Shido

A diagonal scar cuts across the right side of Shido's stern face, and rectangular spectacles frame his eyes. His dark hair is combed back and left slightly disheveled. He favors traditional dress, wearing a dark kimono edged with a pale, patterned border.

Courtesy and honor define Shido's conduct. Stepping into his father's council role, he pays solemn tribute to the swordmasters who died, Zanbai among them. Rather than grieve bitterly, he takes pride in the loss, reasoning that a man who lived by the blade would have treasured a death in combat, a sign of how fully he embraces the warrior's path. His reaction to Nichirin's astonishing sword skill, first puzzlement and then delight, marks him as genuinely eager to learn.

High in the ranges near G-City, Shido joined Nichirin, Atomic Samurai, and Yuta to honor the fallen Zanbai and Amahare, having just inherited his father's council seat. When Nichirin offered an apology for what befell the fathers of Shido and Yuta, Shido brushed it aside, saying that a swordsman like his father surely welcomed dying in battle and would be glad the council's leader had survived. Asked by Atomic Samurai how he was holding up, the elder swordmaster answered by slicing an apple so cleanly that the fruit never noticed the cut, a feat that first bewildered Shido and then left him fascinated. Because he holds a Council of Swordmasters seat and descends from a former member, he is presumed to be an accomplished swordsman in his own right.