Aza Tōma

 Aza Tōma (亜あ左ざ 桐とう馬ま) is the younger brother and right-hand man of the infamous bandit Aza Chōbei. He is a major supporting character of Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku.

After his brother was arrested, Tōma infiltrated the Yamada clan in order to reunite with Chōbei in prison and presented him with the shogun's mission to acquire the Elixir of Life from the dangerous island believed to be Shinsenkyō. With the reward being a pardon exempting the criminal of their past crimes, Chōbei accepted and was assigned Tōma as his Yamada Asaemon monitor.

Appearance

Tōma is a young man with long black hair, eyes, and an androgynous appearance. Tōma's hair later becomes short, after he cuts it to show his dedication to Gantetsusai in wanting to become stronger, and makes a small braid on the left side, mirroring that of his brother's. He also receives a small scar on the right bridge of his nose after Chōbei accidentally injured him in a rampaging state.

For his attire, Tōma wears the Yamada clan's standard uniform, which is a white robe with a red lining running down the collars, a hakama with a single red band at the left gusset that is held together with a red waist cord, which holds his katana at his left hip, a funerary bell tied to a red piece of cloth at the center of his collar, and sandals. He later loses his funerary bell after trying to stop his brother from going berserk.

After a year passed since escaping the island, Tōma grows his hair back to its original length and supports a longer braid. The scar on his nose has also seemingly vanished. As for his attire, Tōma wears Chinese clothing with a dragon at the center of his robe.

Personality

Tōma believes that the key to surviving in life is adapting to one's environment, and views his brother as a prime example of this perspective. He is very caring and loyal to Chōbei since he has been his protector since they were children, and stresses out whenever harm comes to him. Because of how his father died fighting for his allies, Tōma is reluctant to cooperate with anyone except for his brother. In his own eyes, Tōma views himself as an extension of his brother instead of an ally and stated that the bandits that followed the two were merely pawns for them to use. However, Tōma soon realizes that his reliance on his brother to protect him interferes with his growth and ability to look after himself. Upon being separated from Chōbei, Tōma is willing to swallow his pride and cooperate with the survivors if it means that he could reunite with his brother and become strong enough to not only fight by his side, but to rely on his own strength to fight his battles.

When away from his brother's side, Tōma tends to act rather unfriendly when someone tries to communicate with him on friendly terms. He also displays a cocky attitude– after withstanding the Tao lessons Gabimaru and Yuzuriha instructed, Tōma smiles, thinking that he has surpassed Gantetsusai after seeing him heavily exhausted from the training.

Abilities and Powers

Despite not being an official Asaemon, Tōma was trusted to take on the shogun's life-risking mission, testifying to his abilities. He was strong enough to easily kill multiple Sōshin, who were trusted by Lord Tensen to eliminate any trespassers, and soon became one of the first few in 1,000 years to have managed to survive the ordeals the island had to offer and reach Hōrai where Lord Tensen currently resides. After training under Gantetsusai and undergoing Tao lessons, Chōbei and Ju Fa noted that Tōma's skills has improved considerably, being able to keep up with his brother in fighting the Tensen and deal damage, which he was unable to do the first time they fought, and was able to handle the Tao lessons taught by Gabimaru and Yuzuriha, which Gantetsusai, the one who improved his swordsmanship, could not endure.

Kenjutsu

Tōma is very talented with a sword, being credited as the fastest member in the Yamada Dojo to earn his license after only a month, and easily massacring the Sōshin without any aid. With the skills he gained from the Yamada clan, Tōma is capable of decapitating his target with a single cut of his sword. Although he possessed talent, Gantetsusai noted that Tōma had yet to release his full potential prior to the invasion in Hōrai. After training under Gantetsusai to improve his skills, the quality of Tōma's swordsmanship has become a lot higher than it was before, being taught to face danger head on and strike, which was shown during his fight against Ju Fa as he managed to land a critical hit on the Tensen.