The Referees


Note: Each of the 12 referees represent a creature in the chinese zodiac. They are (In the correct order): The Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. (So I've listed them according to this, since I can't remember the order in which most of them appeared) If you read the chinese manga, you'll notice that the referees each have the symbol for their character emblazoned on their body, as well as integrated into their name. I've given the symbols for each referee here.

Demi - Demi, a default referee for Block A (I think), represents the rat (But she looks more like a mouse to me). She has mouse ears and short hair, complete with a mouse tail. She is clearly on the Hokage's side, and she and Tatusko always quarrel over who gets to be the next referee. She's asked Kagerou, Aki, Kuukai and even Mikagami to be judges before. She and Tatsuko quarrel a lot, though Demi usually gets the worst end of their arguments since she's shy and a bit of a pushover ^_^.

Ushino - Ushino wears glasses, and a bikini which is decorated with cow spots; she represents the ox. I don't really know anything else, except that I think she is quite shy. She's also um, well-endowed, and well, Nobuyuki likes to draw the bikini very small. 0_o. (Yurk; he really IS a pervert!)

Toraha - I don't really know much about her, since I missed her anime appearance, but I've heard that she's pretty emotionless. She also LOVES Mikagami in the manga. (Practically all the other referees do.) She has tiger strips across her face, and a tiger-striped dress as well.

Umi - Umi, the rabbit girl, is very shy and timid. After one of the fights (Domon versus Magensha? Can't remember), she was so scared that she passed on her refereeing to another referee. (Normally, the referees always want to be the one to referee the next match) She looks quite cute and has rabbit ears.

Tatsuko - Tatsuko represents the Dragon, as seen from her horns and tail, and she is the referee we see most often, probably because she is the default referee for the A block, which is the block Team Hokage is in. She has a particular liking for Recca, even going so far as to kiss him, and even making him lunch! (The latter is in the manga only) Yanagi doesn't like her because of this, and the feeling is mutual. However, in the last volume of the manga of Season I, she told Yanagi, "Take care of recca! You're very lucky to have such a nice man as him." and sent them off cheerfully. This was later shown to only be a facade, however, when she began to cry after they were gone. I guess that shows she really cares a lot for Recca, and that it's not only a silly crush.

Satomi - She stands for the snake, and has one wrapped around her waist. She also wears a headband, with the chinese characters "Bai She" written on it, meaning "White Snake". I don't remember much about her appearance in the anime, but she's another Mikagami lover (Lucky for her, then, that she got to referee to Mikagami's fight versus Kai). She looks much prettier in the manga, in my opinion.

Amagi - She represents the horse and is a manga only referee. She has horse ears and a lot of freckles. She is a really sweet person, allowing Tatsuko to referee the Recca versus Kurei match, since she knew Tatsuko liked him (Recca, I mean). And considering how hard they fight amongst themselves to be the next referee... She also carries a carrot stuck to the tip of a wooden sword which she uses to poke people with. (Is a wooden sword called a Bokken? I don't know)

Yoko- Yoko represents the goat. I think she also looks prettier in the manga. (The anime self has too much makeup) Many of the male audience adore her, and she's (I think) pretty vain, but I don't really know much else about her. (I'll go check it up again later) She has goat horns (Looks more like sheep's to me) and wears a bikini and a skirt over the bikini, as well as a tie.

Enma - For the life of me, I can't understand why this monkey girl has a red butt. (Is it because certain monkeys have red butts? Beats me.) She has a monkey tail and is a lesbian, so she loves Fuuko and Mikagami. (She thought Mikagami was a girl! LOL) She refereed Fuuko's match versus Mikoto. When Mikoto struck Enma, Fuuko was kind enough to stand up for her and even gave her a handerkerchief to wipe her tears off. Then Enma said "This handkerchief has Fuuko's fragrance." ^_^

Midori - Perhaps she represents the rooster, since she has a bird's wings, and (I think) tail. (She doesn't really look like a rooster, though) She also has short hair like Demi. Don't really know much else about her, except that she seems quite cheerful (And flighty. [Forgive the pun, I couldn't resist. ^_^]) and hates it when the participants break the tournament rules. She was quite annoyed when the audience commented on how she wasn't as pretty as the others. (Eg. Yoko, Satomi) She was not shown in the anime.

Inuko - Inuko represents the dog and is quite athletic, if I'm not wrong. She wears a scarf with the words "Running Wild" across it. She has dog ears, and a tail. She was the referee for Kaoru's fight against Tsukishiro. She is very fair and rational, and declared Kaoru's fight a draw, since both he and Tsukishiro were knocked out, but told said that everyone knew who the REAL winner of the fight was. She seems to be closest to Tatsuko out of all the other referess. She was also the one to suggest the method of choosing referees and is, in my opinion, quite pretty.

Inoko - Even though she looks like more of a pirate, I know she represents the pig because of her symbol. She's a child, and is Domon's first (And only [In the manga anyway]) fan. She has a crush on him and has even sat next to him at the same table to eat noodles together! Needless to say, she was extremely happy when Domon managed to defeat Noroi. She didn't appear in the anime.


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