Character
Spoilers for Blazblue: Continuum Shift and Calamity Trigger.
Name: Hakumen. Real Name: [Jin Kisaragi]
Fandom: Blazblue
Gender: Male
Age: 100+
Time Period: True End Continuum Shift.
Wing Color: Dull Silver
History:
Wikia Page Personality: The leader of the Six Heroes and the Silver Knight of the Dark War, Hakumen is both a being who is feared and revered for his status. While many usually recognize him upon sight or name, he does not let the fame that preceeds him get in the way of his conversation. Well, what little conversation he does offer. Hakumen is a brash person, who only speaks when he sees it necessary, and does not normally get along with others on a social level. It is not that he sees himself above them, but rather he is constantly focused on his own goals throughout the game. Not to get into his normally short temper for people who greatly bother him (Terumi/Hazama and Ragna are two good examples). While he is mistaken to sometimes be a bad person because of his lacking social qualities, this isn't true. He only seeks the path that he chooses to keep on, ignoring all else that does not involve it. If there is something he feels hinders his path, he will either turn away from it or remove it from existence. At the end of CS's true end he leaves Rachel's side as her "servant", deciding she has become too soft, and completely turns from Kokonoe after he discovers she is harboring nuclear weapons (which Hakumen believes is even worse than the Black Beast).
He also has an uptightly belief in the balance and justice in the world. In Jin's story mode he sends a message to him through Jubei, warning him that he must shift the balance within himself or face certain doom. For him order and balance is everything and the only hope mankind has to sustain life as it is. His sense of justice, on the other hand, is very black and white. Someone is either good or evil in his eyes and he judges people almost too hastily. This is likely an effect of what he saw during the Dark War, mainly the way he was locked in the Boundary after telling the people of the world to repent for their sins, and his time deep in the Boundary. While he sometimes comments on how some people have potential to be good (which is why he didn't kill Noel in her Bad End) he rarely sees this potential and judges on what he knows. Mainly his experience as his past self and the archaic views of the world after he escapes the Boundary. Coupled with the knowledge of the Contiuum Shift and the time loops, Hakumen's sense of justice has no real middleground. His entire mantra centers around his belief that he is the "just sword" who will "wipe the slate of the world clean".
Another major part is that Hakumen does not see the current world as something to be tresured, but something that must be changed if it wishes to survive. He generally believes it to be full of sin, so he must be the white blade that will cleanse it. Despite this very jaded and unyielding belief, there are some things he can appreciate. When speaking with Jubei during the war, as seen in the start of his story mode, he remarks how he respects courageous people who are willing to stand up to the evils of the world. His story mode in Calamity Trigger also has him meeting Bang Shisigami, who he also remarks with respect for his fighting spirit and bravery. For him there are brief flickers of good that could redeem the world for the sin it has, but none of that will change unless people open their eyes and realize that something is wrong. Those who deny the truth and hide from it for the sake of their happiness are absolutely disgusting in his eyes.
Yet none of this compares to a very large twist in Hakumen's character. In truth, Hakumen is actually Jin Kisaragi. The general idea, as shown in Jin's story mode in Calamity Trigger, was that Nu succeeded in combining with Ragna and threw herself with him into the Cauldron. Jin, being absolutely obsessed with killing his brother, jumped in after them foolishly and was transported a hundred years into the past. It is there that he met Rachel Alucard, who offered him the chance to become a 'real hero'. At that time Jin, or whatever was left of his functioning body and soul, was infused with the Sankishin Susano'o Unit and took on the identity of the Silver Knight Hakumen. Without being influenced by Yukianesa, Jin began to become saner and yet more jaded. He knew Ragna and Nu were the Black Beast and believed that his inability to stop Nu from fusing with his brother caused this travesty. From that point on he sought to redeem himself as Hakumen, throwing away the shadow of himself.
It is explained that, due to the Boundary's effects on memory, Hakumen cannot remember much of his past life as Jin before jumping into the Cauldron. While in the Boundary he could only use enough of his energy to preserve his own life for ninety years, while patiently waiting for the day he may be freed. Only fragments remain, but the one that stands out the most is his memory of his secretary Tsubaki Yayoi. In this alternative timeline, Tsubaki was Jin's secretary instead of Noel and Hakumen explains (to Tsubaki no less, in a cryptic way) that he was in love with her. However, because he was so obsessed with searching for Ragna he neglected Tsubaki when she needed him and the result was her death. He still holds much burden and blame for himself over it, becoming enraged at Terumi during his (Hakumen) bad end when the latter mocks him for not being able to protect her.
Overall, while Hakumen may come off as an unreasonable man who seeks vengence and not justice, the Silver Knight is not a bad person. He is simply jaded and ultimately determined to set the world right and destroy the evil that plagues it. For this, he is willing to go all out and stop at nothing to accomplish his goals. His past means nothing to him and is more of a fleeting dream than not, but by Continuum Shift he has to a point accepted Jin Kisaragi and acknowledged that the other is making strives to the right path. He remarks the same for Ragna and even Noel, despite the latter being revealed as the 12th Murakumo Unit Mu. While he does not fully accept them and believes they are still on the wrong path, he at the very least is changing his views on a world he saw as only black and white slowly.
Strengths:
Physically: Story-wise, Hakumen is one of the most powerful individuals in the world. He fought against an eight-headed terror known as the Black Beast about ninety years prior to the present game day and his Nox Nyctores (Ookami) is said to be capable of killing immortals. His entire body is covered by his Sankishin Susano'o Unit, which only enhances his overall power. It acts as an exoskeleton and more of an extension of his body, rather than being any real sort of armor, which enhances his overall attributes. The most notable effect being that it pumps a large amount of energy into him, which means he can normally keep fighting for hours on end without needing to rest. It also makes him ridiculously tall, at 6 feet and 9.9 inches according to side canon material, and in the same token heavy (over 300 pounds heavy).
Mentally: Despite being trapped in the Boundary for ninety years, while the narrator of Calamity Trigger says that even being there for a few minutes could make someone go insane (as seen with Arakune), Hakumen has shown to have much of his generally sanity intact. He patiently waited for the day he could be found and then freed and once he was released he immediately set out on the goals he made for himself. His speech is, while blunt, eloquent and he obviously carries a certain charisma to him. Not the same as someone like Jubei does, but he is still someone who can relatively gain respect from his peers without having to refer to his credentials as a famed hero.
Emotionally: There isn't much here, for reasons that will be explained in the weakness section, but for what its worth Hakumen can gauge how to react in a situation. When he is with Tsubaki in his story route he doesn't let himself cave into the grief and relief of seeing her alive again, but understands to be patient and more understanding with her than he would be with others. He shows very few good sides of him and does genuinely care about the world that he lives in. After all, he wouldn't go through the trouble of saving it from the Black Beast if he didn't give a damn.
Weaknesses:
Physically: While there is not much physically weak to Hakumen, thanks to his Sankishin Unit, there are generally some things that need to be noted. For starts, Susano'o is something bound to Hakumen by body and soul. There is no way to actively remove it without killing Hakumen in the process and is more of an extension of his body than not. For this reason there is not much he can change about his physical appearance or do anything to tone down his strength. According to Calamity Trigger, the Boundary has restricted the unit to work only at 20% capacity and Hakumen is ultimately not reaching is full potential, despite being already insanely strong despite this. When he fights he can't control his strength and can easily overdo what can be a simple spar.
Mentally: Though Hakumen is certainly sane compared to characters like Terumi/Hazama and Jin, he is not all together there as much as he likes to believe. His views on the world are very archaic and it shows in his methods of handling situations and his overall speech (calling Jubei a "grimalkin" even though the term "malkin" is considerably outdated). He also has a 'my way or the highway' mentality to his beliefs, believing if someone isn't with him they are against him. It makes dealing with him very difficult, which is why only Rachel seems to be capable of tolerating him for long periods.
Emotionally: The biggest problem with Hakumen, and one that hinders him frequently, is his anger. While he follows his path of atonement he is also easily swayed to give into hatred. His first big outburst came when he found out Kokonoe was storing almost hundreds of nuclear warheads, which she intended to use to stop Terumi if it came to that point. He is quick to lash out without thinking everything through and judge others based on his views of justice, ready to take his sword out at a moment's notice and start swinging if he sees fit. The second outburst comes in his bad end route, where he fails to defeat Terumi because he becomes angered at how he (Terumi) begins to abuse Tsubaki and taunt him for letting her die.