"Wooden Sword" Ryu
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Ryunosuke Umemiya (梅宮 竜之介 Umemiya Ryūnosuke), usually called "Wooden Sword" Ryu (木刀の 竜 Bokutō no Ryū), is a character in the anime and manga Shaman King. In the English anime, his name is Rio. A direct translation of his name reads "Dragon of the Wooden Sword".
He was born on December 24, 1982. In the comic he is 16 years old [2 years, 5 months older than Yoh] in his first appearance. He is a Capricorn and has the blood type "O".
He usually wears exaggerated 1970s fashion: white suits and dark shirts with oversized collars, cuffs and lapels, plus pointy shoes (he is a fan of Elvis Presley). His battle outfit resembles that of Mikihisa and Ren, sporting a vest-styled shirt that exposes his stomach and pants that occassionally puff out above the ankles. His crowning glory is a foot-long pompadour, which keeps getting lopped off by Yoh Asakura and others.
Ryu in the beginning of Shaman King is a gang leader who is always on the lookout for the "Best Place" (The "Sacred Hang" in the English anime; His gang is known as the "Dead Enders" in the English anime). His gang includes Ball Boy (B Boy in the English anime) and Muscle Punch (Magnet in the English anime).
Ryu comes off as being not too bright, and really thinks more about girls and his "'do" than anything else; however, he is quite deep and philosophical and turns out to be a magnificent shaman. He later gets a spirit ally, Tokagero (Tokageroh). Rio's goal in the English anime is to be Shaman King so he can get a 'First Lady' or 'Shaman Queen' to call his own. In the manga and the Japanese anime, Ryu's goal is simply to support Yoh Asakura in becoming the Shaman King.
Ryu's nickname comes from the fact he carries a wooden sword, or bokutō. In the English anime, Rio has a Hispanic accent.
In the sequel manga Funbari no Uta, he accompanies Hana Asakura (the son of Yoh and Anna) to look for legendary warriors.
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