and end their desires, and that he can do it because he is not a Qualified. Lambda’s desire to meet Ragna was already fulfilled, so there is no need for her to be a Qualified, and she accepted to be destroyed by Ragna, but he said that he will only make her forget. Before he was able to explain what he meant, Ragna was teleported away by Relius, who said that he cannot allow that. It took him some time to get back, and when he returned, Nu was about to kill Mu, so Ragna jumped in and blocked Nu’s attack with his sword. Nu asked why he got in her way, and he explained that he will not let her take the Lynchpin, so he can save her, and for that, he also has to end her desire.

Powers and abilities[]

Ragna is an extremely powerful individual, having been trained in combat, culinary skills and Magic Formula by Jūbei, wielding a Blue Grimoire and a rather unusual large sword called Aramasa, he is able to easily take down entire squads of the Control Organization by himself. Much of his fighting style involves somewhat crude-yet-controlled swings and strikes of brute force and simplistic martial form, ranging from wide sword swings to basic roundhouse-and-axe-kicks which implies a self-taught-yet-standard style. Much of his involves him getting into close range and trying to take his hits as far as possible as soon as he gains an offensive edge, which is reflected in gameplay by having a variety of hit confirms that lead into combos of rather long length that result in mid-to-high damage.

Being the wielder of a Blue Grimoire, Ragna is able to manipulate darkness in the form of the various body parts of the Black Beast through his Drive, Soul Eater (ソウルイーター Souru Ītā), which also absorbs the opponent’s life force to replenish his own. By utilizing an ability called Blood Cain (ブラッドカイン Buraddo Kain), Ragna is able to use his Blue Grimoire to greatly enhance his physical abilities and strengthens his Drive, although it wears down his own life force during its duration even to the point of the Grimoire being able to nearly corrupt his entire person. Ragna is also capable of using a concealment Magic Formula to help hide him from both man and beast.

During BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, Nu-13 (then in the body of Lambda-11), sacrificed herself to save Ragna from Hazama’s onslaught and transferred her Idea Engine into his Blue Grimoire, allowing Ragna to access the true Blue and preventing Hazama from suppressing it again. In BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, the combination of Ragna’s “Blood Cain” and the Idea Engine becomes his Overdrive, called Blood Cain Idea (ブラッドカインイデア Buraddo Kain Idea), which puts him in the “Blood Cain” state but without draining his health, and limits the eroding powers of the Grimoire unless Ragna himself decides to remove the limiter as a last resort (though his own anger can be another factor in causing his Grimoire to corrupt if left unchecked).

However, a majority of events in the game involve him taking major beatings to the point of having difficulty recovering from them, which also ties into him having one of the lowest health stats in of the cast. He also has shown weakness in often over-relying on his Blue Grimoire during a majority of battles, often mixing in with his aforementioned offensive battle strategy in order to add as much stolen-life possible to his momentum. Tying into this was also Ragna often in situations where he is unable to fight at full power in major events during the storylines of the older games (e.g. being injured beforehand, having his Grimoire disabled, and so forth).

During the events of BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, Ragna’s right arm and eye become paralyzed due to Celica Ayatsuki Mercury’s power, which made him become very weak compared to his normal self. However, this enabled him to learn how to effectively fight without relying on the Blue Grimoire, and truly understanding that the power of the BlazBlue wasn't merely his own to throw around nonchalantly. The wad of ordeals made him focus much more on his physical strength enough to defeat Nu-13 without fully activating the Blue Grimoire and without trying to kill her; something he failed to do before. During the events of Centralfiction upon regaining his memories, Ragna is much more resolved to try to formulate plans and displaying more awareness than before about his situation outside of combat and during a battle; one example of this is while only regaining a decent portion of his memories (not yet all of them), he was able to directly combat Azrael effectively at one point with only the bare minimum of his darkness-based powers and the rest of his own strength.

In Centralfiction, Ragna learns to also make use of Soul Eater to be able to absorb other non-corporeal aspects of a person such as their dreams, attempting to steal said dreams/possibilities of the playable cast to properly migrate them to the new world. The more he does it however, the more strain it puts on himself (initially indicated by his right arm feeling heavier as time goes on). Via Kokonoe's analysis, he was using the Idea Engine to try and hold back the Grimoire's negative effects, though Ragna according to her was still under the threat of imploding if the amount of dreams he's absorbed exceeds the size of his vessel.

Trivia[]

Naming
  • “Ragna” is a name that is Scandinavian in origin. It is actually a feminine name that is the short form of female compound names beginning with the element “Ragn-”, from Old Norse “rǫgn”, which roughly translates as “counsel”. However, the more likely explanation is that his name derives from Ragnarök, which translates as “the final battle of the Gods”. The word “Ragnarök” is a compound: the first element, “ragna”, means “organizing powers” and was commonly used to refer to the gods or their actions. In a sense, Ragna’s first name could literally translate as “God” from Norwegian. His name may suggest another Norse reference, which is the legends of Ragnar Loðbrok, a hero who slayed the serpent Jörmungandr.
  • Shinigami” (死神, God of Death) is a Japanese personification of death. “Grim Reaper” is its Western counterpart as localized in the English dub.
  • Five of Ragna’s special moves which involve using his darkness element have names related to hell (Hell’s Fang, Gauntlet Hades, Inferno Divider, Belial Edge, with Belial being one of the Four Crown Princes of Hell, and Seed of Tartarus). Both Hell and Inferno share the same meaning, while Hades refers to the ancient Greek god of the underworld.
    • In Hell’s Fang’s case, the intended name might have been actually Hel, the goddess of death in Norse mythology, as both “Hell” and “Hel” are written as ヘル (Heru) in Japanese katakana.
    • The activation for the Blue Grimoire also parallels with Ragna's motif; via the quote "666th restriction", which likely references the "Number of the Beast".
  • His Blood Cain ability (spelled with a “K” for the latter part in English localizations), may be a reference to Cain and Abel, the two sons of Adam and Eve.
    • The sibling rivalry motif between the two can also parallel Ragna and Jin’s rivalry, especially via Cain being symbolized as "the root of all evil" in some circles, which is a role Ragna indirectly takes on in the series (via either others deeming him evil or Ragna going against the world’s wishes as the Centralfiction).
Appearance
  • During Ragna’s flashbacks, his outfit resembles one of the concept designs for the early design stages of Ragna’s character.
  • The blade of Ragna’s sword resembles an enlarged version of one of the 8 blades the Murakumo Units use during combat. In early concept art, the two are identical.
  • When Ragna activates the Idea Engine together with his BlazBlue, the Blue’s crest appears blue in color, but when he uses only his BlazBlue, it appears red. This supports Ragna’s claim that this is the true Power of the Blue.
  • In the Chimelical Complex manga, when Ragna uses the Blue Grimoire, his arm changes to the black claw that he uses in Devoured by Darkness, instead of the black aura of magic element that normally surrounds his body. When he used it to defeat Jin, Ragna’s body turns darker as it happens in Black Onslaught; black feathers can also be seen spreading around him.
  • On the clean cover artwork of BlazBlue in L.A. Vocal Edition there is a text written on one of Ragna’s belts – it is -No.5- Es.
  • Ragna’s jacket is drawn inconsistently from image to image. His BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger artwork features two small metallic plates on each side of his jacket, but they are usually not noticeable because of the belts and thus, not seen in most in-game CGs, as well as most game sprites (though they are slightly visible on the opposite side while he is standing). The said plates disappear completely in Ragna’s BlazBlue: Continuum Shift artwork. In Ragna’s BlazBlue: Chronophantasma artwork, the metallic plates are positioned lower so they are visible from all sides, but still absent from the new in-game CGs. His new game sprites have them, however.
    • Likewise, akin to some asymmetrical characters, Ragna's red-right eye in his battle sprite gets flipped, while in his story mode artworks, his Grimoire gets flipped onto the wrong arm the same way as well despite his eye remaining in the right place.
Other
  • His birthday falls on “I Want You to Be Happy” Day, also known as Girl’s Day.
  • The remains of the Black Beast that Ragna attains, is actually his own beheaded humanoid form.
  • Ragna does not possess either of his original arms, as Jin severed his right arm, which was replaced with the Blue Grimoire, and his left arm was destroyed in the process of bringing back Noel, and was replaced by Kokonoe using parts from Lambda’s regeneration tank.
  • Ragna’s favorite food is stated to be tentama udon (天玉うどん, heaven jewel udon).[11]
  • Ragna dislikes needles, as revealed by his dialogue in his Help Me, Professor Kokonoe! section.
    • His fear of ghosts is also referenced many times in a comedic fashion, which theroies often state stem from the trauma inflicted upon him by Terumi (who was originally a ghost-based entity himself).
  • In the BlazBlue Material Collection, there is a sketch of Ragna defeated in front of Jin, with Ragna holding a sword known as the Rebellion, Dante’s signature sword in the Devil May Cry series, which in some cases, causes many parallels between Dante and Vergil to Ragna and Jin (Ragna's leitmotif is also called "Rebellion" as well).
  • A running gag in the series is Ragna’s tendency to treat people to meals:
    • In BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, he decides to feed the starving Taokaka and is left with a large bill as a result.
    • In BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, he is forced to feed Platinum when Sena makes a commotion in public.
    • In Taokaka’s BlazBlue: Chronophantasma Arcade Mode, Tao and Luna leave a large restaurant bill on Ragna’s tab.
    • In episode 4 of Teach Me More, Ms. Litchi, Ragna gives Platinum a cake, and Sena remarked that if they asked, Ragna would probably buy them as many cakes as they wanted.
    • This tendency is noted by Ragna himself in “Mechanical Soul”, where he preemptively tells Lambda that he wasn’t going to feed her. This episode is based on the BlazBlue: Continuum Shift — Part 2 novel, where he actually fed her.
    • In Taokaka’s Act 3 of BlazBlue: Centralfiction, Ragna said that they will eat some meat buns only if Kagura pays the bill.
  • In the second episode of “Teach Me, Miss Litchi!” in BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, Ragna makes a reference to the character Naruto Uzumaki from the Naruto series.
  • Ragna was bitten only once by Rachel, as she admitted it in her ending in BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger. In all the other timelines, he was able to save himself by touching the Blue Grimoire, as it is described in Rachel’s short story Endless Waltz.
  • In one of Ragna’s endings in BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, after Ragna and Nu fuse together without entering into the Kiln, the new entity is able to activate the Murakumo Unit and deploy the Blood Scythe at the same time.
  • There is an artistic error found during the Calamity Trigger Reconstruction story in BlazBlue: Continuum Shift Extend, when Ragna’s right arm was cut off, he still has white hair instead of blonde.
  • Although the image in which Ragna transforms into the Black Beast is part of Ragna’s Bad Ending in BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, it is listed as part of the True Ending in the Gallery.
  • Although Ragna has his own unlimited theme, Black Onslaught, this is not played in both Jin and Hazama’s Arcade Mode in BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, where the theme played is instead Under Heaven Destruction and Nightmare Fiction respectively.
  • When Ragna is beaten by Platinum in the latter’s Story Mode, his sprite is the bloody Ragna with his left arm torn off instead of the normal defeated sprite, which might be a case where the game loads the wrong sprite for the situation.
  • Each of Ragna’s attacks that use his Soul Eater Drive involve a part of a Black Beast (though some do not involve life steal):
    • 5D second hit, 2D and Hell’s Fang followup, Dead Spike, Datou (in his Unlimited Form) and Nightmare Edge followup: one of its heads.
      • In the case of Dead Spike, that very particular beast head has been spawned into a popular entity of its own within the BlazBlue fandom, even birthing an official spin-off game revolving around it.
      • Also in the case of all of these specific animations save for Hell's Fang's followup and Dead Spike, the earlier frames of such animations involve a swarm of smaller snake-like heads converging to form the larger one.
    • 6D, Crush Trigger, Keri Age/Spin Kick followup from Gauntlet Hades and Yami ni Kuwarero: One of its claws. In the case of both his Crush Trigger and Yami ni Kuwarero, the two of them involve actually turning his hand into a clawed-arm.
      • His Crush Trigger however, due to not being mapped to the D button, involves no life steal.
      • Also as of Chronophantasma, Ragna's clawed-hand during the base versions of Yami ni Kuwarero has an eye on its dorsal side that slowly opens upon the attack connecting.
    • j.D: The beast’s maw.
    • D version Inferno Divider and Nightmare Edge: the beast’s hide. However, Nightmare Edge does not have any life steal effects due to being mapped to a C input instead of a D input.
    • Kakato Otoshi/Ax Kick followup from Inferno Divider: A lump of Magic Element in the form of dark mist, which may as well be its breath. This element to the attack was not present in Calamity Trigger.
    • Carnage Scissors: a portion of the beast’s outer skin, possibly its spikes.
    • Black Onslaught: One of its wings during the ending blow. Interestingly enough, this is the only Soul Eater-based life steal move that does not normally benefit from the mechanic (since it is an Astral Heat, meaning the opponent is already finished once it connects), and its input is mapped to the C button instead of the D button.
      • This is also due to the fact that the life steal orbs when examined closely, gravitate towards Ragna's Blood Scythe for the finishing blow. However, the orbs that gravitate towards his body during the initial slash combo still count towards healing him as normal.
    • If one listens closely, any move that involves an element of the beast’s heads emits a faint roar; this sound effect is amplified in both Chronophantasma and Centralfiction for a majority of Ragna’s Soul Eater attacks compared to other titles.
Appearances in other media
  • Ragna, along with Jin, Hazama, Hakumen, Platinum and Rachel, is featured as a “Playable Character” in the MMO Action Game, Lost Saga.
  • Ragna is featured in the Square Enix game: Lord of Vermilion Re: 2, alongside Noel and Jin.
  • Ragna appears in the game Fantasy War Tactics alongside with Jin, Rachel, and Noel.
  • Ragna, along with Jin, Noel and Rachel, is featured as a Playable Character in the MOBA game, Chaos Heroes Online.[12]
  • Ragna, as well as Noel Vermillion and Tsubaki Yayoi, appears in the mobile game Seven Knights. Ragna will start without his red jacket, which he receives after upgrading into five stars, and the six stars update will turn Ragna into Bloodedge.
  • Ragna, as well as any other main character in BlazBlue: Centralfiction, appears in the mobile game Mabinogi Duel. Ragna is a selectable character with a special effect named Soul Eater, the player gains 1 life point whenever an enemy card is destroyed, but loses 2 when an ally card is destroyed.

References[]

  1. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger — Part 1
  2. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, Rachel Alucard’s Arcade Mode-Crime and Punishment-
  3. BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, Ragna the Bloodedge’s Story Modestray sheep
  4. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, True Ending – Ragna the Bloodedge
  5. 5.0 5.1 BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, True Ending – MURAKUMO
  6. BlazBlue: Phase 0, Chapter 1: Lost White
  7. BlazBlue: Phase Shift 1, Chapter 1: “Island of Green Wisdom”
  8. BlazBlue: Phase Shift 1, Epilogue
  9. BlazBlue: Phase Shift 2, Chapter 4: “The Indigo Heart Conception”
  10. BlazBlue: Phase Shift 4
  11. BlazBlue: Chronophantasma, glossary, items section, entry #21
  12. BlazBlue at chaosheroesonline.co.jp (in Japanese). SEGA. Retrieved June 28, 2014.

Navigation[]

BlazBlue characters
Playable characters Ragna the Bloodedge · Jin Kisaragi · Noel Vermillion · Rachel Alucard · Taokaka · Iron Tager · Litchi Faye Ling · Arakune · Bang Shishigami · Carl Clover · Hakumen · ν-No.13- · Tsubaki Yayoi · Hazama · μ-No.12- · Makoto Nanaya · Valkenhayn R. Hellsing · Platinum the Trinity · Relius Clover · Izayoi · Amane Nishiki · Bullet · Azrael · Kagura Mutsuki · Kokonoe · Yūki Terumi · Celica A. Mercury · Λ-No.11- · Hibiki Kohaku · Naoto Kurogane · Nine the Phantom · Izanami · Es · Mai Natsume · Susanoo · Jūbei
Non-playable characters Clavis Alucard · Raquel Alucard · Cypher Albar · Homura Amanohokosaka · Tenjō Amanohokosaka · Shūichirō Ayatsuki · Bell · Black Beast · Black Golden Tager · Bob · Bugs · Chachakaka · Clerk · Ada Clover · Ignis Clover · Dimensional Boundary Contact Prime Field No. 5 · Eight · Elina · Kajun Faycott · Fuzzy · Four · Francis and Rosenne · Gii · Trinity Glassfille · Guardian · Golden Tager · Han · Grimwood Huster · Hōichirō Hazuki · Rin Hazuki · Kagemaru · Shiori Kirihito · Kazuma Kval · Meifang Lapislazuli · Julian · Lao Jiu · Linhua · Little Kakas · Mechakaka · Estella McKenzie · Momokaka · Munefuyu · Nago · Ellen Nelson · Obstacle · The Origin · Owl · Pakumen · Karenjina Parsett · Taro Sasagae · Saya · Seven · Ciel Sulfur · Subordinates · Suzukaka · Ms. Tail · Tartar · Akane Teruhiko · Terumen · Three · Tomonori · Torakaka · Totokaka · Two · Claire Vermillion · Edgar Vermillion · Ayame Yayoi
Advertisement